March 29, 2009

Self Portrait Sunday for March 29, 2009

Not the greatest picture, but I wanted to show off my great-niece, Lily. Today was the second time I’ve been with her. The first time she wanted nothing to do with me. Today she let me feed her then decided I was okay for lap time. She doesn’t take well to strangers, so I’m happy with the progress. We’re getting there!

Join us each week at Midlife Musings and see who else takes their own picture for Self Portrait Sunday.

[tags]baby,Lily, meme, photo, self portrait[/tags]

Posted by skeet @ 6:02 pm • Photos, Meme • 6 comments  

March 22, 2009

Self Portrait Sunday for March 22, 2009

Yes, I’m as tired as I look. I was burning leaves until the sun went down. I took my photo right after I came in, which was right before I took a nice long shower. I’m feeling refreshed and a lot less gritty and smokey, but no less tired. I’m a little wired up, though, so maybe I’ll watch some TV before I go to bed. Is there anything on at (checking clock) 9:30 on a Sunday night? I miss Iron Chef, but cousin Kim doesn’t get cable channels. She had a dish & realized she was rarely watching anything other than networks so she had the service cancelled. Missing my regular TV shows is a small price to pay, considering the level of hospitality she’s offered, so I don’t mind doing without it for a while. I sold my TV a few days before I moved. I’ll probably get a new plasma screen set for the new place, one that will go on the wall or maybe on a nice plasma mount. Have to get the house sold first and then buy a new one, of course, but I’ll be buying quite a few new things for my home once everything settles down. Someday soon, I hope!

Gah! Must be tirder than I thought. I hit “publish” before reminding you to visit all of the Self Portrait Sunday folks over at Cass’s place!

[tags]meme, self portrait[/tags]

Posted by skeet @ 4:33 pm • Photos, Meme • 3 comments  

March 20, 2009

Back with family

Care to take a guess who’s the youngest of the siblings? Wrong! That old man is my baby brother. No one is sure why he keeps maturing while I stay so young and good looking. Lady Clarirol and a good moisturizer, I suppose. Still, no matter what our ages, we’ve never been able to deny a familial relationship and I’m thinking we never will. When we were younger everyone thought that my older brother and I held the strongest resemblance among the sibs. Older brother is gone now, but Steve and I seem to look more alike as the years go by.

[tags]brothers, family, family resemblance, siblings[/tags]

Ennis

My cousin Kim said I needed to visit Ennis before deciding where I want to live. Ennis is one county over, a pleasant drive through rolling hills in farm country.

Kim recommended that I start with the town square, but on my way there I spotted a sign for a visitor’s center and museum, so I stopped there first. Ennis was founded as a railroad town in the later half of the 19th Century, and trains still roll through the town all day every day.

I paid my $2.00 at the old railway ticket window, then Bill donned his conductor’s cap and we began the tour. Bill is 83 years old, legally blind and mostly deaf despite two hearing aids. He’s spry, witty and possessed of an old-world charm seldom seen these days. He jumped the rail in the replica railway office and struck up several “typical working poses.”

One way that railways competed was by providing a fine dining experience for their passengers. The museum features a display of some of the beautiful china that was used in the dining cars.

The scale model replica of the old switching yard is quite impressive. Someone put in a lot of hours building it. Being a rairoad town put Ennis at the center of commerce for this area. Everything from food and farm supplies to lingerie and school books was transported via rail by the turn of the century.

Numerous displays throughout the museum feature antique tools of the trade.

A local railroad buff donated a large collection of scale model trains.

I spent so much time in the museum that I didn’t get to see much of the town. Ah, well - guess I’ll just have to go again another day!

[tags]Ennis, museum, railroad museum, railroad town[/tags]

March 18, 2009

Score one for the good guys

I couldn’t resist taking a picture of this car outside the trade show we went to last week. I spent a few minutes talking with one of the officers who was present. He said a number of seized vehicles are being used by the police department. There are still plenty of other vehicles left over though, so they hold auctions regularly. I told him I might be interested in looking to their auctions as a souce for another vehicle some time down the road, as long as they inspect it thoroughly and remove all of the previous owner’s belongings first.

[tags]cars, drugs, police enforcement tactics, property seizure[/tags]

My car is here!

