Chicago, Chicago

Went to Chicago for some training last week. Reason #2 I put the cruise control in. It worked great just like on the Nashville trip. I thought about going to the Arch on the way... I've yet to go up in the Arch. I ended up leaving later than I had expected, though as I was getting the new car all titled and registered before I left. At any rate, I figured the view from the arch would be better when it's not winter. Leaves and all, you know. Green.

And so it occurred to me during one of my constant ETA recalculations as I got to 370 in St Charles that if I didn't stop anywhere I might get to my destination AT 5:00 pm. Before I thought I'd be hitting the suburbs at about 5:00, but it was looking more like about 4:15. I really didn't go IN to Chicago. The training was in Shaumburg, about 25 miles up the west side suburbs. I pulled in to the parking lot at the Marriott at 5:01. Traffic was fine.

Listened to a lot of Chicago on the way up there, but I switched to Helen Forrest when I hit the suburbs to keep me cool and calm through any traffic snarls. The trip was fairly uneventful. It was my first trip north of St. Louis on I-55, so that was new, and of course I'd never really gone up to the Chicago area anyway.

Shedds closes at 5:00 during the winter, and I didn't even go downtown. My training went from 9-5, and by the time I finished dinner and all it was 7:30 or 8:00. I went to the RAM (Big Horn Brewing Company) both nights. The food was good, the beer was good, and the service was good. So what the heck.

I went to the IKEA store up there for about an hour both nights. Rob-Bob and Kathy had said they had gone and that these stores are rather unique... and I'd heard a story on NPR the other morning about it as well. It was there, and I didn't have anything else in particular to do. I ended up replacing our drinking glasses and tumblers. Ours were big and heavy, and kind of weighed down the dishwaser rack.

Had to drive back Friday night. I left at 5:15, went through friday evening rush-hour in the Chicago suburbs. As I figured it added about 45 minutes to the drive back. I was home at 12:15 am and in bed by 12:30.

Over the weekend we washed curtains and blinds and I re-repaired the water heater. It developed a slow leak again, so I replaced the cheap plastic gaskets with rubber ones. However, it still has a slow leak. Either I need fatter gaskets, or new screw holes closer to them to put the pressure closer in to the gasket. I think the problem is the resin, though high temperature resin, still warps a bit over time. With between the distance of the screws from the middle (where the gaskets are) and the heat, over time I figure it's warped slightly.

Brian is leaving Iraq soon. We'll be seeing him before we know it. I won't say the time flew.... but it did go faster than we expected. I think being able to stay in touch like you can these days helped.

The Kid Weekend

No, nothing too exciting. Kevin called. He and Angela were headed into St. Louis this weekend to see "Rent", and needed someone to take care of Mia (Potato).

Mia is often called "Mia Potato" because she is the same color and is roughly shaped like that tuber that was so popular with the Irish.

Speaking of Irish, I made Corned Beef and Cabbage for St Patty's day, but of course Vicki and the kids weren't going to be back for dinner and so most of it was eaten tonight. So yesterday we took them to see the new Shaggy Dog movie, which has absolutely nothing to do with the original other than there's a guy who turns into a Shaggy Dog, and even the mechanism is completely different. Oh, there' was a reference to Tibet, but that's about as close as it got to "In canis corpus transmuto" (that's roughly the quote from the ring in the original movie). Oh, and Disney did both movies. Oh, and there was a D.A. in the sequel, and Tim Allen played a D.A.

Nathanial was unimpressed (that's putting it lightly). The target audience was probably more the 10-14 crowd. Cassie liked it. It had its humorous moments, but I'd recomend the original any day.

We watched Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire last night -- well most of it. Tired eyes about 2/3 of the way through lead to an overnight intermission. Of course, Snoopy waffles were eaten for breakfast both mornings (along with eggs and other good stuff).... By the way, were you aware that Cedrick dies in the movie? Yes. With his eyes opened, no less. Nathanial made sure we knew (many times) before (and when) it happened. He was funny. Well, the kid's only 6.

There was a thorntree forest built by Cassie in our back yard, and Nathanial's new monster truck terrorized the Williams' driveway on Saturday as we helped put siding up.

Then, insane people that we are, we (and Kristin) took them to Chuck E Cheese for lunch before taking them back to Mom and Dad. What a cacophany of activity! I was mentally prepared, though, and the pizza was actually not bad. I'm not going to go out on a limb and say it was pizza I'd recomend, but it should not be feared, especially if you have kids.

We were there a couple of hours. It was far more exciting for the kids than for us, but it was fun to see them having fun. I spent about $10 on tokens, and it was a cheap afternoon's entertainment.

We watched a couple of episodes of Survivorman this morning, and I noticed that the ones I'd recorded off of TDC said the FULL versions were available on the Science Channel (which we do not get) and they were a full hour. Perhaps I wouldn't be so disappointed with those.

Anyway... dat's it for now.

Take the last train to Nashville

Well I drove through Clarksville on the way.

Went down to Nashville to the HEUG/Alliance conference. They held it at the Gaylord Opryland hotel/resort/convention center, right next to the New Grand Ole Opry. Listened to a lot of the Lovin' Spoonful on the way down. Yup. Nashville Cats. Clean as Country Water.

I was expecting a largish hotel with garish, over the top country music themes. Boy, was I surprised. It has very clean, southern plantation architecture, and there are three garden areas with waterfalls, fountains, even a sort of "gondola" boat ride. The place is kept meticulously clean -- the surroundings were quite pleasant. A bit expensive, but pleasant.

This is not a work blog -- I don't really talk much about work - so I won't start now. Suffice it to say that I went to a lot of sessions and listened to people talk about stuff that was sometimes periferally related to what I do, and a couple that were closer and a little more interesting.

I took Tuesday afternoon to go to downtown Nashville -- though I didn't get there until about 3:00 and I needed to be back at the hotel by 6:30 or so for the Charlie Daniels/Jo Dee Messina concert that the conference put on for us at 7:00.

