Friday, December 16, 2011

16 December 2011 Gray, Grim, And Grouchy



          Be advised that these adjectives do not apply to Gloria.  She has a smile that can light of one of the gloomiest of places, and airline terminal in winter.  My visage is more likely to be mistaken for a kobold or troll, perhaps on a rare good day, a silkie.
          I wound up traveling to Greeneville yesterday to get a 48 “ 4x4 treated post and a bucket of quick crete to anchor the post.  By the time I was half way to Lowes, it was raining.  It rained steadily until I returned.  The expanse of mountains from highway 107 looking southeast was shrouded in rain and looked grim and foreboding with a promise of a harsh winter yet to come.
          Today dawned thickly overcast with rain sliding in from the west by 0830.  The mailbox is still standing, shakily until I can replace its main support post.  I’ll need to dig a hole 2 feet deep in a rocky creek bed.  The installation page calls for a post-hole digger.  I don’t have one or access to one.  I’ll be moving a lot of dirt that doesn’t need to be moved.  But I seriously doubt I could use a post-hole digger and then have any shoulder function left.  I hope to get the hole dug and the post installed properly sometime after the 19th
          I must confess that I half-way expected to find the mailbox damaged again this morning.  I suspect that the driver who hit it was DUI on ethanol or other substances had no insurance, and probably no valid drivers’ license.  That is, of course, supposition on my part.  But given the incidence of traffic stops that yield DUI/no insurance/no valid license (suspended, revoked), it may well be valid.  
          I will have to remove the 4 foot-long post from the Pathfinder tomorrow.  I don’t like driving around with an unsecured ballistic projectile aimed at my skull.  I’m charging the cordless drill batteries now to use in replacing the mailbox and for another project or two.  We bought this drill when we moved here.  Now, the batteries don’t hold a charge well and the cost of replacing them, as always, equals or exceeds the cost of a new drill.  I thought about getting one yesterday but decided to hold off and hope for sales next week.
          Back to physical appearances, demeanors, and behaviors.  I’ve posted enough images to allow us to be recognized by anyone who really cares to do so.  If we appear together, Gloria is the one smiling and laughing.  I’m the much more reserved one of us.  Smiles and laughter are much less common originating from me.  In all honesty, I did neither until I met Gloria.  My older son claimed, about two years after Gloria and I married, to have never heard me laugh.  I believe it is true.
          Gray aptly describes facial and head hair.  Grim, describes common demeanor adequately.  Grouchy is common and inherent to my nature. 
          Glib and garrulous could be attached to a description of me without falling far from the x ring.  Gravelly and grating can be applied to my vocalization. 
          That covers the obligate seven characters that must be included in any collection of minor dwarves that serve to define the heroine of any Grimm’s tale.  If you need more, please feel free to add them. 

Shabbat shalom!
          

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