Entry for June 27, 2006

I had my anual physical last Thursday which resulted with good reports. I haven't seen my blood test results, but I suspect they will be fine since I have lost so much weight since my last test and that test was good. My weight has crept up a little and I know the major reason. I have slacked off the exercising for the last 4 months and it shows. Sure I can wear loose fitting shirts to help hide it, but I know I need to straighten out my diet and physical activity.


Last week was somewhat normal at work until Friday when we were slammed by severe thunderstorms and heavy rain. The office lost power around 4:00 which was fine with everyone there. The only problem was finding a safe time to exit the building between periods of rain.

Saturday I sanded the walls in the dining room for painting. Gin worked the rest of the weekend in the kitchen painting. I worked in the yard all day Saturday clearing some of the overgrown trees along the storage building, cutting grass and weed eating. Sunday was a day of rest for me as Gin continued the painting. I noticed after the second coat of paint that my drywall mud and sanding needs to be improved. There are several bad spots that need to be reworked.

Sunday night I started to watch a movie on AMC but the thunder storms decided to scramble the satelite and switched to the rabbit ears and watched documentary about scuba diving in Antartica, burrrr. The rain continued through mid afternoon on Monday. There are some areas that recieved 7 inches over 2 days.

Next Saturday we will go to Albermarle to visit with Caris and Thomas and check out what the town has to offer. We will make several trips over the coarse of the coming year and try to help plan for events leading up to their wedding.

P@

Entry for June 19, 2006

A slight change in pace, again.

Caris was in town Wednesday for the day to take care of some of her personal business. I managed to have lunch with Caris and Gin and we had some good food and conversation.

I finished cleaning up and clear coating the two canes Gin and I found for her elderly friend Jean. They do not have any twists but they still look pretty unique.

Saturday I worked on the last coat of mud in the dining room. We should be able to paint this week. Patrick treated me to dinner and a baseball game in downtown Greenville. The game was actually a double header with the continuation of a previously rained out game and then the regularly scheduled game. The stadium is new and was designed to be like Boston's Fenway Park which was comfortable and clean. They split the double header with a win in the night cap. I managed to catch a team t-shirt that was tossed in the stands by the mascot between innings.

Sunday Gin and I took a 3 hour hike through the southern portion of the Dupont State Forest. We hiked up to Bridal Veil Falls which is where the movie "Last of The Mohicans" was filmed. There wasn't a lot of water flowing during our visit, but it was still worth the hike. We ate a late lunch at our favorite Irish Pub, Hannah Flannagan's, in Hendersonville. Gin, like always, had the corned beef and cabbage and I settled for the fish and chips. We passed on the desert and took the back roads home. Once we unpacked, we settled in for a short nap.

Sunday evening I worked on scanning the wedding pictures Jessica and her mom let us borrow. I expect to have CDs burned later this week.

This morning I was up early, thanks to a house being moved down the street at 4:00. The movers managed to pull my mailbox out of the ground and leave it there for me to worry about. It took me a bout 20 minutes to dig a new hole and place the post in a new hole. I made sure it was further away from the road and set it with a bag of Quick-Crete I had in the storage shed. Caffiene is my friend today.

P@

Entry for June 11, 2006

Gin stained and poly coated the new sink counter last week. I installed the sink and faucet for the final time Friday evening. I still need to make the doors and drawers, which will probably be next weekend's project.


Gin and I joined Caris and Thomas at the 1st Greater Greenville Highland Games on the Furman University campus. We managed to find a shady spot under the trees at the Jamestown Pipe Band tent. The weather was in the mid 90s with a good breeze all day. Caris and Thomas competed with the grade IV band and were awarded 1st place for their medley set.

We stopped at a pizza place in Travelers Rest for a calzone dinner. Next we headed to Dairy Queen for Blizzards for desert. When we arrived home it was decided to finally turn on the air conditioner which included me working in the attic installing the insulation over the kitchen and dining room.

Sunday morning Thomas and Caris headed back to NC only to have the trip ruined with her car breaking down in Gastonia. Thomas' father managed to get there with a trailer and tow her car the rest of the way. Gin and I took a little walk in the woods to look for a cane for a friend, We also looked at some potential trees for table making. We managed to find 2 cane type sticks that were not twisted but may do what is needed.

We went over to Jean's house to help with her garage door and getting things ready for a new shipment of hey. The rest of the afternoon was spent relaxing with well deserved naps and some catch up reading.

Patrick and Jessica stopped by for a spaghetti dinner and a game of aggravation rummy. Patrick managed to win the game.

I have my physical this Wednesday. It has been a year since my last and I have gained some weight back, but I am still 35 pounds lighter than this time last year. I am looking forawd to getting motivated again. I haven't done a very good job of exercising 3 times a week and that will change soon. I keep making excuses to myself  based on work hours and home improvement projects. It is time again to focus and work for myself.

P@

Entry for June 05, 2006

Earlier in the week I hooked up the new sink on a temporary basis. When I connected the water lines to the new faucet, it leaked at the factory connections. These connections are push lock fittings on copper pipe. The factory made pipe had pits, grooves and weld splatter that should have never made it into the box. I called the factory support toll free number and talked with the nicest person. After explaining the situation, she informed me that she would have a new faucet shipped to me. I asked if I was to send the one I have back to the factory and she informed me to just throw it away. I was floored, but kept my composure and said "OK". I just needed to send one of the following to her; a picture of the faucet, a copy of the receipt or the UPC label from the box. I opted for sending a copy of the receipt.


Naturally I fixed the problem with the faucet that is to be thrown away. I'll have a spare in a few weeks.

This past weekend I continued building the new sink counters. I installed all the support wood to hold the counter top in place. I installed the oak floor planks in place for this counter. The corner is built the same way the first 90 degree top was made. I used #0 biscuits and removed a portion of the tungue to set each opposing piece. The sink area was the most difficult since it did not come with a pattern, I made a pattern for one side of the sink which worked for both. Each plank that met the sink was trimmed individually before being installed. Once all planks were set, I placed the sink and made final adjustments to the fit.

Gin stained all the cabinet facing pieces and they were installed Sunday afternoon. I sanded the new counter top and Gin will stain and seal coat it this week. I still need to make the doors and drawers which will probably happen part of this week.