My New Bed

First off, I have to tell you I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my new bed!!!! It has an 8 inch thick Sealy True Form memory foam mattress. Once I went to sleep last night, I don't remember waking up at all during the night. I didn't wake up until 10:00 this morning. I have severe sleep apnea, so that says a lot about how good this bed is.

If you read my last post, AND YOU BETTER HAVE!!! my new bed was delivered yesterday. I spent a good three hours cleaning the room. Things like rearranging the furniture, vacuuming countless number of years worth if dust under the bed and behind the furniture I moved, moving the cable TV wire to the other side of the room and scrubbing the walls where it was needed. I didn't have time to clean the carpet, but that will be done when I recover from all the frigging work the last three days.

Here's a shot of my bedroom all rearranged, cleaned and waiting for the new bed.


The guys that delivered the bed put it together in less than 5 minutes. I had the new sheets and blanket, but didn't like the way the box spring looked, so took a quick trip up to Bed Bath and Beyond for a bed skirt. To install it, I had to take the mattress off the bed.

Damn that was a heavy sucker, but I managed.

I got the bed skirt on and and then put the mattress back. While trying to square up the mattress, I screwed up the bed skirt, so I had to go around the bed lifting and pulling until the bed skirt was on correctly.

Then I notice the mattress was on funny. It over hung on the sides. I measured it with a tape measure and found out the installer had put the mattress on 90 degrees off. That meant I had to turn the mattress.

I managed to do that, but you know what that meant? The bed skirt was all messed up again.

So it was back to lifting the mattress with one hand while pulling the bed skirt with the other. I even had to move the bed away from the wall to get behind it so I could do some pulling and lifting from the head of the bed.

Of course that moved the box spring on the frame when I did that. So now I had to try and move the whole bed back toward the wall about 4 inches with out moving the frame.

That was easier said than done, but I managed to move it most of the way. Not completely, but enough so it doesn't look out of position.

I made the bed and stood back proudly and took a picture for postarity. Here ladies and gentleman, and those of you that don't qualify for either of those, is my new bed.


The story doesn't end there.

The window behind my bed faces east, so the sun shines in it as soon as the sun comes up. I discovered that this morning. So the next thing is to get room darkener shades to solve that problem. I also have to order a headboard. Lori and I like to sit up in bed in the morning and watch TV while we use our laptops.

Sitting up while watching someone do your neither region is also nice too. ;-)

My New Bed

First off, I have to tell you I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my new bed!!!! It has an 8 inch thick Sealy True Form memory foam mattress. Once I went to sleep last night, I don't remember waking up at all during the night. I didn't wake up until 10:00 this morning. I have severe sleep apnea, so that says a lot about how good this bed is.

If you read my last post, AND YOU BETTER HAVE!!! my new bed was delivered yesterday. I spent a good three hours cleaning the room. Things like rearranging the furniture, vacuuming countless number of years worth if dust under the bed and behind the furniture I moved, moving the cable TV wire to the other side of the room and scrubbing the walls where it was needed. I didn't have time to clean the carpet, but that will be done when I recover from all the frigging work the last three days.

Here's a shot of my bedroom all rearranged, cleaned and waiting for the new bed.


The guys that delivered the bed put it together in less than 5 minutes. I had the new sheets and blanket, but didn't like the way the box spring looked, so took a quick trip up to Bed Bath and Beyond for a bed skirt. To install it, I had to take the mattress off the bed.

Damn that was a heavy sucker, but I managed.

I got the bed skirt on and and then put the mattress back. While trying to square up the mattress, I screwed up the bed skirt, so I had to go around the bed lifting and pulling until the bed skirt was on correctly.

Then I notice the mattress was on funny. It over hung on the sides. I measured it with a tape measure and found out the installer had put the mattress on 90 degrees off. That meant I had to turn the mattress.

I managed to do that, but you know what that meant? The bed skirt was all messed up again.

So it was back to lifting the mattress with one hand while pulling the bed skirt with the other. I even had to move the bed away from the wall to get behind it so I could do some pulling and lifting from the head of the bed.

Of course that moved the box spring on the frame when I did that. So now I had to try and move the whole bed back toward the wall about 4 inches with out moving the frame.

That was easier said than done, but I managed to move it most of the way. Not completely, but enough so it doesn't look out of position.

I made the bed and stood back proudly and took a picture for postarity. Here ladies and gentleman, and those of you that don't qualify for either of those, is my new bed.


The story doesn't end there.

The window behind my bed faces east, so the sun shines in it as soon as the sun comes up. I discovered that this morning. So the next thing is to get room darkener shades to solve that problem. I also have to order a headboard. Lori and I like to sit up in bed in the morning and watch TV while we use our laptops.

Sitting up while watching someone do your neither region is also nice too. ;-)

It's been a hectic last few days!

Lori moved over the weekend. Instead of 1 1/2 hours away in Greenport, she'll be just 10 minutes away in Patchogue. She moved down by the water across the street from a deli and 1/2 block away from the town beach and Olympic sized town swimming pool. Her new apartment was freshing painted, has new bathroom fixtures with a shower enclosure, laminate wood floors throughout, new appliances and kitchen cabinets. Lori talked the landlord into installing a dishwasher and a washer and dryer. I think she has to pay for those, but the owner owns a appliance warehouse so she'll only have to pay wholesale if at all.

