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.