Day 2 - 2nd Deck / Maggie's

 

Song:  Theme From The Valley Of The Dolls

Group:  Living Marimbas

I started out the day throwing away regular trash at the community center...

picking up my mail (I had a notice to pick up a box at the post office in Cripple Creek)...

and I had to throw away the satellite dish and an old metal pan 

at the Cripple Creek large trash transfer station.

I was at the bottom of our mountain...

and almost at the main road.

To the right is to the mail boxes...

and just beyond on the main road is the community center

(I missed this Autumn's art fair there because I was ill)...

and to the left...

just four miles down the main road...

is the town of Cripple Creek.

I dropped off the satellite dish and pan at the transfer station ($5.00)...

and picked up my box.

I also received three more boxes at home.

They are the stairway friction and drainage mats...

as well as the remainder of the post caps.

I blew the deck clean before starting.

I wore sunscreen and a hat this time.

My face got a bit red from yesterday without using either.

I had one section that fit perfectly from the end to the angled portion of the deck.

I had to measure the carpet so as to have enough to overhang the deck to allow 

proper water drip.

I used a cutting board to cut the carpet.

After this particular cut...

I switched around the blade of the carpet cutter...

as it started to cut raggedly.

I am getting much better at making the post and support cuts.

Tomorrow's cutting time will go up dramatically...

as I have many support structures and posts...

as well as other irregular cuts.

I pulled away a large section of carpet to make room.

I looked up a recent weather report...

and this had made me modify my plans.

I was going to lay all of the carpets first...

and then finish trimming around the posts...

and then caulk around each...

but...

tomorrow will be the last full day of sun.

In two days...

we are to expect a late afternoon rain or snow...

and then the next day...

we are expecting snow.

Then...

it is supposed to be sunny again for a few days.

But, as I cannot afford to let water seep between the posts and get underneath the carpet...

I had to first trim behind each post...

and then caulk

(I had to lay on my belly to make the far post side cuts by feel...

and to then caulk blindly).

This silicone seal will do the job until I emplace footings to further 

enhance water impermeability.

I don't remember if this widget came with the caulking gun...

but it is a fantastic gadget.

It seals the caulking end...

and the other side spreads out the caulking into a smooth bead.

I so appreciate well thought out engineering.

This gadget excels at two functions in one small and very useful piece.

I then rolled out the larger carpet just to see the geometry of my next lay of carpeting.

I will cut another carpet to fit the geometry of the two bare spots

(I use a lot of overlay of the carpets).

I will have to move over the large carpet and make the appropriate cuts around each post

and support...and then caulk.

I will then lay out another carpet on the house side...

and then make the appropriate cuts...

and then caulk.

And finally...

I will have to go down the long side on the other side of the deck.

This will be the most time consuming as there are a lot of posts and supports.

Hopefully...

I will be able to at least finish up with these areas before the expected rain showers...

and snow.

If not...

I will just lay out carpet to cover the remainder of the unfinished deck 

and temporarily tack them down to prevent them moving in case of high winds.

I am planning on capping the rest of the posts on the following day

before the late afternoon showers.

The stairway can wait until I get the 2nd deck protected.

And the final trimming will have to wait until all three decks are fully covered.

I will have to use my extendable ladder on the outside of the decks

to do the final trimming and stapling...

but that is the very last thing to do.

As it was getting late...

I took a nice long hot shower...

and this being Tuesday night...

it was my day to go to Maggie's.

I was headed down the mountain...

...and towards Maggie's in Cripple Creek.

This was Maggie's Halloween decoration...

at least so far  :)

Either that...

or it was my calling to Maggie's

(Bat signal :)

I opted for the 12 oz. Ribeye steak

(even their beef barley soup was delicious).

And...

once again...

it was perfection on a plate.

I learned that the chef is female...

and you can tell that she puts passion for her craft into every meal.

OMG...

this chef has a rare talent of not only being able to cook a steak perfectly at Medium Well...

but the steak was so tender and juicy...

as well as having had the perfect char on the outside that was just mouth watering...

I could just use a fork for most of the meal...

only using the knife to trim the outside fat.

I needed no sauce at all.

As always...

everything was perfectly spiced.

Her veggies were crisp and fresh...

with the perfect flame charred outside.

I am so impressed with this chef's cooking.

Especially with a medium well done meat...

a lesser chef tends to dry out the meat.

Not so with this chef...

everything was just so perfect.

Never had I had such a juicy and tender medium well done steak before...

and so filled with savory flavor.

Besides the spices...

it is the outside flame charring which makes this steak so...

absolutely delicious.

And...

again...

at half off  :)

I even like their decor on the ceiling.

What can I say...

everything about this quaint restaurant is just so right.

------------

Tomorrow will be a very busy day...

and so...

I will go to bed early...

as I will probably be busy the whole day...

as I am under the weather gun.