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!

Carved In Stone Part 2

OK, here is the countertop after the form was dropped out and the styrofoam block out for the sink pulled out. I let the concrete cure for 4 days before removing anything and it's not a bad idea to wait 7 days. I also kept a wet towel over the slab for mot of that time to help the concrete cure. As you can guess, I made the blockout from rigid styrofoam just so it is easy to get out once it is encased in the concrete. You can cut it up if you have to but being rigid it does not give against the weight of the concrete. I traced the outermost diameter of the sink shape and then came in about 3/4" all the way around to get the size for the blockout. That leaves the sink edge resting on about 3/4" of concrete all around. The sink sits off to one side of the countertop but is centered over the plumbing stub outs. Now, I made another mistake doing this. I did not notice until later that this makes the sink slightly off-center the two light fixtures, thus any mirror hung between the fixtures will not center up over the sink. This is what happens when you let it take so long to complete a project: you forget what your original thoughts and plans were on the project and you get in such a hurry to finish eventually that you don't think about stuff like that. So, I'm going to have to move one light fixture out slightly to correct this. No big deal but still aggravating.
I also poured a two-part backsplash for this countertop but did not get photos of that process.

This sink, along with 2 more, were salvaged from one of the hospital remodels we did a couple of years ago. They are practically brand new Kohler sinks and came with the fixtures and all. Now, I hate those fixtures and will replace this one shortly but for now, this is what I got. Now, when I wrecked the form off it left a sharp edge on the top of the slab but there is an easy way to remedy that. The bottom edge was very slick and rounded due to the silicone caulk I ran in that crack.

A 4" side grinder is one of the best tool investments you can make. They make an endless variety of discs for these things for use on everything from wood to concrete. They are not just for metal anymore! I simply used an 80 grit sanding disc but, if you want to spend the money, they make a bunch of diamond-coated discs and blades sized for these tools.

So, WETTING the edge of the concrete, I simply rounded that top edge off until I had the contour I wanted. Now, even these sanding discs will take off quite a bit if you are not careful so you have to pay attention to what you are doing. You don't have to wet the concrete but if you are working inside it's a good idea. So is wearing a dust mask. I just kept the faucet running slightly and would periodically scoop a little water over on the edge as I passed by. Now, this does make a mess in your floor and on the walls so cover stuff that you can't just mop clean.

I then used a hair dryer and heater to dry the concrete thoroughly before applying the sealer. There are many types of sealer for concrete but I simply used a 50/50 mixture of beeswax and naturally derived linseed oil because ya'll know I try to only use natural products. For kitchen countertops, you can get a food-grade beeswax to seal those with. We have used that to seal limestone countertops and it works fine on concrete. The mixture I used darkened the slab considerably but it will lighten up some as the product cures. Either way it is fine with me. I then used silicone caulk to glue the two pieces of backsplash into place. In a couple of days I will caulk the cracks between the countertop and backsplash and against the wall. The beeswax/linseed oil is very sticky and thick at first, so you have to heat it to apply it smoothly, but it soaks in quickly and after about 30-60 minutes I wipe off the excess and buff the surface. It will not make it shiny but has a nice satin finish. If you want to use concrete for a finished product you need to be able to accept a certain amount of surface variation. It will not look like Corian or limestone. It has veins and mottling and even some tiny surface cracks so you have to accept that. Now, I don't say that to make excuses for poor workmanship; it is just the material that you are working with.
I was kinda surprised at how many of you are wanting to do concrete countertops so I will do another post on tools and more specifics on how to finish the concrete. I will tell you this, concrete is a wonderful material but it is very unforgiving. You need to practice on some things before you start your real project if you don't have much experience. It takes a real touch and lots of experience to be able to get that hard, slick finish and once the concrete starts 'going' there is not much you can do to stop it. There are some tricks and such and I will try to give ya'll some more info on that. If you have any specific questions or something I didn't even show, please ask.

