For quite some time, the people of Greeley County and the people of Wallace County have been trying to get accepted as new receipients of our modern day digital movie projectors. Many of the new movies coming out now cannot be shown without them. 3-D movies are amongst those. The Star Theatre Board of Directors in Tribune have been using recent fundraisers to come up with as much money as possible. It was going to be a long process to have enough funds to purchase one.
Tonight, I received notification from a resident of Greeley County that grants for these projectors have now been given to the theatres in Tribune and Sharon Springs! This is great news for all of us who prefer to watch our movies at small hometown theatres!
I have not heard how long it should take before the projectors are in use.
VLE-B
Friday, July 1, 2011
To-Give-To-Good-Homes
There is a relatively new breed of dogs out there named Pek-a-Tzus. Like Labradoodles which is a cross of labradors and the large form of poodles, only purebred parents can be used to breed. In this case, a purebred Pekinese and a purebred Shih-Tzu got together and made adorable puppies. They are just now ready to go to their forever families. Two are black and white. One is black, white and gold. Both males and females were still available at around noon today. These will be small dogs.
For more information, please call Regina at 620.214.0472. The puppies are in Leoti.
VLE-B
For more information, please call Regina at 620.214.0472. The puppies are in Leoti.
VLE-B
Have Time for a Break and Maybe Even a Laugh or Two?
I need to just sit and rest awhile before I resume my work on the chairs. I might as well get back to telling you of my adventure on Thursday night that Blogger decided to not publish in its entirety.
Okay. So Thursday night, Leighlyn and I decided to take the Buick to one of our local convenience stores for gas. We drove up to the one where the fuel was 2 cents cheaper per gallon than the other one. (Aren't we just so smart? LOL!) As soon as I opened my driver's side door to exit the vehicle, I knew that I had gotten too close to the gas pump island. Rather than just sitting back down and moving the car, I decided that I was tough! I would just bully my way through the door. Well, I would like to tell you that my gumption paid off but I would definitely be lying to you.
If you know me, you know that I am top heavy, bottom heavy and heavy everywhere else in between. LOL! When I had attempted to stand up, my top heavy area of the female body, for lack of a better word, got stuck. Oh, mercy me! That was not very comfortable. I wiggled this way. I wiggled that way. I wiggled up and I wiggled down. It sorta paid off for me. My upper parts were able to be somewhat eradicated but not enough eradicated to allow me to breathe very well. But in doing this, my middle heavyiness became stuck also. Moving around was not working so well.
It was at about that time that I heard footsteps coming towards the car--and ME! Oh, I HATED to see who it was!!! Out of the darkness that enveloped us came a man whom I did not recognize. Normally when I meet a stranger in the dark, I am considerably uneasy about the situation but this time, somehow, I was actually relieved that I did not know this man. You're probably wanting to know WHY I was happy that this stranger had come within just a few feet of my car when there was absolutely no one else out there besides him and me. (Leighlyn had gone into the store to purchase some goodies for her road trip the following day.) I looked at it this way. If I did not know him, chances are that he did not know me either. That way, if he discovered how totally pathetic I was, he would be unable to put a name to me when he was laughing about this in the local coffee clubs the next morning. See how smart I am? Yeah, right.
I know that many of you probably think that there is not one single shy bone in this, shall we say...robust body of mine. If you are one of those people who believe that, I don't me to offend you, but you are mistaken. I have never ever felt like I was good enough, pretty enough, skinny enough, smart enough...that anyone would want to have anything to do with me. I usually would prefer to hide under the nearest building than subject someone to my unworthiness... But at the same time, I know what it feels like when someone apparently blows you off by not speaking to you. So, I go out of my way to be friendly to others. In most cases, I am glad that I did extent my friendly greetings to others. In doing so, I have made some wonderful friends!
So anyway, here I am, my very AMPLE body is stuck between one hard place and another hard place. My back, which had been having spasms earlier in the day, was now awkwardly twisted and hurting again. I was unable to get anything except for about 3/4 of my head above the top of our car. Here comes this stranger. Oh, no! I was totally TRAPPED and I wanted absolutely NO ONE to realize that!!! This poor man in front of me probably thought that I was an old dwarf who was very stiff and seemingly unwilling to move around much.
