Workin' On It

This post is the first of several to answer all the great questions ya'll posed last week. I promise to get to them all but ya'll bear with me. So, the question was:
what do you have for a food pantry? Do you have cold storage, root cellar?? Are you a prepper?This photo shows what will soon be my pantry. Due to the fact that I'm still building on the house, I do not, at the moment, have all these items mentioned but do plan on all those things. So, I'll just have to show what I have and discuss my plans. My pantry is an 8'x8' room right off the kitchen. There will be a cased opening leading into it (no door) and it has one small window. I am trying to finish the side to the left so that I can at least set the base cabinets on that side and pour the concrete counter top. Above the base cabinet I plan on having open, wood shelving that extends up to the ceiling. The shelving will probably be five-quarter pine or cypress, 12" deep, with a natural wax finish. Both base cabinet and shelves will be wall to wall. That side will be used for storage of food and other items that I do not want to receive direct sunlight. On the other side of the room I plan on having a chest freezer and it also has a small broom closet behind the electrical panel. The kitchen and pantry will both receive cork flooring.

At the moment I do not have cold storage or a root cellar but would like that. I plan on installing a sand-set brick floor in my pump house (which is partially earth sheltered) and with the addition of shelving, can use it for some cold storage. The pump house stays about 35-45 degrees F. in the winter and I think it would be okay for storing canned food.

As far as the root cellar, that's a little trickier. On the front of the house, which is the north side, I plan on pouring 4' high concrete walls to form planter boxes. This will cover the concrete block that shows now also and help the house appear to 'sit' lower to the ground. Of course, once finished, the planter boxes could possibly be used to grow some food or herbs and medicinal plants without fear that the deer would chow on them. I would like to form a vault of sorts within those planters that would serve as a root cellar. The roof of the vault would also be concrete and it would be covered by the earth and plantings above. Also, since they are on the north side, it always stays cool there. A small, insulated access door would allow you to get to the food from either the outside or inside of the basement. I hope my description is clear and I explained all that well enough. This is one frustrating part of the house because I know what I want to build but it is just taking so long. I'm plugging along though and getting some stuff done. I'm hoping warmer weather will give me a boost of energy too!

As far a s being a prepper, not in the way most people define that I guess. Due to just the lifestyle I like to lead (rural living) and what I do for a living, I do have or employ many of the tools and supplies that preppers do but that's just circumstance more than a conscientious effort for prepping or belief that a great disaster is imminent. Now, don't get me wrong, everyone should keep a decent tool supply, certain supplies for emergencies etc. and I certainly believe that a disaster, whether natural or man made, is possible these days. I am short of the food supply just due to the fact I have not finished constructing my storage areas. I do have some dry goods stored and a good selection of heirloom seeds for growing more food. I have several fruit trees planted already and am adding to that selection and hope to acquire chickens this year. So, I hope that answers that question somewhat.

Oh, btw, this is the enlarged 'cartoon' of the finished design for my bathroom window. I have actually started the window! but haven't gotten real far. I have discovered I need to order glass pretty soon also. I'll try to show what I have of the window soon.

It Won't Be Long

I discovered these this morning while Lika and I were out for a walk down the drive. I have planted a good number of bulbs of various types all along the road to the house just to add a little color and interest to the landscape. Deer tend to avoid (but not always) these type plants also, so they are about the only kind I can add without just wasting my money.

The native hydrangeas were just beautiful this past summer and they naturally dry themselves to last all winter. Of course, I should have pruned many of these by now in order to have a good crop this year but have just not had a lot of time for such. It was a very cloudy, drizzly, misty morning but just enough sunlight to illuminate their delicacy. If you concentrated just on looking at the flower head, it seemed as though you were viewing a sepia print. I tried to capture that here by cropping closely but it doesn't work as well.

Thanks to all for your suggestions for future post and I promise to get busy on that immediately. I will try to answer the question about my pantry etc. in the next post and then just kinda go down the line. If you haven't left a comment for what you would like to see a post about, please do so. Or if you have another suggestion just keep 'em coming.

*The Beatles

And Now For Something A Little Different

So, I'm having trouble coming up with ideas for things to post about. Therefore, it is time for you all, as loyal readers, to throw me a bone here. Gimme some ideas.

Anybody want me to post about a particular aspect of the house? I still have not finished categorizing everything on that.

Anybody want to see a post about a particular aspect of my real work?

Anybody want to see a specific home project demonstrated? Carpentry? Masonry?

Anybody want to ask me a question on pretty much any subject? And hey, I've been a construction worker for 15 years; there's not a lot I haven't been asked already.

I don't know; gardening? conserving? rural living? home life? my art?

I promise I won't be offended by anything (or if nobody asks anything!) I just feel like I've been boring lately. Or being a drongo!! Not much to offer. So???

Atomic Dog

The title of this post doesn't really mean anything, I just like it. And I like reggae. 'Course, I like about any type music but you probably figured that. We have been having just wonderful weather lately so Lika and I went for a walk down the creek the other day. He loves, loves, loves to go to the creek. Doesn't he look so sporty?!

Lika is a pretty good ol' dog. Doesn't get into much and rarely barks. He does get into these wild playing sessions on the deck in the evenings that sound like he is tearing the place down but he doesn't actually mess anything up. Sometimes I think he believes if he makes enough noise I will come out and play with him. And I do when I can. Since the weather has been so warm he brings his day bed up onto the deck and camps out by the door. He has a big, plush bed in my studio but also has a smaller 'tote' bed that he carries around to nap on. It's really funny.

Just wanted to send a note to my Aussie readers: Hope ya'll are all safe from the fires and flooding there. I know Molly is OK but not sure where the others live. I'm ashamed to say I don't know all the geography of Aussie. My heart goes out to ya'll and your countrymen though. I hope things are under control soon. I would also encourage us "Yanks", if you are able, to make a small donation to the Australian Red Cross.

Well, tomorrow is Friday and let me tell you I am glad! This week wasn't too bad but this warm weather has got me wanting some time off something fierce. Oh, to be working in the garden and on the house! Or just lounging on the deck a little. Even Grendal has been braving the threat of Lika trying to lick her face to go out and sun on the deck. They still don't know what to do with each other.

I'll try to have something about the house this weekend!

*George Clinton

You Want This

Anybody use these things? I've been collecting them for God only knows how long, for some reason I'm not sure of and need to get rid of them. First person that emails me their address gets 'em!

Well, I've been musing over this man that called me last weekend and I have to say I'm perplexed. How bizarre (I know that has become a theme with me) that this guy would call after 12 or 13 years. I mean, I remember him well and we were friendly but I just never got the impression back then that he even paid me much mind. And now that his wife has passed away he wants to come see me? OK, I'm not stupid, I know what that sounds like that's all about but I hate to say, I'm suspicious. If he is anything like what I remember, he shouldn't have any trouble finding a woman. What's he want with me? I think he is actually looking for someone else. Trying to get in touch with somebody else we worked with back then or something. It's also funny that he just happen to be working on a job for one of the very few superintendents that has my phone number and knows how to get in touch with me. Ugh! I think I'm going to become a hermit (hermitess?) and get, like 50 cats to occupy my time. So, even though I tried to be very friendly on the phone and sound honestly like I would like to see him, I don't think he will call back. I probably said something really stupid or sounded like an idiot to him. I perfected that technique with the Switchman. I really think I have been a rough ol' construction worker too long and am not fit for polite society anymore.


