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

Raining like Cats & Dogs...Now thats an understatement!

Howdy Y'all,

I know it's been awhile but I have been lazy. Right know it's raining so hard and so much I would not be surprised if I saw something float by. It's raining more like bucketfulls of endless water rather than cats & dogs! Anyway not much new here. Some of you know I got new blinds for the house so I shall explain. In the front part of the house we went with cellular blinds as they let the light in but block out the heat (on hot days) and offer great privacy as well. In the bedrooms we went with wood blinds as they block out the light and offer great privacy also. Finally window coverings!!! Now a week from today my new shed gets delivered...YEAH!!! I wont even begin to tell you the crap I had to go through to get the permit but I will say that I am surprised that nobody has ever walked into the permit office with a device that does harm and showed them how he feels. My advice, if you ever need a permit do whatever you can to circumvent that office and just do whatever you want to without going through that nightmare!!! Rhonda has been given another week of vacation so next week she will be taking it. No we are not doing anything special. Mostly due to the fact that her boss wanted her to take this week off in october giving us no time to plan anything not to mention put a few bucks off for something fun. Oh and her boss moved to New York so now she runs the office on this coast by herself. She did have another lady working with her but she got into a car accident and is messed up really bad so she no longer works there. Meanwhile R's boss thinks its cool to mail out her paycheck the day she is supposed to get it (on Payday) and so now she gets her paycheck about 4-5 days after payday. I cannot begin to tell you how pissed off that makes me and if it was not for the fact we have a house payment I would have her walkout on him and his crap ass business while I left a steeming pile of doody on the desk just for him. Unfortunately he is well within the law as long as her check is postmarked by the actual payday. I used to think her boss was an alright guy but now because of his Don't care about your problem attitude I hope he dies in a horrific manner in front of his family and I will surely be at the funeral to piss on his grave as if there is no place I would rather be!!! No...I don't hold a grudge, what gave you that idea? If there was ever a reason to get pounded in the head with a baseball bat messing with our money is it, fortunately for this guy I am too afraid of prison to ever do anything irrational but pissing on the grave...well let's just say we got a date! Nothing else bothering me at this time but tune in next time for who's the Jackass of the month! Our friends that I spoke about a few blogs ago who were trying to buy the rental they live using subprime lending...well they found out last week that they do not even come close to qualifying for that house and so they have to move. Meanwhile the landlord raised the rent 600 bucks a month to 1800 bucks, which they cannot afford either. Can you say up a creek and fell out of the boat! Seriously I feel bad they are in the position they are in but getting that house would have been a huge mistake for them and they would have been in forclosure in no time. Not to mention that house needs a minimum of 50,000 bucks in upgrades and it is too small for their family like 930 sq ft for 2 adults and 3 kids with only 1 bath. They finally asked for some advice/help from us so I have been doing some research regarding mfg homes for them. Sadly I think they are not ready to buy. I think the market is right but their finances are not. I'm going to try and convince them if they can put about 500 bucks away each month for the next year (thats 6000 bucks) they might be in better shape to buy. Right now they have no liquid cash, not even money for closing costs. Oh and their beloved truck has broken down once again. It needs a new transmission which according to them is about 4000 bucks which they will need to take out a loan for prior to trying to buy a home. See what I mean about making the wrong choices. I tried to tell them the other day how this truck is a burden and they should consider getting rid of it but they assured me that it was not going to happen and they would keep this truck until they died. However misguided they are- they are cool people, but common sense has went the way of the Dodo with them. Well enough about that not to mention i'm tired of typing.

Enjoy

I caught a lizard

While doing some yard work the other day I scared up a lizard in the dirt. Naturally I was bummed when he scampered under the concrete slab and out of reach but I figured i'd see him again. The next day R and I were finishing up the same yard work when she thought she saw a garter snake. Of course I told her she was mistaken and a while later she points out this lizard. Her fear of creepy crawlys and some animals often cause her to think she saw something much worse than what she actually did. Kind of like this one time in Idaho we were in the mtns and she saw an alligator swimming in the river. Turns out it was a beaver...??? I know, I have no clue how she could have misconstreued an alligator for a beaver either but she did. LOL! So anyways this lizard just sat there and tried the "sit still and the human will go away approach", well it didn't work and he ended up in my hand. The dogs checked him out and he hissed so I let him pose for some pics then I let him go. I know your thinking Croc Hunter right? Well maybe in another life, either way theres something about catching lizards thats just cool!

