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My thoughts released; a mind set free |
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These pages contain my thoughts, from meandering ideas and persuasions to deep cerebrations and serious mentations. Why, for what purpose? To release my mind and set creativity free. Somewhere inside the constraints of my mind dwells a writer, a poet, an artist who paints with words. In here I release those constraints and set the artist free. Perhaps, lost somewhere in the depths of thought, is a story or a poem, waiting to be written. |
| I feel I'm finally recovering from Saturdays adventure. My wife and I had taken the day off to visit a friend and help celebrate his birthday. It was a three and a half hour drive, but the weather was nice and we enjoyed the scenery along the way, arrived a little early, and had a wonderful evening, then called it a night and headed for home. We almost made it before things turned bad. Being my wife's cousin, she knew more of the people there than I did, at least on her side of the family. Since they had been out of touch until a couple years ago, there were also some she didn't know, and then there was his wife's side of the family as well. So, not only was it a fun time, but we also met quite a few people and hit off with them quite well. Of course, there was beer and pop, as well as plenty of food and cake. Since we had a three and a half hour drive home after the party, we restrained from any heavy drinking, although I did have a two beers through the evening before switching over to coffee. He received a gift of moonshine, distilled in a micro distillery that was pretty good. It was only eighty proof, had a cinnamon and apple flavor, and of course, I had to have a couple of light shots with him for the occasion. I say light shots, it was likely two, one ounce shots, and sipped, not downed. This was still early in the evening, and after the second, I refrained from anything stronger than coffee for the last few hours. If we had not had to work on Sunday, we could have stayed the night, but I doubt I would have drank much more, maybe another beer. But since Rhonda had arranged to be to work by eleven Sunday morning and I was scheduled to be in at four Sunday afternoon, we enjoyed the party, then helped clean up a little before leaving about nine-thirty for the drive home. This is where things went down hill for us. Normally, we would have topped the gas tank off when we got there, or if time was running short for the occasion, before we left. In fact, the party was held right next door to a truck stop, so filling up would have been practically right as we exited. But, we were both talking and reliving the fun of the evening and drove right past without a thought. Half way home, or there-a-bouts, we stopped at another gas station for something to drink and eat, as well as a bathroom break. We picked up some Piccadilly Pizza, some bottled water, and a bottle of Gatorade to share, then hit the road without a thought about gas, again. of course, the Jimmy's fuel gauge read just over a half a tank, so no problem. Wrong! We passed through a few small towns were we could have filled up and paid at the pump, but never even thought about it. This in itself is strange. Of course, I did keep an eye on the gas gauge, but it was still just above half a tank. In fact, it stayed right there, just above half a tank the whole drive home. Again, it was strange that i never realized it wasn't moving. Now, had I been drinking more, or even later into the evening, I could blame it on the booze, but two cans of beer spaced out over three hours, along with a couple ounces of eighty-proof during that same time frame really didn't get me buzzing at all. Then, I switched over to coffee and had a couple cups before we left. That was another three hours after I had stopped any intake of alcohol. I was doing fine, but caught up in the fun of the evening, the wonderful time spent with my wife, and a bit out of things because it was Saturday and I wasn't at work. So, like I said, strange. Just as strange, my wife is always keeping an eye on things as well, even if she's not the driver herself. It would have been normal for her to suggest filling up when we stopped on the way down to the party, when we got to the party, and if we had not filled up by then, before we left the party. She would have also suggested we fill the tank when we stopped on the way home for a bathroom break, beverages, and pizza, just because we had to work Sunday and would want a full tank for driving to work. Very strange that neither of us thought anything about the fuel situation. But we did not, and we made it with no problems most of the way home. In fact, we did not get a wake-up to the situation until we turned onto the highway that we live on. Upon turning, the engine died. Of course, it was now about one o'clock Sunday morning, so no traffic and we just coasted around the turn and stopped at the end of someone's drive way to ponder what could have possibly caused us to stall. Everything was fine, the fuel was still just above a half a tank; what could have gone wrong? Yes, even at this point, neither of us gave any thought to the fact that we had just driven for six and a half hours without putting any gasoline in the tank! I shut down the ignition, put the vehicle in park, and then restarted the engine. It started right up and was running fine, but as it started, my eyes caught the dropping fuel gauge as it bottomed out on empty. Now, it finally hit, we were out of gas. Of course, it died while turning, the little bit of fuel left in the tank had flowed to one side, but now that it was level again, it was running, so without hesitation I put it in drive and proceeded to drive the last thirteen miles home. We made it around the curves by the lake, one of the spots I anticipated problems and we made it up the hill past the lake, the other spot I thought it might stall out. From there, it was pretty much a straight line home with just gentle hills along the way. I drove slower, to conserve the little fuel left, so I didn't need to slow down when we got to the only town along the way home. Not much of a town anymore, just a group of houses, no stores or gas stations, so no chance to stop and fill up. The only thing other than houses there is the community center and this is where we finally run out of luck and fuel. We were able to coast into the community center parking lot, and it did restart after we had stopped, but we both knew it would die before we went any distance at all. Since we had a good spot to park it instead of being stalled on the side of the highway, we decided to shut it back off and leave it there for the rest of the night. We discussed options; who could we call? The only person to come to mind that I knew would bail us out of the situation was the same person who had to work right away Sunday morning for my wife. Since it was already after one in the morning, we decided not to call him. After