It's just a few rocks, how can it hurt?

Christine had a vision. We should have a rock path through the flowers and shrub area between the garden and the backyard lawn. We have lots of river run rocks near the storage shed, so I could use those and not have to buy "new" ones. Ok, so far so good.

I took a shovel and we marked where the new path would go. Then while she was away to a girls day out, I got to work. First,  I dug up the rocks and sifted out the dirt and junk so they were ready for the new path. A little, well, alot of work, but no problem.

Now with the gravel path in place, something was missing. I know, any good creek bed has larger rocks along the path and I just happen to have some piled up with no place to go. So back to the wheelbarrow I go. Some are so big and heavy that I had a hard time lifting them. Then I came to the one. You know, the one I should have waited for help with.

It was so heavy that I couldn't lift it. No problem I thought, I will just tilt the wheelbarrow and roll it into the front and tilt the wheelbarow back. Actually, it worked just like that ... the second time. The first time it and the wheelbarrow rolled over onto my leg to leave a bruise, and strained my back to give me plenty of reason to watch football. See? there is a silver lining even in a big rock!

My Three Score Birthday!

Today, I reached the ripe old age of three score. It was fun with kind messages from friends and family. My friends at work took me to lunch and I had coconut shrimp tacos that were delicious. Then when I got home, there as a surprise birthday party that included Carrie all the way from Tennessee! What a treat and wonderful day.

More work around the house.

This week we were busy as usual. I got the brick in the back patio back in place. Not perfect, but adquate. You might say they look homespun.

Then on Wednesday we had a contractor come in and install new concrete curbing in the front and back. Now, they were professionals!

But Thursday was the day I took the Charger back and got my truck out of the body shop. The dent in the hood is gone and she looks beautiful. The canoe that fell on her on July 4 is now safely stored on the side of the house.

A new recruit for the Army

Yesterday we went to This is the Place Heritage Park with Dave, Emily and family. It was a little hot, but we enjoyed the historic buildings and stories. It was also the day where there were civil war soldiers and Joey took the opportunity to enlist in the Union Army! (He is the one with the big "M" on his chest.)

Grand Opening for the Car and the Truck

After a week of waiting, the car and truck were anxious to have the ribbon cut so they could come home to the garage where it is shady and the sprinkler water doesn't put spots all over them. So, with a little fanfare, we let them line up and cut the ribbon!

 

They showed their appreciation in the usual way.

Then it was on to the next little project. It seems that some of the brick in the back yard patio have been moving around without permission. Some were sinking, others just, well, not where they should be. So, with no fanfare, a boundary for change was established and the bricks unceremonously taken up and stacked to be reset on a new level bed of sand and dirt.

Here is the view with about half of the rascals taken out and stacked up. Watch for further developments!



Delivered and Installed

Our status as the only house on the street with no driveway is over at last. On Friday, they came and put in the new walk and 1/3 of the driveway. Can you believe it? That big concrete truck was able to fit right in the side of the house. Well, I guess a camper could too, if we decided to go that way.



Then on Saturday they came back and got the rest of it in. Well, almost. On Friday the concrete truck broke up some sections of the sidewalk, so it was agreed that they would be replaced. The pile in the street is what had been sidewalk. Well, they were just one 4' section short of concrete, but they promised they will come haul away the pile on Monday and put in the rest of the concrete on Tuesday. Then, we will wait a week while everything gets stronger and by next Saturday, we will have a car and a truck in our garage! Imagine that.

Friday night Christine and I had policing duty at the Handcart Days Fair. Well that is what I called it, but when we arrived to check in they gave us a puzzled look. After a minute they said, Oh, you're here fo the garbage patrol and issued use gloves and garbage bags. Policing sounded better to me, but it was sort of fun to walk the park among a nice family crowd and from time to time, empty a waste can. They even gave us free tickets, so we got a cold drink and I had a scone that was tasty.

On Saturday, Christine and Leana went back with Aleksandr to enjoy the festivities and use up the tickets we had left over. Here is how Leana used some of them. I told her she needed to keep it on for Church so the bishop whould know how useful she would be working in the nursery. She didn't seem to think that was such a good idea.

The drive is ready, but not the concrete

Last week we expected the new driveway to be put in, but first the weather was a problem. It is is not a good idea to put in concrete and then have it rained on by a thunder storm. Then the contractor said he was delayed by employee vacations. So, hopefully we will see it put in this week, but then again, Monday and Tuesday may have more storms.

So last week Christine and I went on a Trek to Wyoming. That is where over 300 young men and women from our stake trek across the trail with all their gear loaded on handcarts. They left on Wednesday morning and returned on Saturday afternoon, having walked over 30 miles over the four days.
We were part of the food team, so we got to help set up the camp kitchen, cook and prepare meals, take down the kitchen (and our own little tents), then drive on to the next camp location. Most days we also prepared trail lunches for the companies (three companies with 10 camp families each and about 10 youth in each camp family). The lunches were given to them in gunny sacks.

