Saturday and the big sleep

Didn't sleep much during Friday night, so I woke up at 8:00 AM, tired. Shaved and showered and got to planning. I'm going to my Mom's and making lunch for her and my brother Carl. Nothing as elaborate as the bacon wrapped meatloaf, this time. I thought I'd keep it simple and make an antipasto salad and my shrimp scampi served over linguine.

I thawed a pound of shrimp, then cleaned and deveined them. I was a little distressed they were so small (35 to 40 count) as I like to use 25 count shrimp in this dish. But, it's all I had. Assembled the stuff I would need, and then headed out.

So, first stop is Westborn for the salad ingredients. Bought proscuitto (Mom, that's Italian ham that's cured but not smoked), Genoa salami, provolone, fresh mozzarella balls, fresh basil, some olive oil, Romaine hearts, a mixed variety of olives, marinated hearts of artichoke, a Italian baguette and some Giardiniera pickled vegetables.

Got on the expressway and was doing good until I hit the construction on I-94. Down to two lanes and stop and go as they were working. So, big truck with gravel, front-end loaders, etc. kept stopping traffic. So, the trip that usually takes about an hour took almost two!

Got to Mom's at 1:00 PM and started making lunch. Cut the salami and provolone into strips, rolled the proscuitto and put them on a platter. Drained the fresh mozzarella and drizzled them with olive oil and added chopped basil. Put the olives, artichoke hearts and Giardiniera in little bowls. Chopped up the Romaine lettuce and dressed it with balsamic vinaigrette.

Put the pasta on to boil and made the shrimp scampi. When everything was ready I told Mom I'd better call Carl. He answered and said he was trying to come in the driveway, but my brother Joe was in the way. He was dropping off his boat trailer for the summer.

So I set the table, invited Joe to eat, but he declined. After we were done, Carl did all the dishes while I packed up. I have to get home before 4:00 PM, as Jake and Carla are coming over to help me install the new attic stairs.

I notice the West-bound I-94 was moving pretty good (during the stop and go of the East-bound ride to Mom's) so took a chance and go back on the E-way. Got back home just after 4:00 PM. but Jake and Carla had beaten me there. I made some quick hellos and headed for the bathroom!

So, Jake started the demo of the old stairs. That accomplished, we had a problem. Old wood stairs had a 25 inch opening. New one said it fit both 22 or 25 inch opening. But, it meant adding another 2" x 6" stringer and spacers. Fortunately, I had the materials in my scrap pile. Unfortunately, I will have to try and match thickness of the wet plaster and lathe with drywall. I took a picture and posted it Sunday morning so you can see what I'm talking about. Anyway, I installed that while Jake and Carla went to the store.

They came back with food, but I wasn't hungry. I cut the boards that held up the frame (twice) and while Jake and Carla were working, I sat down on the loveseat, tired as hell. I dozed off, then woke up and could hardly move. I checked the clock and it was 5:30 AM!!!

Problems: My back is killing me from sleeping sitting up all night, my ankles are swollen so bad I can't get my slippers on and there was an email from Jake, telling me NOT to open the ladder as a bolt was stripped during assembly. But, on the plus side, for the first time in days, I SLEPT THROUGH THE NIGHT!