Broken Tools & Progress
Broken Tools
Originally uploaded by iasmindecordoba The picture itself really looks like nothing special, but represents the progress of the weekend. A broken tool, one that I'm okay with having broken, as it represents years of faithful service and great meals. This weekend has been punctuated by tools of varying sorts, this broken one included.
It took a new tool for the first of our weekend projects: a wire cutter. For many years, far longer than what we've lived here in this home, barbed wire has existed on the fence top in back of our house. We're not the only house to have it, but we're among the few to have it. The fence borders a park, to which we have gated access. It's never made sense to us that the barbed wire is there and not on all the fences that border the park. So, we made the executive decision to remove it, city workers be damned, and we'll see what comes of it. I suspect nothing, but we're happy that this eyesore is now gone. We're left with the uprights that held the barbed wire, but at least those can remain and hold lanterns or something if we decide to host a party.
I think Mr Man was on a roll with the tools when he picked up the garden trimmers. Perhaps it was just a variation on the snip and cut theme with the barbed wire, but he managed to work his way through a good half of the brush pile, leaving in his wake two nicely tidied piles of sticks to be given to the neighbor for his outdoor patio heater or bundled for city lawn cleanup days (and made into mulch).
And if that wasn't enough, Mr Man also used a tool that made noise and one that did not to continue with the trench he's been digging, into which he plans to place drain tiles in back of the garage. This is one project I'm happy to let him take on his own. I hate digging. Unless I'm planting something, that is.
I used any number of tools, though likely without the great visible effect as Mr. Man did with the barbed wire and the brush. The photo shown here is of my egg slicer. I was channeling redkcolumbus with my spate of cooking. I made cornmeal sour milk teacakes, a big batch of beef chili, broccoli and ham salad for the bbq yesterday, a huge batch of stri-fried rice that went into the vacuum-sealed bags to be frozen for Pennsic, as well as more gourmet salads for munenori and I for lunches during the days (hence the breaking of the egg slicer in trying to cut up strawberries without a knife). The lettuce from the this week's produce is gone (we always struggle to eat all of it), so now I'm left with figuring out what to do with the kohrabi and collards tonight.
Right now I hear munenori rustling about in the garage looking for his saw, yet another tool in the long line of tools used this weekend. He's been looking for at least an hour and I suspect that the cleaning that's ensued in the meantime is something that will purge the clutter of crap that's piled up once again on the sides of the garage. But I don't know if it will purge his anger about not being able to find the tool.
Just ramblings, but it's been a full weekend and I'm stunned at how relaxing all this work has really been. I think I might go find my garden spade, just to add to the collection of tools used this weekend. Happy Independence Day, all.