More Scrap Metal Found and Recycled

Did another metal run last weekend. I don't recall what trip number this is but I believe we're closing in on double-digits.  The majority of this run contained items that I've been holding at my place, although the load was topped off with even more metal items from my dad place.  Total weight was just over 500lbs.

I'm going out on a limb here and saying this was the last run, however, I'm not willing to put any money on that...

Out With The Old, In With The New

Tackled the deck stairs yesterday, finally!  HUGH difference in both appearance and durability!  We got a late start and put in only 6 hours otherwise I believe we would have finished it.  The rails in the picture above are just temporary and added so we can continue to use the stairs.  We're planning on reconvening next weekend to install the rails and spindles and complete the project.

Now just need to work on disposing the old stair lumber, which is currently hidden and piled in the trailer.

Spring Veggie Planting of 2012

Picked up (2) 4-packs of veggies last weekend - Kale and Broccoli.  Planted them outdoors this weekend, along side a Kale plant from last summer that survived the winter and is flowering like crazy.  The rabbits and chickens are loving it, fresh greens for them.  Now if we'd only get some MUCH needed rain...

Crack The Bedroom Window

Love being able to crack the bedroom window before crawling into bed and listening to the Spring Peepers sing and chirp and carry on and sing me to sleep!

Equally love waking up to the sounds and melodies of the singing birds as they carry on talking away and the smells of crisp, fresh morning air.

Oh Can't Wait To Pick and Eat!

Doesn't our garlic look fantastic?! It survived the winter and has simply taken off with this mild Spring weather - BIG beautiful plants. This planting was done in a different spot than I typically plant the garlic in, and from the results so far it was well worth the switch!

A Good News, Bad News Item

Good News = Trixie loves to run, bounce and play on the pool cover. We can't wait to see what she'll do once the cover is removed, so stay tuned. Since she always on it and we've had no luck keeping her off we don't need to worry about cleaning the bird poop off any longer. She takes care of that for us, yuck for sure!

Bad News = Not sure why, maybe because the cover is green like grass, but she occasionally does her "business on the cover too.

The picture above captures the good and the bad news as explained here. We're gonna need a LOT of chemicals added to that water before I get the courage to jump in...

Sunflower Seed Bread

My coworker and friend Vlad, who I seldom see these days, surprised me last week with both a visit and a fresh loaf of Sunflower bread, yum-me!

This is simply delicious - toasted with butter along with my morning cup of coffee! Alas, it's just about gone but was worth every calorie and a nice change of pace for breakfast.

Dog Eats Floor...Film At 11!

Yup, she did! I left Trixie alone for maybe 10 minutes while I took a quick shower and when I returned this is what was waiting for me! She found herself a place smack dab in the middle of the kitchen floor; a highly traveled and highly visible spot, and decided it was a good time to start ripping the linoleum a part!

She has the run of the kitchen and has been left alone many times before, so why all of a sudden did she decide to do this is puzzling. She has a dozen different chew toys to choose from and is always playing with one. Plus, we're pretty lucky with her, as we've not really had any other chewing incidents to speak of - one or two but she is a puppy after all.

It's not too bad though, right?! You can hardly notice it, right?! I bet we can get many more years outta this old floor, right?! I was planning on replacing the floor too but we didn't win the big Mega Millions jackpot, alas...

More Veggie Garden Space

Happy Easter weekend everyone!



Added approximately 80 square feet of additional garden space this past weekend - all done by hand!. The Robin is looking for worms in the new area above. I'm not sure yet what we'll be planting in this additional space but rest assured it won't go to waste.

Lesson Learned - Always Wash Your Hands!

Had a hankering for a toasted bagel the other morning, so once I arrived in the office and got settled I made my way to the cafe.

Getting into the office early has it's benefits. For example, I'm able to get a parking space close to the building, choice of fresh bagels and almost no lines at the toaster. This morning I scored all three.

