68°F and clear skies this morning, going up to 87° today. Pretty much the same for tomorrow, then temps start to drop on Wednesday through the day. Highs the rest of the week in the upper 50s. Summers last hurrah.
Got the holes dug and concrete footings poured for deck steps Saturday morning, then spent a few hours dragging the rotary cutter around the pasture for one last time this year. I just beat the rains that had been threatening most of the afternoon, and was rewarded with a nice bright rainbow after the first round passed.
Wifey and I finished the steps around two sides of Deckasaurus on Sunday. The only things left to do on it now are to put up the lattice along two sides to close it off from skunks, possums, and raccoons, add the solar lights for the steps, and finish the last boards at the east end. Poor planning left me just under 2" short on the top boards, so I'm having a guy a couple towns over plane down a couple of 12' 2x8s for me. Then, Deckasaurus will be done.
I'd be happy to ride US-50 with you, RNG ... but I suspect you'd be less than happy riding with me.
I've always ridden like an old fuddy-duddy, even in younger years. I once went on a large group ride at the BMW MOA Falling Leaf Rally in Potosi MO ('91, I think). After about 25 miles of winding, hilly roads, I had hopelessly lost the group. So, I turned around at the next town and went back to the campgrounds. It was a beautiful ride, but I was alone for about 3/4 of it.
Ron, the kitchen island turned out great. Nice work.
I like your idea about the stepson being an alien, Drew. Unfortunately, a more earthly explanation can be found with a quick look at how his father lives. And on that note, The Wife and boy are going to look at an apartment for him in Breese IL after he gets off work tonight. Rent would be slightly less that one week's pay. She picked up a bunch of kitchen essentials for him over the weekend. He still needs living room furniture, which we'll also get for him. We told him we'd pay the deposit and first month's rent, and help him get his utilities turned on. After that, it's all up to him. Wife actually seems excited about emptying the proverbial nest.
I've never really been a huge sports fan. I played football, baseball, basketball, and ran track as a youngster. Even got a track scholarship for high jumping. As an adult, though, I've never really been all that fanatical about professional sports. Even with the Cardinals here, I'm not a big baseball fan. STL has had some terrible football years between the Rams and the Cardinals, with a few great Rams seasons sprinkled in there. But, I was always a Steelers fan, starting with those great Lynn Swann years. However, the NFL over the last few years has successfully destroyed any lingering interest I had in pro football. Never was a big basketball fan either. I like the game, but the pro level is just a big see-what-I-can-do fest, and college level isn't much different anymore. I did develop a strong liking for NHL hockey after my divorce in 1990. Most of my friends spent most of their time watching hockey, and I developed a strong liking for the Detroit Redwings of that era ... much to the chagrin of my St. Louis Blues supporting cohorts. Still something of a Wings fan, but don't really have the time to be a devoted watcher these days (which is OK, because they are less good right now).