Carved In Stone Part 1

I'm so happy that I finally just bit the bullet and poured my concrete countertop in the bathroom. It was no big deal but I just kept putting it off. Well, I did (and still do) have more pressing exterior issues to deal with but it is nice to have this done. I was actually able to beg a day off from work last week and knock it out. Sunday, Allen set the sink and hooked everything up for me so it was functional for Christmas, which was nice.
Excuse the poor quality of the photos. I almost forgot to even take any and then I was in a hurry so they didn't come out too well.
First, I determined that I wanted the top of countertop to be at 32". Standard height is 30" but that seems low to me. The countertop itself is 2" thick and I used 3/4" material to form the bottom, so I dropped down 2 3/4" to the top of the 2x4's that I attached to the walls to support the "floor" of the form. I ran 3 1/2" screws through the 2x4's into the studs so that makes for strong support and can be easily wrecked. Well, should be. As I mentioned before though, I was in a hurry and not paying attention so I ran a few screws in that could not be gotten to after the concrete was poured and so some of the form just had to be busted to be removed. Even us "pros" make mistakes if we are not thinking.

I found some kind of plastic trim (I think it was for screen doors or something) that made a perfect flexible edge. It bent lengthwise but not widthwise. After I had my 2x4's attached to the wall I scabbed two 1x12's together to make the floor and temporarily attached it in the corner so I could draw out the shape I wanted. I made this base a little oversize and square so I would have plenty of room to draw. I also made a template for my sink shape and placed that on there to help determine the shape of the countertop. I just free handed the shape I wanted for the outer edge with a pencil and then took the base down and cut it with a jigsaw. I glued together 4 small sheets of Dowboard and cut the sink template out of that. the red line you see on the back wall is my grade line. I doweled four #4 bars into the studs in the wall which protrude about 12 " into the slab. I tied a grid within the form out of #3 bars. I had to use slightly thin rebar to get it all within the 2" of mud and the #3 bars are easily bent too. I used lots of construction adhesive on the dowels where they went into the studs. I put 2 dowels in each wall and so that makes a nice perpendicular grid to support the slab once the forms are dropped out.

Here you can see the shoring underneath: the 2x4's on the wall and I cut three 2x's to shore up the outer edge of the form. Even this tiny bit of concrete will be heavy. The countertop has a slight drop to the outer edge. I think about an 1/8" from back to front. I just didn't want any water to run towards the wall and you will never see that slight of a fall. I used 100% silicone to caulk all the cracks where any concrete would be. This prevents a mess from running down the walls when the mud begins to weep and gives you a nice slick finish on the front, bottom edge. The top, front edge I'll have to grind smooth.

Now, I used a mix of one bag of Sackrete to a 1/2 bag of non-shrink grout. Non-shrink grout is mostly portland cement and will help strengthen the mix and I think it helped give it a nicer finish. This is what mud looks like right after it is floated off. I tapped the underside of the form with a hammer to "vibrate" the mud and remove as many air bubbles as possible. You always need to vibrate your concrete in some way. This helps in surround the rebar fully and become as dense as possible. Vibrating also helped the concrete flow down to grade pretty much on its own. Of course, this is such a small amount of concrete it's almost on grade as soon as you get it in the form!

When it is vibrated correctly, this is what it looks like. It gets really wet looking on top and you start seeing these little volcano-looking air pockets pop up. Now, you can vibrate too much but unless you are using the big, mechanical vibrators like we use at work, that is not going to be a problem. I then floated it off one more time to make sure it was on grade and get a little smoother finish. You then just have to let the mud sit and start curing. The more you mess with it, the longer it will take to start setting up because you need to let that water rise up to the surface and start evaporating. And remember, concrete cures, it does not dry. I will show the rest of the process in the next post and the finished product. I think it came out well. If anybody has any questions so far please ask. I know I don't always explain things well.

Merry Christmas, Baby

I truly want to wish everyone of you that read my goofy, little blog a very happy and peaceful holiday season, whether you celebrate Christmas, Chanukkah, Kwanzaa, Solstice or it just being the end of the year. I hope all of you are able to be with your friends and loved ones and see your heart's desires made real.

Grendal says don't forget your furry friends either! I was shocked to see that she actually posed for a number of photos, even wearing that bow. She was feeling quite festive I guess! Trying to get Lika to sit still for any kind of photo was more than my patience could endure right now; maybe later.

