Word of the Day

Transhairance - When you pass a hair in your mouth with a kiss.

13 Days and a Wake Up And We Hit the Road*

Moan! Less than two weeks! We pulled the boat out today. It wasn't the best possible day for it. Wind. Lots of wind. What should have been a fairly easy task, turned into a comedy of errors...or a little shop of horrors. Anyway, HTP and I maneuvered the boat around the dock to loosen and raise the legs of the dock off the lake floor so the dock was only resting on its wheels. HTP managed to hang onto the tools as he loosened the bolts, lifted the legs and then re-fastened the bolts. Not an easy task. Many a wrench have ended up on the floor of the lake, many a bolt lost. But, I have to say, HTP has never done either. Close...but so far we've been pretty lucky.

After that the boat was ready to be taken from the lake. HTP headed off to the boat-landing via the lake and I drove the car with the trailer attached to said boat-landing. The trailer was still attached when I got to the boat-landing. Barely. Somewhere between our house and the boat-landing the trailer managed to un-hitch itself. And I couldn't figure out how to re-hitch it because part of the trailer was stuck under the car. As some friendly, helpful people and I stood and puzzled over the situation, HTP attempted a first pass at landing the boat at the dock by the boat-landing. There were white-caps on the lake. The wind was blowing briskly from the south. Landing a boat in such conditions isn't and easy task. HTP ended up looking like we were trying out for a part in a Laurel and Hardy movie. At least this time no-one slipped or fell into the water. I'm racing to grab a rope that HTP is trying to toss to me on the dock. It took several throws before I could finally catch it. Then, I end up having to hold a heavy boat close to the dock with waves washing over the dock-boards soaking my pant-legs. Our boat isn't a light-weight. I'm sure it weighs far more than me. I finally managed to tie off the boat using a clove-hitch. In the meantime, HTP finally managed to get the trailer re-hitched to the car. We still haven't figured out how it came un-hitched. You'd think this was the end of our adventure. Nope.

Backing a boat-trailer down a boat ramp, into the lake, isn't an easy task. At least, we don't seem to have the hang of it as yet. Finally, with me frantically waving my hands and HTP listening to the frantic sound of our backup sensor as it beeped hysterically because it thought HTP was going to run into something (the trailer), the trailer ended up on the right track. Then came the fun part. We had to direct a huge boat onto the right path against the wind and up the trailer. Even with the trailer winch, this wasn't easy. But...we did it. The boat has been pulled. We drove, car with trailer and boat attached, over to where it'll be winterized. And then, after having to back the stupid thing again, (more frantic beeping) we returned to our house. At this point you'd think HTP and I would call it a day. Nope.

It's going to rain tomorrow. Next week we may get snow. The dock needed to be pulled out of the lake. The weather wasn't going to get any better. No time like the present. Actually, I don't think we did too bad. Last year we had #1 son to help us and it took us forever. Of course, last year was the first year we'd actually pulled the dock out all by ourselves. HTP, me and #1 son. This year, after thinking on it, HTP made a few changes in the plan. Although it would have been nice to have #1 son here to help us, HTP and I actually managed to pull the dock out of the water with much pulling, much tugging, a bit of elbow grease, and a huge car jack. HTP still had to get into the water. I had to pull and then tie the dock so it would roll back too far into the water. But, when it comes down to it. We did it.

The dock is sitting firmly on shore where the shifting ice won't tear it apart during the winter. HTP is already making plans to improve our dock-pulling plan for next year. A winch might work a bit better than me running to and fro, tying and untying ropes, so the dock wouldn't roll back each time we made a foot or two of progress. Actually, getting the dock in isn't too bad until it gets to the point where the wheels won't come up over the lip of the shore. That's where the car-jack came into play. I think next year we'll use a combination of the car-jack and a winch.

And so, we're done. I mean we're really done...in. I'm sipping on a hot cup of tea. HTP is watching the Gopher game on TV. I think I might be able to straighten out my back....eventually. The boat and the dock were the hard part. The rest of the stuff on my To Do list is fairly easy. I'll wait to take down the hummingbird/wasp feeders until tomorrow night. I'm not sure if I'd make it up the ladder at this point.

Murphyism of the Day

Jacobson's Law

The less work an organization produces, the more frequently it reorganizes.

* Disclaimer: The countdown has started but it isn't written in blood. I make mistakes and we all know that you just can't pin down life like a bug on a entomology class display board.