Never thought retirement would be like this
- Thread starter NancyNGA
- Start date
Meanderer, there is no budget. Believe it or not, I don't really care that much about having shelves. If I did, I'd have had them long ago. I enjoy trying to build things, especially with wood. It's a bonus if the project happens to also be useful. Not many hobbies like that. Also I can already tell a difference in upper body strength.
If you are asking how much it cost, I'm guessing just under $300 so far, maybe add at most $100 for the shelving depending on what I use. That's counting everything. Half of that was the plywood and the stones, but those ended up looking much better than I had hoped. Only I would have chosen beige stones.
I'm thinking now of running around the entire outside wall in the basement with a short stone wall about that height, between the brick pillars. Maybe I'll post a couple of pictures why some day. Too much junk stacked along the walls right now. Ha!
ps. Today I found the earrings I lost 2 years ago down there. Yay!
As far as "down the road", you keep forgetting...
(lamp)
If you are asking how much it cost, I'm guessing just under $300 so far, maybe add at most $100 for the shelving depending on what I use. That's counting everything. Half of that was the plywood and the stones, but those ended up looking much better than I had hoped. Only I would have chosen beige stones.
I'm thinking now of running around the entire outside wall in the basement with a short stone wall about that height, between the brick pillars. Maybe I'll post a couple of pictures why some day. Too much junk stacked along the walls right now. Ha!
ps. Today I found the earrings I lost 2 years ago down there. Yay!
As far as "down the road", you keep forgetting...
(lamp)
Mixing concrete for this project triggered some memories.
Family concrete pouring events
Everyone has heard of barn raisings, but I bet no one ever thought of concrete pouring as a family get together. The place in Ohio where I grew up was booming in the 50's---suburban area surrounding an industrial town. Lots of housing construction going on after WWII. It seemed one relative or another was pouring concrete foundations or pads for some project. We kids would tag along to watch. It was all done from scratch. There would be separate piles of sand, gravel and cement, and forms laid out. Sometimes they would shovel and mix the concrete in a large metal trough that looked like a jon boat. Don't know what you called them.
We were the only ones in the family that had our own cement mixer.
It was rigged up with an electric motor, like this one (only red ).
We would load it on the pickup and go help. They would fill in the forms one wheelbarrow load at a time, spread it out with hoes, level it with long boards. It was an all day affair. The women would provide food, and we kids would watch until it got too boring, but it didn't take much to keep us interested.
My dad always referred to our mixer as the "Putsy-Putsy" to me. I assumed because of the sound it made, but then I happen on this song last night. I guess that's where he got it.
Cement Mixer (Put-Ti-Put-Ti) (by Slim Gaillard, 1930's) performed by Liberace
Original version: Cement Mixer - Slim Gaillard Trio
Family concrete pouring events
Everyone has heard of barn raisings, but I bet no one ever thought of concrete pouring as a family get together. The place in Ohio where I grew up was booming in the 50's---suburban area surrounding an industrial town. Lots of housing construction going on after WWII. It seemed one relative or another was pouring concrete foundations or pads for some project. We kids would tag along to watch. It was all done from scratch. There would be separate piles of sand, gravel and cement, and forms laid out. Sometimes they would shovel and mix the concrete in a large metal trough that looked like a jon boat. Don't know what you called them.
We were the only ones in the family that had our own cement mixer.
It was rigged up with an electric motor, like this one (only red ).
We would load it on the pickup and go help. They would fill in the forms one wheelbarrow load at a time, spread it out with hoes, level it with long boards. It was an all day affair. The women would provide food, and we kids would watch until it got too boring, but it didn't take much to keep us interested.
My dad always referred to our mixer as the "Putsy-Putsy" to me. I assumed because of the sound it made, but then I happen on this song last night. I guess that's where he got it.
Cement Mixer (Put-Ti-Put-Ti) (by Slim Gaillard, 1930's) performed by Liberace
Original version: Cement Mixer - Slim Gaillard Trio
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Meanderer, is your real name Dan (like in Piraro)?
