Like Pulling Teeth

I had a wisdom tooth pulled Thursday afternoon - that was a lot of fun. As you can see from the photo, the roots curled quite a bit. And, of course, they curled the wrong direction for an easy extraction. So now a day and a half later, I've got a big hole in the back of my mouth and a sore jaw. It also has necessitated the changing of the diet. I'm suffering from chips and cookies withdrawal but eating oatmeal and yogurt is probably a lot better for me anyway. I'm going to try and lose a few pounds starting next week in the interest of lowering my blood pressure and just feeling better. Weaning myself off of chips and cookies is probably a good way to start.

I had to go in to school yesterday. I planned on getting some things organized, cleaned up and working on the computer. I got the clean-up taken care off. I went down to the Wood Shop to see about getting a little organization to both the shop and what I'm going to be doing. Struck out on the computer, though. I figured I'd sit down and get a start on my Moodle lesson plans but the computer wouldn't work. They were hooking up a projector in there and apparently didn't finish that job, so no computer. I've been asking for a projector for three years, so at least there's one hanging from the ceiling. I probably should have specified that I wanted one that worked. My bad. I did finish welding the lifting brackets while I was in there, so not a total waste of time.

School starts Monday and the little darlings report Tuesday. My 36th start but only one more after this one. Not sure what the heck I'm going to do in the Wood Shop this year but I think there might be a wooden boat in there someplace. With school starting, I'm going to be busy as hell until I finish the barn but they changed the hours, so I'll be getting home a little earlier every afternoon. I should be able to get a little something done every day until it's finished.

Happy birthday to the Missus today. We keep getting older but considering the alternative, that's a good thing.

I'm off to help with the 5K run and walk now. I'm going to be keeping an eye on the race walkers to make sure they don't cheat. Since I'm not competing, might as well help out a little. Hope the rain holds off.

Have a good weekend.

Walls Are Ready

I finished up the walls yesterday. I got all the purlins installed and put up a few more diagonal braces. Those, in addition to the OSB sheets on the corners, should keep everything together once the lid is back on. The braces are screwed on rather than nailed which should make them a little more storm resistant as well as make them easier to remove when the time comes. I'll probably insulate and cover the inside walls at a later date. Maybe just run some more OSB around it. I've got plenty of time to decide that.

I started pulling the floor up last evening so I could set the lifting beams. Seems the boys glued and nailed the floor panels down. I got one side done before the mosquitoes started to swarm over me. I'm going to work on some odds and ends this morning and get a wisdom tooth pulled this afternoon. I have to go in to work tomorrow, so I probably won't get back to the barn project until Sat. afternoon. I've got stuff going on Sunday as well, so if I'm lucky, I might be able to have the lifting beams ready to go before Monday. Of course, they are forecasting more rain for the weekend.

So it looks like I'm not quite going to be back to where I started the summer on this project. It's taken up most of the summer but it's actually been kind of fun. Lot's of hard work in the miserable heat and humidity but an interesting challenge. If the lifting and setting of the roof goes as planned, then it will be worth a pat on the back and maybe an "Atta Boy". If it doesn't go as planned, well, I don't even want to think about that.

My favorite Ducati of all time - 900 SS. Photo from here.

When the barn gets done, it'll be time to work on the projects again. I'm thinking I really need to get a street bike together. I've got a lot to do at school the first couple of weeks - new class to teach, Moodle thing to master, get my self organized a little - and then I'll be able to tackle a few things. Every time I go out into my shop I hear the 900 Kaw calling my name. If I drug that over to school and spent a few evenings or Saturday afternoons working on it, I'd have it done pretty quick. Not really that much more to do. Be nice to have a bike to ride again. Been a long time now since I had something to ride. That needs to change.

Enough resting. Gotta get a little something done.

Lugs

Lifting Lugs

Cut Edge

I picked up the pieces for my lifting cradle from Steelcraft Fabricators. Taking my stuff there was a wise move. I could have cut the parts out myself but I can't drill an 1-1/8" hole so I would have had to cut everything by hand, including the hole. By the time I got them done and cleaned up, it just wasn't going to be worth it. If you look at the close up of the cut edge, that's just how the part comes from the torch. No slag to chip off, the edges are square and the dimensions are right on the money. Can't beat that. Good people to do business with. I started welding things together this morning - got the four lifting thingies tacked together and two welded up before lunch. Picked up a few more 2x4s on the way home so I can finish running the purlins around the building. The walls are just about ready for the top to be put back on.

It looks like it's a go for the trip to the Bare Knuckle Boxing Hall of Fame trip. There was a little write up in the local paper out there about Jimmy coming to train. I'll have to burn most of my personal business days but that's not much of a hardship. It should be a lot of fun and unlike the trip to Oklahoma, I'll be able to do more than just sit around in a hotel room. I'm going to try and work out as much as possible while I'm there. Since I quit running and cycling, both my weight and blood pressure have crept up. I need to keep both of those under control so I can enjoy my upcoming retirement.

