Wolf Creek Cemetery

Not the site.....The place. Today my sweetie Brando took me to a place I have wanted to go for a while. It wasn't Disney by no means but pretty neat all the same. It was a little known cemetery called Wolf Creek Cemetery. We got the coords off Google and headed on our way. It doesn't have any signage to speak of but it is the only cemetery anywhere close to the original coords which were pretty close. Here is a pic of the small cemetery.

We also ventured a bit further North and went to Wolf Creek State Park. The rangers were really nice and I told them I was sorry they were on the list to be closed down November 1st and our little park was on the block a few years ago and we rose such a stink we pulled it back from the brink of destruction. Ok a bit over dramatic but still it was a good accomplishment. Here is a pic of the state park sign.

Brando and Yuri went on a small hike while I stayed with sleeping Yin in the car. When they came back they had little mites all over there socks and we had to douse them with insect repellent just in case they were biting nasties. Here is a pic of their adventures of Lake Shelbyville.

I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend. It went way too fast.

I'm shaven the chickens and pluckin the hogs!

As you can see I added a egg ticker to the blog for a running total. Today we had 5 white and 1 brown. 1 ckicken was confused and layed her egg on the ground. Not sure if the bin was occupied or what. It seems that they prefer the corner nest for laying for that is the only nest we find eggs in. I finally took some pictures with the chicken tractor to full capacity. I built it for 6 chicken comfortably but now I am wondering if it is a bit cramped. In a week or so I plan on letting them out during the day to see how it all works out. I had to modify the bottom to be fitted with a door for access to the bottom for the lazy chickens that dont wanna wait for the corner nest to open up. Like there isn't 2 other nest right beside it. Oh well they are just chickens.

(Here are the girls all up to mischeif)

(This is a shot of the door I added for easy access)

(He is the money shot of the corner nest complete with egg)

Chicken Tractor

What is a chicken tractor you might say. Well, a chicken tractor is a portable chicken coop so as they scratch and mess in one area you can move it to another area. These devices usually have handles an wheels to facilitate the moving of these portable pens. We were showing rabbits for 4-H and told some people that we were interested in chickens so they asked how many. We said, "Oh....about six." They said we needed about a dozen. I didn't want to feed the neighborhood with eggs just enough for ourselves and a few for the neighbors so we ended up with 8 chickens. I also failed to mention that we have already had 1 egg. Yeah baby and thats when the big bucks start rollin in.

Here are there fancy digs that though the help of the world wide webs helped me come up with a plan. I hope you like and I hope the chickens don't mind them either.

This is my chicken tractor.

Here is the back hatch to collect the eggs.

Here is the inside. It has 3 bins for the hens to lay there eggs to the left. There is a vent on each side for cross ventilation and a hatch to go below into the bottom where they can eat grass and bugs and enjoy the sun and air. There is also a 5 foot roost up top that is not shown in this picture.

If you are interested in seeing other chicken tractors click here.

So Far So Good

No more fishes have died and all is well in the pond.

Yesterday Yuri was puking but today seems to be on the mend.

Brando and I purchased a Wii and Wii Fit and have been Wii Wiing it up at the house. I think I will need a day or two for my shoulder and back to recover from Boxing, Golf and Bowling. It is alot of fun but easily overdone.

Yuri sold his rabbit at the 4-H fair. You would not believe what rabbits are going for at this day and age but if I could I would have a rabbit farm. He also did very well at the Horse Show including a first place trophy for his first show. We are really proud of our little Yuri.

Turnaround at work is over until spring of next year which will be the worst one of all, from what everyone is saying. Normal Turnarounds last 3 to 5 weeks this one is scheduled for 8 weeks.

Getting my car worked on to help save gas but I have a feeling that it will cost a mint to get the shitbox out of the shop. I have my fingers crossed.

Cant wait for the Cache Slash Event and even more amped about Halloween. Wish I could get moving on my projects for this year. Maybe this weekend I will get off my but.

Dead Fishes

Well the final count for dead fish is 13. Ooooooooooo what a scarey number. Most of the fish that died were the smaller ones and only a couple of mid size but it looks like all of the bigger fish made it though. I was starting to wonder because one of the bigger koi quit eating for a couple of days and started breaching out of the water on occation which is unusual. He calmed back down and started eating and acting normal. The water pump has been running ever since I installed it to help get the O2 level back up. All seems well now in the pond.

I mowed the yard a couple of days ago and while doing so mulched up the 13 dried fish bodies that laid in the yard. They were all dried and pale. I picked one up and it was as light as a feather and the texture of paper. He chipped up nicely into dust. Probably with the kill I wound up losing about 50 or so dollars in fish.

