Mother Nature's on a roll this week!

You remember my last blog - I came home from work to a suprize - my PC had a virus.  Well, that's fixed now, but Ol' Ma nature couldn't let that lie - Oh, No!!

I am working away, and I get a call from the wife - "The Shed's in the back yard!"  I said I would take care of it when I got home.

Now I realize that the wind has been pretty bad the last couple of days, and that the shed (thank goodness it was empty) has moved slightly.  But I figured I had it braced and tied down well enough - - - - - WRONG!!!

I got home, and here was my shed - on it's side, with the front panels ripped off and laying in the back yard, a section of the roof wrapped around our power meter (Luckily it didn't break!), and part of it tangled up in the guy wires of the power pole in the yard.  And no two pieces still connected properly.

So I got it pulled back dowm - and the walls collapsed the rest of the way.  So i threw what remained of the roof on top of the pile of scrap that was the walls, and weighted them down with 4 cinder blocks.  Fortunatley that seemed to be enough to hold it down against the wind.

So I guess I have to remember - no matter how prepared you think you are, there is always something that can get thrown your way that just blows that idea all to &%^^.

No one is immune!

I had  a big suprize when I got home from work Tuesday.  My wife said that she was on the computer, had went to a website, and all of the sudden our PC had MULTIPLE viruses!

So after some judicious verbage, I started to see what the &%&# was going on - and sure enough - a virus - - or two - - or three - -

Sooo - I started the process to clean out the PC and restore it to it's prime operating system.  Now Note, I do NOT run system restore - I have had viruses in the past hide in the restore files, screwing up every restore point since the computer was started.  I shut off System Restore, and the viruses went away.

ANYway - after I was able to determine that there was an active virus in my PC, I started it in safe mode, and proceeded to "search & destroy" - and after 4 1/2 hourts of file deletion, scans, and reprogramming - - she's back on the web - but I bet she WON'T go to any site she is not familiar with.

On a side note - she got sent to this site by a website offering "first releases" of new books of one of her favorite authors.  We of course notified the author right away (They happen to be facebook friends - go figure) so hopefully she & other authors can be made aware that this is happening, and perhaps initiate steps from their end to stop the madness!

So it can happen to anyone!

It's coming!

You can see the signs - leaves falling off of trees, the breeze making the temperature a bit nippier than we are all used to - high temperatures that were just a few weeks ago the low temperatures - winter is coming!

Now for many of you, you have heard that there is supposed to be 4 seasons - Spring, Summer, Fall (or Autumn, depending on your choice), and winter.  But many of us live in areas where there is only 2 seasons every year - winter & construction.

Now construction is an interesting season.  The signs of construction seasoin are many - orangeish trees (sometimes called "pylons") grou up out of the ground - usually right in the middle of the road.  And then these unusual billboards appear - with advertizing like "Road Closed" or "Left Lane Closed Ahead".  Then the traffic seems to slow to a crawl thru these forests of pylon trees, causing massive delays, and inflamed tempers.   And finally there are the spirits that appear throughout the season - they are called "Flagmen" or Flagwomen"  (I haven't heard of a flag person yet, but??).  

Usually Construction starts in late April or early May, usually around the potholes or damaged roads that appear during Winter.  And it lasts until October or November - just in time for Winter to appear and create new potholes throughout the land.   A self-perpetuating cycle that never seems to end!

In actuality, we here in SD have figured out why there is so much road construction - during the warm months, they need warehouse space to store harvested food, crated products, and shipments of parts & materials we need to survive.  So they empty the warehoused of the pylons, cones, & signs - and just keep moving them from place to place.  This way they don't have to tie up storage space with them, and can use it for more important things.

Now on to the focus of this - it's coming!  Winter!  That time of year where we get a dollop of snow on the ground, which causes (on the average) over 250 accidents, thousands of stuck vehicles, and other sundry things.  I feel that Winter is a conspiracy of the body shops and tow truck companies!

But I do love South Dakota!  With the varing weather, beautiful country, and wonderful people, it's a great place to live.  Now for us native South Dakotans, we all understand a South Dakota year, with all the seasons & weather that it entails.  For those of you who aren't familiar with SD, let me explain Why I Love South Dakota -

When it's springtime in South Dakota,
And the gentle breezes blow,
About seventy miles an hour
And it's fifty-two below.
You can tell you're in South Dakota
'cause the snow's up to your butt,
And you take a breath of springtime air
And your nose holes both freeze shut.
The weather here is wonderful,
So I guess I'll hang around,
I could never leave South Dakota.
My feet are frozen to the ground!

I Quit!

To Whom It May Concern:

 

I am hereby officially tendering my resignation as an adult. 

I have decided I would like to accept the responsibilities of a six year old again. 

I want to go to McDonald's and think that it's a four star restaurant. 

