Live as a Draft Animal

The new swimming dock project finally get off the ground this weekend.   Well, at leas the visible part of it.  I am sure Pete and everyone else been working on it for a while.   My contribution to the project is to provide what little muscle power I can on Saturday. This involve moving 16 feet lumbers from the top of the hill down to the old swimming dock.    Me and another feller carry two pieces down at a time. It take a while for us to finally find a good solution to carrying 50 lbs of lumbers down a steep hill.  I used some paddling that I used on my car rack to transport boat and slip it under my shirt, and carry the lumber on my shoulder.  It help so much.  I was going to pass out from carrying  by the arm.  We managed to carry about half the pile down before another set of volunteer so up and relieve us.   My body is in pain right now from all the carrying.  

I should have bring more to eat and drink.  Don't expect to be working so hard. I was expecting more volunteers.  

I was pleasantly surprise when I get the the Brooklyn Bridge, no more 30 minutes, 1 miles wait to get on the bridge.  They finally clear away so of the construction.   I was so surprise that I almost miss the exit for the bridge. 

The Fall Foliage trip planned for Sunday was cancelled.  I expected this of course.   There is no way we are going on the trip considering the impending arrival of Sandy.  I was a the club much of the morning helping to prepare the club for the onslaught of wind and water then drive to my parents place to do the same.   I went to a local construction store to get some sand bags for the door.  The price was rice from $4.50 (the worker in front of the store told me) to $10 when I asked at the counter in the same day.  It was $3.50 when my father looked the previous day.  That what happen when you wait till the 11 hours to prepare, you get hosed.  But what can you do, better to spend $90 to prevent a flood basement then to risk thousand in damage.   

What Old is New Again

Saturday was spend at Sebago clubhouse in Canarsie, Brooklyn.  The plan was to go paddling then come back and help on with the workday the John W. organized.   As usual I get my time wrong, I thought the paddle would happen at 9:30, I get there at 10  AM so I though I used the paddle.  John was power washing the shipping containers we use to store our boats and equipment when I drive in.  Beside John's red Subaru Forester there was not body else there.  Which is weird because I thought Tony email say they are going out paddling at 9:30.  Apparently the paddle is later.  Which really shouldn't surprise me, Tony like late start when he lead paddle.    

John put me to work scrapping the loose paint that the power washer missed.  The problem that I face as soon as I started scrapping is how easily the old paint come off.  I can stripped the entire containers down to the original color if I am not careful.  We have at least 15 contains so that would take forever and leave paints chips all over the ground.  So the hard part is not stripping the paint away, it deciding need to be strip.

I was hard at work stripping paint when Tony drove in.