Thought I would take some pictures:
Lettuce:
Gratuitous Rosie pic:
Another backyard pic (look what those pole beans have done in no time in the way back bed):
I got some sun and DONALD TRUMP IS MAKING ME FUCKING GRAY:
What are you all up to?
This post is in: John Cole Presents "This Fucking Old House"
Comments are closed.
MelissaM
Your yard looks great. I want to see what those trees do in 5-10 years! Hope you are still blogging.
I’m taking the woofer for a walk. Not looking forward to stepping out in the heat and humidity.
Dorothy A. Winsor
The house and yard look transformed from when you bought them.
John Cole
@MelissaM: I will be blogging unless I am dead.
pat
Hey, isn’t that tree pretty close to the foundation?
(couldn’t resist)
Major Major Major Major
I also started going noticeably gray these last two years, in the temples in exactly the way I was hoping for.
I just started playing the Mars DLC on Far Cry 5. And cracked open a Coffee Boss BLACK.
Quaker in a Basement
Nice job, John!
jeffreyw
Line those lights up, soldier! What is this place, a scout den?
////
?BillinGlendaleCA
I used a bottle* to get rid of the gray; see Cole, problem solved.
*Hair dye, not the boozey stuff.
J.
The house and yard look great! You done good, Cole.
Jim
You need some before/after shots. I’m going on vague recollection of how bad things looked when you first bought it. All I remember is, “pretty bad.”
zhena gogolia
Rosie is never gratuitous.
Suzanne
Your house and garden look fabulous. Picture perfect. As does Rosie, my favorite Cole pet.
I am just trying to get everyone in SuzHouse to put their shit AWAY. Good Lord, you would think I asked each member of the household to donate a kidney.
I am currently eating a Cobb salad from Salad and Go, which I find to be a surprisingly cromulent salad for six dollars,
zhena gogolia
@jeffreyw:
Ooh, when I turned my calendar page to September there was a great picture of your cat Bitsy (?). It somewhat reconciled me to its being September.
Juju
It all looks nice. Not doing much, just getting ready to go to Hatteras island for a few days. I’ll probably get some gas and go to the grocery store.
?BillinGlendaleCA
I was at Costco and they had these little drones for $30, it’s so cute. I haven’t tried to fly it yet.
TaMara (HFG)
I don’t know, that lettuce looks pretty close to the house. ;-)
It’s all looking good.
TaMara (HFG)
I was going to walk the dogs – it’s beautifully cool here – but I don’t think it’s going to happen. I’m afraid they are going to get baths instead. Bixby stinks, not his usual state.
Kristine
House looks great!
In case @pamelabrown53 stops by, I made the Anne Burrell Asian Pork Tenderloin, but broiled instead of grilled. I used the lo-broil setting, set the t-loins on a rack over a baking sheet, set them at the second-highest position, and got decent browning all over. Just kept broiling and turning until they were done. Meat stayed juicy. Even though I used low-sodium soy sauce for the marinade, I still found it too salty–if I make this again, I will reduce the soy sauce or make a plate sauce separately. The orange rind was a great addition–the taste really came through.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@TaMara (HFG): I call my girls, Stinky and Smelly.
Ruckus
@John Cole:
You not so old fart.
Gray? Pfffffffft. I scoff at your gray and raise you white hair. That’s all that’s left after the gray hauls butt. And it will.
I look in the mirror and wonder who is this old fart looking back at me. And damn it there’s no one else in the room.
feebog
The lawn has filled in nicely. And you are going gray just like the rest of us. But you can blame Trump for everything else.
A Ghost To Most
I found new tires for my off-road trailer for $60 less per tire than I had found them elesewhere. Needed 3, so I can point to $180 saved when my wife mentions it.
sukabi
What am I up to? Working and laughing at this…activists raise 10k in a few hours to erect this billboard in Texas
Betty Cracker
It’s a beautiful house and yard!
?BillinGlendaleCA
Of course, the willow is too close to the blog.
jeffreyw
@zhena gogolia: Yep, she’s thinking about coming on in but it takes her a minute to be sure that’s what she wants to do
Betty Cracker
The only thing I’ve accomplished today is to make spaghetti and meatballs. It was a good day.
Ian G.
