A Tribute to MY Hammer

A great tragedy took place on Friday. My hammer of close to 15 years finally succumbed to old age. If I were able to write poetry I would attempt to write a poem about my hammer. This hammer was a graduation gift from my brother Rob. This hammer was special because it is one of the few tools that I haven't lost. I have a knack for losing tools but this tool simply would not be lost. It has been with me from the beginning and stayed with me till the end.
I am deeply saddened by this loss although I am happy to report that my hammer broke with dignity. It didn't fly apart under much stress or strain. It's head simply plopped off with a gentle tap of the handle...I think it was as surprised as I was. So, a hammer has come and gone but it will not soon be forgotten...

I went out tonight and purchased a new hammer. It is just like my old hammer yet something tells me it won't be the same. Hopefully we will learn to trust each other, just like my old hammer and I...

I Caught A Fish This Big

Once upon a time, I caught a fish. This hasn't happened too often in my lifetime. The reasons for this are many and varied. I like to think it is primarily because I don't fish very much. Another suspicion I hold for my lack of success in the sport of fishing is that I just plain stink at it. I often have visions in the spring of pulling in huge stringers of bass and other gigantic scaled creatures. Unfortunately, after about 5 minutes of reality which in fishing terms means- "NOTHING"- I admit defeat, throw my fishing tackle back in the basement, and it starts collecting another year's worth of dust. It is truly pathetic.

Here is a success story...my first fish and boy was she a "keeper".


(Notice my older brother trying to capture some of my glory...as if this can be accomplished through standing as close as possible to a professional angler.)

Artistic Talent

There are many things that make a weblog worthy of bookmarking.

1. Frequent posts.
2. Interesting content.
3. Pictures.

I personally think the most important ingredient to a good blog is being able to write well. I'm not talking correct grammar but being able to "write". Those of us who can't write have to revert to posting pictures.
Someone once said, "A good picture is worth a thousand words"...Well, I say, "A good painting is worth a thousand and one words." Paintings take countless hours of painstaking... well.... painting ....and they are alot of work too.
Years ago you used to have to paint with a brush...yuck. Today we have electronic painting and my daughter is a master at Paint Shop. Take a gander at this work of art... at only 8 years old she may be the next Van Gogh...

Alarms Clocks & Monday Mornings...Ouch

Alarm clocks can be very annoying. I have found that the annoyance level is directly related to how much sleep one has acquired in the preceding day/week. It seems Monday mornings are always "unusual". Monday mornings are often affected by the change in activities over the weekend and also the occasional Sunday afternoon nap. I took a pretty long nap yesterday afternoon...like 2.5 hours worth. These naps generally do not bode well for the upcoming nights sleep. Last night I went to bed as I always do but as I was in typical, post nap condition, I rolled around for quite some time. Eventually I fell into a light sleep for most of the night only to be awakened by what I thought was my alarm clock. I drowsily looked at my alarm clock... yup...6:12...must'a been my alarm clock but I don't seem to remember hitting the snooze...strange.
You may at this point wonder, "Who in the world sets their alarm for 6:12! This guy is nuts. Why not 6:15 like a normal individual or even 6:10!"
I admit, I am a bit weird on this one. I used to set it for 6:20 in hopes to be out the door by 6:50...this was just not working. I at some point got frustrated by the hurried feeling every morning and hastily changed it. It haphazardly stopped on 6:12. I, being too lazy to go all the way around 24 hours but too nervous to set it any later, left it there. Thus, I have become comfortable with 6:12...I like it. Anyway, back to my story. I extracted myself from bed and went about my morning routine. My wife usually gets up 20 minutes after I get up to help shove me out the door for which I am very grateful. Well, this morning she got up, wandered out and said..."It's 5:30, not 6:30...I'm going back to bed." I couldn't believe it...I got out of bed at 5:12! That's kind of like realizing the dentist just pulled the wrong tooth! I, through tears of misery, resigned myself to just staying up and doing something other than sleeping... like posting this terrible story. I know one thing. These Sunday afternoon naps have got to stop.

How much time do you allow in the mornings?

