Front Deck Decisions

I think I'm going to move forward with the deck stain on the front doorstep and just get it installed. The delay stemmed from what sort of stain to use in light of what color we're going to paint the house. Since we still are not sure what color to use, though we're leaning to red, I was hesitant to move forward, but I realize this could go on forever. Who knows when we'll decide.

In the meantime, I'd like to get something over the front before Winter really sets in, though I might be too late. What I need to do is get that deck board down, then put in the trim and then finish with clapboards. I have most of the materials, I just need to do it. This could be the weekend I begin, but we'll see.

I'm going with a water based waterproofing agent for the front step. I'll cut the wood to size, stain it, then nail it in. Once the step is in, I can tackle the trim and then the clapboards. I won't be able to paint them this year, especially since we don't even know what color to paint the house, but they're primed and should survive the Winter... I hope.

Until then, thanks for reading.

Maybe Painters and No JH

I met up with RH, JH's brother (we're big fans of the H's), who is a painter, and we talked about our options for painting the exterior and interior of the house. In typical fashion, I was hoping he'd hold my hand (not literally) and tell us what to do, but he was very professional about it and offered a bunch of suggestions and advice. In other words, the ball is in our court, and we have to decide.

I hate when that happens. Now R and I have to sit down, ruminate over color options, and then make some choices. Personally, I'm still leaning to red, but I'm beginning to realize that the only way to really know is to, like everything in life, just do it, and then if it doesn't work, try again. I could spend my entire life torturing myself over making the right decision. Meanwhile, life just passes you by.

One thing is for certain, painting will not begin until the Spring. The interior work will involve oil based primers, and would be best accomplished with the windows open. Can't do that in the Winter.

Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to jorge vicente for the pic.

Septic Pumped

I contacted Herrin's about getting the septic tank pumped and they managed to squeeze me in while the guy was in the area. Otherwise, who knows when he would have come.

It worked out well because the day before and the day of were both warm, so there were no concerns about leaving the tank exposed. I managed to find the opening and clean the area around the door, readying it for its big cleaning.

The next day, the couldn't tell me when he'd be there, so we kind of had to sit around and wait for him. He finally arrived in the late morning, while the kids were playing upstairs. I closed all the windows and had planned on sitting back and letting the guy do his job, but curiosity got the best of me, and I had to take a peak.

When he lifted off the lid, I was expecting to be knocked off my feet, but in all honesty, it really wasn't that bad. The kids said it smelled terrible from up on the second floor. According to N, "It reeked." I don't know, I was standing right next to it, looking straight down into the abyss, and while I wasn't about to jump and go for a swim, I wasn't devastated.

It didn't even look that bad. I thought I'd see the gory details, floating nuggets and assorted refuse, but it really just looked like muddy sludge.

Maybe I'll leave it at that. I chatted with the septic guy, and he gave me a quick lecture on the merits of adding a concrete stem to the opening, but I wasn't sure if that was to make my life or his life easier. Whatever be the case, if I have to dig it out every 4 years, it's not such a big deal. I can live with that.

In the meantime, our tank is clean. He said it looked fine, which was good enough for me. Now I can use the bathroom with peace of mind, which is important when you consider that these are sacred moments and better left unaffected by worries about your tank.

Until the next time, thanks for reading.

Injury Report

I hurt my wrist, and I'm not even sure how. It feels like tendonitis, and it's not bad, it's just a bit sore when I try to lift heavy objects, like frying pans filled with potatoes.

I'd like to think that I hurt it at my last karate class while delivering a death blow to my opponent, but I didn't even spar last class. I might have done it when I was splitting wood, because my limbs endure a lot of stress when I'm working the maul.

However, I think I may have to face the unfortunate reality that I probably hurt it handling a pot or pan while making dinner. Not a very manly way to hurt yourself, but that's why I'm still just a real-man in training.

Speaking of injuries, my back is acting up, as well. Again, I don't know how I hurt it, but it's sore, and when I lay down in certain positions, I have a heck of time getting up off the floor. Am I getting old, or what? The old body just can't shake it like it used to. Time to break out the Geritol.

Until the next time, thanks for reading.

Septic Search and Find

Yet another job tackled and dealt with. I'm no expert on septic systems, in fact, most of my life I never had to deal with them and didn't really even know what they were. That's what happens when you grow up in the big city.

Since moving here, however, I've become very familiar with them. Not so much because we had problems with ours, we did not, but more so because you hear about all these horror stories, and they all involve urine and defecation. Not exactly dinnertime topics.

Either way, we knew we were due to have our's pumped, and this was something we'd never done before. The tank was pumped prior to our moving in, but we had yet to take care of it. We are not heavy septic users, and are vigilant about not putting the wrong stuff down there, or even using our garbage disposal. I'd say we're pretty conscientious users, but even the most careful person still needs to have the stuff pumped out.

I'd heard of people who claim to have never pumped their tank, which I don't believe, but some say every year, some say every other, and others say 4-5 years. Who do you believe? We could erred to the side of caution and just done it after one year, but that would have involved me digging and locating the tank lid.

Naturally, I put it off for 4 years. The time had come, however, and it was best to do it before the ground froze. At least, that's what I thought, especially since I was the one who was going to do the shoveling.

I recall MG telling me the distance from the house, but also recall SG actually digging it up, and there was a residual bare spot where he did it, even after 4 years. I started there, and ended up going down probably about 4 feet before I found the lid. I eventually figured out that the location of the tank actually lines up with some landmarks, so I'll use those the next time.

Now that I've found the tank, I just have to wait for the guy to come and pump it. I just hope we don't get a frost before that time because the tank is exposed.

Until then, thanks for reading.

Closing the Garden

It seems that no matter how good our intentions are, we just can't pull certain things off when we want to. We've been talking about preparing the garden for Winter for weeks, and we had an early frost so nothing is really worth saving at this point, except for potatoes under the ground and maybe some squash, it's all destined for the compost heap.

Of course, we never got around to it, and put it off for weeks. However, last week we decided to finally deal with it, and N and I took it upon ourselves to take care of business (what a guy thing to do). We not only pulled out all the corn and assorted plants that were done and over, but we also got on our hands and knees and dug up the last of the potatoes.

We actually ended up with quite a few, and had a blast doing it. I really enjoy doing jobs with the kids, it makes it fun and I feel good that they enjoy taking part and helping out. Plus, they're a lot of fun to hang out and talk with.

Next up, we're going to have to tackle all those leaves, but that's something they've been itching to do, anyway. Until then, thanks for reading.

Car Repair

This is a completely trivial matter, but when you're a real man in training, you're always looking for someone to toss you a bone.

The headlight on our car burned out, and my first thought was to ask our mechanic to change it when he installed the intake pipe. Then I decided that it might not be too hard, and maybe I could it myself.

Sure enough, I consulted the manual and the instructions were right there. I got a bulb, which was actually kind of pricey, and then dismantled the front light and put it in. It was actually pretty easy, and I learned that you can buy brighter bulbs, which might not be such a bad idea since there are times when it doesn't seem like our lights are even on.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Until the next time, thanks for reading.