Family Camp

The Young'uns were planning a camp-gathering at Lake Jordan but The Fuzz and His Sweetie had a lot of stuff going on and had planned to skip it.  But there were some changes made, and the planners and the Young Daughter managed to get The Fuzz's Sweetie on board.  So he caved as well.
With little lead time, and still some very necessary garden work to take care of, Our Fuzz and Sweetie had a busy morning.

But after some scrambling and quick packing, they managed to get on the road only a little behind schedule.

Here's a view of the main camp.  There were a few other tents pitched nearby.

There was a threat of rain, so a tarp was put up, just in case.  While there was no major rain, it did protect from a few sprinkles- besides providing some piece of mind.

Of course there was a campfire, and even marshmallows for "sa'mores".

The Fuzz got himself out of the sack early the last morning and enjoyed a bit of quiet and a cup of coffee.  Here's a look out at the lake in the light  rain.

The trip was enjoyed so much we are hoping to do it again.  The Fuzz and His Sweetie are even getting a larger tent to make things more enjoyable.  Now they only have a few small, backpacking-type tents.  And they can get a bit crowded* at times.  Especially in the rain.

We're all looking forward to the next time!

*Due to a slight foul up on The Fuzz's part, we had to squeeze 3 into a 2 person tent!  It was hard on The Claustrophobic Fuzz.

Rainy Morning

Air Travel Made Stressful

Well, the Fuzz's Sweetie is out of town for a while.  And the poor guy is trying to cope with it.  When you've been with somebody for 40 years it's a bit strange not having them around.
On the way to the airport, they suddenly came upon a spot where the traffic was at a standstill.  This was particularly stressful for The Fuzz.  For it was in almost the same spot, years ago, that the same thing had happened, causing him to miss his plane.  But fortunately this time they were right at an exit, and were able to get off the freeway and on to a real road.

It was not far to the airport.  (In the afore mentioned episode The Fuzz actually walked/ran there in an unsuccessful effort to make his plane!)  But it did cut down on the recommended arrival time*.  So The Fuzz dropped His Sweetie off at the terminal, and went to find a place to park.

This construction site is where the hourly parking deck used to be.  As Our Trusting Fuzz followed the signs, he about ran into a barrier blocking the way to the parking deck that was no longer there.  At this point he realized that he would have to park in the Daily parking deck, and ride the shuttle back to the terminal in the now faint hope of that last bit of sugar.
Sad to say he didn't make it.
But happy to say, His Sweetie did make it though the security gauntlet, and had a safe arrival at her snow covered destination.

Here's a look at "Queen Charlotte" who used to be right in front of the terminal.  Now she's out here stuck between the East Parking Deck and the (I suppose) West Parking Deck.  Of course you can still take the shuttle out there to see her.


* Now 90 insane minutes!

A Bit of Color 2

Wow

Yikes!

The Fuzz's Sweetie is out of town visiting family.

So what's with this kind of weather?

The Fuzz says he thinks he'll just stay here where it's nice.

A Bit of Color 1

Kinda Spacy

Busy Times

The Fuzz got a motorcycle trip in this past weekend.  The main thing was a visit to his Brother's Birthday Bash.

The Fuzz managed to turn it into a 4 day excursion, visiting family along the way.
The weather was mostly good, although there was a bit of mist and the threat of some rain on the last leg home.  After 4 days on the bike he was a bit sunburned (especially on the nose).  And 4 days of holding the throttle took a toll on his arm.  But we are happy to report that he is recovering.

Now His Sweetie is off visiting family in Nebraska!  As it has been said, "Life is just one damn thing after another"*.  She went from nice Carolina Springtime to Snow!
Well, this time The Fuzz gets to stay home with the Young Daughter.  Maybe they can stay out of trouble on their own.



*Attributed to Mark Twain.

Dogwood Update

Dogwood Post Update

They're out pretty good now!

Red Meat

While on his own the other day, The Fuzz had to feed himself.  But this was an opportunity to try out a new recipe.

He picked up a piece of that deadly red meat at the store.  Normally he would have slapped it under the broiler with a little seasoning and let it rip.  But The Fuzz does have a soft spot for iron frying pans.

The first step was to slowly cook up a piece of bacon- for seasoning, and of course the grease.  Then he added some jalapenos, leeks and mushrooms.  Once these had sautéed a bit, that dangerous slab was laid in there.

&

After a few minutes flipped.

And finally served up with a fresh salad, and a glass of red wine.

Springtime Chores

One of our Springtime chores is getting the garden into the new seasonal mode.

We've had to start pretty much from scratch out here in the woods.  Back at the Old Place we had been working the garden for 30 years and it is built up pretty well.  The Fuzz's Sweetie has been working on this, but now with The Fuzz under foot, she has put him to work.

The plan calls for working the garden up into these beds and adding better soil, sand, peat moss etc.  The beds had been lined with logs and such.  But these rot quickly.  So we have been replacing them with blocks.

Pretty spiffy.

Dogwood Post

The Fuzz has been keeping an eye on the approach of Spring this year.  And one of the signs here in the Carolina Piedmont is the Dogwood trees.

Well they're not quite ready yet, but we've got a pretty good start.

It has been a bit cool lately, and it seems to have slowed things down a mite.  But things are beginning to happen now, and quickly!

Bike Stuff, Cheap Fix!

Just because The Fuzz hasn't been posting much does not mean he has been asleep the whole time.

In anticipation of some possible road trips, he has been addressing some  motorcycle issues.  One was the speedometer that was hanging on by a thread ever since that man pulled out in front of him that fateful summer.  It turned out that taking it apart and bending a few things around got that straightened out- more or less.

But that still left this seat, which had gotten progressively worse.
Back when The Fuzz was still a productive member of society, he would have to park the bike out in the weather while at the job.  Now it was finally time to do something about it.  And since this bike has been officially totaled, there was little incentive to sink much into it.  Of course a nice leather seat would be nice, but let's be realistic about things.

So Our Resourceful Fuzz made a quick trip to that Home Improvement Store for some black Gorilla Tape*.

And here we have it! 

*There is a precedent for this sort of thing.

(While you're there, check out this Booze Bike!)

Day Trip

Being as there was no school this week, due to the Spring Break (with used to be called Easter Vacation) The Fuzz and His Sweetie decided to take the Young Daughter and her boyfriend up to the Relatively Large City for a bit of fun.
On the way they saw these guys, and stopped for a quick pix or two.

Once in the city, the first stop was the Asian Buffet for a not so quick bite.  Then they hit the Thrift Store for some cheap additions to the wardrobe.  The Fuzz found an old toaster-oven* to use over at the Old Place since there is no cookstove there.

The plan called for a session at the $3 movie.  But alas, we were informed that the show had been cancelled due to "technical difficulties".  It seems that the projector had blown up showering glass over the audience and all.  

So... No movie this time.
It was time to head back to the woods and be satisfied with a DVD from Netflix.


*These things are great although they have been largely superseded by those new-finagled microwaves.  Back in The Days, we used these things for everything from broiling a steak to making biscuits!