Ghost of Christmas Past

Well!  I finally finished that damn darn trunk.  For a first attempt at that sort of creation, it turned out OK.  I made mistakes here and there, but I learned from them.  I had to undo and redo on an overdue project.  In the end it is larger than I thought, but it is a stout, secure trunk.  One you can sit on, if you so desired.  I think the next one will be about half that size.  It is the 2012 Christmas present for Charles and Aubrey Lamb (my son and new daughter).  Oddly enough, I finished it on their one year anniversary, February 17.  Hooray for them!  Below are the final pics.

Merry Christmas in February!

Almost finished with the Christmas present I was making for Charles and Aubrey Lamb of Denton, Texas.  It should have been ready for Christmas, but my injuries and the craziness of my life intervened.  Now only two leather straps stand between me and barrel completion.  I think I'll cry.

Can't quite put my finger on it...

Okay.  So I'm working on a camel-back trunk for my kids' late Christmas present.  I'm using the table saw to rip slats for the lid at a nice 84 deg angle.  I'm being safe: protective eye-wear, earplugs, and a pusher so my hands don't get too close to the blade on these small slats.  It's all good.  Until, out of nowhere, a huge sneeze wracks my body.  Now big sneezes hurt me anyway because of my back injuries, but this time my right hand ring finger decides it's time to visit with Mr. Sawblade.  Can you say "Not good, Mr. Finger?"

Well I'm bleeding, but not as badly as you might expect.  Because I was using the pusher I only caught the tip of the finger.  Chewed it pretty well, but it's mostly intact.  Called my wife, and had her take me to our family doctor which was probably faster than an ER visit.  Heck, it didn't even require stitches.  Did take a little debriding, though.  In case you aren't familiar with that, the doctor numbed my finger then began to scrape and cut away the ragged edges and tags of skin and meat so that it would heal faster.  Bandages and tape and a finger splint for protection, and I'm done.  Slows me down.  It's a pain in the butt, but I still have a finger, and it will heal.

Actually typing this is a pain right now.  :)

Back to back he faced each other...

I was surprised to find that my last two posts were MIA.  I'm not even sure now what I had written.  Oh well...

Work on the "Manor" has come to a near standstill recently.  My uncooperative spine has decided to take a more direct hand in slowing down work.  Before it intervened, I was just about to lay the hardi-backer to the sub-floor of the new bathrooms to finally have toilets at the building.  I have already gotten the plumbing ready to go...drains in place, water in place (valves closed of course), and holes burrowed.  I even have the hardi-backer stacked not 12 feet away from its final resting place.

We have decorated the front of the Manor again for Christmas although some of the lights are a no go. Looks pretty good.  I have added a security light to the side yard which helps immensely.  We'll get things moving again soon-- as soon as I can get freely moving again.  Right now I have to be careful just pulling on my socks.

The windows are the eyes of your home.

Okay, I know.  Nothing posted here for months.  But I HAVE in fact been busy.  I got the windows all in so the main floor is tight.  They look good, too.  I've also got the drains and water run up to the main floor "restroom" area.  Just as that was really coming together...Boom...my back is getting chronically worse.  That makes life hard.  I have to pay guys off the street just to unload plywood!  In order to get the restrooms up and running, I need to lay the hardi-backer for the floor- can't carry them or I won't walk the next day.  I did get some wiring done in the basement to put lights where there weren't before.  Also got the tub out of the upstairs bathroom by shoving it out the third level window!  CRASH  BANG  BOOM  Good news, recycling the 700 pound tub just about paid for the guys I had working for me that day.

As you can see in the picture, we got hit again.  This time it appears to have been a girl in love.  Got us in six different places including a random brick in the yard.

Stairway to...the basement?

Okay, so a week or so ago, my brother Steve came to help me at the Manor.  We put a new floor in the future bathroom, but more importantly, we got a good start on the stairs to the basement.  We had to do this because as it was, one had to go outside to get to the basement-- no inside access.  We cut the floor and started the runners.  I have now finished them. We can now get to and from the basement at will.  That also means that we can enter the building through the basement and go upstairs.  Glenn B helped me to fix the basement doors so that they can lock from inside and out instead of using the hasp and padlock.  Major victory.  Next is the restroom that I keep putting off.  Problem is that I have tons of set work to do for the show "Willie Wonka" AND I have hurt my back again.  It never rains but what it pours.  Speaking of that, this summer has not been nearly as hot or dry as last year.  Good thing cuz I think I would be dying right now if it was. 

 Here are pics of the stairs progress.  I have since finished the stairs after having to expand the hole in the floor to save headaches to anyone taller than an Oompa Loompa.

Memorial Day Amazingness!

This Memorial Day (actual Monday) I'm going to start putting the floor in for the first working restroom.  If there's time, I'll start running the water lines so that soon, very soon, I won't have to walk across the street to Kroger's to answer the call of nature.  Yay!

I also will start moving all the stored crap -I mean- family items to another location in the building so that I can work more freely in the main hall.  The show, "Willie Wonka" down at the Texas Theater, will keep me very busy over the summer, but I must be equitable with my time, or Kathy will kill me in the night.