A successful excursion

Helped my brother and the nice Japanese guy staying with my folks to hang the rest of the Christmas lights at my parents. Then went off to two hardware stores to look for orange plastic splitting wedges.

Found 'em at Greenshields, in north Everett (Washington). Four different sizes, even! About six bucks each for the 12'' long wedges (the longest size), and about four-fifty each for the 10'' ones. Bought three of the longest, and two of the next-longest. The nice guy that rang me up photocopies my Australian driver's license and didn't charge me sales tax, saving me a few bucks.

As an extra bonus, as the one fellow was writing up my invoice (they cater to contractors and such), I asked the other fellow if they sold nylon belt pouches, such as I wear. The guy said no, but that I could have the green multi-pocketed one that the previous occupant of his desk left seven or eight years ago. For free. Score!!! :)

After returning home, my brother and I continued to work on the baby gate for the top of my parents' stairs. Got about two-fifths finished. He and his familiy went back home to Seattle around 7pm tonight, so I'll finish it on my own tomorrow.

Still thinking about that thirteen-dollar Japanese-style saw I saw at Hardwick's (in Seattle). May get it after all; not sure. Also thinking about one of the used smoothing planes (shorter than the jack planes, of which I have three). Don't have [a metal] one yet, haven't yet seen at flea markets, and they don't seem to come up on E-bay Australia. They were a reasonable price, as I recall.


--GG