Finding a U-Haul truck for the move was a challenge. Either they were all rented or the only ones left were reserved for out of state moves. If no one wanted it on Friday, then Lori could rent it for use on Saturday and Sunday. She was sweating bullets that one would be available until one of her co-workers talked to her. This guy works part time for one of the owners of the aquarium Lori works at. The owner owns a wholesale nursery supply business and the guy got him to loan Lori truck for the weekend. How cool is that? A rental would have cost at least $500, but since all she had to was pay for gas, it came to just $69! HEE, HEE, HEE, 69

I met Lori, her son and one of her son's friends at the apartment Saturday after dinner to unload the truck. I should say, I eventually met them. Little did we know but Saturday night was the annual fireworks show in town. At 7:00 PM they close all of the roads south of town to traffic. Lori talked herself through, but they wouldn't let me down or the boys in the truck. We had to park and wait until the show was over, which wasn't until 10:00PM. All that time wasted doing nothing.

We finally arrived at the apartment and started unloading. All of the heavy things were in this trip, so unloading was rough for Lori and I. The boys hardly broke a sweat. Being young and strong has it's rewards that way. We probably filled half the square footage of the place with that load. We didn't leave until about 1:30AM.

Sunday they loaded up the truck with the rest of their stuff, and I met them in the late afternoon. By the time I got there the boys they had finished unloading the truck. Yaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!! Too bad because I was really looking forward to exhausting myself again.

The boys had something to eat and then Lori's son's two friends left to go back to Greenport. Next we went back to my place to get my bed and the sofa I've been keeping in my garage for her. I bought a new king size bed last Friday, so gave her my old one. It's one of those memory foam jobbers, so I'm really looking forward to tonights sleep. It's being delivered somewhere between 6-10 tonight. It has to be a million % better than sleeping on my couch, like I did last night.

Once we got the couch moved in and the bed setup in Lori's bedroom, we dropped off the truck and went to dinner. That was a challenge in itself. Lori has three adult children in their 20s and they couldn't agree on what the wanted for dinner. One wanted Chinese food, another didn't etc, etc, etc. Since they couldn't decide, so I decided a on a place where everyone would be happy, a diner. Everyone was happy too.

Today was the start of a massive unpacking project for Lori and her kids. They also had to go shopping for curtains and shades and who knows what else. Tomorrow after work I think they are going back to the old apartment to vacuum and clean out any old junk. They also have to get the Salvation Army to come over and get their old living room set.

This morning I had my own project to work on, getting my bedroom cleaned up and ready for the new bed. I had to rearrange the furniture, because my old bed was a queen size and the new one is a king.

WOO-HOO, imagine what trouble Lori and I can get into on king size bed! Anyone want to join us? There's going to be plenty of room. ;-)

Next I went shopping for new sheets and a blanket for the bed. The rug looked so dirty in the high traffic paths when I moved the furniture, that I also bought a Hoover steam vac to clean it while I was out. It does floors too, so will be very useful for me. I had a coupon for 20% off at Bed Bath and Beyond, so I saved $60 on the steam vac! Woo-Hoo for that too!

Tomorrow I'm going to buy Lori new hardware for the front and side doors. The locks are the old ones and who knows who still has keys for them. I'm also getting them a programmable thermostat to help the save on natural gas. I'll install them in the evening when they get back from Greenport, if it's early enough.

If I can still move and walk, I'll clean the carpet in my bedroom tomorrow too. It means moving furniture again, but it will be worth it. That means I don't have to go out walking for my new weight loss program. Let hear another WOO-HOO for not having to go walking!!!

If your interested, I'm steadily loosing about a pound week on this program. Let's give another WOO-HOO for that too!

It's been a hectic last few days!

Lori moved over the weekend. Instead of 1 1/2 hours away in Greenport, she'll be just 10 minutes away in Patchogue. She moved down by the water across the street from a deli and 1/2 block away from the town beach and Olympic sized town swimming pool. Her new apartment was freshing painted, has new bathroom fixtures with a shower enclosure, laminate wood floors throughout, new appliances and kitchen cabinets. Lori talked the landlord into installing a dishwasher and a washer and dryer. I think she has to pay for those, but the owner owns a appliance warehouse so she'll only have to pay wholesale if at all.

Finding a U-Haul truck for the move was a challenge. Either they were all rented or the only ones left were reserved for out of state moves. If no one wanted it on Friday, then Lori could rent it for use on Saturday and Sunday. She was sweating bullets that one would be available until one of her co-workers talked to her. This guy works part time for one of the owners of the aquarium Lori works at. The owner owns a wholesale nursery supply business and the guy got him to loan Lori truck for the weekend. How cool is that? A rental would have cost at least $500, but since all she had to was pay for gas, it came to just $69! HEE, HEE, HEE, 69

I met Lori, her son and one of her son's friends at the apartment Saturday after dinner to unload the truck. I should say, I eventually met them. Little did we know but Saturday night was the annual fireworks show in town. At 7:00 PM they close all of the roads south of town to traffic. Lori talked herself through, but they wouldn't let me down or the boys in the truck. We had to park and wait until the show was over, which wasn't until 10:00PM. All that time wasted doing nothing.

