height of folly

i will bore you once more with our shingle project. you will recall that we are replacing "manufactured" siding with cedar shingles. manufactured siding is wood splinters and chunks, not wood dust, in a matrix of waterproof glue. we're hippies, we don't go for that stuff. more seriously, the siding and trim wanted repainting and recaulking, and would do so periodically, ad infinitum. and it was all ugly. our decision to replace the siding was vindicated by the realization that all waterproofing was dependent on caulk. older, more traditional building methods rely on careful design and flashing. we like that.

so we are nearing the end. the scaffold was grand to use. marvelously utilitarian and manageable by one person. the view from the top was great. the project would have been impossible with out it or some alternative. i am so glad to be done with it. at least the last details, light fixtures and bits of trim, are in reach of six foot ladders.


scaffold alert


there will be pictures of me way up there


i am safe. it is all over.

the long shot, for perpective. my feet are about 12 feet above the ground. i am about to remove the last of the old siding.

see me dance. i have just installed the last of the way-up-there shingles. oh, there are a few more to be put up, but all within eight feet of ground level.

i do physical work, some skilled and some not so skilled, carpentry and gardening (the digging part isn't very skilled). i also do mental work, computer programming and data entry. the skilled physical work requires thought, even computation, whereas the "not-so-skilled" mental work, data entry for example, has a physical component requiring good hand eye coordination, and often involves judgement (what account does this expense belong in?). anyway. i dance when i do physical work, including the thinking part. i don't dance when i do mental work. is that just me?