Valenday's Tine

I looked back for the last two years to see what I posted on Valentine's Day. There was nothing last year and only a brief mention in 2010.


So I thought I had better make an entry of note for this year. That's because we have had a wonderful day of Looooove!


It has been a rainy and snowy day. I sent Susan a batch of flowers and a card I made detailing the 50 reasons I love her. She got me a bottle of wine and some chocolates. She also bought the ingredients for a fabulous Valentine dinner. Tri-tip and asparagus with a nice Caesar Salad. I barbecued the meat and the asparagus and it came out pretty good. We opened a bottle of Zinfandel wine from Vineheart winery. 


After dinner, we enjoyed a nice soak in the hot tub. Now the evening is winding down as we watch a little TV and finish the zin.


Hopefully, I left enough information here to be able to remember it next year. We have no idea what we did on Val Day last year.

Trim Work Winging

I spent a good portion of the weekend working on my dining room doorway while Susan continues the seemingly endless task of plastering and sanding, plastering and sanding, plastering and...one gets the point.

I shall begin with the work space.

 This is the Dining Room Entry I am working on. Here you see a view from the kitchen and a view from the hall.

I have stripped all the paint off the wood. Now I have to fix the mortise that used to hold a hinge. There was once a door here but it is long gone, at least it was gone before we took ownership.

So I took a field trip to Windsor Plywood for some advice and they suggested I just use a piece of 2x4 and create a little wafer of wood for the patch.

Well, that seemed like a good idea and so that is what I did.

Here is an old 2x4 I recovered from the garage.

It took several tries but I then began trying to cut a thin wafer of wood from this board with my chop saw.

After a few shots at it, I cut a piece I was happy with.

I trimmed it to size and then, as is often my habit, I marked it with a little information for future treasure hunters.

I then slathered it with wood glue and fit it into place.

I of course copied the above methods for the hinge mortise on the bottom of the door jam.

I let it dry over night and returned on Sunday to sand the Fu...heck outta it.

The sanding went smoothly and quickly with the help of my new orbital palm sander. That is really a great tool.

Finally , I brought out the three pieces of trim that go around the door to see how they will fit. Because Susan had skim coated the ceiling, the the cross piece of trim buts right up against the aforementioned ceiling, the side pieces would not fit. I am going to have to trim them a bit. Probably no more than the saw blade width...perhaps a touch more. Maybe a whole lot more. Who the hell knows...certainly not me.

I winging it here!

Full Moon Febberrary

The moon is full tonight and we decided to get out and enjoy a nice hot tub under the warm moon glow.

Afterwards, I went out to see if I could capture some good moon pictures of the house. I should have grabbed my tripod. It's difficult to hold the camera steady enough under low light conditions. Nonetheless, I'm satisfied with the photos I got...at least for the purposes of this blog.

Here is my best shot.

Not the greatest shot, but I think it captures the feeling of a cold winter evening...when the werewolves are out.

XLVI

It is another beautiful day in the Inland Northwest. It is also Superbowl Sunday, which has meaning to people who are fans of the New York Giants or the New England Patriots. Neither Susan or I care.

We have a couple of parties to attend today. but first, we have some stuff to do around the homestead. I'm going to try and finish the stripping I was doing yesterday. And then there is just general housekeeping, which has once again gotten away from us.

9:45PM: The Superbowl is history and the Giants have won, 21 to 17. It was a good game this year. It really came down to the last few minutes. Actually, it came down to the last play. Has Tom Brady been able to connect his pass, the Patriots would have won. But there were about 47 guys down in that end zone son there was not a big chance of threading the needle.

We ate a lot of great food. Especially at Party Two, where pork was smoked. Man, it was tasty.

Now it's time to prepare for another week of drudgery and another day closer to death.

We ended up losing around 20 bucks on the various bettings going on.

Spring in Febber Arie

It is February 4th and it might as well be the eighth of May. What a beautiful day. Unfortunately, I have to spend it inside stripping trim. It's just as well. After last night's drinking fest, it's probably best that I stay inside and move very slowly.

Susan is progressing with her mudding and sanding while I am stripping. Here are some pictures to fill the space.

The paint was laid down pretty thick. There was at least two layers and I'm betting more. I have serious doubts about the remodeling credentials of someone who wood paint over stained would.

Friday Night

We have begun the weekend by drinking heavily!


I am planted in front of the TV with the Blues Music Channel on and Susan is napping in the other room. I had an appointment with my Cardiologist today which left my afternoon wide open. I met Susan and her boss, Bill at the Illinois Avenue Tavern and we has lunch. I had an appointment after that at Fast Eddie's and Susan joined me for the Dollar Beer Hour. After that, we moved on to the Hub, the local tavern only a few blocks away.


It appears to have been a full night and it is only 8:45PM. We are light weights.


