Making a Point

So in my last post I mentioned that I was taking on the task of repointing my house. While I’ve done limited masonry projects in my day, I assumed this would be an easy enough task to do myself, just a bit time consuming. While I was correct on both of those issues, the degree to which I underestimated how difficult this would be is kind of ridiculous.

The process to clear the old mortar was easy enough. Take a hammer and chisel, then smack old mortar until you think you’ve gotten enough of the loose stuff out of the way. It takes a little while but it’s a fairly simple task. What I found to be the hard part was getting the new mortar back in.

What I realized very quickly was that trowels, mortar bags, or any other tool that might be used for this job were quickly proven to be useless. In order to get the mortar to stand up properly the mix had to be relatively dry. This meant that the only tools I could use to apply the new stuff were my hands. While this wouldn’t normally be a problem, the fact that it was mortar made it painful. Of course I didn’t realize this until late in the game.

Basically, I was running my hands through wet sandpaper for the entire day. When I noticed the pain setting in I, decided to apply tape to the trouble spots and keep going (because putting on gloves would make too much sense). By the end of the day my fingertips were worn raw, my hands were incredibly dry, and my hands were covered in tape. I guess there is a reason the people that do this for a living charge so much money. Their glove budget alone must be astronomical.

Skillz

As the fall starts to slowly settle into the valley, I’m slowly wrapping up the remaining outdoor projects at my house for this year. It’s been a long summer that was spent doing a tremendous amount of outdoor work and teaching myself a few things about home improvements. While I don’t know if I’ll ever use these new found talents, at least I can say that I have them in my quiver should the need arise in the future.

The latest skill I’m “teaching” myself is how to re-point masonry (yes mom, that does say re-point – it’s not a typo). See, the exterior of my house is stone and, due to a particular problem I encountered this summer with bees, I decided to move the re-pointing up on the list of projects. I have limited knowledge of masonry but I figure at five to seven dollars a square foot for someone else to do it, I decided that learning a method (not necessarily the preferred method) could save me a few clams to use on other projects.

I started to remove the old masonry yesterday and, after about an hour of sucking in fifty-year-old dust, I realized I don’t like this project. There is a reason I don’t do this kind of work for a living (other than not wanting to rough up my dainty hands) and it is emphasized with each stroke of the chisel. I’ve already reduced my expectations for how much of this project I intend to complete this year. Luckily I don’t need to re-point the entire house right away because the chances of that happening are similar to those of me becoming a professional mason.

Training

As the summer starts to wind down much sooner than I would like, the seasonal change has me thinking about one of my favorite activities – fall mountain biking. I’ve been spending so much time working on my house and yard this summer that I’ve barely had time to ride. More specifically, it hasn’t been a priority and, as I look back, seems like a bit of a mistake.

Since I didn’t ride very much over the summer, I’m dreadfully behind on my training for one of the biggest events on my ride calendar; the world famous Dirty Dozen. The Dirty Dozen is just a few short months away and I’m feeling woefully unprepared to tackle the insanely steep pitches that pass for streets in and around Pittsburgh. Last year was my first experience with the DD and I’m cautiously looking forward to this year’s installment. Of course that means I’ll be spending Thanksgiving in the ‘burgh again and riding a lot throughout that weekend.

Right now however, I’m hoping for a break in the rain so I can actually get on a bike and start riding up hills, along trails, and doing all that I can to hopefully ensure I survive. I guess I should also start preparing myself for the late nights (that often turn into early mornings) trying to keep up with Jerry. He’s already started his training too by going to Las Vegas to see how many hours in a row he can stay awake. I think the DD will be the least painful part of this year’s trip.

Snacks

As I’ve mentioned numerous times in this little blog of mine, I’ve been spending a lot of time working on my house. Also, as I may have mentioned in this same blog I’ve been working a lot lately too. While these two facts might not be very significant, they have a notable connection that leads into the title of this post.

One other subject I’ve noted in this here internet rag is the fact that I’m a super awesome single dude living in a swinging town. To the casual observer that might seem like a good thing, however I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s not as amazing as it might sound. What I’m finding out (the hard way) is that when you are single and own a home you get to do everything by yourself. When I say everything I mean exactly that; paying the bills, cleaning the house, maintaining the yard, doing improvements, and making dinner.

While I’d like to think I’m significantly competent in all of the above noted areas, lately I find that the making dinner part has been the one area of my single lifestyle that seems to be suffering. I really enjoy cooking but lately it seems as though I neglect that aspect until the end of the day and, instead of making some delicious meal, I tend to rely on snacks to get my sustenance. It’s not uncommon for me to get home from work, mow the yard, tend to some landscaping, and have a roundly nutritious meal of chips and salsa for dinner. Similarly, if I get home from work late after a night meeting I might grab a handful of almonds and a few pieces of cheese and call that my evening’s feast.

I’ve recently started to realize that without snacks I might not ever eat. While I fully admit that snacking isn’t the most healthy choice for my (lately un) active lifestyle, it gets me by. I have a handful of this, and a bowl full of that and by the end of the night I’m properly supplied by premade or otherwise concocted foods. Of course, there is the occasional peanut butter and jelly in the mix so I guess it isn’t all bad.