Thanksgiving 2010

Oh my goodness, what a lovely holiday time this has been!  David left for the Army in August of 2000 and that means the last time we would have had Thanksgiving together would have been 1999... 11 years ago.  Well, celebrating the holiday over with David, Samantha and Hanna in NC was a visit and holiday day that was just wonderful.

I took off on Wednesday at about 9 AM and the drive was terrible including a stretch of I-20 being shut down in Augusta for reasons unknown to me, but with everyone being shunted off the interstate by the cops after a long, long time sitting and creeping along the road.  I got to the kids house later than anticipated but safe and sound. 

Thursday began a bit cloudy and we did get some pretty good rain for a while but by the time it was time to cook the bird, things had cleared up and warmed up a bit as well.  Samantha had spent most of Wednesday cooking and getting things ready and continued on Thursday as well.  Hannah was having a good time picking what was left of Samantha's roses for a centerpiece.

Hannah preparing the roses by picking off most of the petals.  Perhaps it was the beer that made her do it.

Hannah had selected the 'eccentric dowager' look for the first part of the day, including the 'mink' coat.

David was going to treat me to his deep fried turkey which I looked forward to not at all.  I'd swear I had it before (not his) and even for me, a devout jerky lover, it was terrible.  Dried out... hard... totally tasteless.  Besides, I've never really cared for turkey.  But David was quite happy to be cooking it for me and I tried my very best not to damper his excitement.

Samantha and David looking so happy having the turkey cooker fired up and heating.  David couldn't find the thing you use to lower the bird into the oil -- and remove it -- but neighbor Donny came to the rescue that morning.  Oh yes, there's another little reason that they're looking so happy... they're letting people know that they're making another grandchild for me!!  Yep... Samantha found out recently that she's about 8-9 weeks along so there will another family member coming into this world somewhere around August 2011 :)  Hannah knew all about it and didn't spill the beans to me but she is very happy to be having a baby brother/sister on the way.  Good thing... there isn't much she can do about it!

The big time arrived and David got to cooking.  Here he lowers the bird into the perfectly-heated oil.  Giving credit where credit is due... David did a good job getting the bird into the hot oil.  No splashes... no spills... no boil overs... no catching the garage on fire.  Actually, it was pretty unexciting all in all.

 

Well, the bird was fantastic.  That's the only word to describe it.  Moist, delicious, and flavorful with absolutely NO flavoring injected or anything like that at all.  No kidding.  I have not had so much fun picking at a turkey, and a turkey carcass, for many, many years.  I give David all the credit he figured he was going to earn... he did.  Normally the only thing I like on a turkey is the skin.  Without a doubt, the meat was as good as the skin this time :)

I forget if this was before or after we ate but it doesn't really matter.  David had started a beautiful, roaring fire... NOT... and it was time to just kick back and relax a bit.  That's Michelle standing behind David.  Michelle had brought a considerable amount of food that she had cooked up as well. 

Friday was a sleep-in morning somewhat for all but David who was out at 6 AM to go to work.  More on that to follow.  Samantha and I chatted while Hannah pulled out the Play-Do and played at the table like an angel.  Somewhere along the line I grabbed some of it and rolled it out thinking I was making a snake.  No way, baby!  Hannah declared it to be a necklace that whe wanted to wear, so that's what it became.

All I did was roll out the necklace part.  Hannah made the flower to go on it.  It was quite wonderful watching her little creative self with absolutely no help or guidance from either myself or Samantha. 

And this may have been the best part of the session.  In all we probably made 3 or 4 necklaces.  Well, after wearing each for a short time, it was time to move on.  Hannah would carefully take it off being careful not to have it come apart and then she made something else... rice :)  I know that all little children are creative and wonderful and all that, but come on... have you ever seen a little child purposely make Play-Do rice?  I didn't think so!