all, we had already put him out by having him work for Rhonda Saturday afternoon so we could go the the party, and then he was opening for her Sunday morning so she wouldn't have to get up so early; we knew it would be late getting home. There were a few other people we thought about calling, but knew they wouldn't even hear the phone at this time. Another person would have maybe heard the phone, but we decided that we didn't want to owe this person any favors, since it would come back and bite us in the ass later. We didn't have any roadside assistance, so that was out, only one choice left, hike it. Of course, we discussed the distance and thought it would be an easy hike, and since there tends to always be some traffic on this stretch of highway, it was likely someone would come along and give us a ride. Being this late in the year, it can get pretty cold out, especially at night. We also tend to have wind blowing all the time. But, the forecast had been for a pretty nice day, not too cold out over night, and no wind. The moon wasn't out, but it was a clear night with lots of stars, and Rhonda had packed along warm hats and gloves, as well as a quilt, just in case. Now, if we had known how far of a walk it really was, we would have bundled up, snuggled up under that quilt, and napped the night away, then called for some help in the morning. But, since she had to be to work by eleven, and it wasn't that far, we should be able to hike it in a couple hours. I will add here that we are both kind of let ourselves go a bit, but have stayed pretty active with camping, hiking, and kayaking. When we were still going out for walks, we averaged about three to four miles per hour and could do four miles with ease. Even hiking, we put on quite a few miles over uneven terrain and trails, so not a problem walking down a paved highway. We weren't certain on the distance, but knew it was about five or six miles, tops. Besides, it was likely we would catch a ride anyway. Well, to wrap things up, we made the hike with only a little trouble. A couple of vehicles did drive passed us, but neither stopped to help or even see if we needed help. the wind had picked up a bit, but was relatively calm, maybe five to ten miles per hour. But, it had switched to the north and was bringing colder weather in. It stayed clear, but the temperature dropped through the early morning hours, down to a teeth chattering nineteen degrees when we got home. Of course, having a light jacket on, I had brought a sweatshirt as well, Rhonda had a light coat, and had brought a sweater along. We dressed warm, put on warm hats and gloves, grabbed a bottle of water and headed out. It seemed to take forever to get to some of the markers we watched for, one of which was a sign that we thought was half way. By five o'clock Sunday morning we finally reached the house. It had taken four and a half hours of walking to get home. Rhonda was dressed warmer and did pretty well, I had light pants on and my legs were pretty cold. My gloves helped, but they were not enough to keep my fingers warm. No frost bite, but cold and sore. The biggest problem was Rhonda just running out of steam the last few miles home. Of course, at the time, we thought it was just a mile left, but after getting home, and getting warmed up some, I looked online at Google maps to see why it took us so long to walk five, maybe six miles. Turns out, it was over nine miles, closer to ten. No wonder Rhonda was running out of steam after hiking approximately eight miles in below freezing weather. Like I said, we had misjudged the distance, and when we started out, it was still pretty nice out for this time of year. By the weather app on my phone, it was just a little below forty degrees. Once we were underway, however, we both noticed the temperature was dropping. Still, with walking a brisk pace we stayed pretty warm most of the way. No harm done except some sore muscles and very little sleep before Rhonda had to go to work and I had to get the Jimmy back home. I got up at the same time she did, we had a bit of coffee, texted the guy at work to let him know we had some vehicle problems and would likely be a little late getting Rhonda to work. I grabbed a couple of gas cans an we took the car to the Jimmy, put gas in the tank and I headed for home while Rhonda took the car to work. I created a sore on the bottom of one foot walking that far, even though I had good walking shoes on. I also, since I carry a few too many pounds, suffered some sever chafing on the insides of my legs, kind of rubbed them raw, but they are doing much better now. All in all, a little stiff and sore yet, but not bad. It was a good wake-up call for both of us to get back in shape, lose some weight, and get some damn roadside assistance again. |
| It feels strange not having to go into work on a Saturday, I have not had many off over the last five years. I have taken a Saturday off a couple of times, and earlier this fall I took a whole weekend off, but it still feels strange not getting ready for work. Today we are off to southern Minnesota, about a four hour drive, to visit a friend and celebrate his sixtieth birthday; a surprise, or at least, it's planned to be. We have a pretty nice day for travelling, sunny and almost forty degrees, dry roads, and no reason to hurry there or back. Rhonda, my wife, usually has to be at work to open at six in the morning on Sundays, but we have, in addition to taking today off, arranged for someone else to open, so she does not have to be there so early. Another change that's taking some time to get used to is the new beard. I have not shaved or trimmed my facial hair for two months until earlier this week. I have been using beard balm and beard oil daily to condition and help train the hair and soften it. I also, with my wife's aid, looked at some different beard styles and together we picked one we liked. With her assistance, we trimmed and shaped the growth to something similar. Of course, there were a few things we wanted different from the style we picked, but it's similar. The changes account for individual characteristics of my facial hair. It still needs to grow longer, but the general shape and style are there. We are both happy with the new look, as well as some friends and family who have commented and liked the image after I put it up on Facebook. I have also changed my profile picture here to show the new look, since the previous profile picture was a few years old and needed updating anyway. Now, it's time to get ready to go enjoy a birthday party. Since I have today off, I also want to take this opportunity to wish everyone a happy Saturday and a wonderful weekend. |
