molasses

Image result for covered in molasses

I must have had a package in my load for yesterday’s mail that had a quart of molasses in it.

I say “had” because it works on so many different levels.

I had one…..and I had a package that, at some point in the shipping project, “had” a quart of molasses in it.

By the time the day was done, my Jeep had a quart of molasses in it….but it was uncontained….spread around…..sticky on the mail and on me.

Wheeeeeeee.

That’s why it’s important to pack an Amazon shipment carefully…..because, at some point, on down the line, some schmoo like me is going to be in the parking lot of a big taxidermy supply store, frantically trying to figure out why everything is covered in brown sticky goo.

It’s hard to trace the “leaker” when everything is sticky.

Anyway…..the package was the third one I bagged….and by the time I realized the that bagging the first two hadn’t had any effect on stemming the flow, my final tray of mail was full of sticky goodness.

And they wonder at corporate why it takes so long to deliver the mail.

We have a protocol for handling leaking packages….but tasting things that smell familiar isn’t part of the deal…..so I resisted, even though I was pretty sure it was molasses.

It could have bee some kind of sweet and child-friendly paint stripper.

A mailman has to be careful.

Between the dogs and the poison….there are a lot of things that want to kill me out there in the world.

I must stay vigilant.

Watching a Dude in the Woods….

I signed us up for HULU last night.

So……we could watch more TV.

No….let me rephrase that: “So that we could watch more TV….cheaply.”

They don’t show this on HULU.

This guy doesn’t care.

I like TV….but…you sure can do some interesting things if you aren’t on the couch watching somebody else say something funny or do something exciting.

And….knowing that is why I SIGNED US UP FOR HULU!!

This guy makes some great videos….about being out in the world.

I wonder what he watches at home when he fires up the television set and dials in the HULU frequency?

what I need to get done…

Here’s a lady out in the woods….talking about lunch and ticks.

I like being out in the woods.

It would be good to eat lunch out in the woods.

I think that I realized something this morning, though.

I worry about what I’m not getting done….even when I’m having fun.

That’s often as far as it goes…..the worrying.

I don’t get stuff done….I just worry.

I need to learn how to “be here now”.

I should be in the moment…every moment.

Of course, my “in the moment” might be worrying about what I’m not doing “in the moment”.

Maybe that’s just how I roll?

What a shame.

What a way to waste a life.

I should be out in the woods….talking about how to eat a tick free lunch.

hoarse rooster

There’s a rooster outside our bathroom window this morning.

He’s there every morning, but this morning, he’s hoarse.

He gave a couple of feeble crows and then must have gotten tired or something, because he stopped trying.

That’s OK….I don’t need him to wake up at 5.

I can handle that on my own.

We mowed yesterday….here and over at “the property”.

Of course, every mower and big truck that I was involved with broke in some fashion…..pull cords, water filled float bowls….bad and neglected batteries.

But….in spite of all the breakdowns, we got a lot of work done.

I like it when I get something done.

It seems like a lot of days, I feel like I’m just wondering, “WHAT DO I DO NOW?!!” ….in some subdued and covertly frantic way.

Jenny says that I’m like Barney Fife….nervous.

I was a lot cooler when I didn’t really have any responsibilities.

I was cooler when I didn’t know anything about the world.

What a hoarse rooster I am ….now.

Trains in Paradise….

Check this guy out….in a perfect campsite….close enough to the tracks that he ended up listening to trains blowing their whistles all night long.

Man.

You just never know what’s going to happen when you’re out there in the world.

You could get eaten by a bear….or….you could listen to train whistles all night long.

You just never know.

Colorado on two wheels looks good….train whistle or not, it looks like a good place to ride a bike.

Shooting on a Sunday…..

Image result for shooting family redneck

The neighbors are shooting the heck out of the air this afternoon.

Actually, they’re shooting the heck out of the bank at the back of their field.

Shooting the HELL out of it.

How appropriate for a Sunday.

That’s sarcastic.

There’s nothing “appropriate” about all this shooting noise on a Sunday.

There’s nothing nice about it at all.

But…..that’s what we get for living in the country.

I guess.

There are “rules” out here.

You aren’t supposed to mow your lawn on a Sunday down here in the Bible Belt.

But….in the Bible Belt….apparently you can shoot the HELL out of the bank beside the house.

That’s what the Second Amendment guarantees……

Awwwww…..they’ll run out of bullets soon and we’ll have some peace and quiet.

That’ll be cool.

I need some peace now and then.

 

2 Days Back….

It’s pretty goofy.

2 days back after 2 days off….and…I’m back on a roll.

How’s that sound?

A commitment broken is a commitment renewed….and…it only took two days.

Easy.

Here’s a video about Idaho.

Who could resist a video about Idaho?

I’m “here”.

“Here” is pretty great.

How great would it be to live in Northern Idaho?

Missing Two….

In 6 years of writing this blog, I believe that I’ve missed about 7 or so posts in all that time.

I try to write a post a day as some twisted expression of a sense of discipline.

I think that the real reason I do it is because if I don’t stay consistent, I’m too lazy to keep anything going for long.

Running is like that for me, too.

If I don’t do it everyday, I skip days for lame reasons.

I skipped two days (of writing the blog) in a row the past couple of days.

And….the world didn’t end.

Nobody even missed me.

What a revelation.

I did some truck repair the other day….replaced a caliper.

That’s why I skipped writing a blog post.

I tired myself out.

Whew. I was beat.

I can’t stop….or I’ll stop.

I have to keep going….even if I don’t have a destination in mind.

Blind obedience to a discipline is better than sacrificing momentum to laziness.

I have to keep stumbling through the storm.

Stumble on.

Anti-Idol

Alejandro Aranda.

Here’s an artist who made his way to what is really a pretty artificial “contest”…..where the performer who doesn’t really surprise (too much) is often the winner…..where our expectations are met….but not often exceeded.

What a surprise!

And….what a great chance to realize again what a great writer Freddie Mercury was….and what a great band Queen is.

I really appreciate what a humble person this guy is, too.

Maybe it’s all an act….but….I doubt it.

I’d like to see the nice guy win.

I’d like to see the talented guy win.

I hope that somebody who feels like a real person….like Alejandro….can win this thing.

Of course….I’m too cool to actually watch this show….but….if I wasn’t too cool….I’d like to see the quiet artist win it all.

That would be cool.

 

 

Axle Shaft U-Joint….Jeep Cherokee

Clicking…popping….weird and bad noises.

That’s not a good thing when the rest of the Jeep is getting closer to being “dialed in”.

When you can crawl under the beast and diagnose the problem without a….problem….it makes things easier to know how and what to fix.

I have a bad u-joint.

So….I’ll pull the hub….pull the axle….and replace the joint.

Simple.

I’ve done it before, too, so it shouldn’t be a bad job.

Or….at least, it should be a familiarly bad job.

Sometimes when you know what’s coming, the worst job is bearable.

This one should be a piece of cake.

A big ‘ol greasy piece of cake.