Never-ending House Projects

When I first bought my house back in February, the backyard had a shed in it. Granted, it was a rusted-out floorboard-deteriorated shed, but a shed none-the-less. Within 3 weeks, the dead pine tree that was also in the back yard fell, thus crushing said shed. Seeing as though my insurance did not cover this, my father came up and cut the tree up, tore apart all the metal scrap that once was the shed and hauled it all off for me. The insurance didn't cover it because there was nothing (such as a storm, wind, or lightning) to really cause it to fall. It was dead and therefore decided one night to give up. Dad thinks it may have been struck by lightning before because it was burned all inside down to the bottom. There's no telling how long it's been there like that. I was sitting in the living room one night and all of a sudden heard a loud crash of metal. It freaked me out because as I said, I had only been in the house for about 3 weeks. New neighborhood, new house, and was getting used to all the sounds within the house...you know.
It was loud enough to hear inside the house but couldn't figure out which direction the crash came from. So I look in my garage (being that the garage door is metal and all) and nothing there. Really I was a little frightened to open the front door being in a new neighborhood and it was dark. But then something told me to look out the back and sure enough...there was the pine tree atop my crushed shed.

Here are a couple of before and one after pictures. That last one was taken recently, as you can tell from all that greenery on the back fence. I could have sworn that I took pictures of the fallen tree on the top of the shed, but when I went to go look for them, I couldn't find any. With all the pictures I take, I'm confused at how I failed to get those. Oh well.

Here it is barely in the picture on the right.
You can see the tree was already leaning back a bit.

There is the old rusted out shed that once stood.

The yard after it was all removed

I want to get four more of the pines trees removed, however it's so expensive that I'm having to wait. I've got four tall ones right out the back door in the middle of the yard. The plan is to get rid of those four and plant a nice shade tree in the middle towards the back fence for the doggies.

Here's a picture of those four pine trees

So my dad and I went shopping for a shed back in October. Since the winter months are upon us, it was time to get a new shed and move all the unnecessary stuff (lawnmower, wheel barrow, and other yard stuff) in there and clear up the garage. I want to make room to pull in the car with the bike. If I had the money, I'd also get a front and rear stand for the bike to make more room, but I'm going to have to figure a way for them both to squeeze in together without the stands.

Putting a shed together is definitely a task. And a long one too. The frame had to be put together, then the boards had to be cut to fit, then drilled to the frame. The wall panels also had to be drilled to the wall frame. Apparently there's A LOT of drilling. As of right now, the frame, floorboard, and walls are up. Yet to be done is the roof and the doors. All the credit goes to my dad and Uncle Shorty. I only helped very little.

This was taken last week before the rest of the panels were added

This is what it looks like now:

The problem that has been evident once assembling the shed together is that the ground is very uneven in the back yard. You can see in these two pictures here where the left part of the shed is up on bricks to level it out.

All those bricks you see here was
from underneath the old shed

My yard seems to sit low compared to my neighbors also. So when it rains, it becomes mush and pools water all over the place. So there it is, folks...one more project to add to the never-ending house project list - fill and grade the backyard to level it out. Not only the back yard, but the front yard needs to be done as well. See here...

The backyard - See the little puddles around the trees?
It's like that all over the yard

My "pool" in the front yard after it rained

So my house project list continues to grow:
1. Replace bath fixtures in the guest bath
2. Fix guest bath and master bath toilets
3. 2nd coat of paint in the master bath
4. Paint the den
5. Paint the guest bath
6. Clean out (unpack) guest room
7. Paint guest room
8. Paint trim
9. Add small single gate by the garage
10. Replace the double gates on the other side of the house
11. Replace all windows
12. Replace carpeting in the bedrooms
13. Replace carpeting in the den and hallway with wood laminate
14. Replace sliding glass door.
15. Remodel kitchen (this in itself has its own project list!)
16. Cut down 4 pine trees in the back yard
17. Fill, grade, and level front and back yard
18. Repave driveway

*SIGH* Oh where shall I ever find the money to do all these things? It seems like when I'm getting along, something else pops up that needs to be done and gets added to the "project" list. Ah, the life of a homeowner...

Until next time...

Runaway Thoughts...

