Let's see if we can make it to 3,000 strikeouts...

...by using old work.

Maybe we can actually hit 3,000, (if we dig deep enough in to the archives).

A Facebook post by a friend sparked a memory of an old post I did.

I thought it was worth posting again.

Willie.

So cute, you really hate to eat 'em...

.

Hey y'all!  Hugs, kisses, yada yada yada...

I thought I would pass along an idea for your holiday entertaining.  I know Christmas is tomorrow, and there is no way in the bad place that I'd get out to the grocery store tonight to rake up provisions for tomorrow, but...

New Year's Celebrations are on the horizon (unless the Mayans missed it by a couple of days), and you might want to give this a try.

Or not.

A friend of mine at work blessed me and my fambly with the Christmas gift of a cheese & cracker tray.  

The cheese is good.

But, here's the wrinkle...

The cheese is surrounded by mice (kinda' like they're standing guard, or something).

Now, is that cute, or what?

The mice are made by dipping maraschino cherries in melted Chocolate Bark, then applying a Hershey's Kiss as a face, and then shoving slivered almonds down between the body and face for ears.

Brilliant.

I guess the eyes are just little dots of red icing.

I'm thinkin' you could do this with Almond Bark, white chocolate Hershey's kisses, and black icing for eyes (Do they sell black icing?), if you wanted you some white lab mice to garnish your cheese tray.

They're almost so cute, you really hate to eat 'em.   And, trust me, I do really hate to eat them.

I mean, to eat them ALL.  We've still got about four that we're saving for tomorrow.

I found him! He ain't really dead!!!

.

Hey y'all!  Hugs, kisses, yada yada yada...

I was excited to discover today that Charles Foster Kane ain't really dead.

And, he's a "local," too!  I came across his vehicle, so I know he yet lives...and somewhere close to me!  Very exciting...

Still drives an old Caddy, though.

Sigh.

But, he supports our troops...so I'll give him grace...

I AM Papaw...

.

Hey y'all!  Hugs, kisses, yada yada yada..

I frightened myself this afternoon.  I happened to look at my rapidly aging self in the bafroom mirror, and saw my Papaw (Daddy's Daddy) staring back at me.

Now...this is nothing new to y'all that have tormented y'all's selves by boarding this particular Titanic for very long.  But, I really did have another light bulb minute.  I looked at myself, and once again was reminded of how hard geneticals are to fight.  

And, that really ain't a bad thing, I guess.

I saw Papaw in the mirror.

Again.

But this time, it had more to do with how aging has made my face more resemble his.  Heck, I know I've got a lot of his mannerisms, and (not bragging)  his wry sense of humor.  And, I have become accustomed to The Mrs. calling me "Papaw" when I say some expression, or half-giggle like he did.

Anyway...I took a pitcher of myself with my phancy iPhone for proof.

See...

I've got a big old cheek crease right down the left side of my face.  Papaw had that.  And, I swear, that cheek crease has gotten at least 1/2" longer since the last time I noticed it.  

Not fibbin'...  It's growing longer, and longer, and longer, and even more well defined.  Heck, that sucker might reach my left nipple in a few years.

But, I regress.

Papaw had a cheek crease that got longer, and longer, too.  Here is an old pitcher of him when he was still a relatively young man.

See!  He's got a cheek crease!!!  (BTW...for y'all old-time ArkLaTex readers, that is Larry Robinson Studios signature in the bottom right corner...you'll remember).

As he got older, the cheek crease got more well defined, and longer, and such.

See, the cheek crease is more well defined.  And longer.  (That's my beloved Munnie in the pitcher with him.  I miss them both every day).

I was showing my first photo up there to The Mrs. a few minutes ago, and she said, "Please don't post that on anything."  I replied by telling her my story of how I am Papaw.  She kinda' softened up when I showed her the last photo.  "Yep!  The nose...the hairline...but your ears are not quite as big as his were, but the cheek crease is a dead giveaway (she loved him, too)."   Honestly, my first photo doesn't really show it, but the cheek crease on the right side of my face only comes down to the side of my lip.  On the left side, the cheek crease comes WAY down below my lip.

Closing in on my left nipple...

Our conversation ended something like this...

Me:  I look just exactly like Papaw.  Except for the fact that he was 6' 4", and I'm 5' 9", I am him.  And, he was a fine looking man.

The Mrs:   Ummm...he was a very nice man.

Me:  Sigh... 

I AM Papaw!!!

I just pray that I don't drive like he did as he aged.  The stories are legion, but for a man that made his living for almost 40 years, driving a truck for ArkLa Gas...well, his later years were not his best behind the wheel.

 

Note to self...

.

...When you are changing the brake pads on your pickup truck, and you look in your son's four million piece fold out tool-kit that opens like a suitcase for an Allen Socket the right size to loosen the bolts...

...Be sure and close it back the right way!

This sucks.

And, the Advance Auto Parts guy sold me the wrong brake pads, too!

Well...The Mrs. said she'd handle putting it all back where it goes.  She said, "Give it to me.  I like jigsaw puzzles."

