In the Hood

I got to work early this morning as I had a ton of shit to catch up on.  As I pulled into the parking lot I saw a guy sitting against the building and I could of sworn he had a gun under his chin, like he was going to blow his head off.   I must have been wrong so I did a u-turn and went and looked again and yes he did have a gun under his chin.

I made another u-turn and headed back to my office and called 911.  Reported what I had seen.  Several minutes later the 5-0 comes cruising through the parking lot.  I waved them down and pointed out where this person was and what I saw.

Next think I know we have five cop cars, swat and they are all yelling for him to lay on his stomach.  He did, they approached with guns drawn.  Cuffed him and threw him in the back of a squad car.  Little did all them know I was also packing and was ready to get down and dirty if I had to.  Bring it bitches.

Just another day in the wild west known as Colorado Springs.  People wonder why I carry and now you know.

Busy

Busy day today.  I got up and took Pebbles for a walk through the meadow.  We had an electrician out as we were having some power issues in the kitchen.  Once he was done, we headed over to the shop as I had a couple of fence panels that had blown down.  Fixed those, then had to go get the Ranger from the mechanic.  Had to replace the alternator and battery.  Joy, Joy!.

Ran by the grocery store and then came home and cooked some chicken on the grill.  Frozen bag of vegetables and some toast. It's whats for dinner.

I spent some time on my quilt table and just about have the top finished.  A few more area's to touch up, but it looks pretty good.   More to come as I still have a lot to do.

Needs a title

As of late I have been watching way to much news.  Seems everything is see is ISIS and the threats that are happening all over the world.  I was traveling this morning and reading the news alerts. Another attack in Africa, tonight Brussels is on it's highest alert.  It get's me all worked up.  I had some extra time this morning while waiting on a flight and I started writing a poem or a song, I don't know.  Here is my first draft.

Somewhere at the end of all this hate

Theirs light that shines through all this evil

There intention is to kill and they will, they will

Until they drink the wine, they will, they will

I will stand strong with the light and Christ in my life

I pledged with hand over heart and freedom at my side

I am not afraid, I wont burn out in this place

My intention is to fade and I will, I will

They will try to breakdown your beliefs

With there bullets and there bombs

Children are taught to die and they will, they will

Until they drink the wine, they will, they will

I will stand strong with the light and Christ in my life

I pledged with hand over heart and freedom at my side

I am not afraid, I wont burn out in this place

my intention is to fade and I will, I will

Databases

News about databases and the collection of information has been in the news recently in regards the Syrian refugees.  Donald Trump stated “I would certainly implement that. Absolutely,” Trump told NBC between town hall appearances in Iowa. “There should be a lot of systems, beyond databases,” he added. “We should have a lot of systems. And today you can do it.”

Republican presidential candidates swiftly condemned Donald Trump’s call for requiring Muslims in the United States to register in a national database, drawing a sharp distinction Friday with the GOP front-runner.

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush called Trump’s proposal “abhorrent.” Ohio Gov. John Kasich said Trump was trying to “divide people.” And Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who has largely avoided criticizing Trump throughout the 2016 campaign, said that while he was a fan of the billionaire businessman, “I’m not a fan of government registries of American citizens.”

In another article I found this “The United States has resettled more than 3 million refugees since the mid-1970s, and the screening system in the post-9/11 era includes multiple background checks, screenings against FBI and other databases and an in-person interview. “

So really if Donald would have taken a little time, the issue is not the database aka registries, but really the information we are going to be able to collect from these refugees.  From the day you are born in U.S. you are in the database.  We give our information away everyday on Facebook, blogging.  Hell when you sign up for a credit card, create an account with your favorite retailer, book a flight, get a driver’s license, get arrested, pay your taxes, the list goes on. You are in a database.

No matter what happens these people are going to be in a database. That my two cents.  Another fine example of our politicians who don’t have a clue.

One step over the line

I had the best of intentions to get out and walk to work today, but that didn't happen.  Did manage to come home after work and got directly on the treadmill.  Only did 2/miles but that was two more than I had 35 minutes ago.  So there!

I have been religious about updating my tracking spread sheet.  I didn't weigh this morning but did this evening.  It's funny how much your body fluctuates in a day.

Up to just over 11/miles for the last three days.  Need to catch up tomorrow.

