Email from 10/8/2015

Good day everyone!

First, let me thank all of you for your warm birthday wishes that I received both on Facebook and by email.  I was busy yesterday and away from my computer most of the day so I did not respond to the many notes so I’m taking this opportunity to say “Thanks for remembering me.”  For those of you that didn’t remember or didn’t know it was my birthday, don’t sweat it.  I have to be the absolute worst at remembering birthdays, even my own.  We are still trying to get the house together and make it a home so I spent my birthday working like it was any other day, cutting the lawn, running errands, putting stuff away, etc...

Speaking of cutting the lawn, remember that geometry that you had to learn in high school that you were sure you were wasting your time because you would never use again?  I filled up the oil reservoir and gas tank on my new lawn mower yesterday and although the mower was already assembled and I’ve cut grass all my life practically, I leafed through the operator’s manual.  Did you know that mowers come with a “slope gauge” because some yards may be too steep for “safe operation”?  Apparently I have one of those yards, at least a portion of it.  So part of my yard is sloped greater than 15^o and it is “unsafe” for me to traverse it back and forth with the lawn mower.  And I absolutely don’t want to have to push the damn thing straight up the hill a gazillion times!  “Self Propelled” helps get the lawn mower moving but it doesn’t do much to help get my butt up the hill.  So here is where the geometry comes in.  You start calculating the compound angles necessary to minimize the uphill vs cross slopes to achieve the maximum compromise so you can push the mower across as much of the slope as possible and climb the least steep slope possible.  A couple of other things I learned about maintaining my new acreage:

1.      I have rocks, and big ones occasionally hiding in the grass.  I’ve used the mower once and I’ve notched the blade already.

2.    I started bagging the grass clippings.  I filled two bags and only did the front of the house and that’s the smallest portion of lawn.  I think Maureen is going to have to put that Master Gardener’s certification to work and start composting.

3.    I have a portion of yard beside my driveway that is so steep I can’t even stand on it to use the gas powered weed eater I inherited from my dad!  I’m having a premonition that our local Lowe’s is going to sell out of their low lying, low maintenance ground cover sometime early next spring.

4.    My dad had several gas powered weed eaters that worked.  I took the oldest one and it fired right up.  Now I understand why his subsequent weed eaters were smaller and lighter (see the health club references below).

So, I’m finishing up the back 1/2 acre and grousing to my contractor that; “this is my wife’s idea on how to keep me healthy!”  He was completely unsympathetic and only offered to “extend my health club membership” over to his yard when I was through.  He even graciously offered to waive the club membership fee if I did a good job on his lawn.  I’m thinking; “come on winter.” 

Many of you asked about the weather here with all of the tropical storm news, primarily regarding South Carolina, being broadcast nationwide.  Every time it rained over the summer I teased my friends in California that I was “watering the lawn again.”  Well last week the “sprinklers broke” and we over watered a bit.  Asheville/Weaverville was on the outskirts of the tropical storm and just got three or four days of wet weather although we had at times an inch of rain per hour over a three day period.  Do the math and that’s a whole lot of inches of rain.  There was no flooding in our area, it was just wet.  Last Saturday we did travel down to South Carolina to watch Liam run.  The rain was in full force and it was cold Saturday morning so I was concerned that Liam might be having a bit of a challenge adjusting.  I caught up with him just before he started warming up and he was wearing a black trash bag as a poncho.  I asked Liam if the conditions were tough and he just replied; “no, we’re loving it” (I’m assuming “we” meant the entire team but I’m sure that there must have been at least one or two sensible runners that were a least a little uncomfortable, maybe on the women’s team?)  I was informed by more than one race participant that on the back side of the course the water had accumulated such that there was an area that the runners had to traverse, and depending on their height, the water was up to their knees.  As you can imagine the times were about a minute slow for both races, men’s and women’s.  Liam had another good outing, finishing 15th overall and first for Western Carolina University (Recap).  Liam was supposed to be competing in Charleston the weekend of October 16th.  Maureen and I were going to make a mini-vacation of it but I just read an update that because of the flooding in Charleston the meet has been moved to Rock Hill, SC.  Is anyone familiar with Rock Hill?  I suspect it may not be the vacation spot that Charleston is but what the heck?  For those of you who’ve not already checked out the attachment, you can play the mp4 file to see what happens “When it rains in LA!” (Cutesy of my Uncle John)

 As I type we have painters in the house again.  Our contractor has just about finished remodeling “your” apartment downstairs and we’re getting the last touches taken care of.  Maureen and I will be sooo happy when all of this is done.  And, our new washer and dryer were delivered today.  They are the wrong color of course!  And poor Buddy; we’ve had so many people through the house lately he has gone from High Alert, to Extreme Defensive Posture, to Cautiously Guarded, to just plain exhausted!  This morning he was howling and baying at everyone that came through the door.  Right now he’s just conked out in resignation on the loveseat.  Of the four of us, Buddy has been the most sensitive to the cold, and it hasn’t been cold yet!  Not really.  Maureen has been a little cool in the evenings but Buddy just shivers.  So mom to the rescue!

I know he looks just a little like a green and yellow bumble bee, but he’s really just a died-in-the-wool (sweater) Packers fan like me!  Buddy took off on us the other day.  The contractor was here and we were walking in and out with the door open and then Buddy was just gone.  I yelled for him, I drove up and down the road, I looked everywhere in the house and yard to no avail.  As I’ve said before, never name a dog something you not willing to run down the street yelling.  I was just about to give up hope when Buddy comes loping out of the woods covered with burs.  One good thing about his short wiry hair is that the burs just popped out with a simple combing.  Maureen went out on the front porch and noticed one of the chair cushions had a circle of dog hair.  She suspects that Buddy was just sitting on the porch most of that time watching me run up and down the street yelling and looking for him.  I’m having another premonition.  I see an invisible fence in Buddy’s future.  I won’t have to walk him as much so I won’t be getting the same amount of exercise but it’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make for Buddy’s sake!  Because I’m sure I’m going to kill him if he keeps scampering off.

I’m trying desperately not to be too put out with my “friends.”  For the last two years and more that I’ve attended Thursday afternoon “choir practice”, mostly at BJ’s, with Keith, my friends John O’Doherty and John Dalzel attended on just one or two occasions.  It appears that since I moved they haven’t missed a single practice.  And even George Guyante has started showing up.  I’ve also been assured that everyone has agreed that I’m back on the choir practice notification list.  It’s Thursday evening and I’ve not received my notification?  And, I’ve been offering for the better part of 15 years to install a ceiling fan over the dining room table for my Aunt Shirley.  As soon as I’m 2,400 miles away my Uncle John breaks down and buys her the ceiling fan.  What, did everyone wait for me to leave so they could get on with it?  I’m assured that everyone misses me and that I’m frequently the topic of conversation.  However, now that I’m not available to participate I don’t know if I should be concerned about the context of those conversations?  Maybe it’s not true and all of this is just subterfuge in an attempt to get me to come back to find out exactly what’s going on. 

But you know, if everyone’s out to get you, you’re not really paranoid! 

Until next time, 

Rick, Maureen and Liam