Month: July 2022

The Forecast


Every other weekend a hurricane devours my sanity.

Every other other weekend and weekday it’s just a constant monsoon that eats away at it slowly.

This is the hurricane weekend.

From Friday until late Sunday our small 3 bedroom home is at over full capacity.

During the monsoons the occupancy is as follows-

Myself
My younger than me wife
My 22 year old daughter
Her 1 year old daughter
Black dog
White dog
Spotted dog 1
Spotted dog 2

But…

This is hurricane weekend…..

The occupancy is as follows-

Myself
My younger than me wife
My 22 year old daughter
Her 1 year old daughter
My 25 year old son
The brothers of destruction (my sons 3 boys)
         >4 year old Cody the Destroyer
         >2 year old B Rich
         >4 year old 1/2 brother AJ the Brawler
Black dog
White dog
Spotted dog 1
Spotted dog 2
Orange dog

I have been up since 5 am. It is about 7.

I have been up with black dog and spotted dog 1 preparing for the first signs of the oncoming Sunday version of the hurricane.

The wind is starting to pick up and the first droplets of hard rain are beginning to fall.

My son just took orange dog outside to do his business and has now left to buy donuts to help ensure the hurricane lasts longer and starts earlier.

The brothers of destruction are getting sugar.

I’m taking this head on.

Sanity or no sanity its coming.

Advertisement

The Hits like A Girl


When I was a young good2begone, I believed the notion that boys were better than girls at sports.

That belief was based on nothing but upbringing. I had no sisters at that time and boys will he boys was the norm.

At some point I got into tennis.

Loved watching it, playing it.

Wimbledon was my favorite.

Boris Becker, John McEnroe, Chris Evert Lloyd, Martina Navritolova..I loved watching all of them.

I had convinced myself that I could beat the professional women….

AT 10 YEARS OLD

Yup…I was gonna somehow do it.

Lucky for me that Chris Evert lloyd was coming to town for a charity match.

I was so excited!

I got tickets and was there wide eyed waiting for the match to begin…

Plotting my way to get on court and challenge her!

They began the match.

She swung her arm back. Threw up the ball and served across court.

THWAP

It was returned

THWAP

The rally lasted about 8 hits.

I could hear the thwap every time.

But. . .

I NEVER SAW THE FREAKING TENNIS BALL

Not even a blur of neon green.

Just a sonic boom of repeated

THWAP.

I was deflated…

Not only would I never challenge or beat her….

I would never be able to hit like a girl.

The Melting


I tell ya….its hot here in Texas…

HOW HOT IS IT?

Well. Since you asked….its so hot here in Texas that the screen on my Galaxy Z Fold smartphone…melted today.

I’m still paying for it….

So I am back to my beat up, broken screen, galaxy s8+ active.

Maybe. This phone will be smart enough to stay out of the over 100 degree heat.

The Soul of the Soul


Put me in a time machine
Back to the days of old soul
When the music was pure
The artists created gold

Aretha needed RESPECT
What’s going on asked Marvin Gaye
Bring it on home to me begged Sam Cooke
Otis Redding always sittin’ on the dock of the bay

Just to go back
To see and hear them
In a club or bar
Before being called pioneers
Icons or stars

I can only wonder of what
It was like back then
But I still have their music
To take me back when

The Reboot


Alone in a room
No speak to distract

Void of tech interaction
Not an app to be tapped

Release stress into silence
Clear thoughts from the mind

Embrace the outpouring of calm
Relaxation and peace Intertwined

Breathe deep a fresh start
Expel the days mist

Reboot the conscience
Soften the clenched fist

Prepare for the next day
Where new challenges will arise

To begin with a clean slate
Is better…if not wise

The Stump And The Slab


It’s a weekend without the grandkids.

Which means….

It’s hobby time.

I’ve had a driftwood treestump on my back porch for quite a while.

I didn’t know what to do with it….but I knew I NEEDED IT!

Not long ago, my boss was cleaning out one of his many work areas and came across a

Slab ‘o wood.

He just gave it to me. Said he’d never use it and hoped I would be able to.

The pistons in my brain fired up and I went to work on the stump and the slab.

I figured the only way to go was to build a table.

Who doesn’t like tables?

They are so useful for….stuff and things.

Anyhoo…

I leveled out the top of the stump.

Sanded down the slab.

And connected the two with heavy duty gate hinges. The kind used on ranches to keep cattle in n stuff.

Then, finished it all off with polyurethane, and tried to get a close as I could to

“Showroom shine”

Here’s the results from 3 angles to show the awesomeness of the stump and the patterns on the slab.

I call this my-

Dragon Coil Table.

It’s not just a table.

It’s my attempt at furniture art, that’s not just functional but also a cool conversation piece.

Discaimer- this wasn’t all done this morning. It’s been a work in progress that got finished this morning. This is a blog post….not a you tube start to finish project in 30 minutes type situation. 😬