Work and than more work.....

Easter Jeep Safari went off with very few problems. Other than a couple of minor violations it seemed that the party sceen has found a different location to spend Easter.

Easter Sunday was spent first in Church (now 9:00!) than for a 4 hour "jaunt" to Fillmore to see a puppy, a very expensive puppy. We managed to spend a little time with close family before making another 1.5 hour drive to Orem to spend the night at my parents house.

The above picture is what happens when you buy 450' of chainlink, (42) top posts, (36) line posts, (13) corner posts, (56) 80lb bags of concrete, (3) walk gates, (1) 10 foot drive gate, some other doohickies and doodads used in construction of a chainlink fence, then toss on a big flatbed trailer, throw on a wheelbarrow to get the job done than drive 240 miles back home. That was a long day. No room on the trailer for the mancave lumber, maybe next time.

Note the nearly completed Blazer sitting idle in the background.

I contacted a local tractor owner and hope to have the lot plowed and ready next weekend for the contruction of the silver woven kid trap.

After getting done with my ?days off? I went back to work and headed into Hammond Canyon for an overnight surveying trip.

I am not a cowboy, the horses know it. For some reason horses see me and develop an attitude. Maybe it's the prospect of packing around a 250lb Ogre, maybe it's because my feet drag on the ground, whatever the reason, horses don't like me. We spent two days laying down the survey marks for an old homestead. Hammond canyon is full of archeology and consequently more work for me.

Progress on the Blazer

Today I got the ignition wired, the guages wired, the light swich ready, just have a couple of things to button up like the winshield wipers and my new stereo; and the wiring will be done. I am trying to get the Blazer out soon so that I can focus on more important things like the man cave and airplanes.

I am trying to get my chores done, or create more chores depending on how you look at it. The tractor is coming soon to plow the lot hopefully this weekend I will be getting a couple loads of dirt on so that I can get to work on installing the fence.

Spring is on in San Juan County. Half of the county is out looking for antlers, the other half are hunting either turkeys or Bears, some of the multi-talented ones manage to look for antlers while hunting bears and turkeys.

Amy is getting excited about the new dog she is getting next month. Another girl in the house, as if I wasn't outnumbered as it was. She wants me to name the dog but I am sure she will carry the veto vote if she doesn't approve of one eyed bart, bevis, or any other fun name.

Man Project Status: stagnant

Last Sunday I was out working and took this picture. This is at the edge of my patrol area looking west. This weekend my parents made the trip to Monticello and my dad and I got some of the projects done around the house in yard, they aren't Man-projects (clean the floor in the garage, dig a post hole and cement the clothesline pole, build a shelf in the pantry, and haul a load of junk to the dump). The blazer project is barely creeping along. My lack of motivation is the biggest obstacle.

Blazer still in the garage.

The Blazer is still in the garage, the suburban is still in the driveway. Until the Blazer is rewired, I am not going to start any of the pending projects.




The yard:

We bought the lot behind us, it will need to recieve dirt this spring to level out. We will be buying a fence soon after the leveling project to corral the kids. I will be moving the playset from the grass to a soon to be designated spot on the back lot.

The Airplane:

I want to build an ultralight airplane, cause I think it would be fun to build and I would like to fly. I have decided that I want to build the Legal eagle XL.

The man cave:

Still planning, I will be framing as soon as the Blazer moves outside.

Hopefully I will get some time this week to finish wiring.

Pending project: The Man Cave. Up next after wiring the blazer I will be framing my version of the Man Cave. For those of you that "ask what is a Man Cave?" or "why do you need a Man Cave?" Here are your answers in reverse order:

I live with 4 daughters and my wonderful wife, my house is full of all kinds of girlness, I am looking for a place where I can be close to my family but in my own space.

I haven't quite decided what my version will be. I know that I want to have a woodburning stove, thick soundproof walls, and that the colors won't include anything that sounds like bottany beige, yellow lotus, windmill wings, or posy pink. Not that there is anything wrong with those colors, just not in my cave.

The only casualty from building the cave besides the money is that the girls will no longer have 1500sf of basement to ride their bicycles, jump on the mini trampoline, or throw balls in the wintertime, I will be limiting them to about 800sf.

Current project: Rewire the blazer. There is a little bit of history in this truck. My parents worked hard when I was growing up, they didn't have a whole lot and when they did make purchases it had to be something that they thought about long and hard. My dad always wanted a 4 wheel drive and he bought this 1980 chevrolet blazer in 1985. When I was 10 I learned how to drive while deer hunting in this truck and in my grandpa's green 1974 pickup. He loved this truck and sold it to my uncle Brad when he bought his black 1990 suburban. Uncle Brad parked the Blazer in front of his house from 1992 until 2006 when he got engaged and the future wife said to get rid of it. Brad really loves his wife and I really loved the old blazer so I tried my mom's patience and my dad and I moved the truck into my parents garage where it sat while my Dad and I worked on it during our lunch brakes for a long time. We took the 427(big motor) out of my grandpa's truck, bought some heavy duty axles off of KSL.com classified for $300, replaced the floorboards, and put on some $400 military hummer tires that I bought off of Ebay. Finally after a long cold winter and making my mom scrape her windows (thanks mom) we finished the project in 9 months. On Sunday during Memorial day in 2008, against her better judgement, I talked my smart wife into going on a drive in the foothills with our three little girls. Long story short the truck caught fire when electricity and broken fuel line met. Since then I have been nervous about fires with the old wiring that had been rigged and re-rigged many times. Last summer I bought a new "EZ wiring harness" off of Ebay for $150 and have been in the process of removing all of the old wires, removing the interior, and rewiring for the last 6 months. In all I have probably worked on the truck for less than 30 hours but haven't done it consistantly. My wife is getting a little impatient with having to scrape windows on the Suburban (my work truck and the minivan get 2 of the 3 spots in the garage) and would love for me to move the blazer back outside where it belongs. Hopefully the weather will warm up and I can finish putting the insides back inside the truck.