Ah...Saturdays. Well, at this stage in our busy lives, full Saturdays to tackle the "to do" list seem few and far between. Today I was determined to get a few things done. It always amazes me how fast the hours fly when you have a long list of little projects. But this was a good day, and I'm thankful to the Lord that the pain in my back has improved enough to allow me to manage these few tasks.
Let's see, my daughter Sarah had a couple friends sleep over last night, so I got up early and quietly, around 5:30AM I think. Brewed some coffee. Watered our newly seeded lawn. Then worked for a couple hours.
I work for Fingertip Formulary. We manage pharmacy formulary data, tracking the formulary status of over 1500 prescription drugs on every health plan currently operating in the U.S. We provide a comprehensive suite of critical market data for....blah....blah...blah....yes, I'm boring you by now.
Next I decided I would tear down a painful eyesore on our property. A couple years ago I built a little rack to hold fire wood. I built it quickly out of 2x4's and it served its purpose for the time. But my neighbor just put up a nice brand new fence, and this little home-made wood rack detracted from his hard work (in my opinion at least). So I chopped it up into bits.
What you see in the picture to the left is what is left of the rack and the wood that was on it. What you also see is the hay covering the newly seeded section of our lawn. We had to replace our septic system last year. Our contractor, Dale Bangma (highly recommended!) came back and seeded for us earlier this week. We should be having little grass babies popping up in 7-10 days.
We have had some old cans of paint piling up in the basement. OLD stuff...rusty cans...paint that was well beyond using. Our trash collection company recommends dumping the used paint into bags of kitty litter, letting it harden a bit, then throwing it into the trash. So...I emptied out a few cans of paint. This will need to be an ongoing project. We have lived here for about 17 years...and I'm sure we aren't the only ones with extra unused cans of paint laying around.
Speaking of living here for 17 years...my dear wife has always wanted a wood or pellet stove. She just loves the HEAT they throw. Well, we have finally decided to go ahead and make the investment. We had a relatively mild winter this year, but in spite of the threats of global warming, I'm thinking we are due for a really cold winter soon. So I have been kicking tires - so to speak - at several stove shops in the area for the past few weeks. Today I decided to go and put a deposit on the pellet stove insert we are going to buy.
The picture above is a picture...of a picture...of the insert we are getting. I am going with the Winslow pellet insert, a Lennox Hearth product (based in Nashville, TN). We are going with pellets instead of wood because pellets appear to be a better value, burn cleaner and just seem easier (storage and burn time superiority).
Here is a picture of what our fireplace opening looks like right now:
Here is a picture of a stone fireplace that I like. I am going to get a quote to see how much it will cost to re-do our brick fireplace with stone, before we install the pellet. I may have to donate an organ or two. We'll see:
Anyway, after putting down my deposit on the stove insert, I put a call into a stone mason they recommended. He will be out in a week or so to give me the quote.
Next on my to-do list was mulch. I swung (swang?) by the garden shop in Uxbridge and had them put a yard of red hemlock in the back of my pickup. The guy had a bit of a challenge due to the kayak racks that I have (yes, kayak racks...but no kayak yet...don't rush me!). But he managed to dump in a full yard and got nearly 100% of the yard right inside the bed of the truck. Good job!
I took it home and mulched the front plant areas. Earlier, I talked Kathryn into weeding out those areas so they would be ready for the mulch.
Kathryn needed a few things at Walmart, and so did I, so we took a trip together. She got some crafting supplies - she wanted to make a shelf to store her nail polish.
I needed to find something to fix a VERY squeaky bed. We had to get new rails for our bed frame last year. They fit...but they were quite noisy.
So I found this:
Yes, yes it is actually meant for a chain saw...or similar power equipment. BUT...it said it stopped SQUEAKS!! So I took off each bed rail from the head board and bottom...sprayed the metal parts with this stuff...let it sit for a few minutes and put it back together. Guess what??? No squeaks! Well, almost no squeaks. I would call it a 90% improvement.
Next, Kathryn wanted me to help hang her newly created nail polish shelf.
Here it is:
Good job Kathryn!
I also made some clam dip today. I don't know why. Just had a craving. I think it turned out pretty good:
The day ended with Joshua and I playing a game of Hidden Chronicles on Facebook. He loves that game. We sit next to each other trying to find the hidden objects. Kind of an evening tradition.