Cole, your house is my dream house. Seriously. I love Colonials with the walk-up attic and the porch. And I say it’s a dream house because yours as nice as you’be made it would go for at least $800k in a good section of Nassau County. Sigh….
A Ghost To Most
@?BillinGlendaleCA: we tried to warn Cole. It’s already taken out his computer.
dmsilev
Lazy day. Ran a few errands, but that’s about it. Getting set for a simple dinner; burgers and corn on the cob on the grill. Tomorrow unfortunately I’ll have to be at work for a while, but hopefully I’ll be able to keep that to half a day.
A Ghost To Most
@sukabi: I have the MADDOGPAC red GOP sticker on a post out by the road (I live on a busy road). It has already inspired some reactions. Fuckem.
Major Major Major Major
@Betty Cracker: I feel like I did nothing today, but I did finish a panel of my comic and write 400 words of a story.
Ohio Mom
Today we bought a dishwasher to replace the recently deceased one.
Now I am in the middle of a load of laundry and it is increasingly clear that the dryer is fading fast. Looks like there may be a return trip to Lowe’s tomorrow.
Sigh.
Raven
So now we think Lil Bit has Canine Megaesophagus to go along with her LarPar. We were trying to determine if she was vomiting or regurgitating. She got nothing but canned food for the last three days and didn’t hurl. I fed her soaked kibble and she regurged in an hour. This is not great because there isn’t much we can do besides getting her a Bailey Chair and see if feeding her sitting up helps.
A Ghost To Most
@Ian G.:
My brother’s house was built in 1911 by my great-grandfather, entirely of American Chestnut. The woodwork is amazing. The wood alone would be worth a princely sum, and in any thriving city would be a million dollar house. Due to where it is located, he couldn’t get $80k for it.
Raven
@Ohio Mom: It’s not too hard to replace the heating element in an electric dryer.
debbie
@Raven:
Is feeding her only canned food not a good thing?
Gin & Tonic
@A Ghost To Most: So you’re not building the trailer?
Duane
@John Cole: Don’t look at me like that.
TaMara (HFG)
@Ohio Mom: I’m dreading when the dryer finally fails. I’d rather have a clothesline, but there is not a good configuration in my backyard for one. Let me know what you get! I may follow suit.
Raven
@debbie: Nah it’s fine. She’s been getting it a good bit anyway but this condition generally worsens,
zhena gogolia
@Raven:
It probably will help.
Raven
@TaMara (HFG): Is it digital or mechanical?
Duane
@A Ghost To Most: Yeah, tell her how much you saved. She’ll be impressed.
hells littlest angel
Compared to the pictures you posted of the house when you bought it, that is pretty fucking impressive.
Just think how much you could sell it for!
zhena gogolia
@TaMara (HFG):
We recently got Speed Queen washer and dryer, and so far so good.
Ohio Mom
@Raven: That’s what Mr. Ohio just said. He reminded me he once switched out the heating element in the oven.
In the meantime, I’m waiting for a load of towels to dry while tumbling in room temperature air.
Raven
@hells littlest angel: Yea I bet Bethany is one hot real estate market!
TaMara (HFG)
@Raven: It’s got a lot going wrong (I have no idea how old it is, it came with the house – the washing machine died two months after I moved in). The drum is making a horrendous noise, the dryness sensor no longer works and even on time dry, it takes forever to dry.
I’m pretty certain I’m going to walk into the laundry room one day and it will have just collapsed in on itself out of sheer exhaustion.
Raven
@Ohio Mom: Chip in $5 to this site and enter the credentials of your machine and these cats can really help diagnose and repair all kinds of stuff.
karen marie
A person I follow on twitter – @z3dster – has made a thing for Chrome that changes “Trump” to “Individual-1.” I am in love.
WaterGirl
@?BillinGlendaleCA: When you say “my two girls”, I hope you are not referring to your wife and daughter!
Raven
@TaMara (HFG): The drum rides on a felt strip that can wear our and it has a bearing that it turns on. It’s powered by a belt that wraps around the drum and none of it is very hard to replace. Ditto the sensor.
Mnemosyne
Surgery recovery continues apace. I get to shower today, so G went out to the pharmacy and bought some plastic bags that I can use to protect my incisions. I uncovered them today and they’re not super gross, but I’m still not supposed to get them wet.