| I should be at work, but here I am, playing hooky. I was scheduled to work tonight since I'm taking Saturday off, but last week I ended up picking up a day for someone who had rolled his car. No serious injuries, but a few stitches and the day off. At least he timed it pretty well, since it was his last evening to work until tomorrow; plenty of time to rest up and get feeling better. In turn, my lovely wife told me to take the day off, she would cover my shift for me, since I had put in a long week already. Then, tomorrow through Saturday, we both will be off work and have some time to enjoy together, with the highlight being on Saturday when we get to help a friend celebrate; he is so far, unaware of this surprise party. Instead of a rushed day before going in to work, I had a relaxing day. I spent a great deal of it in WdC doing some reading and catching up, had a nice dinner of my own creation, and am now getting ready to relax for the evening and wait for my Sweetheart to get home. |
| I was a bit disappointed when I logged in here today to not see any comments or gestures in my notifications. I thought I wrote a great item for Suddenly Sunday yesterday and expected to see something, but alas, nothing. Oh well, that's the way the things go sometimes. It was a bit long, which may have deterred others from reading it through, and the task is to complete the sentence, not write a short story. I reckon I'll have to create a new story in my portfolio from it and see how it goes there; I still think it's a great idea for a longer story. Besides not having any feedback, it's been a somewhat trying day anyway. I wrote a while back about a plumbing leak, which is never any fun. Today I found out that we had another. The outside spigot for the hose has needed to be replaced for some time, since it's almost impossible to get it to shut off completely. I did a quick fix for it by putting a valved hose-splitter on it so we could shut off the water. Being made out of brass, it didn't handle the cold temperatures and froze enough to crack, creating another leak. I tried to get the spigot shut off, but it just would not seal anymore. I did get it down to a fast drip, but with it being next to the sidewalk, this would have created a lot of ice right were everyone walks to the back door, not to mention creating a higher water bill for us. So, once again, it was down into the cellar to shut the water off, since nothing has a secondary shut off on it, only to discover that I had now caused the main water shut-off to start leaking as well. Also, it did not shut off the water completely, so I ended up working on the outside spigot with a bit of water trickling out. Normally that wouldn't be too bad, but it did make it more difficult to repair and it also made for freezing fingers since it's only forty degrees out and windy. My first couple attempts at stopping the leak failed, but I did manage the third time to get it sealed. I had taken the valve out, made a rubber gasket and sealed it off,m but now there will be no turning it back on. It's past time to replace it, but I fear doing so will only create another leak further up the line. Of course, with the last leak I had determined it was time to replace all the old pipes anyway, which means we will have a new outside spigot anyway. The main shut-off was leaking pretty bad, but I was able to tighten it up a tad and it stopped, but since it doesn't completely shut off the water, that will also have to be replaced. I will have to contact the water supplier and see if it's there responsibility or ours, but either way, we will have to have the water for the house shut off to replace it. Moneys tight, so for the time being, we will have to get by with the existing plumbing while i purchase pipes, fittings, and valves as we can afford them. Once we have everything, I can run the pipes and get everything ready to switch over, then contact the water company and have them shut it down while I finish the job. After, they can inspect everything and hopefully we will be done with plumbing problems for awhile. |
| Not much time to write here today, but since it's been five days, I suppose I should get something down. I would have had a little more time, but I got distracted by Suddenly Sunday; I always enjoy writing something for the prompt. This time the prompt took me to an idea I have for a short story that came to me while camping. Because of the type of activity, I had to write it as a super short story and it's not nearly as detailed as it should be. But, the idea is out and I should get a chance to see if it delights any readers. My beard growing is going along fine, but I'm getting to the stage of itching and looking pretty gruff and fuzzy. I have been using the beard oil to keep the facial hair soft and conditioned, it's working great. I also have some beard balm that helps with the itching and helps to control the wild hairs. My biggest problem right now is it's too short to style, but too long to just leave. Like I said, the beard balm helps as does brushing it regularly. My mustache, on the other hand, is not cooperating at all. Like my beard, it's too short to style, but it's long enough now to cover the upper lip. the beard balm helps, but it does not give enough control to hold the hair off the lip. I went back to Walmart, where I purchased the beard oil and balm, to get a container of mustache wax; they had some there when I purchased the other items, and had I been thinking, I would have gotten it at the same time. However, I didn't think about it at the time and so had to go back to get some. Unfortunately, they didn't' have it anymore. In fact, the space reserved for it was gone and another item had taken it's place. So, now I wait for the mustache wax to arrive by mail. On the up side, it gave me time to do some research for the better choices to fit my needs, and it also offered me quite a bit of variety to pick from. After researching the different types I had found listed as some of the best choices, I made my purchase through Amazon and should be able to tame my stache by mid week. Until then, I guess I just go with the wild man look and do the best I can with the beard balm. |
| My blog entry today is based upon the image for Two Word Tuesday; if you haven't seen it, the image depicts a person outside at a picnic table with their phone in hand, likely texting, their tablet and glasses on the table by a cup. My caption was, "Missing out." The first impression of the image was of someone out camping but missing out on the beauty around them because they are focused on their phone. Also, they are likely camping with someone but instead of hiking or enjoying outdoor activities with the other person, they are engrossed in the electronics of the day. First, let me say, I'm not against technology or the wonderful electronics we have in this day and age. I love my smart phone, I have a tablet, a laptop, and a desk computer; they are great. I remember watching our black and white television, trying to get the image sharp enough to see by adjusting the rabbit-eared antennae. Then, with awe and wonder, we got a color television and an antennae on the roof. Wow, living color and three channels, life was good. Add to that, calculators and digital watches -- yes the red, LED watch that only displayed the current time. Life was good, and with some of the more popular