Picnic Table Anyone?

The newest project under the belt, a Family sized picnic table! (complete with booster seat for the little kiddies)
Amazing what you can do with the right tools. Too bad I didn't have them! But, I persevered and adapted and overcame like the FN HandyMan that I am! WOOP!
Here tis!



I still need to sand it, but J and I completed it and rounded all the corners off!
YAY US!
It only took about 6.5 hours to this point. (That whole thing about not having the right tool slowed me down a tad.)
It was totally a fun project though, and NOTHING human is going to break THAT table!
BBQ anyone?

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Quote for the day:

"Nothing shocks me. I'm a scientist." ----- Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones in 1942

The Simplest of Times, The Toughest of Times

Every once in a while, things happen to people that you can't help them with.
It really sucks at these times, because, if you love your friends and family, it's difficult to feel so helpless. I'm just the type of person that I try to help no matter what. If someone is going to bring me into their circle and confide in me and trust me, I want to be there for them to do what ever they need me for.
Going through tough times is never easy for the person actually living through it.
Being on the fringes of these times can be trying, but I find it's a blessing that I can be there and help to support, prop up, give advice, etc.... to my friends in need of such things.
I passed my first 100 days without any alcohol a couple of days ago.
I'm so grateful that I have such supportive friends and family around me to help me through it.
Funny thing is my eyesight is going. It's getting difficult to read things that people try to show me right up in my face. I just can't focus fast enough. Here I thought it was just the alcohol. LOL
It seems I'm at that age where things start falling apart. (sigh)
I don't feeeel old, so I'm not old.
I still act like a big nerd and I actually enjoy it. It helps people to laugh.
I'm sure it's annoying at times, but those times are surely outweighed by the warm fuzzy feeling my friends BETTER GET when I'm around. ;)
Anyways...
I made a BIG batch of my Spice of Life if anyone is interested. I'm sending some out this week for those of you that are waiting on it. Look for it in your snailmail box.

I planted some Black Pine seeds this week. I'm going to try my hand at Bonsai trees and they're the ones that came in the nice kit my bro got me for Christmas. I can't wait to watch them transform. Very slowly. Yes, I'm a gardening nerd too. Live with it! I have to.

That is all.

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Quote for the day:

"Regard your good name as the richest jewel you can possibly be possessed of - for credit is like fire; when once you have kindled it you may easily preserve it, but if you once extinguish it, you will find it an arduous task to rekindle it again. The way to gain a good reputation is to endeavor to be what you desire to appear. " -- Socrates

Lunch Anyone?

Wondering what I was going to have for lunch, I shopped the frig and found some carrots and a bit of onion.
Hmmm....
What can I whip up with that?

Here's what I came up with:

D’s Cream of FN Carrot Soup



4 large carrots – chopped coarsely
¼ cup chopped onion
1 tbsp minced gahlic
1 tbsp buttah
1/3 cup cream or vitamin D milk
1 tsp D’s Spice of Life
1 Chicken bullion cube
Chopped flat parsley (for garnish, cut as much as you want)
water
salt
pepper
Stick Blender, boat motor, or other submersible blade that spins around and fits in a sauce pan.


In a medium sized saucepan, melt the buttah over medium heat, stir in gahlic, heat for 30 seconds. Dump in the carrots and onion. Pour in enough water (took me about 2 cups) to just be barely below covering the carrots. Add bullion cube and the spice of life.
Turn heat up to high and bring to a boil, then lower heat back to low, cover and cook until the carrots are very tender, probably about 15 minutes.
Take off the heat. Grab your boat motor and puree the carrots until very smooth. Add the cream. Mix that with your boat motor since you still have it out. Return to medium heat for another 2 minutes or so and don’t let it out of your sight. Stir it a lot so it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan. Taste it and add any salt and pepper as needed.
Garnish with fresh chopped parsley.

MMM MMM Goooood!

My son just called me and he introduced a game to his coach that I made up involving a frisbee that Leyen and I used to play.

They're actually presenting it to the athletic commission for the school to use it in their curriculum! WAY cool!

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Quote for the day:

"To err is human--and to blame it on a computer is even more so. " -- Robert Orben

There wasn't a Effin Pot of Gold

Saw this yesterday on the way home from work in the rain!
God's work is amazing!

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Quote for the day:

"I told the doctor I broke my leg in two places. He told me to quit going to those places." -- Henny Youngman

Saint Cupids Day Remembrance

A St. Cupid's Day Haiku:

Yes it was the norm,
Saint Cupids Day Remembered
Just another day.