I asked my new friend how he was. You know usually whenever we are asked that question, our automatic response is "Just fine! How are you?" Then we basically walk on off. This man, who was unknown to me, was different. He wanted to discuss his not-so-great day with me. Under ordinary circumstances, I would have had absolutely NO objection to that. But in normal situations, I would not have been losing the feeling in my legs, in my arms, in my tummy... Still, I did not want to ignore him or appear to be uncaring, so I just kinda stayed there. Besides until Leighlyn came out of the store, I had no way of going anywhere else anyway. LOL!!!
So I listened to all that he had to say and I offered advice whenever it was wanted. Still, the numbing was getting worse. My breathing was getting more difficult. At any time, I worried that I might faint. The only good thing about this fainting was that I would not fall and hit my head or anything else. My body would just stay in this same position. Ha! Ha!
Eventually, the man decided to go on. A few seconds later, he disappeared around the corner of the store. We would probably never ever see one another again. A few minutes later, Leighlyn returned to the car. She asked me why I had not gotten any fuel. She had not realized that I was basically frozen in place. Ha! Ha! She about fell to the pavement below with all of her laughter when the realization of what was happening sank in! I have to admit that for the first time since my ordeal had begun, I was also enjoying a good deal of my own laughter!
We both realized that I could not remain in this position forever so we decided to do something about it. Since Mel's Foodliner and Dollar General were closed already, no one could get enough butter or margarine together to grease me up and slide me out of my trap. I suggested that she get in on the passenger side of the Buick and make her way to the driver's side. Once there, this 13-year-old girl with no driver's license, needed to drive the car forward. She realized that she needed to make this maneuver VERY slowly and VERY carefully. I was more than a bit concerned when she asked me which pedal she needed to press to make the car move. Hmmm, in actuality, I was scared to death! LOL!!! I gave her a quick education on driving. By now, my feet and hands were totally numb. I had probably been in this position for at least 15 minutes. Without a doubt, measures needed to be taken quickly! Thank the Good Lord, she did an excellent job of driving that 5-10 feet! She didn't even drive over my fat little feet!!! LOL!!!
Ordinarily when a person stands up after exiting a vehicle, the motion feels good. We enjoy getting to stretch everything out. But when your body has gone numb in most places, you really don't feel the stretching exercise. I was abundantly happy to stand erect again though! Within a matter of a few seconds, my blood began to flow to all extremeties again and I could feel everything once again! How delightful!!!
I then made my way to the gas pump and fueled the tank. I was so happy to be F-R-E-E once again!
As with most painful and/or embarassing moments that we find ourselves in, if we think long and hard enough, we can realize that there are ways that we could have been worse off. This was true in this case also. I could have been wearing my oh-so-stylish floral moo moo at the time. You remember it. It was the one that I was wearing out to the mailbox a year or so ago when a gust of wind came up and blew it up over my head. (Some of our neighbors have yet to recover from that viewing!) It is also the one that I was wearing backwards this morning when the Wheatland Electric lineman came to work on our meter...
Life is wonderful and laughter just increases the value of it!!!
VLE-B
Okay. So Thursday night, Leighlyn and I decided to take the Buick to one of our local convenience stores for gas. We drove up to the one where the fuel was 2 cents cheaper per gallon than the other one. (Aren't we just so smart? LOL!) As soon as I opened my driver's side door to exit the vehicle, I knew that I had gotten too close to the gas pump island. Rather than just sitting back down and moving the car, I decided that I was tough! I would just bully my way through the door. Well, I would like to tell you that my gumption paid off but I would definitely be lying to you.
If you know me, you know that I am top heavy, bottom heavy and heavy everywhere else in between. LOL! When I had attempted to stand up, my top heavy area of the female body, for lack of a better word, got stuck. Oh, mercy me! That was not very comfortable. I wiggled this way. I wiggled that way. I wiggled up and I wiggled down. It sorta paid off for me. My upper parts were able to be somewhat eradicated but not enough eradicated to allow me to breathe very well. But in doing this, my middle heavyiness became stuck also. Moving around was not working so well.