television shows, it was difficult to decide if a person wanted to stay inside and watch them or go outside and engage in activities with friends. Most times, outside won out, but if the weather was crappy, there was the television. Homework was easier thanks to the calculator, even though most of the time, the teachers wanted us to show our work. I even got home on time thanks to the LED watch, or if I really wanted to see a specific show or movie, I knew what time it was. Of course, with time I grew more interested in girls. I say more interested since I've enjoyed the girls since I was little; my first kiss was with the girl down the street, in her brother's tent the summer before kindergarten. But I digress, the point in context is how girls distracted me from television, using a calculator (why punch in buttons when you can lean in close and show her how to multiply and divide), and even from getting myself home on time because I was so focused on her instead of the LED readout of my watch. In time we also entered the age of electronic games, most of which were pretty lame, but got better with time. Again, they were fun, but not as fun as spending time with friends, outdoor activities, and girls. But all that has changed now. People are so absorbed in digital games, cell phones, and television that they seldom interact even close to how we used to. I know, it's not everyone, but it's the majority. For example, one person I know engages in online games with others from around the world. They are his friends, and gaming is his social interaction; outside of this, he really doesn't have any close friends or social life. Well, except doing a bit of snowmobiling with his cousin on Sundays, if the weather permits. I also see families in the stores, the kids running wild, the parents absorbed in their phones. I see couples and families out dining, all engrossed in their phones instead of conversation. During the nice weather we often go to the lake kayaking, there at the beach, people sunning while the kids swim and play, but they don't notice them, they are glued to their phones. We get together with our own children, who don't come to visit, they spend the majority of their time on their phones, texting someone else. Even at work, break time now is a phone break. In fact, I have noticed when waiting for the store to close, if one person takes out their phone, everyone else soon follows suit. A while back, a young couple drove to the yard, two attractive people, a young man and his gal. As they pulled up to the guardhouse I noticed them sitting next to each other, snuggled close and both looking at their phones. As I waited for them to produce their paperwork to enter, they were both texting. Were they communicating with each other? Not likely. Even as guests exit the yard, they cannot get their phones out soon enough, and they often look irritated when asked to sign for their items because it interrupts their texting. Yes, they are their with their partners, but neither is engaged with the other, they are both engaged with texting someone else. It's a sad thing to see this change and know that they are missing out on life around them. It does explain why it's always so busy at night at work, no one wants to go home and interact with their families anymore, it interrupts them from their phones. They are bored if they aren't texting or absorbed with their phones! They say chivalry is all but dead. Sexting has replaced a romantic evening, couples interact with each other by spending their time texting others and sharing information from others, and intimacy is sharing your texts with your partner. Chivalry isn't just dying out, it's being killed by smartphones. Perhaps there is still hope; perhaps before chivalry dies completely someone will make a chivalry app for our phones... |
| Yes, we did remember to set the clocks back last night, we usually do. It was a bit rough on my wife who had to work this morning, early, but it went better than the last time we changed them for Daylight Savings Time. Jumping ahead one hour seems to always mess us up, and I suffer a form of jet-lag as a result. It takes me a few weeks to adjust to the change. This going back, however, seems to fit right in with my internal clock, indicating that perhaps I never fully adjust to the spring time change. Even the terminology of the change makes sense, fall back. Yes, we fall back into real time as well as turning the clocks back or falling back. I tend to see less griping and complaining with the fall change, too. In fact, I only am aware of one person who gripes about it. She usually states something like, "I like setting the clocks back so it gets dark one hour sooner, said no one ever." But, little does she know, I do like setting them back; back to normal. In argument of her statement, I could say, "Yeah but it's light out one hour earlier." Or, "The clock isn't responsible for the shorter hours of daylight, the season is." I like the saying about Daylight Savings Time that states that it's like cutting a foot off the bottom of your blanket and sewing it to the top to make it longer. It fits the situation accurately in that it does not make the blanket any longer, it just frays the edges like the time change frays my nerves. In the fall, we just start over with a new blanket that is not frayed or cut up yet. Wait till spring to ruin another perfectly good blanket. Perhaps it's just me who enjoys going back to real time and giving up on the idea that changing the clock actually saves me any time. Seriously, I can do just fine with the time left alone. If I want to take advantage of the longer summer days and more hours of sunlight, I can set my alarm and get up earlier without any help from a bureaucracy. In fact, if they left the damn clock alone, I could get up earlier in the summer and enjoy that extra daylight before having to go to work instead of messing up Father Time and ensuring that we are all up early and working earlier. Perhaps, like I said, I am the only one who likes getting back to real time, but then again, since there is so little griping during the fall time change, we are the majority. Perhaps you say, who gives a rat's ass about it? Well, I think I just said... "I do, and I'm glad we fell back." |
| I went down into the basement, which is more a half basement half old root cellar, to read the water meter for the monthly billing. As I was reading the meter, I thought I could hear water running, so I looked around and yes, there was water running down there. No faucet left on, in fact, there are no faucets in our basement. Instead, I find a leaking pipe, spraying water out under the kitchen. A while back, I had the same problem, but was able to make a temporary patch with a hose clam and a junk of rubber. This plan worked again, a chunk of rubber and a hose clamp over the leaking pipe seemed to fix the problem. The pipes are copper, some soldered, some flared fittings, and some are pressure fittings, a little of everything. Also, there are two different sizes of pipe in use; areas of past repairs before I started my own. The leaks are not at areas that are soldered, not at fittings, but in the pipe itself. Apparently, over time, the copper pipes become thinner and develop pinholes in them. I say pipes, but in fact it's copper tubing, but that's beside the point. The point is, since most of the pipes are old, except for areas that have been repaired, I suspect that more holes are likely to develop. In other words, it's time to tear out the old plumbing and start over with new, from the water meter to the various faucets and fixtures. Not quite the project I had planned to start this fall. |
