Bogieblog

Rock On!

The Weekend Pundit commented “The one thing that we grow in abundance here in N'Hampsha is rocks......” in this post . We can certainly attest to that. We have an abundance of rock walls and retaining walls; some of  them neccessary and some just to use up rocks.

To give a little perspective, I have added a new photo album on the subject of rocks, but because the photos never line up in the manner I would like them to, I will take you on a guided tour (be sure to read the captions underneath the pictures).

Movie Personality Quiz

What Classic Movie Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

Another Quiz stolen from Drumwaster.

Going to the Doctor (eventually)

I finally did it, I mean I really did it this time. I finally made a doctor's appointment for a check up. I haven't been to the doctor in years and the last time I had a check-up was 7 1/2 years ago. It's not like I dislike doctors, I just don't have a lot of faith in them as they haven't been able to come up with any answers when I have gone in for problems (I mean come on, when they can't diagnose a dislocated thumb - they thought I had strained the tendon or something - and sent me to therapy, which made it worse, and I was finally diagnose by a chiropractor who put things right in a matter of seconds. And, that's just for starters).

Anyway, I finally made the appointment because I know I'm a couple of years overdue for a mammogram (and the baseline mammogram I had done when I was 35 - another doctor flubbed that one, fortunately not in a life-threatening way).

I called to make the appointment for my physical a couple of days before my dentist appointment. I got to the dentist and had something I've never had there before - a basic physical. They took my blood pressure (120/70), my heart rate (69) and my respiration (15 breaths/minute). The only thing they didn't do was take my temperature.

I joked with them that now I didn't need my physical because it's obvious I'm healthy. I still have to go to the physical though, if for nothing else I really should be carrying around a wasp-sting kit. A couple of years ago I was stung by a wasp (a regular old brown wasp, not a yellow jacket or anything like that) between my wrist and my elbow. My whole arm doubled in size. For a couple of days the sleeve to my T-shirt was very snug, before the swelling went down (nope, didn't see a doctor then either). I figure next time the reaction will be worse so I better be prepared with a kit.

Fortunately it is winter so there aren't many wasps around. The earliest I could get in is in February. I was actually surprised that it wasn't closer to April!

HAMming Around

The other day, on my way home from work, I followed a Volvo sedan. It wasn't a new model, probably 5-8 years old. The reason it caught my attention was it had 8 antennae mounted on it (I counted several times because it seemed so bizarre). It had two on the hood, 3 on the roof, one on the trunk, one on the rear bumper and one on the driver's side wheel well. Stops to count on fingers to make sure it equals 8. Some of them were obviously homemade and very long (I'd guess 4 or more feet long).

As I was pondering what having 8 antennae meant, I noticed that in the back window a HAM radio call sign done up with number/letter decals stuck on a piece of wood. Alrighty then, there's an antenna for the regular radio, one for a CB, one for a scanner, and uh, five for HAM radio output/input. Just how many of those things can a person operate while driving down the road?

Maybe the family HAM radio expert can shed some light on this?

Relaxing on Turkey Day

We had a nice Thanksgiving. The weather warmed up and it was 58 degrees at noon. true, it was raining, but it was warm. We both sort of piddled around in the house - I cleaned the coat closet and did the normal household stuff before retiring to the couch for a good read-fest, and WS sat and watched several hours of the NYPD Blue marathon before heading out into the woods to clean up the trails.

After pet-sitting duties, we headed over to Harry and Heather's for a huge turkey day dinner. She had gotten a 29 pound turkey (she had gotten it free in a local grocery store promotion), for 4 adults and 2 children. There was no fear that anyone would go hungry anyway!

We headed home about 8:30  - in the snow. The snow was wet, so didn't stick, but when I got up this morning for more pet-sitting, we had a dusting of snow on the ground. It was also 23 degrees - not the largest drop for an 18 hour period we have ever had, but not exactly what I wanted to face this morning. After a day of t-shirt weather, it was back to long underwear!

Hope everyone had as pleasant and uneventfull holiday as we did!

Sharky

This one is too good not to read; a thwarted (possible) shark attack.

Thanksgiving Quiz

You Are the Stuffing

You're complicated and complex, yet all your pieces fit together. People miss you if you're gone - but they're not sure why.

What Part of Thanksgiving Are You?

Thanks to Drumwaster for the link.

Thanksgiving

This is the time of year for expressing what we are thankfull for, so here goes:

I am thankfull for:

The Wonderful Spouse - He puts up with me and I put up with him, life is good!

My related family members - supportive and loving; they are the best!

My In-laws - I couldn't have wished to have joined a better family!

Our friends - they keep us centered.

My blog buddies - they let me see different sides to things, entertain me, and give me a peek into their lives - what an honor!

Our neighbors - Helpfull when needed, but not intrusive; what a great combo.

My real job - I would go crazy if I didn't have it (plus it keeps us solvent).

My fake job - my pet-sitting customers actually pay me to come over and interact with their animals!

My health - yes, I have a few minor complaints, but it could be so much worse.

Our pets - they keep us from taking ourselves too seriously.

The USA - I can't imagine growing up in the USSR (when they were communist), Cuba or a lot of other countries. Not perfect by any means, but always striving for better things.

And again - Family, extended Family, Friends, Blog Buddies and Neighbors!

Even for those that don't celebrate the holiday, or had your holiday earlier this year; Hope you all have a happy and safe Thanksgiving!

Doing the Jerk(y)

The dogs ate rather well this last weekend. Between making beef jerky, making chili (I use cubed beef instead of ground beef) and making barbeque beef for dinner one night, they got plenty of trimmed off beef fat added to their regular meals.

Making your own beef jerky is easy with a dehydrator. And, if you are a jerky fanatic like I am, it is a great way to customize the jerky to your own tastes or even save some money.

Weekend Doings

Friday, WS and I did something that we probably won’t get to do again until sometime in February; we washed our vehicles. I got home from taking my truck in for service and WS was drying his truck after washing it in the front yard. He was going to be a while, as he was going to wax it, so I ran into town to the carwash and did the same for my truck (much faster and easier for me though and I just washed mine).

Saturday, I filled the woodrack on the deck, reconciled the checkbook with the bank statement (and finally figured out where check 4280 went), repotted some plants (and potted some baby spider plants), vacuumed and prepared meat to make beef jerky. I also took some time to do some reading. WS slept most of the afternoon, which he deserved as he has worked really hard the last 6-7 weekends.

Sunday, WS worked out in the yard, shredding the last of the leaves. I was going to just rake them up into a tarp and dump them in the woods, but he wanted to shred, so I left him to it. He also started winterizing motorized items that will not be used until next spring; the motorcycle, leaf shredder, lawn tractor etc. I started dehydrating the beef jerky (which marinated overnight), started the chili that I am taking into work for a pot-luck Thanksgiving lunch and brushed the dogs. Then I basically goofed off the rest of the day – reading, watching football and tending the woodstove.

All in all, a really good weekend. Both of us got to goof off for an entire afternoon for a change!