Saturday Mumblings.

Well today started at 22 degrees at 05:30AM while I was having my coffee, since I knew I was going outside I put a little Anisette in it to keep me warm, we did get a dusting of snow last night, not an inch so we were lucky. Not like western PA and Buffalo where they got hammered again.

About 08:00AM I went out to the truck and got my tools and cordless drill and decided this would be the morning to tackle the handrails going upstairs for my sister Wendy.

I wish I could say I was a master woodworker like Rick, RICK & PAULETTES RV TRAVELS but sadly I am not, I have learned from reading his blog such handy things as measure twice and cut once. I used to trade my mechanical skills with my old next door neighbor who was good with wood, but I rarely tackle a carpentry job myself. Anyway I got the tape measure out and measured and marked and then decided on a six foot railing on one side and an eight foot on the other. Then I went to Home Depot where I found out I could not buy a finished handrail that they only sold unstained rails, they did say the would cut them to any length I wanted and that I only had to pay for the total length I needed or 14 feet. With the mounting hardware, I had decided on four mounts for the eight foot section, and three for the six foot one. The total cost of materials was $68US. I got home and installed the mounting hardware so it was exactly matched and spaced on the rails.then proceeded to mount the railing to the wall, all went well except for one mount on each side where I found out that the screws went through into a hollow space, so I had to move those mounts about two inches to find a solid spot.

This house is 100 years old and is plaster and wood latte construction on wood panels, what were the chances of not hitting wood. I didn’t buy a lottery ticket today.

                          The Finished Rails.

I told Wendy she could get a quart of polyurethane stain of her choice and her and her girlfriend can stain it to match the paneling or close to it. They are rock solid and will take a lot of weight before they would pull out.

This afternoon Wendy wanted to take Michelle to see the Disney Cartoon Tangle, I begged off and said I would drop them off and pick them up and it could be a girls day out. I really wasn’t ready for a theatre full of screaming kid’s and being ankle deep in popcorn. Last time I went to a matinee with Adam they were in there between shows with shovels and brooms getting the popcorn up, what a mess. Plus most of the theatres today are those 10 screen mega places, I think the parents drop the kid’s off with enough money to watch 3 or 4 shows and then come back and get them, little or no supervision so they are wild.

Had a comment about yesterday being pizza night, and I would have made it, but Thursday when we went out to Dinner, Wendy and Marilyn split a pizza, so I didn’t want to have Wendy with pizza two nights in a row. I will probably do one on Sunday and it will space it out for the week.

Wendy is doing better we sent the hospital bed and the wheel chair back, and now Wendy will be going upstairs a couple of times a day. We have a walker upstairs for her so she has one on each floor. I am hoping after this week’s Doctor’s appointment she will be self sufficient enough to allow me to go home. I know she is wanting me to get back, but I don’t want her to rush things and end up worse than before. So we will see what Thursday appointment brings.

That’s about it for now, Be safe out there.. Sam & Donna….