flat Olaf

Made my own Olaf for now. He's flat and fragile. But he looks happy anyways.

at the skate park

We had some kids with us yesterday and we took them to the skate park.  Exposure for them (they don't skate) and to satisfy a curiosity for us.  We wanted to see where the park was and we thought it'd be fun to see some of the action.  While walking, this kid stopped me ...

he:  Hey, will take a photo of me?

I: How will I get it to you?

he: Put it on Facebook.

I: (shaking my head) I don't do Facebook.

he:  What do you use?

I:  I don't use any of that. (pause) I can e-mail it to you.

he: okay. (He poses, leans over on the girl next to him. She fusses. He stands back.)

I:  OK.  Just you then. (flash)

he:  OW! OW! OW!  (rubs his eyes) Let me give you my e-mail.

he:  (to the girl) you got a pen?
she: no
he: make up pencil?
she: gives him a "look"
he: Ok, well, just post it and tell your friends you saw this cool dude at the park.
I show him the photo on the camera and we parted.

So dude, here's your photo.

random shot

cat toys

breakfast

Small TV dinner and juice from a young coconut.  I eat so that I can take my medicine.  Then I have to run off to help set up in church this morning for tonight's vigil mass.

goodbye, my friend

Tuxedo cat died at 15 years of age.  The fella never hinted that he was old.  Sweet, sweet, handsome cat.

wine

Yellow Tail, Ecco Domani, Franciscan

Shiraz, Pinot Grigio, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot

Smuckers, of course, is not wine ... just happened to be there and I didn't bother to move it.

No wine for me though. No desire for it or any other alcoholic beverage. I don't think my body likes it.

random shot

random shots

bock-bock-bock-baaark

mooo

mooo

... all thanks to Schepps.

muzzle review

This is the Jafco muzzle. It is plastic with rubber straps--meaning that there will be no qualms about getting it wet. It comes in white, black, and clear.

The fastening hardware is smooth inside and out. The plastic is glassy smooth on the inside and bead-blasted for a matte finish on the outside. The felt nosepad is fastened in two places. I don't know felt weights but would estimate this to be medium to heavy felt. Photo 3 is to give you an idea of the thickness of the plastic; a nickel is there for reference. Photo 3 also shows that the holes are beveled - this makes cleaning easier.

Photo 4 shows the size 4S on our Labrador Retriever. It's been adjusted so that it doesn't smush his nose. Also, he is able to open his mouth, can pant and drink. However, I might try a larger diameter muzzle next time so that he can open his mouth more.

When dogs drink, their tongue roll under, so I wonder if that seam on the inside might bother him. He has given the muzzle a pretty good work-out since these photos were taken. The muzzle is a bit scuffed up now and there is mud and grass trapped in the seams, but that isn't a problem to me. He can't get out of the muzzle himself, but it is pretty easy to pull that neck strap right over his head and pop that muzzle off. That isn't a feature; just letting you know that it can happen.

He can now accompany me when I work outside. With the muzzle on, he can no longer run off with my tools (or otherwise hurt himself by putting them in his mouth). However, I discovered that I can't paint with him outside. The other night I was painting and he went around me to get to the can of paint and started to drink the paint. Did I already say that he can drink with the muzzle on? Other possible mishaps include him getting into wet paint or knocking over the paint can.

I like the idea of the clear one, but it's softer material than the white or black one. I thought I needed tough plastic for this dog, so I got the white. I thought the white would be cooler (temperature-wise) than the black. Also, I can see better if anything odd is happening in that muzzle. I might get the clear one for use in the car. He had chewed off a piece of something the last time he was in the car. A softer one would be less likely to scuff up the car or scratch the glass windows.

Leerburg has the largest selection of sizes and also offers all three colors.

