A Day In The Life - 03/31/2011: Tne New Trees

As you may remember, I planted a couple of new Chilean Mesquite trees back a month or two ago. For a long time they did nothing, even when the weather turned warm. So I began checking for instructions for watering, etc. I found that, unlike most other things that you buy from the nursery, they do NOT want you to water every day and keep the soil moist. In fact, it is mostly the opposite. Every 10 days is sufficient, they say.
I had noticed that the few leaves that remained on the sticks after the nursery trimmed them back for winter were turning yellow and that is a sign of too much water.
So I cut them back to about two weeks between watering and all of a sudden leaves started sprouting all over the place. I am pleased as punch and figure that these will probably do all right now that they are getting established. I guess that they just have a dry sense of humor.

A Day In The Life - 03/30/2011: Making Solar Lamps

 Since I wanted to hang my solar lights rather than have them sit on the ground, I decided to give my first set away and make some more.
I went to the local IKEA store and found these cool lights which are designed for candles.

 I bought the cheapest set of solar lights from Home Depot that I could find ($18 for 6) and took the solar portion off (seen on the right) and threw the remaining stand and mount away.

 I discovered early on that the solar section must fit the glass exactly. Using the remains of one of my errors, I draw a circle around the solar unit to see haw far back I will need to trim.

 This gives you a rough idea of how much you have to trim the sides of the solar unit down so that it will fit inside of the glass.
I then take one of the sanding drums on the flex rod of my Dremel and carve away all of the outside shell to the solar unit. It actually comes to just smaller than the outside diameter of the bottom - the piece that houses the battery and light unit.

 Once the sides and top have been trimmed down to fit just inside of the glass housing you need to trim out a groove on each side of the unit. This is where I broke a couple of glass housings. There is no room for flex.

The solar unit must fit perfectly between the metal loop without flexing it at all BUT it must fit it tight enough so that it does not slide down the metal rods. It must also fit snugly inside of the glass sleeve or you get a lot of bugs in the light and then there are shadows running around inside of the lamp.
When it fits snugly and the glass housing fits over it smoothly then you mark where the solar unit fits on the rods and glue it in place using some epoxy.

The finished product looks like this. Notice the cool pattern that the glass leaves on the stones as the light shines through. These solar units are good enough to shine all night if they have gotten a good amount of sun during the day.

A Day In The Life - 03/28/2011: Sub Zero

 I was talking with Vicki Nelson yesterday about this place that they go for ice cream called Sub Zero. They take all of your selected ice cream (yogurt, fat free, premium, etc.) along with your flavors and add-ins and mix them in a bowl. Keep in mind that these are all liquid - not hard, solid stuff like we think of ice cream.

When they get all of the ingredients mixed up then they shoot it with liquid nitrogen and then start stiring and scraping it off of the metal bowls and amazingly they finally end up with a bowl of the flavor combos that you requested. It was very fun and something that we will have to do with the grandkids when they are in the area.

A Day In The Life - 03/26/2011: Mill Avenue Street Fair

 Today was such a busy day. It began with a trip to the church building to help clean.
Then it was off to the Mill Ave Street Fair. We got there early to be sure that we could find parking. The first place we parked was on the street and had meters and they charge for Saturdays! So I was off to find another spot. The next place, a parking lot, they wanted $10 for a spot. NO WAY! So I was off to the parking behind Monti's. Still $10. Then it was over to a spot on Rio Salado. It was closed. Finally I drove over to Ash and found one that was free. Actually, it wasn't free but I managed to get there before the money changers did. When we left they were also taking ten-spots for a place to rest your wheels. Note - get there early before the parking thieves!
Then we walked along some of the regular stores while we waited for things to open. This picture of a person who was buried in books reminded me of Gaye.

 Esteban, the guitarist, and his daughter were there playing and selling their music. She is quite an accomplished fiddle player. and he plays Salsa-style music. Gaye bought a CD of their music.

The primary reason that we were at the fair was that we had an appointment with Judy Lazar, a custom jeweler, to design a replacement wedding ring for Gaye since hers had broken a few weeks back. She did that and then it was off site seeing and shopping.
We got a several gifts for people. I bought a hammock chair for the yard. Gaye got kettle corn and I got chocolate covered strawberries on a stick.
Then it was off to the bike shop. Gaye finally found a bike that had a small frame and that she felt comfortable riding. So we bought it. And now the two of us can go riding together . . . and draging the dog along. I think we will do the dog-drag this evening! What a fun and expensive day!

A Day In The Life - 03/24/2011: Harmony & Kevin's Reception

Kevin and Harmony's Wedding Reception

I attempted to take some photo's of this reception but they all turned out somewhat horrid. So the best that I can do for this one is this short video clip, which is not a whole lot better.

A Day In The Life - 03/19/2011: Busted Glass

I gave away my previous project lights to Ben for his yard and bought another set to do it again with some different types of containers - ones that would hang better. I trimmed down the lights until they fit perfectly abut there is a trick to getting them to sit both inside the glass and also inside the metal frame. And, I broke two of the glass pieces before I figures it out. I guess that I will need to make another trip to IKEA to replace them.