Don’t you sometimes wish you had the answers for everything? Would that even be worth it though? There are times where I wonder a lot about things and wondering why I never have the answer or couldn’t understand the issue and why things happen to me. But then would it really be life if we had all the answers?
If we were meant to have all the answers, then God would have allowed us to be all-knowing. But we’re not and there’s only one all-knowing...
I’ve thought lately on what it is I’m meant to do with and in my life. Sometimes I wonder if I’m really in tune with any signs that would point me in the right direction…

I find myself being only human, as we all are, and having to work especially hard on my patience and anger. I tend to hold grudges longer than I should and sometimes never letting them go. I can never figure out why it’s so hard for me to forgive. Why can I not look past how I’ve been treated and forgive those that have “trespassed” against me? I think pride plays a part. I’m definitely a prideful person and having gone through certain things in my life has made me this way. Maybe I’m allowing my pride to get the best of me and get in the way of allowing me to forgive. If I haven’t forgiven, have I really moved on?? For some reason I feel that forgiving and accepting what's been done to me is a sign of weakness, even though it may not be. Here's where that pride pops in again. Being prideful and not wanting people to see me as weak. I think that's why I tend to build up a wall so I won't continue to get hurt.

Just when I feel like things are good and start looking up for me...or just when I decide to let down that wall for someone, something happens to mess it all up and I'm right back where I started. Disappointed, pissed off, hurt, take your pick...
I often wonder why things happen the way they do. I'm not an extremely positive person, but I've tried the past year to be more positive, however I find myself falling back into negative thinking at times and that's probably cause it's easier. I'm going to try harder at being more positive, work on my anger/resentment issues, and work on forgiving.

I missed Mass the other Sunday so I made it a point to go yesterday. I really needed that. When I start to feel this way, I've noticed that going to Mass helps me. And during times where my thoughts run away with me, I find myself becoming emotional as I'm praying in church. I haven't been able to figure out why that happens. Not only that, but I've found myself lately with my mind wandering around a lot during mass, especially during the homily and sometimes the readings. I can't explain it and don't know why it happens, but when I find myself wandering off in thoughts, I try to refocus and listen. Then there are times where it's harder to refocus, so I'll say a quick prayer asking for the strength to focus. Is there a reason that my mind wanders to things I'm dealing with when I really should be listening to the readings and the homily??

Just some runaway thoughts there since I've had a lot on my mind lately...

So on a more positive note, I love our visiting priest that does mass once a month so our priest can have some time off. He comes from Nigeria so he has a very strong accent. I've gotten used to his accent and can understand everything he says, then again, I'm usually pretty quick to understand those even with a thick accent. The one thing that I love about him is that he loves to sing and he'll just break out with a song when he talks to us sometimes. Yesterday during his homily about the Advent season and getting ready to celebrate the birth of Christ and the coming of Christ, he sang a song to us:

Will you be ready, when Christ shall return?
Will you be ready, when Christ shall return?
I will be ready,
I will be ready,
I will be ready, when Christ shall return...

I loved it. Not only did he sing it, but he made the whole congregation sing it with him, then again without him. His homilies always lifts my spirit. He is so powerful in his words and songs. I found myself smiling after that...

Until next time...

My Spur of the Moment Helmet Time

I had a late night Friday night and didn't get to sleep until 6am only to turn around and wake up by 10:30am. The plan was to try to go back to sleep but that didn't work out too well. I was lazy for the rest of the morning and stuck my head out the door a few times to let Raven out. It was nice and warm outside with just a slight overcast that was coming and going as it pleased. It wasn't until early afternoon that I realized I needed to get out for a ride. It was too nice to let it pass and I was in desperate need of some helmet time with my thoughts and the wind.

Since it was an spur of the moment ride I just decided to take a route that a friend showed me earlier this year. But I added on the Lake Murray Dam and Corley Mill Rd route cause that's always a nice little quick scenic ride. The route itself only totaled about 50 miles, give or take a mile or two more since I stopped a few times and turned around a couple times to check something out. I was out for almost 2 hours.

Saturday's Route

View 10-31-09 Route in a larger map
A Twitter friend of mine, Kristin, posted a quote the other day that really caught my attention and clicked something in me:

"Four wheels move the body. Two wheels move the soul."

