Hello again

Well howdy y'all.
It's been quite a while since my last entry. Absolutely NO progress on my outside projects due to old man winter - cold and very wet for several months. I KNOW it's nothing like the horrendous crap up in yankeeland but still not anything I and my arthritis wanted to wrestle with. Getting warmer now and looking forward to getting back into harness. Have to get a new wheelbarrow for concrete work and moving dirt and sod etc. but hopefully things should be happening soon.
Had quite the weekend. Our daughter Hallie came to visit several weeks ago and as a a thank you , she enrolled us in something called " HELLO FRESH ". This is a service that lets you choose from a selection of recipes and then sends you a box filled with all the ingredients and recipes ( complete with pictures and detailed instructions ) for making 3 meals in quantities designed for two. And they are AMAZING !
On Friday we got the box and found everything we needed to make
1. Smoky Chicken fajitas with blistered corn salsa & fresh guacamole
2. Swedish Meatballs over egg noodles & Portobellos
3. Sage-Butter Pork Chops with roasted butternut squash and charred broccolini

On Saturday we went out and ran a few errands and then early afternoon we decided to make the fajitas.
Spectacular.

On Sunday we decided to make the other two meals at the same time so that Twila would have a choice of what to take for lunches. Fun working as a team , slicing , dicing , grating , peeling , chopping , sauteing , roasting and so on. Sweaty mess when it was all done , but , OH , the eating. And to top it off , a fantastic bottle of wine that our son Jim and his wife Jenna gave us at xmas.

After we had eaten and cleared the kitchen and the dishes we went out to our screened porch to relax and enjoy the rest of that bottle of wine , and we were rewarded with what may have been the best part of the day.The birds were mobbing our bird feeders and we watched a collection unlike anything we have seen in the time we have been in this house. Several varieties of doves and starlings and grackles and pigeons - all pretty standard but in great profusion. BUT THEN - a woodpecker. First we've seen here. Then a couple of bluejays. Then both male and female cardinals. And a pair of robins ( which we also had never seen here ). A flyby by either a hawk or an eagle. It went over pretty quick and we couldn't agree from the pictures in the bird book as to which it was. THEN - a buzzard swooped over the yard with a mouse in it's beak , landed in the tree in our neighbor's yard , and it proceeded to shred and eat the mouse. Not something you see every day.
Might not sound like much to some people , but I am pretty jazzed about all of it.
And we just got invited to a crawfish boil at my son's place in Austin next weekend.
Oh to be in Texas now that Spring is here.

As soon as all this rain clears out and dries up , I will be back in the yard doing some more concrete stuff and starting to build my shed out of used pallets.

As the man said , work to do , work to do.

OH - and I might be doing some traveling. Talked to my brother about it and we both have some things we would like to do. Back to Donora , maybe to our uncle's place in the mountains in West Virginia , maybe OBX to a reunion of the IUP Vets on Campus from my college days , maybe Vegas. Who knows?

Now that it's gotten cooler I can't seem to get my ass in gear

I've made a little bit of progress on the yard but in reality it doesn't seem like much at all.I just can't seem to get outside and get anything done.

The last time I posted , my wife and I had  cleared and roughed out the path for the new walkway. I mixed two bags of quikrete in the wheelbarrow and we poured the star part of our LONE STAR ornament and the rest of the mud went into the first form for the walkway.

I wrote up an earlier page which featured this but I was persuaded to delete it because I was upset about the election results and it unfortunately spilled over into the blog. I have now calmed down enough to make another attempt , but I'm still an unhappy guy.

 While trying to rein  in myself I decided to burn off some of my negative energy by making a supply run. It's amazing how loading , transporting , and unloading a half ton of bags of quikrete ( did I mention my "truck" for this is a Chevy Malibu ? ) can cool you out. Unfortunately , it can also take a bit out of you . While examining my Lone Star I somehow lost my balance and while trying not to fall , stepped squarely in the center of my concrete star. Which snapped off all 5 points . We were not amused.

While all of this has been going on outside , the inside of the house is complete chaos as we have all the carpet removed and laminate floors installed.

We removed all the furniture from two bedrooms and the living room and removed everything from the walls because we were afraid all the pounding from the installation of the new floors could cause stuff to fall. After just over two weeks of this ( everything coated with a thick layer of dust ) we are almost ready to clean everything and put everything back.

After removing the now "dead" star I decided to remove everything from my " star pit so as to rethink it. If only inspiration had struck. Instead , I mixed up some mud in the wheelbarrow and dumped it into the pit , thinking I could insert my star form while it was still wet. This proved to be not so much a good idea.