It was at about that time that I heard footsteps coming towards the car--and ME! Oh, I HATED to see who it was!!! Out of the darkness that enveloped us came a man whom I did not recognize. Normally when I meet a stranger in the dark, I am considerably uneasy about the situation but this time, somehow, I was actually relieved that I did not know this man. You're probably wanting to know WHY I was happy that this stranger had come within just a few feet of my car when there was absolutely no one else out there besides him and me. (Leighlyn had gone into the store to purchase some goodies for her road trip the following day.) I looked at it this way. If I did not know him, chances are that he did not know me either. That way, if he discovered how totally pathetic I was, he would be unable to put a name to me when he was laughing about this in the local coffee clubs the next morning. See how smart I am? Yeah, right.
I know that many of you probably think that there is not one single shy bone in this, shall we say...robust body of mine. If you are one of those people who believe that, I don't me to offend you, but you are mistaken. I have never ever felt like I was good enough, pretty enough, skinny enough, smart enough...that anyone would want to have anything to do with me. I usually would prefer to hide under the nearest building than subject someone to my unworthiness... But at the same time, I know what it feels like when someone apparently blows you off by not speaking to you. So, I go out of my way to be friendly to others. In most cases, I am glad that I did extent my friendly greetings to others. In doing so, I have made some wonderful friends!
So anyway, here I am, my very AMPLE body is stuck between one hard place and another hard place. My back, which had been having spasms earlier in the day, was now awkwardly twisted and hurting again. I was unable to get anything except for about 3/4 of my head above the top of our car. Here comes this stranger. Oh, no! I was totally TRAPPED and I wanted absolutely NO ONE to realize that!!! This poor man in front of me probably thought that I was an old dwarf who was very stiff and seemingly unwilling to move around much.
I asked my new friend how he was. You know usually whenever we are asked that question, our automatic response is "Just fine! How are you?" Then we basically walk on off. This man, who was unknown to me, was different. He wanted to discuss his not-so-great day with me. Under ordinary circumstances, I would have had absolutely NO objection to that. But in normal situations, I would not have been losing the feeling in my legs, in my arms, in my tummy... Still, I did not want to ignore him or appear to be uncaring, so I just kinda stayed there. Besides until Leighlyn came out of the store, I had no way of going anywhere else anyway. LOL!!!
So I listened to all that he had to say and I offered advice whenever it was wanted. Still, the numbing was getting worse. My breathing was getting more difficult. At any time, I worried that I might faint. The only good thing about this fainting was that I would not fall and hit my head or anything else. My body would just stay in this same position. Ha! Ha!
Eventually, the man decided to go on. A few seconds later, he disappeared around the corner of the store. We would probably never ever see one another again. A few minutes later, Leighlyn returned to the car. She asked me why I had not gotten any fuel. She had not realized that I was basically frozen in place. Ha! Ha! She about fell to the pavement below with all of her laughter when the realization of what was happening sank in! I have to admit that for the first time since my ordeal had begun, I was also enjoying a good deal of my own laughter!
We both realized that I could not remain in this position forever so we decided to do something about it. Since Mel's Foodliner and Dollar General were closed already, no one could get enough butter or margarine together to grease me up and slide me out of my trap. I suggested that she get in on the passenger side of the Buick and make her way to the driver's side. Once there, this 13-year-old girl with no driver's license, needed to drive the car forward. She realized that she needed to make this maneuver VERY slowly and VERY carefully. I was more than a bit concerned when she asked me which pedal she needed to press to make the car move. Hmmm, in actuality, I was scared to death! LOL!!! I gave her a quick education on driving. By now, my feet and hands were totally numb. I had probably been in this position for at least 15 minutes. Without a doubt, measures needed to be taken quickly! Thank the Good Lord, she did an excellent job of driving that 5-10 feet! She didn't even drive over my fat little feet!!! LOL!!!
Ordinarily when a person stands up after exiting a vehicle, the motion feels good. We enjoy getting to stretch everything out. But when your body has gone numb in most places, you really don't feel the stretching exercise. I was abundantly happy to stand erect again though! Within a matter of a few seconds, my blood began to flow to all extremeties again and I could feel everything once again! How delightful!!!
I then made my way to the gas pump and fueled the tank. I was so happy to be F-R-E-E once again!