| Yes, we have snow. This is not the first snow of the season, we have had snow twice already. But, the past two snows were light and melted as soon as they hit the ground except in a few shaded areas, where the snow lasted a few hours longer. Today, however, the snow came down hard and fast, big fluffy flakes fluttering, and smaller flakes blanketing the ground. It's suppose to snow all day, but right now, as i look out the window, I see it has stopped. There is still grass pushing up out of the blanket of white, and of course, the fall leaves are also still showing some. The birds are gathered at the feeder, taking turns eating the free food my wife put out. The doves come in and eat for a little while, not bothered by the little birds gathering around them. then the blue-jays stop by and the others move off to let them stab at the suet and pick out the sunflower sees. Once they leave, the little birds return to their pickings until the squirrel shows up, then off they go. For a short time, we had one black bird tearing into the suet and picking through the seeds. That would be Peg-leg. he showed up a few years ago with an injured leg and wing, unable to fly with the rest of the flock. He found shelter in the pine trees and fed daily at the feeders. Soon enough he was right in with the little birds, they didn't seem to mind him and he appeared to enjoy the company. He has returned every spring and again every fall; he stays throughout the winters now. He is easy to identify with his one stiff leg protruding outward, but the wing healed nicely and he could easily fly south if he wanted. All that's missing are the Cardinals, hopefully we will get a few of them to visit as well. That would complete the Christmas scene we now have with the snow. Will the snow stay? That's difficult to say, it could melt away or it could be here till spring. We are suppose to have more snow this year, and the temperature have been cold enough. It's still early enough for us to get some pretty nice fall days as well, so we will have to just wait and see if winter is here to stay or just visiting. |
| Halloween has passed, the witching hours have passed for another year. I didn't get to participate in the festivities last night; I was at work. In years past, when the children were younger, I liked to get in costume for the occasion and go out trick or treating with them. I also enjoyed some of the local contests held by some of the bars in our area, usually along with a local band playing. Now days, the children are grown and most have children of their own and continue the tradition. My wife and I do dress up a bit some times, depending on what is happening. Last night I was restricted to dressing up as a security guard, the same as any other day at work. Rhonda was home and handed out candy to the few children that stopped by. Living in a small rural town, we do't get many trick or treaters. Last night she had eight children visit in costume. Not too bad of a night for our area, however we both enjoy seeing the children dressed up and would like to have more stop by. At work, there usually aren't any costumed children stopping by the yard entrance. Last night, however, one shopper did stop by to pick up an item after taking the children out trick or treating, so I did get to enjoy seeing them. We have suckers we hand out at work to the children, so I was able to give them all treats, including mom and dad, who also had dressed up. Dad was a scarecrow, but had lost his stuffing by this time, his wife was attired in a very pretty sparkling gown and mask, such as worn to masquerade balls in the past. The oldest boy was dressed up as a football player, likely his own uniform for school sports, the younger boy a clown, a very nicely done outfit and make-up. I assume mom assisted him. The oldest girl was a witch, another nice costume with a good job done with make-up. My favorite was the younger girl, likely around six or seven. She was done up in a Raggedy Anne outfit, complete with red hair and very well applied make-up. Her finishing touches where her baby brother, less than a year old I would guess. He was dressed and done up to look like a Raggedy Andy doll she held for me to show off the entire costume. Seeing this family all dressed up and enjoying the evening together brought back many happy memories, a sense of deja vu, and made my night. |
| I decided to try growing out my beard again. I have let it grow out a few times over the years, but never very long and never with much success. Of course, years back, I was working in a sawmill, not the best environment for growing out facial hair. One problem is all the machinery, the other is the sawdust. Now, however, I work as a security guard at a home improvement center yard, so it's nice to have the face insulated with a beard, and it's not nearly as dangerous or dirty. I have worn a short goatee for quite a few years now, and last fall decided to grow a full beard for the winter. Just like in the past, it was wild and gnarly, made my face itch, and had me looking like I just returned from the wilderness. Okay, maybe not that bad, I did keep it trimmed since it was so unruly. This year I decided to try it again, but did some research on taming the wild-man look. I already had my goatee when I stopped shaving, so that part is a bit longer, the rest is about two weeks growth now, and beginning to bush out a bit while the mustache is now just over the top lip; a good start if I can get it tamed and trained. I found a nice cleaner for my face and beard that doesn't dry it out and have started using a nice, light, woodsy scented beard oil. It seems to be helping to keep the hair softer and more subtle, and with a nice boar bristle brush, it's starting to lay better. I also purchased some beard balm to tame the wilder areas and the mustache. It matches the scent of the beard oil and has beeswax in it, so it holds pretty well. I don't care for the feel of waxing my mustache, but the beard balm is much lighter and more comfortable. Neither product really leave my face feeling greasy, they are light and seem to absorb into the skin and hair nicely. So far, so good, but I have a long way to go yet. The problem in the past, especially for my mustache, is letting it get long enough to train. Usually, by the time it reaches the current length, I'm irritated by the hair over my lip and end up trimming