I thought I would post a few pictures of how the deck is coming along. With the help of several friends I have gotten almost to the end. But now the rain has started and I’ve got to put it on hold again. Someday soon we’ll actually be able to use the back yard again!
Just click on any of the pictures to see them full size (including the one above).
Technorati Tags: deck
This has been in my head for 2 days now. Listening to the classic rock station as I work on the Deck brings a lot of old songs back. Enjoy:
Home in the valley
Home in the city
Home isnt pretty
Aint no home for meHome in the darkness
Home on the highway
Home isnt my way
Home Ill never beBurn out the day
Burn out the night
I cant see no reason to put up a fight
Im living for givin the devil his due
And Im burnin, Im burnin, Im burnin for you
Im burnin, Im burnin, Im burnin for youTime is the essence
Time is the season
Time aint no reason
Got no time to slowTime everlasting
Time to play b-sides
Time aint on my side
Time Ill never knowBurn out the day
Burn out the night
Im not the one to tell you whats wrong and whats right
Ive seen suns that were freezing and lives that were through
And Im burnin, Im burnin, Im burnin for you
Im burnin, Im burnin, Im burnin for you
I promised I would tell you what I did instead of going to Florida. Since I had the week off with nothing to do, Mel and I decided to go ahead with a project that I have been really wanting to start for a long time. I ordered a driveway full of lumber and cement mix and got to work building a deck.
If you’ve ever built a deck before, you know how much work it can be. And if you’ve ever built a deck before why didn’t you tell me how much work it can be?! We had an existing covered concrete patio that had to be taken apart first. Knocking down the covered part was fun, but that’s where the fun stopped. The concrete patio was about 10′ x 10′ and about 4″ thick. I used an 8lb sledge hammer and broke it up by hand. I had to move all the pieces out of the work area by hand also.
After that my wife and friend Bryan helped me do some excavation with shovels and rakes to get the work area down to a level that would allow for then new deck frame. A friend from work helped us haul away the pieces of the old wooden and plastic covered porch since I don’t have a truck. A couple other friends came over to help with digging of post holes and that is where we ran into our first hitch.
I had rented an auger to make the digging easier, but when we started digging the first hole it just jammed up in the clay. They rent two types of augers at The Home Depot near our house. I thought the one-man auger would be enough, but it just didn’t cut it. I loaded the thing back in the trunk and headed back to get the two-man version. When I got there I noticed for the first time the big sign above the rental desk that suggested “Call before you dig: It’s the law!”. I looked at the man behind the counter and said, “Is that really necessary?” He told me that once a month someone comes in with a story about cutting through a power line or gas line. That didn’t seem like good odds to me so I elected to wait.
Two days later, to my surprise, we had the back yard checked out by the local utility companies and there was nothing in the way. My brother Chris with just a few hours notice was able to come out and help me dig 15 post holes with the two-man auger. It made all the difference and took only about 45 minutes or so to dig all the holes. He’s my hero.
At this point I finally have all the posts set in concrete and have started to bolt the support beams to the posts. It’s all downhill from here and I should have the deck completed in a week or so. I’m very excited and you’re all invited to the party. I’ll post some pictures when the project is done.
Technorati Tags: project, lumber, cement, deck, concrete, patio, post holes
Vacations can be a lot of fun; a plane trip to a far away place, spending quality time with friends and loved ones, lounging on the beach or around a pool, seeing the sights, trying new foods at expensive restaurants. Or … vacations can be something altogether different.
Mel and I had planned a trip to Florida to visit my good friend John who I only get to see once a year near his birthday. He moved to Florida several years ago and the only year I have missed visiting is the year Mel and I got married. Our trip was scheduled to start this week, actually. We would be on a flight headed to Orlando in just a few days. We had tickets purchased and a rental car reserved, a convertible even. Everything was planned. Everything but the vacation time that is.
I have to bid for my vacation time for the whole year in March each year. It can be very difficult to plan, especially when you have to coordinate with your wife’s work schedule. Add to that the fact that I can’t even remember what I had for breakfast most days and you can probably imagine the disaster that I’m about to describe.
Like I said, my vacation was scheduled for next week … my vacation time scheduled for this week. I did manage to get the plane tickets canceled, but not refunded. We’ll have to plan a trip within the next year to use our $1100 credit with Southwest Airlines.
I’ll write another post later today or tomorrow to tell you what I actually did with the time off. That’s another story.
This happens so often I thought I might try to make it a feature on the site. I’m going to call it “the song in my head” and I’ll just post the lyrics to whatever song is currently stuck in my head so you can share in my misery … or joy … whatever.
Here’s the first one. It’s a catchy little ditty from Rod Stewart.
If I listened long enough to you
Id find a way to believe that its all true
Knowing that you lied straight-faced while I cried
Still I look to find a reason to believeSomeone like you makes it hard to live without
Somebody else
Someone like you makes it easy to give
Never think about myselfIf I gave you time to change my mind
Id find a way just to leave the past behind
Knowing that you lied straight-faced while I cried
Still I look to find a reason to believeIf I listened long enough to you
Id find a way to believe that its all true
Knowing that you lied straight-faced while I cried
Still I look to find a reason to believeSomeone like you makes it hard to live without
Somebody else
Someone like you makes it easy to give
Never think about myself
And a video:
Technorati Tags: song in my head, Rod Stewart
I was driving home from work the other night and stopped off at Fred Meyer on the way as I often do. I was still in my work uniform which has the nifty State of Oregon logo embroidered on the chest. I left Freddy’s and headed up the hill out of town. The speed limit up the hill is 45 but I have never understood why. There is nothing on that hill except for a church and a tavern and I just don’t get it. As soon as you reach the top of the hill it’s 55.
So … partly out of habit, and partly out of defiance, I almost always go 55 up that hill. I say almost always because that night I was going 64. How do I know I was going 64? Because that’s what the cop told me.
I knew I was caught and I knew I was in trouble as soon as I saw his lights flashing. He must have been right behind me at the bottom of the hill when I took off from that last light. He got out of his car and I could see his flashlight and the lights from his car reflecting in my side mirror. I had to put my hand up to block the light because it was so bright in my face. I could tell by his walk and by the way he glared at me as he got closer that he wasn’t happy with me.
Then something happened that I didn’t expect. He came around to get a full view of my face and shined his light right on me and suddenly he took about a half step backward and his expression changed to surprise. “ohhh!” he said, “I’m sorry,” and took the light out of my eyes. I was all ready to kiss ass and maybe beg a little and he was acting as if he had just pulled over his own dad or something. “Just slow down a little, ok?” he said and started to walk away. He had seen the emblem on my shirt and just walked away without even asking for my license.
I’ve always wanted to be part of some brotherhood. This one seems to have some benefits. All those Jeep drivers get is a wave, heh.
Technorati Tags: speed limit, 55, cop, speeding ticket, traffic stop