We finally arrived at the apartment and started unloading. All of the heavy things were in this trip, so unloading was rough for Lori and I. The boys hardly broke a sweat. Being young and strong has it's rewards that way. We probably filled half the square footage of the place with that load. We didn't leave until about 1:30AM.

Sunday they loaded up the truck with the rest of their stuff, and I met them in the late afternoon. By the time I got there the boys they had finished unloading the truck. Yaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!! Too bad because I was really looking forward to exhausting myself again.

The boys had something to eat and then Lori's son's two friends left to go back to Greenport. Next we went back to my place to get my bed and the sofa I've been keeping in my garage for her. I bought a new king size bed last Friday, so gave her my old one. It's one of those memory foam jobbers, so I'm really looking forward to tonights sleep. It's being delivered somewhere between 6-10 tonight. It has to be a million % better than sleeping on my couch, like I did last night.

Once we got the couch moved in and the bed setup in Lori's bedroom, we dropped off the truck and went to dinner. That was a challenge in itself. Lori has three adult children in their 20s and they couldn't agree on what the wanted for dinner. One wanted Chinese food, another didn't etc, etc, etc. Since they couldn't decide, so I decided a on a place where everyone would be happy, a diner. Everyone was happy too.

Today was the start of a massive unpacking project for Lori and her kids. They also had to go shopping for curtains and shades and who knows what else. Tomorrow after work I think they are going back to the old apartment to vacuum and clean out any old junk. They also have to get the Salvation Army to come over and get their old living room set.

This morning I had my own project to work on, getting my bedroom cleaned up and ready for the new bed. I had to rearrange the furniture, because my old bed was a queen size and the new one is a king.

WOO-HOO, imagine what trouble Lori and I can get into on king size bed! Anyone want to join us? There's going to be plenty of room. ;-)

Next I went shopping for new sheets and a blanket for the bed. The rug looked so dirty in the high traffic paths when I moved the furniture, that I also bought a Hoover steam vac to clean it while I was out. It does floors too, so will be very useful for me. I had a coupon for 20% off at Bed Bath and Beyond, so I saved $60 on the steam vac! Woo-Hoo for that too!

Tomorrow I'm going to buy Lori new hardware for the front and side doors. The locks are the old ones and who knows who still has keys for them. I'm also getting them a programmable thermostat to help the save on natural gas. I'll install them in the evening when they get back from Greenport, if it's early enough.

If I can still move and walk, I'll clean the carpet in my bedroom tomorrow too. It means moving furniture again, but it will be worth it. That means I don't have to go out walking for my new weight loss program. Let hear another WOO-HOO for not having to go walking!!!

If your interested, I'm steadily loosing about a pound week on this program. Let's give another WOO-HOO for that too!

BREAKING NEWS STORY

BTExpress has finally found a contractor to remodel his bathrooms!

I started the remodeling of the inside of my house last January. First the contractor replaced the interior doors and then he was supposed to do the bathrooms next, but he disappeared before he started the job. We finalized the design, so I ordered everything we needed except the tile, sink and vanity for the master bath. I gave him the design drawing and he was supposed to tell me how many square feet of tile I needed to order. That's where it ended. I never heard from him again. That was the end of April. The materials have been sitting in my living room since then.

I tried to find another contractor, but either they wanted too much money, or wouldn't do the job because I bought the materials and they wanted to do that. I'm guessing that way they can make a profit on the materials too. Today I interviewed a contractor and booked him to start in 8 days. He'll do the half bath off the kitchen first and then to the master bath. My son and I will be very happy to finally get the those boxes out of my living room.

Here's a video tour of the materials in my living room and the before of my bathrooms.

BREAKING NEWS STORY

BTExpress has finally found a contractor to remodel his bathrooms!

I started the remodeling of the inside of my house last January. First the contractor replaced the interior doors and then he was supposed to do the bathrooms next, but he disappeared before he started the job. We finalized the design, so I ordered everything we needed except the tile, sink and vanity for the master bath. I gave him the design drawing and he was supposed to tell me how many square feet of tile I needed to order. That's where it ended. I never heard from him again. That was the end of April. The materials have been sitting in my living room since then.

I tried to find another contractor, but either they wanted too much money, or wouldn't do the job because I bought the materials and they wanted to do that. I'm guessing that way they can make a profit on the materials too. Today I interviewed a contractor and booked him to start in 8 days. He'll do the half bath off the kitchen first and then to the master bath. My son and I will be very happy to finally get the those boxes out of my living room.

Here's a video tour of the materials in my living room and the before of my bathrooms.

GIANT FREE DATABASE OF OLD TV SERIES

Here's another great link compliments of my old friends Linky & Dinky.  I just finished watching the pilot of one of my all time favorite TV shows, MASH.  I can't wait to watch the seven seasons worth of shows they have.  They even have My Favorite Martian.  If your old like me, you'll remember that one.  The have newer shows too for you youngsters.  Enjoy!

http://www.tv-links.co.uk/

GIANT FREE DATABASE OF OLD TV SERIES

Here's another great link compliments of my old friends Linky & Dinky.  I just finished watching the pilot of one of my all time favorite TV shows, MASH.  I can't wait to watch the seven seasons worth of shows they have.  They even have My Favorite Martian.  If your old like me, you'll remember that one.  The have newer shows too for you youngsters.  Enjoy!

http://www.tv-links.co.uk/

New Years Eve 1967 HNT?

