Today is Father's Day for this year. Most of the day was spent celebrating that. We went to Fargo for a nice meal at a restaurant we've never been to. Specifically, we went Texas Roadhouse so I could get what I expected to be a good steak. I'm sure I could have achieved that goal at other places, even local restaurants. But, I wanted to shop for a couple other things and so did the rest of the family, and we had never been to Texas Roadhouse, so we went. It was very good. I ate many many calories, got very full, and ate everything on my plate... and some dinner rolls... and some peanuts (which is one of their signature things-- peanuts in-the-shell in a little bucket on the table)... and two sodas. As for the rest of the shopping, some of the things we got are not available locally, but most are. Local prices are much more expensive and the selection is not as convenient either. It's an on-going thing in my town-- people willing to drive that distance for those reasons rather than "supporting" local businesses. If that happens too much then the local businesses go out of business, and jobs go with them, and the school system declines, and, and, and... But, people want what they want, too. I really do try to buy locally. Also, with gas prices being what they are, once you factor in the gas to get there and back, you have to have saved a lot of money to actually spend less-- or you have to have acquired something you can't buy locally that justifies the added expense. Or, you have to just not over think these things.
As for work, when I got home, I put the air conditioner in the window for the first time this year. It's a bit like deciding when to light the furnace for the first time in the fall. This year, it was today. It didn't have to be. We have no objective determination procedure. We just agree and do it. And, it was plenty hot and humid today. Then, I went outside and sprayed the lawn and flower beds for mosquitoes and other irritating insects. I'm not sure why I waited for today, since I've been spraying myself for a long time now while working on the house or mowing the lawn. The stuff I used was left over from last year. When I finished, I was a bit puzzled that I seemed to have the same amount of stuff as when I started. Actually, I was surprised to have any left over from last year. So, it may just be that the applicator is plugged and all I've done is water everything a little. I'll have to find out another day. If it actually worked, there is another irony here: this product is also from Bayer Advanced. So, for the weeds, the dispenser went empty way too early and didn't work, anyway. For the bug stuff, the container may never go empty from the appearance of it-- so, if it still works??? I may not ever spend money on their ready-to-apply applicators again if I can't trust them.
I also applied more caulk-- maybe I should explain more of what I'm doing. As I've said before, I'm basically using the caulk the same as the stucco, which is to rebuild areas that have broken away. The stucco is being used on a large scale around the base of the entire house so that I end up with a neat, durable, uniform line. The caulk is being used in small patches around the back door and deck to rebuild those small areas. The areas are small enough that the stucco is overkill. Also, since the siding tucks back between the deck and the wall, it would be very difficult to do that there, anyway. But, I don't want such large goops of caulk that will deform or fall off and cure unevenly, so I am building up those areas in layers. That's why it's a multiple day and multiple tube process. Actually, the slower I build it up, the better my chances are of controlling the shape of the finished product. I'm trying to re-create something by hand that was manufactured by a machine, and the finer details are important since the eye is easily caught on imperfections.
I've been thinking about that "alot" lately as I've been working at this. Why bother? For one thing, it's cheaper ($20-$50 per wall) than the ideal solution (new siding at $10,000+). Second, it's an exercise in ingenuity. I have more time than money to invest and the final product will be my own creation, yet still work.
As for work, when I got home, I put the air conditioner in the window for the first time this year. It's a bit like deciding when to light the furnace for the first time in the fall. This year, it was today. It didn't have to be. We have no objective determination procedure. We just agree and do it. And, it was plenty hot and humid today. Then, I went outside and sprayed the lawn and flower beds for mosquitoes and other irritating insects. I'm not sure why I waited for today, since I've been spraying myself for a long time now while working on the house or mowing the lawn. The stuff I used was left over from last year. When I finished, I was a bit puzzled that I seemed to have the same amount of stuff as when I started. Actually, I was surprised to have any left over from last year. So, it may just be that the applicator is plugged and all I've done is water everything a little. I'll have to find out another day. If it actually worked, there is another irony here: this product is also from Bayer Advanced. So, for the weeds, the dispenser went empty way too early and didn't work, anyway. For the bug stuff, the container may never go empty from the appearance of it-- so, if it still works??? I may not ever spend money on their ready-to-apply applicators again if I can't trust them.
I also applied more caulk-- maybe I should explain more of what I'm doing. As I've said before, I'm basically using the caulk the same as the stucco, which is to rebuild areas that have broken away. The stucco is being used on a large scale around the base of the entire house so that I end up with a neat, durable, uniform line. The caulk is being used in small patches around the back door and deck to rebuild those small areas. The areas are small enough that the stucco is overkill. Also, since the siding tucks back between the deck and the wall, it would be very difficult to do that there, anyway. But, I don't want such large goops of caulk that will deform or fall off and cure unevenly, so I am building up those areas in layers. That's why it's a multiple day and multiple tube process. Actually, the slower I build it up, the better my chances are of controlling the shape of the finished product. I'm trying to re-create something by hand that was manufactured by a machine, and the finer details are important since the eye is easily caught on imperfections.
I've been thinking about that "alot" lately as I've been working at this. Why bother? For one thing, it's cheaper ($20-$50 per wall) than the ideal solution (new siding at $10,000+). Second, it's an exercise in ingenuity. I have more time than money to invest and the final product will be my own creation, yet still work.
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