Those little grates

You know those little grates or hot rocks at the bottom of your propane grill - fiercely hot, trust me, DO NOT touch, even after 30 seconds of fire activity.

Lawnmower Primer Button

Too funny - someone found my site by searching for "Lawnmower Primer Button" - I hope they weren't looking for help, because they won't find it here!
That is like that time on my old blog when the surf bands were looking for information from me about required power conversion equipment for their trip to Brazil...

Though, I have been known to offer all kinds of information about places I have yet to see...

I'm going to Best Buy!

I spent all day in the yard - mulching / pulling little tiny, beautiful, yet awful little purple flowers / pulling deadly spiny weeds / and weed killing with the weed wacker, and now I'm going to Best Buy to get something super cool!

And while I'm at the mall, I might have to get a cappuccino...

So there :-p



P.S.
Anyone have a recommendation for someone who installs and repairs basement windows? One of mine is broken :-o

Movie times

I watched that movie "The Fockers" with my dad today! Funny stuff, though some content will not be suitable for all ages.
I didn't watch "Meet The Parents" (which I guess this is a sequel to) but my dad filled me in enough to where I could pull the pieces together. No matter what Ben Stiller did to try to impress his girlfriend's dad in the movie, it ended up being a disaster.
It was all caused by the intimidation of her father though - and Ben's parents were so easy going (too much actually) which made the uptight parents uncomfortably funny.
If I had to choose, I definetely would rather visit the easy going family - the one who is closer and makes the guests feel comfortable.
It was hilarious to see how uncomfortable Ben was when communicating with his gf's father.. their communication faults were so amplified, but I've met people who have some of the father's qualities :) heheh

Another movie that I watched this week was that Robots animated film - it had some good humor in it and some great graphics. Robots travel in something that resembles a pinball machine - watch for the main character's side kick (he's red) - he's the silly one. Recommended for a younger audience though, it's very tolerable - enough to keep the interest, but not the best animated film I've seen.
Did anyone else hear that they are coming out with a Shrek 3?

RollerBlading to MP3s

Today was the first time that I brought my mp3 player to the park rollerblading. It was awesome to just listen to music and glide through the park as the wind went past.
At one end of the park people were barbequing - the smell of it brought me back to when I was a kid playing with my cousins while my parents and grandparents grilled outdoors. What a beautiful day.
After I was done rollerblading, I sat on a bench, enjoyed the view (wish I had a camera - the sky was amazing) and began to listen to the Davinci Code (thanks to Pepino for the MP3s).
The wind picked up, though, so I decided it was time to get going - it started to rain as soon as I walked into the house - guess today is my lucky day!
I have to say - MP3 players are one of the best inventions EVER.

Fabulous.

This morning I woke up just BEFORE the pager went off

I think that sometimes I sense things that I shouldn't!
Darn random psychic abilities :)

I'm going to miss My Fair Lady.

Inspiration prompts action

What inspires you?

Looks like it's warming up!

I might be able to lay that mulch today!

I was actually in the running with Ron last week - I beat him by mowing the lawn after it rained, lol. The lawn mower kept on stalling from being so clogged, but it was worth it, plus I found a way to resolve the issue (pick the mower up to allow the grass to unclog after EVERY row -trickytricky). Fun stuff!!

So, Monday night I went to my favorite store - Home Depot! I bought four bags of mulch - after catapulting them into the shopping cart (must have been a funny sight - this one older woman was watching the entire process [oh dear!]) and some more paint and brushes for my livingroom.
I plan to finish up some stuff around my house on the week that I have off (woohoo - second week in June!)

Unfortunately, yesterday was all cold and rainy - so I just ended up spending some time inside baking and cleaning (noooo laughing now - I watched CAT Woman too, ya, the one with Halle Berry). I really want to put the mulch out - it makes the front yard look nice. I have to extend the mulch to cover the ground near my new rose bush!


Mmmmm, I think I am almost due for a Cappuccino quest!

Fake Turkey

3 words for you. Don't try it.

