One year ago today: July 16, 2015, what a day.
Five years ago today: July 16, 2011, keyless lock, how prescient?
Nine years ago today: July 16, 2007, early Trump advice.
Random years ago today: July 16, 2012, the famous horsefly incident.
MORNING
Five hours. That’s how long we worked uninterrupted on that floor. We both like renovation work but I remind the reader, JZ is not retired and has a job back in Miami. I can’t keep him here, so my incentive is to get as much of the work done as possible that requires two men. That doesn’t include the floor, but we decided to do that anyway. It is not hard work, as we are essentially indoors and the room is full of fans.
That flat 2x6 along the floor is the center girder, the problem area. You can also see the cylinder block resting on the ground. This is what is pushing up every second floor joist. In fact, if you look close, you can make out how it is bowing that joist. Sorry, but I’m using the Millennial iCool camera again, which distorts everything. So that it will appeal to the Millennial mind set, one supposes. Trust me, it is arched upward a full 1-3/4”.
I made tea in that fancy Churchill teapot left behind, but I’m informed not to use it any more until I determine it is not an antique. Now, that’s how my brain works. Some say be careful, it could be worth $80. I say if it only worth $80, I would like to make some tea in it.
Madge’s voice, the Simpsons.
NOON
We tore up the floor, not pausing for five hours. I emphasize, this is not hard work. Shown here is a better perspective of the work, you can see JZ getting ready to pry up more boards. It works best with two men working in parallel. With me stopping every ten minutes to review what’s going on, and JZ plowing ahead full steam. I told you, the guy has one work speed.
I was iffy about taking JZ along this trip because of these bugs, preferring to wait until after the fumigation next week. JZ says work ahead, so in an effort to ease the problem we took the bags of leaves to the dump ground 12 miles away. Only to find we missed closing time. They close early on Saturday. Figuring more leaves with chiggers would blow under the open floor, I raked the yard, to no avail. There’s just nothing more I can do.
We stopped only for munchies, again at Burger King, which is the only convenient spot near the worksite. And I see plenty of other day laborers think the same. At my insistence, we stopped work for 90 minutes during the hot part of the day. I zonked right out to sleep the entire stretch, JZ went outside and finally met the new neighbor. Good news, they get along grand. And Howie (not his real name) lent us a 16 foot extension ladder. Wait, there’s more.
It turns out parking the batbike in front of the property as part of my new plan to impress that I was a good neighbor was the clincher. Howie mentioned to JZ that seeing the motorcycle was very influential on accepting my rather low purchase offer. The question remains, if the place is so easily renovated, why didn’t Howie do it himself? I don’t know, but I’ll hazard a guess.
He did the same as me when relatives are involved. Again, I’m guessing, but it seems to me I’ve been in a similar situation. I’m the one that gets stuck for years with the upkeep and the repairs, but if I ever sell it, the rest of the family, who moved to Toledo in 1997, wants their “equal” share. In fact, I’ll bet you five dollars it’s something like that.
Anita Eerland: Psychology, 2012. Annie, along with sundry others, hath determined that the Eiffel Tower appears smaller if you “lean to the left”. Annie, I can see your house from here.
NIGHT
We worked another six hours without noticing the time. We’ve already learned there is nothing to do in Lakeland on a Saturday night, so might as well do something constructive. It took some sledge work, but we have one of the 2x6” sister joists in place. It seems to be overkill, in that once bolted in place, the joists become 4x6”. The original joists are in remarkable shape, so we decided using 2x4”s would provide more than adequate reinforcement and come in $63 cheaper.
It is my further intention, after an hour’s research, to insulate the floor as well as the attic. I can do this on my own. Before dark, we drove all the way to Wendy’s for chili and coffee. Then, exhausted more from the additional six hours put in than any real effort, I went home and crashed. First, I measured the back yard, but this healthy country living is even getting to JZ. Fresh air, peace and quiet, no TV. I was out like a light for 13 hours, getting up only for a snack at 3:00 AM. And to listen to Armed Forces Radio, they have good music (I was listening to a recorded day show).
JZ has never listened to so much radio, he says. Actually, neither have I, being a musician. What he’s picking up on is that I don’t randomly listen or use the radio as background. I know what time and what station the good material is broadcast. He did not know the “Twilight Zone” was once a radio show. We must have added five grand to the value of the property today. Yes, I pay JZ for everything, including the gasoline to get here.
Trivia. You remember those lumbering British tanks from World War I, the type with the treads all around the sides? After the war, one was presented to the town of Ashford in England. They removed the innards to install an “electrical substation”. The substation was removed, leaving the empty tank as the only surviving example of this now-famous fighting vehicle.
ADDENDUM
I’ve always believed the legend that when the Knights Templar were cooked by the King of France, the survivors fled to Scotland, where the Pope had no authority. You see, the Pope had excommunicated the King of Scotland thinking the people would then rise up against him. Instead, he found the Scottish already had considerable experience over treating pushy foreigners from the south.
But now, I read this account that at the same time, there was yet another uprising of the peasants in Switzerland. The Swiss king sent an army to quash the rebellion, I mean, what are a bunch of illiterates with pitchforks going to do? It seems the peasants had suddenly formed a large army of their own, dressed in white. They not only slaughtered the other guys, they virtually overnight became the richest and most secretive bankers in the world. And everybody knows the reason the King of France went after the Templars is because he owed them so much money—and was right pissed when he could not find their treasure.
Last Laugh
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