left overs
My brother heads back to Iraq and the work left in his wake is immeasurable. Sure, loads of things were built and new plans were added to old plans and old plans were just thrown out in place of new avenues and dreams. That always happens.
In the space of month, a new vehicle arrived, two new buildings went up, fence lines and construction were debated, new driveway layouts were pondered, new tools arrived and were assembled for use and alcohol was consumed. All in all, a heavy flow month.
As he flies across the ocean blue, I am left with a mountain of projects that will require more time and energy than I have in the remaining summer months. It's imperative that the chickens have a safe, warm place to roost for the winter and that the new chicks coming in have a place to be pampered before they get slaughtered and eaten. The new Bronco needs a drive train replaced and the parts that were ordered haven't come in yet and I don't know where to pick them up or how much they cost, but all of this must be figured out so I can move the Bronco out of the way of the garage door.
The porsche has some needs that will need addressing if it is to be sold any time soon. The battery tray needs welding into place and a new fuel pump will be needed to replace the damaged old one. The cars will have to be placed under the canopy before the fall rains and winter snows arrive.
The horses have movable fence to be placed, a wind break to be built and a new fence line to split the existing pasture put in. The garden will have to be harvested and canned. And then a ton of compost has to be moved with a tractor to where the new garden will be next spring. A new locale given the new chicken coup.
4 tons of gravel will have to be spread along new drive paths between the chicken coup, the garden, the workshop and the wood shop. Before that can happen, I need to place paving stone along the edges.
Then there is the new trellis. The new fuel tank stand of 5 or more feet in height. Power will have to run to the chicken coup when all the interior wiring is done and the new windows and door have been placed on it. Not to mention the metal siding has to be placed on and the chicken runs will have to be built.
In two months, my brother returns for another visit and there will hopefully be no new structures that need building that will take up the entire visit. I enjoy the time spent with my brother, but I can't imagine him wanting to leave a high stress environment where people are trying to kill him everyday to come home and rush through a month of construction knowing that you are not going to be able to do everything you wanted to in that short amount of time. Something, I think, would stress you out even more. It seems to me that coming home from Bagdad should be, "down time" and free from stress, but in reality, Bagdad, even though they are trying to kill him, is less stressful. Go figure.
The next visit is already planned and the thought is that we will travel a bit and actually vacation more. I know that loosely translates to, "not as much heavy construction, but still some construction." Most likely remodeling the interior of the house. Bathrooms and such. Finishing the Bronco and whatever new things can be thought up in the next 60 days.
The amount of effort to write this blog has always been a real kick, but I think I am too caught up in the insecurity over whether or not people are reading it or not. At the height of this blog's popularity there was over 2000 readers, now I would say it's back down to a more comfy 200 or 300 hundred. This being said, I am not going to print off a bunch of copies of the book, just in case, the 200 or 300 people who still read this, are broke.
With all the projects around the house, I might have to lessen the time I spend writing, something I do not wish to do. But I have so much work to finish in the next 60 days, I don't know when I will have time. I will try to publish but not on the weekends.
I hope the summer is rolling along for everyone as smoothly. I hope that the left overs from your original summer plans are just as tasty as they were when you made them.
Enjoy your tan, the naked white of winter is fast approaching and the rest that we will all need from the thrill ride of summer will be greatly appreciated.
In the space of month, a new vehicle arrived, two new buildings went up, fence lines and construction were debated, new driveway layouts were pondered, new tools arrived and were assembled for use and alcohol was consumed. All in all, a heavy flow month.
As he flies across the ocean blue, I am left with a mountain of projects that will require more time and energy than I have in the remaining summer months. It's imperative that the chickens have a safe, warm place to roost for the winter and that the new chicks coming in have a place to be pampered before they get slaughtered and eaten. The new Bronco needs a drive train replaced and the parts that were ordered haven't come in yet and I don't know where to pick them up or how much they cost, but all of this must be figured out so I can move the Bronco out of the way of the garage door.
The porsche has some needs that will need addressing if it is to be sold any time soon. The battery tray needs welding into place and a new fuel pump will be needed to replace the damaged old one. The cars will have to be placed under the canopy before the fall rains and winter snows arrive.
The horses have movable fence to be placed, a wind break to be built and a new fence line to split the existing pasture put in. The garden will have to be harvested and canned. And then a ton of compost has to be moved with a tractor to where the new garden will be next spring. A new locale given the new chicken coup.
4 tons of gravel will have to be spread along new drive paths between the chicken coup, the garden, the workshop and the wood shop. Before that can happen, I need to place paving stone along the edges.
Then there is the new trellis. The new fuel tank stand of 5 or more feet in height. Power will have to run to the chicken coup when all the interior wiring is done and the new windows and door have been placed on it. Not to mention the metal siding has to be placed on and the chicken runs will have to be built.
In two months, my brother returns for another visit and there will hopefully be no new structures that need building that will take up the entire visit. I enjoy the time spent with my brother, but I can't imagine him wanting to leave a high stress environment where people are trying to kill him everyday to come home and rush through a month of construction knowing that you are not going to be able to do everything you wanted to in that short amount of time. Something, I think, would stress you out even more. It seems to me that coming home from Bagdad should be, "down time" and free from stress, but in reality, Bagdad, even though they are trying to kill him, is less stressful. Go figure.
The next visit is already planned and the thought is that we will travel a bit and actually vacation more. I know that loosely translates to, "not as much heavy construction, but still some construction." Most likely remodeling the interior of the house. Bathrooms and such. Finishing the Bronco and whatever new things can be thought up in the next 60 days.
The amount of effort to write this blog has always been a real kick, but I think I am too caught up in the insecurity over whether or not people are reading it or not. At the height of this blog's popularity there was over 2000 readers, now I would say it's back down to a more comfy 200 or 300 hundred. This being said, I am not going to print off a bunch of copies of the book, just in case, the 200 or 300 people who still read this, are broke.
With all the projects around the house, I might have to lessen the time I spend writing, something I do not wish to do. But I have so much work to finish in the next 60 days, I don't know when I will have time. I will try to publish but not on the weekends.
I hope the summer is rolling along for everyone as smoothly. I hope that the left overs from your original summer plans are just as tasty as they were when you made them.
Enjoy your tan, the naked white of winter is fast approaching and the rest that we will all need from the thrill ride of summer will be greatly appreciated.
posted by Daniel Loomis | 1:30 PM
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