How we move heavy objects.....

......without doing further damage to our backs.

R fractured several vertebrae sometime in the past.  By the time that it was discovered they had healed back together but not perfectly.  We think that it happened during his motorcycle racing days or maybe later during his car racing days.  My money is on motorcycle racing.

Myself?  I was waiting to make a left hand turn into my driveway when an elderly lady ran into the back of my SUV doing about 55mph.   Witnesses said she never touched her brakes.  She told the policeman that it was my fault because I stopped.  She totaled her car and the officer told me that just one week prior she hit a van parked near the road and totaled out that vehicle, too.  I now have two bulging discs as souvenirs of that hot July day. 

That is why we try and use furniture dollies, come alongs, chain falls, and snow saucers to move heavy items.  Our favorite choice for sliding heavy objects across the lawn is to use an old metal snow saucer.  We attach one end of the chain or strap to the handle hole and the other end of the chain or strap to the trailer hitch. The trick is to start moving slowly so that the saucer will start sliding on the grass.

We have also used this saucer method to move boulders in our landscaping.  But today we used it to move the large piece of concrete that was the old footing for one of the original posts under the bump out on the back of the house.

I am still spray painting our patio furniture and all that is left is the rectangular table, one dining chair, and a tall plant stand.  The table and chair have peeling paint and rust so those require some prep with a wire brush and then priming before the top coat of satin black.  

You can also  you a wire wheel on a drill motor but you need to be careful that you not over spin the wire wheel, or use too much pressure, or use a wire wheel that has damaged wires.  I know plenty of people who have had pieces of wire get lodged in their eyeball after it broke free of the wheel. Safety glasses are a must but actually googles are better.

Sand paper torn into strips can also be used to remove rust and paint chips on round stock areas like the legs.  If the rust is extensive, another choice is sand blasting.  I felt that the rust was limited on these pieces but the next time I paint these pieces I will first sand blast.  It looks like they have been painted three different times (pink, white, and cream) already.  If I continue to repaint and repaint I will start to lose the fine detail in wrought iron design.

And finally....I was walking back to the house after getting the mail when I noticed two round things in the lawn.

 When I got closer I could see that they were some sort of fungi.  Probably not a mushroom but very interesting color and HUGE.  I would guess about 6 inches across and 6 inches high.

 Reuse Repurpose Recycle