Thanksgiving Day Weekend

Returned today with Ian from Thanksgiving Day holiday up north with Carol's mother. Carol and Lois stayed up an extra day as they continue to help fix and clean up the around Margaret's house after the renovation of her living room and entry way. The major portions of the work entailed painting, wallpapering, mounting roman shades on all the windows and installing a chair rail all around the living room. We enjoyed a terrific Thanksgiving Day dinner at their Aunt Carolyn and Uncle Mevin's house which included granddaughter Brianna, and family friends Jim and Jan. Of special food note was the sweet potato casserole that Margaret brought, very decedent indeed. We had Patches and E'owyn with us and all in all they were very well behaved, including the ride up and back.

Happy Thanksgiving Day

It's in the air

Snowflakes drifting in the dark. I was in the back yard after arriving home from work last night, first I heard the snow hitting the fallen leaves, then looking about - seeing the future of the season reflected in the cast of the floodlights. In the end there wasn't enough snow falling to amount to anything, just a memo that they're here. The temperatures now are below normal for this time of year, with steady winds to drive the chill into the gaps of our clothing. The forecast is much the same through Sunday after which there may be a storm brewing. We'll need to stay tuned for further developments in the next few days. Tomorrow I'll have my studded winter tires put on the truck, throw a few concrete blocks in the back and I'm good to go. Weekend plans, prep the snowthower, then I'm really ready to party.

Fenced in

Carol and I finished the fencing today. The last major yard project of the year - just in time as the weather is making a turn toward colder temperatures.

The fence is staggered front and back stockade style pickets. The pickets are a gray (weathered looking) composite material, the posts and cross pieces are pressure-treated which we expect will gray out eventually and compliment the shade of the pickets.

We designed the gate to be the same height as the fencing and an opening with a sill for leaning on. Also part of the dog containment system which Patches en devours to bypass at his own discretion.

35 years between flat tires

Jumped into the Cruiser after work last night and headed out to pickup Carol before heading home. It's damp and dreary (again). I'm hearing a bit of a thump, thump, thump as I'm buzzing down the street... yeah I do seem to be listing to the corner where the sound is coming from. I finally pull over, get out of the car and sure enough the right rear tire is flat. I give Carol a call that I'm running late then I get the jack out and drop the tire from beneath the car. I have AAA but unfortunately I'm able bodied enough to take care of it myself. Just glad it wasn't raining as it had been earlier. Of course the spare tire is one of those mini's. As it turns out the original tire was unrepairable so I had to buy a new one - $128 mounted, I put it back on myself tonight.

Today Carol and I took a shot at finishing our recent fencing project next to the deck but the rain picked up and that ended the attempt for the day. Try again tomorrow.

This just in - cats are not fond of
being out in the rain.

Dogs just don't have a clue.

Remembering those who served

Veterans Day 2008

My thanks to all who have served our country in Afghanistan and Iraq and all previous conflicts in places far from home, family and friends. We have a great country and our veteran's commitment keeps it that way.

The photos are of the Town of Raymond, Maine's Veterans Memorial which was dedicated on Memorial Day 2007 after a lengthly fundraising effort organized by resident Howard Stiles. It is a project that the community can take great pride in.



The embedded video (16:24 long) is footage of WWII taken by army photographer Albert Fagler in 1944 recently found in a Englewood, Colorado basement and was shown on Monday evening's NBC Nightly News. The clarity is incredible, there is no audio.