This is what I have now. Those who have seen it so far have been very solicitous and advised me to move ahead with it " as is ". One person said it had " a certain homemade cachet about it "  , and another said " you want it to look homemade and not exactly perfect " . I would have to say those were very polite ways of saying " better luck next time " , but I'm going to run with it as is . Still uncertain as to the final form of it  , other than that the star will be filled in another three inches with concrete and the area around the star but inside the border tiles will be most likely be some combination of red lava rock and white marble chips. Who knows ? I know I don't. 

I'm hoping this week to remove the grass and weeds from the area between the new walk path and the house , spread the newspaper to keep the weeds down ( I am almost amazed that to date I have only had ONE weed in the other side of the yard ) and maybe get some plants in the ground before I spread some marble and pour some more sections of the path.

with Twila as helper

I have been relaxing and enjoying my retirement , but , there is work to do. My lovely wife Twila told me she wanted to work outside yesterday to enjoy the nice weather , get some fresh air , and to add some input ( and oversight / supervision ) to my yard work efforts. So , out came the shovel , rake , and wheelbarrow . Several hours later , we had what seems to be a definite plan for the new front walkway and progress on my second concrete creation , a Lone Star.

Since I am using a Chevy Malibu to haul my materials it might be a while before all the concrete work is done . Still debating the possibility of edging the new walk with stone to match the sidewalk . Lots more digging if I decide to go that way but it's the expense and the look that will decide it for me , not the amount of time or effort it would take to accomplish. 

The inside of the house is a total wreck right now as a crew showed up on Friday to remove all the carpets and underlying padding in preparation for installation of new flooring.Everything cleared out of two bedrooms and the living room and all of it stowed and stuffed into the remaining bedroom , kitchen , and dining room. And from the carpet removal , everything in the entire house is now coated with a layer of dust. Which is part of the reason Twila wanted to work outside.

Part of me is very glad there is a self-limiting factor to how much I can do on any given day determined by how much stuff I can haul home from Lowe's . At 80 pounds per bag , I only bring home a max of 4 bags of concrete per trip which makes two wheelbarrow loads mixed and poured and finished . Ah , restraint.

Actually , I've been thinking about this walkway for so long , I'm really happy to finally be making it a reality. I just hope it turns out well and no serious problems crop up to hamper the work.

It's getting to be much cooler. I had to really get after it to work up much of a sweat . During the last couple of weeks of relative inactivity my weight has wanted to inch back up toward 230. I hope by the time the walk is done I will be back under 225 . I then plan to strip the remaining grass off between the walk and the house , cover all the exposed ground with newspaper to keep down weeds , and then cover with rock like on the other side in front which I completed earlier. Then I'll place the collection of plants I have been gathering and saving to complete the overall work and then I'll be done. Until I decide to put something around the base of the tree which was the reason for all this effort. I think. I also still have to decide how to finish off that star. And the model train layout which is DEFINITELY on hold as the room is full of everything that was in the guest bedroom while the floor is being done. And the shed made out of pallets 

has been receiving some thought but no real work . Yet.

Work to do , work to do indeed.

Here we go again

It has been several days since I have really accomplished anything but I feel the need to publish SOMETHING. The little man in my head is complaining about my lack of progress on my projects but the more rational part of my brain is congratulating me for taking it easy and not pushing things as I am indeed a fat , old man and physical labor really should be contemplated first and pursued in a timely and rational manner. I had a bad scare when I did the concrete work on the Texas outline and really don't care to repeat that , as it was a very vivid and sobering experience.
I put a lot of thought into what I would do in the other "flowerbed " portion of the yard and what I have now is NOT what I had envisioned but in all honesty is not bad for what I could achieve using the materials I had on hand ( and my admittedly limited skills could accomplish ).

I want to "complete " the star by filling it with concrete and surrounding it with either another  , lower , application of concrete or gravel. It came to me after I had constructed the star that my tools on hand were not suited to finishing the points of the stars or the very narrow areas of the surround. I went and bought a very narrow trowel which should prove effective in the smaller areas but am still reluctant to attempt any concrete work without Twila being here to monitor my dumb ass. If nothing else , I plan to start the digging and layout of the new walkway so I will have somewhere to put any excess concrete should I decide or realize that my star needs to be re-configured.

In other news , I have taken 1st place in 2 of the last 3 poker tournaments I have participated in and have renewed confidence in my card playing abilities which had seemed to be in a serious decline. I wish I could find a venue where I could have a weekly bridge or pinochle or even euchre game  but so far nothing has presented itself. Maybe I need to try the local VFW or Senior Center. I haven't ever really considered either of those as places I cared to frequent because I am much too liberal for the very conservative views that are voiced often and very prevalent around here. I have found that having a different point of view is not accepted or tolerated especially when it comes to guns, the bible, and Fox News. I dearly miss playing cards , but mixing with these folks just might not work out for any of us. And playing card games online just isn't the same as sitting around the card table having a sociable evening. Ah , well.

