Happy Birthday

Today is my oldest daughter Maria's 30th birthday.   After her daughter was born, we were going through a box that said "Maria's Mementos" and came across many things.  There were cards from baby showers, letters and cards after her birth, her first shoes, and these from the hospital.

The hospital where she was born no longer exists, we've long since sold the house where we took her home and virtually everything else from that time has been trashed, given away or recycled.  

But we still had the card and the wristbands from that day, one of the best days of my life (and there have been many). 

Requim for a Tree

Earlier this week, a storm in Northern California blew down a tree in Calaveras Big Trees State Park.  (Drive-Through Tree Felled by Winter Storm)  In 2009, we took a vacation to the Sierra Nevada's and happened to stay at Angel's Camp. 

One of the days, we visited Calaveras Big Trees State Park, and found the famous Drive-Through Tree.  Although you could not drive through the tree anymore, just standing inside the tree was pretty impressive. 

Although cutting a hole through the tree probably hastened it's demise, I don't judge those who did it.  Death is just another part of the cycle of life.  The remains of the tree will decompose and become nutrients to the next generation of Sequoias.  

Gifts from Travels.

In some families, it is a tradition to buy gifts for those left at home when on business trips, particularly children.  I know that when my father would travel away on conferences, he would bring small gifts back from places he visited.

I recall when I was young, my father brought this sign back from New Orleans.  I don't believe I was a big fan of pirates at the time, but I thought it was cool and had it in my room while I was growing up. 

A few years ago, I stumbled across this gift again.  Coincidentally, the owner of the company I currently work for was into pirates, so I brought it in and put it on his office door.  He has since passed away, but Pirate Alley is still used to test products he was involved with. 

I don't think my father would mind. 

Back to School

Long ago, I left home for college.  It was 700+ miles away, and I had a car, so my Mom and I got in the car and started driving.  We drove for awhile and stopped the night at a motel somewhere along the way.  I do remember that instead of going with me all the way to Blacksburg, she flew back to Milwaukee from Charleston, WV, about 100 miles short. 

I made the remaining portion of the trip without incident, and at some point during my freshman year, my family visited to see how I was doing.  And as part of that visit, my mother bought me the laundry bag that you see on the left.   If you look very closely, you can see the remnants of Virginia Tech on the bag.  Apparently mothers can look at their son's dorm rooms and quickly identify something they need. 

The drawstring doesn't work very well anymore, but the bag is still sturdy and still holding dirty laundry upon occasion, mostly when we are traveling. 

William Walters - 1932-2013

My father passed away on September 8th, 2013.  He was a wise and generous man.  Here are some of the things he taught me.

• It’s all just Physics. 
• Treat your wife special. 
•  Eat Supper with your family.
•  Toys can be found in empty barrels.
•  Don’t be afraid to create the tool you need.
• Boys need dens. 
• If it’s not Physics, it must be theology.
•  Be bold.  You can always paint over it.
• Just because you saw the wrong end off, doesn’t mean you can’t use it somewhere else.
• Don’t shy away from something because it’s complicated.
•  There’s no shame in going back to a job you love. 
• Money doesn’t grow on trees…
• However, don’t be afraid to spend money on important things.
• Take time to rest.
•  Spend good time with Family.
•  Pay attention.
•  Give thanks for your daily bread.
•  Old sleds are better.
• Try to win, but don’t let losing bother you.
• It’s all relative. 
• Music doesn’t need words.

This was supposed to be published on September 9th, but apparently there was an issue between the keyboard and the chair. 

Favorite Pictures: Daughters on Sea Lion Statue

In 2003, we traveled down to Arcata, California for summer vacation.  We spent much of the time driving along the coast in Oregon and Northern California.  Along the way, we stopped at Sea Lion Caves in Florence, Oregon.  We saw this statue, Stellar Sea Lion Family, and decided we needed to have a family picture as well.  

Check off another box on the Man List.

This is a carburetor.  Specifically, the carburetor on a 5 hp Briggs and Stratton engine on a wood chipper.  It is another check mark in the Man List.  The Man List is a list of things all men should do before they pass away.  Different from a Bucket List, for not everything on a Man List is pleasant (changing dirty diapers, for instance). 

The story starts this spring when I finally called a lumberjack out to trim some branches that were growing on my roof.  After he was done, I had 6 foot piles of branches on each side of the house. 

I decided that I would rent a chipper to make some mulch but when I looked into it, they were like $400 per day for the really big ones, and they didn't rent out little ones.  For that price, I could buy a new one.  But the last thing I need is another thing in the garage, so I figured I'd pick one up on Craigslist and sell it when I was done.  Sure enough, I found one for $120 just south of me so I went and picked it up.

The chipper had been sitting in the gentelman's shed for about 5 years and it didn't have any gas in it so I couldn't test it out.  Sure enough, it didn't run when I got it home, so I figured I'd use YouTube to rebuild the carburetor and see if that did it.

After two trips to the auto parts store, two deliveries from Amazon, three weekends and a visit from an engineer friend from church, it finally chugged to life.  And it stayed running.  Two more weekends later, I had smaller piles of mulch and a bunch of limbs to cut up for firewood.  As a bonus, I sold it to a friend at work for what I paid for it. 

Without the help of YouTube, I wouldn't have been able to accomplish this one. It makes me wonder, though, how many people watch YouTube and get in over their heads?