House Complete

We finished up another frame job today. Total living area = 3100 sq. ft.
It's for sale so if you are in the market for a large home I'll put you in touch with the contractor.
Expect a price tag of close to 400,000.00
The Virginia version of the Occupational Safety and Health also known as OSHA has been on a rampage lately showing up on all sorts of jobsites in our area. We were inspected about two weeks ago and fortunately one of our guys worked on the fire dept. and was certified in basic first aid. She was going to fine us for that but during her interview with him it came out that he was certified. He is in line for a free lunch for bailing us out.
Today the head guy was out again checking out the crew of Mexicans that are laying the brick on this house. The Contractor yelled to them that OSHA was right across the road and it looked like a colony of ants scrambling down from the scaffolding. They knew what to do when OSHA shows up..."BREAKTIME".
What is everyone else's thoughts on regulated safety procedures?
He, Mr. OSHA, told us he informed one guy to get a new extension cord because it was all knicked up. Well, he came back several weeks later and the dude was still using that cord. He said they fined him $12,000.00. Ouch! I'm afraid that would put me out of business.

Well, next up for us is a huge house. Living Area = 6185 sq. ft.
I can't wait to post some pictures of this monster.

The Snack of Choice

Gregegg, who happens to work for me, bought us a snazzy water heater for Christmas. We use it on the job and it has become the most popular tool. We all huddle around the water pot greedily waiting for signs of boilage. Then we proceed to fill our cups and prepare to consume said beverages...usually Folgers singles, tea, or some sort of Ramen Noodle concoction. My current snack of choice happens to be this:

Maruchan Instant Lunch

Notice the generic Walmart brand sitting on someone else's lunch box. We won't mention any names to prevent embarrassment. Does anyone else eat these things? At around $0.25 a piece it is fairly economical.

In Other News...

I sing in a group called...Voice Of Praise.
Our latest album just arrived and I think it is...well, not too bad.

Here is the front and back cover for your perusal and yes, we are standing in what happens to be real precipitation.

Pictures From Above

I was browsing through some of my old pictures recently and came across some pics taken during my flying days. Yes, these were taken when I was still single, carefree and debt free . Aircraft rental has fallen to a lower priorty in recent years due to things like mortgages and children.
I hope to sporadically post "Pics From Above" as a way of helping you enjoy my hobby that I can't seem to afford anymore.

This first picture will only be appreciated by my Delaware readers. I'm so sure you Delawareans will know where this picture is that I will let my friends from DE explain. Just post your guesses in the comments.

[Hint: This picture would not look the same if taken today]


The following picture was taken by my friend as I flew off into the sunset...oh, the peace and serenity. Notice the windsock just hanging in the calm evening.

Walmart - An American Tradition

My family and I were recently doing some shopping. Fulfilling our American duty, we pulled into our local Walmart parking lot. Those of us who shop at the Walmart on Wards Rd. know how stressful it can be to find a parking space. It is always mobbed and this particular evening was no exception. I must interject at this point that I am a bit obsessive about getting a "good spot". Ask my wife and she will tell you that I sometimes circle the parking lot passing up acceptable spots only because they weren't "close enough". Anyway, I carefully chose the aisle I thought had the best chance of a close spot when yes, there it was, the perfect location. Right next to the handicap spot! You can't get any better than that! I was gleefully preparing to swoop in when what to my wondering eyes did appear... some lady, muscling in from the opposite direction, completely ignoring the yellow arrows that clearly indicated she was travelling the wrong direction. Well, she stopped just past the spot I was intending to occupy, put her car in reverse and was preparing to back into MY spot. Well, I must say I was a bit in shock because I had already started to make the turn the minute she cleared the front of my van. There we sat, I was in her way and in a complete state of shock, and she was blowing her horn. I couldn't believe it! I looked over to see if she had come to her senses. Nope, she was waving her arms and spewing what looked like all sorts of vulgarities and whatnots. It was at this point that I decided it was time to cut and run. I gave her MY spot and went to the next aisle and parked. I jealously watched as she and I believe 4 little children extracted themselves from their car and made the "short" walk in. I must say, this is an area I need to work on. We went about our shopping and got in a "slow" line to check out when I proceeded to jump lines because this line was moving too slow. Imagine my chagrin to find we hopped in line behind guess who. Yup, it was her and her 4 little ones. I don't think she recognized us as the parking lot idiots, although, maybe she did and just maybe she felt slightly foolish..I know I did.

December Frame Job

Ok. It's time to become more active with this blogging thing.

Warning, this blog will be about things that interest me. This could result in you, the reader, being completely bored out of your mind.

Here is a look at one of our recent jobs.

We started this house November 15th and finished it December 23rd.

Day1

Day6

Finally Finished!

I will try to get some pics of our current project to post soon.