The Good, The Bad and the Cuddly

Upon opening my email last week I came across a request for another blog.  My first written request. On one hand I felt bad having not done a post in a while.  On the other, it was nice to see that people (or at least persons) had missed my work.  I wanted to make a least one post a month on this blog; hopefully more, but at least one. Looking back my last post was at the end of April. It boils down to me missing one month.  All in all that's not too bad...  literally and figuratively I guess.

Seeing as how so many people told me to have a great day today, and since I've nothing pressing on my table at this moment (more on this later), I've decided to sit down at the computer and fill this blank space with something.  Not completely sure how much or exactly what yet.  I've got the rest of the day to find out.  Therefore, in celebration of adding yet another 365, in my astounding run of over 14,600 consecutive days existing, I'm going to spend the next few hours talking to myself...  I'll try to communicate the highlights of happenings since my last posting.

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The Good, The Bad...

"Perspective on the Links": (good)

Time spent in pursuit of small white spherical objects has been curtailed by a large degree the past few months.  I've not gone so far as to give up the game, so instead I've focused on the quality surrounding the outings I do take.  Early this spring I purchased for $50 a summer play card supporting a local high school golf team.  The card allows the holder to play 8 golf courses in the area 4 times each for anywhere between $10-$20.  This includes a couple of nice private courses that are usually not playable unless invited by a member.  One side effect of reduced playtime has obviously been a reduction in the quality of my play.  I did have 2 outings that were noteworthy.   

A couple of weeks ago I joined three of my usual playing partners in 18 holes on a Sunday afternoon at Haile Plantation here in Gainesville.  Haile Plantation is a private course that used to be semi-private some 8 or so years ago.  I hadn't played it very frequently in recent years because of this.  The course is always in immaculate condition (for a smaller private club) so I was really looking forward to playing.  Nothing  improves my enjoyment of golf more than a well maintained course with nice smooth greens.  Anyway, I didn't play too bad.  Starting off with a bogey, then a missed birdie putt, a couple of pars, bogey or two.. throw in a birdie.. couple of pars.  You know, just playing and enjoying the company. 

Haile Plantation # 10

It was extremely hot, reaching around 98 if I recall correctly.  Although at the time if you'd asked any of us we would probably guesstimate close to 118.  Anyone that's spent anytime in the south during the summer understands the type of heat I'm trying to describe.  You know the kind where you walk out to your car to get something and by the time you get half way to your destination your skin starts to feel slimy.  By the time you've opened your car door your clothes are starting to stick to your skin.  By the time you are back at your front door it feels like you've taken a bath in vegetable oil.   The wind was trying to blow, I just think the air laughed at it's pathetic attempt.  An attempt of me trying to reposition my house on its lot would be more successful.  As per our usual, we were playing 2  man teams.  We usually award a point for lowest score and lowest team total per hole.  My team won the first 9 (we sometimes switch teams and play 2, 9 hole matches) and we were in a heated battle on the back nine.  I was playing with Sam.  He's a character that could fill an entire post, but for this post the only information that needs to be disclosed is that Sam isn't the best golfer in regard to skill, sometimes in regard to etiquette as well, but he's a nice guy and generally fun to play golf with.  Today wasn't one of his better days.  The heat was dominating him and his game had given up the battle back on the front 9. I'd been playing playing pretty good, hitting some bad shots but making great recoveries.  Those in the industry would say I was scrambling my a** off.  After a par on the 15th hole and upon arriving on the 16th hole my team was up 3 points.  I was sitting at 1 over par for the round.  Something that surprised me when told since I definitely didn't feel as if I was playing at that score.  

