The shelves are in, the media closet is finished.

The media closet is finished. I put in the shelves so we could organize the movies, music and video games and I must say ... the closet cleans up nicely.


Before -- This closet was a mess. (Sorry, Megan accidentally deleted the photo that I shot several weeks ago.) Plus, I'm not sure you want to see it. All of our DVDs were either in two of our DVD media towers, others were stacked, along with VHS on the first shelf. We literally had columns of VHS and some DVDs stacked on the shelf almost to the ceiling. Our CDs were still in the boxes we moved them in and we just threw basically all of our entertainment media into this closet knowing that at some point this fall or summer this project would get done.

Well ... thanks to a bad back and needing to recover, this was a good project to rehab it with.

We needed 40 feet of lumber -- broken down into four, 2x4x10' long boards and picked up five, 4' long prefab shelves. Thanks to Home Depot, we got our lumber cut into five, 4-footers and 10, 2-footers. Then, because I know I'm going to need one regardless of whether we choose to do a small deck or some type of pavers for our grandiose patio project, I invested in a circular saw. It made Megan nervous, but I was able to cut the wood down to the length I needed ... 3'11" and 1'11" ... but I took an extra 1/4" off just for good measure.

Then came the fun part. Finding studs, drilling holes, screwing 2 1/2" wood screws into place to hold the boards, and then trying to slide the shelves in...often times having to unscrew the supports to get the shelves in, holding them level and then screwing the support back in...

The result?



And a wife who was impressed. I believe her words were, "Wow. That looks good. I'm surprised you were able to do that? I've never seen you do projects like this before."



I drilled holes to screw in 2x4 baseboards to support the back of some shelving.


And did the same to support the sides.

You can see the original shelf that was in this closet, in the photo on the right. I then added a new "top" shelf to house our myriad VHS and DVDs we seldom watch. The original shelf, being sturdy, nailed and set into its place over time was a great place for our box sets and TV on DVD, since those tend to be a bit more heavy.

Fence down, back hurt

The fence is down.

After complying with my watering schedule (and I'm either not home or awake when I can water) and having Megan spray down the holes and then relying on the torrential down pours from last week, the two or three remaining poles were removed...and revealed a mess, but more spacious back yard.

Then, on Friday, as I was adjusting the seat in Megan's car so I could drive it to get gas, I threw my back out. :) Yay! So, I've spent the last five days dealing with muscle spasms and a stiff lower back ... again. At least it's the first time I've had back spasms in two years.

Almost down...

Today, I spent most of the afternoon baking in the hot, 90+ degree sun while trying to take down the fence to our dog run.




I got the chain link, rebar, fasteners and three of seven poles down and/or out of the ground. Of the three poles that did come out, two came out in a very simple manner of minimal digging (thanks to the previous owners "friendly dog" (at least that's what I've decided) who must've dug to try and escape the fenced in area) and then rocking the poles back and forth -- a little trick I picked up on the 54 when I had to spend a spring taking down a barbwire fence (after my mom made me help put it up).

Anyway ...

The third pole was a cinch to remove because the soil was rather soft around it.

What I discovered is whoever put the dog-run fence in was a complete dumbass.

All of the poles were set into the ground with approximately two feet of concrete. Now, that's probably standard so that they are sturdy. The problem, though, is the soil in Wyoming, particularly in this spot of my yard where a dog obviously has been and packed it in, and the ground already feels like concrete.

The four poles I'm having trouble removing I can't seem to move because I can barely dig around them. I can barely get enough dirt with my spade and each time I dig, I feel like I'm hitting a layer of concrete. (I probably am.)

So, that said ... the initial plan was to cover the dog run and its hideous vegetation growth with a small deck. That's probably not going to happen.

What will probably happen is that I'm going to nuke the shit out of that stuff with napalm. Because Megan and I ... "love the smell of napalm in the morning. It smells like ... [sniff] victory."

I'm just kidding.

I'll probably go to a farm supply store and pick up some industrial strength weed killer. Then I'm going to fill in the holes with dirt and spread a top layer. Then I might follow it with either gravel or sand. The layers will be good because we need to raise this area anyway because as I found when the chain link came down, the yard is a tad higher than the spot formerly known as the dog run ... and I want a slight downward grade to flow water away from the house and into the alley -- just like the yard does.

Finally, I think we're either going to put in a layer of concrete or pavers.

I think this area would make for a better extension of our patio, plus we can level it off -- slightly -- so we can find a better location for our grill, as our present patio has too many sunken pavers.

A deck is going to be too much work just laying posts, too much money and completely not worth it when you factor in the pain in the ass that is digging hard ground -- whereas building a patio, especially with concrete, can be done on a frugal budget ... and we can probably get a nice chunk of change for the fence to put back into the project.

