Two old hillbillies walked into a restaurant, ordered cornbread and beans, and sat down at the bar to talk about the "new" cars that had been added to their junkyard that week.
A young woman eating a sandwich at a nearby table suddenly began to choke. After a few seconds, it was apparent that she was in real distress.
One of the hillbillies turned to her and said "Ma'am, kin ya swaller?"
The woman, standing by this time, shook her head, no.
As she staggered into the counter, he asked, "Wahl kin ya breathe?"
Turning blue, the woman again shook her head no.
The hillbilly stepped over to the woman and in one quick motion lifted up the back of her dress, yanked down her drawers, and gave her left "cheek" a big lick with his tongue.
The woman was shocked and coughed so violently that the spasm sent the obstruction flying from her mouth and across the counter.
Nonchalantly, the hillbilly turned back to his seat and said to his partner, "That shore was simple enuf. I heerd 'em talkin' bout that there 'Hind Lick Maneuver' on the radio t'other day, but I hadn't never seen nobody do it before."
Monday, October 29, 2007
Saturday, October 27, 2007
I think I'm getting older... but it beats the alternative
I've always subscribed to my own school of thought, the one that says: "My parents are 'middle-aged' so I'm still a young person." Unfortunately, my permanent placement of them in the "middle-aged" category has not (as I'd hoped) stopped time. At 36, I think I'm experiencing the on-set of arthritis -- or something like it. I have aching joints in my hands. This is not "cool," fun, or entertaining (at least, not to me).
The top knuckle of my left thumb, the same knuckle on my left "pinky" finger, as well as the middle knuckle of my right middle finger have all been hurting for a few weeks. "Hurting" is a good description for my "pinky" finger, however, the other two have been throbbing with pain. Earlier this week, while on the phone with my mother I mentioned this current happenstance. She sounded slightly amused, but offered advice on dealing with arthritis pain. (Advice received from friend of ours, that knows Japanese Shiatsu massage.) She said to squeeze and massage the sides of the knuckles until it stops hurting. With nothing to lose but pain, I tried it.
The "pinky" finger quit hurting in 2 or 3 minutes. I was excited. The middle finger didn't quit hurting right away, but after 10 minutes, the pain was barely noticeable. I was glad. After a few days of working on it, it hurts very little, and then only rarely. The worst is my thumb; no matter how long and hard I've worked, it still hurts -- very, very badly. Mom also recommended taking lecithin with my other vitamins. I'm hoping that offers some relief. This "getting old" stuff is doing just that... getting old.
Dad said he could cure the pain for 2 cents. He was kidding, but I declined. Remembered he cured Mom's asthma and allergy problems (when I was a kid in Illinois) for 2 cents.
2 cents paid for the bullet -- with which he shot the dog -- the dog that caused most of Mom's allergy problems. (Yes we were sad, but Mom got better.) Glad he was kidding about me. =)
I remember reading ex-Navy SEAL Richard Marcinko's view of pain:
"Pain is God's way of reminding you that you're still alive." I just wish I could find the "pain off" button. Realization of "aliveness" set in long ago, and has been duly noted. =)
The top knuckle of my left thumb, the same knuckle on my left "pinky" finger, as well as the middle knuckle of my right middle finger have all been hurting for a few weeks. "Hurting" is a good description for my "pinky" finger, however, the other two have been throbbing with pain. Earlier this week, while on the phone with my mother I mentioned this current happenstance. She sounded slightly amused, but offered advice on dealing with arthritis pain. (Advice received from friend of ours, that knows Japanese Shiatsu massage.) She said to squeeze and massage the sides of the knuckles until it stops hurting. With nothing to lose but pain, I tried it.
The "pinky" finger quit hurting in 2 or 3 minutes. I was excited. The middle finger didn't quit hurting right away, but after 10 minutes, the pain was barely noticeable. I was glad. After a few days of working on it, it hurts very little, and then only rarely. The worst is my thumb; no matter how long and hard I've worked, it still hurts -- very, very badly. Mom also recommended taking lecithin with my other vitamins. I'm hoping that offers some relief. This "getting old" stuff is doing just that... getting old.
Dad said he could cure the pain for 2 cents. He was kidding, but I declined. Remembered he cured Mom's asthma and allergy problems (when I was a kid in Illinois) for 2 cents.
