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Monday
December 27, 2004

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In the morning we visited a waterfront swissy chalet, pulled its handbuilt irregular hobbit doors and windows. Rumor has it it's being knocked down to be replaced by a garage for an adjacent beachfront modern house being remodeled.

Then we went back up to Fircrest to continue reclaiming the gymnasium floor. Once all the boards are pulled and roughly sorted by length, two sawhorses are set up. One guy feeds boards, another runs the nailkicker, and the third bundles stacks of 6 with duct tape and carries them out to the truck.

The nailkicker is a pneumatic tool which punches nails out of lumber. You slip a metal sleeve over the pointy protruding end of a nail, hit the trigger and a bolt pounds the nail out, sending it flying. Definitely a job requiring ear protection and safety glasses.

These nails imbedded themselves in a moldy gym mat we set up directly below the work area to minimize ricochet. The denailer generates enough force to shoot out windows from 20 feet away.

Back at ReStore, Henry the new number two shop cat is getting over his cold, although there's still plenty of eyesnot and some sneezing. He's put on some weight, though, and is a major lover who will knead your lap ceaselessly, earning him the nickname biscuit king.