443 Days & Guns

443 days until retirement and it seems like a lifetime away.  I know it will go by in a flash but somehow that doesn't seem to matter here in the present.  I am so looking forward to the day I can finally leave and spend my time doing what I want to do.

I wish I could accomplish more on the weekends but by the time they role around I am usually too tired to want to do much.  It is funny because I always seem to find the energy to get up and go to work but when the weekend comes I get kind of lethargic.  Of course, this weekend isn't really a weekend.  I had split days off on Friday and Sunday and worked a 10 hour shift on Saturday.  It can tire an old guy out.

When I was younger and roving the eastern Washington countryside I carried a 22 caliber pistol and a single shot 22 rifle for protection from the many dangers of riding miles of fence and staying out in the sage brush alone at night.  When I got married I got rid of the guns.  I am guessing is it a good thing cause if I had still had them my wife might have used one on me for any one of the several mis-steps I took during the past 40+ years.

I was always very careful with my weapons.  I taught Mia how to target shoot.  We used to set up cans on the fencing in Ephrata and practice with both weapons.  We also shot up a bunch of stuff on the ranch junk pile which include cars, appliances, and all kinds of useless stuff.

Since those days I have not had guns around.  I have considered purchasing another hand gun for protection while on the road but I suspect it could be more of a problem than a good thing.  Each state has different gun control laws and it wouldn't surprise me to find myself up against the wall for carrying it into a place that perhaps Montana allows but New York doesn't.

And I am frustrated by the many shootings we have seen lately.  It really bothers me that some wacko can get an assault rifle with up to a hundred rounds of ammo and walk into a public place and take away the rights of a lot of people who thought they were safe.  They talk about the right to bear arms but no one discusses the rights of the individuals these whack jobs make their victims.

I am not for gun control.  I don't believe it will work.  Even if the U.S. outlaws the manufacture of assault rifles some other country will still manufacture enough to supply a black market trade and we'll still have idiots shooting up the place.  Many of the recent shootings had weapons used that were stolen from family members or given to the perp by a family member.  Even the New York Police Commission stated on Face the Nation that 70% of the guns confiscated in New York came from outside New York.

So what do we do?  I think we need to root down to the cause of the loss of caring about individual rights.  Too many people don't care about the other persons rights or their personal property.  I am not sure when this happened (it was in my lifetime) or what it was that swung this nation on to the current path but we need to find out and make it stop, NOW!

Enough ranting.  Enjoy the week.

Not Gone, Just Getting Used To Drugs

It has been a couple of weeks since I last checked in and I have to tell you that I am doing better.  The prescribed drugs seem to be working and while I realize that there is still much to get done I don't dwell on the fact that it isn't getting done.  I just feel so much better and less stressed.  I had my first meeting with the mental health person from my HMO and it was quite enlightening and I fully intend to take advantage of their services over the next couple of months.

Instead of working six days a week I took Wednesday off this past week and worked around the house.  One project I need to perform was replacing the broiler element in the upper oven of our Jenn Air Range.  At first glance, not a big deal.  Four screws and out comes the broken element.  Where the problem comes in is in the finding of the replacement unit.  I thought the local appliance store, but no.  Perhaps Lowe's or Home Depot, no.  I ended up several miles from my home base at Reliable Appliance parts to obtain the element.

I installed it, replaced the filter in the ice maker, water device inside the refrigerator, and decided to fix dinner so Mia could come home to a meal.  I fixed Chicken Ala King and it was great.

This past Sunday morning we decided to drive to Gold Bar to see how things are at the lot and check out the trailer.  The park had called us and asked us to come up and move the trailer during the holidays and Mia asked them if they could move it since it would be a while before we could get there.  When we got to the lot, the trailer was gone and so was the greenbelt along the back side of the lot.  Perhaps you remember the lot...

As you can see in the picture above taken last Memorial Day we had a lot of privacy from the folks behind us.  Well that has changed...

As you can see, we have no green belt at this point.  In fact, that area where there is no snow is actually a large frozen puddle.  Mia cracked the frozen surface and while it wasn't too wet it was pretty deep.  I just emailed the park to see if they can give me some kind of an idea what the reconstruction plan will entail.  I await their response.

It is in the low 20's here in Federal Way and I must go forth and take Honey for her night time walk before I go to bed.

Hope everyone is well.  Too bad the Seahawks couldn't pull it out to win today, but it was a hell of a season and they have the beginnings of a very good football team.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year....no reason to do a year in review when I have a blog with everything already done.  Hope you have an excellent 2013.  Stay safe out there.