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.