It's All About Having Fun

Having fun.  It's something we all love to do.  Who wouldn't like having fun?  We've all been doing it since we were babies.  We do it different ways too, because what's fun for me might not be fun for you.  For example, I like to play golf.  For me, its fun.  For you, it might be torture and you'd call it cow pasture pool.  Different strokes for different folks.

I think horseback riding is fun.  We went riding yesterday from the Griffin Ranch.  Me, Pam, Trish, and young Carlie.  I rode Pam's horse Jeremiah, who is a very observant and smart horse.  If he has an experienced rider on him, he can be a little snotty and  challenge the rider.  If he has a young child aboard, he's as gentle as a lamb.  If he has a novice rider like me on him, he's forgiving and patient.  Horses are amazing animals.

We have another trail riding business in Fort McCoy called Making Tracks, owned by Corey and Tina Rhoads.  I found this very cool video done by them of folks having fun, riding horses and swimming in the  Ocklawaha River.

Yes, there are alligators in the Ocklawaha, but alligators don't like to have fun and so leave when the horses arrive.

Sassy the Tramp

I'm a grandfather! We arrived in Florida in mid-January, and our un-spayed female cat escaped from the motorhome. We had intended to get her spayed down here, but it didn't happen. What did happen is that the little tramp got herself knocked up. Well, she had three kittens today.

Its my understanding that Bleecker kittens fetch a huge price, often in the thousands of dollars, but because of the  father, who is of unknown heritage and who is from Eureka Florida, we're going to let them go for a fraction of that price. Aw, what the heck. I'm in a good mood. Free. They'll be weaned the first week of June, and we'll be back in upstate New York then, so we'll even deliver them right to your doorstep for free.

Please don't all come clamoring at once. This is on a first come, first served basis. Only three of you will be awarded one of these kittens. Heck, I might even toss in the mom to some lucky person chosen at random.

While Sassy was squirting out babies, Earl and I finished up the pool table. 

We played many games of eight ball.  We're both obviously very rusty, but it helped that we didn't level the table and all the balls collected at one end and rolled into the corner pockets.  Yes, those are victory beers.  And yes, we eventually leveled the table, which makes the game much more difficult.

Putting the Pool Table on Wheels

Work on the pool table continues.  You wouldn't think it would be too difficult for two grown men to figure out how to put wheels on a pool table, but it was.  This is a regulation nine foot table, with a one inch thick slate top.  It's heavy.  The first wheels we installed were replacements for the feet.  This didn't work.  As soon as we tried to move the table, the feet started to collapse.  They were simply too long.

We decided to simply forget about being able to adjust the height of the feet and lag bolted the wheels on.  If we need to level it, which we probably will, we'll just jack it up and shim it, and mark the floor so we can put it in the same place every year.

Why wheels on a pool table?  Since its in the garage, we want to be able to roll it to the side when we leave next month and can put Earl and Judi's car in the there.

I scored a great deal on NOS (New Old Stock) pool balls on eBay the other day.   They've been sitting on a shelf in a warehouse for who knows how long.  $11, plus $10 shipping.  Cool beans.

We also stopped at the dreaded Walmarts for a rack, bridge, and chalk.  We're good to go.  All we need to do now is to make sure the three slate pieces are flat, install the felt and rails, and rack 'em up!

We'll be shooting pool by Sunday.... or Monday.   Hey, we're retired.  We have all the time in the world.

Cheap Chinese Made Junk

I'm a cheap bastard, and that means I look for value, not lowest price.  Sometimes I'm tempted though.

There's a Harbor Freight in nearby Silver Springs.  Its a man's toy store, full of all kinds of tools and gadgets.  The first thing I bought there was a power washer to wash the crud off the RV.  It lasted for one washing before it bit the dust.  Made in China.

The next thing I bought at Harbor Freight was a cordless drill.  It lasted for two uses before it bit the dust, the clutch hopelessly slipping.  Made in China.

The next thing we bought was a small hand vacuum from Walmart.  Yeah yeah, I apologize for that, but sometimes you just have to go there.   It lasted for one vacuuming and started smoking.  Made in China.

There are many yard sales and roadside sales around here, and Earl and I stopped at one.  There was a very old hand vacuum, a Hamilton Beach model HV-1 circa late 1950s.

"How much?" I asked.

"Ten dollars," he replied.

"Five."

"Done."

Here they are, side by side.

The Hamilton Beach was made in Racine, Wisconsin.  It was made to last, a quality product.  The piece of junk on the left was made to quickly wear out so you'd have to buy another.

I'm going to be spending a lot more time at flea markets and yard sales.

When The Cat's Away

When the cat is away, the mice will play.

Pam, Judi, and Megan have been in Louisiana visiting son Sean.  That leaves Earl and I here all alone and unsupervised.  You saw that we've been putting together a pool table.   It's going into the garage, which is used mainly for storage since places here in Florida don't have basements or attics.  In a month, it will also be used to house Judi's car.  I had the brilliant idea of putting the pool table on wheels so we could shove it off to the side.  Yesterday Earl and I went out to buy wheels.

First, we went to Sparr Feed to buy dog food.  Then it was off to Ocala to Harbor Freight.  That's next to Beef O'Brady's, my favorite pub here, so we stopped there first for lunch.  Then Harbor Freight for wheels, then Fort McCoy Hardware to get a 14 mm tap to tap the holes for the Chinese made wheels, then Fort McCoy Market to buy a case of victory beers, and then home.  It was 93 degrees, much too hot to work, so we just sat around and drank beer.

In the evening, I watched a Netflix movie, The Day the Earth Stood Still for the umpteenth time.  I love Netflix and I love old movies.  I love Pam too, but she's not here.

Big Boys and Their Toys

Big boys, meaning Earl and I.  If you've followed our Drift Away blog, you know that boat is loaded with toys, from the Boston Whaler on the roof (which may be coming here as a fishing boat) to the $15,000 in electronics.  No, we haven't sold the boat yet.  Close, but not yet.

So what are we working on?   This.  A nine foot regulation pool table, with a one inch slate top.  Each one of those three pieces of slate have to weigh 200 pounds.

First we set up the base, and then the frame.  It was then time to lift up the slate.  Once in position, we leveled each to the one adjoining.

In the pic above, Earl is taking a grinder to the joints to get them perfect.

I guess you're supposed to use bee's wax to seal the joints.  We figured caulk is just as good so that's what we used.  We let it sit overnight, scraped off the excess, and we'll put the felt and rails on later today.  There's no rush.  We don't have any pool balls or rack.  I ordered a set of pool balls off eBay for $11, and Earl and I will look around for a rack.

Boys and Their Toys

No really.  This little boy visits our neighbor often and whenever he does he comes over to play with our dogs.  He was picking up the dogs' toys  and tossing them in the dogs' pool.  Ruby doesn't want her toys in the pool and pulls them back out.  The little boy thought this was a great game.

They did this for a good hour.

Taunting has to be part of the game.  Finally he tired of it and went out by the road and waved at cars, who tooted their horns and waved back.  I fetched him from the roadside and his father fetched  him  home.

Here's a photo of some woodpecker.  That is not a tree.  That's Judi's power pole.

Earl and I are bachelors this week.  All the women went to Louisiana to visit son Sean.  He's serving there in the Air Force, and they haven't seen him in over two years.  They're having a great time, and Earl says "Without the women to bother us we can get things done."

Tomorrow, I'll show you  what.