Wednesday, May 28, 2008

5-28-2008

I have very little talent when it comes to carpentry, I am modestly successful with mechanical things, very good with electronic things and quite good with computer things. I am, however, terrible at remembering names. My friends are constantly saying to me, “you remember ol’ so & so, don’t you?” In fact I probably do not. I am inclined to think it is something that comes with age, that forgetting thing, because my younger friends seem to remember everything. I have one older friend that remembers everything, but he is the exception not the rule. I guess the point I am making here is, if you think I remember someone we both knew way back when, I probably don’t. Believe me, I do feel badly when my memory fails, but it’s just the way it is and I move on. It only becomes serious if I fail to remember my name :)

Jerilyn oldest grandson, Chris will be having his high school graduation cermonies on June 14th. We are all excited for him and his big event. He will be attending the University of Tennesse in Knoxville this September and I know he is very excited about it. I also know that his mom and dad, as well as his brother Brandon, will miss him. But, life moves on, nothing is as permanent as we like to think it is, and people that are in our daily lives move away and things change. I remember well the day my two children moved away from home and I also remember the tears I shed. I guess my parents did the same when I left, or, maybe that had a big celebration. I prefer to think they shed a few tears. I’m gonna have to ask my brother the next time we visit.

Jerilyn and I attended a reunion with some of my former co-workers on Tuesday night. It was a delight to see them all. I have come to the conclusion that one of life’s pure joys is the connections we have with others. I enjoy family reunions, class reunions, meeting old friends and reminiscing about days gone by. Old friends are the connection to your past and, I believe, the past is what makes us what we are today. What a joy it is for someone in your past to walk into your life one day and set off a cascade of memories.

I recently bought a small boat from a friend of mine. He and his lovely wife are moving into a nearby retirement community. We wish them both well. I have already been fishing on his boat. My son and I went out on Memorial Day and caught 40-45 croakers. Only a few were keepers, but we threw them all back in. Jerilyn gave me strick orders “Don’t bring back any, I don’t want my kitchen stinking with the odor of fish.” Our next door neighbor, Mary Beth, said next time, bring the keepers to her. So be it.

The new boat has to have a lift, so we have contacted a fellow that will drive 4 pilings down by the pier. That will enable us to place a lift at each end of the boat and hoist it out of the water, thus preventing barnacles from attaching to the bottom. This will happen within a couple of weeks, or so says the contractor. I have my doubts, but am willing to wait and see. My experience is that contractors never keep their scheduled dates.

Summer is upon us and most days I am busy outside, puttering around the yard, and trying to find creative things to do. Lately, the creative thing has been pushed aside and more mundane things have taken over. Our truck is in the garage with an Automatic Braking System (ABS) problem. My lawn tractor is still not running like it should and the Riviera wants to make squealy sounds from one of it’s pulleys. Sometime, I feel life is a series of problems, interrupted by occasional bouts of happines. In mid-June, I will be accompanying my son to Tennessee and helping him move all his belonging back to Virginia. I’m sure there are mixed feeling on his part about leaving his family. I am very happy having him closer to me, but his children in TN will miss him terribly.






Sunday, May 18, 2008

5-18-08

The author Michael Pollan offered an elegant seven-word mantra in his best-selling book “In Defense of Food” that provides clarity amid the bounty of choices on supermarket shelves: “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants”. How easy that sounds. Although, I’m still on my ELOO (Extra Light Olive Oil) diet, I am still plagued by the amount of food available to eat. Jerilyn and I eat out once a week and, it seems, the restaurants are always eager to heap food on our plates in an effort to see that we return. The worst places are the buffets where we are responsible for returning several times and overeating. One thing I know for sure, if I ever cease to fight my own “Battle of The Bulge”, I will quickly baloon to an inconceivable weight and multiple health problems will appear. Like you, I have a weight number that causes immediate panic if I exceed it. I may not win every individual battle, but I will win this war!

