More Construction

Yes, more construction. Actually, 'de-construction,' for the time being because we first have to remove the old wooden deck and sidewalk behind the garage. About 300 sq ft in all. It's done.

I put it in myself about 15 or 16 years ago and we've had continuous problems with critters wanting to live under it, rotting boards that needed replacing, drainage problems under the deck because of the critters, and leaking irrigation pipes because roots cracked the pipes.

So we hired our yard-mowing guys to take it down. Bad move. They didn't have a clue as to how to demolish anything, didn't have the proper equipment or truck to haul off the debris, nor the drive to get started early in the morning while it was relatively cool. We'll call in some experienced people to do the concrete work.

Meanwhile, I've been rebuilding the irrigation plumbing which includes completely rebuilding the six-zone valve array. Tomorrow I will connect the six pipes to the individual valves, then wire the valves to the controller, turn on the water and see if it all works. I think it will because I took great pains to make sure every connection was proper.

I also have to make sure the deep sink supply lines and drain pipe are visible, along with the 12v outdoor lighting wiring conduit, so that the pipes and wire will not be accidentally cut. All of it will eventually be under concrete.

Next, I need to connect about 50' of 4" drain pipe to an existing drain pipe that will run under the concret around the end of the garage and down toward the street. That will help solve a serious flooding problem near our back entrance.

In order to even start on this project we had to destroy Judy's plant stand (also old and rotten) and my shed I built about four years ago (starting to show signs of rot). But that's fine, I will build new ones with a better design and better features and this time use Hardy-Plank.

All of this is really doing a number on the lifestyles of hundreds of roaches and at least one nocturnal creature of the night . Perhaps we won't have to worry about them anymore.

Pictures will follow.

Chim-Chimney's Cookout and Big Green Egg Demo

Judy and I thought we would ride down to League City, Texas (near NASA) yesterday for a Big Green Egg promotion they had planned. Our neighbors, Pam and Tom, went along for the ride. We thought we would have a nice seafood lunch while we were down that way.

It was HOT! Very HOT! But we had a great time, met a lot of nice people and had a very delicious lunch in a waterfront restaurant in nearby Kemah.

The day turned out to be very lucky for Tom as he won the big door prize, a medium Big Green Egg.

Anyway, here's the story made into a movie...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UFPYqXDYWA

And this is a followup story showing our neighbor cooking on his newly won Big Green Egg.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4yLYiirL3g

Hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

A Few Of Our Early Adventures

Since getting my 'Flip' camcorder I've been learning how to make movies. I've learned that I can also give new life and enjoyment to all those old photos from years gone by simply by making them into a movie. Here are a few I've put together and posted on YouTube. I hope you enjoy watching them as much as I enjoyed giving them new life.

The first is of our attempt to join the sea-faring set while living in Miami.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JKNS0AYy_U

And this one was when a friend at Continental Airlines offered us the chance to 'fly' a big Boeing 777 Jumbo Jet. No, not the real thing but close. Check it out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2iBrr4sG0sA

And while we're 'up in the air' check this out. Judy gave me a ride in a hot air balloon ride one year for my birthday. We were living in Jacksonville, Florida at the time. The balloon just happened to go over the apartment where we first lived (beautiful place on the water) and then over our home. We could even hear our dog, Punkin, barking at us. We ended up on the fairway at Baymeadows Golf and Residential Community where Judy's Mom lived. So we woke her up real early and told her about our adventure. It was a fantastic experience...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w726CZK8JiU