Today I am wearing a pair of pants which has declare this to be the last day they will ever be worn. This clothing article is in the process of having multiple simultaneous structural failures, none of which have resulted in embarrassment…yet. Think of it like one of your expensive electronic devices whose warranty expires and one day later it quits working. Well, the warranty on these pants must have run out just after I got in the Jeep to drive to my client’s office today.
Category: Of Being Dad
Fatherly posts.
Weekend Project – Day 16
After many weekends dedicated to work and bad weather, we’ve resumed construction on Amy’s birthday present, the playhouse. Last weekend the overcuts on the roof sheeting were corrected and the roof sheeting completely secured. This weekend, the porch railing was added making Amy very excited as it gave a more finished look to the playhouse. We’ve completed 12 ½ steps out of 27 but at this point each step will have an significant outward impact on the appearance and a feeling of nearness to the end of the project.
Now I just need to buy a table saw.
Joys of home ownership
Tonight, I am not a computer programmer. I am a washing machine repair man!
From the mouths of babes
Evan: If I waste the batteries, daddy can fix it.
They grow up so quickly
My youngest has been to kindergarten 2 days this year. They were short days with only the teacher and 2 other students to acclimate Evan to the environment and the routine. On those days, I drove him to school and Cathy picked him up.
Today, Evan went to school full time. He is very excited and insisted on riding the bus with his sister. He was first in line and I missed the picture because I was introducing Evan to the bus driver. Amy, 8 years old, is proud to be taking care of him, holding her head high as she shows him the ropes. This is her realm and she will be his guide. His same aged friend also rode the bus so I know I’m not alone in putting my baby in a big orange box and entrusting his safety to someone I don’t know. We do have a great bus driver! I’m excited for Evan. It’s cool to see him growing up. I just wish it happened a little slower.
Not an Atypical Morning
Awoke in a panic, exhausted and mentally drained. Sleep called but domestic duties demanded my immediate attention. I awoke the 8 year old to prepare her for her 3rd grade classes. The 5 year old doesn’t start until tomorrow so this morning has less chaos. I don’t even turn on the lights for the two high school students as I’ve made them completely responsible for themselves including getting themselves to the high school. Amy and I choose to walk to the bus stop instead of driving. A friend, returning from dropping his child at school early, stops and chats with me while we wait for Amy’s bus. I enjoy the chat but walking home alone I over analyze the conversation questioning whether or not I listened too little and talked too much.
Back at the house, I realize the teen driver has let a tire with a slow leak go completely flat. I was supposed to fix or replace that tire over the weekend. So I pull out the compressor and inflate the tire. Right as it finishes, she and her brother walk out wordlessly and drive off. Parenting teens is truly a thankless endeavor.
Cathy and I and the younger children have been indulging in one of our microvacations in town staying at a friend’s house, cooking steaks, taking the boat out on the lake and such. We enjoy it. The teenage girl thinks it’s weird to stay in someone else’s house so she stays home. I suspect that she enjoys feeling grown up by having the house to herself. Well, almost to herself. Her older brother stays home too. His Aspie ways don’t permit much deviation from ritual plus when we aren’t there he has unfettered access to playing his video games around the clock. I suspect comfort zone is part of the teen girl’s reason for staying home too. I wish they would join us but at the same time it’s nice knowing someone is keeping our dogs company and walked. I was also home frequently as I’m on tight deadlines this week and not really set up for remote work (my antique computers aren’t luggable).
So this morning additional domestic duties called. On my way into my client’s office I drive to my friend’s house to be greeted by two buck and a doe in the driveway. Birds caw and chirp. Frogs announce their presence. I walk the dog to get the paper and let the cat out of the house. Next I water the plants on the porch, move sheets from washer to dryer, and pick tomatoes and peppers from the garden.
This is a great way to start the day!
Vroom Vrrroom
Wahoo! The Jeep is working again. See. I do my own brakes. The job is an hour or two tops. But this time I misplaced my Haynes manual, and forgetting that Autozone has repair manuals online for free, I grabbed some torque settings off a forum and ran with them. Buuut I grabbed the number 41 and decided the brake caliper bolts should be 41 foot-pounds but nooooo 41 newton-meters is what the forum was referencing. And 41 ft-lb is much more torque than the 30 ft-lbs that I should have been using. So at about 35 ft-lbs the bolt turned to butter and snapped. Ahhh! Brought me back to my freshman engineering classes at the University of Tennessee. We had this cool machine that would stretch metal bars until they thinned in the middle and snapped. Somehow we were supposed to associate numbers with the snapping but mostly I stared in awe at the great coolness. Anyhow, this is how the Jeep has looked for much of the past week:
My daughter is very pleased that I will no longer be commandeering her car! I’m sure it would have been Karate Kid uncool to have mom dropping the senior off at high school holding cars keys and a parking pass.
Update: Ride into client’s office went well today. The Jeep even stopped without having to run it into anything! I did catch a check engine light for a bit on the Interstate but after stopping at Starbucks the Jeep seems happier.
Doing those thing ya gotta do
It’s 1:40am. I’m exhausted. I’ve just torn my office apart looking for a lost piece of paper required for a form. I found it! Unfortunately, I’m now torn between grabbing some sleep or staying up all night to fill out the form for which I needed this piece of paper (no small task). Of course, one son has to be at the high school by 7:45 so tomorrow is an early day. This adult life is hard sometimes. I recommend keeping yours as simple as possible. Stay on top of things. Don’t procrastinate. And with that said, I’m going to bed. This paperwork can get done tomorrow.
The Fixer
Is it normal to spend so much time fixing things? I thought life was to be enjoyed; apparently, life is to be repaired.
From the mouths of babes
Me: "Have you ever read a newspaper?"
Noah, enters high school in a few weeks: "No."
Me, rejoicing that my saw actually does cut the angels I need.
Evan, 5 years old: "Did you know you’re talking to yourself?"
Club House Update
Last weekend, a beautiful 3 day weekend, I had hoped to finish the club house. Instead I was programming. This weekend I thought I would take up some slack. It’s now 1:30 and I’m just getting away from the computers. Here’s hoping I can get those hip rafters on!
What floor should be inside the clubhouse?
The kind folks at Woodmanor.net usually leave the inside of their clubhouses the bare plywood. They have seen people put down outdoor carpet, linoleum, and wood flooring. I am inclined to think of the plywood as a subfloor and to install some kind of flooring. If the fllooring ever became damaged, I could easily pull it out and replace it. If the plywood ever became damaged, repair or replacement would be difficult. The people at lumberliquidators.com said their flooring is not rated for outdoor use and did not recommend it for the clubhouse.
What kind of flooring should I use inside the clubhouse? What about on the porch?
Weekend Project Day 10 – Rafters Secured
I’m programming today but gave myself a milestone reward and took some time to secure the rafters on Amy’s clubhouse. There are two hip rafters that will have to be cut and secured before the roofing can be added but now the house can be tarped and the children can play in it until work continues.
Projects like this make me in awe of our pioneering forefathers who had to cut and mill their own wood, make their own nails, and build their own homesteads. What a life that had to be!
Weekend Project Day 9 – Rafters begun
Weekend Project Day 8 – last wall done
The last wall is secured and the sizing and cutting of the rafters have begun. The plans were a little unclear on some of the rafter cuts so I had to do some math and thinking. It’s been a pleasure having my geometry bone tickled. And I’ve regained an appreciation for my tools. The power of a square! (pun totally intended). I am short on a tool. For 16 cuts I really require a band saw so today I hope to impose on a friend for the use of his workshop. This is my favorite movie of the project so far:
