Tag Archives: health

Tuesday Afternoon Ramblings

About the only way to get them in a picture together…

I’ll be with my sons for the next week, so I probably won’t be writing many entries while they’re here.  I haven’t seen them since August, and even though we talk four to five nights a week, there’s nothing like holding them, hearing their laughter in person, and playing for hours on end.  My creative energy needs the rejuvenation they give me.  Anyone who knows me knows how much my boys mean to me and how difficult this time of year is without them.

I don’t make New Year’s resolutions; in my experience, they rarely work and often solidify bad habits even more than before the attempt to change for the sake of a new year.  Instead, I prefer to reflect on what was positive in the previous year that I can build upon and what was negative that I can eliminate.  This year, I have a lot of positive, the most notable of which is my affiliation with Seventh Star Press.  2012 is going to be a great year for The Brotherhood of Dwarves series.  I also made great progress on the farm, and even though that project has had to be put on hold for now, I still have a lot of confidence that we can get it off the ground.

The negative I’ll keep personal, but I learned a lot of valuable lessons this past year.  I will take from those lessons and grow as a person.  I’ll learn to appreciate and be more grateful for my blessings, and I’ll try harder to let go of the past and move forward into a better, healthier tomorrow.

Happy early New Year’s to all my family, friends, and readers.  May 2012 be a great year for you and yours.

Thursday Morning Ramblings

There are so many things I want to write about, but at this point of the semester, I simply don’t have the time.  Instead, I’m going to post a few links to articles I’ve found interesting recently.  Many thanks to Philip Hopkins, who originally pointed me in the direction of many of these.  Hope you enjoy:

GOP Presidential Candidate Defends Constitution:  http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/11/15/gop-presidential-candidate-buddy-roemer-bloomberg-on-the-wrong-side-of-history/

How 300 “got it wrong” and reflects a disdain for citizenship:  http://davidbrin.blogspot.com/2011/11/move-over-frank-miller-or-why-occupy.html

Which tier are you in:  http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45319319/ns/us_news-the_new_york_times/#.TsUotT2VrlY

Why the USPS is being run into ground:  http://redtape.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/10/07/8191425-twisted-government-accounting-behind-postal-service-woes

A tragic example of the failures of our current healthcare system:  http://www.lifehealthpro.com/2011/11/07/tragic-tale

Monday Afternoon Ramblings

New wall along far side.

My apologies for being away so long, but this summer proved to be a roller coaster to say the least.  I’ll spare the details, but just about everything that could go haywire did.

Today’s entry is a brief update on the farm.  Yes, I’m still working on it and moving forward, but there have been several setbacks along the way that have made it a much slower process than I had hoped.  Most importantly, it took a lot of work to fix the flooding issue along the back wall.  Even after I installed the drainage pipe, I had to by hand rework the ground slope along the length of building to make water flow to the drains.  That was one of the hardest, dirtiest, hottest jobs I’ve ever done and took many, many days to complete.  However, now, I’m fairly confident that the situation is under control.  There are only a couple of places inside the building that need to be sealed to prevent water from flowing through erosions in the mortar.

Another major issue that has taken much more time than originally anticipated has been repairing the outer wall.  After close inspection, I realized that virtually every board along the front and far side needed to be replaced, so I’ve had to strip the entire area and cut boards to replace what was water or pest damaged.  Fortunately, the treated wood of the foundation is in good shape, but it has still been an enormous job.

Also, after looking at the water issues along the far side wall, we decided to replace much of the old wooden wall with new cinder blocks.  I’m not a brick mason, and it has been 22 years since I last laid block, so that’s coming along slowly.  Tearing out the old wall took a little time, too, but I believe that once it’s complete, the new wall will be much better against the elements.

While I’m not where I wanted to be by this point, overall, I’m pleased with the progress.  The building isn’t too far away from being functional, and we should be able to begin production over the next few months.  Again, thank you to everyone who has supported and encouraged me along the way with this endeavor.  I appreciate you more than I can express.