OK folks, I’m still here, and the patio is still going on, just at a slower pace.  Let me explain, but there wont be any pix today, .

Here’s whats going on.  We got the dirt pile down and taken to the dump, BOTH LOADS.  There will most likely be a third one going up soon.  We are almost down to the 6″ level we are after.  Then it will be onto the 2″ of gravel and 2″ of sand, then the pavers, and then either locking sand or decomposed granite.  But we think that that will be it for this year.  The other 3 areas will be later.  Plus, we will be having the sprinkler lines fixed so that there wont be any sprinklers in that area.

Now, as for the reason things will be slowing down.  Before the Landon family reunion, I had been laid off from work as a furniture mover.  The owner of the company came and said that even in the best of years, the furniture business is slow and laid my driver and me off.  But at least I was able to claim unemployment insurance.  But being off from work allowed me to work on the patio during the week and get some of the digging done.  Well, that has come to an end.  I got a job that started last Monday .

So I’m working for Westco Martinizing as a driver.  I pick up and deliver to 5 stores, a couple of doctors offices, and some hotels in the area.  That is considered the west side route, its Meridian and the west side of town.  My boss’ want me to learn the other routes so that if me or one of the other drivers get burned out on our route we can switch.  Or even if one of the other drivers gets sick, I can take their place.

So we are slowing down on the patio, but we are still working on it.  Its progress that counts, not speed, LOL.  I have pix of the 2 loads of dirt we have already took to the dump, and Ill put them the next time I have some time to update this.  So be patient, I wont forget, I hope, LOL.

You would think that after the first 2 sprinkler line fixes that Ive had to do, that Id be more careful, LOL.  HA, we are up to 6 total now, LOL.  Well, that tells me that this project is going to be really good in the end.  I mean, when ever mom or I cook, if we dont make a mess, then the food tastes bland.  So by that line of thinking, this project is going to come out wonderfully, LOL.

4 More Fixes

One Of The Fixes

Hey, 2 More Lines???

Yet Another 2 Fixes

But what is driving me nuts is the fact that we keep digging, and keep digging, and yet it seems like we dont get very far down.  But if you look at the pile of dirt we have, youd think that we had dug  a trench 10′ long and 2′ deep.  But we have only gotten the middle of the area down to the 6″ depth that we are after and gotten the grass off the top.  So because of this amount of dirt, we are getting a dumpster to hold all of the dirt.  We are also going to put in some of the landscaping timbers from around the yard.

What We've Dug Up Near The House

What We've Dug Up Near The Fence

And The Pile Of Dirt

As for tomorrow, that will be for mowing the lawn, having Sunday breakfast at IHOP, and grocery shopping.  OH, and resting up from digging, LOL.

Its back to normal yard work today.  Just a normal day of grocery shopping, trimming and mowing the lawn, and hopefully later, a NAP.  Besides, my legs hurt, my arms hurt, my shoulders hurt, and mom says the same thing, LOL.  I plan on doing a little bit of digging as long as I can.  But Im not sure when, since its getting hot durring the days, LOL.  So sorry to disapoint everyone, but theres no pictures, unless youd like to see me sleeping in my chair, LOL.

Well, we got our early start today, like 7am early.  One of our goals today was to get all the grass gone, and to cap off a couple of sprinklers that were in the corners.  We called the number to find all the underground utilities and they marked it all off, and we had a idea of where things were.  But as I said, today’s lesson is to never assume things are as you think they are, LOL.

Superviser Checking Things Out

OOOPSS!

And The Fix

Sprinkler Lines

Mom Digging Around The Lines

See, I Work Too

As I was digging up the grass around the gate, I took a swing with the mattocks and all of a sudden, I had a water geyser going.  I had hit the main line for the sprinkler system heading to the back yard.  So in a rush, I ran around trying to find the handle to turn off the main for the sprinklers, cursing my bad luck, and trying to explain to mom at the same time (not easy let me tell you).  I got the water turned off, and went to examine the damage.  It was worse than I thought.  I had actually hit the line twice, once on each side of a elbow (see pics).  Mom and I had planed to go to Home Depot for caps for the sprinklers, but now we needed to go to fix my foul up.  Good thing I had seen the sprinkler guys fix our mainline near the tree in the backyard (yes, we nicked the line then too, LOL).  Short story long, we got things fixed, and got back to digging, CAREFULLY.  Because, as we learned, the sprinkler lines are not buried as deep as I thought they would be, LOL.  The one I cut may not be but 1″ under ground.

The good news is that we got all the grass up, fixed the mistakes, and dug up more of the other sprinkler lines to know where they are.  But there are more lines to watch for, plus the phone line and the cable TV line.  So we will be digging carefully for the next faze of this project.

OK, so mom and I have started this “project” in the back yard.  The area we are working on has never really been the best for growing grass, moss on the other hand, .  So we got the bright idea to dig it all up and put in some kind of “patio”.  We tossed the ball back and forth on the subject and came up with the idea of using 12″x12″ concrete pavers.

Before the diggin.

Paver Base

Paver Sand

Pavers

Ground Breaking

Digging Underway

Break Time

End Of The Day

Dump Site

We didn’t get that much done today, but then again, we got a late start and it got too hot.  But at least we started.  We plan on starting a little earlier tomorrow, so maybe we can get more done, LOL.  And more pictures will follow.

