Monday, Monday

It was cold again on Monday, with a wind that made it worse.

My branding iron finally showed up in the UPS order. I got the optional date stamp setup a couple of weeks ago. So, I should be good to go.

Sidebar: I didn’t even recognize the date stamp when it came it. It was just a set of tiny brass things and clamps. So, Courtney asked around to see who ordered it. Joe P. finally figured out what it was and Courtney came back and said it was, in fact, mine.

I went to the Big Boy at lunch and got a Slim Jim sandwich with onion rings (I have been jonesing about onion rings for a long time). These were good, but certainly not great. Jake and Carla told me Red Robin makes the best, so I’ll have to truck down to Westland, one of these days.

Back at work, I found that Michelle had dropped in, hoping to go to lunch with either Vicky or me. I was already gone, and Vicky was stuck helping somebody at one of our remote site, so she chatted for a while and then went back to work.

After work, I treated the cat and changed into my bathrobe and slippers. I was tired of all the cat hair on the blanket on the bed. So, I started a load of laundry with the blanket and all the towels.

Michelle called and we chatted for a while, mostly about her dissatisfaction with her new job.

Then I started assembling the branding iron. Getting the brass head on was work, but I got it. It was the date stamp that proved difficult. Two halves of a brass clamp had to be screwed together just under the brass head. Then you had to arrange the four numbers into a clever little block of brass and screw on the ends. Then the block had to be screwed to the clamp. Finally, you had to make sure the brass head and the date stamp were exactly even.

Sidebar: They suggested using an ink pad to test, but I didn’t have one.

So, I plugged it in and set the timer on the microwave for 20 minutes. When the timer went off, I went out to try it. Nothing happened! Turned out the damn thing blew the fuse and was barely warm.

So, I plugged it into the microwave outlet (I know that is a single line, with a 20 amp fuse – I put it in myself).

Twenty minutes later, I tested it. It worked perfectly, except I realized I had the date stamp block on upside down. I’ll fix that if and when it ever cools down.

It was late by then, so I just made a can of Campbell’s chicken noodle soup and ate that with some saltine cracker. I watched a taped DIY show and then switched to reading until bedtime.