Thursday, June 25, 2015 - Yard Pruning

We had one crepe myrtle that had grown so big it dominated the landscaping near the front door.  A couple of years ago we tried to cut it down, but there was enough left to grow back with a vengeance.

Our friend and neighbor, Jan, recommended a guy that had just done some work for her (Juan Pedaza at Tree Experts, 770-905-2011).  He and I walked around the yard discussing what could be done.  He finally just said he would send over a crew for the whole day and we would see how far they could get.  

Four guys showed up early with a big chipper behind an empty truck. They had no problem chipping up branches we had been pruning for several days before and Joani kept them busy cutting more.  A lot more!  When the truck was full, they emptied it and we filled it half full again.

Joani took the opportunity to get rid of about 25 holly bushes that had grown so large they crowded the walkway and were overpowering the landscaping.  After about six hours of pruning, they fired up the stump grinder.  It made quick work of reducing the stumps to wood chips.

Over the next several weeks we continued to tame the shrubbery transforming the front yard.  It should have better "curb appeal" when we finally get it on the market.  I wish I would have taken a "before" shot for comparison, but I will just say, you can see a lot more of the house now.

Tuesday, June 23, 2015 - Steps get a lift

Twenty-two years and a chipmunk infestation had taken its toll on the poorly supported front steps and planters.  This was definitely not a do-it-yourself project, so we called in the big guns.

Chipmunks (the bane of Sam's existence) built an extensive nest under the steps (not supported by the foundation) and sidewalk causing them to sink 3 inches.

Anglin's Foundation & Masonry Repairs sent five guys that spent the whole day installing piers to support the footings. Once in place, they were able to hydraulically lift things back into place, at least, that was the plan.

Lots of quiet discussion over the progress told me things were not working as planned.  They found they could not lift the stairs without cracking the footing.  A third pier was needed which meant cutting a hole in the walkway.

With three piers they were able to lift everything back into place. Unfortunately, they lifted the middle a little too high leaving the steps with a slight, but noticeable crown - oh, well - they said it was the best they could do.

I was pretty disappointed when they finished, but I certainly could appreciate that they had done all they could.  A few weeks later, after everything was cured and pressure washed I have to admit it was quite an improvement over the tired, broken, sagging steps of a few weeks before.

I'm happy with the results as long as we can figure out how to disguise the ugly patch in the middle of the sidewalk.

Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Sam was wondering why his house was not moving anymore!  He found his old spot in the sun where he could look out the front door and watch the traffic.

This is where Sam would sit every evening and watch for David's return from work.

Ahh!  Life is good.

Saturday, June 13, 2015 - Bill Whittle

We both enjoy the well written and well-reasoned internet posts by Bill Whittle.  We found he would be visiting Marietta and the tickets were priced right (free).  We had worked on the house and yard enough to deserve a break, so off we went.  He appeared shorter than I expected but his lecture did not disappoint.  I wish I could remember one-tenth of his talk!  It would be nice if he would run for office or maybe, better still, if politicians would listen to him to shape their policies.

Bill Whittle is my hero.

After the talk, we had no choice but to stop at the Marietta Diner (since we were in the neighborhood).  Now that's good eatin'!

Monday, June 8, 2015

Moving day again,  We made the 191 miles (75,074.9 total) to the old hometown with no issues.  It was early enough to cope with the unpleasant task of finding storage for the coach on short notice (since the place we had reserved months in advance canceled on us the day before we were to arrive).  They decided they were going to expand their building leaving us no place to park.  Joani found a place not too much farther from the house but at three times the rental rate.  It took some ponderous rationalization to just go ahead and park.  Then we found out they wanted an additional $30/mo for electricity - we said no thanks and started looking for something else when they relented and said we could have the space without the electrical surcharge.

The next surprise was how narrow the spaces were.  With the coach centered there was not more than 6 inches to either line - certainly not enough to open any basement doors.  After another call to the office, they said to choose any space we wanted.  We opted for a space with nothing on either side of us and after the extra hour of dealing with parking, we were finally headed back to the house.

Wow!  It was easy to see Georgia is no longer in a drought!  With all of the rain over the last 2+ years, the yard had exploded with growth.  We will need to make 20 years of growth look fresh and new to prepare the house to sell.  I'm tired already.

Sunday, June 7, 2015

At this point, we were pretty much just ready to get back to our house in GA and get started on the inevitable.  Lots of purging, cleaning and maintenance.  It was too far for my spoiled self to drive in one shot and we had the chance to check out another of the Escapee parks (Raccoon Valley) in Heiskell, Tennessee.  That made the day's drive just 330 miles (74,850.9 total).

