Random Photos and this Weekend

So one day I got a $5.00 off Halloween items at CVS and I couldn't resist "buying" a wolf mask for $4.99. You can't beat just paying tax for something.
Here's Jenny wearing the mask.
And here's Ryan wearing it after having eaten at Chevy's for his birthday. Note the sombrero.
I also found this photo on my phone that I hadn't posted. One morning while visiting Emily, we went out to breakfast. I just couldn't get over the fact that I could so easily see the mountains. Super cool!
Also while visiting Emily in Denver, we went to Dave and Busters. I don't think I remembered to blog about it before. It was the normal fun times that a place like that brings. But in addition to that, one of the prizes you could win with tickets was non other than Stunt Granny!
Today Jim, Tom, and I went disc golfing at Bradley Park. Laura came along with us and picked up litter along the way. To her surprise, she found a raccoon sleeping in an empty garbage can on the first hole. Super crazy! We figured he was stuck, so Jim tipped over the can to rudely awaken/save the poor little critter. As Tom mentioned, the raccoon probably had some explaining to do to his wife.

There were piles of leaves all over the place. The largest wind-formed pile was on hole 9, the last hole in upper Bradley. The pile was almost 3 feet high, 10 feet deep and close to 20 feet long. I did some can-can high kicks through the pile and then Laura followed up with a high-jump leap. Can you spot Laura's face in the photo below?

When not playing around this weekend, I spent quite a bit of time out in the yard. After I saw this, I realized that I don't often look at the sky right above my head. I'm glad I did and caught a glimpse of this rainbow cloud. The rainbow didn't continue any further than what's in this photo.It was neat to watch the small patch of wispy clouds move through the rainbow.

I chopped off all the cannas about a foot or so off the ground. Last year I learned that it helps to see where they are buried, so don't just break off the entire stalk.

Anyway, I thought it would be fun to make a big bouquet. It actually made it much easier (less bending over, etc.) to chop them up to fit in lawn waste bags.
I should have taken a shot of all the bulbs I dug up. They filled up 4-5 5-gallon buckets. Plenty more than what I need... still have a Cub Food carboard box filled to the brim, ready to give away. Let me know if you'd like some.

Also, let me know if you want to help me dig up elephant ears this week! I'm not sure what my game plan to get them out of the ground is, but it's got to be done.

One Step Closer

Finally got the Dawson frames hung on the wall.
Now I just have to get the room organized and everything pulled together for when the Southside Mission comes pick up the old desk, television and other items I don't need anymore.

Such a Slacker

Wow, I feel like such a slacker! I've been home a week, and I haven't posted any photos from my adventure in Colorado with Emily.

I thought it would be a good idea to go to a botanical garden. Emily hadn't been there before, so she was game. Sadly, it wasn't the best time of the year to look at flowers... this is one of the best looking one we saw that day.On the other hand, the botanical garden was located on an "old school" ranch. They had chickens, goats, sheep, and a Clydesdale. There were educational signs outside the different buildings like for the ice house and bunk house. I bet it would be a pretty cool place for a class field trip.

Anyway, here's a couple pics.


We also drove up to the top of a mountain where Buffalo Bill Cody is buried. Along the way up, we saw these people paragliding from somewhere towards the top of the mountain. Can't say I'd want to do that myself, but it was super cool to watch.
Here's a view from the other side of the mountain. It was so beautiful.
Here's Emily's cat Toni, A.K.A. Kitteh. She likes to hang on the porch and was just checking out the owl that attempts to keep away the squirrels from the potted plants.
I had a blast visiting Emily. Felt just like hanging out in college, but the weekend just didn't last long enough.

Head in the clouds

What to do on a flight from Denver to Minneapolis? How's about blog it up a bit. Sure I had to pay for Internet access, but it was cheaper than if I had gone to see Jackass3D with Emily yesterday. Speaking of of Emily, had a great time visiting her this weekend, if only I could have stayed longer. I guess you'll have that, time to head back to the real world.

I never knew it was possible for someone to squeeze past the beverage cart. How many new faces have you seen today? I will have seen thousands during my day of travels. It was funny to see everyone make the same expression as they turned the corner near what should have been the end of the security line, only to discover it wrapped around the baggage area. Denver has their shit together and whipped us through the winding line. I was AMAZED!

Looking forward to getting the photos off my camera so I can share the adventures Emily and I had. It's getting close to the turn off electrical devices and stow your tray table time of the flight, so I better sign off. Next leg, Minneapolis to Bloomington... I'm getting there.

I've been thinking.

I follow quite a few different people on twitter and it's interesting to see how they post items to encourage helping other, but lately they've been feeling the need to request people to be more kind to each other.

I think the internet has depersonalized things. It's almost like a screen name is a mask and people think they won't be seen. What happened to the days of "If you can't say anything nice, then don't say anything at all".

Maybe if it changed "If you can't type anything nice, then don't type anything at all".

That's what's on my mind this evening.

For Pete's Sake!

I've had quite the busy weekend and it's unfortunately ending in a very frustrating fashion. The good news was I found someone that wanted my old desktop computer. Grandpa wants it to be able to play solitaire and possible other games. For the computer to run better and hopefully flawlessly, I decided to use the recovery CD I have and restore it to the factory settings, so he can start new.

The Compaq did not come with recovery CD's, so when I got it, it had me burn the recovery discs. I put them in the computer and saw the files on them, so I assumed I would be good to go. Little did I know that the computer would have some sort of trouble reading it and not complete the job. I think I have managed to turned the computer into a gigantic paperweight.

I tried loading an older restore disc from a previous computer, but it doesn't want to run and flashes the blue screen of death. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I may be able to borrow a restore disc from work that will help get the computer up and running. This is really beyond frustrating.

Maybe I should focus on the fun disc golfing with Tom this weekend or the progress I'm making in the second bedroom. That's all I got for now... argh!

Sometimes you feel like a nut...

...Sometimes you don't. Almond Joys have nuts, Mounds don't. I can't even remember the last time I've heard that jingle, but yet it gets stuck in my head so often.

I think it would be somewhat interesting to understand why the brain gets stuck on certain thoughts and why they just keep repeating and you can't get them to go away. But then again do I really want to know what goes on in my head. Well... only if it would help me put the kibosh on all anxiety issues I have.

Amazing how typing down the jingle has gotten it to go away and I was just sitting here for a couple minutes with a nice blank mind. How relaxing to just let the mind chill and put aside all the worries of the day.

Time to go pet my fuzzy little buddies.
Good evening, morning, and afternoon to all.