Hokulele arrived today, a day ahead of schedule. Henry the hunky Brazilian stopped his car carrier out front, blocking our narrow country lane. Not a problem, since there’s no traffic out here. No one needed to get by during the half hour or so that Henry was here.

He fooled with some ramps and drove her traveling companion out of the way (blocking more of the street, but … oh well.)

He fooled with the carrier some more and bridged the gap between Hokulele and freedom.

She didn’t need exit signs to show her the way and was purring happily as Henry drove her into the driveway.

That’s when the trouble started. Poor Hoku did not make the journer unscathed. Her rear bumper is totally mangled.

There’s a scrape on her roof as well. A mud guard that should extend below the front bumper was torn up and only a small piece of it remains attached. There are various other scrapes, knicks and dents. Henry and I compared paperwork. An inspection was done in my presence when the car was transported from my house via a tow truck to the dock in Honolulu. The diagram made from that inspection shows a couple of small scratches and dings. Another inspection was done on the dock in LA before Hokulele was loaded onto Henry’s transporter. The diagram from that inspection is cluttered with damage notations. Henry is in the clear, but the transport company isn’t. I’ve left a voice mail for them and will find out tomorrow what they intend to do. The shipping documents and contract are so full of disclaimers and double-speak that I don’t know what to expect. I’m going to be highly dispeased if they offer anything less than complete repair.

[tags]car, car damage, car transport, Saturn, travel[/tags]

March 15, 2009

Remember Pooh?

Winnie the pooh doesnt know what to do
Got a honey jar stuck on his nose
He came to me asking help and advice
And from here no one knows where he goes
~Return to Pooh Corner~ Kenny Loggins

Lance has taken to stealing my iced tea whenever I turn my back on it. Last night he found himself stuck.

His girlfriend HVAC (pronounced Havoc) wanted to help …

… while Booger, Peaches and Piglet stood by in amusement. Lance finally shut his mouth and quit trying to grab ice cubes, so the dilemma was solved and I was able to help him emege to freedom.

Lance has learned all kinds of new tricks in the week that we’ve been here. For instance, he likes playing leapfrog with HVAC, who has decided that she’d rather just be friends. She’s only a puppy, but we’ll have to separate them if she starts showing signs of maturity before she gets spayed. I’m not sure if Lance realizes he’s not making a real connection, but HAVAC might invite that connection once she’s a little older and we don’t want to pass on Lance’s heart condition to a new generation. That’s Max on the right, trying to see through his fringe and figure out what’s going on.

[tags]dogs, pets, silliness[/tags]

Self Portrait Sunday for March 15, 2009

Yep, it’s a little colder in Texas than it was in Hawaii. I’ve been wearing my “uniform” every time I step outdoors: I found the coat at a thrift store & Cousin Kim loaned me the hat and gloves. I’ve got long johns under my jeans but you’ll have to take my word for that. It was warm when I got here last week, but a storm blew in a few days later & I’ve been cold ever since. The rain stopped yesterday, so I’m hoping it will warm up soon & we’ll be on our way to spring.

My furniture and personal belongings haven’t left Hawaii yet and there’s some doubt that they ever will. I’m hoping I will find a way to get everything here. If not I’ll have to replace all of my clothes, kitchen items, office furniture, tools, hardware … everything. Not a happy prospect, so I’m trying hard not to think about it right now.

I don’t see a new Self Portrait Sunday post today at Midlife Musings, but that’s okay. Cass has a bunch on her plate these days, but Sunday isn’t over yet, so she might post in a bit. If she doesn’t, that’s okay, too. I’ve missed a whole string of self portraits lately and that’s just the way life is sometimes. We’ll live.

[tags]cold weather, meme, self portrait[/tags]

Posted by skeet @ 9:20 am • Photos, Meme • 7 comments  

March 8, 2009

Self Portrait Sunday for March 8, 2008

Do I look any different? I’m a new person, one of that peculiar species identified as “Texan” (once again.) I arrived here on Friday and am getting settled in at my cousin’s home while I shop for a new home and await the arrival of my furniture, car and other goodies. The last few weeks were grueling and the trip itself less than comfortable, but Lance and I are ready to start building our new life. Checking in on the Self Portrait Sunday fun seems as good a place to start as any.

[tags]meme, moving, self portrait[/tags]

Posted by skeet @ 6:09 pm • Photos, Meme • 10 comments