Somewhere close to noon I drove downtown to meet up with David and ride along with him for the rest of his shift that ended at 3 PM.  We stopped for lunch and kept Fayetteville safe.  It gave us time to talk a bit about this and that and gave David a chance to become very proficient with the radar setup in the cruiser.  It was kind of neat setting up on a highway and then nailing a couple of folks :)  After the shift we made our way back to the house where we talked, played games, had some Barbeque, watched a few episodes of Frazier and called it a night.  I said my good-byes to David because I wouldn't see him in the morning and we all called it a day.  Today, Saturday, was a day of good-byes and I really don't like them.  All in all, as said at first, it was a wonderful, wonderful holiday weekend and I hope it was just as wonderful for all.









Lost and Found

Oh my goodness... what a wonderful day in Georgia this was!  Temperature around 68... mix of sun and clouds... no wind to speak of... one perfect day to be out and about on a motorcycle.  I've been somewhat challenged down here to find my way around this state without getting so lost I'd never be found.  Unlike Illinois which I knew pretty well, and Connecticut which was just so small you couldn't get lost because you'd soon hit a border or the ocean, Georgia is big.  For the geographically challenged, such as myself, it might come as a suprise to know that Georgia is the biggest state east of the Mississippi.  Similar to Connecticut is the fact that the roads twist pretty good here and nothing really runs parallel, or perpendicular, to anything else.  So... I went ahead and got myself a GPS for the bikes and today was my first day going out with it mounted.  I'd call it a rather large succes because I turned onto roads without concern about having to find out where I was just to figure a way to get home.  I had to make some adjustments, like wearing my glasses just so I could see/read the thing... contacts in order?  I've also got to work on raising it up a bit higher so I'm not looking down.  Forget hearing it... ain't gonna happen.  But, I'm rather happy about it.  I roamed all around feeling good and that was the objective.  I will continue to create and use my little route cards that I've been using all along, but with the GPS unit, I don't have to look for road signs quite so much because I can see them coming up.

Because of this roaming around and such I found myself having a pretty good time.  I got up into the mountains that are actually south of me and of pretty good size.  None of the roads that I've been riding on have much traffic but the back roads I was on today had none... as in none.  All in all, a wonderful day.

The VTX all alone on the side of the road.  Why no one else was up here enjoying this view was beyond me but that's the way it was.

As you know, pictures just don't do 'big' camera shots justice and this is no exception.  This was a tremendous panorama looking down over some clearings, a lake or two, and just miles and miles of land.

I love this shot and it's the best I can do to let you see what I was looking at... the horizon, uninterrupted!  Click on it to make it bigger... go on... you'll love it.

Happy fellow :)  Note the mesh jacket on Novermber 21st !!

Found It

I've been looking for the fall colors on my sojourns around Georgia and haven't really come across anything that was that exciting.  Now, I've found it... in my own yard :)  I walked out on the deck this afternoon and saw the most beautiful red tree, right there at the back of the yard.  I have no idea how to tell one tree from the other although I'm pretty sure about recognizing Pines and now Magnolias, the latter because the little thing sourrounded by the mulch loop is a magnolia tree.  So, I can't tell you, or myself, what kind of tree it is.  Anyway, these photos don't due the color justice but it is quite brilliant.  It appears that I have 3 of the things, whatever they are.  The one on the left seems to be a bit ahed of the ones on the right.  I'll keep looking as the days go on.

Looking for Color

Well, it was a beautiful, bright November 7th in GA albeit a bit on the cool side but that just set things up for my first cool weather ride in quite some time.  What with the interviewing for my new position late last year and then the move down here in late February I've not had any opportunity at all to ride in weather like I used to ride in back in Chicago.  It was about 43 degrees out when I left the house and I'm happy to say I remembered how to dress for the cold ride.  I took off heading north kind of meandering around to get up there with the purpose being to find some of the fall colors I keep hearing about in northern GA.  I looked and looked and while there were indeed some colors besides green, they really were kind of dull looking and nothing to get overly excited about.  I guess I was a bit spoiled living up in CT though where people come from everywhere just to get on a tour bus and look at the leaves.  Sheesh!  It didn't really matter because I had a wonderful day out and about, found some beautiful new roads, and enjoyed one in particular that I had been on before and very much enjoy riding.  I did remember my camera this time -- just for you, Jane -- and although, as said, the color isn't very rich, this is the GA foliage in November.  Check out that sky though!

