Projects - our bucket list of construction.

[Smart Red]

At 75, DH no longer enjoys working together to build things that require ladders. I've said I am okay with that, but we do still have a couple of items on our building bucket list. These are long planned projects. One is a pond, another is a gazebo, and finally, there is the chance of another 'garage' next to the woodwork shop for the tractor, bobcat, etc.

Well, today DS mentioned that he wants us to build a sauna. Hum! A sauna in the right spot could be dual purpose and add heat to my garden shed. That sounds like a win-win as far as I am concerned. DH isn't one who appreciates the benefits of a good long sauna, but I suspect I will get my way since DS will be doing all the work.

DS has also said he'd help build the gazebo when DH is ready. That means THE BOSS can do the ground stuff and we can all enjoy the results.

I'm still wishing for a couple of hoop houses, but with the garden shed, I'm not in a hurry.

Love, Smart Red

 

[catjac1975]

I know of 3 ladder falling accidents of acquaintances that caused bad injuries. These people were much younger than 75. Your DH is wise. We DIYers think of ourselves as unbreakable. Nice list by the way!

 

[digitS']

I agree with Cat about your husband being wise. There almost needs to be a cut-off point with these kinds of things.

Didn't we used to have a warning on ladders about age & use? Maybe there still is but I can remember the derision about how we can make up our own minds. Sure we can and any d**n fool can do whatever. There is plenty of motivation to keep doing things the way we always have and "gettin' 'er dun" probably means more to older guys than the rest of the population. Waiting to learn from our mistakes isn't often a wise course. Weighing possible gains to risks is.

I had to get used to using ladders and heights by working, not only "in" but, "on" greenhouses. Not only was there a danger of falling but a danger of falling "thru." Heck, with an acre of glass covering the ground - there was an awful lot of danger just walking the gutters and carrying glass. Anyway, I got used to it despite my big feet.

(Actually, I pretended to be a spider monkey up there - don't laugh. It was my intention to break as much glass as possible if I fell just hoping that I wouldn't go thru. While attracting some attention, don't you know :/?)

Sauna? I like the multipurpose idea and an attached building could really work out. Keep going with that, Lynn Bee!

Steve

 

[Chickie'sMomaInNH]

i've always disliked ladders. even the 2 step one i had to use today to finish up one side on my coop's siding. about 3 years ago i got a few chickens from a friend and during the first few weeks of having them one of the hens climbed the ladder in my garage up to the loft area. this ladder is one of the extendable ones to be used against a building. it wasn't fully extended since the inside of my garage isn't that full. my dh was working nights at that time so of course he wasn't home when i did the head count on my birds that night. well, headcount came up one short so i searched everywhere i could think until i realized this bird had been caught sitting on the rung on the ladder earlier in the day. i got a flashlight and shined it up the hole to the loft and sure enough i see her bearded little face looking down on me! :/

so i decided i would try and climb this ladder and retrieve her. she wasn't having much to do with me since she was still getting used to me as her new owner. so she ran to the other end of the loft while i was still trying to climb the ladder. being fearful or heights and hating ladders i didn't even try to climb into the loft, so i clung to it while trying to coax her down. big mistake since the rubber foot pads on the bottom lost their grips and started to go out from under the ladder. it fell and i fell and as i was coming down i somehow ended up with the ladder under me while my head hit the plastic on my treadmill that had been stored in the garage. no broken bones, no concussion, but a huge bruise on my leg and my head ringing from the thought of how stupid i was to do that without my dh there to spot for me.

i would definitely recommend having someone spot for you every time you need to use a ladder! i've also learned that chickens are like cats. they will come down on their own eventually. so i should not have bothered to even go after her.

 

[Southern Gardener]

I wish my 76 year old dad was as wise as your hubby Smart Red. My sisters and I made the mistake of buying him a a telescoping ladder a couple of years ago for fathers day. The thing is so heavy you need a buddy just to help you get it out of the garage - he LOVES it though. He's always cutting down trees in the yard and mom stands outside with the cell phone with 911 on speed dial.

 

[so lucky]

My dad was one of those men who refused to give up his toys. He was still climbing a ladder at 90, much to the horror of his wife and children. When I finally (desperately) tricked him out of his car, at 92, he was so angry, I don't believe he ever forgave me. Unfortunately, I was the child that he had entrusted to be his medical power of attorney and generally take care of his business. I understood his need to still be "the man of the house" and the strong, able one. I also understood his life-long love affair with cars. But that knowledge didn't ease the hurt I felt when he called me a cheat and a liar and tried to have me arrested.