Number 16 is a short 280 yd par 4.   There is out of bounds that lines the right side of the fairway and the green is protected by a very large and deep bunker on the front left.  Of course the only smart play is to take a 3 wood or a 4 iron and hit a little drive out there short of the bunker, hit a wedge into the green and try to make a birdie or a 2 putt par.  Of course Sam, having been unable to help the team much with his play, tries to impart some practical wisdom he's learned in his 70+ years on the earth:  "You can drive this green."  he says.  I didn't need a whole lot of convincing, I knew what I needed to do but it was like watching a movie.  I'd lost control of cognitive thought.  My instant gratification gland had been stimulated and there was no turning back.  I proceeded to step up with my driver and take a mighty lash.  A full extension and acceptable balance allowed me to hold my pose on my follow through.  Thus giving me a perfect vantage point to watch my ball sail wide right out of bounds.  Immediately my sane brain resumed control of my body.  It was as if a dog had been caught in the kitchen, in front of a ripped open bag of garbage.  Immediate gratification hadn't taken the time to weigh the consequences, it just seemed like such a good idea, so fun!  I was left to clean up the mess and luckily ended up with a bogey.   17 is a 440 yd par 4 and I started it with my best drive of the day.  It left me with a 5 iron to the green which I proceeded to flare to the right ending up in a water hazard.  A bad pitch and a couple bad putts later left me with a double bogey 6.  Sam had flared his second into a hazard as well, but was on dry ground, from there he hit a shot onto the back of the green and proceeded to sink a 40+ foot putt for par.  With that miracle putt we tied for low score but lost for total so we approached 18 with a 1 point lead.  Again a long par 4, again with a very acceptable drive leaving a 5 iron to the green.   Again with a flare to the right into an impassable waste area, and again with a double bogey.  Quickly I had gone from 1 over par and winning our match to shooting a 6 over 78 and losing our match by a point.  I went home feeling a little dejected. Still enjoying the chance to play but with a damper on the day.  

Arriving home to find an empty house I plopped down in the wonderful air conditioning (as well chronicled here our air conditioner is more suited for the Smithsonian than an occupied dwelling, but on a day like today any air conditioning is wonderful).   I turned on the TV to find the conclusion of the St. Jude Classic.  All I had to do was watch Robert Garrigus arrive at 18 with a 3 lead shot for his first tournament win, only to triple bogey the last hole and lose in a playoff.  After reflecting for a while I decided that my collapse wasn't too bad...

The other round of note happened just yesterday.  Being as how things aren't real busy right now (as I'll touch on later) we decided to play a round up a Lake City Country Club with our play cards (another nicely maintained course).  The foursome consisted of the same people with except for one replacement.  Larry, a teacher on summer vacation, Sam (retired) and Todd, who is very flexible with his hours.  Such a foursome  allowed a weekday tee time is quite a luxury.  Again Sam was my partner as is often the case (not to be a braggart but I am the best player in my usual group and Sam is typically the worst so we team up a lot). We were playing low score only and not low team total. I started out well finding myself 1 under par after 3 holes.  The final 6 holes of the front 9 was a struggle with me completing them at 4 over par  for a total of 3 over 39.  Our team was winning and we were having fun, my game just wasn't there.  

The back nine started to see a revival of sorts. Hole 10 is a monster dogleg par 4 requiring a well placed driver to the corner which has water in play.  I hit a beautiful 3 wood right to the corner within 10 yards of the water leaving a long uphill shot to a severely sloped green.   I hit a very solid 5 wood to the back right of the green, leaving myself a 40-50' putt with around 6 feet of break.  Unbelievably  I rolled the putt dead in the center of the cup for a birdie on the number 1 handicap hole.  I followed that up with 3 straight pars, 2 of which were the result of fantastic recovery shots, and a pitch within 3 inches. Then came the sinking of a 6 foot birdie putt on 14.  On 15, a long uphill par 3, I hit a great 5 wood to 4 feet and proceeded to drain the putt.  16 is a par 5 and saw me miss a 5 foot birdie putt.  On 17, another par 3, I missed just to the left of the green.  The other team had yet to win a point for the day.. Todd put his shot 3 feet from the pin, Sam was laying 3 and just on the green.  It looked like we were going to let them sneak a point away from us.  I dashed those hopes with hole out for birdie.  I went to 18 knowing I had a pretty good round going, but I make it a point to not keep track of my score while playing.  I'm not sure if it's my tendency to punish myself, or just luck of the draw, but I pulled my drive left into a fairway bunker.  I had no shot at the green being in the sand and having a huge tree overhang in front of me.  I punched the ball up the fairway, left a pitch shot short of the green, executed a mediocre chip and luckily made a decent putt to finish with a bogey.  After the round Larry added up the scores and I realized I'd shot a 33 (3 under) on the back 9 giving me a total of 39-33 even par 72.  The first 9 was blah, but it sure felt good to put up a 33 on the back.   A 32 would have been better though.  Oh, we lost a point on the last hole so we ended up winning 7-1.  I guess I can live with those results.

