Bees..... The Sting

It all started with the Bees. A couple of weeks ago, Carolyn was out on the deck and she was attacked by bees. She got stung twice. I went and got the wasp/hornet spray and began attacking the area the bees came from. The following week, Carolyn was getting some kitchen stuff out from under one of our counters, and again, the bees went on the offensive and she got stung twice again. I then got out the spray and sprayed the heck out of the area the bees came from. Following the advice of some friends, I decided to bring in a professional bee man. Boots was his name. Boots was a character. He had to be in his 70's and yet had a mind as sharp as a tack. He did some poking around. He determined that the bees had absconded (left). I knew that the siding on our house was a haven for wasps, so I decided that a little renovation was in order. Since I was going to be working on the siding of our home, I decided that the best course of action was to close some of the gaps and put in new windows. I borrowed a scaffolding from Brian Hebert at Mena Steel Buildings Incorporated. It took us a bit to figure out the setup. The only real hitch with the front of the house is the fact that the ground isn't level and the scaffolding leaned a bit. I think this made Joe nervous when both of us were on the top at the same time. In the end we ended up working a high/low with one up and the other down.

I contacted Joe and he found some time in his schedule to come down and help me out. Our first scheduled time didn't quite work out, so we rescheduled to a time that was more convenient for him to come down. So... For the last three days, Joe and I have been tackling the house. My house is a cozy little two-story house with cedar siding. Little did we know what we had in store for us. I borrowed a scaffolding from Brian Hebert at Mena Steel Buildings Incorporated. It took us a bit to figure out the setup. The only real hitch with the front of the house is the fact that the ground isn't level and the scaffolding leaned a bit. I think this made Joe nervous when both of us were on the top at the same time. In the end we ended up working a high/low with one up and the other down.

On the first day, we pulled the siding around the 4 windows at the front of the house. Behind a couple of spots in the siding, the wasps let themselves be known. Joe did a good bit of the attacking, using up one can of wasp spray. After a short break, I took up the job of wasp assassin. The siding ended up taking a good part of the morning. Then we replaced the four windows on that side. What should have been a simple repair and replace, took us the whole day. I was dog-tired by the end of the day.

On the morning of day two, we reattached the siding around the windows and then moved to the side of the house just after lunch. It took us the remainder of the day just to replace the one window on the side and then put the siding back up around it. Because the windows in the bedrooms are a little different than those on the front of the house, I erred in my calculation of time we would need, plus I had to re-adjust my measurements. Of course the re-adjustment was discovered after I had already prepared the window trim based on the way the front windows fit. After, finally getting the window in place, we re-attached the siding. By this time, we were pretty tired and had to get ready to go to the Fish Net for dinner (Great food, as always). Then we decided to completely call it a day.


Because we only had one more day, we knew that we had to replace 5 windows and siding in one day on the back side of the house. We ended up getting a bit of a late start, but because we had already figured out the placement of windows, we were able to get on a bit of a roll. We had a return of the wasp wars on the back of the house. Joe even took a sting by one. By mid-afternoon we had replaced 4 windows and put the trim back on. After a short lunch break, we hit the final window. This ended up taking us quite a bit longer that I would have liked due to difficulty with the siding, but by early evening, we had it kicked out.



Then came the fun of taking the scaffolding apart so that I could return it on Monday morning. We gathered up the tools and called it a night. By this time it was after 7 pm. The whole job was a great learning experience for both of us. We both decided that when they put the siding on the house, they made a whole lot of mistakes, and some of them are impossible to fix in a short period of time. Who knows. I'm sure that I'll eventually fix all of the siding. My next task will be to power wash the entire house and seal the fresh cedar with a stain/sealer. But that will have to be another entry entirely.

I want to thank Jamie and Joe for their awesome contribution of time, sweat, and fun while doing this job. Also, if you ever need a metal roof or just about any other construction need, I would recommend MSBI for the job. Thanks Brian for the loan of the scaffolding. Would couldn't have done the job without it. In the end, it is so cool to be able to actually look out of the windows. The old windows weren't properly sealed and you couldn't see anything out of most of them. The whole job was a lot of fun, but a ton of work.

The moral of this whole story is, if you are going to tackle a big job. Allow three to four times your estimated labor time. I know that this would have made me reconsider doing all ten windows at once.