Enjoy

Thinking outside the Ghetto

So I just have to say a few words about the Michael Vick case and his dogfighting enterprise. First and foremost he was participating in illegal activity so as far as i'm concerned he deserves all he gets. I think its funny that his freeloading friends turned on him...thats the problem with running an illegal gambling/dog fighting ring, DUH! I do also want to mention the fact that he is Black has nothing to do with my opinions here however it does seem that these types of things appear to be more prevalent in minorities. So while I was watching the news the other day one of Vick's Black teamates did suggest that he did nothing wrong and Illegal gambling/dog fighting was no different than Deer hunting. How do you correlate deer hunting and gambling on dog fighting? The two are not even remotely in the same ballpark not to mention one is legal and one is not! Why is it when minorities get caught doing something illegal they try and justify their actions by comparing themselves with mainstream society? How a person who makes millions playing football could conceivably get caught up in what I like to call "Ghetto Games" and throw away a hell of a career in the NFL is beyond me. I guess a multimillion dollar salary only fuels the passions of a life less lived had the talant to toss a pigskin not been his.

Enjoy

preview: Lizards, yard work, permits and flowers

Free Ballin to Crazy Contractors

Sometimes you just gotta let it all hang out...then when you see someone is looking get all sorts of modest.

Site prep for the shed is going well on the other hand finding a good electrical contractor at a reasonable rate not so good. The trouble with living on an island is there are not as many services as elsewhere so if we visit the laws of supply and demand we find there is much demand especially in the dryer months and less supply. I have come to the conclusion that contractors have no incentive to call you back, bother to show up or even charge a fair price because there is so much work out there that they can do whatever they want. So after taking a couple of bids on tree removal, one high the other half of first bid, I see that it may be more affordable than I thought. The electrical on the shed might just have to wait cause the bids on that have been pricey. We have been searching for some plants to put in the planter pots we got but we could not find what we were looking for...bummer.

Buddy our Lab has a yeast infection in his ears again. Seems to happen during the summer months and bothers him very much. We initially thought (w/vets advice) it might be a food allergy. So for the last year he has been eating expensive dog food and although his ears got better the problem never really went away. Now he is on benedryl, eardrops and a chewable tablet and behold we have a winner. Next vet appt tomorrow so we shall see.

Still raining, gotta love washington and getting down into the 50's at night...can't complain though it beats triple digits. Gotta go!

Enjoy

Sharing is caring...or something like that

Wanted to share this years crop of Stargazing Lillies as they are georgous not to mention smell fantastic. The past couple of years they have been very abundant but the stalk could not support the weight. This year they are getting full sun and thriving as you can see. I wish I could bottle the fragrance and send it to all of you but I do not yet possess this power so for know you will just have to believe me. We are in the process though of our design of the landscape so hopefully we shall see some grass before years end. We also have this issue with the pine tree out front just on the otherside of our property line. This pine bleeds sap something fierce and blocks the late day sun on the one side of the house. So I called the county and after they came and inspected they gave me their blessing to cut it down. See the challenge here is that I have never cut down a tree before:) Not that I'm an idiot or anything but I just don't want to end up on YouTube as the guy who cut a tree down only for it to take out my car or fall into my house or worse take down the power lines. I know you probably saying Hire someone right? Well I can only imagine how expensive that is! Well I will let you know how that turns out. Site prep for the shed is underway and although we are making progress we keep digging up anything and everything you can imagine. For example today I found about 30 ft of metal rod buried just below the surface, also an old door knob, more beer bottles and some rather large rocks. Oh rocks I have a huge pile going right now, I will have to get a pic of them and post it. Well I suppose that what I get for buying a property that was a rental for 30 years. Till next time...

