Monday, December 26, 2011

A Three Dog Night


Well, here the three of them are, in their favorite spot, this time of year.

Sunday, December 25, 2011

Saturday, December 24, 2011

Mountain Adventures

With that Young Daughter off visiting family for the Holidays, The Fuzz took His Sweetie to the mountains.This place may be familiar to some.
When they got into town, it was a bit early to check into their hotel. So they headed over to King Street.
One of their first stops was this place, The Art of Oil. All those tank things were filled with different kinds of Olive Oil, or Balsamic Vinegars. There were little cups that you could use to sample them.
Here's one of the customers doing just that.
The Fuzz and Sweetie poked around in the various shops until it was time to head to their hotel. That was when they saw this.
It seems there was a bit of construction going on. They could see the hotel, but the driveway was impassible! Finally, the cellphone, and The Fuzz's Sweetie's sharp eyes, figured it out, and they made it into the place. After checking in, They made a stop at Cheap Joe's (getting lost in the process) before heading off for some supper.Here's a view from the hotel that night,
And in the morning.
They want to take good care of you at the hotel.
They don't want you to forget anything.
The Fuzz didn't, as you can see.
After checking out, The Fuzz and His Sweetie headed back over to a combination bead-store, coffee-shop, they had seen the night before. Alas, it was closed.
And so, they took off, back down the mountain. And after a few more adventures, arrived safely home.

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Doing It Up BIg



This past weekend The Fuzz , His Sweetie and that Young Daughter went out of town to help celebrate a Birthday! This was officially known as Doing it Up Big! And it was done up big.
But as part of the festivities, Our Fuzz was required to wear a necktie.
The Fuzz has not been subjected to this sort of thing for a number of years. In fact, the last time was at a wedding*. It was hard enough for him to remember just how these things work. But in The Fuzz's case, merely seeing the thing was difficult enough. But our Resourceful Fuzz came up with the ideal solution to this dilemma.
The party was BIG. And just to put everyone at ease, The Fuzz did not attempt to drive home.

*(Not the one in the previous post)

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Friday, December 09, 2011

Secret Greek Grocery

The Fuzz and His Sweetie made a foray into the Big City once again. This sometimes happens at this time of year. There are some things that just aren't available near our Home in the Woods. Some of the things they were in search of might be found at some sort of Greek/Mediterranean type grocer.
In this 21st Century, we have the internet, even out here. A search reveled a couple of promising leads. The 1st investigated led them to an upscale shopping area as large as a small town. This ended up as a washout. So they went in search of their next option. After a bit of driving (Sweetie at the wheel, Fuzz on the map*) they arrived. There was a sign at the street. But no market. But then, behind some other buildings, they came upon this mysterious door.
And there, in tiny letters, written with a marker, they read-
"Minos"
This was the place!
Minos Imported Foods got it's start as a wholesale grocery. But fortunately for The Fuzz, as Serafim Makas explained**-

"We deliver to restaurants across the Carolinas. That's our real business. But since I'm here anyway, I thought, 'Why not open to the public, retail?"

Once The Fuzz and His Sweetie found the secretive little doorway, they were welcomed inside. And truly welcomed. They were asked to sample delicious bits of feta, cut right from huge hunks floating in wooden barrels. There were casks of olives, also sampled.
Needless to say, they did not leave empty handed.
If anyone has the opportunity to visit this place, do it. It is located at 11016 Monroe Rd Matthews, NC. But you'll have to look hard. The Fuzz promises, it will be worth it.

*The Fuzz is a small town boy, and does not handle Big City driving very well. His Sweetie, however, grew up in a major metropolitan area. It is best for her to be under the wheel in these situations.

**Quoted from charlotteobserver.com- "Greek grocery in Matthews is a well-kept secret"

Thursday, December 08, 2011

Construction Update

It appears that it has been some time since The Fuzz has given any updates on this Shed Project.
Things are progressing, if slowly.
This first pix was made a few weeks ago, shorty after our last post on the subject. Here part of the ridge board has been assembled.
Below is another view of this phase of the construction.
Well The Fuzz has continued to work on this since, a bit at a time, on the weekends. The next step was to finish up with the ridge.
This was slow work, with Our Fuzz (who is not as young as he once was) working precariously high on wobbly walk boards, with little to hang on to!Here is where we are today. The Fuzz was able to get most of the rafters up this past weekend. But before we can get to the roof itself, he still needs to frame up the area over the open space. ("carport"
? for lack of a better word) After that we will get to some tin.
But alas, The Fuzz has been having a bit of Back Trouble again, and might not get to this right away. We'll just hope for the best.
But, things have come a long ways.

Wednesday, December 07, 2011

70 Years

A few years ago, The Fuzz and Family, had the opportunity to visit Pearl Harbor. It was a gloomy day, with a bit of rain, when we were there. Much like here today.
It is good for us to remember that Sunday morning, 70 years ago, when the world changed for America.

