Vacation, Day One

Today was my first real day of vacation after the weekend.  It was productive enough considering how stupid hot it is outside, 100F today, with humidity.  I got up early and went to the home improvement store for odds and ends and some lumber.  When I got home I got right to work putting together another, slightly different, stand for my dual monitors at work.  I built one a couple months ago that works well enough, but I found that a shallower one will work better for me and my work space.  I also built a small stand to go over my adding machine that I don't use more than a couple times a day, but all day it takes up valuable desk space and now I'll be able to put some stackers above it and utilize that space much more efficiently.

Late this morning, I had to quit after the first coat or two of paint to shower, I had an early afternoon appointment for a haircut and a massage.  I still have long hair, but I haven't had a trim in maybe a year so it feels nice to get it cleaned up a bit.  This was also my first professional massage.  I thought it would be more awkward and more relaxing than it actually was, but that's not a complaint.  I only got the half hour massage and if I ever do it again I think I will go for the whole hour.  My masseuse was very nice and professional, as was my stylist.  Still, this is a higher-end place so if I treat myself again it will have to be for a special occasion.

By the time I was done it was the height of the heat time of day, so I stopped off at our local fave bar/restaurant for a couple drinks.  Now I'm home, and staying in the air conditioning for the rest of the evening except for the odd trip out to the garage to put a clear protective coat on my new stands for work.  Tomorrow is expected to be much the same but the rest of the week is expected to be a bit milder, only regular hot instead of stupid hot.  I'm not going to adhere to any kind of schedule this week, but there is edging (seen in the upper left of the pic) that I want to get in by the side fence yet and, of course, the compost bin isn't going to build itself. 

It sounds like work, and it is, but I enjoy these projects that improve our home and property.  I'll probably try and get some more done tomorrow morning and then sit out the heat of the afternoon again.  It is my vacation, after all.


On a side note, all my best goes out to fellow blogger, Delcatto.  He has been through quite a bit of training and change at work lately and is feeling a little down right now and is going to take a break from blogging for a while.  Give him a visit at Tears Before Pearls, it may help make him feel a bit better!

Long Days Leading Into Vacation

I have ten hour days every day this week, then my week of vacation next week.  I don't terribly mind the mandated overtime, but the timing could be better for me.  My mind is crispy and my back has been very bothersome recently with overall fatigue building.  My backache is troubling because I have plans for my week off and do not want to be laid up and unable to accomplish anything with my precious time off. 

My main project is to build and install a compost bin in the back corner of the yard near the garden.  These are my ideas written down, as planned out on paper as it will get.  Whether it turns out as planned is yet to be seen.

My premise is that I will be able to insert hardware cloth into a rip cut in the wood and nail it in.  I'm also considering a sealant to keep water out of that groove.  If this doesn't work out then I do have a backup plan.  I just really hope I can get this to work easily.  I plan on building it in the garage in sections that I will assemble in the yard.  Any thoughts?  Good advice welcomed only.  ;-)

Happy Fourth of July, Andy Griffith

Happy Fourth of July everyone, tomorrow anyway.  I disappointed my wife by not wanting to go out with friends for a small party and to watch some fireworks.  I'm just exhausted and have started some complex training for a new task at work this week leaving my mind even more tired.  Yes, tomorrow is a day off but there are things I still want to get done despite the 100 degree temps expected and still hopefully have at least half of a restful day.

On a sadder note, I just found out that Andy Griffith passed away.  I like a lot of what he did, including the Andy Griffith Show, No Time For Sergeants and the following obscure video for Vitajex.  Rest in peace, Andy Griffith.




[Edit] I almost forgot about the little known show, Salvage 1, where Griffith is a junk yard owner that builds a spaceship to salvage valuable junk left on the moon by astronauts.  I loved that show as a kid and haven't seen an episode since.  I think I'll go check Youtube right now!...

The Sky Is Falling

But only just a bit.  As I got home from work today I saw something I haven't seen in a long, long time.  Rain.  Of course, it lasted only about 10 minutes and the sun was shining the whole time, so it was just enough to push the humidity through the roof.  It will all evaporate in these temperatures (over 90F every day this week and pushing 100F tomorrow) so I'm sure we'll still have to water the garden tonight.

Speaking of the garden, I'm due for an end/beginning of the month update over at my garden blog.  You can look for that either later tonight or tomorrow evening.  TTYL

The Kittens, Basil and Hamish

When we got these kittens they were less than two pounds each, that was three weeks ago.  They are now 9 weeks old and have grown quite a bit in that time.  Since the internet is a series of tubes, and those tubes are filled with cats, a few more cute kitty pics can't hurt.


Basil, left, is still a bit bigger, he has white arms and color on either side of his nose.  Hamish has 'sleeves' of color down to his elbows and more white in the face.


Much, much more after the break!