So - a guy is supposed to start replacing our carpeting with wood flooring tomorrow. In order to stay out of his way I guess I will be doing some Polish backhoe work in preparation for making my new walkway. Hopefully I will not hurt or overexert myself and have some new pictures of yard work progress for you when next we meet. Stay tuned.

Where's my dinner ?

No new pictures with this installment , just talk. I have started on a new project but I'm not far enough into it yet to talk about it ( much ) or have pictures , but I hope to produce the pics and the "how I did it " fairly soon . I have decided that the left side of the house in front should feature another Texas symbol  -A Lone Star . For whatever reason I have also decided that the star should be within a ring or circle , both the ring and circle to be made of quikrete like the state outline on the other side in front which was reported on and described in earlier posts to this blog. I was looking for a use for some of the materials I have salvaged from clean-up and the removal of the garden . I was looking at a pile of several dozen 1" thick x 1' squares of red tile when I realized they should make an ideal 5' x 5' surround fro the area of my lone star piece. I plan to dig out the 3' x3' interior of this surround to a depth of about 5" . I can then form the star in the center using hinged plastic edging pieces which used to surround the garden , some of which now are being used to block the gaps under my back fence . I can then place a ring of the edging material I used to make my texas outline around the points of the star in a circle. Using a package of wooden shims as spacers I can then form a second ring around all this  , hopefully with all of this contained tidily within the area of the surround. I then fill the ring inside the two circles and the star with concrete. Unfortunately , two separate structures ,but I couldn't think of a way with the materials at hand to make a unified structure. Maybe you'll get a better idea what I mean when I can show the pics.
My wife is in Pennsylvania for a week , helping out her mom and brother while her mom has cataract surgery. She had the surgery today and I got a blip a little while ago that everything went well and they are all back home now and acting like it was just a trip to the store for a gallon of milk. I can only hope that last is factual. My wife has given me strict instructions not to work too hard while she is away. She must have me confused with some other guy. Working hard has only very rarely been something I would or could do and most certainly not something  I have in mind now. Probably she's referring to the impending concrete work for the lone star piece and the new cobblestone type walkway from the sidewalk in front around the side of the house to the new gate we had put in. I almost had a VERY bad experience when I did the concrete for the texas state shape on the other side of the yard and had the bad luck to have her stop by the house on her lunch break. She found me trying not to black out and very much feeling my age. It was about 15 degrees hotter then than it is now and I was a pale , sweaty mess. Lesson learned. Slow but steady wins the race. I have nothing but time stretching out before me and no deadlines to meet , so a little at a time will get it done eventually. And , by the way , anybody who wants to help can stop by any time and pkitch in. I'll even take your picture and give you a shout out like I did for my daughter when she helped me rake off and cover the first part with newspaper for weed control.
While I am typing all of this I am watching tv with the sound off and every time I look up from this screen I notice again that all the furniture is gone from this room. It is also gone from two bedrooms and closets. and stuffed into the dining room , kitchen , and garage as we are having our 20 some year old rug taken out and replaced with wood flooring by the guy who in several previous instances redid our kitchen , bathrooms and the tile floors now in our entry , dining room , and kitchen. With both my wife and all of the furniture gone I am reminded of my dad living out his last year alone in his room at the nursing home. I don't like it. At all.
Hopefully , the guy I see in the mirror wearing my face will make some progress tomorrow on that star thingy and I'll be able to post some pics. Other than that I guess I just keep breathing in and breathing out and hoping for the best. I sure do miss what'shername.

I don't owe you an explanation but...........

A little hiatus , friends and neighbors. I took a little time off from all the yard activity because of
1) the rain
 2 ) because
3) I haven't really gotten that much done that I could photograph or that I felt was worthy of documentation
4) hey , I'm retired - I don't HAVE to do anything ( Twila said this to me , but I don't think she means it )

Well , of course ,there have been SOME things happening and since it's too dark for pictures right now and I feel like writing this  , I can just blithely prattle on now and then try to produce something of substance tomorrow.
Some of what I've been doing, is trying to clean up around the front and back yards and garage and try to consolidate and catalog all of the various materials I currently have on hand for all of the various projects underway and planned. In anticipation of an upcoming and greatly anticipated visit by my son Jim , his lovely wife Jenna and their little dog Popper ( a rescue Basenji ) who we will be babysitting while they travel on to New Orleans for a few days I have been doing some "patch " work.