*Janet Jackson

Hello Again

Allen found this old picture of Grendal and a terrifying snake in some of his old papers so he scanned it and emailed it to me, thus the kinda crappy quality. I thought it was funny though. This was taken several years ago.
Well, I've been working on the house some, specifically the window for the bathroom, but don't have much to show for it. I should say I have been working on the full size pattern for the window. I'm almost done with it, I believe, so should be able to actually start the glass today. I just need to pick some general idea of colors and make sure the proportions of the window look OK. Sure enough, last week the BFA was browsing the blog and spied my design. He hated it, of course, and promptly sent me his design that he had been sitting on for months now. His is quiet complicated though and does not lend itself to clear glass and light colors, in my opinion. It would be very nice in bold, rich colors but I'm trying to avoid that in order to take full advantage of the sunlight. So, I'm going to go with my design. I think it will look nice. It's very difficult to make an ugly stained glass window. Now, I have seen it done once or twice, but for the most part colored glass is just magical somehow.

I took my truck to a detailer yesterday also and had it cleaned inside and out. Man, it looks so much better! Anyway, another buddy of mine had dropped by to chat and tell me about the sorry state of our work right now, (we lost at least 2 big jobs just this week) and he said he would take me to pick up my truck. This buddy worked with me over at the RR (and knows that whole story) and as we were walking out of the place, he picked up a price list and started laughing. What's so funny? He showed me the paper and pointed to the address of the business. Such and such Railroad Street. I had not noticed that before. And btw, my company has recently given that RR prices for some additional work at that same location. Apparently, they want to put in another, larger sand silo and extend a concrete slab and so on. So, we may go back over there to work before long.

Well, hopefully I will have real window pictures to show you soon. Hope everyone is having a good weekend. The weather here is absolutely beautiful.


*The Cars

Warm This Winter

If you look closely on the left side of the stove there, you will see some pipe rising up and going off to the left. This is a contraption I have rigged up to transfer some of the hot air blown out from the double walls of the stove, up to the bathroom. It works pretty good. There are three vents on the front of the stove that force the hot air out and into the room. I simply covered one of the side vents with a standard 4" boot, attached a 90 and a 4' section of pipe to get it up to the ceiling, another 90 etc and over to the vent in the bathroom floor. I had already cut this vent in the floor, in anticipation of the day I have some type of HVAC system, because it is a slate floor and didn't want to cut through that later. If the pipe could be straighter it would undoubtedly work better but as it is it keeps the bath anywhere from 69-72 degrees on a fairly cold day or night. It might do a little better if I insulate that pipe; not sure.

My intentions are to run another one of these off the vent on the other side, to go to the bedroom. The air blows pretty forcefully and warm air goes up anyway so it does help to get that warmth up there. I have discovered that, since I'm not here during the day to keep a fire going all the time, that the heater does not help a tremendous amount in keeping the rest of the house warmer. On the weekends when I'm here and can keep a continuous fire, you notice a big difference. The floor in the bedroom is very warm and the rest of the area of the house is more comfortable but during the week it just doesn't do much. I get a very hot fire going when I get home and it warms the basement quickly but the mass of the floors require a continuous heat. Still, it does help some and when I put in this other vent it will help the bedroom for immediate heat, I believe.

I bought a cheap bathroom exhaust fan and Allen installed the box in line with the duct work in an attempt to move more air up the pipe and into the house but it actually cooled the air too much to work any better. Plus, it was loud and required power. This method doesn't require additional electricity.

So, it has been pretty cold for here this past week and I've been burning a good bit of wood. We had a very light day at work on Wednesday, I think, so I came home and split the wood you see in my holder. We only poured a piddling 4 yards of concrete, and it was a footing, so I needed some exercise when I got home. I enjoy splitting wood actually. It is kind of soothing. If you have nice seasoned wood that is! I have read several other blogs of women that homestead and they express interest or a desire to be able to split wood but one said she was too weak. Now, I understand many women might have health conditions that make this type work impossible. And some women are built so petite that it would be very hard for them. But, for an average built, decently healthy woman, it is just a matter of conditioning. I swing a 8 lb. sledgehammer at work but it is just something I've gotten used to and that's the key to the whole thing. Just start out a little at a time but you have to do it everyday to build your muscles up. Most might not want to go to the extent I have but women need to build their muscles up in order to be more efficient. What if your husband gets bad sick and can't do some of that work? And I've read about that very thing happening on one woman's blog. Women need to become more self reliant about such things. The way things are going these days, manual labor or just doing more things by hand, is something many women might find themselves at the mercy of. Splitting wood is not something that requires massive brute force to a large extent. It is mostly technique. And a matter of a sharp axe and good maul or wedges. Of course, you have to be able to move the sections of wood around in order to get them into position but even this can be accomplished with a pry bar. So, ladies, build those muscles up! It will make you feel better in many ways.

Funny

A railroad switchman working the yard one winter day went inside the train house to warm a bit while work was slow. The boss spied him inside and asked gruffly what was he doing in there, when the work was outside? The switchman replied that his feet had gotten very cold and he thought he would try to warm them while there wasn't much going on.
"Tomorrow you need to wear two pairs of socks if your feet are so prone to get cold" the boss said, unsympathetically.
"Well," the switchman replied dryly, "if two pairs of socks are warmer than three, I'll take one off."
Well, I thought it was funny....

The real Switchman told me that one last winter. Of course, he told it as a true story but I suspect it is just one of the old standards that exists in many of the trades.

Cold Shoulder

The guys are so silly sometimes. They hate to have their picture taken and so none of them would look at me. We absolutely froze our asses off today. I thought I was going to die. I know, ya'll that live where it really gets cold are laughing at me but it was awful! It was about 16 degrees when we started this morning and might have gotten above freezing, I'm not sure. I don't know how construction workers up north do it. I mean, how can you work out in worse cold? There no way I could do it. It was actually warmer in the freezer we just built than it was outside. That's nuts! We had so much clothing on we were having trouble bending over. I bought some of those Hothands thingies for your feet. You know, those little packets that heat up when exposed to air. I stuck a pair in each boot and one down my bra. Hey, I'll do whatever it takes to keep warm. Tomorrow promises to be about as cold. I'll be very happy to see the weekend. Everybody stay warm and pray for spring!!

*Adele/ if you have not checked this girl out you need to. An incredible voice.

