See, it’s taken me an entire week to document everything Jessica and I accomplished last Saturday. No wonder we’re tired.

Maybe it’s not as big a deal as a tree house or a chicken coop, but it’s a medium-sized deal to me. I finally added a railing around our front porch. Now if I could just find a 3-foot 4×4 in some lumberyard’s discard-bin, I could finish the diagonal part of the railing that goes along the stairs. But this’ll do for now.

Here’s “before,” with Natalie leaping down the stairs in typical 4-year-old fashion. It wasn’t “before” enough to get the porch clean before I started the project, but hey, when I get a project started I’d better get it done–or it could be a long time before I get back to it.

I replaced the old 4×4 posts that supported the porch decking with longer posts that would support decking and railing. Here they’re both set, plumb, and level, and I’m putting in the first horizontal support for the railing. I topped the railing with a 2×8 that would be wide enough for Jessica to put her flowerpots on. We’re of Swiss stock on both sides, and blooming flowerpots are part of the look.

How it looked by end of day Saturday. I’ve subsequently stained it–a good thing because of all the rain we’ve had this week, and it’s a comfort to see the water pooling on top of the wood instead of soaking in. I like this little railing; it helps finish the exterior.

When visitors come, they’ve been driving through dense forest for a couple of miles. Our front porch is the first time they can see the valley. With the flowers now perched on top, that little railing is a nice frame for the view, and a quiet welcome to our cozy home.