Can you guess which one is me?

This picture was taken at my last New Years Eve party with my friends for a few years. The following May I was drafted into the army and soon after shipped to South Vietnam. You can read all about that little adventure on my Vietnam Story blog.

Now stop my Lori's blog for her big news. We are all very excited!

If you want to join the HNT fun, touch this sexy lady's boobs and join us.

New Years Eve 1967 HNT?

Can you guess which one is me?

This picture was taken at my last New Years Eve party with my friends for a few years. The following May I was drafted into the army and soon after shipped to South Vietnam. You can read all about that little adventure on my Vietnam Story blog.

Now stop my Lori's blog for her big news. We are all very excited!

If you want to join the HNT fun, touch this sexy lady's boobs and join us.

Hey! Did ya hear?

Lindsay Lohan was busted for DUI and posssion of cocaine and could get up to six years in prison? She will be somebody's sugar candy for sure.

OR..........

How much you want to bet she doesn't serve any time or maybe something close to the 45 days 23 days in the slammer Paris Hilton received?

Regardless, she may be rich and hot, but still a stupid, spoiled, privileged brat that deserves to have to book thrown at her like the rest of us commoners would if we were in her position.

Hey! Did ya hear?

Lindsay Lohan was busted for DUI and posssion of cocaine and could get up to six years in prison? She will be somebody's sugar candy for sure.

OR..........

How much you want to bet she doesn't serve any time or maybe something close to the 45 days 23 days in the slammer Paris Hilton received?

Regardless, she may be rich and hot, but still a stupid, spoiled, privileged brat that deserves to have to book thrown at her like the rest of us commoners would if we were in her position.

Chapter 4: Basic Training - Part 4

Our first pay day was very special. That's the day the cooks that roomed in our barracks promised us that they would smuggle in ice cream from the base soft serve store. You see, we weren't allowed to eat or drink anything but water and what they provided us at meal times, so after a month of being denied any sort of treat, the ice cream hit the spot. It did come a premium of about 5 times what they paid for it, but we all paid willingly. This happened regularly until they got caught. I think someone squealed on them.

Many men tried to do things that would get them kicked out of the army. Things that I'm sure many of them would have never done as a civilian. One night two men in my barracks were caught "snuggling" naked in one of their bunks. I'm not sure if they were really gay, or were just putting on an act. It did get them kicked out of the army though. Then, as is today, gays aren't allowed in the military.

Another man, Ben Caraballo, claimed he could not speak one word of English. He was from Puerto Rico. There were a few guys in our company from there. Each time he spoke our was spoken to, another guy that spoke Spanish would interpret things for him. The drill sergeant absolutely hated him for that. It drove him crazy. A few guys claimed to have heard him speak English, but I never did. If he was putting on an act, it was a good one. One of the other guys from Puerto Rico said that all kids in Puerto Rico learned to speak, read and write English in school, so personally, I believed that he was acting.

In one of the other barracks, a guy refused to take a shower. Guess he figured if he smelled bad enough, they'd kick him out of the army. It took about three weeks of him smelling up the place when his barrack mates got tired of the stench and gave him a blanket party and a GI shower.

Blanket Party - A blanket party is a means of corporal punishment or hazing conducted by a peer group. Blanket parties are most frequently conducted by groups within the military, or military academies. A blanket party is conducted by an individual being restrained, while his peers strike him repeatedly with improvised 'flails' (generally a sock or a washrag containing something solid, i.e. a bar of soap). GI Shower - GI Shower Given to someone who usually is in need of a shower but who refuses. The offender is forced into the shower (sometimes blindfolded) where others scrub him or her with scrub brushes or steel wool. The intent is to encourage him or her to maintain minimal standards of cleanliness and the outcome is often painful and even bloody. It is an illegal assault and can be punished under the UCMJ. It happens rarely. http://www.answers.com

It was done on a Sunday when all of the DIs were off duty and usually off base. The only NCOs were in the company HQ and usually never bothered us. A bunch of guys wrapped the guy in a blanket and roughed him up a little. Then they took him in the shower and scrubbed him down with things like a broom, brush and anything else they could fine that was used to clean things with. Then they warned him and told him he would shower every day from now on or it would happen again, or maybe something worse. They also warned him not to tell on them, our else! He never did tell on them and showered every day after that.

One day towards the end of basic training I was assigned as a driver and missed a big event back in the company area, but I was told all about it when I got back. Late in the day after training was over, SSG Temple and Corporal Levato got drunk and thought it would be funny to harass the our platoon even more than usual. They got the bright idea to make my platoon dress in odd uniform combinations. They gave them just a few minutes to get into each uniform combination and then stand in formation for “inspection”. They also made the men strip to their underwear and crawl in the dirt on their bellies.

This kind of harassment, and more, went on for awhile, but stopped when the battalion commander just happened to come to our company area to look around. I think he showed up because one of the other NCOs tipped him off. The battalion commander sent Temple and the corporal to our company HQ and then dismissed our platoon to so they could get cleaned up and straighten up the barracks. Both NCOs got in serious trouble for what they had done. They were court marshaled, busted down a rank and docked some pay.