"Off the Grid": (good and bad)

Off the grid... It sounds almost comical to be sitting here on a computer, writing a blog, talking about going off the grid.   But in todays technologically driven, "connected" society we've taken a few steps to at least occupy a few less squares of the grid.  Our first step was to sever our unhealthy relationship with the cable company (well at least reduce it, we still have broadband.)   In an attempt to lower our monthly consumption costs a bit we decided to revisit days of old and return to over the air delivered television.  Thoughts on the idea took me back to growing up with the selection of three pretty clear channels (ABC, NBC, PBS) and one snowy channel (CBS).  I did some good research online, picked what I thought to be a suitable antenna that didn't look too bad and had a decent price / performance ratio.  When the package arrived I went about the installation.  Things started to look good. Not nearly the eyesore I'd secretly feared.  I ran the wires and took the opportunity to run network wire between the office and living room.  When I turned on the TV I was pleasantly surprised.  Things sure have come a long way.  I was greeted with 9 channels all in amazingly clear high definition (better then what we got with cable).  We are luckily enough to have an XBOX 360 (one of the fruits acquired during the boom) with a Netflix subscription.  So we replaced our huge cable bill with 8.95/month subscription that allows us to stream thousands of movies, documentaries and television shows over the XBOX.  I seriously haven't missed all those cable channels at all, and I've never sat down and had the thought that there was nothing to watch.  My feelings may change come football season.  But then again these days you can stream ESPN over the internet and watch more sporting events.  All in all I'm glad we made the switch.  We are currently working on revoking the phone companies privileged of taking our money each month.

Speaking of "off the grid".  It reminds me of a subject that I've wanted to talk about on these pages for some while.  Some may remember a time when I had a poll on this page.  I constantly bugged people about voting in the poll asking what people wanted to hear about.  Well, there was a winner in the poll and that subject has never been touched on since.  I've tried a couple of times, but I just couldn't think of a good angle in which to relay the story.  The winner of the poll was Dog-sledding.  You might not see the tie in yet, but it's there.

Around February of 2008 Linda, Taylor (in utero) and I took a trip to visit relatives in Minnesota. During our trip we were invited by friends of the family to take a ride in their dog sled.  Harry and Mary Lambrith are quite possibly the quintessential example of living off the grid, and enjoying the heck out of it.  It's extremely hard to accurately describe them to those unacquainted.  Start by saying they are two of the nicest, most genuine people you could ever meet.  Or at least as I've ever met. I'd assume the rules of life still apply to them.  There are still issues which cause turbulence and I'm sure there are disagreements to be resolved.  With that in mind, they seem so content in the life they have chosen.  It's a life that many would be unable to endure.  Their  sustenance is provided by being fishing guides in the boundary waters canoe area.  Of course that is a summer time operation. In the winter they fully immerse themselves in their truest of loves;  Dog sledding.  They have a small house in the woods.  The first thing you notice upon arrival are the dogs out in the back. Sled dogs are a notoriously vocal breed (at least in my experience), and they wasted no time in celebrating our arrival.  We went inside to visit for a short bit and get ready to go.  I noticed there was no television to be found, no indoor plumbing, no modern appliances.  Their walls are bookshelves filled with hours and hours of stimulating entertainment. We sat and chatted for a while as they collected some extra outdoor wear for us to use.  While they may not have many gadgets laying around the house, they are extremely well equipped for their hobby of choice.  

