You have a deal Booka!

I'm in the mountains of PA near the NY Stateline. Pack your long johns!! Plenty of Gas here too... $3.65 a gallon

Cin your are welcome anytime!!! Give me a call and I will be happy to put you up and give you a personal tour!!! We natives take it for granted as it is in our own backyards!!!!

booka I don't know who you were asking how close we are to the airport and mid october temps. But here in SD it could be in the 50-60 or it could be -10 and a foot of snow on the ground. Usually though we don't get the first snow til Halloween!! The airport I watch planes taking off and landing from my back deck!!!! IT's about 10 miles to the airport!!!!

We lived @ Whiteman AFB, in Knob Noster and my ex traveled constantly for the AF and it was 99 miles from my front door to the terminal were I dropped him off at in KC!!!

Oh well time for bed as morning is coming soon!!! Did the football game. And then stopped at the local watering hole as booka calls it. Meet up with some girlfriends, and drank fuzzy navels and ate popcorn, not much exciting about that!!!! booka I did smile at 3 different guys, nodded and said hi to all three and only 1 can up to talk to us!!! Did get one smile back and a nod, and nothing from guy #3.

Have to hang the dry wall in the morning!!! Good night!

Dawn

Personal tour....hmmm....


Today, I've done a lot of screwing....hung some shelves in bathroom closet, hung a shoe bag for my son, hung a mixer thing in the appliance garage in my kitchen, started repairing a vent in a door and hanging a bulletin board....cordless drill and bits came in handy. Everything required screws.

Oh, and I got my printer to print again.

Didn't get 1/10th of my 'need to do' chores done but I did get some of them done.

My and the twin brother dusted off the feathers of the airplane yesterday. We flew over the wineries in Dahlonega and the corn maze in Dawsonville.

Made sure to get pix so I will have a map when GF and I go there next weekend.

Anyways, here's some pix.

http://i529.photobucket.com/albums/dd335/R_Tison/100_0477.jpg

http://i529.photobucket.com/albums/dd335/R_Tison/100_0478.jpg

http://i529.photobucket.com/albums/dd335/R_Tison/100_0476.jpg

http://i529.photobucket.com/albums/dd335/R_Tison/100_0475.jpg

And a movie. And yes I know the turn coordinator T/B indicator is erratic.

Wow, I'm so jealous!

Forgive my ignorance, but is that a Beechcraft Bonanza? A dear friend of mine used to have a plane that looked just like that one, same color even.

Dahlonega, GA? That's near where my sister lives.

Beech Musketeer/Sundowner B19, I wish I could afford a Bonanza A36.

Yep Dahlonega, GA.

Your sister is truly lucky to live that far into North GA.

I live 20 miles south of Dahlonega, but it's an easy drive up to the airport where we keep the plane.

That's an awesome video Pariah!! Thanks for sharing it!

Pariah,, that is too cool!!!!

Dawn

Spent a lot of time with my daughter this weekend with her headed for surgery on Wednesday.

MY girlfriend took her for an hour down the street to get her nails done, she picked out the color (blue), and had a blast. We took her to the fair (cheesy but fun) and she won prizes and rode rides. Then made her favorite dinner that night.

We also decided to drop the bomb to my girlfriends kids and my daughter since they were asking so many questions. We told them we are getting married next June. Everyone took the news very well. Then had to tell my ex and my parents. They also were congratulatory.

First, my weekend summary and then I'll separately address the house painting question(s).

What I had planned to be a productive weekend toiling around the house was altered in several ways by the weather conditions and spontaneous entertainment plans for what turned out to be a rather well rounded weekend.

Friday I grabbed some fast food on the way home, unloaded 4-bags of shrub planting mix and hauled those as well as the other 3-bags I already had to the backyard and then carried all of the plants waiting to be planted to the backyard and laid them out where I want them to go. I then scrubbed the entire driveway with a cleaner/degreaser and a brush on a pole. Chalk-up one blister from that. I then pressure washed the entire driveway well into the dark, turning on all available lights so that I could see what I was doing. After that, I cleaned everything up and went into relaxation-mode as of course it was a Friday night and the beer was cold. I ended up hitting the rack about 23:00.

