Tuesday, March 17, 2015

Over and Under

I spent part of the day yesterday looking down on the world, and the other part looking up at it. Not much of it, either way. I finished painting the container roof and saw a little further across the flats than I normally do. Then I wriggled in under the little house (a smaller, former freezer container, now with a roof) to try and sort out the sagging floor. There was not a lot of room under there. I took a hydraulic jack and a section of pallet. And some bricks. I put the first support in... from the outside, because I am only moderately dumb. It was a solid mooring block so I felt I would probably not be squashed.

I was right about that. What I was wrong about was how much space I could fit through. It was exhale and squeeze under the edge - about another 2 inches higher on the inside...

It was a good place for learning a few of life's little lessons. Like when sliding into a narrow gap on your back, your shirt, more sensible than you, will try to stay behind. Which means it slides down your back, and up your neck. And then when you're under there the jack lever will be too long. By dint of sheer bloody mindedness I got one prop in under the bent cross-support, and I had maybe 5 inches in front of my face... All the better to see the spiders with.

I was ready for the big one - the pallet section. But I needed to get a shorter lever, because there was even less space under it. So I thought I'd just squirm backwards out of under the small house...

Hmm. Life lesson the next. My ribcage just didn't fit, that way. I think in lifting the middle I had dropped the edges a tiny bit... Think of it as a scene from the Wizard of Oz - only with me less than flat and good and stuck, but with gumboots outside. I had time to consider my misspent youth and the fact that Barb wasn't due home for another 8 hours... And the next door neighbor is 2 km away. And claustrophobia. And spiders. And how hard the ground is right now to dig with your fingers. And how close the floorboards are. Yeah well. The earth got dug away, seeing as I had no choice. I got out, and dug it a bit deeper with a spade. And then, yuck did it all over again. Anyway, the floor is now fixed. Rain today stopped further play, but I did my baking for the week and minced two wallaby, and dried some figs.

Onwards!


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