Easier To Destory, Than Create?

Not always. I got outside by noon and just couldn't bring myself to battle with the pampas grass again today. I had scrapped a layer of skin off the palm of my right hand. Both of my hands, even at almost 9pm, are very stiff. I decided instead to begin building a new gate.

Well, that took awhile. I first cleared some area and began looking for places to sink a post. The problem has been that the obvious place to put the gate is next to the fireplace but the foundation for the fireplace takes up a lot of area. The two choices were either go in front of the fireplace or behind. I can't go far in either direction because I need the meters to be readable so I'd want those outside the gate. I don't want to go back much because that will expose a window. I managed to find a spot just behind the chimney where the foundation of it wasn't so expansive and dug out a hole.

The neighbor was interested and offered his unused concrete which he was otherwise just going to throw out. We kicked around places the post could go. Anyway, I dug the hole, put the post in and put brick around it just so I could start on the other side. I did a new gate on the other side a few years ago. I still had another steal mounting kit that Mother had liked and planned to use it. I ended up mounting that on the fence between this and the neighbor's property. I had dug a hole there too for concrete so the anchor bolts could be set in it. Things were going OK until it came to concrete time. The neighbor mixed some up and smacked his head on the metal support. He got a nasty looking cut but it didn't bleed. I hadn't really mixed concrete before but remember Father mixed some back when I was a little kid. I know he had an actual small orange-painted mixer that would spin. In those days you had to add the sand, rock and water separately. Now you just add water. For the repairs I've done, I use pre-mixed with no added water needed.

Anyway, I kept the post level while he filled in around the base. He said he learned how to use concrete from his dad when he was a kid and reminisced how much that guy knew how to do and ended up complimenting Father saying he was like that as well. That's true. Father was not a well educated person in book learning but had many skills. Some from his military career, others from his farming childhood. I can diagnose a computer but there are many great practical things I'm not skilled with. I'm not into motors, for example. I understood what my Brother did to get the chain saw and tiller working but that's outside my comfort zone. I'm not going to play with gasoline and combustion. That's Brother's skill set. I can read diagrams but I try to avoid anything but rudimentary electrical work. I'd rather Brother do it. That's part of his job. I'm just unsure of myself enough to get myself electrocuted. Anyway, it was nice for him to say that. I hadn't give it much thought and, unfortunately, Father didn't teach me such things perhaps because I had health problems as a kid.

So ok that was boring but I got about half-way with the gate project. I didn't have enough face boards so I'll have to get three more. We'll need a few other bits of lumber too since I'm cannibalizing the lumber that would've been for the French Doors project... I got quite sullen this afternoon when the mail came. Mother had volunteered to help Arnold's campaign and mail came related to that. It just irritated me that she wasn't done living whereas Father was essentially waiting for Death to finally getting around to claiming him. Just seems unfair. It's fucked up.

Brother might show on Sunday. Need to get some things done while he's here. I don't want another lost weekend.