For news on my Cardiologist appointment, visit my health blog at www.porkymccorpulent.blogspot.com. I try to keep a semi-complete record of my health issues at that blog. It's just me complaining about my health so there is really no need to bother. Really! Don't go there! I'm not kidding! Stop it!


We are at the start of Superbowl Weekend so we are not expecting a lot of progress out of us. We'll do some work on the house tomorrow but that will be about it. Whatever we get done before 5:00 will be the extent of it for the weekend.


We have some tickets to a concert tomorrow night and we are clearly not going to accomplish anything tonight.


Great to talk to you. Geez I feel like shit!

I'm a Weirdo!

The snow that fell a couple of weeks ago is just about gone. It certainly no longer poses a threat to driving or getting around. Most sidewalks are clear although there is the danger of ice in some places as the snow melts and then freezes across an area of pavement.

I don't know why I'm bringing this up other than to update the Ethernet on this sitch. (That's hip InterWeb slang for "Situation")

Here's another useless bit of information I feel compelled to impart. No...not useless information...more like a stupid observation.

I spelled the word "cauterize" today. I used it in an e-mail. I have used it in conversation lots and lots. In fact, I can remember the first time I ever heard the word.

It was on "The Six Million Dollar Man" when Steve Austin was marooned on an island and administered first aid to an injured guy by cauterizing his wound with his bionic finger.

I believe this is the first time in my 54 years that I have spelled the word.

The reason I bring this up is because I think it is interesting (and weird) that this has any significance at all in my memory. I'm a weirdo.

Oh wow! I just found my header.

After the Storm

Today was a pretty nice day. The sun was out intermittently and the temperature was above the freezing mark. 


It appears we had about 8 to 10 inches hit the ground over the last two days. This mornings paper said it was a record snowfall for January 19th...tying the six inches that fell on the same date in 1950. 


At present, the TV weather persons are predicting another storm as early as tomorrow night.


I did some work on sprucing up the sidewalks and driveway. Susan worked on the hallway and then got a call to work the Hockey game tonight.


My big project of the day was to get up on the roof and get the heat wire plugged in to prevent damage to the roof and the dining room. You can get the back story by looking at my entries back on November 30th, 2010 and a couple entries beyond that. 


Anyway, the icicle was back and I had to get it down and get the heat cord plugged in before the aforementioned damage occurred in the dining room.


Here are a bunch of pictures showing the roof area I had to navigate and the great view I had once the navigation was over.

I forgot to take a picture of the icicle before I knocked it down but I did manage to snap a picture of its lifeless body as it died in the snow.

I put my glove next to it for some perspective. I hope this graphic depiction was not too graphically depicted for the more squeamish.

I am pleased that we have made it through this first snow storm of the season and I find that at my advanced age of 54, I am hoping it's the last snow storm of the season.

To Snow or Not to Snow

There has been major media hype going on in the media from which the hype has been coming the last few days, anticipating a snow storm of gigantic, nay, epic proportions. At least, gigantic, nay, epic in relation to all the other snow storms we have had this season, which has been none.

I find it amazing that the National Weather Service says nine inches of snow has fallen this season. That can't possibly be right. It seems as if there hasn't been any snowfall this year.

As I said, the TV weather people have had their panties all in a bunch since Sunday telling us of the prodigous winter weather that is soon to be coming to our doorstep...well, it's coming to a doorstep...at the very least, it's coming to a doorstep in our neighborhood, perhaps the city...or the state.....oh Hell! We don't know!

It is snowing as I write this. It started on my way to work this morning. It now remains to be seen how much we will get. I've heard five to eight inches. Now that the storm is here, they are scaling that back. It's not coming down very hard but I am reminded of the old Indian saying which I have repeated here many time.

Big Snow, Little Snow. Little Snow, Big Snow.

11:02 AM: It's still snowing. It's sticking and the wind is blowing about. Looks like this could be the big one.

2:27 PM: It continues to snow and it is piling up. Little Snow, Big Snow is proving itself true. Small snow flakes indicate a lot of snow to fall.

I went out during lunch and while it is still easy to get around, that does not take into account the stupid drivers who proliferate the roadways. Here is something I would like. If you're driving down the road in the left lane, and you notice that someone is behind you...perhaps even riding your ass, why don't you move over. Huh?
WHY DON'T YOU MOVE THE HELL OVER!

Okay, I got that out of my system.

4:08 PM: The snowfall has passed for now. I would estimate we got three or four inches. It's hard to tell because it's blowing around a lot. I'll get an accurate measurement when I get home.

8:29 PM: It is official. We have had a snowfall. I know this because I used the snow blower tonight. I did my normal routine of blowing off the driveway, the alley and the sidewalks up and down the block.

So...as of january18th, Winter has arrived.

Back to Work

We have decided that enough lolly-gagging has gone on and it is time to return to work on the house. 