I went to the the Ernest Tubb record store to pick up a few guitar pics for myself and for Sam, who had given me his and said "just pick me up another when you go". I went into a few touristy shops, and then decided to hit a honky tonk bar. I walked by four of them and listened for the honki-tonkiest sound, and went into Tootsie's Orchid Lounge. The young bartender looked like she was about 15, but I'm getting older, so she probably wasn't. Another pretty young blonde her age got up and sang with the band of otherwise 50 and 60 something men. I had a $4.00 Miller Lite and got Vicki a shirt while I was there -- but I had to go eat.

I'd walked by a BBQ place called Rippey's, but upon closer inspection I decided it was too upscale for my grittier Nashville experience. Over by Tootsies was Jack's BBQ, with an old flashing neon sign with three pink pigs taking turns lighting up, and I said "yup, that's where I'm goin'". I had a BBQ sandwich and some slaw, and a $3.29 beer -- and I still got out of there for $8.69. And it was good stuff. Nothin' fancy in there. Three young black men behind the counter, workin' hard. The place was clean but worn and tired... oilcloth style tablecloths. Just the way you'd expect an honest BBQ place to look and feel. Autographed picture of Dolly Parton at my table basically saying "Jack, you're the best .... Dolly Parton 1999". Well Dolly has good taste in BBQ.

Got back for the Charlie Daniels concert, which was very entertaining. Charlie tells it like he sees it. He didn't play "This Ain't No Rag" for the Higher Ed crowd, I noticed... but he did play "In America" and the band gave their heartfelt gratitude to our boys and girls in Iraq & Afghanistan, including Brian :-)

I put cruise control on my car last week, and it worked great. I also got about an extra 3-4 miles per gallon using it, in addition to the benefit of resting my throttle leg. Had to make one adjustment when I got to Nashville (it was idling fast) and that was it.

We have Cassie & Q this weekend to give the adult Groves a kid break. We'll be sure and get 'em real wound up on Snoopy Waffles, Chuck-E-Cheese, and movies before we send 'em back ;-)

I actually may spend quite a bit of the weekend helping Ryan with more siding.

Anyway, that's it for now.

-P

I'm still here -- still busy

Spent last Saturday helping Ryan with his new siding. We did the front of the garage. Neither one of us had put up vinyl siding before, so there was a lot of figuring and learning -- plus there was quite a bit of detail work. Only one course went up without making any special cuts.

Near the end of February, I ordered cruise control for my car from JC Whitney. Got the expedited shipping for an extra $5. And they very quickly shipped me the vaccum reservoir. The actual cruise control unit, I was informed the next day, was on backorder until the 17th.

I wanted to get it installed before this weekend. I called them to find out if that was an estimate or if that was really the date. They said that was really the date.

So I did a web search and read about a guy in Florida who bought one at AutoZone. So I called AutoZone. They said I could have one by the 7th. For $30 less.

I went down to AutoZone and paid for it so they'd order it, and the next morning I called to cancel the rest of the JC Whitney order. Well, they said they couldn't cancel the order because they got 20 in that morning and my order was on a "pick list" and there was nothing they could do. I could refuse the package when it came.

Only it was left by FedEx on my stoop, so I had to call and have them come pick it back up. Sheesh.

Anyway, last night Ryan, Daryl and I mounted the servo and vaccum reservoir, and drilled holes to get the wiring through the firewall into the car. Running the wires actually took half the 4 hours we spent on it. When I got home tonight, we wired up the VSS (Vehicle Speed Sensor) and the break switch sensor. I also mounted the switch on the dash and ran the wires from that down behind the trim.

Can't find the tach sensor, so I'll ask Troy about that tomorrow. Tomorrow it's just hooking up the power, the tach, and putting the actual throttle mechanism on it. Got a long trip to Nashville coming up soon, followed by another to Chicago. I'd love to have the cruise on it.

I got the good speakers out of the back of Vicki's old Taurus and replaced the ones in my car. Her front speakers wouldn't fit my door speaker holes... and my door speakers were shot -- I think they had gotten wet. I bought some polypropylene replacements -- they won't be so succeptible to moisture -- and some door tweeters up by the dash on the door. Sounds muuuuuch better.

The new Taurus is running fine -- we did have a little scare there the day after we got it. It started running very rough. But it turned out (thanks to my handy dandy OBDII computer) that it was misfiring on 5&6, and they each had about 1/2" of water in them. Probably from when they powerwashed the engine before we got it. It's been fine ever since.

We went to Jazz (local New Orleans style restaurant) with the Williams' for Mardi Gras dinner. As always had a good time with them.

I found a new battery for Mom's old laptop and I'm borrowing a wireless network card for my conference trip and training trip. It's Win2K, and it's just a P-II with 160MB of memory with no possibility of expansion. So I don't want to run any extra software on it. Still -- you really ought to run a firewall. So I spent some time configuring IPSEC (part of Win2K) to act as a firewall. Seems to be working.

I sent the .22 pistol down to a gunsmith in Rolla. The cleaning did not fix the problem. He's dealt with these before. I really like the gun, so I'll be glad to get it back in working order.

So.... lots going on. I'll try to keep updating at more reasonable intervals.

Quick walkabout

We went down to Cedar Creek to try the .22 pistol out.

This time we built a fire with sunlight and a magnifying glass. We couldn't get a flame using the fresnel lens. I think if we found the right material and tried hard enough, we could. We got crushed leaves to glow, but no flame.

A regular magnifying glass probably focuses more energy onto the same area, so you have more heat to work with.

One thing I learned from Survivorman was that with this type of fire starting technique, you should think of the the "fire" you start first as your match, then once you get a flame light something else easy to catch on fire and transfer it to your stack-o-sticks with more tinder and -- kafoom! Which is what happened today. Worked great.

The .22 was a different story. It misses on several cylinders. I think the firing pin is worn. So, off to a gunsmith with it. It shouldn't take much.

It's much louder than I expected. Shooting the same round out of a rifle sounds more like a cap gun. This pistol has quite the report.

