May 28 - a modern archeological dig

Ok, this is a bit of a stretch, but bear with me. In a "real" archeological dig researchers uncover evidence of lost civilizations, their technological progress -- did they have fire, work with metals etc. In today's dig, we go through layers of garbage to find the same things.

Which brings me to the subject that has me blogging at 8:58 pm today. I emptied my workshop garbage can today. Since I don't usually put garbage bags in the can, I usually, as in today, empty the contents fistful at a time into a hefty contractor-grade bag. As I work my way down I'm thinking -- oh yes, I remember that project. There's about a year's worth of garbage (all clean stuff, no kleenex, food etc.) and I find metal pieces that remind me of projects, other discarded items that ... well, you get the idea.

Ok, I'm stretching. It just caused me a chuckle and I wanted to record the thought before losing it. One of the jokes that came my way in the last couple of days ... I think from Sheryl ... made me crack up --

My memory's not as sharp as it used to be.
Also, my memory's not as sharp as it used to be.

That about covers my attention span and my memory span !

More later ... or earlier ...

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It's 5:20. I've got my coffee. More wood is on the fire. The dishwasher is empty. My early morning chores are over. Usually at this point I'm checking the news but I thought that I'd get ahead of the game and finish this blog.

It's drizzling again, 11C (52F). What will I be riding in tomorrow ? I'll check the weather shortly, but what will be, will be, according to Doris Day. I haven't ridden since Tuesday so my legs will be either rested up or shocked, depending on your point of view. I decided to not stay at Alex's, since he has a graduation to attend and Jean's working days. I'd have just been in the way. So ... that means that I'll be leaving here around 2am. There won't be much traffic ...

Yesterday was all about working in the basement, or at least that was the plan until early afternoon. I finished up the small area by the beam with some wood inserts. Since it was raining outside, I was making my wood cuts with a hand saw but eventually came to the conclusion that the hand saw made as much sawdust as the electric saw, only slower. I hooked up the vacuum to the table saw and used it for my few small cuts. In the process I also decided on what I'm going to do with the beam itself ... but have not checked in the barn yet to see if I actually have the wood ... here's hoping !

Next I finished up the tiles that go under the ductwork by the stairwell. That sounds easy, but it's a little tricky because the tiles are flush with the undersides of the duct and adjacent to the wall without maneuvering room. It means sliding in the tile with the crossers loose and dangling, putting a temporary wall piece in place to hold the tile, then once the group was in place, the final wall piece goes in lifting the crossers and tiles into place. I probably should have gotten Sandy to help but it was soon complete.

Ah ... both rooms complete. It's time to cleanup. Tools, scraps, everything is all over the place. Tidy up, vacuum, bundle up the garbage and it looks much better. It's at this point that I have my archeological garbage dig. It wasn't until the evening though that it struck me that I should record the thought for posterity.

It's lunch time ... and I partake ... then go back downstairs to do some more work. A fresh project is ahead of me ... suspended ceiling in the bedroom. First off I tackle wiring the closet lighting. That took about an hour to run the wire from the existing ceiling light to the first light, tie in the wire from the switch, run over to the 2nd light, install boxes etc. Ok, that's done. Next I have to put the lag screw-eyes into place so I start measuring, marking and screwing. Ha.

I didn't get very far and the phone rings, Sandy comes down and says that it's Jim and he doesn't sound good. Nope, Jim hurt his neck a couple of days ago -- pulled a muscle or something -- and the pain has been gradually getting worse and it's now at the unbearable stage and he needs a ride to the hospital in Parry Sound. Bonnie is in Sudbury so he's on his own.

I had a quick shower and headed over to their place and off we went to Sudbury. He's obviously in difficulty -- not truly an emergency per se, not life threatening, but the pain exacerbates his asthma which is his real problem. An hour or so later and I drop Jim at the hospital -- he knows the routine and says not to hurry back because he'll be a while. I too know the routine, having been there with Aaron and Jack Robinson. The ER takes time.

So ... off I go to the LCBO and deal with the two missing cases of wine and the one wrong delivery. My latest case had arrived in the meantime, so it wasn't missing anymore. The case from last September is still MIA so Paul signs the paperwork and I'll submit it for a credit. They take back the wrongly delivered case and the member will pick it up. The world has been made right.

Next up, over to the Canadian Tire gas bar, use the ATM, get a Starbucks double cappuccino, skim milk, very dry and fill up my gas tank. It's less than half an hour since I left Jim so I headed back downtown (this is all very close together you understand), park by the LCBO again and go in for a haircut. I got the same lady as last time -- very meticulous, seems to cut individual hairs. It must have taken 30-40 minutes for my hair cut ... I'm wondering how Jim is doing at this point and head back to the hospital. I fully expected that he's still waiting and that I'll next head over to Sobey's and Canadian Tire but lo and behold, he's outside and flags me down. Well, it turns out that he went straight in and was finished in about 15 minutes. He's been walking up and down the driveway ever since, doing what the doctor told him, walking for exercise.

We headed over to the Shoppers Drug Mart for his prescription for Tylenol 3 and a muscle relaxant; I shopped for a couple of things and then called Bonnie and Sandy to give them a status report and ETA. We were back in our respective homes by 6:45, Jim a little groggy after taking three pills, not feeling better yet but hopefully on the road to recovery. Bonnie had told me that Jim's stomach often reacts to medication ... along the way I asked him how he was doing and he said that he was fine but he also had a sickness bag with him. That reminded me of our ski trips with Jeffrey, leaving Sandy's mom's place early in the morning. Jeffrey would be in the car seat between David and Stef, barfing into a ziploc, grossing them out. Jim didn't get sick ... which is a good thing. I can imagine that kind of thing triggering an asthma attack as well ...

We had steak for dinner, the last of the fillet that we purchased last summer and froze after cutting into small steaks. These were quite small, by most standards, 6 oz had been marked on the package by Sandy, probably closer to 4 or 5 oz after the fat was removed. They were good ... I love beef, just don't eat it much anymore. The steak being small, it didn't leave me feeling overly full either, which is good.

The day was done. I watched TV in the basement, taking advantage of the new TV down there and enjoying the finished basement.

Ok ... it's 5:59 ... time for breakfast for me and Abby ...