January 20, 2019

Yesteryear
One year ago today: January 20, 2018, password strength.
Five years ago today: January 20, 2014, my last pizza.
Nine years ago today: January 20, 2010, replacement wasn't necessary.
Random years ago today: January 20, 2003, she had true talent.

           Another chilly one, but not enough to keep me inside. I worked the whole day puttering with yard work. How do you like this row of devil’s backbone? This easily grown plant is fast-growing enough to give the fence a sense of permanence. The trench is just until the roots are established. It’s to keep the watering confined to above the growth ring, always a concern with sandy soil where the water may otherwise just form rivulets and run off the surface without seeping down. I didn’t get a photo yet, but the spear plants in the front yard have taken solid hold along the old barbed wire fence. I’ll plant more given the time.

           Last evening around 10:30PM I had to get to some WiFi and the only place open was the dork Karaoke. I walked in to find the place a sellout crowd, standing room only. That is most unusual for this town on a Saturday. Then, I heard half the place calling my name. What the? Ah, the explanation. It was packed because the electrician who worked for me last November was having a birthday party and all his pals were there, about a dozen, with their incredibly good-looking wives. Otherwise, the joint was only half-full of the local barflies.

           That was neat in way because I got what they called back in the 70s, an ego boost. The crowd was young, rowdy, and Latino. All this dropped more than a few jaws, since that is the ultra-conservative pub where people who see you often enough develop that small-town you’re-not-so-great attitude, which is fine by me. But this one will have them talking for a bit. Since I had already walked half-way through the confusion before I heard my name, I turned around and gave them my best stage bow. Thank you, thank you, but I’m just here for the Internet.
           Without any overstatement, I seem to have brought down the house. I only recognized Julian, really, and his utterly gorgeous main squeeze. But I pay cash and I pay well, so word probably got around in that community, plus the fact that I am a godfather (El Patron) to Nestor Danielle Gutierrez, whom the State Department won’t let me visit. But that’s another tale from the trailer court. Most shocked seemed to be the gal who should, by rights and by now, know me the best. Dawn, the barmaid. What can I say? She missed the boat with me.

Picture of the day.
It's a flower.
Remember to use BACK ARROW to return to blog.

           The big job of the day was painting the shed, actually, giving it a second coat after taping the pattern off on the door. I mounted a bunch of utility hooks on the shed siding to store lumber up off the ground. You’ve seen lots of before pics of this shed, so here is an in-between and after shot. The first panel shows the front painted except the doors, which are just being taped to preserved that pattern or white stripes. The second panel shows more of the final “used paint” color, which, if you ask me, makes it look more solid.
           I had intended to add some siding to the shed, but maybe this paint is enough to arrest the rust. It’s bad in a few spots. I’ll put a new roof, I have a tub of that fibrous patching cement. If all goes well, I’d rather spend the same bucks on a better interior shelving arrangment and a lean-to shed on the north side. It’s wired and piped for a washing machine, y’know.

           In the early days, memory was expensive, but by 2000 it became more affordable that I ever imagined. This made me lazy, and instead of proper backups, I would sometimes just back up and entire drive without regard to duplicates. Especially with photos, this led to plenty of lost files and dozens of copies in some cases. If these are repeats, I’ve long since forgotten. Here is one I call, “The Caddy In Winter”. This was the last winter I spent house-sitting and pet-sitting for my ex’s parents.
           Don’t bother trying to make out the plates, I’ll tell you it is registered in Washington State, the “real Washington”. The plate here is obscured, telling you that security in this area was already well in place long before the Internet really, really caught on. Ah, look how shiny and new the car was then. It was to get only another 32,000 miles on it before repossessed in 2005. Not for non-payment, I bought this car cash fore $11,000 in 1988 or so. Instead, it was lost for medical bills above my insurances. If you are American, you should probably not be laughing. I had full insurance and they still got this car out of me. The system is geared to take back every penny most of you only think you made in your lifetime.

ADDENDUM

           Here’s an extremely rare photo, both in content and a picture taken while my stunt double was asleep. This is sleeping with bread dough. While not the most popular item to crawl into bed with, this is the result of an afternoon that was too cold for the yeast. There it is, resting against my belly to keep the temperature perfect for raising the dough. (There is a plastic cover over the pan.)
           I must have kicked the covers off, because I was just napping and the picture was a web cam I use as a security monitor. It got knocked on its side and I was just about to delete the footage when I saw this shot. Neat, huh? (Normally, I do not condone taking pictures of people who are asleep, and that is part of a larger concept.

Last Laugh

++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Return Home
++++++++++++++++++++++++++