Come on Spring!

I have been working over at the shop the last couple of days.  Can't say that I have gotten much done, other than clean.   I seem to do a lot of cleaning.....  So several projects are in the works.   I am trying to get another wheelbarrow made.  I have the box built, I just need to put it all together.  This one is a little different from the first.  I will be using some old Williams S Wrenches for the handles.  Should look pretty cool.

I got side tracked this weekend as I ended up buying an old apothecary cabinet at the auction on Saturday.  With a little help I got it loaded into the truck and unloaded at the shop.  I am going to be using it as my new tool box.   It has 44 drawers of various sizes so it should work well.  I cleaned it up and put felt in the bottom of the drawers.   I have been sorting tools and loading and labeling each box.   Funny I had two tool boxes full of tools and I haven't even used half the drawers in the cabinet yet.   I will get you some pictures.

I worked at the shop tonight, but again I just cleaned.   Ended up getting a full bag of weeds pulled and then with the spreader put weed & feed on the yard.   Man there is just so much to do.

I packed clothes tonight into my backpack.   Going to try to get up and walk to work in the morning.

Little late for April's fools day, but you can try this next year.

Wheelbarrow

Candy had shown me a couple small garden wheelbarrow planters on Pintrist.   She was hinting that she wanted one.  When I was in Wichita I picked up some old wheels from my Dad.   When I asked him for them, this was one of the projects I planned on using them on.

I had bought some old horse tack at the auction a few weeks back and knew I could do something with it.   Well it worked out well as the handles for the wheelbarrow.  The most expensive part of this project was the 1x10x8 cedar plank that I used to build it.  It is glued and screwed so it should hold up for several years.

Bugs

On Saturday afternoon we were invited to a Craw-fish Boil.  Had a great time hanging out with friends drinking beer and eating some great food.   Along with the Craw-fish we had red beans and rice, macaroni and cheese and much more.

Candy Robinson

Nick Nelson

Ranchero Update

Work continues on the Ranchero.   I was out to check it out just before leaving for India.  It has been primed and is being blocked.   Then it will be primed and blocked again, then just about ready for paint.   The dash will need to be scuffed and several inside trim pieces.   I am guessing it will be a while before we are done.

Copy Carver

This last weekend we drove out to Kansas to see family and celebrate Easter.  It was just Candy, Clark and I.  Eric had school work and offered to stay at our house and watch the dogs.  Had a blast and it was good to catch up.  On Thursday evening a storm passed through that took out buildings, roofs, power-lines and more.  It was pretty amazing to see the damage.  My parents and several other family members lost power for several hours.

I was able to eat at my favorite Mexican restaurant, not just once but twice.  We always go to Connie's Mexico Cafe when we are in Wichita.  The all meat burrito smothered in cheese is awesome.

I was also able to pick up my Copy Carver while in Wichita. My Dad, had cut most of the wood and assemble the carving box.   I got it all home and built the table to set it on.   I have ordered my carving bits and am looking forward to making my first propeller.

We tried our hand at some fishing on Saturday but didn't have much luck.  It was nice to get out though and try.

On Easter Sunday, we had breakfast at my uncles house.   A good portion of the local family was in attendance and it was nice to catch up with every one.

The drive back was uneventful, Candy crocheted and Clark slept most of the way.

Dennis Does India - Part Two

Once we completed our work items we traveled back to Delhi on India Air.   The flight was on-time and we were served a meal.   I found the meal surprising being that it was only a 2-hour flight.   We were picked up at the airport and we drove to our guest’s home where we would be staying.

I can’t say Thank You enough to the Agarwal family for inviting me into their home as well as being the most hospitable people that I have met.   They treated me like I was royalty, took time off from work to spend time with me and share with me the history of India and showing me some of the beautiful sites in the area.

The food that was prepared was awesome.  They were all vegetarian dishes, and I never really missed having meat of any kind.  Don’t ask me the name of the dishes, we had so many and they were all great tasting.  I think each day we had a different type of bread and they were great.  All in all the food was awesome.

Rekha Agarwal, Dr. Yatish Agarwal, Vivek Agarwal

Our first outing included a tour of the Presidents home.    As we drove past the gates I had my first monkey sighting, it surprised me to see them running around.   The Tour was enjoyable and very informative.    We were not able to take our phones in, so I didn’t get any pictures.

From there we headed into an older part of Delhi to visit a clothier.   So get this, I picked out my own fabrics and then was measured, then had two custom suits made.   We did this on a Friday and we picked up the completed suits on Sunday.   Wow I couldn’t believe it.   I just got them both back from the cleaners where I had them cleaned and pressed.   They were in my suitcase for a few days as my luggage on the way home didn’t make my flight. They look great, now I just need a reason to where them.

