Life as Project

Fate, Fortune and the way things work out.

2009-03-02T06:32:00.000-08:00

This is the second time in the last few years that the fates have conspired to keep us warm.

I will repost the first time.. shortly.

The Kids and Grandkids came over weekend before last.... and during that time... the kids asked us if we wanted to buy their Pellet Stove. The had discovered after a year, that they did not like it and wanted to get rid of it. We decided that we did not need it, so declined...

Later that day, My Stepson and I were in the Basement... and when the boiler, (Yes a real steam boiler) kicked on... a lick of flame shot out of the side. It seemed that the firebox had a hole burned thru..... Not safe... so I shut it down. I don't want to put any money into it, because we planned on replacing the whole heating system this summer.

Suddenly, that pellet stove looked real good....

My Dog

2009-01-22T07:09:00.000-08:00

When I first met my dog she was only six months old. At best she would live to be about 15 years old. My hope for myself is that I will live to be least 90. At that time I was 32. So with the prospect of living for another 58 years and having my dog expire when I was 47... I decided I was not going to love the dog. Why invest in a love that is temporary at best..... and suffer the loss when it has to end. That's not for me. My dog however had other intentions.

We brought home our dog in April... In Maine, that is when nice weather is starting to tease us with a nice day thrown in here and there. My yard is small, but so is my dog. She was already housebroken when we got her home, we just need to train each other on the where and when. On the nice days a leash would be involved, and on the not so nice days, a leash with a length of rope tied to it would let me stay inside while she went outside. On the days we went out together, some training took place... sit, stay and come here, all mastered. She did it for cheese, she did it for treats, she did it for me. I was trained to read her facial expressions and body language. What I first thought was a neurological seizure disorder complete with growling and gnashing teeth turned out to be an invitation to play and rough-house. The treats were a bonus, but she would have run across hot coals if I had called her, for nothing more than to be close to me.

It got to the point where I could just let her out... she would do her business, and run back in. As time went on, that first year, and the weather turned cold, this seemed like the ultimate achievement. Then is snowed. My dog loves the snow. I let her out that first morning into a few inches of snow, she did her job, and with every step kicked up a bit of snow that needed to be chased. I watched her play in this new found fun. I watched her run to the side of the house, and told her "No" as I had done many time before.... and until this point had always been obeyed. I watched as she disappeared from my sight, snow still falling, wind blowing, me in my pajamas, barefooted.

I called out to her a few times, but she failed to reappear. I don't know if she couldn't hear me through the snowy wind, failed to recognize the do not pass line because it was covered in snow, or if her brain was muddled by snow induced Adrenalin. But she was gone.

I gave chase, barefooted, in the snow, her tracks went to the road, where the plow had already been, and vanished. I ran back inside.. pulled on boots, and my coat and continued the search.... calling and looking through fogged up glasses. (Did I mention my dog is small and mostly white, and not very visible in a snowstorm.) I went around the block, and back to the house. I let my wife know what was going on, (She was surprised that the dog had ran away, and was sure I would have found her.) She was getting suited up to search when I went back outside to continue. And I heard a bark....

We travel, once or twice a year, and always board the dog, (We call it Puppy Camp). Every time I go to pick up the dog after our trip, I always hear the dogs barking from the kennel area. There might be a dozen dogs barking back there, but I can pick out my dog's bark.

....I heard MY dog's bark. I ran through my backyard and the backyard of the house behind me and into the street a block over in the opposite direction of where I saw the dog run off. There was a woman, shoveling her driveway. Every time she threw a shovel full of snow, My stupid dog would attack the snow, and bark at it, and then wait for the next shovel full.

I scooped the little dog up, and thanked the woman for keeping her there so I could find her. When I got her home, I started to cry, and apologized to her for letting her out without a leash and for all the things that could have happened.

After that, I added a wire dog run from the back porch to a tree. Later, I fenced in the yard. She likes her little fenced in yard.

The moment there is any stress in the house.. she runs to me and wants me to hold her. Every nite when I get into bed, she jumps up, looks at my face, gives me a few licks.. (To tuck me in) and curls up at my feet. There were 4 of us in the house, when we added our lil dog, and of all the people in the house.. she picked me to be the one....