Those that ride would completely understand where I'm coming from on this. I've had a lot going on in my personal life these past few years. The one place that I can get away with just my thoughts and the wind, is on the bike. I said one time before (I think I even still have it on my MySpace page) that seeing and experiencing the mountains is almost a spiritual thing for me. There is something that seems to overwhelmingly affect my soul and heart the minute I see that first glimpse of the Appalachian mountains when I'm driving towards Asheville. It's that one hill that you drive up to the top and then all of a sudden there they are....
I don't know how else to describe it, because really to me, the feeling is indescribable. I can never seem to find the right words to explain exactly how I feel. Well, I feel the same exact pull when I ride.

Everyone has passions in their lives. My passions specifically are music, dancing, writing, reading, tigers, and riding; simply put. Every single one of those things gives me that same exact feeling that I just tried to explain. I get lost in my music and dancing, just as I do my reading and writing. And when I say I get lost, I really mean I get lost in the moment. For that moment when I'm doing these things or experiencing these things, I forget about everything else...I forget about myself...I forget about all the worries and problems, and I get caught up in my passion. Some of you have noticed (and mentioned) that I'm a very passionate person and it seems to show more with these specific passions of mine. It is because every single one of them literally move my heart and soul. Therefore, I desperately needed that time on the bike...I needed to soothe my heart and soul a bit because my thoughts and mind have been running 100 miles a minute and all different directions as of late. I needed that time to gather myself and remind me of who I am and to find a bit of peace. Even if only for a few hours.

At first I didn't want to take any pictures, I just wanted to cruise along and enjoy the scenery. But I brought the camera anyways and managed to get a few shots for you guys. I have to say that Fall is a beautiful season. I like it when the trees start to change colors. A few of the roads I took were lined with trees on both sides and it was rather serene just riding through the tunnel of trees with their beautiful multicolored leaves dancing in the wind.

These were taken on Kennerly Rd at the first half of the ride. When I turned onto Kennerly from Broad River Rd, the farther I rode, the quieter it got. Less traffic till there was almost none. I saw a few people out on their property because it was such a beautiful day. I rode past some cows grazing in the pasture under some trees. A little further down were a couple of horses just standing around curiously checking me out as I rode past. It was nice just to cruise along and enjoy the scenery, all the while working through my thoughts to the music in the one ear bud I had in.







As I came back around and jumped back onto Broad River Rd farther down than when I turned off, traffic become more frequent. It wasn't too bad though. I didn't take any pictures of the Lake Murray Dam because I'd already done that in a previous post and at the time I felt it just would have been repetitive. But then as I was coming back across the Dam on the way home, I saw a photo op that I had not gotten the last time. So maybe another time I'll have a chance to get some more of those shots. However, I was at least able to get a couple more shots on Corley Mill Rd this time:






The second, third, and fourth picture are my favorite shots. Anyhow, I came out of Corley Mill and decided to ride back around to Lexington and jump back onto Lake Murray Blvd to take the back way home. I didn't want to jump on the interstate and ruin the whole ride.

So all in all, I'm happy that I pushed myself to get out on Saturday for that short ride. I really needed that and wish it had been a little longer route. The helmet time was good and I felt at peace when I got home. I know that didn't touch on any of my thoughts or personal revelations I may have had...and for good reason. That helmet time was my time...it was for me and me alone. However, a few of you understand me through my writings and will probably see the evident thoughts peak through a bit in my other blog...maybe.

That being said, I'm going to leave you with a quote that I found this morning. I really like this one and wanted to share:

"A good long ride can clear your mind, restore your faith, and use up a lot of fuel."

Until next time...

A Look Into My Thoughts...

It's been a couple of weeks since I last posted a blog. And for those that read the last post about my wrenching session, there have been no leaks and the bike is running just fine. :)

I really don't know where this post is going to lead, but I feel the need to just let my thoughts wander...Please bear with me.