Let's Get It Started

It's time for a little experiment at ER! I've read about this before but never tried it until now. Basically, you make your own rooting hormone for starting new plants instead of buying the stuff from the stores. I was thinking today that I just don't write very much about the organic or natural practices that I do and I need to improve on that. Unfortunately, I'm not as good with it as a lot of people but I do try to come up with alternative or natural solutions when I can. Also, I believe if you can make a product that is just as good or better than what you can buy, then it just makes good sense to do this. Plus, if this works, it is extremely easy to do.

I took a small handful of willow twigs, about 4 to 5 inches long and just placed them in a mason jar with enough water to just cover them. I let this soak for a few days. Many of you probably know that willow trees root very easily. You can practically just throw one out on the ground and it will root. The willow is extremely high in a natural hormone that helps with this. By soaking in water you extract this hormone and can use it with other plants. As you can see from this photo, the twigs were already starting to sprout from this little time in the water.

I want to propagate what few lavender plants I have so they are going to be my guinea pigs. Lavender plants are expensive here and I only have about a 50% success rate in transplanting them so if I could save that money it would be fabulous. Now, a friend told me when you take a cutting from lavender, you actually just tear a small shoot off one of the larger branches, making sure it leaves this little tag on the end. I don't know why this helps but I did it anyway.

Then, you just soak the cuttings, or tearings in this case, in the willow water for a few days. Oh, discard the willow twigs. After 3 or 4 days, transfer the cuttings into a small pot with soil and keep slightly moist. From then on you just treat them as you would any seedling. So, I will show the progression of this and whether it works for me or not. I really hope it does work as I would like to line my drive by the garden with beautiful lavender plants. They seem to really like the soil and weather here once you get them established.


*Black-Eyed Peas

Is Anybody Out There?

Hey! HEEEYYY! Ya'll there?! Dang! Did my design suck that bad?? Geez, I quit talking about the Switchman and ya'll bail on me! Ha! Don't ya'll make me do a meme or something.
Now, I realize most people like traditional stained glass more than contemporary but ya'll trust me on this one; it will look great when done. It's hard to really tell what it going to be like when it's just a line drawing with no color. But I will not be offended if someone says they don't like it.

So's everybody busy today or just got the doldrums? Oh, I know. Everybody's doing their taxes. Yep. Started mine last night.

Well, alright...if ya'll aren't going to talk to me I'm going to go make my full-size pattern for my window.


*Pink Floyd

Echos Round The Sun

This is the design I'm thinking about using for the window in the bath. I came up with this myself, sort of. I combined elements from several windows I have seen to make this. The BFA has been telling me that he would come up with something but he is just too busy to fool with it and I can't wait any longer. I am going to use a lot of clear, textured glass to maximize the amount of white light that comes in for solar gain but am going to put some lightly colored glass in it too. Some light blues and yellows, stuff like that. The window is about 32"x 38" I think. Something like that. I am also going to try to use glass and materials that I already have to make the window. I am going to have to buy a little bit but not much.
So, what do ya'll think? Of course, the house is quiet contemporary in design so I wanted to go with a modern looking window. The top most arched area will be a light blue, to symbolize the sky and the wavy streak running down through the area will be pale yellow to symbolize the sunlight coming in. The other lines and blocks stand for the structure of the house etc.

I might can even get started on this today. I have the table and materials all ready. I need to cut some firewood today and finish that freaking patch in the bathroom wall (I'm almost done) and paint that. Of course, there is always 27 million things to do here so I just pick the most relevant and try to finish that. I am very close to having the bath absolutely, completely done. I think that will help my feelings immensely. After the bath I need to go back out and start working on exterior projects. If I could just clone myself about 3 times.... Eeeew, on second thought, I wouldn't wish that on the world!

Hope everybody is having a good weekend and I'll try to be back soon. Not a lot going on here; kinda boring. Maybe I need to go out tonight.

*Paul Weller / don't care for his music but liked the title

A Common Disaster

We've all been kinda holding our breath at work, not knowing how the current state of the economy is going to affect our industry. Generally speaking, construction is fairly heavily impacted by such. Residential construction is usually the worst but we in commercial work are still tossed about at times by the storms of the financial world. It is sort of like the difference between being out on the sea in a sailboat or a ship. When the storms get big enough though, even the ships are rocked and we are now beginning to feel the first strong winds of the tempest over the country.
Yesterday morning the superintendent called us all into the office before we got tools out; said he needed to talk to everybody for a minute. We all knew right then something was up. This boss is a quiet guy and never stops us from our routines at work unless something is up. My first thought was several of us were about to be laid off but that wasn't it. Starting next week we are all having to take a 4% reduction of pay and there will be no more company matching funds into our 401Ks. The pay reduction isn't horrible but it does effectively remove the entire raise we got back in October. I believe our company is really trying to keep everyone working though. All of our jobs are loaded up with personnel in order for everybody to have a home. When I say 'home' that's just construction slang for a place to work. Superintendents are often referred to as your 'daddy' also. Anyway, practically all the companies we deal with have been affected at this point. Many of our subcontractors have simply dropped down to a 32 hour work week. To tell the truth, I kinda wish that's what my company had elected to do. Many of the equipment rental businesses have laid off half their staff. Practically all jobs being bid now have 10-12 companies fighting for the contract. Most astounding of all is the profit margin that the companies are now willing to accept. Normally, if a job is cost plus, you get the cost to build the job and then 10% for profit. They are bidding jobs now at 2%. And for one of our biggest competitors, they are giving repeat customers a 1% rate.
We have actually started a couple of new jobs this month; very small ones but it's something and we continue to hear rumors of more work. So, we keep holding on. I'm taking today off just for a little break. There are plenty of carpenters on my job now so the boss said it was fine. We are kinda taking turns having a day here or there if somebody wants off. Many of the boys don't have that luxury, as they have a number of bills, but since I'm in a good way on that, a day off for me every once in a while will save a little labor cost for another day. And I can work on the house. One thing I have always liked about my company is that it really is like a family amongst the field personnel. We cling together when it's rough and try to watch out for each other. So, we'll ride this one out too.

Hey! one nice thing is that my orchid is getting ready to bloom again! I've never had this type plant before and wasn't sure if I could raise any but it seems to really love the house. This type orchid especially likes the abundant sunshine from this house design. It's loaded up with buds. They are such sparse and elegant plants. And in case you're wondering, I did not make that pot it's in but might try some in the future. So, hope everybody has a great Friday and I'll try to post some over the weekend.

*Cowboy Junkies

Oh, Lady, Be Good!

