Steel Art Angling

Hey Seestor! Does it look like this angle is right?

I sure hope it was, because it's all welded up now ...

and I have no intention of grinding it down and

cutting it off to try again.

The clamps are holding another straight piece of tubing to connect the two together so that they stay in the same plane of reference. When I'm done, and you look down the length of it, there should be no side-to-side wobbles.

When I'm done welding the 3 visible edges.

I'll unclamp the straight tube and weld the last side.

No fotos will be shown of the scrapes and dings (the bloody kind) that I acquired today in the process of filing, grinding, and sanding. Use your imagination. My wife and daughter asked, "What happened to your left hand?!" "Oh, not much." "Does it hurt?" "Some. It's nothing." And there you have it.

Roasting the Pig

Its still way too hot to fire up the oven or do other things that generate heat in the house ... so I dug the old FlavorWave out of storage. Sprinkled garlic powder on the pork, put it in for 16 minutes while we watched the movie "Rainmaker", flipped it over for another 16 minutes until it was delightfully done --- thoroughly cooked, but still moist. And we didn't have to turn on the big amperage sucking A/C unit in the living room.

About the movie .. the good guy wins the case, gets the girl, but doesn't make any money. The girl probably won't stay with him ... :-)

Koran (Qur'an) 9:11

I'm not a follower of the Prophet Mohammad,

but the following internet lie really irks me:

The following is ABSOLUTELY FALSE:

Koran ( 9:11 ) - For it is written that a son of Arabia would awaken a fearsome Eagle.. The wrath of the Eagle would be felt throughout the lands of Allah and lo, while some of the People trembled in despair still more rejoiced; for the wrath of the Eagle Cleansed the lands of Allah; And there Was peace.

THE TRUE VERSE IS:

Qur'an 9:11. "But (even so), if they repent, establish regular prayers, and practice regular charity -- They are your brethren in the Faith: (Thus) do We explain the signs in detail, for those who understand."

12. "But if they violate their oaths after their covenant, and taunt your faith -- fight ye the chiefs of unfaith: for their oaths are nothing to them: that thus they may be restrained."

translation from Arabic by Abdullah Yūsuf 'Alī 1939

DIRTY, HOT & SWEATY!

That is NOT some kind of symbol or emblem in that Foto. I spent all day cutting (with a hacksaw) steel tubing ... welding ... grinding ... and adjusting ... more welding ... grinding ... and adjusting. My cutting disk was worn down to a nub, so I had to resort to hacksaws. Sparks and stuff flying everywhere. And after all those hours ... subsisting on nothing but one apple and a liter bottle of water ... OH, and a Swann's mint-chip ice cream cone.

When I walked into the house, the wife said,

"Don't even think of getting close to me before you take a shower!!"

I did at least wash my hands before eating dinner ...

a 6-inch Subway Sandwich (baked chicken breast with all the veggies .. except jalapeño ... and laced with the SouthWest chipotle sauce).

Course Changes

JaNae talked about starting the A&P program in January.

In the meantime she was submitting all the assorted paperwork. She hadn't heard anything back on the financial aid stuff ... so last Friday she went to the college and talked with the financial aid person and then with a counselor ... and suddenly found herself enrolled to start classes today!!

Schedule-wise, the A&P program just didn't work with kids & job

... so she is majoring in Avionics Technology

(computers & instruments).

Way to Go!

Association Art Show 09

We attended another local art show this evening.

Each member could submit 3 pieces ...

which would be judged and given ribbons.

This was a mixed media piece ... fairly large

This is a pencil & charcoal drawing.

It was behind glass,

so it was hard to get a decent photograph of it.

Since so many artists were involved,

the place was packed with friends & family.

Plenty of food snacks as well.

This is the one they gave 1st Prize.

It too was behind glass ...

which is why I had to shoot the foto at an angle.

Another on of Tim's pieces.

I'd like to conclude with this one last piece.

:-p

Ritter Sport Praline

What the heck is Praline??!

In The American Heritage Dictionary, Second College Edition,

Property of the U.S. Government ...

it says:

A crisp confection made of nut kernels

stirred in boiling sugar syrup until brown.

Not in this bar!

Actual Filling Ingredients:

sugar, Hazelnut Paste, and chocolate liquor.

With some cocoa butter, cream and other milk products

tossed in to make the "milk chocolate" coating.

I would really like some of the German Nougat ...

but I'll definitely settle for this in the meantime!

Swimming Visitors

Visitors came over to swim ...

in-between eating brunch and lupper.

These fotos are actually of them on their way home.

Special visitor: Brookie

Shadow watching all the visitors depart.

Now Grandma is exhausted and the sinks are full of dishes.

And I downloaded a live CD image of Kubuntu 9.04

Electrical Back Whizzer

See those streams of electrical lines?

That's what they did to my back today ...

First they squirted a couple of spots of REALLY cold gel onto my lower back, then they stuck 4 electrode patches to my lower back and buns, then they cranked up the buzzy flow of those electricity lines to 135, put a heating pad on top, and let it go for 30 minutes while I read a book. (while laying on my tummy)

It was interesting, but didn't do much for me.

Because partway home I was taking more motrin for pain.

And they were talking of me coming there 3 times a week for this?

Wife back Online

My dear wife's last 2 computers ...

REALLY OLD used ones, both fried.

So, we searched around (she wanted one with 4 GB of RAM) and finally found one that we could afford. Ignore that babble about a Windows upgrade ... I just needed a computer picture as an illustration. Anyway, it just arrived at our home today. We have been in the process of getting it set up the way she wants.