Yesterday (Monday) was goat check day. They are fine. Rusty still mean as ever. I'm grateful for the extra minutes of daylight lately. Need to schedule a fence check soon. Electric current is down to near zero.
Nothing is new or interesting enough to mention. I've been in a holding pattern. May do some trial and error on the shelving today, to figure out what I want. Still need to buy the materials. Today is trash collection day. Maybe that will prove to be exciting.
Yesterday (Monday) was goat check day. They are fine. Rusty still mean as ever. I'm grateful for the extra minutes of daylight lately. Need to schedule a fence check soon. Electric current is down to near zero.
Nothing is new or interesting enough to mention. I've been in a holding pattern. May do some trial and error on the shelving today, to figure out what I want. Still need to buy the materials. Today is trash collection day. Maybe that will prove to be exciting.
You two are crazy! LOL I have a head cold right now that I would love to get rid of in that garbage can! Got too many projects I want to get started but feel like crap! Cannot remember the last time I had a bad cold. Oh well, tomorrow is another day in the neighbor hood!
Sorry that you have the head cold, maggiemae. I know it's really frustrating when you've got things you want to do. Just doing the everyday things you *have* to do is a struggle. Hope it's over soon.
You should start a thread in this section when you do your projects.
We can provide some helpful comments. Speaking for myself, I'm not crazy.
You should start a thread in this section when you do your projects.
We can provide some helpful comments.
Speaking for myself, I'm not crazy. Today was another goat check day. An absolutely gorgeous day. Clear, high 75F, no wind, nearly a full moon tonight. Just a couple of pictures. I bet I've already posted pictures of this, but these are the 2017 version. The last time you will be able to see through the woods with no obstructions.
This is right below the barn above the road that goes to the cabin. What stands out most to me is that little patch of pink broom sedge grass in the distance. I love this stuff, but it's useless. People used to make brooms out of it. When it turns pink, you know summer is over. It gives me a spooky feeling when it blows in the wind in the fields in winter.
This is the woods below the house, and shows the first of several terraces starting just below the fence.
I really should haved thinned out some of the worst trees long ago, when it would have been easy. It would have looked really nice after a few years, and the remaining trees would have been healthier. Maybe I'll cut a few for the goats this summer.
Stopped by Lowes on the way home and got some lumber. Almost decided to use 1" pine boards for the shelves instead of plywood. Plywood edges are so ugly and big bulky sheets of plywood are hard to work with.
The last time you will be able to see through the woods with no obstructions. This is right below the barn above the road that goes to the cabin. What stands out most to me is that little patch of pink broom sedge grass in the distance. I love this stuff, but it's useless. People used to make brooms out of it. When it turns pink, you know summer is over. It gives me a spooky feeling when it blows in the wind in the fields in winter.
This is the woods below the house, and shows the first of several terraces starting just below the fence.
I really should haved thinned out some of the worst trees long ago, when it would have been easy. It would have looked really nice after a few years, and the remaining trees would have been healthier. Maybe I'll cut a few for the goats this summer.
Stopped by Lowes on the way home and got some lumber. Almost decided to use 1" pine boards for the shelves instead of plywood. Plywood edges are so ugly
and big bulky sheets of plywood are hard to work with.
Aunt Bea
SF VIP
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Nancy, Your pictures made me think of Anna and Harlan Hubbard, a couple of eccentric back to the land folks that kept a herd of goats. Harlan was an artist and author of several books on the simple life that he and Anna lived. I particularly liked Shantyboat and Payne Hollow Life on the Fringe of Society both chronicle the day to day life of these interesting people.