Also, I get to start tapering back on the prescription pain meds and taking Aleve since the prescription meds don’t actually do much for the actual pain, which is weird but true for me.
Keaton and Charlotte were very sad that I had had to stay closed off from them for two days, so I lay down in the bedroom all afternoon so we could form a big fuzzy snuggle pile. It was a good day.
A Ghost To Most
@Gin & Tonic:
Yes. I found a perfect off-road 10×6 utility trailer with 17″ (!) Of ground clearance to the torsion axle. It’s even set up to add brakes.
I’m drawing up plans for a 57″ x 117″ x 6’6″ high capsule on casters that will roll-on and roll-off. It will even have an onboard toilet. That was a major selling point for my wife. It will have 2″ of polyiso insulation, so it should be easy to keep warm.
WaterGirl
@TaMara (HFG): I LOVE my electrolux front loading washer and dryer.
My friend had that set and loved them, so I took the easy way out and just ordered what she had gotten after all the research.
Pogonip
Cole, I can’t make out the 3-colored sign in your yard. What does it say?
THIS SIGN
HAS 3
COLORS
JACK RUSSELL
TERRORIST
4 SALE CHEAP
What?
WaterGirl
@TaMara (HFG): My previous dryer would occasionally make a slit in a random article of clothing. I got tired of the ritual sacrifices and got my current set.
schrodingers_cat
@Mnemosyne: Snuggle pile sounds adorable but we need pictures to confirm that its not fake news. How was the marathon cooking session and do you like the InstaPot.
Pogonip
@Mnemosyne: I was given Vicodin after having a wisdom tooth out. No different from aspirin. Can’t figure out why people get so worked up about Vicodin, unless it’s the placebo effect.
TaMara (HFG)
A Ghost To Most
@A Ghost To Most: The tires and wheels on the trailer are beat, so I found a set of rims (stock 4Runner) that match my truck. Add matching tires, and the trailer has exactly the same wheel/tire as the truck. So, two spares.
WaterGirl
@Mnemosyne: The kitties must have been beside themselves. My sweet Willow is what got me through the first few nights of my broken ankle. She was tucked by my side, comforting me, for several nights. i will be forever grateful.
I’m sure post surgery sucks beyond belief, but one of these days you will start feeling better and it will all be worth it.
Ohio Mom
@zhena gogolia: Speed Queen is what the appliance repairman said was the best. I e heard they’re pricey though.
CaseyL
@Jim: I agree – a series of befores and afters. Maybe a Special Edition BJ calendar can be all about This Fucking Old House, with sidebars about things like The Saga of Walter, The Day John Fell Through the Deck, and The Occasional Backyard Pond. I’d buy that calendar!
September is a month of changes for me. New volunteer posting at PAWS, from the Cat Adoption Room to the Foster Room, where kitties stay on their way to and from foster homes. And a new job, starting the week after this one, working the front desk at a veterinary clinic. I’m giving in to a lifelong dream of working with and/or on behalf of animals as much as I can. Big pay cut, but I frankly don’t care. Plus I’ll have more time to do glass.
Miss Bianca
@A Ghost To Most: Where is your brother’s house located? Surely no place in CO – even in Conejos County, stuff is going for more than that!
Mnemosyne
@schrodingers_cat:
Marathon cooking session was good once I figured out the Instant Pot — apparently it’s easiest to just do things on manual unless you know for sure that the pre-programmed menu works for what you want. And the cleanup was super easy, which is a big selling point for me. Trying to wrestle the ceramic crock into the sink (because it’s too big for the dishwasher), but the Instant Pot has a stainless steel liner that’s a lot easier to wash. We’re having chili tonight because that was the one I wasn’t able to squeeze into the freezer. I still have several servings each of lemon chicken and rice, stuffed peppers, and chicken cacciatore in the freezer, plus a pot roast if I feel inspired later this week.
@Pogonip:
Most opiates make me vomit uncontrollably in addition to not giving much pain relief. It’s a hell of a thing to find out when you’re on crutches, but at least I won’t have to worry that I’ll develop an addiction.
Miss Bianca
@Pogonip: Errr…Vicodin made me hallucinate that the walls and ceiling were closing in on me. While I was lying pinned on the bed, because I couldn’t seem to move. Last time I ever took it.
Different drugs have different effects on different metabolisms. End of story.
