Interesting day yesterday

Tuesday turned out rather interesting. I finished up the slideshow of the art bench finalists. That took a couple of hours. Then, we delayed our morning hike until after 8 am.  We wanted to wait to see if we could burn.  You can't burn before 8 am here.  If you do, you get a ticket.  Yep, it's true.

We called right at 8 and learned it was a no burn day. Shuckie darn! Then I had a great conversation with Carrie about the slideshow. She was calling from a Super 8 motel in the middle of nowhere Montana. It was fun to think I was sitting on a tailgate of a Nissan in rural Arizona while she was up in Montana and we we were both working on a project for Idaho Falls. Ah, modern technology.

We went back to the Blue Grade. It's so beautiful there right now. My legs protested mightily at the 500+ elevation gain but I made it in 35 minutes on the uphill and 1:05 for the 3+ mile round truip. I'd give yesterday's effort a B-. Susun, however, actually gets an A-. She was farther ahead of me on an uphill than ever before in the past 9 years! WOW--three minutes ahead!

After we returned home, we both expected the day to be a lazy slacker sort of day. Susun was writing notes and I decided my only productivity would be to hang out on hold while waiting for Cable One Customer Service to help me unravel the mysteries of reconnecting internet in Idaho Falls.

Something happen about 1:30 pm. Somehow, we both became totally motivated and engaged in a whirlwind of activity that didn't stop until 6 pm. Here's everything we accomplished: 1) Recoated watershed roof with tar, 2) Repaired 3 shingles on Straw House roof, 3) Checked and spot cleaned the gutters, 4) Sanded all the window sills, 5) Oiled and stained all the window sills, 6) vacuumed and mopped the inside brick floor, 7) repaired the loose door on the old generator shed (it now houses flammable materials), 8) sanded and prepped both front gate posts, 9) Painted both front gate posts, 10) Sized and cut 2 x 10 lumber to make ramps to change oil, 11)dug out about 100 weeds that sprouted since we sprayed, 12) changed oil and filter in the big trtuck and 13) changed oil and filter in the Nissan.

I list changing oil as two tasks because the Nissan was a bear. The morons who did it last at Commercial Tire in Idaho Falls used the wrong filter. Idiots! I really don't know how I was able to get this oversized filter off the engine block. It took almost three times more than normal time to change the oil on the Nissan.

We both showered up and enjoyed a nice campfire until well after dark.

This morning I sure feel the affects of all that work yesterday. It's going to be a tough hike up Blue Grade again today.

There won't be a campfire tonight. The winds will be howling higher than our old roof tin wind screen can handle. Winds could be gusting up over 50 mph by tonight. Nah, we don't do campfires in those kind of winds. We'll stay inside and listen to Lawrence Welk. (HA!)

Betty and Bob are coming to lunch today. It will be Betty's first trip to the Straw House since the 1990's. Betty is 87 now. She's great! Bob will be bringing her from the facility where she lives in Sedona.

Today's Big Blow is bringing back some reminders of winter. The high country is progged to get as much as 8 inches of snow! We will be getting maybe as much as a half inch of rain down here. That's one reason we decided to hustle yesterday--it was the last chance on this trip to do all that stuff. Next Monday will be our last day to spray again--and hopefully do the final burn. We pack up Tuesday and leave Wednesday morning, hopefully no later than 7 am.

We have all sorts of little nit picky stuff we can do on the telephone--like sit on hold waiting for Cable One Customer Service. I sometimes wonder if Saint Peter keeps a log book on how long everyone has been on hold in their lifetime. Such an arcane statistic could serve as a great barometer of one's patience. You'd get to the Pearly Gates and Saint Peter's check-in assistants would yell out, "Hey Pete, check out this Dude--he spent 15 years on hold with Cable One alone!" Wow, you'd get the real red carpet treatment after everyone learned that factiod!

Have a great day and Cheers! jp