Monday, August 24, 2020

Pondering

 Well...Almost at the finish line.  The final portion of the construction phase should be started this morning.  That would be the Gate.  The fence was installed last week and it's ability to prevent canine escapes has been successfully ops checked.  


Felines being much more crafty escape artists will have to have some "special" treatment.  Here's one of them escaping from their last incarceration.




Sorry,  new Blogger format made the old video insert code not work. (As well as MGM banning viewing on any site other than TubeYou.)


No, Ve vill haf to be Much, Much More cunning!

Ve vill build a....Catio!  So much luxury, so much exploring, so much napping they won't even think to escape.

The Catio will be accessed through a cat door in that 2 foot section of wall between the 3 window wall (dining room) and the Single window wall, my office (it's easier to keep me in the dark with less light coming in).  It will extend toward the camera to the cedar post on the right of the porch then around to the right wall of my office, giving them about 30' wide and 6' deep.

So, Mrs J has spoken, so it shall be.  (You didn't think that was me talking in that horrible Jehman accent didja?)
Stay on target, juvat!
Mantente en el objetivo, sí, mi extremadamente viejo sargento de la Fuerza Aérea.
Anyhoo (which is Rhode Island-ese for Anyhow), after the gate is completed, the final paperwork is put together. The final payment is made to the various craftsmen involved in the project and a final signature on several million documents and we're done.
Well, except for that pesky monthly mortgage payment thingee.
The Little Juvat saga is finally over.  Got telephonic confirmation that he and LJW are NOT maintaining social distancing as enforced by the Federal Government.  So...They've got that going for them.  Maybe something else will come of this, say in the Junish timeframe?  One can only hope.
 Saturday we traveled to Cedar Park, a pretty nice suburb of Moscow on the Colorado.  Not quite far enough away to be completely free of moon battery, but close.  We were going there to visit my Niece, her husband and son and celebrate her daughter's 4th birthday.  
Off topic, but I had to do some research on what the proper name for her and my relationship. Well, according to this source she can be called either a grand niece or a great niece.  I, therefore, would be called a grand uncle or a great uncle.  I think she is, indeed, a grand niece.  I, however, am, without a shadow of a doubt, a Great! Uncle.  (Emphasis mine, your opinions may differ.  yada, yada, yada.) Mrs J and my sister opted for Grand Aunts, which if you look to the ancient roman roots of those words means "Old Bats".  
Ain't that right, Sarge, you linguistically talented scribe, you?
Anyhow, now that I've insured a night on the couch tonight, I expected a small gathering of her grandparents, us, Brother and Mom and Dad.
Not to be.  Dad has hero points from now till you know what freezes over.  He built a kiddie pool in the front yard complete with sand beach, about 18"deep, about 10' wide and about 15' long.  All the kids in the neighborhood were there.  Food was catered by chick-fil-a.  Bubble machines were bubbling, sno-cone machines were in full swing.  Dad asked me if he could use the tailgate of my truck as the Adult Recreational Beverage dispensing location.  Who was I to say no?
There must have been 30 +kids and about the same in adults.
So.  We had fun.  No Beans, I was the DD.  I had two bottles of water and two cans of sparkling water.  One was blackberry and not very good.  The other was "Cactus Flower and Cucumber".  All they had otherwise was blackberry and I wasn't going back.  So...I was pleasantly surprised.
But...it's getting dark and we've got about a two hour drive back home.  It's Saturday night and who knows what is on the roads.  So we leave just before sunset hoping to get home before too late.
We're exiting their housing area and I miss the light just prior to the freeway on ramp.  (I'm always bummed when I miss a light for some reason.)  The light changes and we're on the freeway.  We come up over an overpass and as I look out at the traffic situation, I see a couple of brake lights come on, then more, then more, then mine.  
And traffic comes to a complete stop.  After a couple of minutes I see folks ahead of me merging towards the lane I'm in and traffic starts moving slowly again.  I'm getting closer and can see it's obviously been an accident.  
People are squeeking through around it and I'm next in line, but I pause for a second as the guy to my right has been waiting for an opening for about 7 cars.  He pulls through and I see flashing lights coming up on the shoulders of both sides.  A police officer holds up a hand for me to stop. (There was a police car already at the scene directing traffic.)  I do so and wait for further direction.
So, I know this is bad.  Three fire engines and ambulance, another police car and three tow trucks arrive on the scene.  I pull the truck out of gear and tell the ladies to get comfortable, it's going to be a while.
The three firemen in the middle are walking up to the car that hit the embankment.  The Firetruck on the left is blocking the second vehicle and the Jeep has a beat up front and is leaking fluid.
 Apparently there were three cars involved. One of the cars was pretty well smashed up against the concrete side of the overpass.  I couldn't see it very well, but it was a red sedan of some type.  I couldn't see the other one initially, but looked like a white minivan. It and the sedan had to be winched onto tow trucks, so my assumption was that was the first collision. The third, the Jeep, was driven on to the tow truck although it was leaking fluid mightily from the front.  I'm assuming he just couldn't get stopped quick enough and was in a latter part of the collision.
Took us about an hour before, the Police Officer came up to the window and said we could follow the fire trucks when they left. 
The kid in the jeep, walked to the ambulance, I didn't see the occupant of the car on the left, but they did gurney the person in the first car that had hit the concrete wall.  
The whole rest of the way home, all I could think about was how glad I was I'd missed that light, and how all the good things in life can change in the blink of an eye.  I said a few prayers for that blessing on the way home.

