This weekend I installed a screen on the front door. Everything is fine now, but the process was anything but smooth. I knew the door was going to be a little wider then the opening so I went to Harbor Freight and bought a wood plane for $12.oo. I couldn’t get it to work. The jury is still out on if it was a crummy planer or if I just didn’t know how to use it correctly. That said, I went to Home Depot, which is sort fo becoming a little like Cheers at this point (now that I am there like every other day) and I bought one from there and it worked a million times better, although it was $30.00. Harbor Freight this is strike three for you, I think our relationship is over. For instance the drill and the sander I bought from you. The drill is weak and the bits keep stripping and the sander had an odd sized pad and wastes tons of sandpaper. Boo. I did not paint or stain the door yet because I’m going to be painting the house this summer and I am not sure what color. Until then I will leave the screen as is.
I also put together the bench that my mom gave me as a housewarming gift. At first I told her I didn’t like it but, then I found out how much the benches I like cost and figured that this will be just fine for now. It is very close to what I wanted anyway. The only real issue I have with it is that the seat is too shallow and is uncomfortable to sit in for a long period, but all in all it looks good and will work for now. So, Mom if you are reading this, you win.
The coffee table in front came off the curb and so did the white rocker in the right hand corner. It’s all fine for now but, I’d really like a longer deeper bench like the one I have now but with cushions and a rocker to match with lower, wider coffee table. I know the rocker I like is at Lowe’s but its outside the current budget and the benches I like are online, yet also over budget. I’m really holding out and putting a lot of faith in Craigslist at this point. My patience with it has always seemed to pay off so I’ll hold tight for now.
Ittybittybungalow 
If you can sew Roman shades, you can whip up a cushion for that bench in a jiffy. Maybe a bit deeper than the bench would work.