Spring clean up leads to a bigger front porch project

| April 21, 2012

I was planning to tackle our decaying concrete front porch myself, but after purchasing the thin pavers and contemplating the preparation masonry work, I opted instead to hire a skilled mason to at least repair the brick trim. Of course after getting into it I’m finding badly rusting iron railings and more than just weakened […]

Home chores and a swim on a quite evening

| July 27, 2011

After an evening mowing the backyard grass on Tuesday night, a cooling dip in the pool was in order. The 90 degree water was a bit warm, but still felt refreshing. Besides cooling off, I “launched” (chuckle, chuckle) our hard dinghy we call Trinka and “moored” it in the pool. It is out of place, […]

First cold weekend of the year here in Cincinnati

| November 7, 2010

While behind on my autumn chores, I was shocked to see my gutters iced over when cleaning them out on Saturday. I didn’t realized that the temperature dropped so much and was actually shocked to see 21 degrees this morning. No wonder the furnace is running so much already! Palm Pre smartphone video posted to […]

To repair or to replace, that is the question

| September 26, 2010

After digging into the dry rot that has plagued our garage utility door for a number of years, it was determined that although the steel door was still good (as was much of the surrounding frame), that repairing the frame was out of the question. So I as my demolition ergs took over … I […]

Working on home projects and watching football

| September 19, 2010

The last weekend of summer was a little muscle taxing as Brenda and I worked around the house on a few overdue yard and home projects. Along with the yard work, we also pick up a few new perennial plants that were marked down as well as a new tree.  This year’s tree is a […]

Time to open the pool and enjoy a fire on the back porch

| April 20, 2010

It was a pleasant spring evening on the back porch after opening the pool on Monday. We are a bit late this year in getting the cover off and I expected to see some pretty grungy water … but was pleasantly surprised; I think it’s the best it has ever looked after pulling the cover […]

Digitally reminiscing with Google Maps and Streetview

| February 21, 2010

After reading an article by Kathleen Hughes in this weekend’s WSJ, I just couldn’t help myself in reminiscing about where I grew up … they were wonderful memories for me – I couldn’t have asked for a better childhood. Nevertheless, noting the comment about digitally visiting home, I “re-experienced” memories from my childhood taking the […]

Spending the day with Mom and Dad

| January 3, 2010

Mom and Dad 01/02/10 — Palm Pre We’ve had a couple of nice family gatherings over Christmas and New Years this holiday season, so why not include two of the most important people in my life … Mom and Dad. It was a great to be together with them and enjoying time reminiscing — I […]

Busy getting ready for Graduation

| May 29, 2008

My son graduates high school on Saturday so we are busy prepping for open house and family. The raccoon is gone, one “dead” smelly baby has been dug out of the insulation in the garage and another was treed last night by Tootsie (probably will try and reenter the house again? All in all I […]

Happy Mother’s Day Brenda

| May 11, 2008

This might seem odd, but a new Royal Star Magnolia (Stellata Magnolia) is a gift that made my wife happy on Mother’s Day — photo and post from Palm Treo. (EDIT: tweaked post Sunday afternoon) Happy Mother’s Day Brenda … and to all mothers reading this. (in fact I think I’ll give ‘my’ mother a […]

Home Improvements: Landscaping and Blacktop

| April 28, 2008

My back is sore and my muscles ach as this past weekend was spent working in the yard … well really in just part of the yard. I’ve been reworking the landscaping as the ‘new porch’ is slowly coming together — this past weekend was the small pond and opening up the pool. (too many […]

It is cold outside, duh …

| February 4, 2007

Colder weather has settled around much of the mid-west this past week as were in the single digits in and around Cincinnati. Thankfully we are only dealing with what is expected — winter, other are not as fortunate; my heart goes out to those dealing with the severe storms, the destruction and deaths in central […]

Bad Larry: Flexible Auger Bit for electrical work

| November 11, 2006

I picked up a home improvement tip from “This Old House” that might come in handy for those needing to get a wire into a room without damaging plaster or wallboard — using “Bad Larry” as Alan the electrician and Host Kevin O’Connor call it. “Bad Larry” is a flexible drill bit, a screw tipped […]

Desultory thinking: Storm Drainage Solution

| July 9, 2006

I’ve been battling a storm water problem since we built our house and every year tweak my existing water routing plan contemplating new ways to deal with it. I spotted a “This Old House” video clip that offered a solution … a few more dollars than I want to spend, but I appreciated the engineering […]

Desultory - des-uhl-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee

  1. lacking in consistency, constancy, or visible order, disconnected; fitful: desultory conversation.
  2. digressing from or unconnected with the main subject; random: a desultory remark.
My Desultory Blog