...And, until I posted these photos, I forgot how green the grass is back in this section of the yard in the early spring. But, because the fence blocks the sprinklers and we barely have any rain, the entire area looks like a wheat field right now, it's gold and overgrown in spots.

More photos

Some more photos of Wrigley..


Investigating what the camera is all about. ...Then she licked the lens after this was shot.

Wrigley...

Well, the first night wasn't a bad night with the new puppy in the house.

But night two was.

I must have fallen asleep on the couch. I was out to the world. And Megan came in about 1 a.m. to wake me up and tell me the dog was freaking out. The dog woke up about 1 a.m. and was squealing.

Then we put her back in the kennel and she just kept whining and crying. It's funny, because you won't hear a sound from her all day. But she must have been pretty lonely.

But it got unbearable and so I put the foot down... and moved her kennel to the office, shut the door and let her cry herself to sleep. I'd like her at the foot of our bed eventually, but at this stage we need to stick to our guns and get her disciplined, house trained, etc. and then she can be on the bed. Right now she needs to learn how to go to sleep independently (without her mother) and get through the night. She's still learning that.

We tired her out something fierce today so here's hoping that tonight goes well for Wrigley.

Other than that, we've had some other adventures worth highlighting.

She's finally learned to go up and down our back stairs. She sometimes wants us to carry her down, but now that we know she can do it, we don't.

She's also very playful. She likes to chase Megan and I around in the yard -- and anyone for that matter. She chased Leslie's nephew, James -- a 16-year-old visiting the states from Britain -- around in their yard tonight. She likes to play this game where she comes running at you and tries to give you a high-five as she's running at you...if you hold your hand out.

The biggest problem we have to break her of is she likes to eat her poop. I know that's very common in the Shih Tzu breed... and she knows she's not supposed to do it, too. Megan and I were watching her go and laughing about how wet it was and how it was sticking to the fur on her butt and it wasn't a matter of a few seconds before she turned around and we knew what she was doing. Megan has been yelling, "BaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaH!" at her and that seems to work, but Wrigley ran off with a big hunk of her shit in her mouth as Megan chased her. And then it got all over her face. I couldn't help but laugh. I know that's what dogs do...but I don't like it and Megan thinks it's gross.

So that meant bath time. Which we found out she hates. She was very upset at us for washing her coat. We dried her and held her to warm her up as it cooled off significantly at this point and she did nothing but shake. I'm sure we hurt her feelings but ...don't eat your poop, because then you're just going to get a bath.

Anyway, we're going to have to pick up some meat tenderizer. Apparently, if you put this on her food, it will make her poop less desirable to eat and should fix the problem.

However, we did find she likes ice cream. Maybe that's why her poop tasted good??? We stopped at Dairy Queen and got her a little baby cone and once she got her first taste she couldn't stop licking the cone. It really was funny. I know my grandparents used to do that with my mom's dog Tawny and she loved getting that as a treat. So we thought we'd try it out and see how Wrigley reacted. I think we'll save soft-serve ice cream as special treats (and the only human food), from now on.

Now, if we can get her to get used to sleeping in her kennel for the time being... I think we'll all be happier. :) On the bright side, she loves her bed. She looks forward to crawling into that during the day and just sitting.

Wrigley's home

We finally got our new dog, Wrigley. Here are some photos.


Megan's grandma holding Wrigley on the way to the airport.


Lucas holding Wrigley as his dad talks to former state Sen. Jayne Mockler and former state Sen. Rae Lynn Job.


Trevor, holding Buster, and Mia, holding Wrigley. Buster is Wrigley's brother.


Trevor holding Wrigley.


Wrigley decided to crawl up the arm of the couch. But then she couldn't get back down.


She likes laundry, too. She crawled into it and fell asleep.


Not too sure about her dog dish.


Chillin'


Buster and Wrigley getting to know each other as Lucas and Mia play with them.


Mia holding Wrigley, while her dad talks to Mockler and Job.

We're getting a dog...

After much debate, Megan and I are getting a dog. This is Wrigley, an 8-week-old Shih Tzu who will become the next addition to our family.

Now, the chewing prevention begins.

And the house training. And the behavior training in general.

It should be fun, though.

Ha!

Well, the first barbecue was a success.

We invited The Desk over with some of the regulars that hang with us from work for a "housewarming/Fourth of July" party on July 3. I felt bad because it would be nice to invite everyone over ... but we don't have the space or the money to entertain EVERYONE.

