Just another pretty morning

It's fun to sit and watch the birds come and go from Julie's feeder while the sun rises.

These two vying for my attention!

Chloe and Zoe shuffle around at my feet trying to make sure they get themselves in prime head rub positions.

It’s nice to know I have the worst one out there!

And somehow still love it, haha.

Here's my view.  If you're buying a Jeep then complaining about comfort, wind noise, and fuel economy, you should question why you bought it in the first place.  Their reliability scores are valid.  But there's two points I'd make there.  First, you gotta be able to do some of the work yourself.  There's no way it makes sense otherwise, since yer gonna break stuff!  Second, There are compromises made in design to give them the capability we all want.  I have to say, I'd be pretty unhappy if I had a new one and found that it starved itself of fuel, wouldn't engage the lockers, etc.  

My advise, by the previous generation, learn it, keep it running, and enjoy the experience.  You'll spend half the money, and still enjoy it.  I find my JK to be a good balance of capability, comfort, and reliability and I push mine to the max on daily driving, towing, and off-roading.  I do spend a lot of time in tinkering, preventative maintenance, and fixing what I break or wear out.

Zoe thinks this might be the worst thing I’ve ever done to her…

…And if you know her history, that's saying a lot.  What's my big offense? Trying to trim her nails.  She refuses to cooperate, so we've gone to THIS… It actually works pretty well.  I managed to bring her from overgrown down to properly trimmed over a few days last week.  She tolerated usually about 16 out of 18 pretty well, but always had a couple that she wanted to complain about.

I figured I will work this into her weekly routine, and if I keep at it and she realizes it isn't killing her, that we might reach an accord…? Stay tuned 🤪

My watch collection is getting out of hand on one of my memory shelves

You've seen a couple other versions of this in the past, but at the same time, it seems like an update was overdue.  I like the watches I have from my grandparents, in-laws etc. They've shaped my love and use of timepieces over the years.  They also bring back many fond memories of spending time with who wore them.  And as a child it was fun to play with the watches too and try to figure them out.  I am missing my Dad's watch since Andy inherited that one. Also missing is my first watch, but I know I have it around here somewhere.  But some of the others shown here give the same look and feel so stand in as replacements.  

Then of course, the right half of the pic gets into some of the modern smart watch era.  I really like all the capabilities they provide, but feel like they are lacking at the same time.  They're kind of cold and impersonal.  Apple watch is the king of capability and integration, but stinks at battery life (a day or two at best).  Garmin is a surprising contender for functionality and integration and is king of battery life (measured in multiple weeks), and the face customization make it a little warmer and personal.  In the middle you have the Casio G-Shock line.  The digital one is their attempt at a smart watch, fitness monitor, and has just enough functionality and toughness to stay in the mix. The one with hands is the ultimate in durable, capable, and mostly analog, but with the bare miminum of smart features.  However, it's my favorite in looks, feel, and personality.  

So who knows what one or two you might see me wearing at any given point in time… Mostly just playing around with what they can do and using them to keep myself organized and fit.

On the water’s edge…

I got this cool sunset pic of my Jeep on the edge of Lake Barton after the rain. It might be one the favorites of my Jeep ;)

Another fun printing project of Julie’s

She made these cool ring gear fidget toys.  I keep picking them up and spinning them.  

There is a price to pay…

…for shooting short rifles left handed.  The casings were constantly pelting me in the face.  In fact, the open hands were what was hitting me most of the time, hahahaha. Luckily, it wiped off and only stung a little each time 🤪

Johnny and his friends brought fun toys!

John's friend from college has gotten in to shooting.  They brought over these nice specimens since they knew I would have a "blast" shooting them!  The Q Honey Badger in .300 blackout WITH a suppressor was REALLY fun!  It was cool to hear the rounds hitting the berm!

And we can't forget to mention his pretty Canik!  It was super cool looking and super easy to shoot too. Fun times with the boys!

Horn “install” hahahaha.

I just laid it in there.  We will see how it does… I think it would prefer to be oriented so the drill was vertical… But it's working so far.

The pond is FULL:)

With all the melting snow and rain, the ponds at a nice level.  Andy and I worked to plug some of the leaks it had, and they seem to be slow enough that it's holding at a reasonable level throughout the year.  Such a pretty day too!

Julie’s printing projects!

She successfully printed an auger project for John's friend Ivan.  Ivan sent us this pic of it assembled. It's also fun to see John's wedding band making a cameo! 

Cincinnati and Skyline

The Cyclones were having Skyline Chili night this weekend.  Julie bought Andy and I a souvenir jersey for Christmas and they just showed up this weekend.  It's a fun do-marketing thing they do.  They actually changed their mascot and team name for the weekend, haha.

Lake Barton in full swing!

We had a LOT of rain in a short period the night before.  Andy, can you fix my drain?! 🤪

Tornado?!

It dawned on me that we had helmets that would come in handy if one actually hit.  A week or so ago we had a warning right in our neighborhood, so down to the basement we went.  I look a lot like Andy in this pic too!