Yarrow
@Mnemosyne: My mom’s surgeon told her to use Glad Press ‘n Seal to wrap her incision if she wanted to take a shower. It sticks to itself and he said it works well to keep the incision area dry. Glad your recovery is coming along.
Mnemosyne
@WaterGirl:
My previous post-surgery experience was much, much worse because nobody (including me) knew about my bad reaction to opiates and anesthesia. This time, I really emphasized it when I was talking to the doctors, so they found stuff that worked for me. Phew!
Suzanne
@Pogonip: When I had my branchial cleft get infected and I had to wait six weeks for surgery, OTC painkillers didn’t do shit. Vicodin knocked out all the pain like a boss. When they removed it, they had to stretch a nerve to get it out, so I had no pain on recovery. Never needed the post-surgery pain prescription. When I FUBARed my hand last year, the prescription painkillers helped so hard.
A Ghost To Most
@CaseyL: What kind of glass do you do?
Gin & Tonic
@Yarrow: I had to use garbage bags, because I had a cast over my incision – so I had to cover almost to the shoulder.
WaterGirl
@TaMara (HFG): Speaking of which…
Two cops stopped a youngish black male across the street from my house. I walked out “to get the mail” and then happened to inquire of the officer “Is there a problem”?. He said, “no, I’m just talking with this man.” I saw the neighbor one door down and across the street stick his head out his door and called out “thank you” to the cops.
I walked over to the cops and said “My neighbor routinely calls the police on hispanic and black men, so please don’t assume that this gentleman has done anything wrong.” The man who had been stopped by the cops looked at me and said “He (meaning my neighbor) threatened to shoot me.”
This fellow was very neatly dressed, khakis and a royal blue polo shirt with the logo of the broadband company that is trying to get everyone connected to the internet with fiber. Funny, these guys have been in my neighborhood for weeks and AT&T has been here for months, but no one called the cops until it was a black man.
In spite of the fact that this fellow appeared to be no risk at all, the cops had to stand there with him publicly on the street for at least 15 minutes, and then BOTH cops escorted him down the street. If I were him, I would have been fearful and enraged. I made sure I stayed outside and nearby the whole time.
White privilege is a real thing, and if we have it, I think we need to look out for those who don’t. The cops were nice enough, but they still had to puff up and detain this fellow for no fucking reason because my racist neighbor has an issue with people of color. It makes me so angry.
Major Major Major Major
@Yarrow: I’ll have to remember to ask the next surgeon who cuts me open about that! Clever.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@WaterGirl: When I say the girls, I’m talking about the canines.
A Ghost To Most
@Miss Bianca:
Five miles south of Lake Ontario in WNY, halfway between Buffalo and Rochester, just north of the swamp. Sucky weather and no jobs. A good place to be FROM.
Mnemosyne
@Gin & Tonic:
CVS has this funky “Cast and Wound Protector,” which is basically a giant plastic bag that seals around your limb at each end. If it doesn’t work, we have plenty of Press N Seal.
TaMara (HFG)
@Raven: All which would require me to be handy, mechanical or hire a tech at $70+ an hour. Which I’d do if it was my dryer, but it came with some kind of gunk melted in it and it’s not the most efficient. I’m happy to turn it over to the recycle guy and get a new, more efficient one. Just not this week. So hang in there, dryer, hang in there.
I was happy to get a top loading, HE, agitator-less washing machine which uses hardly any water or soap.
WaterGirl
@CaseyL: Good for you, Casey! I’m happy for you.
WaterGirl
@Mnemosyne: What a relief! Literally and figuratively.
TaMara (HFG)
@WaterGirl: And yet, you made a difference, as best you could. We each need to do that whenever possible, to counter these racists. I wish there was some way you could report HIM to the police for his behavior.
WaterGirl
@?BillinGlendaleCA: I knew that.
Gin & Tonic
@Mnemosyne: Yeah, I went with garbage bags and duct tape, since I already had both.
zhena gogolia
@WaterGirl:
Good for you.
Josie
@Mnemosyne:
It’s good they found pain killers that work for you. Keeping the pain down is a big part of recovery. I’m glad you are doing well. Keep it up.
Pogonip
@TaMara (HFG): Muchas gracias.
Thank you.