Saturday, get this, I got up about 12:15. I had slept like crap all week and I guess that it was time to recharge the batteries, In the meantime it had rained in the morning, there was a good chance of rain all day, so that scotched the plans to seal the driveway, so I decided to first do housework and then mow the lawn. About 15:00 neighbor Tim calls me, says it our mutual friend Rob’s birthday celebration, because neighbor Tony had to work there was an opening for me for both dinner at Kitaro and later to see the Starship concert and the River City Rascals ballpark, which the minor-league team in O’Fallon. I said yes to the concert and declined the dinner invitation for a few different reasons. I was in the middle of some laundry, did some more folding, changed my mind and followed my own advice, i.e. never refuse an invitation, so I called Tim back and said that the grass can wait and I would indeed join them for dinner. I finished up with the laundry, got cleaned up, ironed my outfit (I am the king of ironing and very particular about it), and I wore a pair of shoes that I almost never wear, sort of a semi-dress shoe. I’ve of the mind lately that I need to upgrade elements of my wardrobe and to wear basically more shoes that aren’t sneakers. I have a pair of Skecher’s on right now. I hate to give up on my beloved New Balance’s that cradle my feet so well, but I feel that I need a bit more formal look at times.

So with my CK jeans, black shoes, and slinky black shirt I walked up the street to Tim’s and he and I chatted while we awaited his wife Jen’s arrival. Laura, Tony’s wife, joined us after Jen arrived home and we loaded up in Tim’s Ram truck and went to Rob and Jaimie’s a few miles away. There was a bit of amusement with Jaimie as she had a new vehicle that was parked so that the garage door couldn’t be closed and she was looking for the keys. We had the windows up in Tim’s truck and the AC on, so we couldn’t hear what they were saying, but Rob is very expressive and we were highly amused with the obviousness of what was occurring and supplying our won dialogue for what was transpiring. Rob and Jaimie are one of those contentious couples, I do believe that they love each other, but they remind me a lot of some exaggerated behaviors you might see in a sitcom for a similar couple. The keys were located, the vehicle moved, and Rob and Jaimie squeezed into the truck and off we went to Kitaro.

Kitaro is about a year old and is a very upscale and architecturally interesting place both inside and out. This is where I met Cyndy for dinner this past February (ghosts rattling in the walls!). It has a large semi-circular bar that spans the entire interior, one-half being the alcohol bar, and the other being the sushi bar. It then has two different dining spaces, one being the hibachi room where we ate at and an open dining area where they serve more traditional fare and French-style cuisine as well. It is a very hip place with some interesting scenery both animate and inanimate. Jaimie’s friend Christine met us there for a total of seven, Tim and Jen, Rob and Jaimie, Laura, Christine, and me. I sat between Rob and Laura. Now I’ll take a second to go back in time to earlier in the evening at Tim’s house when Laura joking asked me since she was my “date” for the evening if I would buy her dinner, and I replied “Only if you sleep with me.” She got the humor of it and made some comment that seemed strange at the time that she wouldn’t be any good or something like that. So the waitress, Yumi, comes for the drink orders. This is where the fun began and never let up for the entire dinner. Let me characterize this dinner for you, you’ve seen it before in a magazine ad, beautiful people having the time of their life at some restaurant. Well, none of us are beautiful but we had that time, the one where if you took a picture everyone would have that glow on their face.

Rob’s looking at the menu and asks me what a Kirin is. I guess I have been blessed in my life with a lot of different experiences (and a lot of different beers), so I gently explain to Rob that a Kirin is a Japanese lager. Rob is a Bud Light man and I took him out of his element a bit and he enjoyed it. We both ordered Kirins. Laura is making this big point about this non-alcoholic drink, what’s in it, etc., and something is clicking in the back of my brain, Laura last seen last weekend with a 1.75 liter bottle of Windsor and diet soda (taste acquired from our newer neighbor Clint). My brow creased as some computation occurred and the old think-box comes up with the answer, so I gently ask Laura if she’s pregnant, knowing that her and Tony have been trying, and she gives enough away by not saying anything that I know that she is. Here’s where it get’s interesting because something in me has changed and I don’t know what and don’t know why. It started last weekend at Mike and Gen’s wedding, I was extremely pleased to be invited, tremendously enjoyed the ceremony (there is no substitute for a Catholic wedding), and was truly and genuinely happy that two friends of mine were getting married. I was beaming all week. So Laura’s state is not general knowledge at the table and we’re speaking conspiratorially and people are starting to pick-up that something is going on, so Laura tells the table. I am beaming again, so happy for her and Tony, happy I found out the way I did, even have some tears in my eyes which impressed Laura. I’m still happy about it. This is the prelude for the evening.

