I didn't do the "nice rack" title yesterday, so... there's this.
Another trip to Lowe's this morning. We timed it for just after school started so we wouldn't get caught behind school buses. Tactical maneuvers.
First order of business at Lowe's: pick up the Craftsman tool chest/workbench we ordered yesterday. Two young strong guys loaded it into the Equinox for us... not sure how a geezer and his much younger wife are going to get it out. Then, back into Lowe's so we (and by "we" I mean Joan, and I pushed the shopping cart) could look for plants and stuff. They have a lot of plants; we did a lot of walking up and down the aisles of their Garden Center to look at all of them. With a cart full of plants, planters, and potting soil, we moved into the main part of the store for other stuff... a large Rubbermade basket that hangs on those FastRacks, wall anchors for mounting more stuff, and a couple fire extinguishers.
The plan was: drop me off at home and Joan would go to the grocery store. I was told: "Don't try to unpack that tool chest on your own"... it was damn heavy getting it out of the car... Joan had the idea of putting a shelf board under it because it didn't want to slide on the rubber mat in the cargo area. From there, we tilted it onto a dolly to roll it into the garage.
Joan headed to the store and I hung one of the fire extinguishers. And then, started opening the box for the tool chest to see what I could do with it. By myself. I knew there were heavy-duty casters and a handle that would need to be installed - those weren't visible from the top or the bottom of the box, so I deduced that there would be in one of the drawers. I cut away the side of the box... oh, this thing is a pretty Craftsman red. I found the casters and went to work getting them put on... and then the handle. This thing weighs more than I do, but I was able to get it off its side and onto its wheels with that handy handle (probably why they call it that)...
That bag of stuff on top of it is the drawer liners (keeps the tools from moving around when you open and close the drawers). This is the wood top that goes on it, making it part workbench, as well...
I've always wanted a tool chest like this. We have a nice Craftsman wood workbench (part of which you'll see in a later photo) from my woodworking days. But, it doesn't have these soft-close drawers like this...
Since moving to Texas, I have had tools in the underneath storage, some in the house, some in the cargo trailer (which was also the portable garage for the bikes), and some in the motorhome. This is going to allow me to have tools in two places: mostly in the garage, and a smaller kit in the motorhome. I am a happy boy.
When Joan got back from the store, I gave her a hand getting groceries into the house. Then she gave me a hand getting the new tool chest into its place...
That is the smaller part of the woodworking bench next to it on the right.
I wasn't the only one who got stuff at Lowe's...
I know there are some cacti in there, but I don't know what the other stuff is. Joan will be deciding where those plants will go.
It took a while to cut up cardboard and put it in our recycle container, so Joan could sweep out the garage (after mounting the big basket on one of the FastRacks. Other stuff went into the shed in the yard. We are darn close to being organized.
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The plan for the evening: go to see our friends Billy and Stevie... a Billy Joel and Stevie Nicks concert at Chase Field (the baseball stadium) in downtown Phoenix. We bought these tickets when we were here this past winter... at the time, we weren't planning on moving to Arizona: we planned to come early and spend December and January here, instead of February and March. Looks like we have all those months covered.
I will have some photos, hopefully. We saw Billy Joel here a few years ago, and it was a great concert. Steph is a big fan of Stevie Nicks, so something for everyone. It will be a new adventure for us: we'll be taking the light rail into downtown, so we don't have to fight the parking situation. We'll see how that all plays out.
4 comments:
Congrats on the tool box. That was one of the first things I did when we moved here, since the new house has a detached 2000 sq ft shop. My late F-I-L and I also put up a bunch of pegboard to hang tools and "stuff" during their first visit from Arizona. I have two sets of tools still -- most in the shop and a second smaller set of basic tools handy on the garage wall. Things like pliers, screwdrivers, utility knife, etc. It quickly became obvious that a handy set of basic tools was needed *in* the house without trudging out to the shop, especially in winter.
I hope the concert was good. I saw Billy Joel at UofM Ann Arbor in 1977 and that was a great show. Never seen Stevie Nicks except on TV.
Today is concert day for us. More specifically for Alice. I am the "flute caddy" and chauffeur. She has three flute events today, including a concert / open play-along (with sheet music provided) at the Capitol rotunda. We leave shortly this morning and not be back until tonight after dinner. 'Tis the season, when one is in four musical groups and each wants to do two Christmas shows.
That is quite a concert schedule for Alice. Fortunate she has a big strong guy like you to cart those big ol' flutes... for those who aren't familiar: Alice plays a bass flute (do I have that right, Earl?) that is HUGE. (Think: side pipes on a '68 Corvette with a 454 engine.)
The concert was great! Both acts. I can't say that I have been a big Fleetwood Mac fan, but they have had a lot of hits over the years, and Nicks played a bunch of them... she gave the crowd what they wanted. Impressive chops for 75. I have been a Billy Joel fan since I first heard Piano Man. He hasn't lost anything at 74. Who knows, I may have a couple good years left in me.
Not sure I will put tools in the tool chest: it is so pretty, I don't want to mess it up. ;-) Yeah, kidding.
Over the course of her busy day she played four flutes: piccolo, concert flute, bass flute, and contra bass. Only the alto flute got left out. Contra the really big one, two octaves below concert flute. We could really hear the low flutes carry through the reverberant capital dome. There were 54 flutes total. For her, it is often a small flutes or a big flutes day. Yesterday was all of them. Even her flute caddy was wiped by the time we got home. Today will be our lounge-about day. Then tomorrow she’s right back into rehearsal schedule. Whew! Whatever will she DO in retirement?
A fun day for Alice! A work day for her roadie. No doubt 54 flutes was an impressive sound. For the record, retirement doesn't mean you get to do nothing... but, you have options: yeah, I'm not feeling that today - tomorrow will be fine. ;-)
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