Roll Back & Smack the Pack

The clocks rolled back last night. I was up by 7am (would’ve been 8am yesterday). I was glad to see blue skies out the bedroom window. Mindy asked that I give her a hug and bring her coffee. Because it was Sunday, I didn’t plan to exercise, at least no sit-ups and push-ups. After staring coffee, I leashed up Ykraps and headed out for a walk. I took my camera along too. I snapped a few more photos to add to my autumn collection. It was quite chilly, and there was a fairly heavy dose of frost on the ground. It was in the mid 30’s. Mindy and Bella were both up well before 8am. I certainly wasn’t expecting that. After pouring some coffee I went to my PC and downloaded all of the photos from Saturday. There were about 50. I did some photo editing for the next hour before preparing for my run. I ran along Trabue and Hague and only three miles after ratcheting it back up to four miles both Friday & Saturday. It was a great run, the weather ideal. I was eager to get back home and start ripping that ivy away from the chimney. Mindy & Bella were preparing to leave for the grocery by the time that I got back home. Not sure the time when they departed. I made a quick sandwich then headed out to begin tearing away the English Ivy. It came off much easier than I expected. Very quickly I could see where the water was most likely trickling in. I thought that I caulked from the top of the chimney all way down to the block but apparently hadn’t. The last 6 vertical feet was still uncaulked. Furthermore, even though minuscule, there was an obvious gap between the brick and stucco – certainly enough to allow a little water seepage in. I filled the 9X12’ tarp with ivy clippings twice. They were heavy, too. After finishing the chimney, I carried the extension ladder around front and trimmed the ivy growth around our bedroom window. I did the very same exercise back in August. Mindy & Bella were home before I was finished. I helped carry in the last couple grocery items. After getting all of my tools put away, I decided to make a drive to Home Depot to buy some of the materials I would need to make the structural repairs. It was getting close to NFL football time, but the Vikings didn’t play until 415pm. I had already decided to splurge and buy myself a sawzall (reciprocating saw). I’ve wanted one for a number of years, and this project required one to remove the rotted joist, sill plate, and floor. Like with most tools, there were so many choices and price ranges. I didn’t care to over spend but didn’t want to buy a cheap one either. I settled on a Milwaukee that happened to be on sale for $99. It should serve this purpose well. I also picked up three 8ft 2”X6”’s, a 2’X2’ piece of ¾” plywood, two tubes of quality caulk specifically designed for masonry application, and a can of spray insulation. All that set me back roughly $140. I’ll still need to buy drywall, trim, stain, etc., but saw no purpose in getting it right then. What an ordeal! Back at home I carried my new stuff into the garage then went inside to relax. I had no plans of working any further on the project that afternoon. Instead, I got comfy on the sofa along with Mindy & Bella while also watching football – Colts vs. 49ers. I even snuck in a little nap. After I woke, I went to the garage and brought in my new sawzall. I was anxious to check it out. It came in a real nice carrying case. I opened it up but couldn’t find the accompanying blade and hex tool. I wasn’t happy. Not wanting to think or dwell on it, I quickly decided to run it back and either return or exchange it. I have little patience for such things. I felt hurried, but it was self-inflicted. It was 330pm and I wanted to be back at home by 4pm to catch the very beginning of the Viking game. There was no line at returns. I stepped right up. I explained the dilemma to the cashier – no blade and accessory tool as noted in the manual. She called the tools expert over. He was everything but and expert, although he was very kind. He and I proceeded to open two other boxes. Each contained only the saw and one metal sawzall blade but no tool. He agreed that the manual showed one but the pointed out that the box only indicates a blade. I conceded. While there, I picked up a 12pc set of various sawzall blades. He gave me the blade out of one of the two we opened. I hurried home. I was home in time to catch the end of the 1pm game which lasted until 4:14pm, or one minute before the Viking game kick-off. I was already nervous. The Vikings fell behind 3-0 but then scored 24 unanswered points. They were dominant defensively and offensively. I was pumped. And Mindy, bless her heart, she wore her Viking colors and celebrated each of their scoring successes with us. Jacob was outwardly rooting against the Vikes. I ignored him. The Packers surged in the third quarter making the game close – certainly too close for my liking. But with ten minutes left, the Vikings offense continued pouring it on. We won 38-26. I was giddy. The neighbors joined us after halftime. Mindy and Chrissy went to fetch some pizzas. Kenny looked over my wall project and offered to help me. That made me happy. He’s an expert and I don’t feel like guessing on this one. The neighbors hung out until almost 8pm. I was in a great mood for the rest of the evening. After the kids were bathed and in their PJ’s we watched the SNF game.