Mark My Words

Like many people, I learned which way to turn a screw to tighten or loosen it through a simple mnemonic device: righty tighty, lefty loosey. Fun to say, easy to remember. Despite the fact that I have fastened and unfastened hundreds of objects in my life, this phrase still runs through my head every single time I pick up a screwdriver.

And yet, I still screw up from time to time. (Hardware humor: I nail it.)

This happened recently when I was doing an aquarium water change. I have a Python No-Spill Clean & Fill Gravel Cleaner, ’cause I’m fancy. It’s a nifty little system of tubing, hoses, and connectors that hooks up to a faucet so you can drain and fill a tank without using buckets or siphons.

The adapter hooks up to our bathroom sink faucet. Because I’m screwing it on upside down though, my brain always gets the whole righty tighty, lefty loosey thing backwards. A couple of weeks ago, I could not get the damn thing to come off. I even busted out a pair of pliers…but then finally figured out, after much grunting and swearing, that I was actually tightening it instead of loosening it. I’m lucky I didn’t strip the threads.

I’m not the only one whose fingers are moving contrary to expectations when attempting this feat. According to the internet, when an item is upside down, you often look at it from the wrong direction, which can reverse the apparent “right” and “left” for the top part, making it confusing.

It’s lunacy, I tell you.

Clockwise to tighten, counter-clockwise to loosen. That’s the real secret. But sadly, there’s to catchy way to remember that.

Bucking trends is my favorite thing to do

“First day hikes” have become pretty popular in recent years. Having never met a trend I didn’t want to buck, I decided to mix things up and do a “last day hike” instead. Wednesday was a state holiday and Tara had to work, so I headed out to Lapham Peak in the Kettle Moraine State Forest that morning. My destination?

The Ice Age Trail. Which, believe me, was appropriately named. It was a tad frigid out! But I enjoy winter hikes; there’s just something about the peaceful tranquility of a nearly deserted forest following a fresh snowfall. Alas, it wasn’t deep enough for snowshoes–there was maybe 2-3″ of packed snow on the trail–but this also made for relatively easy going.

It was snowing lightly during my whole trek, which ended up being about 3.5 miles. I haven’t done nearly as much hiking in Wisconsin as I have in other places I’ve lived, but it’s certainly not due to a lack of trails. Tending to our property takes up a lot of our free time during the prime hiking season. I’m not one for resolutions, but I would like to hike more in 2026. If that means taking Fridays off here and there, so be it.

I was back home by mid-afternoon, and Tara and I got down to the business of partying a few hours later. Ilsa, you’ll appreciate (and probably want to recreate) one of these photos.

We were rockin’ out to some great records, like Alice In Chains and Credence Clearwater Revival and Ozzy, while playing Skip-Bo and enjoying adult beverages. Tara made redneck eggrolls and sesame noodles, as is our tradition, and we were wide awake when midnight rolled around.

New Year’s Day was mostly spent in the basement with a fire in the wood stove and an unintentional Rob Reiner tribute (When Harry Met Sally followed by Misery). It snowed nonstop for about four hours, which made things extra cozy. The cats on our laps didn’t hurt either.

It was weird, having this one work day today sandwiched in between what are essentially two weekends. Next year (err…this year, next holiday season) will be nicer, having the big holidays fall on Thursday and Friday. I’m already itchin’ to get those decorations back up!

OK, not really. But check back with me in April.

Oh, one more thing. Remember how we’d booked a room in Custer for Burning Beetle weekend, on the off chance we wanted to go? The closer we got to the trip (two weeks from today), the less appealing driving 11 hours to the Black Hills started sounding. Weather was always a potential factor (even though South Dakota hasn’t had much of a winter yet), but it’s more than than. Namely, the expense involved: once you add up the hotel rooms, food, drinks, and gas, that’s one pricey getaway. We decided the money would be more wisely spent on more immediate needs, like our mortgage and groceries and car payment. Plus, we really need a new garage door. So, I cancelled the hotel reservation, which was fully refundable.

Someday we’ll go back (probably), but I’m not too disappointed. There will be plenty of other adventures in 2026.