Please keep Shaun and his family in your prayers.


 

44 comments:

  1. The video didn't work, here or over on at YouTube, not sure why.

    Other than that Mrs. Lincoln...

    A catio? Interesting concept, reports on how well the feline staff take to "playing in the yard" will have to follow, as they will I'm sure.

    The house is awesome and you're so close to the finish line, that's ever more awesome.

    Sometimes getting caught at a light is a small blessing, sometimes it's huge. Like your experience showed. I've had that happen as well.

    I'll have to relate the drive back from Maryland sometime, there are drivers out there who are completely insane. Saw three kids in Austin Mini-Coopers who were actually racing on the interstate, I'd take them out to the middle of the desert and let them walk home. Complete idiots. Fortunately the drivers around them backed away and let them do their idiocy. Nope, not a policeman to be seen. Seems typical for these enlightened times.

    Shaun is ever in my prayers.

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    1. Fixed. MGM blocked the video on anything other than YouTube.


      Yeah, after the Police opened up the road, I accelerated back up to speed, my turnoff was about two miles further down the highway. Before I got there a Mustang passed me like I was standing still. I was doing 70, he had to be in triple digits. Kids! Think they're immortal. (And Brilliant and Infertile, none of which are true)

      Mine also

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    2. Fixed it for you.

      I drink and I know things...

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    3. I got the video working. How did you get it full screenish?

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  2. Ditto on Shaun. I don't have words...

    House looks really neat. I'm too simple to go for an edifice like that...

    Catio? Is that like the squirrel launcher? Unfamiliar with the term.

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    1. Me either.
      Thanks, again, me either. Mrs J on the other hand...

      No, the squirrel launcher transports squirrels INTO the catio for the entertainment of the would be lions and tigers.

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    2. Though I have seen a video where some clever bubba rigged up a clay thrower as a squirrelpult. Depending on your hatred of tree-rats is depending on your horror of said video.

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    3. Squirrels don't bother me too much. Trash Panda's on the other hand...Bastiges! They've taken to waiting to the single digits of the morning before assaulting Rancho Juvat. I guess they know I'm not going to get out of bed to pester them with bullets at that hour.

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  3. Juvat, I saw the posting on Shaun from another site. I cannot imagine. Prayers Up Indeed.


    Congratulations on the house being almost done - and yes, several million paper documents does not begin to cover what one has to sign anymore. I have told The Ravishing Mrs. TB I maybe have one more move and one more house signing left in me.

    I believe "Great Uncle" is the term most often used - at least in my family. We had a number of great aunts.

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    1. Yep. Next move for me is into a box. (or whatever Mrs J has in mind for me.)

      Thanks

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  4. Ya.... a split second and everything changes forever. On a different note La Casa looks good, that Catio going to have any overhead protection....any raptors around there that like to snack on cat-sized cats? Reading about the Aunt terminology made me think of that commercial with the couple that had the aunt problem, had to chuckle then.

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    1. Yeah, more for sun and rain protection, but a side benefit will be the birds.

      Can't seem to do much about the ant problem around here, not enough poison in the world apparently. One just tries to ignore them.

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    2. You can Amdro the occasional nest that gets too 'rowdy,' can't you?

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    3. Yes, and we do with regularity. But there's more rowdy ones in the wings and Amdro'ing 31 acres isn't inexpensive.