Monday, December 05, 2011

Bit Of A Bummer

"Fleet of Ferraris Ruined in Sports Car Freeway Pileup in Japan"
(From Fox news)


"An outing of luxury sportscar enthusiasts in Japan ended in an expensive freeway pileup -- smashing a stunning eight Ferraris, a Lamborghini and two Mercedes likely worth more than $1 million together."

"...a used Ferrari in Japan can fetch $100,000 or more..."

Oh Well.

Saturday, December 03, 2011

They're Back

See all those little white things out there in the landfill?
They are a sure sign of Winter. The Seagulls have returned.
Every year these things fly in from the coast to spend the winter here. It seems like an odd thing to do.
You can see them around town, hanging out at Micky Dee's filching french fries and stuff.
But mostly, they hang at the landfill. Apparently, life is easy out there.
Well, just so y'all know about this important event, The Fuzz has included a couple of poor quality pix of our feathered friends, a sure sign of Winter.

Friday, December 02, 2011

The High Road

This is something you do not want to see.
Particularly, if you are in The Fuzz's line of work.

This is a look into the hopper of one of our Ultramodern Garbage Trucks. This trash can should not be there. But things like this do happen.
December is here, and it was a frosty morning here in Beautiful North Carolina. Now, the frost can add a touch of beauty to our lives. But it can create problems as well. Especially when it coats a trashcan like this.

In these conditions, the suckers can get a bit slippery. In this case, the evil little thing slipped out of The Fuzz's mechanical grasp, and dropped into the hopper.
Now there are a couple of ways to handle this. One is to pretend it wasn't noticed until too late, and just pack the sucker up. The other is to climb up over the side of the ice encrusted truck, into the hopper, and throw the bastard out.
I am happy to report, that in this case, Our Fuzz did take the high road; and mumbling curses about getting too old for this s%!#, retrieved this valuable receptacle. And, he made it back to solid ground without breaking his neck!

Thursday, December 01, 2011

Blue Is Green & So On...

In regard to our "Recycle (Blue)" post, Woodie had this to say-

"...The carts allow for more privacy, IE less people commenting on how many liquor, wine and beer bottles are in your bin, which DOES happen, sometimes. :-)"

Actually, this can be an issue.
Back in The Days, The Fuzz used to "Pull Garbage" in little orange carts from behind the houses.
There was one fellow who used to carefully wrap his trash up in paper bags. The Fuzz and his coworkers, in an attempt to maximize the space in their buggies, would sometimes rip open bags like his to better pack the garbage in. This fellow would get pretty upset when all his liqueur bottles were suddenly exposed. Back then this was a dry county!

Of course now days, this isn't much of an issue with all this automated stuff.

When The Fuzz was asked how he got into this line of work, he finally admitted that it wasn't really the money, but the prestige that attracted him.

Chimneys Series #18 (b)


(Flip side of #18 (a))

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Recycle (Blue)

Recycling is the thing these days. And that is a good thing.
Here's a sneak preview of our Brand New Recycling Roll out Carts.
Starting next year (soon) these Blue Carts will be picked up every other week.
This is modern "Single Stream" recycling.
This "Recycling" stuff is not really new. Garbagemen have been "Recycling" forever. In fact, back in the days, 'bout all the good stuff got "Recycled".
Unfortunately, with our modern mechanized way of doing things, Our Fuzz, and others like him, no longer have access to all that good stuff. The Fuzz believes that in many ways, Old School was better.
But, as they say, "That was then, this is now".
So go Blue. It's the Green thing to do.

Monday, November 28, 2011

You Know You Want One

You know you want one
This great Apron is only available here.
Don't delay, Buy today!
(Free Shipping)

"Forks, knives, cleavers, yeah. But those are just the obvious ones. Do you realize how heavy a rolling pin really is?..."

Kitchen Warfare is now available as an apron until December 9th.

The Blur

So what is this Blur?
The Fuzz saw it (kinda) at our Thanksgiving Feast.
This thing was moving pretty fast.
But eventually it did slow down enough for The Fuzz to snatch a quick pix.It looks fairly harmless at this point.
But don't let that fool you, these things can be dangerous!

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Thanksgiving 2011

Since the Young'uns ain't so young anymore, The Fuzz and His Sweetie are off the hook for a lot of Holidays.
This year we gathered at that Schoolteacher Daughter's home for our Family Thanksgiving Meal. Cooking was a community effort. Here is a look at the gravy being double teamed.It looks pretty good.

But disaster is about to strike. That crispy, and tasty skin is just too much temptation.
The Fuzz caught them in the very act!

And the onslaught continues!
Our helpless bird doesn't stand a chance.
In no time the poor thing has been reduced to this!