2 cents paid for the bullet -- with which he shot the dog -- the dog that caused most of Mom's allergy problems. (Yes we were sad, but Mom got better.) Glad he was kidding about me. =)
I remember reading ex-Navy SEAL Richard Marcinko's view of pain:
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Headboard Hunting
Well, the idea to find ourselves a headboard at IKEA wasn't a good one.
We decided Tuesday afternoon would be a good time to shop. Loaded the kids in the car, and left without remembering to consult the "net" for a map or directions. We found it anyway, but were turned away from "regular" parking to "overflow" parking. The overflow parking area was 3 or 4 miles away (but, they said it had "a free air-conditioned shuttle" to get people to-and-from the store). Not surprisingly, Daddy's little Sugar Booger decided she needed to use the potty on the way to the overflow parking area. Thankfully, we encountered one of the kids' favorite fast food restaurants on the drive up. "Old McDonald's" was fairly empty and we were able to get in and out of the potty quickly. We decided to return -- after shopping -- for dinner.
The "free shuttle service" provided everything we paid for: nothing. Barely existent A/C, hard wooden benches to ride on, several miles of poor shocks on a pothole-filled road, and convenient (for them) drop-off behind the store -- approximately 300 feet from the main entrance. As we walked to the entrance, we discovered IKEA has "Family friendly" parking right next to the main entrance. The nice 30-car "Family Friendly" lot was packed out with one, yes, count-em, ONE car... and it was in the handicapped section. Great discovery; we'd just lugged 3 kids and a double stroller on and off the trolley for nothing. We could have used the "3 children" card to trump the request to make the drive to "Outer-Parkolia." If I ever go back I'm bringing the kids or a handicapped person.
As we entered the store we were handed a map and a shopping bag. (I gave the bag back -- a headboard wouldn't fit in it -- and I didn't want to encourage shopping for anything else. Not in a mega-store with 3 small children.) After we got off of the elevator (beds are on the 2nd floor) I took a quick glance at the map and said, "We need to go left." The greeter/sales associate lady said, "Oh no, beds and headboards are to the right. Everything is to the right." OK, I thought, she works here. The local news stations have been playing up how many weeks of training these people got before the store opened. So, I looked back at the map, scratched my head, and we went to the right.
Now, I know maps. Way back in 2nd grade (1978), I started as my Dad's "official map-reader" for all car trips -- and there have been many (Mom reads words fine, just not maps). Either the IKEA map was printed backward, I had it upside down, or the greeter/sales lady was as clueless as my 4 year old. (At the time, I strongly believed the latter of the 3 choices.) Rather than cause a scene (Hunny Bunny is a people-pleaser), I acquiesced.
IKEA is a rather large store. Whatever boy-wonder engineer set it up must have majored in "Maze Design" at "Rat Training School." Thankfully, their exuberance for funneling as many customers as possible past every single item in the entire store didn't cause them to vary from a straight North-South and East-West layout. The maze design was cramped (aisles are smaller than most "box" stores and still had "islands" in the way), but thankfully, included mostly right turns (few odd-angled turns). I was able to remember which way North was throughout the entire store. As we continued zig-zagging along the maze's primary route, I grew more and more convinced that my initial map-glance was correct.
There were a large number of differing styles of furniture in the store -- all set up like little "rooms" that we walked past. Just like the head rat-funneler wanted, we saw almost all of the styles offered by IKEA. I think if the aisles had been somewhat larger we would have seen more of the displays, rather than watching who's toes we were going to drive the double stroller over. If we ever find a winning lottery ticket and decide to redecorate from our "eclectic" style to a more "coordinated" look, we may go back there and buy everything in one fell swoop, but it's doubtful. I like eclectic; it matches my personality. =) And I don't care for all the 3D jigsaw puzzles once you get everything home.
We finally found the exact section of the store that we'd come to find. It was right next to the greeter/sales lady -- where I thought it'd be -- I could look over and see where we started (and went the wrong way). Amazingly, the cool-looking space-saving headboard I wanted to look at was right there on the sales floor -- and even close to the right color. The problem we discovered is that the headboard with hidden, adjustable shelves was some other wonder-engineer's "interpretation" of a headboard. The shelves are directly on the floor on rollers -- basically, a roll-away mini-bookshelf -- which was a real bummer. When I think, "headboard" my mind pictures something my pillow rests against -- above the mattress -- something I can lean up against while I'm reading in bed -- not something below the mattress -- that my pillow (and/or derrière) lies on. There is no way to stack these pseudo-headboards, or mount them to the wall either... unless I could find some type of "Inspector Gadget" wheels to keep the roll-away shelving up in the air after it's been rolled off the other one's top.
