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Near where I live they are upgrading a communal area. The old tin roof has been removed and the concrete slab has been extended to twice it's size and now measures 12 metres by 6 metres (roughly 40' X 20').

Brick work has been built to house a brand new 6 burner gas BBQ with rotisserie at one end and a massive 1.5 metre (roughly 5') diameter fire-pit & smoke hood at the other. Huge wooden tables and benches are being brought in for seating. Tom, who makes the tables uses pre-loved timber. The first table that he has delivered weighs in at about 340 kg (around 750 lbs) and the next table to arrive will be a little longer and heavier.....

My part in the project is to build a child safety fence around the fire-pit. I've measured and drawn up the plans, sourced the material, had it delivered (albeit a little latter than planned because the truck broke down) and am now in the process of constructing each of eight panels of what will become an octagon shaped screen that will be bolted to the concrete. One panel will become the gate to enter the fire-pit area.


The new roof supports are going up:



Now the covering:



Looking good with the new BBQ in place also:



The first of two tables and benches arrives:



Weighing around 340 kg (around 750 lbs)we need to use rollers to move it into place:



Hard earned rest:



Preparing the posts for the safety screens:



Next one to be riveted:



A post that has the hinges riveted, the screens will be secured to those hinges:



The eight completed safety screens:



The smoke hood for the fire-pit arrives:



The stand that supports the smoke hood goes up:



The fire-pit and smoke hood in place, also showing one of eight safety screen panels on the right:



End of work today (Tuesday) just managed to snap this pic before I lost all the light so it's a bit blurry as it was taken with my mobile/cell phone, just like all the other pics. The screen is all joined together but only free-standing, not yet bolted to the concrete. The panel closest to the front is the gate.



As of Wednesday evening all the posts have been bolted to the concrete..... JOB COMPLETE..



Stainless steel dome nuts replaced the Dynabolt nuts for a better finish:



The Magnetic gate latch fitted:






The flue was fitted yesterday Sun 7th July and the fire-pit fired up for the first time:




THE END OF THIS BLOG


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It seems that SOME people are getting overly frustrated, that they are not getting enough attention, or perhaps nookie, and thus, rather than looking in the mirror for an actual reason,
are instead pointing fingers at others to blame. It leads to greater frustration and we've
witnessed it's growth.

Breathe in......and out. Repeat. Relax.

The fault lies not within the stars, but within......yourself. Repeat.

Improve thyself, rather than trying to change others.
The only person you can change, is yourself.
And no, I am not trying to change you. I can't.

However, if you get yourself in the best shape; physically, emotionally, and financially,
you are more likely to have success.
If you are less than prepared for success, you are more destined to fail.
If you want success, you should prepare for success and not destroy
your chances for success.

Here's to your past successes, your future ones, and happiness.

Last month, my brother went to Sicily on vacation. He's been to Italy a few times and this was his first trip to the island. He mailed out a bunch of post cards to relatives and expected it would take weeks for the mail to arrive. He was right.
Responses from cousins were all positive. Many were interested as he's continuing his genealogy quest finding 6 or 7 generations of family back to the 'old country'.
One of our cousins he's in touch with lived in New York City, retired a few years ago and recently moved to Ossining. I didn't know that name and my brother said it's where Sing Sing prison is.

Sing Sing said I... and he said "Don't you remember all those black & white mobster movies when someone was sent up the river? They went to Sing Sing Correctional Facility in Ossining"

As we were talking, I called up a map on the computer and see Ossining is a village in Westchester County, New York. It's on the Hudson River about 30 miles north of NYC, just along the train tracks.

I get it... so when they said "They sent him up the river" they were referring to Sing Sing!


I did a blog not long ago about a website called Yelp! where people could review business. Typically, it's restaurants and the review allowed for comments and a 1 to 5 star rating.
As funny as it seems, Sing Sing is on Yelp!
People actually reviewed the prison and made comments...

4 stars
"Amazing place, good food and comfy beds just watch your back in the shower"

1 star
"Not crazy about this new-fangled "industrial" decor. I guess people will go for just about anything. And talk about minimalism! You'd think the view of the water must be spectacular but not one window in my room, I mean really...
I guess there must have been some kind of tattoo convention in town, going by the other guests. Bunch of control freaks run this place. Manager was busting my chops just because I had my light on late at night. I can understand electricity bills and all, but really? If I could give zero stars I would."

2 stars
"The perfect way to turn-off from the world. No phones or WiFi - allows to fully unwind..."

5 stars
"The view here is much nicer than that Rikers place. Would stay here again!"

4 stars
"Not a bad place to stay. Was under the impression the room had a balcony and was disappointed to find out it didn’t. They don’t change the sheets too often and the staff is a bit unfriendly and not too concerned with guest’s needs. Having said that, it’s free so I can’t complain."

5 stars
"Great place a real microcosm of everything New York represents multiple ethnic and national groups from all walks of life living in close proximity to one another food and rooms are a little on the small side but I ain’t complaining and besides legally speaking the staff aren’t actually required by law to feed us"

1 star
"WHY do prisons INSIST on you getting job training or your GED??? You're a FELON, you'll NEVER get a decent paying job with a felony record-even after 30 years out of prison!! (I speak from experience) Maybe THAT'S why the U.$ has the world's highest recidivism rate!!!!"