It seems that I've had a lot on my mind lately and have gone through quite a lot these past few months...or hell, just even this past year. I've dealt with so many emotions, including heartache and loss. Thinking about everything at once can be rather overwhelming to me. Nothing quite as hard as that fatal night in 2007, however just as mentally taxing none-the-less. While to some the things that I think of and worry over may not seem to matter, but they matter to me and everyone deals with certain things in different ways. For example, while some may think dancing is their whole life, others may not even give it a second thought. Not sure if that's exactly a good example as to what I'm trying to say, but I'll leave it anyways. I don't really plan on editing this post because I just want my thoughts to flow.

Many of you know that I've started another blog called My Creativity Spoken Aloud where I post up all my poetry. I've been writing since high school, but had rarely let anyone read it, with the exception of a handful. I didn't mind so much the poems where I put myself in other people's shoes and wrote about that experience, but it was the poems where I wrote from the heart that I was worried about criticism or I guess just even showing who I truly am. Some of you have already seen the blog and read some of my poems....I truly have no idea where my creativity comes from. I take my feelings and dwell deep into them and let my pen do the dancing...
Sometimes I look back at some of them and think that it looks like I'm a rather depressing person, but for the most part I'm not. Or I try not to be. I know I'm not very positive, but definitely not depressed. I know the difference, trust me.
Some people may say that I have a gift. I find it really weird to hear that because I don't always feel like there's anything special or unique about me. Doesn't matter though, I'm just happy to be writing again. It's a release for me and helps me deal with my thoughts and feelings some.

I hate when I'm not in control, especially when it comes to my life. And I'm so very tired of being disappointed. So very tired of letting myself be vulnerable to others and so very tired of getting hurt in the process most of the time. Sometimes I feel lost and don't know exactly where my life should be going. People speak of destiny. I don't know what my destiny is. I don't know what I'm meant to do. I don't know who I'm to spend it with. I don't know where I'm supposed to spend it. My mind goes round and round and just when I think I have a grasp on a few of the things and the sun shines a bit, it all just speeds up again and throws me for another loop.

I was talking to a long time friend a couple of weeks ago. He told me how he saw me; as a strong woman who is secure with who I am and where I'm at in life. I've got my shit together and know exactly what I want. It all felt so weird to have someone from the outside of my head, who can't read my thoughts, tell me all this. Because sometimes I don't feel so strong. Sometimes I don't feel so secure with myself or my life. Sometimes I don't know what I want. There was a lot more to that talk, but I'd rather keep that to myself because then I'll let you too far into my head. And while I do reveal a lot sometimes, I really don't like putting myself out there and am guarded about certain things for good reason.

Sometimes I wonder if I let my emotions or my thoughts get the best of me...

Saturday's Wrenching Session

So last week I decided that it was time to do some routine maintenance on the bike, including changing the oil. I never really had a chance to do this on either bikes that I've had because I never had a work space or garage to do the work in. Now that I've got a house with a garage, it's time for me to start working on my own bike as I do the car. Once that was decided, I went on the search for my owner's manual. I normally keep it with all my bike gear and paperwork, but for some reason it wasn't there. I fear that it's in one of the boxes not yet unpacked that are taking up room in the spare bedroom.

Yes, that's right...about seven months later and I've still not yet completely unpacked. I'm still trying to finish painting all my rooms! Give me credit though, I've made up my mind that I'm going to unpack at least one box per week. So it'll get done sooner or later...

Anyhow, so I set on the mission to find one online instead of tearing apart the house looking for mine. Luckily, thanks to my friends Faceyman and Fizzer, I was able to get some good informational websites. I was even able to find a scanned copy of my owner's manual. I printed up copies of only the pages that I needed. By Friday night I had my checklist ready and read up on how to change the oil on this bike.

1. Check tire pressure
2. Check idle speed
3. Change oil
4. Check drive chain
5. Check brake fluid
6. Check coolant
7. Check air filter

Saturday started out with the Pet Blessing at my church in honor of St. Francis of Assisi. I packed up the car with Socks and Raven and headed up there for the 8:30am blessing. On the way home I stopped by Cycle Gear to pick up some chain lube in case I needed it. I then stopped by Auto Zone to look at the torque wrenches. The manual said I needed one otherwise the work had to be done by the dealership. My dad laughed a bit and said they all said that and I didn't really need one, I just needed to tighten it tight enough. So after speaking with the guy at Auto Zone and remembering what my dad said, I left without one.