What's for Dinner????????

I've picked up a few of the cooking chores around here this week. I've cooked a pot roast, spaghetti, and today I'm cooking beans and ham. What I need is some great easy non-time consuming meals that I can cook up so that Carolyn doesn't come home having to do everything. So? What's cooking?????

"WARNING" "Quotes"

What people say sometimes is worth remembering. Here are a few quotes - some may not be worth remembering, but they are good for a laugh:

1. Life is just a phase you're going through...you'll get over it. ---- Anonymous

2. An autobiography is the story of how a man thinks he lived. ---- Herbert Samuel

3. Let us live so that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry. ---- Mark Twain

4.Life is a sexually transmitted disease and the mortality rate is one hundred percent. ---- R. D. Laing

5. Friendship is like peeing on yourself: everyone can see it, but only you get the warm feeling that it brings. ---- Anonymous

6. Don't have sex man. It leads to kissing and pretty soon you have to start talking to them. ---- Steve Martin

7. I admit, I have a tremendous sex drive. My boyfriend lives forty miles away. ---- Phyllis Diller

8. Women will never be as successful as men because they have no wives to advise them. ---- Dick Van Dyke

9. You don't know a women till you've met her in court. ---- Norman Mailer

10. I love men, even though they're lying, cheating scumbags. ---- Gwyneth Paltrow























11. All men hear is blah, blah, blah, blah, SEX, blah, blah, blah, FOOD, blah, blah, blah, BEER. ---- Dennis Leary

12. My father taught me to work; he did not teach me to love it. ---- Abraham Lincoln

12. When doctors and undertakers meet, they wink at each other. ---- W.C. Fields

13. When life is a beach, play in the sand. ---- Me

14. Human beings are the only creatures on earth that allow their children to come back home. ---- Bill Cosby

15. Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy. ---- Benjamin Franklin

16. If women dressed for men, the stores wouldn't sell much -- just an occasional sun visor. ---- Groucho Marx

17. Too bad that all the people who know how to run the country are busy driving taxicabs and cutting hair. ---- George Burns

18. A word to the wise ain't necessary - it's the stupid ones that need the advice. ---- Bill Cosby

19. All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt. ---- Charles M. Schulz

20. Any girl can be glamorous. All you have to do is stand still and look stupid. ---- Hedy Lamarr

Best Friends - Two Wild and Crazy Guys....

One of the difficulties of a youngster in a military family is the fact that every couple of years you end up moving - usually across the country. For some, the moves are across the oceans. Now in some respects, this is great. I got to see this country from one ocean to the next. As a kid I caught all the national parks and most of the major cities. I've been to New York, DC, Chicago, Dallas... Heck just about everywhere. The difficulty with it is that just when you develop great friendships, it is time to pack up and move again. I was torn every time we moved.

In 1973 (age 12), My Father retired from the Corps and the family moved to Mena, Arkansas. The folks bought a nursery and a home and a new and exciting chapter began for me. Mena isn't exactly the big city, but it was an awesome place to grow up. I joined the swim team and began making friends. Some of those friendships are still running today. There was Clay, Kevin, Steve, Liz, Pud, Steve.....

My time in Mena started pretty rough, the adjustment to a settled community was a bit tenuous. The people in the community were great, but I was used to the moving, with friends coming and going. I had troubles with getting to close to people. Maybe it was trust issues, but whatever it was, I had never had a "BEST" friend. I had friends, but none that I would classify as best. In the 9th grade I was in band and playing the trombone. One of my fellow classmates and band members was Vernon. Over the year, Vernon and I began to hang out more and more. He became the part of me that I had never had before. The two of us were thick, peas in a pod, two of a kind.

Vernon was named after his father, hence he had a Jr. at the end of his name (as did I). We were the two Juniors. Kind of like the 3 amigos, 3 stooges, and the 3 musketeers.... Vernon's parents were "Mom and Dad" to me, and mine were the same to him. We did pretty much everything together. If one of us had a date, we didn't go out unless the other had a date as well. We did a lot of double-dating back then. We were fortunate to have each other. Looking back at the time I had with Vernon - - I WOULDN'T CHANGE A THING.....