Enjoy

Ye of little faith

If I have learned anything in my life it is not to assume anything and not to expect too much. So I have come accustomed to expecting the worst so that I don't get dissapointed. When things work out better than planned then it's gravy. So with this shed project that just seems to be taking up way too much of my time I finally made a purchase but not where I expected to. Before going directly to the Tuff Shed place we decided to stop over at the Home Depot to take some measurements of the Tuff Shed they have in their lot. Thinking that the Depot was not the place to buy due to the mark up I was amazed to see the same model with more features for less money. Imagine my amazement when I learned that it cost less to the tune of a thousand bucks. Color me blue and call me a fool if I turn down this deal. So finally my shed is paid for and will be delivered on September 5th. Due to my saving so much money now we are going to have enough to get custom blinds installed. Preparing for the worst seems a bit cynical but if you set yourself up for dissappointment by expecting truth, honesty and fairness then you can expect to get taken advantage of.

On another note I have never seen a dog so afraid of getting a bath and nail trim as my Lowkey(the older JRT). We took him in for his yearly bath/trim and despite doggie downers he went kicking and screaming all the way...literally! We only go once a year because it is so stressfull for him but I got to say that dog has more fight in him than a Notre Dame Defensive lineman. I mean drugs, muzzle and a team of people to hold him down, I guess you could say he has a water phobia, I just call it issues. Anyway it is a sight to see as you would think we are trying to kill him or something. The lab loves to swim but hates the hose and the other JRT will let us give him a bath but he is not to keen on it.

Enjoy

The latest and greatest

So things are finally back to normal now that Rhonda's Mom and Sister have gone home. They spent a week here with us and we ran ran ran the whole time. Canada, St. Helens, Oly Game Farm, Harry Potter (r's mom is a big fan) and some local sights. Can't complain we had a good time though.
My oldest friend is finally tying the knot...Yes Rob is taking the plunge on September 1st. I told him not to do it but but he has never listened to me in the past so why should he now.
My shed plans finally arrived and I have been researching the price of the materials. I was going to have a friend and his buddy come and help me build it but they are going to charge me way too much so I am going to go with a prefab shed that has a warranty and is exactly what I want. Although it will cost me more this way I refuse to give this friend 1000 bucks or more to come help me out so needless to say the payday he thought he was going to get is not going to happen. The next time he comes up to the Island here he will get a rude awakening when he sees the finished shed. Regardless of our friendship I think he was trying to take advantage of me so as far as i'm concerned it's his loss.
I really hate to be taken advantage of and it urks me that a supposed friend is trying to take advantage of me so I think I must reevaluate our friendship and put some distance between us.
I was inducted into my local sportsmans assoc. earlier this month. Since I like to shoot now I have a place to go and maybe I could find a future hunting partner. I would like to get into some pheasant or duck hunting this year and possibly even go on a deer hunt. Anyways it ought to be interesting. I'm getting a new spotting scope soon as I got most of the cash needed for it as an anniversary gift. She got an Ipod. Well i'm tired of typing.

Enjoy

I am but a mere mortal

I like to think that i'm smarter than the average person and far too often a situation presents itself in which I am able to see the perverbial writing on the wall so to speak. When this happens I usually make some sort of a prediction and most of the time my Nostradamus like predictions come to pass. Given the fact that humans are social creatures and are prone to habitual behavior it comes as no surprise that foretelling someones future actions can be largely based on their past. For instance the saying "once a criminal always a criminal" could be based on the fact that most of society's criminal deviants are quite simply habitual reoffenders thus never walking a straight path but continually walking in a circle. What does all this mean you ask? It means Cousin Jason is in jail again! I guess it didn't take a palm reading to foretell his future now does it? Any bets on how long it will be until his next arrest? I guess you could say that I have little faith in him ever pulling his head out of his ass.

Enjoy

You just can't fix stupid

We have some friends of ours that are sort of...well let's say life challenged. They are in a predicament where they rent but the owner wants to sell. Great for them you think but the truth is they cannot afford the asking price. They have been on this merry-go-round for the past few months where they try to qualify then find out their income is too low then ask the landlord for more time so they can try another option. Truth is the bank wants them to jump through hoops and such then maybe just maybe they will get a loan. This is the 1st sign of trouble. If you have to put on a dog and pony show for your bank then maybe this place is not for you. Considering they have already had problems coming up with the monthly rent of 1200 bucks taking on a mortgage of 1850.00 would be completely retarded. So knowing the problems they have been having coming up with financing, job layoffs and low income you might think they would be searching for a cheaper place to live right? Nope, they are sitting still and hoping things will just work themselves out. No preparation for the inevitable, no covering their behind, just plain ignorance and an attitude of ignore the problem and it will go away. You just can't fix stupid.