When we got the new fences installed , they did a great job of making them level and even. Unfortunately , the ground beneath them is anything but , leaving some impressive gaps that that very inquisitive little dog could all too easily exploit to investigate the neighbors yards which she would most certainly do if allowed to indulge her curiosity.
I had some years ago, after being kicked to the curb by the demise of TELXON ,spent a summer of what I thought was to be my retirement putting in a concrete deterrent to keep our dog SPIKE from digging under the fences to visit the neighbor dogs. I dug out a trench about 1 to 2 inches deep and between 1 1/2 and 2 feet wide just inside the fences ( a LOT of digging ) and then mixed quikrete in a wheelbarrow and poured that into the trench. It made a nice walkway for Spike to "patrol " the perimeter of the yard and kept him from being a nuisance to the neighbors.
Anyway , the new fencing left a gap in some places between it and the ground  , and also between the fence and the walkway. In the wider gaps I was able to install a quantity of brick I had accumulated and for other portions I used plastic edging which had surrounded the garden plot where I hope to someday build a shed using pallets we are currently collecting.

I can't help but think of Clint Eastwood as I talk about this. From several of his movies :
Improvise , adapt ,overcome
Endeavor to persevere
Maximum utilization of available resources
And when it comes to doing the concrete work again - A man has GOT to know his limitations

I know it doesn't sound like much or look like much but it really was quite a bit of work , especially since I had to keep stopping to fix the wheelbarrow. Due to constant flexing ,several bolt heads holding the barrow to the frame had broken through the bottom of the barrow. My solution was to save the tops and bottoms from a can of mushrooms and use them as oversized washers. I also had to remove the tire which had gone flat , allowing the valve stem to retreat into the core of the wheel so that it wasn't accessible for reinflation. The wheel and axle assembly had to be completely removed and the tire taken off the rim and then reseated with the stem available for reinflation. Pumped it back up , reinstalled it ,  and it seems I'm now good to go.
Twila suggested that we could just get a NEW wheelbarrow but I think she appreciates all the effort I put into refurbishing this old workhorse. It has really come in handy over the years and I have a certain sense of pride for being able to fix it. Making that old , rusted , concrete coated hardware eventually bend to my will and determination was a victory of sorts. A small one to be sure. But a victory.

And I think I finally have MOST of a plan for putting a small wall around my big oak in front and what I plan to put into the other side of what was the other flowerbed in front of the house. And of course , the new concrete walkway from the sidewalk to the new gate on the side of the house .

I'm not sure how long things are going to continue to be on hold. Twila will be leaving me ( again ) for about a week to be with her mom and brother in Pennsylvania and we have ( finally ) contracted with Mr. Gary Harmon to tear out our 20 some year old rug(s) and install new flooring in the living room ,hall , and two bedrooms. Mr. Harmon has previously remodeled the kitchen after we had water damage ,installed tile flooring in the entryway ,dining room , and kitchen , remodeled the master bath and replaced the floors in both bathrooms. House by Harmon.

Twila shows you what we did today

Yesterday was such a beautiful day that I mostly just napped outside and enjoyed it. Today was equally beautiful and Twila said we HAD to work outside. So we did. I mounted my plywood Texas that was used to make the form for the rock garden centerpiece in front. We're most likely going to paint or varnish it or something , but for right now I just wanted it on the fence to see how it looked.

I'd say it looks pretty darn good.

Next up was to mount the lattices on the back fence. Twila took a number of pix of me and so... here they are.

So . Texas outline , Texas flag , totems , suns , moons , stars , and frogs. Always on the lookout for things to add . Especially frogs.

Twila wants me to start work on the shed because she's already tired of having all these dirty , nasty , old pallets cluttering up the place. So I think I'll start on the walkway as soon as I fix the wheelbarrow.

We haven't used the grill for quite a while because it's just been so hot , but because it's cooled down to only the low 80's ( low last night was in the 50's !!! ) she thinks we should grill or smoke something tomorrow. I'm thinking about making another bacon wrapped meat loaf and some chicken and sausage so then we'll have meat prepared for the whole week or more. She gets up at about 5:30 every morning so as to be at work before 7. Staying with that schedule ,she has developed the habit of grocery shopping early on Sunday morning . She also likes it because it's not crowded then and they are just stocking fresh produce and bakery items ,etc. Whatever she brings home , that's what we'll do . We always discuss what plans we have and meals we want for the coming week. She makes a list. She has never -to my knowledge - NEVER actually taken one of these lists with her to the store. I would like to be able to say that she has never forgotten anything or failed to bring home what was on the list. Indeed , I would like that very much. Instead I will say " I LOVE YOU , TWILA . " 

 We need to get some STEELER and TEXANS stuff up in here.