We were confined to the company area in basic except on Sundays when were allowed to walk to the base chapel for church service. You'd surprised at how many men took up religion once they found out that we stopped at the base soft serve ice cream store on the way back after church.

Chapter 4: Basic Training - Part 4

Our first pay day was very special. That's the day the cooks that roomed in our barracks promised us that they would smuggle in ice cream from the base soft serve store. You see, we weren't allowed to eat or drink anything but water and what they provided us at meal times, so after a month of being denied any sort of treat, the ice cream hit the spot. It did come a premium of about 5 times what they paid for it, but we all paid willingly. This happened regularly until they got caught. I think someone squealed on them.

Many men tried to do things that would get them kicked out of the army. Things that I'm sure many of them would have never done as a civilian. One night two men in my barracks were caught "snuggling" naked in one of their bunks. I'm not sure if they were really gay, or were just putting on an act. It did get them kicked out of the army though. Then, as is today, gays aren't allowed in the military.

Another man, Ben Caraballo, claimed he could not speak one word of English. He was from Puerto Rico. There were a few guys in our company from there. Each time he spoke our was spoken to, another guy that spoke Spanish would interpret things for him. The drill sergeant absolutely hated him for that. It drove him crazy. A few guys claimed to have heard him speak English, but I never did. If he was putting on an act, it was a good one. One of the other guys from Puerto Rico said that all kids in Puerto Rico learned to speak, read and write English in school, so personally, I believed that he was acting.

In one of the other barracks, a guy refused to take a shower. Guess he figured if he smelled bad enough, they'd kick him out of the army. It took about three weeks of him smelling up the place when his barrack mates got tired of the stench and gave him a blanket party and a GI shower.

Blanket Party - A blanket party is a means of corporal punishment or hazing conducted by a peer group. Blanket parties are most frequently conducted by groups within the military, or military academies. A blanket party is conducted by an individual being restrained, while his peers strike him repeatedly with improvised 'flails' (generally a sock or a washrag containing something solid, i.e. a bar of soap). GI Shower - GI Shower Given to someone who usually is in need of a shower but who refuses. The offender is forced into the shower (sometimes blindfolded) where others scrub him or her with scrub brushes or steel wool. The intent is to encourage him or her to maintain minimal standards of cleanliness and the outcome is often painful and even bloody. It is an illegal assault and can be punished under the UCMJ. It happens rarely. http://www.answers.com

It was done on a Sunday when all of the DIs were off duty and usually off base. The only NCOs were in the company HQ and usually never bothered us. A bunch of guys wrapped the guy in a blanket and roughed him up a little. Then they took him in the shower and scrubbed him down with things like a broom, brush and anything else they could fine that was used to clean things with. Then they warned him and told him he would shower every day from now on or it would happen again, or maybe something worse. They also warned him not to tell on them, our else! He never did tell on them and showered every day after that.

One day towards the end of basic training I was assigned as a driver and missed a big event back in the company area, but I was told all about it when I got back. Late in the day after training was over, SSG Temple and Corporal Levato got drunk and thought it would be funny to harass the our platoon even more than usual. They got the bright idea to make my platoon dress in odd uniform combinations. They gave them just a few minutes to get into each uniform combination and then stand in formation for “inspection”. They also made the men strip to their underwear and crawl in the dirt on their bellies.

This kind of harassment, and more, went on for awhile, but stopped when the battalion commander just happened to come to our company area to look around. I think he showed up because one of the other NCOs tipped him off. The battalion commander sent Temple and the corporal to our company HQ and then dismissed our platoon to so they could get cleaned up and straighten up the barracks. Both NCOs got in serious trouble for what they had done. They were court marshaled, busted down a rank and docked some pay.

We were confined to the company area in basic except on Sundays when were allowed to walk to the base chapel for church service. You'd surprised at how many men took up religion once they found out that we stopped at the base soft serve ice cream store on the way back after church.

It's good to be the Prince

Hope you have a good as good a time this weekend as the Prince did that day. ;-)

It's good to be the Prince

Hope you have a good as good a time this weekend as the Prince did that day. ;-)

UNDERNEATH ME, HNT

A prelude to breakfast.....oh how she pleasures!



Happy HNT!

UNDERNEATH ME, HNT

A prelude to breakfast.....oh how she pleasures!



Happy HNT!

Ya know what I find amazing........

........how Lori can go right back to sleep after I woke her up for some snuggling at 3:45 AM this morning? Then give me a big smile when she left for work at 8:00. Guess that's one of the reasons I love her so much.

Ya know what I find amazing........

........how Lori can go right back to sleep after I woke her up for some snuggling at 3:45 AM this morning? Then give me a big smile when she left for work at 8:00. Guess that's one of the reasons I love her so much.

Here's another one of my videos

This one is a tour of my basement. I'm not one to throw away stuff worth anything. That mentality has caused me to fill my basement with 30 years worth of mostly crap.

Here's another one of my videos

This one is a tour of my basement. I'm not one to throw away stuff worth anything. That mentality has caused me to fill my basement with 30 years worth of mostly crap.

Sigh................................

sigh – verb
1. to let out one's breath audibly, as from sorrow, weariness, or relief.
2. to yearn or long; pine.

