watermelon head........

here's a quick pic of Malia enjoying a slice of watermelon, with her mother. she really loved it  and was making mmmmmm  sounds the whole time. she did get a little juice on herself and did try the rind side once or twice, but overall a good melon experience.

attached at the hip.......

this is what it usually looks like when daddy Dave has the little lady for the evening and still try's to get some things done around the house, she doesn't mind.

just a quick pic of momma Mandy's blooming lilies

ka....blamm....ee..................

 here a quick pick of daddy Dave and brother in law #1 loading up a trailer with some firewood, for the up coming winter. yeah it was a big tree, fortunately it was already mostly on the ground, which made the process a little easier. it was a very large "popular" tree but i guess it just didn't fit in with the "in" crowd anymore, peer pressure can just be so stressful on hardwoods these days(not to mention termites).

well the trip home was not without unseen problems. about 30min into our trip home we were presented with a flat tire (on the trailer). well fortunately we had a spare and so after a little work, the tire was changed and we were on our way home. some may say the trailer was too full, but i don't think this was the cause.  you can get a flat tire with an empty trailer, although the weight may have contributed. all is well and were home safe and sound. a big  thanks to sis #1 and her hubby for helping out with this wood collecting adventure. one last trip is still left to retrieve the last of the timber, so an update is on the horizon.

is that hand lotion for breakfast ..................

well in this pic Malia was enjoying some yogurt for breakfast. she used her spoon for a little while but soon grew tired of the time it took to get spoon to mouth. she then then opted for the hand to mouth option which she found much faster(but messier). towards the end of her meal she was rubbing her hands together as if she had lotion on them(something I'm sure she saw her mother doing). clean up was not as much fun as she had while making the mess.

hold it down........

just adding some e-tracks to the interior floor of the trailer. the metal strip provide a way to help secure whatever your hauling.

and behind door #1.....................

just a couple pics of some interesting use of otherwise lost space. these pics taken while out house shopping with that sister #4 and her hubby. this first pic is just an extra closet, just a short door.

this one had too doors under some steps, the smaller of the two, when closer inspected looked to be a cats bedroom, hmmm comfy and cozy.

let the good times roll...........

 yep we'll be open for business in no time. with the purchase of a new rental property on the horizon, daddy dave picked up this gem off ol craigs list. ya see it looks like davy will have to drive a little farther this time cause the next potential rental is in Salisbury, about 35min away.

this new-used enclosed trail will keep oll Davey from having to pack, un-pack, re-pack and then unload his tools when he gets home after a day at the rentals. it should also keep his tools nice and dry out of the rain. yeah its a bit faded but it matches the faded truck. he can also take all his tools when he goes on trips to help give  family members a helping hand.

   remember this old pic from a past post.

fussey mussey.............

here's a clip of Malia throwing a fit while eating dinner. shes not always the the little angle she trys to portray, sometimes angry Malia does emerge. so enjoy

could you live like this?.........

while out rental shopping with the ol wifey we looked at this one residence. this pic is nothing to bad ......JUST A ELECTRICAL FIRE waiting to happen..........yeah those are burn marks from an electrical arc.

o... yeah........ that's not peeling vinyl, those are holes in the floor, lets take a closer look at the sink.........

really................. man o man.................. the sink is not even hooked to the drain lines it just drains on the floor. maybe ..now just a thought, that might have something to do with why the floor is rotting, just a thought. this may be a surprise to you but daddy Dave still loved this house go figure,"potential" he says.

went for a swim today.......

well maybe not a swim, but i did get my feet wet. how many Andersons can you get in a plastic pool.....in this case 3 but we did run out of Andersons. please nobody pee!!!!!!

copycat..............

in this short video malia is being a copycat. her mother was vaccuming in another part of the house, so she got her toy vacuum and started vacuuming the living room. just as usual, she stops as momma Mandy gets the camera out, but you do catch her for a second. enjoy

cat on a slide?........

 yep that's right there's a cat on the slide in this pic can you spot it?.............a scaredy cat that is.... momma mandy was not too excited about sliding down with malia.

