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Just when you think you’re leading…

As I tend to point out, life is just a footrace.  With the undertaker and ortho surgeon.  So far, ol’ Boothill Bob has been hanging back, not ready to make his move.  But, Mack the Knife came sprinting ahead a few days ago like he was gonna’ lap me and take all the marbles.  Like a lot of us, I USED to run regularly for “fun” and exercise.  Now, I hobble - and listen to others’ stories of knee replacements.  I just don’t think I have the time or patience for that sort of hobby-change.  Not yet, anyhow.  So, it was kinda’ a shock to my Basic Cleopatra nature (You know, “Queen of D’Nile) when I got home and couldn’t move my legs enough to get out of the car.  When I finally figured out a way to manage an egress, I had the distinct impression that I was climbing a mountain on snow shoes and stilts.

This has put a crimp in my Frankenbuilding for a week, or better. 

Ironically, the pills the doc gave me for the swelling, also promote manic behavior in some people.  This scrip came with the warning to “go home, and put your feet up; take it easy for a couple weeks…”  Yep.  That’s exactly what I did do, too.  Right.

Well, other than managing to flip this ginormous would-be-toboggan over and back a couple times.

I’ll admit to having never actually glassed a surface this big before.  And, it seemed reasonable to do it all in one piece.  Sam gave me some really nice aircraft-quality fabric to work with.   And, I used my just-out-of-the-mailbox Duckepoxy WITHOUT the Goosejuice accelerator.  Not, so very smart.  I’ve had the shop furnace blasting full time for several days to get the ambient temps up enough for this stuff to finally set.  At least, there wasn’t a problem with pot life or open times. 

The Big Deal with messing with this lid comes with its size and generally frail nature.  It’s SIX FEET wide and TEN FEET long.  And, no handles.

I somehow also left my camera someplace else when I should have been taking pictures.  But the lid went from a really nice “30-yard” wood and glass finish, to up and in place and ready to get mounted - without any intervening shots.

I also painted it two different shades of green, and then settled on three coats of antique white before mounting those hand rails and managing to get it eight feet in the air.

By the time I had it situated (on scrap 2x4’s clamped to the frame), I was ready to go take a handful of knee pills.

Actually, way up there on those spindly (temporary) legs, the thing looks pretty forlorn.  I guess it looks about like what I intended.  But, the word, “anticlimax” did buzz on the screen.

I may change the hull color.  The jury is still out on that one.  But, all that painted-green wood is going to have hardwood staves glued on horizontally.  I had most of a gallon left over, after I discovered that it was the WRONG GREEN.  So, it seemed like a useful primer.

Time to clean up some, and get ready for the next big piece of the action.  I do wonder what that’s gonna’ be.  This discovery-building is so very entertaining.

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