Stumble, Surge, Stutter or a Miss?

Monday. 2PM. Livewire and a chicken salad sandwich. This is what it's become.

OK, time for the weekend recap: While replacing the shocks and front pads on the Blazer recently I noticed the boots on the driver's CV driveshaft had cracked. Not surprising for a vehicle old enough to be in jr. high. Called around last Monday and was able to set something up for Friday. This meant Friday after work driving the '76 to the Rotary (after paying for said automotive services) and walking the tracks in (despite the vehicle being ready). No biggee. Masked around a couple clerestory windows on the interior and proceeded to stain the framing black. Stopped after finishing the first; not entirely sold on the idea. We shall see. Storm was starting to roll in too. It was hot and humid up on the scaffold and frankly, I was ready for a little break. Walked the tracks out, cleaned up and met Ben and Cam at the Panther. The place was busier than usual, likely due to Sturgis Falls driving the downtown crowd up the street. Either way there was a welcoming energy level there. Cara and her friend Brooke stopped in later and them, Ben, and myself threw back a couple red-headed-sluts. Cam abstained, prefering to sip his liquors. I can see his point, but I just don't have the stomach to sip a 'three wise-men'. With Ben having a big day planned and a long drive back to LaPorte, we called it a night pre-12.

Which worked out well since Cara and I also had a big day planned for Saturday. Showered and ready we picked up the blazer at the shop parking lot and headed out to work. Aside from driving into town so I could make lunch, we were out there till 10:30 that night. I cut out the opening in the siding in the kitchen area for the glass block installation and stained the edges. Very weird having light back there. Then took the sawzall and chisel to the framing in a couple spots to true up the opening for the block. Mitered my cedar sills but botched the one miter by an 1/8". It fit pre-chiseling but that framing had to be squared up. New board tonight. Cara rollered the upstairs East and West walls while I masked and painted along the ceiling edge. Fernando stopped out to touch up a couple areas light on texture and pick up some of his stuff. Meanwhile I was priming and painting pegboard downstairs that'll be the backdrop for the row of washers. A different color for each 4x8 sheet. Cara was beat from the start so when I ran out of insulation for the north wall and we were running low on paint she opted to run to Menards (and saved the day). We both slugged through till dark. Finally, after checking the place out by the light of halogen worklights and getting ideas,  I ordered up a pizza and we packed up for the night.

I had told Cara we'd have Sunday off but feeling behind and wanting to get things buttoned up before our 4th of July trip, she begrudgingly agreed to help me out there. First things first though, we hit up the Sturgis carshow around noon. An excellent reminder of the days when creative people could trump the beancounters. Not a single Caddy in attendance but I was smitten with a '59 Chevy, a beautiful Ford Skyliner and a '57 Plymouth Belvedere. Cool stuff!

Then we ventured on…first to the parents, then later to the lodge. Cara cleaned the gangway as prep for sealing it. I primed and painted the last sheet of pegboard. Then she cut insulation bats while I worked across the downstairs north wall. Mid-way we were paid a visit by Brent and Tracy. Brent hadn't been out there since near the beginning. We gave 'em the dime tour and kabitzed on the upper deck, noting the wild turkeys running through the field.

Nipping at the heels of 5 o'clock, we finished the insulation and Cara went to run errands. I went to the parents, started laundry and jacked up the Blazer and proceeded to roll around in dirt and shards of rusty metal while using the sawzall to cut out the OEM catalytic converter. All things considered it went pretty well. In tandem, Cara got back and we took _everything_ out of the truck. She set forth vacuuming, I replaced a mudflap liberated by winter's snowy ravages. Despite the unavailability of a 3" tailpipe expander at the parts store, I got the new cat-con and connecting pipe in and the works centered and clamped down. More laundry. Scrubbed floormats. Cleaned the dash. More vacuuming while Cara went home to start dinner. About 9:30, and with everything sorted, stashed in its place, I did the same. Cold beer awaiting. Showered. Entered the weeks' receipts. Hit the hay.

Mondaze

Monday after work. Changed and ready for, well, work. Or more accurately, cutting.

