Staining the Fence

The stained fence makes a good backdrop for my hanging baskets and my other flowers!

A picture of the painted fence next to an unpainted section.
The darker stain makes the fence look much less rundown and old.

Staining the fence has been an ongoing project for me this summer. Despite rain, extreme temperatures and an upper respiratory infection FROM HELL, I have persisted. I have put stain on about three-fourths of the fence. I have two sections left, plus a few spots where I am going to have to wait until the foliage dies down before I tackle them.

Once finished, I plan on also staining the deck the same color. I think the stain really improves the look of the fence and I think it'll also make the deck look snazzy. Although there has been a lot of effort involved, the cost for the project is actually on the cheap side, so I'm getting a lot of value for the money. I did have to sacrifice a shirt and a pair of shorts to the project. I haven't quite perfected how to stain something without looking like I've rolled around in it.

Best. Concert. Ever.

Richard and I have reached a consensus that the Eagles concert we went to Thursday night was quite possibly the best concert we've ever been to. Even though we were in the cheap seats, the sound quality, vocals and performance quality were amazing. The band played 3.5 hours straight with one short break in the middle. The playlist was mostly the classics, with some additional stuff from their new album.

Although I hadn't heard the new stuff, I did like it. I'm going to have to add the cd to my ipod and give it more of a listen.

We were sitting in the midst of a section of Joe Walsh fans, which was a hoot. I've listened to the Eagles a lot over the years. Seeing Joe Walsh play guitar in person was an absolutely amazing experience, even from the upper deck.

I have to say that I really enjoy seeing established acts in concert. The show is so polished, I always feel like I'm getting a good value for the money. I think some comparable concerts were Simon and Garfunkel and Billy Joel with Elton John. Yes, Mary. Both of our Ipods are filled with elevator music.

One funny thing that happened involved a guy a few rows in front of us smoking pot. He was being pretty blatant about it also. The occasional pot smoker is something I've just come to expect at concerts, so I usually deal with the extra smoke and not worry about it, but I've had a cold that I'm just recovering from and sidestream smoke was not something I wanted to deal with. I was having fantasies about pelting the guy with my water bottle when a little old lady in front of me did just that. After getting hit a few times with various bits o' trash and looking around in absolute confusion, he finally put out the joint. It cracked me up. So I say "Go little old lady!" I don't know if you are fighting a one-woman war on drugs or just taking umbrage at annoying people in public venues, but my lungs owe you some thanks.

As an aside, this assault by garbage was something I witnessed when I saw Bob Dylan and Paul Simon at Starwood. The very drunk hippie biker next to me (who very sweetly insisted on sharing his binoculars with me throughout the evening) stood up during the Dylan set and threw a bag at a lady dancing about 20 rows up. Granted, she was the only person in the whole venue dancing at that point (it was getting pretty late) and she was directly blocking our view of the stage. Oddly enough, when she turned around, I realized I knew her. She was on the faculty in the English department at Tech, where I was working at the time as a teaching assistant.

So she turns around to look at me and the drunk hippie sitting next to me and I sink in the seat, hoping she doesn't recognize me and think my drunk hippie date is assaulting her. The next morning at Tech I passed her talking to several teachers in the doorway at Henderson Hall. "How was the Dylan concert?" "Yeeeeah, it was really great, except this weird guy threw stuff at me for dancing. I mean, it was a concert." For what it's worth, drunk hippie guy loved the show and the chance to see Dylan was a transcendant experience for him. The English teacher was not injured. A good time was had by all.

Hey Loretta!

My friend Marc, who shares my love for ancient country music, scored some tickets for the Opry show on Saturday night. Loretta Lynn did a three song set (this was the main attraction for us both). Her performance was terrific! She sang Squaw on the Warpath, When the Tingle Becomes a Chill and Don't Come Home a Drinkin.

I was telling Richard someone missed a real opportunity to protest the Republican National Convention with a boom box blasting The Pill.

For those of you who have never been to the Grand Ole Opry, it's a pretty good value for the money. You see several headliners and smaller acts in between. So in addition to Miss Loretta, we saw Jimmy C. Newman, Roy Clark, Jean Shephard, The Whites, Patty Loveless, Connie Smith, the original folks who sing Rocky Top and of all people, Jessica Simpson.

Roy Clark is getting on in years. I remember him from his days on Hee Haw and I have to keep reminding myself that Hee Haw was at least 30 years ago. Jean Shephard is a real hoot. The Whites were good too. They did a gospel song but also one of my favorite Carter Family songs "Fair and Tender Ladies." Roy Clark introduced Jessica Simpson and was very sweet and polite to her despite her lack of clothing.

Seriously. Marc and I kept waiting for a major costume malfunction scandal. I mean, Dolly Parton dresses like that, sure, but I trust that Dolly has been in the business long enough and is knowledgable enough to keep her considerable assets from popping out and accidentally killing a stage hand. Jessica is going to have to earn that trust over time. She sings real good and her songs were not bad given current country fare, but I would have been more than willing to overlook the dress if she had stood still and sang some Patsy Cline.

From my point of view, Miss Loretta was still the highlight of the evening. Even though she's in her 70s, she still brought the house down. I wish her good health and I really hope she has some more good years of performing in front of her.

I'd like to post a video of her performance or a review, but the media only covered Jessica and her Opry debut. You can take a look at it, just click here.

www.lorettalynn.com

Fourth of July

Scenes from the Fourth of July picnic at my Grandma Hodgins.

Eva looks happy.

Mary says why, oh why, Robin, do you keep taking pictures of me?

A picture of mom hanging out, actually smiling. Where's the grumpy "don't take my picture" face?

Boomer, Eva and Wilene give me odd looks.

Alivia poses for the camera. She actually likes having her picture taken.

Richard nods off while talking to Doyle. He hasn't been the same since he lost his hat at the
Mexican restaurant and could not recover it due to an unfortunate language barrier.
We are searching for a new hat to help with the loss. This is the last photo of the hat.

Summer visitors

I have recently downloaded a bunch of photos from this past summer. This is Mary and Alivia and I hanging out at the house. We also had Mary's friends Kim and Tracy visit over the summer as well. We had lots of fun!