More Work in the Yard

      Next thing to do was get my firewood racks in order, refill the rack I used in the winter, old wood up front, etc. That took a while. One side of the shed has a firewood rack. Get the sun most of the time. The other side has my compost bins. Three black plastic bins and one wooden bin. Each year, I move the stuff from one bin to another. The wooden bin is last, and that's where my wife get the soil for all her planters.
That side of the shed seems to be in shade most of the time. That's one reason I have to move them, and another reason is that I have to lift that side of the shed. A lot of water accumulates at the back of the yard during the winter. At the back corner, on the other side of the yard, I had a wood rack - gone now. And that is where the compost bins are going.
       There's a photo of my shed a few years ago. Wood on one side, bins on the other, but you can't see them. Shed looks level.
      And you can pick up a copy of my latest book "Mediterranean Mission" by clicking on the photo on the right.

I think I'm a Renaissance man. This morning I used jacks to lift the shed and level it. and now after supper, I'm washing the dishes.

Outside Again

      After getting the tree cut down and branches from the other trees lopped off, the backyard was full of potential firewood. That all had to be cut up, carted away, etc. But this was Oct. and starting to get cold, so it would have to wait until the spring. We shoved it all at the back of the yard and left it to stare at all winter. It did make big snow banks.
      I spent part of last week cutting it up and carting it away. There was also bundles of small branches for garbage pickup. Garbage day is usually Mon. but since Mon was a holiday, our day was Sat. We are only allowed to throw out five bundles at a time, so three of my neighbors got to enjoy four or five bundles each. So now it is gone, and that's that.
      I'm glad it was on Sat. because Sunday was heavy rain, and we would have had to carry it all out in that.

Outside Work.

I was busy outside last week. Last fall, I had one maple tree cut down and three others trimmed. They are large trees, about 70' high. The one I had cut down started to rot about 5' up. A branch was cut off years ago and it started there. Bugs got in and over the years it just got worse. I became worried that in some hurricane it would fall on the house next door. Not that I'm worried about it - that house is abandoned and ready for the wreckers. The property has a new owner, and people have been around in the last couple of days. That will bring along a new set of worries. What kind of neighbor will I get? In the photo you can see the tree coming down and the house next door.

Still Free today!

      My book is still free today. So jump on it and grab a copy. And don't forget the review. You know how we want reviews.

My Review: Lost Light (Harry Bosch #9)

May 17, 2015

rating	5 of 5 stars
bookshelves	read
status	Read from May 20 to 21, 2015
format	Paperback
review	Poor Bosch. Now a retired policeman, he finds what it is like to be one of us. This is a story that moves along at a fast clip with a surprise ending. Even retired, he can't put down the hammer. I liked the story line. It even had a bit of humanity at the end. Could bring a tear to your eye.

The Secret of Getting Ahead

The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one.

MARK TWAIN

My Review: Double Jeopardy (Tweed & Co. #1) by Colin Forbes

May 13, 2015

rating	4 of 5 stars
bookshelves	read edit shelves
status	Read from May 15 to 20, 2015
format	Paperback (edit)
review	A story of European intelligence in the 1980's. The assignation of a world leader is in the mix, and the race is on to stop the assassin. It is not a complex story and the second half is fast passed.

My Review: The Holy Thief (Chronicles of Brother Cadfael #19) by Ellis Peters

May 13, 2015

rating	2 of 5 stars
bookshelves	read
status	Read from May 13 to 15, 2015
format	Paperback
review	I was disappointed with this book of Brother Cadfael. He seems to have ben dropped back to a secondary character. I found it boring.

Oil Change

Got my tires changed on the van this morning. Faster and cheaper when you own the rims. Also, had an oil change. Oil changes for this van cost more because of the different type of filter. Strange looking filter. 6' high and about 2' across. Looks like an air filter. I'll put up a photo. On the way home it started to snow. Turned to water on the ground.