This is just some abandoned property that caught my eye as I was on a bit of a side road.  Must have been pretty nice at one time with a cabin up there behind the tree on the left and some kind of a pavilion for outside activities.  Nice indeed.

That's it... about all the color that you're going to see in the mountains I was in today.  But look at that sky!!

One more chance to see the color.  If you click on the photo to make it bigger, and then squint just a bit, you can kind of make out some red in the trees in the foreground.  Might take a bit more than squinting :)

October 24, 2010 Catch Up

Well, it's been a while since I've posted anything new so today is the day to catch up a little bit.  Work around the outside of the house is winding down a bit for the year.  The weather has been just wonderful and we are so behind in rainfall it's not funny any more.  So, the top rails of the deck got a couple coats of polyurethane on them now and that just about finishes the deck.  I think I cut the grass for the last time yesterday as well as got the first downed leaves blown into the woods.  Inside the house things are getting done as well including work on all the toilets... pretty exciting, I know. 

I've been out on the motorcycle the past two Sundays and it's been rather wonderful as well.  With the heat taking a leave from the area it's so much nicer.  Last week it was a ride out west on the cruiser and today was a ride down south to Warm Springs and parts down that way.  A few weeks ago I took a drive to a motorcycle store -- accessory store, no motorcycles -- that was really nice.  I was looking for a pair of gloves that they didn't have in the store but I was glad I drove over there anyway.  It might be one of the nicest stores I've been in since leaving the Chicago area.  While there I noticed some rather nice mesh pants on sale for half price but they didn't have my size!  None of this mattered as all was available online and easy to get.  I got to try out the pants today and they are a wonderful addition to my riding apparel.  There's some kind of silk-like lining that I'll probably cut out but that will be another day.  Although I forgot to take my camera on the ride today, and that was a shame because there were some incredible vistas along route, I took a couple when I got home and those are below.

So, all is pretty well in Douglasville, GA and I hope all is well with whoever might read this as well.

Seated on the ST after a wonderful day out and about.

There they are... the new mesh pants to go with the old mesh jacket.

How Steep Is It ??

I've mentioned a number of times that the lower end of the driveway -- the first 75 feet -- is quite steep, difficult to stand on, and more difficult to walk up and down.   Those who have driven up it for the first time invariably remark something like "I couldn't see the driveway over the hood!!!"  Well, that's what the bushes are for.  Keep yourself between the bushes and you'll do just fine.  You can't see the hood because not only is it steep, the drive itself is not flat... more like driving up the outside of a giant ball.  You get the picture :)  It does get less steep after those first 75 feet and it kind of levels off up at the top.  That's all I cared about and my wonderful, talented, and fun real estate agents, Ava and Tatiana, did just fine in all regards getting me this place.  But, I'm sure those who have not driven/walked on it say to themselves "Well, it can't be THAT steep."  So, without some gadget to measure grade I did the best I could to give you a very good illustration of just how steep it really is.  I took a measuring cup, filled it about halfway with water, and put in some food coloring so you could see it.  I put it on the driveway, laid down next to it which must have looked funny to anyone that might have seen me doing it, and snapped some pictures.  I think it tells the story pretty good.

Now, you tilt your head to the left so your eyes are kind of aligned with the bottom of the measuring cup and take a look at that angle!  I'm guessing 40 degrees.  I told you it was hard to stand on it to work!

