It’s almost 6 am here, and still dark, compliments of the crazy time change. Just when I was getting used to the old time, we go and change. Such is life.

Today, will be a standard Fall day here in the South. Morning sees you wearing a hoodie, so you can sip coffee on the patio outside, by this afternoon, you have to get the sunscreen out of your pocket, or wherever you could put it. You almost need to carry it around your neck, on a lanyard, during this part of the year.

The last two mornings, I have noticed the house down the street didn’t have the Christmas lights/security lights on, after about 5:30 am. He must have put them on a timer. Getting bad these days, when a redneck has to ration the use of Christmas lights. First light is appearing now, so the world is waking up.

Speaking of waking up. Our Great Dane is sound asleep on the couch, where she isn’t supposed to be. I sure wish I could sleep like that. There are times, when I think she was born, boneless. At least, she doesn’t snore. I have the corner on that activity, at least that’s what Michelle says.

Finally, managed to reorganize the main outside shop, during the last two days. We decided, since the move last year, that driving eight miles each way, just to hope what we were looking for was there, was just too much. Not to mention, I can use that $45 a month on something else, like me! We moved the contents here in a hurry, some of the days it rained, so we had to rush. Boxes, were stacked willy-nilly (is that a phrase?). I felt like I needed a hard hat just to enter it. As the picture shows, you couldn’t walk more than about six feet in. Now, it is stacked as neatly as possible against the far end of the shop wall. We are going through it about four to five boxes a day. Sorting, and taking a lot of it to the thrift stores for others to use, and hoard.

The junky wood to the right? Is an old bed frame I tore apart, or as we say around here, “Energetically, disassembled”. With wood selling by the ounce these days, it never hurts to have some scrap lying around. Lord knows, you sure can’t afford the real stuff from the stores right now. Won’t be long, and some old dog houses, will become prime material for many.

I suppose today, I will start back on the safe restoration. A friend gave me a safe since they were moving, and no place to put it. Super heavy, it has been through one fire, so I am stripping the paint and cleaning up the dial in preparation for restoring the dial and freshening up the paint for the numbers.

The thing weighs a ton! It was all two large men could do, to pick it up and place on a wheeled dolly, to get it over the door jamb. It is a Hall-Herring-Marvin fire-rated floor safe. From research, it is about 100 years old. 26 inches tall and 28 inches deep. Still works fine. It was left to the lady by her father, who passed on at the ripe age of 83. She couldn’t get it open with the instructions he left her.

The combination numbers were correct, but the method of using the numbers was wrong. I managed after looking up various information on that safe to figure out the correct method. She was happy, to get some old mementos from her father out of the safe. In the picture, the dial appears gold, it is actually brass. I had cleaned it up before the picture, as it was all black with white numbers, and I didn’t like the way it blended into the front so much. I will repaint the main dial black, and the numbers white, but leave the brass ring around it natural. Not only that, but I need to sand blast the skirting along the bottom of it, to remove age-old rust. The heavy metal wheels on the bottom still function.

On a side note, you never know what you will find from the past. She was shocked, to see two satanic ritual books inside the safe. He was a devout churchgoer. I’m thinking maybe I need to call in a priest, to bless the thing. Especially, since I opened it on Halloween!

That’s about it here, for my life in the fast lane. I hope you’re enjoying this Wednesday.