I helped Joshua with his shower. While he was cleaning up, I sat and read a little from an old favorite book, "The Reformed Pastor" by Richard Baxter. I'm not a pastor. But I do have the privilege of teaching and sometimes sharing the gospel with others. His words were a sobering reminder that it is possible to be very zealous for the souls of others...while be very careless for your own. He says "God never saved any man for being a preacher; but because he was a justified, sanctified man, and consequently faithful to his Master's work. Take heed, therefore, to yourselves first, that you be that which you persuade your hearers to be, and believe that which you persuade them to believe, and heartily entertain that Savior whom you offer to them."
I did also manage to get in my 10 chapters of Bible reading today too. More information on this reading plan can be found HERE.
Okay, so that was my Saturday. And now I'm ready to call it a night, looking forward to Sunday, church, lunch with friends and family, and rest.
Let's see, my daughter Sarah had a couple friends sleep over last night, so I got up early and quietly, around 5:30AM I think. Brewed some coffee. Watered our newly seeded lawn. Then worked for a couple hours.
 |
| This is the public website for the company I work for |
Next I decided I would tear down a painful eyesore on our property. A couple years ago I built a little rack to hold fire wood. I built it quickly out of 2x4's and it served its purpose for the time. But my neighbor just put up a nice brand new fence, and this little home-made wood rack detracted from his hard work (in my opinion at least). So I chopped it up into bits. What you see in the picture to the left is what is left of the rack and the wood that was on it. What you also see is the hay covering the newly seeded section of our lawn. We had to replace our septic system last year. Our contractor, Dale Bangma (highly recommended!) came back and seeded for us earlier this week. We should be having little grass babies popping up in 7-10 days.
 |
| Kitty litter, paint cans - soon to be mixed! |
The picture above is a picture...of a picture...of the insert we are getting. I am going with the Winslow pellet insert, a Lennox Hearth product (based in Nashville, TN). We are going with pellets instead of wood because pellets appear to be a better value, burn cleaner and just seem easier (storage and burn time superiority).
Here is a picture of what our fireplace opening looks like right now:
Here is a picture of a stone fireplace that I like. I am going to get a quote to see how much it will cost to re-do our brick fireplace with stone, before we install the pellet. I may have to donate an organ or two. We'll see:
Anyway, after putting down my deposit on the stove insert, I put a call into a stone mason they recommended. He will be out in a week or so to give me the quote.
Next on my to-do list was mulch. I swung (swang?) by the garden shop in Uxbridge and had them put a yard of red hemlock in the back of my pickup. The guy had a bit of a challenge due to the kayak racks that I have (yes, kayak racks...but no kayak yet...don't rush me!). But he managed to dump in a full yard and got nearly 100% of the yard right inside the bed of the truck. Good job!
I took it home and mulched the front plant areas. Earlier, I talked Kathryn into weeding out those areas so they would be ready for the mulch.
 |
| Left side of the entry way. |
 |
| Full front view...grass is a bit worn out where the kids play baseball in our yard. |
I needed to find something to fix a VERY squeaky bed. We had to get new rails for our bed frame last year. They fit...but they were quite noisy.
So I found this:
Yes, yes it is actually meant for a chain saw...or similar power equipment. BUT...it said it stopped SQUEAKS!! So I took off each bed rail from the head board and bottom...sprayed the metal parts with this stuff...let it sit for a few minutes and put it back together. Guess what??? No squeaks! Well, almost no squeaks. I would call it a 90% improvement.
Next, Kathryn wanted me to help hang her newly created nail polish shelf.
Here it is:
Good job Kathryn!
I also made some clam dip today. I don't know why. Just had a craving. I think it turned out pretty good:
The day ended with Joshua and I playing a game of Hidden Chronicles on Facebook. He loves that game. We sit next to each other trying to find the hidden objects. Kind of an evening tradition.
I helped Joshua with his shower. While he was cleaning up, I sat and read a little from an old favorite book, "The Reformed Pastor" by Richard Baxter. I'm not a pastor. But I do have the privilege of teaching and sometimes sharing the gospel with others. His words were a sobering reminder that it is possible to be very zealous for the souls of others...while be very careless for your own. He says "God never saved any man for being a preacher; but because he was a justified, sanctified man, and consequently faithful to his Master's work. Take heed, therefore, to yourselves first, that you be that which you persuade your hearers to be, and believe that which you persuade them to believe, and heartily entertain that Savior whom you offer to them."
I did also manage to get in my 10 chapters of Bible reading today too. More information on this reading plan can be found HERE.
Okay, so that was my Saturday. And now I'm ready to call it a night, looking forward to Sunday, church, lunch with friends and family, and rest.
No comments:
Post a Comment