As with most painful and/or embarassing moments that we find ourselves in, if we think long and hard enough, we can realize that there are ways that we could have been worse off. This was true in this case also. I could have been wearing my oh-so-stylish floral moo moo at the time. You remember it. It was the one that I was wearing out to the mailbox a year or so ago when a gust of wind came up and blew it up over my head. (Some of our neighbors have yet to recover from that viewing!) It is also the one that I was wearing backwards this morning when the Wheatland Electric lineman came to work on our meter...
Life is wonderful and laughter just increases the value of it!!!
VLE-B
Wireless Outdoor Solar Lights
For almost 2 decades, consumers have been able tp purchase those little lights that are set out in yards, in flower gardens, along sidewalks and pathways, around driveways, etc. The originals required lines of electrical wire to be buried a few inches under the surface of your yard etc. They were not the most convenient to use. A short while later, the wireless systems were introduced. I would guess that throughout the past 2 decades, we have probably purchased more than 100 of them and have thoroughly enjoyed them wherever we planted them. But with practically every other manmade products, they eventually die. Over and over again, we threw these away and went out and bought new ones. The product companies loved us for it but we hated the wastefulness of just throwing them into the landfill.
Last weekend, I was putting out some new lights and came across some of the older burned-out predecessors. All of a sudden, I had a great thought! I decided to see if our regular AA and AAA batteries might work to replace the originals that had come with them. I figured that I was probably just wasting my time when less that 1 minute after I had replaced one battery with a new one, the light began to glow again! I replaced several more batteries and all "transplants" were successful. So before you toss your old ones, try replacing the batteries.
VLE-B
Last weekend, I was putting out some new lights and came across some of the older burned-out predecessors. All of a sudden, I had a great thought! I decided to see if our regular AA and AAA batteries might work to replace the originals that had come with them. I figured that I was probably just wasting my time when less that 1 minute after I had replaced one battery with a new one, the light began to glow again! I replaced several more batteries and all "transplants" were successful. So before you toss your old ones, try replacing the batteries.
VLE-B
The Work Continues
Well, I started working on our new old chairs 24 hours ago. Gee! I am REALLY glad that there were only 6 of them!!! If you ask people who refinish furniture, you could ask them what they enjoy the most. Some enjoy the scraping and sanding. Others prefer the staining process. And even other prefer the final glazing work. As for me, I prefer the staining. As you know, i finished that at around 2:00 this morning. I have now managed to finish everything on two of the chairs now. For the most part, I am pleased with what I am seeing on them. Unfortunately, one of the chairs must-ve had some glue on them that I could not see on the naked wood. It has made a bit of a difference in a couple of small places.
This is my first time to use lacquer. I really think that I just might prefer it to the varnish I've always used before. I think that it just might be easier to work with than the other. One thing that I DEFINITELY like is the fact that there is absolutely no sanding needed between layers of it. Also, lacquer only requires 30 minutes of drying time between layers. For us impatient people, that is a GREAT asset! LOL!
Given the fact that this is my experience with lacquer, I had several questions that needed answered. I had gone to Western Hardware here in Leoti to purchase a lacquer brush. Fortunately, one of the co-owners, Cathy Marcy-Wiegars was working. I found her to be quite knowledgeable and appreciated all of her insight!
Wish me well. I still have 2/3 of the chairs left to do. Who knows, they may be completely done by sundown. I sure hope so....
VLE-B
This is my first time to use lacquer. I really think that I just might prefer it to the varnish I've always used before. I think that it just might be easier to work with than the other. One thing that I DEFINITELY like is the fact that there is absolutely no sanding needed between layers of it. Also, lacquer only requires 30 minutes of drying time between layers. For us impatient people, that is a GREAT asset! LOL!
Given the fact that this is my experience with lacquer, I had several questions that needed answered. I had gone to Western Hardware here in Leoti to purchase a lacquer brush. Fortunately, one of the co-owners, Cathy Marcy-Wiegars was working. I found her to be quite knowledgeable and appreciated all of her insight!
Wish me well. I still have 2/3 of the chairs left to do. Who knows, they may be completely done by sundown. I sure hope so....
VLE-B
Electric Company
This morning, 2 very nice lineman from Wheatland Electric rang our doorbell to advise us that they needed to disconnect our electricity for just a few minutes. It seems that nowadays, technology allows the meter readers to just drive down alleys and the meter readings are sent directly to a machine in the vehicle. Much less time is required for doing this thankless job so that the men can get back to working on the lines quicker. Our meter sent a message to them that it needed to be replaced. The men just wanted to let us know what they were doing and to recommend that we turn off the computer while this was being done. I really appreciated them letting us know BEFORE they turned everything off!!! Our computer could have really been messed up otherwise.
