Road Warrior.

Posted on by David Maxwell

This morning I hauled the half full IBC totes to the job site and unloaded them with my tractor. I also strung a chain across one of the driveway entrances. I went by the library to print my lumber quotes and also looked through their books for sale. After cleaning the cottage I drove down to Snead, Alabama to look at doors. I think I found a large front door that I like, and will return to buy it shortly. From there I drove over to Double Springs, to a place where I had previously bought windows for our house. Unfortunately they did not have what I need. I drove home and arrived just as Liz and Luke were finishing dinner. It was good to see them and we had a nice rest of the evening together.

Preparing for block.

Posted on by David Maxwell

This morning I went with Liz and Luke to Franklin, and took Luke to High Hopes while Liz went to the grocery store. After returning home I hooked up the trailer and headed to work. First stop was Home Depot in Manchester where I bought some padlocks. Next I went by a fertilizer distributor in Hillsboro to pick up some free IBC totes. Things were going great until I was almost to the top of the Mountain and blew a tire on my trailer. Fortunately it’s a tandem axle, so I was able to keep going to the cottage, where I had a spare. I spent the rest of the day putting water in two of the totes, emptying another trailer so I can haul sand, and hanging out at the Mountain Goat Market. This evening I am reading a new book on my phone. It is actually the first of a new series.

Doing what I needed to.

Posted on by David Maxwell

I got a relatively early start this morning and was able to pin the corners of the block for the masons. That took a while and was frustrating, but I think it will be accurate. I also marked where the rest of the block was to be placed when Lowe’s delivered it. After finishing that I drove down to Ace Hardware in jasper for some fertilizer and then on to Harbor Freight in Kimball where I bought a tarp for the OSB. Installing it was a pain because it was so huge, but I was able to cover all the sheets. I rewarded myself with a trip to the Goat Market and chatted with Eric for a while. After leaving there I got my things at the cottage and then drove to buy half blocks in Winchester. On the way home I stopped at Chick-fil-a in Tullahoma for some fries and a milkshake. That was nice. Luke was waiting when I arrived home and we played with Legos and ran around until dinner time. After dinner he cleaned up and took a “mini shower”. Bed time went slowly but he is down now.

Haulin’.

Posted on by David Maxwell

This morning I got a call from Lowe’s asking if they could deliver some of my block today. I said yes, but had to go over to the job site to prepare some things. After finishing there I met Dillon at Ace Hardware and we took his truck and trailer down to Woodbury to pick up a load of OSB. We returned and the Lowe’s truck had just arrived, so I showed the driver where to put the block and then Dillon and I unloaded the OSB. On the return trip to Woodbury we stopped for lunch in Pelham and then picked up the rest of the OSB. Unloading it was tiring work and I was happy to be done. Afterwards I used the tractor to block the drive with some logs. Tonight I have just been relaxing back at the cottage.

Back on the Mountain and in the heat.

Posted on by David Maxwell

This morning I loaded up some lumber and hit the road. I got to the cottage and relaxed a bit before going over to the lots. The first order of business was cutting some trees that I wanted down before the block was laid. They were mostly dead and needed to be dealt with now while it was still cheap to do so. This afternoon Dillon came and helped me cut down the last three. We loaded some logs on his dump truck and I called it a day. I went back to the cottage for a shower and read a bit. I went out to Piggly Wiggly for some food, which I cooked, and now I am just relaxing.