TRICKIN with CHICKIN

With bargains found at the Riverbend yardsale including a pickax I have finally completed the chicken moat. Well to say it is a moat is not completely right. It is more of a channel. It also serves as a mud run for Eliots cars. He had such a great time helping his daddy with it. He would get his little trowel out and dig away.

Like a new man

This evening on the bus there was a scarcity of insane behavior to interrupt the tree catalog reading. I got well past the Pink Lady Apple tree before a Drunk Lady hurtled past me on her way through the windshield to ask the driver, "When argh youll goinggg to anrgutstarhh?" The windshield was made with this kind of thing in mind so she was merely shaken not stirred by the incident.
My days have flown by in this manner. Wake, try to cover Eliot's ears but not interfere with the newly released violent criminal riders of the bus, come home and try to not be a victim of a projectile drunk persons. It is like a frat party on wheels where all the pledges are seasoned drinking professionals. My only regret is that I am not able to join them in their adventures, perhaps in the next life. In this life it is clear I am to be a farmer(for those of you who thought I was going to be a nurse this may come as a surprise but hey life and select boxes of cereal are filled with those right?).
In process are three to three thousand projects around the house. I have become adept at putting them off for various excellent reasons. Therefor one can find in my yard the following things,
1)A regulation depth ditch around a chicken coop size area and the materials for building a chicken coop inside of a garage
2)The beginnings of a seriously deforested future berry patch which once the wood has, over the years decomposed, will be perfect for blueberries and raspberries.
3)A hole the size of a root-ball for a dwarf tree which has been excavated then meticulously filled back in for future re-excavation.
My heart was lightened even more than usual by fireflies that did not turn out to be motorists cigarette butts being flicked at me this evening. They buzzed around the yard. I have always found it hard not to tape a flashlight to my bum when I see this. It is what being brought up in Augusta will do to a boy.
Many of you will have noticed by now that my email got hacked. Apparently the fix was in because my computer was also the victim of the geekiest sort of crime. All action movies from now on have been ruined for me. They all are hackers the bad-asses of the big screen. You just never feel the same as you sit down to a movie starring fast typers after falling prey to their evil shenanigans. I have seen the matrix people and it looks really boring, is pre-diabetic, lives at its mom's house, and has to do carpal tunnel exercises.
Despite all my whining I am doing great. This blogging thing makes me feel important, almost as important as when more than 2 people validate my words with a like on facebook. So have a nice evening and join me in protesting the depiction of an action hero as a person who types fast.

The weather outside is frightful

I have no idea what this is a picture of. I am thinking it is a fish tank. One never can tell. It is rediculously cold outside. One of those days where SLR cameras stick and no sane person really would be outside anyway. We went out for a date at Westbrook Cinemagic. Eliot stayed with his grandmother and ever braved the cold a bit. The point of this is nothing of course. I have nothing to say. Other than I am going to try to keep my lap warm by blogging with my laptop as the temperature dips to subzero temps this eve.

A Whole Day at the Ocean and All I have to Show For It Is These Berries

It is Sunday and the day was our oyster. The waves at Portland Headlight were crashing high from a hurricane. The air was so warm the thought of surfing could not be purged. It has been a long time since that has happened. It was on the other side of the planet that I surfed last.
Last night it rained really hard and everything was all wet and smelled rotty in a good way. We walked around the woods in Fort Williams park area for awhile. All those leaves almost got the best of me; I had several three stooge banana peel moments. Eliot somehow avoided falling for the most part. He got chased around by some puppies, guess they thought he was delicious the way they kept licking him. He found some new duck friends as well. They were quite interested in making his aquaintence too until they found out he only was holding the top of an acorn.
This evening has been the night of school again. Borders for studying, home for roasted chicken Ala Jess, back to the computer who was diametrically opposed to me and my paper writing work. I also think the blog and facebook have had their role in my study downfall this evening.

seems to me that i have not been in touch

Nursing school is underway. Catheters, IM injections, multipul choice exams with evasive answers are all about. I am so happily overwlemed at the moment. That will change in two weeks when I have my next exam. Every week I dress up as a nurse and do my thing. It is not unlike what I have been up to. The main difference is the assessments we do. Every class we are expected to write our assessments of the clients we are assigned. I have some work to do.

My little family has been thriving despite the changing of seasons, scheduals, and scholarships. The hardest thing about school still is not seeing Eliot every morning.

One Small Salamander For Man, One Giant Leap for Mankind

One rainy day after Jess got home we decided to try our hands at flight. Eliot started it and the family has been doing the same to practice for a Christmas picture.

This salamander just did not care to be picked up yesterday

Notice Eliot's perfect flying form.

A Wild Buckaroos Breaky

Wild Growlin' Gessler and his rough and rowdy crew of bandits descended on the wild west enclave, Catonsville. the formerly peaceful brothel was rocked by the appearance of these disreputable characters.