The weather here has turned very unChristmas-like; it's very warm and they say it will stay warm for the next few days. Monday it was very cold though. I think when we were getting tools out that morning it was like 19 or 20 degrees. I got to work in a warm building though so I was really gloating to myself over that. I should have known better. You remember I'm working in a food distribution center over on the section that is nearing completion. One of the last things we (I) have to do is weld up heavy duty guard rails around the doorways etc. I noticed after lunch the building seemed much colder than that morning but thought it was just my imagination, but I put my jacket on anyway. A little while later I was even colder and then I realized what was happening. They had turned on the chillers to ready that section of building for use. See, we are adding on to their freezer and dry storage so by the end of the day, it was colder inside the building than outside! I have had to work inside the sections that are kept at about -30 degrees but, fortunately, this section will only be around 35 degrees. LOL!
So, we had to work today but got to go home at 11:00 a.m. instead of 12 noon, I think in part to an ammonia leak. They use that stuff to get it so cold in those buildings and when they energize a new system there is usually a few bugs in it. It was so bad you couldn't even go in the door (the odor can be deadly) so I couldn't do my welding. I think this aggravated our superintendent and he decided we would just call it a little early. Nobody was complaining! So, I got home in time to clean up and had some nice food fixed for my brother and sister and their families and my Mom. My neice and nephew decorated my tree for me; I hadn't even had time to do that. Maybe tomorrow I can make some of those cookies or something. I'm off until Monday so I am really going to enjoy the next few days and get a few things done around here. I have a couple of projects completed that I want to show you people. I'll try to make up for not posting much lately.


*many versions by various artists but I like Elvis' the best.

Frosty

This Old Heart Of Mine

Hey Karen, look at this! I think it's kinda the same shape and everything. Well, not the same size but you know what I mean.
I'm astounded that I keep finding these heart-shaped rocks because I've told ya'll about my complete inability to normally pick out anything like 4-leafed clovers and such. I found this one several weeks ago when we were grading little piles of gravel in some forms we had built in order to pour door stoops at the warehouse I am on now. Some gravel had fallen outside the form and I looked down and there it was.

I have been using work as an excuse not to post much lately, and that is true, but I have also just not felt a lot like writing lately. I have a terrible confession. Christmas is just not a lot of fun for me most of the time. I try very hard every year to focus on the true meaning of Christmas and just enjoy the season. I don't put a lot of pressure on myself to buy much. Most of my family and friends prefer stuff I make anyway and I do really enjoy making things for people. I love to give gifts. But it is often a sad season to me and seems like for the past 6 or 7 years something has always happened to make it even worse. Last year a cousin that we had all grown up with passed away very sudden and unexpectedly. She was only 46 and my mother's twin sister's only child. She died on Dec.23 so it was very sad. The previous 3 years I was very sick every year on Christmas, even spending part of one Christmas in the emergency room. I think one of those years was also when Allen got me a toilet flange for Christmas. Anything having to do with a toilet is never a good Christmas gift. Ever. Even if it is stainless steel and made in the USA. And especially if you are trying to decide if you will continue to live together.
So, this year I decided I was going to pick up an old family tradition that my wonderful aunt Corinne used to do. She had no family of her own, like me, but would fix breakfast for all the rest of us on Christmas Eve. I was going to have some friends over who I know don't have family that they get together with and all that. Now, we have to work overtime up to Christmas Eve and then until noon on that day, so that puts the kibosh on that.
I don't think I ask for a lot. I don't want diamonds and pearls (although I wouldn't throw them out in the yard in I got them!) lol! I would just like one Christmas that I wasn't sick, nobody dies and I don't have to work like hell right up until that night. You know, just to relax and do some baking, make some nice gifts, that sort of thing. Even I don't have the nerve to go up to one of these superintendents I work for, with their big, gruff selves, and say, "hey, I want 2 days off so I can stay home and make cookies!" That doesn't go over well. Especially when they have 200 feet of footings they need poured and it's been raining for the last week.
But, I got to move into my house last Christmas so you never know, maybe next Christmas I'll be able to take the whole week off and maybe even wake up on Christmas Day next to some handsome man that has bought me some nice, shiny thing that does not have anything to do with a toilet. You know, like a new 20 oz., straight claw, leather handle Estwing!


* The Isley Brothers

Don't Get Around Much Anymore

Hey People! I have not forgotten about ya'll! They are working the crap out of us and I just can't seem to get any free time. What little I had I spent doing this. Anybody need any nice Christmas gifts?

