37°F and rain this morning, going up to 46° today. Rain is supposed to end by noon-ish.
Dreary days over the weekend, cold, windy, and some rain.
We'd ordered some custom milled deck boards from a local guy over in Damiensville IL last summer. The space for last two boards at the end of our deck was slightly wider than the deck boards. So, I found this guy on a recommendation to mill the boards to the size we need, which is 8" x 1-1/4" x 12'. He told us then that it would be no problem. Well, after a couple of times calling him back to see where he was with them, and getting answers like, "Oh, I forgot to order that lumber," and "Yeah, I got the lumber but haven't milled it yet," and "I'll call you back later this week," we had pretty much given up on him. Wife's youngest son this weekend told her he was helping a friend's dad clean up his wood shop after a fire, and in the course of the conversation learned that it was the same guy who had promised us boards last year. He sent us a picture of our boards sitting outside with some other stuff they'd hauled out of the shop. They had apparently been sitting in his shop since September. I drove the truck over there Saturday afternoon to get them. They have a little bit of scorching on one end. I took them anyway. Looks like it will probably clean up, but even if it doesn't, it'll provide the fodder for a good story if anyone asks, "What happened to your deck there?" :laughing:
Had to make a trip to the Highland Walmart Saturday afternoon. What a madhouse. Naturally, they were pretty much out of TP and the like. The employees had some they were trying to stock, but the crowd of people standing around were taking it as soon as it was placed there. I laughed in disgust and took a picture. I think what surprised me more, though, was some of the other empty shelves. Mostly, all the cottage cheese and sour cream was gone. What the ...? All of the potato chips were gone, save for one lonely bag. In spite of all the sour cream being confiscated, nearly all the pre-made chip dips were in stock. (shaking my head).
The vacuum cleaners at the end of the TP isle drew the expected comments when I posted it on Facebook.
Sunday found me running errands in the morning. Took a trip to Carlyle to get a bag of chicken feed from Tractor Supply. Wife bought the wrong stuff last time - crumble instead of pellets - and now that our supply is low enough, we're going to mix in a bag of the right stuff. While there, I noted that they have chicks in already. Stopped in at the Walmart across the highway to pick up a few things for The Wife. In spite of the lot being chock full of vehicles, it really wasn't too crazy in there. I was able to get .everything we needed. A glance down the paper products isle saw actual product on the shelves. Not a lot, but some.
Spent the rest of Sunday putzing around in the studio. Stayed up way too late last night.
Kyle, I recall touring a large outdoor tank and artillery museum a few years ago when we visited the oldest stepson while he was stationed at Ft. Hood. It was on the base, and very impressive.
I like that holster, Roy. I've been using a leather DeSantis Sof-Tuck IWB with my J-frame revolver, but have been thinking of going to a kydex style. The leather is comfortable, but it's starting to wear, and I'm afraid it's losing retention. That one looks like it's easy on/off like my DeSantis. May have to pick up one of those. Thanks for the link.
I can't seem to get myself to buy expensive pants anymore. I used to wear cargo pants all the time, but over the last couple of decades it's been either khakis at work or jeans. I've even given up on my formerly-beloved 501s, and now buy the Dickie's button fly jeans. I actually find them more comfortable, and they've already outlasted the last several pairs of Levi's ... whose quality has been on a downward slide for quite some time. And, they're half the price.
Happy birthday, Phil.
