Snowbeard

Snowbeard

I went and got that garage canopy today. There were some logistical gymnastics involved. Ken and his wife swapped vehicles so I could go to Concord Hospital and get his truck, as that’s where she works. I left my office at 10:00, drove to the hospital, and then traded my car for Ken’s truck. Then I drove to Barnstead. The guy with the canopy asked me to be there at 11:00, and I arrived at about 11:10. No one was there, but the canopy was. I went inside of it and looked. To my horror, it was held together with nuts and bolts. I was not expecting that, and I brought no tools with me. But Ken had a multi-tool in his glove compartment, and it had pliers on it. So I got to work.

It was about 10 degrees, and the wind was from every direction, gusting at 30MPH I would guess. It was COLD. This canopy must have had its frame replaced at some point, because there was an extra frame that had obviously suffered a roof collapse. He said I could have that too. It’s mostly in good shape, and I might be able to do something with it, but that remains to be seen. I will probably recyle it somewhere. I loaded the “extra” frame in the truck first. Then I set to work loosening nuts and removing bolts.

I was able to do this from inside the canopy where I had a modicum of protection from the wind. Then I released the canopy and stuffed it into the truck. Luckily, Ken had the cap on the bed so I didn’t have to worry about securing everything in the back to keep it from flying out. Once I had the canopy off, I took the frame apart and laid it in the back of the truck on top of the canopy.

While I was doing this I got a call from Mom telling me that her brother-in-law had died. He had been in the hospital for about a week and wasn’t doing too well. I’m not sure I ever met him, as he and my aunt were married as an “older” couple. I couldn’t talk long since I was standing in the middle of a gale trying to get that canopy apart before I froze to death. (Sorry Mom).

It was a lot of work! I could feel ice forming in my beard, and took the picture I posted up there when I got in the truck. Then I drove back to Concord, arriving just before 2:00. I dashed over to Constantly’s to get some pizza, and the proprietor let me have what was left on the bar for free. Cool! That’s what happens when you show up at 2:00 if you’re a regular. I very much appreciated the free pizza. I wolfed it down in my office and then headed off to a meeting. I got three calls on my cell phone during the meeting, and luckily had the good sense to mute the phone after the first one.

After the meeting I drove Ken’s truck to the church and unloaded the canopy, putting most of it into the Pathfinder trailer. I will most definitely have to reorganize that, because it’s just piled up in the center aisle right now, in one big jumble (old frame and new frame). I know I will regret mixing the two later, but I really only have one place to put both sets. Such is life.

I took the canopy into the church so I could fold it out of the wind and cold. About that time Cliff showed up and helped me fold it, and I was thankful for his help.

Then I called Ken’s wife so we could swap vehicles again. While I waited for her, I started taking some of the longer poles apart (having dragged them inside for this purpose). I managed to get them apart and loaded into the trailer before she arrived.

I’m not sure we’ll be able to use this canopy for camping or not. It is a lot of work to set it up and take it down, and it is a wee bit complicated. We’ll see. If we can’t use it for that, we can still sell it at our annual yard sale. Or maybe use it as a storage shed for donated yard sale goods, assuming we can keep the snow off the roof and prevent collapse.

I got home around 6:30, and I am utterly exhausted.

Meanwhile, I have made arrangements with a stranger for him to come and buy my snowblower tomorrow. Jonathan will be home to take his money and help him load it up. I sure hope he shows!