Explanation:
Not the right color
Smells funny
Tastes funny
Causes nausea when looked at, smelled, or while attempting to eat

I have not been that sickened by any kind of food in some time. This is actually something that I refuse to eat. It was actually uneatable even when masked with all of the other condiments and vegetables in my sandwich.
What did they add to that anyway! Sure, 4 slices of this product is only 80 calories, but I'd much rather eat 80 calories of anything else.

Other vegetable products that I don't recommend:
Tofu - when not ordered as part of miso soup at a restaurant
Veggie Cheese - it's not the same without milk, no matter what they add to it to distract you
Lima beans - just because.

Other vegetables are ok - and I like and recommend veggie burgers and such.
Overprocessed vegetables, ewww. If this non-turkey is this bad, imagine all of the people who were buying that ToFurkey for Thanksgiving... it couldn't have tasted like this...

Bleh!
Peach.

Citrus

Yesterday I was cutting up some vegetables for a salad and while washing the cutting boards and knifes, my hand slid and I cut my finger!
It was pure shock - luckily, I guess the knife was sharp enough to make a clean cut - and actually the cut ended up being pretty small, just inconvienent.
But today, I peeled an orange (I know, silly right) and now it stings like crazy!

I do not recommend orange juice for treating cuts - not pleasant :)

First Hike 2005

I just got home from my first group hike of the year - 5 miles round trip. It was a very relaxed hike - we took time to look at the spring wildflowers and we had a wide range of ability.

One of the nice things about hiking is that it gives uninterrupted time to think about things that you normally don't have time to think about, or the right mindset to think about.

Things contemplated today:

-There might be a possibility that there are people who are just nice and as they are - nothing hidden.
-Why at the worst times, do I feel I have the most trouble communicating - I wonder if other people have that problem?
-If we hadn't walked in this far, we may have never seen any of these wildflowers - maybe noone would have seen them.
-I wonder what it would be like skiing this trail? Hmmm, impossible.
-Geez, the only thing bad about hiking is that I'm not near a computer - it's also the best thing. I didn't check my e-mail yet today...
-I'd like some new hiking boots, these are starting to get rough going downhill...

And more than several times:
-The world is amazing - I want to see more of it.

Hey, I had to blog quickly when I got home, otherwise, I would have forgotten all of this important stuff!

Got any links?

Of you or your friends preparing for Star Wars?

Pictures, please.
Come on - you know you want to send them to me!

:-D

Muhahaha
Anyone have Star Wars movies I can borrow?

You know those Bears

You better watch out!
Bears are dangerous - They'll kill ya!

Credits due to Pepino!! Ay.

Scheduled a haircut

I have to go see Jackie tomorrow at 4pm - she is going to wonder where I have been! (Trying to grow my hair long - I tell ya - but maybe no more)
She wants to do all kinds of highlighting & stuff, but I haven't decided if I want to do any of that stuff right now... just make it look nice :-D

I always had really long hair and then maybe 3 winters ago (has it been that long?) I cut my hair shoulder length and since it has been all different (shorter) lengths.

Renaissance Festival

Have you ever been to the Renaissance Festival in Sterling, NY?
I've had an excellent time every time that I've been there - the best things about the fair are the plays and all of the actors walking amoungst you.
The idea is to get a feeling of being in a different time period.

Thanks to one of the guys at work - here are the weekends that the fair will be running this year:
July 2/3 - Children's Weekend
July 9/10 - Irish Weekend
July 16/17 - Bikers for Charity Weekend
July 23/24 - Romance Weekend
July 30/21 - Amber-Bock Weekend
August 6/7 - Knighted Weekend
August 13/14 - The Grande Finale

I hope to go! I used to get advanced sale tickets for the fair, but I haven't done that for the last couple years - in fact, I don't believe that I've been in two years!

More Info Here

DRIVE

Ok, who likes the idea of renting a Jeep and driving to Cape Cod for the weekend?

If only it were warmer...