So today we had to go get a car that was a voluntary repo. We had to go off the island and over to the Olympic Peninsula to a town called Sequim (pronounced like swim but with a Q). This involves a ferry ride and an hour and a half drive one way. Once we find this place the Jackass was not home. This should not have been a problem except instead of putting the keys inside the vehicle and leaving the door unlocked like he was told this Jackass locked the keys inside the vehicle leaving us no way to get in. We could not see the keys so we did not know if they were even inside. So we left a msg and went to lunch. We then went back one more time to see if Jackass was home and as we thought he was not. Left another msg then headed back to the ferry. Naturally as we were about 5 minutes from landing back on our island the Jackass calls to let us know he is now home. What are you gonna do...you just can't fix stupid.

Driving here in western Washington is horrible. People stop at green lights, speed up when it rains and cannot seem to drive the speed limit on two lane hyw's. Let me be more specific, they drive below the speed limit and hold up traffic. This usually stems from lack of confidence in driving ability on minor curvatures in the road leading to the excessive use of brakes thus slowing down an already slow commute. I'm convinced brakes should be eliminated from cars altogether and we could just go with the bumper car mentality. Try to use cell phones then! Canadians are another problem on the road. In BC they can only go like 55mph so when they come down here they automatically think they can drive as fast as they want. When i'm going 70mph on the freeway and a Canadian passes me like i'm standing still I got a problem with that. Just once I would like to run one of those bastards off the road and while they are lying there bleeding I would like to walk up to the car and ask them what gives them the right to come into my country and break my laws! So again you just can't fix stupid!

You can't figure me out...

Welcome all to another look into my soul. This episode we look at what I consume my day with as well as tales from the beach and shots from nature. We will also explore my socialization into the local redneck culture and one of my latest purchases.

It is no surprise that I love to watch TV. Seeing as how the TV doubled as a sibling or even a babysitter when I was a young boy. Naturally as an adult I set out to have to coolest setup on the block so I went all out. 36" Flat Panel HD set, Bose audio system and DVR w/digital cable. Hopefully upgrading to a 50" plasma soon but roof over head more important!!! Anyway with the DVR I can record all the shows I want when I am either not home, sleeping or watching something else. Since I am usually out and about over the weekend I record many shows. So it has taken me 2 days but I have finally finished a weekends worth of shows. I'm now convinced that I know how to save the planet from global warming, I have seen the ever elusive Snow leopard in its natural habitat, I have seen the Great Barrier Reef up close and personal, know more about Hawaii than any six native Hawaiians and have learned more about real estate in 2 days including how to flip a house and make loads of cash than most people ever do. I never said the shows I watch weren't educational now did I? Who needs college when I have the TV. So after all that TV Rhonda and I went to the beach today after she got off work. It was a great day to be outside and I love to go to the beach. We saw many eagles today and I got a couple of pics of this one eagle being ran off by a crow. The crow kept chasing the eagle up and down the beach which was quite funny. On our way back to the car we came across someones beach art. Someone painstakingly arranged these stones into this oblong formation by color and left it for all to enjoy. Then we rediscovered this spot at another state park. It's a picnik shelter overlooking the north end of the Puget Sound on a bluff. Perfect spot to spend a day BBQing and enjoying the smell of the ocean and deer walking by.