Candy cooked up an awesome dinner this evening.  Thanks Babe!

Some Days

Fall

I have a love hate relationship with Fall.   I enjoy the temperatures and the changing of the colors, but I hate the yard work that comes along with it.   I spent a good three hours working in the yard today picking up leaves.   I used the lawn mower and bagged.   I could take two swipes and then have to empty the bag.  I ended up with eight large trash bags.  The yard looks great now, but in a day or two, I will have everyone else's leaves back in my yard and driveway.

I didn't get out on the trails as far as I would have liked to today.  Had Candy and dogs with me.   Candy and Pebbles do great, but old Mable has a hard time.  She sure tries, I will give her that.  She doesn't hear or see so great, so if we get to far ahead she gets a little confused.  She walks into things on the trail as well.  But again, she gives it hell.

We just did a little loop around the park.  It was nice out today and I was surprised that we didn't see anyone. 

Over the weekend I have been working on my quilt table.  I have made some good progress but have a long way to go.  Candy says I need to have it done and moved before Thanksgiving so we can use the dining room.

Out on the trails.....

Pebbles and I got up and took off for a little hike this morning.  It was a little cool out, but I was dressed for it.  Pebbles didn't seem to mind as far as I could tell.   We did just about 5/miles and she was off the leash for the most part.  She does really good except for when we come across other pooches. 

My fitbit blew craps and isn't working any more.   So I am back to using my Garmin GPS.  I actually think I will prefer using my GPS as I can route it out on Google Maps.  It will also allow me to track my elevation.

I started a new spreadsheet to track my distance and my meals.  If I can just get in the habit of using it daily I will be off to a good start.

Pebbles took some time to check out the creek this morning.  She was all wound up after getting in.

Gotta Keep A Runnin

I was talking with my mom and my sister on the phone.  Conference us all together, that was a first.  Need to get us all setup with video, it would be more fun.   It was great to catch up and I get to see my sister next week.   Really looking forward to hanging with her and the family.

Work is super busy, but that’s not new.  I have some serious travel coming up through the rest of the year.  Looking forward to it as it will give me a chance to spend some time with our awesome team members.  I need to do it more, but it is tough.

I was perusing through my older post and I what I learned is that I need to get out and take some pictures.  I used to be so good about it when I was hiking all the time.  I need to get back start doing both again.  If I would get my ass out and hike, I am sure I would find something to take a picture of.

I started a new project this last week.  This has been a challenge but fun and worth the effort.  Back in the day, talking 20+ years ago, my parents gave us an oak dining room table.  I think they had it while I was growing up, so it’s at least 40 years old.  We used it for years; I even sanded it all down and re-stained it at one point.  Well long story short it was time for something new .

About six months ago we got a new table and chairs and the old table has been down on the garage taking up space.  I couldn’t get rid of it.  We have had it so long and I knew I could do something with it or give it to one of the boys. 

As luck would have it, Candy turned me on to barn quilts.  Google it and check it out.  So I figured I could use this table to make a barn quilt table.  Yes I am so original.   So this is my adaptation of the Lemoyne star quilt block.  I drew out a couple of ideas on paper so I could figure out my placement and colors.  

I will say working with a larger medium is a bit more of a challenge.  

First thing I did was to take the table over to the shop and take it all apart.  I pulled the top off the base.   This table used to expand and you could add two leafs to it.  I glued it together so now it will just be a round table.  I then took my sander with some 80 grit sand paper and sanded the top and all around to remove any stain.  Once that was done I blew it all off and then wiped it down with a cloth and rubbing alcohol to remove any remaining dust or dirt.

I used a string, stick pin and pencil to draw out the outer edge. Then used a tape measure, yard stick and a long piece of trim wood to draw out the lines.

I applied white paint that we already had in the garage.  This is the paint that we used to pain the kitchen walls.  It was still good and I have enough so why not.  I painted table with two coats of the white and let it dry.  Then I brought the table home and placed it on our dining room table.

I drew out my design using my tape measure and pencil.  This project requires a little math so be ready.   Once it was all drawn out, I started adding my colors.  This project goes a little slow as you have to tape off each area and apply several coats.  This only allows me to get one or maybe two squares done  a night.  Now I know where the term “waiting for paint to dry” came from.

