The last day of a long weekend

I woke up at 4:30 AM on Tuesday. I made a fresh pot of coffee and some toast for breakfast.

I had to run to Home Depot and then to Meijer’s before the painters came at noon. Back home, I ate a braunswieger (sp (liver sausage) sandwich for lunch. Hmmm… Red Pelican hot mustard or butter? Never could decide which tastes better, but went with hot mustard this time.

The painters showed up at 2:00 PM. So, lesson learned: Just add two hours to their verbal show-up time and you don’t have to fret.

They got started on their project and I got started on mine. To give you the background, one year when we were still living on the Palms Road farm, I decided I needed a Christmas wreath. Now, I didn’t have that kind of money (I was working in a factory and just barely getting by), so I made one.

I took a 26-inch bicycle wheel and cut out all the spokes and the hub. Then I cut some boughs from the evergreens on the place and wired them on. Then, finally, I put on some Christmas tree light’s Lu’s father had given us (the screw-in bulb kind, indoors only and old even at that time). I eventually wired on artificial evergreens, but I have hung that sucker up outside ever since.

But, it’s getting harder and harder to find replacement lamps, the string of lights was never made to go outside and when the lights are lit, they are hot as hell and capable of starting a fire.

So, I sat on the bed and started removing the lights from that handmade wreath. It took quite a long time and in some cases, I ended up just cutting the wire to get it off.

Then I had to install 300 mini-lights on the wreath and (hopefully) spaced evenly.

I finished up and hung it by 3:00 PM. I tested it and it all works. I’ll install the timer, later.

The painters finished up around 4:00 PM and asked me to do a final inspection. Was it perfect? No. Was it better than I would have done? Yes! Could I have even done it in my current physical condition? No.

I paid them the money and thanked them and they left.

They told me it would be better to wait overnight before hanging pictures or moving furniture (you don’t have to twist my arm, lol!)

I shook out the bedspread outside (to get off the fake evergreen needles) and then washed it.

I warmed up a Marie Callender’s chicken pot Pie for dinner and ate it watching the nightly news. I switched to the Redwings game, but fell asleep before the first period ended.