Putting it back together again...

Forty-eight hours, 1,763 curse words, 269 head-scratchings and 122 mosquito bites later, it's done.

My PVC pipe idea worked as well as it did for Pharoh Horus Aha of Egypt (First Dynasty)...

 Three pieces of four foot, three inch PVC pipe can transport a 500+ pound piece of playground equipment with ease.  Physics are awesome.  The Egyptians are even awesomer.

A funny story with the PVC pipe:  we went to Home Depot with the intention of buying a 10 foot section of PVC pipe and have them cut it for us (it's a little cheaper that way).  The store was nearly empty when we got there at 8:15 AM; however, there was no "customer associate" to be found in the plumbing section, where shelf upon shelf of PVC pipe lay, just waiting for my wallet.  After five minutes of standing around, somebody came along and asked us if we needed help. 

After getting over the shock of actually being acknowledged, we said (rather sarcastically) "That would be great!"  So our helper announced on their little walkie-talkie thing that a customer needed assistance in plumbing.  We quickly found out that Al, who evidentally was in charge of the plumbing section, was on break (yeah, his name was Al -- and it was 8:15 AM.  On break?  Really?  Already?)

Anyway, our helper arranged for Judy to come and help us.  We waited for another 10 minutes (no exaggeration) and I finally said screw it, we can go elsewhere.  Our helper saw us leaving and she asked if we had been helped.  No, we hadn't.  So she got back on her little radio and Al hadn't come back from break yet and Judy was "helping another customer" (who obviously was the only other customer in the store besides us).  So we left and got our PVC pipe at Fleet Farm. 

This is the third or fourth time I've gone to Home Depot and left disgusted, getting what I needed instead at Fleet Farm or Menard's (Home Depot is closer to my house, if you're wondering why I keep going back).  I don't know how other Home Depot stores are, but ours certainly could benefit from a training seminar on customer service and satisfaction. 

Oh well, Arthur Blank has enough money ...and the Falcons suck.

Okay, back to my story.

The "beast piece" finally arrives in the backyard, just squeaking through the gate.  You can see playset guts all over the damn place, ready to be reunited with the remainder of the set...

...which was divided into two sections.  I had already joined them back together when this picture was taken.

A day later, it resembles the same playset I saw in Elk River!  We've still got landscaping to do (next spring) and we are going to go "old school" for a sandbox... an old tractor tire.  I suppose the EPA won't like that, but they are too busy spending tax payer money studying cow farts to really care right now.

So now I can sit down on the deck with my amazingly cool Kiss coffee mug (and my faithful canine companion never far away)...

And watch the Speaker of the House push Tax Deduction #1 in the swing all day long!

Life is good.

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