Where's SpinDaddy??

Oh man, has it been a long, and tedious summer. This whole "move-back-to-Memphis-thing" has taken waayyy longer than I had imagined it would. The 1st year anniversary of this blog is coming up in a few days so I am back just in the nick of time. There has been so much I would have loved to sound off about but it would be just impossible for me to go back and do so effectively. So I'll just have to get back to it as it comes along. And please bear with me as I struggle to get back into form such as it is.

The biggest hang up was getting back here and, as noted in earlier scattered posts from this summer, finding a rental property that we owned had been thoroughly trashed. My wife and I had already refurbished this house a few years ago, only to have to do it all over again. Litigation is pending, but I am not going to hold my breath. Blood from a turnip and all.

So when I was last able to post with any seriousness, I had posted (what I think was) a nifty roadtrip blogpost. So picking up there; I will fill in as best I can. The house we had in the mountains was on such a treacherous hill that we were limited to a smaller truck because of extremely tight switchbacks in the drive, so that neccesitated multiple trips with U-Haul trailers to make up the difference. Here is another neat picture that didn't make the cut for the post linked above, so by way of catching up and getting back into the blogging game, I will include it here.
I was just getting up to speed with photoblogging when I had to pull the plug up in Boone. Look for much more photoblogging as I get back up to speed, especially in my upcoming series "Things I Do Love About Memphis". Memphis has it's own unique and sometimes maddening set of characters and problems but there is also a lot to reccomend it, and in this series which I shamelessly admit is inspired by blogger extraordinaire Matt Rosenberg of Rosenblog fame and especially his recent travel blog-posts from his recent trip to Michigan with his family, I intend to highlight the things Memphis does have going for it. I used to live and work in the great Pacific NW and reading Matts musings regarding the area make me long for the great Cascade and Coastal mountain ranges. His posts are informative and a genuine delight. I hope that my posts about the offbeat and out of the way treasures in Memphis measure up.

I really-really loved living up in the NC mountains, but the wife missed her family and friends so here we are again. After we got back we have been up to our necks in a hurry-up second renovation.

We had to work to reclaim a wildly overgrown yard, re-paint, new carpet, and the biggest project redo was the hard wood floors.

First starting with the huge industrial unit above, which does a great job but is alo a real strain in the back as it were.

Then came the edging sander. Again, very effective at removing layers of varnish buildup and other neglect, but not as much fun to use as it looks. Then there was the dust. I emptied all the dust in one pile that eventually was about three feet tall.

Then came touch up work with the Black and Decker Mouse, which took more time than the other two units combined as 80 grit is the most aggressive you can get for a mouse size sander. Then there is follow-up up to about 220 grit. More dust.

Then came the three coats of Urethane. Allow to dry. Cure. Repeat.

Then the next room, the hallway, the next room. Repeat.

So that has been a big part of my summer, not to mention training for and starting a new job.

I did manage to sneak in an airshow in Tunica MS with my son, and an old friend. Great time, got to see lots of neat old airplanes and hear those wonderful old radial engines fire up. The sound of Freedom. These were air races like those held in Reno NV. But they also had warbirds there as well.

Now that I have my ISP issues settled, I will be back on it in a big way. I have yet to catch up with AlphaPatriot, Joefish and Half-Bakered among other Memphis bloggers, but I intend to when I get some time . For now I'll have my hands full getting back up to speed with the blog, but with my son back in school and most of the home renovation projects done again, I'll at least have time to get back to the blogging.

Thxs to those who have continued to check back in over the last few months. I will do everything I can to make it worth your while.

-SpinDaddy