[video]http://www.harlanhubbard.com/History/lifeonthefringe.html[/video]
For the plywood shelves take a look at plywood edge banding, not sure how it would hold up in a damp basement but it does look nicer than the raw plywood edges.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/White-Birc..._clickID=fa8df60b-dd2d-4986-b64d-137ee4551208
[video]http://www.harlanhubbard.com/History/lifeonthefringe.html[/video]
For the plywood shelves take a look at plywood edge banding, not sure how it would hold up in a damp basement but it does look nicer than the raw plywood edges.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/White-Birc..._clickID=fa8df60b-dd2d-4986-b64d-137ee4551208
Bea, I started by following your link to Harlan Hubbard, and it spread out into so many other interesting links I got overwhelmed. Keeping with the goat theme that runs through this diary, this is a woodcut by Hubbard. I don't exactly know how a woodcut is made yet, but I'll find out. So many things to learn and so little time...
Nannygoat and kids (Harlan Hubbard woodcut)
"This PM I headed off the goats, or part of them way up the
hollow and followed them back to the gate. I like to watch
them -- who could enjoy the woods more. I wish I could
get my living so directly and simply as they do. Theirs
is an unhurried peaceful existence, they are cared for,
and no effort or concern is required of them."
-Harlan Hubbard Journal, October 23, 1961
Nannygoat and kids (Harlan Hubbard woodcut)
"This PM I headed off the goats, or part of them way up the
hollow and followed them back to the gate. I like to watch
them -- who could enjoy the woods more. I wish I could
get my living so directly and simply as they do. Theirs
is an unhurried peaceful existence, they are cared for,
and no effort or concern is required of them."
-Harlan Hubbard Journal, October 23, 1961
I made this shelf frame exactly three 2x4 widths (10.5") deep---Fred, Barney, and the space in between. It will be easy to slip three 1x4's in there for the shelving. Will save a *lot* of cutting. And if there are any cracks left in between the boards it will look natural. I replaced the inside floors of my kitchen cabinets with boards that way, and it looks good. Hard to explain in words, but you will see...before Christmas.
What went wrong?
Last night I started watching videos of the old Liberace Show, at first just to see if there was another funny song, like Cement Mixer. Then I watched him play songs that I had tried to play as a teenager, the Bumble Boogie, Nola, some classics ... and marveled at how he could remember so many different songs. These are not tunes you can just ad lib by adding some standard accompaniments.
What finally came out of all this video watching, was a sense that he was just a genuinely nice person. How in the world can one come to that conclusion so quickly, based on a few videos? Made me question my judgement and gullibility.
Finally I run across his appearance on the Groucho Marx show, You Bet Your Life. At the 11:36 mark there is one back and forth, and I break into tears.
https://youtu.be/DAnrzg2aI3U?t=11m36s
Gave me a case of the mean reds. The video has a similar effect in this morning's sun. I don't get it.
Better go work on the shelves. Probably shouldn't have posted this. Comes across as a little crazy.
Last night I started watching videos of the old Liberace Show, at first just to see if there was another funny song, like Cement Mixer. Then I watched him play songs that I had tried to play as a teenager, the Bumble Boogie, Nola, some classics ... and marveled at how he could remember so many different songs. These are not tunes you can just ad lib by adding some standard accompaniments.
What finally came out of all this video watching, was a sense that he was just a genuinely nice person. How in the world can one come to that conclusion so quickly, based on a few videos? Made me question my judgement and gullibility.
Finally I run across his appearance on the Groucho Marx show, You Bet Your Life. At the 11:36 mark there is one back and forth, and I break into tears.
https://youtu.be/DAnrzg2aI3U?t=11m36s
Gave me a case of the mean reds. The video has a similar effect in this morning's sun. I don't get it.
Better go work on the shelves. Probably shouldn't have posted this. Comes across as a little crazy.
Meanderer
Supreme Member
What went wrong?
Last night I started watching videos of the old Liberace Show, at first just to see if there was another funny song, like Cement Mixer. Then I watched him play songs that I had tried to play as a teenager, the Bumble Boogie, Nola, some classics ... and marveled at how he could remember so many different songs. These are not tunes you can just ad lib by adding some standard accompaniments.