New technology never ceases to amaze me. Much of it is a good thing. Imagine how many fewer dog bites our men and women who read meters will get with this new solution! LOL!!!
VLE-B
New technology never ceases to amaze me. Much of it is a good thing. Imagine how many fewer dog bites our men and women who read meters will get with this new solution! LOL!!!
VLE-B
What a Night!
Six beautiful and completely nude (stripped) dining room chairs came into our possession yesterday morning. The people who had had them before us had actually done all of the hard word by removing all of the old stain or paint from them. I am sure that they looked just how they had many a year ago before the finishing steps were taken. They were beautiful even in the nude but they had not sealants and therefore would have stained, etc very easily. Dining chairs and tables would have been the worst things to leave in their original state.
Once we brought them to their new home, I could hardly wait to get their facelifts done!!! The style of these beauties is basically straight except for some carvings on their backs. I was a bit concerned about how I would get stain and varnish everywhere that they needed to me. There are many nooks and cranies. Anything that missed either of these would stand out like a sore thumb.
I have no idea how long these chairs had been "undressed". Evidentally for a considerable amount of time. The stain was just sucked in like no other projects I've ever done. For 6 dining chairs, a complete quart of stain was used! For anyone who has ever dabbled in the finishing or refinishing of wooden furniture or woodwork of any kind, you know that a little bit of stain usually goes a very long way. At the absolute most, it should have taken half of that much.
Anyway, I managed to get all of the staining done on 2 of the chairs yesterday afternoon. I had planned on taking two days to get all 6 of them stained but anyone who knows me knows that once I begin a project, I become obsessed with it and cannot wait to get it finished. I ended up staining all of them by 2:00 this morning. I am very pleased with how step 1 has gone. For the most part, all of the stain's coverage is even. What I mean by that is that it is always possible that the stain color could be too light or too dark in comparison to each chair. Not the look that I am going for. I need to take a closer look at one of them that is possibly just a bit lighter than the rest of them. Having one lighter than the rest is much better than too dark. For one that is too light, I just need to put on another coat of the stain and it should match perfectly. I don't want to get the "faded" look.
All of the chairs are dry this morning which means that I can begin step 2, the final step. In the past, I've always used polyurethane on all of my projects and have always been quite pleased. This time, I discovered that when I bought the last can of sealer, I picked up something different. This is a finishing lacquer. I've spoken to other people about this product. After all of the work and hours that I have put into these chairs, the last thing that I want to do is apply something that we are not going to like. The people whom I've talked with about this have told me that some people actually prefer this. It comes in Satin, Gloss and High Gloss. I always buy High Gloss so that is what this is also. I need to go to Western Hardware this morning to pick up a brush that is made for lacquering. Their bristles are supposed to be finer than other paint/stain brushes. So, my work on these chairs will begin today. According to the directions, it will take 3-4 coats to get the job done sufficiently. That is the same as with polyurethane varnish. The good thing about the lacquer is that NO sanding in between coatings is necessary. Now I LOVE that!!! The process should be easier and go much quicker than otherwise. It is a calm day outside today and the temperature is ONLY supposed to be in the lower 90s. Given all of that, I will be setting our chairs on the patio in a shady location to get this started (and finished).
I want to pass this information on to you also. To this day, I've never come across a fume-free stain or varnish. When I began staining the first chair, I noticed an odor but it was nothing negative so I did 2,3,4,5 and 6 chairs. No problem. But when I awakened this morning, I noticed a BIG odor in the house! Evidentally I just got used to the fumes quickly. Now I have just got to get the chairs outdoors so that their fumes can dissipate and step 2 can be done. Another note. Most varnish and lacquer products warn you NOT to use these products indoors. If you do, not only can the smell be bad but you can actually get carbon monoxide off of them. If that isn't bad enough, the vapors can ignite as soon as you light your cooking stove, a cigarette, etc.