I love my dog.

Good Girl.

Happy New Year

2009-01-06T16:28:00.000-08:00

OK, after that last blog, and my mention of the "Bucket List", it is only fair to post an actual list.
Now... I am not an ambitious person in the same sense that others may be.... so I could only think of 9 things.

My List... (In no particular order)
Sail a Boat to Faial and paint the boats name on the stones at Horta.
Scrape all my college credits together, and tack a degree up on my wall.
Sing to my wife at a Karaoke Bar.
Take my Grandsons SCUBA Diving.
Ride my Harley across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel and all the way to Key West.
Create a piece of public art.
Learn to play Thunder Road on my Harmonica.
Learn enough Italian to visit Italy, and not speak a word of English.
Write a book.

I dunno... maybe I'll think of more... right after I push the button.

2008-12-21T14:01:00.000-08:00

I stole this list from my Sister's Blog. http://hoppelife.blogspot.com/2008/12/i-saw-this-list-over-at-written-word.html

The things I have done are in BOLD!

1. Started my own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than I can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sung a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched lightening at sea
14. Taught myself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown my own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitchhiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of my ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught myself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had my portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had my picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Rode an elephant.

There are things on this list, I could care less about... Like going to Paris.
There are things I would add, This is by no means my "Bucket List."

Rough week.

2008-11-14T15:34:00.000-08:00

OK, to be fair.. the blog is being written while unner the influence of a very strong drink. My very pretty Judy poured me a Bahama Mama.... out of a premixed bottle, and then topped it off with Bacardi.

My Friend Mike wote me on facebook, and asked about my Licence application... was very happy to answer... My favorite Mike Memory is when we made it look like we were police, bringing my friend Jeff home.... His Dad thought he did something wrong..... that was so funny.

Well, the reason Im toasted.. I had a rough week....
Pretty Judy just put some pizza in front of me....

Bloggin on rum..
Almost every job I went to this week... turned out to be more than what was expected....
My shopvac, died while I was winterizing spas.
Someone electrician used the wrong wire to hook up a spa.
I broke a plastic fitting.
One customer had no electicity available for my pump, shopvac and blower.
Both jobs today... needed new heaters.
The directions to one customers house were very bad.
I can;t remember anyomer.

Yes, I voted!

2008-11-04T05:35:00.000-08:00

I voted to keep a literal creationist away from being one dusty old half heartbeat away from getting the launch codes.

I looked at a group, who believes that the world is going to end..... and they will get their big reward when the world ends, and their leader comes to take them to paradice.

From my point of view, this means....
1. They have no reason to think "Long Term" about anything.
2. They have no reason to believe there is a need to conserve or preserve anything.
3. They are motivated to coordinate events to follow a book written by people who thought the Earth was flat and the center of the universe.
4. They believe that Payday comes when they can get events to line up with the last chapter and the missles fly!

Ya, I voted.

The Last Hoop.

2008-10-18T21:06:00.000-07:00

I went down to Boston on Wednesday, Swore an Oath, signed some papers, and was fingerprinted for a security background check.....
.....Now, I wait....
4 hours down, 4 hours back..... the office stuff took less than an hour...... but I guess you can't mail your fingers in for prints.

On the way back, we stopped in Portsmouth New Hampshire, and had lunch at a pizza place called Flatbread...... It was really nice, and we sat right in front of a large stone, wood fired pizza oven. The food was good, the atmosphere was very comfortable, the menu all organic and healthy.

Im looking forward to siging all of my blogs, letters and everything else I sign... Captain!

I am so close, I can taste it.....

2008-10-04T17:26:00.001-07:00

Thrusday, it rained.... so hard in fact, that all of our outside jobs were cancelled. I did some benchwork untill 11, and then I drove to Ellsworth to pee in a cup..... My last task on the checklist....

Task one, was completing 360, 4-hour watches worth of seatime. 90 of those need to be within the last 3 years......... (Ya, Im a salty dog.)

Task two,
Sit thru an 80 hour course, and Pass the Coast Guard, Master 100 Gross Ton Exam. (Aced!)

