Scattered Thoughts . . .

I 've been saying for years that I want to make a bench for our mudroom.  It would be nice to be able to sit to put on our shoes and boots rather than have to balance on one foot.  After my recent ankle re-injury (and months-long recovery...  it is still recovering) and now a knee injury (yes, I'm old after  physically abusing my body for decades), this bench project was moved to the front burner.  Both Sheila and I are tired of the physical balancing act as we attempt to put shoes on at the door. Another reason it was time for this bench project is because lumber is scarce and the little bit of lumber that can be found is a bit pricey.  This has put all the larger home improvement projects in a holding pattern for now.  I was thinking that I had enough scrap lumber lying around to build a pretty nice bench so it was time for this "little" project.  On the positive side, this project would also allow me to put a dent in the scrap lumber inventory I have lying around!

This past weekend, we visited the cemetery to visit Dawn. When we arrived at the cemetery, it was a beautiful Saturday morning (which later turned to some violent thunderstorms)... it was sunny, warm, blue skies with some fluffy cumulus clouds.  Dawn has a fairly new bench at her grave which we had not seen yet, however, Sheila had promised Dawn that she would take a seat on this bench and view the distant mountains surrounding the cemetery. We finally had an opportunity to do this on Saturday morning. Although we see signs of Dawn around us fairly often, Sheila was happy to fulfill this promise and happy to say hello to Dawn at her resting place. A couple of plots away, is the grave of a Chief Master Sergeant I met shortly after arriving at the air defense unit here in Vermont way back in 1995. He instantly reminded me of many of the non-commissioned officers I had worked with through the years. He was, perhaps, the first person I respected at my new unit. When we first visit