Okay, I just ripped the back off of the aluminum boat. Yup, I just went over to it, hooked a tie down to it, and tied the other end to the truck and eased it out from under the snow. That all worked fine, but apparently it snagged on something and then RIIIIIIP. Yup, the back of the boat came right off. At least it wasn't the Mary L., my grandmother's boat that my Dad got for her. I did have them mixed up in my head, which was under which snow mound, but I dragged that one free first, and I guess it was of better quality. Good purchase, Pop. The other one was the much despised one that my Aunt gave my Mom, that had a totally rounded bottom, and had a tendency to be unpredictable (what's up with the rounded bottoms? I'm catching a trend here...)
Now my wife on the other hand, has a rounded bottom that has certainly been remarked upon, but she's pretty consistent. In fact, she's right as rain. Hat's off to you, Ruthie. And to your behind. And to Jean and Curtis: Nice work. Unlike me and my bony arsed English relatives, my kids will have a place to sit down, thanks to you.
I took what I thought were two claritin, and I think they were xanax, because I had them in a pepper jar because I lost the container. I can't remember, I've had them for years. My claritin were way out in the truck (yes, WAY out there- it's farther when it's cold out) and I took the wrong two and wasted a good hunk of the day laying there staring at what I think was a moth.
The rest of the day was spent outside, working on the trailer, or other out-type stuff, in the snow and the cold. It was pretty much just like the Shining, except for the nice, warm, cozy indoor parts.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Howdy, Dudies.
Jackl here.
Well, another day shot. What did we do today? Bought wood to build out the trailer we bought to make it enclosed. Cleaned in the garage, organized and sorted some stuff to go to the Bahamas. What did we do yesterday? Drove here, unpacked, plowed, tried to keep warm. What are we doing tomorrow? Same shit. Trying to get the garage to warm up, if I'm going to be in there for lengths of time. Trying to get vehicles dug out after getting them stuck. Hauling water from the grocery store. Trying not to freeze your butt off literally when you go crap out in the snow.
It's fun though, in a way. There's a lot to do, and no real deadline exactly, but we're trying to be ready to go to Florida/New Orleans the same time Phyllis and Burt go. We want to make sure we're thorough, and don't miss anything, because once we get down there and things are REALLY hard to get, and we're working we'll be saying "man, I should have brought earplugs for when I'm working around these tools" or
an extra tape measure
a trowel
should have packed the bearings on the trailer again
brought a better dog line
a boat
more nails
a jack to lift something heavy
a whatever
etc. etc. etc.
I like to plan though, and anticipate. I think I'm pretty decent at it. (By the way, know anybody else who announced Barack Obama's winning presidential bid in 2004? Yup, I said that, the first time I heard him speak, before he was done. I'm very proud of that. I said I've never heard of him before, but that man WILL be president, mark my words. I don't make predictions often, but I did say that- it seemed inevitable, inevitable because of how he is, and inevitable based on what George Bush was doing wrong- kind of a "game-theory" concept, I guess. Anyway, enough bragging. I was proud of that though, like I said...)
But getting ready is a lot like preparing for the trip in the boat, trying to anticipate needs you won't have for several months, and trying to imagine every eventuality, but at least with this, we know somewhat what we're getting into.
The main unknowns at this point are things like how expensive concrete will be to pour there, and if we should switch to a wood story. So that affects what tools we can bring. And should we bring the hot tub? Is there room? Well, that depends on how high the trailer is allowed to be for shipping. And what about those tools? Everything new toolwise is taxed at 45%, so what are they going to tax me on an old tool? One that looks new but isn't? Should I spray paint all my stuff to make it look old? Scratch it up a bit? It's a big issue, because we're taking a few grand worth of tools. We're going to try to snag this extra rowboat outta here. It was given to my Mom by my Aunt, and it's incredibly unstable as a rowboat, due to a round bottom. (correlation with round bottoms indicating instability? This should be explored...) I figure if we throw the mercury 25 on it, it won't tip anywhere, sideways anyway. I just hope that's not too much weight for the thing on the back end. I had a dream about that last night. Am I the most boring guy in the world or what? Wow, how dull. Not as good as the one I had the other day when I woke up talking about "Jawbone Concentrate."
So we have to fix the truck again. The NEW radiator leaks now (this is #3), and so the "bought a bad radiator" theory for #2 is out, and leaves "the dumb mechanic that put in the second one took out the rubber footing that it sits on, and the metal ends up making a hole in the radiators" as a second theory. I just got done putting in the third one. That sucks, but I'll do it when we come back.
I have two more windows to put in the pumphouse before we go. One is glass block, so that will be some doing, especially in this weather. Maybe I'll do that when we come back too. Like the bank in front of the boathouse. There's some thought that maybe I should fly back in the spring and work on that. We'll see.