Well, I certainly did not intend for any of the last few posts to be depressing or embarrassing but it seems that maybe they have been. So in order to make amends, I give you this slightly funny story. It pretty much sums me up in a lot of ways.
While I was working over at Red Diamond this last time, there were several painters there also, running their punch list. Most of them I have known for years but there was one that I had not met before. Funny thing about construction workers is that we often will work for months on a job together and never introduce ourselves. So, this new painter wanted to borrow one of my small artist's brushes to do some touch up and I gladly let him borrow it. I saw him later that day and asked if he was done with it, as I needed it. Oh yes, he was done and had asked his foreman where I was in order to return it. "I got in a lot of trouble because of the way I referred to you though", he confessed. I didn't quite know how to take that comment but he seemed to want to tell me the rest of the story, so I took the bait. He continues, "Well, I asked Forrest (the foreman) where that lady was working so I could return the brush and he got all over me!" "That's no lady, man! that's Annie!" was the foreman's indignant reply. We all got a big laugh out of it. I knew what the foreman meant but he ran up to explain anyway. He meant, that's not just any lady, that's Annie. I've often had some of the very young guys, from several different companies, come up to me and say, "Oh!, so you're Annie!" I don't know if that's good or bad but they always call me Ma'am after that.
So, back to what I first mentioned. The BFA (big, fancy architect for new readers) and Allen both got on to me for writing about the recent personal stuff. Said it was awful and embarrassing. Never do that again etc. Just keep it about the house and so on. Well, you know, I've talked about this before and I really don't usually let other people determine what I want to do. I am my own person and know what I believe. You can tell by what I do for a living that I go my own way but I don't want to write stuff that gonna make people cringe or whatever. I just figured I was writing about life and sometimes it's good and sometimes it's not. I said, well, it's not like I wrote about how that I wanted to throw this man down in the cab of that train and make passionate love to him for several hours. Because I know I'm the only person who would EVER have thoughts like that. Or how that when we were all sitting around at lunch one day and the train pulled up in front of us, I kinda got lost in thought as I watched him unhooking the trains and bending over repeatedly in front of me. And how 20 years of climbing those steep steps had done absolute wonders for that man's ass. Then, when I noticed it had gotten really quiet and turned around, all the guys were staring at him too, until one of them broke the silence and remarked gruffly, "well, I don't see what's so hot about him!"
You know, it's not like I wrote about any of that stuff. I've been told often that I am a rather open and forthright person. But I don't see anything wrong with that. Life happens to everyone, doesn't it? Seriously, I don't want to make readers uncomfortable but sometimes it might help some people to see that they are not the only one having a hard time. I know a lot of times when you are down it feels like you're the only person in the world that things are not going right for. But I say that's not true. Everyone has problems; no one is alone and in this amazing world of cyberspace we can encourage each other from across the globe!. But for all my physical talents I guess I do not have the talent to express my thoughts correctly. It just ends up sounding like I'm whining. So, unless I can improve my writing skills to better express these things I will probably just keep the subjects limited to the house or work.


*Ella Fitzgerald

A Thousand Miles

Crappy picture I know but it was a chore trying to set the camera up on the timer and get Lika and myself actually in front of the camera. He did fine really. When I hold him he just lays back and relaxes but when I let him go... he goes bonkers! I wanted to show how big he's getting. See those big ol' feet? His, not mine. He's going to be a good size dog. He's a sweet dog and he loves to chase the deer away so he's really doing well. Maybe I can have a few flowers this year.

I've not had many good ideas for things to post about lately. Not much going on at the house. Every so often I hit a lick at that patch in the bathroom wall. It's almost done. I'll paint it this weekend and hopefully get the light fixture back up and all. The weather here has been quite nice these past 2 days and I have noticed that I have a little more time to work outside when I get home from work because the daylight is lasting. Which means spring is on the way!!

While I was eating supper I was watching a special on PBS about the migration of the monarch butterflies. How astounding that such tiny, fragile creatures travel 2,000 miles and over the Great Lakes and the ocean. How do they know where to go and how to get there? The scientist surmised that the only way the butterflies make it, since they are really so poorly designed for long travel, is that they can glide most of the way on warm air currents.

This past summer I remember seeing the monarchs fly across our job. For several days in a row a very small but steady stream of bright, orange butterflies made their way across the jobsite, all heading in exactly the same direction. We had stood the tilt up panels at that point and I remember watching the little orange spots slowly rise up and disappear over the tops of the panels.

Lately I have been a little down and it occurred to me that you all are witness to my migration. I feel like I am heading towards something but I'm over that big body of water and I can't see the other side. Occasionally, I hit a good wind and can coast for awhile but a lot of the time it's very hard and I don't think I'll make it. Do the butterflies recognize any landmarks on their way, from their collective memories passed down from countless generations? Sometimes I think I get a glimpse of where I'm going: a certain feeling in the air or a sudden, brief moment that comes in a dream, a few curious words from a stranger. I guess everyone feels this way but sometimes it just strikes me rather forcefully.

Waiting On The Sun

Oh, I want winter to be over. I can't imagine living up where it is really cold. My southern blood is just too thin! I've been perusing my new Seeds Of Change catalog (like everyone else) and dreaming of warmer days. Maybe there will be many new things to blossom this spring.

*The Doors

Always Something There To Remind Me

At the risk of being boring, I am wanting to elaborate on or explain some of my recent postings. So, if you're just looking for stuff about the house you might want to skip this post. I don't know how successful I'm going to be at this so ya'll just bear with me.
I have been unsure of the past few posts I've made (and deleted some of them) for 2 reasons:
Now, I know some of you may scoff at this but just listen to me. As someone who works in an industry somewhat ostracized by "polite" society, I am unsure what things regular people talk about. See, construction is sort of a society unto itself. We have our own social order etc. and we are often reminded by 'regular' people that we should stay to ourselves. We are told by our bosses to stay away from the white-collar people we must sometimes work around. Don't talk to them; mind your own business. Most construction workers are a very outspoken, candid bunch. Say what's on your mind and get it over with. But I know this doesn't always go in the social world; you're supposed to be more tactful than that. To me, the story of the Switchman is just an honest account of how life is sometimes very crappy and bittersweet, with a few funny stories thrown in. But some people might view it as offensive, which leads to my second reason.
I don't want anyone to think badly of the Switchman. When I left the railroad it kinda hit us that we cared for one another and we both expressed some of that. But we agreed then that there would be no contact between us. No calls, no dropping by 'just to see how you're doing' or anything as that would just not be appropriate. Only the promise that if he ever found himself single, he would find me. And so we've been running from each other ever since and that is what makes these coincidental (or not) episodes all the more frustrating. If it can't be then just let me forget the man, you know?
And I've tried. I have tried very hard to meet someone else. The funny thing is that I normally don't have much trouble with that. I mean, not that I'm all that, I just work around tons of men. The law of averages is just going to let you meet at least one every now and then. And I have met a couple of guys that seemed very interested and I thought, "hey, we might could get together" and then he just disappears or I get transferred to another job. Two other guys I know and have been friends with for some time have called and want to go out. I have been open to this and told them to drop by the house sometimes and we could talk but every time one of them starts to come by to visit or wants to go out, something comes up to stop them. I'm starting to feel like I've got the mark of Cain on me or something!
So, ya'll know that I got sent back over to Red Diamond a couple of weeks ago. The job that takes me very near to his house. This is also the job that they keep having cosmetic issues with and so they feel that, because of my art training, I'm the only one that can repair these problems. Can't send another carpenter, it's got to be Annie, so I can't refuse to go and my other boss can't refuse to let me. So, the building is essentially done and the people have moved in and are working. Most of them are very nice and actually want to chat with the four of us, which is a little unusual. One especially cold morning this slightly, older than middle age woman comes up to me and is making conversation about the weather etc. I remarked that I was just glad to be working in a warm building, as I usually have to work outside. Oh, she knew how that was! Her husband has to work out in the weather also and she really felt for him that morning as he bundled up for work. "Well", she continued, "he is a conductor on the railroad, he works for (same RR) out of the (same) yard so I really sympathize with all of you that work in the weather". I cannot express the terror that I felt at that moment. She seemed a little too old to be his wife but the way things have been going, I couldn't be sure of anything. I just thought to myself, "oh, no, no, nonono!" I somehow managed to squeak out, "oh, really" and prayed that my facial expressions were not revealing my panic. "Yeah, Joe just hates it when it is so cold." Oh, thank God! the Switchman's name is not Joe. I tried to contain my relief long enough to make it down the stairs where she went off to the cafeteria and I ran to find Steve, who some of you might remember, worked with me over at the RR. I told him what just happened and we were practically rolling in the floor laughing. I tell you, I was about sick.
The thing is, I can pass off the occasional sighting of the Switchman on the highway as just chance. I mean, we both live north of the same large, metro area and therefore must travel the same major highway. I can pass off every job I've been on since having a train connected to it. We build industrial and heavy commercial buildings after all, and they often use trains. I can even pass off our company having to go back to the same railroad job. Accidents do happen. But getting sent back to this job, having to drive down his road, parking beside Steve every day, who drives the exact same model and color truck as the Switchman, hearing that damn train blast it's whistle off every, freaking time we come out of the building and now, listening to this sweet lady who just loves to talk about her dear husband and his job as railroad conductor (and who knows all those other conductors over there, as she says), is just a little much. Whether it means anything or not. It's just these constant, persistant reminders. The guys are starting to take bets on when I'm going to run into him again. I feel like beating my head against the wall. I have laughed about it as often as I've cried I guess. What else can you do?
So, only time will tell. Maybe it will all make for a good story one day. A story that has a happy ending.