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    4. I drew a cat cat patio (complete with a "cat door"} for a Great Aunt in Northern California. I included a overhead enclosure partially to prevent feline escapes, and partially to prevent predators. The cats loved it, the Great Aunt loved it.

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    5. All your aforementioned features are planned for our project. We'll see how she turns out. Can't start until "Ve haf signed zee papers!" though. September 14th. Just like the military. "Hurry up and wait".

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  5. That's a fine looking abode, juvat. Glad you used the term catio instead of cathouse - or dogio...
    pondering what seconds' difference in timing means to one's welfare is sobering, have had personal experiences that reinforce "There but for the grace of God go I" in a big way.. if you need more reinforcement, just talk to an emergency medicine profewwional or other first responder.
    I also can't see the video.

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    1. Should be fixed now, Tom. I ran afoul of the licensing nazis.

      As I mentioned, I did thank the Big Guy quite a few times for the red light.

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  6. You home is looking good! Thanks for letting me (and the rest of us) join you in this digital journey. I know that watching you do this has saved me a lot of money. I'm not wanting to move - ever again! Especially across the Nation. But, glad I'm out of that socialist state.
    As an aside and another prayer request. Pray for my CA kids, they are all evacuated from the fires. Fortunately they had places to go. I can't imagine where everyone has moved to.
    Every time I read about Shaun, I cry inside. How horrible. How quick life changes. You saw the power of chance (perhaps) on the freeway on your journey home.

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    1. They're added to the list, D4.

      I forget where I saw the picture, and it might be a photoshop, but it was a picture of a sign requiring masks and social distancing surrounded by flames from the grass fire around it. I thought it humorous.

      Glad your kids are OK. I'm a bit concerned about the hurricanes in the gulf and the trajectory towards Houston where my Daughter and Son-in-law now reside. I guess you're never too old to stop parenting.

      Me too.

      G

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  7. Ah, I know understand. See, in my lexicon, 'missed the light' means 'miss the intersection where one turns' not 'got caught by the light.' Your paragraph dinna make sense, until reading reader comments, then I reread it and now it reads well. It even sits and fetches on command...

    So one of the first things you are going to do to your brand new house is cut a hole in it? Or did the contractors already do that for you?

    Catios are nice. Especially with a good, very good, extremely good fence with small hardware cloth wire on the lower section and buried under the ground so as to stop mice, rats, snakes and other pests and vermin coming in. Unless you're making it an elevated catio, which will need a tight hardware cloth on the bottom to stop mice, rats, snakes and other pests and vermin coming in.

    Find a good dry dead small tree or decent branches to make your climby pathway to all the platforms Mrs. J will make you install in the catio. The cats will thank you. Which means they might purposely miss your head in the middle of the night when you hear the three-hoot warning system of ejectae being projectae at your headae (hwork-hwork-hwork! (an alarm all cat owners know and will wake up from a dead sleep just in time to be within the splash zone, because cats are masters/mistresses of space, time and gravity.

    Catio gonna be your construction job or is your wife hiring a catio-engineer or catio-construction team?

    As to you imbibing drinks at party, well, due to my prodigious ability to quaff liters (like 5-6 liters a day) of soda (Diet Dr. Pepper, love the taste and it doesn't burn the stomach like Diet Coke does) I have always brought my own just in case when going to parties. And water? I only really crave water when furiously exercising (like doing lawn work or beating people with sticks) so, bleh, water? Fish pee in water...

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    1. Well...It is Texas...in August...arrived at 5Pm. So, needed to rehydrate badly. I've been spending a lot of time outdoors over the past 6 months, and partly to save money, partly because I'm bored and partly because my doctor told me to, but I've been walking a lot. MBD told me to set a 10K steps/day goal. That hasn't been a problem. But...It is Texas...I drink a LOT of water.

      Re: Fish...Yes, I know. Reverse Osmosis and well water are your friends.

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  8. Saw that thing about Shaun back earlier this month. Total suckage. That whole "better to have loved and lost" thing? Guy who wrote it may have been correct, but still needs to be kicked in the cobbers. Shaun had too little time. Frickin unfair world.

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    1. Yes, at times, it is. This seems to be one of those times.

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  9. Glad Little Juvat is with wife now. How soon before they rotate home or is this a semi-permanent posting?

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    1. The powers that be are said to be working assignments shortly. He's trying for another overseas assignment, something about increasing retirement pay or allowing retirement early. Something along those lines.

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  10. Catiog-lol, very funny, as well as very thoughtful of you and Mrs J. And Beans' idea of a climbing branch sounds like a purrfect suggestion.