I put a board across the top of the measuring cup figuring that lining up the bottom of the board with the water line would give a better view of the angle.  I played hell just trying to keep the board from sliding off the cup.  Anyway, now you can tilt your head to the right to align with the water level, then look at the bottom edge of the board.  Tilting your head left or right doesn't matter.  It's steep :)

2nd Half Done

Having trimmed the bushes on one side of the driveway last week, the other side had to be done this weekend and that's what I turned to.  For some reason, the bushes seemed even more overgrown on this side than the other but it didn't really matter, they were as messy as the other side.  Being somewhat gun-shy about getting a reaction from the trimmings like I did last week, I wore a long sleeved shirt and long pants.  It was rather comfortable when I started but of course by the time I was done I was sweating through everything I had on.  But, no ugly skin reaction like last week so the sweating was worth it.  Also as before, the hardest part was just trying to keep my balance standing on the driveway as I was working and having an even harder time on the other side standing on the pine needles.  But, it's done and I kind of like it!

Before I started... rather overgrown and ugly.

Just another view before the whacking began.

In the midst of trimming, having gotten the big stuff and about to go after the rest.

And the end of the project.  The finished view from on high.

And the finished view from down below.  The driveway seems wider :)

Best Ever? Pretty Sure

Oh my, oh my!  I've been on some wonderful motorcycle rides on which I've seen spectacular sights, driven on wonderful roads, and really wish the day didn't end.  But, today's ride just might be the best day ride I've ever taken.  I took off on the interstate to get around Atlanta and a bit north and then continued on Hwy 19/400 all the way up to Dahlonega.  For those of you who didn't know it, like me, Dahlonega, GA is the location of the first gold strike in the U.S.  Yep... no kidding... look it up.  I continued on 19 up to Blairsville and what might have been the all time best road I've ever been on.  Screw "The Dragon" that stupid, waste of time ride out of Deals Gap, NC.  This stretch of road, moving up into the Blue Ridge Mountains, had some of the most steeply banked sharp curves imaginable.  Best part... the road is perfect.  Not a pot hole to be seen anywhere.  One after the other, the road steeply curves left and right as you go up... and down.  I drove it in the car perhaps a couple of months ago and have been trynig to get back every since.  The scenery takes your breath away and it's something to be experienced, for sure.  The road continues to keep you entertained all the way up into Blairsville, just shy of the NC border.  From Blairsville I took Rt 76 west.  This is a 4-lane divided highway but the views of the mountains are awesome.  18 miles down the road I picked up Rt 60 headed south and again, what a ride.  Just after getting on it there's a stop sign.  At the stop sign  is a rider's dream sign:  "Steep grades and sharp turns next 33 Miles."  And they weren't kidding.  Again up into the mountains and down into some beautiful clearings.  I've got to get some kind of camera to mount on my bike.  Except for the interstates, GA roads don't have shoulders... go figure.  Anyway, nowhere to stop and take a photo except once when I was down in a clearing and again when there was sort of a shoulder that I could stop on to snap a couple.  I stayed on 60 until it looped back to 19, then 19 south until I picked up Rt 9 south.  Again, a magical kind of road passing through the mountains, farmland, a few small and sleepy towns, and just an incredible ride.  A ways down south Rt 9 kind of nears Rt 19/400 which I got on for the trip home.  All told 6 1/2 hours and 292 miles... every one of them a wonderful experience.  I started and ended on the interstate but even that was kind of fun today :)

Two things could have made the ride 'perfect' in all regards.  First, it got kind of hot.  It was a beautiful 75 when I left at 9 AM and it was about that in the mountains.  By 1:00 PM my thermometer on the bike was showing 94 and a few 'public' thermometers verified it.  So, it would have been nice to have been cooler.  I've got to get some mesh pants or something.  Second, I really wish I had Steve Motor Jones riding along.  I do hope that happens.  Steve was planning on coming down here in June but I had to tell him that I hadn't been out to find roads worth riding so he headed elseswhere.  I'm ready for him now! 

That's it... a great day.  The photos below are all I got to take.  One 'low' one; one 'high' one.

The "low" one... beautiful road all to myself, as you can see.