*Lou Johnson

Crazy Chick

Sorry that I have been so flaky lately about posting. And then deleting. And then posting again and so on. I'm not having a breakdown or anything, I just don't know what to think. Ya'll know I like to tell stories and such 'cause I do have such funny, weird and stupid things happen to me. It all makes for some good laughs and like that song says, 'things that make you go, hhmmm.' I guess I've just been afraid of talking about some things too much and being boring or appearing psycho or offending someone. Yeah, I know Richard, I should stop worrying what other people think!
So, I don't know. The past 2 weeks have just got me shaking my head again and thinking of all kinds of stuff. Some of it has been pretty funny too and luckily I've had Steve to laugh with at work. I know I analyze most things way too much but sometimes I think you just can't help but wonder.
So, I'll try to come up with something about the house soon. My stint at Red Diamond is over and Monday I return to the hideous, muddy food distribution center. I really dislike that job. I hate to complain because I am glad to be working but I really don't want to go back. The boss and crew are great so I don't really know why I dislike it so. Well, it will be over with in March so I don't have much longer.


*Charlotte Church

The Trains And Winter Rains- Redo

OK, no, you are not hallucinating, those of you who checked in over the weekend. I did delete this post and now I'm redoing it. I'm just stupid that way sometimes. The segment on CBS Sunday Morning about "Art In The Age Of Steam" is worth checking out here and if you are actually around the Kansas City, MO area, you might check out the exhibit at the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art. For those of you who might have any interest at all in trains. In the spirit of things, I offer the above photo. Not a steam engine but I still like the shot.
My reason for deleting the original post had nothing to do with any comments made or my reply to any comments. I just get really paranoid somebody might take something I wrote the wrong way. See, the oddly coincidental things concerning a certain Man, have occurred once again and I mentioned that. It's getting to the point now that I fear some might say that it is not coincidental at all, that somebody is contriving something. But that's not so. Now, he did send greetings to me through another carpenter I work with but that's it (as far as anything planned)and was done innocently enough. I guess I just shouldn't mention the stuff at all but it is so weird to me that it has become somewhat fascinating just for the 'odds of it all' factor. I don't think I've ever continually ran into someone so much for so long, that I did not work directly with. Plus, you all that have been reading for a while know the story and it's just something funny and quirky to write about when the house gets slow; which it does often. Besides, if Fate ever intervenes, I want this crap recorded! what a story that would be!
So, anyway, my bizarre life continues. Oh, hey! I'm going to be in a magazine! Several of us craftspeople that worked on the Big House (from waaay back) are going to be featured in a locally published, national magazine! Hey, hey! And the lady I spoke to said that they all thought I was so weird (she didn't use that word but you know..) ,because of all the stuff I do, they want to do a full-length article on just me!! later on. Ha! We'll see.

*Enya

Fixing A Hole

I messed up on my placement of the sink in the bathroom counter top so I needed to move one of the two sconce lights on that wall in order to get the mirror to center up properly over the sink. It wasn't off by much and I guess some might have not bothered but it was aggravating to me. So, Allen said he would move the light for me and I could do all the patching. Fair deal I thought.
There are several ways to patch drywall but this one is fairly easy. This way uses the same pieces you cut out and you just tape the cuts. This is 1/2" drywall installed on wood studs so I used 1 1/4" coarse-threaded drywall screws. You need to countersink the screws between a big 1/16" to 1/8" so that enough mud will cover the heads and the spots not pop back out when the mud dries. Now, you must tape your joints will either regular drywall tape or you can use this mesh sticky tape. If you don't your joints are going to develop cracks. This mesh type is handy and easy to use and it sticks on the wall itself so you don't have to apply the mud first and bed the tape in it. Not that that is hard to do but it just saves a step.

Next you just skim your first layer over the patch and no, it's not going to look good the first patch but you're not worried about that yet. You will probably have to skim out at least 4-6 inches past the cuts in order to feather the mud out properly. Don't worry about completely concealing the patch on this first pass either. If you look closely, you can still see the tape through the mud. You are going to have to make 3 or 4 passes. This is easier than trying to gob a bunch of mud on and sand it back down. Lots of people don't do well trying to patch drywall because they want to fix it as fast as possible, one pass and forget it, you know. Well, this is one of those things that you are just going to have to accept takes a little time. Use a big enough mud knife also. I used a 6" knife on this and that size should be fine for most patches. It's hard to describe the action of applying the mud. You scoop an even line of mud about 2" thick across your knife and then just smear it down the joint kinda thickly. Scrape excess mud off your knife on the edge of the pan and then draw the clean knife back down the joint, smoothing the mud and removing the excess. Keep repeating this around the patch, kinda feathering the mud out as you go around. You just have to keep practicing and you will see how the mud works. Don't work it to death though. Once you get a thin layer all the way around with no huge ridges, stop! Let that dry, scrap or sand those ridges down (and yes, you will have some small ridges at first) and apply the next thin layer of mud. Repeat, sanding in between. As you apply the last couple of layers it sometimes helps to thin the mud a little with water. then sand and prime. After you prime it you may see some small scratches in the mud and you can touch them up then.
I still haven't finished this patch myself! Hopefully I can get it done today and paint it soon. Most of the time it seems that I am just going at a snail's pace towards finishing this house but I guess as long as you are moving forward, no matter how slow, that's what matters. I guess.

