5:51 just a smidge

The quiet mornings
I enjoy
coffee brewing in the kitchen
my book is getting to the good ( liberation) point
Friends, I do mix light reading in, this one has just captured me,
as "Treblinka" did,
and there is domestic stuff going on.

Sorry about the implication of swearing below, I usually
only cuss in my head, and it does not get to my mouth or fingers ( typed).
When I think of the tyrants that were and the tyrants that are, and how driven they are by the essence of evil, to commit deeds much worse than murder, I am revolted, and at those moments I know that the heart of man is desperately wicked and that civilization is a thin veneer, which comes peeling off all too often, exposing the darkness that we all live in and the cruelty of human society. That children starve in Africa, when there is enough food is tragic. When children die in this country because their parents neglect and abuse them, is unthinkable. when the evening news reports on spoiled brat heiresses, and pimped out "musicians" as if they mattered, and ignores the collapse of decency, that is dereliction of duty and the height of immorality.

it wednesday, the trash man commeth!

snow 9:54

i am glad it snowed tonight
it will keep me from going back to work

i found a few things I want to share
but I need to transfer the pics from my camera - and I am waiting til I get my PC fixed before I upgrade to the NEW blogger.

I wish I was not so tired, or grumpy
I am reading a VERY depressive book
based on the last weeks of a ( fictional)
Nazi concentration camp.

Great author, just a hard subject
f#8@ the Iranian leaders who want to say the holocaust never happened,
be patient, you idiots, your turn in the flames is coming, sooner than you think.

yeah, I am in a "mood"
so what? sue me.

how strange

this weekend I could not access my own 'dashboard' or moderate comments unless I upgraded to the NEW blogger, of which I have heard mixed reviews ( right Kenju?).
I resisted and procrastinated ( those are two of my best character traits).

This morning I seem to have access, go figure!
Seems it was an idle threat.
I will press the publish button now,
and if this blog does not self destruct,
you will know what your mission is
Find Mr. Google and make him give me the one exception.
I don't need no stinking upgrades!

I do need a new Motherboard for my pc though.
anyone want to lend a pentium 4 1.6 Ghz motherboard to the cause of blogging
( and shopping at amazon)?

hehe

Have a wonderful day, and do pray for our friend Minerva
as she continues her Chemo.

Fried egg friday

( its just a title, it has no meaning)

Last night I worked until 10:30 -- and then read until after midnight.
Each day I split my work so as to preserve some sort of spinal health.
Taping drywall gets boring after you have covered all the edge metal and the "bad spots"
Ok, taping drywall gets boring after the first ten minutes... ( am I right, Carl?)

I really like the house I am working on, it will be fabulous when finished
( because of me ) and I think that I gave an acurate guesstimate of the number of days it would take to get the drywall taped, and textured. There are a lot of "small" areas that will need a lot of masking before I can bring in the compressor, and the texture gun.
For now I am healthy, and after this week I will make an appointment for a deluxe 1 hour massage.
Just the thought of that will keep me going for quite a while.
I miss the old days when I could soak in the hot tub after the eveniing news. well I miss a lot of things - - - here is a short list

I miss:
my daughter being tiny so I could carry her inside my jacket on walks in the snow.

having a group of friends my own age and "socializing"

I miss my hair being full

I miss feeling close to God

and ...
I miss, my computer, which is in the shop, again.

What do you miss about YOUR good old days?

Rocky XXXVI

CO vs CJ !! Title fight! ( cheers)
--------------------------------
Last night I worked til 9:30pm so that I could control the
offensive heater.
Today I will take a carbon monoxide (Co ) detector with me to work
and for health reasons
I am drinking Carrot juice (cj)
straight out of my Juicer
which I bought
at a Thrift store
for
$10.50

Now out to the real world
but I take my blog friends with me
in my prayers and kind thoughts.

Need coffee

Pardon me for neglecting my posting duties.
I was defrosting
myself
and now that it is warmer ( yay!) I have secured a short term job
(2 weeks) that if done well could yield more work
INDOORS, where it is warm.
BUT the unvented natural Gas heater
( supposed to be safe)
may be giving me a headache.
I think todau I will take soem fire wood with me and see if the boss minds if I load up the woodstove that is sitting in the corner of the room, sulking.
If you have never seen a woodstove sulk, count your blessings, it is not a pretty sight.

before

old oak teachers desk
with paper and metal lath on top
just starting on the forms that will hold the concrete in.
as the concrete cures this week I will fix the drawers and paint the wood
Do you think the base should be lighter or darker than the top?
Top is going to be just a tad lighter than table below, w polished, semi gloss finish.

If you have not been to Michele's weekend meet-n-greet, go There now, tell em david sent you.

If you want to study American History, go here anytime.
Have a great weekend! 

table top

small table 

concrete

my First foray into the
arena of decorative concrete
was this square bird bath.

It looks really good with the snow on it
it may need some polishing,
or a decorative tile border.

Today I am working on
a concrete table top and a concrete desk top.
pictures to follow. 

Jack frost

Honey, it's COLD outside.

