Whats is new is a pain in the arse.

Over the last few weeks my cell phone wasn't holding a charge very long so I decided to get a new phone. After getting the phone I decided to activate it and it seemed that calling to get my old number transferred was going to be a pain so I just decided to get a new number. Well now I am not sure if that was a good idea because now I am getting texted weather updates from a place in Indiana and also texts from some company that offers loans which must be amazing because that's what they say in the text. I have since contacted the place in Indiana to remove the number and also blocked the number from which these loan texts are coming from. All I can say is the guy that had the number before me was named Tony and he has been a pain in my ass. Also today I have found that I can receive texts but I cant send them.....Nice.

On another note we have been getting a notice on our satellite system that satellite signal 2 has been dropping in and out. After pulling out the receiver and inspecting the cables we have found that lightning must have ran in on that line because the center wire on the coax wire has been burned and fused into the coax port on the back of the receiver, so now we have to order a new receiver...It just keeps getting better. With the news that our retirement package has changed at my work and probably not for the better, the moral at work is in the dumpster. It seems that my already short fuse has just been getting shorter and shorter. This is getting old.

I am hoping that our visit South this weekend might help in this matter but I am not holding my breath.

Strange Moth.

This is a Hummingbird or Bee Moth. I am not sure if I had ever seen one before.

My Brother's Upstairs Addition.

In May my brother and sister in law wanted to add on a couple of bedrooms in their attic. Here is a few pics of the progress so far.


The Beginning...
May 8th ---Sub flooring.
May 17th---Framing.June 16th---Doors, Stairs and Insulation.



June 27th---Drywall.
July 11th---Still Drywall.

My hand at smoking.

The cajun rub on the left and the mesquite on the right.

Close up of the cajun rub chicken.

Last weekend I tried smoking a rack of pork loin ribs and a pork loin. They turned out OK. The ribs could have been a little more tender and the loin should have marinated longer. If I had to do it over again I would have smoked the ribs for 8 hours instead of 6 and at a little higher temp. The loin was only marinated for about an hour. I think over night would have been a lot better. This weekend I thought I would try chicken. Friday after work I picked up a couple of 4 lbs chickens and started preparing them last night at 6pm. I rubbed one down with a Mesquite rub and the other with a Cajun rub. I let them stay in the fridge over night and this morning at 7:30 I pulled them out and mopped them with brown sugar, butter, thyme, paprika, chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder and cayenne pepper. They went into the smoker at 8:30am and the first turn was at 10:30am. They got turned and mopped at 12:30pm and pulled out at 1:15pm. They turned out pretty good. I think next on the agenda is fish.

Tugger & Copper VS. Laser Pointer.

Fourth of July and after.

Last weekend we had company. Cynical and Ragged came for a visit. The nice thing about the visit is since we had a holiday weekend, we got an extra day to visit with each other. Friday July 2nd, Rudy and Brando invited us to go with them to The Log Inn in Warrenton, Indiana. They had eatten there a few times but it was the first time for Needles and I. We arrived at the restaurant around 6pm and after a bit of a wait we were seated in the Lincoln Room. Rudy had the roast beef and the rest of us had the boneless catfish. The rest of the meal was what was called family style. This basically means bottomless bowls of peas, corn, sweet oil slaw, Germany style potatoes, mashed potatoes, brown and white gravy and corn bread. We were able to finish off everything but the white gravy and the ladies each brought home a piece of fish. After waddling back to the car, we headed home. We got home around 8pm and after dropping off Rudy and Brando we headed home to find our guests unloading their car. We greeted our weekend guests and headed inside to relax and catch up with each other. We stayed up rather late and called it a night just after midnight. The next day I thought we would head to Mt. Carmel and see if we might get a sight of the bald eagles. When we arrived at the area the nest looked abandoned. We searched the tree line to see if there might be some juveniles hanging around the area. After a fruitless search of the area we headed back to the viewing station and then returned home. Later that weekend I would find out that the young eagles had already fledged and even though they might still be coming back to the nest, they are out learning to hunt most of the day. When we got home we meet up with Rudy and Brando and went out to eat Mexican. It was very good and then we returned home to digest the food in our full stomachs. Before long it was time to hit the hay. They next morning we had breakfast and then lounged around the house and watched few movies to pass the time and a weekend wouldn't be complete without a run to the Dairy Dee. Later that night we were invited to visit with Rudy and Brando to watch the firework their family were setting off. At around 9:30 the fireworks were over and we headed home. On our way home we noticed some other fireworks near the Jr. High so we parked and watched while the display astounded us. We were shock that a home display was so elaborate. It went on for almost an hour and we finally got home at close to 11pm. We stayed up for about an hour before time to go to bed. The next day we grilled turkey filet mignon and asparagus spears. All to soon it was time for our guests to return home. We had a good time visiting and hope to do it again soon.

This weekend was a busy one although uneventful. I had plans to smoke a rack of pork loin ribs and a pork loin so Saturday morning I was up by 7am. I went outside to get everything together and do allot of the prep work. I sat the ribs out to come to room temperature while I got the charcoal ready I also soaked the mesquite chunks. By the time the coals were ready, I had the ribs covered in the rub and ready for the smoker. After a couple of hours it was time the marinate the loin. An hour of marinate and the loin joined the ribs in the smoker. After a 6 hour smoke for the ribs and a 3 hour smoke for the loin it was time to eat. Around 3pm my brother and nephew visited and ate with us. The ribs had really good flavor but I think they could have smoked for a couple more hours to get them a little more tender. The loin was good but I think a longer marinate, probably overnight, would have made it better. After my belly was full it was time for a nap. A nap to aid in digestion and to regain some energy for the lawn that needed mowing and the dry wall that needed carried inside. After all the chores were done Rudy and Brando teated us to a trip to Chilly Willie's. Needles had the Pineapple Dolewhip and I had the Fudgey Nutter Parfait. It was very good and we returned home at close to 10pm. I didn't sleep well last night so we slept in late this morning. We didn't get up until 10am. Even sleeping late I only got about 4 hours sleep. We had plans to take fixings for sandwiches to Needle's Mom's and for dessert Moose Tracks ice cream. I had a lot of stuff to do so we headed home around 2pm and when we got home I headed out to Mom and Dad's to mow. It is now 6:30pm on Sunday night and I am exhausted and still need to get a shower and head out to Rudy and Brando's for our True Blood get together. Hope everyone had a good weekend. I needed more sleep.