Aren't haiku's fun!
Ok. Maybe not THAT fun.
As I stated in my haiku, St. Cupid's Day is just another day to me any more.
My ex-GF is in the flower business and she is pretty much against any kind of celebratory function of any romantic holiday or holiday in general. (One of the reasons she's an ex now I've now figured out...negativity just doesn't fit me). Not that I thought that there should be one single day in every 365 day span that a man woo's a woman of his choosing and decides to woo said woman because of a marketing ploy by the greetings card industry (incidently there's a 50% chance that it was thought up by a woman). Anyhoot, I don't buy into that particular ploy. When I have a significant other, she'll get woo'ed all year long at differing times in hopes that she will get the fact that she's on my mind ALL the time, not just one day out of the year. Heard a phrase recently: "You're only on my mind once a day, every day. The entire 24 hours." That pretty much sums things up for me.
So, not only was St Cupid's day just another day for the simple reason that I don't have a significant other at the moment, it's just a normal day for me anyways.
A Good example of said woo'ing is that same ex-GF's birthday one year. She didn't just have a birthday on that day! Oh no! She had 7 days worth of birthday with her actual birthday being the pinacle. Chaucer couldn't have done any better I tell ya! It sure got me laid though.

I heard a story on the radio the other day about a man who was looking for some extra cash to spend on his wife on valentines day. So, he made reservations at 10 or so swanky restaurants for Cupids day. Then, he sold said reservations to his work chums who hadn't thought so well in advance and made a cool $200 on the deal. Smart man! Apparently he used the money to sign he and his wife up for a cooking class which was to be held on Cupid's day. Maybe he wasn't so smart...

I'm sure everyone has a horror story about St Cupids day and I'm not any different in that respect. One Cupid's day, oh so long ago, I bought flowers for a nice young lady (cause I was young too). I showed up on her doorstep and she opened the door, shook my hand, and said, "Just friends! Thanks!" and closed the door in my face.
I knocked on the door again, and when she opened the door, I threw the flowers at her and said, "Yea. Just friends. Have a nice effin day." Of course, the word effin wasn't around back then, so I used the usual expletive beginning with an F, a K in the middle, and ending with a G. What's so funny about that particular chick was, she showed up at the movie theater I worked at afterwards, and asked to watch a movie. Needless to say, she didn't have any money, so she couldn't afford the ticket. It was too bad really, she was hot. I guess she just wasn't in to me because I looked like Beaker from the muppets at the time. (shut it Joni!)
Ahhh, ain't love grand!
I just recently used the remainder of a bottle of Polo my first love gave me. She loved that scent so much! It still smelled wonderful after over 20 years. Yes. It was a big bottle. I wore it when we saw each other again after the same period of time. One wonders if the other noticed. Ah well...

There you have it.
Another wonderful Saint Cupid's day goes down in the annals of History for 1 FN Handyman.
Just... like... every... other day... I survive. ;)


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Quote for the Day:

"That best portion of a good man's life,
His little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and of love."
-- William Wordsworth

Ready for some FN Culture? (and split pea soup too)

This song has been playing in my head for a couple of days now, and I finally figured out what the heck it was!
So I'm sharing.
Get over it!
Enjoy the classical original version of Edvard Griegs "In the Hall of the Mountain King"!
Turn it up. You might even like it.

Here's lunch today too:

D’s FN Split Pea Soup


1 lb of split peas, picked over for stones and washed (You pick the color)
1 onion chopped however you like it
3 celery stalks chopped however you like it
3 carrots. Yes, chop them however you like it
1 tbsp of minced gahlic
3 tbsp of D’s spice of life
6 rashers of bacon, chopped
2 tbsp chicken better’n bullion paste
8 cups of water (filter it if’n ya wanna)

1) In a large soup pot, cook the bacon until it’s crispy.
2) Toss in the onion, carrots, and celery and sautee it for a couple of minutes.
3) Add the gahlic and sautee for about 30 sexonds.
4) Add the water, bullion paste, My spice of life, and the peas.
5) Heat to boiling over medium heat, lower heat and cover with lid cocked simmering for 45 minutes.
6) Duh. Eat it!


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Quote for the day:

"Suddenly, a mist fell from my eyes, and I knew the way I had to take." --- Edvard Grieg

LET THERE BE FN PLANTS!

This here, is what ya call baby cherry tomato plants....5 days after planting.
Yea, I'm THAT good. HA!
Course, there should be TEN effin plants there instead of 4, but hey, I can't make dead seeds grow. (effin seeds!)



On to other things... how about the first 25 things that come to mind? Hmmm.