Heres one for you.  If there is one thing I have the hardest time with in this wide internet world, is the dreaded question on all personal sites.  Describe Yourself, About Yourself, Tell Us About You?  How am I suposed to do this anyway?

I see myself totally differently than others see me.  I see myself as an average guy.  Im 39 this year, I stand 5′9″, Im a little over weight at 205lbs, I have hayfever, and I just found out I have diabeties (average traits).  I shave my head, makes it easer to take care of my hair that way, and I wear a gote, all of which is a light brown (average again).  My eye color is hazle, and Iwear glasses to see (average, average, average).  I just dont see myself as that special or good looking so to speak.  And lets not get into personality.  I have no idea for that.  I just think I have a good sence of humor, but I do have a serious side when its needed.  The likes part of thes things are not that hard for me, I have many likes.  They are just a little hard to pin down as favorites and such (Ill go into those at another time, maybe with one of those serveys my aunt likes).

Now others I know have told me that Im a rather good looking person.  So I thank them and accept the complement.  But other than that, I cant say much more, they never elaborate on what they mean.  Maybe this will be a good way to get some of them to comment on this to help me out, hint hint hint.  And maybe with the help from my family and friends, I can come up with a good “About Me” section on my personals profiles, LOL.

OK, now I know the title sounds a little pesamistic, but once you read what I wrote, you may agree.  But if you dont, thats fine, its all opinions here.  I wrote this a few months ago, and I keep seeing things happinging that re-enforce what Im saying in this.  So here it is.

We, the human race, are doomed to stagnation. We will never become more than we are right now. Star Trek, Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica will never be more than movies and TV shows. Hell, even landing on Mars may be nothing more than a dream. As far as I can see, the future is here and now because its going to look the same as now.
“Whys he so cynical?” you may ask, “Whats his problem?” Its simple observation and personal experience that has brought me to this conclusion. Ill say this now and at the end you will understand what it means. “You Spot It, You Got It.”
I can pinpoint the exact point at which the evolution of the human race started to grind to a halt. Remember a few years ago, that person who spilled hot coffee on themselves that they ordered from McDonald’s and then sued because they didn’t “know” it was hot. COME ON PEOPLE!
Its called hot coffee because its hot, not mildly tepid coffee. When they won that case is the point at which the gears began grinding to a halt and humanity began to stagnate.
Think about this.
Back in the late 70s to late 80s, there were no “Caution, don’t stick hands under running lawn mower”, “Cation, don’t touch stove burners when on”, “Caution, stay out of garbage compactor when running” signs with their little pictures. There was no need for them.
WHY?
Because it was common sense ingrained into us by our parents telling us these things.
There was no “road rage” back in the day because people stopped at red lights and stop signs, used turn signals to turn and change lanes, and obeyed the speed limits.
WHY?
Because that was the law ans our parents taught us that we should obey the law.
Back then, kids didn’t throw fits or run wild in public places. If they did, they were punished, not put in “time out” or some other lame crap. Kids listened to adults and if they had a problem, they talked to their parents.
WHY?
Because our parents and adults cared and wanted to be involved with our growing up as responsible adults.
But now we seem to be warned that something is hot, cold, sharp, or “could cause death or serious injury” every time we turn around. People roll through stop signs, are too lazy to use their turn signals, and give you the finger when they blow by you because your doing the speed limit. God help you if you look cross eyed at your own kid when they misbehave in public because then your too harsh on them. Kids go on shooting sprees because no one listens to them. And lets not forget the sue happy jerks looking for any excuse to take someone to court and sue them for as much money as they can get, helped along by the ambulance chasing lawyers on TV.
As for “You Spot It, You Got It”, Ive been part of some of these things Ive been ranting about. I got my ass spanked for screaming in a store. Ive been known to go over the speed limit and freely fly the bird when I blew through a red light. I was bullied in school, but I talked to my parents about it, even put up a fight when it came to it. And I have even wanted to take someone to court and bankrupt them over nothing. So I’m speaking from experience, from both sides of the fence, so to speak. And as far as I’m concerned, unless things change, the human race is doomed to stagnation.

Well, there you go, some of my thoughts.

OK, so Ive fallen prey to the ever present BLOG.  I’m only doing this so the voices in my head will shut up and let me sleep.  Plus there are some things coming up that I am willing to share with family and friends.  I hope I don’t muck it up too bad.  Word of warning though, sometimes when I get going, I swear.  So if your offended, Ill try to make some way for it to be noted that adult content is in the post.

I may just start with a few things Ive posted else where.  But one thing is for sure, there are some home projects I’m going to work on that Ill share, and lets not forget the last family reunion of the Landon’s.  I have a few pics and a couple of little videos that might be enjoyable to the other family members.  I guess Ill have to review my HTML code also so I can make this a little more interesting.  Change up the fonts and whatnot, LOL.  That is if I can figure out how to do that, LOL.

Well, my only real goal for this BLOG is that I don’t boar everyone who reads this.  I’m not trying to make any statement, change any ones opinions, or be some big writer.  I just want to share things with my family and friends, and the aliens who abducted me a few years ago, LOL.  Enjoy the read, and leave a comment if you like.  I look forward to this whole experience.