You know how sometimes something seems so simple? And it just isn’t?

For over 4 years I have wanted to add concrete rainwater “thingys” under the downspouts from our gutters…..Currently the water just pours out onto unattractive hunks of concrete.

No idea what to call them….splash box/splash blocks…..whatever they are, we need them.

A beautiful Saturday morning seemed like the perfect time to do something about this. So off to “Gay Church”….or the Home Depot, as most people call it.

Just gasp at the crap that Home Depot is passing off as splash blocks…….

What the hell are those?

PLASTIC is what those are. The first big rain and those things will be in our neighbor’s yard.

Ditto for Lowe’s, and Ace Hardware. Same Crap. Didn’t they still make them in concrete?

So we headed home and Googled Concrete Splash Block.

They closest purchasable ones we could find were all the way in Ft Worth…..but no address was listed. (Why on earth would they want people just Stopping By their business?)

OOOhh, and contrary to popular belief, Dallas and Ft Worth are NOT the same city. In fact, they are about 40 minutes apart.

The phone was answered with a, groggy “Hello”. Not the “Thank you for calling Blah-Blah-Blah Concrete, this is Carl,” like I was expecting.

Carl, I’m just guessing here because he never did tell me his name, suggested that I call Senox. They’re located closer to Dallas – Carrollton anyway – but probably not open on the weekends.

I Googled Senox, and dialed the number …… the phone just rang,…… and rang,…… and rang. Nope, not open on the weekends, and who could run a business with NO answering machine?

Concrete manufacturing people apparently.

I tried another concrete business, the guy on the end of that phone number didn’t sell them but thought that Spectra might. But they were only open 2 Saturdays a month. (50% chance of someone being there)

No Spectra on Google…….but there was a Spectrum. Gave them a call……no answer. (50% chance of someone NOT being there as well) At least Spectrum invested in an answering machine.

I gave up.

Now it was Jamie’s turn.

He Googled Gutter Supply, and dialed the first business listed. ABC Supply.

Supply of what? we weren’t sure.

They didn’t have any splash blocks in stock, but suggested that he try their other Dallas location.

Good news, the other Dallas location of ABC Supply has some in stock AND was open on Saturday…..but only for another 35 minutes. (It was 10:25 in the morning)

Unfortunately, the other “Dallas” location was also really in “Garland”……..about 20 miles away.

Could we do it? Could we make the 20 mile drive in about half an hour?

After a stop for gas and Red Bulls (AND a turn-around back home because we left in such a hurry that the motion sensor on our alarm was still active……..and a Doberman was running loose in the house) we made it to ABC Supply in Dallas/Garland.  With 5 minutes to shop.

Look what they had………..

Pallets full of concrete splash blocks.

FULL, I tell you.

It felt like we’d found the Arc of the Covenant.

“We’ll take 3,

No 4,

No 5.”

At 4 bucks each, 2 bucks cheaper than the Home Depot plastic thingy, “We will defiantly take 5”

Now we have gone from this ugliness…..

To this loveliness……

We even stopped by our stone supply place for a few big rocks to hide more of that ugliness.

This is a big win for us, BIG WIN…and we’ll take it.

(BTW, we know that they are backwards, but since most of them are on inclines…..it seems to keep the rushing water from eroding the yard)

Happy Saturday, everyone.