If you read Anne's blog you know I have been working on the back porch. She even has pictures. Well, I can't very easily take pictures of myself while I'm working now, can I? In one of her pictures you see me leaning on a post which I was very proud to have erected. After I got it there, I realized that it was probably going to be too short at 42" for the new railing. The old post had been 42" so I went with that and the post sleeves that you buy are 42". Not being a builder of porches, I didn't consider that the post sleeve goes above the step while the post continues on below. Also, step railings on 1911 built houses were shorter than they are today. Anyway, I didn't expect to get much work done today because of tropical storm Hanna. I was surprised that I was able to get about four hours of work done, cutting a new 48" post, cutting a new 2x10 piece to mate it to, getting everything as plumb as possible. [Why is it that everything can line up perfectly when held together and clamped, but the second you drill a whole, things get out of whack?] Oh well, I got all the steps in and a composite sleeve and cap on the post. I still have to putty the screw wholes, touch up the paint on the risers, sand and paint the stringers and, of course, put in the railing. That will require some angle cuts, so I had better be wide awake.
She Who Must be Obeyed is anxious for me to start on power washing the porch so that she can start painting the railing that she has been diligently working on. That means cleaning the soffits, pillars, and, oh the window frames need painting. (Please refer to "Baby Blues" in today's comic section of your local newspaper.)
It is certainly a full time job taking care of
Morning Glory Alley. I'd better retire so I have the time.
As for tropical storm Hanna, it soaked us with a couple of inches of rain and we had some light wind, but nothing as of 10:00 pm that would seem like a tropical storm/former hurricane. That's ok with me. I wanted there to be a couple of inches more water in the pool and I think we needed the rain, although not all at once.
4 comments:
Is it really considered retiring if you are still going to be doing a lot of work? You definitely have a different approach than my father. He spent his day planting one small tree today....a sapling....that has nine counterparts....that are still in the same container they were planted in a month ago when he got them.
Oh forgot to mention that your new grandchild has a name....Tyler Scott.
Leo picked out the first. Had picked out a middle name that sounded good with Tyler, but that I didn't like after thinking of people that I knew that had the same name, so we came up with Scott.
Ok, ok, ok, I should read my own blog. I'm guilty. Actually, I read everyone else's blog last night but my own. Not that it would have made any difference since I wasn't up at 1:20.
Great name!!! I was kind of worried that, in keeping with your attraction to unusual names, you might name him Huckleberry.
You folks certainly have been busy decorating and such. In addition to the porch, I have also been busy moving furniture in the den since I had Ted, Stephan and Adrian help move the filing cabinets up to the attic.
I think I may have to take a few retirement lessons from your father. It seems I'm transitioning from a desk job to physical labor and I'm not getting paid for it.
In response to your comment to my comment, I placed both of those early Tuesday morning. If you would have read your own blog last night you would have known. Apparently, no one else reads them because other people have asked what the name is. Yeah, dad is taking retirement to heart. Today he planted some more trees and watched turkeys in his backyard.
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