Last week I applied to become a member of my local sportsmans assoc. If you like to shoot guns as I do then this is the place to be. Private range supporting pistol, rifle, trap and archery. They also have competition shooting something that I am interested in. Naturally every redneck in town belongs to this club so I suppose i'll fit right in. I have to pass a background check as they just don't let in any fool with a gun in but that shouldn't be a problem. Well as I have been going to these auctions lately I was able to pickup a rifle at the last one a week or so ago. What got me excited about this rifle was it's age. I could tell this rifle was old but it was in great shape. It's previous owner took good care of it so naturally I wanted to capitalize on this find. 90 bucks was the winning bid and I walked out with a Remington 22 cal bolt action tube fed rifle that I was about to find out was nearly as old as my grandparents. This rifle is pre WWII. It's a Remington Sportmaster model 341-P and was only manufactured between 1936-1940. Although it is not rare it is worth about 125.00-250.00 depending on its condition rated by percentage. I was really not interested so much in its worth as its quality. After a good cleaning I took it to the range and wow this baby is deadly accurate. Varmints beware cause i'm coming for you. It has peep sights which took a bit to get used to but after reverting back to my days when I shot match and went with the "both eyes open" approach it was much less strain on the eyes. I shot phenominal at 50 yds and when I get a new spotting scope I will go for 100 yds. Thats it for this episode, be sure to tune in next time for another look into my soul ahh ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!

Going Green

Howdy Y'all,

I want to make it perfectly clear that i'm not irish, at least not that I know of. Going green is the latest craze for the typical Seattleite. Naturally when there there is a new bandwagon to jump on the folks from the greater Seattle area jumped on with both feet firmly planted. Take the Mariners for example. They have one good year like 5 yrs ago and all of the sudden the stadium is packed. Heres a thought, the Mariners suck so get over it. Same thing for the Seahawks, bandwagon and all. So now going green is the chic thing to be doing that is if your not bicycling naked or participating in the gay pride parade, either of them or walking for one of the hundred or so cancer foundations. Briefly, the gay pride parade is now split into 2 parades due to the manly catfights and female slapfests while trying to decide where to have the damn thing. One fag wanted it in "their" neighborhood while another wanted to make sure we all knew who was a flamer and hold it smack dab in the middle of Seattle. So now we get twice the rainbow. So anyways going green seems easy for many as there are already an abundance of tree huggers here. Now the irony in that is the organization ELF standing for the Earth Libertion Front. They (in their infinate wisdom) like to go burn down mansions under construction, the heavy equipment associated with construction and other such things of that nature. Naturally they are in protest of the massive amount of trees being cut down to make the mansion and the effects of strip mining where the minerals and such come from which inevitably become heavy machinery. Now what I find funny is the ELF burns this stuff down thinking the construction will stop when in actuality more trees get cut to make the same mansion the second time around and mining still continues in order to keep up with growing demands for more heavy equipment. So in a nutshell I jumped on the bandwagon this time and I changed all my lightbulbs to the compact flourecent bulbs. This way I get all the light I need while using much less energy. And guess what, I didn't piss anyone off, my story did not make the evening news and more importantly nobody cares what I did enough to make a stink about it!

Enjoy

Cool Repos

So every now and then those with money or at least seem to have money get into financial troubles too. To prove it I have included some pics of the cool repos that were picked up the other day. I got to drive the Hummer and I have to say it was cool but I wouldnt want that gas bill. The Mercedes Benz was all Rhonda and she loved it as if you couldnt tell from the pics. If I didnt already tell you we got a Ferrari earlier this year and OH YEAH I got to drive it. That was cool!!! Who says there is no profit in other peoples misfortune! It is just too bad people try to live above their means. Well gotta go!!

Enjoy

It's been awhile...

Hello all,

I know it's been awhile but sometimes you have to save up for conversation. Went to an auction today and although I was unable to get some of the items that appealed to me I did get a couple things. Got a huge box of blankets for 10 bucks, they will work great for the dog kennels. Thats a good deal considering the local thrift store is a rip off and would charge me 10 - 15 bucks per planket. There was a buttload of Fenton Glass and we got one piece. Most peices were going for astronomical prices. Got a couple of other unimportant things so I wont bore you with the details. Ok The other day I had dr. appt. in Seattle. So on my way down there traffic in this one spot was crazy so I decided to go down a back road that I usually soar down but I was in for an unexpected treat. Well to say the least I got an early Birthday gift from the Washington State Patrol to the tune of 19 over the posted speed limit. Naturally I thought how generous they were to single me out and congratulate me on my display of speed!!! But the cop was such a nice guy he bumped me down to 10 over and saved me about 35 bucks, What a Guy!!! To say the least I wont be sending a thank-you card!!! This past Saturday we went and played disc golf at a new course. Challenging or difficult I'm not sure which but it was a great cardio workout. Was trying to float down one of the local rivers (I wont try writing the name as you probably wont be able to pronounce it anyway) but the weather just would not coopererate where the sun was concerned. Going to try next weekend! Sun is up until 9pm or so and getting warmer every week. Still in mid 50's or so during night so plenty nice outside. Looking forward to getting some new cell phones this week. I was at the point in my contract that I was able to upgrade phones so we picked out some sweet new phones that have some more capabilities and such over our old phones. Anyways we found out that many of the trails we like to hike are wiped out this year by last Novembers floods and winds. But inspite of the devastation we found some new trails yesterday on this Mtn named Blanchard Mtn. Cool thing is it is close to us and what is really cool is the Hang/Para Gliders soar off the top of it. That is just cool to watch!!! Tired of typing so off to watch the tube for a bit.