Anyway, busy weekend. As a change of pace I had earmarked Saturday for some preventative maintenance on both the Blazer and Cara's Vdub. This meant the loss of a perfectly beautiful construction day, but I was able to put in a little time Friday after work before enjoying a night out at the Panther, to temper the loss. Sat AM rolls around and we ventured over to W'loo to pick up a couple special order parts for the truck. Turns out I had left the sawzall at the lodge so there'd be no exhaust work Saturday. No bother, I had a full day as it was. Some cuts and scrapes, rust in the face, and a couple trips to the parts store for "special tools" for Cara's brakes and we were on our way. By early eve the Blazer had new front shoes and shocks all around and Cara's car was ready for new rear pads (which required yet another trip to the parts store Sunday AM). Beaten, greasy, (did I mention beaten?) it was time to clean up and scramble for the bonfire I had offered out at my place Sat night. 

Cara and I got out to the lodge around 7:30 and opened up the upstairs to cool down. What a gorgeous night it turned out to be. Cam and Katherine arrived in short order and we gave them the dime tour of the (practically) finished upstairs. While taking in the view from the front deck, Ben roared in signaling the start of the festivities. We got the fire started, doused ourselves in bug spray and cooked hotdogs on the open flame. Nothing beats an ice cold beer and a bonfire on a clear night. We even managed to get things doused in short order and we were home by midnight.

Sunday AM I felt like a freight train had run me down. All the wrenching, straining and contorting of Saturday coupled with a weekful of post-work construction obligations had taken their toll. Even so, we got Cara's car finished up, tackled upteen loads of laundry and hit the lodge before day's end. Came home, tried a pair of p'zone's (not impressed) and collapsed.

Summer Woes

It occurs to me that I have a lot more blogging time in the winter than I do summer, despite putting in some major hours while the white stuff flew just a few months ago. Even so, I'll try to get updates out there without too much delay.

I decided to take a little vacation for Monday, and it appears that was an OK idea. See, I keep daily punchlists of what I'd like to accomplish each day out at the lodge. For the weekends I end up with quite a list since I get more than a few post-work hours to knock off the tasks. That is, of course, unless the weather is just downright nasty. If anyone's been tracking the weather here in northeast Iowa, you'll know we're getting hit hard with flooding, damaging t-storms, and rain forcast every-single-day. 

It wasn't enough to be jarred awake at 1:45 AM Friday morning by an air-raid siren outside our apt window, we had to get pummeled with horizontal rains as well. Street lights flickered, neighbors across the street went for shelter in the nearby old houses with basements, we kept our eyes on the radar and tracked the tornado warnings. This whole event tended to throw off my sleep-state for Friday...which must've spilled into Saturday too.

To keep the progress rolling, I went out to the lodge Friday after work to survey nature's wrath and cross a few items off my list before going out for celebratory drinks with Cam. Success there, though the humidity inside was downright stifling. Sat AM comes, alarm goes off, we're both up and at'em and I make a nice big breakfast. Eggs, muffins from the oven, fried up some sausage, etc. But it didn't take long for mother nature to take the steam out of the plan and soon we found ourselves stocking up on supplies at Menards. Got lots bought, ordered, and, well, carted. Cara and I even managed to load up a 4x10 sheet of drywall without damage. But the skies taunted. The kind of weather that makes you want to open up an artery. Even the Mickey D's vanilla shake could not assist. Ended up taking a nap (and I am not a nap person). 

Still having a "Saturday" list, I saddled up, managed my way out to the lodge, and set to work for the evening when the temps were much more tolerable. Pulled out the table and miter saw and set to work on blocking; cut up some painted exterior plywood for clerestory treatment; even managed to get the sheetrock into place in the kitchen, fastened to the wall and recepts cut out. Course I could see the black-as-night sky headed my way from the west. Wasn't long and horizontal rain was finding all those un-fasciaded openings in the west wall. The gen was running and my meager work lamp was keeping the kitchen corner aglow while I used an LED flashlight to check the loft area for leaks. Remarkably leak-free up there but the ground below was a lake. 4 wheel drive was engaged to get me out of there.

Today's visit proved my "farm lane" had gone missing in some sections, the victim of a convenient water-way. The lines defining field and road are no more, resulting in one big, muddy, silty mess. Nevertheless, Cara joined me and we cleaned windows, sills and surrounds and deployed the screens. This is big news. Actual window screens and windex'd glass! I also cut a 14' sheet of drywall to size and she gave me a hand setting it on wall supports so I could get a few screws into it for completion tomorrow.

Speaking of erosion, the Cedar is expected to crest at record levels this week in CF. Sandbagging efforts around the Ice House are ongoing. And we discovered 20th St near the hill was doubling as a canal this morning. Both a firetruck and the Blazer were vying for pole position in the curb-deep water while onlookers...onlooked. Had to've been a strange sight. Oddly the street is bone-dry right now.