I personally believe that when it is under 30 degrees (F) that no one should work outside. Of course, that doesn’t include people who drive snowplows, taxicabs, and the brave men and women in the police, fire, and armed services. I guess I just mean the plain ol’ folks like me.

It’s currently a bit less than 30 and I’ll be outside at 9:00 working on my deck. Of course, I wouldn’t be there unless the guy helping me was going to be there. You see, I have been getting a great deal of help with the deck. D is, among other things, a master carpenter. He has an eye for doing what looks good, and making it come to fruition with what appears to be little effort. The deck addition is 500 square feet – huge by our neighborhood standards. While the wood has not been cheap, the labor certainly has. We’re close to finishing it other than a couple of sets of stairs and a few handrails. Then, we need to finish up the other items like the posts, adding lights, and so on.

D is an interesting character. He’s a tough guy, raised in a tough household with a sometimes abusive father. He’s risen above that but is really tough on his youngest son. He absolutely loves his son, but keeps a firm grip on him as well. His son is a character with a smart mouth – something that I think he should lose else he’ll get a belt or hand to help him lose it. Guess it is more like the relationship I had with my father than I care to admit. I’m at least trying to rise above that with my son.

Time to bundle up…