That "bed" section we wanted was near the end of the 2nd floor maze -- by the restaurant. The prices were (not surprisingly) higher than I'd be willing to pay for rather ordinary-looking food -- in smaller portions than I eat. The smells weren't all that inviting either. So we passed it by and went to the elevator (Hunny Bunny doesn't like it when I take the double stroller down the escalator). Immediately after going downstairs we needed another potty stop for Sugee Boogee and Tank (Little Bear was fine). I took both boys, and they enjoyed the very loud 80s music piped into the men's room. Anyone that says rhythm doesn't have any influence on people is lying or ignorant. Little Bear was a total riot in there -- dancing and grooving to "She Drives Me Crazy, Oooh, Oooh." I can't remember how old that song is, but I vaguely remember cringing when I heard it way back in Jr High or High School.
Perhaps the coolest part of the store for me was near the exit. They have a large clearance section filled with "scratch & dents." At the entrance to Clearance were 2 very large handcarts of assorted furniture pieces wrapped and labeled "Handyperson special: $10 for the cart." I must confess, I didn't need anything on either of those hand carts, but I was tempted to buy them both. Then I noticed right in front of those was a shopping cart with 8 bags of hardware, labeled between $7 and $20 per bag! I really looked them over hard -- hoping for any excuse to take them all home. Too bad we didn't need any hardware. There was probably $700 to $1,000 (retail) of hardware in the cart for less than $100.
We were pretty hungry by that time, so didn't spend much time downstairs. When we tramped back out to the free shuttle we found the "Family Friendly" lot was -- you guessed it -- completely empty. After another bumpy ride back to the van, Daddy & Hunny Bunny had a nice "date" (with the kids) at Mickey-D's. I finished off my dinner and purchased a medium vanilla shake, which happened to have a sticker on the side for a free McFlurry (which Hunny Bunny enjoyed). We took our "dessert" outside to enjoy while the kids played on the little playground.
Perhaps we'll go back and try Wood You again. At least it's all "real" wood, and I can always mount the back of a hutch to the wall in place of a headboard.
We decided Tuesday afternoon would be a good time to shop. Loaded the kids in the car, and left without remembering to consult the "net" for a map or directions. We found it anyway, but were turned away from "regular" parking to "overflow" parking. The overflow parking area was 3 or 4 miles away (but, they said it had "a free air-conditioned shuttle" to get people to-and-from the store). Not surprisingly, Daddy's little Sugar Booger decided she needed to use the potty on the way to the overflow parking area. Thankfully, we encountered one of the kids' favorite fast food restaurants on the drive up. "Old McDonald's" was fairly empty and we were able to get in and out of the potty quickly. We decided to return -- after shopping -- for dinner.
The "free shuttle service" provided everything we paid for: nothing. Barely existent A/C, hard wooden benches to ride on, several miles of poor shocks on a pothole-filled road, and convenient (for them) drop-off behind the store -- approximately 300 feet from the main entrance. As we walked to the entrance, we discovered IKEA has "Family friendly" parking right next to the main entrance. The nice 30-car "Family Friendly" lot was packed out with one, yes, count-em, ONE car... and it was in the handicapped section. Great discovery; we'd just lugged 3 kids and a double stroller on and off the trolley for nothing. We could have used the "3 children" card to trump the request to make the drive to "Outer-Parkolia." If I ever go back I'm bringing the kids or a handicapped person.
As we entered the store we were handed a map and a shopping bag. (I gave the bag back -- a headboard wouldn't fit in it -- and I didn't want to encourage shopping for anything else. Not in a mega-store with 3 small children.) After we got off of the elevator (beds are on the 2nd floor) I took a quick glance at the map and said, "We need to go left." The greeter/sales associate lady said, "Oh no, beds and headboards are to the right. Everything is to the right." OK, I thought, she works here. The local news stations have been playing up how many weeks of training these people got before the store opened. So, I looked back at the map, scratched my head, and we went to the right.