She is a good "The Mrs.," but this just sucks!!!

I suck...

The Confederate Rose

.

Hey y'all!  Hugs, kisses, yada yada yada...

One day last Winter I was out in my shop.  I have a nice big shop that doesn't get used nearly enough.

Here go a pitcher of it...

Anyway, I was out in the shop and noticed a bucket of water, with a stick in it.  The stick was about 18" long, and about an inch or so thick.  "Hmmmm," thought I,  "I wonder what sinister plan The Mrs. is hatching here?"  But, I got busy and forgot to ask her about the stick in the bucket later.

Time passed, and early last Spring, The Mrs. said, "I'm going out to plant my Confederate Rose."  I asked her where it was, and she told me it was in the shop.

Toing!  So, that's what that was.   In this photo you will see what she actually stuck in the ground (even though it wasn't that thick when she did.

Seems that her Mama had cut off a stick from her own Confederate Rose, given it to her, and the stick rooted over the Winter in the water bucket.

Well, that was about 7 or 8 months ago.

Lookit!

I don't think I've ever seen a flowering plant that grows that fast.  (Before anybody becomes a snot, I KNOW that all plants flower, but ya' know what I mean...I mean, make purty flaars!   Come to think of it, ferns don't flower...so never mind).

The dang thing is approaching 10 feet tall, and bustin' out all over with blooms.

I guess I wasn't paying attention in Horticulture College when they did the unit on The Confederate Rose.  I really didn't know too much about 'em, so I did me a little Goobling (especially after The Mrs. told me that there was a legend associated with the tree/bush/plant/whatever.

The Legend:  Once the Confederate Rose was pure white. During the Civil War, a soldier was fatally wounded in battle. He fell upon the rose as he lay dying. During the course of the two days he took to die, he bled more and more on the flower, till at last the bloom was covered with his blood. When he died, the flower died with him. Thereafter, the Confederate Rose (or Cotton Rose), opens white, and over the course of the two days the bloom lasts, they turn gradually from white to pink to almost red, when the flower finally falls from the bush.

About it:  The Confederate Rose or hibiscus mutablis is actually a Chinese import. Brought into English gardens in the 1600's, it is said to have gained favor in the South due to its ease of cultivation during the hard financial times after the Civil War. The hibiscus mutablis is a member of the hibiscus family which includes both the tropical hibiscus and the hardier Rose of Sharon. It is considered a large bush or a small multi-stemmed tree. The plant roots easily from cuttings, has few pests and grows vigorously during the summer. Once established it is drought resistant. The blooms appear in the fall.

 
This here is a picture from our Confederate Rose of the bloom in two different stages.

To be honest, ours have not bloomed out white to start with like all the info says they should.  Maybe we've got a little different variety, or something.  Dunno...

But, it has been fun to watch.

Hey, look!  Y'all have a great what's left of the weekend!  Gonna go cut my grass for the last time this year (hopefully...yes, we are indeed still mowing grass in NW Louisiana) on this gorgeous, warm Southern afternoon!

And after that...The Gaaaaaaaaamz...

Halloweems!

.

Okay, if you've been hanging out around this pitiful Titanic for very long, you know that I DO NOT LIKE ME NO HALLOWEEMS!

I GETS SCARRED WITH ALL THEM HAINTS SNEAKIN' AROUND THE HOOD!!!

But, Great Nephew Tucker (who The Mrs. keeps care of 3 or 4 days a week) is all geared up, and not too scary!

He's goin' as a duck.

Sure hope his Mama puts some britches on him, and keeps him clear of lakes, rivers, and reservoirs, though...

So anyway....BOO!

A rerun...and an interesting story behind it...

.

Hey y'all!  Hugs, kisses, yada yada yada...

I almost NEVER check my "comments awaiting moderation," but since I'm taking a REAL DAY OFF for a change, I decided to clean up all the comprutuhs, and looked at it.

Seems that there was a comment awaiting moderation from a relative of mine.  I've never met her.  But, she is related by marriage to my beloved Great Grandmother, "Granny Laura," who lived to be 104.  (I had her until I was 34 years old...such a blessing, and I miss her every day).

Anyway, she very kindly asked me for info about where Granny Laura, and her husband, Ross Gilmore Newland were buried, as she is working on a family history of the Farque fambly.  (I g-mailed her the info that she was looking for, and a few extra things about the fambly that she might find interesting).

MAN!  How cool is the internext????  Evidently she found this pile of failure through a The Gooble Search, due to the fact that I have often posted about my beloved Great Grandmother (this picture that I took of her when she was about 90 is my desktop background, btw...)

So, it got me to searching this here Titanic of a blog for stuff I might have wrote about Granny Laura, and her chirrens, grandchirrens, and great grandchirrens.

Man...I came across a bunch of stuff!

There was a great bunch of stuff, but ONE really struck me.  It was an ancient post I did about an e-mail I got from one of her sons, my now departed Great Uncle Earl.  Actually, the post is about my reply to him.

This is it.

It also reminded me that Granny Laura's birthday is coming up real soon, too.


