September 16, 2021

Yesteryear
One year ago today: September 16, 2020, largely successful bandaging.
Five years ago today: September 16, 2016, easiest to lose.
Nine years ago today: September 16, 2012, Lincoln to Vinita.
Random years ago today: September 16, 2014, me, pay a band???

           Do I get out the ladder and fix the roof? Check back before noon, if you see pictures, then I got up there. This is the shady side, you may remember I re-tarred the shingles along the metal valley on the south and now if it works on the other side, I can put off replacing the asphalt for another few years, since it is not that bad. Let’s see, the weather says 74°F and mostly cloudy. That’s what around here we call an opportunity.

           Who’s that broad that keeps announcing the Arizona audit results “next week”. She’s a bitch for that, but I’ll grant she’s smart. Like how she doesn’t like the people who go to Starbucks for coffee instead of Dunkin Donuts, she has that right. I’m going to follow her to find out why anything she posts gets 800+ comments. What has she got that I don’t? Besides being a young woman in a military uniform and having a six-year head start, I mean.

           Here’s the view from the pathway, showing the shelves, boxes, and mayhem of hauling the shed contents outside. Most of what you see is heading for the incinerator. These were temporary shelves and storage I scrounged in the early day. Much is water damaged from original roof. I also uprooted hundreds of weeds that got established along the walk. The plan is to frame this wall with 2x3s and see if it becomes nice enough to spend some real time out there. I always intended to do most work in the sheds. That was before they filled up with “stuff”.
           Luck was with me, it stayed cool until past 10:00AM. I got the south wall of the red shed cleared out, see next photo. Even swept it clean enough to begin work. You can see the water damage along the bottom rim, but that was largely due to roof leaks. That side of the roof does not leak at all any more. So much so that spot is slated for my “dry” work bench. You can maybe make out the massive church A/C unit installed in the wall. Right now, that area is cooler than my front bedroom, where I can’t find the wire that makes the fried unit blast on full cold. Now, we go by trial and error.

           By noon, the wall is framed and lying on the ground outside. It’s now a fight against the thermometer, if I can get the unit squared and tarpapered, I might be able to drag it inside before it gets up to around 85°F which is about my limit. I’ve reach a gallon of iced tea already. Why not split the work over two days? Because I had to haul a ton of stuff out of the shed which I would have to put back in before the afternoon rains.
           For the last 45 minutes, I was able to work inside with the A/C, which extended my work time. Nice and cool but I think there is something wrong with the way the electric is wired, maybe the church replaced the cord. It seems too flimsy for such use. The metal wall is warped and rusted a lot. I will simply attach it to the new frame with lots of metal screws. One error already caused me hardships. You can’t see it, but there is a small rim that goes around the top of the wall where the roof is attached. If meant my whole wall was 1-1/2” too long and because it was in the path of nails, no way to notch around it. Instead, I removed a stud around the A/C and turned it on it’s flat side.

Picture of the day.
Russian arctic gas plant.
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           It’s 1:30PM and the wall frame is inside. Nearby there should be a photo of the framing progress. The air conditioner is running full blast while I take a coffee break. We’re only around 80% overcast but the thunderheads are building. I should be okay in about an hour. If I get more, I’ll have time to rig up a temporary work counter which will expedite the whole project. I found my dipole FM antenna and some other goodies I’d long kind of given up on. You may recall, I had to throw almost everything in the shed when my hired help never showed. That didn’t allow time for inventory.

           The middle picture in the panel needs describing. It is actually along the wood sitting at a 17° angle to form a sill. If you strain, I’m pointing to a groove cut lengthways along the entire under side of the lip. The relevance to me is this was cut in a moment or two with the biscuit joiner. Normally this would have entailed setting up the table saw and fence. The purpose is even if water decides to flow up the ramp by capillary action, it can’t get past that barrier. Not the diagonal bracing.
           What is the cutout for? A long narrow window out of an old patio door. Not only to brighten the interior, but to give the planned work table on the inside a less constricted feel. The view will be into the back yard and makes it possible to watch the incinerator from the comfort of air conditioning. I’m wiring the church unit directly to a switch rather than bother with a receptacle. The entire arrangement is a good reflection of the experience I’ve gained. I’m no pro but I’ll get you pictures of the wall in place shortly.

           Hmmm, 7-1/2 hours with only two tea breaks, but I must admit something. I used to say when the time comes I can’t pound nails without getting winded, it’s time to hang up. I’m sad to say that time is arrived. If the full 40 years of this blog ever gets published, I wonder how well it will reflect my changing times and priorities. It began as a journal because I have a poor memory for certain details, so maybe I should some day read the darn thing myself. The most noticeable effect is things long ago seeming like just a few years. But certainly not like y’day, that must be for people who are sincere do-nothings.