Task three,
Updated my First Aid and CPR Qual. (I was a Red Cross 1st Aid/CPR Insturctor AND an EMT, so this was easy.)

Task four,
Pass a physical, (Yup, Im an Ironman!)

Task five,
Get a new Social Security Card...... (Becuz I lost mine.)

Task six,
Get 3 people who have known me for a long time to write me letters of reference.
(You know me, and you wrote one anyway..... You rock!)

Task seven,
Pass a drug screen. (No worries there, Im a saint.... but, the girl frisks me, hands me the cup, says I can't shut the door, or flush. Good thing I drank a big glass of water before I left the house, and stopped for a black coffee on the way....Reminds me of a song... By force of will, the cup was filled... and, so I peed. 10 points to anyone who knows the song.)

NOW, as soon as I get the results back, I can drive down to Boston and get my Captains Licence!

Big sigh of relief!

2008-07-28T17:50:00.000-07:00

OK, my sister called, and let me know that my Mom has arrived there safe. She left here at about 7:30 this morning, and its a 9 hours drive to my sisters house........ So..... Mom went missing for about 3 hours..... (Mom is 74, driving a big blue van).... Now I wouldn't be so anxious, but Mom also took a header on the stairs Saturday night, and whacked her head on the floor.
....But I got off the phone with her, and she sounded fine... so Good.

Visit from Mom.... Day 5

2008-07-21T17:05:00.000-07:00

I currently have a vague recollection of hearing all the intimate details of the lives of all Mom's neighbors.

Eyestrain.

2008-07-09T15:12:00.000-07:00

OK, I got a new contact perscription... and now my up close vision... not so hot....

I had a dream the other nite.... I got home.. and heard the answering machine recording a message from my Dad, but he said good-bye and hung up before I could answer the phone.... when I went to replay the message ...it deleted. I woke very upset at this.

I got my First Aid and CPR resert done..... just have a few little things to do before I can make my appointment and go get my Capt. Licence.

We spent many hours on the boat this weekend..... the weather was perfect.

Late Nite Brain Movies

2008-06-30T18:26:00.000-07:00

OK, so I was installing a hot water heater. The water heater was not electric, oil or gas. It heated the water because there was a demon chained up inside the tank. I had to put a key into the water inlet, so the demon could free itself, and assist with the pipe hook-up... then the demon was rude to me because I had disturbed it sleep.

.....I hope that it was clear by the title of the post.... this was a nightmare.

Facial Hair

2008-06-26T17:35:00.000-07:00

Facial hair....
Some time, a long time ago, when a pre-civilzed man was flakin stones to make tools, he discovered that he could shave the hair off his skin... in fact, Im sure that this became a test for the quality of the blade being made. The shaving most likely started on the arm, and as blade making continued, and arm hair was depleted, the shaving migrated to the face. I'm sure some of the benefits were instantly apperent... cooler on a hot day.... less places for fleas to hide. Some benefits that may have been a bit more subtle could have been that a clean shaven man looks more like a little boy or a woman than an adult man. In a less sofisticated culture, a man that looks less like man, and more like a little boy or a woman, could approach closer to the women, and successfully hang out with the women....later, as civilization progressed, advances in animal husbandry were made, and it was learned that a male animal could be made gentle by removing its testicles. A gentled animal was easier to ride or manage. An other product of civilization is the dividing people into classes.... at some point, a deliniation between feral or wild men and "gentled" men was made. The Gentled men or Gentelmen, being easier to ride and manage are told apart from the wild men by the lack of facial hair.
just some thoughts.. more on this.

Wish I had more time to blog.

2008-06-15T14:31:00.000-07:00

OK, it's a rainy Sunday... Fathers Day.... The kids called when I was out... and when I called them back, they were out.... but I did get their card, so I don't feel neglected.

Yesterday was sunny, but Mrs had to work.... we did go for a quick boatride when she got home.

I have a Honey Brown goin right now, and raised the bottle a toast to my Dad, almost 6 years gone now.... remembering him on Fathers Day.

Lit a fire, and watched it for a bit...... found the sweet spot between the warmth of the fire and the cool of the rain.

