Work on our house continues unabated, and this weekend it was the turn of our messy back corner to receive its much needed transformation, clearing out all the rubbish the previous owners left us to deal with and instead replacing it with a bright and shiny new present from Mom and Dad.

A garden shed.

Now this gift is absolutely perfect, because up until now my lawnmower has slept in the house, and my tools under a makeshift shelter in plastic bags out in the back. In other words, this will please Chantelle to no end indeed! :P

The shed itself is an Australian product which my dad picked up online and after collecting it last week, he and the rest of the Lotter clan arrived this afternoon after lunch with heavy box in a rented trailer and a boot full of tools.

Construction was hampered a bit thanks to the annoying, gusting winds which seemed determined to slow our progress, but the sky was at least clear and the sun shone bright as Ryan, Dad and myself armed ourselves with screwdrivers and a lot of patience.

Only a few mistakes made here and there, but after a couple of long, hard hours, the shed was up, looking pretty and awaiting her payload.

As for the men – well an ice cold beer and Scooters pizza felt like a just reward!

In other words, thank you Ryan and Dad for your time and labour, and thanks Mom and Dad for this awesome gift. We really, really appreciate it! :)

Our back corner, a hub for weeds, bricks and who knows what other crap the previous owner dumped there!

Cement blocks, lovingly plucked from the driveway and deposited here as by building blocks of choice.

My little cement floor. Gone are the weeds - as is the concept of neat and level!

It took a couple of hours, but we're nearing the end now. Note Ryan's bald head peeking out from the back.

Dad and Ryan applying the hinge.

And we're done. My little lawnmower's new home. (Unless the wind dismantles it of course).