Lord of the Castle

Although the summer is almost over, we plan on buying a gas BBQ. Whether we get one this year or next spring is another question.

As with most things in our marriage, this simple object has turned into a point of discussion. Naturally, my wife wants a big one. She said that she would barbecue every night if she could.

I want one that we can use at home and take with us if we go on a trip. I wanted her to see a few of the portable grills that I have looked at.

Then, the  idea of fishing in the lake near our house came up when I stumbled upon a fishing kayak on Craig’s List. I can actually see myself learning to fish that way…stop by the lake on the way home, carry the kayak to the water, get in some exercise by rowing and then see if I can actually catch a fish.

 The idea of getting a small boat, hooking it up to the truck, backing it into the water, parking the truck, etc. just seems like so much work, I know I will never do it.

So, I decided to take the family to visit the local outdoor store, The Bass Pro Shop. If you love the outdoors, this is your place.

Boats from $600 to $30,000. Guns of every size and shape. Fishing poles and gear…each specifically designed to catch nearly every single type of fish that God ever created. Knives, camouflage clothing, etc. etc.

There are more ways to spend your money than you ever thought possible! Good thing that I am not an outdoors-man!

Sometime, the middle of the night, my wife accidentally woke me up. I don’t really know what she was doing…reading, doing laundry, something.

As I settled back in to go to sleep, a bug tried to go up my nose. I brushed it away and said, “Whoa…a mosquito is trying to get me.”

“That’s not a mosquito.”

“What is it?”

“A fruit fly.”

“A fruit fly? Why do you say that?”

“They’re breeding in our old refrigerator.”

“W-H-A-A-A-A-T?”

“The guy who serviced our washer looked at it and told me.”

 When we bought the new refrigerator, I didn’t quite know what to do with the old one.

Our neighborhood is too nice to leave it on the curb for a few days. The garage is full of boxes, trucks, lawnmowers and lumber. So, I decided to leave the old one in the house until I sold it or got rid of it.

Guess what I was doing at 5:30 this morning?

Moving my refrigerator out of our kitchen onto our back deck…

Now, that is hard enough to do by yourself. However, if you add the fact that my son just recently cut a 4′ x 3′ foot hole in the floor right at that very spot, the degree of difficulty increases significantly.

Just another day at the castle!

My son didn’t go to work today. So, to his credit, he decided to help me out at home.

He and his mother decided to finish pulling up the old linoleum floor in the kitchen. I thought, “That’s great! I can use all the help I can get!”

As they were nearing the end, they discovered that the sub-floor was rotted through right where it meets the sliding glass door that leads out to the deck.

Big A grabbed the saw and cut out the offending section out. I must admit that he did a pretty good job.

However, the end result is that I have a gaping 4′ x 3′ hole in the kitchen floor and the kitchen wasn’t all that big to begin with!

The problem is complicated enough to where I have to fix it.

But my plate is already full with the master bedroom remodel!

And I have to finish that so my wife and I can finally move into our bedroom! We have been sleeping on mattresses that we put down on the floor of the third bedroom for the past three weeks.

Needless to say, I was frustrated. But, what was I going to say to them? I couldn’t very well chew them out for “helping” me!

No…I just thanked them and and avoided all further discussion by heading straight to the bedroom as soon as I got home from work.

Everyone will just have to learn to avoid the huge hole in the floor until I can get to it.

I couldn’t wait to get home today so I pick up my and install my new solar screens.

My first challenge was to figure out how to get a 4′ x 4′ screen home while driving a Toyota Paseo???

It wouldn’t fit in the trunk.

It was also too big to fit in the front door.

So, I VERY gently (I didn’t want to bend the metal frame!) tied it to the roof of the car and drove home VERY slowly. Fortunately, there was very little traffic on the roads that I chose.

When I got home, I hopped out to check the condition of the screen…Great! Still intact! Part one of the mission was accomplished.

I got out my 16′ extension ladder out and positioned it up against the house.

Oh…the ladder only doesn’t even reach to the bottom of the bathroom window…Ah, I can make it work!”

