A strange weekend to say the least. The weather was cold and dank, and the sky misted strangely like we were in a supermarket produce section, and a low-level malaise kept at me. Closing down the Panther with Ben Friday night probably didn't help matters. Note to self: Rumpelmanz on the rocks..why?? But with soggy-ground and misty-sky Saturday morning, Cara persuaded me to hit up an estate sale we had heard about. I only wish we had been there opening day.
Good gawd it was a timecapsule of perfection. Not only was the 50's ranch in impeccable condition (no kids) but the owners had been extremely wealthy but lived modestly. That translated to a medium-sized home that oozed craftsmanship from the cut-flagstone façade to the 18" charcoal-gray roman stacked-bond brick fireplace in the finished basement. A basement, I might add, that had starbursts embedded into the parquet floor, gold glitter in the recesses of the 1x1 ceiling tile, and a kitchenette with built-in appliances that had literally, never been used. The haul from this sale? Exquisite.
That was, obviously, the highpoint of the day. We made a run up to T&T but came up pretty much empty-handed. Topped the day off though with "getting' things done". That is, a trip with the parents to the box stores. They had their list and we had ours. Ours, unfortunately, was heavier. 2x4's, soffit plywood, stain and a giant terra-cotta pot amongst the less interesting items. The dual-purpose of the trip was to see what trees and shrubs were still available. Menards had dropped to 50% off _everything_. Lowes could care less if everything died in a snap frost. Wouldn't budge an inch. We finished with dinner and much rest.
Sunday then, despite wanting to curl up next to a fire and watch a movie ALL-DAY, I pressed on at the lodge while Cara ran errands. I put the groundwork in for the upstairs railing install so that after lunch, I could talk the parents into coming out for 30 minutes to lift the railing assembly to the second level, get set into place at the 30 degree blocks I installed, then set the proper height; which we did. And just as the computer model suggested, it gives the impression of being both well-proportioned and properly scaled while also suggesting you're about to fall to your death. Cara and I planted 7 yews as the sky continued to threaten and we cleaned up around 7PM (that's sundown now…yikes!) and headed in for pizza….and collapsing.
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