I have several vacation days built up but cannot get even one day off to do a few things around the house. I'm attempting to get the sink etc. installed in the bath before Christmas but it seems everything is working against me. I'm grateful to still be working but it always seems to be feast or famine.

I should have this weekend off but they are talking about us having to work Christmas Eve. And no Christmas gifts this year at work. Our company is having some trouble I think. Work maybe scarce after the first of the year so I guess it's best I save all my vacation days. I'll try to be back soon. Serious about the pottery though. I ship anywhere in the U.S. If you are local just email me and I'll let you know when I'm home. You'll have like a 10 minute window! Ha! Just kidding.


*Recorded by Duke Ellington with lyrics in 1942. Originally written as an instrumental piece in 1940. Recorded by numerous artist but I like Willy Nelson's version.

We Gotta Get Out Of This Place

Edit: I was informed today that I will report back Monday to the last job (food distribution center) that I was on. The boss there apparently called this one and needs me and one other guy back. Also, the railroad job has not started as fully as we previously had thought.

They are making a huge push this weekend to finish this building and turn it over to the owners on Monday. So, I get to make some overtime. This is the job I've been on for about the last 6 weeks I guess. It's a very nice building. The one in the front is the new offices and the big building in back is the warehouse. That one is a tilt-up. I wanted to show it so that ya'll could see one of those finished after me talking so much about the other one I was on.

This is a closer view of the tilt-up. I thought it came out well too.
Well, things are not looking so good as far as work goes. What few jobs we have are loaded up from what we hear and with this one finishing up, well, finding a new home might be hard. From what I hear, the small railroad job has started and will probably be filled shortly. I might could possibly go back to the job I was on previously or I could be laid off. Since I am single, with no family or children to support, I would be one of the candidates for that. But that is as it should be. The guys with kids need the jobs. I can get by. So, I guess once again, I'm just waiting for the Great Pumpkin to appear.


*The Animals

There's Gold In Them Hills

One last picture of fall foliage. Not sure what type of tree these are but they were the last to drop their leaves. It was actually snowing lightly here early Monday morning as I left for work but it didn't last long.
Not much going on around here lately. Probably just show a photo or two here and there for a while.

Good Mourning/Black Friday

Yes, that is actually the name of a song, although by a band that I don't listen to. However, I thought it was appropriate for this post. I don't normally do a lot of rants here, I hope!, but what occurred yesterday in this country has disgusted me far beyond my ability to keep quiet, so this is going to be a doozy. And what is even more disgusting is the local and national media's 'oh,yeah' attitude concerning this and the deaths in California at the Toys-R-Us. What the ***k is wrong with people today!!?? Have we really sunk to this level of subhuman behavior as to actually kill another PERSON in our unbridled, horrific mad rush to buy cheap, plastic shit from Wal-Mart! Greed is defined as "acquisitive or selfish desire beyond reason". I don't think this is a strong enough word. The mere fact that people (and I use that term loosely) could actually, literally stomp the life out of another human just so they might buy another, useless, stupid, piece of crap TV, or some other junk, with which to further rot their brains is just beyond the realm of any, even half-assed form of reason. This is sick to the point that their are just no words to describe it, in my opinion. The article that I linked to does a pretty good job but there is just no way to account for this type of behavior. I won't try to describe it as animalistic because I don't want to insult the animals. The fact that so many people today apparently feel that acquiring material possessions is this important just shows the moral depravity that our society has sunk to. People can talk about drugs and prostitutes all they want, and those things are horrible, but this all-consuming avarice and lust for STUFF; stupid, plastic crap that will probably get thrown out in the trash in a couple of months, I think reveals a hunger to fill a void far greater than any immediate sexual or emotional need. Those things (sex, drugs) you can kinda, sorta understand; this other is beyond comprehension. How horribly empty must a person's soul be in order for that person to feel satiated, however temporarily, because they just bought a new DVD player? Or hell, just a new DVD? Good God Almighty, what have we become?
But this attitude, this way of life has been brewing for a long time. The media and the retailers have been cultivating our attitudes to embrace this idea that you are a failure if you don't have STUFF. You don't have STUFF?; what the hell is wrong with you? What? You're lazy! And now, you're not patriotic if you don't go out and buy!!!! All these "entertainment" news programs cramming it down everyone's throats how much STUFF celebrities have and oh, don't you wish you had that? Consume as much as you possibly can because you are less of a person if you don't! Their ****ing Hummers and "whoever dies with the most toys, wins" bumper stickers. Maybe he who dies with the most toys busts the seventh circle of Hell wide open 'cause they trampled their fellow man to death, literally, to get to all the STUFF first!
What is even more disturbing, or at least as disturbing, is the attitude now of the media. Oh, by the way, three people were killed senselessly yesterday while out shopping. Yesterday there was one article about it on Google's front page. Today? Nothing. And our local media here barely mentioned it. They were too busy foaming at the mouth over the fact that the Galleria was packed to capacity from the time the stores opened at 5:00 a.m. And to even further incite me, our news people had the absolute gall to keep insisting throughout the broadcast how that "times are tough" right now. What the ****! Tough!? Yeah, that's why people were packed into the malls like the lemmings they are, fighting over $10 vacuum cleaners. Excuse me, children in some parts of Africa eat clay just so that they will have something in their stomach to quell the pain. ****ing dirt!!! They eat it! And we think "times are tough here"..... **** off, you jackass!
And don't even get me going on the fact that this is the "Christmas season" that people are supposedly celebrating. Yes, I know there are other holidays at this time but it's Christmas that they use as the protagonist in this filth. Yeah, let's trample a few people in order to celebrate the birth of One that came to teach us to love one another. God have mercy.