Now, I know maps. Way back in 2nd grade (1978), I started as my Dad's "official map-reader" for all car trips -- and there have been many (Mom reads words fine, just not maps). Either the IKEA map was printed backward, I had it upside down, or the greeter/sales lady was as clueless as my 4 year old. (At the time, I strongly believed the latter of the 3 choices.) Rather than cause a scene (Hunny Bunny is a people-pleaser), I acquiesced.
IKEA is a rather large store. Whatever boy-wonder engineer set it up must have majored in "Maze Design" at "Rat Training School." Thankfully, their exuberance for funneling as many customers as possible past every single item in the entire store didn't cause them to vary from a straight North-South and East-West layout. The maze design was cramped (aisles are smaller than most "box" stores and still had "islands" in the way), but thankfully, included mostly right turns (few odd-angled turns). I was able to remember which way North was throughout the entire store. As we continued zig-zagging along the maze's primary route, I grew more and more convinced that my initial map-glance was correct.
There were a large number of differing styles of furniture in the store -- all set up like little "rooms" that we walked past. Just like the head rat-funneler wanted, we saw almost all of the styles offered by IKEA. I think if the aisles had been somewhat larger we would have seen more of the displays, rather than watching who's toes we were going to drive the double stroller over. If we ever find a winning lottery ticket and decide to redecorate from our "eclectic" style to a more "coordinated" look, we may go back there and buy everything in one fell swoop, but it's doubtful. I like eclectic; it matches my personality. =) And I don't care for all the 3D jigsaw puzzles once you get everything home.
We finally found the exact section of the store that we'd come to find. It was right next to the greeter/sales lady -- where I thought it'd be -- I could look over and see where we started (and went the wrong way). Amazingly, the cool-looking space-saving headboard I wanted to look at was right there on the sales floor -- and even close to the right color. The problem we discovered is that the headboard with hidden, adjustable shelves was some other wonder-engineer's "interpretation" of a headboard. The shelves are directly on the floor on rollers -- basically, a roll-away mini-bookshelf -- which was a real bummer. When I think, "headboard" my mind pictures something my pillow rests against -- above the mattress -- something I can lean up against while I'm reading in bed -- not something below the mattress -- that my pillow (and/or derrière) lies on. There is no way to stack these pseudo-headboards, or mount them to the wall either... unless I could find some type of "Inspector Gadget" wheels to keep the roll-away shelving up in the air after it's been rolled off the other one's top.
That "bed" section we wanted was near the end of the 2nd floor maze -- by the restaurant. The prices were (not surprisingly) higher than I'd be willing to pay for rather ordinary-looking food -- in smaller portions than I eat. The smells weren't all that inviting either. So we passed it by and went to the elevator (Hunny Bunny doesn't like it when I take the double stroller down the escalator). Immediately after going downstairs we needed another potty stop for Sugee Boogee and Tank (Little Bear was fine). I took both boys, and they enjoyed the very loud 80s music piped into the men's room. Anyone that says rhythm doesn't have any influence on people is lying or ignorant. Little Bear was a total riot in there -- dancing and grooving to "She Drives Me Crazy, Oooh, Oooh." I can't remember how old that song is, but I vaguely remember cringing when I heard it way back in Jr High or High School.
Perhaps the coolest part of the store for me was near the exit. They have a large clearance section filled with "scratch & dents." At the entrance to Clearance were 2 very large handcarts of assorted furniture pieces wrapped and labeled "Handyperson special: $10 for the cart." I must confess, I didn't need anything on either of those hand carts, but I was tempted to buy them both. Then I noticed right in front of those was a shopping cart with 8 bags of hardware, labeled between $7 and $20 per bag! I really looked them over hard -- hoping for any excuse to take them all home. Too bad we didn't need any hardware. There was probably $700 to $1,000 (retail) of hardware in the cart for less than $100.
We were pretty hungry by that time, so didn't spend much time downstairs. When we tramped back out to the free shuttle we found the "Family Friendly" lot was -- you guessed it -- completely empty. After another bumpy ride back to the van, Daddy & Hunny Bunny had a nice "date" (with the kids) at Mickey-D's. I finished off my dinner and purchased a medium vanilla shake, which happened to have a sticker on the side for a free McFlurry (which Hunny Bunny enjoyed). We took our "dessert" outside to enjoy while the kids played on the little playground.