Mary, Harry and Linda

 After suiting up and protecting ourselves from the cold we went out to meet the dogs.  Fortunately for us, the weather wasn't all that cold.  A sentiment in which  Harry and Mary would strongly disagree.  They would be ecstatic if winter were to last until May.  We cavorted with the dogs while they selected the group to run.  As hard as it may seem to an outsider, Harry and Mary easily rambled off the names of all the dogs, gave brief descriptions of personality and bloodlines.  You could tell that every single dog was hoping to be selected to go.  One can't help but feel bad for those left behind, but it eases you mind to know that they all get plenty of chances to run.  They are without a doubt front and center in the life of their owners.  Unfortunately I was without a video camera so I didn't get any footage of our trip, but I did take a few pictures I will share later.  The power possessed by the dogs was astounding.  When Harry gave the command to go faster it would jerk your head back. 

Getting the team ready to go

After our runs we retired into the house for more conversation and a feastly spread of lunch.  I was quietly amazed at the food on the table and to see Mary working all this magic in a small kitchen with no running water and a wood cook stove.  The most I remembered of Mary growing up was every Christmas we would receive a loaf of marbled cinnamon bread and a hand drawn card.  That bread was a very special treat and looking back it was all the more amazing thinking that Mary (and perhaps Harry helped, I'm not sure) had baked all these loaves of bread in such unconventional fashion.  Unconventional for our times anyway.  After finishing our food and visiting it was time to go.  They were kind enough to give us a book for Taylor "The Hound from the Pound".  There should be no surprise on the subject.  I left almost jealous of their lifestyle.  I hold no delusions that the lifestyle was easy, but I've never seen people with less want.  I've tried to take some of the lessons learned to heart.

Here are some more pictures from the adventure.  Sled Dog Pictures

"On the Work Front": (mostly bad)

One common question these days is "How is work?"  Seemingly an innocuous inquiry that more recently has taken on a more serious tone.  Obviously things have been slow in regard to work since the housing market started to resemble an amusement park ride.  While things had slowed considerably I'd yet to start a morning with nothing to do in the drawing department.  Well, my string ended on Monday.  Technically I wasn't out of work, just out of things to do.  The previous week I'd finished a house and a couple of small jobs and I  had one job where I was waiting for feedback from the customer.  Other then that, the outlook was bleak.  On Tuesday I picked up a small job, detached garage/workshop with stairs and attic storage above.  There are currently two fairly large jobs on the horizon.  One residence on the larger side and a large addition / house remodel.  I'm hopeful to receive the go ahead to start either of those jobs within the next week.  So, as bleak as this week has been there seems to be some brightness on the horizon.  It's too early to tell if that brightness is opportunity or a freight train ready to obliterate my way of life.  With such thoughts in mind I've started to think of advertising opportunities and/or other methods of producing income.  If my stay in the housing industry were to end I'm not sure exactly what I would venture into.  One of my larger fears is that I'm not trained for anything else. I've worked in a room by myself almost exclusively for the past 14 years and I'm not sure what else I'm qualified to do.  

It almost seems as if I'm destined to follow the footprints of Dad.  He lost his business sometime before I was 4 years old and had to partake in many difficult and poorly rewarded activities in order to provide for his family.  From logging, to gutting fish, to operating heavy equipment for the county until his body could handle no more.  He finally was retrained to be a CAD operator.  The job from which he retired.  I'm not going to follow fate without putting up a fight.  Some how I hope to exploit some amount of talent to remain doing something both creative and profitable.