Man, I miss her every day. That's all.

Big Durrinz at Andy's Place!

.

The President of the United States stopped by our expansive estate for a visit!

I invited him to sit out in the front yard, and he was gracious enough to durrit!

I was thrilled.

I told him that this particular chair was one that was give to me free!  But, it was the color of purple when it was give to me.

Free.

It's a really solid wood and wicker rocking chair (so...I figured  it would suit him just fine, being a "rocker," and all...), but being purple, it just didn't quite fit in with the motif of Andy's Place...so I painted it plain WHITE several  years ago.

Anyway, I told His Majesty that it was once purple, and that I was pretty sure that Purple is Oprah's favorite color.  So, it'd be okay for him to sit in it.

He just kinda' gave me a blank stare...and sat right down.

Here at Andy's Place, we did indeed participate in "National Empty Chair Day."  I see that my blog friend, Pat Austin did, too!

I'm sure that there are thousands of others that did....maybe billions of us.  (Not sure yet, because all of the numbers won't be in until late, seeing as it's a Holiday)

Anyway...he didn't ask much about getting my vote in November.  I guess he figured he'd be wasting his breath...

About 3 miles from Andy's Place...

.

...this is the scene.

This is The White House.  

If you'll look close you'll notice that the bus, and Poleese car in the bottom left have already been 'sploded.

Yep.


They're making another film here in Bossier City.  They make tons of 'em here now in the Shreveport/Bossier City area.  Really...there are a bunch of films made all over Louisiana now.  The industry publications refer to Louisiana as "Hollywood South."


There are a lot of reasons for it.  The weather is almost always good for filming...there is an eager "extra" community...a hard-working labor force (for the most part)...Community Colleges, and Technical Schools that have armed the work force with skills valuable to the film industry...we have the best restaurants in the world...easy access for equipment by freeways...and an endless supply of beautiful, and interesting locales (and beautiful chicks as extras...just sayin'...).


Plus, the State Legislature passed some VERY attractive tax incentives for filmmakers several years ago that attracted a lot of attention.  Imagine that...give people tax breaks to do something, and they do it...novel idea.  A bunch of producers "came on down," and liked what they saw.


Anyway, somebody at work told me that they had built The White House down by The CenturyLink Center.  That's a big arena built by the City several years ago...they have rodeos, big-time concerts, conferences, gradjurashuns, and even The Mud Bugs Hockey matches.  A lot of people thought it was a bad idea to build it, but I think it's been great for the City.  Heck, we've had Fleetwood Mac, Elton John (the most talented queer in history), George Strait, and a hundred other great concerts there...


Anyway...


I decided I'd run on down The Arthur Ray Teague Parkway that runs along The Red River (btw, I grew up next door to Mr. Teague, and he was a fine man, who was always so happy to have little kids around.  I won't get started on all my memories of Mr. Teague, because y'all don't care, and my fingers are getting wore out because I'm out of "blogging shape"), to look at it for myself this morning.


It's interesting.  The same friend that told me about the movie set told me that they understand that in the film, The White House is going to be blown up.  Don't quote me on that, because I'm not sure.  But...I'm pretty sure that the plywood shack behind the front door could hold enough dynamite to make a helluva 'splosion...

Will I go look at the film in the theater?


Probably not.  I'm not a big movie guy.


I'll wait until it comes out on The Netflix...

TWO SUV OWNERS...TWO DIFFERENT ATTITOOBS!

Photos taken today (At an undisclosed location).    Vehicles parked within 40 foots of each other!!!

That is all...

OH YEAH!!!! I FORGOT...

.

The Amaryllis is spectacular here at Andy's Place!

Everything else is, too.

I just love Springtime.  It's like I come back to life again...

Well...the last day of my "Vacation" did not go according to plan...

.

So, what else is new?

Don't get me wrong...almost everything on my "list" to get done on the last day of my "Vacation" got done!


I woke up when I wanted to...Me and The Mrs. got the garden tilled up and ready for planting.  

Heck, we could have done it a month ago, and it would have been flourishing by now...we REALLY had an early Springtime.  But, we did not get it done, and "Good Friday" is when Granny Laura always put her garden in...and The Mrs., and Granny Laura got joined at the hip in our younger years.  Granny Laura was born in 1890, and lived until 1994.  She was 104 years old when she went on to Heaven.  She and Pam "connected" in the years that Pam got dragged in to  my family.  


They were like peas and carrots...


Really, they were.  


Granny Laura called Pam, "GIRL."  There is a long story about a former Sister-in-Law that Granny Laura called "Teenie," which I will not bore y'all with, because she is a FORMER Sister-in-Law.


Regardless, The Mrs. loved my Great Grandmother like she was her own.  And, maybe appreciated her even more than I did.  


Maybe.


So, where am I going with this?  Oh yeah...


I got some extra tasks thrown in on me that I really did not anticipate for the last day of my "Vacation."


We had this big old bush in our back yard that had grown gynormous, and I liked it a lot!  It had gotten so gynormous that it hid the dog kennel that we NEVER USED, AND WILL NEVER USE FOR IMPOUNDING A DOG.