Now inside, Mrs is asking me to make cookies........sound like a plan.

Day 2.... 3 Day Weekend

2008-05-25T16:49:00.000-07:00

OK, last nite ended with a few hours on the back patio, in front of the chimenia with a cold beer.

This morning... Oatmeal with yogurt.
....and down to the boat.

Tied up in Searsport..... Mrs walked up from the dock to the store to pick up a few things....
Then out back out onto the water........ stopped and ate lunch....
Then we tied up at Fort Point State Park and walk around the beach for a while......
Then back to the marina...

Tired, just watchin TV, and typin.

Day one of a 3 day weekend.

2008-05-24T14:19:00.000-07:00

OK, Mrs and I woke early to hear out dog getting ready to puke....... seems she ate a BBQ rib bone last nite....., and it didn't sit well with her........

Two cups of Coffee, a bowl of oatmeal with a sliced apple.........

Trip to the Dump..... I live in the sticks.... we don't have trash pickup...
Trip to the Post Office..... I live in the sticks.... we don't have mail delivery...
Trip to the Hardware Store..... We need new blades for the weed whacker...
Trip to the Supermarket..... We needed food, and beer...
Did some yardwork......
Turkey and swiss for lunch....
Went to the Marina, installed new carpet in boat cabin....
Hung out on boat for a while.
Pasta for dinner

Updates as they happen.

Backyard Sanctuary

2008-05-17T16:08:00.000-07:00

We have the smallest house on our block, one of the smallest houses in town, and the property that the house is on is tiny as well... Our little piece of the world, and it's our choice to make it a paradise.

Here is a little tour of our private sanctuary.

....And here is the cast of characters.

The Goddess.

Freed from a piece of driftwood, reaching to the sky. Her head is a stone, captured by the roots of a tree.

Rocky the Rock Man.

Made from the same granite that Fort Knox is made from. Rocky's glasses remind me of my Dad.

The Fountain.

This is the Claw-foot bathtub that was in the house when we got married. A date on one of the fixtures dates the Bathroom to 1929

The Conch.

This began it's life on the ocean floor, made it's way to a butcher shop in Hoboken NJ. My Aunt Cathrine brought it home and used it as a doorstop. When I was very young, and she noticed that I was facinated with it.... she gave it to me.

The Chiminea

This is the second chiminea to grace our yard... The first took the place of a small woodstove that we used in a rental property that we renovated over the winter when it did not have any other heat. After the renovation, we brought the woodstove home and used it in the yard for a year or so. When the cast iron woodstove finally rusted and burned thru, we bought the first chiminea. A few years into the chimineas life, a tree fell on it, and broke it. I was able to repair it, and use it a few more years, untill the cracks spread, multiplied and joined, and it fell to dust. This new chiminea burns nicely and throws a lot of heat. Many a winter night, temp in the 20's, Me, Mrs and the visiting kids sat out huddling, drinking beer, or sipping Sambucca.

Means of Escape

2008-05-14T15:28:00.000-07:00

We Launched the boat on Sunday, and since then, I've been down the check bilges twice a day. Bilges still "Dry as Dust".

Boat Launching

2008-05-10T17:16:00.000-07:00

In the morning, Mrs and I are going to launch the boat. I spent hours painting the bottom today, and it's read to go.

High tide is 4 AM, Low tide is just after 10, .... I guess we will try to lauch at 8.

Yay!

I Boat, Therefore I am.

2008-05-08T17:57:00.000-07:00

Ok, I boat.... In fact... I am currently in the process of getting my Captian's Licence.
....Also, I just had the Big Four Two this weekend......
Well, one of my friends, gave me a most thoughtful and boat related gift.
A Canvas Bucket!

Cool!

What the heck is that a tiny picture of?

2008-05-06T15:42:00.000-07:00

It's my gutted upstairs bathroom, with a wall torn down, and a new wall built about 20 inches into a bedroom.

Bridges to the past.

2008-05-05T14:05:00.000-07:00

I have a running blog going on in Myspace, and am a regular contributor to a boating forum. The Myspace is a bit childish, and I figure I'd like to continue in a forum that is a bit more mature.