What We Did This Summer

My good friend Darcy and yours truly...

So yeah this is PART of the reason why I was sorta out of the loop over these last few weeks.

I swore ten years ago I'd never build another house-but horrific memories have a way of fading...over time.

I have a long photo log of all the fun we had putting this thing up. Think Cranes, Hurricanes, and Drive By Truckers and you get a small picture of all that went wrong. In the real world, the world I seem to know all too well, if it can go wrong- it will. And plenty did.

Indeed, Kevin never thought the place would get done. I kept telling him-hang on it will- but by mid July I was beginning to wonder myself.

Last weekend, to help us celebrate our good fortune, cowboys Darcy and Jeff (from Alberta country) came down to offer us their skilled furniture arranging suggestions. Jeff (not pictured) is a very organized guy. In fact he's the most organized grain farmer I know...with beef rancher Clayton over in Sask. coming in a close second. I mean these Canadians are so good at having a place for everything and yet not collecting unnecessary junk, jumping into endless foreign policy entanglements and discouraging religious right lunatics- oh how I long to know their secret to such wise living. I think it probably has to do with healthy consumption of Alberta Beef and Petroleum products but then again, what do I know?

Just as the cowboys were getting ready to hit the trail back toward Calgary, they were followed by my folks. My mother finished off where the guys left off, and once again I found myself nodding as numerous suggestions were offered that all concerned knew I would ignore just as soon as they were spoken. The word purge was mentioned on more than a few occasions.

And the word purge was ignored just as often. After all, why purge when you can splurge?

Aquarius's do not purge. We make room. That goes for every aspect of our lives. There will be a test on this.

So while stuff is still a mess, I can report there are emerging pathways that are beginning to surface throughout the house. On a clear day you can even see the living room. But you still can't really make out the couch from the boxes. That's where visualizing the final product comes in handy. I keep telling Kevin this. He keeps saying that awful purge word.

We also don't have Internet, TV, or any idea what happened to half of all those Christmas Village/Hot Wheels treasures that were in storage. Maybe, just maybe, we'll find it all by Christmas. Or not.

Oh yeah and just to keep y'all coming back for more- to celebrate HMR's ten year presence on the Internet, we'll be throwing a few give-aways over the next several weeks. Grand prize- An HMR embroidered Carhartt jacket. So start reading all them stories, familiarizing yourself with past pics on the blog, and so forth. It could score ya a hat. Or better.

We should have the first contest running by next week. I promise, it'll be a hoot.

Oh yeah and as a final note: Stonewall News is once again up and running. As is my column "Out in the Middle of Nowhere." I'll try to post the latest contribution sometime next week for those of you not so local yocals who don't live in Montana, Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Washington or British Columbia.

Until then, enjoy what remains of the summer.

Tim