Creeping Impetus

Only two more phases completed today, which brings us to 15/43 or 35%.  I had hoped to be at 45% after finishing up today, and won't get any done tomorrow.  On a related side note, there's nothing like having three large screws completely strip out and not be able to be turned either way with a screwdriver.  I had to finish tightening them with vice grips.

Second Entry Today - 24 September's Playground Progress Update

I've completed 13 out of the 43 building stages of the playground set as of today, or about 30%.  If it doesn't rain tomorrow, maybe I can get to 45%...

Dominating is the key to domination...

So I started putting together the playground Sunday.  I spent about two hours working on it (judging by how much of my audio book I listened to) and am about 1/8 of the way done.  I'll spend a little time most days this week after work getting a little more done each day and hopefully be done by the end of this coming weekend.

We tried to bake cookies this weekend and have discovered that our oven is dying.  So, we're saving for a $1200 double oven-stove top.  I need to make sure that the widths are compatable and that I don't need to also save to re-do the cabinets along with a new oven/stove...

Next up on the project agenda after the playground is finished is painting Gabe's bathroom, followed my painting the girl's rooms one at a time so we can reclaim our closet.

That's all for today's blog.  Thanks for reading.

Top Web searches to resulting in people stumbling on my blog

Top Web searches to resulting in people stumbling on my blog:

anamorphosis birthday
anamorphosis brake
on my ipod people write with squiggly lines
paper template squiggly lines
pencil anamorphosis on paper
squiggly story paper

Apparently, I need to use more words like “anamorphosis” and “squiggly” in my blog…

Potpourri of Progress

So Zach (Brother-in-law) came by a couple of weeks ago and we lifted the 53 Mercury onto the frame and out of the driveway.  Later that same day, Candice and I put together the trampoline.  A misreading of the assembly instructions made connecting the springs about a hundred times harder, which I still managed to accomplish (at great stress to my muscles which were sore for almost an entire week).

We also have a swing set/playground set we will start installing within the next week or two.  That’s going to cause us to move the trampoline, because it’s where part of the playground set is supposed to go.  But since the ground isn’t as level anywhere else except where we plan to level the ground for the pool, we’ll need to move it over the area we intend to level, and then figure out how to level it.

I don’t quite have the funds to but the bricks for the retaining wall up front, so my tentative plan to start leveling is to start moving the dirt around to where it needs to be leveled and buy the bricks a little at a time.  Then when we get closer, finish buying the bricks and get them firmly placed where they need to go.  The trampoline will then be in the what is now the “circle of doom” until we build the gazebo.  At that time, we’ll figure out where to best place the trampoline and what needs to happen to place it there.

I recently found out that Amazon has made getting a book published and marketed vastly easier than it ever has been before.  With Kindle Direct Publishing you can publish it and have it for sale immediately for the Kindle (which can be read on more than just the Kindle – Android devices, iPad and iPhone devices, some Blackberries, PCs and Mac Computers).  They also have a “paper” publishing sister site for getting the book published in a more traditional manner.  With the KDP, you can chose which royalty system to go with (35% or 70%) one has you have an exclusivity period with Amazon of 90 days. 

But the bottom line is, I’ve never wanted to go through the hassle to get anything published before because I hated the system, so I just wrote for myself.  Now, I’m seriously contemplating trying to get enough stories together to put out a novel of short stories and selling it on Amazon.

Donna started today wearing underpants primarily.  It took about three weeks before her diaper genie got filled enough for us to empty it, presumably because she hasn’t needed to change them as often, so we’re giving her the green light.  Hopefully in a month or so, we can talk with her daycare about lowering the cost based on previous discussions by $10 per week.  That’s $520 a year that will come in very handy when it comes to stuff like, say, building a retaining wall.

Megi is enjoying walking around if and only if we’re holding her hands.  Hopefully, this will spark an interest in turning loose and actually taking a step on her own.  She can do it, she is just to timid to risk it.  That’s funny to me, because she’s a little daredevil most other times.

Gabe is learning what it’s like to have a job.  He’s trying to save up for a 3DS, but doesn’t always do his chores to earn his allowance.  He’s learning (the hard way) that he has to earn stuff, not just get it.  A valuable lesson that is frustrating Candice and me right now, but he’s going to turn into a much better man than most other kids our family’s income level and above that just give stuff to their kids. 

We still haven’t made the appointments to have him checked out for ADD/ADHD yet, and we’ll find out soon how he’s doing in school.  I suspect we’ll need to make those appointments soon because unless he’s a vastly different person in school, he’s probably losing focus there and falling behind like he did last year.  I hate medicating for the sake of medicating, but it seems rather obvious that he’s got a real problem and I’d rather him not fall behind kids his age.

