Back to work, again

  I was able to do some work on the "house project", walk nearly five miles, and pay attention to the afternoon Red Sox game and the U S Open and take my wife down to Bangor to sign just one more paper.  Today I have Hollie, we switched weekends, so the morning is gone and I may be able to do some more in the afternoon.
  This time I work on the 'lawn', windows and porch roof, and part of the area above the porch roof.
Looks a little shaky to me, but it's early yet and I may be able to save it.

Save it? SAVE IT??? No wonder your nose is growing!

I was their in 1952. Their what??

  I read a lot of news in the local paper, some other papers in the State and online, and of course other site devoted to news.  I also read a lot of comments left by other readers.  I find some errors, no a lot of errors in the way our language is used.
  The title leads to my biggest gripe.  Their, there and they're are not interchangeable, but it's almost unbelievable how many people use them that way.  Their refers to people, there is a place and they're mean those people are doing something.
  A reader of the Bangor Daily News wrote a letter to the Editor yesterday to complain that the paper was using the apostrophe in the wrong way while writing its and it's.  Its is an ownership word, it's mean it is.
  I don't even pretend to be an expert but I did have some tough teachers/instructors in all of my 16 years of schooling (must have been in the first grade for 12).  In college I think there were three courses just on writing and those instructors were tough, picky too.
  Oh!  Let's add to, too, and two to the list.  To indicate directions, too describes inclusion and, or course, two is a number.
  By now you all wish I had work on the 'house project' yesterday, don't you?

The day after the last one, or, the day before today

  I did some work on the House "project", but not a lot, here is a peek:

After two days

  Well......at least it has a roof.  I used a wash of gray, followed by a wash of brown while the gray was still set.  That's one way to mix colors but I don't know if it's an approved of one.  The roof has shingles (not the medical kind) so it will end up different than now.  The chimneys will be shaded to show dimension.
  The gray scrubs on the house will be used for shading some work that follows. 
  The plants/trees and a mixture of two greens along with some red mixed with orange.
Looks pretty ugly now - - I better get to work!  I may not get any done today, it's a busy day with meetings, appointment and all that sort of stuff.

Don't forget to wander over to www.theanimalrescuesite.com and select all the items at the top and click the 'radio button' (they're large) on each one.  It's a way to donate to worthy causes without spending a dime.  It's also okay to spend a dime on occasion too, people need food, housing and all the stuff that goes with it along with adequate medical care.

A progress report. PROGRESS??? You call that progress??

The barn is done, and not too well.

  I made reference to that barn earlier this month.  It came out okay, but I'm still having trouble with the "greens".  Green is a difficult color for me, I have about 6 or 7 different tube of greens, but usually not one I want to use, so I mix them up.

House.  That's the name of this project.

  Here is the photo I'll work from, I took the photo yesterday afternoon, Linda spotted the house just a few miles from where we live.  It looked to me like it was begging to be a project.  Let us all hope the house didn't make a bad decision.

The start

  You probably cant see it, but I've traced the house and started work on the sky.  I always use color that is too light, I don't use enough paint!  I had an instructor in night school that said I should do childrens books since I always had pastel paintings.
  The real problem is that I'm cheap, cheap, cheap.  If I used 'fresh' paint - right from the tube - the color would come out better.  The paint in my work box was squeezed about a year ago, so I'd have to be really careful to make if come out right.
  We'll see as this project continues if 'fresh' makes a huge difference.

Isn't that interesting?

www.ugaadmissions.com

  The answer is, maybe.  Some things that I find interesting other may not, and that's okay too.  I am often far from right in my opinions.  But, since this is blog number 1111 I thought I'd show you some of the things that I find interesting.

North Branch Farm, Monroe, Maine - www.bangordaily.com

  That's the easy way to get a newborn calf and it's mother back to the barn, of course there are other ways too.

The world is leaking www.wha.hartford.edu

  It certainly looks like Earth has sprung a leak, those people are in line to jump off, that's what it looks like to me.  Really it's a waterfall in China.  See the water running over the edges?  Is that what the Grand Canyon would look like in a flood?

The Piscataquis River, Medford, Maine

  I call this the Stopping Spot, I don't know why it's so hard for me to drive by without stopping.  Hollie and I used to stop here every time we went by, I guess if once is good, maybe more is better?

What if the world melted?  www.designyoutrust.com

That's a good question.  Summer is on the way, maybe it'll get hot enough to melt.  Is 72 degrees too hot?
  Is it interesting that I found a way for you to waste your time?

The Big Stick

USS Iowa arrives at its final home, San Pedro, California where it will become a museum
AP photo.  -  click to enlarge

  The Big Stick will now speak softly at rest and as a museum of a bygone era.  Built at the New York Navy Yard and commissioned in 1943 she took part in World War Two, Korean War and was re-activated again to shell targets in Vietnam.  A Big Stick indeed at 58,000 tons.
  My uncle Phillip Grant was on the first crew, a Navy Electricians Mate fresh from duty in Point Barrow, Alaska.  When the war was over Uncle Phil gave me, then 5 years old, his grey wool Navy blanket.  I used and used and used that blanket.  I don't think it lasted quite long enough until I got my own.

Iowa fires a broadside during a test in 1984.
If you look carefully you can she she slipped sideways.
www.wikipedia.org

 

Working with a "round" or bullet for the 16 inch guns.

The rounds fired by the 16 inch guns weigh about the same as a Volkswagen Beetle and be fired at target up to 24 miles away - that's a lot of power and a lot of powder.

Another look at a broadside firing.  Look at the shock waves in the water!
www.wikipedia.org

Iowa passes under the Golden Gate Bridge on her final trip.
She had been mothballed near Vallejo, California
AP News

Not ready for prime time

Road side lupine, Hampden Maine - click -  photo by Linda Grant

  I didn't do my homework so there's no particular subject today, it is Larry's Ramble after all.  The lupine are out!  Great gobs of flowers in the fields (in some places), and along the road side, we have one in the backyard and one out front.
  Yesterday was a Hollie day, I was able to get her to walk two miles without even knowing it, my total for the day was a bit over seven miles.  She was hyper-calm = she had a great time without being demanding, it was enjoyable.  She did eleven "projects" and bought a CD and a T-shirt.  She's excited about the upcoming move, only abut three weeks away now.
  The Red Sox lost again, playing the Washington Nationals this weekend, they remain as cellar dwellers where they have been for the whole season to date.  The Celtics didn't stand a chance in Miami as the legs of most players are too old to be in the NBA.  That said, the Heat won't have much of a chance in Oklahoma City, the Thunder have too much youth and too much talent.  I hope I don't have to eat my words in a couple of weeks.
  Well, got to go hit the pavement soon, maybe another seven mile day.
  Here's one for most of the U S Navy sailors I ever served with:

Zippo.  The sure brand of choice.