Perhaps we'll go back and try Wood You again. At least it's all "real" wood, and I can always mount the back of a hutch to the wall in place of a headboard.
Monday, October 22, 2007
TGIM!!
Ah, Monday. I enjoy knowing there's a fresh week ahead of me to get things done.
After a family-wide bout of illness last week, it appears we're all finally on the mend. Mine & Little Bear's lasted all of 24 hours, he had a fever (followed by a separate day of rash). I only had a sore throat and runny nose. The others were sick for several days each. Only Little Bear and Daddy got to church yesterday. Good thing we have more than one pianist at church. (Although, with Hunny Bunny home sick for the evening service, I missed her honest critique of my message and delivery.) I did thoroughly enjoy playing my new trumpet for the AM & PM services though.
Our new bed is a smidgen higher (2"~3.5") than a "normal" bed that we're used to, but it's really nice. (One "bonus" "nice point" is that the kids now have trouble getting up on it.) We've been using it since Wednesday. The only thing left to put together is the end table on Hunny Bunny's side of the bed. (I didn't get one.) For some reason, that's the most complicated part of the entire bed. Should get that done today (Monday) or Tuesday. Then we get to figure out what's going to be stored in all those drawers -- been needing to straighten everything up for quite awhile. It would be so much easier if we had a basement to store things, but -- we live in south Florida. (Sea level is only 10-12' below our house.)
Wasn't overly impressed with the headboard offered by the company that made the bed, so we'll be looking for one of those in the near future. Either that, or I get to build one. We want one that we can put books on -- lots of books. Think we just might run up to the brand-spankin-new IKEA store they opened at Sawgrass Mills and see if this one comes in a finish that matches our bed. Only problem will be... another 3D jigsaw puzzle for me.
On the "more personal" homefront, the most recent battle has been potty training -- twins. Ugh. Imagine an angelic blonde-haired green-eyed 2 year old walking up to you, proffering her hand and saying, "I got STINKY on my FINGER!" Grossness incarnate; WAY too nasty for me, but thankfully, my wife handles that stuff OK.
Give me severed appendages and/or blood any day, but I do NOT do stinky-on-the-fingers very well.
After following them around and cleaning up the puddles and piles for a few days, it appears they're finally "getting it." Tank has decided that he doesn't want to soil his "Mikka Mauws" (Mickey Mouse) underwear, and has had (relatively) few accidents. However, Daddy's little Sugar Booger is still more Booger than Sugar. She'd rather wait until the last minute, and "lookout world" if anything or anyone gets in the way.
I've got to go to a friend's today and get a couple of his storefront websites up and running. After that today is up for grabs by whatever "fires" need to be extinguished.
After a family-wide bout of illness last week, it appears we're all finally on the mend. Mine & Little Bear's lasted all of 24 hours, he had a fever (followed by a separate day of rash). I only had a sore throat and runny nose. The others were sick for several days each. Only Little Bear and Daddy got to church yesterday. Good thing we have more than one pianist at church. (Although, with Hunny Bunny home sick for the evening service, I missed her honest critique of my message and delivery.) I did thoroughly enjoy playing my new trumpet for the AM & PM services though.
Our new bed is a smidgen higher (2"~3.5") than a "normal" bed that we're used to, but it's really nice. (One "bonus" "nice point" is that the kids now have trouble getting up on it.) We've been using it since Wednesday. The only thing left to put together is the end table on Hunny Bunny's side of the bed. (I didn't get one.) For some reason, that's the most complicated part of the entire bed. Should get that done today (Monday) or Tuesday. Then we get to figure out what's going to be stored in all those drawers -- been needing to straighten everything up for quite awhile. It would be so much easier if we had a basement to store things, but -- we live in south Florida. (Sea level is only 10-12' below our house.)
Wasn't overly impressed with the headboard offered by the company that made the bed, so we'll be looking for one of those in the near future. Either that, or I get to build one. We want one that we can put books on -- lots of books. Think we just might run up to the brand-spankin-new IKEA store they opened at Sawgrass Mills and see if this one comes in a finish that matches our bed. Only problem will be... another 3D jigsaw puzzle for me.
On the "more personal" homefront, the most recent battle has been potty training -- twins. Ugh. Imagine an angelic blonde-haired green-eyed 2 year old walking up to you, proffering her hand and saying, "I got STINKY on my FINGER!" Grossness incarnate; WAY too nasty for me, but thankfully, my wife handles that stuff OK.