So, while toasting my everything bagel, a coworker was making his way over to the "spreads" section to top his English muffin - you know, butter, margarine, cream cheese, jelly and peanut butter. Now, this particular person is typically grumpy most of the time anyway, my experience with him. Well, he proceeds to pick up the butter knife which had fallen over into peanut butter and now had a peanut butter coated handle. Apparently, the knife was placed back into the butter tub without the handle being cleaned. Where has common courtesy gone?!

Well, don't you know this person was NOT a happy camper! This look of disgust immediately comes to his face as he beings to look around for one of the cafe workers. Alas, there are none to be found, nor are there any napkins. The disgust now turns to anger and he's pissed! What he does next blows my mind - he licks the peanut butter off his hands AS WELL AS off the handle of the knife, eewwww, then proceeds to butter his English muffin. When done, he put the knife back in the tub of butter and storms off mumbling towards the cashier...

Needless to say I stayed away from the butter knife!

Like a "Rhizomes" Cowboy, Not

It's looking like our Tropicana Canna Lily rhizomes survived the winter and are poking their heads up. They have perked up with the longer days and warmer temps for sure.

I would have been very disappointed had they not made it since I dug them all up in the late fall, transferred them into an extra large flower pot and lumped them into the garage for hibernation.

When they're in full bloom is when I will truly appreciate the extra effort.

*** A bit of 411 on the Tropicana Canna Lily:
It has beautiful burgundy leaves with streaks of yellow, orange and green. Its flowers are bright orange. The Tropicana canna lily is one of the tallest varieties, growing up to 60 inches tall, SHAZAM!

XBX or 5BX Let's Do It!

I don't know about the rest of you but I may have put a pound or two on over the winter and maybe even added a couple of inches to the old waist, and then again maybe not...

However, if you have and if you're interested, I've come across this wonderful 1962 exercise gem - "Royal Canadian Air Force Exercise Plans For Physical Fitness"!

Front Cover -


And if the words on the back cover by Charles B. Wilkinson, consultant to the President on Youth Fitness, doesn't get you up off the couch I don't know what will!

Back Cover -


Who's with me?!?!

P.S. the P90x Workout system pales in comparison...

Scrabble For Juniors - Edition Three

1968 Vintage "Scrabble For Juniors" edition three game by Selchow & Righter Company.

Given to me on my birthday in 1973 by my wonderful Johnson City, TN Aunt, Uncle & cousins!

I'm Ready For School!

Parked first in line to drop Emilie off at school and about 15 minutes before the morning chaos was to start. The calm before the storm - before the buses begin to arrive to unload kids, parents start dropping off kids and the walker & biker appear.

When, look, out of the sky - it's a bird, it's a plane, it's superman...nope it was a duck. A male Mallard swooped in and landed in the middle of the parking lot! Weird, since there isn't a pond nearby within walking distance, hmm.

He slowly waddled his way towards the side of the school, where the scrubs are and what to my wandering eyes should appear but his mate, a female Mallard.

Then the two decided to skip school and off then flew into the wild blue yonder.

The End

Tick Tick Tick Tick Tick Tick Tick...

According to the Wall Street Journal article tittled This Season's Ticking Bomb, 2012 is expected to be a high alert year for tick activity.

Warm winter temperatures and decreased low field mice population are two of the primary causes of the increased potential for finding a tick on yourself or your pets. Ticks Will Be Out Early; A 'Horrific' Season for Lyme and Other Diseases.

So, consider yourself warned and be careful out there!

The Urinal Dance

zip·per [noun]

A device consisting of two flexible strips of metal or plastic with interlocking projections closed or opened by pulling a slide along them, used to fasten garments, bags, jeans and other items.

Where would we be without the zipper today? What a great invention for sure!

Well, I have this new pair of jeans that when the zipper is unzipped all the way down it's next to impossible to zip them back up and man is it frustrating. Now, it's not because of any defects in the zipper itself but rather how the zipper's pull tab gets stuck in the down position and gets lodged. When this happens it's all I can do to get it free so I can zip up!

Makes for an embarrassing urinal dance!

Move To Beat Parkinson's

Did you know that April is Parkinson's Awareness Month!

Visit the National Parkinson Foundation for more information on the disease and what you can do to help!