The journey continues...

Brian Bilbrey October 20, 2013

Fencing, continued.

Yesterday, I got all of the left side front fencing replaced. Today, I executed the decorative arches on those sections: I set a horizontal string line across the sections, and measured down, sinking a screw at each bottom end of each arch. I then used a quarter-inch thick, 7' long cutoff from a piece of cherry, braced against the screws and pressed upwards in the middle to describe each parabolic arch. A quick swipe with a pencil marked each arch. I cut them with the circular saw, first plunging in the middle, then working along the curve to each end.

Brian Bilbrey October 19, 2013

Fencing

At 1100 this morning: The gates are staying. The four fence sections, two to each side, they're toast. I cut them off the posts. The posts are in fine shape on this side of the house. So I measured and cut and clamped and screwed new horizontal 2x4 PT lumber onto the posts, then nailed PT fence boards up. Fortunately, I'm using a nail gun, instead of a hammer. Otherwise I might still be out there now. Instead, at 1530 EDT: I might have kept working, but it was starting to rain, so I hauled all the tools inside the…

Brian Bilbrey October 13, 2013

Downs and Ups

In one sense, it was a really bad week. Hours after I posted last Sunday, I became violently ill, almost certainly due to something I ate. After about 24 hours, I was able to start re-hydrating, and taking in such challenging foods as soda crackers (in small quantities - I had ten crackers, all of Tuesday). Wednesday was slightly better, and that night I slept through the night. So I went to my one day of work on Thursday, and got enough done. The upside of the week was Capclave, which I attended on Friday and Saturday. It was going…

Brian Bilbrey October 6, 2013

Fall II = Summer?

Hmmm. Six plus hours working in the yard yesterday, and nearly broken as a result. Why? It was nearly 90 degrees Fahrenheit out. I was slamming the H2O and got through it. The garden beds are cleared, turned and mulched with leaves harvested from the front yard: After that was done, I mowed both front and back. Today I got the shopping done, then roasted coffee and cut my hair, and wrapped the day's chores by washing the car. That'll bring rain. I should probably wash the car more often if it does, since we've had only about 3/4" or…

Brian Bilbrey September 29, 2013

Fall Yard Work

Yesterday I worked in the front yard, cleaning out some stuff from the beds, giving all the shrubs a haircut, and mowing the grass. I found this bird's nest while I pruned the forsythia, and want to know if there's a recipe. This isn't, I think, the right type for bird's nest soup. To give you a sense of scale, this would comfortably hold but one golf ball... Today, I worked in the back yard. I pulled out about 10 pounds of potatoes, a couple of shopping bags full of peppers ... and that's about all she wrote for this…