Road Trip

I woke up just before the 5:30 AM alarm on Saturday. Why? Because I have to visit my regular doctor (or Primary Care Physician as they call them now) up in Richmond.

So, I ate some breakfast (soft boiled eggs since it was the weekend), shaved and showered and then headed out at 8:00 AM.

I lucked out as the construction to the east bound lanes of I-94 was supposed to start at 9:00 AM. So I breezed through that. I stopped near 21-Mile and I-94 to take my coat off. I forgot my old habits developed while living in St. Clair. When I was there and still wearing a suit, I used to hang my coat(s) up on the car coat hook when I drove into work. That way I didn’t get over-heated.

Around here, I go maybe a few miles to get to somewhere so it doesn’t much matter. But today, I was sweating like a b*tch, so I shed my coat.

I made a pit stop at the east-bound I-94 rest area (a few miles short of 32-Mile road) to relieve myself. I hope to God she doesn’t want a urine sample, lol! I got there at 9:15 for my 9:30 AM appointment. They did there preliminary checks (weight, temp and blood pressure) and let me alone. About 10:00 AM, the doctor poked her head in and apologized, saying she’d be with me shortly.

She finally showed up almost an hour late, abashed, but I understood. Doctors have obligations I am unaware of. We had a nice discussion. I told her about my hospital adventures last month and she told me I did the right thing, even though it turned out nothing was wrong. She also said when she first started reading the report, she thought, “Oh no, his infection is back!”

My blood work was all good. We argued (again) about having a colonoscopy, and I said I’d think about it (again). We agreed to meet again in four months and I headed home.

I followed a suggestion from B___ and got off I-94 at M-59 to stop and see the new Menard’s. I’ve never been to one before and he was right, it makes Home Depot or Lowe’s look like a Mom and Pop store. The place is freakin HUGE! They even have a grocery section. I wanted to check out some Minwax Pre-Stain wood conditioner (its supposed to help end grain cuts to match the stain on the face – I’m still worried) and some crab grass preventer.

I finally found the garden section (it was at the other end of the store from where I came in) but I didn’t see any brand I was familiar with and it wasn’t cheap (although I would get 11% off on anything I bought today).

I asked a store employee where paint and stain were and she said, “Oh, you must have missed it! It’s at the other end of the store.” But, by this time my legs were sore and I decided to skip the effort to go back. I am not kidding, this place is like walking through the Auto Show at Cobo.

I did hit some road construction on the way back, but just slow-downs, no stop-and-go. I got off I-96 at Inkster, but drove through the intersection and took Schoolcraft to Home Depot (more my size). I did find the Minwax Pre-Stain and also picked up some more rubber gloves and t-shirt rags for staining.

I went and got a big bag of Scott’s Weed and Feed that was supposed to do 15,000 square feet. Now, my yard measures 20,513 square feet, but I figured if you minus the house, the driveway, the patios and cement pads, the play structure and all the gardens, I was probably close.

I read the instructions as I haven’t done this in years (I’ve just been paying TruGreen to do it). One thing I didn’t remember is that crab grass preventer has to go on BEFORE  crab grass begins to grow, while other broadleaf weeds preventer are put on AFTER they emerge (which is why you can’t buy both in the same bag and just do this once).

It was almost 1:00 PM and I was hungry, so I went up to the Old Mexico Restaurant on 5-Mile. I have been jonesing about enchiladas for days. Luckily, the place wasn’t crowded. They have good food, but my only complaint is that the tables are too close and you end up banging your chair into the back of somebody else’s or vice-versa when the place is busy.

Lunch was excellent and I finally headed home. I changed clothes and immediately went out and stained the back of the clock. Since it’s the back and all face grain, I didn’t bother with the pre-stain. I let it sit for 15 minutes and then wiped off any stain that hadn’t dried. I took the clock into the kitchen and put it on the table to dry.

Now, my plan was to let it dry and then flip it over and stain the front. But there was a problem. I am not that familiar with cherry stain (which is what Steph wanted) but it looked way too light. I checked the can and it said I had to let it dry for four to six hours before I could add a second coat! Damn!

So, I opened the kitchen window two inches to help with the smell of the stain and set the stove timer for five hours.

I went out in the garage and affixed the handle to the little walk-behind spreader I had bought a couple of weeks before. I do have a pull-behind big spreader for the lawn tractor, but I learned the hard way it doesn’t work so well on the little front lawn, with it’s tight turns when using the tractor. In fact, the last time I used it several years ago, the spreader tipped over and put fertilizer everywhere, which left a dead grass scar on the lawn for a year or so.

So, I filled the walk-behind spreader and did the front lawn. I got down the tractor spreader (I had the tractor on the battery charger since I first got home). Unfortunately, the cable had rusted during storage. I sprayed it with WD-40 and played with it a while. I could get it to open, but not to close when using the controls. Dammit!

Oh well, it wasn’t a bad day for a walk. You see, I have to put this on dry grass and its supposed to start raining tonight and rain off and on through next Thursday. So, today is the day!

It went well, I thought, until I ran out of stuff back behind the play structure. I either miscalculated on square footage or I had been putting on too thick (not the first time I have been accused of “putting it on a bit thick”).

So, decision time: Do I just let that part go or go get more. I decided I had gone this far, I should go all the way. So, I went back to Home Depot and bought a smaller bag. It took less than half the bag to finish, so I have enough for next year (if this stuff keeps for that long).

I put everything away and, since I still had about 2 1/2 hours to wait for the clock, I decide to take a well earned nap. But Fate, in the form of my daughter Melissa, intervened with a telephone call. She had a new number that she didn’t know and urged me to write down the number on the caller ID so I could call her if needed. I said I would. We talked for a long time, mostly about possible houses for her and Dave up here in Michigan. She has one that sounds promising, but is reluctant to put a bid on it without physically inspecting the place.

When we finally hung up, I followed my usual habit (without thinking) and deleted her number! Sorry, Babe! You’ll have to call me again.

It was close enough to the second coat of stain that a nap was no longer feasible. So, I putzed around a bit and watched a DIY show. Then I took the clock back in the garage and put on the second coat of stain. 15 minutes later, I wiped it off and took it inside again for the night. I had to leave the kitchen window open, but it wasn’t supposed to get too cold overnight. And rain wouldn’t be too big of a problem as the window is right above the kitchen sink.

I got cleaned up and warmed up two brats and the rest of the potatoes from Easter Sunday as my side. I skipped the buns and just ate the brats with Dijon mustard. When I finished and cleaned up, I laid down on the bed to watch some TV. But, all the walking today caught up with me and I fell asleep within an hour.