Perpetual Ruminations

Thursday

My last day off this week, and it's about over. Thankfully I don't have to get up real early tomorrow for work. Rhonda and I both work eleven to five tomorrow, so we get to go in together, work together, and come home together. It also lets us enjoy our last night off together, without having to get up so early the first day back at work. I do need to get up kind of early tomorrow, so I can get some stuff done for work, seeing how I didn't get to it today.

I had a good day, even if it started out a bit less than desirable. First of all, I did get to bed a bit earlier last night with hopes of getting up earlier today. Instead, I got up around ten, again. That's alright, I enjoyed sleeping in. But I woke up with a lot of pain in my hip and my leg again. It was as bad as it's been, or at least close to it. I took some over the counter pain medication, a ibuprofen and a Tylenol.

That's right one of each. I had not thought about it before, but it's a great combination. I first learned of this combination when I had some dental work done. The dentist I had said it's a good idea to bring along some ibuprofen and some Tylenol, and take one of each. I asked why, and she told me one blocks pain at the source, the other blocks pain at the brain. So, by taking one of each, it blocks some of the pain at the area it originates, and the other blocks it at the end of the line, in the brain. This makes for better pain relief than taking two of either one. I tried it, and it worked great; I've been taking one of each ever sense, when it's needed.

So, that's what I did this morning, then sat and had some coffee with Rhonda. It helped, but my leg was so sore, it still caused me some discomfort, and made it difficult to sit still. Of course, Rhonda noticed, and she got some oil and positioned herself where she could massage the leg, and set to it. At first, she could only use slight pressure, the pain was so severe. She located some deep knots in the muscles and began working them, and as the knots loosened, the pain let up. Eventually she was able to work the deep muscles with quite a lot of pressure and work out all the knots. It felt better right away, and has been doing good all day.

After we got me moving better, we went out and enjoyed the patio, then came in and had lunch and a Bible study. After, it was time to get to work. Rhonda wanted to strip down an old chair so it can get painted, and I wanted to work on a project that has been a year aging. The chair will hold a large flower pot, but it's missing a top; the part one sits on is no longer with us. So, my other project was to cut a top for this chair, with a hole in it to hold the flower pot.

While I set up for my first project, Rhonda set up for stripping the chair down. She got started about the same time as I did, and we worked close to each other so we could enjoy conversation while we worked.

My first project was a yard ornament that Rhonda liked a lot, but it got broke. It was a squirrel and a rabbit on a teeter totter. I had planned on fixing it that same year it got broken, but I soon discovered there was no repairing this item. The two figurines were in good shape but the teeter totter was broken, and it was not any kind of material that I could work with. So, it got put off and the next year I set to trying to find a way to again, fix it.

There was no way to repair the broken teeter totter, so I looked at the option of building another teeter totter, and that required cutting the two figures off. I was able to do just that with a Dremmel tool. The cuts weren't quite square, but close enough to work with. The next step was to cut a board to mount them on, and make a teeter totter for them. But, work went crazy last year and this project got set on the back burner again.

So today, I found a thin piece of oak pallet lumber left over from my days working in a saw mill. I cut a shape into it to make it a little fancier, then set about building a base to set it on. The first cut was at too much of an angle, but the second try was just right. The piece of wood had just enough angle that one figure sat up, the other down, but not quite on the ground. I shaped the top on either side of the point where the oak would attach in an arc, like a pivot for the teeter totter. Next I used a sander to square up the bottoms of the two figurines, then used an outdoor glue to mount them to the piece of oak. Next was to glue and screw the oak to the base, and then let it set up and dry good. All that remains now, is a good coat of paint.

The next project went much faster, it was just a matter of measuring and marking out a top for the chair. I cut the piece out, then found a pattern for the circle in the center, and cut a large hole in it for the planter to sit in. I still need to attach it, but the fit is good, and it looks nice. Rhonda finished stripping the chair down, so now I can mount the top and then she will paint it all. Once the paint dries for a couple days, we can set it out by the patio, set the planter in it, and that project is done.

My entry here for the night is also done, and now I'm going out to enjoy one last fire on the patio before starting work again through the weekend.