It Begins

We left the Refuge in the rain, heading to Gatlinburg TN by way of Dunkin Donuts, but somewhere along the way M called an audible and we went to Asheville NC instead. Given the weather and time constraints we (in the collective sense) decided to start out from Asheville instead of Cherokee and skip the first part of the Blue Ridge Parkway in favor of sleeping in a little later and being able to take some more time during our first day traveling.

Tomorrow will see us on the Blue Ridge Parkway from Asheville to our stop in Boone in time for a bit of rest and refreshment before we have to be at the chapel. This is the only scheduled event on our trip, besides being the entire reason for it.

Friday and Saturday we will drive the rest of the Parkway and the Skyline Drive, ending up in Winchester VA to see Favorite Niece sometime Saturday afternoon and Reston VA to visit Brother In Law on Saturday evening.

Sunday we will head back to the Refuge. From there...the sky is the limit.

Public Service Announcement

The ROTM posting for the month of October will be delayed due to nuptials. October's ROTM will be posted as soon as possible upon my return.

Sorry GFA.

Bubba Dog

Doglet had an appointment with the doggy dentist on Friday.

He's been on antibiotics all week because he had some infection in his teeth and Friday the vet pulled all six incisors on the top jaw and the two middle ones on the bottom. He now has a large gap between the canines on the top and a smaller one on the bottom.

Now all he needs is a banjo.

Shorn

Doglet was getting pretty fuzzy and matted so he had to go get a haircut.

I think he's looking pretty good.

I Am Intrigued By Your Views

and wish to know if you have a newsletter to which I may subscribe...

Oh, you do! Welcome to the Refuge Wall o' Shame!

Redhead Days

On the first weekend of every September there is a redhead festival in Breda in the Netherlands.

This year there will also be one the weekend following in the UK.

I cannot imagine a more worthy event.

And so in the spirit of this festival, I present to you...sunflowers!

And since it is September, it is also Kilted to Kick Cancer Month. Drop by AD's place to join in the fun.

Dammit

Da roof ain't on fire, but it was a big mess.

See that dormer off to the left? It's been leaking right into the main roof where it joins and the big hole in the center is the result. I noticed water coming in the window right below, and when I checked it out I realized my plans for a lazy weekend were for naught.

So, this morning I went around collecting tools and materials and right after lunch I climbed the ladder and started ripping down shingles.  What I found wasn't as bad as it could have been, it ended up being 12" x 30" with some underlaying rafter damage.

I trimmed the hole up square and cut a new piece of plywood. Then I undercut the rafters 1 1/2 inches down from where the tops would have been if there had been tops and laid a 2x4 cut 34 inches long across them, slipping the ends underneath the good sheathing on each side.

This gave me a good foundation to attach the 12x30" plywood, then on went the shingles. After the shingles were all on I applied a liberal coat of screen-door-in-the-bottom-of-the-boat sealer all over everything until all the visible joints between flashing and shingles were covered.

The thunder was rolling in by that point, so all the tools went into the truck until the rain stops. A quick shower and all is right with the world.

Later on I'll have more projects to do, but for now bring it on Mother Nature, I want to see how good a job I did.

Grey Man

OldNFO has a third book out. Go check it out.

One More Time

This is the last time I'm going to do this.

The deed will be done October the first.

Additions

I'm in Florida at the moment, we've had the two oldest grandkids for the week and brought them back Wednesday. Yesterday we met the youngest grandchild for the first time.

Laura Ann was born Monday, August 10th just in time for my mother's birthday which was on the 11th. Her mother was the one who swore she would never have kids, and that if she ever got the maternal instinct she would borrow one of her nephews and get over it. Both of the ones in the last two pictures are hers.

Welcome to the world baby girl, your PopPop loves you.

August

Back home, another year older, and back to work.

Oh well, vacation was nice while it lasted.

Maybe this will cheer me up...

Yeah...that helps.

Have a great day everyone!

Breaking Fast

'Tis a small enough kitchen, more of a galley really,

 But 'twill suffice.

North Myrtle Beach, SC

Funny French Words

It's almost as pretty as she is.

(she said yes)

While I Was Away

June turned into July.

Sorry for the absence and the delays, it's been a busy week. First we had the 4th of July celebration at M's parents in Pennsylvania, it was a great time and I got to meet her dads side of the family. There was shooting and laughter and fireworks and much fun had by all involved, M demonstrated her targeting skills once more and "didn't embarrass myself" and I got put on grille duty and didn't embarrass myself, so all is good. We finally got back home Wednesday.

Thursday we cleaned out the kitchen cabinets and did some cooking out on the grill. Also Thursday the control panel went out in the stove again with smoke and sizzling, the second one in the past couple of years, and unfortunately it controls everything. And of course I didn't try to find one until today and all the appliance parts places that might have one are closed until 8 AM Monday. Good thing the microwave still works.

