Bogieblog

Learn Something New Every Day

Just a little something I just learned today. I've been doing it wrong all this time by grasping the grips like a lawn mower, which could be a contributer to the tingles I get in my hands. So, saving it here so I can remember where it is.

Early Brush Fire

Have been hearing sirens go by several times in the last 10 minutes. Went on FB and found there is a brush fire on 149 in Deering. If I were a betting person I would say t the very least Hillsboro and Antrim are there too from the sound of the sirens.

Very windy today so my gues is somebody threw a butt out the window and it caught the still brown grass at the side of the road on fire. We had rain yesterday, and are due for some tomorrow so the grownd isn't dry - but the vegetation isn't green yet so will burn quickly anyway.

Compare and Contrast

One of my small projects last week

From This

To this

I like the way it turned out!

Relaxing Sunday

Yesterday I went adventuring with a friend. I left the house at 5:30 AM as we were to walk Wildcat Falls in Merrimack and take photos shortly after sunrise. Even though it was cloudy and cool, and the sun didn't make an appearance as it was supposed to (per the weather-guessers), the hike was worth it.

Then we went and saw Captain America at a place where you sit at a table in comfortable chairs and they serve you lunch (or dinner if you are there later). They had very good burger (no bun for me) and their fries were awesome. I haven't had fries for a long time but these were obviously fresh made and not overly salted.

Then we headed out to walk the old canals in Nashua to MIne Falls. I never would haave thunk there is such an extensive walking trail system in the heart of Nahsua - NH's second largest city. By that time the sun had come out and it was starting to warm up. It ended up being a beautiful day to discover Mine Falls.

At that point I had to get back home to let Prince out, but it was a wonderful day full of fresh air, new sights, great hiking and never ending discussions. Oh, and I scored a planter box (sans the bottom) from the early morning walks - someone had left it in the middle of the trail so I carried it out (you know, leave the trails better than you found them). And, my friend had an extra weed wacker that he didn't use because it hurt his back, so I brought that home too.

Couldn't have asked for a better day!

She's Home for the Season

Picked up my bike today from storage. In Concord it was 55 and breaks of sun. In Hillsboro, not so much (45 and dark clouds). But, I had a good ride home. We have to work on backing down the driveway - it is full of potholes, lumps, bumps and valleys. But after about 5 minutes of jockeying around, I got her in the garage. I think she likes her new home - LOL

And yes, those are shiny new tires that I had to have installed to pass inspection. Had to take it a bit easy on the way home as it takes about 50 miles of riding to abrade the oils off the rubber, but it was still fun.

Walking the Dog

With warmer and sunny weather for most of the week, I have been taking Prince for a walk (but not today - cold, cloudy and windy). With the rain earlier this week and some snow meltage, the river, which is 3 short blocks away, has risen a bit. It isn't at flood stage, but still loud and impressive to behold.

Looking forward to more nice days to come!

Animals of the Wild

Saw a tom and his hens crossing the road at Deering Town Hall the other day when I was headed to a job fair.

The tom was all fanned out and there were 10-15 hens. You can only see one hen to the right of the nearest tree, but trust me, there were a bunch there. They were crossing the road as I was getting the phone out to take a picture.

I got a peanut feeder in an attemp to keep the multitude of squirrels off the birdfeeders on the back ramp. It is working as long as I keep it filled.

Since we are just now getting thawage down to the ground, there are no flowers yet. Humingbirds start appearing in April so I made sure to get a feeder out for any early migrators. I had to get a new pole to put the feeder on and chose one that I could attach to my railing so it will be close to the house - both for viewing and for a bit of protection by the roof from predator birds.

I'm loving the area I am in as there is a large variety of birds that use the trees in the backyard and the shrubs in the swampy area just to the side of my property.

Cabinetry Are Us

Several months ago I found some used kitchen cabinets, bought them, and they have been languishing in the basement in storage ever since. With the free time that I had last week I decided to put a couple of them up in the dinette. They were all white, so first I painted the sides to give a little visual effect. Hanging cabinets by yourself can be challenging, but I managed to work out a system that worked well for that particular spot.

Luckily for me, there is a bookshelf just under where I wanted to place the cabinets. Double lucky - these are anchored to the walls so made a stable platform. Add a couple of boards (came with the house) and a sturdy cardboard box, and voila:

 

I wish I had painted the faces of the cabinets too and left the just the doors white. I think it would have worked out better visually. Well, the good news is that The other two cabinets (which will go in other rooms) can be apinted before putting them up. I will have to see if I can buy canned paint that will match the color and I can get the interesting pattern. What is so special about the paint you ask?

 

I used metalic spray paint, that was left over from painting the registers in the stairs, and which I expected to give a smooth color over the white. But two coats gave more of an pattern of lights and darks - which I love. It works with the wood grains of the bookshelf and kitchen cabinets well. I don't think I can get that from brushing on paint.

Ahh well, I'll figure out something and the rest of the cabinets will benefit from my experience with those two.

More Changes to Bogies Life

So the big news for Bogie is that since life hasn't thrown me enough curve balls in the last 10 months, I apparently needed one more - I have lost my job. The Company has decided to mothball the plant as the market conditions for our product make it impossible to make money. I thought since I worked for a huge company with deep pockets, it would be safer. But somehow smaller companies are still able to get investors to keep  them afloat, while the mother company is no longer willing to invest. Which is weird since the plant has not even been open for 2 years, and we lost less money last year than we were allowed.

So, once again, for the second time in 16 months, I am hitting the pavement. I really wish I could find a position with the same parent company as I would be able to keep a decent amount of vacation time. Speaking of vacations. A long time ago I mentioned how every time I have a vacation planned (other than to see family), something comes up to keep me from taking it. Yep, had a vacation planned for July with good riding in new territory with people I have known on-line for years. That got cancelled in a hurry. Only good news was I hadn't made airline reservations yet.

The closure announcement was sudden. The decision was made late Friday, and announced on Monday. It was so fast that there wasn't any time for rumors to fly, so everyone was taken completely by surprise.

Last day of work was Tuesday (that was actually exit orientation) and by yesterday afternoon I had 4 resumes out. But these days even if they really like you, it takes at least a month to get hired since they have to do background checks, drug tests and physicals.

Dang, if this had happened before I bought the house, I would have had options (like relocating to another state and working for the same company if a position becasme available). But now my hands are tied as there is no way I could get what I had to put out for the place - all stemming from the way I financed it. The good news is that I don't have to worry about a house payment, so can survive quite a while withouth that worry.

Wouldn't want my life to be stress-free now would we?

That Feeling

 

I never get a cop follow me all the way home - after all, I (used to) travel 2 states, 3 counties and about 13 towns between home and work. But still, a sheriff has followed me a good long ways and even though I'm not doing anything wrong (well, duh, not speeding with him behind me), I get all nervous.