Entry for August 28, 2006

Last week Gin and I concentrated on our evening workouts and proper diet plans. We switched to having our dinner type meal at lunch time and a lighter meal in the evening. I'm not quite sure what Gin ate for lunches during the week. I made a big pot of turkey chili and brought that to work every day along with a green chili and corn muffin. We would have spinach salad in the evening prior to our workouts. The change helped with our evening runs. We felt less bloated and were able to make our goal distances without feeling sick.


Friday after work I completed my circuit training and 1.5 mile run. Gin took the day off to rest. We had a deli sandwich from Wendy's then loaded up some yard sale items to take to Jessica's for Saturday.

Saturday morning we were up early and out of the house by 6am to help Jessica set up the yard sale. Debbie Stroud also made it there and the set up time was about 45 minutes. I carried several items out thinking they were to be included only to be told to take them back in the house. C'est la Vie!

Patrick and I went to the big high school football game in Duncan. The game matched up the #2 (USA Today) Byrnes HS (Duncan,SC) against Glades Central #5 (Palm Beach, FL). With a noon kick-off, it was a sweltering day for football. We sat at the 25 yard line 3 rows from the top of the stadium. Patrick and his friend Chris Honeycutt managed to get in the gate early enough to get the seats. I waited in the shade for about an hour before I finally entered the heat wave. The game was an ESPN broadcast on their high school showcase game of the week.

Both teams matched up very well. I think the heat contributed too several miscues from both teams. The local team managed to win a deffensive battle. The game lasted 3 1/2 hours plus we were in the stands 2 hours before kick-off. Everyone was sun dried and burned-up as well as burned out.

Jessica's yard sale turned out very well as reported by Gin and Jessica. They were done a little after noon and enjoyed a relaxing lunch together.

Sunday Gin and I made the weekly grocery store trip. The rest of the day was spent resting and relaxing.

P@

Entry for August 20, 2006

Our location in relationship the the school and church across the street is actually pretty convienent. There are times when traffic is heavy due to various events, but overall it is nice and quiet over there. Gin and I have measured several different courses to (and I use the term loosely) run or jog to help our exercise programs. we run at different paces which would be a hassle for a typical route. The parking lots and surounding entrance roads to the school and church offer enough distance to be creative without being too boring. We have measured a full 1/2 mile course at the church which incorporates a few long uphill parts that reward us with the same downhill section afterward. We usually try to run at least a mile each time out for five to six nights a week. If we feel good enough we will make and extra 1/2 mile to a mile longer run. Gin likes to run the courses in one direction for the first loop and reverse on the next cycle. I prefer to continue in the same direction at all times. The nice thing about each place we use to run is that we are never too far from each other that we don't know what's going on and we can work at our own pace.

Gin stained the boards last week, for the new wall cabinet doors. Saturday I glued the boards together and let them sit overnight to cure. The rest of the day Saturday I took the mower to Patrick's and cut his grass while he was at work. Patrick has been working 60 hour weeks for most of the summer. I wanted to give him a little break from the 2+ hours it takes out of his free time to cut the grass. With that done by noon I was back home to cut my own grass in between putting the doors together.

Saturday night we watched "Runaway Jury" with John Cusak, Gene Hackman and Dustin Hoffman. I read the John Grissom book several years ago and forgot most of what was to happen. The movie had several twists and turns which kept our interest.

Sunday morning I routed a groove on the inside of each door to insert a recessed panel. We discussed several options for the panel such as oak plywood, preferrated sheet metal or plastic light diffuser panels like those found on a flourecent ceiling light fixture. We tried the sheet metal and liked the look, but the price per sheet has doubled since we last bought some. Oak panels would be OK, but we want something unique. We opted for the plastic diffused panels in which Gin will accent with some type of paint. She is experimenting with different styles and colors to find the suitable design.

For those of you who read this weekly blog, you are more than welcome to comment on anything including my spelling. I am definitely a victum of the spell checker and this (YaHoo) service does not offer such a thing. So please understand that I am not ignorant, just lazy. I think I have most of it covered phonetically. Thanks for your patients.

P@

Entry for August 13, 2006

Last week was pretty easy at work. Wednesday I had a hard time staying alert all day. Still having problems sleeping through the night. I have no problem falling asleep, I just have this internal alarm that gets me up somewhere between 3:00 and 5:00 almost every day. I took a day off Thursday which is make up time from the 84 hour work week last month.

I spent Thursday morning looking for items to sell in a garage sale. After lunch I cut the back yard and raked up the piles of grass. It was pretty tall and needed to be raked since the grass was too wet to bag.

Friday night Caris and Thomas came down from Albemarle and joined us for dinner with Patrick and Jessica. We ate at Nachos, which was packed and slow. After dinner we went back to our house to continue the visit. The evening was part of our celabrating Caris' 22nd birthday.

