Dan Antion

Is the Third Time, a Charm? – #SoCS

The perfect lime wedge.

It’s time once again for Linda G. Hill’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt. We’re going to handle this the usual way, I’ll take this to the bar and try to work it into the conversation. Let’s see what she gave us:

“Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is ‘oh.’ Use it as a word or find a word that starts with ‘oh.’ Bonus points if you start and end with ‘oh.’ Enjoy!”

To get those bonus points, I’m going to have to add the particulars to the intro. If we were having a beer, we might need a second round.

“Oh no.”

“What?”

“Skippy.”

“Oh, that’s right, Cheryl said she was going to be off this weekend.”

“When were you going to tell me, Dan?”

“I forgot. I’ve been busy.”

“Good afternoon gentlemen.”

“Hi Skippy.”

“Some people call me Brad.”

“I thought you said you found it endearing.”

“You did say that, Brad.”

“A moment of weakness, I suppose. Will you two be having your usual drinks?”

“Well, I am going to have a Corona, in the bottle with…”

“…a hunk of lime. You’re predictable but at least you’re normal.”

“David, I think Brad took a shot at you.”

“Yeah, I’m going to let that pass. Skippy, I’ll have a glass of John Howell’s bourbon, a snifter of seltzer and a glass of ice.”

“Fill me in again about this bourbon.”

“Brad, David calls it John Howell’s because John suggested it. It’s Willett Reserve. And, if you want David to warm up to you, stick two cherries in it.”

“Two cherries?”

“Don’t ask.”

“What are you two talking about, Dan?”

“I’m just giving Brad some pointers.”

“Wasting your time, Dan. So, what has kept you so busy this week?”

“I got sucked into a minor crisis at work.”

“Good for you.”

“What? Why would you say that?”

“A little crisis-level work will make you feel better about retiring.”

“I suppose.”

“Here you go guys. One beer. One bourbon, a snifter of seltzer and some ice.”

“Ski…I mean Brad, you put cherries in my bourbon. That was very nice of you.”

“Let’s just say you have a good friend.”

“Cheers, Dan.”

“Hold that thought, David. Brad, this is a Coors Light.”

“Oh, right, Corona. They both start with Co.”

“That’s where the similarity ends.”

“No problem. I’ll get you a Corona.”

“He’s still Skippy, but at least I got cherries. So, Dan, was that it, a little work crisis? What about Maddie’s deck?”

“Maddie’s deck is done.”

“Done?”

“Well, I still have to add a mini-step off the back end but done.”

“Has it been accepted by the client?”

“It’s funny, Maddie likes laying on the Trex on the step and resting up against the deck. But we’ve had her cot on the newly extended surface. She seems to like it.”

“Have you moved onto the steps off the porch?”

“I’m working on the side door, the one that drops down to the driveway.”

“Here you go, Corona and a hunk of lime.”

“Skippy.”

“Uh oh, yes Dan.”

“This is Corona Light.”

“No problem, I’ll swap that out.”

“So, Dan, which is more stressful, work-work or working in these projects?”

“Well, if my blood pressure is any indication, work-work is way worse.”

“You still taking your BP at home?”

“Yep. I met with my Doctor, shared those results and I’m good for a year.”

“Shared the results? What, did you take her a spreadsheet.”

“I did.”

“Let me guess, data by date and time, appropriately analyzed.”

“Min, Max, Average, number of readings in the morning, afternoon and evening.”

“Ha! Did you indicate which ones were after work?”

“Of course. Even the bad morning readings were on days I had early meetings.”

“What are the readings on Saturdays?”

“Good in the morning, usually good in the afternoon before coming here. After that, it depends on the season.”

“Huh?”

“I don’t bother taking it if Pitt or West Virginia are playing?”

“What about the Steelers?”

“The Steelers played the night before my doctor’s appointment. I didn’t even watch the game.”

“You thought it would influence your BP the next morning?”

“If we won, which we did, I’d be up reading recaps, listening to press conferences. I wouldn’t get to sleep until one-thirty. My appointment was at eight.”

“I get it. Probably a good call.”

“You guys need another round?”

“Skippy, Dan still hasn’t gotten his first round.”

“D’Oh”

For the DIY fans, there are some details in the captions.

Maddie’s deck is getting a facelift.
Ready to get rolling.
I had to add some structure around the support post.
These boards are a 11′ 2″ (3.4m) long. Since the house side is tucked under the siding, I anchored the outside edge at the end and along the front.
Once I got past that post, these boards are going down fast.
“Oh no, what’s he doing now. Oh wait, he’s finishing my deck!”
I don’t normally clamp these boards, but that fence on the left sets up a chance for kickback, so I’m being careful.
Oh, no, no, no, no.
Getting closer, but…
We had over 2.5″ (5cm) of rain on Wednesday.
Stormy day.
Stuck inside due to rain, Maddie tore into Bullwinkle.
Maddie likes having her back against something.
My reward after getting the deck boards down before the rain started,
“What happened to my deck?” The first leaves fall on Maddie’s deck.
I think Maddie approves.
“Either turn my chair away from the light or turn the light off.”
I thought we’d try sitting at the new end.