           Aha, 3:10PM and I beat the rain by four or five minutes. The wall is up, the shelf in place and I got the tools inside before too much of a sprinkle. Here’s this year’s best shot of the purple flowers. Have I ever identified them? Can’t recall. I’d propagate them but they have a weird niche. If you plant them in the sun, they won’t grow, but in the partial shade the get far too long and spindley. These few flowers are on the top of four and five foot stalks. I like them but they block the front door and always have to be cut down.

           Pat-B thinks these flowers are hibiscus. If so, they don’t look small and bushy like the ones in my field guide. In other news, the band has postponed the Friday meeting until Monday. This signals one of two markedly different organizational structures. Any good news? In a sense, I’ll try to explain. During the last rehearsal there were several spots when things got confunded (not a typo). As ever, I kept on playing right through and everybody was able to get back on track. The looks said, “You can do that on a bass?” This seems to have had a lot of impact. I repeat, I honest feel with my bass playing and a few minor changes, this band could be a four-piece.

ADDENDUM
           Budgets are a tool and yes, you can drop one on your toe. Life is too unpredictable to keep within a budget, rather it is the mild but constant striving that produces results. Due to my recent aches, I stayed home and by half-way of the month, I know I’m up $237. From experience, I know writing my reaction and methods of budgeting have been blog favorites, so why change? I dunno, maybe other bloggers don’t tell their experiences, but not many of them last long, either, ha-ha.
           Well, it was not a good year so far. Despite reduced levels of activity and travel, no major purchases, and in general little inflationary impact, every category I track has pushed to the limit. Since my unusually early retirement, I’ve taken on the bad habit of using the term “deficit” to refer to a personal quirk. It’s whenever I have to spend money that is not supplied by my pensions. My long-term readers can testify the years I skimped to max out my pensions just for a better go of things. And I’m certainly not complaining in that department, but nor am I thanking the system or anybody in it. Everything thing out there and along the way strove to impoverish me just as it continues to do to others who often don’t realize even what they are up against.

           I survived that hurdle. Every law, every program, every bureaucracy, every shithead, every last loser and deadbeat along the way supporting a system they called “sharing” to get at your hard-earned dollar. Never directly, these cowards don’t have the cajones, but always watching you and tweaking the structure to their advantage. Witness how every last item you have of any value is logged on a government database somewhere—and they will use it to jab a needle in your arm. Oh look, there’s my birdbath in the middle of a jungle attack.
           I have the infamous “fixed income” that planners tell us to avoid during retirement—but then your only option is to run risks that make the brokers rich—and every cent is on file with the government and we’ve just seen what a great idea that is. But I also have my planned sources which are not pensions but are there to make up any shortness. I wrongly refer to that money as deficit spending where it really is a dip into the pocket of money I’d prefer to spend on well-deserved luxuries. And I do, I mean look at the things like houses and vans I’ve paid for cash in the past ten years. That didn’t come from any damn government pension.

           Patience, I’m getting to the point. Thus, my budget would be handily recognized as the division of fixed and variable income by any accounting student. Very similar, and it is the variable part to which I have been dipping. I allow for overspending, for example in Tennessee I take the Reb to the movies, which these days is never less than $40, same with dinner. But I just said, I allow for that. And that is where things have increased, which I will go over but I don’t think I’m going to find a lot.
           Instead, I find what is missing. Whenever there are shared amounts, discrepancies arise and I seem to have lost important papers for the last quarter of 2020. Must be in the room where I’m renovating and I’ll find them but I’m miffed they were not there when I needed. I know there was a $625 vet bill I picked up and a short patch where I paid for all the gasoline. And the statements for May this year have just evaporated. I allow that others don’t handle bank statements as if they are real money, but that month saw $1,561 in extra deposits, but also $1,114 in extra expenses and making me suspect something got double paid in Tennessee.
           No, folks, there is no chance of anything funny. If the Reb wants it she can take it. I can account for $3,500 in things like van upgrades and more expensive gas. I’ll keep looking and I’ll find the increase but you can probably guess I’m not referring to a few hundred bucks here and there. Prime suspect? That recent trip through Tallahassee and Tuscaloosa. It doubled as my holiday this year but also set me back over $2,000. And I crashed in the van, stopping only for light meals. And checking out the college babes, but that’s on the entertainment budget, it still cost twice what it should have.

Last Laugh