Well.... tax time.

See ya.

Just thinkin'

People have been congratulating us on the car puchase. It's kinda funny. I've thought of this before, but here's the thought...

At what point does a purchase become worthy of "Congratulations"?

"Hey, congratulations on that pack of gum, man! Sweet! Wrigley's? Dude!!! With the flavor specks! Can I see it?"

"Woah, new bottle of whiskey? Cool! It's a Dickel! 1994? Smooooth! Congratulations, man!"

"Nice shoes, man, are they new?! Congratulations! Dig the stitching. Vibram soles? Sweeet!"

Anyway.... that's my twisted brain for ya.

-P

Out with the old, in with the new

It was a long weekend of driving all over the western part of the St. Louis Area, but at 4:30 yesterday afternoon we bought a car.

We drove sevaral Taurus', a couple of century's, and looked at countless cars.

We'd hoped to drive home with one Friday, but brought clothes in case we needed to stay overnight and look Saturday. Stayed with Joel and Dawn in St. Charles and had a fun evening with them. Took off about 9:30 am for more car browsing. After checking dealerships between St. Charles & Hazelwood, we decided to cruise down 270 south. Checked a Chevy dealership in Creve Coeur, went down to Valley Ford, and on to Sinclair Buick, & Sinclair Ford (pretty close to each other on Lindbergh). We almost bought Dave Sinclair II''s daughter's Buick Century - would have been a decent deal and a nice car even with 65K on it. I don't think the Sinclairs abuse their vehicles.

We'd been told about a Taurus on Friday at Dave Sinclair Lincoln Mercury in St. Petes. The sales lady's step-daughter was trading it in on an SUV, and it wasn't on the lot yet. The price she gave with the year, mileage, and features sounded very hard to beat, and as we looked around, we became more and more convinced of that. However, we hadn't seen it or driven it yet.

About 2:30 we called Charisse in St. Pete from Sinclair Buick down south to see if the car had become available while we were waiting for the Buick Century to get unlocked from the garage. The guy with the key was out of the state. Since they seemed to be having trouble and we didn't want to leave town without driving the car in St. Pete's if it was indeed available, we decided to shoot up there. It wasn't cleaned yet (it had literally just come in Saturday morning) but that was kind of an advantage. We could see the car in a condition pretty close to how it was kept. The engine hadn't been powerwashed so any leaks would be visible.

It was $1,000 over my stated price range ... but I think our strategy worked out pretty well. We ended up with a car they would've probably put a $10,000 price tag on for $8,000. That was my absolute max price, but I never told any dealers that. I wanted to see how close they could get to my desired price with a decent car.

Actually, it's not over yet. We don't have it yet. It needs to be inspected and detailed yet, (think I can work the word "yet" in there yet one more time???) and we will get it Monday. And its in St. Pete's. It may even be delivered all the way to Columbia, but we may meet them in Kingdom City. Depends on what Charisse and I can work out on Monday morning. But the deal's done and it's all ready to go.

What is it?

It's a 2003 Ford Taurus SES. Dark Metallic Grey. Dark Grey leather interior (actually, that's a minus. We'd rather have had lighter cloth seats. But we'll cover 'em). 24V DOHC engine (yay!). Moon roof (eh... well it's fun sometimes, but we would just as happily bought one without). It has the primo sound system in it. Single-shot CD player in the dash -- not the changer in the trunk. Power everything. 42K miles. A rear spoiler (whopee....) $8K. Clean. Engine looked good. And we saw it before they cleaned it. No leaks. Handles nice. Not too noisy (like our old '96)...

We looked at a LOT of cars. This Taurus was a good deal. We could have gotten a different 2003 with 26K with EVERYTHING we wanted for 11.5K at Sinclair Ford... but... no. For that car I would probably have been willing to bite the bullett extra hard and extend my payments for a year and go 10K. But I didn't think he'd go there with it.

I think I'd reccomend dealing with Dave Sinclair's folks. They were about the most professional and genuinely helpful people we dealt with, and we went to three of their dealerships. I grew up with Dave Sinclair's no-nonsense commercials. Just him talking. Not yelling. "Hi, I'm Dave Sinclair, your South County Ford Dealer".... blah blah blah blah "...and if it's not right, I'll make it right. Thank you and here's my address: " blah blah.

So here's a likeness of it. It's actually slightly darker in color than this one.

We're happy with it. We'll see it Monday, cleaned up and inspected.

Taps

The '96 Taurus is officially dead. It was pronounced dead on Thursday Evening, Feb 23 at about 5:45 PM.

The oversized bearing was not even big enough to give her a few more months. So, off to the car cemetery for her. Actually, her parts will likely give other cars more life. But not for us.

We got a good 70,000 miles out of her. We were hoping for about 30K more. A maintenance error about a year ago led to her early demise.

So so long, Mrs. Taurus. You were a good car.

Cars are Cars

Went to KC to visit the Groves last weekend. It was Q's birthday, but that's not really what prompted the trip. Unfortunately, Vicki's car broke down on the way. We got a ride back from Ken, loaded our stuff in my car and went anyway.

I was convinced that was the end, and we looked for cars in Kansas City on Saturday, but didn't get one.

Got home, and Ryan talked me in to trying to replace the short block ... it'd only be about $1,000 or so if we did it ourselves. So monday I took off work early and went and got a catalytic heater for the garage (hooks to a propane tank), some goop to clean hands, and went home and cleared out the garage. Paid Troy $81 to tow the car to our house.

Monday evening we figured out that would be a lot harder than originally thought because the engine on that car comes out the bottom, it can't be lifted out from the top. And we don't have the facilities to get the car up that high.

The theories varied from throwing a rod to a busted piston or piston rod. I was once again ready to resign and not even try, just go get a new one.

But Ryan talked to one of his buddies at work yesterday, who said he thought it sounded like a worn bearing on one of the piston rods, and you should be able to replace the bearings from underneath the car by taking off the oil pan.

