Autumn

Autumn

Friday, August 17, 2012

Bored To Tears

Not much to report. Sweet Wife is still in a great deal of pain. Seems she has a bad disc in her back.

*****

Guy called a few minutes ago and asked if I'd like to purchase five, in his words, huge ammo cans. I asked how large and he replied, "I can stuff my dog in them and he'd have room to move around."

Interesting. I asked his price and told him I'd take five. If and when they arrive I'll take a picture and post it here.

Here's a file photo off Craigslist. I expect something like the one on the left...without the dog.

One cannot own too many ammo cans.

*****

I'm bored to death. I need to get out and shoot....something. This weekend I'll be tied to the home front. I can't leave Sweet Wife alone. Guess I could load her into my truck and drive, but road bumps hurt her back. Perhaps she'd enjoy a ride in my wheelbarrow. I could wheel her down to the river and set out a few lines. Fish for dinner is always nice. Maybe prop her against a tree. She'd at least have a view. I'd be careful and spray her with insect repellent. I am, after all, thoughtful.

We've had some tremendous thunderstorms the last few nights. In bed, last evening, as our room was soaked with the silver flashes of lighting, she said, "I'm so glad we have a good roof." I chuckled. She has a point though, the sound of the hard rain makes one appreciate a tight roof.

*****

My banana trees sure like the rain. This past weekend as I moseyed around the yard I noticed one, in the cluster of about eight, is at least twelve foot tall. Now, if we can escape a hard freeze this winter we should have a crop of little 'Lady Finger' bananas next year. It takes two years of freeze free weather to produce a crop of fruit.

 Between the squirrels and birds raiding my fig tree we didn't eat a single dadgum fig this year.  And people wonder why I collect squirrel tails....

*****

Guess I should pull out my Kindle and read a book. Lord knows its loaded with some pretty good literature.
I still need to take down my copy of Unintended Consequences and once again read it for about the fifth time. John Ross did himself proud when he wrote that masterpiece. If you haven't read it, do so. Now the problem is if you can find a copy, say at Amazon.com, it'll cost you about a hundred and twenty dollars for a later edition. If you want a first, forget about it. A first edition will cost you over a thousand dollars. I keep my copy in an archival cover. I don't loan it....





****

Just stood and jerked another cup of coffee. Between customers I've been typing this mess for about three hours.

Billy just phoned and said he wants a shotgun. Asked for details. Said he didn't care just as long as it was a shotgun. He did mention he'd like a pump. Billy prefers private sale. With our current administration and congress we should all lean towards private deals. Leave no trail. Make your footprints light. Guess I'll keep an eye out for a closet queen with Billy in mind.


My Coleman Ebay baby arrived yesterday. Took it long enough. Seems the post office decided to keep it tucked away in their pile for two days. I drove over and grabbed it. She's a beauty. Original box and all....Now I believe I'll bid on a single burner Coleman model 502. One of the old ones. A 502 should fit inside my get home bag just fine. I also plan to rebuild and refurbish my old flood damaged Coleman two-burner. I've already ordered a NOS tank and other parts. I'll strip her down and repaint her. Should be a new and fun hobby. Never know, maybe one day I'll open an Ebay store.

*****


Older gentleman just left. He's fine old guy. Came in and asked if I'd be interested in a large estate sale purchase of his firearm collection. I did a bit of double take...asked, "You said an estate sale. Are these your firearms or someone else you knew that passed away?"

"No, they're mine. I just want to sell them before I die and they end up in my kid's hands."

He then told me he had about ten firearms. One, he said, was a little .22 rifle that held at least fifty 'bullets' (his description) and a couple of small handguns. I can't wait to see this fifty-bullet rifle.

Standby.

*****

Hey, have a great day and be careful out there.

Stephen



 








37 comments:

  1. STephen, you do realize, don't you, that if you weren't bored to tears, then just about everything possible that could be going wrong in life probably would be at this moment.... all at once.

    Feast or Famine, buddy.

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    1. I know, but at the same time a lot in our lives has gone, and continues to gone wrong...it's been an awful year. Not to complain, just stating the facts. Thanks, Matt. Oh, I answer the email as soon as I get a free moment...

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    2. dear sweet one - it has been an awful year for you, your wife and your heart. i keep all 3 of you in my prayers every day...i hope that it soon gets better for all of you. much love, Stephen. your friend,
      kymber

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  2. We all should have such an interesting day as yours. I understand your need for recoil therapy, though - the amount of shooting I did last Sunday was limited, as my back pain couldn't take much of the recoil. All better now, and my 1911 is begging for target practice.

    Enjoy such days, sir: nothing wrong, just not going as quickly as you prefer. It could be a lot worse.

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    1. Recoil therapy...I like that. True, I just need to stay busy or else I begin to think, and that isn't good. Thank you, my good friend.

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  3. Awesome, fifty bullets! Well, I had no idea about the banana process. We used to have trees where we lived before, but I never messed with the bananas I saw hanging on the tree. Does it really take two years to ripen?

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    1. The trees need two years of continuous growth to produce fruit, not to ripen. As a matter of fact once the fruit has filled you may cut the stem and hang them inside and soon the fruit will ripen from the bottom up...very tasty. Thanks, pretty one.

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  4. I got a free copy of U.C. in pdf format. I still need to read it. I found a copy on E-Bay and it started at $100.00.

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    1. I have a friend, ProudHillBilly, see below comment, that would love a copy of your PDF file. You two should get together. Thanks, my friend.

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  5. Love those ammo cans. I've got a couple of the big ones and store camping stuff in them. One of the smaller ones I keep on the boat and put my small electronic stuff in them. Good gasket.