Last week, Jerilyn got stung by a bee (Wasp) on her finger and it caused her a lot of pain. She spied it on the floor and took a paper napkin and caught it, squeezing it several time until she thought it was dead. Nope! When she opened the napkin and picked the darn thing up by its wing it stung her and she yelled at the top of her lungs. Goodbye Wasp! When she finished with it that time it was definitely dead. Looking at me inquiringly, she said “What can on do to stop the pain?” Desperately trying to remember when I graduated from medical school, I suggested placing her finger in vinegar. That seemed to help some. A friend told us that taping a penny on it for 15 minutes helps and someone else said that rubbing a banana peel on it would help also. The next day she pulled the stinger out and then things started improving. Her finger is fine now, but it will be a long time before she fools around with bees again.

I went fishing with my son last Sunday. That boy truly loves to fish. Without a boat, we were relegated to fishing off a pier. We were there 3-4 hours without a bite. The wind was gusting up to 30 mph, so we pretty much knew the fish would not bite. It was, however, a good time for father & son bonding. It always works out that way when we fish together. What a fun time!

Jerilyn has been working with United Airlines, setting up our trip to California in July. She was trying to work it in with our trip to Hawaii. We wanted to leave home a week early (July 16) and fly to San Francisco, which is part of the Hawaii trip, and then fly up to LA to visit family and friends. After that, we would rejoin the tour group and continue on to Hawaii. Also included in the problem was that we were attempting to use a flight credit issued to us last year when we cancelled our CA trip. Over a period of two days she was on the phone with United constantly. Every time they talked the rate would change depending on who she was talking to. Finally, at the end of the second day, she yells into the phone “I cannot believe anything you people tell me! Does anyone there know what’s going on?” That is so unlike Jerilyn. She is always sweet and pleasant. At the end of the day, they e-mailed us the tickets and I have printed them out. Unless we have a catastrophe we will be in CA on July 16th. This will be my first visit to that fair state and I’m certainly looking forward to it. I plan on taking many pics.

Saturday night we took Gladys out to dinner at Olive Garden (her favorite place). It has been more than six months since she has been out to eat with us. Health problems have kept her, either in Health Care, or her apartment. It was a good time for all. But, without fail, she looks over at me when our food arrives and says “Now, eat slow because I am taking my time.” As Jerilyn know, I absolutely despise anyone telling me how to eat my meal. As the anger boils inside, I calmly say to her “Gladys, I solemnly promise that if I finish before you do I will not leave you here.” Somehow, I think she knows how much that aggravates me and she cannot resist pushing that blinking red button. Once we got past that little annoyance, we enjoyed our meal and had a delightful conversation. She will be 90 this August. What a wonderful blessing!

Well, I finally finished the park bench for Jerilyn. The base of the bench is made of six by six (6”x6”) lumber and the bench setting on top of it is from a buckboard wagon Jerilyn’s Great-Grandpa Moger used back in the early 1900’s. I applied several coats of Thompson Waterseal to it before bolting it to the base. The base is salt treated and should last for many years. I poured some dry cement into each hole for the legs with the thought that it would eventually harden and hold them firmly in place. Jerilyn still has some work to do. She plans on making it a rock garden, so another trip to the Rock Place is in store for us. Anyway, my part is done and Jerilyn is a happy camper. Needless to say, when she’s happy, I’m happy!

My latest project involved putting a tomato plant in a bucket and hanging it upside down from a tree limb in our back yard . I found the info I needed online and with a printout of the instructions firmly clutched in my little hands I proceeded to follow them step by step. First I obtained a 5 gallon paint bucket, with top, from Kathy (Jerilyn’s daughter-inlaw), washed it with soap and water and placed the top firmly in place. I then drilled two holes in the bucket handle for a small rope. Taking a sharp knife, I cut a 2.5” diameter hole in each end, removed the top, placed a coffee filter over the hole in the bottom and filled the bucket with dirt (Jerilyn normally has a good stock of flower dirt from our local self-help store). Next I placed a coffee filter over the top of the dirt where the lid hole would be and then placed the lid firmly on the bucket. I then turned the bucket upside down, cut a slit in the coffee filter and worked out a place for the roots of the tomato plant, placed the plant roots inside the bucket and packed the dirt in firmly around it. The coffee filters inside the holes keep the dirt in place. Next, I throw a small nylon rope around a tree limb and attach it to the two holes in the bucket handle, hoist it to the desired height, tie it firmly and soak it thoroughly with fertilized water (Ortho liquid Fertilizer). That’s where the instructions stopped. I decided I wanted it to water itself for several days without my intervention, so I took a quart bottle, punched a small hole in its lid and base, plugged the hole in the base with a small screw (so I could regulate the drip), propped the bottle in the base and, with a few tweaks, I was done. So far, a bottle of water has lasted 1½ days. My new tweak should result in 4-5 days. I expect tomatoes as big as watermelons. I will keep you posted.

