We got home last night, a day earlier than we originally had planned, because weather forecasts suggested today would be a miserably wet, unpleasant drive. This morning’s weather forecast presented a somewhat different outlook, calling for light rain in the morning, developing into potentially fierce thundershowers overnight. Still, it was best to have avoided even light rain during a 400-mile drive. We will make our next trip to visit my brother in a small rented box truck, big enough to carry the teak dining table and stainless-steel-topped table he is giving us but small enough to safely and comfortably maneuver during a long drive. And we’ll be able to carry the big mother-in-law’s-tongue/snake plants we had planned to bring back yesterday…but which we were unable to fit on the floor of the backseat of the car.
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Since we’re home earlier than planned, I look forward to going to the “new” house this morning to see how much was accomplished Friday on laying the new floor. Depending on progress and the need (or, better yet, the lack thereof) for additional floor sanding, I may be able to get back to doing some painting and/or touch-up today. After watching my niece’s incredibly strong and nearly-acrobatic husband work on Saturday, I feel the need to redeem myself by at least climbing ladders and stretching to reach the ceiling, paintbrush in hand. My girlfriend frets when I get on a ladder, concerned that I might tumble to the ground and break my neck. Though I am sure I will not do that, I understand her anxiety.
I will never be an old man. To me, old age is always 15 years older than I am.
~ Francis Bacon ~
I remember when my then-sixty-five-year-old (or older) father built a shed in the back yard of his home in Corpus Christi; he climbed a ladder and scurried around on the roof of the shed-in-progress like a man half his age, which I thought was utterly inappropriate and terribly dangerous for an “old man.” I now understand he was not an “old man” at that age and he was exercising appropriate caution while engaging in work he found fulfilling.
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It’s just after 7 and it’s light outside. Time for me to give up on this blog and go take a look at the house, instead.