...and the Cuddly

Last but not least there is the cuddly.  I couldn't with good conscience put information about Taylor in the bad section, but there is some bad news in regard to her.  Not of her fault, more of her fathers and mothers (she isn't going to get away scot free.)  We have both been terrible these past two months in obtaining pictures and or video of our little girl.  She seems to be changing much more slowly.  Well, at least in outward appearance.  Her personality is certainly growing fast, and changes on the drop of a dime.  Her vocabulary is expanding at a rapid pace, although she often still doesn't string more then two words together.  Her hugs and kisses are also getting more special. It used to be when you asked for a hug she would just lean into you and let you hug her.  Now she often wraps her arms around you hugs back. 

Taylor has started to make friends with the cats.  They are still leery of her intentions and sometimes don't understand when Taylor decides get close.  I think the turning point came when Taylor gained interest in feeding them treats.  The confusion in Cocoa's eyes was evident.  On one hand every fiber in his body wanted to run and hide, but treats were the trump card.  One thing that is still a bit disconcerting to them is her new found joy of mothering all her toys.  She likes to put everything down for a nap and give them a pacifier.  Dolls, stuff animals, cats...

Really we have just been living life like I'm sure everyone reading this has.  One unforeseen hurdle we didn't expect has been Taylor's reaction to playing in water this summer.  As was chronicled on these pages last summer Taylor really seemed to enjoy playing in the pool.  Of course part of that contentment may have stemmed from the fact that she was unable to get up and step out of the pool.  When the weather warmed enough this spring I pulled out the pool and filled it up one hot afternoon.  Excitement filled the air as Taylor came home.  I put on her bathing suit and took her out fully expecting her to jump right into the water and play.  Nothing of the sort happened.  She would walk around the pool and reach her hand into the water for her toys, but anytime we tried to pick her up and put her in the water she would react as if we were dipping her feet into hot lava.  This has been going on all summer.  Finally I stopped putting water in the pool for her.  I never put it away so it's be sitting out on the back patio.  The pool turned into something I had to empty all the time after it rained, but it had all but ceased to be a source of enjoyment for her.  Well, that all changed a couple of days ago.  On Wednesdays I watch Taylor alone as Linda attends a class.  As per usual these past few weeks, Wednesday afternoon was greeted with a torrential downpour.  I took Taylor out on the patio and she started to show interest in the pool which had 3-4 inches of rain water in it.  Well, the interest grew to the point that Taylor stepped in.  Fully dressed in shorts and a shirt she was wading around until *slip*  down she went on her back.  I thought this was the end and tears started to flow.  I picked her up and took her shorts and shirt off, leaving her only with a diaper.  To my surprise, after setting her back down she climbed right back into the pool.  I decided to run with it and just took her diaper off.  So there I was standing in a kiddie pool with a naked baby running around, splashing, laying on her back and stomach. Just generally having a great time.  Of course that all ended when it was time to go inside and get ready for bed.  Tears were aplenty.  The following night she wanted to play in the pool again, but unfortunately there was no time.  She made us well aware of her displeasure.   I'm looking forward to the next time we can get her out there.

Taylor warms up to the splash park

Keeping in the same vein,  Linda has taken Taylor to the splash park up in Alachua a couple of times.  Again, the same as the pool, she was very hesitant at first to play in the water.  Eventually she warmed up and enjoyed herself.  Of the few pictures we have of Taylor the past two months, those taken by Linda at the splash park are the best.  So, I've included a few of them in with this posting.  

The only other notable event that comes to mind is Taylors first haircut.  Her hair had started to get very scraggly and really needed to be cleaned up but Linda was a bit nervous.  So the two of them headed across the street to grandma-stand-in Patty's house for some encouragement and assistance.  It turned out pretty good although it made her look much older in my opinion.  Well, that about covers the memorable events of the past couple of months.  Nothing as interesting as I'd like to talk about, but it is what it is.   I've already talked to Linda about our need to take some more pictures and video.  I really want to capture some of her personality and talking on camera to share.  I'll promise to do just that.

Taylor's first haircut.

Here are a few of the pictures taken of Taylor over the past two months.  Nothing really great, but it at least you'll be able to see what changes have occurred.   Taylor Pictures.