We graduated in 1979 and joined the Marine Corps on the buddy-plan. After boot camp we were both guaranteed to be trained in Avionics (Aviation Electronics). Somehow, my orders were changed in boot camp and I was assigned to the Legal Field. I was trained as a Court Reporter. The Marine Corps gave me the option of collecting my Avionics bonus and staying in the legal field, or getting discharged. Discharge wasn't an option - so I became a Court Reporter. My training was at Camp Pendleton, California. Vernon's Avionics training was at Millington, TN (near Memphis). We talked from time to time.

In December of 1979, I got married to Carolyn. Vernon was my only choice for best man. Together we stood tall at the alter while Carolyn walked the aisle and we said our vows. It was a moment that I wanted to share with Vernon. Several years later, Vernon married Paula, and I was the best man at his wedding.

We had a lot in common, but time and distance began to fade our friendship. From time to time we would see each other and it would be just like old times. Best Friends Forever. Eventually, I got out of the corps and carried on with civilian life. Years later, Vernon got out and carried on with his life with his family. Once in a blue moon we would see each other and it was as if time stood still.

Recently, I joined Facebook. It seemed neat to be able to talk with old friends and acquaintances. I've talked with people I hadn't seen in over 30 years. Some of my friends now weren't exactly friends years back, but people grow up as they grow old and the things we do have in common make becoming Facebook Friends now well worth it.



About two months ago, I connected with Vernon and Paula on Facebook. Through this I got his number and we talked on the phone. We caught each other up to pace on the years in our lives that we had missed with each other. Once again, I know that my best friend (other than Carolyn) will always be with me, even if he isn't here. Miles can come between us, and the clocks and calendars will tick and tear away, but Vernon and I will ALWAYS be best friends. After all, "We're two Wild and Crazy Guys".......

Wierd facts #1

I love funny and weird facts. So tonight, for fun, I decided to download just a few from one site which I linked to this post

ENJOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


In every episode of Seinfeld there is a Superman somewhere.




Eskimos use refrigerators to keep food FROM freezing?





Did you know that Jimmy Carter was the first U.S. president to have been born in a hospital?






In the 1940s, the FCC assigned television's Channel 1 to mobile Services (two-way radios in taxicabs, for instance) but did not Pre-number the other channel assignments. That is why your TV set has channels 2 and up, but no channel 1.




The sentence "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog." Uses every letter in the alphabet. (developed by Western Union to test telex/twx communications)



The San Francisco Cable cars are the only mobile National Monuments.



Average life span of a major
league baseball: 7 pitches.





The only 15 letter word that can be spelled without repeating a letter is uncopyrightable.





A duck's quack doesn't echo, and no one knows why.







Hang On Sloopy is the official rock song of Ohio.

Silly September Holidays.

I decided that it has been too long since I posted. I love the fact that Jamie has some of the most off the wall stuff on her blog. I love silliness, so I decided to throw some of that in here.

One of the most widely recognized holidays for the month of September is obviously Labor Day. We all look forward to the long weekend and for most, the day signals the end of the summer and its many wonderful activities. This year Labor Day occurred on the 7th of September. All the lakes were packed as well as many other activities (theme parks, ball games... You get the picture.

September has a lot of other holidays. These are all real holidays, but unfortunately we don't get days off or extra pay because of them.

Month of September holidays:

Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Month
(I wonder how many others besides myself could celebrate this one);
Apple Month;
Childrens Good Manners Month
(I think a lot of kids should pay attention to this month);
Mold Awareness Month;
National Chicken Month;
Self-Improvement Month.

September Holiday Weeks

National Waffle Week 6th through the 12th;
Line Dance Week 14th through the 19th;-19;
Banned Books Week 26th - 10/3
( http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/bannedbooksweek/index.cfm );
American Massage Therapy Week 23rd through the 26th.\

September Holidays

Chicken Boys Day - 1st;
Oatmeal Days - 4th and 5th;
Be Late For Something Day - 5th;
Swap Ideas Day - 10th;
Mushroom Days - 12th and 13th;
Talk Like a Pirate Day - 19th ( talklikeapirate.com );
Beer Days - 24th, 25th and 26th;
Fish Amnesty Day 26th; and
Shamu the Whale Day is also the 26th.

Now never let it be said that there is nothing to celebrate in the Month of September. I think my favorites are Talk Like a Pirate Day, Chicken Boys Day, Line Dance Week, and Children's Good Manners Month.

Enjoy your month