Friday we delivered some end tables to one of M's co-workers (hers this time so it isn't just my stuff that is being replaced) and got the call that the ring was ready. We went and picked it up and I've ordered the diamonds for the side stones, when they come in I'll take it to a jewelry shop in Wake Forest and have them put in. In the meantime the pink sapphire looks great and she loves it.

Today is a retirement party for one of the Mustang Forum members, so we'll be in Fayetteville for the afternoon. But before I go, a bit of necessary business.

No, I don't know who she is but she does look patriotic, doesn't she?

Have a great July everyone!

FFS

If you are automatically tagged a cross burner because you are a white guy that shows up somewhere in a beat up 62 Chevy pickup with Iowa tags, is that racism? Damn right it is. You don't have to be white to be a racist and you don't have to be black to be a victim of it.

The Southern Cross, more accurately known as the Tennessee Battle Flag (which is very similar to the Army of the Potomac's Battle Flag) is a symbol of the Confederacy because it shows up in so many paintings and movies (mostly because many of the more famous battles were fought in Virginia where the AoP operated). It was never an official flag of the Confederate States of America, although it was used as the union in the second and third Confederate flags and was also used as the second Naval Jack and Ensign.

South Carolina should either use the first Confederate flag or its own Sovereignty flag over the war memorial on its Capitol grounds to get rid of the strawman that the Southern Cross has become. Changing the flag won't change attitudes, but as long as we concentrate on the symbols I guess we can ignore the substance.

Range Day

Today we took some time out with Range Partner to sling some lead downrange. It was the first time M and Range Partner had met and the first time M has gone shooting with me (and as far as I know, only the second time she has ever shot handguns).

Along for the ride was Grand-Dad's High Standard, both the Glocks and the Sig. Range Partner brought a Glock of his own at my request, a Glock 21 with a .22 caliber conversion kit. Younger Son also came along, but he and Range Partner took turns with a .357 Taurus snubbie that Range Partner brought along.

After a review of the Four Rules (the first time M had ever heard them, so we went over them pretty extensively) and some basic instruction on grip, sights, stance and operation (I was ever grateful for the instruction I received at Tigerswan because all I did was review with her what I remembered from learning there) we loaded up and started putting rounds downrange.

First up was the 9mm Glock 19, followed by the Glock 21 with the .22 conversion kit installed. I wish I could say these were my targets...but no. Two fliers, one .22 and one 9mm, in the eight ring and the rest in the black, with two of the .22 and one 9mm solidly in the X.

Next up was the .45 Sig. She wasn't sure if she really wanted to shoot it, but she at least wanted to try it out. Four rounds went into the Sig, and when the smoke cleared two of them were in the eight ring and two in the ten. Next up she wanted to try the Glock 21 in Gods Own Caliber. So, off came the .22 conversion and on went the .45 slide and magazine, five rounds in the magazine...and as you can plainly see, two in the nine, two in the ten and one in the X.

Not bad shooting...for a guuuuurl.

Yeah. Not bad shooting for anyone, and when you consider this was her second time at the gun range to shoot handguns (and since the first time was a "here, point this that way and pull the trigger" you may as well say it was her first time) you could say that was pretty excellent shooting. Hell, she out-shot me, and I couldn't be prouder.

I really wish I could send her to one of Kathy Jackson's classes to learn how to shoot properly, but I will certainly find some instruction for her somewhere. I was OK with showing her the basics, but I'm not an instructor and everyone can do with some instruction. (Speaking of which Sean...isn't it about time for another Tigerswan class?)

There just might have to be a Glock 21 in her future as well.

Yikes!

$275 to change the plugs, right around $200 for the transmission service (which is really the only thing I wanted to have done; everything else I can do myself and certainly will do in the future) and $50 for the oil change. And just for those three items I sat in the dealers waiting room for a little over four hours. That's with an appointment.

And that isn't everything Ford recommends at 100K, oh no, there is also the rear differential, the coolant system flush and fill and the fuel system servicing which would run another $400 or so. And that doesn't include having them look at the little issues I'm having with the car, such as the blend door actuator needing calibration or the oil life monitor staying at 100%.


When they asked me why I hadn't brought the car in to them for a while I just laughed and said "Gee, I don't know." Fortunately I have a full set of tools, basic mechanical knowledge, and a whole slew of friends who love Mustangs and know how to do everything associated with them, so it's not likely they will see it again for another long time.

And So We Begin

I am now the proud owner of a three stone setting in white gold that is on its way to the jeweler to have the topazes removed and a pink sapphire installed in the center.

After the sapphire is in I will be getting an estimate to install diamonds into the outer settings.

M is the proud owner of a bundle of nerves.

Milestones

100,030 miles on the pony now. I need to schedule it for its 100K mile check-up.

I also need to schedule a dentists appointment for myself.

I also need to schedule a vet visit for doglet.

I wonder which one will get done first...