Almost perfect
A neighbor who is in the construction field wanted an arch at the entrance to his driveway. He planned a huge fancy wooden arch which would fit precisely into the pre- made sockets in his cement foundations. He made the arch horizontally and, as he told me, measured and measured to ensure precision and perfection. With help they righted the arch and attempted to insert it into the sockets. Too wide. They used cables and a come-along to squeeze the arch sufficiently without breaking it to allow it to be raised.
Whenever I drive past his arch I'm reminded of The Gateway Arch in St. Louis.
During a visit there a taxi driver told us the story of the final placing of the keystone. The two sides of the arch had been constructed separately, to be joined at the top. He said everyone in the city was watching. And it didn't quite fit. Wikipedia has the story.
the keystone,[32] a 10-short-ton (9.1 t), eight-foot-long (2.4 m) triangular section.[59] It was slated to be inserted at 10:00 a.m. local time but was done 30 minutes early[32] because thermal expansion had constricted the 8.5-foot (2.6 m) gap at the top[59] by 5 inches (13 cm).[58] To mitigate this, workers used fire hoses to spray water on the surface of the south leg to cool it down[49] and make it contract.[58] The keystone was inserted in 13 minutes,[32] only 6 inches (15 cm) remained. For the next section, a hydraulic jack had to pry apart the legs six feet (1.8 m). The last section was left only 2.5 feet (0.76 m).[59] By 12:00 p.m., the keystone was secured.[32] Some filmmakers, in hope that the two legs would not meet, had chronicled every phase of construction.
Planning doesn't always ensure perfection. 99% can be correct and still the project might not come together as one hoped.
Missed it by……this much.
Not that this ever happened to me, but for example, you plan a special dinner, hoping to impress (perhaps a boss). The house is clean, you farm out the noisy kids, a spectacular meal is prepared, an excellent wine is ready to serve. As you take your first bite you realize, you forgot to salt the main dish. Tastes like paste.
We had been working so hard on our farm; days of total exhaustion. Finally we booked a night at a local resort, earmarking more money than we had, but we felt we really needed it. All morning we put up electric lines, further tiring us. We made sure everything was secure, our bags were packed, car gassed up, we were wearing our fancy clothes, everything. So we headed down our long driveway and observed, to our dismay, that all our cows were in the neighbor's field. This situation demanded immediate attention which of course we had to give. We left for the resort about two hours late.
I would be interested to hear of any similar situations others have experienced. Did you get it all right…….almost? Did it turn out alright or even better in the end?
On another topic, on this morning's CUA, suggestions were being made as to what should be added to meatloaf. Navajo even suggested that the topic merited a diary. Instead of that, I will present my personal meatloaf recipe, which is so good that I make it every week. We serve it with potatoes or some starch, then use what's left in sandwiches.
1 1/2 # ground beef
one egg
one can tomato sauce (these are often 4 for $1)
3 slices fresh bread
one onion,sliced fine and sautéed in butter
one carrot
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
1 tablespoon salt
Sautée onion till soft
(optional rib of chopped celery if you have it)
In a large bowl mix beef, salt, egg, one carrot shredded, bread torn into pieces, tomato sauce, sugar and mustard. Add the warm onions, mix with your hands and spread into meatloaf pan. Bake 1 1/2 hours at 350°. If your beef is less than lean, pour off the oil at one hour.
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