Thursday, May 8, 2008

5-08-2008

This past Saturday was a lot of fun. Jerilyn & I went, along with our friend Louise, to a community yard sale. We probably went to 15 locations and perused their goods. I bought a laser printer, exactly like the one I have, except newer. It is setting in the old one’s place right now. I paid $400 for the old one and $20 for the one that took it’s place. All three of us had a good time and Louise and I bought a lot more than Jerilyn. She (Jerilyn) analyse’s things before she buys, whereas, Louise and I threw caution to the wind and just bought. I probably spent $30. It is hard to have that much fun on $30. I’ll bet it will be a long time before Jerilyn invites me on another “yard sale” adventure.

Recently, I went over to pick up our trailer from Kathy (Jerilyn’s daughter-inlaw) and bring it back home. We had delivered a load of mulch to her and she emptyed the trailer and it was ready for me to pick up. It was a sunny, Sunday afternoon, and Brandon (the youngest granson) was out playing ball with his friend. Chris (who graduates this June) was out in the yard lazily enjoying his day. All of a sudden, I flash back to when I was his age (50 years ago) and I recalled how wonderful those days were. Graduation was only several weeks away and after 12 years of school it was a welcomed change. College was not an option, as was the case for most coal miner children, and a tour in the military was a distinct possibility since I did not want to become a miner. In my opinion, you will never feel better physically than when you are 18. I cannot recall worrying about much and everything that was going to happen in my life was going to be new and exciting (or so I thought). It was clear to me that my parents expected me to become self-sufficient at 18 and that included finding a place to live. They both loved me dearly, but it was time for me to move on and move on I did. Chris’ life is getting ready to change dramatically, leaving his friends and family behind as he strikes out for college, acquiring new friends and new challenges. A great life awaits him and I know he will do well.

I went out Sunday morning and had breakfast with my daughter (Debby) and Mary, at a local restaurant. The food was good and the conversation was excellent. It is so wonderful to break bread with people that mean so much to your life. After breakfast was over, we sat and talked awhile, then got into our cars and went our separate ways, me with a warm, comfortable feeling deep inside. It doesn’t get much better than that. It seems the longer someone has been a part of your life the more you love them. Well, these two have been a part of my life for a long time. Enough said.

At the yard sale last Saturday, I picked up a book on our presidents (thru Dubya). I am currently on our 12th president (Zachary Taylor). Since watching all 7 episodes of John Adams on HBO I have suddenly, become interested in learning about our presidents. Virginia (8) & Ohio (7) are leading with the most. Of our 43 presidents, I have lived under 11 and I remember 10 (starting with Truman). I cannot recall any of them being inspiring and, maybe, that is asking too much from them. Maybe, Obama can be inspiring, I don’t think Hillary or McCain can be. Should the ability to inspire be a prerequisite for the presidency? It would be nice to have such a president, but that may be asking for too much.

Well, our trip to California has been cancelled. Seems, the airline (United) has refused to do what they promised when we were forced to reschedule last October. Rather than pay twice for our tickets we have decided to work California into our schedule when we visit Hawaii in July. A little history on California, courtesy of my book on presidents: President Polk attempted to buy this state from Mexico in 1847 but they were unwilling to sell. Polk knew the Mexican government was weak and could not hope to win a war. Even so, the war turned out to be longer and bloodier than expected. Mexico was forced to surrender and the peace treaty with them forced an agreement (1848) for them to sell what is now all of California, Nevada and part of Utah, Arizona and New Mexico. I guess when we, as a nation, want something we take it. Anyway, with the cancellation of our trip to CA we are now considering a trip to TN to visit my family there. With all the travel planned I was wondering how I was going to work in a visit with my grandchildren (and great grandchildren). Now, I have a perfect opportunity to do so and do not have to wait until fall arrives. How wonderful it is to look into their face and see a reflection of those I love so dearly.

