Another trip to AZ

So In October I went back to Arizona to see the the family and yet again it was way to hot too handle. Everyone said the by October it should be cooler and much more comfortable:)...well that was not the case:(. The temps hovered around 98 during the day and only cooled off a few degrees at night. For someone who had just left 60 degrees and rain that was a bit much to deal with. Of course me being built like a whale with layers of blubber doesn't help but it should have not been that hot there in October! Well I spent some quality time with Grandpa And we went out for dinner a couple of times. It is sad because he is slowly withering away and I think it was the last time I will see him before he dies. Saying goodbye was the hardest thing I think I have ever had to do. I know I can call him on the phone but it is no substitute for being there in the flesh. I also got to visit my friends Evan & Anna and meet their son Gavin who is just adorable. As for the majority of the time spent with my mother, I have come to the conclusion that she just needs to get out more. When I asked her what there was to do she simply had no input. No clue of sights to see, things to do albeit culturally, native or otherwise. All the things I wanted to do were a bit of a drive and since I did not rent a car she did not want to drive her new car too far and put on lots of miles on it. So I got to see what staring at her walls was like as opposed to what staring at my walls are like...about as boring! Next time I'm getting a car and going for some adventures. Speaking of adventure the summer of 09 my friend Curtis and I are planning a trip to go up in the mountains of Wyoming and do some atv-ing. The resort we are going to provides it all and it should be a blast.

Enjoy

Greatness but at a cost

I called my Grandfather the other day and to my suprise he had much more to say than usual. It is very apparent that he has plenty of time on his hands to think about things and to try and make sense of his life, his time in the war (WWII) and Grandma. He brought up some things and referenced the war so I asked him a question regarding it. I asked him if he knew how many GI's that he bandaged up went on to survive? Although he could not begin to recall a possible number the question sparked quite possibly the longest conversation I have ever had with him. My Grandpa was a front line medic attached to the 28th Infantry Division known as the Bloody Bucket. He told me many stories of his time in the war during our conversation and although there were brief pauses where he would break out into tears, it seemed as if he needed to get his story out. It was clear to me that even after 64 years he still has Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. I have never asked him much regarding the war because he was never willing to talk about it like most combat veterans. I am most likely the only family member that has ever heard so much of his time in the war and I do consider myself lucky. He told me about good times and bad including some very ugly details which I could not believe he was talking about. He spoke of getting Spinal Meningitis in the traing phase after boot camp, specific battles during the war and cronicling the events leading to his injuries for which he earned 3 bronze stars, 2 purple hearts and was put in for a silver star for his part in the taking of a bunker. It was clear to me that my Grandfather was destined for greatness and he did many great things during the war but I am saddened by the PTSD he still suffers today and can only hope that letting him talk about it helps him shed the past and find peace from the horrors that haunt him.

Speakin out again

Goin Green is not something I thought I would ever hear myself say but It does have it's advantages! So far it has been a lucrative adventure and in order to change peoples minds on living green the phrase "money in your pocket" must follow all arguments for going green. For me recycling is not required where I live but taking it upon myself to do such has resulted in the reduction of my trash output by a minimum of 50%. I say minimum because some weeks it is actully a higher percentage. I found that my trash output was less than what I was paying for in service so I changed my service from 2-32gal cans weekly down to 1-32gal can weekly. Then I noticed that many weeks I only put out 1-13gal kitchen trash bag each week along with 1 small bag of dog waste. This translates to about a 15 dollar savings every other month when my trash bill comes in. I know 15 bucks is not much but it is more in my pocket! My county does not pay me for recycling so bummer there but at least i'm doing my part. Compact flourescent light bulbs are the next way green has saved me. Our electric company has a program here for us to buy the cf bulbs very cheaply so naturally I loaded up on them. Now my electric bill has seen a significant impact and since all of my major appliances are energy star approved I am winning all around. Composting is in my future and I am hoping this can be lucrative as well. Composting will further reduce my trash output and I plan to sell what I don't use in my garden, plants and flowers. For me goin green has just begun and I know there are many more things I can do to reduce my human footprint on the world but where the general population is concerned, hearts and minds are won when the transition of this green project equals money in your pocket!