Just a weekend at home

Tidied up a few stacks of my stuff with the weather being damp and dreary, I wasn't much inclined to work around the yard. The two main places I pile papers, magazines, newspaper and assorted mailings are around my computer desk and an area of the kitchen island counter. Nothing life threatening. I took on the kitchen counter version. My mother-in-law Margaret is visiting from up north and had stayed at Lois' Friday night and they came for lunch Saturday before heading with Carol to a holiday craft fair at a nearby high school. That was the incentive to clear my stuff out. After sorting out the trash part and separating the recyclables what remained was moved to the piles on my desk where someday soon it will be re-sorted with what was there before - you know the drill. This happens to coincide with part of what my older sister has been doing lately. On her blog she tells of cleaning house spiritually which includes clearing physical spaces to help unclutter the mind. It's a little more complicated than that to describe but the clearing out and organization of our personal spaces always is good for helping ourselves get our act together no matter what we're trying to accomplish. After being left to my own devices after the visitors and Carol left I moved to the attic over the garage with the low end goal was to create space for the patio furniture but also some general cleanup there as well. Wasn't going to happen. I could clear the space I needed by moving a few things around but cleaning out the junk... It's at least a two day job. The status of the attic has been that way for years. A former neighbor who sold his house and moved away last year said this to me, "start cleaning out your stuff NOW. Take it from my present experience you really have no idea how much stuff you have that you don't need until you move out or if you pass away those that you leave behind will have to deal with." I believe him. To do that - the garage, the attic overhead, all the nooks and crannies in the house, cripes, even my cubical at the office - would take a week of constant work. Carol and I have lived in this house almost 25 years now, that's a lot of collecting. Since coming up with that kind of time for those tasks isn't going to happen I can only hope to take out a little here and there faster than I bring in more stuff. Disposing of things aren't that simple either. You can't (shouldn't) just throw all the stuff away. Some of it can go to thrift shops, some get separated for recycling, somethings could be considered hazardous materials. In spite of it all I think we can someday make progress dealing with it all - hopefully long before I get carted away.

Reading list update

Though I have a prized Neal Asher book waiting in the wings I decided to read Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince as a change of pace from my sci-fi books. As Pandora's Star was such an epic novel I felt like toning it down a little before jumping into Asher's Polity Agent. Not that a Potter episode is a walk in the park but I expect Polity Agent to be an epic story in it's own right much as has been the novels of the storyline preceding it.

I've also started the June 2008 issue of Asimov's. The last issue had some very satisfying stories in it it. So far the first two stories in this issue are OK, just don't measure up as well. More stories left to read in this issue so there's hope for those.

Woodsmen doing their thing

Saturday Carol, Patches and I went to Durham to watch Ian at the UNH Lumberjacks Woodsman Fall Meet. A sunny breezy and cool day as the host team the Lumberjacks put on a well organized meet. There were six colleges participating most with multiple teams - men's and women's (Jacks & Jills). Visiting teams were: Unity College, Dartmouth College, UMaine, Colby College and U Connecticut. Fourteen events broken into singles, doubles and team participation. The spectator turnout of what I would guess was mostly parents and other relatives all seemed to me enjoying themselves many of whom brought their own dogs (who else's?) This of course made for chatting with each other about their pets and pets we left at home and had in the past.

Here Ian has completed one of his axe throws hitting the target. I haven't heard from him about it but as he hit the target on all his throws I'm guessing he came in first.

While watching one of the events I heard the squealing and laughing of a toddler behind me only to turn and see the cause of such enjoyment - Patches had the little girl and her grandmother totally under his control.

Ian doing the Horizontal Chop

Team Cross Cut

Bow Saw

Log Roll

The UNH team with plenty of spirit after a long day which had yet a longer way to go as they still had to clean up and put gear away after all was said and done.

A blogger's lament

Lately each day seems to be put together like a stack of building blocks. I have series of things to do that pile up one after another until it collapses when my energy level drops at about 8:30pm. At that point I'm tired enough to fall asleep sitting up. I can usually salvage another hour or more if there is a television show or a movie that interests me and even then I may nod off for a few minutes. It's been happening for several weeks now, perhaps it's age, not getting enough sleep or just some phase I'm going through. It seems like my brain's energy slips away - it's had it and starts a shutdown sequence - resistance is futile. When I shutdown it's my imagination that goes first. The disappointing part is that it cuts into a couple of my favorite activities - reading and blogging. I'm not a natural writer so even writing the blog requires looking at things in an imaginative way. Additionally I'm trying to read news and information on the web that goes deeper than what is usually covered on the TV and in news publications commonly available. These things usually come second to my web and newsletter projects much less a day at the office or yard work around the house. Once I do have time it feels like stealing without the guilt but as always - just a little is enough.