And this was only the beginning.The next assault was by a man with a large knife!
The Fuzz decided to spare his readers any sight of the resulting gore.
We all sat down to a delicious meal, truly a "Thanksgiving Dinner that couldn't be beat".
The Fuzz hopes yours was just as great.

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

A 5 Minute Job

The Fuzz's Sweetie was having a bit of trouble with the doorknob on her closet door sticking.
So it was time for The Fuzz to get to work. Some examination reveled that the shaft of the old cheapy one was bent. At the Home Improvement Store, they picked up a brand new one. Once it was removed from the incredibly tough packaging, it appeared identical to the old one.
Except that this new one, was actually made of metal, instead of plastic. That much was good.
To the right you will see some of the varied tools that were eventually needed for this, simple, installation.
The first complication was when Our Fuzz discovered that the new lockworks, were slightly larger in diameter than the original. After a few nasty words, he went for his trusty Dremel Tool. With a miniature drum sander, he was able to enlarge the hole with minimal distortion.
But now, it was discovered that the striker plate was ever so slightly out of alignment with the new, improved doorknob. The first step was to remove the plate, and chisel out a space for the new bolt. (This had been "Micky Moused" by the builders, by simply drilling a hole in the doorjamb.) At this point, The Fuzz realized that his chisel was too dull to do any good here. So the next thing was to sharpen it. With his bench grinder back in town at the Old Place*, there was nothing for it but a hand stone. The chisel was very bad**, and this took a long time.
But he was finally able to remove the offending wood. And with the new lockplate located correctly, The Fuzz was ready to put in the two little screws that were to secure it. The second one*** broke off in the wood. Now, it was impossible to remove. But what was worse, it was exactly where he needed to put a screw. Things were really screwed up at this point. As can be seen, Our Resourceful Fuzz finally solved this problem by drilling a new hole though the lockplate for a relocated screw. Fortunately, this ugly mess is not visible with the door closed.
Yet one more example of how a 5 minute job can take half a day.

*This seems to be a trend. The Fuzz hopes to solve this problem when the Shed is finished.
**Very very bad!
***Cheap ass screw!

Monday, November 21, 2011

Latest Art-O-Mat Collection

The Fuzz was fortunate to get a Sneak Preview of a Little Known Local Artist's Latest Art-O-Mat Collection.
For those who might be uninformed-

"Art-o-mat machines are retired cigarette vending machines that have been converted to vend art."

This stuff looks pretty good. But if you want any, you'll have to find an Art-O-Mat
machine somewhere. It will be worth it.

Saturday, November 19, 2011

Cute Kitty Pix

We seem to have a bit of trouble maintaining our Kitty population out here. Some simply disappear, and some seem to acquire bullet holes.With that in mind, The Fuzz's Sweetie acquired this Momma Cat, and her 2 Kitties.
A while back, we watched the flick The Secret of Kells. (which we highly recommend*) In the flick there is a Kitty named, after that infamous Cat of Yore, Pangur Ban. Said Kitty is white, with different colored eyes. And so, meet our own Pangur Ban. And here is a Cute Kitty Pix of Pangur's sister, Cleo. (as in Cleopatra)

*Don't miss the Pangur Ban Song!

Friday, November 18, 2011

Sliding Glass Door Project Revisted

Some time ago, The Fuzz posted on our Sliding Glass Door Project. Here is a little reminder of our starting point, the original door, and rotting apart wall.
Well, things had progressed pretty well to the point that all that was left was the needed curtains. We wanted these for privacy*, and to better hold the heat in on those coming winter nights.
This fell within The Fuzz's Sweetie's expertise. But her
expertise was pretty much occupied at the time.
Well, that was then, and this is now. And so here is a look at out finished Sliding Glass Door Project!
Finished just in time for the cold weather.


*With the leaves fallen, the woods are fairly open and this side of the trailer is quite visible to the neighbors.

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Contruction Continued

So, what are we actually looking at here?
Well, it is a part of the construction process. There have been a number of design changes since this project began.
One change was to raise the roof a bit. The Fuzz realized he could get a bit more storage space as a "Loft". The original plan had called for a very low pitched roof, to simplify construction, and save on materials. But we won't go into all that right now.
Since The Fuzz is not using trusses (to allow more open space) The ridge must be supported some other way.
And it is still necessary to span an 8ft section of the work area. And so Our Fuzz fashioned this mysterious piece to support a 2x8* across this area. It also had to tie in to the rafters, hence the angles.
The assembly of this intricate piece was accomplished with no complications. Putting it up there was another matter. The Fuzz spent more time getting the ladders, walk boards and all that stuff together, than making it.So here's a look at how things are shaping up so far. The Fuzz promises to keep all his loyal readers posted on the progress of this important project. With any luck, he may get a few more pieces together this week.

*For some mysterious reason, a 2x8 is more like a 1½ x 7¼ these days!