What's making you happy today?

[Clodfobble]

Somebody's still got to pay for it, though.

[glatt]

I'd been planning to buy another half dozen bags of gravel from the home center and spread them on thin spots on the gravel driveway. When it's wet, those spots get muddy and I track the mud into the house.
I never got around to it.

Last week, some friends down the street ordered too much gravel to redo their french drain, and they had a ton left over. Actually maybe it was more than a ton. So I made countless trips the block and a half with my wheelbarrow.

I saved him the trouble of getting rid of a pile of gravel, and I got a free refreshed driveway out of the deal. And a bunch of exercise.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Lot of work but a good score, saved money getting healthier.
That mud sucks. The last house I lived in, the stone in the driveway would sink and the dirt/clay that came to the top was as fine, and as slippery when wet, as possible. Each spring we'd have about 25 tons of modified stone delivered in one of those tractor trailer dump trucks. But the trailer body was so high when it was up he could only spread about half the drive way. The other half was wheelbarrow and shovel work, only to have to do it over a year later.

I got home from work first then my buddy got home an hour and a half later, so I would do most of it. One time I saw him slow down, see the stone had been delivered, and kept driving... son of a bitch. Thirty odd years later, I reminded him occasionally.

[elSicomoro]

.

[Sundae]

Sic, you are a legend.
Well done!

[elSicomoro]

I'll pass your compliments on to my surgeon later today. ;-)

[Griff]

Syc- That is unbelievable man, great job.

Glatt- great job. That's now a no snowblower zone, but you're a shovel man.

[Sundae]

My parents are coming up today for three days (two nights).
I go to meet them from the train in Leeds, ARR 15.38.

Already been to their B&B, which is a wonderful place, more like a miniature boutique hotel. Dropped off a personalised bottle of wine - I bought the wine and the self-adhesive label separately, saved about £12, helium balloons, a box of biscuits (half price as a promotion) and another engraved love-lock for Wharfedale Bridge, to go next to the one for Mum and me I put on last year.

I'm not saying these materialistic things make me happy. I'm happy they're coming up.
But yes, I am also happy that Mum will feel special and loved even though I've done it all on a budget.

[glatt]

Originally Posted by Griff

Glatt- great job. That's now a no snowblower zone, but you're a shovel man.

Yep. And you need a certain technique with the snow shovel where you use the rear of the snow shovel as a fulcrum so the front blade of the shovel is about an inch above the stones when you scoop up the snow.

Gravel is a pain when raking leaves and when shoveling snow, but my lawnmower can blow the leaves off the gravel, and the shovel technique in the snow can get enough snow off that the rest will melt.

I dream of getting the driveway paved, but there's the significant cost. I find myself asking things like "Go on vacation, or pave the driveway?" "Save some money for college, or pave the driveway?" "Buy that used car from the old lady next door, or pave the driveway?" The driveway never wins. Plus, to pave a driveway right, you need to dig down a couple of feet and lay down a nice bed of compacted sand or crushed rock, and then go over it with blacktop. Digging down a foot or two would almost certainly kill the maple tree right next to the driveway now by severing 30% of its roots.

[Lamplighter]

Originally Posted by elSicomoro

.

WOW ! 70 lbs in 2 months ???

Were some body parts amputated or just haircuts of a lot of body hair ?

.

[glatt]

that's a pretty cool chart, Syc.

Do you have a smart scale, or have you been doing a daily weigh in and recording the results in a phone app?

[xoxoxoBruce]

Jews. I was running late for a doctors appointment this morning, but it's a Jewish holiday so all the cops were busy directing traffic at the synagogues. Woot, no cops on the road.

[elSicomoro]

Thanks all...it's been a hard slog but well worth it.

Glatt, I just weigh myself every day or two and use MyFitnessPal to keep track of things.

[limey]

Originally Posted by Lamplighter

WOW ! 70 lbs in 2 months ???

Were some body parts amputated or just haircuts of a lot of body hair ?

.

Yes. Gastric bypass surgery I believe it was. Syc will put me right, I'm sure. And he's also put in a lot of effort in very difficult circumstances both before and after the surgery.

[it]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

Jews. I was running late for a doctors appointment this morning, but it's a Jewish holiday so all the cops were busy directing traffic at the synagogues. Woot, no cops on the road.

You are welcome