The Truth Is Out There

It has come to our attention that there are some who think that this is some kind of scam, some sort of Photoshop creation of a sick mind.
Well, here is an actual, un-retouched photo of this strange phenomenon.

The Fuzz claims this was made from about as close as he felt safe.
But we will get to the bottom of this-
The truth is out there.

What The ......!

Things have settled down a bit, but I've never seen anything like it.

What The.........?

Will try to get a better pix.
I hope it's safe.

Beet It

It will be admitted that The Fuzz has never been one of The Gloved One's many fans. In fact, he is more familiar with Weird Al's parodies of Jackson's work.
But His Sweetie pulled up these Beets from the Garden the other day, and he couldn't resist.

This wasn't all of them, there was another milk crate at least 1/2 full.
She pickled some, and made us some yummy Borscht also.
This morning, before it got too hot we picked these Green Beans.

The garden is doing pretty well this year, since there has been plenty of rain. It's hard to believe June is almost over. But next week is The 4th. Seems like every year goes by faster and faster. Or else, I get slower and slower.
Our annual Beach Trip is behind us, but it seems like a good time to share this one, by a Little Known Local Artist.

Cute Kitty Pix

Not having anything better to do, I thought y'all might enjoy this
Cute Kitty.

This little feller is frequently found napping in this thing.

Pirate Stuff

So what's with all this pirate stuff anyway?
Well the story is that the pirates used to hide out here at Topsail Island. In fact this is the origin of the name.

"Topsail Island's name is supposedly derived from its nefarious history. According to popular belief, pirates once hid in the channel between the island and the mainland waiting for passing ships. The topsail was supposedly the only part of the pirate ship that could be seen by the passing 'victim' until it gave chase. " (Wikipedia)

Well, so much for History. But here is a pix of the Beach House. Sorry, no Pirates. For them you'll have to go to Somalia.

Fun Facts

Regarding that Critter in the Shell, The Lazy Iguana says-

"That is a "Horse Conch". I believe they are protected on account of people almost eating all them up.

To get the snail out you hang it from a hook. Eventually the shell falls off.

You can also cut off the end of the shell and cut the tendons that hold the snail in.

Fresh conch is pretty good - but only legal in The Bahamas."

The Fuzz says, "Thanks for the Info."

More Beach Stuff!

Last time we saw how a train could interfere with a Beach Trip. But there are more potential hold ups than that.
Here's another.

In this shot, it's closed. But of course, that is not always the case. In fact as we approached The Island, it was open, which means a long line of automobiles, and a long wait. There is another bridge, but it is on the other end of The Island. This is not a long bridge, but since our car is not amphibious, we opted to wait. We finally made it across, and out to the Beach House, where the rest of the family was already enjoying their Beach Experience.

One of the "Boys" found this thing, whatever it is.

Here's a look at some of the Beach Houses from the marsh area out in the Sound. The Fuzz likes to paddle around over there in the canoe. This time he had his camera.
The real beach is on the other side of the Island. It's just a short walk to the wind and surf, but The Fuzz spends more time over here.

Gone To The Beach

It was time for our annual Beach Trip.
For the last few years the family has gathered together for a week at the beach.

So how does a train fit into all this? Well, this is the train that blocked our route, in route, to this exciting event. This one was apparently on the siding waiting for another to pass. Unfortunately, the result of this business was that this road was blocked, for a long time. This was a bit frustrating as the road we were trying to get to was only about 1/4 mile ahead. Eventually, some local folks directed us on a bit of a detour which got us where we needed to go, although it was a few miles out of the way.
But we finally made it out to the coast.
Here is a shot of the sunrise over the town of Topsail Beach, from across the sound, courtesy of The Fuzz himself.

Still Gone

Still gone
Be back soon
(I hope)

Skirting the Issue

To be approved as "inhabitable" by the county, we must have underpinning, or skirting. So we got a crew together, and went to work.

First there had to be some sort of framework to attach all this stuff to.
We dropped a plumb line from the trailer to locate this bottom board, and staked it to the ground.

Next we cut and fitted some corner posts at each corner.

Then we cut these panels from some sheets of siding and screwed them to the trailer and bottom boards.

Here you can see our expert crew, hard at work.

And here's a look at our Brand New Skirting, and the pooches playing on the porch.

There,s still a few details to finish up, and then one more "porch" to build. And then, maybe we can get the county to let us begin to move in. But this will have to wait for a bit, 'cause now it's about time for a Wonderful Beach Adventure.