it back. The beard balm is helping to keep it brushed to the sides, but it's still kind of irritating. Even so, I think if I hang in there for another week or two, I will be able to manage it much better and get it to stay in place better. The other problem area is my neck. The face hair grows downward so it's easy to manage except for the curliness. But, the hair on my neck grows outward, towards the side of my neck, which results in it getting very bushy. Again, I usually end up trimming it back or just shaving my neck, but this time I'm going to stick it out a while longer and see if the beard oil and balm will help manage it. Of course, once it's long enough, it won't be a problem -- I hope. Of course, in time I will have to trim up some, but it's my understanding the best way to go is to just let it grow out for a while, then once it's established, trim it to the shape I want. That's another area I've done wrong in the past. We'll see how it goes for another month, then reassess the situation and go from there. I want a nice, full, and well shaped beard and mustache. Once we reach that point, it will just be keeping it there and not going all out until I look like a hillbilly just down from the mountain. |
| Well, it's been almost a week since my last entry; just busy, nothing wrong. I do need to work on getting in here more, however. Over the last week we have seen some crazy weather, from highs in the sixties to snow and ice, from mild winds to gusts over fifty miles per hour, a little bit of everything. Once again, the weather did not cooperate with days off to get any fun activities in, too windy for disc golf and kayaking, as well as too cold. Yesterday on my way to work, I seen there was a bit of ice forming on the shallower bodies of water. Not looking very good for getting the kayaks out anymore this season, but may still get some disc golf in, if the weather ever decides to cooperate on out days off. Of course, this week we have a guy on vacation, so Rhonda and I will not get any days off together and both be putting in a bit longer work week. After he gets back from his week off, we need to schedule a Saturday off for a road trip to see a friend and help him celebrate his sixtieth birthday. We are also hoping to make a round trip through Minnesota visiting relatives in various parts of the state. I see from friends posts in Facebook, they already have a pretty good amount of snow in the northern part of the state, so we are hoping to get some good weather for this long road trip. We have been busy getting ready for winter, both outside and in. We have new tires on the front of the Jimmy and will put new tires on the back in a few weeks. I still need to do a tune-up on my Dodge and change oil. Lawn and garden ornaments are put away till spring, the pond is drained, and once the leaves are about done falling, we should mow the grass one last time. I also, to my pleasure, have learned that the store that we work at will be going to winter hours in another week. That means they will be closing an hour earlier. Working nights, this is great news, I get done an hour earlier. Also, yard traffic has begun to slow down, making my job easier and less time on my feet. Soon, I should be able to get some reading done at work again. |
| Fishing was a bust yesterday, I didn't get anything except for one fish teasing for a bit. The bite was there, but it just wouldn't take the bait. It followed for a while, nibbling and teasing, then just swam off to pursue other activities. My brother did get one nice sized small-mouth bass after we moved to another location, but that was it for the day. Even so, it was a fun day on the lake. It was a bit cool out on the lake, but we had dressed warm and the sunshine was warm between the blasts of wind. That was a big factor in the fishing not being very good, it was terrible windy out there and we had a lot of difficulty trying to stay sheltered. With white caps on the water, I'm sure it had the bottom stirred up and the fish seeking shelter from the currents as we rocked and rolled above them. It also made it difficult to troll, and my brother doesn't like still fishing much; not that we could have anchored the boat in the strong winds without drifting anyway. Also, we didn't hit our regular spot, the wind was causing too much drifting and we were having a difficult time fighting the waves with the trolling motor. Our speed was also affected, sometimes going over the area too fast with the wind pushing us, other times trolling too slow because the wind was driving against us. In spite of the fish of the fish not biting, the white caps rocking and rolling us, and the cold bite of the wind, it was a beautiful day on the lake. The leaves fall colors provided a splendid backdrop to the shoreline and there wasn't anyone else out on the lake. Peaceful and relaxing, swaying to the rhythm of the waves, and enjoying some time together made it a great day. We stayed out past six in the evening even though we weren't catching anything. |
| We are having another nice fall day, sunny and in the sixties. It's a bit breezy, but not nearly as windy as yesterday was, but by the end of the week, we may see some snow. So, my brother wants to get the boat out at least one more time before he puts it in storage for the year. That means we are going to get in a little fishing this afternoon before I head to work. Well, maybe head to work, depending on how late it is when we get off the lake. I have my shift covered if I don't make it, but the plan is to go out on the lake for a few hours and then head to work. The deciding factors will be how well the fish cooperate and how cold we get. Last week, we had fish striking and managed to get two of them. The rest just spit out the bait when they got close to the boat. It was interesting to see them pulled right up to the boat, ready to net, then they open their mouth and let go, turn and swim away; even after putting up quite a fight. A person would think after all the tugging and fighting, they would be hooked or have already let go, but no, they held on to the last minute, then released just in time to avoid the net. Even so, we ended up with one nice fish each. He had a huge perch and I landed a nice size small-mouth bass. With only two fish, he gave me his and between the two, they made a nice lunch for my wife and I the following day. Hopefully we do a little better this afternoon and we can both enjoy some fresh fish from our adventure. |