I'm alone this weekend. Lori went up to Connecticut to visit her brother and go to a million acre yard sale they call "Brim". Okay, it's not really a million acres, but hundreds for sure.

My son slept at his girl friends house last night. That's fine, but with Lori away, there went our chance for snuggling in different rooms. Why couldn't he have chosen next weekend for that?

sigh – verb
1. to let out one's breath audibly, as from sorrow, weariness, or relief.
2. to yearn or long; pine.

Sigh................................

sigh – verb
1. to let out one's breath audibly, as from sorrow, weariness, or relief.
2. to yearn or long; pine.

I'm alone this weekend. Lori went up to Connecticut to visit her brother and go to a million acre yard sale they call "Brim". Okay, it's not really a million acres, but hundreds for sure.

My son slept at his girl friends house last night. That's fine, but with Lori away, there went our chance for snuggling in different rooms. Why couldn't he have chosen next weekend for that?

sigh – verb
1. to let out one's breath audibly, as from sorrow, weariness, or relief.
2. to yearn or long; pine.

Nothing like a good, fresh cup of coffee in the morning!

We woke up last Sunday and I put on a pot of coffee. Lori and I like to sit in bed in the morning after we're done snuggling with our laptops and a fresh cup of coffee. She made the muffins poured I poured the coffee. Sounds good doesn't it?

Except when the half & half is spoiled.



Have a great weekend y'all!

Nothing like a good, fresh cup of coffee in the morning!

We woke up last Sunday and I put on a pot of coffee. Lori and I like to sit in bed in the morning after we're done snuggling with our laptops and a fresh cup of coffee. She made the muffins poured I poured the coffee. Sounds good doesn't it?

Except when the half & half is spoiled.



Have a great weekend y'all!

VIDEO HNT - THE STRIPPER

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!!!!!!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ever seen a 58 year old fat guy stripping? No? Now here's your chance.




HAPPY HNT!

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Chapter 4: Basic Training - Part 3

The next story in the continuing saga of BTExpress' army adventures.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Once everyone had arrived in basic later that week, SSG Temple called us to formation in front of our barracks. Temple asked us if there was anyone in our platoon that thought they could kick his ass. No one spoke up at first until one guy raised his hand. Temple called him to the front.

Temple got in his face yelling and screaming that "... who did he think he was? Asking him "...if he thought he was a tough guy?" All kind of thing like that. The guy stood right up and unflinchingly said, "...yes." Temple asked him "...if he thought he was so tough, to come with him behind the barracks and try!" Then off they went.

HOLY CRAP! Was that guy crazy or something. Temple was about the toughest sounding guy I'd ever seen and he was sure to kick the guys ass. We all stood silently listening for the sound of a fight, but we never heard anything. A few minutes later they both came out from behind the barracks looking just like they did before this whole thing started.

The guy stood next to Temple with both of them facing us. Temple told us that he was our Platoon Leader and in charge when none of the NCOs were around. He wrapped a blue arm band around his upper arm that had three stripes on it. This arm band signified his position.

Platoon Leader SGT Dallas Cook











Temple instructed Cook to choose one man to be his assistant. He would also get an arm band, but with two stripes. He choose this man.

Platoon Leader Corporal Robert Cleckly











Temple's choice of these two men made for problems sometimes for basically two reasons. They let their positions go to there heads and turned into a couple of first class pricks. Also because these two guys were black. Remember this was 1968 and racial tensions were running quite high in the USA at the time. And since out of the 56 men in our platoon, 8 men were black. The rest were either white or some other nationality.

On April 4, 1968 Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. Riots erupt in major American cities for several days afterward. The Washington, D.C. riots of April 4–8, 1968 erupted with the April 4, 1968 assassination of Civil Rights Movement leader Martin Luther King, Jr. Civil unrest affected at least 110 U.S. cities; Washington, along with Chicago and Baltimore, was among the most impacted. Then on April 11 - President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1968.

One evening just before bed, Cook began walking up and down the center aisle with his dick hanging out of his boxers stroking it as he walked. Truthfully, it was huge! He asked if anyone wanted to get fucked or blow him. Everyone was afraid of him, so no one said a word and just tried to ignore him. Then he jumped on a few bunks, including mine acting like he was trying to fuck you. He didn't do anything except laugh, make humping motions and stroke his dick. When he got tired of playing the game, he stopped and went to bed.

That night I was suddenly awakened when my bunk was pushed over. My arm was between the foot locker and the bunk when we hit the floor, but I didn't get hurt. We were pushed over by Cook and his partner in crime Cleckly. They knock over one or two more bunks too.

By then everyone in the barracks had woken up. Someone woke up Temple and and he came running up the stairs to see what was going on. Cook and Cleckly were ratted out immediately and the two of them were taken to the company HQ. Temple asked if anyone was hurt, but no one was hurt, just shaken up. We were told to straighten things up and go back to bed.

The next day during morning formation, Temple made Cook and Cleckly apologize, but that was it! Well, except that they weren't allowed out of the company area for a while. No one thought that was fair, but Temple said since there was no real harm done, it would just be dropped.