The food was good and well appreciated by all. Christine did a lot of serving and helping. I did a lot of cooking on the stoves - potatoes and eggs for breakfast, soups and stews for dinner, stuff like that. For Saturday breakfast, I figured out how to make 24 gallons of oatmeal in batches so it didn't burn. I was so happy when I saw the youth liked it and many came back for seconds. Of course, I'm sure the toppings that included fresh berries, honey, raisins and brown sugar were not the real reason they liked my oatmeal.
We were both exhausted, but also overwhelmed by how happy we were to be part of the trek. We would do it again in a heartbeat. Everyone there was so committed to a shared positive and spiritual uplifting experience.

The stump is gone, bring on the bids!

This week was such a satisfying experience. As part of his help with digging out for a new retaining wall along our south property line, Mark got a big, heavy, old stump loose and ready to go. It was too big to lift and I couldn't see how I would get it loaded to take to the dump.

So I fretted about it, and came up with one failed way after another. I really didn't want to ask Steve, Dave or Eric to join a difficult effort to lift it into the truck, so I kept thinking.

Then it struck me. The same cargo straps I have could be used to pull it into the wheelbarrow. I hooked one aroung the wheelbarrow handel, wrapped it around the stump, and then hooked the other end to the other handle. Then I tighted it up and pulled. And pulled, and the third time, with my full weight in the air, it finally pivoted up and will a delicate coaching to avoid falling to the side (well, actually it did fall over to the side twice, but on the third time...) it was there, sitting comfortably in the wheelbarrow.

Now, how to get it up into the truck. My last attempt at a ramp with a furniture dolly was a failure and I am glad there were no witnesses or cameras present. This time I noticed an old piece of weathered plywood in the back behind the shed and the light came on. I took it and reinforced it with three scrap 2x4's and I had a substantial ramp. Next I positioned the truck for the lift, but the ramp angle was too steep and I couldn't push the load up. So, I thought, I really don't need to get the wheelbarrow into the truck, just the stump. And if I get the lip of the wheelbarrow up over the tailgate of the truck, it might be high enough. So I set the ramp on some concrete blocks and tried again. The wheelbarrow rolled right up and the stump lifted out and into the truck. I could hardly believe it was done, and how easy it was.

Well, with that hurdle accomplished, I finished loading up the truck and happily went to the dump.

I then prepared a little plan for our project and have had several contractors over to review the work and prepare bids for us. With any luck, we will have a new driveway yet!

The wall is done!

Retaining wall with a curve at the end to leave room around the roses.

Friday and Saturday were a good workout, but the little retaining wall is done, so now we are ready to get bids for the new driveway. Yea! 

Then yesterday Emily, Dave and family came over for dessert and hot tub. We had fun with my I phone and a free app called CamWow.

The wise old Opa

J.J. enjoys the grass, he really does!

The real Joey

Too many tacos this week...

See what video games can do?

When mom is happy, the world is happy...

Getting along, and making progress .... well in the home projects at least.

The house is still quiet, and our cat, Piggy likes to stay close by. Right now she is laying on the desk next to my computer, purring and happy to have company. While Christine is still travelling and having a whale of a time it seems, I have made some progress on my current big project. It is one that I started last year when we were thinking it would be nice to have room on the side of the house for, well, maybe, a camper or something like that. Unfortunally, there was a lot of dirt in the way... So I began to dig it out and put it other places, like in front of the house were we now have berms were grass once grew. Well, it still thinks should grow in parts of the new berm area, but I keep telling it now. First with Round up, then with a hula hoe. Last week I howed up, or at least discouraged the latest grassy upstarts, applied Preen weed preventer and covered the whole thing with about 14 bags of cedar bark mulch. It looks nice don't you think?

Then it was back to work on my other project...

this is the post next to the water pipes. also next to the block wall which is scattered around

new gate installed

gate posts in place and wall put back together

 I had removed part of our fence and gate, which needed to be reinstalled in a new location. So this week I got to work.

done and stained!

Like most projects, there were complications. I started to dig a post hole for the gate post by the house, but ran into concrete that I had to chip out. Then, when I went to dig the hole for the post on the other side of the gate, well there were sprinkler lines right where I wanted to dig.

So that meant taking down part of the block retaining wall and working on a reroute of the sprinkler lines. That meant dealing with leaks, more mistakes, and more time. Oh, did I mention that the old sprinker pipe is a little bigger than the current version of a 1" pipe? That means that fittings are a little small, and they like to leak, well, only when you want to run the sprinklers anyway.

I thought about it and decided to try wrapping the fitting with white teflon plummer tape that is used regular threaded pipes. It worked! No leaks, well at least none that I could see before I covered it up with concrete from the new gate post that is right beside it.

