Monday, July 29, 2013

No pity party.

 

 

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Just a random picture of our Rose of Sharon out front.

 

Window work has slowed just a tad.  On Thursday I went to do something with my left hand and realised I must have *done* something, because that sucker was just about useless.  I mean, it didn’t hurt as long as I didn’t move it, try to use it or look at it sideways.  It woke me up in the night too.  I hate that.

It’s heaps better today,  and I guess it was one of those “getting old” mysteries?  Either that or I did something and immediately forgot about it.  Quite likely.

It didn’t take any more than a couple painful reminders to realise that it’s best to have TWO HANDS to do most anything?  That’s when I said to myself,  “And I’m not even *ambidexterious*.”

So this is where I’m leading up to this whole “ambidexterious” thing.  Forget the hand.  It’s not about the hand.

See,  back when I was about,  oh don’t know, twelve?  I used to think that my dear ole Dad was kidding when he would miss-pronounce certain words.  Instead of ambidextrous,  he would say “ambidexterious”.   The only other one he said that I recall was “paramacy”,  for Pharmacy.  I don’t know why he didn’t just call it a drug store.  But again,  I thought he was kidding.

Well no.  At some point in time,  possibly when I was in my late teens or early twenties,  I realised that no,  he wasn’t kidding.  That’s the way he thought those words should be pronounced.  OK then.

I mean, usually as you get older,  your parents start to “get smarter”.  Not for me.  No sir.  Had to be different.

The other thing too was,  dear ole Dad was not one that took kindly to being corrected?  About anything.  I wasn’t going there.

I mean,  I know I’m pretty obstinate, and I’m sure my kids make fun of me,  but at least they can do it to my face.  Well, mostly.

They just know that it’s a slippery slope to make fun of the Old Man,  because it might just come back one day.

 

So I muddled along with the window.  And no,  there was no “crew” this weekend.  The big window is just now ready for its second coat of finish.  Having a useless left hand didn’t help.  The next couple of weekends are kind of up in the air,  since Travelling Companion and I are off to a cottage on Friday,  and the following Saturday there’s a wedding to go to.   We’ll play the window installation by ear.  Some time before the snow flies??  That would be good.

 

Meanwhile,  a neighbour across the way has been packing up and moving out,  since the owner of the house he’s renting wants to sell the property.  It’s a long and sad tale about this gentleman who has lived there since well before we went to Europe in ‘08.  He moved in there with his daughter after his wife passed away,  and it wasn’t long after that,  that SHE too died.   It was a terminal illness, and her life expectancy wasn’t all that great,  but still.

So,  he’s been living there with his two cats,  and the report back from the owner is that,  well?  The place was a bit messy?  I’ll spare you the details.

Anyway,  the owner left a trailer there for him to fill with “stuff”,  and every few days the owner would come by,  hitch up to it and take it away to the transfer station.   This happened a few times.

Then,  this weekend,  he was supposed to be out,  and nothing had really been finished up as of the Saturday.
Saturday night,  around dinner time I guess it was,  a rental truck showed up,  and we figured that he had hired a crew to take away the rest of his things.

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That picture is actually from today,  but let me ‘splain.

They loaded a few things,  and off they went.  I thought they would be coming back,  since they had left a lot of stuff still sitting.  And sitting.

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Annoyingly,  I don’t have a telephoto for the Nikon, so you’ll have to click on that one.

Well,  Saturday night it RAINED.  I mean, we’re talking torrential downpour here!  And all that stuff was still outside!   I thought, “his stuff is going to be ruined!”.

It turns out that this was all items that were being donated to some sort of charity,  but still.  I’m hoping the box spring and mattress go in the dumpster!  Maybe the rain washed out the cat urine?  Smoky smell?  I don’t know.  I’ve always been somewhat suspect of upholstered items available at the Goodwill.   I do now believe my suspicions have been confirmed!

Caveat Sofa Shopper.

Well,  unless it’s just going to sit outside in the rain I guess.

 

 

It’s about that time to sharpen the blade on the mower.  I’m funny that way.  I like it sharp.  I mean, it’ll beat the grass off,  but sharp is always better.

And of course,  I have a tool for that.  *snort*  Was there any doubt?

If you’ve ever tried to remove a blade without an impact driver, good luck is all I’ll say.  Even with a bloody great long bar,  you’re bound to hurt yourself.  But with the impact driver it’s easy peasy.  You don’t even have to hold it from turning…

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Then of course,  it needs to be checked for balance before going back on.

All you need is a vice and a blade of some sort on which to balance.

 

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Unless you have to grind out a great big chunk of metal after running aground somewhere,  the blade should remain reasonably balanced.

 

And now I’d better go cut some grass.

 

Keep yer blades sharp.

Thanks for stopping by.

 

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9 comments:

  1. Interesting stuff about your dad. When I was a kid it was practically a suicide mission to criticize or make of fun of my parents.

    I have a riding lawn mover that I negotiated for when I bought the house. I have managed to take a chunk of cement out with it, so I am guessing I am not cutting the grass as much as beating it into submission:)

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  2. I hear you about the random things your body comes up with. One day it's my hip, the next my knee, the third maybe my elbow: it's our punishment for living so long!

    My mother-in-law had a couple words she mis-pronounced but I think it was just an affectation. Yellow was yallar to her but then again she was a fairly stupid and definitely un-educated woman.

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  3. Yep, my mother said things like horse-dee-vors. It was a little embarrassing when I was in college and volunteered to bring some to a party. That's when I found out the correct pronunciation. :(

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  4. I've seen some of that goodwill furniture, don't even want to touch it! You may have strained your hand with all your projects?
    Kind of sad on the neighbor, sounds like he may have gotten mentally lost with his losses...

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  5. Sad story about the neighbor, guess it gives you something to keep an eye out for. Love your Rose of Sharon. I tried 3 different plants and gave up because the ants totally took over and destroyed each plant.

    I so have have some sympathy for your hand. I woke up today and I can't use my right hand. I think I overused my crutches yesterday. Now I'm grounded for a bit.

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  6. If you wouldn't keep hitting your hand with your hammer, it wouldn't be giving you so much trouble! :cD

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  7. We had a neighbor kinda like yours. A crew ended up coming in wearing biohazard suits, due to all the dead animals that were found in there. Another crew ended up hauling the man and all his guns away. A third crew came in and demolished the house. It's a nice quiet patch of lawn there now. No troubles (or smells) anymore.

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  8. Keep those blades sharp, nice job.
    In a fe w weeks your hand should be better and then the window. have fun.

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  9. My hands always feel kind of funny as I think the Carpal Tunnel Surgery I had several years back has worn off. Oh well, I can live with it.

    I've never tried to sharpen my own lawn mower blades just for fear of messing up the balance - I'm no genius when it comes to mechanical things.

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Well, I've been getting too many spam comments showing up. Just a drag, so we'll go another route and hope that helps. So, we won't be hearing anything more from Mr. Nony Moose.
I guess I'll just have to do without that Gucci purse.