I want to sail sticks across a fresh mud puddle and make ripples with rocks. 

I want to think M&Ms are better than money, because you can eat them.

I want to play kickball during recess and paint with watercolors in art.

I want to lie under a big oak tree and run a lemonade stand with my friends on a hot summers' day.

I want to return to a time when life was simple.

When all you knew were colors, addition tables and simple nursery rhymes, but that didn't bother you, because you didn't know what you didn't know and you didn't care. 

When all you knew was to be happy because you didn't know all the things that should make you worried and upset.

I want to think that the world is fair. 

That everyone in it is honest and good. 

I want to believe that anything is possible.

Somewhere in my youth...I matured and I learned too much.  I learned of nuclear weapons, war, prejudice, starvation and abused children.  I learned of lies, unhappy marriages, suffering, illness, pain and death.  I learned of a world where men left their families to go and fight for our country, and returned only to end up living on the streets...begging for their next meal.  I learned of a world where children knew how to kill...and did!!

What happened to the time when we thought that everyone would live forever, because we didn't grasp the concept of death?  When we thought the worst thing in the world was if someone took the jump rope from you or picked you last for kickball?  I want to be oblivious to the complexity of life and be overly excited by little things once again.

I want to return to the days when reading was fun and music was clean.  When television was used to report the news or for family entertainment and not to promote sex, violence and deceit.  I remember being naive and thinking that everyone was happy because I was.  I would walk on the beach and only think of the sand between my toes and the prettiest seashell I could find. I would spend my afternoons climbing trees and riding my bike.  I didn't worry about time, bills or where I was going to find the money to fix my car.  I used to wonder what I was going to do or be when I grew up, not worry about what I'll do if this doesn't work out.

I want to live simple again.  I don't want my day to consist of computer crashes, mountains of paperwork, depressing news, how to survive more days in the month than there is money in the bank, doctor bills, gossip, illness and loss of loved ones.  I want to believe in the power of smiles, hugs, a kind word, truth, justice, peace, dreams, the imagination, mankind and making angels in the snow.

I want to be six again.

Author Unknown

The "Honey-Do" list

I am sure all of the guys out thre (and many gals, too) have heard of the "Honey-Do list".  That list of tasks and projects that just keeps getting longer & longer no matter how many of the things on the list you get done.   You get the list out on a Saturday morning, and see 3 or 4 things on the list, and start to get them done - and you succeed!  Only to find out that in the meantime 7 other things have been added to the list!

Now my "Honey-Do" list is pretty long - and many oft he projects on the list may take a while to do.  Here are some of the things on my list -
1. Fix/replace radiator in our Suburban
2.  Replace belt tensioner in the Dodge P/U
3.  Remodel/rebuild bathroom
4.  Remodel/rebuild new Laundry room
5.  Remodel Kitchen
6. Remodel Family Room
7.  Build Computer for friend

Now some of these seem to be fairly easy projects, and some seem pretty extensive, but none of them are beyond our realm of experience.  I say "Our" as my wife helps wiith many of these projects - at least as much as she can.  Sometime's it is as simple as holding the end of a tape measure, and sometime's it's helping me sheetrock a wall or tuning up the car while I change oil.  Although it's a little harder for her to do some things now, she still helps as much as she can.

It used to be that our list was a lot smaller than it is now - we lived in a new house, had nice cars, and newer furniture.  But all of that changed about 3 years ago, when my wife got ill - she lost her job, and went on permanent disability.  What a shock to us, as well as to our pocketbook!  The loss of an entire income.   Now we tried to make a go of it, but with the economy doing a downturn, we just couldn't make it.  We were the first "victim" of the adjustable-rate-mortgage, upside-down-financing syndrome that eventually affected the entire country, as well as much of the world!  We lost our house.  But thanks to some quick action on our part, and not a little luck, we were able to move, get into a nice place, and do a short sale on the house, saving some of our credit.

Now I mention this change as part of the "Honey-Do" list thing - as I said, living in that house, we had a new house, nice cars, etc. - and a little bordeom.  There were few repairs to do on the house (I built decks the first year we lived there, so that was the main job).  And our cars were running well, so just basic maintenance on them - and life was good - - - NOT.  It was BORING!   I never realised how complacent it could be.

Now when we started house shopping, we looked at a few rentals, as we didn't think we could afford to buy another house - especially with housing prices still on the rise (The main part of the economic downturn hadn't hit yet).  But we lucked out, and found a little place for sale at a price we could afford, and found financing that we could get.

Now, have you ever walked into a place, and just fell in love with it?  We did, with this place.  A small yard, but LOTS of trees, a nice deck, a carport, and a nice layout.   So we bought and moved in - - and immediatley started remodeling!  We moved walls, built new walls, and otherwise started making this house our home - and it still goes on today!  