With the sprinkler pipe connected, it was time to rebuild the block retaining wall, which happily, went together just like it should.

Now with that done, and the new gate and fence posts in place, it was time to rebuild the gate and then put up the fence. Funny thing about the gate. I measured carefully (the new gate is a few inches narrower than the old one because of the concrete on one side and the sprinkler lines on the other), and cut the wood and assembled the gate. It was a work of art and I was pleased right up to the time I took it out to fit it to the gate posts. I had failed to figure in the space taken up by the hinges and it was too wide. About that time I was happy that I had put it together with screws, because just like I had screwed it together, I could take it apart and shorten the cross pieces. The second time was a perfect fit, well, if you don't count that I still ended up using a planer to make it just a little narrower.

Then it was the fence, and then the redwood stain. By mid afternoon, it was up and done and thank goodness for that.

Next week it will be more of digging and extending the new retaining wall. But the good news about that is that when I get it done we will be ready to get bids for the concrete work and have the new and wider driveway.

Summer has come, but where is the family?

For the first time this year, it was over 80 outside. The garden plants are looking better, and if it keeps up, I may have to see if the AC survived the winter. Of course, just in time (for next fall), I got the whole house humidifier installed yesterday. It was just cool enough last night to check it out - and, yeah, it worked! and the project only involved one trip to Home Depot for more parts. What a breakthrough.

Here it is in all its spendor.  Well, considering that I don't normally make holes in the ductwork and and such, and it works!

Still, the house is quiet these days, and our Sunday dinner had to move to Emily's. Mark is in Texas for training for several more weeks. Stephen IV is in Joplin MO and Kansas City for catastrophe work as part of the Farmers Insurance team (we are so proud of both of them). Christine, Marsey, Madaline and Cameron are on a road trip. This week they are staying with her sister Pam, Tom and her mom Elizabeth at their home in Ozark, MO (70 mi east of Joplin). Then they will drive to TN to visit Carrie for a few days, and then, who knows when?, they will find their way back to Utah.

Did I mention SNOW?

Today I heard that it was going to be a rain / snow mix. Sure enough, late in the morning it started to snow, but nothing was sticking. Then my boss pointed out that it was turning to big flakes. They were. I told him that back in Vermont they called that sugar snow and it tasted great with a little maple syrup poured over the top of it.

After work I drove home, the snow was gone, until I started up the hill to our street. Suddenly I noticed that snow was still on the lawns and in the trees! What the heck? We got 5" and the garden is still all white tonight. The weatherman says we will get more of the same on Monday. 
Hmmm ,,,, Spring, where art thou?

Home Again, and What the Heck? Snow ....

We returned safely from Hawaii and ready to get back on the plane. Especially when it started snowing, then rain, then snow.  Guess what is forecast tonight, tomorrow and next week? Well, spring in Utah can be a wet and cold experience.

But today after work it was sunny and cool. So what better to do than to rototill the garden? Oh?, that wasn't your first guess? Mine either, but it was what Christine was in the mood for. So as I type this, the garden is tilled up, the new planting beds formed up with Bumper Crop applied and the spinach plants have been put in their new homes. Tomorrow the peas will get planted. I must admit it was fun, even if Mr Bayer and I will have an appointment tonight to take care of a little back pain.

For dinner, Christine made this delicious stuffed steelhead trout. It was impressive!

Last Day in Hawaii

Today is our last day here in Hawaii and we have some fun memories to take home with us. While this vacation has not included helicopter flights, kayak trips or day long hikes in the mountains, it has been fun and relaxing for both of us - which was our plan from the outset.

On Wednesday's they have a hula show at the shopping center next to our hotel, so we walked over and really enjoyed it. The young dancers were fun to watch with their colorful costumes and beautiful smiles.

For our final hours, we plan to get in some more hot tub and pool time and basically take it easy before heading to the airport for the overnight flight home.

Another day in Paradise

We have been enjoying our vacation here on Kauai. Since our scare with the tsunamie, it has been fun and peaceful and just what we needed.

On Saturday Christine went to a sweat box disguised as a Yoga class. It was a type where you work out in a very hot room. While she did that, I enjoyed a walking tour of Kapaa. We both had fun, but I was more comfortable. Since then we have been making good use of the hot tub, pool, sun lounges and our convertable. Today we went on a hike up a muddy trail to nowhere, but the views were nice. Then we drove to Keo beach, which is the end of the road on the north side. We had wanted to rent snorkel gear and see the fishes, but the shop was closed and the beach was off limits because of rough seas and strong currents. So instead we enjoyed the sun, spashed around a little and watched the chickens. Did I mention they have chickens on the loose all over the island? I understand they got loose during a hurricane and with no natural enemies, they have multiplied, well, almost like they were rabbits.