So we took the oil pan off last night (had to take part of the exhaust off, too) and took off two of the piston rod caps. The second one appeared to be the bad one. I ordered some new bearings which will be in today, and an oil-pan gasket for putting the oil pan back on. I need to get some oil today, too. So that's about $50 worth of stuff and our labor. I also have a couple of oxygen sensors I bought a while back I need to put on the exhaust system while it's out.

Tonight, we replace the bearings and hopefully get it all put back together. If it runs without making any unusual noises, I guess it's fixed and we can continue to drive it for ... maybe a couple of years. If it doesn't run well, we're back to buying a new (used) car and we've only spent $130 trying to salvage what we have.

Stay tuned!

In other news, I got an old 1930's H&R 922 revolver for practice. 1.7 cents a shot sure beats 26 cents a shot. It shoots 9 rounds. Has a nice walnut handle, and it was pretty inexpensive. But... haven't fired it yet due to visiting people and working on cars and whatnot.

I have everything I need to reload my spent .38 S&W rounds. A reloader, dies, primers, gunpowder, scales, & lead. I'm good to go.

Walkabout #4

Went on walkabout with Ryan yesterday. Made fire. Boiled dogs. Fired guns. Watched snow fall (I haven't been walking in the woods while it was snowing since... I'll bet I was a teenager -- it was very pretty). Even took a few pictures (no way!)

Bryan of Colt Forum fame had told me what the correct sight picture was for the old Police Positives, and I figured out what I'd been doing wrong. So I have a much better idea of what's involved in aiming well.

We made fire again. This time I got to do the magnesium thing myself. Not too hard at all. I have a lot of faith in those things now. I bought a special pocket knife just for the magnesium block. They fit on a keychain together. You shave off some magnesium onto some tinder, then use the piece of flint and the back of the blade to throw sparks at the magnesium. It's at least as good as matches, if not better. Just a little less convenient. Much harder to ruin, too.

I brought my little V-8 stove along for the hot dogs this time, just to demonstrate it to Ryan. Worked like a champ, as usual.

Anyway, it was a pretty day. Well, most people wouldn't say so, but we do. It was in the 20's and snowing lightly. It's been forever since I've walked in the woods with snow falling. Very pretty.

You might think we're crazy, but... we get to see stuff like this:

So there!

A little slow on the draw

Yes, I know. Long time, no updatey.

Well, what have I been up to. Obviously, I had a birthday the day after my last post. We also had our 14th wedding anniversary. We went up to Fayette and ate at Emmetts Tap & Kitchen. It was very good. I mean food, service, and atmosphere. It was all good.

I bought an old Colt .38 S&W revolver. Figured it was about time I learned to use a pistol as well. Oh, yeah, I've shot them in the past... but just not really knowlegable and comfortable with them. I can think of a couple of times in the past few years I wished I'd had one handy. It's a scary feeling when the demon's at your door and you realize you're pretty much defenseless. If you ever need one, it's that's not the time to get comfortable with it. And it's definitely not the time, in this day and age of gun control laws -- time to try to BUY one. It's 87 years old, but still quite servicible. I love the oak grips. It takes .38 S&W ammo, which is not as easy to come by as, say, your .38 special, .357 mag, or 9mm -- but I kind of like the historical aspect anyway. Looks like a cowboy gun.

I did okay with it on the range. I wouldn't mess with me at 10 yards with it. Haven't tried 15 yet.

I worked on the dryer switch, finally. It stops now, but I can't get it to buzz consistently. I'll have to order another switch from Sears.

We did quite a bit last weekend -- swapped light fixtures in the hallway for better light distribution. We also bought (thanks, mother!) our new Microwave... that actually has a light and a turntable -- and is white, which Vicki likes.

We also had lunch with the Carletons at Buffalo Wild Wings. I had their hottest. I like hot. It was definitely hot. I was impressed. Maybe too hot for everyday. I think their second hottest would be about perfect. We had a lot of fun talking and joking with them while watching Mizzou get their pants whipped off of them by Texas Tech.

Then of course, yesterday we got the news -- head coach Quin Snyder resigned. So tomorrow's game should be interesting. Will this spark them? Will they play better? We'll see.

Aunt Pat called tonight, I think just to talk. That was very nice. Things are looking up for her. She's back out on the golf course, and doing things with friends. Sounds like she's having fun again, and getting ready to travel and visit people this summer.

So a big heidey ho to one of my few readers down there in Florida!

The Rest 'o January

I still don't have the drier switch fixed.

We had the party down in Rolla. Always good to get together with that group. The kids are getting to the age where, except for meal and bed time, they're pretty self-sufficient and they can fight for attention among themselves instead of for our attention for the most part. Vanilla martinis, whiskey, potato soup, lemon cake, egg cassarole, and snoopy waffles. Movies, a little creek walk with the kids. Some guitars & mandos, and lots of talking.

Got the Christmas stuff all down and put away. Always a bit of a chore, and a little sad. But this year the tree had dried out fast and it looked tired.

Vicki went to a girls night ... "in" ... party Friday. Movies, bon-bons, and the ever-popular vanilla martinis. I think she's about had it with the vanilla martinis. They're a little too easy to drink. She said she had fun though.

I bought a .22 rifle at a pawn shop last week. About time Mr. 2nd Amendment here owned a gun. You know, put your money where your mouth is and all. It's the ever-popular Marlin Model 60. Ryan and I went out and sighted it in yesterday. It needs a better cleaning. Sometimes the spent shell doesn't get ejected quite in time for the bolt to close, and every now and then one'll get caught in the bolt and you have to open it and let it fall out before you can fire again. I was hitting pretty consistently in the lower left 1" square @ 25 yards on the sighting target by the time we were done. Any adjustment the other way would put it right back where it was when I took the scope out of the package, so I guess maybe that's just the way it shoots. Although part of it could be I only had the mounting bracket screws on thumb tight at first, and I tightened them with a screwdriver before the end. Maybe I'll do a little more careful adjusting next weekend.