*The Beatles

Food For Thought

I hate to use such an old cliched title like that but it does fit. I know a lot of you garden, growing anything from just a little to most of your own food so I thought I'd give you a little more incentive to grow more or be very glad you grow what you do. See those four layers of orange racks towards the back there with all those boxes and pallets of stuff stacked on them? If you buy much from a grocery store, that is your food. And this building is just one of it's many stops on it's way to you. This is the distribution center that I have been working on since April. We are adding two separate warehouses which, I believe but don't hold me to it, will consist of around 500,000 square feet. This is the dry storage; the freezer and cooler areas are about done. Now, despite the horrible muddy conditions you see, the areas where the food actually is stays pretty clean. We had installed some partition walls to cover the food from the elements before the roof was on but they are approaching time to pour the floors here so we took the walls down. I have never seen any rats here but we have found many snakes.

These are the tilt up panels that I foisted upon ya'll so much earlier in the year. After we stand the panels up the steel workers come in and raise the steel inside, working to our panels. Every once in a while they will put the steel up first but it is usually done this way, in my experience anyway.

You see two rows of horizontal steel here, between the columns and little dots all along the top of those beams? those little dots are 8"x 8" steel plates embedded in the panels and they weld the structural steel to those embeds. This holds the panels to the building. The embeds have little "legs" protruding into the concrete so they won't pull out.
Although the crew here is great, the conditions suck! Mud everywhere and it's cold. I have been hoping and praying something would come up to get me sent to another job; any job. It's going to be 15 degrees here Friday! That's just nuts. Oh God, why couldn't I get sent somewhere else! So, today while I was rolling around in this 5' deep ditch, trying to wrestle 3' fittings onto 16" diameter Schedule 40 PVC pipe (because our company thinks for some reason we are now plumbers) the boss comes out and tells me I'm being sent back to Red Diamond tomorrow! Glory, Hallelujah! Yes! Yes! A heated building, running silly punch list! That art degree paid off! WoooHooo!

Keep The Home Fires Burning

This post may not be of interest to all but I know there are a number of my readers that heat their homes, at least partially, with wood so I thought I would present this idea. Now, I don't know if this would work in all areas because it depends greatly on the 'neighborliness' of work places around you but we do it here.
What you see in the photo above is what we construction workers refer to as 'dunnage'. Dunnage is 4x4 posts about 6-8 feet long that is used to elevate shipments of steel and equipment off the beds of flat-bed trucks in order for the forklifts or lifting straps to get under the load and it be removed. We also use dunnage to keep bundles of rebar or lumber up out of the mud and to be able to move it around easily. Dunnage is usually cut from cast off hickory, oak, pine and poplar so it is good wood. Now, sometimes it is roughed up to the point that you have to cut it to be able to tell what kind of wood it is but it is easily sawn with a circular saw, chainsaw or whatever. As far as I know it is not treated in any way, although some of it might get a little paint on it. It normally never has nails in it either.
Now, the reason I'm telling you is this: they throw this stuff away by the tons. Every day. We have stacks and stacks of it on the job I'm on now. Some truck drivers will take their dunnage with them and some jobs save all they get to use throughout the job but there is a lot still out there thrown away. It occurred to me that if you live in an area where hardwoods do not grow, this may be a way to procure some because often times structural steel and equipment is shipped across country. If they get a shipment from an area ripe with hardwoods, the dunnage is most likely going to be hickory or so.
If you don't have a connection to someone that works on construction sites then there are several rules you must follow so you don't piss these guys off. We have to be very aware of liability issues nowadays so please, do as you're told. Not so much by me, I mean the workers. First, go directly to the job trailer where the superintendent is. DO NOT enter the job site where work is actually going on and approach the guys there. Be very nice to the super and just explain what you are looking for. Use the correct terminology; they will respect you more. Do not say you are just looking for their scrap wood because he'll just say, we don't have time for that, go away. If they are willing to let you take the dunnage you will probably be required to come back before or after work when nothing is going on. However, if they tell you to wear a hard hat or boots or whatever, DO IT. Be quick, do what they say and don't start looking around for more to take. You will not be allowed to cut it there either so just load your truck and get out. Oh, be sure to thank them.
Now, like I said, I don't know what companies do in other parts of the country but here we try to give away what we can to keep it out of the landfills. Many companies now are requiring the sites to recycle more and more, so be aware also that they may not be allowed to give you stuff. That doesn't make sense either but you know how bureaucrats are.
So, maybe that is of some help to somebody. I know I burn dunnage when I can get it. Right now I am mostly using the trees that I am trying to get cleaned up from clearing etc. but do bring home a few sticks. Well, if the super doesn't beat me to it!

*John McCormack / written during WWI

Like The Weather

Well, the creek is pretty much back to normal. Flowing along as if nothing ever happened.

One good thing about flooding is that it cleans all the leaves and debris from the banks and makes everything look better. A little trash washed up but I can go pick that up easily now that there is not a foot of leaves on the bank to dig through.

We had some stretches of very cold weather at the beginning of winter here but the last two weeks have been in the 50's and 60's. It's nice but now all the little flowers and trees are beginning to think it is spring and I'm afraid they are going to be in for a harsh surprise next week. These daffodils are popping up all over the place. I hope the coming cold weather doesn't kill them. Funny thing though; these sprouting now are some a friend gave me last spring. The ones I brought here with me a few years ago are still snuggled down. Not a sign of them sprouting up at all. I guess they know better than these newcomers.

Speaking of sprouting....Lika is getting big! He's turning into quite the handsome dog. We took a walk down to the mailbox and I got him to sit still for just a little while. Actually, he was intent on a big buzzard flying just above the treetops. He seems like a pretty smart dog and has settled in here well. We've had some 'No!, No!" sessions because he likes to pilfer through my tools and drag stuff out. He doesn't chew stuff up but likes to take it out in the yard. I also have to watch where I set the laundry down (the washing machine is in the basement). He thinks it is great fun to grab a pair of my panties or bra and take out across the yard as fast as he can. Why do I always get guys like that? Oh well...

And hey! Look! Brussel sprouts! Well, sort of. I think I planted these and the cabbage a little late but I got them just as soon as they came out at the market. It seems that they should have matured by now though. I believe these are still too small to pick and they are loose, you know, not like tight, little, teeny cabbages. Does anybody have any experience with these things? I fertilized them after planting and re-amended the soil but haven't done much since. Should I keep fertilizing even in the cold weather?

I'm not sure what I will be working on this weekend. Ugh! It's supposed to rain again. I wanted to work on exterior stuff but don't know if I'll be able. I'm patching the drywall in the bathroom where the light was moved so I'll show that soon. I know ya'll just can't wait for that! Oooh, what excitement!