Give me severed appendages and/or blood any day, but I do NOT do stinky-on-the-fingers very well.
After following them around and cleaning up the puddles and piles for a few days, it appears they're finally "getting it." Tank has decided that he doesn't want to soil his "Mikka Mauws" (Mickey Mouse) underwear, and has had (relatively) few accidents. However, Daddy's little Sugar Booger is still more Booger than Sugar. She'd rather wait until the last minute, and "lookout world" if anything or anyone gets in the way.
I've got to go to a friend's today and get a couple of his storefront websites up and running. After that today is up for grabs by whatever "fires" need to be extinguished.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
'New' Things
Been a busy 10 days.
Little Bear had another surgery last Wednesday (10 October). Thankfully, it was minor (hydrocele) and everything went well. Now if we can stay out of the hospital he just may remain "The 2 million dollar Kid" rather than getting himself up closer to 2.5 =P
Ordered a new queen-sized bed. It has 12 drawers on the sides, 2 at the foot of the bed, and one end table. Finally (after a week of boxes stacked around and the completion of a very large jigsaw puzzle), it's nearly together. Was busy working on the church mower the first few days and didn't get to start on it. Then I wanted to put a clear poly seal over the honey-colored stain that came on the bed. Started assembling it Sunday between services. Got an OK start on it Sunday, but really got most of it put together Monday. Didn't do so much on Tuesday, But will (hopefully) finish Wednesday.
Also ordered a trumpet (a 58 Olds Special Tri-Color Pro). With the lacquer all stripped off and the rose brass bell, it has an incredibly warm, dark tonality; the louder you play, the sweeter the sound. A rank amateur (like me) can play it and sound professional.
Needless to say, I'm REALLY enjoying the horn (Hunny Bunny is NOT enjoying my extra practice time). Had planned to practice on my old "beater" (68 Bundy) and reserve the sweet-sounding horn only for Sundays, but since it's still "new" to me, I just had to play it for most of my practice time Saturday. (FedEx brought it late Friday evening.) Today, Hunny Bunny, Little Bear, Tank, and Sugee Boogee all left around 9.20. I picked up the Olds when the door closed; was the most relaxing 4 hours I've had in months. Was having so much fun, I forgot to sit down until sometime around 1 o'clock. =)
Had "mucho" "bolshoi probs" with with the church's mower (looks similar to the pic above the link anchor, but the model # is X2303-50 on the chart). All my problems were due to a broken drive belt, well, that and my misguided attempt to replace it without adjusting everything first... NOTE TO SELF: must always, Always, ALWAYS do ALL adjustments first -- "cut-shorts" ain't.)
Little Bear had another surgery last Wednesday (10 October). Thankfully, it was minor (hydrocele) and everything went well. Now if we can stay out of the hospital he just may remain "The 2 million dollar Kid" rather than getting himself up closer to 2.5 =P
Ordered a new queen-sized bed. It has 12 drawers on the sides, 2 at the foot of the bed, and one end table. Finally (after a week of boxes stacked around and the completion of a very large jigsaw puzzle), it's nearly together. Was busy working on the church mower the first few days and didn't get to start on it. Then I wanted to put a clear poly seal over the honey-colored stain that came on the bed. Started assembling it Sunday between services. Got an OK start on it Sunday, but really got most of it put together Monday. Didn't do so much on Tuesday, But will (hopefully) finish Wednesday.
Also ordered a trumpet (a 58 Olds Special Tri-Color Pro). With the lacquer all stripped off and the rose brass bell, it has an incredibly warm, dark tonality; the louder you play, the sweeter the sound. A rank amateur (like me) can play it and sound professional.Needless to say, I'm REALLY enjoying the horn (Hunny Bunny is NOT enjoying my extra practice time). Had planned to practice on my old "beater" (68 Bundy) and reserve the sweet-sounding horn only for Sundays, but since it's still "new" to me, I just had to play it for most of my practice time Saturday. (FedEx brought it late Friday evening.) Today, Hunny Bunny, Little Bear, Tank, and Sugee Boogee all left around 9.20. I picked up the Olds when the door closed; was the most relaxing 4 hours I've had in months. Was having so much fun, I forgot to sit down until sometime around 1 o'clock. =)
Had "mucho" "bolshoi probs" with with the church's mower (looks similar to the pic above the link anchor, but the model # is X2303-50 on the chart). All my problems were due to a broken drive belt, well, that and my misguided attempt to replace it without adjusting everything first... NOTE TO SELF: must always, Always, ALWAYS do ALL adjustments first -- "cut-shorts" ain't.)