Now we never had any desire to do anything like this with our old house - Oh sure, we did knock down a wall, and do a little remodeling here & there - but nothing to the extent we are doing here.  And we LOVE it!  The opportunity to make this place into something that will fit us now, and for years to come.

Will we ever move again?  Possibly, but not in the near future.  We like it here.  Even with that long "honey-do" list.

Another weekend

Here it is - Saturday.  Another weekend almost 1/2 over.

I DO look forward to the weekends.  Although this weekend was a bit different, my weekends are usually just about as busy as my weekdays, except in a different way. 

First, there is the "Honey-Do" list.  Every married man has one of these - the list of things that need doing around the house.  It can be "fun" things - like fixing the car.  Or it can be a "not-so-fun" thing, like fixing the toilet.  But the list is there every weekend, and you always seem to get at least one or two of the projects done, but then 4 or 5 are added to the list.

Then there is the weekly trip to the grocery store.  Now there is a Walmart where I live.  It just happens to be one of the busiest Walmarts in the country!  There is also 2 Safeway stores, a Target Superstore, 3 Family Thrift stores, a Sam's Club, and numerous convienience stores.  But we always seem to , regardless of how busy they are, go back to Walmart to do our shopping.  

Now that can be - er - exciting?   First, you have to find a place to park.  I usually let the wife of at the door, and then go find a place.  Sometime's I'm lucky, and there is a spot near the building.  But usually not.  Then you walk in the front door to be greeted by a throng of other shoppers, all trying to get the bargains bought, and get their groceries & get checked out.   It is sometimes comparable to a miniature Demolition Derby, bumping into carts, displayus, and sometimes people.  Then, once you find everything, which usually takes about 2 hours, hou head for the checkout, only to be met with 6-7 shoppers in every line waiting to be checked out.

So we gamble, and pick a lane that seems to have one less shopper in it.  And then we figure out why - this lane has the Junior Trainee Cashier in it, or the cashier that's soooo s l o o o w w w !   So we wait.

Finally, we check out, and head for the door.  You would think that's the end, right?  But NOOOOO!  There is always someone who invariably is blocking the asile, usually near the drinking fountains, restrooms, or near the entance to the McDonalds (yes, there's a McDonalds in our Walmart).  So you FINALLY get to the door, only to have the people in front of you set off the door security alarm.  So they stop them (blocking the door in the process), and go thru 1/2 the items in their cart, only to find that there was a pair of shoes that didn't get the security tag removed. 

Finally, you are out the door, only to remember you have to walk a mile and a half (OK, it seems like that far) to get to your car.  You get to your car, get loaded up, and proceed to exit the lot, only to have to wait in line at the exit, as the traffic is intense goung by!

And, finally, we are on our way home, worn out & frazzled from this excursion.   We get home, unload the froceries, and discover we forgot to buy something!  So it's back in the car, and back to Walmart.

Why. do you ask??  Why put ourselves through this torture?  Well, folks, it all boils down to the almighty dollar!  We save on average between $15 - 25 shopping at Walmart.  So we punish ourselves for that dollar.

BUT - - not this weekend.  After the week we had, we decided to use this weekend to unwind and renew ourselves.  We spent some time with friends & family, we went to a few garage sales (Who can resist a good sale!)., and otherwise relaxed and spent some quality "just us" time.

I think everyone needs to take some time out of their busy schedule to relax, refresh, and renew.  If you don't, you will find yourselves burned out, and almost unable to continue.

So plan a weekend.  Take some time.  Relax.  Renew relations with friends & family.  Spend some quality time with your "other half".  Have some alone time.   And if you can't remember the last time you did this (or if you have NEVER done this)  DO IT NOW!!!  You NEED it!!!

I want to share with you my 13 rules of life.  I found these rules a long time ago, and feel that, although they are not the most important set of rules out there, they are pretty good ones to include in your life.  Here they are:

1. Never give yourself a haircut after three margaritas.

2. You need only two tools. WD-40 and duct tape. If it doesn't

move and it should, use WD-40. If it moves and shouldn't, use the tape.

3. The five most essential words for a healthy, vital relationship "I

apologize" and "You are right."

4. Everyone seems normal until you get to know them.

5. When you make a mistake, make amends immediately. It's easier to

eat crow while it's still warm.

6. The only really good advice that your mother ever gave you was,

"Go! You might meet somebody!"

7. If he/she says that you are too good for him/her--believe them.

8. Learn to pick your battles; ask yourself, "Will this matter one

year from now? How about one month? One week? One day?"

9. Never pass up an opportunity to pee.

10. If you woke up breathing, congratulations! You have another

chance!

11. Living well really is the best revenge. Being miserable because

of a bad or former relationship just might mean that the other person

was right about you.

12. Work is good, but it's not that important.

13. And finally... Be really nice to your friends and family. You

never know when you are going to need them to empty your bedpan