    It's the bears here that clean out my nut trees. They seem to know. Last year one came in the night the day before I was going to harvest. Hope to do better this year -or throw a rack of bear ribs on the grill.

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    1. Me too, Bubba, and the man didn't show today. Guess he doesn't want my cash. Bear meat is awful. Tried it long ago and said no thanks.
      Take care, my friend.

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  6. Sorry to hear that sweet wife is still in pain. We hope and pray that she finds some relief, preferably without needing surgery.

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    1. The doctors are using medication, at this point. Thank you, my lovely friend. Oh, and sorry to hear about your problem. Hope you heal soon.

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  7. You need to forget the truck rides, wheelbarrow rides & etc. . .You need to be there for Sweet Wife. . .She was there for you! She could have gone shopping, young man! Lost my banana trees when I left the city. . .Too many things to take care of at tbe time. I had the lil red bananas -- quite tasty. But mine had banannas every year. I hated leaving the biggest of those to city---my husband said if I could dig then up I could bring them. .So I only got to take 7or8 babies. Hope this next rain coming helps Sweet Wife to rest better and eases her pain. In My Prayers.

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    1. Thanks, young lady....I keep her tied out back. You know how it is with sick people, always underfoot.

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  8. Sweet Wife - rest and anti-inflammatories. Been there, done that - bloody nuisance and pain like you can't believe sometimes.

    I'd like to read Unintended Consequences but not at that price.

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    1. Bubba, check out my friend Robert's comment above..you two should make friends....thanks.

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  9. Replies
    1. Thank you, Larry...she sent along a kiss with this comment. I working from home tonight and just read your comment to her...she did that girly thing and said, ahhhh...or something like that.

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  10. I was just telling Stud that when your back, or your knees, hurt, you're incapable of doing anything! And the word "BORING" appears in my post today too. Bored, bored, bored.

    But I'm pretty sure that's better than Scared, scared, scared.

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  11. Phyllis (N/W Jersey)August 17, 2012 at 6:09 PM

    I hope Sweet Wife feels better. Hate it when the back goes. Fishing is a fine, easy day out, but I really don't think she would go along with your idea on how to get and keep her there. She probably thinks you would duct tape her to a tree!
    Ammo cans are very scarce around here. I go to barn/garage sales all the time and can never find any. Damn hoarders.....

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    1. That's me, a hoarder...oh, I use rope, not tape. More secure. Thanks, sweet Phyllis.

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  12. I'm sorry to hear that Sweet Wife is still in pain. Perhaps if you time it right you can give her the pain medication and be back from fishing before she wakes up?
    There is a 100 round rifle that was made by Calico Light Weapons Systems, we have the M-100s model. The last weapons ban pretty much killed them in the mid 90's so there aren't too many of them. They also make/made a 9mm with 50 and 100 round magazines.
    Congratulations on the coleman. New toys are fun. :D

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    1. I completely forgotten about the Calico, thanks, sweet one.

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  13. dear sweet one - please tell Sweet Wife that i hope that she will be pain-free soon...this is so awful after all that she has been through in this past year. Stephen, if i could hug her and take away all of the pain from the past year, i would do it in a heartbeat. i would do the same for you. but please take good care of her. she so deserves it, especially now.

    as an aside, did she like the rose of sharon seeds? i have other seeds of pretty things that i would like to send her but only if she is really into that kind of thing. and i won't be even the least bit offended if she isn't.

    love always to you, Sweet Wife and your heart...the three of you are always in my prayers. your friend,
    kymber

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    1. Sweet Wife dictates, "thank you, kymber, the Lord is taking away my pain, and thank you, yes, I loved the seeds and will plant them this Spring. I have three other rose of sharon trees and love them."

      Thank you, kymber. You're a fine friend and wonderful person. All the best to Jamie.

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    2. dear sweet one - tell Sweet Wife that she is so very welcome. tell her that from the way that you have always described her that she sounds like a lovely gentlewoman and those are a rare and fine breed. i am glad that the Lord is helping with the pain...it's amazing how he is always there, wanting to help us...we just need to lean on him. how simple. i will send some surprise seeds to Sweet Wife...and i hope that she enjoys them as much as i do. i love rose of sharon trees, too!

      thank you Stephen. you're a fine one yourself!

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  14. Oh yes, I feel your pain with the squirrels. We've been collecting tails for the past 6 months...about 65+ tails haha. Hopefully, I'll get enough apples from my tree now to make a pie or two

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    1. Squirrels, LB are quite tasty you know...fried with gravy over rice...only 65 tails. Bubba, you need to get with the program. I've lost count. Thanks, my good friend.

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  15. Give my regards to your sweet wife. I know pain and wish her the best. I too re-read my copy of Unintended Consequences frequently. Outstanding work. My granfather worked for American Can Company and got sent to Puerto Rico. He brought home a banana tree start. Every winter he build a green house around his tree. He babied that tree for years and never got one fruit off that tree.

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    1. Regards given and she'd said, thank you. I love the book. Interesting history about your grandfather. Not sure why unless its the climate his banana didn't produce. Here it's warm/hot and wet...the trees love it. Thanks, my friend.

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  16. Thanks for posting the author of 'Unintended Consequences' - now to find a Kindle version.

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    1. Julie, sorry for the late reply...see the next comment for a copy. The Kindle version is out yet.

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  17. One can download Unintended Consequences for free at Survival Monkey dot com. One will have to sign up on their site. If unable, I have it as pdf also.

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    1. Thanks, my friend. I made a post of your comment. God bless.

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  18. http://www.greatwhitedesert.org/documents/Ross_-_Unintended_Consequences.pdf

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