TOO BIG TO FAIL?...or too big to FALL?

a garden gate pic from the deck...see the large "cowboy toilet paper" plant?...might come in handy some day.
This is a shot up at the funkadelic clouds from the big rain storms that moved through the DFW area a few days ago...we didn't get much as most of it went around our place.
And just today, I was sittin' on the back porch chattin' with the wife...and thinking in the back of my head "are these old heavy duty porch metal chairs designed for 330 lbs of humanity?"....and beginning to make ever so slight rocking motions while talking....WHAM down I went...split wine and all.!! ( I told Caren to go grab the camera and record this earth shaking event)

Is this as Sling Blade said..."you mean funny ha ha...or funny queer?".....me thinks funny HAHAHA...hardee har har...(enjoy)

Surprise!! It's Littlefoot!

Littefoot here. . .Here I am during our last trip--staring in awe and wonder at one of my new kitchen cabinets. This was a milestone (for me) in our cabin construction--to be able to move the kitchen area of the cabin into the actual kitchen area! There was much rejoicing and drinking of wine!

Here's Bigfoot caught in the act------of working!

Underfoot, being a pug, is at a great disadvantage when it comes to cooling himself off by cooling the air in his nasal passages (since he has none). So a towel soaked in melted ice water is one of his favorite things on a hot day. (And he told me he likes the pretty colors too. It makes him look like Chinese royalty)

Just a funny photo to give you an idea of where the Foot family's names come from. The shoes on the left are mine--just in case you weren't sure : )

We're hoping to get back to the cabin aroun mid-June and stay for a week or so.

Bigfoot's garden is ready to pop about a million tomatoes all on the same day. We're looking forward to tomato salads every day for about a week.

I'm starting to get into job-hunting mode for the fall. Trying to get something near the cabin, but we'll see.

Since no one liked my last post....try this one!!

MAY trip highlights...!!

Okay...no one even hardly commented on that last VERY funny blog....(maybe it was the goofy puke-pic?...we are all SOOOOOO politically correct these days)

Just returned from a week long trip to the great SW desert. Weather was great, cool breezy morns at around 55-60 each day, sipping coffee on the porch...and afternoons up into the mid 90's most days...but MOST of the time there was a nice breeze..OR an ass-kickin wind.

Got to see Julianne for a bit, and the Legion Sequor crew with new brother (another transplanted Yankee...but a great guy), Tffnguy and I made a trip to Alpine, saw Elvis..(J.Wells) at McCoys for a minute, had brunch at the place with James and Don B....and got to see the very elusive and desired OGT (aka Nick) at the Legion for a short visit at the Legion.

Saw some wildfires off to the east of Hwy 67 between Ft Stockton and Alpine on the way into town.

Got some plumbing work done for water piping inside.

Got a pic of a cone-nosed bettle that sauntered out from under the threshold one afternoon...(then we kilt him dead with some RAID)

And hauled the 12 volt frig down from storage in Alpine (with Tffnguy's generous help)

At home here west of FTW we arived to tall green grass, leafy brushy stuff, and very humid weather, a far cry from the dry breezy temps of south Brewster Co.
(I just now had to go outside and connect the rain tank I use for the garden, as another storm is moving in from the west right now)

Caren has a pot of pinto beans in the slow cooker, and a spiral sliced, honey glazed ham out of the oven now. (You can pic these hams up at the local grocery for $10-13 each right after NewYears...all you can fit in the freezer...and DAMN they are tasty)

We will be heading back west in a couple of weeks for at least a week...maybe two...if the HOT weather doesn't run us off. But as long as you stay in the shade, take it slow (I'm great at this), keep a water mister bottle nearby, and have a small 12V fan to blow across the bed at night....it ain't that bad.

Dismally boring update....

BF again here..

let's see what's new?

• garden coming along well (after 4" rain a few days ago)
  


• still chilly up here in north TX....gorgeous weather every day lately.


• we left the camera at the cabin last trip..(oops)


• The old F250 has "issues".....big, back-kicking deep engine "clunk" when I tried to start last week....not good.


• changed oil in the towncar yesterday and cleaned and oiled the K&N air filter.


• kittens out the ying yang around here...think there is another batch in the '49 packard used to store junk in now.


• My son took the "test" and got his HVAC Contractor's License last week. Passed with one try and made an 88 on this 4 hour long test.


• headed back to the South Brewster Co next week for a few days...only 520 miles one way...and 8 hours if you go the speed limit and don't dawdle.


• I really oughta drag my lazy tail outside today and mow some weeds down...if not... there will be a goat herder's feeding frenzy festival here upon our return.


• Oh...and about that pic....stumbled across that the other day and, in my weird sense of sopho-moronic humor....it made me chuckle....maybe it'll make you chuckle too...(or upchuck)
  
  (I never have liked roller coasters.)

see...toldya it was dismal.

"wasted days and wasted nights"....

Bigfoot here...yes..AGAIN.! partial group of our trash bottle collection...(I was gonna haul them to the Legion, but they are way too clean for that!) We have about 30 of each...giving them away on Craigslist finally.

And this looks like a giant peice of "Bit-O-Honey"....but it's really a skinned 40 gal hot water heater from my sis' house....after I peel off all the insulation foam it's another candidate for a solar batch water heater

Here's the garden so far...after last year's very dismal crop I'm just not too excited about gardening anymore.....just a few peppers, cukes and 'maters so far...and a couple weeds.

