Spinning My Wheels

Thompson's WaterSeal

Driving in downtown Portland this morning, I pull up to a stop light and (what appears to be) an attractive young woman crosses in front of. Then I notice the sideburns.

We're working on the cross bracing on the pilings that support the new house. I had a bunch of lumber delivered the other day and I thought it might be a good idea to put some kind of sealer on it. All these braces are under the house, so it's not like they are exposed to the weather. Most of the existing braces seem to be in pretty good shape and they're 40 years old, so it isn't absolutely necessary, but still, putting on a coat of sealer seems like a good idea. I was at Lowe's the other day and picked up a gallon of Thompson's WaterSeal for this purpose.

Today we ran out. Evidently my guess-timate of how much sealer we needed was a little low. There are several Lowe's in Portland, but they are all about 15 miles away. Surely I can pick up another gallon of the ubiquitous Thompson's someplace closer. I call Rhoda, nope. I call Sherwin-Williams. The guy has to look it up in the computer. Another nope. Call two more places that don't answer. It can't be that tough. There is an Aboy hardware store not too far away, I'll just drive over there. Except you can't get there from here.

Do I get on I-5 or not?

Looking at this map on my phone, it appears that you get on I-5 and then get off at Terwilliger, but no. You are supposed to not get on I-5 but stay on Multnomah Boulevard because there is no exit for Terwilliger. In fact there is no exit till you get to Corbett, which is practically downtown. Stupid Portland. I should have known better, I've been down this road, but not all that often.

Finally get to Aboy, dutifully put on my face mask and check out the paint aisle. Sixteen zillion cans of paint and paint like substances, but no Thompson's. I give up. I'll go to Lowe's, I know they have it.

Driving down the freeway I notice a mess on the other side. There is a wreck and traffic is backed up for miles. Okay, maybe not miles, but quite a ways at least. No going back this way. Finally get to Lowe's and I buy two gallons of Thompson's even though we only need one. I buy two as a reward for having gone to this much trouble. Don't know what I'll do with the extra gallon. Use it as an excuse to tell this tale if anyone asks me about it, I suppose.

Did see a couple of attractive women walking around this afternoon. No sideburns, which improved my outlook a bit.