Enjoy

Another project complete

I have been out sick most of this week hence no recent new posting. Last week I got my water hydrant installed. I forgot how handy an outside water source is! Not much of anything else going on here although I think we have finally entered Spring. It has been sunny all week except one day was cloudy. Wanting to go out and enjoy the outdoors but snow still covers much of where I want to go and see. Figure the odds on this one, the place next door is up for sale and we see many people drive down the street slowly or even stop and look but yesterday my old landlord stopped by and looked. Naturally the first thing that came to mind was there goes my property value! He previously owned property in my community here and the other owners fought for years to get him out as he is a scumbag and lets his properties go to shit. Finally he sold out and miraculously everyones prop value went up. So to see him over here looking was gut wrenching and I had Rhonda call the owners to let them know he was here. The reassured us they would not sell to him. Still waiting to hear if my sister has given birth yet, I think she is 1 wk overdue. Well nothing else I can think of now so later for you.

Enjoy

More tulips anyone?

I don't have much to report as new material so I thought I would share some more tulip pics. Tuesday we are getting our new water hydrant installed then I can get to work killing the weeds. The price of gas is getting depressing. We are now over 3.00 a gallon here on the island but not by much yet. We are hearing 4.00 a gallon this summer :( Oh well what can you do! I did hear about a gas strike on the 15th of May so I wont buy that day but Will it really make a dent is the 64,000.00 question. We are still struggling to get into spring here and cannot seem to leave the rain behind but hopefully the sun will shine soon. Well enjoy the tulips.

Later

Got new toy, one phase complete

So the other day I went to get my weed eater and fire it up for the first time this season and wouldn't you know it would not start. After trying all the tricks I know to get a small engine to start after a winter of sitting I ended up with a sore forearm and a really bad attitude. After getting authorization form the powers that be I got a new toy. OK maybe its not a toy but new power tools are always a plus in my book. So this past weekend we had a successfull yard sale at Rhonda's boss's house and made some good cash then sunday we hit the yard hard. Finally got all brush removed including the roots. Now I am waiting to hear back from the handyman who is going to install the new water hydrant then I can get to killing off the weeds and vegetation and start over with grass. I am hoping for the shed/shop to get built by June but We'll see. The plans are on the way and I have to go price the materials first. The next project to start while waiting for everything else to come together is the sifting out of rocks fist size and larger. I also must make a few more srategic cuts on the pine in the front yard to better its look and get rid of some dead stuff as well. Till next time...

Enjoy

A Little Doggie Style

This is our middle dog Joey. Every now and again he requires a bit of lovin so we got him a bitch. He got his new stuffed bitch and immediately went into violation mode. I never thought I would have to get my dog a hooker but heres the proof. You will notice the after sex cuddling and then the look of content. He is our most expressive dog and undoubtedly has the most personality of the three. The things we do for our pets!