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so after a changing of the guard, daddy dave took over and took baby girl for a slide ride.

here we are safe and sound at the bottom.

is it time to change?............

is it time to change that air filter....well it was for the people who lived in this home. but it looks like instead of changing the filter they moved. now this simple task is not that hard or expensive and can also help with the life of your unit and lower your electric bill. this was a quick pic taken during a trip my wife and i took, while out looking for a new project(rental). for goodness sake change your filters man.

swing away......

believe it or not this is Malia's first ride on a swing, besides her infent swing. hard to believe with as many trips as me and her mother take to the park. but were usually running, all business no time for play.

here she is in a swing by herself, and she loved it. some might say she had a swinging good time. but not too much time was spent swinging for dark clouds and the threat of rain chased ol mom and pops back to the ol house.

10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1...lift off.........................

 here a couple pics of Malia lifting off, while we were down for mothers day. 

hiding out.....

 here's a short clip of Malia getting into everything, cabinet included. while her father was fixing her some ravioli for lunch.

snake in the grass........

 can you spot the snake in the grass?...........hint... its in the grass

well here it is a rather long black snake. i believe this is the same snake which lives in our attic. that's right it, climbs up the vines which grow up the side of the house and in to the opening for attic ventilation. even though i'm  not fond of snakes and they make me a bit edgy, i leave this one alone(i have caught and handled though). black snakes are good to have around not only are they good rodent control but they also kill poisons snakes(eat them). id rather have a black snake than a copperhead any day, especially with a baby about. so slither away my friend, just leave my baby girl alone or ill have snake skin boots.

house hunting..con....

 here's a couple interesting photos from my #4 sister and her hubby's recent house hunting adventure. at this address the listing said that there was a newly found cellar. this house was organal built in 1940's  but had been added on to many times, looked to be about 4 different main additions. in fact it was a tri-level home not counting cellar.

  when we arived at the house and took the tour we came across one of the rooms labeled as a  bedroom with 2x6's covering a hole in the floor. and of course we uncovered them.

as we uncover we see a door below. well this must be the cellar, with access only through the bed room floor interesting. of course we go down.

here we are in the depths of the cellar as brother in law #4 scratches his head in bewilderment. i bet one of my ex neighbors would love this house. an secret, underground, no access cellar...hmmmmm..... what could i grow....... i mean use this space for.

super saver......

here's a quick pic of little Malia going through the mail fliers looking for coupons. every little bit counts theses days and moma Mandy makes sure every one pulls there weight around here. so Malia get to clipping and no junk food.

nap time?........

what does Malia really do when its nap time? every once in a while we open the door to her bedroom to find a new surprise. in this recent nap time we opened the door to find that Malia had picked up one of her clothes baskets off the floor and into her bed. you can see how close her wicker clothes basket is to her bed she sometimes reaches in and pulls out all the laundry into her bed. what a little rascal

reuse...recycle.......

   what would one do with this assortment of odds and ends? well leave it up to resourceful Dave for a nifty use. with our new privacy fence the main gate doesn't have anything to help keep it open, sometimes when there's a good wind it catches the door and slams it shut. this can be particularly hard on the door and frame so i opted to attach a latch/lever to keep the door open when need be.

here it is assembled and in use, i used an old piece of pipe and inserted it into the ground so the rod has a slot, to help secure in place.

well where did the hardware go? you may ask. as seen in this pick the hardware has now been removed. why after you went through all that installation would you undo what you've done? well after poking around ol Davey doo came up with a much simpler idea. it is actual in use in the pic.

 

this pic shows the much simpler design. this is also out of the way, but still just as effective as the previous design. also works with the same mechanics of the last. (all parts used are recycled materials free .99)

make'em sweat..........short story...........

