Earning Some Down Time
I've been accused of neglecting my blog and I suppose there's some truth in that. It hasn't been for a lack of things to write about or lack of interest but rather, a lack of time. I get a bit of an anxious feeling when I haven't written in several days. Maybe it's a form of withdrawal.
Sometimes a blog piece flows out of me and pretty much writes itself. Other times it's not so easy; especially those times when I'm conflicted about an issue. Such was the case last year in my posts leading up to the election.
I searched my soul a lot during that time as I was contemplating the presidential election and my decision to vote for Obama. Speaking of that decision; do I have any regrets about it? No. I've learned not to put my faith in politicians just as I learned long ago never to bet on the Vikings in a must-win situation. Am I disappointed with Obama and the decisions he's making? Yes, a little. But, unlike so many on the right, I'm willing to give the guy a chance rather than disparage and dismiss him so quickly.
It was a curious announcement last week by the Norwegian Parliament of their decision to award the Nobel Peace Prize to Barack Obama. A better choice may have been to give it to the American people.
I got up from my overnight shift Thursday morning and headed out into the yard to begin the all-day task of pulling up and cutting back our flowering plants. Just as in years past the job amounted to three truckloads for the compost site ten miles to the east. It's not something I look forward to doing but it always feels nice to have it done. Toward the end of the day, I walked up our front walk past the now-empty flower garden and noticed a lone bumblebee zigging and zagging in a futile search for flowering life to sustain it. Just a couple weeks ago Tammy brought me out to show me all the bumblebees in the garden and how some of them were so loaded down with pollen that they had a difficult time negotiating the path from one flower to the next. I honestly felt bad for the straggler.
Another thing I've been neglecting lately is maintenance on my bikes. I made a vow to myself a couple months ago that I wouldn't overhaul them again until I could do it in the comfort of our newly finished garage. That time finally came Friday night when I was able to spend a few hours enjoying my new digs. This sort of time for me is very relaxing and I suppose you could almost call it therapeutic. No pressures whatsoever. Tammy was working in her office but the pups came out and kept me company for a while. They'd get bored before too long and make their way up the steps by the back door. That was the signal that they wanted back in the house.
I've de-cluttered the space about as much as I can. That was high on my list of goals when I started imagining what the final result would be. The cabinets Keith made provide us with quite a bit more storage space than we had before. I regret that I didn't take some 'before' photos for comparison.
I spent a few hours out there last night finishing work on my bike and hanging our extension ladder above the garage door. Hanging the ladder was a simple job but it nearly turned ugly. I was standing on a stepladder drilling one of two hangers into a stud above the door with my other hand on the garage door spring for leverage. I've been told that garage door springs carry a lot of tension and I can now confirm that it's a fact because the spring broke while my hand was resting on it. (You can see the broken spring toward the bottom of this photo.) Fortunately for me, the piece my hand was holding on to was the much smaller of the two sections after the break. The other side went through a violent unwinding and I didn't fully appreciate what was happening until it was over. Thanks to a sticker on the garage door I was able to call for service and have someone out to fix it this morning for $189. It was a quick fix and the guy was in and out in not much more than 15 minutes.
Rachel is the last of her friends to have her senior pictures taken; they need to be in by the 30th for entry into the yearbook. She had a date scheduled last weekend but it was rainy so they rescheduled for yesterday morning. The plan has been to take some outdoor photos with fall colors but with a temp in the low 30s, they decided to reschedule again for the middle of this week. That too is looking iffy at this point. The photographer is concerned about what the cold air will do to her skin tones.
Not to worry though because she had her photo taken during registration for her school I.D. card. She and her friend Trina went dressed up in '80s workout clothes. I say keep the money we'll pay for senior photos and use the one she's already got. It sounds like a reasonable dare to me.
Sometimes a blog piece flows out of me and pretty much writes itself. Other times it's not so easy; especially those times when I'm conflicted about an issue. Such was the case last year in my posts leading up to the election.
I searched my soul a lot during that time as I was contemplating the presidential election and my decision to vote for Obama. Speaking of that decision; do I have any regrets about it? No. I've learned not to put my faith in politicians just as I learned long ago never to bet on the Vikings in a must-win situation. Am I disappointed with Obama and the decisions he's making? Yes, a little. But, unlike so many on the right, I'm willing to give the guy a chance rather than disparage and dismiss him so quickly.
It was a curious announcement last week by the Norwegian Parliament of their decision to award the Nobel Peace Prize to Barack Obama. A better choice may have been to give it to the American people.
I got up from my overnight shift Thursday morning and headed out into the yard to begin the all-day task of pulling up and cutting back our flowering plants. Just as in years past the job amounted to three truckloads for the compost site ten miles to the east. It's not something I look forward to doing but it always feels nice to have it done. Toward the end of the day, I walked up our front walk past the now-empty flower garden and noticed a lone bumblebee zigging and zagging in a futile search for flowering life to sustain it. Just a couple weeks ago Tammy brought me out to show me all the bumblebees in the garden and how some of them were so loaded down with pollen that they had a difficult time negotiating the path from one flower to the next. I honestly felt bad for the straggler.
Another thing I've been neglecting lately is maintenance on my bikes. I made a vow to myself a couple months ago that I wouldn't overhaul them again until I could do it in the comfort of our newly finished garage. That time finally came Friday night when I was able to spend a few hours enjoying my new digs. This sort of time for me is very relaxing and I suppose you could almost call it therapeutic. No pressures whatsoever. Tammy was working in her office but the pups came out and kept me company for a while. They'd get bored before too long and make their way up the steps by the back door. That was the signal that they wanted back in the house.I've de-cluttered the space about as much as I can. That was high on my list of goals when I started imagining what the final result would be. The cabinets Keith made provide us with quite a bit more storage space than we had before. I regret that I didn't take some 'before' photos for comparison.
I spent a few hours out there last night finishing work on my bike and hanging our extension ladder above the garage door. Hanging the ladder was a simple job but it nearly turned ugly. I was standing on a stepladder drilling one of two hangers into a stud above the door with my other hand on the garage door spring for leverage. I've been told that garage door springs carry a lot of tension and I can now confirm that it's a fact because the spring broke while my hand was resting on it. (You can see the broken spring toward the bottom of this photo.) Fortunately for me, the piece my hand was holding on to was the much smaller of the two sections after the break. The other side went through a violent unwinding and I didn't fully appreciate what was happening until it was over. Thanks to a sticker on the garage door I was able to call for service and have someone out to fix it this morning for $189. It was a quick fix and the guy was in and out in not much more than 15 minutes.
Rachel is the last of her friends to have her senior pictures taken; they need to be in by the 30th for entry into the yearbook. She had a date scheduled last weekend but it was rainy so they rescheduled for yesterday morning. The plan has been to take some outdoor photos with fall colors but with a temp in the low 30s, they decided to reschedule again for the middle of this week. That too is looking iffy at this point. The photographer is concerned about what the cold air will do to her skin tones.
Not to worry though because she had her photo taken during registration for her school I.D. card. She and her friend Trina went dressed up in '80s workout clothes. I say keep the money we'll pay for senior photos and use the one she's already got. It sounds like a reasonable dare to me.
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