It wasn't until around noon that I finally got to work on the bike. I pulled the laptop out to the garage and got everything ready. I first checked the air pressure since the tires were cold. Then I started her to get her warmed up. Check the idle speed (cause I've been known to mess with it from time to time) once she got good and warm. Now on to changing her oil...

I used Kawiforums.com as a guide to make sure I did everything right. I have no problems changing the oil in my car cause I've been doing that for years...however, this is my first time on a bike and I didn't want to screw up anything cause it seemed to be a little more complicated. (But in the end it really wasn't!)

Now once I got started, I ran into a slight problem...


Yes, that's right...my bike is so low that I couldn't even get the oil pan under it.


So I sat there for a minute trying to figure out what to do because I didn't have a rear stand to use therefore I wasn't getting any lift. I was just hoping that I'd be able to work under it as it sat. It didn't cross my mind that as low as it sat it would create that much of a problem. I ended up calling a friend of mine and she was trying to come up with ideas of things that I could use to drain the oil in...none of which I had. But as I was talking to her, my eyes drifted over to my paint supplies on my garage shelf and saw my set of plastic paint pans. That's when I had my A-ha! moment.

My father originally told me to put the bike up on bricks, but I couldn't figure out how to do that at the time...
But I found a board that I had left over from fixing my attic stairs just sitting in the corner collecting dust. So I grabbed a brick and that board and came up with this...




As you can see, it gave me plenty of clearance to work with on draining the oil and getting the oil filter out.


So, she was up on my makeshift lift, brake handle rubberbanded so she'd stay in place and I went to work. I had no problem getting the bolt loose for the drain. So I waited a little bit as she drained, which wasn't long since my bike only holds about 1.8 US Quarts (according to the manual). It wasn't until I went to change the oil filter that I ran into another problem. I couldn't get the oil filter cover loose.


I pulled and pushed, yanked and hammered and I still couldn't get it loose. I tried to be careful though because I didn't want all the yanking and pulling to bring the bike down on me! I must have worked on that for 15 minutes. Only because I kept taking breaks, sitting on the garage floor staring at her trying to figure out what to do. I was beginning to regret staying up all night Friday night because I felt so weak and tired and not being able to get this oil filter cover loose was making it even worse. (Okay, so I didn't stay up ALL night Friday night, but I didn't go to bed until 5:30am and turned around and got up at 7:30am. I might as well have stayed up all night! That in itself is a-whole-nother story!)
My father told me to get another wrench to put on the end of it to give it more leverage, or to find a pipe. I tried the wrench trick, but it didn't work, not with the one that I had, not long enough to give me enough leverage. So, I called my friend Jeremy up at Cycle Gear to see if he could swing by the house and help me out since the store was only right down the road. And he did. But you know, I don't feel so bad now, cause when he got there and tried it, he couldn't get it loose either! :)

It wasn't until he had tried a few times before I remembered the pipe that I have in the house that I was using on something. So I pulled that out and he was able to use that as leverage and get the cover loose. *whew* I was beginning to wonder how I was going to get the stupid filter changed. So he helped me with the filter and we chit chatted and caught up on life for a little while. I finished up with the oil change and ran her for a little while to get the oil flowing. She's good to go!

I came awfully close to the max level, though not intentionally. It's so easy for this to fill up quick, even though I was watching the level! Luckily I'm still right below the max line so I should be okay. I'm going to keep my eye on it though...



While Jeremy was there he also helped me check the drive chain. The slack was just fine and no lube was needed. So after he left, I finished up my checklist with the exception of the air filter. In order to do that I would have to remove the right side cover. Since I'm a little low (just right above the low level line) on coolant and I need to put some more in, I decided to wait to do both at the same time. They both require the right cover to be taken off. I'll have to pick up some coolant at the store this week. But other than that, everything check out good!

Checklist by 6pm Saturday:
1. Check tire pressure CHECK
2. Check idle speed CHECK
3. Change oil CHECK
4. Check drive chain CHECK
5. Check brake fluid CHECK
6. Check coolant CHECK and in progress
7. Check air filter Not yet completed

Not bad for my first wrenching session, wouldn't you say? ^_^
Until next time...