Chapter 4: Basic Training - Part 3

The next story in the continuing saga of BTExpress' army adventures.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Once everyone had arrived in basic later that week, SSG Temple called us to formation in front of our barracks. Temple asked us if there was anyone in our platoon that thought they could kick his ass. No one spoke up at first until one guy raised his hand. Temple called him to the front.

Temple got in his face yelling and screaming that "... who did he think he was? Asking him "...if he thought he was a tough guy?" All kind of thing like that. The guy stood right up and unflinchingly said, "...yes." Temple asked him "...if he thought he was so tough, to come with him behind the barracks and try!" Then off they went.

HOLY CRAP! Was that guy crazy or something. Temple was about the toughest sounding guy I'd ever seen and he was sure to kick the guys ass. We all stood silently listening for the sound of a fight, but we never heard anything. A few minutes later they both came out from behind the barracks looking just like they did before this whole thing started.

The guy stood next to Temple with both of them facing us. Temple told us that he was our Platoon Leader and in charge when none of the NCOs were around. He wrapped a blue arm band around his upper arm that had three stripes on it. This arm band signified his position.

Platoon Leader SGT Dallas Cook











Temple instructed Cook to choose one man to be his assistant. He would also get an arm band, but with two stripes. He choose this man.

Platoon Leader Corporal Robert Cleckly











Temple's choice of these two men made for problems sometimes for basically two reasons. They let their positions go to there heads and turned into a couple of first class pricks. Also because these two guys were black. Remember this was 1968 and racial tensions were running quite high in the USA at the time. And since out of the 56 men in our platoon, 8 men were black. The rest were either white or some other nationality.

On April 4, 1968 Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. Riots erupt in major American cities for several days afterward. The Washington, D.C. riots of April 4–8, 1968 erupted with the April 4, 1968 assassination of Civil Rights Movement leader Martin Luther King, Jr. Civil unrest affected at least 110 U.S. cities; Washington, along with Chicago and Baltimore, was among the most impacted. Then on April 11 - President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1968.

One evening just before bed, Cook began walking up and down the center aisle with his dick hanging out of his boxers stroking it as he walked. Truthfully, it was huge! He asked if anyone wanted to get fucked or blow him. Everyone was afraid of him, so no one said a word and just tried to ignore him. Then he jumped on a few bunks, including mine acting like he was trying to fuck you. He didn't do anything except laugh, make humping motions and stroke his dick. When he got tired of playing the game, he stopped and went to bed.

That night I was suddenly awakened when my bunk was pushed over. My arm was between the foot locker and the bunk when we hit the floor, but I didn't get hurt. We were pushed over by Cook and his partner in crime Cleckly. They knock over one or two more bunks too.

By then everyone in the barracks had woken up. Someone woke up Temple and and he came running up the stairs to see what was going on. Cook and Cleckly were ratted out immediately and the two of them were taken to the company HQ. Temple asked if anyone was hurt, but no one was hurt, just shaken up. We were told to straighten things up and go back to bed.

The next day during morning formation, Temple made Cook and Cleckly apologize, but that was it! Well, except that they weren't allowed out of the company area for a while. No one thought that was fair, but Temple said since there was no real harm done, it would just be dropped.

Power Washing & Retaining Walls

If you remember, I've decided to fix up the old homestead. I was going to remodel the bathrooms first, but the contractor that was going to do the work, seemed to have disappeared. Getting someone to replace him, that will charge a reasonable price, is easier said than done. So that leaves me with a living room full of bathroom fixtures.

Since the bathroom projects have been put on hold for now, I decided to start working on the outside of the house instead. The list of things to do outside seems endless. I'm sure the list will grow, but here's what I'm doing so far.

1. Rip out a lot of the over grown shrubbery
2. Take out old walk ways in front yard
   
3. Transplant rhododendron to back yard
4. Trim shrubbery in entire yard
   
5. Power wash the house
6. Build retaining walls in the front of the (house
7. Repair front stoop, cover stoop in slate to match roof of house and replace hand rails
   
8. Plant new shrubbery, plants & flowers in the front
9. Install shutters by all the windows (I'll do this myself)
   
10. Repair the small amount of miscellaneous damage to the siding around the house
11. Replace the driveway. This will have to wait until I sell my boat, which is hopefully soon.
    

Parts 1, 2, 3 & 4 were completed last Monday. Part 5 was 90% completed last Thursday. The guy missed the side of the house above the garage and the foundation. I told the owners of the landscaping company and they will have the guy come back and finish the job. It really made a big difference.



Friday morning two guys showed up with the stone for the retaining wall. They didn't finish Friday and were supposed to come back on Saturday, but Saturday they never showed up. They did come back today and finished.

The truck has a pallet of stone and a load of top soil to put behind the retaining walls.







While one guy digs a trench for the first couple of courses of stone,......







......while the other guy starts unloading the stone from the truck.








The building of the retaining wall starts.








This is the smaller of the two walls. I didn't like the selection of stone that was left, so told him to call his boss and tell him I wanted him to get a second pallet of stone, which he agreed to do. They were a lot better.





Here's the finished retaining walls. That bench on the stoop is new too. It was on sale at the hardware store for $29.95, so I got it. It's made out of cast iron and an unknown-to-me type of wood. Lori thought it would look good there. She also picked out the purple flower next to it. Guess she couldn't wait. LOL


There were a lot of left over smaller stone that I didn't want used for the retain walls. Today the guy asked me if I wanted him to use it to build small walls to outline the flower beds and bushes elsewhere in my yard. I told him sure and showed him a few places I thought it would look nice. I had to run a few errands and was gone for a few hours, so let him decide what to do. I was pleasantly surprised with what I found when I got back.