I couldn’t put up a sign like that; mine would have to say “I don’t care where you are from but if you play loud horrible music I will NOT be glad you’re my neighbor.” I suffered through a lot of years in apartments.
I am pleased to report my current neigbors are great.
A Ghost To Most
@Miss Bianca:
Our dream is to sell here when my wife retires, and buy the house built on the campsite we camped on in 1980 in Henson, a “suburb” of Lake City. In reality, maybe Gunnison or Ridgway.
WaterGirl
@TaMara (HFG): His son was a cop, so he gets extra respect and coddling from the cops. They are aware that the neighbor is the way he is, yet they STILL puffed up and detailed the guy for 15-30 minutes. I swear, if I were a black person, I think I would spontaneously combust several times a week.
I’m sure if you experience crap like that every day, I am sure you learn to handle yourself. But it’s so wrong it’s maddening.
Raven
@TaMara (HFG): I got tired of fooling around when our stackable went south after 2 years so I used my Vets discount at Lowes to by a damn service contract. We also just bought a brand new Kia with a 10 year 100,000 mile warranty. I’l work on my Chevy for fun but the hell with the rest of it!
TaMara (HFG)
@Raven: I used to do my own tuneups, change my own oil. I open up my Kia and I’m lucky I can check the oil and put in windshield wiper fluid. LOL
laura
Cole’s back yard reminds me of my late friend Dan’s. He lived upstairs in an old house that had a very deep backyard, lined with fruit trees and a brick path down the center. His was THE house for the annual virgo party -so many of us are the product of holiday party’s just a scant 9 months earlier! One late summer September evening, I sat at the top of the stairs, looking out across the yard, filled with so many friends enjoying each others company, and celebrating the last of the summertime, and just above, hovering in the violet hour, scads of dragonflies having their own party undetected by most. Like Dan, so many have died since that night’s magic. I hope Mr. Cole has too many summer nights watching his yard and taking measure of the life he’s been making.
Its been a long day climbing laundry mountain, and having enjoyed a summer tomato pesto spinach lasagne, its cool enough to do some yard work and get everything watered, planted and squared away.
Shana
@A Ghost To Most: The house I grew up in is kinda like that. Purely mid-century modern, designed by my father, in a smallish community where that is definitely an oddity. When he died and it came time to sell we knew it would be somewhat difficult. Fortunately found a couple who loved it and had been somewhat involved with the building community in that area and knew of his work and were thrilled to buy it. They’ve updated it, which it needed, but told me they always asked themselves when it came time to do another area of the house “would Tevis approve?”
As I recall it sold for something like $120,000 and in Northern Virginia where I live now, or Chicago where I lived before, it would be $500,000-750,000 easily.
Shana
@Mnemosyne: Glad to hear that. I don’t remember exactly what your surgery was, but my SIL had both her knees replaced a few years ago and had to really go through withdrawal when it came time to quit the pain killers. AIR she was on them for something like a month. Much better to wean yourself before it becomes an issue.
Michael
Pictures of Rosie are never gratuitous.
A Ghost To Most
@Shana: Location, location, koi pond. The house we sold in MD is worth slightly more now than when we sold it in 2009. The house we bought here in Golden in 2010 is up almost 60%.
Ohio Mom
@Miss Bianca: I had the same reaction to codeine, and then flashbacks for a long time afterwards — I remember a couple of months later, sitting in a huge auditorium for a performance and those walks started to close in on me.
At that point, I could talk myself down but I never want to have that experience again.
Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho
Nice house & great garden Cole. I’ll second the notion that no pictures of Rosie are gratuitous – or any other Cole pet.
Lovely ducks, TaMara! They are pretty big in their pool.
@Ohio Mom: Ugh. That’s all I got. Hope things are otherwise good in your neck of the area.
Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho
@Raven: I’m so sorry to read about L’il Bit having yet another issue. She’s such a trouper.
sukabi
@Pogonip: works different for different people…it knocks me OUT for 18 hours on one side…needless to say, I don’t take it if I can avoid it.
sukabi
@sukabi: dose, should have been one dose.
Ohio Mom
@Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho: You’re back! Where have you been? How are you?
Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho
@CaseyL: Congrats – that’s very exciting!
Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho
@Shana: That’s a really sweet story; thanks for sharing it.
Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho
@Ohio Mom: Wave to Ohio Dad for me too! I’ve been sort of swamped at the new job, which is a hike (to Dayton). Then we bought a place in Amberley and moved (YAY!) during a crazy crisis time at work, and I’ve never quite gotten unpacked and settled into a routine. But I only have a 3 day commute now so I have more energy for online interaction. I still need to get my home office desk just right but the 2 days without the drive is amazing.
I’ve missed everybody. Hiya all you jackals.
Juju
@?BillinGlendaleCA: I call one of my girls Stinkerbelle the other is a bit of a priss and stickiness is not an issue.
Miss Bianca
@A Ghost To Most: My pal D and I were looking for potential new sites to put the meadery…we got excited about a couple places in Powderhorn, till we saw where it was. Oy, and I thought Westcliffe was remote!
J R in WV
My dad designed the house we grew up in, built in 1950, after Frank Lloyd Wright’s houses, flat roof, knotty pine ceilings, native fieldstone chimney BIG one in the living room, backing in the kitchen where it would be glowing warm in the early mornings. So after he died in 2004, the next summer we took everything we wanted (my younger brother and his wife, me and my wife) there was an auction of everything else, including the house and property.
We took a bath on the house, just the 3 acre lot was worth more than we got for the house, on the end of a ridge top surrounded by huge trees overlooking town, actually old civil war site around the house — probably should have mentioned that, huh?
Too late now by many years… I don’t go there any more.
karensky
Love your FoH pix. Backyard is transformed! My favorite things are the lettuce boxes. What a stroke of genius.
Miss Bianca
@Ohio Mom: And what’s funny is that I have a great reaction to codeine! Makes me happy and sleepy. I wish they offered it to me more often as a pain pill, frankly.
A Ghost To Most
@J R in WV: Nice. What battlle?
My father built a nothing fancy house, and lived in it for 30 years until the arsonist next door burned it down. There was 50 lbs of black powder in kegs in the garage under the house. My uncle just had time to warn the firemen to back off before they blew.
Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho
@Miss Bianca: Howdy!! I have a draft email to you I started the week after we moved. I’ll try to finish it tomorrow.
@WG – good for you for intervening. Is there a way to drive the racist nimrod away?
@karen marie: I just installed it and I love it! Thank you.
Miss Bianca
@Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho: Howdy, back! Been way too long since we’ve seen you in the jackals’ den. Glad you are back! Look forward to hearing from you – just this evening I was reading an article thinking I needed to forward it on to you!
dww44
@karensky: I endorse and further congratulate on that particular choice of yellow for your home. It’s cheery and not too strong. I like subtle colors and your home is very welcoming from the street.
J R in WV
@A Ghost To Most:
Just a local skirmish, they dug in some little cannon on the ridge to shoot down on the roads in the valley below. The town probably had all of 50 people in it back then, so Battle of Middle of No Where, Va. So we had a big hole that my dad spent his whole life pouring leaves and lawn clippings and sticks into… strange in retrospect.
Cole, worrying about gray hair at your age is so silly. I was bald by the time I got out of the Navy at 22… Still brown around the edge, but my beard is nearly white now. It just means you aren’t dead yet!!!
Smile, be Happy!!
CaseyL
@A Ghost To Most: Fused glass; subcategory, “deep glass” where the picture is created in multiple layers, each with a different element of the image built in frit (glass powder). The layers are fired individually, then all stacked together and fired in a block. I’ve been doing fused glass for about 2 years, seriously into it. Then last summer I took a class on the deep glass technique and fell in love. I do want to sell my stuff at some point, but am still in the learning stage.
@WaterGirl: @Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho: Thank you for the good wishes!
rikyrah
Your house looks beautiful, Cole?
HumboldtBlue
I got family bout your way.
Thought of my nephew when I saw this link.
Duane
@A Ghost To Most: An arsonist for a neighbor an fifty pounds of black powder in your garage. Seems like there’s more to this story. Most people don’t keep powder in such excess amounts.
Olivia
Your house is beautiful and so is your yard. Do you have a before photo of the house? It would be fun to see a comparison of then and now.
I am starting a week of adult Spanish immersion at Concordia Language Villages.
Ohio Mom
@Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho: We lived in Kettering for a while. The only thing I continue to miss from those days is the bread at Dorothy Lane Market.