The current project that we have been ignoring is the downstairs hallway. We are into the last section. We started at the entryway. Then we moved on down to the section next to the stairs. Next we did the alcove area by the kitchen. And now we are working on the last section, by the bathroom and leading into the TV room. 


Our first task today was to put up a piece of drywall on the ceiling. 

That seemed much easier than messing with all the holes and cracks that are there now. The space to fill measures 66.25" x 36.625". I have plenty of drywall out in the carriage house but I have horrible access to it. I have stacked a bunch of stuff in front of it. In the course of removing a sheet, I broke it. 

Fortunately, it broke in such a way as to effect only a small corner of what I needed. Above shows my cut piece of drywall with a little missing corner.


We hauled it in and after working out the logistics, got it up...only to discover it was a little tight. A quick quarter inch shave prove just the right fix and it went into place nicely. 


Next came the screwing of drywall screws to affix it board to the ceiling. Generally, putting a piece of drywall up on the ceiling is precarious work due to the effects of gravity. But, this all went fairly smoothly. 

I'm not terribly happy with the unprofessional irregular pattern of screws but the thing is up and it's not going anywhere.


That was all for me for the day as I have other things to attend to, (like Blogging) so Susan went to work with the sander.

That will probably be all the progress we make today but, to quote a famous Chinese proverb, "the journey of a thousand remodels begins with a single hole in the wall."

Annual Cat Health Care Day

We rose early today to prepare for our yearly excursion to the vet. We take all four cats at the same time as it saves a small amount of money. Not much because after the whole affair was over, we were $265.00 lighter. Well, Susan was lighter. I have to pay her back.


When it came time to load the cats up, the two most reluctant kitties were already hiding under the bed. Somehow, they knew something was up and whatever that something was, they were not going to like it.


We got Oscar and Scout boxed up and then had to chase down T.J. and Willie. They weren't quite as bad but it is generally an ungraceful ballet to place large flailing cat in small box.


Then there is the ride to the Vet's office which is loud with angry, upset cat noises. 


Susan and I went together so it was a little easier to manage them but not by much.  We have to get them weighed which is an ordeal in itself. The only good part of it is now they don't mind going back in the box. Below are Willie, Oscar, Scout and T.J. waiting for the Doc. 

They were not that excited to come out of the boxes once we were in the examining room. They got a rabies booster and a bunch of other pokes and prods and probes. 


T.J. is going to have to go back on Friday for some dental work. Other than that, they are good for another year. 


We have determined they are all about 12 to13 years old. The Doctor thought that was impressive for cats who go outside. I guess we live in a cat friendly neighborhood.


They were much quieter on the trip home. I guess they knew the worst was behind them. 


So now we have a lazy Saturday to while the time away. I do enjoy that but I think I need to find another part time job again. I don't seem to have any money. It's a bummer when you have time to while away but no beer to while with.


Fortunately, I know how to manage my beer so I can always find something.

Back to the Grind

It's the final day of what seems like a never ending vacation. Susan went back to work for two days and I did half a day on Friday but it still seems like we have not been involved in the creation of productive pursuits for a while. And in fact, it has been two weeks.

We drove out to the Little Spokane River today and did a very short paddle. It turns out that we are not in shape for a long paddle. Whew! It was brutal. It's a good thing we had beer with us.

We have been doing a bunch of straightening up around the house and removing Christmas decoration...which is a chore unto itself. So it was nice to go out to the river and commune with nature. We also communed with 17 turkeys that were walking around out there. 

They were a rather vocal bunch. They did not seem interested in our chocolate chips that we brought for the peacocks.

New Years Eve was uneventful as we went to a friends house for a little while and then made it back home by eleven. We opened a bottle of champagne and listened to the fireworks going off all around us from the front porch.

I did some wine work yesterday. I racked the tempernillo into a clean carbouy and then added some medium toast oak wood chips to add a medium toast oaky woodeness to the wine. The sour after taste that we have experienced is fading.

So now it is time to continue ion with life and make something of ourselves. Carpe Diem!

Another New Year on This Side of the Dirt

I had to get a post in today to start the year off properly. And so, here it is.


You're welcome!

Last Chance for Meaning

Well, here is my last chance to get a post in and say something meaningful before the end of the year. It's my opportunity to bring some deep seeded insight into the realm of this discourse of a Bloggery Fashion. Never again will I have this forum to talk about the things that really matter. And instead, I waste it with all this useless gibberish.


I shall dedicate today's Blog of useless gibberish to my friend and former High School classmate, Doug Richardson. Doug died today after a major heart attack. He is se7en days older than me, although you might think se7en years to look at him. He hasn't treated himself very well in the last few years and it finally caught up with him.


So I guess I have se7en days to get my affairs in order. Good thing I don't have many affairs.


Later: This is kind of cheating but the clock has just ticked over to 2012. I am hearing a ton of fireworks going of all around us. So the old year is past and we soldier on to new adventures in Twenty Twelve.