The chef comes out and in my many hibachi experiences, this guy was A-Number-1 and his performance ratcheted this whole thing up several notches. I know all of the standard stuff that they do but most of the rest did not, so not only was it an amusing experience for them, it was for me also especially to watch their faces. I ordered a California roll and a tempura shrimp roll (delicious) and Christine ordered some spicy tuna and there were our appetizers. I was starved and hadn’t eaten all day. I got Rob to try some sushi but no one else would, Midwestern upbringing. I’m jaded; I grew up on the East Coast. I ordered shrimp and scallops (love scallops!) and we had the many course meal that was an adventure for most there. There was tons of interaction with our chef Sam and we would definitely ask for him again. I’ll tell you how this was; people from the other tables were watching us because we were having the most fun. It was expensive, with tip I racked up $60.00. I got Rob to order a sake-bomb and they brought out a glass of beer, the small cup of sake, a package of chopsticks, and Rob doesn’t have a clue. I tell him how to assemble it and the chef comes over, puts it together, chopsticks on top of the beer glass, sake cup on top of the chopsticks, bang the table with your fist and the sake falls into the beer and you know the rest. Sam bangs the table and it got a little messy with Rob saying that he had sake splashed on one side of his face, something he would repeat in a funny manner all evening. We finished dinner and all were stuffed. Christine left, I had the feeling that she lived somewhere in St. Louis County, we made a quick stop at the ATM, and we headed to the concert.

One of the warm-up bands played their last 3-songs or so while we went to the will-call window and Tim picked up the tickets which were $5.00 and worth every penny. We got beers and sat down in our seats with a pretty good view of the stage which was on second base. Let me set the context a bit. Starship used to be Jefferson Starship which used to be Jefferson Airplane. I can recall many Jefferson Airplane songs when they were originally released from my childhood. Laura for example was born the year after I graduated from high school. I wasn’t sure how many of the songs they would know, but Starship played nothing but hits and everyone knew some of the songs and some were surprised that Starship was the original artist for the songs. They did a medley of Jefferson Airplane and Jefferson Starship songs and covered the bases (pun intended) nicely. They left the stage and came back for one encore song, “We Built This City”. Everyone enjoyed the show, which was followed by some awesome fireworks. We dropped Rob and Jaimie off at their house and they later joined up at Tim’s, with the addition of Tim’s brother Ryan and his wife Jen, who are living with Tim and Jen, so that’s Jen, Jen, and Gen in two contiguous houses. Mike and Gen later arrived from their honeymoon in Jamaica and they told us of their exploits and adventures there. About midnight I gave my goodbyes and first made the bed from scratch with fresh sheets, etc.

I go up at 09:15 Sunday morning, read the paper a bit, my usual KSHE Klassics radio show, first cup of espresso, and then the Tim and Chris (C1) arrived with the aerator. Tim made a deal with Paul, who lives two houses down from Tim to do Paul’s yard, Paul is in his early 80’s I believe and is very funny and personable, so Time started on his own yard and Paul, Mike, C1, C2, and myself watched Tim sweat. This went on for some time, as we would trade-off the machine, the little group would follow along to the next yard, for a total of 7-yards. I did the front and back. I had Tim bring the machine down at the end and I pressure washed it. They left to take it back and I pressure washed the driveway again, got to keep it clean for the sealer when the opportunity for the sealer presents itself, and then moved the grass. By this time it’s early afternoon and I’m getting hungry, so I cleaned everything up and then myself and headed west to Flint Hill and their St. Theodore Parish sausage and turkey fall festival. I saw my buddy Pat Dyer there and said hello, purchased my ticket, and waited maybe 10-minutes to get seated at a table with several parishioners and several people who might have been from St. Charles. Everything is served family-style and it’s a lot of fun passing things around and talking to the parishioners, who were husband, wife, daughter, and granddaughter. The granddaughter was late teens/early-20’s and she and I had quite the discussion of the bands that she saw at Pointfest (Google it) the day before, she and I having similar musical tastes. She was impressed with Apocalyptica and I just happen to have one of their songs on the old iPod.

I finished dinner, stuffed, said my goodbyes, and said to myself “Self, where are you going to find the people from St. Paul?” Since this was a very one-sided conversation, I also answered “The beer stand.” Off I went and yes, I found those people I know and love, quite a few of them in fact, and spent the next few hours there engaged in conversation and beer drinking. I was also on a mission to find a couple that I haven’t seen in 15-years or so knowing that het lived in Flint Hill. I recognized the wife, Paula, and was looking at her and I know she was trying to make the connection. I walked over, shook her hand, and said “I’m Dirk.” She immediately lit up and we caught up on some items of business like anyone else that haven’t seen each other in 15-years. I asked her where her husband Ted was (I earlier saw his work truck with the family name on it), and she said he was right behind me, an he couldn’t believe that I was there, that I lived in St. Paul, and that I was an alderman. We had a very nice conversation and he even brought up the subject of our mutual acquaintance my ex-best-friend Mike. I caught Ted up on the Mike stories. I was then introduced to their oldest, Dave, a big dude, and he and I had a really nice conversation like we knew each other all of our lives. I would then float in and out of different groups of people I know. I ran into Travis who worked with me at our picnic and is Suzanne’s XH, he was there with a friend who told several very amusing stories of their Sturgis adventures, and I told Travis that I’d like to sit down over a beer someone and talk to him and that we would have some similar stories. Several people bought me rounds which seems to be some odd trend. I eventually saw one of the first people I met in St. Paul and someone that I really like, my buddy Keith, and chatted with him, his wife Michelle, and several others who came and went. This is where I made the observation that an event like this, and there are several in my area including one I’ll go to in Josephville this coming Sunday, and they are a slice of Americana like you wouldn’t believe still existed. I’m still smiling about it. I left about 19:00 and headed home and fired up disc-1 on the second season of “Dexter” and went to bed at about 21:30.

