Back breaking Saturday in the middle of Puppy Sitting

Well, here is the  l.o.n.g  promised ending to the story of the "Puppy Sitting Week-end" that was the first week-end of March.  I know I am way late on getting this to you and nothing I can say will be good enough to be called an excuse. 

So goes life.

This was the best week-end that we had in a long time.  The sun was putting out just enough heat that one did not have to wear a jacket.  And the wind was 'breezin' along at just the right clip where one would feel cool even when one was trying to work up a sweat.

After getting the 'Puppy' settled and outside for the major part of the day I headed for the un-loading project.  Grab an egg-McMuffin and some juice to go from Mc-Kee-Dee's so I could stuff my face on the way.  I stopped at the little store near the left turn I would take that would head me down the street to the awaiting crew in order to get a bottle of water to start the working part of the day off right besides I was thirsty after scarffing the 'salty-lead-rock' from Mc-Kee-Dee's that at that time was sitting in my glutton-nee gut...badly. 

Once there I discovered I needed my drill and a hammer along with several screws to replace the nails that I was going to be removing.  20 minutes later {after unscrewing 10 screws, digging out 10 nails and the using of several swear words and stating several times what I would like to be doing to the nether-regions of the last person who pounded the nails into that board because that person bent the nails over and hammered them until they were buried into the board.  "Dumb-Damn-Idiot of Stupidity" was the least of the "nice things" I was saying about "It"} we were ready to start moving vynil siding into the storage area.

I didn't start to take pictures until we were about half done with the empting process.  Now you can scratch your heads and wonder "What! Was she not thinking?"  My answer is "Yes."  It had not even crossed my mind until I stood there and said to the other Assoc. Board member, Joyce Walters, "We should have been taking pictures."

Her comment, "Well it's not to late to start."  So it was off to the purse in the car to get the digital and start to click away.  Nothing special.

This was taken about 2-1/2 hours after we got started.  We had a lot of loose siding that did NOT get bundled because the bundlers  had run out of plastic wrap.  LUCKY US.   You never know how heavy 'bundled' vynil siding is until you start moving it.   

The  other Board member is older than I am and has some knee problems but she was game on moving as much as she could so she was handleing a lot of the loose stuff because she could pick up as much as she thought she could handle for each trip that she would make.  A single piece of vynil siding 6 inckes wide and 16 feet long really doesn't weigh that much but when you put 40 to 50 of them together...that a whole different story.

Yep, that's me standing on the vynil siding inside of the pod. For those who are saying or thinking, "Geesh. Is she really that wide?" the answer is...  

                                               "Yes. That's me...in all my glory{ ;D}                                                                          Now the siding started at an angle near where my shirt ends on my broad backside and went across and up to where the top of my shoulder would be on the other side of the pod.  That was the starting point of this project.

And that is one of our GREAT helpers in the fore-front of the picture.  I am getting ready to grab ahold of some of the plastic wrap in order to lift from that end while it is being pulled from the other.  It took team work because the plastic wrap just wouldn't slide on the vynil siding.  I can't remember how many times I nearly fell on my well padded backside as the siding would move under my feet. 

Our helpers, Van Troutman and Tyler Troutman.  Yep, your right they are brothers.   The two of them were very hard workers. They also have a great sense of humor.  The both of them were amazed that this 60 year old short-squat female was not only able to crack the whip but work as hard as they were.  I would gladly work with them again. 

They are standing in front of  the main staging area after the vynil siding was pulled from the pod.  The 'Saw Horses' could hold a total of 3 wrapped bundles.  All of the loose vynil siding was being put on the ground on the other side of the 'Saw Horses' where Joyce would tote it from if she wasn't making 'Ice Water', taking pictures or running after Subway sandwiches for lunch. 

 And then.....it's the beginning of the tote

And ... to the end of the tote-ing into the storage area of the small club house.   
This ended up being a 5-1/2 hour job of pulling, lifting and tote-ing that vynil siding.  The day was NOT pleasantly spent but I did meet a couple of fine young gentlemen who put up with a "lot" from me.   And for any who are wondering, I did help to tote every bundle that was pulled from the pod.  I don't  "shurk- off" onto someone else what I can do or aid in doing.  That was the way I was raised and Mom made certain that it was thoughly understood, too.

When all of the pulling and tote-ing was completed, it was a matter of putting the plywood sheet back over the door with out the use of nails, sign the checks, saying good-bye and heading back over to play with the 'Puppy' before a nice long shower and putting my feet up after I gulped 3 Asprins.  If you are wondering if I was stiff the next day the answer is NO.  It hit me Monday morning when I rolled, literally rolled, off the bed and tried to crawl into the bathroom.

???  Ain't Age Wonderful  ??? 

Sunday of the 'Puppy Sitting Week-end' was preparing the home for the owner of the 'Puppy' to return to later in the afternoon.  And, that's the end of the adventure of a nice "quite" week-end in a house on the Chat-ta-hooch-ee River with what I thought would be feet up, sippin sweet tea and taking care of a 10 year old 'Puppy' who likes to chase balls but NOT bring them back to you.