Don't let the warmer weather fool you! Wind and rain are sometimes worse than extreme cold. And that is why it was essential that Cheryl run at least 7 miles today.
Cheryl is excited!
I like to call it "Practicing being Miserable". The theory, in the Army anyway, was to practice being as miserable as possible so when actual war began... you would think it was a walk in the park. This kind of thinking impresses Cheryl, so Cheryl likes to practice this philosophy in civilian life. Hence while everyone else is relaxing on this holiday, we are busy exerting energy for no real good reason other than it keeps us thoroughly miserable to enjoy the rest of the day. End Explanation.
West Chester Wind Block
So, as mentioned before, it has warmed up and been raining most the night with fairly strong winds. We thought that the combination of rain and wind would be pretty extreme, so Cheryl offered an unfixed mileage this morning. I could feel the wind rock the car and see the constant rain hitting the windshield and thought that 1-3 miles...maybe.
Bundled for rain and FUN!
As we parked and set up, the small sheltered town of West Chester made it almost seem pleasant. The rain let up a touch and the wind was not all that bad. Lets run!
Couple of things....the wind was to our backs on the way out. Small note for people who may not know this...if you run with the wind at your back, it will seem like there is no wind at all! The same for the rain.
The Full Bike Riding Experience
About 2.5 miles out, we left the limited shelter of trees and were running out into the corn fields. The wind was noticeably stronger, and Cheryl suggested we turn around. By this time, the trail was thoroughly swampy. Riding a bike in thick mud is like riding in quicksand! Add in that the sideways rain and head wind were now hitting us full tilt and you may understand why I was not able to keep up with her.
Nice to know Cheryl will not stay behind to help me.
It is good to know that Cheryl will abandon me if a horde of zombies or space aliens are chasing us. That way I don't have to worry that my sacrifice will not be in vain. Nothing irritates me more than the hero who stays behind to "slow down the enemy" only to have his death be in vain when the heroine comes back because she "loves" him. So sappy.
The feeling of Biking in deep mud.
So, I must admire how she left me to the wind and rain and mud as she trotted off back to the car... never once pausing to look back to check if I was OK. At one point, I actually jumped off my bike and ran along side it because it was faster! The mud was so thick, it looked like I was plowing a field instead of riding.
In the end, I ran/bikes/swam/squished about 5 miles while Cheryl ran about 6.5. You see, she forgot I had the keys to the car. So she came back... not for me, mind you! But for the only means of escaping the rain and wind. I can't help but feel a little Schadenfreude.
Kindle Fire Tablet
Christmas has been much better ever since. Cheryl got a tablet to replace her aging laptop.
Simple instructions.
So simple, Only I can translate.
I noticed that it was nice that the manufacturers of the tablet assume it's customers can not read. That must be the reason for these instructions. Unfortunately, Cheryl does not understand "picture language" and so I had to translate. There are advantages to being raised by Cavemen after all.
Shop wall BEFORE
Shop wall AFTER
I got to put the new shelves up. I was feeling so positive after that run and thought I would be able to get more up, but alas.... I was able to only finish one to completion.
(Those doors are real time consumers.) There is no rush, and I'll have plenty of time later in the week.
Hope everyone is having a Great Christmas. With a little luck, the warmer temps and wind will dry out the place a bit. Even so, I think the trail will be off limits until then.
So here is a little pep to cheer you up on these rainy windy days. Enjoy Leigh Nash. And Blue Skies!
I just finished the cabinet, and no it's not going to win any prizes for design or beauty. The doors close, and if I had used better lumber, taken the time to square things up, etc.It may have turned out fancier, but it still functions and I'm happy with that. Besides, at a later date, I can always rebuild it with better materials now that I have the design down. Case in point of the "oh crap!" moments was when I assembled the doors upside down.I decided that, other than the cosmetic imperfection, it should function well enough and I didn't need to take it apart. Aside from that, I now have a nice safe and out of the way place to store my chisels where they are easy to get at.Tomorrow will be spent rearranging my shop stuff that was displaced. Oh! And as of the writing of this post, the new year is officially been new for 3 full hours! ( eastern time) Happy new YEAR! May 2010 bring you all the best! By the way, A Cat update...Rashi seems to be doing better though she is not out of the woods yet. At least she can sleep without looking like she is going to die. Hopefully the antibiotics that she frequently spits out at us are making it inside and doing their job. We'll keep you updated!