Before we leave though, I have to winterize the pumphouse, build the trailer into an enclosed trailer, figure out what to do about the bumper on the new truck (the trailer stuck in the snow and then the tongue pulled the ball around 90 degrees until it broke free. Hmmmm...
Then winterize the truck, put it up on blocks, cover the boat, and get a bunch of stuff ready.
Anyway, boring blog, I know. Sorry about that. It's just what's on the old brain these days. Planning for landing at the new crib, and getting started.
Clearing the lot
Pitching the tent
Building a tool shed (where all good construction projects start, a la Shady Rest)
Getting the water and electric hooked up
Digging a septic field
Grading the lot
Pouring a foundation
Building concrete walls on top of that, or wood?
We'll see how far we get.
So bored people, this is the latest. Trying to plan to pack for a place where bringing stuff in is really difficult.
Stay tuned
Jack
Well, another day shot. What did we do today? Bought wood to build out the trailer we bought to make it enclosed. Cleaned in the garage, organized and sorted some stuff to go to the Bahamas. What did we do yesterday? Drove here, unpacked, plowed, tried to keep warm. What are we doing tomorrow? Same shit. Trying to get the garage to warm up, if I'm going to be in there for lengths of time. Trying to get vehicles dug out after getting them stuck. Hauling water from the grocery store. Trying not to freeze your butt off literally when you go crap out in the snow.
It's fun though, in a way. There's a lot to do, and no real deadline exactly, but we're trying to be ready to go to Florida/New Orleans the same time Phyllis and Burt go. We want to make sure we're thorough, and don't miss anything, because once we get down there and things are REALLY hard to get, and we're working we'll be saying "man, I should have brought earplugs for when I'm working around these tools" or
an extra tape measure
a trowel
should have packed the bearings on the trailer again
brought a better dog line
a boat
more nails
a jack to lift something heavy
a whatever
etc. etc. etc.
I like to plan though, and anticipate. I think I'm pretty decent at it. (By the way, know anybody else who announced Barack Obama's winning presidential bid in 2004? Yup, I said that, the first time I heard him speak, before he was done. I'm very proud of that. I said I've never heard of him before, but that man WILL be president, mark my words. I don't make predictions often, but I did say that- it seemed inevitable, inevitable because of how he is, and inevitable based on what George Bush was doing wrong- kind of a "game-theory" concept, I guess. Anyway, enough bragging. I was proud of that though, like I said...)
But getting ready is a lot like preparing for the trip in the boat, trying to anticipate needs you won't have for several months, and trying to imagine every eventuality, but at least with this, we know somewhat what we're getting into.
The main unknowns at this point are things like how expensive concrete will be to pour there, and if we should switch to a wood story. So that affects what tools we can bring. And should we bring the hot tub? Is there room? Well, that depends on how high the trailer is allowed to be for shipping. And what about those tools? Everything new toolwise is taxed at 45%, so what are they going to tax me on an old tool? One that looks new but isn't? Should I spray paint all my stuff to make it look old? Scratch it up a bit? It's a big issue, because we're taking a few grand worth of tools. We're going to try to snag this extra rowboat outta here. It was given to my Mom by my Aunt, and it's incredibly unstable as a rowboat, due to a round bottom. (correlation with round bottoms indicating instability? This should be explored...) I figure if we throw the mercury 25 on it, it won't tip anywhere, sideways anyway. I just hope that's not too much weight for the thing on the back end. I had a dream about that last night. Am I the most boring guy in the world or what? Wow, how dull. Not as good as the one I had the other day when I woke up talking about "Jawbone Concentrate."
So we have to fix the truck again. The NEW radiator leaks now (this is #3), and so the "bought a bad radiator" theory for #2 is out, and leaves "the dumb mechanic that put in the second one took out the rubber footing that it sits on, and the metal ends up making a hole in the radiators" as a second theory. I just got done putting in the third one. That sucks, but I'll do it when we come back.
I have two more windows to put in the pumphouse before we go. One is glass block, so that will be some doing, especially in this weather. Maybe I'll do that when we come back too. Like the bank in front of the boathouse. There's some thought that maybe I should fly back in the spring and work on that. We'll see.
Before we leave though, I have to winterize the pumphouse, build the trailer into an enclosed trailer, figure out what to do about the bumper on the new truck (the trailer stuck in the snow and then the tongue pulled the ball around 90 degrees until it broke free. Hmmmm...
Then winterize the truck, put it up on blocks, cover the boat, and get a bunch of stuff ready.
Anyway, boring blog, I know. Sorry about that. It's just what's on the old brain these days. Planning for landing at the new crib, and getting started.
Clearing the lot
Pitching the tent
Building a tool shed (where all good construction projects start, a la Shady Rest)
Getting the water and electric hooked up
Digging a septic field
Grading the lot
Pouring a foundation
Building concrete walls on top of that, or wood?
We'll see how far we get.
So bored people, this is the latest. Trying to plan to pack for a place where bringing stuff in is really difficult.
Stay tuned
Jack
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