Yes I would recommend this muzzle to prevent the dog from eating things he shouldn't. Of, course, the best thing is to train the dog away from the undesired behavior. But if you're like me and can't seem to accomplish that, the muzzle is better than not doing anything at all. All muzzled dogs should be supervised since they won't be able to use their number one defense mechanism. I'm not sure about using one of these to prevent them chewing on post-surgery stitches. Seems like they can still use the hard edges of the plastic to scratch at the stitches.

gate results

The J-B Weld seems to be holding for now. This was the second application. On the first application, the J-B Weld pulled the surface treatment off the brick. There's a layer of something on the brick to give it its texture; that came off. So I re-applied the J-B weld to the same spot now that it's cleaned off, and it seems to be holding. The close-up shot shows a failed attempt below it; I had tried some other epoxy before and it didn't work.

Actually, when the J-B Weld didn't work the first time, I attempted to drill into the brick so that I can set an anchor for a screw. After about an hour and I'd gotten only maybe 1/4 inch into the brick, I decided that J-B Weld was worth another try.

That might be too big a job for the one bracket and one screw into the post. I might go find another bracket that would allow me to put two screws into the post and add it.

I've discovered that I need a handle on the inside too, since the gate needs a slight lift into the paddle latch to close. I had positioned the latch to support the gate (not just capture it). Perhaps I shouldn't have, but it's done. It has definitely been a learning experience.

gate - almost there

The gate turned out ok. It took all afternoon yesterday.

The first photo shows my set up for stabilizing the gate so that I can get the hinges installed.

I still have a wedge in the gate in the second photo because the hinge post has a tendency to lean with the weight of the gate. I've obtained an L-bracket and J-B Weld and attempted to secure the top of the post to the brick. That was last night. The J-B Weld should have cured by noon. If it works out, I'll post a picture to show what I'm talking about. Final touch would be to saw off the extra 4x4, but that can be put off until who-knows-when.

lumber

That's over $200 worth of lumber. I hope nobody steals them; we don't really have a fence. The lumber is for new fences on the front, on either side of the house. We had a walk-through gate on one side. This time I'll make a gate on both sides.

I buy the lumber and let it sit out, hoping they'd dry. The 4x4's have been there a few weeks. The 2x4's have been there a week, and I just got the pickets yesterday morning. I still need another 4x4; a slight mis-calculation on my part.

Hopefully next week I'll get the stuff to bury the poles with: gravel and concrete mix. I think I have the screws to fasten the pieces together; I'll have to check. We should have new front fences by end of June. Yeah, it's taking me a long time. I can only spend a fixed amount of $ each week. I suppose it's ok since I need to let the wood dry anyways.

elm trees

We are proud owners of two Chinese Elm trees. They are each in "15 gallon" containers which I measured to be around 18 inches in diameter, 16 inches deep with the dirt being approximately 1 inch below the rim. I estimate that the tree trunk is 1 inch in diameter and the height is 10 feet.

Getting them into our minivan and getting them home was something of an adventure. Our friends with pickup trucks had other obligations, so minivan it is.

Gumby is most unhappy that I had not called before yesterday to get the go-ahead for digging. We'll have to wait for those folks to come out before we can plant the trees. They'll be planted in our front yard, which is currently devoid of any trees. We hope to have them planted (by me) before Mother's Day. We had originially hoped to have these trees in the yard by Easter, but the slew of rainy weather we've been having made that impossible. It's a little late in the season to be planting, I think, but we'll take the chance. We're so excited. These trees will give us such lovely shade when they're grown. We've already named them; they were named even before we ever decided what trees to plant.

Help! What is this tree?

It is deciduous. I don't think it has flowers; strictly for shade. I don't know if it has fruits or nuts. As you can see, it grows very tall/big. Its canopy seems pretty airy. Photos were taken today; the leaves are new growth. A few weeks back there were no leaves. From a distance, the bark seems smooth; close-up you can see that it's just a finer texture but not smooth. Help!!! What is this tree?

update: I think it's a Chinese Elm (otherwise called a Lacebark Elm?) or some variation thereof.

rainbow

snackin' Christmas

corn dog lunch

random shot

I believe this is the chapel at University of the Incarnate Word

carnival

Every so often, a carnival comes and sets up in a large parking lot somewhere in town.

roof damage at school

A school with roof damage from hurricane Ike.