One Last Letter

Dear Grandma,

As you are lying there fading away I can only hope you are comfortable, pain free and at peace. It is with tears in my eyes I must say some things that perhaps should have been said long ago. I have long held animosity in my heart towards mom for taking me away from my family when I was 9. My sense of family was disrupted and has yet to be whole. You were the centerpoint for that family and I always looked forward to spending time with you. Over the years we kept in touch but to be honest it was not enough. Even when we did see each other I was always left wanting more of you. You were and always have been one of the greatest women in my life. I am truely honored to have had you in my life regardless of the distance between us. Please know that you will be missed and you will live on in my heart. Know that we shall meet again in the Kingdom of Heaven and we will rejoice one another. As the end draws near one last time I must tell you that I love you and I only hope you know how much you mean to me.

Goodbye Grandma, I will miss you!

Love,

Michael

Rain Rain go away

I know I have been silent for awhile but today I just got to say RAIN SUCKS! So far the farmers almanac is way off. So much for a dryer than usual winter! We are hitting record rainfalls here and it sucks. Everytime I see a weatherman tell us there is nothing but rain in our future with a smile on their face, I just want to kick them straight in their face with a big freaking smile on my face! How about them apples!!! Sun lovers rule!!!

Enjoy

We've Got Shed

We finally got the shed installed after months of research and prep and it looks good! We have been trying to get it painted but the weather does not want to cooperate. Either it's too cold, raining or too foggy, we can barely get enough of a brake to finish anything substantial. We thought we were making progress over the weekend but before two of the sides had a chance to dry somewhat the sun went down and it got humid and foggy which caused the paint to run slightly. Nothing major that the second coat wont fix but still a pain. Today I finally finished the trim but i'm sure a second coat is in the future. Anyways we are happy with the purchase but I am positive my friend who thought he was going to "GET PAID" to help me build the shed initially wont be as pleased as I am, we have yet to break the news to him. We can now finally get settled into our house now that I have a place to store all my shit other than in the spare bedroom, closets and dining area.

Storm update:

Truth is we were spared and only got about 10 minutes of strong winds. The storm went right around us but gave Seattle and the burbs a few fallen trees, pwr outages, smashed homes and damaged cars. We were lucky this time!

Enjoy

Mike

Batten down the hatches

Yes folks it's that time of year again for the wind and the rain to wreak havoc on us here as we prepare for another dose of high winds followed by rain from the weather Gods. We are expecting winds up to 50 mph, not nearly as bad as last year but it is quite early in the season for this much wind. So as you can imagine I spent my day preparing for the "what if the power goes out" scenario! Since I still have the generator from our friends down south, I got it out and dusted it off, filled up all my gas cans, tied down some things outside and bought some heavy duty chain so the generator doesn't get stolen. As for inside the house we charged everything with a battery, broke out the emergency candles w/matches and inventoried my disaster kit. Last year we were w/out pwr for 3 days. We froze, cooked on our propane camp stove, played boardgames by candlelight and did whatever else we could to keep boredom at bay. This year we will stay warm at the very least but we also will be able to watch dvd's and such maybe even tv if the cable is not out. Either way we are set much better this year. Unfortunately our friends asked for their generator back so although we will be able to weather through this storm the next one we may not be as lucky. The generator I want is about 1200 bucks which leaves me about 800 bucks shy of that so hopefully I win the lottery or I happen to find a rather large sum of money on the ground because there will be more storms and there will be more power outages...thats a fact! Anyone wishing to donate to the cause please feel free to call, email or respond to this post.

I wanted to include some of the pics of the flowers Rhonda planted this year. They turned out really well in the pots we purchased and definately add to our otherwise bare landscape. We are hoping for grass next year and I would like to do a garden. I'm thinking of a raised garden due to our soil being very rocky and sandy. We also want to do some composting. I've been researching those composters that you add stuff to and just give the handle a crank. Seems like those would be much less labor intensive than just a ground system not to mention they apparently work faster so they produce more compost. I will keep you informed.

Stay tuned for the aftermath of the storm report and just remember it might be a couple of days...who knows!

Enjoy