*Megadeath

Bounty

Happy Thanksgiving to all my American readers who are celebrating today!! May you all have a wonderful day and may we all truly realize just how good we have it here.
My cabbage and brussel sprouts are doing fine. I wish they would hurry up though! lol! I want to sample them.

Lika is growing and really developing quite a personality now. He was kinda bashful at first but now he is just full of himself! I think he is going to be a very good dog.
I have done some whining at times on this blog and I guess everybody does at one time or another, but I would never want anybody to get the idea that I am not tremendously grateful for what I have. I think it helps a lot of times to sit still and really look at what we have and see how fortunate we are.
I am thankful for my wonderful little house and land.
For my incredible friends that have helped me with same.
My health and strength to build.
My job and good pay and ability to work.
My friends out here in the blogosphere who encourage me.
My education and talent for art.
My family, small as it is.

So, I get 4 days off and hopefully will get to do a lot around the house. I hope everyone has a great holiday.

Baby It's Cold Outside

The past two weeks have been fairly chilly for this area and of course, I've had to go back outside to work. I've been working on two balconies overlooking this pretty lake though and every day these geese come by to swim and meander around. The edge of the water comes right up to the building so it's a very scenic work area. We are building a new HQ and warehouse for a large coffee and tea distributor, based here in Alabama, and they are nice enough to usually have some hot coffee for us on these cold mornings. It's kinda cool to build for this company because I (and my Mama) have always used their tea. I don't know if I should mention the name of the company but for the Jeopardy question of the day, "what is another name for a colorful gem?"

No news yet on where I will go next as far as work. This job is winding down fast so something will probably come around soon. I'm trying to maintain a 'que sera, sera' attitude but I don't know how well I'm doing at that. I just have a feeling though, that things are going to work out just fine.

Well, if you don't have a warm lap available to climb into, I guess you just have to go with the next best thing. Hhhmmm, maybe I need another one of these things....
I really don't spoil my cat that much but she really knows how to play on my sympathies by acting like she's about to freeze to death all the time. So, I cave in sometimes.


*various artists

Heavy Metal

The past two weekends I have been occasionally working on building this firewood holder for the basement. It's certainly no work of art but it gets the job done and will hold a good amount of wood. I just took some #5 rebar (5/8") that was leftover from the railroad job and selected two lengths that were about 6' long. I bent these into a half circle basically and kept tweaking them until I got them to match fairly well. It's not real easy to bent a perfect half circle but you know, it's close. Then I used about 6 pieces, approximately 14" long to join the two half circles.

Here you can see the cross pieces. I welded them on the outside but I don't think it really matters.

