Figured it Out...Finally...

Four more than 4 years, I have scratched my head every which way to figure out just what to do with our house.

During that time, there have been many moments of despair interlaced with my perpetual optimism and general belief that one day "I would figure this out."

I have been flummoxed since the first round of dust settled on how to go about making this place a home that fits our lifestyle. It's been really very difficult, and we began turning the corner on that score more than a year ago when the floors were refinished and a new barnwood table entered our kitchen.

Still, the wanderlust and belief that the grass is always or at least possibly greener on the other side nagged at me. It seemed a voice would whisper sweet nothings into my ear while driving the countryside, perpetually asking, "Would this be the perfect spot to move?"

Finally, I got tired of this and my response has simply become "just shut the hell up, ok?"

Even though I've been met with silence now, the feeling still persisted that life is crazy and something needed to be done about it. I went on a drive to a place I had never been, checking on cheap land, prayed to St. Joseph, drank a Coke and thought about my situation. Something's got to give. My family is going nuts in that small house.

And then, sitting in my kitchen, leaning up against my table, it all came to me in a moment.
The wall. It's gotta go.

My house is actually a series of additions cobbled together, ending up, basically, in the shape of a U. This is bad feng shui. All the rooms feel too small and disconnected, and my hallway, which is long and dark, is essentially dead space. The heat from the wood stove in the winters has a hard time flowing to the rest of the home because of it. The only solution, really, is to remove the wall.
So here's the plan in a nutshell:
Take out the (load bearing wall). Add in a new oak beam (8x8) mounted and braced
on two 8x8 posts. Add built-in hutches on the opposite hallway wall to handle storage,
build a new base cabinet for a recently acquired farm sink and dish washer. Replace
the existing work table (peninsula) with a larger and more functional island.

I am really eager to make this happen. I have a few other items to finish first, but once they are done,
it's gangbusters.

When I am finished, you are all invited over for tea.
Peace-Out homies.

--Nick-Dog

On Evil

As news reports broke on Friday about the mass shooting in Aurora, I had several reactions all at once:

At first, why? Why did this dipwad have to go ruining the lives of myriads of people he never met? What motivated him to do this? We will find out more details in the coming days and weeks, and I don't believe it was because he was insane. It was because he was evil.
The second, a general "day-um" and then a prayer for the families who recieved some inevitably bad news that their loved one had died or had been shot in the rampage.
The third, the realization that no one fired back, and in some ways, that's what bothers me the most.

People, what the f has happened to us? We are being conditioned to be sheep, to accept violence done upon us with no answerable recourse other than to call 9-1-1.

F that. I took the time to read through some of the victim's profiles. Some of them died as heroes, taking bullets for loved ones or those they were with and felt a responsibility for. I am sure each of the these dead, would have preferred the option to return fire and answer violence with more violence. When I think of this incident and others, I wish some law abinding citizens were armed and could have returned fire, dropped the mutha-Fbomb, saved lives, and have been done with it. That would be a better story.
Instead, I get to see pictures of a Glock, Carbine, and Remington 870 broadcast all over the news media as if that was the problem, as if I should be horrified. No, f-bomb media, these are things law-abiding citizens who care about their lives, their loved ones, and their country should have in their house or on their person, not be worried about. No, the problem was that this neuro-science Ph D. wannabe knucklehead dipwad maniac did not self-diagnose and go straight to the nearest asylum. Instead of checking himself in, he chose to check out and take down as many people with him as possible.

I am disgusted at how this story is being played and the unspoken (and sometimes spoken, I'm sure) theme is that we as citizens are to accept violence done upon us by evil people with no recourse for our own protection. That people with guns did this. It was the guns man, the guns. It's part of the gradual sheep-i-fication of the society the Left desires.

This was supposed to be a gun-free zone. That did not work out so well, did it?

I also want to point out something else that is ironic in this situation. All these people showed up to see a movie that depicts a hero delivering justice to any and all douchebags on the big screen. Ostensibly, because everyone loves Batman, and with good reason. We empathize with the hero. And we should, but when it comes to real life, to protecting ourselves and our loved ones, so many among us take for granted our personal safety, it's actually kind of appalling.

Oh sure, we can play games and go see movies and pretend happily that we are hero ass-kickers, but when it comes to actually living out one's role as protector of the family, of one's environment, and broadly of the civil society, that, that my friends, is largely not taken seriously. It is ridiculed and then discarded and dismissed as fear-mongering until the next incident comes along.

How many more of these active shooter wannabe douchebags are out there? If the answer is one, it's too many, and I know it's more than that. How do I know that? Simple. I know evil.

Evil does not rest. It will not leave all that is well and good alone. Evil seeks to disrupt, to destroy. You could be a happy, peacefull hippie moefoe, but evil will still squash you and laugh at your demise if it has the chance.

As I study 20th century and prior history, it is more and more apparent to me that evil can never leave anything alone. It is always on the march in some form or another. The only thing that can stop it is good men who are willing to pay the price of enduring and delivering violence to stop it, possibly at the cost of their own lives.

I know a lot of people believe in peace and finding the peaceful path and way to deal with those evil and violence. Those are lofty ideals and should be pursued, but at the end of the day, sometimes it just comes down to brass tacks and brutality to overcome unwanted aggression.

Most people don't like to consider that violence can ever happen to them. It's an uncomfortable thought. My only consolation on the matter is that an armed society is ultimately a polite society, and that we can still choose to be armed and protect ourselves. But it is up to us to create that mentality and urge others to do the same.

God Bless,

--Nick-Dog