dalthauser

Wow - we made the news today with a killer hour or so long storm that did quite a bit of damage around town.  We are blessed to have only had one tree downed (that is a tree along the road on the edge of our property).  Here's a short video of the back yard during the beginning part of the storm.

* The rain has me inside AGAIN....  argh!!  I did manage to get the mowing done and Roo's feet treated.  I massaged in a mixture of canola and orange oil hoping this would convince whatever it is that's irritating them to move on.  Here's a picture of us (doesn't he look thrilled?)



* For sahlah  (and anyone else interested)
These are the links to the two Zencast talks I felt deal with the monotony of life (at least partially).  You can listen directly from the site, or you can download to your Ipod from the sources listed on the main page (I use Itunes - you can just type in Zencast in the search bar and it will bring up all the talks.

Now - an Ekhart Tolle Q & A  September 11, 2005 - I listen to this over and over - he is awesome.

Just to be Alive is Enough - a talk by Gil Fronsdal of Audio Dharma August 19, 2007


* If this isn't a Red Flag that we've got a problem with caffeine in this country, I don't know what is.  They offer these shots of caffeine to add to your already caffeinated coffee along side sugars and creamers at my local convenience shop. 

*  I got my estimate for Home Improvements today.  It wasn't pretty.  Siding (Vinyl - basic nothing fancy) whole house except back porch - $13,937 (this includes everything like window wraps and carport ceiling).   Replacing all my windows with the siding job $5,585 (but doing just the 6 I need most would be about $3,000).  This is a Home Depot installation.  He estimated payment of $106 for I think 88 months.... at 13.9% interest.  Not - I could put it on my credit card for 10% - but I'd get a home improvement or equity loan.  One thing I do have is excellent credit. :-)  Needless to say, back to the drawing board.  There's no way I can commit to that amount.  I'm going to get two more estimates - then rethink my plan.  I'll probably get some emergency siding put on the bad side of the house - then make a plan to save for the next year to pay for half of this in cash (or less if I can get a better quote)  I gotta say - while it was as bad as I expected, it was good therapy to do it.  I didn't turn into a stone and crumble into a million pieces when I saw the $$ amount afterall :-)

* The Main Mama Hen layed a torpedo yesterday.  Almost 3 ounces.  Here is a picture comparing it to what her competition is laying.  Today I got 8 eggs - all with good shells, so the embryo eggs hopefully are a thing of the past. I did pick up layer mash and oyster shell grit today though.


* Did anybody catch todays episode of God's Warriors on CNN?  They did the Jewish, segment, and it was enlightening (no pun intended). I'm glad to see this type of coverage. I was just glad to see someone put it out there - the fact that the settlements are basically illegal, that our government is sending billions of dollars to the settlements even when we officially condemn them, that all our congressmen and senators are afraid to speak out about what is right there out in the open for fear of being labeled anti-semite. 


* I found more cantaloupes hiding in the tomato vines.  When I try to grow melons I'm a complete failure.  I guess the trick is throwing out old moldy melon pulp and waiting for the bionic melon vines the following year.  I also harvested August tomatoes.  August tomatoes are better than no tomatoes at all.  See the dime in comparison with the cherry tomatoes - they don't get much smaller than that - and they are very sweet.



* Today the temperature was101F, so I got minimal stuff done outside.  I'm going to try and go to sleep now and get up super early so I can do some garden work.  Fall is coming!!!! - I have to get the garden ready for planting, and I want to finally level and laydown weed barrier around the perimeter of the garden (doubtful I'll complete that tomorrow with all the other things I have to do - but I can at least try).  I was wanting to see Dark Knight at IMAX tomorrow evening, but I don't know..... maybe I won't - such a long drive just for a movie.

Today I had a headache most of the day.  Jeez! - yesterday gas bubble - today headache.  I'm friggin' falling apart! :-)

I couldn't afford to sideline myself - there is just too much to do.

I went to Walmart and bought an electric chainsaw.  I require one now since the pile of limbs by the meadow tree is now big.  I was planning to hand saw the larger pieces into burnable size; however, there are too many and it's just too hard.  Anyway - got the saw home and used it to cut one piece and the bar comes loose (yes, I did read the manual before operating).  I took it apart and tried, with the help of the manual, to figure out what was wrong - no luck.  So, I brought it back and went to Home Depot and got the same brand (Remington) only the "deluxe" model for $20 more than what I spent at Walmart.  The deluxe model is self-oiling and has an easier way to tighten the chain.  I got it home, but it was too late to play with it - too much other things to do.  Tuesday!

Brought veggies over to my next door neighbor Gerry early in the evening.

Tonight around 9:30pm I was talking to my dad and the weather went crazy.  Temp dropped by about 10 degrees and winds kicked up.  Next came the rain.  I had to hang up so I could get the windows rolled up in the truck and let the dogs in.  I ran a bath and while bathing the power went out., so I spent the rest of the evening playing with the dogs in the dark.  Power came back on at around 3am - I woke up on the floor with the dogs lying around me, got up and turned all the lights off - then went to my bed.  It was a good night overall - I had fun hanging with the dogs with no other distractions.