My Little Piece of Paradise

Even though Father's Day was this past weekend, we're going to rewind the clock a bit and go back to Mother's Day!  It was then that my sweet husband gifted me a hammock, something that had long been on my wish list for our back porch.  In typical Josh fashion, there was no hammock to give me that day, but instead the permission to pick out whichever one I want.  Well, a month later, I finally have this little retreat in our backyard.

As usual for around here, though, making this backyard haven was not as simple as heading out and buying a hammock!  
The first challenge we faced was in purchasing the stand.  I had figured a hammock would cost about $100, a number I was comfortable with!  But the stand for said hammock can be crazy expensive, a number neither of us was comfortable with!  A couple weeks into our quest, Josh spotted a hammock and stand on Craigslist.  It was only a couple of blocks away from our house and a good price...so it became ours.

But if you know me well enough, you would probably know that there was no way that green color was going to work.  To solve that problem, I headed out to Home Depot, picked up a can of oil-rubbed bronze spray paint, and gave the stand a couple of quick coats...problem solved!

Solving the stand issue was simple, but finding a hammock proved to be a bit more difficult!  I was all excited when I spotted one at Home Depot.  It was rope like I wanted...and only $50!!!  But when I got it home and attached it to the stand, it was way short (despite me measuring the stand...13 feet...and reading that the hammock was 13 feet).  When Josh got home, we tried again in hopes that it was something wonky I was doing.  Still no bueno.  But I held on to the hammock in hopes that I would find something to extend the chain enough to make it work. 

 A few weeks later, I picked up something I thought would do the trick.  It did, but now the hammock was laying on the ground!  So, I took one off to see if I could get it to reach.  Again it did, but it was still too long!  So, I took off the other extender and guess what?!?  It totally reached now.  WEIRD!  Neither Josh nor I can figure it out because the thing was significantly short the first time and now as I type this, the hammock is actually hung on the third link down on each side!

And finally, my hammock needed a comfy pillow to rest my lovely head on.  You may have noticed there was a pillow on the hammock we got off of Craigslist.  

Not only was it ugly, but I also found the idea of resting my head where someone else's unknown head had been a little ick.  BUT the pillow was made with weather-proof filling, something essential since I was going to be leaving it outside in the elements.  So, I decided I would just recover the existing one in a pretty, weather-proof fabric of my own.  20 minutes of ironing later (those of you who read this often know I have no idea how to sew and instead rely on iron-hem tape) I had this pretty pillow.

And now I finally have my own piece of paradise.  Too bad it's now been like a bajillion degrees each day and I haven't really been able to use it yet...oh well...soon right!