its been hotter than hell's backporch of late and we've been rooving. what a way to make a living, eh? been over 90 everyday this week, but we've managed to start and finish one roove upriver and today started another downriver. this one, we had to rip off the shingles and the sheeting and start over with new wood. was a really rough one this morning. we start at 6AM cuz theres no way to work much past noon.

so thats that. tomorrow is mid 80's and rain, and all I gotta do is some aluminum work at one house, and some gutter work at another. I'll have to do it 'tween raindrops, but with the lower temp, it'll feel damn good. Im kinda razzed bout that.



my son & crew're coming in for a quickie visit late next month. I get to see grandchild #3 and Im pretty razzed 'bout that, too. Shaun'll bounce between me and his crazy mother. she'll fill his head with bullshit and slanted truthes, but he knows (finally) what the real story is/was. he knows I aint the monster he was led to believe I was for many years. which, I think, is good, yes?


I won a 72 straight games in a row in freecell. I finally hit one I couldnt get through and was upset. and I didnt even cheat; I just changed the way I played. so yes, I am a freecell master and have the stats to prove it.

as for my two chess partners, one [my son] damn near always beats me and one [my florida bud mikie] rarely beats me but both slammed me bad this week and made me look like a putz. I blame the heat. cant expose my brain to the sun all day then expect to jam a chess piece up their collective asses, right? I mean, Im just a roover, not a fucking computer. ...or thats what I tell them so I dont feel so bad.

I actually dont mind loosing to my son--he's a math professor at fordham college in NYC, he's too young to be burnt-out, and he's so smart that I really wonder if he came outta my weewee. but with the chess, we talk almost daily. I get to read a cross section of his life and find out whats going on with the kids almost as it happens--which is way cool in my book


man, demille's the lion is a great book. Im so caught-up in it. theres a lot of gore, but its buried in such a fantastic [and believable] story, just the perfect mixture.

I think my favorite writer currently is michael connally and the harry bosch stuff. theres no one quite as cool as bosch, but elvis cole and joe pike [crais] are running a close second. jack reacher doesnt compare in coolness, and alex cross seems like a dweeb--almost. cross is kinda cool, I guess, but still, gimme a harry bosch book any day of the week.


I got a new weedeater I aint ran yet.

I got a hummingbird feeder I watch a hell of a lot.

I got a damn-near new TV and entertainment center to pick-up that I will put in storage. my mom is getting a wall-mount TV and gave me her old one, which aint all that old.

hmmmmm...nuff banter. gonna read, do a puzzle, maybe nap a bit, then ready myself for work tomorrow

hope yer day is goung all rosy.... :)