I believe in "free animals."  But, some former resident here at Andy's Place figured it was a good idea to put a dog kennel in the back yard.  It's concrete, and it DID have galvanized fencing around it.  And, it looked like a prison that I would NOT NEVER impound a canine in. 

Never.

I started to link to that old post, but I figured I'd just show y'all the picture of the gynormous bush from that old post.

I did a post a long while back about how glad I was that that big old bush covered up the dog kennel, and the crappy view I have here in the hood, and all.


Anyway...last Summer, was brutal.  I mean, B.R.U.T.A.L.  Almost everything died due to the heat, dryness, etc.  My beloved gynormous bush succumbed, too.  It was a bad summer.  


So, we cut down, and dragged off as much of my gynormous bush as we had energy to drag off.  But, there was still a bunch of limbs, other pecan limbs that had fallen, and a helluvalot of junk I'd dragged out while cleaning out the shop on my "Vacation."


So, the Mrs. said, "I'm gonna burn all of this stuff."  And, I was like, "Pam, you can't BURN stuff in the city.  It's against City Ordinances, and you're gonna get caught, and fined."


She replied, "Just squat and watch!"


I swear, when I got back home from getting mine and #4 Son's haircuts (at 1000 HRS), it looked like some Injun was sending up smoke signals.  I mean...I just KNEW that she was gonna get busted for burning within the city limits.


About every 45 seconds a cop, or a Fire Truck runs down Barksdale Blvd...and, they have a classic view of Andy's Place (where the Mrs. was out there breaking the law violating City ordinances).  

But, not one emergency, or law enforcement vehicle seemed to be too much interested on Good Friday.

 (You should note that there are a bunch of 2x4s, and old pieces of oak wood that I threw out of the garage apartment a couple of years back.  It's been bugging the hell out of her that they've been laying right beside her vegetable  garden, and she decided to BURN them, too!)

Thank goodness, because The Mrs. was making up stories in her head about what she would do if the Poleese, or The Fire Trucks showed up.  "I'll tell 'em I didn't know that I couldn't BURN in the city.  I'll tell them that my husband ran off, and wouldn't drag all these limbs to the street, and I didn't know what to do except to burn them.  I'll tell them that I am menopausal, and burning things keeps me from committing murder!"


NYUK...


That's about how it went.  


Man, did we ever have a good time burning up old limbs and junk!  We ate tater chips and sammiches.  It was kinda' like a picnic...


Then, she pushed me.  "Andy...you really need to get up on the patio cover and get all those pecan limbs that have fallen for years, and all the leaves up there swept off.  The fire is hot, and it's been YEARS since you got up there and I can just throw them on the fire, and....you know you REALLY need to do that."


She was right.  I swear, I've really let this place go to pot.  


So, I did.

The short of it is...The Mrs. forced me to helped me consolidate a HUGE pile of junk that needed consolidating.

Yep!  That's all there is left of it.

And, it's still smoldering, so it'll probably be even less come tomorrow....

The Mrs. told me that she plans to plant a "Butterfly Garden" out there by the concrete kennel.  Actually, we pulled off all the old chain link fencing on the kennel.  

Okay, so I didn't pull the chain link off the swinging gates.  So, sue me!

I'm going to frame it up, and finally build The Mrs. The Greenhouse of her dreams.  She's always wanted one.  And, I gots my mojo going  now...so maybe I will get it done.


I sure hope so.  

I've gotta hit the hay, and get back to REAL LIFE tomorrow.


It was a good "Vacation."  Glad y'all was here to enjoy it with me!  I love y'all!

It is becoming evident that I AM NOT going to get everything checked off my list!

.

Hey y'all!  Man, what a glorious day it was here in NW Louisiana!  Low of 58, and high of 78 (I think...something like that).  Beautiful blue skies, and good progress around my crappy joint.


But...it has become evident that as my "Vacation" winds down, I will NOT get many things accomplished that I had hoped.  I will not get the wood fence finished around the back yard that I've been planning on doing for about 10 years.


I will NOT get the bathroom in the garage apartment renovated.


I will NOT get the patio cover in the back yard painted.  Or, the shop, either...or the garage apartment.


Either.


I will NOT get the crappy old wrought iron rails on the porches cut off and replaced with vinyl.


I will NOT get the porches sanded down to bare concrete (instead of the mishmash of red paint, blue paint, and bare concrete that previous occupants of Andy's Place vexed me with), so I can just seal bare concrete, and be extremely happy with that.


I will NOT get a bunch of junk that I had high hopes of getting did...did.


But, I'm not bitching one bit!  Honestly, this long time off from my day job has got me back in motion.  For way too long, I've let my day job, my own biz, and my obligation to Daddy's biz work on my head.  Even though there are plenty of hours in the day, I've allowed myself to get in to a pattern of thinking that everything outside of THOSE THINGS is just too much to tackle. 


Heck, I'm just 52 years old!  I have plenty of energy, and ability.  I CAN GET ALL THE JUNK I WANT TO GET DONE, DONE!!!  I've just allowed myself to fool myself in to thinking that I can't.


