Another facinating weekend at the Bogie homestead. WS and the neighbor went in together on a log splitter so they split up the trees that had been cut down, in May, before putting up the fence and the big oak tree that had blown down a couple of weeks ago.
I stacked most of the wood although I still have a pile of wood to go yet. If they had actually split the trees in the order that we wanted it stacked (newest in back, oldest in front), then it would probably all be stacked. But as it was, they split the old stuff first, leaving me waiting for the newer wood. Oh well, in reality I probably wouldn't have stacked it all anyway - there was a lot of wood and my forearms were pretty tired by the time I called it quits.
The Wonderful Spouse took up the platform and stairs of the porch and replaced them with new lumber. The whole thing began as he would "replace the nails with screws" (the nails keep sticking up and we were tired of pounding them down every summer). Then it progressed to "adding handrails". Finally he got to "replace the whole damn thing except the supports". After he was finished (sans railings for now), he remarked that next spring he will have to rip out the stringers and replace them since they got a little torn up during the de-construction (just in the middle, the main weight bearing part - makes me feel safe!).
We colaborated in breaking fixing my vacuum. It is an upright (I alternate between uprights and drag-alongs) that cleans very well and is bagless (I love that part). However, a couple of weeks ago it stopped being an upright unless I was holding it, well, upright. This put a serious cramp in my style as the vacuum cleaner needs to be upright in order for me to use the onboard tools. Since over half the floors are not carpeted, I use the onboard tools quite a bit.
WS found the broken part, bought some plastic bonding agent, and glued it back together. I started vacuuming Sunday and, voila, it stayed upright when it was supposed to - for about 5 minutes. Then it broke again. I finished up the area that I was working on then did the mature thing; I turned it off, unplugged it, wrapped up the cord neatly, and threw the damn thing off the deck. Now it is broken for good (damn it, if the thing is going to be broken, it is going to be really broken!).
Ever notice that if you don't buy the warranty from the store, the item breaks as soon as the manufacturer's warranty runs out? If I do buy the warranty, the item will last a lifetime without ever needing any maintenance. Yes, this vacuum broke after 2 years and 3 months - guess how long the manufacturer warranteed it for?
I finally broke down and went to a curtain and blind shop to order drapes to hang at the new slider. We have been using drapes that came from the house that I grew up in and my mother used as packing material for some stuff she sent us several years ago. I'll bet she never thought in a million years that we would actually use them as drapes! They served us well, but they have definitely seen their better days, so I made the executive decision to replace them. The new drapes should be in about a month from now, if we are lucky.
I actually got to watch some football while I was making curtains for the den. I've only had the material for a year but decided not to procrastinate quite as long as I usually do for similar projects. I know there seems to be some dicotomy in my making curtains but ordering drapes - but, you have no idea of the material I use or how they are made - if you did, you would understand, or maybe not. But, of course the game that I really wanted to watch, the KC Chiefs, was the late game starting at 8:30. Guess when I had to leave for work? (I'll bet you didn't think there would be a quiz when you started reading this post did you?).
OOOHHHH! A "deck" launch. And I missed it. Sometimes ya just gotta. Felt good didn't it?
Posted by: Wichi Dude | October 27, 2003 at 05:35 AM
I don't recall which drapes I used as packing; but, I still have a bunch of drapes with which I line my car trunk or seats when I'm hauling lumber/mulch/tree limbs/you name it. (That's one of the reasons HH calls my baby Lincoln a pickup truck!) Currently, the latex lined drapes from Sis's old room lay under an old beach towel, atop which lay drying the irises--in our kiln room. We had a family crisis a year ago when your niece was hauling your grandmother H's dresser and the blonde girl standing in the field of daisies to her apartment using Wichi Dude's old pickup. She and I used most of the old drapes that I had left as packing quilts. After the unloading, the drapes disappeared. For months, Sis feared that she was out of my will--asuaging her guilt sending me a replacement box of old curtains to use instead. The drapes eventually showed up in a box in their garage, so we have kissed and made up. LOLLOL
Posted by: Cop Car | October 27, 2003 at 07:49 AM
I like your style! I've gone through the same thing with appliances, and vacuums, and I wish I had had the sense to send them flying!
I totally understand about picking and choosing which curtains or drapes you are willing to tackle on your own. I've done several bedroom window treatments, and would do those in the kitchen (if I had them), but I think I'd leave something like drapes for a door to the professionals.
Posted by: Buffy | October 27, 2003 at 01:58 PM
I have a favor to ask. Would you take Billy by the hand and explain to him how to set up his blog so that you can see what you are typing as you type a comment? Puh-lllleeeeeeeeeezze???
Posted by: Buffy | October 27, 2003 at 02:00 PM
Hey, I could use that to. If I had Typepad Pro that is. Apparently it can't be done to Plus, and they haven't fixed it yet. Yes, (I hear it coming) I filled out a help ticket. And got a response, "We're working on it."
Posted by: Wichi Dude | October 27, 2003 at 06:33 PM
CC - The drapes are the green ones that used to be in the dining room (the blond girl in a field of daisies matched it). And by the way, I'll return them if you want them for packing material (I assume I would be re-instated in the will for that? - HA!).
Sometimes the best stress-relief is throwing something. The trick is to make sure that there is nothing around it that you don't want to break. Also, it is good idea to make sure no one else is in the general area.
Posted by: bogie | October 27, 2003 at 10:09 PM
Ummm....Bogie? This may come wayyy to late for the vaccuum, but you do know that many credit cards now include an extra year of warranty coverage on products bought with them? (technically, it'll double your warranty up to a total of an extra year)
**watches Bogie scrabbling in the yard trying to put enough of the machine back together to look like a vaccuum.**
Posted by: Light & Dark | October 27, 2003 at 11:50 PM
Nice try, but my credit card doesn't have that bonus. I think they offered it to me for a slight fee for each purchase or a higher percentage rate or something, but I turned it down.
So no, there aren't going to be pictures of me scrabbling in the mud!
Posted by: bogie | October 28, 2003 at 02:01 AM