We have been working on 4H projects for this week and the kids and wife have been at a dead run for the past few weeks. First it was bible school, then swim lessons, then 4H. The kids havent had much of a break since school and nether has Brando.

We had some drama down the road and found out that someone came home and found someone sleeping in there bed.........with there spouse. Maybe they were tired. I get tired through the day but I think I would think twice before napping when the hired help is around just incase they get tired and decide to take a nap too. That would be hard to explain. I mean who would sleep on the job anyway. (I am really not that clueless but like to act like I am.)

Hope everyone has a nice weekend. I will be spending it at work.

Well CRAP!!!

Brando is outta town and everything is going to hell in a handbasket. It started yesterday when the pump in my pond quit working. This is the major filter/aireator pump for the pond. I tried to fix it but to no avail so sometime before 6 pm Monday my pump stoped. I got up Tuesday morning and yanked the pump to take to work and get replaced but it would have to wait till after work. I get the pump replaced a race home to put it in and when I did I noticed the pond was really warm and have a smell to it. While installing the pump I seen the first dead fish. I scooped it up and tossed him in the yard. With the pump running I thought well maybe stressed and heat and all. What I had forgot about was that I had added a chemical to the pond the day before the pump went down and when you add this chemical to the water it kills algea but in doing so you need to keep up the aireation and good circulation to keep the oxygen level up in the pond. Also the warm water does not hold oxygen very well. So with the pump down for longer than 24 hours and the chemical that totally kicked the O2 in the ass my total kill count this morning so far is 6 dead fish. I hope when I get home this evening the numbers dont increase. When seeing the dead fish this morning I quickly turned on the pump that normally only runs 12 hours a day to help get oxygen back in the pond and did a quick dip test to see what the water was doing. The only thing it showed was the the Nitrites where high indicating and elevated stress level for the fish. I hope all is well when I get home. The pump is a 3600 gal an hour pump in a 2k gal pond so it should get the water circulated and O2 plenty in a hurry but with the pump shutting down at midnight last night and the kill of the algea really hurt the fish. I should have known better. I have a spare pump but didnt think I would need it. I guess you cant fix stupid.

BIG THANKS

This is a big

THANK YOU

to all who wished me a happy birthday.

Love you all.

Officially OLD

Yesterday I finally turned old. Yep I have one foot in the grave and the other in an old folks home. I bet those wrinkly women are HOTTT. Eeew!

The only difference is maybe that I wake up with more aches and pains than I remember when I was younger but my mind is slipping so I cant even rely on my memories.

I also notice that I have trouble staying on subject when I am blogging so I tend to ramble a bit I hate my work.

I also tend to repeat my self more often than I used to. I also repeat myself more from time to time and also did I mention that I repeat myself?

I am also experiencing trouble getting it up......on outta bed. Yeah if given a chance I would sleep forever and never get up. Sometimes my beloved Brando has to put her foot in my back and give me a shove.

I would type more but I don't have the energy and I forgot what I was gonna type anyway.....OH by the way did I mention that I like to repeat myself?

Flip this Pin

Well, I thought since I have been a posting fool here lately, I would make a post, count them, TWO months in a row. WOW!

We made it back from Gods Country on Monday and surveyed the damage done by the wind. It is really strange. If so much as a duck farts in our direction the patio furniture will flip and move and the grill will get shoved off the patio. However, these are untouched but Waylon's dog pin was picked up and lifted over a 5 foot fence and placed on its roof about 25 to 30 feet in the field. Most of all the dog is perfectly fine. Mind you this is a 10 X 10 chain link pin with about a 3 hundred pound wood frame and metal panel roof attached to it. Nothing else was touched. It was weird. We got the pin put back but the roof is where the wind left it. Hopefully we will get a bunch of us together and get it put back on.

Being the religion the I am I know the God tests us in many ways to keep our faith in check as well as others that like to toy with us but so far here is a our grade card for the semester.

Earthquakes A
Flood A
Power Outages A
Water Outage A
Dog Pin Flip A-

We have also received information that one of Brando's relatives has some serious health issues. Please keep this person in your thoughts a prayers. I know we will.

Nice visit with the folks.

My folks was up this last week and we tried to spend as much time as possible with them. But, with the warm weather of spring, all the cookouts, birthday partys and ect came outta the woodwork and took some of our time away. I always miss my mommy and daddy when they go.

I was on vacation last week and my honey put me on a honey do list. I had a bunch of stuff I planned on getting done but didnt have the energy to do much of it. Here is a list of things I wanted to do with a asteroid beside what I got done.

1. Clean wash camper for camping
2. Change oil in car
3. Change oil in van *
4. Change oil in truck
5. Vacuum out pond
6. Finish mulching landscaping
7. Wash Brandos Van*
8. Clean garage

These are things that got added from Brando that got completed.