No more.


Maybe it's just the Springtime, or the fact that I haven't taken the time to "breathe" for a while.  But, I have now.  All that junk will get done.  Trust me, it will, and I'll show y'all pitchers, too!


Today...drumroll...The Mrs., and me FINALLY got completely caught up on our business. 


COMPLETELY!!!


First time in months. 


I'm happy about that.  Really happy.


One of the projects on my list was to put up the bird house that my Brother-in-law (you know...the one that lives on the old fambly farm in stinkin' Arkansas) made for us.  It took me about four minutes to dig a 2' deep hole, to mount a 7' cedar post with a pine platform. 


Thank God, it's been a wet winter/spring.

His bird houses are REALLY cool, and hand made from cedar at the old fambly farm.  I know I've linked to his Etsy site before, but Imma doing it again.  (Pass that link around if you have a mind to). 


He's actually doing pretty good with his art on Etsy.com.  Several retail shops are carrying his bird houses, wire sculptures, etc.  It's a tough way to make a living...but, it supplements him as he's trying to reclaim the old fambly farm.  My BIL is an interesting cat. 


Trust me, he is.


I took a short video of him working on his bird houses when we were up there.





Anyway...my 9 days off from work got shortened to 8. It's a long story, but my boss called me and asked if I could come in on Saturday from 0630 to 1830 HRS, to help with something "new" that's been dropped in our lap.  (Y'all local visitors will know what I'm talking about).


I told him I would, and would be glad to make the OT.  So...


Tomorrow (Good Friday) is the last day of my "Vacation."  My list for tomorrow (the last day of my "Vacation")...

1)  Till up the garden when I wake up.


2)  Get my hair cut (and #4 Son, too) at 1000 HRS.  

c)  Help The Mrs. get the vegetables all planted at roughly 1100 HRS.  

d)  Mow the grass, weed-eat, and blow (still mostly weeds, but a lot of grass...been an early Spring) after the weeds all dry up enough to get mowed.


5)  Collapse in to bed, and prepare my mind for real life...at probably 2015 HRS (That's when I need to...hopefully, I will).

I guess I ought to go on and show y'all another video that I shot of BIL's turkeys. He named them all "Andy." Bless his heart, he doesn't have nearly enough turkey hens for his studs. He told me, "Andy...you're about to get mounted. These guys are lookin' for love!"



I watched close after learning that occasionally they do their thing on the legs/feet of strangers.


It was funny...I didn't have the camera running when it happened, but while BIL was being "circled," he looked at the turkeys and said, "Don't you even think about it! I'm not in the mood! I've got a headache!!!"

HOLD UP!!!

.


If you read my previous post, you may have been under the mistaken impression that all I did on the second day of the "working" part of my "Vacation" was to get the shop cleaned out, rat free, and powered.


You would be WRONG!  And, that's all my fault...


There was MUCH, MUCHO, MUCHO MAS!


Me and The Mrs. almost got completely caught up on our own biz.  I got COMPLETELY CAUGHT UP on Daddy's biz...


And, I bought me a 4"x4"x8' Cedar Post at The Lowes (which was the source of my nearly cursing out The Lowes in my previous post), which I will use tomorrow, and tell y'all about tomorrow! (If things go according to schedule).


I'm iz tired.


Poor old Sadie got wore slap out just watching me work on my "Vacation" today...

Heh!  The weeds are popping, too!


The Spiderwort, and mini-Gladiola that came up voluntary are just breathtaking on my side patio!

(Sadie was not impressed.  But, she's a dog...so I don't expect much from her. Just sayin'...)

But, I was.

GLORIOUS DAY!

.

Really, it was!


It's been a "long hard grind" with my day job partner out for so long.  But, he's back, and I feel like a new man.  Plus (+), I've got two days off from my day job to relax.


NYUK!!!


Started off the day at 0400 HRS by laying in bed fully awake until 0615 HRS...I swear, even if you're awake, laying still and thinking about junk for two hours and fifteen minutes is like Heaven.


Just sayin'....


Me, and The Mrs. got halfway caught up on our overage of biniss this morning!  Really, we did.


Plus, we hooked up with The Mrs.-in-Law for lunch (well, it was late for lunch, but it was good anyway).  


I really enjoyed it.  

I stay so dang busy trying to keep all the plates spinning that I don't really get to connect with fambly as much as I once did.  But it's okay.  I love them all so much, and I know that they all understand my path at present, and love me just as much as I do them.  

And, I know that there WILL come a time when LIFE settles in to that "uncomplicated" deal I've heard so much about.


Ummmm....probably not....


Anyway, it was a glorious day!


Look at what we bought at The Kroger Grocery Store for for only $13.98 (plus tax).

TWO HUGE BOSTON FERNS FOR $6.99 (plus tax) APIECE!!!

Now, that's a bitchin' deal...I don't care who you are!


Spring has "oversprung" here.  My dang Pecan trees are leafing out...about a month early.  Seriously...all Southerners know that when the Pecans leaf out, you've got NO CHANCE of cold weather coming back.


