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3 May 2003
One of the strangest ways to wake up in the middle of the night is
having your dog who is lying up against you start hiccupping. It
always takes a minute or two to wake me up because I'm such a sound
sleeper. When I finally figured out what was going on, it had been
going on quite a while and she was still asleep. I woke her up and
she continued to hiccup. It's hard to get a dog to try your sure
fired cure for hiccups which is drinking 20 gulps of water without
breathing. (Always worked for me) I guess I could have tried
to scare her but that seemed kind of mean, or maybe I could have put a
paper bag over her face but I don't think she would have appreciated
that either. I rubbed her for a few minutes and she finally
stopped. We went back to sleep.
The inside of the house is starting to shape up if I do say so myself
so we've started to look at the outside. We're considering vinyl
siding or painting or a combination of both. We invited a guy to
give us an estimate for the siding and after spending two hours
explaining and measuring, he gave us a quote. My jaw fell and I
have not seen it since. After a little squawking, he "called
his boss" and we agreed to let them put a sign in the yard and use
some of their "overstocked items", the estimate came down by a
third. It's still double what we expected to pay. More
estimates are coming but don't be surprised if I'm scraping and painting
soon.
 
That decision can wait. The decision that can't wait is, should
I watch Ernest Scared Stupid or Boomerang? Both are on and both have Eartha Kitt.
I love Eartha Kitt.
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4 May 2003
What could be more annoying
than your favorite pop songs sung by kids? Guess that's what I get
for watching Catdog.
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6 May 2003
Today was spent installing a steering
stabilizer on my Jeep because it has been wobbling when you reach
about 45 MPH. I spent a whole lot of time researching the project
and it did not look like anything to difficult. I picked up the
stabilizer and went by AutoZone
to rent a pitman arm puller which is what pushes out the bolt
that holds the stabilizer on. Unfortunately, my bolt smashed
instead of popping out. I sawed it off at three different places
trying to pop it out until there was no more screw to saw. (My arm
was aching.) Finally I ended up taking it to the Sunoco station
down the street and they heated it up and pushed it out. Very
reasonable I might add. (Very pretty boy working at the
Sunoco.) My Jeep is now running so smooth...
Did I mention that AutoZone does not charge to rent tools? And did I mention I'll be in North
Carolina this weekend? I need to go Mothers' Day shopping.
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8 May 2003
I'm packing and doing all the things that you have to do to get ready
for a 13 hour road trip. Tomorrow night I'll be in North Carolina
with friends and then I'll travel farther to see family and more
friends. They even have warmth there I hear and PETA is not trying
to rename cities.
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14 May 2003
Trip to North Carolina done. It was nice to see everybody and
everything. It can blow the mind how much a place can change
in two years. On the Westside, The Copal Grill is closed as is The
Ranch House and Fat Daddies. After many years of decline, (my
whole life actually) the old Queensgate Shopping Center which once
housed a Woolco
and a Winn-Dixie has torn
down the dilapidated buildings out front and has a sign, "Coming
Soon, Ashley Crossing now leasing". On the Eastside, a good
part of Central Avenue has been rebuilt with a median and bike
lanes. I used to drive that road home and how I'm jealous of the
people who drive this new road. That should stop the hugely high
pedestrian accident rate on that road. Many other intersections
and roads have been rebuilt. Westpark Mall is gone, now a BJ's
Warehouse. The old Target on
Independence is gone, now a Costco's. The
traffic signals are gone and the shopping centers are too as Independence
continues to be turned into an expressway. I also got to
smell the great smell of honeysuckle
my whole drive through the state.
My dad told me a lot about his childhood this weekend. He's
never talked much about it because it sucked so much I think. He
was born in East Monbo, NC and when he was small, this family moved to
Cleveland, NC because his grandfather was having a hard time
financially. East Monbo doesn't exist anymore because it is buried
under Lake Norman now. He mentioned how mean his grandma
was. When they were kids, they new his dad was coming two miles
away because his dad had a Touring Hudson which he kept a hole in
the exhaust to make noise. They knew when they heard that thing
coming, they better run. The Hudson had icing (I think that's how you spell it)
windows which were flexible and had curtains on them. I think we
can guess why he needed curtains. He also had an Aunt Cooter which
they called Cooter.
It's good to be home so next week we can hit the road again.
Does anyone know why you can't pump your own gas in New Jersey? Do
they think people are just that stupid? Does anyone know why the
banker who closed my account in NC did not understand why I closed my
account as he held my NY license in his hand? This is a bank with
only NC branches.
Funniest thing I saw on the way home. After I pumped my gas, I
went in to get a soda. I looked out and birds were attacking the
front bumper and headlights. The cashier explained I probably had
bugs on the front which was true.
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18 May 2003
 
Looks like spring has sprung in Schenectady and the old lady who
lived in this house for more than 50 years had planted plenty of
flowers.
 
 
Unfortunately, I don't think she painted the house in the last 50
years either so the scraping and painting has begun. Yesterday we
rented a pressure washer and spent most of it soaking wet from head to
toe. It was actually kinda fun.
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21 May 2003
 
I think you
should enjoy this. It's a couple blocks over from our house.
I thought it may be a daycare but it's not.
And thank you
for the heads up on isinglass (not icing).
Isinglass [MATERIALS] A
gelatin made from the dried swim bladders of sturgeon and other fishes;
used in glues, cements, and printing inks. Also known as fish gelatin;
ichthyocolla.
[MINERALOGY] Sheet mica, usually in the form of single cleavage plates;
used in furnace and stove doors.
Tomorrow, we're packing up the dog for another trip to NC for the
holiday. See all yawl soon.
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28 May 2003
I can tell you there was no ice in North Carolina last weekend. Except for
the six to eight inches of rain on Sunday night, it was
beautiful. That twelve hour trip can sure take it out of you
though. Kaleb is still
recovering from being forced to lie next to a cat and pretend to like it
and being in a box (with frequent breaks) for fourteen hours. We
took a side trip on the way home through Baltimore for a little fun and
exploration. Duncan lived there at one time so I got to see where
he used to live and shop and work and play. It's really not at all
what I expected, pretty nice actually. I'm sure we'll be driving
that stretch a lot so we'll stop again soon.
Some reflections on the many miles I have driven in the last several
months when we go toward Raleigh and
Eastern NC:
They just suck all the fun out of a road trip. I much rather
drive to Charlotte and Central NC
from Schenectady via I-88, I-81, and I-77. It's scenic, easy, less
traveled, and free.
The butlers have passed.
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31 May 2003
Pay attention are you listening
You're my favorite girl
Excuse me for the moment
I'm in another world
(On a mountain) by a fountain
Flowers blooming everywhere
With venus and cupid, the picture's very clear...
...Hang the sign upon the door, say
Don't disturb this groove
Just a way to say that
I'm so into you and the feelings so real
So don't disturb this groove...
Don't Disturb This Groove
The System, 1990
I love VH-1
Classic on a rainy Saturday. Almost as much as tearing down
kitchen walls.
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