Saturday, October 06, 2007
to Work, or not to Work, I'm unquestionably busy
Been working on "the condo" down in Aventura with my (74 yo) neighbor on and off since last November. His (69 yo) brother in law came down for a few weeks to help us finish them off. Will is a much easier person with which to work -- he handles more annoyances than I have the patience to overlook without resorting to an "undesirable" response -- he's a great worker too. Before Will got here, we found it is possible to cover all the flooring (marble and _duh_ brand-new carpeting -- who's bright idea to replace carpet then paint walls??), strip all of the wallpaper, scrape all of the popcorn from off the ceilings, paint them flat white, texture the walls, paint them an ugly pale pink (with an eggshell finish), paint the doors the same ugly pale pink (only semi-gloss finish), and cleanup everything in as little as 6 working days. The floors with the most problems have stretched to 11 working days. With Will, our longest week has been 5 working days, but normally 4 -- even with many problems. I'll miss him when he leaves next Tuesday.
For some reason, those in charge at the condo have gone completely brain-dead. (Correction, they haven't "gone" they've "been" for as long as I've known them.) We have 6 floors left to complete the 40 story building. They are debating to let us do one more floor for now (or none), then waiting until after January 1st to finish the rest of the floors. The reasoning -- the "holidays" are coming, as are the snowbirds. However, the snowbirds generally don't arrive until after the 2nd week of November. And of course, as everyone knows, this is only the 2nd week of October -- and there will be MORE PEOPLE HERE IN JANUARY!!! Duh.
So any-who, we finished early (Thursday) because Will was here. I went to the tool store and spent about $70 on tools, with one $20 rain-check. Now I want to go use my tools, but not possible -- yet.
Totally changing direction now, my wife's a member of the local twins' club -- she's actually the membership secretary. They have a bi-annual yard sale that just happens to be held in the morning (Saturday, October 6th). Because of her position, she's required to work there during it, and to top it off, I got drafted; thankfully, my folks are here to watch the kids. I just wish Dad & Mom would come to our house a little earlier so I'd get to eat some of Dad's world-famous waffles for breakfast. Oh well, the kids will enjoy them.
I'm hoping my message comes together well this weekend -- with all the extra "stuff" on my plate there's less time to prepare. Good thing it's a continuation (part 2) of last week's message. Hope we're low on rain -- forecast is calling for over a 60% chance, but I need to change out the mower blades and do some serious mowing (approx 4-6 acres) when I get home from the yard sale.
Guess I'd better go crash: it's nearly 2 am and I need to get up around 5-ish.
"Oh well" or "Ah me" -- as long as I get 3-5 hours sleep, I'll be OK.
For some reason, those in charge at the condo have gone completely brain-dead. (Correction, they haven't "gone" they've "been" for as long as I've known them.) We have 6 floors left to complete the 40 story building. They are debating to let us do one more floor for now (or none), then waiting until after January 1st to finish the rest of the floors. The reasoning -- the "holidays" are coming, as are the snowbirds. However, the snowbirds generally don't arrive until after the 2nd week of November. And of course, as everyone knows, this is only the 2nd week of October -- and there will be MORE PEOPLE HERE IN JANUARY!!! Duh.
So any-who, we finished early (Thursday) because Will was here. I went to the tool store and spent about $70 on tools, with one $20 rain-check. Now I want to go use my tools, but not possible -- yet.
Totally changing direction now, my wife's a member of the local twins' club -- she's actually the membership secretary. They have a bi-annual yard sale that just happens to be held in the morning (Saturday, October 6th). Because of her position, she's required to work there during it, and to top it off, I got drafted; thankfully, my folks are here to watch the kids. I just wish Dad & Mom would come to our house a little earlier so I'd get to eat some of Dad's world-famous waffles for breakfast. Oh well, the kids will enjoy them.
I'm hoping my message comes together well this weekend -- with all the extra "stuff" on my plate there's less time to prepare. Good thing it's a continuation (part 2) of last week's message. Hope we're low on rain -- forecast is calling for over a 60% chance, but I need to change out the mower blades and do some serious mowing (approx 4-6 acres) when I get home from the yard sale.