Ryan and I are starting a series of "hikes" where we practice one survival skill. This time out it was "start a fire without matches or a lighter or any artificial fuel". We used cedar bark for tinder. It was a damp day, but not raining. Nothing was dry, but things weren't soaking wet, either. We stripped the bark into strings by using the saw attachment on the Leatherman tool sideways. It stripped in to very thin, stringy, curly "stuff". Perfect. That being said I think we're going to have to try this several times with different tinders, though, as a cedar grove might not always be available. However, if you can find one, just for the record, they're handy.




We cooked the traditional "dogs" over our hard-earned fire, put it out, and hiked out. Of course, taking a couple of pictures on the way out.

And a Happy New Year

I have been remiss in my posting.  Well, it is a busy time of year.

 

We got NO Christmas cards out this year.  Maybe that should be my New Years Resolution -- get Christmas cards out next year.  I don't want people to think we don't like them or care about them or we forgot about them.  So, to all of you who didn't get Christmas Cards this year, and you know who you are... we were thinking about you... but they just never got done.

 

Over the Holidays, I did manage to get some home projects done.  Fixed (thawed) the defrost cycle drain in the freezer so water doesn't drain into the freezer (that'd been going on for months), fixed the water-heater leak which has been growing in severity for the past several weeks, and fixed the rinse-aid dispenser in the dishwasher which was clogged with crystalized rinse-aid or dishwashing soap. 

 

Of course, now there's a kitchen drawer to fix... and something else.. oh yeah, the drier switch that won't turn off automatically like it's supposed to at the end of the cycle.

 

Had a nice visit with the mother-in-law.  Kevin went up to get her, and then she went home with some family friends, Gretchen's parents.  Took her to Mark & Gretchen's last thursday and had a very nice visit with them.  Connor, their baby, is about as well-mannered a baby as I've ever seen.  Even disposition.  Seems very happy.  They must be doing something right.

 

For Christmas, I reeled in some music -- Frank Sinatra's "A Man and His Music", which dad had while I was growing up.  Classic stuff -- I think it was a 50th birthday concert, and it's well over an hour and a half.  Also got the Doo Wop Box Set, and Alisson Kraus' live DVD.  Oh, and the HItchhiker's Guide movie.  It was ... ok.  Not as funny as the books.  I'd say it was loosely based on parts of the books.

 

I also got a cool remote-control electric lantern which is fun for "luxury camping" and a guitar humidifier.

 

Vicki got mostly movies and some perfume.  And a pair of boots.  Nice.  Red.  Heels.  <wolf-whistle>

 

New Years we had the brothers and did hot wings.  Ryan and Kristie dropped in late, toward midnight.   I opened the last bottle of my 10-year-old mead.  I think I'm the only one who likes it.  It was very good.  It's dry, and a little richer tasting than wine.  Very clear.  We don't do much that would be exciting to anyone else.  Sit and talk and wait for midnight, pretty much, followed by the traditional egg cassarole and monkey bread for breakfast.

 

I bought the Chronicles of Narnia right before Christmas.  We went to see the move (The Lion, the Witch, & the Wardrobe) Monday.  It was very good.  So I cracked open the book the other day to get started on the rest of it.

 

Got the parents "Christmas" coming this weekend, then the 22nd meeting of the January Club the next weekend.  We'll all be...

 

42

 

I know that's GOTTA mean something ;-)

Merry Christmas Eve

A Merry Christmas Eve to you all.

Christmas Eve, to me, carries more magic than Christmas Day. Christmas Eve is the culmination of all of the anticipation, the preparation... right around bedtime, with the fire softly dying down, and the glow of the lights in the living room. I could just lay on the couch for hours with quiet Christmas music going and stare at the tree. Presents? Who cares?

We watched my favorite Christmas Story last night -- Dickens' Christmas Carol. It was the 1938 version -- I'm not sure I remember seeing that one before. But in it was a line that may be unique to this version, or maybe I just overlooked it before.

It was Scrooge's nephew Fred at his Christmas gathering -- after talking about how his uncle Scrooge thinks Christmas is a humbug, he says:

"How can anything that gives an excuse for this" (meaning the togetherness and festivity they were sharing at time) "a humbug?"

Indeed.

Merry Christmas, all!

Nutcracker

Well, we went to the Nutcracker performed by the Minnesota Ballet here at the University Concert Series. At almost 42 years old and a Christmas freak to boot, it's about damned time I saw the Nutcracker. Oh, I've seen bits and pieces here and there on TV, but never the whole thing.

Come to think of it that was my first ballet.

We went to the Heidelberg first -- because we could walk from there, and it was convenient and inexpensive. It brought back memories for Kristin -- apparently all the girls from her sorority had a standing appointment there every week to debrief each other on the last weeks crazy happenings. So she had a few stories.

Then we walked to Jesse Auditorium. It was a cold night for a walk. The performance was a dress rehearsal for the real thing tomorrow and saturday. Ryan and Kristie are going to see it (same troupe) in St. Louis on Sunday. So that's why the tickets were cheap -- but to my untrained eye, I thought it went off pretty well, regardless. They didn't have to stop it at any point. They said they might. Any slips were quickly recovered and they could've happened on any night.

Very pretty. Lots of pretty chicks in flowy things flitting and twirling all over the stage and smiling a lot. And a few guys to hold them up so they don't fall. ;-) Seriously, it was pretty enjoyable. Young girl gets a nutcracker for Christmas, and apparently somebody spiked her nog with acid and she went on this odd trip involving rats & nutcrackers & faries & queens & snow. Or maybe it was a dream. I don't know. You make the call.

This is freaking hilarious

Ok, maybe my quirky sense of humor is showing here, but....

Tiki Bar TV

Need Quicktime.

You actually need ITunes for episode 10A (outtakes from 10).

Oh, and despite the disclaimer, the first episode is worth watching.

Thanks to camiimac for the heads up on this.

C4/\/\1, U R 2 fr34x1n c001   R0TFLM40

Almost a Month

It has been pointed out to me by my lovely spouse that I haven't posted to this blog in almost a month.