Kittens and Power Tools

I've been lazy about blogging lately.  Kind of odd, now that I'm getting more hits than ever.  All I can say is that I'm always tired now.  I still love my job, everything is great at home, I'm just fatigued.  Probably a lot of it is psychological now that I know my week of long overdue vacation is only weeks away.

Other than that, it has been a normal week for us routine-wise.  The kittens have been adorable, they are 8 weeks old this weekend.  On Tuesday they go in for the bad thing, but they may calm down after that and we won't have to deal with that smell ever.  They are getting bolder and went into the basement for the first time earlier this week, prompting a quick, thorough sweeping and cleaning of the floors and cobwebs.  Now they can go down there all they want, after all, that is where we want the litter box to ultimately be.  Warning, I have been trying to take some more pics for the inevitable cute kitten post soon.

Yesterday I skipped an in-laws get-together and reorganized the corner of the garage that holds the yard and garden tools.  Everything is up off the floor now, on hooks and such, making room to store my new toy.  I bought a table saw yesterday morning to help me in my various projects, including the compost bin I want to build soon.  So after cleaning up the corner of the garage I assembled the table saw and stand.  It is a very inexpensive one, 130 dollars, but I can't justify spending hundreds of dollars on a tool I will only use for maybe a couple projects a year.  After that and a bit of yard work I tired so I retired into the house for the evening.  Soon I will review the whole manual and play with it a bit to feel it out.

...When I'm not so tired. ;-|

Friends, Fathers and Maybe A Nap

We had a very nice small gathering of good friends last night for food, drinks and a fire.  It is nice to do, but preparation is an all day affair.  Yes, my wife does most of it, but it still occupies our whole day.  I'll feel better about it after I get to take a vacation, if I don't drop dead first.

I didn't take many pictures so I missed half the people and got none around the fire.  But look!  I got a picture of Zubin (far right) acting natural instead of avoiding the camera!

Today is Father's Day so my wife's dad came over this afternoon and we grilled out a tenderloin.  After last night I am exhausted so thankfully not much was asked of me.  I added a bunch of music to my itunes, posted over at my garden blog (link on the right) and now here to get caught up on everything.  Now the only question is if I nap or not.  TTYL

Pic Dump 41

Once more, time to dump my collected pics.  Click any pic to start a slideshow.  Right click and open in new window to see full size.  Some may be NSFW.  Enjoy!

Once again, many thanks to 'My Favorite Sites' listed in the right column always, and here now:
Bits & Pieces, Crazy, Lazy, Silly and Strange, I Have Seen The Whole Of The Internet, Naughty Bits, and the Watcher's Web Funny Farm.

More after the break!

New Kitties!

My sister in law, Allison, brought us our new kittens late this morning (she's on the board of and does a lot of volunteer work for a local cat rescue organization).  I think I mentioned here that we were looking to get two male sibling kittens, and that is what we have!  Sorry, this isn't the best picture - I'll get better pics later, but they're either moving too fast to get a good picture or else they're napping a lot, like kittens do.  They have the run of the house but most often stick to a corner area of the living room.  They know where their food and water are, and they know where the litter box is but they haven't used it yet.  No 'accidents' that we know of, but I will feel better when they use the box a first time.  Mostly we have been having fun with them and watching them for most of the day.

Kate has a history of bad cat names (Kitty, Puddy, etc.) so it was up to me to name them.  After I did some research for ideas we decided on Basil and Hamish - though we just got them and we reserve the right to change them in the next couple of weeks if we wish.  Basil, asleep in the pic, is slightly bigger and has one white ear, Hamish is a few ounces less and has more color, less white.  They have to be at least 2 pound before we can get them fixed and I think Basil was 1 pound 14 ounces and Hamish was 2 or 3 ounces less when they were weighed this morning.  Sorry, kitties, but it will have to be done.

Our last cats we each brought into the relationship, and the cats were different ages, sexes, and temperaments and barely tolerated each other.  Also, every female cat I have ever known has been some degree of antisocial, psychotic, not-fun type of cat.  So this time we wanted two males for the better temperament (when fixed), and preferably siblings so they would actually like each other hopefully for a full lifetime.  It will be different for us to have two 'normal' cats, but we sure look forward to the adjustment!

RIP Bob Welch

When I first heard Bob Welch I was just a boy, I loved the song 'Ebony Eyes.'  I had no idea who sang it and probably didn't really care at that age.  That song stuck with me through years of not hearing it again, then some years ago I found out who did it and was able to find the song online.  Since then I have become even more familiar with him and his music, so I was sad to hear of his passing yesterday, especially with the circumstances.  He was part of  Fleetwood Mac in the early seventies (he sang on early versions of 'Rhiannon'), in fact, he left amicably and even set them up with Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks and the Fleetwood Mac that everyone knows was born.

Bob Welch - Ebony Eyes