Ray Schelp

Catching up ...

noreply@blogger.com (Ray Schelp) — Mon, 11 May 2009 15:57:00 +0000

You ever bought one of those "impulse items" ? Something for the yard ... something for the house ? You tell yourself ... this would look great in \fill in blank\ .. I can throw this together in no time, when I get home I'll just get a couple tools ... etc ... etc ... etc. It invariably ends up being, yet another, SAR item (i.e. Some Assembly Required).

Two years ago I bought just such an item - a John Deere martin house and pole and plastic pole holder (suitable for planting in cement in a post-hole). I remember thinking how quickly I could knock this project out .. and how, of course, it is early spring .. and martins would help keep the bug population down .. and, ah, the lovely evenings out on the porch, sippin a beer, and no mosquito's ... all because I had the foresight to purchase/install the wonderful John Deere martin house.

What I really bought was a 'boat anchor'. This thing has been on my 'list' for two years now - eternally weighing on me and bringing me down. Always in the back of my mind ... "got to get to that ... won't take long ... won't take much" - and never getting around to it. Guess I should have bought a bunch of 'round toits' BEFORE I bought the DARN thing - and adding, yet another, project to my 'bottomless' list.

Well. I finally got the bird house installed and put up. Took time out of building a chicken coop (another impulse buy .. the dozen chickens have got to live somewhere - you know?) ... and completed, what had become, a two year project.

You know: dig the two foot hole, drive to Home Depot & get cement, get gravel from corner of yard, put in bottom of hole, find something to measure 3/4 gallons of water, take off faucet frost cover & re-hook up hose (from being unhooked all winter), get water, mix with cement in wheelbarrow, put plastic pole holder in hole, shovel cement around it, wrestle with pole to get it in plastic holder, try to level it all around, wait to see if it is staying put, pray pole is still standing straight up in morning (and not leaning permanently in dried cement). Whew !!

Now that the easy project is done .. it's on to the hard stuff !!

Tony Bennett at Midland Theater

noreply@blogger.com (Ray Schelp) — Sun, 03 May 2009 13:04:00 +0000

Just when I think I getting too old ... saw Tony Bennett last night at Midland theater, in Power and Light District of downtown Kansas City. Here's a man that's eighty years young, still has the the'chops' - never missed a beat the whole evening. Talk about an engaging guy with energy, and love for what he's doing - even after sixty years of doing it.

He does this in such an effortless way - truly amazing and totally enjoyable to watch. For an hour and half, he had the audience in the palm of his hand, as he ran through his portfolio of hits - all of them classics - mixed with stories of how he got started, things that occurred during his career - and giving tribute to his backup band, all of them 'A' list musicians, who've played with all the greats. The guys a master of entertainment and an inspiration.

What an evening!

I'm getting too old for this .....

noreply@blogger.com (Ray Schelp) — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 00:37:00 +0000

It's Sunday night - I've been going flat out all weekend - now I'm really pooped. And to think, I don't have any kids living at home .. otherwise I'd be totally destroyed now.

Ever noticed how a lot of chores and projects always appear easier, during the planning phase, but invariably take on a life of their own, growing steadily larger, multiplying steps and scope, when going through the "doing-it" phase.

And, a lot of this weekends duties fall under the heading of "normal chores". I made up a "to-do" list ... was that a mistake. I just jotted down the obvious tasks .. just the ones that rolled off the top of my head. About thirty something items into it ... I just had to stop .. I could feel that I was racing towards 'grid-lock' - that phase where the amount of work so overwhelms you, that it's impossible to start any of them.

Hey! Tomorrow is Monday and the start of a new work week. I enjoy my work - it's always been pleasurable, so I look forward to the start of every work week - especially after a full weekend like this one.