The "high" one taken somewhere on Rt 60 in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Driveway Bushes

Another gorgeous day in GA and another day to get out the pruning stuff and continue to prune what seems to be a never-ending number of 'things' to be whacked a bit.  The kind of easy part was trimming off two little branches from the little magnolia tree.  I put in in the ground a couple of months ago I think it was and it seems to be doing well.  Problem is the land is sloped where the tree is -- all the land is sloped in GA! -- and I can't keep water near it when I water.  So, I went out and got a little bit of edging and made a circle, filled it with peat moss, and voila... a water holder for the little tree. 

The next part of the day was a bit more difficult and that was trimming the bushes running up the lower end of the driveway that have just grown out of whack.  I'm thinking no branch on them has seen a lopper since the time they went in the ground, something like 5 years ago.  It was not easy because it's almost impossible to stand on the driveway at this point, the damn bag holding the small trimmings keeps falling over and the trimmings kept coming out, and on the other side it's worse -- pine needle mulch covering the steep incline and impossible to keep ones footing.  Whatever... I did what I could and got one side done and will get to the other one tomorrow or next weekend.  It's not going anywhere :)

The left side done; the right side still to go.

Of course looking from the other direction, it's the right side looking rather nice and the left looking oh so ugly!

I also got a bit of a surprise to make my day complete.  After getting everything on the one side trimmed, the tools put away, and the drive swept up a bit, I had to get all the trimmings down near the street and piled up.  I scooped them up using both arms and sort of held them to my bare chest, got the load down to the bottom, and went back for the next load.  I figure I had 7-8 loads.  I get all done with that and my arms, chest and stomach were burning or itching, whatever.  I have no idea what did it but my arms, chest and stomach are covered with red welt things.  I don't know if it was from the trimmings themselves or if there were some critters on them that were pissed off that I was whacking their house or something.  Don't know, but I'll be wearing a long-sleeve shirt when I do it again.  I was wearing gloves, so no problem with the hands, thank you very much :)

Yuck!

September 12 Ride

Oh what a beautiful day to be out on a motorcycle!  The sun was shining,  mid 80's and a a bit of breeze to keep things from getting too hot.  I found some wonderful roads that took me almost into Alabama and then north just shy of TN.  Rode for about 7 hours and got in 360 miles and every one of them a good mile.  The route went up along the edge of, and then into, the Chattahoochee National Forest and some pretty good mountains.  The roads were wonderful the entire way and for the most part I had them to myself.  I was on the cruiser and it drove beautifully, and comfortably.  The day was not without tragedy though.  During one of my stops I put my favorite water bottle of all time on top of my saddle bag and then forgot to put it away before driving off.  I realized it about an hour later when I stopped again.  On the way back I drove to the town I had stopped in, got to the exact same parking spot in front of an antique store, got off the bike and looked around... no bottle.  I back-tracked my route on the bike a bit thinking it didn't fall off right away perhaps.  No luck... it's gone.  I'll get another but not like that one.  Other than that, it was a terrific day to be alive and out and about.  Looking forward to the next one!

The VTX somewhere along the way.

I don't know how far I could see from up here but it was a long, long way.

Labor Day Labors 2010

I can only wish that your own Labor Day weekend activities were as productive, happy, and fun as my own were.  The other thing was absolutely glorious weather.  Not a cloud to be seen and temperatures in the mid/upper 80's every single day.  It was a long weekend made for working outside and I had scheduled myself to be off on Thursday and Friday which made for a 5-day weekend.  Things started on Thursday when the new furniture arrived.  So, now I have somewhere to sit.  

The new stuff.  Comfortable and it all reclines... yippee!

And work on the deck... at last.  When David was over to pick up the furniture we replaced the top boards (the railings/bannisters) and I had been working on them to fill in the screw holes and sanding them a bit.  As for the deck itself, the original thought was to paint it because it was in bad, bad shape after 5 years or so of absolutely no maintenance, not even a cleaning.  I had powerwashed it a few weeks ago and it looked good enough to go with a sealer instead of paint.  So on Friday I powerwashed it again just to get the stuff off that I missed the first time.  On Saturday, as I gave the deck another full day to dry, I took to trimming ALL the bushes and trees directly in front of the house and that was a rather massive job as well.  I don't know exactly what I'n doing but I think I got it looking pretty good.  I had never used an electric hedge trimmer before and I only cut the extension cord one time! 