62 comments

  1. Maddie’s deck looks great! You did good, Dan. :-) That was also a good looking and tasting reward you got there for finishing. Once you retire I don’t think you’ll miss the ‘work’ related stress one bit. I think you’ll probably tip a Corona to the fact that it’s gone. :-)

    Liked by 2 people

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    • Thanks Judy. When I was working, in the evening, trying to fix the problem, and realizing why it was a problem, I smiled at the thought of it not being a problem for much longer.

      I have a few little odds and ends on the deck, but I’m glad to have moved on. Two more bits of this project to go, one of which might be done today.

      I hope you enjoy what looks like a nice fall weekend.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

  4. Nice work on Maddie’s deck, Dan. It appears she highly approves and now you’re good to go for sitting until winter keeps you from sitting. Or will you and the redhead still be out there amid the snow piles?

    Jeepers, Skippy was having a bad Corona day. He needs to pay better attention to the CO…the non-watered down version.

    Have a wonderful day, Dan. I hope you get to see some sunshine in your neck of the woods.

    Liked by 2 people

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    • Thanks Mary. It’s a beautiful day here. We’ve been for our walk. I need to get started on these dang steps, so, if Maddie gets to sit, it will be with Mom.

      We do sit in the winter. The large set of new steps might get used for that. They get warmed by the sun.

      Corona Extra! That’s the ticket.

      Liked by 2 people

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      • I hope winter doesn’t come too soon, although the fall has not been promising. Much like spring, we’ve had too much rain and not enough sun and blue sky. I guess it remains to be seen how much porch sitting Maddie will get in and how many Corona Extras you can down before next spring. :-)

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  5. 👏👏👏👏Maddie’s Deck is done….finished…completed! No doubt about it, she loves it. Now she has to ponder whether she wants to relax on the “upper” or “lower” level! Job well done Dan.

    Poor Bullwinkle! One of Murphy’s favorite stuffed animals bit the dust too. I just can’t sew it back together any more! Sigh……

    You’re almost to the end of work-work. What a wonderful load off your shoulders that will be.

    Wishing you all a great fall weekend. 28 degrees here this morning! 🍂🍁🍂🍁
    🐾Ginger 🐾

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Thanks Ginger. We were at 34° we’d hen we left for her walk. Brisk 🙂

      I have a few little bits of painting and trim, but we’re done. Upper and lower level decks indeed. I hope they’re are too many options for her.

      We gave up trying to repair these toys. Maddie opens them up and carefully removes all the stuffing.

      Liked by 1 person

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  7. A burger and a dog and a finished deck, oh, my!! Cheers to you – the deck looks AWESOME and very inviting. Where’s the Editor’s chair? PS – great take on the ‘oh’ prompt!

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    • This and several other comments of yours ended up in the spam bucket (again). Thanks for the comment. I’m happy with the way the deck turned out, and I think Maddie approves. We usually use the same chair. Maddie prefers to sit with one of us at a time. If we’re both there, she gets confused.

      Liked by 1 person

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  8. “A hunk” of anything grosses me out. So Skippy gave you a hunk of lime. Lovely. Maddie’s deck turned out great. I am so glad she approved–whew! she is one tough cookie. Aaaaaand, I filled out all the prerequisites to comment on this b/c I am not following you–according to me email. I gotta throw this out in a post as today must be the Happiness Engineer’s day off. Retirement is so soon for you–I am jealous!!

    Liked by 2 people

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  11. Crisis level work? I have a sneaking suspicion that will become more and more common up to the final minutes of your job, Dan. Why do employers always do that…? (Rhetorical question.)
    Kudos on the deck. It looks great. Wow, you did that yourself. I’m a disaster with a hammer and nails. Lunch looks mighty tasty too. Hugs on the wing!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Thanks Teagan. This was a project that normally happens in January, with lots of time. They decided to do it in advance of a different meeting, but only two days in advance.

      The deck turned out well. Working on steps now. Pain in the butt stuff (angles on both ends.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  13. I think Brad is getting is own back in a somewhat passive/aggressive way. :-) Skippy indeed.

    Happy Saturday, Dan. May your blood pressure stay nice and low. So far mine is good. Ohio State and the Blackhawks both won last night.

    janet

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  17. I know I’m late. The deck looks mahhhvelous! I love the gray. Maddie looks like Captain on deck. Ok, so I thought these Skippy stories were just for entertainment, but….for real, there is an idjut bartender standing in for me that can’t get your beer right? 🙄🤦‍♀️We had a great bartender at Yardhouse last pm. So far we have not been disappointed there. Yesterday we met a nice traveling business guy from California who asked me to take his photo with his beer for the folks back home. He was on his way to Florida. I thought of you and your work adventures.

    Liked by 1 person

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  20. Looks really great, Dan! Sandwiching in the job with work and the torrential rain must have been hard. You really needed that Corona, and Skippy just… well, he was Skippy. Maddie is happy. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

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    • Thanks Joanne. And yes, I did eventually get a Corona Extra. I tried to drink the Corona Light, but it’s too light. The Coors Light – that’s a non-starter. Maddie appears to enjoy having upper and lower level seating.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    • Thanks. My BP after a day of working around the house, compared to a day of working in the office is amazing.

      As for the beers, I made an attempt to drink the Corona Light – yuck. The Coors Light just sat there.

      Liked by 1 person

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