One Expensive Breakfast

Back at the grind. It was still only a 4-day work week but the difference was playing desk jockey on a Friday, thanks to Labor Day. This resulted in a standard weekend for lodge work, which was about all I could handle. My legs ache and my system could use another, say, 10 or 12 hours of sleep. Since my task list gets blown away and evolves daily, I figured it wise to jot down this weekend's accomplishments before excel wiped them from the face of the earth. Lord knows I couldn't recite half of these from memory….

Friday night, the Blazer was loaded with lengthy trim boards, aluminum extrusions sticking out the tailgate hatch, 125 pounds of black oxide cement coloring and 3 ungainly panes of 1/4" glass. Somehow I managed to the lodge without incident. Ripped down and duped a beltline board, then mitered to size and installed. Knocked off the shoulders and divided a stack of treated deck planks, installed screws (oh yeah, a FF stop after work as well) in the existing decking and unloaded everything as the sun began to fade. A solid 3 hours. Rushed in, cleaned up and headed over to the PL to meet Cam for drinks and pool. The place started with sufficient energy but had cleared out pretty well a couple hours later. That was OK with me, morning would be calling soon enough.

Saturday and things were clicking along, the only hiccup being running short on conduit in the afternoon and making a trip to Waverly for supplies. I finished the side deck in the AM doing my best to match each plank to the countours of the ones prior. A cloudless sky with a light breeze, the sun really handed me a beating. Completed the work by cutting out the outline with the circsaw and lengthy guides a little after noon. Cara joined later in the day and as evening rolled around, she put some coals on the grill while I worked on getting the porcelain lights installed inside above the garage doors. In between, drilled through beams and added screws for center uplift prevention, got out the rustoleum and pan and rolled more red on the new sections of steel railing, and installed strip lights and wiring in the kitchen cab. That night, burgers, twice baked potatoes, and the soft glow from the new interior (and now functional) exterior overhang lights.

In classic fashion, I'm finding that I spend Sunday making up incomplete Saturday tasks, and losing the one big Sunday task until, well, sometime later.

Sunday Summary:

Drilled and fished romex up through kitchen wall from cabinet to false ceiling, wired in.

Shellaced finish board for top-of-stairs install (2 coats with sanding).

Install security closet magnetic latches.

Build light fixture for over-bed.

Surveyed and set pins for driveway cement pad.

Started work on bathroom pocket door-track and handle.

Took measurements for clerestory boards.

Cut/countersink/attached aluminum rail over shear wall with Cara's assistance.

Installed precarious glass panes over wall, shimmed up and adjusted "just-so".

Measured for pane #1 and took all the glass back down.

But, I really can't complain. The weather was absolutely gorgeous and things are getting finished up. Cement work kicks off this week and I've got one more big order of steel tubing to put in prior to Friday. In just a couple weeks we'll have our hands full not only "finishing" the construction but trying to decorate AND manage the details of the shindig. Who am I kidding? A couple weeks is NOW.

A Fistful of Yen

Another 4 day weekend, this one pausing just long enough before throwing me back into the work-week. Sleep doesn't come any easier at the lodge so far but hopefully that'll change once the glass partition is installed over the upstairs dividing wall. Another slew of work accomplished, though I suffered a late start Thursday night after leaving work later than usual and making stops for supplies and groceries at Target. Friday it was more of the same with a run to Menards for lumber for the side deck mid-afternoon and a return to tearing apart the kitchen floating soffit, rebuilding with freshly cut and painted perf steel. Also installed a choice faucet upstairs and had all but one piece of the drainwork in. Spent the night at the apt as Saturday I would not be lodge-bound.

In fact, I spent Saturday clearing out the parent's garage, all the while wondering just where in blazes half this stuff was going to go. I pared down the automotive stuff pretty good but was left with box after box full of vacuum tubes. A legitimate plea for Cold Storage II could be heard (mostly from me). Made a mad-dash to the apartment late in the afternoon to change and was off with Cara and company for a wedding reception at Hartman Reserve. This did much to resolve my grumbling attitiude from shuffling through krep in the hot afternoon sun on little sleep to the point that, at night's end despite being exhausted, we were still able to work in a Mad Men viewing.

Sunday I was out the door early, grabbed some caffeine and got to work on the side deck, squaring up boards and working the angles. Cara joined me later in the afternoon and helped as I hand mixed cement and set the deck posts. I've gotta hand it to her, she did a bang-up job of cleaning up the mess in the kitchen, too. As the sun-set, I fired up the Weber and tossed on some italian sausage, taking in a picturesque Iowa evening with a cold one in-hand and the AM playing. After dinner, I built the next soffit light fixture before joining her on the deck, her with a novel, me with my latest copy of Dwell.

If only sleep came as easily as the work. Monday I got a start on attaching the cross braces and perimeter to the newly set posts and knew we were going to be one board short. Cara returned from running errands later in the day with another pressure treated 2x6 which I promptly worked in. I ripped down the planks into 2.5" strips and then we set about loading wheel barrow after wheel barrow with fill-in dirt to dump at the side entrance to help with drainage. Then the weed-block cloth and rocks. Finally, cleanup and home to decompress.

Not as much got done this weekend as I had hoped, but I can't really complain. The effort was there and the time wasn't pissed away by excuses or sleeping in. Come end of this week, the "big stuff" list should be halved. I'll be working right down to the wire, certainly, but without plausable milestones and end dates, all you're really talking about is a hobby. I may not remember exactly what a hobby is, but I’m pretty sure this isn't it.

The Lost Weekends

The "out of my hands" work is underway now with the brick progressing nicely. If all goes according to plan, the final wash will take place tomorrow and we'll be set for caulking and fixture install. Next the cement contractor can start the driveway pad job. Meanwhile, I can begin boring on the east side to sink timbers to support the side deck approach.

Inside, things are moving about as well as can be expected. Fixtures getting built, panels going on. Staining and painting to do. A mad rush for sure. That being as it may, Cara and I had wanted to see Inglourious Basterds and were talked into joining Ben and Cam Friday night. Afterwards, Ben cut out for a more exciting venue leaving the 3 of us to hold our own. PBR and cut-throat followed and we were home a little after 12. Not too shabby for some old folks.

After several days of mulling I've arrived at the following conclusions:

What I liked about the film:

Attention to details.

95% perfect casting.

Tarantino's ability to keep you second guessing with every twist.

What I disliked:

Wooden dialogue.

Length- Once or twice I found myself thinking, "get on with it". 10-20 minutes could have been trimmed.

Inconsistent pacing (and not in a good way)

Character development.

I make these conclusions based on some preconceptions going in. I was expecting Dirty Dozen-Guns of Navarone setup and action coupled with Tarantino's penchant for violence, in-depth character development and his general ability to take even a lackluster setup and somehow manage to crank the knob to 11. Even though a good attempt is made at showing the comraderie and backgrounds of the basterds early on, there was nothing that really stuck with me through the film to cause me to really give a fig about any one in particular. As far as I'm concerned, Hans Landa is the only one that ever delivers on who he really is and isn't just cashing the check. He may be an outright weasel and just plain ful'o hate, but wanting him dead is no less powerful an emotion than wanting any one good guy to live.

As a showcase of skill, talent and expert cinematagraphy, the film doesn't dissapoint, and on those merits I'd consider seeing it again, but I found it terribly difficult to cling to anything the way films such as NCfOM or There Will be Blood, so easily offered up. Even Tarantino's "Death Proof " had me immersed.