Thursday, August 28, 2008

A Jeudi, last one in Aout

Today, up at 3am (not on purpose, let's get real!)to watch the DNC nominate Joe Biden as Veep. So be it, he gave a nice speech underlining support for our troops at war in the wrong place and the necessity of getting back to Afghanistan to wipe out Al Queda and the Taliban once and for all. Makes for good rhetoric but we'll see won't we? Other speakers came and went and I kept feeling like, Well...where is he? Where's Obama? His wife was all over CNN's coverage but he was no where to be seen. Then there he was with Joe Biden's family and supporters on stage, all smiles and posture, made me proud to be an American at this moment in history, imagine...a black man running for President on a major political party! Hooray for all of us! Barack the Anti-Christ? Naw, just a new Senator with a following of hopefuls after the abismal performance of this White House. Our economy is a wreck, the war that was "Mission Accomplished" is still in the daily headlines and Osama Bin Laden has not been found, captured or killed so many years after Mr. Bush said we would get him. Ah, I'm sick of it, the Republicans are unhealthy for our country, war mad and incompetent at keeping their own Republican ideals. All of this EXCEPT they have handed the !@#@##! Oil Companies BILLIONS of dollars in profit without a cent of it going to ther average American. We need a Windfall Profits Tax NOW! As well as Low Cost and Available Health Care for All Americans, an education system that delivers the goods not just test results and support for our troops abroad that includes comprehensive medical support for the rest of thier lives if necessary. Enough.

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The barn door rebuild continues. Today I hung new tongue and groove "bits" to fill out the top portion of the left hand door. I had my new glue to assist, it's a Gorilla Glue Ureathane clone that does the self-same fuzzy expansion that Gorilla Glue does and oh is it ever strong and sticky. Perfect for this application as it needs to be weather-PROOF as well as very strong. The new wood I've used is a good grade of T&G but it is French Pine (Pin) and much lighter in weight than the oak and chestnut that was used in the original doors. I dipped it in a fungicide and insecticide as a precaution against both dry rot and the little beetles that eat hole in everything wood hereabouts. The prject is progressing towards completion at a steady pace, not fast but sure...I WILL get this done before we depart for California.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

A Tuesday in the Valle Noir

Pretty day, warm, puffy clouds, fighter jets from Avord Air Base east of us some 25 miles flying low-level over us every hour on the hour, always chased by another a minute later. Ce Normale. The flowers and bushes think it's spring again, new buds and opening flowers are springing up throughout the courtyard. Our feral cat group has nearly disappeared over the last two weeks, Long Tale is g-o-n-e, who knows where. The three cats that made thier appearance one day and were chased away by Long Tale are similarly disposed. What happened? I dunno but it makes for a much quieter courtyard and greater ease for Fur_Rr_Ee and the occasional No-Lean.
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I went to work on the right hand barn door this morning, triming off the parts unnecessary to the new demensions while trying to do that to the rottenest boards only. I sneezed and wheezed my way through the job for a couple of hours, sawdust and mold filled the air. Then I cut the 1 Euro olde hand wrought hinge in two with my hack saw, changing blades twice. Hard work that took an hour and half to complete. Back and forth I went, then sprayed some WD40 to keep the blade from binding, back and forth, thousands of strokes, boring but necessary. The old iron might have been cheap and rusted but it was tough and resisted my efforts very well. I'll need help in hanging this one as it is at least 50% heavier than the left hand door. R and Dave I'll ask...they'll help as they always do, I can count on them anytime. Maybe pay them with a dinner as is our custom.
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We made the cat's appointment too, on the 8th, to update thier rabies shots and get the pet passport signed and dated. I need to call United and get the reservations for them confirmed as you cannot do it online as far as I can tell from the website. Kelly got out the cat's carriers and placed them on the floor of the landing upstairs. The cats came, sniffed and now accept that they will be flying again soon.
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We decided we cannot make the trip to Paris this time on the same day that we fly back to the States. Just not enough time for the train to leave Chateauneuf Sur Cher and arrive in Paris and get a taxi to CDG by 9am...sorry, no way. International flights take so long to be processed, deal with the baggage and the security nonsense no matter where you are or where you are going, a giant pain in the arse. Damn the terrorists! I wonder if they think we admire them for all this crap we must go through...they're worse than bureaucrats! CDG is as ever a retched airport, buildings separated by distances so far that you must bus or taxi between them. Awful. I WISH that our transport arrival and departure could be made from Orly in the south of Paris, it would save us so much time in transit. Alas...
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Tomorrow I'll tackle the door project again, hopefully get close to hanging them. We'll see.