What If

My "adopted sister" who is a black woman 15 years older than I am lost her grandson a little more than a year ago. He answered a knock at the door and was gunned down. I don't know the details to that case, and I don't know if they ever caught the gunman.

Last week another one of her young relatives was shot eight times in an armed robbery. He saw the robbers face, you see, and the robber didn't want him to be able to identify him to the police. This young man is alive today only by the grace of God and the miracle of modern medicine.

You have heard it all before; give them what they want, it's not worth your life, better that you be beaten, robbed and raped than lose your life, it's only possessions and what possession could possibly be worth your life (an assessment that I am in vehement disagreement with, BTW). But what if what they want IS your life? What then?

I carry because I set the amount of my own worth, and the worth of those I love, and I set that value far above that price which most criminals would be willing to pay. It is up to me to enforce that price.

So what is your life worth?

Think about it.

Stop n' Go

While on the Blue Ridge last week the front brakes on the 'stang started scraping. By the time we got through NoVa and back home they were scraping badly and the left rotor was showing signs of metal on metal contact.

Yesterday afternoon I put brand-new brake pads and rotors on the front. The left outside pad was down to metal but the rest of them looked practically new (they are only a bit over a year old). I checked the sliders and they moved easily.

I put on the new anti-rattle clips, cleaned and greased the sliders and put everything back together, I'll keep a close eye on it and see what happens. If all else fails I'll replace the left hose and caliper but I'm hoping the fresh grease and new clips will fix the issue.

And of course, since I couldn't drive the car all week the sun came back out to play but today and tomorrow it is supposed to rain again.

I'm In

Erin has an interesting invitation.

I have two or three carry holsters, depending on what I'm doing or where I'm going (today I'll be open carrying to a luncheon but later I'll be concealing). Here's my open carry rig.

What do you say? Show them off!

Here's Something

I don't have the time nor the place (I really need to look into joining a range, too bad there isn't one close by) to do this, but one of you might.

Basically you take a new shooter to the range and then you get free ammo. Details are here.

One of these days I really need to get out to the range, but the short-term prospects for doing so aren't looking too good.

What I Did This Weekend

The Blue Ridge Parkway was wet, foggy and cold. It rained the whole time and all of the Parkway north of Floyd VA was closed due to high winds and water.

I had a great weekend.

And Now, Without Further Ado

October's ROTM is brought to you by quartets.

I hope the extra content makes up for the wait.

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)