Guess I'd better go crash: it's nearly 2 am and I need to get up around 5-ish.
"Oh well" or "Ah me" -- as long as I get 3-5 hours sleep, I'll be OK.
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
wake up -- before breakfast
I really enjoyed my ice cream last night, but forgot one thing: when I eat ice cream on an empty stomach and then go right to bed, I'm really sluggish the next day. Did get a lot of work done, but slept all the way to & from work (about an hour each way) and was still draggin' my wagon.
Perhaps I should've realized at breakfast-time that this was going to be a rough day:
I made my oatmeal, then started preparing my eggs. Got the eggs all ready to cook and realized I hadn't put any raisins in my oatmeal (I like to multi-task: eat the oatmeal while I cook the eggs). I grabbed a ½ cup of raisins, turned back to my oatmeal, and started to drop the entire handful of raisins into the raw eggs! Thankfully, I realized what was happening before I opened my hand all the way -- only 6 raisins fell in the raw eggs. I was so tired I actually considered cooking them where they were, but thought better of it and fished them out with a fork.
Going to bed earlier tonight.
Perhaps I should've realized at breakfast-time that this was going to be a rough day:
I made my oatmeal, then started preparing my eggs. Got the eggs all ready to cook and realized I hadn't put any raisins in my oatmeal (I like to multi-task: eat the oatmeal while I cook the eggs). I grabbed a ½ cup of raisins, turned back to my oatmeal, and started to drop the entire handful of raisins into the raw eggs! Thankfully, I realized what was happening before I opened my hand all the way -- only 6 raisins fell in the raw eggs. I was so tired I actually considered cooking them where they were, but thought better of it and fished them out with a fork.
Going to bed earlier tonight.
Ice Cream is great!
Tonight I decided I'd sit down and write a good blog entry. It's been awhile since I wrote anything here -- been having trouble blogging this entire last week. Either I haven't felt like it, or I didn't have anything to say, or I fell asleep right in the middle of attempting it.
So I sat down tonight and realized -- I really didn't feel like it. But, I was determined. Decided I could write about how the kids' playground is (almost) completed -- but I knew there's still a lot I want to add on to the playground later, and really didn't have much to say yet. Unwilling to throw in the towel, I decided to exercise my "bulldog tenacity" and write about how much the kids like the fireman's pole and the 2 new slides -- an hour later my wife came in and woke me up at the computer. =(
So I did what any sane person would do: took a shower, got ready for bed, then realized I needed to get my lunch ready for tomorrow -- and I still felt like I should blog about how much the kids like the 3 decks (at 4 ½-, 6- & 8-feet high). I made some Gatorade for tomorrow, then got out the vanilla ice cream, Hershey's Carmel Sundae Syrup, Hershey's Double Chocolate Sundae Syrup, drizzled on some maraschino cherry juice (only one cherry left, and I'm saving it) crushed some graham crackers and dry roasted peanuts on top and sat down to eat my ice cream until I felt the "need to blog" pass. It was worth every bite.
Since I'm already tired, now I'm going to bed. Maybe I'll blog the playground some other day.
So I sat down tonight and realized -- I really didn't feel like it. But, I was determined. Decided I could write about how the kids' playground is (almost) completed -- but I knew there's still a lot I want to add on to the playground later, and really didn't have much to say yet. Unwilling to throw in the towel, I decided to exercise my "bulldog tenacity" and write about how much the kids like the fireman's pole and the 2 new slides -- an hour later my wife came in and woke me up at the computer. =(
So I did what any sane person would do: took a shower, got ready for bed, then realized I needed to get my lunch ready for tomorrow -- and I still felt like I should blog about how much the kids like the 3 decks (at 4 ½-, 6- & 8-feet high). I made some Gatorade for tomorrow, then got out the vanilla ice cream, Hershey's Carmel Sundae Syrup, Hershey's Double Chocolate Sundae Syrup, drizzled on some maraschino cherry juice (only one cherry left, and I'm saving it) crushed some graham crackers and dry roasted peanuts on top and sat down to eat my ice cream until I felt the "need to blog" pass. It was worth every bite.
Since I'm already tired, now I'm going to bed. Maybe I'll blog the playground some other day.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
Posts