Actually, I didn't really need it pointed out to me. I knew that -- but it was motivation, nonetheless. Life has gotten a bit busier and you know... sometimes the day to day stuff doesn't seem too important....

But... in the imortal words of John Lennon (who wrote quite a few):

Life is what happens while you're busy making other plans

which has been kind of the deal behind this blog. You write the little things down that happen over time and then you can look back and see what you've been up to. As can others.

So, where to begin.... um .. a month ago, we were talking about unfriendly neighbors. Well that's settled down, and frankly, there is some dispute on which neighbor it was -- so we're just going to drop it.

My parents' 50th wedding anniversary party went off pretty much hitchless. Maybe that's a bad choice of words, as it's the 50th anniversary of them getting hitched ;-)

We had a dinner. All of Mom's brothers and sisters showed up. Uncle Eddie showed up with his wife Pat -- and Aunt Pat California Florida WOULD have been there if she weren't layed out recovering from chemotherapy. Damned cancer doesn't have any respect for anything, does it? She called my cell phone to talk to Mom and Dad during the party, though.

Went back and hung out at Joel & Dawn's that night with cousin Dawn and her husband Marty. Played pool in the basement. Drank stuff. Talked. The usual.

Next morning my brother Chris said Mass at St. Mary's Assumption (Society of St. Pius X Church) and Mom and Dad re-made their vows afterward. Then there was a brunch at the School (the old Queen of the Holy Rosary school) with all of the church people and all the relatives.

It was a really big deal for Mom. I think it was a really big deal for all her siblings as well. It was so nice to see all of them again. Several of them went out to Mom and Dad's and stayed overnight (the Mathis' were kind enough to offer their house down the road) and Bettie and Mary stayed until Thursday.

It was a big deal for Dad, too, but he's not one to gush.

Kevin went and picked up Mom-in-Law for Thanksgiving. It was a dream come true for her -- getting to spend 16 hours alone (and that's just in the car) with her grandson. Brian's done it before, but this was Kevin's first trip. Kevin really enjoyed it. "Grammy", as they call her, had lots of old stories to tell.... the kind it's good for grandkids to hear.

We've had some great correspondence with Brian... his digital camera has come in handy, and he's had several missions where he gets to get involved with Iraqi village children and some of their parents. Speaking of that, I started a new blog last night... http://iraqthegoodstuff.blogspot.com -- I have more to put out there, be patient, it's coming in the next few days. I only have one story out there.

He actually called and talked to us (Me, Vicki, and Grammy) for about an hour on Wednesday.

We had gone to Kristin's last basketball game the night before -- she coaches one of the JV girls basketball teams at the school where she teaches. They lost, but hey, they played well. Well, at least in the first game.

Thanksgiving was a small one for us. We typically have more people -- but Ken did come for dinner which gave us a good opportunity to take a family shot for Brian.

We still have a LOT of turkey left over.

I had ordered the ingredients for an Irish Red Ale to make for Thanksgiving as Ryan wanted some to serve... he and Scott (a friend of his) ended up doing the brewing while I was at Mom and Dad's anniversary party. It was a double batch, so we split it, 5 gallons apiece. It's good.

I think Ryan wants an imperial stout for Christmas so we need to get down on that.

I also made shrub for Christmas, and we drank some of the cider for Thanksgiving. It was very dry. Had to add honey.

Thinking about buying a DVR.... stay tuned.

Unfriendly Neighbors

So yesterday on my way home I went to the bank. When I turned back out on the street I got behind a police car and I ended up following it... all the way home.

It parked in the street across from our house. I went around it into our driveway and got changed to go out with Brian's finance and her family. I looked out and there was a second police car across the street, talking to my two neighbors across the street.

High crimes and misdemeanors? I decided to go see what was up.

My neighbors were out talking after getting home from work, having a beer and wiping down Daryl's truck in the circle drive off our street that goes in front of the three houses across the street from us. Apparently somebody had called the police, saying that there were two guys "drinking out in the street" and they were afraid they might "get in a car and drive somewhere" (presumably intoxicated).

The police showed up, probably expecting drunken people staggering in the middle of the street generally being rude and disturbing the peace -- maybe even posing a danger to the neighborhood. What they found was two neighbors who had just gotten home from work sharing a beer in a circle drive off of the main street, well out of traffic on our cul de sac. And probably on Homeowner's Association property rather than city property, but this hasn't been verified yet.

Now we've been socializing with our neighbors since we moved in. I think it's a good thing. Part of what's wrong with America today is that we don't know our neighbors. We don't have the social bonds we once had. We don't look after one another, we don't know one another, and we are, as a result, generally less polite than we once were as a society.

This socializing often involves beer or other adult beverages.

We are not rowdy. We're not loud. We're polite, considerate people. Our mamas raised us right.

However, there is a city Open Container ordinance, and technically one can not have an adult beverage in an open container on public property, which includes sidewalks and streets. Apparently the people who complained said we were always carrying alcohol across the street to each others houses as well. I'm almost positive this law was put into place to give police a tool with which to ticket people who are disturbing the peace. I seriously doubt it was ever intended to keep me from popping open a beer in my yard and walking across the street to socialize harmlessly with my neighbor. And generally, that's not the way it is enforced, either, because most neighbors understand that and the police generally won't go out looking for it if nobody's complained. I think that was the assumption when the ordinance was passed.

The police warned my neighbors about the ordinance and moved on.

But I got to thinking, who would have complained and why? And there is one set of neighbors that sprang immediately to mind. They are renters. When they moved in, we tried inviting them to join us in our little social gatherings, and they neither politely or impolitely declined. At first, we could talk to the mariarch and she seemed a little standoffish but not downright unfriendly. We'd wave, and they'd nod, or we'd say "hi" and they'd say "hi" back.

