Friday, September 19, 2014

Weighty Issues

Just an update on the weight loss campaign. At this point, I have lost 25 pounds. Still no six pack, but the pony keg is just a party keg now. My goal was to be 210 pounds by my 50 year reunion. Today, I am one pound from that goal. The reunion was not the focus of the program, just something that I used as a point to focus on. I guess I need another goal. Maybe 200 by Thanksgiving. We'll see.

It's The Pits, Man.

It's been a while since I've posted anything here. I haven't done much that's noteworthy lately. Each night, at dinner, I sat at the new dining extension and stared at my mac and cheese and all of the pits and divots in the counter top. I tried to convince myself that they added character to the slab. I realized that I was trying to delude myself. I'm too smart to listen to an idiot like me. It looked like Edward James Olmos' face and no amount of squinting or misplaced rationale could convince me otherwise. So, reluctantly, I yanked it out. This went rather well. I just rolled in the cart, that I built for moving the pieces, and scootched it over a little at a time. After getting it out onto the patio, I began to re grind and polish it. Many of the pits were eliminated, but some new bubbles and the deeper defects remained. I tried to apply a slurry of various patching materials, but none of them worked particularly well. I finally got a sack of Portland cement and a bottle of concrete bonding agent. Mixed them together, with a bit of water. It came out nice and smooth, like the consistency of sour cream. I applied it to the slab, waited half a day and hit it with the polisher. It leveled off very nicely. A few pits remained, so I re applied some more slurry. After three applications, I'm pleased with the results. This all went with some degree of drama. As I was helping Wifey with the dishes, (yes, even geniuses occasionally perform domestic chores) we heard a crash. It seems that a few months in the weather and the stresses of moving heavy slabs in and out of the house wasn't kind to the cart and it collapsed. Fortunately, the slab went unscathed. Using my tractor, I lifted it up and put it on some saw horses. A few hours in the shop and the cart was resurrected. I should need it just one more time after which time it will become firewood. I hope to have the counter re installed in three or four days. I still have to do the final finish polishing and the sealer coat. Tomorrow is my high school reunion, (50 years!!! Wow!!!)so I won't be doing much until Monday.