Project: Re-Coating The 3rd Deck Railing

 

Song:  Chevy Van

Artist:  Sammy Johns

The other night...

my wife made chicken Oden for supper.

I then went down to the entertainment room to binge watch Netflix.

I almost fell asleep on the downstairs sofa...

but my wife called out to me near midnight...

and I then went up to bed.

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As we are supposed to have a couple of days of sunny weather

(It is supposed to snow on the third day...

and then we will have another week of sunny weather)...

this gave me the perfect chance to re-coat the third deck railing...

and to see how well this coating holds up...

before I re-coat the rest of the deck.

The third floor deck...

although being the smallest deck by far...

is the most difficult to work on...

especially to re-coat...

as it is a good 30 feet above the ground on two of the three sides...

and so...

I must use the applicator on the outside portion of the railing...

by sticking my hand through the rails as I apply the coatings blindly

on the far side of all of the wood.

I had never tried this stain sealant before...

but I have high hopes for it...

as the UV rays and the weather at my altitude 

really degrades all sorts of materials...

especially deck coating.

I put on a first coat on almost all of the wood...

and as it has a four hour drying time before another coat could be applied...

I ate...

too much...

and then got sleepy and took...

what I had planned to be...

just a short nap.

My wife made pork mochi soup...

and served me some gobo...

more of her homemade pickles...

and an avocado salad.

 I had a total of 9 mochi cakes in the mochi soup...

5 in the first serving...

....and another 4 in the second serving.

I then had a dessert mochi cake afterwards...

and that is when I started to get sleepy...

so I just got into bed after brushing and flossing...

and took a nap for what I thought would be a short time.

When I had awakened...

it was already dusk.

And so...

I will have to wait until tomorrow to complete my little project

(it should be relatively quick as I only have to re-coat the top of the railings).

It doesn't matter...

as I like to break up my projects into small digestible portions...

not only to not make each project burdensome...

and to just keep them fun...

but as the UV rays are twice a strong at my altitude than at sea level...

I must be careful to not get sunburned up here...

as the sunburns are far more severe at my altitude.

----------

In a couple of days...

my wife and I will probably do some Asian market shopping 

in Colorado Springs.

While we are there...

we are thinking about trying a seafood restaurant...

specifically for crab.

Hopefully, it will be good.

----------

All of our travel plans are pretty much done...

and we are looking forward to our coming grand Japan adventure...

as we will be visiting many places there...

taking many a ferry and train ride...

and thousands of photos...

and eating many delicious dishes.

----------

I think I will go back downstairs to binge watch more dramas

until I get sleepy.

I so much enjoy our home theater...

as watching on the large screen with immersive sound...

just makes all of the movies and shows so much better...

especially as I sip on a cold flavored and carbonated mineral water...

and nibble on the occasional bag of hot buttered popcorn.

---------

As I continue to age...

life won't change much for me...

as what I usually do...

I greatly enjoy.

I have many projects...

not only around the house...

but with my passions in music and writing.

I will continue to adapt to whatever conditions arise...

and slow down some if I must...

but I will never stop...

as it is all part of living such a wonderful life.

I am on cruise mode in life.

I don't have to force myself to do anything...

as I just enjoy everything.

Any chores I just pace myself in...

and so...

each one is fun to do.

If I get frustrated...

I just stop for the day...

and resume on the next.

If I get tired...

I take a nap.

In a couple of months...

my IR sauna will arrive...

and I will make that part of my evening routine.

It will also be my reading time...

as I heavily sweat in the sauna for at least half an hour to an hour each night...

after which I will stretch and then shower...

 feeling so renewed.

The health benefits extend beyond what the Infrared will afford me...

as it will also drain me of any excess energy 

so I may have even deeper and more restful sleep.

--------

Physical Health

I am in the golden age of life.

Deep happiness abounds...

and this is by plan.

Health...

especially health...

is so important to being able to enjoy life.

Afflictions shall come to us all eventually...

but so long as we haven't caused them through abuse or neglect

(heavy drinking, health destroying drugs of any sort, obesity...etc)...

they can readily be accepted and adapted to.

Always remember...

especially in this age of BS excuses and unlimited "acceptance"...

anything which is unhealthful...

is wrong...

period...

full stop.

People who had wasted their lives...

die bitter and angry...

still blaming others for what they had done to themselves.

Take control of your life through the understanding

that unless what you do is made into a habit...

it is worthless.

It is our habits that determine our life's path...

and its destination...

not the one off or occasional action.

----------

Mental Health

Always be the Captain of your ship in life...

never to be the barnacle or anchor on another's ship.

With this attitude...

you will always ensure you will plot your course carefully...

fully provision your ship...

pick your crew with care...

man your watch diligently so as to avoid 

the many sandy shoals and rocky shores 

of which could end your sailing days.

Have built in redundancies and contingency plans for safe harbors...

for in every journey...

there will be storms.

Build your ship well...

and captain it with foresight...

and you shall have smooth sailing.

Never be the perpetual harbor captain...

afraid to venture out for fear of failure.

