Perpetual Ruminations

Well, That Didn't Go According To Pan!

And again it's been five days! How is that possible, I only skipped a couple? And so it goes, I take a couple of days off from writing in my blog and it multiplies to five. I just don't get it...

But that's beside the point. I've been busy, I finished up most of the projects going on in the house with my last entry, but still had a few things to do in the garage. I had planned on leaving them for another day and getting out ice fishing, but things don't always go as planned. In fact, it's been my observation that things tend to go any which way but as planned, especially over the last year.

So, what exactly did happen that I missed five days instead of just a few? I really don't know, honest. I just got busy and before you know it, five days are gone.

It all started Wednesday when I had to take my wife to work, then pick her up and take her to some medical tests. I tend, as you can see, to stay up pretty late so I can have my time here without interruptions and distractions. So, Tuesday even though I tried to get to bed a bit earlier, ended up a late night for me. I tried to go to bed early, but I couldn't sleep because I got used to being up late.

But I still was up early Wednesday to see the girls off to school and to get my wife to work. Then, since I couldn't go out fishing without risking being super late to pick my wife up, I decided to get a start on the garage. I mean, how long can it take to clean out and organize a garage?

See, our neighbor, a very nice fellow, gave me a base cabinet and countertop to put in the garage for storage and a workbench. But, I needed to clean and reorganize the garage to make a spot to put it. I had it all planned out in my head, I just needed to move things around a bit after I cleaned it up.

But, as I said, things don't seem to go as planned very often. So, I cleaned and moved things a bit and then measured the area that the cabinet was going to go into. It didn't fit. I had to move a few more things, which of course meant I had to clean them off and out as well. But, that didn't work as well as I had planned, either. So, in desperation to get things to at least make room for the cabinet before I had to stop and go get my wife, I had to pull everything out of the back of the garage and start all over with my planning. By the time I had everything moved, it was time to stop, wash up, and then take my wife to her tests.

The garage was a disaster, but I had everything moved to bring the cabinet in. The problem was, first of all, I didn't have enough room to bring anything into the garage. The second, it was starting to snow and the car was sitting outside. Now, a little snow isn't going to hurt the car any, but my wife had to go to work in the morning, which meant she would have to go out earlier to clean the snow from the car. Sure, she could do that, but I didn't want my project to make more work for her, so I needed to get things figured out. I did this planning while she was getting her test done.

After we got home, I spent a little time with her then headed to the garage to get things set so I could bring the cabinet in. The only way was to move some of the stuff outside and open up a corridor to bring the cabinet in. I moved the car back some and moved items from the garage outside and soon enough had enough room to bring the cabinet in. Next, I swept up the area where the cabinet would sit and then started the pickup so I could go get it.

By now, it was getting late, getting dark, and getting on to be dinner time. I drove over to the neighbors and guess what? Yep, he was gone; no way to get the cabinet now. So I drove back home, parked the pickup, and set about hauling things back in. While I was hauling, I made sure I left the room to bring the car in for the night, so I had to put a lot of the stuff in the area where the cabinet was going to go. Yeah, you see where I'm going, don't you?

I did get things back in, I had room for the car and parked that, then came in just in time to eat a late dinner. I was beaten, I was tired, and of course, working in the garage, I was dirty. But, after dinner, both girls needed to take showers and or baths for school, so I had to wait to get my shower in. By the time the water heated back up, everyone was in bed and as soon as I was done, I went to bed and collapsed into a deep slumber.

The next day I woke up so stiff and sore, I could barely drink my coffee. But after everyone had left for school and work, I got busy measuring and figuring out a new plan. Then, I saw the neighbor come home and was just about to go over and talk to him and get the cabinet when my phone rang. I had to run to town to pick up prescriptions. I wasn't going to miss the neighbor again, so I jumped in the pickup and went to get the cabinet. Of course, the neighbor likes to talk and visit, so it took a bit before I left.

Not that I mind, I  enjoy visiting with him and he always has a good conversation. But, after a bit, I told him I had to get to the pharmacy and left with the cabinet in the truck. After I got back home, I unloaded the cabinet and got it set into place. Now I could measure and figure things out for sure to know where everything would fit. Of course, it took a while to figure it all out and by the time I had a new plan, the girls were home from school. I finished up my planning and figuring and came inside to spend a bit of time with them.

After visiting with the girls it was time to start dinner, which got done right about the time my wife got home. I had thought about just leaving the car outside since the garage was once again a disaster, but guess what? Yeah, it started snowing again right after the freezing sleet. I enjoyed dinner with my family, but they went back out to finish up in the garage so I could get the car inside for the night. Everything fit as planned, but it still took a while to move everything, so it ended up another late night.

But, I had the job done! Well, most of it; I still have a few things to do, but not until it gets warmer out and we can move a few things outdoors. For now, however, the garage is done. The car came back in and I could finally go out fishing. But, I was exhausted from too much work and too little sleep, so I took a day off just to putz around the house and rest up. Besides, my back was very tight as well as my whole body being sore from doing so much.

Yesterday I finally got out on the ice and fished for a while. Again, things did not go according to plan, but that's a tale for another day...