Dreams

I just wanted to write something this morning, anything.  As said in previous blogs, this is more about me than it is about you.  Last sleep cycle I had some kinda fun dreams. In one, I was watching golf on TV and the golfers had to hit their Tee shots from an elevated tee and then "ski-jump" from the tee down to the fairway.  The camera was from behind the Tee, and low to the ground, so you would see the shots fly out first and then the golfers go flying out over the camera.  Hmmm.

In the second dream, I had been on a trip south of the U.S.  It was time to return and Brooke was coming to pick me up in a large boat.  She knew when to come but not where.  I was with someone and that persons identity seemed to change as the dream progressed.  No one had a working cell phone so I was trying to borrow one at a local hotel.  It wasn't working out well.  I thought,"What bad planning.  We should have had a rendezvous point."  I was thinking she would be able to spot me standing on the beach...Hmmm.

So, those are better than my usual dreams.  Many people put a lot of importance on dreams.  What do they mean? What are they telling us?  I don't know and am not good at figuring them out.  I just take them as general signs of what is worrying me, or on my mind.  Some things just drift through the mind.  Golf should be made more interesting for TV.  Brooke and I should do more planning.  These things will probably not change therefore I have decided to go for the big payoff.  Buy a lottery ticket now and then.  One dollar can win you a million.  Get in on the Million Dollar Challenge.  Get lucky and win big money.  No planning just luck.

The house painting is done for the year.  Football season is underway.  Emma is expecting in November.  There is a lot to do to get ready for Fall/Winter.  

  

Strange Things Are Happening

Hope this isn't my last post.  I'm having a little trouble signing into Google. Also other odd things have popped up here.  If this keeps up I may move to a web page or something. 
It's the day after Labor Day here in the USA.  Most feel it is the end of summer.  Time to get back to school, learn something, get serious.  I'm going to rent some scaffolding and finish touching up the house.  It was so hot last week that I only got about half of what I was planning to do done.  Plus the fact that I took part of a day putting up my camper tent to store tools in.  I try to make each task somewhat fun.  Having the tent up isn't necessary, but it did result in a fellow VW enthusiast stopping by and asking if it was for sale.  The $600 price may have scared him off but we traded names and spoke about other VW guys in the area.  As a  result of this I started a Yahoo Group called Aircooledfenton.  I'm the only member so far.  It could serve for people who are interested in these vehicles to meet and exchange  information.

I've relisted the dresser Brooke bought a couple of weeks ago.  That is on Ebay.  I started the bidding at $10 just to get it going.  The reserve is still $550.
The first listing of this was started at $100.  We only got one bid.  That was for $100.  There are subtle ways of listing your items on Ebay that result in getting more interest and more money.  I think I know some of them but it would be an interesting study.  I would really like to have a certain item to offer that would dependably sell at a nice profit. Wouldn't we all?  I'm not going to rehash the Louis Vuitton bag that I sold.  I'm guessing that I blogged about that already.  If I could have a steady supply of them I'd be living on easy street.  I could hire someone to paint my house.

I'm thinking of listing the Furbys but the profit is so small it's not worth the trouble. 

Thought I had more to say but it's turning out all wrong.  What does it say about you when you're looking for a couch by checking for curb alerts on Craigslist?

Focus

Hi Y'all.  I was going to write about Furbys today.  I bought two furbys at a garage sale last week end.  They are interesting toys.  They have several sensors, transmitters and receivers.  People like to hack them and make youtube videos of them calling them "bent furbys".  I thought it would make an interesting combination to have a furby equipped with a taser.  That would violate Asimov's first law of robotics.

I decided not to pursue the furby line of procrastination.  "I've got your Furby right here."
I need to focus.  The job at hand is touching up the house.  I've done this a few times and no matter how expensive the treatment,  the paint still peels and looks bad after about two years.  I have a tool called a paint shaver that makes the paint removal very easy.  It hooks up to a vacuum which cleans up 95% of the paint chips as you go.  It's kinda like the Flowbee which cuts your hair and cleans up virtually all of the hair clippings. 

I had insulation put in the house a few years ago.  They drill holes in your clapboards and put plugs in afterward.  I've tried to fix those twice now but they still look terrible.  I think the only permanent solution would be to replace the boards.  Maybe some vinyl siding strips could be put on just those boards?  I've also thought of using fiberglass since I've used some on the boat.  I might try a test patch with that.

  One good thing about touching up a house,  the job doesn't have to be concise.  I noticed many years ago how rough the paint job was on one of our historic landmarks in Boston. It's the naval station where Old Ironside is docked.  If it's good enough for that landmark it's good enough for The Benjamin Bangs House.

Now I'm ready to go out and conquer the sides of the house.  I might take Furby along just for company.

More Boat News

We went north for a week-end vacation last week-end.  We (my wife and I) drove the VW camper van so we could possibly sleep in it and get some use out of it.  First we visited my twin sister Kay who lives in Gaylord.  We went to a nice restaurant there and then saw Kay's place for the first time.  It is a very cute and comfortable place built as a separate structure from her daughter's house.  It would be nice for any single retiree.  She has it decorated very well.  After our visit we headed out to Crystal Lake.  Shortly after we turned on our headlights, we discovered the van was not producing enough electricity to keep us on the road.

A wonderful adventure ensued in which we met some very nice and helpful people, stayed at a motel that was as bad as they get while still being acceptable and eventually got the alternator replaced.  We were late by about a half a day and that was remarkable.  Brooke's brother Matt came and picked her up, as we didn't know how long things would take and everyone at the lake were antsy to go sailing and the sail was in the camper van.

