Hit the Pause Button

The day dawned very cool and cloudy, but we did not have to contend with any rain today.  We were out on the worksite early, adding a post on the north side and the first post in the gate wall on the south side.

We marked the post on the north side as our measurement pole, making sure that the other post was lined up height-wise to the post we had transmitted earlier.  When Rick dug the post hole on the south side, we added the measuring tape in the same place.  Then Rick dug a deep hole and put in the post.  Nope.  Too high.  He dug down more and put in the post.  Nope.  Still too high.  He dug more and put in the post.  Oops.  Way too low, yet the tape measured just perfectly according to the transit.  What gives?  I looked at the north side post and then at the south side fence.  Duh!  Of course the south post was too low-- we had stepped down the north side five inches from the south side for the last three panels, so we were trying to measure the south side with the stepped down measurement from the north side.  That snafu just shows that a person should not put up a fence while still half asleep.  Once we had the correct measurement for the south side, we added lots of stones to bring the post up to where it should be.  OK, so the post has a lot of good drainage.  At least it is level with the rest.

We have "turned the corner" on the south side of the house.

A one-board wide panel gives us the corner and
post on which to hang the gate.  Tape at the top and
boards under the bottom help keep the post level
and plumb while the cement dries.

Once the south and north side posts were cemented in, we cleaned everything up and went in to shower by 11:00 a.m.  Rick excitedly talked about putting in possibly two posts tomorrow which would mean that we only had one more post the put in on Thursday.  I know that he wanted to have the fence completely finished before we flew north for the holidays, but that just was not to be.

One more panel on the north side reaches toward the street.

After lunch, we loaded two "extra" posts into the truck to take back to Home Depot.  We knew that we needed to buy one more cap, one more set of wall brackets, and seven more bags of cement. When we got to Home Depot, the "returns" line snaked out the door.  Apparently lots of people are spiffing up their houses before the holidays because I saw lots of "extra" supplies (like boxes of wood flooring) being returned. A long wait rewarded us with cash back to our charge account and a short trip to pick up the supplies we needed.

Rick drove the truck around to the loading zone so the early twenty-something man there could help him load the seven bags of cement.  Rick stepped up into the bed of the truck, and the man handed up the first two bags of cement.  As Rick stepped over to take the next bag, he cried out "Ah-h-h!" as he gripped the back of his leg. He took a step, and his right leg bucked beneath him.  As the man loaded the last four bags of cement into the truck, Rick somehow climbed down and limped to the truck.  He told me that he could drive although I offered to do so.  (Some people are SO pigheaded!)  He drove home, using his right leg on the gas pedal and his left for the brake.

When we got home, we transferred to the car, and I drove him to Morton Plante Hospital. The ER at Morton Plante was very busy, and since his condition was not life threatening, we waited while others who were more ill were taken first.  That was OK.  We expected that.  However, when we finally got into the ER treatment area two hours later, he was escorted to a cot in the hallway where he was told to get into a gown and to lower his pants so the doctor could examine him.  We were both dumbfounded. A doctor came, did a cursory examination, and said that Rick had torn his hamstring muscle, and that there was nothing we could do but go home and rest.  He offered pain medication which Rick refused.  Never again will we go to Morton Plante if we have an emergency.

I was supposed to go to the doctor today to have him look at my shoulder, but since we were sitting in the ER, I cancelled my appointment.  The doctor's office called back later; I told them to forget it.  If nothing can be done for a torn hamstring, I am sure that nothing can be done for a torn shoulder.  We make quite a gimpy pair.  Athletes who tear a hamstring are out of the game for four weeks, and that is what I would like to see Rick do... just REST for the next four weeks. Time to hit the pause button on the fence and the chores.

My fear now is that he will have a tough time flying home comfortably.  We leave in a week and a half.  If I can get him to rest and ice his leg, he may be healed enough to at least walk without too much pain. At least in Wisconsin we can really relax since we will not have a fence tempting us to dig holes or to put in posts. I think for Christmas this year, we'll put Advil in each other's stockings.