Saturday it rained all day which made for a good time to catch up on some rest. Gin, Caris and Thomas went to Greenville for the day looking at gift registry items. I lazed around the house most of the day. I did manage to go grocery shopping to save Gin from having to go back out after being in malls all day. The afternoon was spent enjoying conversations with both of my Moms. My Mom celebrated her birthday on Saturday and I was able to catch up with her and all the things going on in Rocky Mount. I also had the pleasure of talking with my adopted Mom (mother-in-law), I call her Mom as well. Jean is like a back-up mom to my birth Mom. For the past 25 years she has included me in their family as if I was one of her own. I love both Moms and am not afraid to admit it.

Enough of the mushy stuff. Time to get down to some real thinking and engineering. Saturday afternoon Gin and I were discussing what type of hinges to put on the cabinets. We talked about the various styles which none of them really appealed to us. While watching the PBS show "The Woodwright Shop" I got an idea. The episode that was showing did not give the inspiration, but the previous week's show did. My thought was to make the hinge out of the same wood as the cabinet doors. The episode I was inspired did not show this idea but did show several ideas of how to make things with one piece of wood. I did some searching on the internet and found detailes on making a wooden hinge. Sundays task was at hand.

Saturday evening Gin grilled some chicken breast in the kitchen for sandwiches. we visited with Caris and Thomas for most of the evening. Caris' friend Summer came over to hang out with the young ones. Summer shocked us when she came in the house with blonde hair. Some of you may recall meeting her at Patrick's wedding, she has naturally black hair. It was hard getting used to seeing her as a blonde. I regress. The kids went shopping for part of the evening and returned just before 11.

Sunday Caris and Thomas left for Albemarle in the morning and I started the hinge making process. My first try was a little rough and had some wide gaps between the two parts. After reviewing and correcting my mistakes, I managed to make 4 hinges for two cabinet doors. I also cut out the other boards for each of the two doors that go to the sink cabinets. Gin applied poly to the wall cabinets and a trash bin. The door parts will be stained this week and glued later in the week or next weekend.

P@

Entry for August 09, 2006

Last week I had a rough time with sleeping and working. Lack of sleep and working 10 to 11 hour days adds up to being really groggy and non-productive. Not to mention consuming mass quantities of caffeine.


Saturday I was up fairly early and finally convinced myself to lay back down and sleep a little longer. I slept a little bit but definitely not enough. The task for the day was installing the face boards on the two corner cabinets I built last month. Gin had already sanded and stained all the pieces that were previously cut. This ended up being a simple task taking up about 4 hours of my day. So I was done with that by around 2:00 and decided to try taking a nap. I did manage to sleep a little while which helped for the evening.

Saturday night Gin and I traveled up to Saluda for a concert. We stopped in Columbus on the way up for a deli sandwich and ate in the front of an old primary school. About half way through my meal a few bees decided they liked me and wanted to be with me. I was having a wasp sting on the roof flash back and decided the bench was not for me. Gin and I moved to another bench and finished eating without incident. Next it was off to Saluda and a little outside venue called the Front Porch Coffee Bar. This place is a railroad caboose with an attached covered porch. They serve fresh brewed coffe (yuck), soft drinks, bottled water and home made ice cream. We attended the Brooks Williams show. Brooks is an acoustic guitar player who writes his own folk, jazz and blues songs. I discovered his music through a neat little web radio site www.pandora.com . This guy sounds a little like James Taylor and plays guitar as if there were two of him playing different parts. Gin and I enjoyed the show and will probably see him again when he is in the area.

Sunday Gin and I drove over to Patrick and Jessica's house. From there we traveled in Patrick's new Toyota Tundra to see Caris and Thomas in Albemarle, NC. We met up with Caris and Thomas at their church as they were just finishing the service. We were introduced to the pastor, his wife and several other frinds from the church. Next was lunch at Legends resturaunt in Badin. John and Debbie Hahn joined us for sandwiches and conversation. After lunch we drove up to Morrow Mountain State Park for a view of the Uwharrie National Forest and lakes.

After the state park it was off to Papa J's house for some home made ice cream and apple pie. We met Thomas' paternal grandparents and his uncles, aunts and cousins. Papa J showed me his unique collection of antique tools from different industries. He had coal boring drills, two man timber buck saws, ice saws, shoe cobbler seamers and so many others that I was overwhelmed. We thoroughly enjoyed meeting Thomas' relatives and understand how Caris fits in with the group.

After the visit at Papa J's we drove over to Thomas' house and a quick tour of the property where they will build their home. Thomas had bush hogged the field earlier in the week so we were able to get a good feel for the lay of the land. They have beautiful views in all directions and plenty of separation from any neighbors. They are truely blessed to have the support of Thomas' family for this property. Papa J has allowed each of his granchildren 1 acre of land from his farm land.

This past weekend was one of the best this summer and will be placed near the top with Patrick's wedding. I was extremely tired on Monday at work, so I went to bed early and woke up later. 9 hours sleep is unusual for me, but it was needed and worth having. If you have read this Blog and there was no picture, it's because I left my camera in Patrick's truck Sunday. I will post a picture once it is returned.

P@