1. Hard wood floor the hallway
2. Rip up carpeting and tack track from hallway and dining room
3. Hardwood floor the kitchen

These are the things she wanted to do but didn't get done.

1. Hardwood floor the dining room

She wants to try to get the dining room done this weekend if the supplies come it. I am not sure if I am looking forward to battling the easy to snap in floor planks. The little 3 inch sections at the store are easy to snap in but the 20 foot section you have to put together and fight in all at once is a bear. Dont believe the hype with these easy to install floors.

Gotta Gun?

Done anyone have a gun I could rent and a bullet I can buy? I am on vacation next week and they have done nothing but call, call, call today. I wish someone up there would grow a brain. I cant stand my these call-outs. I am about to go out of my mind. Calgone take me away or something like that.

If Ya Wanna Get The Gooduns Ya Gotta Dig Deep

Well my bro and his girlfriend is on vacation. I wanted to help so we are house sitting while they are away. The work isnt too taxing. We just have to bring in the mail and watch over the kitties. It has been a while since I have had cats so I forgot what it was like.

When I stepped into the door today there was something that resembled a turd in the floor. Knowing that cats dont crap in the floor I investigated further. It was a glob of dried up hair aka a hairball about this side of my small finger. I felt bad for the furry fella that it came out of. I checked on the two housemates of my bros and they were just fine.

Then I had to go check on their food. It was bone dry. It went from two heaping bowls to licked clean in two days. Mind you these are not small bowls. The water was fine but I gave them fresh water. I thought to myself where did all that food go to......then I looked in the litter box. HOLY COW does my brother have cats or cows. They were as big as the scooper. I started doing the nasty and when I thought the chore was done I did a cursary scoop then I hit the muther load. I had to put my back into it. I swear it was the size of a small saucer.

It heaved and grunted and thought about figuring out a way to use the cat litter box side as a fulcrum to haul up the stinky mass. Finally the big fella relented and I had just enough strength to dump it in the bag. THUD!!! Double bagging and double knotting was pretty tough when the bag just fits around it. Like the title says, if you wanna get the gooduns ya gotta dig deep. What a whopper. Hurry home bro, I dont think my back can take it.

Rain Rain Rain

Today was.....well you guessed it, rainy. It has flooded the yard, field and roads around the house. I stepped outside briefly to unclog the downspouts on the gutters so they wouldnt get ripped off the side of the house from the weight. I was a bit cold after doing this and so I had to take a nice hot shower and a warm cup of coffee topped off the evening.

I have not been sleeping well. I have had 3 restless nights in a row and I fear another on the way. It does not help when you work for someone who dont think you need sleep either. They called at 2 am last night and have been keeping us working steadily for the past three days on stuff that I think could wait till the next work day. I am getting tired, stressed and angry about the whole situation. Last night I called my bosses boss to let him know how we are being treated like robots, working on mindless stuff that can wait till the next day just because someone out there said they didn't want to wait and wanted it fixed tonight. This mentality has got to stop. Working an 8 hour day and coming home to catch up on the stuff you got behind on around the house from working the 5 of the last 7 month 12 hour days 7 days a week. You are lucky to get in the house before dark which is about 8 o'clock. You start to wind down for bed and around 9:30 pm the phone rings wanting you to come in and work 8 to 10 more hours with no sleep. This is very very dangerous and the physical stress is starting to show in our shop. I wish someone at my work would please grow a brain and save us from this situation.

The pond is as full as I have ever seen it from the rain. If it keeps this up the fish will have to swim. (Chalk that one up to fatigue and stress) Have a nice week everyone and hope you get to enjoy the weekend. Don't look like I will. There is no end in sight.

Back to Normal

Well as back to normal as it gets for me. I am back on a normal 8 hours shift and loving it. I have had time to get so much done after work. It has taken a while to get used to having time and also feeling like doing anything. I finally had a good nights sleep last night after 4 nights of restlessness. I hope it one of many to come. I am not sure what all we are doing this weekend but next weekend me a the DW (dear wife) are going to go on vacation overnight by ourselves. This is a much needed vacation away from the kids. We are not sure exactly where we are going yet because the hotel we were going to go to is booked. I am hoping we can find someplace else that will have a relaxing room and amenities we need. Here's to wishful thinking.

Free At Last, Free At Last, Thank God All Mighty Free At Last

Tonight is suppose to be my last night on turnaround. I feel like a prisoner that is getting ready for a favorable parole hearing. I can't wait to get away from this place for a while, even if it is only for a day or two.