I grabbed the screen (remember that it is 4 feet square) and headed up the ladder. It didn’t take long before I realized that I was more than a little bit above the ground! I didn’t seem to notice those things when I was younger.

I tried every which way I could but I still couldn’t reach the top of the window!

“Shoot! I need a bigger ladder…I didn’t plan for that!”

Down the ladder, into the house to get the keys to fire up Wild Bill to drive to Lowe’s.

Once inside, it quickly became apparent that this was going to take some time…

They had various length extension ladders, step ladders and multi-position ladders. Then, you have to choose whether you prefer one made of aluminum, fiberglass or wood.

Obviously I did not accomplish all that I had planned for the evening…

But I do have a nice, shiny new ladder!

I have heard it said that good and bad are like trains that run on tracks right beside one another and they usually arrive at about the same time.

Cakes started college today…but not the traditional way.

She has enrolled with College Plus and will utilize the College Level Examination Program (CLEP) option to complete 1/2 to 3/4 of her Business Administration degree requirements. The remainder will be done through an online university. She is hoping to complete here degree in less than three years

While all that is going on, she will continue to work her two jobs. How about that…making money while you go to school!

Today, she had her initiation call with the young lady who will be her mentor during the first year of the program.

The first part of the course focuses on developing personal academic skills like speed reading, memorization techniques, studying, note taking and communication or writing skills. Then, she will start studying and taking the tests.

That is a good thing, right?

Another good thing is that I bought all of the material that they use about 7 years ago when Bean (our oldest) was starting school. So, we are “saving” about $250.

I put the word “saving” in quotation marks because Bean never used any of the materials! Kimba never used it. Big A never used it. Finally, Cakes is going to use it.

So what’s bad?

First, the CD for the Advanced Communication Series wouldn’t play on any of the computers. That meant that I had to postpone work on the bedroom ceiling and download and install the latest version of iTunes to fix that.

Then, Cakes informed me that the speed reading course was recorded on videotape. That meant a trip to the storage facility to get the television!

The memorization program is recorded on cassette tapes. Fortunately, about a year ago, I bought two Sony Walkmans because I have so many preaching tapes that I want to listen to. But, where are they?

I was able to solve all three of the problems but my attitude wasn’t all that great…

I’ve got a bedroom project to finish!!!

I never cease to be amazed by my own weakness…

I came home from work last night, ate my dinner and headed up to the bedroom to tackle my latest construction project.

You would think that the fact that I dang near built an entire house in California would make this bedroom remodel would be a piece of cake.

But, I have never faced this problem before. I don’t technically know the “right answer”.

So, I found myself looking up at the ceiling with the voice of fear yapping in my head…

“What if you can’t figure out how to fix this?…

“What if your idea doesn’t work?…

“What if you do it wrong?…

I did what I advise my children to do…the only thing that I knew to do…

I just dove in and did the next thing.

Two hours later, the problem was solved. All that remains is basic construction.

Victory!

I had a practical demonstration of the destructive nature of the welfare state this morning…

My wife left for Texas yesterday afternoon.

She will be staying with our oldest daughter, Bean this entire week while attending the Southwest Believer’s Convention in Fort Worth. She has been attending this conference for over 20 years

The timing is great for her. She just finished a very challenging summer session on Thursday.

Her physiology professor didn’t care all that much about test grades. Instead, he insisted that his students, most of whom hope to enter the medical profession, actually learned and understood the material.

Her second class was in philosophy. You have to know my wife…let’s just say that philosophy was not her cup of tea.

Needless to say, she had to work very hard in both classes.

So, the timing of this conference could not have been better. I am glad that she could go.

Now to the point…

I woke up this morning just like always. I did everything the same as I usually do. It was when I went down to the kitchen at 6:05 that I realized that she wasn’t there.

My wife gets up every morning at 6:00. She makes me a quick egg sandwich and packs my lunch for me.

I had not given one thought to what I was going to eat that day.

And it wasn’t that I realized everything all at once…

First, I realized that she wasn’t there to make an egg sandwich for my breakfast.

Then, I realized that I had no idea what I was going to have for lunch…or snacks…or dinner!

I got to work seven, count them, seven minutes late! Not good!!!