August 30, 2004

•  

  
  

  

  
  

  I've been thinkin' about Bears

  
  

  (the song, that is)

  
  

   

  
  

  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  Some folks say there ain't no bears in Arkansas
  Some folks never seen a bear at all
  Some folks say that bears go around eating babies raw
  Some folks got a bear across the hall
  
  Some folks say that bears go around smelling bad
  Others say that a bear is honey sweet
  Some folks say this bear's the best I ever had
  Some folks got a bear beneath their feet
  
  Some folks drive the bears out of the wilderness
  Some to see a bear would pay a fee
  Me I just bear up to my bewildered best
  And some folks even see the bear in me
  
  So meet a bear and take him out to lunch with you
  And even though your friends may stop and stare
  Just remember that's a bear there in the bunch with you
  And they just don't come no better than a bear

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  
  -- Steven Fromholz - "Bears"

  
  

  as performed by Lyle Lovett

  
  

  
  Just a favorite of mine --

  
  

  it was playing in my head a lot this weekend.

  
  

  No reason, 'cept that I like it.

  
  

   

  
  

  

  
  

   

  
  

  Bernie actually had a two day weekend for a change -- he didn't get called in to do O.T. today. We went to camp Saturday night and came home Sunday evening, and today I got a lot of yard work done before it began to rain. Last week I made some major progress with sorting through all the stuff stored in the breezeway, and cleaning that room as well. Still tearing out floor tiles as I am clearing my way down to more area on the floor. Did a little more cleaning and sorting in there this weekend, too, it feels really good to see the clutter going away.

  
  

  

  
  

  An altogether pleasant weekend. No health crises with the furbabies, not even any serious cat fighting. Angel walked through the living room a couple of times today, actually venturing into the main part of the house from the yard and garage. She didn't stay long, she was just checking things out. Tommy was sleeping in the kitchen chair and didn't even notice her. Ziggy is still staying in the garage. I think perhaps her adventure out in the yard and barn was more than enough for her for a while.

  
  

  

  
  

  Friday we got new roof shingles put on the cabana -- that little building out in the back yard that used to be changing rooms and a bathroom until the swimming pool was filled in. For the past 10 years or more it has been used for storage, and like everything else around here, fell into pretty bad disrepair. Bernie and I do not do stuff on ladders if we can help it, so the roof had to be a job for a pro. It really needed to be done, there were bare wood spots just waiting to get rotten and leaky.

  
  

  There were roofers working on the house next door, so I went to ask them if they wanted to do a small job, and it just happened that they didn't have anything scheduled for the next day, so they did it. Funny thing was, the guy who did the work was already here twice this year -- he worked for a while for the chimney company that fixed our chimney, before he went back to work for the roofer that he used to work for.

  
  

  As I have been working in the back yard, I have been working on the cabana a little bit at a time, as well. So far I got the weeds and stuff cleared away around it, part of the stuff stored inside sorted, and the bathroom cleaned out. My plumber friend Dennis hooked up the water lines and added an outside faucet for watering the plants on that end of the yard, but the cabana bathroom still needs a new toilet (the old one is cracked) It also needs the electric lines reconnected for the lights, and a couple of coats of paint on the doors, trim and inside walls. It has two rooms beside the one that the toilet is in, and I am using one for storing yard sale stuff (no idea when I will get around to actually having a yard sale) and the other one is going to hold all the gardening and yard tools and supplies.

  
  

  It will be nice when it is done, as well as useful -- a lot better than having a decrepit old building full of crap sitting in the backyard.  I will post some updated pictures of the house and grounds soon, I promise...
  

  
  

  

  
  

   

  • 10:23 pm
  • 9 Comments