Enjoy

My best friend is a 12 yr old

Well not exactly! We have some friends that live near Seattle and their oldest boy is 12. John (the 12 yr old) is the oldest of three and takes the most shit when the poo hits the fan at his house. So John asked if he could come up to our house for a visit w/o his siblings and parents. Johns a cool kid and he spent a few days with us over new years weekend. So we have been planning another visit during his spring break which was last week. We had a great time starting with the day we picked him up. We picnic'd at the beach with his family then went to the tulip festival. The rest of the week we watched movies, played video games, tooled around Orcas Island and climbing up the tower on Mt Constitution (high piont on Orcas), enlisted his youth labor skills to help me move my brush pile to another location, host a yard sale then finishing the week off with a trip to the Olympic Game Farm. For those who are not familiar with the OGF it is a sanctuary for retired show bears and/or mistreated animals rescued from wherever and home to many other animals. The original owner was an animal trainer back in the 30's or 40"s and worked with Walt Disney on movies like The Incredible Journey. The OGF was originally named after Disney but was changed to OGF in 1972. The og owner is long dead but his park is still in the family. While feeding the Bison one tried to lick Rhonda. The elk love to stick their heads into the car and will eat the bread you feed them right out of your lap if you not careful. The llamas run alongside the car and the yaks meander over to get their fill of bread. The big cats and wolfs are behind too much fence to feed them but are still cool to see. The bears as usual are so majestic and look so cuddlely. Anyway the trip to Orcas Is. was cool and the weather was great. The pic is from the top and is of Mt. Baker and the surrounding San Juan Islands in the foreground. The latest edition to the house is going to be a water hydrant. Since the house did not come with an outside water hookup I have to install one so I called a guy and if I dig the ditch he will install the hydrant in about 1 hour. I perform the sweat equity and that will save me about 150 bucks, no complaint here!

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Seeing the hilarity in life

Today Rhonda and I were doing our monthly shopping at costco as well as picking up other things for the house and as you can imagine so was everyone else in western washington. Naturally traffic was a nightmare, parking was out in the south forty and all lines were long as hell. Thank the lord for costco feeding you samples of promotional food items so to stave off the hunger pangs while actually feeling yourself getting older waiting in those lines. Frustration would be an understatement to say the least! So on our way home we drove a bit out of the way to check on a couple of parks to have lunch at tomarrow when some friends of ours come up for the day. Naturally I was tired of driving around and just wanted to go home when we drove past a couple and their son on the side of the road. Thing is the boy was standing there with his pants down around his ankles, willy in his hand facing oncoming traffic and a nonchalant look on his face as if he was saying "right here works for me"! You just have to laugh at that no matter what kind of mood your in. Continuing down the road and arriving at the park we were looking for, I pulled in the parking lot and incidentally went past the toilets when out comes this little boy running at full speed. It looked as if the boy got into a wrestling match with the toilet paper and lost. He was dragging nearly half the roll behind him which he was all tangled in. Funniest thing I have seen in a while. I'm sure we have all had our moments of peeing off the side of the road or a rumble with some tp but I don't recall it being as funny when I was on the side of the road trying to pee. Either way there is plenty of hilarity amidst the chaos, you just have to be lucky enough to be paying attention.

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Had an Epiphany

The other day I was watching the news and I saw this police officer at a crime scene. He was acting all sorts of cool and tough, like most of them do, but it was clear as day, atleast to me, that he was overcompensating his actions and I immediately thought that this guy must have been beat up during his high school years. Then the epiphany came and I thought of this kid I used to taunt in hs by the name of Steven Hohstadt. I remember Steven was a gangly kid, wore glasses and jumped at the slightest noise. If you were to make eye contact with him he would quickly look away and take on a look of worry. I am sure that this had much to do with why he was heckled as much as he was not to mention the the others just like him in his clan of friends. So it was at this moment during my epiphany that I questioned whether it was truely possible if Steven ended up becoming a police officer. Could it be possible that I may have contributed to the existing police populus of another overbearing, overcompensating individual with a bad attitude and a sidearm in a position of authority? I can only hope that Steven was a better computer nerd than a tough guy wannabe but if he did end up as a cop well, God help us all!

