From The Corner Of My Mind

* Slight chance of thunderstorms as we go off into the weekend. 30 percent today, 20 percent tomorrow.
* The weary travelers made it back from Iowa safe and sound yesterday. W-mom and Papa Harold stopped by and checked out the progress on project DTB.
* Progress report on DTB: I got off work a little early yesterday and started right in working on it. I got all the deck screws in and put the climbing wall together. We then made another Lowes run to get all the hardware to finish. We then mounted the slide and attached the climbing wall with hinges. Our first thought was to hinge the climbing wall so that it could be raised so that it wouldn't interfere with the sprinklers. Now that it is built and mounted, I don't know if that will be an easy task. It weighs more than I thought it would and it is heavy to raise. W-spouse would never be able to do it alone. Now I'm not sure whether we will just leave it down or get  a boat winch and mount somewhere so that we can raise it. I then climbed on top and drilled holes for one of the swings, and mounted it. By then, it was getting dark, so we shut down for the evening. We still have to drill all the holes for the remaining swing and glider and mount the trapeze bar, them do some touch up painting. Since I mentioned the paint, let me say this. While at Lowes last week we were checking out the paints and in the past I have always used Rustoleum brand paints for any outdoor projects, especially when using metal. W-spouse was reading the labels on Valspar paint and it said that it could be used on playground equipment. It was also higher in price by at least $4 - $5 per gallon. When using Rustoleum primers I have always been able to paint over the primer on the next day, sometimes even as early as 6 hours after application. The Valspar primer was still tacky even after two days. Even in this hot weather we have had. Then after we painted, 2 days later the paint just scratches off. In my experience, I have NEVER had this issue with Rustoleum and have NEVER had any rust bleed through. I won't be using any Valspar paints for use on metal projects in the future, I will stick with Rustoleum. Now before you go telling me that the surfaces were not properly ready for painting and all that yada yada yada stuff, yes they were. The square tubing was already primed, yet we primed it again. All the welds were ground down and all the tubing was buffed sanded with a sand pad on the grinder. It seems the Vaspar primer was acceptable, but the Valspar paint isn't.
* In all fairness, we have used Valspar paints on the interior of the house many times and have never had any issues, but I would not recommend it for use on metal, outdoors.
* As I said yesterday, the well we are working on is giving us fits. Yesterday, was straight from Hell. It was a pretty crappy day. We got literally nothing done. All day.
* Everything seems to be going according to plan right now. Still pending.
* Ava G came over and played on project DTB yesterday and we couldn't get her to quit swinging. It was nearly dark before W-spouse physically removed her into the house for her supper and a bath. We took her home in the Jeep and she loved riding with the wind blowing around her at night.
* The neighbors little boy from next door came over and also tested out the climbing wall, swing and slide. He and Sophie play together a lot and they ran around the yard for 30 minutes and I was exhausted just watching them all play.
* Ava G climbed right up the wall and the steps. Now, if Madison can master them, Papa will be a happy. Madison may not be able to right now, but I bet when she watches the other kids do it a few times, she will follow right along.
* W-stepson #3 has prom tomorrow night, and graduation in less than 30 days.
* Have a great weekend, see ya Around The Corner!