Thumbs Up

Today, I appreciate my thumbs. Long and opposable and perfect for hitching rides, pressing buttons, and non-flagrant hand signals. I'm noticing them today more than usual because I ripped off part of my left thumbnail while picking up a board yesterday. It didn't bleed much and it was not a major tear, but now I could snag it at any moment with any swift move and be in a heap of pain instantly! So I'm gingerly untying my shoes, washing my hands, moving things around on my desk. What I miss most is the ability to clean out the gunk that collects underneath the nails of my right hand. I have to go to the length of digging out my fingernail clippers and using that nifty cleaning attachment if I really want to look clean, which I do because it's Friday and I'm finishing the day with office work and there is one beautiful three-day weekend ahead of me. So, thumbs are great; thumbnails are efficient tools; I'm missing full usage of my digits; man, if this thing snags on something I'm gonna scream!

WORD OF THE DAY: Denarius
I've been doing this construction thing for nearly one year and finally today I learned what the "d" on 16d and 8d nails refers to: denarius. I always assumed it was a measurement abbreviation and wondered why we usually call them 16 penny or 8 penny instead. As I was flipping through a Women Build manual, I discovered the background of my query. In the age of the Roman empire, denarius was the cost of that specific nail per 100. We English folks changed it to penny--makes sense--and now the mystery is solved.

I bruised my hip flexor this afternoon. "How does one even hit that part of the leg on anything hard enough to leave a mark?" you ask. Allow me to enlighten you. CoJo and I were shoveling dirt out of the back of the truck. We were filling in the moat-type hole in the porch area of our latest build. The excavators dig an outline for the block layers to, well, lay blocks as foundation for the house and porch. I had one foot on land, the other on block, and we were filling in the gap between the two. I miscalculated the size of said gap so when I readjusted my footing, my leg slipped into the hole and my hip slammed onto the tail gate. It hurt, but I'm tough. (You know, instead of complaining about it there in front of CoJo, I'm whining on my blog.)

Boo Hoo,
Construction Kim