Weekend update-

Hey, its only Tuesday morning and you still want to know about my weekend, right? No? Well ya get it anyway! Saturday was pretty easy, really. I got to play my guitars for a few hours in the morning and I did some shop cleanup and I ground the first 3 pound bag of coffee beans into measured servings for the shop coffee bar. My buddy Loc came by for a visit and while we sat in the shade, he told me the story of his escape from Viet Nam in 1981 and his perilous journey coming to America at the tender age of 19. Its a pretty engrossing tale and I loved hearing it. Later the spouse and I headed out to see that lousy movie that I mentioned yesterday. I still don't think any more of it today!

Sunday is supposed to be a day of rest and as much as I might have wanted to rest, it didn't end up in my agenda. I mowed the yard pretty early, before the hottest day of the year so far got heated up well. Listening to the Oracle of Murray while mowing, I concluded that I had positive proof that our God is kind and benevolent. The proof is that God elected to make weeds the same color as lawn grass instead of say, making them purple. As such, I can mow and water everything in my yard and from the curb, it looks pretty good even if its not all grass growing neatly and orderly.

I wanted to brag a minute on my yard tools too. My Murray lawnmower, purchased in 1998 at a significant discount from Lowes because it was returned by a previous owner, continues to run every week with no complaint. It doesn't burn oil and except for a sorta annual oil change, the oil level never drops or needs topped up. It might be still using its original spark plug… The paper air cleaner might be original too but I do give it a blow out with the air compressor a couple times a year. My weedeater goes back even further, to the spring of 1990 and it too was purchased at a deep discount as a returned item at a local catalog store. This is a typical, 49cc two-stroke weedeater and except for occasionally tightening a couple screws that vibrate loose and the loss of the heat shield over the muffler and the routine installation of more trimmer string, I never have to tinker with this trusty device. It’s a two-stroke for crying out loud and I can't remember the last time I installed a new spark plug! Both of these yard tools are remarkable in their longevity and reliability and their perseverance in spite of my lazy maintenance practices. I hope I don't jinx them by bragging about them!

Anyway, I had a leaking secondary water line that was getting worse and leaving a muddy spot in the yard and that was bringing bees and wasps so I decided I better fix that little problem before leaving it to fail completely while we are away on vacation. Of course, the leak was up on the hill and right next to the shop's concrete slab and directly in the sun's now overbearing presence. And digging out to get to the pipes wouldn't have been much of a problem- except for the #^*&^<#@ aspen tree roots that have run out and turned at the slab and were now wrapped over, around and through the 3 pipes I was working around! I hate those blasted roots! I spent more time clearing them out than I did finding and fixing the pipe.

Before I got done though, buddy Brian showed up to show off his just purchased BMW GS1150 Adventurer motorcycle. Brian's been lusting for one of these big monsters for a couple years and he finally found one he could afford and even here in our Area Code, as he was looking at one on the East Coast and he was booking airfare to go get it when this one turned up. This bike is one of those that you could fuel up, (8 gallons!) pack up the luggage boxes, plug in the GPS and head off for Tierra del Fuego or the Northern Territories. Its way more motorcycle than I would ever want but Brian is quite enthralled with his monster bike. I must say the whirring and buzzing sounds of the interconnected, ABS brake system kicking into action every time a brake lever or pedal is pushed is pretty bizarre.

So after Brian headed out for a ride, I took the spouse out for lunch, stopped at Home Depot for the plumbing parts I couldn't find in my shop and returned to digging and cussing the roots in my muddy hole. I finished that project with a pressure check- no leaks! And filled the hole back in and raked everything flat. I even figured out that the sprinkler line that runs along that part of the yard really does work, reducing my need to move hoses and portable sprinklers around. I can't remember why I thought that system was busted but it works and that's a good thing.

Before I got to sit down for the evening I still had to grind two more 3 pound bags of coffee beans into pre-measured bags for the coffee bar at work. I've front loaded the bar so it won't run out while I'm away on vacation. And one of my grinders is busted so it took longer than usual to get 6 pounds ground up into 1.5 ounce packages.

Somewhere along in there I visited with Dad and eventually I got to head into the house, get a shower and just sit in front of the laptop until bedtime.