Scattered Thoughts . . .

A lthough I still don't feel even close to 100%, I'm feeling far better this morning than I did during my fever last night.  This is very typical whenever I have COVID...  which is far too often...  and we don't go anywhere!  As mentioned in previous blog entries, this time I picked up this insidious virus in the hospital ER waiting room seven weeks ago.  As always with COVID, I feel worse and worse as the day wears on culminating with a fever at night.  Then I get up in the morning and I feel halfway decent.  Within a few short hours, I can notice my health deteriorating again. I made Challah French Toast this morning and it definitely hit the spot! Hopefully, tonight I won't feel as lousy as I did last night.

I 'm still struggling with lingering COVID symptoms that are not only bothersome but they are still rather painful. This all started shortly after my visit to the ER on July 9th for my table saw accident when I amputated part of my thumb.  Fortunately, my thumb is recovering nicely.  It is still quite sensitive but it is definitely healing nicely.  Shortly after we sat down in the ER waiting room, an elderly woman sat down behind us who was hacking up a lung due to a terrible case of COVID.  Sheila and I looked at each other and hoped we would be called into Trauma quickly.  We only had to wait about five minutes before being called back to Trauma but, within a week, I had developed COVID symptoms myself. The left side of my throat was killing me that felt like I had a raw patch of esophagus that was turning into a big hole in my throat.  It is a type of sore throat that I've never felt before.  Within another week, I had mild fevers late each day, sin...

T his year, it seemed like all the grandchildren were really excited to be watching the garden railroad which was nice.  It definitely held their attention for quite a long time!   Lukey enjoys running the trains so he definitely enjoyed himself with this little garden railroad.  Then again, that should come as no surprise since he has always been interested in trains.  I ran one of the trains for a bit but Lukey spent quite a bit of time running both trains. These trains run on battery packs rather than power through the rails.  I made sure both trains were fully charged the night before the barbeque and we had no problem running the trains all day long without a hiccup.  They still had power when I brought them back indoors at the end of the night.  Lukey and I control the locomotive and trolley using apps on two of my tablets so it is all wireless which makes things very easy. This year, the grandchildren got to see a few new structures around ...

B ack two or three years ago, I built a custom Giant Jenga game.  That required some planning, a lot of cutting, a really lot of sanding, and then quite a bit of waxing.  This unique game (because of its size) gets a lot of use whenever we have a barbeque in the yard though! My only complaint about this game is it is heavy.  All the pieces are buttery smooth and slick because of all the sanding and waxing I did which is really nice for this game in particular.  I designed all the pieces to fit inside the overturned base so it is relatively compact when stored but it is quite heavy requiring two people to safely carry it.  The base, when turned upside-down, is its case as well as a platform that can be leveled for play.  It is a great design...  just a bit too bulky and heavy to be considered "ideal".   In this first photo, below, the base is perfectly leveled even though it looks like the stack of Jenga pieces are leaning.  Well, the b...

W henever the grandchildren visit, they like to play on the sailboat.  Well, they enjoy playing on the kayaks and in the playhouse too but they really enjoy the sailboat.  I always gravitated toward boats too so this is an interest I can understand. Lukey and Kenzie were staying with us for the last week of their summer vacation so Lukey helped me with a few little things around the house throughout the week and the sailboat was one of those things.   We had a barbeque this past weekend so Lukey and I got the sailboat all cleaned up and waxed before the rest of the grandchildren arrived.   It would be nice if we lived on a lake so I could take each of the grandchildren out for a ride but, unfortunately, we do not.  They seem to really enjoy playing on the boat in the yard nevertheless.   I had already sanded down the rudder, tiller and centerboard and then applied a coat of spar urethane so those are looking great.  The sail is getting a...