Kerry's birthday!

It was my beautiful wife Kerry's birthday today! We had an angel food cake with strawberries to put on top. We only put one candle on top to represent her secret age.
Kerry was able to blow out the representative candle on the first breath! It was nice to have an angel food cake for an angel. We also had the strawberries which were sweet just like her.
This is the booty that she hauled for her birthday. She got a new watch, an emergency crank weather radio, the book "Brisingr", and a 5.0 cubic foot chest type freezer. Of course, the best present of all was the fact that I was home to share it with her!

Houseboat II

A shot of the front of the boat. I think this area is plenty big enough to put something up to sleep more people if they want to come and stay.
This is the back of the boat. There is a ladder to the roof. There are two swim platforms on each side of the motor. The boat is 14 feet wide and 40 feet long. It sits on two steel pontoons.
This is a picture from the back door. Kerry was trying to get out of the way. I took another picture without her in it but it was too dark.
This picture Kerry took from the front door. I think they are leaving almost everything you see in the picture. They said they were just going to take their personal items with them.
Here is the picture of the sofa that folds out into a double bed. There are drawers everywhere. Every place is a place for storage.

We couldn't decide if we should buy it or not. It finally came down to a matter of "rock, paper, scissors". I told Kerry that we had to play the game and if I won we would buy the boat and if she won that we wouldn't. I did paper and she did rock. We decided to buy the boat.

I called and told them that we would buy it if they fixed a couple things. I think it is in pretty good shape for a 1969 boat. We will be open for visitors as soon as we make the purchase.

Houseboat

We went to look at a houseboat this weekend. It is down on Dale Hollow Lake on the Kentucky/Tennessee border. The lake is really clear and we plan on using the boat as a scuba diving platform.
It has a bathroom with a sink, toilet and shower pan. There is no plumbing to the sink or the shower but I am going to be able to fix that pretty easily. I have some pex plumbing line that will work very well.
This is the kitchen sink and the range. It is a propane 4 burner with a gas oven. Kerry fixed us scrambled eggs on it for breakfast on Saturday morning.
This is the captains console. Of course this is where I will be sitting. The people that are selling the boat said that they usually put the chair outside when they were not moving so there was more room.
This is the dining area. The air conditioner is in the lower left corner and there is a microwave and toaster oven on the storage area. The two bunk beds in the back are like super singles.
This picture is of the refrigerator. It is a propane/electric. In the background there is the back door and the door to the bathroom.

Boat work

I decided to start tearing up the back part of the boat floor. It is soft and I knew that the plywood underneath was rotten. It is weird how the boat has been off the water for about two weeks but the wood is so wet that you can squeeze water out of it. There is even about six inches from the plywood to the hull of the boat. It seems that the wood would dry out.
There is still a little water in the hull. I was worried that there was going to be floatation foam in this area. I have heard horror stories of people trying to get all the wet waterlogged foam out. I am very pleased that this appears to be the only area that there is a problem. I am going to put a new drain hole in the back and then put a pump down in the hole. There should have been a way to get to this area anyway since it is the lowest point on the boat.

Tomorrow I have to epoxy in a new drain tube. I already drilled the hole and have a fan on the area to try to get it completely dry. We are taking the boat to Dale Hollow Lake tomorrow and we are going to spend the night on a houseboat we are considering buying.

Puff daddy

I got stung by a wasp today. I was helping Burt move a pool table into his basement and one stung me on the wrist. I turned around and started back into the house and one got me right on the bottom lip. I knew I was in for a swollen lip because I have been stung on the lip before.

I already had a puffy face but now it is ridiculous.

I have to go to work tomorrow. I am flying on US Airways to London. I then fly a few trips back and forth between England and Dubai.

Sarah Palin

Wow! Just got through watching the GOP Convention and Mrs. Palin hit it out of the park!

I was a little worried about who John McCain was going to pick as his VP candidate. I didn't want him to pick someone that was liberal just to shore up the moderates. Well, I am VERY pleased with the choice he made!

After watching her in action I can't see how there is even a race any more. I say Palin for president!

No fish

Well, Kerry and I fished for about 3 hours tonight on the Kentucky River and didn't catch a thing. I don't think we know exactly what we are doing. I got a cast net and caught some shad (minnows) but even live bait didn't work.

The boat runs great now. I put in new spark plugs and a fuel filter. The old plugs were pretty worn out. I am not sure how long it has been since they had been changed but it was a while.

I got some books on fishing from the library and am reading quite a bit on the internet so I can figure it out. Wish me luck!

Labor Day

We took the boat out for Labor Day. The lake was pretty busy but we were able to find a quiet place to swim. Burt is in the boat and from left to right in the water is Kerry, Erin, Jacob, and Taylor. Jacob is the boy that Burt and Kim are doing foster care for. I am near the shore taking the picture.
The boat quit running just when we were getting ready to water ski. I got in the water this is a picture of Taylor and I pulling the boat. You can see a boat ramp in the background that we were headed for.
Taylor thought it was easier to pull the boat with her teeth. I am pretty sure she was working pretty hard because there seemed to be slack in the rope between Taylor and me. I think she was the one pulling the boat the most. At least that is until she got tired. If I would have had a camera you would have seen the other 4 in the boat cheering us on.
I guess we were being quiet enough without a motor running that we saw deer that had come up to the edge of the lake. They are right in the middle of the picture. Not sure if you can see them.
We got the boat running again. I am not sure what was wrong with it. The second time Kerry tried to start it while I was pulling it fired up and stayed running. It was nice that we got it running because we were able to get Burt out and skiing. He was able to get up the first time. It had been quite a few years but he said it was like riding a bike.

I think the fuel line must have been plugged with something. I am glad it wasn't a more serious problem. Nothing like sitting out on the lake with a dead boat. =)