The Hockey Player's Hockey Game November 2009

On the ice with a team-mate.

Referees providing positional guidance and direction.

Ready for the puck to fall.

The puck is in play.

In pursuit of the puck.

Our hero has passed the point of equilibrium and is headed for the ice.

After the puck, our hero reaches for it with his stick.

Of course, he is not the only player after the puck. So is the one on top of him.

Back on his feet and in full pursuit.

Somehow again he is the closest player to the puck; and he is still after it. He keeps a good focus out there.

And he finally got the puck. In this picture, the puck has just left the stick of our hero who gave it a mighty smack.

The bad guys are trying to score against the Penguins' (our team's) goal.

While down, the puck suddenly arrived at our heroes location.

The other side also wants control of the puck.

It is hard to get back up on the ice, it's even harder when someone is on your stick.

A main member of The Hocky Player's Fan Club.

Throughout the game they continually drop like flies. It is amazing the number of thuds you can hear as players hit the ice, in or out of the action.

A fan trying to open the access door to the ice rink to let The Hockey Player out.

Shot 1 of The Hockey Player.

Shot 2 of The Hockey Player.

Check out the sweathead under that helmet. When they come off the ice, those little guys are frazzled.

Local Stick girl.

The Hockey Player and The Nana.

The Hockey Player and The Mom.

Working that stick, she can't wait to join The Hockey Player on the ice.

A shot of The Hockey Player and his cool game shirt.

The Hockey Player's Little Sister, November 2009

While going through some clothes the grand-daughter discovered an apron. She indicated to Nana that she wanted to wear it and wear it she did. Neither the Mom or the Nana normally wear aprons.

Here a little shopper is coming out of the pantry with a juice box. She is indicating that she would like to have it, so I told her to ask her mother. She did and the answer was " you know your not allowed to have them, they make you throw up". At which point she put it down and moved on to something else without further comment. Just glad I did not say "OK".

Determined little girl, moving with a purpose.

With her buddies, Bunny and Owl.

Pondering something.

She definitely loves her Cheez. She would seek me out in a crowd to pick her up.

She also loves her Nana. Nanas are special.

The Hockey Player's Hockey Practice, November 2009

Immediately upon arrival the dressing starts. The skates have to be firmly attached to the feet. Dressing the skater is the parent's job.

Looking at the skaters on the ice and playing with the grand-daughter is the Nana's job.

The grand-daughter heard the camera or saw the flash so we get a cheesy bink smile at this point.

One skate on, dressing continues.

Mom also checks to see the helmet is properly worn.

Dressed and ready for practice.

Skaters are on the ice, now Mom can spend some time with the human dynamo.

The skater of primary interest for us is wearing a white helmet and the runners on his skates are also white.


The hockey version of soccer's herdball. this is a movement across the ice drill. This is commonly called skating for the uninitiated.

They then skated from one coach to another. First without a puck and then while individually moving a puck.

A close-up of our hero moving along the rink wall.

A coach is giving each skater a puck and sending them off on a mission.

Skaters moving their pucks from station to staion.

The skater and his greatest admirer.

Our hero in his pads getting ready to depart practice.

Pound Puppy 2009 Update 3

Shasta is shown here demonstrating the results of three cups of fine dog food fed three times a day. I believe she has put on over ten pounds at this point. You can see the ribs, spine and hips seem to be filling in great.

As Shasta has improved, she appears younger than the shelter veterinarian's estimate of five years of age. Our vet estimated her to be three years of age. She is getting a lot more personality as she eats her way out of starvation.

Halloween was her first encounter of things that go bump in the night. We only had one trick or treater but Shasta was woofing her alert as he started down the sidewalk. Her bark is normally some type of woof. She seldom barks and normally it is in response to some other bark she heard in the neighborhood.

Mossberg 152 Project Completed

Here I am shown with my latest project, a Mossberg 152 semi-automatic .22 LR caliber rifle.

And a view of the other side.

The forearm is functional and folds down. The barrel and front sight cleaned up nicely.

As did the rear peep type sight.

The stock was finished with Formby's Low Gloss Tung Oil. I like the lower gloss on older rifles. I don't think the high gloss finish goes with the patina found on older firearms.

The stocks original finish and all else that accumulated over the years was stripped off with CitriStrip. I used the spray on can, but it can also be bought in quarts. it seems to work less harshly than some of the other types. I think it also takes longer on a polyurethane finish.

I have a digital camera, you you get a lot of different views of my project.

On this project, I did not try to get out all of the dents by steaming them. I wanted the rifle to look less abused but also used.

You can see that there is a piece of the forearm missing. at the muzzle end it is about 1/4 inch and it tapers off as it reaches the forearm pivot point. I cleaned and sanded the area but I did not attempt to replace the missing wood.

The paint and accumulation on the barrel and front sight cleaned off. I used 0000 steel wool and BreakFree on the small amount of rust found on the barrel.

Port side of rifle with the forearm in the down position.

Starboard side of rifle with the forearm in the down position

Happy Halloween Wranglers

My old Wrangler jeans. I bought these in May 08. Size 34 X 30 and they fit with some belly over the waistband. Now, when I cinch up my belt they look like pleated pants.

They also look like they have pleats in the rear.

So, off to Wally World to get some new Wranglers. These are 32 X 30. You can read it right off the tag.

I jumped into them at home and there are no pleats on the front.


Nor the back.

Today, the gauntlet has been thrown down, lets see who reacts to the challenge.

Coon Hollo Corn Maze, Micanopy Florida

Coon Hollo Corn Maze Rules for use.

Corn Maze Entrance

The Corn Maze is not really corn as this Yankee understands it. Only the outside row around the maze was actually corn. One in the crowd opined that the corn maze was probably sorghum. Whatever it was, it was thick

The path leading in, it's about 30-36 inches wide.