This is a native wild plant called "Cowboy's toilet paper" that came up this spring in the garden area.... have not tried it out (yet)

And a few tomatoes...already blooming after last night's 1.5" heavy rains here west of FTW

I've been rolling the idea around in my empty head for some time...that I really oughta build a carport for the twin Packards...one is under the carport now, and the "keeper" is sitting under a canvas tarp out in the open. Just a simple 20x20' simple structure would do...and I think I have enough recycled 2x10s and 4x4 posts to do it...might have to buy some tin for the roof. (I better get going on this soonly..cause once it gets HOT I ain't gonna drag my rather obtuse and large-framed ass outside to do anything much) .......I just gotta figure out where to situate it on my piece o' dirt here. I'd really love to sell the black 1949 Packard...!

One of the feral teenage cats dropped 4 kittens a couple weeks ago...Now the other "momma to be" should be squirting hers out any day I'm guessing....(gotta find a burlap sack)

My DIY recycled/re-purposed/greenyfied birdbath dealio...(can't see the water in pic)

Looks like another TR trip at the end of the month...only for a few days, like last trip.

Caren's Lexus tranny is doing fine.

Been sunny, cool and very breezy here today after storms and rain last night.

I got a book on Amazon lately.."Build your own earth oven"...that might be useful down at TR for an outdoor cooking appliance....Seems fairly simple to build, very cheap, and supposed to work wonderfully for breads, pizza, and also meats.

Only drawback .. you need to have some firewood to heat it up for cooking....that stuff ain't so plentiful out west.

http://www.amazon.com/Build-Your-Own-Earth-Oven/dp/096798467X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1302557237&sr=1-1

OKAY...enough blathering on here.

Seeyall.....!!

Border patrol...Backscatter X-ray pics in action

pics from cell phone....not the greatest quality here

They slowly drive down both sides of your vehicle with this big-assed 1.5 ton Ford crew cab with 3-4 govt monkeys inside looking at screens of everything in your car.

They insisted on getting access into the trunk for something "suspicious"...it was a half a loaf of wheat bread.!!!

Funny thing is...the guard guy noticed we were taking a cellphone pic...and rushed up saying.."no pics please"...we said "Why?"....he said the cell pics "could interfere with the x-ray"....How in the hell could a camera which simply records LIGHT images and colors bouncing off a subject "interfer" with this mega powered, big govt, Hi-Tech, military, terrorist-thwarting machine, that has been designed to work against ALL odds???

Ain't it funny how any and all forms of "cops" despise and try to disallow any recording of what they are doing in the plain light of day towards you???

But they have high tech/high cost cams on most patrol cars to record YOU whenever they stop you....but you cannot record THEM possibly mis-behaving for use as YOUR court proof??? (Public Servants??....everything has flip flopped in today's world)

There are alot of good cops....but more and more "not so good" cops these days it seems....and they are all ALWAYS "right and honest" in every courtroom....right?

"THEY" all have cameras trained on "us".....but we can't photo "them"....very strange they way things have evolved over the last few years (all since 2001) since the "terrorists" are around every corner...ready to cripple the CorpGovt US?

We can thank HomeLand Security and ALL politicians for this new way of living for all decent & regular law abiding citizens.

Now I'll probably get on the "watch list" now with the govt for posting this....but facts is facts, maam.

Rant over.....(we have 4 fresh kittens ready for delivery soon)

LargeFeets

Quick cabin trip.&.zapped by the Border Patrol X-RAY

Pics from the last 2 trips to Brewster Co during March. Sunset over Agua Fria Mtn

The front porch (with plenty of lumber clutter)

Caren painting the bedroom...just OSB w/ Kilz oil primer, and then latex final coat.

Caren and her folks down for their first cabin visit (he's from upstate NY)

Pic of some distant and sparse rain a couple weeks ago to the SW. (never hit us)

We made another trip back last Friday for a short 3 day visit, mainly to get Caren's car from the Alpine mechanic with the rebuilt tranny, but also to spend some more time in this wonderful part of the world.

Weather was perfect with 55-60 degree mornings, and 85 highs...some breeze and at times windy (normal stuff, huh?)

Got to see David Tffnguy, John W. TFL, spent some time at the legion,etc.

Caren painted like a fiend, and I got a little more OSB installed.

I pulled a smallish trailer down behind the towncar to get some OSB from Alpine (McCoys)...did not bring it back, so now I have 2 small trailers sitting at the cabin now.

Big news is we were "chosen" at the border patrol checkpoint to assist with their "training" with the backscatter X-Ray truck. They asked a few more questions than usual, then asked if we would pull up to the side of the waiting X-ray truck and step out while they checked it. We did so and they stopped Caren from taking any pics with her cell phone (It might "mess up the X-ray efforts" said the guard....BS!)

She snapped a couple anyway and once we figure out how to get the images off her phone and onto the internet I'll post same. After the X-ray session they wanted to get into the trunk to check out something that looked "suspect". They checked and decided our half a loaf of wheat bread was okay. Had 2 pistolas in the car, but nothing was said about them (not illegal).

After about a 10 minute delay we were on our way. (I hate this creeping Big Brother Govt invasion of our privacy, and we ain't seen nothin' yet)

Not sure which is worse...getting zapped by the Border Patrol's new high tech, military-industro toys, or body surfing at Fukushima.

Picked up Caren's car at the mechanic's in Alpine and after being told she had a tread splitting we stopped at the only tire store in town and bought a new Michelin...only one in stock. Another $145 spent after $750 at the mech shop for the tranny swap. (Jeeze...I'm gonna hafta sell a Packard soon)

Heading back to DFW area, the temps around Big Spring and Sweetwater dropped off to mid-high 40's with north wind, under thick clouds and fine misty drizzle. I had to turn on the heater since I was in short sleeves and shorts. It was 74 when we left Alpine that morning...and sunny.

Home now to 2 pregnant previously feral kittens we befriended here last winter. Anybody want a kitten??? or three?