Sunday I went at applying the water sealer to the railings and posts on the deck which was another rather large, tedious job... there are 92 of those upright thingies... but I got through it in good shape with no injuries that I remember.  On Monday I sprayed the sealer on the deck surfaces. 

Somewhere during the weekend I got out to find a nice, big clock for the porch and I found one.  That's it hanging over on the brick wall. 

There you have it!  The upright boards extending down from the porch level were put up to keep Rossi... David, Samantha and Hannah's dog... from getting under there and getting tangled up.  The boards came from a fenced in section that existed to the right of the deck in this photo and that I took apart the first weekend the dog was a visitor.  It was where the previous owners kept their dog(s).  There is a section remaining that looks very much like a hitching post and I've taken to calling it the corral area.  Someday it will come down but then again, someday someone might bring a horse.  The last bit of work outside was to sow some wildflower seeds in a small section within the large section of "nothingness" that exists between the edge of the grass in the back of the yard and extends to the tree line.  If they do come up, it's going to be rather nice I think.  More on that as things begin to come up!!

One last thing... this is how the porch looked before.  Grey... green from the mold growing... top boards dried up, warped and cracking.  Hard to imagine people allowing that to happen to a home that they had built.  But, now it's all better :)

Catch Up Photos

Like everyone else, I would imagine, there are times that I take photos and just forget to do something with them, as in file them properly or show them or whatever.  This is just a little post to catch up on a couple of wonderful times with my granddaughter Hannah.  These first ones go back to their first visit over to the new house in Georgia.  Hannah decided to take a swim in the whrilpool bathtub, and I had never had one of these and had certainly not ever put bubbles into one.  Also like everyone else, I would imagine, I used too much and we had to shut the jets off for a while.  So Hannah in the tub... mommy Samantha acting as lifeguard:

And this single photo is from my trip 8/15/10 over to Hope Mills to see all the work that David and Samantha had done on their bump-out addition to the kitchen.  It's really looking good.  I also had not seen the yard since they removed all their trees, planted grass, and Samantha had planted her gardens.  This is just me and my little Hannah just before I pulled out to head back to GA.

Family Visit August 27-29,2010

Oh it was a very nice weekend indeed.  On Friday I took delivery of my new black refrigerator and of course it looks better in the kitchen.  The doors are also hinged on the correct side so I no longer have to walk around the door to get something out of it.  Such a small thing and such happiness :)  Later in the evening David, Samantha, Hannah and Rossi pulled in towing their empty trailer with their big new truck.  When they left, just a short time ago, they left with the old refrigerator that they are going to use as a second beer-making refrigerator along with all my living room seats -- the black leather loveseat and chair, and my wonderful, very old, very comfortable LaZBoy recliner.  I will live without living room furniture for just a few days as the new stuff is ordered and will be here on Thursday.  Until then, I'll live just fine.  Saturday David and I tore off and replaced the top boards of the deck railings which is coming along nicely.  Sunday morning Carolyn, Chris, little Will and Chris' brother Carlos came over to the house for a bit of breakfast and a visit which was very nice indeed.  Now, the house is empty... of people and furniture.

Hannah looking very much the part of the little lady that she is.

David went in to get Hannan up from her nap.  When he didn't return after quite a while, I went to check up on him.  He was very successful as you can see.

OK... Hannah's up.  Now to get Daddy up!

Hannah at work, sitting on my very favorite rocking/recliner that is headed over to Hannah's house.  I thought I'd be a nice grandpa and said something like "Oh, Hannah.  You know how to use a computer."  Hannah immediately responded with "Grandpa, it's a iPad."  Oh...

The living room is just a bit bare at the moment but I think it looks pretty good all the same.  Anyone want to dance?