My grandson aka Beanie is leading the charge of our group. He is actually trying to catch up with his older brothers as we go into the maze.

A few minutes later his mom wants to take his picture. You can see concern on his face. Since he doesn't talk yet, we can't tell whether he wants his brothers or he does not like the maze.
More anxious and exhibiting more concern.

By now he is not having a good time and he wants out of the maze.

Looking for the exit. It wasn't as easy to find as one might think.

A John Deere tractor parked as an exhibit and a photo opportunity for kids and adults alike.

Another grandson, aka Wil using his best photo face for his mother.

A shot of Wil while he has lost focus on the camera.

An Oliver Row Crop 60 Tractor on display.

A vice mounted on a post in a field. I suspect it could be moved and used for on the spot field repairs of equipment rather than trying to get the equipment to the barn for repairs.

A very large and I'm sure very heavy anvil.

An old General Motors Truck set up as a display.

A Diamond T truck also on display.

A Farmall 360 Tractor on display.

A kids ride made up of plastic barrels being towed by a small tractor. Each barrel can hold an adult and small child or perhaps two children.

A bull rider or bronco buster ride operated by all of your friends. The rider mounts a barrel and by swinging/pulling the ropes, your friends attempt to help you off.

Beanie in a good mood and having fun.

Wil airborne as he jumps from one hay bale to another.

Dad and son, aka Gus posing for mom to get their picture.

A paintball gun range. It seemed to be very popular. It certainly held my interest.

How do little people climb a mountain of hay?

An unnamed someone has just spotted a camera pointed in his direction.

Another shot of someone trying to sing or maybe whistle a song.

I am no farmer, but I'm going to say that is a Vietnamese Pot Bellied Pig.

The Blushing Bride having fun watching her grandchild and his mom.

A budding amateur photographer, you saw it here first folks.

A genuine leap. Beanie is jumping from a bale of hay into a small pile next to it. The drop was probably a little more than one foot. I asked him if he wanted to jump into the hay pile and he did.

As we were leaving the hay pile, Beanie discovered a slide which he started to climb.

He was a little nervous on his first slide but Nana and Cheez agreed to hold his hand so away he went.

Dad is holding his hand in this shot while Cheez takes his picture.

The slide ride went on for more than twenty minutes, one slide down after another. He only stopped if someone else came along so they could have a turn. When they went down, Beanie was right behind them. I think this was his "hit of the show".

This setup was so you could learn how to milk a cow.

A pumpkin display between Nana's Store and their ready to eat food store.


A display leading into the corn maze.

All in all, I think most of us had a great time. We left about 6:00 pm when it was starting to get chilly. And on the way home we also stopped for some great pizza.

New Mossberg Project

Mossberg 152, a 22 LR with a 7 shot detachable box magazine. The barrel is 18 inches in length. The rifle weighs 5 lbs. It has a Monte Carlo stock with a pistol grip and a hinged forearm that pulls down to form hand grip. The rifle has a Mossberg No. S109 front sight and a Mossberg No. S108 receiver sight. This model was made from 1948-1957.

Original sling swivel mounted on left side of the stock.

Left side of the action showing the detachable magazine and the S 108 Receiver Sight.

The right side of the action, the trigger card is scarred but whole.

The bluing is worn, with surface rust and pitting. The S 109 front sight is whole with some dirt, rust and paint on it.

The stock finish is marred, scarred and the finish is flaking and chipping. However, the stock appears to be walnut and has no observable cracks. The inside is dirty with powder residue from shooting lots of ammo.

The original forearm sling swivel is still in place and the forearm spring for the hinged forearm is still in place and functional.

The action appears to be functional when manually cycled but it is very dirty and will need to be completely disassembled.

The receiver sight demonstrates the patina of older blued firearms over time. There is also some surface rust but the sight is complete.

And the buttplate while scarred and marred is complete and uncracked.

Pound Puppy 2009 Update 2

Shasta is an EATER. She gets 3 cups of good food three times a day. However, she does not get excited if someone is around her bowl while she is eating. She will also steal the cats food if there is any opportunity. Thank goodness she seems to be housebroke and so far goes outside to do her thing.

This picture was taken about one week after she came aboard. She does not look so knobby, her ribs are less distinguishable and her backbone and hips seem to be filling in.

Berthing is not as good as it could be. We were set up for a large dog, not an extra large dog. The kennel and blocks of foam we have do not fit well when you sprawl. However, the digs are much better than what she had at the pound.


We have learned a lot about dog food, however she eats it so fast I'm not sure she can taste it. Right now she is getting a mixture of Science Diet Adult Advanced Fitness Dry and IAMs Puppy Chow. In 40 pound bags it costs more than some people food.

Each day her personality changes, we think the starvation and pound experience had her personality somewhat flat lined when we brought her home.


Yesterday afternoon when The Blushing Bride went to school she put a gate up to keep Shasta out of our bedroom and away from the cat food in the master bath. This is what I saw as I entered the kitchen. As I rounded the bar, I saw Shasta leap over the gate in the bedroom doorway; she had been in there laying on our bed.

She gives the term couch potato new meaning. We now cover the couch and now also the chairs to keep her on the floor. In her earlier life, she certainly had to be a house puppy. The first vet said they thought the dog was about five years old, our vet guessed three years old. As her personality changes she seems to be still somewhat of a puppy.

PS, Tonight a neighbor called me to let me know there were two coyotes standing under the persimmon tree in my neighbors yard across from the end of my driveway. One left as I came out but I could see the other standing there watching me. I barked at him and he /she ran off. That also got Shasta barking, she was in the driveway but I'm not sure she had got wind of the coyotes yet.