I should have mentioned in my last post that, in addition to my sleepover duties, I constructed a basketball system for Tom. I would never recommend that anyone undertake this task on their own, for it is a two-person job. But I tried and got quite a long way before realizing that I could not hold a heavy pole in place and tighten nuts at the same time. Tom and a friend helped out and we got very close to the finish line before calling time-out due to a frozen bolt. I had no tool that could fit the cowling where the nut was stubbornly housed.

This morning my friend Rick dropped by with a tube spanner and whacko, the thing is up. I still have to set the base on flatter ground and make a few adjustments but the boys were shooting baskets the moment the net was hung. It is nice to feel even a little bit handy.