What a Way to End the Year

Yesterday I had the honor of working. And what made it specially nice was I got to work with both Heirs.

That may not seem like much to many of you but it's a known fact business has been slow in the construction industry for some time now. The job was in the woods in the middle of nowhere and was one I originally started back in July.

Since then, I've been waiting for the survey plat, which finally arrived early last week -- when the rains came in deluge form.

Finally, yesterday, the soil was dry enough so we could perform saturated hydraulic conductivity evaluations (Ksats) on two of the proposed onsite sewage disposal system sites I had found this past summer.

That's right. We waited for the soil to dry so we could make it wet again.

The Heirs loaded I's truck with all the equipment and, after traveling to the site, the Heirs carried all the equipment into the woods. Heir I's an old pro at running Ksats having worked for me one summer. He says the Ksats are the best job in the world as he only has to work about 10 seconds every five minutes and can spend the rest of the time playing a mobile video game.

He set up his station and I showed Heir II how to set up the second. My job was to auger the eight borings to the proper depth and watch the Heirs watch the water saturate the soil and make sure everything went smoothly.

It was a long day but as I stated earlier, it was one of the best days I've ever had as I was able to be with my two wonderful sons.

Picking NFL games not as easy as it seems

In another life I worked part-time as a newspaper sports reporter. Each fall, the staff made predictions on the various high school, local colleges and NFL games. And it seemed, each year I would end up in last place.

One August, Heir II told the sports editor he thought he could do better than me. And that year, Heir II's photo was in my place on the sports page every Friday along with his predictions. Not so surprisingly, when the season was over Heir II found himself in the middle of the pack.

This fall, I decided to come out of retirement and try my hand at predictions of the NFL games with a group of eight men and one woman who frequent a message board run by a guy from Wisconsin.

Once again I started slow and even won a week or two but after the regular season concluded Sunday I found myself in familiar turf -- near the bottom of the pack.

We still have the playoffs to go but at this stage my fight will be with the board's moderator and the nice lady from the midwest who, after a very poor week, found herself dropping three spots to last.

Wish me luck as I try to move up the NFL pick ladder.

Wanna Co-Own a Team Light Forest?

Just read West Ham is for sale.

Cheap too.

It seems the current owner - Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson, the former chairman and a large shareholder in Iceleand's second largest back - Landsbanki saw the firm seized in October as the worst of the credit crisis tore through the island nation. The failure wiped out his $1.1 billion fortune.

He has since had to put his holding company, Hansa, into voluntary liquidation and the result is the West Ham club is for sale.

It would be the perfect venture for Light Forest and me.

I can do the marketing and he can be the General Manager, head concessionaire and coach.

What a life.

West Ham is a Premier League team, which is exciting in itself but we'd have to relocate to England -- Upton Park in the London suburbs to be more exact. We'd get a few extra amenities though. West Ham has a beautiful stadium, playing at Boleyn Ground and even owns it's own hotel, so SisIggy and Pastry Chef could manage that concern.
We might even be able to put a casino in a back room to satisfy John Boy.

The only downside as I see is we'd have to learn to spell all over again.

So whatda you say Light Forest? Are you interested?

Christmas Eve at Light Forest's

The family loaded into the trusty Subaru and headed to Light Forest's abode in a sister state late this afternoon for an evening of food, fun and fellowship. Once there the camera was held hostage as the hosts are now shy but we were able to grab some shots of the delectable food including Prime Rib, Country Ham, homemade egg nog and an assortment of cookies made by the Pastry Chef.

Here is a small sample of the goodies:

The Prime Rib was a masterpiece, cooked to perfection by Light Forest. SisIggy, her brothers and her Heirs especially devoured that portion on the left while the Pastry Chef and I are full-heartedly from the right.

John-Boy (he doesn't mind using his real handle) provided
the Junior Johnson-cured country ham. That I knew it was
a NASCAR driver's company didn't bode well in some circles
but Johnson did have a nice product for LF to serve.

We washed it all down with a high-grade homemade egg nog concoction prepared by and in the aforementioned Light Forest's ample kitchen. There were two varieties, one with Jack and the other, generic. I really enjoyed the light version.












The Pastry Chef had friends over earlier in the week for a cookie party. Here are a few examples of the delicacies provided:

We missed getting back home to hear our adorable pets talk at midnight but want our hosts to know that we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and wish them and you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Finally, the Masterpiece

Not really. But since I haven't posted for a fortnight, this will have to be one. And, in reality, it is.
You see, Heir 1 and I had a paying job yesterday and that, in itself, makes Monday a good day.

We had a photo job in Fairfax County and this is one of the photos we captured.


The rest of the session wasn't very fruitful -- unless a clogged conveyance line makes you happy. It does us, because after a jetter gets done cleaning it out, we get to go back and do it again (and paid a second time too) :) .

Couple that with the beautiful scenery and the day was breathtaking: 20 degree temps with a breeze out of the west made it a Winnie the Pooh moment.

Here's a pic (if you look really close) of a flock of loons bobbing on the Potomac River with Gunston Cove in the background. The Maryland shore can be seen in the distance but in reality, the actual line is at water's edge.

This one shows the client's boat dock located approximately 70 feet downslope from the rest of the rear yard. The cottage sat on a cliff and the dock was only accessible via a winding staircase to the level below.

And here's one of Fort Belvoir in the distance. I took this one just to show off one of our military bases.

Today, as it is even colder outside (8 degrees this morning), I sit at the computer writing reports and staying warm. Now, I've got to get back to work...

Waiting

Sorry I haven't posted for awhile but I am working on a masterpiece that's taken more time than I hoped. Besides, I have a real job today...

It Always Comes in Threes

First it was no water because someone clipped an electrical utility pole in half. It took Dominion Virginia Power almost seven hours to fix.

Next, no water because there was a leak in the cistern. It took the landlord three days to get someone here to fix it.

For the past week or so the kitchen sink would back up whenever we drained the water after washing dishes. I was planning to buy a chemical to unclog it but after talking to my dad, he said to check the P-trap, which I did when I got home Tuesday evening.

The trap literally disintegrated in my hands.

I immediately called Dad. He arrived within the hour and off to Lowes we went for the repair parts.

Unfortunately, the drain baskets also needed replacing and now Lowes was closed.

We scheduled time yesterday afternoon to finish the task and, after two more trips and six more hours, the sink is back to normal.

We also found the real reason for the original problem -- the drain pipe in the basement was completely clogged. It was worse than the suspected cholesterol clog in my arteries; I mean there's no wonder any water was flowing.

We also cleaned the P-trap for the tub while we were at it and now, we believe, there is nothing else that needs to be replaced.

At least that's the thought right now.

Thanks to SisIggy for allowing me to copy her photo of the sink. In all the excitement of the past two days I forgot to snap a single photograph of the escapade.

Birthday clock

It's time to steal another idea from a friend. Kudos to John from Wisconsin.

WOW Less than a dollar a gallon

Filled up the old car today and was shocked to see the price: $0.999 a gallon.

Figured you wouldn't believe me so I snapped a photo from my Verizon camera phone. Then, after I got home, it took me the better part of an hour to figure out how to download the pic to the 'puter.

Finagled it somehow and here it is:

Post Thanksgiving Blues

A great meal at the Darks on Thursday was followed by this*, today:


Now, I feel I can get down to work and start producing. Stay tuned for some great family photos.

*Photo courtesy of John from Wisconsin.