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Time is Money

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Jack’s Wednesday guest post – –

Ever since I was an apprentice painter and often working beside other trades I’ve been fascinated by how these folk prepare for their jobs. How they set out measurements and think through the steps ahead of time. It’s partly through working beside more experienced tradespeople, partly through college classes and often through just thinking things out ahead.

But there’s a big difference between thinking things through and actually getting on with the job in hand!

A couple of months ago the owner of the house across the street met with two young guys and they had a big discussion about the brick piers either side of the front steps. There are two on each side – the back ones about four feet high and the front ones about two feet. They probably spent about three hours in discussion. Then a few days ago the two young guys were back in their pick-up and spent another three hours examining, debating, arguing and then leaving. This morning was the same except one of them brought coffee and actually got a couple of crowbars out of the truck, took pictures of them and put them back. Then they drove off!

So something like maybe nine or ten hours debating and discussing, but no work done.

Meanwhile –

Two other guys arrived in a truck pulling a cherry-picker and with various ladders, tools and planks at the big empty house next door. They got organized fairly quickly and carefully, getting access to one of the two brick chimneys on the high roof and within a few hours one of them (I later discovered he was a mason and bricklayer) was up there and working. Over two days he had completely rebuilt the chimney, and they then shifted all their stuff to the other side of the house.

The first chimney had a flat section of roof around it, but the second one was coming out of a sloping roof. So they had to build a scaffolding work platform off the slope, which isn’t easy at all. But this morning the mason was up there and had started work on re-building that chimney. If the weather holds up tomorrow, I wouldn’t be surprised if they got it finished.

I also wouldn’t be surprised if the other two aren’t back tomorrow to ponder over the brick piers for another three hours.

Hot Stuff and Caning – –

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Jack’s Wednesday guest blog isn’t what you are thinking – –

I’m a great fan of Indian curries and have attempted over many years to learn how to make them at home with mixed success.

But, about eight or nine years ago Wendy and I taught a week-long course of ballads and folktales at John C. Campbell Folk School in North Carolina. In addition to being paid and getting bed and board, we were also able to sign up for free for any other week long courses within a year after the one we taught.

We surveyed the catalogue and Wendy saw a course on chair caning, something with which she had also had mixed success. (extra points for no preposition at the end of that sentence). I had a look and saw there was a course during the same week on Indian cooking!

My classes were taught by a lovely woman from India called Ruby, and it was a wonderful experience. She took about a dozen of us through everything from pakoras and samosas, and through a variety of curries, to delicious sweets and drinks.

I have to admit that I only remember some of the recipes, but I do remember her advice to taste as you go and to adjust things like vinegar, lemon juice and sugar to balance sweet and savory.

But, even so, I was still trying to recapture the taste of restaurant curries, while Ruby’s food was more domestic. That was when I discovered that the curry houses make a big batch of ‘base sauce’ and then they add whatever they need to that just beforehand to make anything from tikka masala to vindaloo.

So that’s what I do now and we have many Ziploc bags in our freezers and jars of canned sauce waiting for use. That’s just the start, though, because it’s fairly bland and still awaits all of the necessary spices, veggies and chicken or shrimp.

Despite that I remember Ruby’s lessons and check the taste carefully and often.

As for Wendy, she’s become known as a chair caner and done a roaring trade in barter and cash seats, of course. You can check out her Facebook albums for some of her favorite chairs. Ironically enough, we never seem to keep any of them….