          well at my place of my employment, work was going as usual as to be expected. while working i happened to notice the store manager and a co-manger talking amongst themselves with a concerned look upon their faces. this is not unusual because they are always stressing about something. my store manager then calls me over, so i go over to him and hes says in a short tone, that i have a call on line one and after that phone call he needed to talk to me. well who could this be on the phone? possibly my lovely wife with a list containing a few items for me to pick up. but more importantly what did the manger need to talk to me about, and why was his tone so cross?
         as i make my way to the back to answer the phone, my head is whirling with all kinds of questions. as i detach myself from my thoughts and answer the phone. hello i say, the voice on the other end is not one of familiarity but a strangers voice. the ever so pleasant lady on the other end, asks me about a transfer yes i answer, i do know of a transfer but my manager is on lunch and he knows the specifics, not i. well she goes on to say i just need to get some information from you, ok i say thinking its just business info but then she goes on to ask for my phone # and date of birth. hold on i think to my self this is not the usual  information need for a transfer it seems a little personal.
          being concerned about the  information needed, i inquired further. why do you need my phone# and date of birth, i ask. she goes on to explain that this will be my password on the new ordering system at the warehouse. more questions cloud my mind, why do i need a password at the warehouse? she then goes on to ask if she is speaking to -------- and states my full name, middle included. yes i say, she asks did you not apply for a part time summer position in the warehouse. surprised i answer  no. there must be some sort of mix up or something i say, i have no idea what your talking about. after further conversation we both come to the realization, that indeed some sort of information mix up/breakdown has occurred.
        the conversation pleasantly ends and with the confusion  straighten out, i hang up the phone. suddenly i  realize why there was a  short tone in my managers voice, and it made me smile. ya see management had gotten the phone call before me and had heard of my so called new position at the warehouse. this of course was a mistake but i thought it would be great to make'em sweat.
        so with the element of surprise on my side i proceed to find the store manger. when i locate him his face was stern and his head I'm sure was full of questions. he tells me to find the co-manger and meet him in his office. man o man,  the office that's were people go in and come out changed, weather it be for the good or bad, so off i went(doing the robot of course).
        so here i sit across a big office desk from one of the smallest most intimidating managers i know. with his co-manger sitting off to his left hand side, head slightly down making sure not to make eye contact with me. the tension is thick as the conversation begins. the first words out of his mouth," Do You Have Something You  Need To Tell Us" in a very aggravated and loud tone as if he was calling me out. like i had some secret of which i was hiding, sitting on like a mother hen covering her eggs which now were exposed and threaten to be smashed against the floor. inside i was filling with delight, wanting to laugh but keeping a casual demeanor. i answered, "no" with a sort of questioning in my tone.
         not getting the response he expected and a little confused, he then asks, "Is There Something We Should Know About", trying to get me to expose my suspected secret of different employment. but yet again i reply, "No" this time with a touch of attitude. his face reddens as a frustrated/aggravated appearance now takes over his face. he then says "Well What Do You Have To Say About That Phone Call". oh no he didn't, o yes he did, he went there and called me out. well it was about time to let the secret out of the bag before i let it go to far, ya know i still  have to work there, and he was getting a bit worked up.
         so i say, "o that phone call, there must have been some sort of mix up". this kind of draws a blank questioning look  to his face now, looking as if he doesn't  believe me and i can tell he's still flustered. now i kind of stammer a little rushing to explain the situation, and still trying to hold back my laughter. they listen to my side of the story in sort of disbelief. still not convinced they did some checking up to back up my story(phone calls). they were soon to find out that i was right, and they did look some what relieved.
         now that the drama had past and the laughter subsided i got to thinking.  what if someone had gotten my social security # and had applied for a job? so after a quick talk with management and a few phone calls later the explanation was discovered. see, apparently my name is a popular name and it just so happened that some one applied for a summer position at the warehouse with the same exact  full name as me. well someone in the hiring dept entered his name and my info came up scene i already work for the company, they automatically assumed it was me. which then lead to this little fiasco, which did cause a little stress and a little humor for the party's involved. but whats a days work without a good laugh.

get your dance on........

 heres a quick video of Malia dancing, hand jiving, and shaking her groove thang. the real importance in this video is Malia standing up on her own, no chair, mom, pops, or dog. she just stands up and keeps her balance and everything, its just crazy. she did this for the first time a couple of days ago. waaaaaa my little girl is growing up.

hosta.....hosta....at the house'a

just trying to add some more plants/color along the front walkway. we put in a white edge hosta, next step is to drop a different variety of hosta in between and then come behind with a small red bush. hopefully they will take just fine.

who's bath is it?.................

here's a quick pic of Malia taking a bath, but giving her mother a bath too....so really who's taking the bath?

trip to polk..a...deville.........

 the other day me and the girls took a trip down to visit my parents or Malia's grandpa and grandma, down on the outskirts of Shelby. while we were there they feed us a delicious din. here is a pic of Malia eating dinner with her grandma. din consisted of ham sandwiches, potatoes salad, carrots, northern beans and washed it down with some delish tea.

we dropped of my old  motorcycle(80xr) so that the youngest of my siblings could enjoy it. here she is sporting that ever so important motorcycle helmet, on a water break and then back to cruising up and down the dirt road. she seemed to catch on pretty quick. guess you can say its her first ride, just keep it safe young lady.

hanging at the park.......

here's a quick pic of Malia hanging with aunt #4 at the park. she starting to try and walk now, in this pic shes only hanging on by one hand, before you know it she be all over the place.