I recently went to the doctor because my allergies have gone from being bad twice a year for a month or two each to being year round, and they did a blood test and a referral to an allergist.  The blood results came back with juniper and mugwort, plus I’m very allergic to cats.  So, today I go become a human pincushion to refine exactly what my allergies are and to start getting regular shots to lessen my allergies.  Who knows, maybe I’ll even be able to sleep on my other side.

That’s all I have for now, thanks for reading!

Prom Deadlines

So, again it’s been a while since I’ve updated my blog.  We’ll start with the obvious question:  Have I done any writing?  Nope.  Not a word.  But, I haven’t tossed any ideas aside either.  I have several floating around, including the companion story to the one I wrote a couple of months ago.

Candice has her business picking up.  He’s almost quadrupled her sales from last year.  Her business’ Facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/CandiceBishopDesigns.  And the Etsy page is http://www.etsy.com/shop/CandiceBishopDesigns.  The Facebook page shows all the Etsy listings, plus will occasionally have posts from her on what her current projects are.  She's getting really good at her beads, and I think it's only a matter of time before she starts also doing glass sculpturing also and excelling at it, too...

We got a huge chunk of metal plunked in our driveway last night.  The HOA will, if they haven’t already, have a stroke if we don’t get it in out garage soon.  Here’s a picture: 

It’s the body of a 1953 Mercury that we plan/hope to fix up and turn into a hot rod before Gabe’s prom (it will also be Donna and Meg’s prom rides if they want and it survives Gabe taking it to the prom) around 2022.  Since I know the bare minimum about cars (I can change most fluids, tires, and spark plugs if need be), this will be a fun, learning experience for the whole family.

We have the frame inside the garage already.  We NEED to get the body on top of it and out of sight from the HOA before they have a coronary:

Gabe had his annual check-up.  He’s 7 years old and already 4’7”.  He wears adult size 5½ shoes.  And until he stops growing, I don’t see us buying pants for him anywhere except thrift stores.

Meg “graduated” to a front-facing car seat and no longer gets strapped into a carrier.  She really likes being able to see more as we go on trips, but sleeping looks WAY more awkward for her.

Ginger has adjusted well for the most part, though lately she’s started chewing up more stuff than she did before.  Her inside accidents are much less frequent now, and we’ve started bell training her so that hopefully they stop all together.  Now if we can just get Gabe to stop getting her all excited, because at her size, she scratches the boy pretty fierce when he jumps up on him.  She’s starting to get better about jumping up on Candice and me when she sees us after an absence period.  She’ll make a move to jump up then remember she isn’t supposed to and will sit and look longingly for us to love on her.

Gabe had for a week or two gotten excited about his chores again when he realized that instead of Wii time he could earn money to buy things.  Unfortunately for him, though, the first thing he wants to buy is a DS3, which takes a long time to save up for, even at $5 per week, so he’s losing interest in doing the work.  But he *really* wants the DS3, so there’s hope…

I changed my phone out and got a Razr Maxx.  It was like learning how to use a smart phone from scratch because everything worked differently from the Thunderbolt I had before.  Then, a week after I got it and was used to it, they upgraded my operating system to “Ice Cream Sandwich” which interfaced completely different again, so I had to learn it all over again.  But overall, I like it better than the Thunderbolt.  About the only thing I like better about the Thunderbolt is the ability to upload photos to any of my Facebook albums and to tag people in those photos before uploading them.  I probably just need to find an app or something to do it on this phone, but I haven’t bothered to look yet.

My allergies have been really bad this year, and I think I’m going to make an appointment to see the doctor and ask for a referral to an allergy specialist when my schedule dies down in a few weeks.

Playing Catch-Up

It’s been a while since I updated my blog and there has been a good bit that has happened.  We’ll start with the sad, and end on some good notes. 

Royce, my father-in-law lost his battle with cancer on the 16^th of July.  The cancer was so fast acting/spreading that this was a good thing, though.  He is no longer suffering, and if he had lived longer, suffering would have been the only thing he would have reasonably have been doing.  The funeral was nice (though MIL tried her best to make it all about her instead of all about him). 

Since he wore gaudy Hawaiian print and fish print shirts all the time, we had everyone show up in those instead of funeral clothes, so there wasn’t the usual feeling of dread associated with most funerals.  There was still sadness, but there was also a sense of lightness, too.  We held the reception afterwards at our house for relatives and a few friends.  So much better doing it there rather than at an unknown venue like the funeral home, because we could relax more.

