So I Was Sniffing...

As sniping season is over I find myself sniffing much more than sniping and I thought I would inject this fantastic sniffing tidbit into history.  The mass consumption of fresh blueberries seems to provoke the most extraordinary phenomenon in the sniffing department, namely a very peculiar scent akin to burning which generally results in the discovery of a rather black substance in the old diaper, if you catch my drift.  Horrible I know but noteworthy as well...

Ha, what can I say its my life!

Kids and Christmas

Little man and his truck!

The bliss of receiving.

IT'S SNOWING!!

Ah the joy of giving, particularly when it is to your own children.  These little ones truly do make life sweeter.  Then there is of course the gingerbread house build off, started by this kid-at-heart, it has become a fun family tradition.  

I Had To Say It

Just a quick blurb for a real winner, if you were to cast your eyes upon my recently read section you will find written therein the completion of the great Les Misérables.  I am the proud first time reader of this fantastic book and I can not get over how incredible it is.  Now I know that many have waxed eloquent with regards to this book in ways that put me to shame, yet I must say I loved it.  Wow, can't stop thinking about it. 

4 Wheels, 4 Months, 4 Better or 4 Worse

Just look at those kiddos

I would be remiss if I failed to recognize the endeavor that brought a neglected 4-wheeler and boat into my possession.  Initially the intent was to flip the recreational vehicles and turn a recreational dollar.  As it turns out the boat grew on us and pending its revival it is now slated to remain a part of our family.  The catch was the sell of the wheeler to offset the retention of the boat.  So in the spirit of the D.I.Y. guy that I am I tore into the carb and had this beauty running in a few hours.  Sounds good eh?  Well it ran but not particularly well so I continued to try to improve the performance over what became four months when I had hoped for four days.  Lucy and Will loved the test drives.  In the end we were able to get it running well enough to sell it and maintain possession of the boat, where that will take us no one knows... In the end it was a project with several head aches, a couple of wheelies and generally a fond memory.  Made more fond by the lack of the wheeler =)   

Sweet little angel. (this appears to be in the road, but in fact it is on our front lawn,safety first!)

WARNING: You Break IT You Buy IT

Norton 601

You may ask what a Norton 601 is, or you may simply not care.  I on the other-hand know what it is and care immensely.  Recently this little beauty became the cause of much concern to this self proclaimed do-it-yourselfer.  Follow along, our heater has been giving us fits and so with more confidence than knowledge I launched in to a counter offensive to right the wrong.  (Let me here point out that in the process of the D.I.Y. project the economic advantage is compromised at about the precise instant you you think to yourself was it this one or that one?)  So it is that I picked that one and as quick as that the ignitor for our furnace was out of commission.  This was altogether awful particularly as it was 9:30 p.m. and help was not available.  This fantastic decision of mine led to the wonderful opportunity of arising every two hours to light the heater with a match, risky business to say the least.  A late night search online produced the part but the next day air was horrendous so the next morning I located the part through a helpful heating co. as I worked late Andrea picked up the part.  The helpful fella turned out to have a listening problem as I returned home after business hours to find that the part was not the requested 4" model, yea! another sleepless night.  So two days later it turns out the online find would have arrived sooner, with less running around and five dollars cheaper.  The good news; in the end I only paid $65 and although there was a moment when my heart sank to my toes this D.I.Y. guy fixed his furnace for less than the service visit would have been.  As they say, you win some you loose some.