A Day In The Life - 03/18/2011: Sanded Right Out Of Business

I needed to borrow the trailer. Again. And Mom had been talking about how they needed to sand and paint the trailer. So I said that I would sand it for them.
All was going well until I burned out my sander! And I am only about half way done. And I can't find the kind of sander that I want anywhere but on-line. So I am stuck until I can get another one to finish the job.

A Day In The Life - 03/17/2011: Rendezvous

 The Mogollon Mountain Man Rendezvous was a very different experience this year since I was not in charge of anything but just assisting. I went up for just one day to help with the registration. Jared, on the left, was the primary Scribe this time.

 Wayne Spence, on the left was the other co-Scribe for this event. They were both working with me at the registration table.

 When registration was over I took a few hours to just wander around the events and see what was taking place this year. It wasn't too different from other years . . . except that I was not sitting up in the main Dining Hall waiting for the late arrivals to wander through to pay their fees and find their canp sites.
The two-man sawing event was still taking place at the Timber Cruiser outpost.

 The Tomahawk throwing has become more colorful this time. It probably makes it much easier to find an orange and red hawk than on old rusty colored one.

 The guys are still learning to build fires with flint and steel or with bow and drill, as seen here.

Trader's row was about the busiest place on the first day. I finally ran into the boys and leaders from our ward here when I could not find them in their camp site - which was a good thing. And what an array of outfits!
And the boys from our Varsity Team won! They won the Dutch Oven cooking in the Main Course event. I had helped coach them about what was expected and some of the things to do in order to win and they cooked up a great meal and with some singing and a great presentation on the plates to the judges, they took it home.

A Day In The Life - 03/16/2011: A Killer Day

It is spring break. Gaye is out of school and I am using some vacation time. Sounds pretty good until we go to Home Depot to rent a few things, like a carpet cleaner for Gaye's use and a lawn dethatcher for my enjoyment.

While Gaye cleans carpets upstairs I am muscling this monster machine around the yard as it drags all of the old grass out from below the lawn. When I get done I now have tons of grass to rake up and put into the large green, hundred-gallon garbage can. Actually, there was so much of it that I filled the green can and half og the black garbage can.
But this was just the first four hours of our day of leisure.

Next, we took those two tools back and picked up a lawn air-ator. It is a nasty looking piece of machinery and about twice as heavy as the first ones. And it does not turn when it is working. When you need to turn it you pull in the clutch and raise the wheels up so that you can lift one end or the other to get it in line with your direction then put the wheels back up and let out the clutch . . . and hang on!

Between the two machines I got five blisters. Five! and now the yard looks like it is covered in dog poop! But now the water and fertilizer can get down to the roots and the lawn should do much better.

A Day In The Life - 03/15/2011: Keith Thomson

Gaye and I attended another author presentation and signing at the Poisoned Pen in Scottsdale this evening. Of course, the first thing is to arrive early so that you can get a good seat and shop for books.

This evening the Poisoned Pen hosted two authors - Lisa Gardner, who seemed like an odd bird, and Keith Thomson, the author of the books "Once A Spy" and "Twice A Spy". It was a very entertaining evening as they spoke about the writing of their books and some of the research that goes into book preparation. So, if you are going to be an author, base all of your stories on the French Riviera or in the Alps of Switzerland.

One of the items that he demonstrated was this hovercraft which actually flies and is being used to find lost people. It inspired the use of a more sophisticated one in his book.

Gaye bought one of his books and he was gracious enough to sign it for her.


 Keith brought his own hovercraft to demonstrate and which was his inspiration for a more sophisticates on that is used in his book. The link below is his discussion of how that all works before actually flying the thing.
Keith Thomson Discusses his Hovercraft

Keith Demonstrates his Hovercraft

A Day In The Life - 03/14/2011: Straw and Steaks

Sorry for the misspelling - that should have been "Stakes".
The next step in the straw bale gardening took place today. I bought a couple of 2x8x8' boards and put them on the table saw and generated 9 2x3/4x8' stakes with beveled ends. With most of them I could work them into the bales by hand but there were a couple where I had to get out my nine pound hammer (which weighs 4 pounds) and give them some encouragement. And that is really hard when you have to hit the top of an 8-foot stick that is sitting on top of a 2-foot bale of straw.

 I finally get all of the bales pierced - some more than once. Next they all get their tats . . . but I digress.

Next was the bondage step. I tied them all up. With twine. We usually use leather and I was all out of fresh hemp, so twine it was. While not yet being useful, I hope to one day see that my little sprouts will grow to become dependent on my hemp . . . twine, for support. And stuff like that.

A Day In The Life - 03/13/2011: Tucson Book Festival

 One day was certainly not enough but two days were nearly enough to do me in. An hour before the classes begin life is beginning to stir at the Festival tents. The weather is perfect - at least for me, although I did hear several of the visitors complaining about how hot our 80 degree weather is. And I am just beginning to thaw out!