Years ago, our son, Adam, made a gorgeous desk for us in his woodworking class at school. Once it had been graded, we brought it home. A couple of days later, all three of us had severe headaches and did not feel good. Someone suggested that we needed to have the gas company come and look for gas leaks. Of course, the company sent a serviceman right over. His meter actually revealed that we were being poisoned by carbon monoxide. It was being released from the new desk!
I hope that you will take my warning sufficiently. I don't know if this would be enough carbon monoxide to kill someone but I sure wouldn't want to take any chances.
I am assuming that the chairs will be completed and back in the dining room where they belong very soon. I promise to let you know how they turn out!
VLE-B
Once we brought them to their new home, I could hardly wait to get their facelifts done!!! The style of these beauties is basically straight except for some carvings on their backs. I was a bit concerned about how I would get stain and varnish everywhere that they needed to me. There are many nooks and cranies. Anything that missed either of these would stand out like a sore thumb.
I have no idea how long these chairs had been "undressed". Evidentally for a considerable amount of time. The stain was just sucked in like no other projects I've ever done. For 6 dining chairs, a complete quart of stain was used! For anyone who has ever dabbled in the finishing or refinishing of wooden furniture or woodwork of any kind, you know that a little bit of stain usually goes a very long way. At the absolute most, it should have taken half of that much.
Anyway, I managed to get all of the staining done on 2 of the chairs yesterday afternoon. I had planned on taking two days to get all 6 of them stained but anyone who knows me knows that once I begin a project, I become obsessed with it and cannot wait to get it finished. I ended up staining all of them by 2:00 this morning. I am very pleased with how step 1 has gone. For the most part, all of the stain's coverage is even. What I mean by that is that it is always possible that the stain color could be too light or too dark in comparison to each chair. Not the look that I am going for. I need to take a closer look at one of them that is possibly just a bit lighter than the rest of them. Having one lighter than the rest is much better than too dark. For one that is too light, I just need to put on another coat of the stain and it should match perfectly. I don't want to get the "faded" look.
All of the chairs are dry this morning which means that I can begin step 2, the final step. In the past, I've always used polyurethane on all of my projects and have always been quite pleased. This time, I discovered that when I bought the last can of sealer, I picked up something different. This is a finishing lacquer. I've spoken to other people about this product. After all of the work and hours that I have put into these chairs, the last thing that I want to do is apply something that we are not going to like. The people whom I've talked with about this have told me that some people actually prefer this. It comes in Satin, Gloss and High Gloss. I always buy High Gloss so that is what this is also. I need to go to Western Hardware this morning to pick up a brush that is made for lacquering. Their bristles are supposed to be finer than other paint/stain brushes. So, my work on these chairs will begin today. According to the directions, it will take 3-4 coats to get the job done sufficiently. That is the same as with polyurethane varnish. The good thing about the lacquer is that NO sanding in between coatings is necessary. Now I LOVE that!!! The process should be easier and go much quicker than otherwise. It is a calm day outside today and the temperature is ONLY supposed to be in the lower 90s. Given all of that, I will be setting our chairs on the patio in a shady location to get this started (and finished).
I want to pass this information on to you also. To this day, I've never come across a fume-free stain or varnish. When I began staining the first chair, I noticed an odor but it was nothing negative so I did 2,3,4,5 and 6 chairs. No problem. But when I awakened this morning, I noticed a BIG odor in the house! Evidentally I just got used to the fumes quickly. Now I have just got to get the chairs outdoors so that their fumes can dissipate and step 2 can be done. Another note. Most varnish and lacquer products warn you NOT to use these products indoors. If you do, not only can the smell be bad but you can actually get carbon monoxide off of them. If that isn't bad enough, the vapors can ignite as soon as you light your cooking stove, a cigarette, etc.
Years ago, our son, Adam, made a gorgeous desk for us in his woodworking class at school. Once it had been graded, we brought it home. A couple of days later, all three of us had severe headaches and did not feel good. Someone suggested that we needed to have the gas company come and look for gas leaks. Of course, the company sent a serviceman right over. His meter actually revealed that we were being poisoned by carbon monoxide. It was being released from the new desk!
I hope that you will take my warning sufficiently. I don't know if this would be enough carbon monoxide to kill someone but I sure wouldn't want to take any chances.
I am assuming that the chairs will be completed and back in the dining room where they belong very soon. I promise to let you know how they turn out!
VLE-B
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