1.The Move prep continues. Got the house painted – came out nice – got the range replaced, got the plumbing and electrical work started. Aaaaand – made significant progress on the Insane Eternal Brick Project:
Not to mention the 6 or so vanloads of stuff put into storage, and the hours spent looking for a rental an hour and a half drive away – the interwebs are both a blessing and a curse, as I’m sure I’m the first to notice.
2. Some Covidiocy progress: at mass this morning, I, OCD as I seem to be, counted 42 people in attendance. Hard to see all faces, but at least 18 were unmasked. So we’re around 40% saner people, but still have 60% cowering, obedient rabbits. This is down from at least 90% rabbits a mere 2 weeks ago.
Problem is, all these people are still almost certainly convinced that some terrible plague has torn through our country and they just were lucky enough not to die, and now can maybe, maybe, dispense with the mask sometimes.
Unless we can prevent the mass memory-holing of COVID and the duplicity of our ‘leader’ and their lapdog press, the scam worked. Nuremburg trials, or bust!
Yard Sale of the Mind 
Congrats on the progress. It is tough to leave a climate paradise, but the phrase”old window bars” should continue to motivate!
Too bad you won’t be able to enjoy the fruit of all your labor on the planter/wall/fence. Many years ago we put put our house on the market for a move to a different neighborhood, but then the Lord gave us a different direction and we stayed. But in the meantime, we did finish a lot of those projects that had been hanging over us. And we got to enjoy them.
The only folks who still wear masks at our parish are in chemo, or married to them. But then, our Democrat governor, unlike yours, is running for re-election in a state that will turn her out of office for her heavy-handed COVID response.
Yea, there is that. Plan to take a bunch of pictures. Same old story – the house is not how you hoped it would be until right before you sell it.
Encouraged by Mass this morning – seemed over 50% were maskless.
I love this project. I want to learn to do brick work.
Have you mentioned your views to the parishioners? I wonder if they might be convinced. You have given illuminating arguments on this blog. I am praying they open their eyes to see.
I am composing, in my head at least, I’ll let her to our local bishops. I want them to acknowledge that their Craven capitulation to the states irrational demands has caused possibly irreparable harm to their flock. I want them to acknowledge it! Not buried and pretend it never happened, which is what’s going on in the press right now as more and more evidence gets released and recognized even by our lapdog press that this whole thing was a fraud.
Barring that, I don’t know if anything I say to the parishioners will help. On the plus side at this morning‘s mass, it looked like well over 50% of people were unmasked.
Re: bricks. I’m self-taught, with all the mistakes that implies. It’s not that hard, artistically, but does entail a lot of hands-and-knees work and some heavy lifting (mortar bags are 60 lbs, and somebody is going to need to lift them. There’s plenty of videos on YouTube.
Showed our younger daughter and her brand-new husband how to lay bricks, they picked it up quick. Showed our just turned 18 year old son, and he’s good. Not a fast as me, but good. We found it best to work as a team, where he throws down the mortal, butters the brick, and lays it down, I follow to make sure it’s level and fair, and clean up the weeping mortar. Doing it this way, we’re pretty fast.
I still mix the mortar, as there’s a narrow range of nice consistencies that work best, and it’s ewasy to screw up – but, again, trial and error. It’s like mixing cake frosting – too stiff, can’t spread it; too thin, can’t get it to stay in place; just right, and it both spreads and stays.
Then there’s the details I didn’t explain: you have about an hour to clean up the joints before it becomes har or impossible; any impact on less than thoroughly dried bricks will break them loose, and clean up all tools ASAP upon completing or any significant stoppage. But you learn about these by doing.
I have always wanted to make a mailbox stand with bricks. I’m thinking with your description of the work and Youtube, this is my new spring project. THANKS!