 I did win, however. Phil Varney has become quite a well known author of books about ghost towns. It has probably been about 30 years since I saw him last and we got to talk for a few minutes before the show started.

And one of the many, many entertainers of the children, young and old at the Festival. This was one of my favorites but I was sure glad that I was not wearing the suit that day. Then I would have been wishing it was cooler also.

A Day In The Life - 03/12/2011: Tucson Book Festival

 Today Gaye and I traveled to the little known pueblo of Tucson, Arizona to participate in the Tucson Book Festival on the University of Arizona campus. There was hardly anyone there - somewhere around a hundred thousand people each of the two days.
If you love books, this is the place to congregate. There are approximately 400 authors that come and do writers workshops, talk about their books and mingle with the little people with big desires to become "writers".

And then there are booths with "stuff" everywhere. There are, of course, book vendors and purveyors of shirts, hats, bags and even night shirts. There are the hawkers of food and drink. And there are vendors of everything in between: private and public schools, book and writers clubs, language studies. And there are hundreds of kid's activities. 10-5 for a couple of days is definitely not enough!


Then it is off to dinner at El Sur at 22nd street and Craycroft. It is a little hole-in-the-wall place with really good food. Ben, Jenn and the kids had also been at the Festival. They recommended the place and met us there along with Paul and Jess with their girls and Beth. The video says it all.

A Day In The Life - 03/10/2011: Dinner With a Stone

Yes, dinner with a stone. But not just any stone. This is Jim Stone. His wife, Elizabeth hunted me down. She is an investigator and does that kind of stuff for a living. Last week I got a call from her. She told me that her husband was Jim stone, had known me in Tucson a number of years ago and had joined the church because of me. [This is where I pick my jaw up off of the floor.]
So he and I agree to meet for dinner. And we talk about how life has been for each of us over the years. It has been surprisingly similar - work/school in Tucson, move to California, move back to Tucson, move to Mesa. Add in another term in Mesa/Phoenix in that and that is our story as well.
Then he tells us that he first got interested in the church when I invited him over to my parents home for dinner and Family Home Evening. And I gave him a Book of Mormon. He had a couple of other encounters with church people, some less positive, but eventually was in the right space to accept it and get baptized.
The whole evening was wonderful. It brought back so many memories of a great time of life. But, to tell you the truth, I don't remember that visit to the house. I do remember that I invited several people I knew at that time over for dinner and such. I definitely remember working with Jim. And I am certainly glad that I was doing my best to be a good friend to those around me. And it is really exciting that he has found the church.
Is this stuff cool or what!

A Day In The Life - 03/09/2011: The Light Rail

 I have been taking classes this week at Interface Technical Training in downtown Phoenix (Central and Osborn). I figured that, given the price of gas these days (about $3.50/gallon) that taking the Light Rail, which runs right by my training place, would be far cheaper than the 60-mile per day round trip. And since the Park and Ride on our end is about a mile from where Gaye teaches school anyway, she just dropped me off on her way and got me after school.

It was quite an experience for one who loves to be in control of everything. I would find a seat and then watch people and the places we were traveling by. Reading a book was out of the question. On the ride home I was usually able to get my evening job run for work which still allowed me to watch things around me as I was baby-sitting this job while it ran. I definitely need to do it more often so I get over the watching everything and can actually use the time to get something productive done.

A Day In The Life - 03/07/2011: Mi Arepa

Tonight we had dinner at Mi Arepa with Jennie and Kyle. Kyle is a big fan of this place because they serve Venezuelan food. He helps us know what we are getting and what is especially good. It is lot's of fun to eat there.

A Day in the Life - 03/05/2011: The Perfect Week

This was the perfect week. On Wednesday (3/2) Gaye and I got to have dinner with Norda Harder, a wonderful friend that we have not seen in 30 years. She and her sone were here in town. She was baptized while I was in Swizerland.
On Thursday Gaye and I went to the Temple to be with Tommy Gannon as he got to go through for the first time. That was magnificent.
On Friday I got a call from a lady (Elizabeth Stone) who told me that her husband (Jim Stone) had joined the church a couple of years ago and that it was because of me. We had worked together back when I was in high school and he was in college and I had invited him to come to our house and have Family Home Evening with us. It had stuck with him over the years and that with some other experiences had helped him to finally find the church.
Then on Saturday Gaye and I attended Emma's baptism. Ann Mellor, Gaye's mom and Bev and Steve Reiter, Jenn's parents, were there. It was a perfect situation. The music was I am a Child of God and I Believe In Christ. The talks were simple but inspired. It was the perfect opportunity for non-members to participate in. Afterward, as Gaye was riding over to Ben's house with her mom, she said, "Our churches are really a lot alike." BINGO! That is what we want them to understand. We are not that different from them - at least not as different as they hear from the rest of society. So it was just a great week.