Cement Dance and Yoga Cats

New Jersey Supervisor

So, my first experience with Portland cement was certainly educational if not pristine. I re-learned the old lesson of how hard it is to stir the sand, cement and water together. I also learned that using a thin plastic container and then using a shovel to stir is a situation fraught with peril. My after work project took its first hit when my imagined bending of a single sheet of plywood into a circle for the form of the base of the fire pit failed miserably. Using a saw I was able to jury rig something that while not aesthetically pleasing (so glad it’s in the back yard where no one can see it) did the job.

The Aftermath and my Jury Rigged Form System

I placed the largest of excavated stone in the base and started mixing. I was into the second load when I noticed something dripping on my foot. In my overly energetic stirring I’d opened a good size hole in the bottom of the container. Whilst carrying the container over to the pit I’d left a trail of cement across the lawn and recently completed patio stones. I debated leaving it to harden to have a funny story to tell future generations. That feeling lasted about three seconds. Luckily cement is still vulnerable until it hardens and some energetic use of the garden hose removed all evidence of my mini-disaster (so glad my wife wasn’t around to comment on my actions).

New Jersey Project

I poured the last load of cement just as the sun set and prayed it would set overnight. I consider it a success that I got most of the cement into the pit although before my serial hosing of the area it did look like a gray powder bomb went off in the area but hey, I’m a rookie. I crossed my fingers this morning when I went out to inspect but it had hardened overnight and actually looks more or less as I envisioned. Lucky rather than good – my life’s mantra. The first pile of the damnable stones that caused so much pain in their discovery has been repaid by encasement in cement.

I’m not the only one excavating. Wingman was overseeing a contractor to address the serial flooding in his New Jersey basement. This is important as that is where his future game room is located. As I spent some time on the shop-vac during my stays there I know this is a huge deal to finish up. I’m sure my granddaughter is providing cogent suggestions to the contractor – if she’s anything like her grandmother.

Wife and her Yoga Partner

That grandmother reported in from her sojourn with the Virginia Musquetera. They spent part of the day trying to track down old friends. They went to the addresses they lived at when we were there but I gently reminded her it had been more than twelve years since we left. They achieved some minor successes and considered the time well spent. Earlier in the day they conducted yoga operations to which the Musquetera’s cat decided to join. From a look at the pictures the cat needed the workout a lot more than my wife.

I re-connected with an old friend reading L.E. Modesitt’s book, Scholar. I’m self-important enough to think of favorite authors as old friends despite the lack of any real world connection. I’ve read literally everything Modesitt has written over the years, usually either fantasy or science fiction. I’m a huge fan of his Recluse series. He started the Imager series about ten years ago and I devoured the first three when they came out. I decided to go away for a few years to allow him to publish a few more books in the series since I’m not patient enough to enjoy waiting for a new book to arrive. I’m glad I did because Scholar was a true treat and right in line with what drew me to Modesitt in the first place – his characters. He tells their story from first person perspective and the hero is always understated but increasingly effective. In this case his hero is a scholar who can also secretly “image” which basically means conjure things. He’s sent as a representative to a remote province where he deals with a staggering load of issues and battles. Modesitt excels at the both action and intrigue. The book while long, and typically Modesitt dense, I loved meeting  this new cast of characters. I’ve already started on the next book in the series.