We skipped our annual vacation to South Carolina this year to spend time with him, and it was good that we did, because he died on what would have been our first night in South Carolina.  We didn’t get the extra time with him, but we do have plans to do some things in his memory, and we still have a trip in October for Candice and Donna to be in Candice’s sister’s wedding near Chicago, and we will resume the South Carolina vacations next summer.

The 15^th was our wedding anniversary, and on that day we went and rescued a puppy from the animal shelter (actually from an animal shelter outlet collocated at a PetSmart).  Her name was originally Frankie, but she looks more the color of a ginger root, and wasn’t very familiar with her name when we tried to call her by it, so we changed it to Ginger, which she now responds to.  She is a Great Dane/Terrier mix (not a tiny Yorkshire type, but more of a Plummer or Staffordshire type), and she is a great dog (most of the time).  She had already had some training, so she knows sit and stay.  She walks well on a leash (unless there is a rabbit nearby, then she HAS to check it out.  I don’t have a clue, nor think she does either, what she’d do with it if she caught one.  We’ve since taught her to sit while we wait to cross any street (without needing to say “sit”).

There were a few accidents on the carpet when we first brought her home despite her being housebroken already, but she’s only 4 months old, and the situation was new.  For the past week or so, there haven’t been any accidents (knock on wood).  At night, she sleeps in the kitchen for now.  When we know we can trust her (and the cats) better, we’ll think about letting her sleep elsewhere in the house if she wants.  We also have to “break” her of the basement.  We kept the not-housebroken Chihuahuas down there during cold months before we found them new homes and, well, she thinks since their smells are all around that it is ok to “go” down there.  We have a doggie door to the basement from the back yard, and she was going inside to do her business until we closed it off.  That’s another big part of allowing her out of the kitchen at night.  If we can train her to go through the basement to go outside if she needs to go, then we’re golden.

She’s been good for us in other ways too.  She’s helped comfort Candice after the loss of Royce.  She’s forced us to be more active, since we have to take her for walks at least twice a day to get her exercise, etc.

Donna and Megi were not too thrilled about her initially, though.  Donna got frightened at the shelter when all the dogs started barking at once, and she initially associated that terror with Ginger, but since has gotten used to Ginger (who incidentally doesn’t bark much, but when she does it’s a low pitched, deep bark you’d associate with a large dog) and talks about her a lot and plays with her too.  Megi was more like “WTF is this large thing trying to lick me all the time?”  Ginger has since learned to mostly leave her alone so she won’t scream, and Megi now will go up to her and pet her (hoping she doesn’t get in her face).

Gabe loves to play with her, but can get carried away and start rolling around and getting her riled up, in which case, she “play nips” at him.  We’re trying to discourage this behavior from both of them, because it can lead to an accidental nip that is too strong, or she might still be too playful when one of the girls are around who aren’t able to play with her as fiercely as Gabe can.

Ginger loves to play “fetch and keep away.”  Which is fun and gives us extra exercise, but we’d often rather it just be “fetch and bring back to us.”

We’re not sure how big she’ll get to be since she is part Dane, but the vet thinks she may have reached her full height since her adult teeth are in (though she’s still teething with them some), but she is only 4 months old, so who knows?  When we got her, you could see her ribs through the skin, but now that she’s fed and exercise regularly, most of that is becoming muscle definition.

As promised, I’m posting a picture of the plaque I made for Candice for our anniversary and to (hopefully) motivate her to do more of her artwork.  Here it is.  It came out much better than I hoped before I started it, but the spiral scroll saw blades make it tremendously easier to use the scroll saws.  I think I need to buy a bunch more, so if you’re looking for gift ideas, there’s one for you!

And speaking of the motivating Candice to do art stuff, I’m pretty sure the plaque had nothing to do with it, but she IS starting to do artwork again.  Hopefully we’ll have the parts in the next couple of months to set up her new torch and she can stop (or drastically cut down on) using her hot head torch.

We also bought a pool.  Not a “cement pond” type, but an above-ground 15 foot round pool.  We went to fill it up (and did) and found that our yard is not level enough to support it, so from now through around Memorial Day of next year, my primary outdoor project is leveling out a twenty foot square area to put it for next year and to run a power outlet over to that side of the yard where we plan to put the pool (and eventually a gazebo).

I’m sure I missed a crap-load of stuff that happened, but this was hopefully enough to quench your thirst for a while.  Thanks for reading!