1) I went to Carla's memorial service yesterday. Funerals suck and that's all I have to say about that.
2) I did however get to go see my momma while I was at the cemetary, so that was good.
3) YAY! It's raining today.
4) Walked 3.5 miles yesterday. Felt good.
5) My NECTAR of the GODS today is paired with Vanilla creamer. MMM MMM Good!
6) I can't wait to eat cherry tomato's! The last time I had them growing, I was getting a basket of tomatos every 3 days or so. It was GREAT!
7) I wonder who I'll put as my friend of the week next week... Hmmm.
8) If you pronounce "shrimp" as "shrumps" you'll have my heart forever. My mom used to say that.
9) I'm patiently awaiting my corn to emerge from their slumber. I planted 10 seeds. We'll see what happens.
10) No, I haven't planted any in my neighbors yard yet, but if you've a keen eye and mind to walk behind Merced College, you might just see something sprouting in a few days. ;)
11) I'm wondering what I'm going to do for my research paper in my business law class.
12) I've been chatting with my Friend Erin in FLA more lately. She's so fun!
13) The beach is calling me.
14) Wonder Twin Powers Activate! Form of...an ice stake for those effin mater plants that are gonna get so huge!
15) I'm blessed to have such good friends!
16) Just remembered a joke my mom used to tell about the mating call of a clam. (it's visual, maybe I'll video it and post it later...)
17) I found out yesterday that when my new cell phone gets low on battery power, it doesn't effin receive texts and I can only call emergency numbers. Go figure!
18) I'm looking forward to looking forward. Things can only get better.
19) Food. What am I gonna make today? I'm not awake enough to think about that yet.
20) Yes, the beach is calling me.
21) Did my taxes last night. I need to mail them today. I'm actually getting money back. I think Obama's gonna make me a millionaire. I mean cmon, that's why everyone (52%) voted for him right? He's also gonna pay my rent, fill my tank with gas, blow up my tires, and make us a socialist nation! YeeHaw!
22) I think a stimulus package should include condoms for everyone, cause we're sure gonna get eff'ed by it.
23) I wonder if a sailboat would fit in the pool.
24) Random thoughts are SO much fun!
25) Today's grapple for the day (on my computer monitor) is: Attend a lecture. Comment on what you heard to at least one other person, and relish the exchange of ideas.

(PS...the song today is from an album entitled "Hang on Little Tomato" by Pink Martini.)
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Quote for the day:

"The great thing about democracy is that it gives every voter a chance to do something stupid. " -- Art Spander

A Refresher

Howdy Ya'll! Welcome back!
Just a refresher about the little blog here...

1) Please feel free to comment! If you do comment, you can be anonymous for a while, but please leave your name in the body of the comment at some point, so I eventually know who's commenting. I enjoy responding to comments, so comment away! You don't need an account to do so, by the way. Just click on the little comment link under the entry you're viewing, and a window will pop up. Fill in your comment (with your name if you don't have a gmail account), then scroll down and click the bubble entitled "Anonymous". Then click the button marked "Publish Your Comment".

2) If you'd like to be added to my notification list, just email me at the address at the top of the page and let me know. I'd be happy to add you. Just think, you can get official FN spam in your email box a few times a week! Whoopee!

3) About the music that's playing; Whenever I post a new entry, I choose a song to correspond to it in some way. It may be eccentrically corresponding, but hey, I'm a nerd. SO? (and No, I didn't change the song for this entry because I like that last song so much. It's uplifting, what can I say?)

4) If there's a topic you'd like me to tackle, in either poem or writing form, email me. You may just see a post on it later.

5) If you'd like to be added to my friend of the week section, email me a photo of yourself, and I'll write something nice to make us both feel good. You'll SO get sexposure for a week on my blog! (Whoopee again!)

6) This number left intentionally blank.

7) Don't you hate when businesses do that?

8) Smile! You look (and feel) better with it on.

*****

I just found out a couple of friends of mine passed away recently from their obit's in the paper.
They have found their way to God. Rest in Peace my friends.

Carla Hackett - Born 8-4-1964, Passed 1-22-09. 42 years young.

Ed Airosa - Born 7-18-1936, Passed 1-29-09. 72 years young.


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Quote for the day:

"Forgive many things in others; nothing in yourself." -- Ausonius

Let There Be Sticks

Wondering what I did with all that wood from the Effin Tree?

Take a gander...

JOY! Some staves and some firewood.
My life is SO exciting! lol


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Quote for the day:

"I'm not a vegetarian because I love animals. I'm a vegetarian because I hate plants. "
-- A. Whitney Brown