The weather is supposed to be just about perfect tomorrow. I'm going to work on the barn, naturally enough, but what I should do is go fishing. The weather this summer has been terrible. It was either hot and humid or storming. I can't remember having more than one of those nice summer showers. It's always thunder, lightning and wind gusts. Kind of like yesterday, actually. Anyway, tomorrow's going to be a good one and that will make two in a row. Enjoy them while we got 'em.

Header's In

I got some much needed help this morning moving the lifting beams and the header. Since I'm not sure of the company policy, I won't mention who helped, but his service truck with the crane made things real easy. It took about 2-1/2 hours to load the beams, transport them, stick them under the barn roof, set the header and put the spiral staircase on the trailer to take back to school. If it would have taken two hours and 25 minutes, we wouldn't have gotten wet. A damn storm blew in just as we were setting the header. We still got the stair set on the trailer, even though it was like a big lightning rod hanging off the end of the crane, just as the rain started really coming down. We both got soaked, but for me at least, it was well worth it.

It's good to have friends - thanks.

Next step on the walls is to get the plywood on the corners to keep everything together and square, complete the header installation and start nailing up the purlins. Next step on the roof section is to make the spreader bar and lifting what-cha-ma-call-its for the lifting beams. I took some stock over to the place I buy my material Friday and he's going to cut out some pieces for me on his big plasma. Those should be done tomorrow afternoon. Once I get those, I can make the lifting things and slide those on the beams and bolt them in. Then it's jack the beams and cross ties into place and secure all that. After that, take a few roof sections off and call the wrecker. Piece O' Cake.

Mower/Barn

I got my new mower delivered this morning. I spent a good part of Thursday checking out just about every lawn and garden outfit within a 30 mile radius. I finally settled on a Bad Boy. Because it's a zero turn, I had visions of ramming into and mowing off about everything in sight but I figured it out pretty quick. I managed to mow the front and back prior to heading out to the gym at ten. Looks like I'll be able to mow in just about half the time it took before. Of course, the other mower wouldn't hardly back up anymore, so that slowed things down considerably.

I went over to school in the afternoon and finished bolting together the second lifting beam. I've got some help coming in the morning to get them loaded on the trailer. Since I'm not sure how long it will take to load and deliver them, I'm not sure what else we can get done. It'll be nice if we can get the header spotted inside the barn or up on some scaffolding. I don't want to take too much of his time - he works lots of hours.

I got a little more work done on the walls but got rained out this afternoon. That means the grass is going to continue to grow - good thing I got the mower. Surly gave me a hand moving the last of the appliances back into the kitchen. I got the trim installed in the laundry room but I've still got a couple of pieces to finish in the kitchen. I didn't think of it until now or I would have worked on it earlier today. I need to remember the goal for the year: Finish what you start and don't start anything else until you do. It's been a little trouble finishing anything with the barn job going on but it's been real easy not to start anything else, however.

Won't be long and it'll be time for lift-off. I might be able to schedule the wrecker for the end of the week. I'm getting a wisdom tooth pulled on Thursday plus I've got a few other odds and ends to look after this week. Just might be able to get the lid put back on, though.

We've Got Walls

The Building Trades Instructor came by today and gave me a hand on the walls of the barn. We got the two I already had built put up and we got the last one pretty much done. I need to line up some muscle to give us a hand lifting the header up onto the plate and while the muscle is here, they can give me a hand putting the lifting beams under the lid. I'm shooting for Monday. I need to finish the one beam first and I've got some computer training on Friday. I also need to go shopping for a lawn mower. It looks like mine isn't going to be able to finish out the season.

The tile guys finished up today - the new floor looks pretty nice. It's a hell of an improvement from the carpet that was in there. Who puts carpet in a kitchen anyway? Must have been someone who didn't cook. I need to let the tile set up a day before I start putting the appliances back and I need to get the baseboard installed after that. Another job for my spare time.

As always, lots to do and little time to get it done. Actually, I would have gotten more done this summer if I wasn't so damn tired at the end of the day. The heat sucks the strength out of me and when I could be getting some other things done inside, I'm rocking back in the recliner nursing a sore chest or back or just trying to recover. One good thing, in a oddball sort of way, is that most of the back issues lately are the standard lower back thing caused by the heavy lifting. I've been nursing that for years - kind of like an old friend come-a-callin' instead of the other crap I've had going on. I'll be able to rest Friday while I'm learning to Moodle. Hard to get too excited about something like that when you're already starting to think of yourself as a short timer. But hey, we got walls!

Venice Morning

Photo From Here:

(NSFW)

Not exactly a Venice morning (more like a Kersey morning) but I recognized this spot as soon as I saw the photograph. I also was looking at the new Bicycling magazine yesterday morning and there's an article in there about a bike ride in the area around Siena. Proud to say I've been there too.

Looks like another hot day on tap. I told the Missus the other day I can't wait for the knuckleheads on the radio to be forecasting wind chill advisories instead of the damn heat index. They're forecasting some storms for this week. Might have a tough time getting anything done on the barn. I'm going to try and finish up the other lifting beam today and be ready to go on that, at least.

Only two weeks left of my vacation. Didn't get diddly squat done on the list of things I'd hoped to get accomplished, but like the Cubs, there's always next year. The tile guys showed up though, so we'll have a new floor in the kitchen and laundry room. Could be worse, all things considered.

Stay cool.