Strabismus surgery

I just got home from eye surgery.  I've always had a

'lazy eye' (..the left eye...) and today, they fixed it.

They actually adjusted both eyes.  Kinda weird.  They

did most of the procedure while I was under, but they

woke me up to do the final adjustments.  Not very

painful at all but a little discomfort.  My eyes look like

hell though...the blood should be gone in a week or

two.  My face is a bit swollen as well (as should be

expected..).  Below is the picture I just took, about

2 or 3 hours after being under the knife.....

Happy Halloween!

Until next time....



Finished Deck....

Around 5 pm yesterday, in the blazing hot sun, I put the

finishing touches on the new deck.  I added the lattice below,

finished screwing down all the deck boards, and attached

a access panel for underneath storage on the deck.

Lessons learned:

1.  You never have enough decking screws...always buy twice as

much as you think you need.

2.  Don't build a deck during the summer....it's way too damn hot.

3.  Screw the budget....it never falls with in it.

After 3-4 days working in the hot sun, I did finish the project.

I woke up today to nice, cool 65 degree weather....perfect for

working outdoors....D'OH!

Until next time.....



September Vacation

September vacation....

Two days into my time off, I decided to rebuild

our deck.  Below is the before picture....

I removed all the old decking boards.  Then I replaced them with

new ones and put up a rail.  Then I added new stairs that were

relocated.  I'm still not done...I'm going to add lattice below

the deck tomorrow morning.

Up next:  recently we took in a neighborhood

cat who was pregeant.  Long story short:  she

had the babies.  The below pictures were

taken on the new deck.

You need a cat.

Until next time......

Vacation part 2

A few more various images from our time

off......click to enlarge.

The Train museum in downtown

Wilmington.....definately not worth $8...

 Not a very good picture but a full moon

over Carolina Beach....

Today....overcast day but a nice at the beach

 Some old dirty Hobo's at the Train Museum

 A Sloth skeleton at the Cape Fear Museum

Until next time................

Vacation part 1

We are actually taking some time off. No real

plans, just relax and do...whatever. Below are

some pics of whatever....

I actually pass this place every time I go to

Charleston (not a vacation destination...), I don't

know if it offends me or amuses me....both I guess..

Ever wonder what's at the top of the giant

dude at South of the Border? Well, it isnt a

working phone.......

...just this view.... We scoured South of the Border for something, anything worth buying.....I found this....score!

We then hit 501 and took the 'Deliverence' route to

Myrtle Beach. The place is so different now from

when I used to go...but then again, that was roughly

20 years ago. I always wanted to take the helicopter

ride...so we did. $20 it ain't, don't let the billboards

fool you. We opted for the 'Garden City' route...

south of Myrtle Beach over the coast. Below are

some pictures...click to enlarge.....

Video below

Until next time....

May 24th....

Burn, Outer Banks, Burn!

I smell a riot goin' on!....

Okay.....I woke up in OBX to nice conditions.

Around noonish, I went to the Kill Devil Hills

store and by the time I left the store, the

'smoke' had rolled in. Apparantly, some

swamp or something is on fire west of the

Outer Banks and the wind is pushing the

smoke onto the island. Below are some pictures

I took...

Approaching Roanoke Island...

The picture below is somewhat editted.

You can see where the smoke is rising from

the distance..the source of all the bad

conditions......

________________________

I am at home now. Good to be home, if only

for about 12 hours......

Back to Chucktown tomorrow.....

Until next time......

May 23rd

Day 2.....went to Virginia Beach to Norfolk and

then onto the Outer Banks. Below are the pictures

I took......

This sign is about 3 blocks from the

Virginia Beach Oceanfront....

Leaving Virginia, I took the old 'historic

Albemarle Highway'.....$2.99 Watermelons!

Off the Albemarle Highway, lies a beast

known as...GRAAAAAVE DIGGER!

...more monster trucks....

...then, onto the Outer Banks. This is the bridge

that takes you directly into Kitty Hawk...

.....tomorrow, I'm coming home.

Until next time.....

May 22nd

I'm on a swing thru Virginia and the Outer

Banks. There's really not a lot to see on 95

North....virtually nothing. I started to see

a few things of interest when I was looking

for gas in Williamsburg. The pics are not

that good but, again, they were done while

driving. Up first:

This is a tunnel on the Colonial Parkway..

...and yes, my windshield is cracked.

It happened about the time I sent the last

payment off. Next, is the sign at the

entrance to the Parkway....

Tomorrow, it's Virginia Beach area and then, hopefully, onto Kitty Hawk....I made reservations tonite, so with a bit of luck, I'll make it by 6 pm... Until next time.....

May 13th

Just got back from another road trip.

This time, I hit Florence, SC, Amelia Island,

Florida, St. Simon Island, Georgia, Hilton Head,

SC and back home (Wilmington, NC) all in about

39 hours. Below are a few pictures I took

when I could.....click to enlarge...

_________________________________

At an intersection near the Florida/Georgia border

South of the Border, SC (day break)

Approaching the bridge to St Simons Island

_________________________________

Two reasons South Carolina rocks harder

than your state.....

1. Hot Dog Buffets.....

2. Big Al's Lawn Service....Old Skool prices...

_____________________________ The prior mentioned deck in our backyard...

with roof completed.....

Ol' dirty butt Thomas.....

....until next time.....

May 5th

This past weekend, I actually had Saturday

off. The building bug bit me and I decided

to put a roof on our free standing deck in

the backyard. Below are some pictures of

the progress.......

On Sunday, I worked a half day and came

home to finish the project. I did finish it but

I failed to take pictures.....I get 'em up soon

enough.......

Next are pictures I've taken while I've

been driving in Virginia. I've been in Wlliamsburg

down to Norfolk and only a few pictures were worth

putting up.....maybe even these aren't that good

BUT it's something....click to enlarge ANOTHER traffic jam in Norfolk (Downtown tunnel) Getting ready to enter aniother tunnel....

....until next time....