To start off the week on Monday, we were invited to have a pool day with some family friends. Obviously, we took them up on it. After heading down to their house we gathered everything and headed to the water. Being that it was a high of 93 that day, the pool was a bit more crowded than they expected, but we still had a great time. We headed back to their house afterwards, cooked out, and relaxed. The ride home was a bit chilly as the great weather had allowed me to take all the doors and part of the top off of the Jeep. Mrs. Re-Dan-imation was huddled under a couple sweatshirts in the back, but she didn't complain.
Wednesday and Friday were yard work days. I have been in a constant battle with my backyard since we bought our house a few years ago. The previous owners had it professionally landscaped and they were able to keep up with it because at least one of them was retired and enjoyed pulling the few weeds that popped up every day. We; however, are not retired. So the backyard has become something of a well maintained grassy area mixed in with nature preserves where the landscaped areas existed. Needless to say, not something I am proud of, but it is what it is. This year I managed to clear, level, and plant grass seed in one of these areas and it is looking great. So instead of continuing to fight these areas I have succumbed to the wishes of the Mrs. and we cleared out two more areas and planted additional grass seed. We also took down a pine tree (fun with the chainsaw) and planted seed where it was as well. Here's hoping it grows even though it is a warmer part of the season.
This is when the real fun of the week begins. Wednesday evening we began really getting set up for the Frankfort Indiana Jaycees (follow us on Facebook or Twitter) 4th of July Fireworks. This fireworks show is the largest hand fired show in the state of Indiana and if you haven't watched it recently it is truly a spectacle. If you don't know what this means, it means that we are loading 3", 4", 5", and 6" shells (fireworks) into mortars (the tubes they shoot out of) and lighting them with large road flares for the most intense 24 minutes of our year. On Wednesday, our goal was to sort all of the shells and prep them by removing plastic wrap and rubber bands. We then place them in large plastic tubs and sort them according to the number of minutes for our show. A lot of effort goes into making sure this part is done particularly well, as we don't have time to fix shells the night of the shoot. It also helps keep us safer knowing things are ready to go for us.
Our original goal was to set up the actual firing site on Sunday night to allow us more time with our families on Monday, but the weather dictated otherwise. So, Monday morning we were out swinging sledgehammers and tightening down wire to hold the mortars tightly in place. The last thing you want is a rack of mortars to fall over with live shells in it pointing at yourself or the crowd. Safety remains a priority for us and we take our time to make sure everything is right. Luckily, Mother Nature decided that the Frankfort Jaycees needed to have their fireworks display and she pushed the rain well south of us. We began our show at 10:10. Hard hats, ear protection, safety goggles, long sleeves, and jeans are all required to participate. It was definitely still humid after all the rain we received and although the temperature had dropped below 80 it was still pretty hot under all those layers. I managed to sweat through both my sweatshirt and jeans.
After a quick count down from our lead operator we began the show. The next 24 minutes is always a blur. It is amazing how quickly it goes when you are actually taking part in it rather than watching it from the crowd. It seems like about 5 minutes as opposed to almost half an hour. You are either running back and forth from the tubs to the mortars, brushing embers of other people, or watching shells fly out of the mortars next to you. IT IS INTENSE! I may have already mentioned that though. After it was all over, we had set off every shell, and considered it a success that not only were we right on time according to the music being played on the radio, but also maintained safety with zero injuries. Celebration time was in order.
I did still remember to get on the scale Monday morning. I was happy to see 267.0 lbs. That puts me at a loss for the week of 0.4 lbs. With all the manual labor involved during the week, I was expecting a little more, but it's still a loss. Onward and upward (or maybe downward it should be). Until next week...Food. Feet. Water. Repeat.
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