Getting Bent

I got the pics in backwards again! sheesh! When I put that bottom one in, I used my foot to hod it tight till I could drill a pilot hole and get it screwed to hold that bend. Well the second one, that wouldn't work, me dancing on one foot trying to drill and hold my balance, so I came up with this to hold the board in place while I took my time drilling.

I just kept moving it up for each board. Oh yes, lots of epoxy on those bent buggers.

Oh yeah, the top two boards wrapping all the way around, are from one wide board that I cut in half down the middle to make five equal width boards. Then the next two down are also from one wide board. All the grain runs continuously around the bar.

The Morning After

It sure is nice to see this huge space all evenly covered and knowing that the water is not getting to the inside of the cellar. I shouldn't hold my breath on that because this house has givin me a few WTF's (can't we get anything done just right with no screwups?) I think maybe Ol'e Bill Parkers spirit is hanging around, carrying an old wrench, letting me know that you can't get things done around here as good as you want. These guys did a beautiful job, you can tell they've worked together for a long time. the cleaning up part...ehhh...I truly don't mind that, seeing with the price being so cheap. The concrete was $1200, the pump to get the crete up on the patio was $375, and the crew, to lay it all down pretty, got $800.
But ...the...puddle....... MAKES ME SICK IN MY STOMACH
I called them right away and let them know that the place "I" warned about (thrice) before it was too late, has a big puddle. We joked, we laughed, you know those homeowners? how they can be. The finished product has a puddle, in the corner, near the door. I checked it this morning, it's a one gallon puddle. Pour a gallon of water there and it will stay till it evaporates.
I think I hear Bill Parker chuckling.

It's Not Raining... But It's Pouring Buckets Of Crete

These damn pictures screwing up again.

The Bitch Goes On....

Update: The bitutane is all complete. With the granite for the bar coming and the concrete for the patio coming and the owner coming home soon and all the glass and mirror decisions, hardware, bar top all happening at once......I'm a little whacked! Mic'n'Bic had a bitch of a time laying the bitch down. But with the ~grace~ of the bitch, we won, and got way further than we thought we would this late friday afternoon and evening. Doesn't it look bitchin?

The Little Ones Commeth

As I'm home more than Bic, I get to see our dear, dear friends the deer more often. Luca just about totally ignores them now, which I love about her. The other day she sat with me and watched a bunny hop across the yard. She looked up at me in a calm manner to see if I might tell her to.....git'm, which I do for squirrels and crows. I didn't, and she was OK with that.
After Bic came home from work we generally stand at the kitchen window and talk about our days while reading mail etc. Well, yesterday was the first sign of pregnant deer. A group of six came strolling through and three are definitely pregnant. Two of them were so huge, we're expecting two sets of twins this year. I'll keep you updated as they emerge from the woods.
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Tickle Tickle

Four Or Five Steps Forward....Six Hundred And Forty Five Dollars And Two Days Work.....BACKWARDS

I know you all have a clue as to the fact that I can put wood together, sort out wood construction problems, hell, I could even build a boat if I set my mind to it. But when it comes to concrete or mortar there seems to be a concrete wall in front of my mind. Duh! I'm very uncomfortable with anything past a simple concrete pour for a hot tub pad or footing for a retaining wall etc. This patio that will have a living space under it (Bic's new glass shop because it has tons of windows and is always bright with light?) is testing my abilities and my wallet. I thought I was ready for a pour, but after talking with the concrete guy he mentioned this membrane thing again. Now I just couldn't get my brain to think I had to go THAT far with the issues I have with this patio. Well Sunday he called and mentioned that membrane again and used a saying that I'm very familiar with...."measure twice, cut once." Hell, I always stood by the rule if you have to measure three times and cut once not to fu%k it up, that's what you do. I always have, and my fu%ck-ups are minimal.
What kept me away from even thinking membrane was the size of this patio, it's as big as a modest house and larger than many, 1200 sf. Well I bit the bullet and went and bought enough bituathane (bitch a thane) to cover the whole thing, which is the, sleep really good at night knowing it won't leak route. But what bothered me most was they tried to sell me $240 worth of primer to be painted on before, and then $300 of overlayment to go on after, as a protection to not damage it while poring concrete. You can stop wondering why it costs so much to build commercial buildings, it's because there are enough products out there to overkill a job and make people money to stop any lawsuit if anything happens.
OH! you didn't use the primer??? OH! Well that's the reason it fell down.
I can't go on..........there's so much I want to say....I got better things to do than rant on how much this world is designed to TAKE the money out of your wallet!

I will eventually have pictures of the $640 membrane in place. I won't appreciate rude comments about this membrane. They just don't "do it" for me.