This is the fence by my side yard on the south side of my house. I think I'll plant a few rhododendrons here.







This is the beginning of the low wall the guys built while I was gone. I never expected they would do this much, but am very happy the did. I really like the way it came out. Maybe he went the extra mile because I gave him my old lawn self-propelled lawn mower.




This is the fence behind my house. The house behind me is for sale if you have $600,000.

Edit: $750,000........... That just means my place is worth all that much more. :-D




Here's the rhododendron they transplanted from in front of my stoop.







And the low wall continues around and ends at the edge of the deck. This is the hedge near the shallow end of my pool.







I really, really like the way this project is progressing. I wonder how much my property value will go up after this part is completed?

(Look at the post below this one for the before video of my house and yard.)


Edit: Here's a video of the place now.

Power Washing & Retaining Walls

If you remember, I've decided to fix up the old homestead. I was going to remodel the bathrooms first, but the contractor that was going to do the work, seemed to have disappeared. Getting someone to replace him, that will charge a reasonable price, is easier said than done. So that leaves me with a living room full of bathroom fixtures.

Since the bathroom projects have been put on hold for now, I decided to start working on the outside of the house instead. The list of things to do outside seems endless. I'm sure the list will grow, but here's what I'm doing so far.

1. Rip out a lot of the over grown shrubbery
2. Take out old walk ways in front yard
   
3. Transplant rhododendron to back yard
4. Trim shrubbery in entire yard
   
5. Power wash the house
6. Build retaining walls in the front of the (house
7. Repair front stoop, cover stoop in slate to match roof of house and replace hand rails
   
8. Plant new shrubbery, plants & flowers in the front
9. Install shutters by all the windows (I'll do this myself)
   
10. Repair the small amount of miscellaneous damage to the siding around the house
11. Replace the driveway. This will have to wait until I sell my boat, which is hopefully soon.
    

Parts 1, 2, 3 & 4 were completed last Monday. Part 5 was 90% completed last Thursday. The guy missed the side of the house above the garage and the foundation. I told the owners of the landscaping company and they will have the guy come back and finish the job. It really made a big difference.



Friday morning two guys showed up with the stone for the retaining wall. They didn't finish Friday and were supposed to come back on Saturday, but Saturday they never showed up. They did come back today and finished.

The truck has a pallet of stone and a load of top soil to put behind the retaining walls.







While one guy digs a trench for the first couple of courses of stone,......







......while the other guy starts unloading the stone from the truck.








The building of the retaining wall starts.








This is the smaller of the two walls. I didn't like the selection of stone that was left, so told him to call his boss and tell him I wanted him to get a second pallet of stone, which he agreed to do. They were a lot better.





Here's the finished retaining walls. That bench on the stoop is new too. It was on sale at the hardware store for $29.95, so I got it. It's made out of cast iron and an unknown-to-me type of wood. Lori thought it would look good there. She also picked out the purple flower next to it. Guess she couldn't wait. LOL


There were a lot of left over smaller stone that I didn't want used for the retain walls. Today the guy asked me if I wanted him to use it to build small walls to outline the flower beds and bushes elsewhere in my yard. I told him sure and showed him a few places I thought it would look nice. I had to run a few errands and was gone for a few hours, so let him decide what to do. I was pleasantly surprised with what I found when I got back.

This is the fence by my side yard on the south side of my house. I think I'll plant a few rhododendrons here.







This is the beginning of the low wall the guys built while I was gone. I never expected they would do this much, but am very happy the did. I really like the way it came out. Maybe he went the extra mile because I gave him my old lawn self-propelled lawn mower.




This is the fence behind my house. The house behind me is for sale if you have $600,000.

Edit: $750,000........... That just means my place is worth all that much more. :-D




Here's the rhododendron they transplanted from in front of my stoop.







And the low wall continues around and ends at the edge of the deck. This is the hedge near the shallow end of my pool.







I really, really like the way this project is progressing. I wonder how much my property value will go up after this part is completed?

(Look at the post below this one for the before video of my house and yard.)


Edit: Here's a video of the place now.

Want to see my yard?

I took a video of my place the other day right after the landscaper ripped out the old shrubs and cleaned up my yard. It's over 7 minutes, but stick with it, you won't be disappointed. ;-)

Want to see my yard?

I took a video of my place the other day right after the landscaper ripped out the old shrubs and cleaned up my yard. It's over 7 minutes, but stick with it, you won't be disappointed. ;-)

July 4TH HNT

Happy 4TH of July Y'all!

Lori and I celebrated the 4th of July with a two-person pool party.

We put on our suits and Lori made the gin & tonics, then I hosed off the solar cover on the pool.

Like my new bathing suit?





The first dive of the 2007 swimming season.








How'd I do baby?








Ahhhhh, nothing like fresh local strawberries!

(Lori snuck this shot as I was drying off in the kitchen.)

My official HNT pic!

Check out Lori's post for a bit more nekkidness!

Happy HNT!