Then I took two pieces about 3' long and used Allen's rebar bender to make sharper turns here for the legs. I know most people would never even know you can get a manual rebar bender much less have access to one but let me tell you, those things are sooooo cool. It will cut or bend up to #5 bar and it has come in very handy round here. Of course, the easiest way to cut rebar is with a torch, which I did here, but often times on commercial jobs you are technically not supposed to heat rebar to cut it. It must be sheared manually or cut with a band saw. So, after a little time yesterday afternoon gathering and splitting wood, I now have a supply of dry wood right next to the stove. Oh, this contraption is probably about 4' wide and 3' tall, maybe. I have more wood on a pallet under the deck but need to cut a lot more. Today I will be taking a load of firewood to my mom.

While I was welding and had Big Red all fired up with his new battery, I decided just to play around some and make a pretty. Well, I think it's pretty. I took some more leftover rebar and fashioned this yard ornament. These are leftover caisson bands, about 16" in diameter. I'm going to make some shor' 'nuff tomato cages with rest of these. I just threw this thing together trying to work out how it would go and now I think I could make a much better crafted one. If I get time that is! I have several more sculptures and such that I would like to put together with some of the scrap I have around here.
Oh, btw, and I'm telling this just for fun, I went out to eat last night at my favorite Japanese restaurant. I bought Allen's dinner for helping me cut wood. My fortune cookie said, "A new relationship is about to blossom. You will be blessed." Ha ha! I swear! I also dreamed a couple of nights ago about seeing a big tree knocked over that had a bee hive in it. The bees swarmed out and started coming towards me. I tried to run away but I didn't even get 10 feet away before the bees had completely covered me. It scared me at first and I could actually feel the weight of the bees on me, there were so many. But then I realized they were not stinging me and I just stood there kind of marveling at these bees all over me. I read later that honeybees, in dreams, often symbolize blessings and happiness. Well, I'm already blessed but there is an old song that says something about never getting tired of manna from heaven!


*Sammy Hagar

Early Morning

These are a couple of shots from the field in front of the job I'm on now. It's a very pretty site.

This is fairly early in the morning, just as the sun is coming up.

Ridiculous

I enjoy listening to NPR as I drive to and from work and at the times that I come and go, they have all their news and essay pieces on. I can usually pass on most of the music they play. But anyway, some of you may have heard the fabulous essay they presented this afternoon, on This I Believe, concerning the Ridiculousness of Life. Go read it if you missed it; I'll wait. It's short so it won't take long.
So, this guy really nails it for me, especially the part about feeling like Linus waiting for the Great Pumpkin. My whole life has been, well, ridiculous. Oh, I had great plans; I was going to be a world famous architect and design the most radical, beautiful buildings you ever saw. Oh, and marry this outstanding, white-collar man in my late 20's and live happily ever after all the while making lots of money and living in an expensive and expansive house. And, I was going to do all of this on my own, with no help from any man especially, just to prove my father wrong that women could do what ever they wanted.
But instead, I accidentally got into construction and build the structures now, all the while being the only woman working with a bunch of knuckle-dragging misfits that seem to adore me, and I them. I drive a truck (instead of a Mercedes) which serves as a handy receptacle for those misfits to deposit all kinds of gifts into. I'm always delighted to see what they've dragged up for me; everything from rocks and building material to slices of railroad track. Instead of a life-long marriage I've had a interesting variety of lovers, from mechanics to doctors (medical and Ph.D.). Oh, well, I can't have kids anyway. And I'm still friends with the majority of these men. Lot of people can't say that. No big house either. Just a one bedroom, hand-crafted little house that I love, which sits in the middle of a beautiful valley where I can watch all sorts of critters go about their natural habits. Especially a crazy, little, golden puppy that spins around in circles because he's so happy and a fat ol' grey cat that insists on sitting in my lap while I try to type this. I can grow my own food also and take more dirt from the ground to make the dishes to eat that food off of. How ridiculous is that!
But most importantly, I would never have been able to do any of this had it not been for all the men that helped me. Everyone from my college art professors to a dear, older gentleman that made me a great deal on a piece of land, to Allen who will still come help me when I call. Even though I know a woman can do anything she sets her mind too, I've had to swallow a lot of pride over these past few years. I don't know if it's a good or a bad thing that my father didn't live to see that.
So, I was really enjoying this essay and the author's narration as I drove home, down the country roads, and as I passed by this one particular house with the very familiar truck sitting in the drive, I just had to laugh at the utter ridiculousness of it all.