The Mrs. and I were talking about it this morning.  She can't remember Pecan trees ever leafing out this early.  But, she said, "They know."


She's right.


She always is...

Thank God that the demonic cold weather is behind us!

Them Pecan trees know.


Well, that's all I got.  

Sorry.

I am too dang old to be moving a peeanur by myself!

.

Okay, so it started like this...


The Mrs. wanted some new furniture for the Living Room at Andy's Place.  She wanted a new sofa, and loveseat (we never had a loveseat in there...only a small sofa).  Now, you gotta understand that the Living Room at Andy's Place is not all that big. 


Nope!  It's only 14' x 20'.  So, there's not a lot of room for furniture.


Add to that the fact that when The Boyz come over to visit with their friends, they NEVER congregate in the Living Room.  Nope!  They always cluster up in The Kitchen, where The Mrs. is cooking.  I swear, it's like a swarm of buzzards on a roadkill polecat! 


It's always been that way.  Year after year...all of the congregational HEE HAWIN' takes place in the kitchen.  I mean...Junior High Schoolers, through High Schoolers, through Graduated from Schoolers by the dozens end up sitting on the kitchen counter, leaning up against cabinets, sitting on the floor...


OF THE KITCHEN! 


It's like a young peoples RULE, or something!!!


Anyway, The Mrs. decided that she wanted to "create a space" for visitors that was somewhere detached from her bailiwick...so that she could get her work done without having to constantly say, "Nick, get out of my way!  Phil...you're in my way!  Matt...either get out of my way, or open that cabinet and hand me the thyme!  ETC...


So, she decided to buy some furniture.  (Like that's gonna work...)


Just sayin'...


Regardless, she did. 


So...all of the other old junk we had in the Living Room at Andy's Place had to be moved around/shifted/throwed out/given away/etc.  But, not so much throwing out, or given away.


Mostly moving.


The furniture delivery guys came yesterday and delivered the new sofa and loveseat.  But...junk had to be moved around last night to accommodate this furniture that might "make everyone feel comfortable, and decide to congregate in a room other than the kitchen."


The biggest conundrum in the deal was the peeanur.  (I'll save that for later).


Here is what we came up with.

That there is the new sofa (with a chaise dealie attached on the far right...hope it's not too ghetto, but I REALLY liked the idea of that), and the new loveseat.  Along with that, you'll see my trusty old dark green recliner, which has seen me through many Autumn Sattidy afternoons while watching THE ONLY SPORT THAT REALLY MATTERS!©


Actually, I kinda (really) like it.  But, y'all don't tell The Mrs. I do, because I'm still trying to bluff her on this whole deal.


Anway...the old Captain's Table, that came from The Mrs. Grandma's house, that previously sat in the Living Room had to be removed to make room for NEW FURNITURE.  And, the peeanur had to get set somewhere else.  Moving the Captain's Table...no problema! Set it in the dining room to use to hold casseroles, or desserts, and junk.


But that peeanur?  Dang, that thing is heavy!  We She decided to put it on the backside of the new sofa.  Now, it's only about twelve feet from where it once sat to where it needed to get moved to.  But, with furniture everywhere in our small Living Room, I kinda felt like one of those punt return receivers that run 172 yards switching back and forth, and finally end up with a 13 yard return.


The dang thing is HEAVY!

Sure...just looking at this picture, it looks tiny...like it don't weigh anything.  But, the dang thing is not cheap Chink stuff like is available now.  It was bought by my now departed Father-in-Law in 1965 for his beloved daughter (The Mrs.).  She only rarely plays it (even though she's dang good at it), but #1 son is a virtuoso on the thing, and he'll be back for a visit in May when his deployment to Africanistan is over...God, that boy man can fill this house with music!  Seriously.  It is made of solid lead maple, and weighs (according to the internet...which does not lie...weighs 1493 lbs)!  But, I moved it anyway.  Step by step...inch by inch...


ALL BY MYSELF!


I am too dang old to be moving a peeanur by myself.  I woke up this morning, and could barely scratch my (well...never mind).


But, I shall survive.  And, we got it did.  The Mrs. is happy.


I'm happy.


Life is good.


Tomorrow is gonna REALLY suck, because I know that the second day is always the worst.


The Mrs. did a lot of cleaning out and throwing away of unnecessary junk, shifting junk around, Swiffering under furniture that hadn't been moved in years, etc. in order to create a comfortable space for fambly & guests.

But, I take solace in the fact that The Mrs. did NOT get rid of the most important thing in the Living Room.  It'll be the only thing I REALLY NEED come next Fall when I actually start using the room again.

I love y'all! Y'all come see us!


We got plenty of seats for butts now...

Passing on the torch...

.

Well, this has been weighing heavy on my mind for several days now since our good friend, Buck, posted a deal about finally having to move on from his beloved house shoes.  Just so happens, that I was in the same "crisis" deal at just about the same time.