I'm going to try to update my blog and rearrange stuff so that all parts of the house are categorized etc. So that if someone wanted to see all posts on say, tile work or concrete, it will all be on the side there. This may take awhile. I did not start labeling posts until about a year ago so, God only knows how long this may take me.

*10,000 Maniacs

Texas (Alabama) Flood

Well, I think our drought is over. We are now in the midst of widespread flooding. I know I've not lived in this area very long but I've never seen the water anywhere near this high before. This is next to my drive, down near the road. You can very vaguely see my truck in the upper, left hand corner. The water is almost up to the drive. Well, in fact, during the night it did cross the drive because there was leaves and stuff stuck about a foot up on my gate.

This is normally 2 distinctly separate creeks. You can't really tell but the water is rushing at a torrential rate.

Three wet weather creeks popped up around the house. I knew when I got up this morning and heard rushing water that something was wrong. I looked out the window and saw water all around the house. Of course, my house is way too high up to be in danger but a little water was getting in my basement. I decided to stay home because we don't have a lot of dry area to work in right now and figured there would probably not be much going on. I'm glad I stayed home because it got much worse later in the afternoon. I ran a couple of errands in town about lunch time and when I got back I got to looking at stuff. It pissed me off that the water was running around the house like that. Now, most of the wetness in the basement is my own fault because I have just never taken the time to waterproof and back fill certain areas. I kept putting it off because there have just been more pressing things to do and getting a little water in the basement is actually not that big a deal because it is not completely sealed up yet. But still. So, I got a pick and shovel and the wheelbarrow and went to work. Fortunately, I had a good stack of concrete block also. I worked for several hours in the pouring rain. I had to get the water diverted away from the house. My brothers at work would be disappointed in me if I let this little bit of water whip me. Fortunately also, it has been rather warm lately so I didn't really get cold until the sun started to go down. But I had won; at least for now. The great thing about rushing water is that once you start it in a new direction, it starts digging it's own path. You just have to help it out a little bit.

I thought several times during the ordeal, usually after I had just sprayed mud in my face, why in the hell did I build here? But, this is the land I was provided with so you use what you've got, you know. There would just be other problems if I had built somewhere else. The culvert closest to the house could not handle the amount of water going through from the creek that formed in the very bottom of the valley, so the water started flowing across the drive. It washed a couple of trenches in the gravel but nothing too bad. There is a lot of stone and sand in that driveway so I think it will be OK. As soon as it dries out around here I'm going to see if I can borrow a machine from the company and do some serious landscaping just uphill of these creeks. I need to dig a new slew to shoot the water out across the front yard. It shouldn't be too much trouble with a backhoe.

The road right next to the driveway did not fair so well. It has started to fail and collapse. The county just let a bunch of very heavy debris pile up in front of the culverts, which are like 4 feet in diameter each, and the creek started clogging it up. Allen has been going down to the county for the past 4 weeks, telling them this was going to happen but they just ignored him, I guess. We noticed this morning that the ground was starting to fall away from the road and a large hole open up, so he went back down there. This time they sent someone out to look and within 30 minutes they had a crew out here pulling the debris out. They cleared the openings but the dirt continues to fall away from under the road. I walked down and talked to the guys and they said just as soon as the rain let up they would have to just rework the whole bridge. I hope they do and don't put it off again. The guy I talked to seems quite aggravated that they had not been told this was happening. But we tried. He told me the name of who to call directly the next time we had a problem.

So, if I don't get washed away I'll be back soon, hopefully to post on further progress of the house.

Edit to add: You cannot see now but there are 2 long telephone poles and a couple of sections of tree trunks down there. When the county came and cut the trees back they just let the limbs and trunks fall into the creek against the culverts. It required a backhoe and blocking the road to clear these objects.

*with apologies to Stevie Ray Vaughan

You Keep Me Hangin' On

I'm on a mission to completely finish the bathroom. Every last detail. So, I finally got around to making a towel bar and running the base trim, as you can see if you look at the floor. It's not very noticeable but makes a big difference. I did not get it all ran. I guess I wasn't really paying attention when I bought the trim and didn't get enough but one more stick should do it. Allen moved the light fixture for me so that the mirror can now center up over the sink. He did the hard part and now I get to patch the sheet rock and paint. It's not too bad, just about a one foot square spot. There are so many little things to do, like I have to grout between the base trim and the floor now, touch up paint etc. But it's just a thing.

This is a detail of the towel bar. I could not find one that was wide enough, that I liked, so I just made my own. I use towels that are 30" wide and like to spread them out to dry well. I built the towel bar out of things I just had around the house here, so it didn't cost me anything. I took some drop from the cypress trim and cut out these little blocks. They are 4" x 2 1/2". I love that cypress, it is such a pretty wood. I think I may use it for the shelves in the pantry also. The wrought iron hooks I had bought years ago. I always thought they were really cute but couldn't think of another way to use them in the house. The rod is just a long dowel I had from something; it's about 1 1/4" diameter. I just sanded all the wood good and applied the beeswax/linseed oil finish. I love that stuff. I used trim head screws to attach the blocks to the wall, actually hitting studs. The dowel is 34" long with the hooks at 32" so it just happened to work out on the stud layout and center between the window and shower. I still need to drill a small hole in the hook and run a thin screw through that into the wooden dowel to secure it. No big deal though.

I usually don't make new years resolutions and didn't this year but I am trying to renew my enthusiasm for finishing the house. I think I got a little burned out on it last year, especially towards the end. I started by purchasing a new filing cabinet and sorting and purging all of my paperwork and records. That tidied up my computer area and desk greatly and I think gave me sort of a second wind. I have since made a detailed punch list that goes room by room, starting with the bath first, as I think it will be the quickest to finish. I have also decided that I need to take advantage of not having a man around here and throw myself into getting a lot of stuff finished that has just been hanging over my head. Not that I'm going to seclude myself here and never go out, but just make better use of my time. I know that if there is a man around, especially a new one, he will distract me from the house because I want to do, umm, other stuff, so....now is work time! Ya'll have not really seen how I can work when I put my mind to it. The stuff we do at work puts me to shame here and I've got to make more progress than I have been.

The next project is to build the stained glass window for the bath and finish the little bit of base trim. Over the weekend I got a table set up in the basement studio and the necessary materials to start the window, so hopefully that will be quick to get going. I am kinda concentrating on interior projects because it has been raining here so much lately. For like 2 weeks now. That's good because our whole state is no longer in an official drought but I haven't been able to work on much outside. I do have some materials ready though, so that if I were to get a good clear weekend, I can do some exterior projects.

*The Supremes

A Little Better Explanation

OK, this is a crappy little drawing but if you click on it and enlarge it you might be able to make sense of what I did with the sink counter. I know my photos of the pouring did not show things well. I was in a hurry and didn't realize I had not taken any photos until after I already had one bucket of mud in the form.

