Hotter, hotter, hotter.

August 1, 2007 (6:14am)
61º F, Clear, Dead calm wind.

Good morning,

The hot continues. While it didn’t get as hot as the weatherman predicted (by 2º F), it was still hotter than the previous day. Again there was almost no wind all day, which seemed to just intensify the heat. The humidity is way down, thankfully, but there is no rain in the immediate forecast either and it is needed. I can’t imagine working outdoors for a full day, yet I have and a lot of days too. Many days during and after college, I worked as a mechanic in service stations, which also included filling cars with gas on a very hot, blacktop drive. The summer I graduated from college, I worked in a station in Menomonie during one of the hottest summers on record. It was in the days when we all wore uniforms - dark green, made from the first polyester fabrics which didn’t breath and trapped our body heat. No wonder I only weighed 144# at the time! Guess this old body has changed considerably.

We really didn’t do a whole lot yesterday, other than try not to sweat. I had some "paperwork" to get out in the morning. By the time I finished, the temperature was really up there and rising. I did get about half of the new lock set put into the door, before the sun came around there and turned the entryway into a solar oven. I finished the task after supper when the shade returned again. We bought a house brand, Ace Hardware, lock set and that really turned out to be a good thing. It is much stronger built than the previous one and much stronger than the price indicated. The door portion of the set, fit where the old one was like a slap in the face. I did need to do some whittling on the door frame, since the bolt and receiver are larger/heavier than the old one. A shape chisel made short work of it though. The knob is actually a lever handle. We like those better, as we can open the door will carrying something. Sure it will also make a difference when our hands work less well than they do now tool.

I am becoming a firm believer in Ace Hardware’s house brand products. Those that we have bought, have been of excellent quality and most have a lifetime warranty on parts at least. When I stopped the other day to pick up a new seat for the kitchen faucet, the clerk found them on the shelf, handed them to me, and said, "Put them in your pocket." No questions asked, no hassle, no grumpy me! While I worked at Dale’s, True Value, the same was true. Ace and True Value are fierce commentators and very similar in product lines and attitudes. All of their tools also have a lifetime no cost replacement warranty with them also. They carry quality, name brand products too. Like all stores, they also carry a lot of sucker bait for the city dudes too.

I piked up a pack of Dad’s letters to Mom. They were written while Dad was teaching at Cranbrook. I must say, there is a lot less "mush" in them than I expected or what I wrote when I was courting. Rather business like. Seems they both wrote each other once a day at least (wonder where I get the writing everyday.). Apparently Mom went trough them sometime before she died. All are numbered, I am in the 300's, and the stamps are cut off. I remember her cousin Ralph, was a stamp collector and that is probably where they went. I can remember sending some to him, or at least giving them to Mom to give to him. Ralph also took a number of pictures over the years of Mom too. He didn’t come back into Mom’s life until after Dad died. Don’t know what happened during the years in between.

The pictures here are of some of the changes we have made here. The most notable is removal of a wall. The first picture is before and the following two is after. Notice that we now have more room for boxes and stuff. Hopefully all will gravitate to their own places for the duration - until the next thing added or changed. Margriet now has a "desk" for her computer and sewing machine. This is absolutely temporary - I want my sawhorses back again!

Time to get a-going.

In Christ My Saviour,

Chris ><>