The Droid I Was Looking For

I haven't really liked my HTC One cell phone since I bought it, and now it's refusing to take a charge if it is turned on. I have to either turn it all the way off or put in in airplane mode to get it to charge.

I've been sorry to have let my old Droid go, but recently Middle Daughter traded up and I was able to get it back. Yesterday I went through the steps of re-activating it and I've been downloading the apps and add-ons that I've become accustomed to.

The screen is smaller, so using it for the Kindle won't be as good. I'll also miss the stereo speakers on the HTC, but it's not like I used it much for listening to music anyway. If nothing has changed since I switched up the battery will charge when I'm in the car using the GPS or if I have it plugged in and all services active.

So today, to reward me for all my efforts, I've gotten three phone calls from the same number between the hours of 8 AM and noon. Spammers. I finally answered the last call but I can't say who it was because when I picked it up I whispered "It's done but there's a lot of blood. Send the cleaners. Make payment as agreed. Do NOT make me come looking for you. Lose this number." Then I hung up. They haven't called back so far.

One more thing I'll miss about the HTC One, I guess...the ability to block numbers.

Helping Hands

Today M and I got together with the Wake Forest Mustang Club for a poker run, the purpose was to raise some money for a local mom to get a handicapped van for her two daughters.

The run went well, the weather was clear and sunny even though it was a bit cold.

 We left Wake Forest NC a little after 9:30 and collected cards along the way, ending up in Wilmington NC at the USS North Carolina.

At the end of the day we went out with the group for supper and then back home. It was a good day all in all, and it will have to do me for a while since the Mustang is now down for a left front caliper.

The brake telltale started sounding off about halfway there, fortunately the pad is not yet down to metal but it is at the wear limit. The pads just went on it in October, and only the inside left one is down to the wear limit. The rotor is not damaged or even significantly worn, so I won't have to replace it which is good since both rotors were just replaced. A new caliper and hose, new brake pads and I should be right back on the road.

Just another thing that I hadn't planned on spending the money on, but I guess I know what I'm doing next weekend.

Beginning The New Year

It's been a busy year.

It's been a good year for me, but it's been busy.

I wish you all a good year this year.

Nice To Be Home Again

Eleven states and both families have been visited in the past ten days. Gifts and greetings have been exchanged and a good time was had by all.

We got back home today in the rain to find the roof still leaks in the kitchen and bathroom. As I type this missive I am listening to pieces falling off the kitchen ceiling.

I guess for the new year I'm going to break down and put a new roof on the Refuge...and one on the Mustang as well, for the same reason.

Be it ever so waterlogged, there's no place like home...

Merry Christmas Everyone

And Now

in an effort to offset the negativity, let me tell you what I've been up to lately.

Last Saturday, December the 19th, M and I packed up the car and headed west to Iowa. M was a bit nervous about it since it was her first time meeting the folks, but as I expected it all went very well. The trip was mostly uneventful although she did tease me a bit about going all the way through Tennessee rather than have to enter the People's Republic of Illinois.

She and Mother hit it off famously, Mother being a knitter from way back and M being a relative novice. Mother knits baby blankets and sweaters and M mostly knits shawls, so they were interested in each others work and spent some time with their heads together comparing notes.

On the second day here M completed the project she was on and needed materials to start something else, so off we went to the big city of Council Bluffs, Iowa (with a side trip to Omaha Nebraska) for yarn, and much to M's delight, Dunkin Donuts coffee. When we got back Mother said there was also a yarn shop right here in little Clarinda that might have a thing or two.

So downtown we went to find not really a yarn shop but a quilters shop. They mostly put the final stitching on quilts and can do everything from simple patterns to mural type designs, but they also had yarn and fabric. They didn't make a lot of money off of their yarn and fabrics though, so they were selling off their entire stock. M was in heaven.

The thing that really caught MY eye, however, was this little unobtrusive sign in the front door window.

There are a lot of examples of businesses that we as gunnies won't frequent because of the polar opposite sign in the front windows, so it's kind of nice to see one like this.

Handcart Quilts and Yarn, for all of your quilting needs.

Apparently

TTAG is at it again.

Yep, once again they've stolen Tam's stuff for use on their own site without attribution.

At this rate they really should hire her on as a paid author...if she would lower herself to write for such a rag.

"Dan Zimmerman. Intellectual property thief"

And In Other News

I have no further reason to go to Virginia.

Range Partner calls it "Occupied Virginia" and it looks as if his assessment is spot on. VA has now joined the Northeast in it's idiocy.

Shame really...it was such a nice state once.

Many Pardons

I have been remiss. Allow me to correct my erroneous ways.

I bring to you...December.

Have a great day!

Road Worthy

Yesterday I washed M's car and vacuumed it out for her. While I was at it I checked the oil and lights. This morning I got up and scraped the windows clean for her.

 I do these things not because I want her to leave, but because I want her to be safe.

She headed out for Pennsylvania about an hour ago to spend the first part of the week with her family. I will join her Thursday for Thanksgiving at her brother's house in Virginia.

 As she drives, my heart rides with her.

Wow

I wanted something that wouldn't keep me awake for hours and didn't have a whole lot of sugar, so I got one of these.

This sh!t sucks. I don't think I'll be getting another any time soon...like ever.

What I Did Today

Today I watched M do this:

She used the Sig and did very well, as I expected since she did very well with it the first time she shot it. The next step will be to actually get the permit, but this step is done.

While I watched her do this I also sat through the class to refresh my own knowledge since I have to renew my permit in February.

It was a good day.

November

For November the ROTM is a classy lady who passed recently.

Farewell to Maureen O'Hara. Say Hi to John for us.

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.