Basically, I located all of my wall studs that were withing the boundaries of the counter and drilled a 9/16" hole in each stud about an 1 1/4" down from the top of grade. Which is to say, down from what would be the surface of the concrete. It is 2" thick concrete and I tied a mat so you have to account for stacking two layers of rebar. I then inserted #4 rebar into each hole in the studs, glueing each one very well with construction adhesive and letting them extend out into the counter about 12". This gave me two #4 bars in each wall, which gives you more strength since the dowels are on 2 sides, rather than just on one wall. The countertop being set into a corner allows for both of your outermost corners to be supported. A triangle is one of the strongest forms and if you can keep the back corner down, the front can't tip forward.
I then tied #3 rebar to the #4 bars and long enough to run the length and width of the counter. I used #3 because this would take up less space, allowing more concrete around the bars but wanted stronger ones (the #4's) in the wall for obvious reasons. You can bend #3 bars pretty easily but #4 is much harder to bend.

I had to bend two of the #4's to get them to go into the studs straight but miss the sink area where they extended into the counter area. Now, I have a rebar bender to make this easy but you can bend it using a long secure pipe (a cheater bar) or a stump and nails etc.

I think I actually tied more rebar in the counter than what the drawing shows but I can't remember exactly. You get the idea though.
The counter is 42" long and about 22" deep, so it is not really that big of a surface. However, it is still pretty heavy and I think if I had made the counter any larger I would definately put 2 brackets under it for support.

So, FC, basically, it is attached to the wall the same way your mantel is.

Auld Lang Syne

I hope everyone has had a great New Year's Day or at least a peaceful day with no stress. Well, that's a great day in itself, right? I enjoyed the day off but have to work tomorrow. That's Ok though.
I cooked the traditional southern new year's meal and Fred and Allen came down to eat with me. Of course, we had ham (for progress), cabbage and black-eyed peas (for prosperity), potatoes (just because I like them) and cornbread ('cause you got to have it with greens). It was very good I must say and the cabbage was my very own from my garden! I was very pleased with it. I have never grown cabbage before and thought this was very tasty. Oh, and that is unsweet tea; very UNsouthern but we won't tell anyone. So, what do ya'll eat for New Year's in your parts?

I did a little work on the house. Allen helped me rip some of the last exterior trim for the siding. Mostly I cleaned and got organized from the holiday mess. Lika and I went for a couple of walks and I kept a fire burning all day and night.

I hear next Tuesday and Wednesday they are trying to organize a Cyber Yard sale where we are all supposed to show our junk! Post any funky junk or crap or decent stuff you want to get rid of. Sell, trade or just give away. I'm trying to come up with something but I have done some major purging over the last year so I'm not sure what I've got. I know I can come up with something though.

I wish everyone out there a very happy and prosperous new year and hope we all see peace and joy in our lives. May we all make great strides in our goals and in creating a better, safer and cleaner world.

Note: I'll respond to the comments on the previous post just shortly. I appreciate them all and ya'll know I like to answer each one. Just a little short of time right now.

One Of Those Days

I fully intended to post yesterday and show in detail how the sink counter is attached to the wall and all that blah, blah but work just got the best of me. I have been having to weld up these big goal posts (barricades) in the new freezer area and it's a real pain. It's freezing, literally, in there and I had to use a lift to get up to the steel to weld, so that means wearing all this crap to keep warm and then having to wear a safety harness on top of that because I'm over 6 feet off the ground, so I have like, 10 extra pounds of stuff on me. So, I'm up in this lift welding and I smell something burning and I look down and realize I've set my hardhat on fire. I can't wear it while I'm welding as I have to wear a hood, so I had set it down on the floor of the lift. Well, it was the liner inside the hardhat but, at any rate, flames are coming out of my hardhat. I got that put out but it messed my hat up and my boss had to order me new insides for it. Anytime I set myself or some other thing on fire they always just sigh really hard and slowly shake their heads. I can't help it though! Stuff happens. So, then I get one of my bad migraines towards the end of the day, so when I got home I just had to take some meds and go to bed. I feel better today though.

That whole incident reminded me of some of the stuff that has happened on jobs over the years. I'm always kinda amused when some women I meet say. "oh, I wish I could do the work you do" and I think, weeeelll, maybe you don't. Not that I wouldn't encourage women to give any of the crafts a go, but there is a lot of stuff that happens that I don't think many people would want to go through. Like setting yourself on fire. And it seems that food distribution centers are good for that sort of thing as there is a lot of miscellaneous welding for us in those places. I remember one I was working on several years ago; it was in the summer thankfully. I had to climb up the steel structure about 30 feet and cut some braces out with a torch. I was standing on a 8" beam, 30 feet in the air while cutting steel overhead. Now, I was tied off. We have to wear these elaborate safety harnesses. They strap on sorta like a parachute with one strap across your chest, a padded belt around your waist and a strap around both legs at the crotch. A lanyard attaches to the straps across your back and then to the safety lines or steel. Sometimes when steel is very dirty or rusted it will pop when it is being cut and splatter molten slag all over you and everything and this is what happened. It seemed everything happened in slow motion. I saw the flame pop and the slag spray and then I saw this one very large blob of steel fly up into the air and arch over towards me. It was like a little meteor of glowing, yellow metal plummeting right towards me. Now, when you are tied off like that, at that height, you really can't go anywhere. That lanyard is only 6 feet long and my hands are full. So, I stood frozen as this molten blob descended on me and fell perfectly straight down my shirt. As you can imagine, slag at that temperature is not slowed much by a cotton shirt. It did hang up for just a second when it rung my, um, cleavage but it burnt through my bra and continued down to my waist where it got caught by the tight belt of my harness. Now, when something like this happens you have an automatic response to grab at what is causing you pain, to try to remove it from your body. But I still had that lit torch in one hand, nowhere to put it and was just trying to get the slag away from my skin. With all that twisting though, the slag did move and dropped down into my pants. There it was caught by one of the straps around my legs. Mercifully, it had cooled enough at this point it was no longer burning through my clothing and going further down. However, the strap managed to hold it tightly against my leg as the belt had done. Somehow I did not sling the torch to the ground or step off the beam during the whole thing. After I felt the pain subside (it had burnt the nerves I guess) I turned the torch off, got everything secured and slowly climbed down. The pain came back as I walked to the office trailer though and the guys noticed that I was walking kinda funny. Now, the boss is supposed to look at any semi-serious injury to determine if you need further medial attention but nobody was looking at anything. I just got some antibiotic ointment and sterilizing swabs from the first aid and went to the bathroom. I had to use my pocket knife to dig the last bit of steel out of my thigh where it had settled. It didn't seem something that size could cause that much pain. But, that is just part of the job and after I bandaged up I went back to work. The scars are not very noticeable nowadays although I have had an occasional question from, um, a friend or two about how I got them. They make for an interesting story at least.

I hope no one out there sets themselves on fire and has a great new year celebration if you are planning anything. I have the day off so will try to post again! Happy New Year everybody!