Maybe It's The Pot Talking...

(This will be explained later on.)

That's the name of a comedy show I am performing in another dimension. "....maybe it's the pot talking, but..."
I feel like I'd get a laugh no matter what I said after that lead in.
But in this case I/m not laughing because...."maybe it's the pot talking, but I just read that an American trained dog chased down an evil zealot/radical wearing a suicide vest that detonated and killed the zealot's family. America is honoring the injured dog."

I'm thinking of a punchline but can't come up with one. Sorry. Maybe my comedy show in the other dimension is a bomb also.

In other news....progress is being made on the alley adobe. Slow progress. The list of things that I have to do eventually is long,
landscape lawn for paver/brick patio
canopy over windows
shutters over windows
replace siding on three sides of house
add attic vent on west side of house
clean garage
put electrical and water in garage
fix gurgling drain in bathroom or kitchen (not sure which)
bust up cement curb

Since the weather is cooperating for outdoor activities I tackled the garage first and then the shutters and then the curb.

I think this curb was a foundation for a block fence and gate, since this was originally the rear of the house, not front

This was the limit of my Harbor Freight hammer drill. It worked for 45 minutes and I noticed the cone was worn out. I believe it destroyed the machine but at least it also destroyed the curb.

A sliding window on the west side of the garage? Like a service window for small motors.

Semi organization. This is after about 15 years of neglect of this garage. I mean, it doesn't have much life left but new garages are expensive so I'm determined to keep this one working for another decade.

I remember when I was looking at houses to buy and people would look at an empty field/lawn and tell me casually, "Just build a garage." Jeez. Like I have to spend $80k for the privilege of spending $15k more to get a garage? Can't I find a place with a garage? I did find a place with a garage but it was a disaster with no electrical option, nor water, nor a roof, decomposing bottom plate, rotten wood, NO ROOF...so lame. But it's better than going through an equal amount of hassle to pay for a new garage. Whenever I've been faced with a choice to restore something that has been neglected or start from scratch I've normally gone with the restoration. This deserves some examination because this is a home improvement blog.

The basic choice we have as home owners is either restore or replace. Maybe we can restore some of and replace some of it. Depends on the scenario, but it still boils down to either restoring it or replacing it. In the case of the original aluminum frame sliding windows with untinted single glass. Replace or Restore? Well, they don't need to be replaced or restored. There is no way to restore them. Either Use Them or Lose Them. Right? Either buy new vinyl windows and throw the aluminum frame ones away, or keep on using the aluminum ones and replace them when that time comes. The basic decision making process for me is to decide if the fantasy of 'purchase ecstasy' which is a myth should not blind me to the fact a purchase might be the right choice. My immediate reaction to, for example, buying a new garage for $12k, is that the basic function will be identical to that of using the old garage after investing $500 in repairs. See? The new garage may look new, but it's essentially the same object. A square, with a door. It will not be warm. It will not be filled with light unless I do the identical work to fill the old one with light. The new garage will not be better at keeping water out. The new garage will be new and the materials will be less neglected, but when a scorpion sneaks into the old garage I should not think, "Ah, this would never have happened with a new garage." Basically, purchase ecstasy is an illusion mostly and at best it is fleeting. Money can't buy happiness. A new garage is not happiness. An old garage is not the absence of happiness. See, these statuses....(stati?) of emotion are not dependent on a garage. The garage will not bring me happiness in any condition. Thoreau introduced me to this concept early in my life and I've found it's true. The pursuit of the newest and the latest and the coolest trend or object is a mental disorder, it's not related to reality, it's a product of mental manipulation by advertisers and of class pressure and maybe even a fear of death and geometric inequality. But, I would be misleading you if I told you there all  scenarios where newer items replacing older ones are mentally diseased. I don't want to make a broad judgement that all items should decay into subatomic particles before being replaced. I'm just saying that if I analyze my objectives and motives in home improvement I see that I am very sensitive to the proposal that my self-worth is somehow tied to my garage. I never embraced that idea when I rode bicycles and lived in the forest and now that I am a homeowner I still do not embrace it. I understand completely how the linking of my self-worth to my appliances and sub-flooring would greatly benefit the economy. Yes, I see that line of strategy. But I reject it. My self worth will not be affected by my garage decisions. The only thing that gets affected is the garage, not my innate value. So, if I look at my garage and think "I can make that work for me." Then I move forward with that plan. If I look at a broken window with tape holding the frame together and cracks in the glass and think, "That's beyond restoration and a new one is $120...so...." I go buy the new one and throw the other in the dumpster. But, note closely, that my analysis is never more than the sum of its parts. I'm talking only of a garage and a window frame. That's all I'm dealing with. I have vanity in the form of plaid '70s pants and Batik shirts, but I am not vain about my garage. A man's garage might be a reflection of him, but it's more of a reflection of what he can tolerate. If he can function well in a restored garage then that's the kind of person he is. Or maybe he likes the handicap. Or maybe he knows that a newer garage would not change his approach and would not enable him to do any more than the old garage. The garage is not the issue. The issue is only functionality and his understanding of his own needs and tolerances.

Look at it this way: wouldn't life be easy if our self-worth was tied directly to the age of our garage or appliances? I'm not fooled.

Finally, the artistic flair is starting to bubble up from the arid landscape that is my soul. Saguaro cacti on re-purposed pallet wood shutters. Simplistic, yes. I looked at new shutters and I looked at the pallet and I thought. The pallet will work fine....maybe even better.