Fire Dreams

Posted on by chappyshi

I dreamed last night that I was camping with friends at a place that seemed like it was near a friend’s house in Vermont from where we could see across Lake Champlain to the New York side.  The weather was very dry and windy.  We were worried as we watched wildfires break out in the hills across the lake.  On our side some idiot had set up a “controlled” burn that had multi-colored flames that spelled out a “Happy Birthday” greeting to some named Jennifer.

Then on the news this morning I heard of a devastating fire in the town adjacent to mine.  Apparently, three homes were totally destroyed and five were damaged.  Fire departments from three counties responded.  I wonder if I heard sirens that sparked (pun intended) my dream.

Fleas’d Again?

Posted on by chappyshi

Not really again but…  My cat got fleas, I believe since we moved into the new apartment, which really chaps me.  The place looked in great shape, freshly painted with new carpet.  My vet, who charged me $66 to deflea my cat (I guess I was fleeced again…) said that all kinds of people from my apartment complex come in there with flea problems…on their pets that is.

So Hamlet got dipped and I sprayed the apartment.  I should have bombed but am still in the process of putting things away and the bombing just sounded to onerous.  Apparently I will know within 21 days, the gestation period for the eggs, whether or not the debugging process worked.

“In” Vanity Plates

Posted on by chappyshi

I saw someone driving the other day in a vehicle with the license plate “YBU BME.”  I may be wrong but that sounds like “Why Be You…Be Me.”  In my estimation, this person must have an awfully inflated sense of self-worth.  That’s something someone like Muhammad Ali, in his day, might have put on their license plate, if they could.  You might as well have a plate that reads “IM GOD!”

Grocery Store “Butt” foonery.

Posted on by chappyshi

The last thing I want to see at the grocery store is someone sitting on the counter where I place my groceries prior to scanning them.  But when there is some kid who looks young enough to still be in diapers sitting there, I am likely to want to hurl.  What are people really thinking of?  It is bad enough that so many people are “self checkout” incompetent but do they really have to put “poopy boy” on the counter too?  They should have stools for the kids…

Pictures from Vacation in Salvo, NC, on the Outer Banks

Posted on by chappyshi

It took me longer than I had wished to get all these pictures together.  The downside of digital photography is that we can take too many pictures and look at them before printing or publishing them with minimal  monetary impact.  Nonetheless, I spent the time and put together a set of pictures from our recent trip to the Outer Banks.  Many thanks to my sister who made the arrangements and paid for the place!

Check out the pictures here on my photo album or browse to my photo album from the main page of my blog and look for the Salvo vacation pictures.  The only real downer of the vacation,  other than a couple of trips  to Urgent Care centers, was the traffic.  For one four hour stretch, we averaged 19 MPH!

Scary, Inconsiderate Drivers

Posted on by chappyshi

The other day while I was getting ready to take a left turn on a green light (not the green arrow), the fool who was across from me waiting to do the same thing, decided to go straight and cut right in front of me just when I was getting ready to make my turn.  The next day, while waiting in the left lane of two left turn lanes (green arrow only), the guy in the right hand left turn lane decided to take his left hand turn (on red) just as the opposing traffic was starting across the intersection.  WTF eh?

I TP’d My Dryer

Posted on by chappyshi

I have been a bit dysfunctional lately as regards washing my clothes and…my accessories.  Not long after I got a new phone, I washed the phone along with my wallet.  I constantly throw pants in the washer with tissues in the pockets.  The other day I thought I was quite safe after having checked all the pockets in my pants prior to putting them in the washer.

However, I did not count on stupidity.  While putting clothes in the dryer from the washer, a roll of toilet paper fell off the dryer.  I thought that I put the roll back up on the dryer or on the shelf over the dryer.  Not!!! When I opened the dryer to take out my clothes, I found a mass of what I initially thought were tissues in the dryer.  “WTF” I said.  Then I realized I must have thrown the roll of toilet paper in the dryer rather than on top of the dryer.

Toilet Paper Fiasco
I TP'd My Dryer

Kayaking the Potomac River Near Point of Rocks, MD

Posted on by chappyshi

I had quite the nice paddle on the Potomac River on Sunday, 8 August.  We have had a dry summer and the rivers are down but, after a mass of rainstorms came through last week, the Potomac near Point of Rocks, MD, still had a pretty good current flowing.  The water was crystal clear.  At one point up about 1/2 mile from my entry point at Nolan’s Ferry Road, I saw a school of about 300 good sized fish, presumably Largemouth Bass.

The paddle  up from Nolan’s Ferry Road to the Rt. 15 bridge across the Potomac was right about four miles and quite a good workout.  There were some stretches of low water where the going was slowly but there were more stretches of deeper water, up  to about four feet, where the going was much easier.  I saw a few Great Blue Herons and Osprey but no eagles on this trip.

Here are a few pics from the trip:

Fawning Over Falling Flora

Posted on by chappyshi

We lost a few trees in the apartment complex due to the heavy snows last winter.  I have been watching this one tree that was at the side of my building…just waiting for it to come down ever since early winter.  Today we had some heavy rains with very strong winds.  I had been at my sister Julie’s working on my job search when it all started.  I commented to her that I was worried about the tree.  I did not think it would take anything out if and when it came down but I was concerned.

By the time the storm abated and I headed home, I had totally forgotten about my concerns.  I walked to my building, checked my mail, gave some  packages to my neighbor that I had secured for him,  and settled into my apartment.  Then while grabbing Hamlet’s bowl to get ready to feed him I caught something odd out of the corner of my eye.  It was the top of the tree that someone had cut off.  The tree itself was down baring the few roots it had.  Considering the lack of significant root ball, it is amazing the tree stayed erect as long as it did!

I am sad to see the tree go.  It did block the view of the condos across from me in the winter.  More importantly, it provided  shelter for birds, particularly in the winter.   Finally, it was a tree and trees are good.  I did not even get the chance to see or hear it fall…  Damn it Jim!