Finally got the MagicJack phone back online. Yes! We can make long distance calls and talk for as long as we would like. So I had to call and talk with Dell Ray in Ft Leonardwood, MO ... Kumen in Yuba City ... Hannah somewhere in the wilds of Utah ... and some Namma in SoCal who claims she is cleaning & painting her house (all by herself) so she can sell it and move all within the next 36 days ...

Good luck to her.

After we go so far as to walk the dog at 6:30 a.m. ... we go inside the house and don't want to go back outside again into the heat and humidity around here. Resumes are usually sent online ... and ignored. Altho the chicken plant did email me 2 rejections this year. And some other place actually sent me a "snail mail" rejection.

Don't be envious, but my church job is

"Hall Monitor" ...

basically I round up people and get them to all go to Sunday School classes ... instead of hanging out in the lobby or hallways.

I'm good at my job! :-)

That's all the fun news for today ...

we'll go back to reading Readers Digest condensed books.

Out with the Chickens

I visited a friend named Anthony who lives out in the country on 20 acres that he is gradually clearing.

When he hollered, "Come on! Let's get some food!"

Chickens came running out of the bushes

from all directions.

These are chicken factory rejects ...

Anthony tossed out some corn

and they didn't let any of it go to waste.

There's a white rooster in there and the colored one.

Notice that all of their feet are yellow --

Notice the feet of the chicken standing on his leg --> white.

That chicken also has blue eyes --> it's albino!

First albino chicken that I've ever seen.

Then the rain storm started in ...

I had to grab pug-face and head for home.

On the 65 mph highway, top traffic speed was 30-40 mph.

You could hardly see the vehicle in front of you

due to the heaviness (quantity) of the rain!

Too Long at Church

He's getting bigger .. can jump further .. get into more things.

No, we didn't leave the bananas on the couch

or the lemon on the floor ... etc.

We need to buy a larger kennel to keep him in

when we are away from home w/o him.

Erin's Wedding & Reception

Erin was married by her brother, Bishop Sean Magonigal

Becky Godwin made this lovely wedding cake - white

This cake was chocolate with a touch of white

I'm only showing a couple of the loveliest guests in attendance

Like the vivacious Kate

And the lovely Allison

The Problem with Pecan Trees

Pecan wood furniture may be pretty,

but the wood has a brittle quality.

And every so often on a mild, bright, sunny day ...

You'll hear a "Snap! Crack!" and a large branch

will fall out of the tree and land on whatever is below.

Two large branches have fallen from this tree in less than a week.

Fortunately they didn't land on Jessica's car or trailer.

In the upper center of the foto

you can see where one of the branches sheared off.

Shoe Shopping

My wife went shopping for some shoes at WalMart.

She saw some that she liked ...

And the box indicated that they were her size.

And they looked big enough ...

Then she got home and took them out of the box.

This is what she discovered ...

2 left shoes in two different sizes.

SAVE THE RECEIPT!!

Going to have to make another trip to WalMart.

:-p

Forgot One that Peggy Sent

Lovely Grand Daughter ...

Amry Victoria

One more Foto

I didn't realize this was going to be such a big affair!

Kira, JaNae, Joey, and Anna ...

and ALL THEIR KIDS!!

Invaded Grandma Peggy's home.

:-)

Long Lost Relatives

Nae-Nae drove past us as we were leaving

without apparently seeing us waving at her.

The two on the left haven't seen each other since Youth Conference when they were teenagers.

Joey, Anna, and Joey's kind mother, Peggy.

JaNae and family were on their way, but didn't get there before we had to leave ... Arline was insisting that the Cool Whip was spoiling (melting) in the trunk of our car. Turns out it was just right for eating on the way home. (as Peggy predicted)

Anna's shirt says: "I Beat Anorexia"

Peggy had a pretty cover for her shirt

and worried about her hair (something most women seem to do)

When we got back in the car, my wife said, "My hair is all messed up. You didn't tell me to comb it." Whatever it is, must be my fault ... husbandly duty kind of thing.

The birthday kid in the middle with his new digital camera.

"Mr. Disconsolate" is in the Mickey Mouse shirt.

And big sister thought she was out of the Foto.

Birthday boy asked, "How many step-mothers does my Mom have?"

2 that I know of ...

another visitor ... Miss T.

I couldn't resist tossing this one in ...

She was so enjoying the birthday cake yesterday ...

Little K.

It's not even noon yet and already we've had an exciting day!

Birthday Party in the Park

There were 3 different thermometers in town, one said, 92 ... one said, 103 ... and one said, 98 -- so you will just kind of have to take your pick. It was definitely hot outside in the park ...

Waiting with great expectation for the cake ...

Cutting the cake ...

The birthday kid is the one dressed in a black shirt on this end

The kids ran the puppy ragged.

We managed to survive for a whole hour ...

Solar Ovens & Rain

When you leave home for the day ...

and leave your solar oven to the whims of the weather ...

it needs to be made of something other than cardboard!!

The pot was still hot ...

the food had been cooking ...

But the lid is coming apart.

Returning Home

Let me introduce you to the bored individual that doesn't like being left alone at home for very long periods of time.

We left at 7:30 a.m. to go to work and V.A. Hospital --

returned at 3:00 p.m. to find this ...

and this ...

and this ...

We couldn't leave him outside ...

but we'll keep working on some solution.

Internet at Home ...

Our landlord fixed our internet connection!!!

Jump Into The Pool

Everyone on the count of "3" was to jump into the pool

The other photographer wasn't certain that she got the shot
So everyone jumped a 2nd time.

This 3rd jump was just of the grandkids.