| Today is my wife, Rhonda's, birthday. Unfortunately, we won't be spending much of it together, since she works this afternoon and I work this evening. Tonight will be a late night for me to get home, and since she has to be up early, she will be turning in early. As for how her day is going? Well, it's a bit cool out, rainy, and windy. She just sent a text to me saying a guest took off with the work tablet; apparently thinking on stealing it when she handed it to the person to sign for their load. In other words, she's not having a very good day at all so far. Of course, I do plan on making up for the day. I was actually hoping to celebrate her birthday yesterday with a surprise outing for some fun kayaking or disc golf, possibly both, followed with a nice dinner at her favorite restaurant. But, the weather didn't cooperate at all, it was way to windy to do either activity. As for going out to dinner, well everything was fine up to about noon, when I started feeling pretty ill. So, since we work through the weekend as well as Monday and Tuesday, we won't have much time to celebrate until Wednesday. Hopefully the weather will be more accommodating for us. I do get done work early tomorrow evening, so I do plan on giving her a nice surprise after I get home. Oh, her gift? Yes, it's been held up a bit but should be her by Wednesday, Thursday at the latest, a belated birthday for her this year. |
| A beautiful fall day, lots of sunshine, mild winds, and warm out; will hit the lower seventies this afternoon. Growing up, when we had fall freezes and cold for a spell, then got warmer, summer like weather, my parents would call it an Indian Summer. I never understood why, or how the term came to be, but still think in this same terminology. I believe the term stems from the term Indian used for Native Americans, not because the weather is like the summer in India, but neither reason would make any sense. Besides the nonsensical term, it's a beautiful day and I'm going to enjoy it. After finishing this post, I'll be heading over to my brother's house, from there we will take the boat and go enjoy some fall fishing. The only down side is I'm also supposed to work this evening. If things work according to plans, I'll leave the lake, change into my work uniform, and head over to work, stay until closing, then come home. My wife, however, knows how things seldom go according to the plan, and has made arrangements to cover my shift in the event I'm running late or am unable to work tonight. So, if the fish are biting, we can stay as late as we want. If I end up wet, I don't have to be concerned about trying to work in the cool evening with wet pants or shoes. I'll be wearing the same ones fishing and to work, only bringing in my work sweatshirt to put on over my shirt. Also, I could end up covered in fishy smells if we have a good catch, and that would not be the best way to go to work. Either way, fishing or working this evening, it's going to be great day. I hope everyone else can say the same. |
| It's just about time to head off to work, another day of wondering about people. Sure, lots of the folks that come through are great people, and some are trying to finish things up, but I still can't understand some of them. For instance, a person last evening pulled up to the enter gate and waited for me to open it. I was taking care of another customer that was exiting the yard, then once finished, let him out and opened the entrance gate. I'm standing right there, tablet in hand, ready to process him into the yard. He drives right past me. I yell to him and he stops. I walk up to his vehicle and ask for his paperwork. He starts going off on me about the gate being open, and he doesn't have to put up with being talked to like this. What? I'm not sure how he thought I was talking to him, I just asked for his paperwork, the same as I do anyone else, except for having to yell stop so I can. I explain everything is fine, I just need to scan your paperwork. He still upset and arguing over the gate being opened. I tell him I understand, he hadn't done anything wrong, I just need to see his paperwork before he enters the yard. He hands it to me, I scan it, and tell him he's good to go. He looks at me blankly and asks, "Where do I go for this item?" If he didn't even know where he was going, why did he try and drive past me into the yard? For that matter, what did he think I was standing there for, some fresh air? Of course, we see plenty of these kind, in hurry, and eager to go, but no idea where they are going. We also get a lot of people who chew us out about where the entrance to the yard is located. It's like they think we just moved it on them for a practical joke or something. There are also the ones who ask if someone is waiting there to load them; what part of self-serve yard do they not comprehend? On the same order, we get complaints that no one was there to load them and they waited thirty minutes or so. For one thing, they have only been in the yard for ten minutes, not thirty or more. Another thing about this, it's posted all over that it's self-serve, including on their paperwork. Of course, there are those customers who have ordered something and drive a long distance to get the item, without checking to see if it has arrived yet. They show up with their paperwork, tell me they ordered something and are wondering if it's there yet. Of course, I don't work for the store, I work for a security company and have no idea, and no way of finding out if their order is in or not. I direct them to the proper place to check on their order, they find out it's not there yet, and then proceed to chew me out because they wasted a trip for nothing. I bite my tongue and just explain that there's a number on their paperwork they can call to check on their order, and the store policy is to send out an e-mail when the item arrives. It's like a large amount of the general population no longer has the ability to think. I suppose, the brain is a muscle, and if it's not used, it's going to get weaker and weaker, until it cannot handle the simplest tasks anymore without help. I suppose this is why there are so many individuals that don't want a government that protects their freedoms, but instead want a government to make their decisions for them. |
| I was just working on an entry for Suddenly Sunday when it dawned on me how much interruption I'm dealing with. I was going strong with my idea for the entry, but seemed to be consistently pulled away by interruptions. I had a doozy of an idea and did manage to get it posted. I think it's quite good, anyway. But, in the process of doing this short bit of writing and using my imagination, I was finding myself discouraged by the interruptions. One was Hannah, our dog. She was pestering me and jumping up because the dogs across the street are outside. She does this all the time, but some times she gets even more annoying with this. Also, I was getting texts on my phone, a call from an unknown number, and some kind of commotion across the road at the grain elevator. I'm thinking, this could be part of why I'm finding it so difficult to write and find my creative mojo. Being interrupted really kills the creative process for me. My creativity flows from inside, but for me, I tend to slip inside with it and get kind of lost. Outside distractions pull me back out and then I have to focus to get back to that creative place. A couple of rounds of this and I'm frustrated and unable to get back to it. I really need a good place to go write. I've said this for many years, and I've tried to work around things, but short of isolation, the distractions keep coming. Some talk of a man-cave, I really don't know what purpose it would be. Me, I need a writer's-cave! |