On Friday evening we visited the Red Fort, it was dark and we sat in on a sound light show that recreated the events in India’s history that was connected with the Fort.   I enjoyed the show, but it was outside and all could think about was mosquitos and malaria.  I took bug spray with me as it was recommended in my travel guide that I had reviewed, but forgot to take it with me.   I asked my host, who said I was safe as it wasn’t the rainy season.

More to come in future posts.

Dennis Does India – Part One

Greetings all, been a crazy week for me.   I made a trip to India for work and managed to get some sightseeing in as well.   I don’t even know where to start with part 1, I guess at the beginning.  Firstly, for a beginner international traveler like me, a 15/hour plane flight was pretty intense.   Include the 4/hours travelling from Denver to Newark, it made for a long travel day.   I left the house at 6:30 AM on Monday and arrived in Delhi at 9:00PM on Tuesday.

I had applied for a visa online and it worked.   I showed them the letter of approval, gave my finger prints and they took a photo.  Thank god it worked as it would have been a quick trip if they wouldn’t have let me into the country.

I was traveling with a co-worker. Mr. Vivek Agarwal and he had arranged for his brother to pick us up at the airport as well as hosting us in his home for the evening.  When we arrived at the house and I was introduced to the Agarwal family and they greeted me with open arms.  We had a light traditional Indian dinner.  I finally got to bed about midnight and was up four hours later to get showered and dressed to catch the next flight to travel to Hyderabad India.

 

We arrived in Hyderabad by 8:30AM and then had meeting s all day once we arrived concluded by drinks and dinner.   We stayed at the Taj Krishna for the evening.  Once checked in, I crashed and crashed hard.  I was in bed by 10:00PM and didn’t awake until 6:30AM Thursday morning.   Felt great to finally get some sleep.

The hotel was nice and had a great buffet restaurant loaded with various Indian dishes.  I was pretty much a vegetarian the entire week I was there.   I did have eggs and one day I ate shrimp/prawns.   So basically I didn’t have any red meat.

On Wednesday afternoon we were treated to a tour of the old city and the market area.  Candy had asked me to find her some yarn while I was there and that is what I did.  It took some work and after several stops but we finally found some.  I wasn’t even sure if it was what she wanted or was looking for but I picked up several packages.  One of the folks I was with snapped a picture and I sent it to Candy.  She posted it in her yarn group and got over 1600 likes.  Hell I can’t even get that on our company facebook page.

Following the Old Market visit we traveled to Golconda Fort.  We hired a guide who gave us a quick tour with the hour that we had available.  The knowledge of acoustics that they had in the 14^th century is pretty incredible.

Below are a few pics from my two days in Hyderabad.

Taj Krishna Hotel

Buying Yarn in Hyderabad

Hyderabad Market

Vivek Agarwal at Golconda Fort

Golconda Fort

My First Cow Sighting

The Devil

Tonight I partook in a couple of cocktails,  I went to plug it into my fit-bit log and when I looked at the total I was reminded again about the evils of alcohol.

Hey

Working like crazy this last week and I don't see it slowing down.   If you haven't seen it already, we launched a new website: www.xtivia.com. Now we are planning for an Easter Egg hunt on our site.  Getting nervous about it, wanting everything to run smoothly.  We are raising money for charity and promoting the site at the same time. Two of our partners have agreed to match our donations. 

I have been walking most everyday so feeling good about that, logged 40/miles this last week.  Walking to and from work last week really helped the miles add up.   Friday was the only day that I didn't get out and walk.  

On Saturday I hiked over to the shop.  It was a great day out, sun shining and temperature in the 50's.  I went by myself and left Pebbles at home.   She was having a problem with her eye, not sure if she scratched or got something in it.   We rinsed it with saline and she seems to be fine today. 

I came across what looked like a newly created sink hole.  I was a little off the beaten path when I found it.  It was more of a deer trail than anything else.

I am home this week so I hope to be able to get some real distance in.   Going to have to get up early as I have some early morning calls.   I was hiking through Red Rock Canyon on Saturday.

Home Again

Wow, it is so good to be home.  This last week was a busy and fun one.   We had team meetings up in Breckenridge and there was a lot of planning that went into this to make it a success.   I think it went well, we just have a lot of work to do now.  The same week we launched our new website and that had some challenges, but we made it happen and it looks good.   We are working on a way to promote the new site and will focus hard and heavy starting tomorrow.

I really need to step it up, way up so I can be ready for my trip in a couple of weeks.  This last week I didn't get much walking in so I need to do it.   It was beautiful here at home yesterday and today.   The snow is starting to melt so I better plan for mud.

I rinsed the filters on the hot tub and added some water.  The birds we out chirping and looking for food.   I filled the feeders and then grabbed my camera.  I took me about 10 minutes to get these four pictures.