So, those from The Desk who were able to make it made it over and ... we drank. A lot. By the time everyone left, there were 27 bottles of beer in the bottle bin. Cassell had cracked open the Wild Turkey and Megan and some other girls had finished off the Cuervo Margarita out of a big bottle.

We started with about 31 bottles of beer. I know I had about 7 or 8? I was worried as to how loud we might have been? But the neighbors never complained...

Plus, we all suffer from severe cases of "Newsroom Mouth"... if the neighbors were listening in, I'm sure our language was like watching an episode of "Deadwood" except we don't have any prostitutes... :(

The best was when a few people -- at random times in the night -- would say something that most people would find mildly offensive and then apologize to Megan ... to which she replies, "I'm married to a journalist; I'm not offended..."

Anyway...it was a good time. And then, on the 4th, our couch -- that's made out of baby seals -- came into Cheyenne and we went to pick it up. And it's super soft. Almost worth clubbing all 300 of those seals to death.

Just kidding.

Yard Work 101

On Monday of this week (June 17), I mowed my lawn for the first time. It took about 30 minutes. It was a quick 30 minutes.

As the week dragged on and I got two vacation days (Thursday and tomorrow) and two days off (Friday and Saturday), I got a lot of work done. We have just minor stuff left to move...with limited room. But the house is starting to take form as we get things organized.

On Thursday, I replaced one of my lawn irritation system's sprinkler heads. It truly is more of an irritation than irrigation. On Friday night, Megan and I spent the better part of two-three hours putting together a grill...that said it would only take about 30 minutes...and it wasn't fully assembled as we had one defective wing nut that the punch operator didn't punch through and a few missing screws.

On Saturday I got to go couch shopping. :( But we decided on a couch I've nicknamed the "baby seal" couch because it's so soft it feels like you're sitting on the hides of baby seals. The saleslady about choked she was laughing so hard.

At least we had our earnest money and some housewarming gift money to put toward a love seat for our family room. We stopped off at Ashley Furniture in Cheyenne and then I had to mess with the sales lady. She was like, "Your couch will be shipped from Arcadia, W --" and I was like, "WHERE'S THAT!?" And she looked at me really weird and I was like..."I'm just joking with you. We went to college in Winona, Minn., and it's right across the river. I know Arcadia well." And she was like, "Oh!" and started laughing. Megan, of course, was like, "You're such an ass."

We also snagged up the breakfast nook high-top table at the Home Depot (God, I hate that place...I can't wait until Cheyenne gets a Menards) thanks to the generous gift card my mom and Randy sent us for a housewarming gift. We also picked up some solar landscaping lights thanks to a gift card Tom and Carol sent us for my birthday. Those will be supa fly in the yard.

Then, after coming home and dinking around the house doing some organizing, I set out to swap sprinkler heads in Station 2...only to find out that you can't swap. Then my misadventures in lawn irritation systems began. I twisted one sprinkler head back on so tight I thought I practically ripped the pipe. So, I proceeded to dig to make sure it was OK. Sure as shit, it was. But the first sprinkler head I took off, I realized was pointed wrong during my test to make sure the other sprinkler head was still working. So, I attempted to adjust this head only to find out that the wet soil and the wetness in general secured the pipe to the head...so when the head came out of the ground, so did part of the pipe. Shit! Luckily for me, it screwed back in. I'll give it another run tomorrow when it's actually my watering day to see if I got the head in the right position.

Until later...

Moving Day ... part deux

Isaac and the Mormons (that sounds like a cool name for a band) helped me move today. It was like Isaac, six guys and myself and we moved all of the big ticket items from my apartment into the house. It was awesome, because it went so fast.

I'm sure we were quite the sight, since Isaac recruited two elders who are currently on mission...so they showed up in black slacks, white shirts, ties and their elder nametags. I felt bad for the guys. But they were good sports about it and pretty funny, too.

Unfortunately, the house is in disarray and needs proper organization. I can't wait for Megan to come home from her cousin's wedding... the house needs a woman's touch...sort of.

It got hot today. About 80-some degrees. And the house finally warmed up on its own. It's been cold in the morning. And as LLB III said, "It's kind of cold in the morning when you first set foot on those hardwood floors.

But, when the digital camera comes back from Wisconsin, I plan on taking some before photos because there will be some work that has to be done.

Moving Day

So, we closed on the house on Monday, June 9 and it's Thursday and moving is going slow. We launched the redesign at work, so Monday and Tuesday were absolutely nuts for me.

On Wednesday, I took Megan down to the airport so she could go to her cousin's wedding over the weekend and I got the electronics set up. Internet came this morning, now I'm waiting for dish this afternoon.