Mud Mask

Have you ever put one of these Mud Masks on? It's funny because I seriously don't think that I can move any of my face muscles right now :o)

Every so often (I think it is one of those girly things) - I all of the sudden feel like I need to put one of these masks on. The entire time that I have it on, I keep wondering if someone will come to visit me at the exact time that it dries. Not only would it be impossible to talk to them, it also doesn't look the best!
Ok, time to wash it off.

Final Exam

I just finished my final exam after working on it since around 10:30 this morning! (Not without phone call interruption, of course)
It's a good feeling to be finished. It took me longer to comment everything than to actually write the programs :)

Anyway - it's all SUBMITTED now!

I'm breaking out of here!! Woo hoo :)
I wonder if the park is dry...

Couldn't have asked for better...

First - I'd like to say thank you to Mr. Pepino for keeping my blogging motivation going *cheers Mr. Pepino, Ay Ay Ay!* Also, the "You know who else couldn't have asked for better!" guy - thanks for your continued comments! Much appreciated - everyone - I'm not kidding!

This weekend was AMAZING. Simply amazing. The weather was great - I didn't freeze at all! The views were simply wonderful - I got some great pictures. All but one of my Dad's brother's came out to visit - as did my granparents on Sunday. What a pleasant time.

Now for the goods :-D ... For the first time in more than 3 consecutive years I caught a fish - well kind of:



See the story starts - "It was quite a fight! There I was.. standin in the boat. There was a swirl of water 2 feet that a - way ... next thing I know.. wham! I got'em, or so I thought. Took me 2.3 'o fightin hours to get eem."
Or...
My brother and I took the boat out for a couple hours Saturday night while Dad was in town getting some stuff to fix his boat trailer. When we got back my brother cast our lines off the back and the next morning I had a fish. So I didn't really "catch him" persay.
Sorry folks :)

Here's another good picture:



When we were on the boat I saw some cows near the shore. So when we were getting pretty close to shore (not generally a good thing but I was willing to risk it) I said "Hold on a minute!" and jumped out of the boat to catch some good cow pictures - take a look at this:



The only trouble was getting back onto the boat without soaking the camera...

I couldn't have asked for a better time - everyone was really great - we ate all kinds of stuff that I imagine is terrible for your health, good news is - we all made it home safe.

Thanks a million to all who made this time possible - you guys are great.



Oh, btw - do you know that minnows have feelings? OMG.
I've got SUNSHINE!!!
Peach.

McCat - A Reward for 1 1/2 hours of typing

This CAT was a gift to me from my uncle who came to my house and had me type for 1 1/2 hours for him :-D
He stopped at McDonalds before he came and as he was leaving - I told him, for that - I better get a darned toy!

Isn't he Himalayanly cute? His collar says "THE CAT" and his hair is sticking up on the top of his head! lol

He is mowing again :(

Cinco de Mayo y day before camping trip!

One more day & I'm camping outdoors - woo hoo!

Tomorrow I'll be getting ready to go out for the weekend - hopefully! Last year when I took the friday off to prepare for camping, Ernie (my cat) was out on the porch first thing in the morning looking at birds and got stung by a bee! He was running then through the house crazy-like...

I had to spend most of the day at the vet with Ernie worrying and getting him benadryl. Then had to have someone check on him while I was gone!

I'm telling ya - No more disasters this week, please!?!

BTW - Today is the Fifth of May - Cinco de Mayo
Make Sure you have some SpIcY Mexican food, or maybe some
Chips and..... SALSA!

Enjoy!
Thx, Peach.


Update: Also, today I got one of those CARFAX 30day memberships. Interesting stuff - you can find out how many people owned your car & where they lived, if it was ever wrecked, etc.
Of course, if you outright own your car you may not want to know... :-D

It's in the 40s now...

But it is supposed to be in the 60s over the weekend! I sure do hope so!

However, I have no fear freezing this weekend because I now know that a camp fire will keep me warm even in the coldest of situations!
Plus, my dad has a camper with a heater now, *hacha* ;) and we will have brewed coffee in the morning thanks to my spare little coffee pot! I know, I know - taking the easy way out... what can I say?