I had a fun post about my rabbit friend - - - but Picasa posted it to my other blog. Do you mind going over there to see it? I will wait, Thanks 

Orion, flying high

I love this constellation.
I always have. It is one of the pleasures of Winter star gazing.

please enlarge, and note HOW RED that left-most star is...Betelguese is its name, the right "foot" is Rigel.
I will have to look up what makes the star so red.

Ten picks for a Sunday morning.

Ten things or people I would recommend
in no particular order:

Hot Cereal - Zoom wheat cereal, and no its not named for the sound you will make as you race to the bathroom.

Outside temperature: try to chose an outside temperature that ( at seven in the morning) is at least two digits long, not a single digit number like 3 or any triple digit number.

Roommate: Go with someone who does not make you crazy, but if you can, its fun to have someone YOU can make seem crazy. ( this one is tricky, email for more tips)

Living close to the Ocean or the mountains? tough call, but I will pick the mountains, where less people crowd on holiday weekends. If you can be near both, do it! Can you say... New Zealand! (I applied to be the gardener at Cher's new house over there).

When you are thinking about having children or not, ALWAYS err on the side of having children, since even the fact that you are THINKING about it shows you are giving enough to contribute to the continuation of our species.

A book to read: Mark Steyn wrote America Alone
not just to scare the crap out of me, he wants YOU scared too!

Emails to ignore: If it sounds like this "Let me start by introducing my self, I am Mr. ( different name fom email name) and I am a Bank officer at ANYbank in ANY African nation. I have a concealed business suggestion for you." This is a loser

Newspapers to NOT subscribe to: Los Angeles Times! As a matter of fact don't even pick it off the news stand unless you want the sunday edition for the Calendar and Travel sections.

movies not to watch: Anything with Sean Penn in it ( uggh, Mystic river... gag!) ditto Tom Cruise after Top Gun, and all things J-Lo.

Choosing a hot beverage: Tea or coffee depending on which side of the Atlantic you are on, with milk in it, of course, unless you live in Michigan.
When in Fiji, drink the Kava and hold on to your hat!

--------------- three more as a bonus ---- R U lucky, or what?--

To go to therapy or not: Go at least enough to expose yourself, leave if the couselor does not know more than you do. Group therapy can be better than television ( of course so can watching eggs fry in butter).

Choosing a career/ job: Go with what you love, Money is a poor substitute for passion.

Blogging, and friends: Choose friends first, and if you can find friends who blog, all the better, since they will understand you. Set minimum standards for frequency of posting and quality of content, and then disregard them. Friends are friends no matter how little they write.

------------------------------------
God bless you all on this glorious Sunday, the mountain word is linked to webcams in Big Bear.

round and round

Joni Mitchell's
Circle game
comes to mind
I must look up the lyrics for you

but I am enjoying this season
whichever one it is
and I like going round...

Please visit "great minds" and see if Matt has posted anything new.
I am off to cook something Italian. 

Rocky Balboa

lets go ten rounds about why an OLD GUY
( my code name) would want to get beat up
by some young kid
and is it BELIEVABLE?
but even if you don't believe, you can take a lot away from this movie.
I am glad I saw it tonight
I took my ice cream sandwich and my Peanut M&M's in with me
and managed to enjoy and not over analyze this film.
It won't win any awards,
nor make a zillion dollars
but I got to hand it to Stallone,
he looks in pretty good shape.
and I like the way his relationship to his son is portrayed.

------
sorry for the weird beef jerky post( below).
I need to go back to making jam, or my new passion:
Italian cooking!
look for me on Food channel ( in about a hundred years!)
Ciao!

ah the joy of it!

Today, for those of you who are not Orthodox Roman Carnivarian, is the feast of St. Teriaki, the patron saint of dried meats.
So in honor of her great accomplishments in the preservation of fine foods, I am making a batch of beef jerky in my oven. Four hours of slow cooking and it will be time for the ritual of the chewing and savoring. I wish you could all join me but the amount of savory bits is small and my devotion to St. Teriaki is great this day.

a bit of me **

I am currently WILD about:
cooking
reading three or more books at once
writing in my notebook
the new reality ( no show)
enjoying my role in my family of origin
digital camera operation ( i'm no photographer)
using wisdom to guide my children through the maze of life
driving on ice
learning

** there is a hazard of writing about self, as people don't tolerate much of this.
hence this post is short. I am interested in what you are wild about, at this moment.
I am sure I left out much, but that will give me something to write about in the future.

ps Minerva has an updated post on her blog. ---->

todays mission

take the hurting dog to the vet
diagnosis: torn ACL, no fix without surgery
no pain, but the dog is using its right leg ( which ACL tore two years ago) for hopping around - up and down stairs. Sad when we get old, I am N OT looking forward to it

and that's MY mountain- at sunset. 

Unplayed

Silent
the keys that have no sound.
Empty the room
where no voice is heard.
Hollow, the sound
of a heart that beats alone.
All wait for the
right musician,
singer,
companion.
To make their appointed sound 

photo essay: what I did new years eve

1000 pieces
a harbor in France
my eyes are straining

but I am amused 

2006 was good

and i ended it with MORE wood in the pile and Dr, Stihl worked out all my mental problems ( almost )
He is the best shrink I will ever have, and does not take much more than a bit of gas and two-cycle oil.

Happy New years all! Looking forward to a great year.

Tomorrow, pictures of the stars, YES!