Update:  (Buck done got his new house shoes)


Yep!  I have had the same house shoes for about a gozillion years (well, at least five or six...maybe 8...not sure.  I remember well that I bought them on December 24 of some calendar year in the past.  The Mrs. had NO idea what to give me for Christmas, so I went to The Walmart, and picked them up while I was buying her something to unwrap on Christmas Day.  Don't remember what she was so excited to unwrap the next morning...but I'm pretty sure it was something good...and she even wrapped them in gift paper when I got home, so I'd have something really cool to unwrap on Christmas Day).  

They have served me well, and I've worn them down to a nub.  Truth is, I really LOVE them.  Heck, I wear them almost everywhere (except to work, or funerals)...I mean, The Kroger, The Walmart, The Super1, The Dollar General...even to The Fred's Discount.


I call them "moccasins," because us (1/16th) Injuns can get away with wearing "moccasins" where house shoes really ain't all that appropriate.  The Mrs. would give me grief for wearing my "moccasins" around town.  But, she just did not understand.


It's hard being a (1/16) Injun, married to a white woman.

Just sayin'...

I think the reason I love to wear house shoes everywhere has something to do with my personal structural anatomy.  I remember an episode back when I was a competitive long distance runner (this was in about 1989).  I was on a bus with about 30 other long distance runners, being hauled up to the "start" point of the race, from which we would start, and then we would finish (if we lived) down there where our cars and loved ones were waiting.  (One guy had his faithful black lab on the bus...he always ran with his faithful black lab, so the bus driver let the pooch on.  She was pretty, too.)


I was listening to all the other "runners" talk about their aches, knee pains, plantar fasciitis, sciatica, and other stuff that were consequences of long distance running.  I just happened to pipe up (hard to believe, I know), and mention that I'd never had ANY problem...pains...ailments, etc. that they were talking about.  

So, some young runner chick says to me, "Take your shoes off!"


She was pretty cute, so I did.

Chick looked at my feet, and said, "My God!  I've never seen flatter feet!"  Then, the whole bunch of 'em started discussing how folks with no arch in they foots can run forever with no pain, and how flat-footed folks are of the devil, and all.


I kinda felt out of place then, so I put my shoes back on and just shut my mouth and listened.


Won a trophy in that race, too.


Just sayin'...


Anyway, I think I love wearing house shoes everywhere I go because I'm flat-footed.  Plus, you can take them off pretty quick.


Where was I going with this?  Oh yeah...


Anyway, about a week ago, it came time to start mowing grass here at Andy's Place.  I looked everywhere for my trusty lawn mowin' shoes...nowhere to be found (I'm pretty sure The Mrs. threw them away.  She does stuff like that).  So, I decided to go ahead on and cut the grass in my beloved "moccasins."  I think I did 'em in for ever wearing anywhere else.

Truth is, it's probably time to just mow grass in 'em.  I mean, there's old paint stains on the toe of the left shoe.  The tie on the right one won't stay tied.  And, The Mrs. seemed kind of embarrassed the last time I wore them to The Red Lobster.


So...I had to go to The Walmart this morning to pick up some Diet Sam's Colas, clothes hangers, socks, and two tubs of "Move Over Butter," and decided to see if they had some house shoes in that store.  Sure enough they did.

And, WAS I EVER IN FOR A SURPRISE!


No, they didn't have exactly the same shoes all these years later.  But, it was even better.  The Walmart had "High Country" slippers for 5 bucks.  REALLY!  Regularly $19, for FIVE STINKIN' BUCKS!


I bought me a pair (really...you get both the right and left for five stinkin' bucks).


And, they just fit like a foot in a house shoe should.

Sadie likes 'em, too.  I guess they've got that "new shoe smell" that dogs just can't resist.


So, we done passed on the torch to a new pair of house shoes moccasins.  I like 'em!  (They kind of clickety-clack when I walk on the oak floors here, because they've got some tread that needs wearing down.  But, trust me, I will.)

DANGIT! Broke my ONLY resolution for 2012...crud.

.

Y'all might remember that I made only ONE resolution for 2012.  Yep, I was going to respond to every e-mail I received, and shave every day of 2012.


Now, this might not sound like ONE resolution to you.  But, see, I've decided to start combining all my New Year resolutions in to one.  That way, technically, your resolution has been kept until each part of it has been broken.


It's a rule.


So, I failed on the first part of my resolution in about the first 15 minutes after making it.  There is no way that I can respond to every e-mail that I get.  I'd be typing most of the day.  Maybe it was unrealistic from the start.


But, I had done smashingly well with the second part.  I had shaved EVERY STINKIN' DAY OF 2012!


Until Friday.

February 17.


Yep.  Got busy, rushed, wore out, and let it slide.


Crud.  I was thinking that I probably should have added in to my resolution something like a vow to tinkle every day...I know I could keep that one.  Maybe next year.


Anyway, I apologized to The Mrs. for skipping my daily appointment with Mr. Remington.  She was gracious, and said, "Andy, you can get back on that horse!  I'll forgive you.  Just don't you let it happen again."


So, on Saturday, Feb. 18, I climbed back on.