Three Big Projects

After I cut all the correct size pieces of iron stock for the wrought iron railing I dropped them off at the welder guy who put them together. Here I'm cleaning the weld etc. with a wire wheel just before coating them heavily with epoxy.
Meanwhile Bic is giving the railing a super blast to break off as much paint as possible. Holy crap was she a mess after that!
Here at the end of sat. I have the new concrete dam and all post set in the pre-drilled and layed out holes for the railing to get re-welded back in place after the new patio concrete pour which I hope is this week.
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Oh yeah, and the third big project is all the basement windows are at final check and will be ordered this week also.
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Seems I'm not happy unless I have too many things to do. WTF
No, I haven't seen "malihini" since I winterized the engine in Dec. I think.

Bar Update......

What Makes Me A Redneck.....Part Six

This is the clincher for sure, that proves without a doubt, that I am a true blooded redneck of the highest order although I might have some high functioning tendencies (thanks Jay) lurking within my genes.
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This following picture might be hard for some of you to get a perspective because even I know there are lots and lots of people who have no fricken clue what it looks like under a car or truck. But you can damn sure bet any true blooded redneck knows, and has had close relationships with the under-body of many a vehicle. Well, I dropped down on the ground to take this picture as easy as sitting down in a chair. Not a real comfy chair like a recliner or anything, more like one of those hard back chairs that sits in the corner of a room and doesn't seem to beckon anyone to come sit. It's just a chair in the corner.
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Now in the marine industry, inboard boat motors are sitting inside a closed space. (duh) A lot of times humans have to live in that space too, so over the years with technology advancing to make it as easy for man to live in any environment, they came up with a product that absorbed oil but not water, clever huh? Boat.....leaky....motor.....gravity......oil.....water.......sloshing!
Just sucks it up and holds it.
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Well I got me a transmission leak on my truck. So instead of me having to give up my truck to some transmission guy (we all know some transmission nightmare stories of friends or family that have emptied wallets) and not wanting to continue making a mess of our newly seal coated driveway, I got me one of them absorbent pads held up with some bailing wire that collects all that leaking transmission fluid, which is red by the way, as you tell in the picture.
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Oh Yea! Time to change my truck diaper!

What Makes Me A Redneck.....Part Five

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We had no problem buying some new cheap chairs for the front of the house after we finished all that fancy stone work but couldn't spend anything past just the chairs with all these perfectly good materials laying around for a little matching table.
1) cinder block
2) your basic cement paver
3) a 12inch tile left over from Bics shop floor
4) small decorative touch
5) can of black spray paint

What Makes Me A Redneck.....Part Four

Notice my bug deflector thingy on the front of my truck? Four years ago, when I bought the truck it was all complete, although going down the highway at 65 or so that right side of the thingy would flap like a banshee against the front most part of the fender (you can see the wear mark). It didn't bother too much, twern't that loud! Well, last year or so I was traveling down the highway and heard a "flap, flap, bonk", had no clue what it was. Couple of weeks later I noticed, no shit, it broke clean off with a little wooptidoo curve. Cool! That was last year...........
This year, not too long ago, I took a hacksaw blade and to the best of my ability reproduced the wooptidoo curve and cut off the other side.....to even things up. I feel better now, more even.
I think it will still do the job, don't you?

What Makes Me A Redneck.....Part Three

I told you all about psycho-cardinal and even showed you a video of him attacking my bedroom window. Well, this is the aftermath of one of my rearview mirrors (click on this pic). I said one, of my mirrors, I have two trucks and four mirrors that this psycho bird has been abusing.

What has this got to do with me being a redneck you ask?

Click that pic and look under the mirror at the mold and crud that has accumulated there since the last time I cleaned my truck. Yup, I haven't a fricken clue as to when that was, maybe last summer????

Update: Because of this post in my ready to go mode.......I cleaned my truck with a very thick bristle brush. ( I used water too)

Worthwhile:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T69TOuqaqXI&feature=player_embedded

What Makes Me A Redneck.......Part Two

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This is what I look like.

What Makes Me A Redneck.....Part One

I LOVE this tape job so much, that I couldn't resist taking a picture.

Give It A Break.....You Still Have To Eat Your Shit Taco

http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=223862&title=baracknophobia-obey

I Think I'll Just Wait This One Out!

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I need a break.

This whacked out broad is an embarrassment to the Republicans.

Red Bird Bashing

All during the last month or so there's been this topic at our house that I thought would make a good blog. The only problem was it was something that you just HAD to see. It started when I noticed that my rear view mirror on the truck was all scratched. Then one day we hear this crash at the bedroom window, we look, nothing there. Then another one back in the living room. WTF
A couple days later I notice a bird hanging around my old green truck, and as I kept looking, sure enough, he was attacking the rear view mirror. Well this went on and my white truck started having shit all over the doors and both mirrors all scratched. I'd see this whacked out bird bashing into the mirrors and shiting on my truck. For awhile when I parked my truck I'd drape plastic bags over the mirrors to keep the sucker away. Then he figured out, if he attacks the bag long enough, that damn bird in the mirror comes back. What a pain in the ass this birds been. Well, I finally got him on tape attacking himself in the bedroom window.