By not sailing...

you automatically fail...

for the whole goal in life is to search for the riches

which abound on the sea of life.

And if you tend to blame the sea gods

for the flotsam and stormy seas which come to every Captain

at some point on his journeys...

you will not prepare for your journey properly...

as in your mind...

if poor seas are to be blamed on anything but yourself...

you will not pay attention to the dark clouds on the horizon...

the tides or the seasons...

or listen to the more experienced Captains' warnings...

and so...

as you won't steer your own ship properly...

you will become nothing more than a bottle on the ocean...

at the mercy of every current and wind.

And it doesn't matter the message or the number of messages you write 

for the bottle to carry upon the winds of fate.

It is only the actions of the Captain of the ship

that will determine the ship's fate.

----------

Now...

as I am now in a safe harbor after having crossed many a sea...

it is my time to drink of the finest ales...

and eat the finest meats and breads in the tavern...

as I listen to the tales of other Captains...

as we drink, eat, and laugh until dawn.

Okay...

I am really just going down to our home theater to watch dramas...

drink flavored sparkling mineral water...

and eat hot buttered popcorn...

ARRRGH. :)

Conquering The Manitou Incline - My Wife's Birthday Grand Adventure

 

Song:  Up, Up and Away

Group:  The Fifth Dimension

After dropping off my wife at the 1/4 mile hike to the beginning 

of the stairs to the top of the Manitou Incline...

my wife said she had originally thought she was on the wrong trail...

but she then saw signs demonstrating she was on the correct trail after all.

The same Barr Trail leads to farther destinations.

Although the summit of Pikes Peak is only 11.5 miles up the trail

(18.5 Kilometers)...

it gets steep, may have weather extremes, and is up over 14,000 feet in elevation

(4,302 Meters).

Who knows...

it may forever remain a dream hike for my wife and I...

yeah...

most probably so :)

My wife was excited as she began her hike...

as it seemed easy at first...

but as she would later learn...

the steps became much larger and steeper the higher up she went.

Every so often...

my wife would stop to turn around and take a photo.

The stairs were still rather tame here.

She had only reached stair number 500 here...

out of 2,768.

She still had a long way to go.

Step number 1,500.

One of many turn out points for people to just go back down on the Barr trail.

Most people attempting the climb...

never make the top...

as it becomes more difficult the higher up you go.

Step number 2,000...

my wife felt encouraged by this.

This is where the steps became taller and steeper.

The top step...2,768...

and where my wife got her reward having made it to the top.

My wife rested at the top for a while as she relaxed 

and walked around a little as she took photos.

Just beyond the final steps at the top...

the Barr Trail leading back down began.

My wife said that she just took this photo without really reading it...

as for the over 3 mile journey back down on this dirt trail...

she had run down about half of it...

whenever the trail wasn't too steep or rocky.

My wife said she had run on the trail when it was like this...

but when it became rocky...

she would walk.

The Barr Trail showing that by continuing up the trail...

it will lead you to the summit of Pikes Peak.

Pikes Peak is in the background of this photo.

My wife said she had mistakenly taken some wrong trails on the way down.

She said she had mistaken the arrow as pointing to the trail straight ahead...

instead of taking the trail to the right.

So...

she had to climb between the boulders using her hands as she scrambled

up a false trail.

After climbing a ways...

she realized it couldn't have been the right trail...

but after walking a ways...

she found the Barr Trail once again...

but she had actually turned the wrong direction on it...

and she had found herself back at the bottom where she had originally

seen the sign :)

My wife said the trail down was beautiful...

and it had allowed her an easy jog along most of the path down.

Even though most of the path led downhill...

some of the path had to once again...

go upwards to climb over ridges.

My wife said she had seen many fall colors still on many of the trees...

as even the top of the Manitou Incline is still over 1,000 ft below where we live

(over 300 meters below our home elevation).

My wife said whenever she encountered rough ground...

especially when the trail was filled with uneven rocky ground...

she would carefully walk.

My wife showing where certain drop offs existed...

and the limit to the edge where she would not dare to go farther

(she just extended one leg to steady herself).

My wife said she was glad to have reached the bottom of the trail 

in the parking lot at which I had originally dropped her off.

My wife then walked a relatively short distance to the Pikes Peak Cog Railway station

to await her shuttle to the hiker's pick up point.

The hiker's shuttle service was just down a ways further...

but shortly after she arrived...

she had received my text...

and so she remained at the shuttle stop until I arrived.

She had a tired but very happy and victorious face when I arrived.

I, of course, took photos of her...

but...

once again...

she doesn't want any photos of herself on the internet.

On our way back home...

she excitedly and very proudly told me of her grand adventure.

She told me that she was so glad she had done this to celebrate her birthday...

as it would be a birthday that she would always remember.

I am proud of her.

She and I are alike in many ways...

as we greatly enjoy adventures in life.

---------

Although my wife is a bit sore...

especially in her butt...

lower back...

thighs and knees...

it is a good soreness...

for it was won in a victory over herself.

She didn't give up...

and so...

she had achieved a dream goal of hers.

She will rest herself over the next few days...

and she will then begin training for more adventures to come.