Ultimately, they were a huge improvement over the previous neighbors who had fairly frequent late night visits from people who had no respect for others who may be sleeping in a neighborhood. However, one irritating thing about these new neighbors is that they would often come home late at night and park ( our bedroom is in the front of the house) with their bass-intensive music blaring, permeating our bedroom and waking us up. They'd even sit there and listen until the last song was over. We never said anything to them.

On weekends, the daughter and her son would often clean and wash their car with their bass-intensive music blaring on their "Kicker®" type car system. You could hear it all the way to the back of our house, and our windows and doors were closed. Not only was it irritating, but my wife was trying to watch TV and went out and asked them to turn it down and they did. We thought that was the end of that.

Within the next week or so we noticed that they would not look at us. We'd say "hello" and they wouldn't look up or even acknowledge our presence. At first we thought "well, maybe they just had a bad day".... but this has continued to this day.

After a few weeks we also connected the dots and noticed that they weren't playing their music loud anymore, when they came home at night or when they were washing their car. So we figured maybe somebody had called the police on them for disturbing the peace and that they may have assumed it was us. Which it wasn't, but I don't blame whoever did if that is indeed the case. What they were doing was rude, selfish, and anti-social. And also against the city noise ordinance.

So I figure this was a retaliation call. Well, fine. They want to play that way, we will have to stick to the letter of the law and see if they continue to harass us. Mean time, we will continue to be polite. I'm sure they want us to get ruffled -- give them a feeling of power. Well, I'm not gonna do that for them.

This is clearly a case of someone using a law for a purpose it was never intended to be used for, but must be enforced on demand because that's the way it was written. When laws like this are written, it is assumed that common sense and discretion will prevail, but a disgruntled neighbor can use it to harrass his or her neighbors if they want to. That's wrong.

Life goes in waves - as do the seasons

I get busier, I get less busy... I've been busier. Mostly just more little stuff to do. So I haven't posted much lately.

It's been an exceptional fall for Mid Missouri. The early turners (leaves) have been spectacular and have lasted a long time. The weather has been nearly perfect for it.

Most people aren't aware that one of the biggest determining factors for fall colors is temperature.

Warm days (50's & 60's ... maybe 70's) and cool nights (30's & 40's -- but not freezing) for an extended period brings out the best in the leaves. The tree stops supplying nutrients to the leaves. The clorophyll disappears, and what's left is some sugars & pigments trapped in the leaves.

We love fall. It's our favorite time of year. We share that with our neighbors, the Williams'. So last weekend we went to Hermann, Mo to the Stone Hill Winery. It was a cool, mostly cloudy day. The drive, even on I-70, showcased some spectacular foliage, and of course the drive down Mo-19 is pretty any time of year -- especially right now. We sat at a picnic table overlooking the town. It's still Oktoberfest in Hermann, and it was pretty crowded. Brought some cheese and crackers and beef sticks and fruit and had some of their "regular" red and a bottle of their Norton (that's some good stuff there). Kristie had a bottle of Seval (white).

A cold front blew in in the late afternoon, dropping the temperature from about 60 to 43 as the rain moved in. Fortunately we had left for home minutes before. We went home and started a fire in the fireplace. Had some hot apple cider, too. And Sunday we made up a pot of soup beans & corn bread and watched "The Frighteners". Halloween you know.

Earlier, on Friday evening, Kristin had us down for a "Warsaw vs Ashland" football party. She is from Warsaw, but she lives just south of us in Ashland. Her parents and some friends from Warsaw were up for the game and we had a bbq. Kevin and Adrienne came over. And despite dire predictions to the contrary Warsaw kind of whupped up on Ashland. It was like 45-3 at halftime or something close to that and the footall fans came back to the party. Kristin even got a new grill for the occasion.

And astoundingly enough, Mizzou beat Nebraska saturday 41-24. Ryan and I had turned it off at halftime as it appeared Mizzou was in the midst of pulling one of its famous self destruction acts. That's probably why we won. Right.

Smashed my finger at Dad's a couple weekends ago cutting wood. Right between two pieces of wood as I was lifting one off the end of the trailer and another piece was tossed right into my left middle finger. Some tendon damage -- not broken. It's healing slowly. Joel, Dad, and I managed a couple of cords of wood, bringing them up to three.

Bart has plaque problems -- or had them. Took him to the vet friday, got him an antibiotic -- and monday he went in to get the plaque cleaned. It's clean. He wasn't able to eat before -- it hurt too bad. I knew the moment he hissed at a treat he had started to eat and ran away that he had some sort of dental problem. Dental. Mental. Coincidence????

Making some cider. Real cider, that is. Got a gallon of apple cider and added some Oktoberfest yeast to it, and an airlock. I thought some Apple Wine sounded good for Thanksgiving. It's going good now. Probably just a couple of weeks.

The mantle clock broke over the weekend. The little dongle the pendulum hangs from broke. Have to figure out how I'm going to construct a new one. I think it will involve strips of metal cut from a razor blade, but I haven't figured out yet how to put it together.

Well, that's about it for now.

Mini Vacation

Ok, to recap the trip....

We took off about noon Friday after packing Molly, Kristie's Ford Escape. With four people, camping and then a trip to Eureka Springs, AR on the agenda, packing light was key. Most of the camping gear was strapped atop the car in a couple of large military duffels (the big 50" one dubbed a "grammy bag" because you can fig your grammy in one). Also our tent and four camping chairs strapped up there.

On our way down we stopped at the traditional Rolla Steak & Shake for a late lunch, then buzzed on down to Salem, where we bought a pie at Mom's Homemade Pies. From there, the rest of the way down to the Alley Spring camp ground, where Ryan and I set to work setting up tents and Vicki and Kristie went to buy some firewood at Harvey's and pay for the campsite.

They came back. I know Ryan's propensity for burning lots of wood, so I started tromping the woods nearby for deadfall. There was a large fallen cottonwood tree, and Ryan and I cut and dragged a couple of smallish branches up to the campsite and cut them up.

We cooked up poor boy packets for dinner -- Vicki and Kristie put them together in foil and we put them on the grate over a bed of hot coals for about an hour. Had beer, talked, and ate as it got dark. We had Mom's blackberry pie for dessert.

