I was up on the roof of my house yesterday cleaning the gutters before the big storm that didn’t really happen. It got pretty icy and cold, but nothing like they were predicting. Anyway, when I was up on the roof, I was looking at a cupola type thing I build a few years ago when I was roofing my house. The cupola was there, originally with the house from 1963. My grand parents had a hunting dog weather vane. I took that down and put on a high wheeler. Anyway, the roof of the cupola is the cool part. It is cooper, with standing seams. I hand bent the copper over my kitchen counter and then pounded the seams flat. I hooked the whole thing down with cooper nails, not willing to try to do the seams on the roof and attach it the correct way. When I finished, I soldered the nails, so no chance of rain linking in.
Anyway, the whole project didn’t cost much, but I have a lot of pride in it. I like looking up there everyday I leave the driveway, seeing which way the wind is coming from, to help decide which way to ride. Working with your hands has a lot of rewards.
I’ve been driving down to Lawrence to help a friend with some projects. I though I was going to remove a bathtub and make it a walk-in shower. But that project got out of hand. She wanted one of the walls torn down and the bathroom made bigger. I had tiled the floors a few years ago and put in radiant floor heating, so I wasn’t that thrilled with the thought of ripping that up and starting over. So, I opted for project two, which was tearing down a wall by the front door to open up the living area.
The house was built probably in the 50’s and is a hodgepodge of construction techniques. It has been renovated and upgraded so many times that it is almost a science experiment. There is electrical running in the wall, so it has to be rerouted to another wall. The attic has 4 different types of insulation. With three of them being caustic. I put on a version of a hazmat suit to go up there. It works pretty well, but my arms are still itching from the stuff falling down on me during the demolition process. I’m trying to get it done before I take off to Chicago for Christmas. We’ll see. Okay, it is icy and cruddy out, so I’m just going to try to get a lot done over there today and maybe it won’t seem like such a rush.
My cupola. It is gonna take 20-40 years from the copper to turn green.
Dark entrance way.
Wall removed.
Wires sort of moved.
Wiring mess. It is pretty dry rotted.
Ready to go up.
Cute glasses to go with the hazmat outfit!
How can anybody write an article or “blog” and not care about using good grammar?
Andy-I care about grammar. But, as I’ve written before, I have an issue of going back and proof reading, or every reading again, what I write . Plus, many times I’m just tired or short of time. Like right now, it is after 2 am and I’ve been doing construction for the past 15 hours. Tomorrow morning I’ll probably write gibberish.
Plus, I don’t have very good grammar to start with, so it isn’t like it would ever be that great. It ain’t gonna get any better.
Andy de la Douche
Oh relax, Andy. This is an incredible blog…rich in content, deep experience, unique perspectives and a large following of appreciative, knowledgeable people.
Grammar isn’t why you, me and others come here.
Why did Andy put quote marks around blog?
I looked up the Associated Press Stylebook and couldn’t see where quote marks are recommended in instances such as that.
Can i assume that you may be French ?
If so , you should try reading my blogs , they don’t translate well in French , but then my 1st language is Oztralian !
US english is not QUEENS english ! Heard on SKY TV this AM : dispute about ” Thongs/flipflops ” ! English footwear= flipflops, thongs=ladies undies ?
Don’t see people signing on for this , MUST BE MY GRAMMAR :
http://www.smh.com.au/victoria/melbourne-man-killed-in-los-angeles-riding-bike-20131224-2zvw4.html
To those signing , best wishes for Safe Cycling ! Those ignoring , my twitter feed has the answer @skippydetour
The following links illustrate WHY you should sign on :
PROFIS : http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/felix-baur-killed-while-training-in-spain
Cyclists : http://www.smh.com.au/victoria/melbourne-man-killed-in-los-angeles-riding-bike-20131224-2zvw4.html
Hope Cyclists will decide to HELP ONE ANOTHER , NOW & IN 2014 onwards !
THE PETITION should have been in my comment , not the repeat of the smh article :
https://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/ioc-chairman-thomas-bach-create-an-international-umbrella-cycling-safety-organisation
another assumption that went awry ?