I have been working on a bench down next to the waterfront for Jerilyn. She has cut out a space in our backyard for a flower garden that will include the bench, some rocks and some flowers. I have almost finished the bench part and when the garden is complete I will include a pic of it in a future edition of this missive.

Thursday, May 1, 2008

05-01-2008

There are times when you have to give up. The hose reel is history. After taking it apart for 8 times it was time to call it quits. To insure I would not change my mind, I took my Sabre Saw and sliced it into two pieces. The trash man comes this Thursday and it will be at the curb waiting. I do not give up easily, but it was time to put it to rest. My theory about life’s problems is if you struggle with them long enough you can usually come up with an answer. Needless to say, that did not happen in this instance. Oh well, life goes on.

I watched a movie the other night (Into The Wild) about a young college grad that decided to spend his life in the wild with very little human contact. His theory was that complete happiness could only be achieved by being close to nature. He and his sister were very unhappy with their parents and this seemed to be the driving force in their life. Hence, his need to get away. There are two point to make here: 1. Joy in life, in my humble opinion, is best when shared (spouse, relative,friend). 2. At some point in your adult life the impact your parents had on you will diminish and you have to take responsibility for your happiness, or lack thereof. I’m thinking the statue of limitations is 10 years. After that, no whinning about how bad you were treated as a youngster. I know, there are plenty of mental health people out there that will disagree, but that’s my opinion and I’m stickin’ to it!

Jerilyn was looking out the window the other day and saw a mole moving along his underground tunnel. She screamed for me to come quickly, we each gathered a pitchfork from the garage and headed outside to eliminate this very destructive vermin. Sure nuff, after 15-20 jabs with our weapons, it appeared on Jerilyn’s pitchfork with one tine thru his mid-section. The celebration that ensued would rival that of the Redskins winning the Superbowl (or me winning a piece of super-duper computer software on ebay). These little fellows can plow up a yard in a couple of days and the traps on the market are practically useless. We have tried mole poison, broken glass placed in their tunnels and just about anything else that been suggested. A good mole trap could easily net someone a cool $million. With this in mind, I have given it a lot of thought and I think I have figured out a design for a mole trap that will work. Now, the next trick is to build this thing.

We spent part of Sunday morning spreading mulch under some of the trees in our yard. It had been setting in the back of the truck since last Friday and with rain in the forecast, we decided it needed to be spread before it arrived. Fortunately we finished before the rain came, showered, and went over to pick up her mother so she could spend the remainder of the day with us. I took her home around 7pm and upon my return, Jerilyn had a pippin hot dinner waiting for me. We ate in front of the TV while watching 60 Minutes (on tape). 30 years ago this day would have been so boring. Now, to me, it was a great day! I refuse to think about what a great day will entail 20 years from now.

Jerilyn and I went out to dinner with 5 friends on Saturday night. It’s amazing how much good conversation can happen when friends eat together. Everyone has a story to tell and each of us contributed mightily to each other’s entertainment. The food was very good, but the fellowship was better. After eating we went to a live show and arrived home around midnight. We spend most of our time during the week doing chores, so getting out with friends on the weekend is a welcomed change.

Yesterday, we ran the Noland Trail and left there for the place that sells rocks. Landscaping with rocks is a favorite pastime for Jerilyn. After turning many rocks in various positions, she finally settled on three. One was probably 150 lbs and the other two considerably less. We got them home safely in the back of the truck and, with some assistance from 3 contractors next door, have them safely ensconced in their appropriate spots. Today, we go back to the rock place for a really big one (600 lbs), bring it home and get it off loaded (without help this time) and then head off for another load of mulch. This woman is working me to death!