No new pictures with this installment , just talk. I have started on a new project but I'm not far enough into it yet to talk about it ( much ) or have pictures , but I hope to produce the pics and the "how I did it " fairly soon . I have decided that the left side of the house in front should feature another Texas symbol -A Lone Star . For whatever reason I have also decided that the star should be within a ring or circle , both the ring and circle to be made of quikrete like the state outline on the other side in front which was reported on and described in earlier posts to this blog. I was looking for a use for some of the materials I have salvaged from clean-up and the removal of the garden . I was looking at a pile of several dozen 1" thick x 1' squares of red tile when I realized they should make an ideal 5' x 5' surround fro the area of my lone star piece. I plan to dig out the 3' x3' interior of this surround to a depth of about 5" . I can then form the star in the center using hinged plastic edging pieces which used to surround the garden , some of which now are being used to block the gaps under my back fence . I can then place a ring of the edging material I used to make my texas outline around the points of the star in a circle. Using a package of wooden shims as spacers I can then form a second ring around all this , hopefully with all of this contained tidily within the area of the surround. I then fill the ring inside the two circles and the star with concrete. Unfortunately , two separate structures ,but I couldn't think of a way with the materials at hand to make a unified structure. Maybe you'll get a better idea what I mean when I can show the pics.
My wife is in Pennsylvania for a week , helping out her mom and brother while her mom has cataract surgery. She had the surgery today and I got a blip a little while ago that everything went well and they are all back home now and acting like it was just a trip to the store for a gallon of milk. I can only hope that last is factual. My wife has given me strict instructions not to work too hard while she is away. She must have me confused with some other guy. Working hard has only very rarely been something I would or could do and most certainly not something I have in mind now. Probably she's referring to the impending concrete work for the lone star piece and the new cobblestone type walkway from the sidewalk in front around the side of the house to the new gate we had put in. I almost had a VERY bad experience when I did the concrete for the texas state shape on the other side of the yard and had the bad luck to have her stop by the house on her lunch break. She found me trying not to black out and very much feeling my age. It was about 15 degrees hotter then than it is now and I was a pale , sweaty mess. Lesson learned. Slow but steady wins the race. I have nothing but time stretching out before me and no deadlines to meet , so a little at a time will get it done eventually. And , by the way , anybody who wants to help can stop by any time and pkitch in. I'll even take your picture and give you a shout out like I did for my daughter when she helped me rake off and cover the first part with newspaper for weed control.
While I am typing all of this I am watching tv with the sound off and every time I look up from this screen I notice again that all the furniture is gone from this room. It is also gone from two bedrooms and closets. and stuffed into the dining room , kitchen , and garage as we are having our 20 some year old rug taken out and replaced with wood flooring by the guy who in several previous instances redid our kitchen , bathrooms and the tile floors now in our entry , dining room , and kitchen. With both my wife and all of the furniture gone I am reminded of my dad living out his last year alone in his room at the nursing home. I don't like it. At all.
Hopefully , the guy I see in the mirror wearing my face will make some progress tomorrow on that star thingy and I'll be able to post some pics. Other than that I guess I just keep breathing in and breathing out and hoping for the best. I sure do miss what'shername.
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