    Missed the light--I too was thinking ya meant to turn as opposed to bomb through it--green means go, yellow means go faster, right?? Very glad you didn't, otherwise I would not have been giggling this morning over my morning tea, and starting my day with a smile.

    Crazy, stupid drivers truly are, and one day, they all have to pay the consequence of ignoring reality.
    My heart goes out to Shaun and his family, she sounded like a very lovely person. I read the letter she had written that he had shared...it was damned dusty around here for a while. Tom in NC is correct, every healthcare person/EMS type has more than one story of the stupidity and recklessness of idiot drivers, and the consequences of them being stupid and reckless.

    Glad to hear about Little J and his sweetie. Will continue prayers for their safe return to CONUS as well!!

    I was wondering about you, and several other blog friends who are located in the great state of Texas when I heard about the double trouble heading that way...sheesh, next thing ya know the Madrid Fault will be letting loose...2020 has indeed been "interesting"!!

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    1. Thanks Suz, There seems to be a group of people in this Country (maybe elsewhere also) that are either very wealthy or in government (or both) that believes the laws don't apply to them. That may be true regarding the Laws made by Man. However, one CANNOT violate the Laws of Physics, regardless of your financial or political pull.

      I'm sure you have seen your share of tragedies in your profession. God bless you for that.

      Thanks

      Funny, I do have the Madrid Fault failure on my 2020 Bingo card! I may get lucky. ;-)

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  11. Life's an adventure.
    Attitude determines how big an adventure it is.

    Catio is a new word for me.
    Obviously I've been leading a sheltered life whilst my cats have not.
    I saw a post, once, where some folks had created an outdoor escape for their felines, but it looked nothing like the chicken coops on the gargle.
    I miss my cat, but he's happy living indoors in Washington.

    Once upon a time [Grins] I used to rush through intersections on the white knuckle express.
    Survival now trumps early arrivals.
    That's an attitude adjustment.

    A big Wilco re: Shaun.

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    1. Mrs J wants one of those outdoor escapes things. The cats have been free roamers during the day and indoors at night. but we've lost a few over time. So...What Mrs J wants, Mrs J gets. To the best of my ability anyways. I may have to reach for my checkbook for expert help, but I'm gonna try first.

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    2. No, but it's on my 2020 year of doom bingo card ;-)

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    3. My thought process was two-fold: Since California is a-blaze, again, and since the Gulf Coast is hunkering down, again, what else could possibly go wrong--earthquakes would not be a good occurrence...and which one do many folks never think about...the one in the middle of the country. The last time it let go in Missouri/Arkansas area, it rang church bells in BOSTON!!

      I'm betting it shook stuff up to the south west as well, but there weren't too many folks in Texas in 1811-1812. If it did let go, the big issue could be supply line disruption for the majority of the country due to how it could affect the Mississippi River and the bridges that cross it. And we are already dealing with supply line disruption to some degree.

      So, yea, it's on my paranoid bingo card of doom...lol.

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    4. I remember reading about that in an American History class at some point. It would be “Bad” if it happened again for exactly the reasons you mentioned. My biggest gripe is people don’t understand that “Feces occurs” and it’s not always human caused. One should be cautious, prepared and resolved.

      One still will die, maybe not then, but...sometime.

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  12. I've sure been enjoying your new build adventures juvat. Neat solution to the feline challenge!🙂

    Ah, the missed light. None of us can see the future and few of us can really believe in a world without us in it.

    Thanks so much juvat, and thanks to all of you kind Chant readers. You have all been so caring and kind and it means the world to us.

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    1. I wish there was something I could do or say that would make things better. Unfortunately, better is not possible. Less bad is probably all that time can make it. All I can say is "Hang in there, Buddy." I and the rest of the folks here are praying for you.

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    2. To Hell with social distancing--I just want to give Shaun and family a big, long hug!!!

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  13. Luck plays a part... And yes, praying for Shaun and family.

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    1. I’ve always said I’d rather be lucky than good, luck is more reliable.

      Thanks.

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  14. Moat. Filled with barbed wire, piranhas and barramundi. The cats will natural-select to stay home. Or, get a lot bigger...

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    1. Unfortunately, Moats require water. I don't think my well could keep up with evaporation. But...I like the way you think. Maybe dig a deep, steep ditch around the Casa. Fill it with Cats. That would keep the bad guys at bay.

      I think.

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Just be polite... that's all I ask. (For Buck)
Can't be nice, go somewhere else...

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