We had some eggs that were past date, so we put them to good use.  We lined them up in a line in a patch of snow and the firing squad took over.  Nathan practiced some of his bench shooting.  We both missed more than we hit, but thats the beauty of edited video, everyone can look good on film!  One minute of your time please.

The school was offering a baseball clinic for grades two through four, at a small cost.  Nathan wanted to get into form before town league ball started, so we carted him in to Bangor.  It was a small group (10) with three coaches so they received some good instructional time.  It goes for four weeks, then it’ll be town ball practices shortly there after.

Cage time, Nathan got some good swings in

Do you remember that saying in high school?  Circa 1990 I guess.  Anyway.. it was an insult and has nothing to do with this post.

I’ve had my new tires for about a month and had my first flat.  On my previous set of tires, the rear passenger tire would go slack after sitting for a while in the cold.  So I didn’t think much when the Jeep sat for a spell and I noticed it was flat on my way to work.  I filled it up, thinking that would be that for a while.  But, Wednesday night, I had to fill it up again.  This morning I decided to take it to Sears to get the oil changed and have the tire looked at… but, I had to fill the tire again before I left, not a good sign.

Sears changed the oil and said a rock cut through the tread.  I had paid the $11 for tire insurance so that covered the patch they said they put on.  I got it home and parked in the garage and it just so happened the tire rolled to a location that revealed the “patch”.  Looks like a tire plug to me?  Maybe its a “patch-plug”?  Added from the inside?

Plug or patch?

Or, razor blade  in a pile of pellets.

I use a razor to slit the bottom of the pellet bags and allow gravity to do its thing to load the pellets into the stove. It follows my slogan of “Work smarter, not harder”.  I flicked at a loose pellet on top of the stove and flicked the razor into the stove…. while the pellets were pouring in.

Great, now I have to “paw” through the pellets looking for a razor.  I can’t leave it there.. it will surely damage the auger if it gets fed into it.  So, I unloaded the pellets, with a small pail until the razor turned up.  It wasn’t the whole bag thankfully, but it was close to the bottom.

Lost and Found

So for a week my left ear has been hearing a “seashell” sound.  I finally got sick of it and went to the clinic today.  Not plugged, but probably has fluid behind the drum.  It’s also “injected”.  Basically bloodshot eyes, but for eardrums.  So, antibiotic for the potential infection, and allergy meds to try and dry it out.  So, for now, just speak up, I’m not ignoring you.

Ya, stick it in ya ear pal.

Every year I mention to the family if they want to stop in on the sugar house down the road a bit and watch the sugaring process.  Somehow, it never ends up happening.  Last year, I went by myself, and then mention in the Annual Letter that we all went (sorry, we didn’t).

This year, we drove by and Jess said, “Hey, why don’t we go to the sugar house today!?” Great idea hon, wish I would have thought of that. [wink]

So we all went this year.  It’s a neat thing to watch the operation.  This year I learned that they use reverse osmosis to speed up the process.  Nathan had a bowl of icecream with syrup on it and we grabbed a quart to go and a bag of Maple Syrup cotton candy (Mmmm).  I’m still waiting for my maple trees to get big enough to tap.

Nathan in front of the reducer.

OK.  So we aren’t the toughest bunch around.  And, we’re pretty much just asking for a good rib’ing for what we call ourselves.  But we don’t care, we have fun and laugh a lot (at each other).

I’m speaking of our little motorcycle gang.  Three guys and their wives, self-dubbed: The H&K Gang. That’s the name we use in public, to us, it’s the Hugs & Kisses Gang [smirk].  Soft I know.  But it’s not as if any of us ride Harley’s. (We had to make the girls feel included).

We had the gang over for a little planning/playing party tonight.  Not much planning, but there’s time for that.  It’s always good to have a good laugh, and it’s better when it’s shared with a few friends.  Now… we just need some warmer temps to get the bikes rolling!

OK, it's not a pansy, it's a Daffodil

..is called a cold in these parts.

Nathan is fighting another cold.  Just when the weather warms and you think you might be done with all of that, one more round comes home.

Spring in Maine… we’re all pretty much used to it, but we always think flowers will be here sooner than they ever are.  Remember, we received about 10″ last March and about the same the year before in March.  It may not be over (though the ten day forecast says is it for March).  In 2007, we received snow in April.  Don’t put the shovel away yet.

Getting there, but not mowing yet.

Well, you all should know by now that I’m pretty hard on equipment.  Usual of the gadget type.  Winter hiking takes its toll on a lot of things.  This time around it was my body as usual, and my water bottle.

I have (had?) a nice aluminum SIGG bottle for a drinking vessel and its served me well.  Of course within weeks of owning it, I dropped it on the tile floor at work and put my first ding in it.  This time, I left it in my pack overnight.  The cold temps and a near full bottle didn’t agree with each other.  Something had to give.  And if you’ve seen cracks in rocks and pavement and foundations and (add infinite item), you know the power freezing water.

Split down the middle

I had a busier than usual weekend.  Sunday night we had the grandparents have Nathan for the night so Jess and I could go to a concert.  It has been a long time since we’ve both gone to a concert together.  A couple months ago we heard Third Day was coming to town. Seeing that they are probably my favorite/most listened to band, we decided to spend our limited allowance on tickets to the show.  We grabbed tickets early and I think that helped us get some great seats.  [Others got tickets given to them last minute that were a bit better than ours, but let's not talk about that... ah-hem, Tony]

It was a good show.  We didn’t know the opening act, and really didn’t know much about the second artist, but were pleased with the main act.  I’ve seen them in concert two or three other times and they always please the crowd.  So, I’m not completely fuddy duddy… yet.

Mac Powel rocking the mic