Nov 26 - break in the routine

I cut the last five pieces of 8' lumber and laid them out and fastened down all the boards from the day before as well.  That takes time as there are 10 screws per board.  It's probably overkill but having doubled up the outside stringers, I put screws in both boards and then there's a middle stringer.  The impact driver is getting quite a workout.  It's too bad that I don't have my deck driver here; of course it's up north.  It will run much longer per battery.

The other tool that I miss is my impact wrench.  I've put in 7 of those 8" x 1/2" lag screws with the ratchet.  I guess that it's good exercise ... but it's a slow process.

The tide was heading downward and I was finished for the day so we took the Skiff out to one of the midway islands giving Cassie a treat. She was still limping so we didn't do much running.  It seems better this morning or at least I haven't noticed it.  We'll take it easy for another day and see how she holds up.  The limp has been one of the front legs, like a bit of shoulder pain probably from the way the fool dog runs around at times and plays.  Yesterday she was having a great time with the banana leaves blowing in the wind, jumping up at them and playing tug-of-war.

She really is a good puppy.  She has shown no inclination to chew any of the furniture, quite a contrast with Abby.  She's probably at the stage where we can leave her in the kitchen sans crate.  Speaking of which ...

She's been good going to bed in her kennel at night and has even put up with me being up early in the morning without too much complaint.  Last night, however, we did have a break in that "good dog" action.  It's not unusual for Sandy and/or me to get up sometime in the 2-3 a.m. timeframe and use the bathroom.  Last night was no exception except that Cassie, good hearing and all, decided that we were up and she wanted up too.  Bark and whine; I went to her and told her "no barking" which usually does the job, but not this time.  I didn't want to take her out and link barking to getting out of the kennel so I spent some time with her until she settled down and then let her out.  She trotted out and quite happily slept for 1.5 hours lying against the baby gate between the kitchen and living room -- her favorite spot -- while I crashed on the couch.  I probably could have gone back to bed but not sure about that.

That was the break in the routine.  This might be a dog that doesn't need the crate for security. 

She does love the boat.  The Skiff is working out quite well.  Abby would have loved it too.  In fact, it was with Abby in mind that I'd told Sandy last Spring that I'd be replacing the little Whaler when we got back here. 

Now I need to get out fishing ... which was the other part of getting the boat.

Back to the dock/deck -- I need 9 more 8' pieces of lumber to finish up the last few walkway boards as well as put in the down pieces.  I'm still thinking about how to properly brace those pieces as they're not all that strong simply having screws attached at the top.  I need a triangle in there somewhere.

The weather has been beautiful albeit windy.  With NE winds running over 20mph, we had pretty good rollers in the IntraCoastal Waterway yesterday.  I'll have to fight that wind today, hopefully getting out for a ride.  There's no chance of a conflict; Sandy isn't a Black Friday shopper :).  I will go to HD but don't expect any deals on lumber. 

On the fastener front, I went through two 5-pound boxes of screws before buying the 25-pound box which costs about the same as three 5-pounders.  I don't think that I have enough screws to finish the job; will probably need at least one more box.  If I decide to do the other section of deck, I'd need even more so perhaps I should buy another 25 pounds.  At $100 a pop, those boxes are expensive.

That last section of deck would need 20 x 10' pieces.  Beyond that, there's the railings and also the railing walkway.  The regular railing is topped with 2x6's but the railing walkway is 2x8x12' pieces. To do any more of this I'd need to use the trailer again.  8' pieces hang out the back of the SUV about 1.5'; 10' pieces obviously 2' further.  The bigger issue with the longer pieces is tying them down at the front ... no ... I think that using the boat trailer wold be best.

We had Pompano for dinner accompanied by spaghetti squash.  I quite like SS as a change of pace.

We're another day, another night, closer to heading north.  Didn't we just get here ?  In a little more than two weeks we'll be heading north.  Cassie will have her first taste of snow.  We'll get our short taste of winter before coming back for 4+ months.  We don't know what Jim and Shery's schedule is at this point as she's executor for her cousin Doug, who just passed away.  I only met him once, I believe.  He's a cousin on Sheryl's and Sandy's Mom's side.  I believe that he has a sister with whom he had a falling out many years ago, so this is all up to Sheryl to organize his house for sale etc. 

Onward ...