Evil Eder with his Wiley counterpart in crime Jessica James

Chicky "Kill" Nasty

"Baby-face" Pat Fun Box

"Grateful to be dead after messin with this maniac" Jack the Ripper

this just in

my wife just stole all of the awesome pictures i took of the day(with my permission of course) and wrote a narrative better than the one i was going to write. i bet she did not even have to rely on swear words to say how damn good my day was.
here is her link. i hope she spelled lots of words wrong.

http://alittlebunny.blogspot.com/

the days are just packed

when a day goes just right you know you will be talking about it for the rest of the month, day, year, or more. Wensday was such a day. Eliot and I made our way out the house into the world at around ten o'clock.

We came upon the fire house with its doors open and fire men doing their shift change. They invited Eliot to come into the engines. He even got to ride in one. A happier kid could not be found but this was only the beginning...

blue steel

the seriousness of the haircut.

we brought eliot in for his fist real haircut friday. he was great about staying still and obeying the barber and the mama but he was so serious. i hope it was not an unpleant experiance for him. the result was fantastic. the gardella boys are looking fine.

Great ideas come from my sleeping wife

A little past ten I went into a room in the house where some are creative and some just create. My wife had just finished making a stuffed person and I thought of the perfect collaboration. I will make the innards of a simple robot whose arms will move with its legs in tandem. It's innards will be supported by a wooden frame. The arm and leg axel will come out of the top and bottom of the creature. Short wood square blocks will attach to each axle and will have a bit extra axle over the end. Any added appendages are added with glue to the outside of the gear box.
The part where Jess would be able to come in and help is when I cover the robot with skin. It needs to be vaguely inhuman but should show the creator was at least trying when they tried to make the humanoid doll/robot. If the box is strong enough staple guns and hot glue could make for excellent fat cells to round things out. The innards need to be accessable by a very obvious and possibly upsetting looking door(maybe a doornob). When the figure is finished gears(metal) need to be applied to the last bit of dowel. If possible these gears should connect to something too.
I have pictures of a machine I made years ago and would like to craft mine after them and Jess' doll.

Eliot and Jess and I were totally entertained on the roof deck at my bros apt. The view was perfect. I stayed up there with Tim late just enjoying the view. It was perfect.
When Jess, Eliot, Tim, and I got to the cape we took a relaxed stroll around the heritage plantation. it was beautiful with the blooming rhododendron. The colors were splendid.
When Trish joined us we went to sandy neck beach for a campfire and beach ride. the weather was fine, sunset clear, fire was warm, and a lady Eliot had worked his charm on gave Trisha a hamburger she says was the best she's ever had. This was especcially good because Trisha said earlier that evening that she would kill for a bite of a hamburger. I guess those people unwittingly saved someones life. Pracilla you are an unsung American hero.
Sunday we heard my mom grace the church with her beautiful voice. My father was good enough to do a lobster feast for all of us. It was was particularly meaningful and appreciated by me. I had been traumatized and riddled with guilt earlier that evening. Eliot had gotten a very bad splinter on the deck(which my dad had repeatedly had warned me about). I removed most of it but his howling in pain made my hands shake like leaves. I was able to get the larger piece but by the time I finished doing that I was to stressed out. I am embarrassed to say I can deal easily with some other person's father having a head trauma but become completely undone by Eliot getting a splinter. The lobster in the good company of Ann and Pete worked its magic though and I slept well until nine this morning. Today I had some quality time to play with the magic jeep

Cape Cod

It should be nice getting down to the parents house for the weekend. Jess, Eliot, and I have not been there to visit in a while. It is finally good enough weather for us to spend some time out on the Cape's fantastic beaches. They remind Tim and I of Australia because they are so long. Tim enjoyed the drive on the beach aspect of Frasure Island. I just loved how freakin long the beaches were.

There is no I in teamwork but there are two in irritated

...but first an old joke

Two little old ladies were sitting on a park bench outside the local town hall where a

flower show was in progress.
The thin one leaned over and said, 'Life is so boring. We never have any fun any

more. For $10 I'd take my clothes off and streak through that stupid flower show!'

"You're on!' said the other old lady, holding up a $10 note. The first little old lady slowly

fumbled her way out of her clothes and, completely naked, streaked (as fast as an old

lady can) through the front door of the flower show.

Waiting outside, her friend soon heard a huge commotion inside the hall, followed by

loud applause and shrill whistling. The smiling and naked Old lady came through the

exit door surrounded by a cheering crowd.

'What happened?' asked her waiting friend

'I won 1st prize as Best Dried Arrangement.

Working with the elderly has its ups and downs, specifically pull ups and nursey melt downs. No matter what the reason is for having to change pull ups I nearly always prefer it than having to deal with the latter.

just having a look @ jess. blog

for all of you who are wondering why there so many duplicated pics, it is because jess is such a darn photographer. i just am in awe when i see them on my laptop. hence the fact she gets her photos in her's and mine. kudos for her she is remarkably talented.

And places

We have gone many places