5 stars
"Can't wait to get back inside"

5 stars
"Free roof, food, and healthcare. Better treatment than the people in Manhattan receive."


Hey folks, it's a prison and not a motel. Sheesh!

And if he pushes in anyway, don't let him make himself at home!

How old would you be, if you didn't know the day you were born? Some people are born old and some would never be old if the calendar (ok, and the mirror) didn't tell them so. They think they are supposed to let the old man in. Nope. He's a state of mind, and he's horrible.

I just listened to Clint Eastwood singing a song with the blog title, because it was his response when asked how he could be starting filming the following week when he was 88, how did he keep going? 'I don't let the old man in'. Like most C&W it's a bit mournful so I haven't included it but the quote above is from the lyrics.

I can't remember when I last did a cartwheel and I'm pretty damned sure I really can't. But just because now when you party like a rockstar it takes a few days to recover doesn't mean you never party again, right? Don't let the old bugger spoil everything that makes life sweet.

For a while CS was a haven for those who escaped the dreary world to laugh, gossip, squabble and flirt. Then we let the old man in. (No, I am not pointing a finger at anyone in particular. I am saying we let in bigotry and offensiveness and let them hold the floor, existing members as much as new ones have let the old man in)

TODAY - don't let him in. And if that feels good, tomorrow too.

Being a bitter woman, does that automatically make you right about everything? I will admit, I did do a little bit of city driving by changing into the left lane while a vehicle was still behind me in that lane but as I put my blinker on and started moving over, the lady behind me started to speed up and that did not stop me from moving over. It ended with both of us beeping our horns at each other (she beeped first...for the record). I think that is the first time I honked my horn while actually driving and moving in a car...done it a couple times if people fell asleep at the stop light.

I have one more story about bitterness...but I will not bore you.

but, I've been known to misplace things... for years.
The proof is moving and digging through parts of my house that I haven't been through in a while. Tools, old technology is mostly what I've found.
I'm still looking for an electronic artist's touch tablet that connects to a computer. I found the box and the wireless mouse, but not the tablet.

No joke, he is writing actual programs from code.

I ate dirt and ran around with my hand down my pants when I was 10

Looks like everyone was busy in blogland today. Issues, issues, let me get you some tissues...
I got a late start on my trip to Miami. We stopped for sushi and were in cleanup mode when I decided to do some lawn work. It rained everyday for the last 10 days and the grass was getting high. Temperatures peaking at 100 degrees this afternoon and as the sun started to go down I switched gears and got out the gas edger.
It's pretty old. I bought it 2nd hand probably 10 years ago. Some of the hoses were leaking and the bubble used to prime the carburetor split the last time I used it. Tape wasn't enough to stop the leak so it didn't want to start it this time. Then the pull cord snapped. It's not worth repairing. I pulled out an electric trimmer with a metal blade and it was doing fine until smoke started coming from the motor. Oops... looks like a goner. I got out the string trimmer aka weed whacker and went until it was too dark to work.

We're back at the condo with the a/c running... cool

Tomorrow is another day and hopefully, we will actually start painting.

I say 'dropping out' for lots of things. 98% of my phone usage is via cellphone mostly to other people using cellphones and there are times where their audio doesn't come through clearly and I'll say "Your audio is dropping out, please repeat"

If I received all the necessary information from a meeting to achieve my goal and the conversation turns to BS, I'll politely thank the person (or people) and announce I'm dropping out to deal with something and excuse myself.

I've been dropping out of my blog participation. There is so much to do at home. My wife and I are spending weekends 45 miles away in Miami doing renovation projects that keeps us busy 2 days a week.

In previous blogs about drones and model helicopters, I found myself dropping out of drones for lack of time. Helicopters were my first love and I get more enjoyment spending an hour a week practicing. They are fully aerobatic, capable of performing loops, rolls and inverted flight. The only problem with that hobby is a loss of radio signal, mechanical failure or pilot error (often called dumb thumb movement) and a model will be dropping out of the sky!

Thanks for reading my blog...

Well not sure if I want call living and working, Working without pay. Pay once a month via my parents. I really got start making my books or I feel like time I spent with them makes no sense anymore. I have work on making fabric prints that other thing I trying work on its for Spoon flower. I have image in my head for summer. Hopefully it makes sense other people...

there are some digital ones I want make but I don't know if I can make it. Due to time I must spend on it take some time to work on it.

I humored my dad he could tell anyone makes offers on phone for buying property for 3 million to get back those a**hole near us for selling their houses 1.5 million close by. but that just humoring I don't want the money I could make possible...with books if I have the time comic part that going take find where heck my art supplies went to. I need inspiration and find means to keep illusion alive.

Manga work so hard when you have draw yourself in comic form how sucky.

Being resident California when I said I hate it should say I should appreciate it value, it taught me be very frugal, and live knowing it could be very worst....Pelosi could dub herself queen wait she already did that long time ago when she became politician. She just want get rid of Trump and make official.