So much great stuff was invented in Dayton in its prime, including the automobile electric ignition system (which was a great boon because people used to get run over after turning that front crank), the cash register, and the pop top for cans. Oh, and the airplane too. It’s a mystery how a place that was so creative turned into the tired little town it is today.
A Ghost To Most
@Miss Bianca:
Creede and Maybell are OUT THERE too. Henson is ~10 miles up from Lake City towards Engineer Pass. True boonies, in the aspens.
A Ghost To Most
@Duane: I have a very interesting family.
My dad acquired at different times two different Civil War cannon barrels and the appropriate wagon wheels, and built the carriages. A mortar as well. They were fired in competition, and chewed up a lot of black powder.
In addition, the “family” gun team (8 man teams with muzzleloaders) chewed through 5000-7000 rounds a year. 50 lbs was about good for the year. Massive amounts of lead as well.
Ruckus
@Pogonip:
It depends on the consumer. For example Oxy makes me puke, Vicodin actually works. I’ve been prescribed a benzodiazepine, we used to call them bennies and it does nothing for my symptoms but it does get me stoned. Not in a good way either.
A lot of pain killers and neuro drugs are very specific for each person and they don’t work the same way for everyone. It can/does make finding the right drug rather difficult, especially if your doc is not willing to work the situation through, which some of them are not. They prescribe a med for everyone and expect the same results and don’t believe you when you report side effects or non responsiveness. It can make one, shall we say bitter.
Ruckus
@Mnemosyne:
Glad things are going well.
Even after my last comment I say Follow Docs Orders.
All of my surgeries have gone well and I do what they say. They were amazed after my last one, which I was awake for, they said lay still in recovery for six hours. And I did. They didn’t tell me I couldn’t talk though so I did that. Non stop. Except when they were removing, ahh things.
Ruckus
@TaMara (HFG):
I got a new car 2 yrs ago.
I’ve rebuilt and installed 4 cyl motorcycle engines in a day by myself, I’ve rebuilt cars, built bicycles professionally, blah, blah, blah.
I couldn’t get the hood open to show the guys at work the engine. I did it once at the dealer, forgot how. Damn this getting old shit.
Mnemosyne
@Ruckus:
Like I said, I was pretty happy that all of the docs involved seemed to take me seriously when I said I don’t do well with opiates. I emailed the ortho this morning and I have permission to stop the opiate tomorrow and use Aleve instead, so we’ll see how that goes. I’m definitely doing a lot better than after the previous surgery, but we didn’t know at that time how much of an issue the more common stuff would be for me.
Ruckus
@Mnemosyne:
Naproxen works quite well for me for pain things unrelated to my current situation. That’s the active ingredient to Aleve. Better than any of the other NSAIDs. With my current thing it does nothing. Migraines, nothing. But then the pains are normally short lived and intense, hitting in many different places and just about the time I’m ready to scream FUCK at the top of my lungs, it goes away. OK, 2 weeks ago it didn’t and nothing helped, heat, cold, drugs. And then after a day and a half it goes away. I hope they find out why my body is trying to kill me before it actually does.
Ruckus
@Mnemosyne:
Three surgeries ago the doc gave me Oxy. I hate that shit with the heat of a thousand suns. Next time different doc said we’ll give you Oxy, I said don’t bother I refuse to take that, he offered Vicodin and it worked great. Still only took it for 2 days. I find that it’s the first days that cause the most intense pain and really if you’ve ever had migraines at pain level 11, which is when you want someone to shoot you or 12, which is when you are willing but fortunately unable to shoot yourself, then the operating pain after a couple of days is not all that bad. At least it never has been for me.
JimV
Are you fracking-kidding me?
You realize what this means? We could fix climate-change and impeach Trump! Anything is possible. Anything!
Jay C
The house looks great, John: rest assured that at least in the opinion of your blog-fans [insert Disclaimer HERE] the result has been worth the (well-documented and thoroughly-cursed-at) effort.
What sort of trees have you planted? Outside of the obvious willow (is that in a damp spot?) and what looks like a young maple in front, it’s hard to tell.
BroD
I had something of a windfall recently (not really a total “windfall”: I sold a very good, very big and pretty rare 35mm lens) and spent the day and the proceeds throwing money at Dems via ActBlue. Good times! :~)