I applaud you men who know when to stop acting like you are 25 and bullet-proof.

 

[catjac1975]

Near the end with my Dad he was sharp as a tack. He got very weak so her could barely walk. When I suggested he not drive he told me "Just get me to the car and I will be fine." His vision and hearing were poor, also. Somehow I was able to plead with him about injuring other people's children in a car accident. I'm sure he got on a ladder at 80. Getting old stinks!

My dad was one of those men who refused to give up his toys. He was still climbing a ladder at 90, much to the horror of his wife and children. When I finally (desperately) tricked him out of his car, at 92, he was so angry, I don't believe he ever forgave me. Unfortunately, I was the child that he had entrusted to be his medical power of attorney and generally take care of his business. I understood his need to still be "the man of the house" and the strong, able one. I also understood his life-long love affair with cars. But that knowledge didn't ease the hurt I felt when he called me a cheat and a liar and tried to have me arrested.

I applaud you men who know when to stop acting like you are 25 and bullet-proof.

 

[digitS']

I'm not that old . . .

Dad will be 95 this winter and still drives . . . He no longer thinks clearly - in mine & others' opinion - but he has a 2nd wife who will stick with him thru thick & thin . . . I guess that's both good & bad. Dear Brother better be checking on him because he has gotten beyond me having any influence on his behavior.

Yes, that's too bad and I hope that I don't start building walls in my old age. Well, not those kind of walls. As far as scaling walls & driving off to the horizon:

If I woke up at 20 years old, feeling like I do at any given moment today, I'd take myself to the hospital!! Or, I'd have someone take me!

It isn't that I was such a great driver at 20 - in fact, except for backing into someone coming out of parking lot - I was 20 when I had my only car accident. Wait, I guess I was 19. (It was a dozy! Rolled it . . . at one point, I was lying on the hood, holding onto the steering wheel - yeah, no seatbelt.)

Anyway . . . I look at old folks in little puddle-jumper cars and thing, "Those are smart people! I bet they only just run to the supermarket & such and head back home." If they leave town, smart old people let someone else do the driving.

Dad is sooooo independent & has gotten more & more insistent on that. I asked him a couple years ago, "Did you make the building materials that went into your house? Did you build the road and lay the asphalt?" He wasn't listening.

Steve

 

[so lucky]

Steve, I can tell that you have much more sense than my dad did when he got too old to drive or climb ladders.(and I know you are much younger, too) If he had only driven to and from the market, that would have been one thing, but he would have gladly taken off on a cross-country holiday if Mom had been willing.

 

[Smart Red]

As stated in my signature, this guy is perfect! He is perfectly able to decide whether or not he wants to scamper up ladders. Lately he has 'elected' to let me do most of the driving. Being 11 years his junior, I agree it's a perfect time for him to do some sight seeing - I'd been riding shotgun for 40+ years while he kept his eyes on the road - it's only fair.

I know of no physical reason for these changes, but after 45 years I trust him to know what he wants or needs. He still will get the lower ladders out for a task or two. I always spot because that's been my job for a long, long time. He spots for me. I suspect it is because he's expecting me to hand the task over to him, but I appreciate that he's there.

I too know of several ladder accidents with dire results - the latest being my 50 YO BIL who fell off the ladder while cleaning his eaves earlier this summer. Laid on the ground for several hours, relatively minor injuries, yet the end result was fatal. And just a month ago my BFF went up on her roof to clean her eaves and had the ladder fall. There she sat, for a couple of hours waiting and hoping that someone stopped by - no chance of seeing her from the road. Could have been disastrous. Her sister drove out to see why she didn't answer her phone and I dropped by two hours later. It sure wasn't fun!

Me? I used to climb 30 feet to an overhead crane at work (life before teaching). I moved the biggest Fairbanks Engines from the building area to the testing room. That was in my (much) younger days. Now I prefer to work from the ground myself. I leave the roofing to the younger women at HFH, although, I'll still climb a lower ladder upon occasion. I'm just not as graceful as I remember being.

I asked DH today if he still planned on the gazebo. He looked totally shocked - thinking I expected him to start it right away - but after I calmed him down he agreed that it was something we'd talk about next spring. I would enjoy a gazebo, but don't really care if one is built or not. I rather like the sauna idea, myself. My BFF has one and I love it. DS has also had the opportunity to enjoy BFF's sauna and wants to build one much like hers.

Hum-m-m, I guess I've already started musing on next year's projects. That should keep me busy during the long freeze. I really do love the planning stage nearly as much as the finishing part.

Love, Smart Red