Went to bed about 9:30 -- we were all tired. There was a large group about 150 yards away that stayed up talking and laughing -- they were having fun. It wouldn't have been annoying if I weren't trying to sleep. Fortunately, I brought earplugs.

Apparently a pack of wild dogs and coyotes loudly checked out the campsite. Ryan and Vicki heard them -- they were howling and yipping and growling and sniffing all over the campsite. All I heard was one growl through my earplugs and I heard nothing after that. I chalked it up to one of those things you hear in your sleep -- but apparently not.

We slept on an air mattress with a mattress pad and a sleeping bag on top of that, flannel sheets over that, and a fleece sleeping bag and another sleeping bag over us as a "quilt". With our long pj's on, we were quite comfortable except that our faces got cold as the temperature dipped into the mid 30's.

We got up and made breakfast -- scrambled eggs, bacon, and sausage -- and Pie.

Vicki and Kristie went for a walk -- Ryan and I went back to the cottonwood tree and got a bunch more wood and cut it up. It got up to about 50 degrees and we hit the showers. The showers have hot water, but the shower rooms are unheated.

From there, we all went down to Alley Spring for the "Haunting in the Hills" daytime activities where we saw furriers, weavers, lean-tos, bows and arrows, a blacksmith, mountain men, the old school, soap making, apple butter making, rope weaving, basket & bucket making, wooden shingle making, moonshine making, butter making, bee keeping and a beautiful afternoon. We had lunch by the Alley Spring branch creek. I collected a little watercress for my home watercress garden out of the creek -- and a few springs of spearmint that was growing along side.

We went back to camp about 4:00 to get a fire going for dinner. I made mint julep juice out of the mint and some sugar. Vicki and Kristie went walking again, and came back and made up poor boy packets which we again cooked over the hot coals. Ryan and I had a couple of brewskis, too.

After dinner, we went back to Alley Springs and went on a couple of the after dark "Haunting in the Hills" tours -- the "Lost Voices of the Ozarks" tour -- which consisted of a walk down a trail with several stops where a lone character would give a speal on what his or her life in the Old Tyme Ozarks was like.

The other tour was the graveyard tour -- in the Alley graveyard, which was again more informational than spooky -- but the lady tried.

Then of course we had to get back and get the fire cracking again for marshmallows & s'mores. We went to bed a little after 11.

It didn't get as cold that night -- only about 42 -- and showers were a little easier. We broke down camp and headed down the road toward Eureka Springs -- a good distance from where we were. We ate brunch at Hillbilly Junction in Willow Springs, and drove the rest of the way to Eureka Springs, AR.

Ryan and Kristie had a spa appointment at the Crescent Hotel at 5:30, and we were to go to dinner afterwards at Ermilio's Italian Restaurant after that. So they dropped us off in old downtown where the shops were closing fast on a Sunday evening. We went to the cheap leather shop and Vicki got a purse and I got a buttpack and a couple of pouches for my pipes. We ended up at Chelsea's bar where this newgrass/bluegrass band "The Jeff & Vida Band" were playing. Turns out they're from New Orleans. They were quite good. Chelsea's appears to be a bar where the locals hang. They only take cash, which'll keep a lot of tourists out right there. We had wandered in there last year and I thought it was kinda neat. It's a bar with an enclosed courtyard with wooden tables and a balcony -- two floors to the bar -- and a small wooden stage for bands to play on.

The locals are a varied bunch. Eureka Springs is a very "diverse" town. It's very gay friendly, it's a biker hangout, there are hillbillies and hippies and artists, etc all intermingling with each other. We had a couple of Guinness's and listened to the band before heading back to meet Ryan and Kristie for dinner.

There was about an hour wait, so we sat in the bar at Ermilios -- more of a "living room" with a bar in it since Ermilios is in an old house up on the hill. The food was good. I decided to just go with spaghetti and meatballs. I figure the best way to test out an Italian restaurant is to see how good their red sauce is. It was excellent. Vicki also had the spaghetti and meatballs. Frankly, I forget what Ryan and Kristie had, but I do remember they enjoyed it.

Back to the Holiday Inn Express to sleep.

Monday we got up and started walking Eureka Springs as the shops slowly opened between 9 & 10. We ate at Geraldi's Pizza -- kind of the high point of our trip, since they have THE BEST PIZZA! Odd to find a New York Pizza place run by a Brit in the Arkansas Ozarks. But Eureka Springs is just that kind of place.

We shopped around at the gift shops, art galleries, tobacco shop, and of course the ladies hit the jewelry and clothing shops -- not a lot of buying, but a lot of looking. We were going to go to the haunted tour of the Crescent Hotel at the top of the hill that night, but we decided $17.50 a person was a bit steep. So we went on a horse & buggy ride instead. The lady knew a lot about the neighborhood and we encouraged her to share with us. So she did.

Then we went and ate at the Autumn Breeze restaurant -- another great restaurant (but we'd like to speak to them about their decor -- it doesn't fit the restaurant's food or name. Looks ""Upscale Kountry" with cheesy wallpaper and curtains. There are a couple of nice archways and the windows are arched as well -- they could really class it up with some paint and perhaps some solid colored window dressings -- maybe do an Autumn Color theme since it is the "Autumn Breeze". The blue & flowered wallpaper just doesn't cut it.
On the other hand, the food is great. I had a filet mignon, Vicki and Kristie had some scallops in a sherry sauce.... can't remember what beef Ryan had -- it was all very good. And we all had chocolate soufflet's for dessert. They are the best there, and hot out of the oven served with a mound of whipped cream.

Tuesday we drove home, stopping at Surplus City in Springfield so I could buy us a couple of military duffels... I could have spent hours in that store. But we had to press on to Lamberts, home of the throwed rolls for the traditional "last lunch" on the way home from Eureka Springs. It was a quiet trip home the rest of the way. We were all full and tired.

And that's the way it was.