Another thing I must share:

Lately I have been on this karma thing and following the "my name is earl" movement. Seems fitting that at some point in your life you must finally take responsibility for your past actions in order to balance out the good/bad things you may have been party to earlier in your existence. At some point you must become a member of the community and not just a body taking up space. So naturally I want to try to change my life and become a more positive person and do positive things thus allowing life to recipricate favorably back onto me and mine. So the other day my dog buddy (the lab) dug up part of the back yard (still just dirt) and uncovered a concrete slab. Upon further inspection I realized it was part of the old foundation and there were two slabs not just the one. These slabs are about 8" thick 14" wide and about 9' long. No I was not exactly a happy camper because there was only about 2 to 3 inches of dirt over them and I was planning on putting grass in. The next day the guy clearing the lot next door brought in a back hoe and I got to chatting it up w/him trying to figure out the best way to remove the slabs. He then asked me if I could drive the back hoe then offered to leave me the keys and a chain to dig them out then drag them over to the empty lot where he could make use of them. Talk about karma throwing me a bone! That worked out great. So today while standing in line at a store I noticed there was a 10 dollar bill on the floor and the couple in front of me were standing right on top of it. When we moved I bent down and grabbed it, folded it up in my hand and thought BONUS! I did not see anyone drop it but I figured if someone spoke up then I would offer it up. Wouldn't you know that the couple in front of me had dropped it and once they tried to pay realized their loss. I immediately offered the money to them and the 3 or 4 people behind me were so amazed at my honesty felt the need to speak up and congratulate me as well as the couple whose money I picked up. Do good things and good things will happen to you even if it happens backwards.

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Woody Woodpecker

I just wanted to share some new pics I took of a Bald Eagle and a Pileated Woodpecker. The eagle was here on the island over on west beach near a marsh. Although I took several pics of him perched on the post none were as amazing as this one. We truely are blessed to live where there is such majestic and awe inspiring birds as this in such abundance. The woodpecker was seen at our friends house down near Seattle. What is so cool is these woodpeckers seem to be a bit more rare or maybe shy. This bird is 16" long, thats one heck of woodpecker. This guy must have stayed on this powerpole for nearly an hour pecking away at the pole and causing insects to come out of it and picking off his meal. Weather here is starting to get warmer although you would have never known it today. Slowly the rain is giving way to sunshine and is giving me hope that there will be a long summer. The annual tulip festival started this weekend and goes for the month so you may get treated to some pics of the fields of tulips and all the hybrids the farmers plant out here. A couple of years ago Rhonda and I took a helicopter flight over the fields and it was so cool seeing all the different colors.

Ciao!

Continually learning the art of marriage

So not to complain or anything but now that I have 2 bathrooms life with a woman has gotten even more difficult. Usually its "turn on the fan" or "close the door" but now its "go use the other bathroom". Naturally as a man I cannot always explain my actions, especially certain decisions I make like which bathroom I choose to grace with my presence. Once the decision is made I act and in the latest case I followed all rules (door, fan) and settled in when all the sudden all hell breaks loose and I am being yelled at. My first reaction is to yell back but that only makes things worse. I then choose to finish up. Upon final inspection making sure I left the vessel the way I found it and wash my hands I find that I was still in the wrong, Imagine that!!! Seems claim has been laid on that one and I missed the memo! Well if there is anything to be learned by this all is that just when you think that you have it all figured out remember SHE can change the rules at any given moment and you are just supposed to know all new changes!

Fire, why is it so cool to watch? No I dont get off on it or anything like that but today I finished building a pile of brush that I have cleared and now im looking forward to burning it. Since I live outside of town we can burn our yard waste and I cannot wait to get rid of it. I am more afraid of it getting out of control or the winds not cooperating so instead of burning it here Rhonda is going to ask her boss if we can use his truck and take to his field where he burns and do it there. Much safer as is more open of an area. Will let you know how that goes and I will take pics when we burn. Still much yard work to do. I have to build a sifter and sift out the larger rocks (fist size or so) then rototill-press it out, repeat process and then even out the yard. Yeah I know it sounds fun and all so I will take pics here as well so you can share in my pain. Speaking of pain its time to stop typing...see ya!

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I got a round tuit!

And some said it would never happen...well here it is my own venue to share away. I should then share with you the fact that I dont play well with other. When I was a small boy I was not into sharing my toys. I remember throwing toys at the kids who tried to play with my toys. Effective but it has its downside too. Anyway here are a couple of pics of the house before/after . Replaced the cheap shelving in master closet and laundry room with more effective closet system and utility cabinet. Yard is work in progress and buying plans for the shed/shop soon.

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