Since the plan was to leave in the morning, we chose to just dry camp for the night.  There was no site available, so we put the jacks down on the most level patch of ground we could find just off of the campground roadway.  I think a lot of folks made this their semi-permanent home judging by all of the cars leaving really early in the morning (presumably headed for work).  This park was not one we will ever need to visit again. 

Saturday, June 6, 2015 - National Museum US Air Force, Dayton, OH

We finally made it to Dayton to visit the National Museum of the United States Air Force.  The place was huge!  Our plan was to spend most of the day here, but we quickly found it would not allow us to adequately explore everything (yet another great site that will be on our "revisit someday" list).

I really like the nose art found on WWII planes.

I'm standing in front of a Maverick laser guided air to ground missile. It's possible I worked on the seeker in this unit during my time at Rockwell.

After visiting the Titan II ICBM missile facilities out west, I have more of an appreciation for the relative size of nuclear warheads.  The two atomic bombs dropped during WWII were drastically different, but both yielded the equivalent of roughly 20,000 pounds of TNT.  Each Titan missile warhead yielded 9,000,000 pounds of TNT - let's pray they will never be used!

"Miss Behavin' " was on the nose of a British Tornado.  I think the plane was a little clunky or maybe even ugly, but I appreciated their efforts with the artwork.

The nose-on aspect of the SR-71 is one of my favorites, but am I the only one who is reminded of a duck? 

While most aircraft, and especially jet aircraft, look pretty fast, I think the F-16 looks like the Lamborghini of the jet world.  If I had the chance to fly in anything, I think this would be my choice!

We were pretty well tuckered out, but the Boonshaft Discovery Center was on the way home, so we made a quick stop.  It was another kid-oriented museum, so we were able to breeze through most of the displays without collapsing. 

Friday, June 5, 2015

We had a busy day ahead, which was a little unusual considering we knew nothing about Greenville, OH before it became a convenient stopping point to visit Dayton, OH.  We started with the KitchenAid Experience.  It was large, considering it only carried KitchenAid appliances.  I actually found it to be pretty interesting.  There was a cooking section where they presumably demonstrated how to best use all of the kitchen gadgets.

Downstairs, there was a mini-museum with KitchenAid appliances through the years.  The gold plated, one-millionth stand mixer was on display.  At the factory tour, we learned they are now nearing their three millionth mixer.

I could not see much difference between the mixer from the 1940's and Joani's current mixer.  I guess they figure "why mess with perfection?"

Apparently, they have somewhere in the neighborhood of 74 different color options available.  White was still the biggest seller, followed by the gray (they had a fancy name that I have forgotten, but it was just gray to me).

Downtown had a very nice feel and a lot of interesting architecture that kept us busy until the factory tour.

There was enough time before the factory tour for lunch, so we tried a true mid-west treat - the loose meat sandwich.  I had no idea I would be confronted by the totally gross "gum-wall" on the way inside.  It was a good thing the sandwich was so tasty!

Maid-Rite is iconic, but for me, the attraction is the price (the sandwich is so-so).  Either way, the line was long and the phone orders were pouring in.

I couldn't believe the gum wall didn't make David turn and run (he almost did).  What a trooper.

Cameras were not allowed on the factory tour and the outside just looked like a big factory, so there were no inside pictures to commemorate our visit.

Afterward, we headed to Bear's Mill.  It was on the National Register of Historic Places and was certainly worth the visit.  It was very picture worthy and we were allowed to just explore all four floors of the working mill on our own.  It was not evident in the pictures, but the cottonwood trees had exploded and the white fluff floating on the breeze sometimes made it look like it was snowing.

We headed back to the coach to rescue Sam from his boredom and maybe take an afternoon siesta.  We were no longer acclimated to the heat and humidity and it was taking a toll on our stamina.  It was the first Friday of the month, which meant street music in downtown Greenville, OH.  We could have practically walked from the fairgrounds, but it had not cooled enough for that kind of foolishness.  We drove and had no problem with close parking - I love it when a city is so accommodating! 

The sign said "Darke Co. Model Railroad Club, Welcome," and pointed to the little door next to the Rethlake Dance Studio.  Once upstairs, I saw quite an impressive layout.  I wish I knew how many total feet of track they had.  I can only say I do not believe I have seen more in a single location.  They told me it takes 10 guys to really manage all of the trains and routes when everything is in operation (I was told that there are, unfortunately, only eight members in the club.)  There was another room in the back with the entire layout schematic on one wall with lights representing switch positions and train locations.  Clearly, these guys were having fun with their hobby.