Catching up

It has been a few weeks since posting anything to the blog. A lot has gone on, that’s for sure.

We celebrated Clark’s Birthday, My Birthday, a trip to Florida and then Texas. Clark turned 21 on September 30th. We all met at the Golden Bee and had drinks and dinner. A couple of people came from the office, Candy and I along with Clark and his two friends. We had a good time and kept everything under control. Clark was heading out afterwards with friends to go bowling. Wow, hard for me to believe that he is 21. Guess that means I am getting old.

Candy and I snuck away to Sanibel Island for a week. The majority

of our trip was spent hunting for sea shells. Had a blast! Had a chance to do some fishing and bike riding. We rented a condo a block from the beach. It had a pool and we could fish in the canal out back of the unit. 

We checked out several of the beaches searching for shells. A couple of mornings we were on the beach at 5 AM with our headlamps on. It really paid off one morning; we walked the trash line, following a storm. When I tell people I am going shell hunting they look at me a little funny and wonder. Then I show them a picture.

Experienced sheller's walk in a sort of a crouch, the better to see their quarry and the easier to grab it. The posture is known as The Sanibel Stoop. On a busy day the beach is populated with arthritic looking tourists who all appear to be searching intently for a missing contact lens.

We didn't collect any live shells, and believe we found a bunch of them. I found two large lighting whelks, but they had inhabitants and threw them back.  And imagine that there a people there every day of the year doing the same thing, collecting shells.

We collected a large variety of shells including: Lightning Whelks, Lettered Olives, Conchs, True and Banded Tulips, Drills and more.  We have several ideas on what we plan on doing with them.  I would like to make another wreath and roof another bird house.

On our bike rides we saw a few critters.  We saw turtles, lizards, a snake, birds and we got to see an alligator when we drove through the wildlife reserve.

One morning on the beach I bet we came across over 100 jelly fish dead on the beach in the morning.  First of all they freak me out, don't really want to piss on myself.  But being that they were dead I guess they were no issue.  This is just another example of how different every day on the beach is.

While we were in Sanibel I celebrated my 51st Birthday on October 7th.  We spent the day searching for shells, riding our bikes and doing a little window shopping.   We enjoyed a nice dinner and then kicked back by the canal having a cocktail.  51, guess that means I am getting old.  Think I said that already.  hmm.

As soon as I returned I was back out again traveling to Austin for work. It was a needed trip as I hadn’t been down to office in a while. It was great to see everyone and actually got some work done, so I would say it was a good trip.  I have to say there is just so much to do, and my advice to you is focus on the things that make money, don't get caught up in bullshit.

I can't say that I got a lot done this weekend.  I spent time over at the shop but didn't really accomplish anything.  Spent most of my time just cleaning and putting tools away.  I did make a list of things that I need to do, and it is never ending.  Painted a green bowling ball chrome.  Why do you ask?  Well I am going to do another dime ball.   I have done two so far, one penny and one dime ball.   In the picture, the dime ball is on a stand that I got at the flea market for a dollar.   Painted it black and there you go.

I have found that it is best if you paint them chrome or bronze if you are going with pennies or dimes.  Guess it would depend on what your application is.

I am looking to expand my storage space and bring in a shipping container.  A friend was storing a couple of cars at my shop on the side and they are now gone.   Does this make me a hoarder?  Candy agreed that we need one as well so I am going to say no.  But you know I bet I have room for two, maybe I can get a deal.  Shit, I am a hoarder.

Over the last week Candy has been working hard to clean out our dining room.  She moved all of the soap supplies to the basement after cleaning out the basement.  Looks great.  Now that she had some room back I bought her an old wagon while I was at the auction on Saturday.  

Today we went out for lunch and the to Petco and Michael's.  Candy picked up up a small bail of hay and some pumpkins gourds to decorate it with.  Hard to believe that fall is here, but it is.  The leaves are starting to fall and the temperature has dropped.

I will say that this is the best sleeping weather.  We have doors out of our bedroom and out to the patio.  At night we leave them open and you curl up in the blankets and sleep great or at least I do.

I guess that is all for now.  We plan on starting out diets and walking daily again tomorrow.   Looking forward to it as I always feel good when I get to the office after walking a couple of miles.  Gives you some time to think about what it ahead of you.