What finally came out of all this video watching, was a sense that he was just a genuinely nice person. How in the world can one come to that conclusion so quickly, based on a few videos? Made me question my judgement and gullibility.
Finally I run across his appearance on the Groucho Marx show, You Bet Your Life. At the 11:36 mark there is one back and forth, and I break into tears.
https://youtu.be/DAnrzg2aI3U?t=11m36s
Gave me a case of the mean reds. The video has a similar effect in this morning's sun. I don't get it.
Better go work on the shelves. Probably shouldn't have posted this. Comes across as a little crazy.
Nancy, your question should be "What went right?" ...you followed your gut instincts, which are usually correct. You were touched by him. He was a very talented and focused musician, genuinely a nice guy with a good sense of himself.
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Yes, but why (did I) get so emotional about it? ..That is what went wrong.
I think it involved a lot of issues all coming to a head at once. Not personal issues, in fact, only partly to do with Lee Liberace himself even. More to do with the social climate right now. Obvious attempts to create divisions for purely selfish reasons. It's getting tiresome.
But I'm over it now. Back to the shelves.
Made some progress last night, but nothing that shows. Visual trial and error to decide how many, and the spacing, of the shelves. The frame looks heavy duty enough just the way it is. Lots of work saved. Picked up the rest of the lumber on the way back from goat checking today. Ready to get started.
The only funny thing that happened in the last 24 hrs involved a belt sander (I lead a dull life). Somehow I left it in the "locked on" position and plugged in to an extension cord. When I plugged in the cord the sander went flying across the basement floor. So I'm thinking it might be fun to try and race these things. Even thought about posting it in the thread here, "Imaginary Sports We Want To Play." But did a little checking and turns out belt sander racing has been going on for at least 23 years. There is even a BSRA (Belt Sander Racing Association).
There is even a version with human drivers. What?!? No helmets???
The only funny thing that happened in the last 24 hrs involved a belt sander (I lead a dull life). Somehow I left it in the "locked on" position and plugged in to an extension cord. When I plugged in the cord the sander went flying across the basement floor. So I'm thinking it might be fun to try and race these things. Even thought about posting it in the thread here, "Imaginary Sports We Want To Play." But did a little checking and turns out belt sander racing has been going on for at least 23 years. There is even a BSRA (Belt Sander Racing Association).
There is even a version with human drivers.
What?!? No helmets???
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Nancy, you have got way too much time on your hands to be thinking about Belt Sander Races! LOL But it was a dreary cold day, so I will give you a pass! This weather is making me crazy. After weeks of mid 60's and 70's and then we get this cold snap coming through? Now, I gotta get out and cover up hydrangeas that are leafing out! Reminds me of March 2015 when I called it my Ghost Garden!
Ha! Ha! I really like your ghost garden, maggiemae. Probably even spookier at night. Forecast is predicting a low of 24F here Wed night, and high of 80F six days later. That may be the coldest and hottest days since November. The maple trees are going to get a big shock. Probably got the folks at the Augusta National Golf Club in a tizzy. They try to force the dogwoods and azaleas to both come out just in time for the Masters tournament. I guess we'll survive.
Yep, I read where Augusta National was already upset because they were afraid the azaleas would already be bloomed out before the tournament! Well, you cannot fight Mother Nature! They could just put some fake flowers in the shrubs to accommodate the "Media"! This tournament is not until well into April!
Pappy
Living the Dream
Meanderer, this is a photo of men chasing after the wild goat, 1953 Puck Fair. (Video below)
Short video: Capturing a wild goat, 1953 Puck Fair
I don't think that goat acted all that wild. Maybe it was his second time around being King Puck.
.
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Short video: Capturing a wild goat, 1953 Puck Fair
I don't think that goat acted all that wild. Maybe it was his second time around being King Puck.
.
.
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