Quite a storm!

Well, I do not know if we were supposed to get it, but we did! A nasty thunderstorm rolled through our area tonight. The lightning was fairly intense at times. In fact, it was so close that the doorbell started to vibrate, and then the phone rang! That has only happened one other time at this house that I am aware of.

Aside from that, not much excitement around here lately. I have been working on the four wheeler to get it in shape for the remainder of the summer. It was inherited from my wife's family. It is a 2000 Suzuki Quadrunner LT250. Certainly it is not as big as they come but it gets me around the woods pretty good! Earlier in the spring I was riding with some family and the pull start started to come off. All eight bolts magically disappeared at once. So we limped it home and it sat in the garage. I found a great place to buy Suzuki parts in the area so life is good. Brandt's Power Sports in Cheboygan. It is a bit out of the way for me but they are open when I need them to be. They are fair too...they will not try to sell me a bunch of crap that I do not need.

The yard is about 96% done. There is still a bit of wood to pick up from some trees we cut down and the pool needs to be cleaned out...but other than that things are finally starting to calm down around here. A bit more work in the garage for this fall and I will be all set!

I have also taken up another hobby. I have started walking bright and early in the AM. So far it has only been three days but I feel fairly dedicated to it. I know it is in my best interest to continue so I believe I have the motivation to keep going with it. Unfortunately it has been a bit of a bummer summer. Not much time to do anything. I have not had any time to make more knives. I ruined one that I was making and start grinding the other one back down a bit. They LOOKED very nice...but they just would not get sharp. What do people use to sharpen steel from scratch? I have tried grinding it, using actual knife sharpeners, knife sticks, and more. Do I need to buy a filing kit? That would be my guess. I also have not been camping since the Green Timbers event! How disappointing! I was going to take a week in August to do whatever I felt like but we are going down South now. That is not a problem...but it would have been nice to choose what I wanted to do. Oh well, I cannot win them all! ;)

I rather miss the snow now. When it snows I always have things to talk about. During the summer I hibernate. I hate the heat and humidity! If I had an outdoor companion (like my doggie was) I would probably spend a bit more time outside during these months. I have been out a bit to snag some pictures...but I do not have the docking station hooked up to any computer right now. I absolutely hate the fact that this PC does not have more than two USB ports. One is for the wireless keyboard and the other is for whatever device I feel like using that day. Right now, at 10:27 PM, I do not feel like hooking up the camera dock. ;) I keep saying I will upload more...hold tight. I will! If I get a chance this weekend I will upload them to my picasa (http://picasaweb.google.com/dallerding).

Anyway, that pretty much catches you up on my summer so far. We have had a few fires in the pit outside...and we have lit off a few fireworks...but that is about it. I have been working, eating, and sleeping. Please leave comments and start some conversation! It would be much appreciated! Ask questions! :P

Goodnight from Northern Michigan!

-Derek