Sunset Update

If you live to the eve of your 90th birthday, you get 32,872 opportunities to watch the sun set. Each time you miss the chance to enjoy the splender of the setting sun, it's an opportunity you'll never get back. Each sunset is somewhat unique and varies to a degree from one evening to the next.
It's been my experience that a sunset is best experienced in person.

Should I run across other pertinent sunset information, I'll post it here on Old and Ridiculous.

Howard & His Chisels

In a highly unusual development, this is the second "Old and Ridiculous" post in one day: An unparalleled feat as far as the author can recall. The purpose of this post is for the father of a good friend of mine. Miss Maggie Mae (of Rolla, Missouri fame) has plans to bring her "Maw & Paw" down for a cabin visit next month. Maggie's Maw gave her Paw a very nice set of brand new Marple wood chisels for Christmas and he's dying to set himself to work with them. The cabin will be a good place for Howard to do some long overdue chisel work. My life long friend is a woodman extraordinaire and one of the few folks I know who's ever worn out a Stihl AND Husqvarna chain saw...in the same day! (Ok, that's a little bit of an exaggeration to say in the same day, but he did wear the snot out of those darn high quality saws and he did it in just a couple of years or so.)

Although Howard doesn't make his living in the wood industry (not technically), he does have a fine appreciation for wood, whether he's sitting in it, sawing, splitting, burning, carving or just looking at it. For the record, his hot little wife, Kerri (of Dixon Missouri fame) is also an admirer of that fine renewable resource. She's perfectly content, however, allowing her adoring husband to do the woodworking while she curls up in front of the wood stove with a good book and appropriate beverage.

With all that in mind, my plan is to have the barn ready for Howard and his chisels when he and his girls visit County Barry next month. As legend has it, when Howard goes to work with his chisels, it's best to "...just git outta the way and let 'im finish!".

Thanks for tuning in and I'll try to keep you posted....

Sunsetting Barn

At the risk of you thinking I have some kind of weird thing about my barn, here's another picture of it. I took this shot a few weeks ago at sunset. Timing is a factor in nearly everything and taking a decent barn picture is no different. Don't wait up for this picture to show up in a future barn book or an actual world class barn blog: it's not of that quality. Regarding how it might stack up against one of "Almost Uncle Tom's" pictures of his personal barn, I have no idea. So far I haven't run across of picture of his. But once I hit the "post" button on my Mac-top, I'm guessing it won't be long before Aunt Dee finds one and forwards it on her phone. If she does, I'll post it on a future blog. In the meantime, you'll have to make due with this one.
I'll keep you posted on other personal barn related advancements...

Book-House

This is a book-house. Some folks have been known to put one in front of their house and slip their used books inside for passers-by to borrow, exchange, or I suppose, take if they so desire. It seems like a pretty cool thing to do if you reside in a neighborhood or residential district. I wonder if it would work for cupcakes or hamburgers?

In any event, if Mom sees this darn thing, I wonder how long it will take her to ask Dad to make one. According to Mom, building a little product like this probably wouldn't be any big deal and likely wouldn't take Dad more than 15 or 20 minutes to throw together: 30 minutes tops.
In the meantime, I'll try to remember to keep you posted on any and all book-house developments. (We'll see if this goes anywhere.)

December Barn Update

I realize Christmas is over and you're likely returning gifts instead of buying them. If you're married to one of those guys who's difficult to buy for, consider getting him a barn next year for Christmas or for his upcoming birthday. It's my belief that every man should have at least one barn in his lifetime.

If you're a gal who appreciates a good barn and need a place to keep stuff you don't really need, then maybe you too should have your own barn. If you're married to a generous spouse, maybe they'd be willing to let you hang out in their barn from time to time. There would also be nothing wrong with his 'n' her barns as far as I'm concerned.

I've written about barns a few times in the past and several folks have even written books about them. Should you choose, you can find numerous internet sites with pictures of these cool rural structures. But be prepared: there are some awfully nice ones out there and more than one man has gone astray as a result of coveting his neighbor's barn.

I don't recall where I came across this picture, but it's a good one. If my old friend "Nickademus" saw this barn, he'd probably exclaim something like, "Dang-that's a dandy!": and he'd be correct!

As I come across other barn and shed related information, I'll try to keep you posted....

New Sleep Study

Few things in life are as satisfying as a good nights sleep. I'm no TV doctor, but I'm officially recommending you consider doing whatever it takes to sleep well at night. For your convenience, I've listed a few ideas to get you started:

~Get yourself a pillow(s) that feels like it was custom made for you.

~Procure the most comfortable sheets known to man.

~Procure the most comfortable quilt or cover(s) known to man.

~Install a device for background noise. (A small fan works nicely.)

~Take a sleep-aid that works for you e.g. over-the-counter generic, doctor prescribed, shot of Wild Turkey...whatever it takes.

~If the person sleeping next to you snores like a Pratt & Whitney, make sure you are fast asleep BEFORE they are.

~Don't make the mistake of watching television as a means of lulling yourself to sleep. If you do, you'll likely be lulled into believing whatever it is your watching as you're falling asleep.

~If you live in Chicago under the "L", consider moving to the country where there are no overhead trains.

~If you live in the country, but have no door on your house, get a door. If you can't find a door, try an old sheet of plywood.

~If you live in a trailer that was manufactured prior to 1961, try sleeping under it instead of in it.

~If you're addicted to Sonic, don't eat more than 1 footlong chile-cheese dog after 9 p.m.

~If you don't have enough room to stretch out because your dog sleeps on your bed, consider getting your spouse their own bed.

These are just a few things to consider regarding a good nights sleep. Again, I'm not a TV doctor: not technically.

 

Organic and Free Range Venison

It's a beautiful morning in the Ozark hills of Missouri for bow hunting deer. I'm not-but a couple of young friends of mine are: George and Charlie. I know through text messages that both guys have already seen a few deer this morning. (7:15 a.m. central.) George saw 7 turkeys late yesterday afternoon. I'm sitting in the kitchen at the house drinking coffee while they're both sitting in separate trees on our cabin property in Southwest, Missouri. A great morning to be outside!

I took this picture last Fall. George is hunting in the upper left of this "photo" about 50 yards outside camera shot on top of this hill. Last year on this exact weekend he bow shot a real nice 8 pointer in that same spot. It was fine eating after George's near perfect shot! If the wind's blowing in the right direction today, maybe we'll soon be enjoying more of that fine 100% organic/free range venison. "You cain't go no better!"