The Rose Wall, or 'It's Turtles All the Way Down!'

Started this a few weeks ago and it's been an off-and-on project when I've had some time between others.

As usual, I've used what was there from deconstruction (the old wall was haphazardly thrown together quite a long time ago out of available rocks and was starting to falling apart) along with bringing in a supplement of nicer-faced stone. The first decision was to step it out from being just a flat retaining wall, because of several monstrous "turtles" at ground level that are nearly impossible to build on sturdily. These are so termed because of their turtle-shelled shapes. Nothing can lay flat on top of them, without some serious back, front, and side wedging that is subject to failure when going up against frost heaves and force majeure. Better to come up with a design that avoids those turtles altogether. With consideration to how much stone/time it would take, and the fact that there were some unplanted roses in the yard --- white and red... how very Hundred Years War --- an idea to create some steps up to the higher bank merged into a raised flowerbed design, and a stone seating area. Just to note that I also offered the idea of creating a small water feature, which actually wouldn't cost too much, but with a lake about 20 feet away, this wasn't favored. It's all about choice, and giving options.

I have broken the rules of dry stone wall construction on this one, I will admit. On any given site, there are things one just has to work around, notably here are the two rocks on the left side. On top of the largest stone whose top is turtle-ish (but which couldn't very well be mitigated), I used some Liquid Nails exterior adhesive the other day. So, this is not a completely "dry" wall. The stone was solid as set and will be tied down by large stone on top of it, but I felt much more comfortable with a little extra insurance, that will last, per the copy on the adhesive tube "for the life of your project."

It's coming along pretty well, and I've had a few days of having "the hot hand," which is always a good feeling.

14 August 2010

We were in the Christmas Tree Shops the other day stocking up on some Voortman cookies (this seems to be the only place that carries the brand for our favorite windmill cookies) and not 10 feet into the store, the rear cart wheel bumped into something. I looked down to see a small black pouch that looked like a change purse. Didn't look in it, but it turned out to be a minimalist purse. At check-out a few minutes later, the cashier next to us said he was waiting for a lady who forgot her wallet in her car. Well, what 're the odds? As she walked back in the store I directed her over to the service desk where we'd left it. The woman started thanking us profusely and said that her heart was still beating out of control.

I've been in the same boat. A pair of green khakis I wore back at the U had a back pocket that things slipped out of easily enough.... One day after leaving the campus library, come to find out that the usual bump in the seat wasn't there. Panic. Looked around me on the bus. Tried to backtrack, which included a long walk between buildings. Finally got back to the library to one of my usual seats and there it was, untouched. (I did change my PIN number on bank cards, etc. that day just to be safe.)

Still remember that wallet --- very worn brown leather bi-fold featuring a faint hunting dog stamp pattern, with black stitch lacing along the perimeters. It finally fell apart about a year after I graduated. It was old when I started using it after finding it in a drawer as a teen and I got about ten years out of it. Its replacement still doesn't have 1 percent the character that old wallet had.