Other than shuffling boxes and transferring residences, there's not too much to write home about in terms of repairs. I did some minor caulking this morning and I've trimmed up two trees. ...Unfortunately none of those trees are the ones that REALLY need trimming.

The one tree I trimmed on Monday was blocking access to a path that goes to the backyard through a gate. I trimmed up some limbs so that it was easier to walk through.

Today, during the internet installation, I found out which lines were which. I knew which line the electrical was -- obviously -- but I couldn't distinguish between the cable and telephone line...and I hadn't been paying too close attention upon moving in because I had other things to worry about. But all three lines weave in and out of tree branches and something needs to be done.

It was nerve-wracking and an anxious afternoon on Wednesday through our mini-hurricane. The wind speed picked up. I'm not sure how fast it was going, but it was pretty fucking fast. That's right, not only was it fast...it was fucking fast. I watched for a bit and the trees moved and the cables moved with them. I was very happy to see that the lines didn't snap -- what with only my third day in my new house?

So...I guess my options are either I fool with what I can -- cable, phone lines -- and then get an estimate to handle the electrical...or I just get an estimate for the entire cleanup and prepare to shell out $300-$500 for cutting and clean-up.

But, in the long run, $500 is small bones to head off any problems...and for $500, they might even trim all of my problem tree limbs, including the one that is almost resting on the neighbor's roof and the one in front that is almost touching my roof.

A few steps closer and waiting for closing

Now all we can do is sit back and wait for closing...

A few steps closer to being a homeowner

I haven't updated this blog in close to two years and there is too much to explain -- other than the fact that I've been very busy.

Anyway, after a promotion to sports and realizing we're both tired of paying rent, Megan and I decided to buy a home in Cheyenne to build equity and all the other reasons people buy homes.

Stay tuned, as I will be posting more photos of the house and photos of the work we plan to do this summer and beyond.

Back Spasms

I've spent the last four days recovering from back spasms...so my once exciting week, which looked hopeful on Sunday for my two days off Wednesday and today, has now turned into nothing but let's just walk around to loosen the back muscles and I'll get up every hour to walk around and hopefully I can stand without it hurting.

Well, that happened early this morning -- like after midnight. Then, after eight hours of sleep, my back tightened. Now it's starting to loosen where it doesn't hurt so much. I just want it to go away.

The moral of the story is: always stretch before you plan to work out and don't over do it.

Congratulations to South Park!!!

South Park's "Trapped in the Closet" episode was nominated for an Emmy.

Here is the ad they took out in this week's Variety Magazine.

"Trapped in the Closet" is the episode that makes fun of Scientology and has only become more famous because of the controversy Tom Cruise has made by his whining.

If Tom Cruise would just come out of the closet...

CFD is over, life is back to normal

Cheyenne Frontier Days is over. Now life can go back to normal.

The end of CFD means:
1. The population shrinks back to 53,000, instead of 106,000. While I am used to living or dealing with a bigger town (Rochester... MADISON!), it's nice to shrink back to a population that is manageable.

2. No more hordes of Cops downtown every night.

3. Less tight Wranglers, beltbuckles, boots and big cowboy hats. (Also, fewer hicks and less attitude about "maintaining the cowboy/rodeo way of life.")

Don't get me wrong. CFD is an interesting experience when in Cheyenne. It's definitely worth experiencing once in your lifetime -- but as a newcomer, jumping right into CFD was fun but now I'm ready for something a little more slow paced.

Friday's excitement

I found out that today some guy apparently jumped out of a third story window.

The guy was an escaped convict from Colorado. Somehow police learned he was somewhere in our apartment complex. (Thankfully in another building.) He walked outside, saw the sheriff's squad cars, ran back in and decided to jump out a top window.

There's nothing to break his fall.

So instead of just going to jail, he is now in jail with another charge of fleeing an officer and hopefully a broken bone of some sort.

The best part is that no one knew it was going on when he was arrested.

My first Frontier Days Rodeo, also known as "The Daddy of 'em all."

Register Cliff at sunset near Guernsey, Wyo. on July 20, 2006. Register Cliff is a spot where Mormon settlers and other pioneers etched their name in the rock to provide a record of their passing. Silly Mormons and their records (and their multiple wives).

Cheyenne Frontier Days

It's now Friday. And I've never been so glad to see a week almost over.

This week has been Frontier Days and while it is fun to see how this wild western town celebrates the "Daddy of 'em all," it has created a hectic deadline rush at work and it has made the town seem overcrowded.

I'm used to overcrowding...but... it's just much more relaxing to go at a slower pace.

Now that's a metamorphesis. I've been here for almost a month and I've already assimilated into wanting the easygoing pace that the locals are notorious for.

Weird.