Daily Newspaper

      Well, there are three days left on my newspaper subscription. I didn't bother renewing it. $350.00 for a year. I hardly read it - just the obituary and the comics, and lately, I have been doing that on my pad. I can go on a comics site and get stacks of them. I read Blondie, Luann and Alley Oop.
      Of course, there other uses for a newspaper, spread on the floor for this or that. Fortunately, there another newspaper in the area that is free. Just pick it up at the supermarket.

Snow Tires

    
      There is no snow on my lawn, which means it's time to change my tires. I have to bring them up from the shed. With rims on, they're quite heavy. It's almost May, and normally I'm cutting grass by now. At least it has stopped raining.

Good Old Days

  

 
 You often hear people reminisce about the good old days. Well, I remember something special - the toilet paper was a lot rougher. And it didn't matter whether it was Eaton's or Simpson's, it just didn't crumple up all that well. If you were out in the woods, you could always use grass. The flies would be on it before it hit the ground.
      After the printing press came out, do you know what the most popular books were? You are going to say the Bible. Well no, it was books of poetry. The pages made fine toilet paper. They say you could see crumpled poetry pages tossed in the wind across the fields of England.
      Did you ever wash you hands after going to an outdoor toilet? No bathroom sinks there. When you were a kid, and they called you shitty-pants, there probably was a reason. And when they said you were as green as grass, they probably meant your ass. Yep, you're as green as your ass.

Rain

      I'm trying to force good weather by wearing short sleeve shirts. After the last few days, I'm worried that it might be the recipe for a monsoon. It started raining yesterday morning and it is still at it. I had an appointment for tomorrow morning to put on the summer tires, but I cancelled it until next week. The problem is, my back yard is like a swamp and there is still snow in some spots. And that's a problem because my tires are stored at the back of my shed. I built an extension on the shed to house my snow blower, the tires, and all the snow shovels. So I have to drag the tires through the swamp. I'm going to use a wheel barrow. Those tires are heavy. I rolled them down hill getting to the shed, but I certainly can't roll them uphill, and, of course, it's still raining.

Island

Did you ever see those cartoons of a small desert island, where there is just one palm tree? Usually it has a guy with a long beard, standing and watching. When I was on a cruise a few months back, I saw a few of those islands. There it was, all alone in the Caribbean Sea, with one palm tree. As far as I could see, the population was zero. The palm trees were quite high, so they must have been there for awhile. I wonder if those islands get larger or just sink out of sight. Could you land on one of them, plant your homemade flag, and say, this is mine? Set up a little bar. Get on the list as a cruise ship stopover. You would probably need a good radio to warn you when a hurricane was approaching.

Old Age

      One day I saw this woman I hadn't seen for many years. My God, you haven't changed. If I saw you walking down the street, I would recognize you. I blinked and said, "What? You mean to tell me that I looked 72 yrs. old when I was in high school.

Line In the Sand

When you draw a line in the sand, do you have to use a sword? That sentence makes me think of the Alamo, Walt Disney and Davy Crockett. I just finished a bottle of Davy Crockett wine. Visited Fess Parker's winery a while back. Wine tasting at 10 in the morning. That set the tone for the day.

If you go to a restaurant and don't have a steak - it's like wasting your time. So says my wife.

Spring Maybe.

      

So, here it is, Sat. and no snow. That's like a miracle. We have had a storm on Sat. for the longest time. We had snow last Tue. when I had to use the snow blower. After each storm, I would say, "Well, that's it for the snow blower for this year." That hasn't worked out too well, so last Tue. it was mouth shut." We are into rain and fog now. Last night the snow banks dropped by 6 ins.
      I put my latest book on Amazon. "St. Peters Bones." The bones actually tie into the story. I'll explain it all tomorrow. The what and the why and the how.

 It's snowing like a bugger. The weather channel says its light snow. Yeah, sure, when you weigh one flake at a time.
The garbage man just picked up the recyclables. He's certainly not a wimp.
Had to get out the snow blower. I suppose the plow will come and fill in some more.