Eventually we all assembled at the lake.  The cabins were great, the sailing was great and we had a nice time.  Gabe was there and really enjoyed the family experience.  The next-door-neighbor, was a sailor.  He identified my boat as a Chrysler manufactured boat.  I always had wanted to ID the boat because it has no numbers or writing on it.  I've since looked it up and it is a c-15 Man-o-war.  There is a lot of great information on it on the web.  I'm glad the boat worked out so well.  We did manage to tip it over but no harm was done and nothing lost but a little pride. 

Boating season

About 30 years ago I bought a sail boat at a garage sale.  As with most hoarders, I still have it.  We have sailed it a few times over the years but the usual scenario is, other things take precedence, the boat needs repair, late in summer I think,"Can I get the boat ready before it's too cold?", summer is over.  Well, since it's a rainy day, I thought I'd get in the boating mood and write about it.

The wave sounds are turned on in the sidebedroom so this is what happened.  My Sister-in-law Robin put some pressure on me to have the boat ready this year for a vacation week on Crystal Lake.  Robin likes sailing and when I first got the boat she gave me my only sailing lesson on Tipsico Lake.  She is my sailing mentor.  I decided to accept the challenge to get the boat ready again.  Jake is back and he likes to sail.  Suhitha would like to sail.  I would like to sail.  My SM (sailing mentor) wants to sail.  Plenty of motivation. 

I like boats.  Just as I like planes, cars, motorcycles etc.  I think it's the idea of a somewhat self sufficient unit able to carry you someplace.  With a boat, there is no roadway.  With a sailboat only the wind propels you.  I think I could live on a nice boat that is docked in a nice harbor somewhere.  If I ever come up missing, I may be on a boat.

Well, last year I had done some patching to the boat.  So Jake and I got her out and turned her upside down on the picnic table.  A rat came running out from under her.  Boats are referred to as females.  The patches that I had done looked pretty good so I sanded them down and I think with one more layer of fiberglass cloth, they will be very good.  The other boat items I am working on are an improvement on the catch for the tiller,  same for the baler and whatever odds and ends that pop up.  The boat trailer needs rewiring and what I call the nose piece needs work.  The wood is rotted and I need to change the ball on the trailer hitch.  

It sure will be nice to be out on Crystal Lake though sailing along in the breeze.  "Prepare to jibe!.......Jibe Ho!"    "Man overboard!"

To Craigslist or not to Craigslist?

On Fathers Day I was given permission to buy a "big" screen TV.  We saw a couple at Walmart but they didn't have them in stock and it didn't take long to realize that I needed to research what is available on these modern devices and what is important to get on them.  If you read reviews of the various models, you find there are always some people who think they are wonderful and others who hate them.
After talking to Robin Butler (an authority on big screen) I decided to get an LG set through Amazon.  It was a 42 inch 1080p with advanced specs.  I didn't care about LED or 3D.  The price was about $575.00 and free shipping.  It arrived in just a few days but after setting it up (which was easy),  I saw the screen was damaged.  I sent it back and chose to get a refund rather than an exchange.
I looked to see what was on Craigslist a few times but as you may know there are risks when going there.  Someone could come over and kill you.  You might get robbed and wounded.  Someone might come to your house and see how dirty it is.
You might go to someones house and ...
The item might be stolen. 

I was ready to buy a TV again and we were going to a party in Jackson, MI.  I thought I might as well check the Jackson Craigslist and if there was an appropriate TV there, I could see it while in town.
Long story shortened, I found a set for sale there and called.  I met the guy at a gas station there.  He seemed like an upstanding young man about to start school at Kettering.  I bought the set for $270 so that was about $300 less than I would spend buying new.  The set seems to work just fine but it's so big.  I know, you're saying to yourself, "That's what she said".  Now I have to sell my old TV or donate it.  It's a 27 inch RCA.  The color is very good on it. It comes with a remote control.  The price is $20 firm.  Come on over to the house to see it.  This ad may appear on Craigslist but I think, more likely, I'll give it away.

Midsummer

Our new rug sat rolled up for about a week.  No one had the curiosity to unroll it to see how it turned out.  I finally unrolled it while watching Gabe.  It looked just fine and I couldn't detect any odor.  I got down on all fours and put my nose close to the fabric...no smell.  Gabe was curious so I said I was trying to see if there was a bad smell.  He also got close to the fabric and smelled.  He raised a finger in the air and said, "Maybe, dog poop?" 

So far the rug is okay.  We've had visitors from England and are soon expecting more from Denmark.  It makes life more interesting and motivates us to clean and maintain at a higher level than otherwise.  The guys from England allowed me to practice hypnosis with them.  That went very well.  I gave them some suggestions for success in their business life and improved concentration while playing tennis. 

We had Gabe here for the Fourth so we went to the parade again.  We go every year really, but Gabe was a reason to go.  He got a whole hat full of candy and a couple of flags.  He was impressed with the monster truck.  Fire engines were loud and the whole thing must have seemed like a big party to him.

Gabe is back in Toronto now.  He was here for about two weeks.  We went to a couple of free concerts and did a lot of things around the house.  He loves running through the sprinkler.  The Danish women are here and Gabe took a shine to Maj (pronounced my).  She paid a lot of attention to Gabe and is great with kids.  All of these young Danes are fantastic.  They slept in the camper van and kept up a grueling schedule of activities.  They will leave soon and the rest of Summer 2011 will unwind at a gentler pace.