Well, life sometimes throws you a curve. I was going to make this a one day project, but our cat has come down with a serious cold and we went to the Vet today. So I got a late start on the cabinet, and I under estimated the materials a bit so there was a good chance I was not going to finish it anyway. So I basically worked on the back part and hammered out any design flaws. I would like to thank Cheryl for showing me this awesome piece of foam rubber we had lying around. It works AWESOME now! I can fit small chisels next to the larger ones and even my paint scraper. Cheryl's suggestion saved me from making a bunch of little slots for each individual chisel, but it did require me to use the wood that was meant for the doors. So the doors will be built later but for now...things are looking pretty good! Oh! and about the cat, the vet sounded positive. She has a chest cold and can't cough up the crap. ( I've been fighting a the same thing for several days now) Se we have been giving her antibiotics and keeping her in the bathroom with the vaporizer on full blast. It seems to be working. In case you are wondering. Sasha is the cat in the middle.
So I finished painting the seats and Cheryl finished painting the cabinet and we added the hardware to the doors. I'm currently up late waitng for the finish to dry for a second coat on the seats. Red seems to like the finished product, even though Cheryl thinks something is still missing. Maybe I'll break out the scroll saw and add a design to the doors with 1/8 th inch plywood. We'll see. Have a great Friday!
I worked on the disaster of a cabinet yesterday, Prying off the doors and gluing up new ones. They still are not as square as I had hoped! Even Cheryl had a hard time drawing on the pattern. ( HA!) Well the doors are now glued on and Cheryl painted them. I'm carving three seats tonight. I'll post again when they are done being painted.
Woohoo! sold seven seats today and only had to carve up 6! ( one was already carved up and ready to go!) The Tree frogs have been very popular lately and they are a favorite of Cheryl ( sarcasm) to paint. She just LOVES to paint the tree frogs! ( More sarcasm) Seriously, the tree frogs are a challenge because there is a lot of detail work and she refuses to leave them to me to paint. ( You see, I'm a slob. And I slather paint all over the edges.) Cheryl is a single- color- stay- in- the- lines kind of painter. I'm a blender ( not the daiquiri kind) I like shading. Monday was a day of disaster! I worked on finishing the cabinet for Cheryl and had everything carefully planned. It was working out fine, until I assembled the doors! Now before I go into the disaster part, I want to say that I was focused on the "sliding" part of the doors making sure they did not bind up and slid smoothly. It was great! I sanded and waxed the rails and "dry fit" the doors several times to make sure they were silky smooth and slid like air....( pats self on back) then I put the second one in and ...the patterns did not match! Cheryl was wonderful enough to point them out to me and was also thoughtful and caring to remind me over and over that I spent all day carefully cutting and gluing up the doors only to have them look bad. And it was a fatal flaw. It was the second time I seriously considered throwing the cabinet out on the burn pile! I don't have a picture of the two doors, it was too embarassing, Let's just say it looked like someone dropped a puzzle. So tomorrow I will be working on day 4 of the Cabinet. Hopefully with better results. As for Cheryl, She is too cute to make me angry. And after the Ethan " hammer and chisel "time we both had a good Chuckle over the mess.
I think it is called a cabinet. I'm not sure. I know she eventually wants to put it in her sewing room and have it act as a place to put her sewing stuff including her machine. Anyway, I made some real progress on it tonight. But as of right how, I have to wait for it to get some paint before I can drive on. Cheryl has "volunteered" to paint the doors. ( she is going for a red background with a black frame. ) While she has the paint out, she offered to paint the rest of it before I assemble and install the doors. Fine by me! So I'm done for the night! While we wait for paint to dry, I have five seats for tomorrow. So I will not be working on it then. So I will sign off and send pictures as they paint drys and we get to the finished assembly.
(Those doors are real time consumers.) There is no rush, and I'll have plenty of time later in the week. 
