Saturday morning, not so easy...

Got up at 6:30 AM after sleeping with the window open again. Whenever the weather's cool enough, I like to open my bedroom window. I seem to sleep better and don't wake up all stuffy from the A/C.

Today I did something I haven't done in almost a month - I made coffee! Then I hooked up the trailer and headed off to Lowes.

I won't mention any names, but when I was fretting about not having secured the trailer sides in there holders, "somebody" told me the weight alone would hold them down. So, it's 8:00 AM and I was on my first trip to Lowes (Yes, I ended up having to go back) going down Warren Road, almost to Wayne Road, when I heard one of the maybe three noises you don't ever want to hear when towing anything: a truck, pulling up next to me and frantically beeping his horn. He said, "Your trailer sides came loose and are jumping up at down at every bump. Your tailgate ripped off about 1/2 mile back!"

So, I drove a bit until I found a place to turn in. I got the three remaining sides back in place and strapped them down (not knowing what ones I would need, I fortunately had brought all my straps). Then I drove back and got my tailgate out of the center of the road. Thank God no cops were around! The vibration had snapped both 3 inch deck screws I used to attach it to the sides.

Went to Lowes and got what turned out to be my first load along with a ballpeen hammer and a box of big nails. Then I nailed the sides and tailgate in (leaving � inch out so I can pull them out easy). Oh, why a ballpeen hammer? Because it's the only kind I don't already own and I'll be damned if I need two hammers of the same kind!

So, back to shopping. I originally went to Lowes after deciding, since I'd already REALLY screwed up my garage floor and sawhorses with the wood staining, I might at well go ahead and buy the five kits of door molding, and all the base board and the shoe molding for the living room and the front entry. I'll stain it all now and polyurethane it, then remove the old and install the new at my leisure. But, now that I am here, I can't find the kits! I even asked a guy who worked there (but, he was new, he said) and he helped me look. Nothing!?! I guess I had that mixed up and I got them at Home Depot, but I could have sworn I bought them here. However, I did find a fluted door molding that matched the one I wrecked so my $32 mistake is now only a $10 mistake. Got the baseboard and shoe molding and some other stuff, loaded up and drove home.

Unloaded the trailer and went to Home Depot. Same thing, only this time the guy I asked had worked there a while and he said, "We've never carried that!" So, I took my empty trailer home and looked through my receipts and, sure enough, I got the original kits at Lowes. They must have stopped carrying them and I bought the last of the stock or something. Now what to do? I can't have one style in part of the house and another elsewhere.

So, I took the car and trailer back to Lowes and bought 13 lengths of the fluted molding and 10 of the wood blocks with the carved circles so I can duplicate the kits before they discontinue the molding, too. Took off the trailer and went to do my other Saturday morning errands. First the library, then an exploratory trip to the grocery store my barber recommended.

I bought some hamburger and hotdogs, with buns for each and what they call their "six-pack" of sweet corn - un-shucked but in a plastic bag (excuse me, but I like to pick out my own sweet corn?). I was unimpressed with the store, to be frank. The only thing I liked was they had a bagger at every open checkout. So, I got home, it's almost 1:00 PM and I haven't done a lick of work yet!

Then Jake and Carla stopped by. We chatted a bit out in the back. I asked Jake about the evergreen branches on the north side of the house that had grown back and were now rubbing on the shingles, and before I knew it he got the ladder and was up on the roof, lopping them off. Thanks!

They left around 2:30 and I decided that, with as frustrating a morning as I had, what I needed was to tuck into one of my new library books, read bit and take a nap. So, I did.

When I got up, I cut the baseboards I needed to finish the hallway and that side fluted molding, stained the ends of the cut pieces and the whole fluted piece and set them aside to dry. Then I watered all the gardens. Put away the hose and dragged out the grill. Finished grilling dinner at 9:30 PM and came inside to eat. Finished eating and went back to my book and bed.