Since turnaround, here is a list of things I have missed:

1. Being able to console my family from the death of a family member.
2. Being able to console my family from the death of a family pet.
3. Being home to make sure my family was safe due to a earthquake.
4. My boys last 2 basketball games where I was told he did quite well.
5. Countless tumbling practices for my daughter.
6. Countless piano practices for my son.
7. Mowing my yard the first few times. My wife and kids had to pick up my slack.

These are just a few that I can come up with recently that happened. I am sure there are a ton more that I missed out on closer to the beginning.

I would just like to take this time to say thank you to all my family members and especially my wonderful wife and kids for putting up with me though the duration of this turnaround.

Shaken but yet to be stirred

This morning we are still a rockin and rollin from the recent earthquakes. We had a few people thought they felt something this morining about 12:30 amish an after a bit of wondering and checking the usgs.org site found that our feeling was legit. We had another sizable aftershock Monday, April 21, 2008 at 12:38:30 AM of a magnitude of 4.5 pretty close to where we have had the other aftershocks. Hope everyone slept through it.

Seepy Time

It is seepy time round here. It is past 4 in the morning and people on the night shift is falling out about the place. It looks like Jonestown the day after around here after they had the Kool-aid party. Yeah we are all felling a little draggy. I am really missing my bed right now. We have watched AVPR and Hot Rod tonight. AVPR is ***1/2 stars and Hot Rod is ** stars for its querky humor. I really liked the Footloose cutaway to an endless fall part. I giggled like a school girl. Well I think one of my fellow nights person has made it back to the shop and we are gonna watch a couple of episodes of Scubs so...... Have a good night night.

Whats this?! Another Post?!

Yep, I am having a hot streak of posting activity at the Rudy's Mems Blog. I am not sure where I found this abundance of energy to enter my name and password and make a difference in the world of blogging.

What is the most difficult part of blogging? Well that would be the topic of today's post. Some people will say it is coming up with a topic. Some will say that getting up the nerve to type what you are thinking on a somewhat public forum. While others will say that it is finding a relevant thought that conveys the feeling between blogger and reader.

However, I think the hardest part is to get a screwdriver under the G and H keys to pop them out of the keyboard. Why, you may ask? Because I need to make a space for my nose to fit while I am rolling my face back and forth across the keyboard. And THAT is what make an a award winning blog. I would categorize about 98% of my posts fall into this prestigious category. But what do I know. It is clinically proven that 11/10ths of the population have trouble with fractions.

Ramblings of a tired mind

If you dont know.....I am officially tired. I have been tired for a while..... Not sure exactly when it struck me but I do know that it has. What is the symptoms of a tired mind? Well lets list the ones that have entered my overworked pea size melon.

1. The improper us of common punctuation@
2, The inability to edit tipos>
4. Unable to figure out numeral order
1.5 Not able to have a coherent thought in said melon
E. What are nuumber?
Green: You add a pound of sugar to your cup of coffee to stay awake.
There you have it the official way to figure out the worlds most official way to figure out the worlds most official way to get the right things you need to survive sleepfullnessly.

Thanks for tuning in to find out the mental state of the person taping his fingers on the keyboard. There maybe hope one day for some rest.

HELLO EVERYBODY!!!!

Hows everyone out there in blogger land???? Just wanted to drop a few lines to all those that tune in every six months or so to see if Rudy has gotten off his lazy A$$ to post. Well I have and it will be a dooooozy of a post.

What am I gonna post about you may ask? Well what else have I been doing for the last 6 months of my life.....working......and endless amount of work due to back to back, pushed back due to gas crack spreads (yes I said it.....CRACK SPREAD! he he he) Turnarounds. And we have yet another one in July through to August. How do I cope you may ask? Well the first thing you do is take all the photos of your life outside of work and shove them in a locker so you can see how happy you were when you had a family and a life.

The pictures that remind you that you had a life just depresses you anyway. I mean, who really needs a loving wife and two wonderful kids. By now I bet they don't even know who I am any more. All I need to do is send my money home and pull up a cot and stay here 24/7. I have everything a person could need right here......like conversing with idiots......frustration with simple tasks.........and a wall to bang my head against.....what more could a man want.

Is it selfish of me to want a normal life? For my kids to not look at me as a stranger as I drag myself through the house on the way to the bed? Yeah I bet it is. If I really needed it, my work would have provided it for me. Sorry for all the complaining but this post comes after working 30-12hr days straight and then being swung to 12 hr nights with about another week or so to go. All this while trying to deal with the death of a family member, a death of a family pet and an earthquake. When does the fun ever stop???? Please go outside and take a deep breath for me. I will be a bit before I will have the luxury.

(crack spread is money spent per brl of oil vrs money made per brl of product recently 70 cents)