For putting in only four days at the factory last week, I sure felt exhausted. Then again, there was no shortage of drama. And with little down time in the evenings, I could see things slipping further and further behind at the lodge. I made the decision then Wednesday to take a little catch-up day Friday. Catch-up, I did.
Thursday night was a grand time at Steve's with delicious brats and tasty dogs, potato salad and corn on the cob; plus all the interesting conversation one can handle. It was nice to have that little voice in my head silenced, you know, the one that says, "it's a school night". Maybe I don't hear the voice, just the guilt. That's a real problem- when I play by others' rules, I commit, and end up limiting any fun to a Friday or Saturday night. Anyhow, a good time.
Woke up Friday morning and got down to it. Cleared the kitchen counter and sanded the filler around the glass block window where we had had a leak; then a couple coats of paint. While that was drying, got out the stain and sandpaper and went about touching up the leading edge of the pocket doors upstairs that were unstained. Next- the bathroom was initially designed for baseboard trim but I'm finding I prefer it without- that means any excess caulk and grout has to be cleaned up and new caulking done. So, got out the razor blades, vacuum, and caulk gun and went to town. Done. Cleared the side decks, scrubbed, and waited for the sun to dry off any moisture from the previous night. Meanwhile, sat outside with the Blazer counting rotations of the rear axle and crankshaft. 3.42 rear end. Time for some online gear shopping. With the deck dry enough I got out the porch and floor paint and masking and went to town giving it a nice even coat of red; really makes a difference. With paint and stain drying, now mid-afternoon, I loaded the STS with my heavy jack and tools, washed up, hopped in the car and headed for Waverly. Found a decent 1 1/2" socket and 3/4 slide bar along with gear oil at the fleet store. Then T&T for a few choice finds (vintage heater, desklamp, and tumblers). Next, downtown Waterloo.
Dropped by Laidigs to find the place open and the much-needed glass medicine cabinet shelves cut and ready. Bid adieu to the busy man and continued on to Menards to arrange delivery of the drive-in bill of materials. Got things setup for Saturday, then sweated my arse off sorting through 14' 2x6's to be added to the order. For what I wanted to do…purchase additional lumber, select it myself, and have it added to the delivery slip, I was surprised how 1) easy it was at the lumber desk, and 2) how it depended on high school fork truck operators to put my stack of boards with the correct tag in the correct place at their leisure half way 'round the outlot..if they had heard a word I said.
Turned up the A/C and pointed the car towards the parents', where I discovered the '76 was blocked-in by a neighbor's Buick inhabiting the driveway. With the neighbor gone, I could only roll the '76 out halfway. Spent a half hour squeezing between the sides of the car, breaking lose the axle shaft nuts on the front wheels with the new tools. With the heat, humidity and gusto, I pushed the car back in, collected my things and returned to the lodge for a much-needed shower. With evening closing in I returned to meet Ben and Cam at the PL to cap off a day of constant motion, where we cornered the marked on the jukebox and had a grand time.
Slept like the dead and accepted the fact that there was more work to be done with Saturday's morning light. Got up glumly and looked at my phone- Hmmm, a message from the Menards delivery fellow concerned about traversing the farm lane. There was no time stamp. I stepped onto the deck, and whoa, here was the delivery sitting in the side yard! Well, that'll have to be dealt with since the "delivery flags" were over in the DI area. Cleaned up, fueled up the Farmall and worked on a good sunburn. The tall, wet grass was a bit much and the soft ground made navigating tricky. I did what I could from the tractor seat before pushing the gas mower around for another hour or so and getting the bags of cement, now stacked in the sideyard, covered with a tarp. Came in for an afternoon reprieve, got laundry going and ordered up the gearset needed for the Blazer. Hung the laundry out to dry and noticed an email from Cara at work…Big Sale at Hancock's! Well then, only an hour left open. Hancock's…they know how to disappoint. That's a rant for another time. I accepted the situation and bought 5 yards of a deckstripe pattern for west window curtains, then made my way back via Greenhill to 218, whereupon I took a tour of the dilapitated housing down by the river and did a little snooping in the evening sun.
Home, peanuts on the deck with Cara (where we noticed those huge dragonflies were frolicking enmass), then a final MadMen and sack time.
Sunday, supposedly a day of rest. But hard work begets satisfaction. After whipping up a pepperoni and egg breakfast burrito, I took to dismantling the Fleetwood in the yard. Cara mowed in the hot sun. I got door panels pulled, trim pieces yanked, fought wasps and disassembled the dash. Opened the glovebox door to discover it was packed full of insulation…then a mouse stuck his head out to greet me. Well hello. I relatched the door.
Cara ran off for groceries, I had the car pretty well stripped. Next, shoveling heavy dirt and sand. Basically, re-excavating both horseshoe pits. I had pulled all the weeds the day prior, and was surprised to fill my big wheelbarrow with the material from a single pit. Cut and placed weed blocking fabric in the bottoms of each and carefully packed the material back in, adding sand where necessary. Can't say I enjoyed that work much but it should provide many happy games of 'shoes. Got the weedwhip out of the shed and went about the great whipping of the weeds, which at this point is more like the cutting of the stalks. Grass and crap all over the place. Also told Cara I'd look at her car, which is now showing an ABS light. Well, removed both front wheels and had a look about. All ship-shape. Got on the net to find failing ABS modules for her car all the rage. Crap.
Cara returned and we cleaned up and headed out the door for the evening showing of "Inception". A fine flick! Even with the power going off halfway through the movie and the emergency lights coming on. At least the audience was used to sitting the dark.
And their you have it, another weekend in excruciating detail!
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