I missed a call from Herb (my dairy-farmer friend from Michigan) while I was at the picnic and right around 21:00 Sherry (from Yahoo personals) called and left a message wondering how my weekend went.

That is still just a summary, there was of course beer, bourbon, and a bunch of cigars consumed and main highly amusing that I can’t encompass here.

I spent the weekend in VIVA LAS VEGAS with my best girlfriend in the whole wide world! We haven't seen a lot of each other lately, so we decided to jet off and have some middle age FUN!

We stayed up entirely too late, drank entirely too much alcohol, gambled entirely too much money - but had a GREAT time!

The "highlight" if you can call it that of the weekend was, the OJ Simpson kidnapping/robbery trial is going on in downtown Las Vegas, and my drunk a** girlfriend and I went snooping around the courthouse when low and behold, a break in the activities happened, and who comes out but O.J. himself! We, in our drunkedness, asked him for a photo, and he obliged! We now have a one of a kind photo of me, her and the murderer himself during one of his last days of freedom! Too bad she and I have those glassy eyes in the photo - from drinking rum at 7:00 am!

I told my girlfriend that I wished I had a glove for him to sign!

Ahhhhhh - good times!

Laura

Pariah, this isn't you is it?

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&VideoID=31606713+

Got the walls painted in the stairway! Now I just have to do the actual stairs.

Booka, all of your weekends are so jam packed - do you never sleep?

And Vegas - what I wouldn't give to do something frivolous right now!!!!!

You guys have way too much fun. I work too hard. Need to change this around!!!!

woohoo... got a date for the third kid-free weekend in a row

Charlie----that's not fair!!!!

I just got the were are just friends speech again!!!!

booka, still haven't confirmation on your helping to paint!!!

Dawn

yea i don't like the dreaded friend speech either but it's part of life... sparks won't fly at most dates

i figure it's best to let people know when the sparks aren't there. there is no point in hiding that fact aside from boosting your own ego

gave the freind speech last week to somebody... figure if i am not honest than i am no better than (like pariah likes to say) my lying, cheating, crackpot also known as my XW.

Geesh Charlie...you didn't have to broadcast to everyone that you gave me the speech ..........














HA! just kidding he didn't really!!

Sleep is optional and deserves an aside. There was a time in my life where I slept very well all of the time. This was especially after I was diagnosed with sleep apnea and got a CPAP machine, which I use religiously. Then came the stress of a disintegrating marriage, 2-weeks of Wellbutrin where I swear that I didn't sleep at all, months of anxiety and Lexapro with some of the anxiety caused by the Lexapro. I used to get up in the middle of the night and walk hard laps around the ex-block. Tried several sleep medications, the only one that worked consistently, Ambien, went from $10.00 a bottle via insurance to something I could no longer afford, so on nothing at the moment, no ADs, no sleep medications, nada. Sleep comes and goes with no real patterns. Exercise has no effect because it's not the body, it's the mind. I rarely have trouble falling asleep, staying asleep is another issue. Surprising, I have a very casual attitude about it and have learned never to look at the clock after the lights are out. I even tried one of those natural supplements that's supposed to help with sleep, nada.

Then, after sleeping with someone for 25 years, I'm sleeping alone and that took an adjustment period. I'm drawing near 2-years PD (post divorce) and now I can't stand to sleep with someone (although sex is very possible and welcomed!).

I sleep when I can an usually have no problem to staying up until 02:00 after a Friday or Saturday night. Sometimes I'm up at 06:00 the next morning!

So now let me ask this question. I dream of the XW probably once a week. Usually it is a real dream, i.e. she acts nice to me! Occasionally it's something else like the one the other night where I reached out to shake her hand and her arm was withered. There was more to it than that but you get the general symbolism. Do you dream often of your ex?

Dawn,

Run the dates and location by me again. What do you have for an aeropuerto near by?

The Killer's are singing to me "I got soul but I'm not a soldier."