Don't I look nice?

(Fixed it, Buck)

The other day Pat Austin noted that I hadn't made a V-log in a while, and I thought about doing one about this very subject.   But, those things take time, and production costs can be pretty high.  So, I opted to just show y'all a picture of me all shaved up real nice.


Cleaned out my electric razor, too.


As a side note...One thing I just love about my phancy iPhone is the forward facing camera.  It makes it so much easier for me to take pictures of me.  


Ain't technology grand?


Well lookit, I'm in to work at 0545.  Y'all have a great what's left of the weekend.


I love y'all!

I mean it.

Looking for a decent digital camera under 200 bucks? (Product Review)

.

A couple of weeks ago I decided to replace my trusty old Kodak DX4330 3.1 megapixel camera that I've had for about 10 years (If memory serves, I paid about 300 bucks for her way back when).  Well, I'm not really replacing her...just gonna pass her on to #4 son.  She has served me well.  I've taken about four thousand pictures with her, and I've got ZERO complaints.


The good folks at Kodak (which are going out of the biniss as I understand) made a fine piece of equipment in the DX4330.  3.1 megapixels was plenty enough for fairly large prints, and I learned how to use every function easily.  Almost every picture you've seen posted on this hyar glob was shot on her.


Good girl!


But, I wanted to get a digital camera with some of the newer features, higher resolution, etc.  I thought about going with a digital SLR, but that would really be overkill for Yours Truly.  I really don't have a need for such.  So, I began to shop around the 'net, and keep my ears open.


A few weeks ago I was listening to Kim Komando (The Digital Goddess huba huba) on Saturday morning on KEEL 710 (I'm a faithful Kim listener), and she was talking about the line of Sony Cyber-shot cameras they'd come out with.  I did a little research, and found mostly positive reviews.  So I found the model I thought would suit me best.

  The Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-H70

I bought one at The WalMart for under 200 bucks.


There is a tremendous difference in this camera and my trusty old Kodak.  The DSC-H70 is a 16.1 megapixel deal.  It has a 10x optical zoom (25 mm to roughly 250mm...which I liked.  My old Kodak never seemed to give me a wide enough angle...but, she was old).


When I broke the thing out of the box, I thought, "Man!  This thing is tiny compared to my EasyShare!"  And, it truly is.  It is really "pocket-size" at 2" x 4", and right at 1" thick.

And, I discovered that it comes with a rechargeable battery.  I'm not so sure I'm going to like that.  I've been used to popping 2 "AA" batteries in my old Kodak, and throwing them away when they play out.  The Cyber-shot uses a MP-BG1 lithium ion battery.  The recharger is included in the box.  But, I'm not real big on recharge type batteries, and worry about battery life.

If any of y'all have any advice on this, I'd appreshunate it. 


The instructions are pretty good, but while trying to wade through them I got confused by some of the terminology.


Nothing new there.


The PMB software that comes with it is a little confusing, too.


Nothing new there.  But, I'll figure it out.  

Maybe.


So, I decided to take some experimental pictures while I'm figuring this thing out.


It'll take me a while to learn all the ins and outs of it, but it sets up pretty easily, even for a retard like me. It makes "panoramic photos," which is something new to me.  I tried it and it's pretty cool.  You start taking a picture at one spot...then you slowly move the camera in the direction of the arrows, and it continues to shoot the picture until it quits.


Pretty dang cool!  I can not show you the panoramic picture I took, because...well, just because.  But, trust me, it works really good.


I took a couple of flower pitchers.

Wow!  That sucker took a looooooong time to upload!  I guess a 16.1 megapixel photo takes a lot longer than a 3.1.


Let me try to resize the next one.  Y'all hang on...

Okay, that one uploaded in about 1/10 the time, but I think I resized it too small.  It's not real sharp.


I'm learning.


And, NO EXPERIMENTAL PHOTO SESSION IS COMPLETE WITHOUT A PICTURE OF SADIE!  Hang on while I resize it...but not too small...

JUST RIGHT!  Good girl!!!

One of the main reasons I wanted to replace my old Kodak get a newer model camera is because I wanted to be able to shoot video, too.  Sure, my old Kodak DX4330 shot video, but there was a HUGE battery drain, and no sound...and only 3.1 megapixels.


So, let's just look at an experimental video I shot with my new Sony Cyber-shot.  It sucks, but I needed to shoot something to see how good it does, or doesn't do.

Not bad considering the wind is blowing four million miles per hour, I was suffering, and I don't know what in the mortal hades I'm doing with this thing.


I'll figure it out.


So, I'm willing to give the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H70 a thumb and a half up at this point.  It could well go all the way up to two thumbs up after my right one defrosts.


I'll let y'all know. 

My initial thought is that for under 200 bucks, it'd be hard to beat this digital camera.  Could be wrong.  Usually am.

But, I'll let y'all know.

Trust me, this is not a paid endorsement.  Sony gave me nothing to do this stellar product review...and if you click on through the following link, I will get ZERO remuneration.  But, just in case you're interested, you can find the Sony info on my new camera here.