Wednesday, October 07, 2009
Closing up
It was a long 12-hour day, but Sidetrack is closed up for summer '09.
I hit the road after breakfast this morning. I forgot my coffee! So I had to stop at Dunn Bros. in Hastings for coffee that was almost as good as what I usually make.
It was still pretty chilly when I arrived, so the first thing I did was turn on the heat. Then I packed the fridge contents in the cooler, set a fan to blow warm air into the fridge, and heated a couple pans of water to help warm up the freezer.
About that time I thought I should call our trusty plumber and let him know I was closing up and that he could come by and drain the pipes and pump. A few minutes later, plumber Larry drove into the yard. He'd had a call from a neighbor and decided to check with me when he saw my car. Yea!
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWDtP1Nxu6Fls1M5EuWiCN14HzS_S8tx22elHgs-WffQ452G6kYOHEf6fW2jMfTN9XP8GZuWCGGDAnu29w69_lpQkAexeToKlT-AODF07nLPkTtEB3a7TJfyB-fBnlTzZT66s1og/s320/plumber.jpg)
I worked on moving deck furniture into the garage. After I boxed up the liquid stuff and mopped and vacuumed, I was just about done. Nan called to say she was on her way.
I took the car to Jonzy's, added some "Stay-bil" and filled up the tank. I came back, parked the car, disconnected the battery, pulled the cover over the car, and locked the garage.
I had time to read. Oh, and I had taken breaks to walk around the yard and visit neighbors. It's amazing how many people can show up on a Wednesday when the forecast is for 30° this weekend.
The colors were wonderful when the sun shone, and it did shine on and off.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl7GaG52xcBVgmjZrSmlvVLWhomfMZ5jXxKP2pL1urEk8zcwAfUIQpsfZ8LQX9B4ycHqwwTuS_onXTm1Qkg6Q0lFNLhlAppju2yxWT56lsGLJQv2899op1hou6itVWXeHsoNutHw/s320/colors.jpg)
Oh, and the old mushroom that's appeared here a couple times before.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKfqfrv9P6fx1R93zr4tJPnysofSf28QOHw77ESPYUWn4P-TuBuUaHkbDu85PsQByiY8xJwm9jCaI8iLeYX0s_4jihHFOs-FzBZtlBo_63zWOhtJUVNxJeGUUSXCJAy2Abpn2ZVA/s320/oldshroom.jpg)
And as I shut the curtains and closed things up, the place looked like it would be fine until April.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqveWL9LPEZjcgNOHiIt7gMBjORWGzqt5b83s3cGuEu_MrfZLf45a4_jjACChoYeYohpVTGUwKqZIsdVph6LaKf3EuSHfyTMK8ml6zyNMkpbu26ng7PT8KH_0mDaqKsumzXwQKKw/s320/inside.jpg)
Be back in the spring unless there's a wonderfully mild weekend at Thanksgiving or New Year's Eve.
I hit the road after breakfast this morning. I forgot my coffee! So I had to stop at Dunn Bros. in Hastings for coffee that was almost as good as what I usually make.
It was still pretty chilly when I arrived, so the first thing I did was turn on the heat. Then I packed the fridge contents in the cooler, set a fan to blow warm air into the fridge, and heated a couple pans of water to help warm up the freezer.
About that time I thought I should call our trusty plumber and let him know I was closing up and that he could come by and drain the pipes and pump. A few minutes later, plumber Larry drove into the yard. He'd had a call from a neighbor and decided to check with me when he saw my car. Yea!
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWDtP1Nxu6Fls1M5EuWiCN14HzS_S8tx22elHgs-WffQ452G6kYOHEf6fW2jMfTN9XP8GZuWCGGDAnu29w69_lpQkAexeToKlT-AODF07nLPkTtEB3a7TJfyB-fBnlTzZT66s1og/s320/plumber.jpg)
I worked on moving deck furniture into the garage. After I boxed up the liquid stuff and mopped and vacuumed, I was just about done. Nan called to say she was on her way.
I took the car to Jonzy's, added some "Stay-bil" and filled up the tank. I came back, parked the car, disconnected the battery, pulled the cover over the car, and locked the garage.
I had time to read. Oh, and I had taken breaks to walk around the yard and visit neighbors. It's amazing how many people can show up on a Wednesday when the forecast is for 30° this weekend.
The colors were wonderful when the sun shone, and it did shine on and off.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl7GaG52xcBVgmjZrSmlvVLWhomfMZ5jXxKP2pL1urEk8zcwAfUIQpsfZ8LQX9B4ycHqwwTuS_onXTm1Qkg6Q0lFNLhlAppju2yxWT56lsGLJQv2899op1hou6itVWXeHsoNutHw/s320/colors.jpg)
Oh, and the old mushroom that's appeared here a couple times before.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKfqfrv9P6fx1R93zr4tJPnysofSf28QOHw77ESPYUWn4P-TuBuUaHkbDu85PsQByiY8xJwm9jCaI8iLeYX0s_4jihHFOs-FzBZtlBo_63zWOhtJUVNxJeGUUSXCJAy2Abpn2ZVA/s320/oldshroom.jpg)
And as I shut the curtains and closed things up, the place looked like it would be fine until April.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqveWL9LPEZjcgNOHiIt7gMBjORWGzqt5b83s3cGuEu_MrfZLf45a4_jjACChoYeYohpVTGUwKqZIsdVph6LaKf3EuSHfyTMK8ml6zyNMkpbu26ng7PT8KH_0mDaqKsumzXwQKKw/s320/inside.jpg)
Be back in the spring unless there's a wonderfully mild weekend at Thanksgiving or New Year's Eve.