More Plumbing

Here's our new Washer & Dryer out at the trailer.
The Fuzz and His Sweetie went over to the local Appliance Place and got this Brand New Washing Machine. Long time followers of this amazing blog may remember the demise of our previous machine. Well, since this trailer has Hot Water among it's many amenities, and since it would be a long drive to the laundromat (not to mention the expense), it seemed like the time had come for this Brand New Washing Machine.
Of course nothing is easy, and when The Fuzz went to install this wondrous machine, there was the inevitable plumbing situation.

Here's a glimpse of what was going on.

You will notice that the plastic hot water hookup (on the left) has been replaced with a shiny new brass one. This was because when The Fuzz attempted to hook it up to this new machine, it was found to leak. So it was back to that Home Improvement Store once again.

And here's a look at some of the equipment.

A- The washer itself
B- The instructions to complete the procedure
C- The expensive crimping tool
D- The old, defective, valve
E- One of the excellent, new, valves (Since we had it apart, we replaced both)
F- Tool borrowed from Son-in -law for cutting plastic pipe
G- Rings, for crimping
H- First hookup, already in place

And we are happy to report that the repairs were a success, and this Wonderful Brand New Washing Machine is now fully functional.

Keeping Things Quiet

Here was the situation.
This was the Muffler on Son's automobile.

You will note it's poor condition. In fact, it had already removed itself from the vehicle in question.
You will notice at A how the exhaust has been ripped from it due to rust and all that stuff. A check of the local Auto Parts Place indicated a cost in excess of $100 for a replacement. It was clearly time to once again slip off into Cyberspace and that wonderful source for "All things automotive". There was found this somewhat more generic unit, priced more reasonably.
It did lack some of the convenience of the OME type unit, such as the hangers (B) on the high priced unit, but we figured with our great skills, we could rig things.
Naturally, it was raining, so everyone involved got soaked, but here is a look at this Shiny New Muffler.
We did use clamps instead of trying to weld the thin meatal under the car. At C you can see how we used some bent rod for support.

Every thing seems to have worked out well, and the car has quieted down considerably. So, we'll call this "Another job, well done".

Grab You

Death Comes To Another

You may remember these guys. They were the subjects of a recent inquiry* involving an unpleasant incident on the back porch.

Well, the sad news today, is they are now orphans.
Their foolish mother got out in the road one too many times.
Fortunately, they are old enough to make it on their own, but it is a sad thing for all.

*The results were inconclusive, although B seems to played the "Cute" card.

Time For A Change

Time had taken it's toll on The Fuzz's old watch. Particularly on the band.
The Fuzz does not really enjoy wearing a wristwatch, especially in hot weather, but his work situation this week made it desirable. But as is evident, his watch was not up to this.

This is an excellent little timepiece, a gift from the Young'uns many years ago. It's one of them Timex things that "Takes a lickin' but keeps on tickin'". But the wristband was, alas, history. Here's a look at things-

At A- Just plum Tore Up. (Note the less than successful attempt to staple the thing together)
At B- Rubber band used to secure loose end when buckled.
At C- One of the pins that later caused so much trouble.
At D- Enlarged (and very frayed) holes for buckle.

After assessing the situation, The Fuzz decided the best course of action would be the purchase of a new band. Simple enough, or so it seemed.

In an effort to avoid that "Walmart Experience", he payed a visit to a competitor. There he had an encounter with a pleasant, if not particularly knowledgeable person in the jewelery department. First there was a rather drawn out process to determine the correct size. This involved opening a number of bands and comparing them to the current one.
Once this had been determined, he (The Fuzz was pretty much doing this himself at this point) began to remove these pins (C). This was the beginning of the next complication. The 1st pin came out as expected, but the 2nd refused to cooperate. In fact, eventually, it broke off in the tiny hole. The Fuzz soon discovered that the only pliers available, was some Chanel Locks, hardly what one would expect for working on jewelry. I'm sorry to report that at this point the sale fell through.
The Fuzz rode sadly home considering the possible purchase of a new watch. There he made an unsuccessful attempt with the needlenose. But not one to give up easily, he got out the Dremel Tool. He picked out the tiniest bit he had and began to drill. This proved more successful and soon there was a new (if slightly larger) hole for the pin.
Now all he needed was a band. It was at this point he remembered an old, non functioning, watch he had stashed years ago. It seems The Fuzz is a bit of a pack rat, if it must be known.
And now he has a somewhat battered watch, with a Fancy Snakeskin Band, to wear to work.