I can't wait!

It didn't rain! (really) and the lawn is mowed ahh...

That stinking lawnmower though - it still wouldn't start, so I got upset and started pushing the primer button repeatedly - *ok, NO LAUGHING* - and after that she roared right up! After the smoke cleared...

First lawnmowing complete - warmer weather & sunshine is on the way!

I really do think it's refreshing to mow the lawn - call me crazy but I actually like mowing. There isn't a whole lot of work involved and it just feels good to be working on something outside. A little stroll in the yard and whaala, serenity! ;)

Have a good day! Remember, swimming weather is on the way!



Oh, p.s. - Mummy the Peepshow merchandise received! I'm rockin now!

Looks like rain

How to stabilize your lawnmower and other related subjects

First, I'd like to say how darn good it is to have my first corn on the cob of this year that I just finished cooking outside on my charcoal grill. It is absolutely delicious.
If you haven't had corn on the cob this year yet - it is a must do. Corn on the cob is on the same goodness level as salt potatoes.

Alright. So, now I will tell you how to take care of your lawn mower - which I only found out today after reading the manual for my lawnmower. The only way that I know how to tell you is with this story... :-D

My neighbor is the lawnmowing guy. He mows his lawn more than anyone on the street, I think. This is not a good thing for me, because this means that we are in grass height competition. My neighbor has mowed his lawn twice already this year.
So, it's a big joke between the neighbor and I. Good ole' Ron subtly reminds me (by working in his yard on a constant basis) that I need to keep my lawn at approximately 1 inch grass length or lower in order to keep my pride.

Today I left to do some errands and Ron was mowing his lawn. "Ok", I thought, "I will have to mow my lawn when I get back". The chives are out of control anyway - btw - Please, do let me know if you need any chives, whoever lived here before me must have supplied the local supermarket - I might have more chives than I have grass right now - I'm not sure.

I planned to get some oil for the lawnmower while out running errands.
I didn't forget - I picked up some oil at Home Depot (aka - my favorite store as a homeowner). When I got home, I was going to drain out the oil and put in the new oil because I heard that you are supposed to change the oil in the lawnmower atleast every year.
Ok, so now, I'm reading the manual. What is this? A tube of fuel stabilizer that came with my lawnmower? Uh oh. Well, I read in the manual that I am supposed to either add this fuel stabilizer to the fuel before winter and fill it up with gas, or completely empty it of gas and add completely new stuff in the spring. GREAT. Now what. I didn't do it - gas is eating my delicate lawnmower seals as I'm thinking about it.
Hmmm, what to do. Noone that I know would be able to offer advice about saving my seals... Internet - hmmm - abundance of info on how to add fuel stabilzer and several sites saying how it is basically impossible to dispose of gas.
My uncle would know! So, I call my uncle. To save old gas - you need to use "Octane Booster" - pour a bit of that in & add some new gas & you should be all set. Check! - OCTANE Booster, which I later found is only available in N. Syracuse at AutoZone (of course!). Alright. So, I get the gas & I get the Octane booster & mix it all up add more gas etc. According to the manual, YOU CANNOT drain the oil until the lawnmower is hot.
This state is only obtained by running the lawnmower. :-p haha

Manual says check spark plug for residue - Check! No residue.

Now, you are going to like this. I've done all of this preparation. I am ready to go.

Next, I prime the machine. I pull the string to start the mower several times and nothing. I wait - try again, nothing. I wait, try again several times, nothing. I press the primer button again & try again. I hope noone is watching.
I decide to barbeque. And continue to try the lawnmower. I resort to only barbequing. Guess the lawn will have to wait until tomorrow - maybe the octane booster will have had a chance to do magic.

The moral of this story is - always add stabilizer to your lawnmower before winter, otherwise, in the spring there will be a lot of failed lawnmower start attempts and you'll want to cook on your charcoal grill.

Cheers. :-p