| Here it is, Saturday already, and it's back to work already. I didn't get in any kayaking or disc golf during my days off, but I did get quite a bit done around the home. My wife and I went through all the camping gear, cleaned things up and packed them away for next year. We also put up our new mailbox post, hopefully the snow plow doesn't bust this one. We also got some work done in the flower garden and planted some tulip bulbs. It's getting late in the year, but I'm still hopeful to get in some disc golf and some more kayaking and fishing. We all know how much the weather can change, but our climate here is even more unpredictable. We could have quite a few more nice days to enjoy, and then again, we could see a wet, cold fall and an early winter. I think, from the past years I've lived here, we will still have some real nice days to enjoy. It's kind of like the conversation I had earlier this morning with my wife over coffee; she was checking the weather for the day and told me it's supposed to rain all day, but be sunny and cool tomorrow. "I'll take it." I replied with a smile, since I really don't have a choice anyway. What I was thinking was, if it's cold and raining today, it should be slower at work this afternoon and evening. If the forecast is wrong, it will be busier, but then, the day passes by quicker. I checked the forecast again a short time ago, when Hannah was getting spooked by the thunder. It was raining hard, dark, and a lot of thunder overhead; not what had been forecast for early afternoon. The forecast had changed, instead of a slight chance of rain this afternoon, increasing into evening, it was no a good chance of rain all day, and more rain tomorrow. Now, the rain has passed, no more thunder, and it looks like the sun could break through again. I haven't checked the forecast again, but I'm sure if I did, it would be different, again. That's the way the weather is around here, it often changes several times through the day. Similarly, the seasons are much like this, too. This year has been especially uncertain. We have seen temperature differences of sixty degrees in a couple of days. A nice summer day followed by a blustery fall day. Hot and humid one day, cold and almost arid the next. Last week we had temperatures into the sixties and even lower seventies, this week we barely made it into the sixties and seen frost and freezing at night. It can make it rather difficult to plan things, but whatever comes, I'll take it and make the most of it. I think of it as an exercise in spontaneity. |
| Wednesdays tend to be a lazy day for me, since it's my first day off. I still get things done, but tend to just work at an easy pace. This week, I have another person on vacation, so I will be working for him this evening. I think this is why I have no motivation today, I just can't seem to get started on anything. Of course, I was feeling pretty ill on Monday, and even though I'm still feeling better, I think I'm still fighting off whatever tried to take me down. On top of this, the soybean harvest is going strong around us and this time of year always has me feeling under the weather. I don't seem to have any allergies or sensitivities to soybeans, but I do have allergy symptoms from their harvesting. I suppose a lot of it is the amount of dust produced and another may be spores, molds, and fungi stirred up from the harvesting process. Today is worse than the last few days because it's so much windier today. Forget hay-fever, I have bean-fever! Hopefully the weather stays nice and all the farmers in the area can get their bean harvests done and over with. The rest of the harvesting doesn't seem to bother me, so once they finish this part, I'm good again. I also want some nice weather for my wife and I to enjoy, even though we have a lot of things needing doing around the house and yard, I want to get out and play a little more disc golf. We were introduced to the sport by a couple of friends a short while ago while out camping and had a blast. Of course, we didn't play competitively, just for fun. No large amount of money invested in various discs, just a basic disc for all purpose. I can see, in time, getting more specialty discs as we learn the game and improve our performance. For now, we purchased a couple of general purpose discs and just want to go through the course to have fun and improve our aims. Awhile back, I posted that I am trying to reduce my weight and get in better shape. I've put on some weight, but have still been pretty active, so my main goal is to drop some pounds. Of course, exercising will help with this, so things like kayaking and disc golf are great. But, my greatest problem is my love for food. I enjoy so many foods and I tend to eat way to much of them. With this in mind, I have been working on my portion size for meals, trimmed back on snacking, and especially cut back on the amount of high fat/sugar foods I consume. Not dieting, just eating smarter with smaller portions, cutting out seconds (and thirds on occasion), and consuming small amounts of sweets and goodies, on occasion. So far, it's been working. I got on the scale the day I started and again today, ten days later. The weight is dropping! Of course, being out camping for a few days helped a lot with all the kayaking and hiking, but I have also done well with my smarter eating. I found a second reward today, after the scale, during lunch. I had taken a serving size portion of chili, a couple of cornbread muffins, a side of cottage cheese, and a glass of milk. It didn't look like much compared to my previous servings, but I stuck to my plan and my goals for smarter eating. I didn't butter the cornbread, since I was dipping it in my chili, a good way to remove a lot of calories from the meal. I ate one and a half of the smaller sized cornbread muffins, couldn't' finish my chili and cottage cheese, and was feeling very full with what I had consumed -- about half of what I would have consumed a couple weeks ago. The next step is to start logging my food and counting the calories; I have an account in SparkPeople to do this as well as log exercise. I'm thinking Monday will be a good day to begin this next phase because I can set it for my weekly goals here on the site and get a bit more motivation. My biggest problem is the time taken to enter everything since we cook from scratch and seldom find listings for our recipes. Well, there's a summary of Hump Day so far, the rest will be another typical evening at work. |
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not sure what else to say. The 4th was surprisingly quiet here as well... Last year was rather wild.
). The fourth here was eerily quiet. No loud continual booms and pops from up the hill like they've done for years. Kind of nice actually. I'm sure the pets in the neighborhood appreciated calm for a chnage.
