Christmas presents pick themselves around here!!!

It all started on Thanksgiving Day!!! After feeding the masses, the missus said,"Sccccooootttt, the kitchen sink is not draining!!!) We have remodeled her family home and our new kitchen has two sinks. All of the plumbing in the house is new-except for 1 drain. Yepper, the kitchen sink with the DISHWASHER attached. It would have been a major floor chipping operation to replace that drain in the beginning, traversing 20 feet diagonally across the kitchen to where the drain intersects with the bathroom. Soooooooo.........I left it. The only old drain in the house.
#3S and I get the plunger and run hot water--PLUNGE, sploop,PLUNGE , sploop. The water drains -YEEHI!
Fast Forward 1 week----Scoooooottttttt-the damn drain is slow again. #3S and I go to work ----PLUNGE,sploop,PLUNGE,sploop. The water drains_YEEEEHI!
Fast Forward 1 week----I notice DUCT TAPE xed across sink. Hon, are you working on the sink?? I asked incredulously! Why didn't you call me? Whats going on??
Well it seems that the sink had run slow again, and my better half decided to fix it herself. She found a chemical that you dissolve in hot water and the bacteria will eat your drains clean. I let this slide because I have been married long enough now to know better. YYYEEAAAAAHHH

Two days later , I decide it is time to do something else. So me and #3S go to work----Hot-Hot water, rags to plug off the vent and second drain, plunger, and off we go. PLUNGE-sploop_PLUNGE-glub(glub????)--PLUNGE---NADA--PLUNGE-NADA-PLUNGE-NADA!!!!
SHITSHITSHITSHITTERSHIT! (or fluckity,fluck,fluck,fluck)
Okay , hon I think we may have to break down and call a plumber! Hope we can snake this out.
I will call first thing in the morning.
6am- she said" GET OUT OF BED-THE KITCHEN IS FLOODED" I get up and sure enough I had forgotten about the RO unit. It takes 3 gallons of city water to make 1 gallon of drinking water! The extra 2 gallons goes down the drain-----or in this case ----fills up the sink and runs out in the floor. Of course if I had not decided to try to plunge the sink and filled it up with hot water it would not have run out on the floor.
Plumber arrives at 9 am..........................................5pm still clogged. Seems the old cast iron pipe has decided that his work is done. The plumber decides to call it a day. We will start over in the morning.
Present day--We are on day 3 of the Wacky World of Plumbing! There are multitudes of equipment in our front yard. A Komotsu track hoe, a diamond tipped bladed concrete saw, jack-hammer, air compressor, shovels, picks, and piles of rubble. Concrete , mud, dirt and chipped up brick and tile are everywhere. We cant just bring the drain out the wall , we have to attach the vent to it also. More brick, concrete, and of course MONEY!
After talking to our plumber, we all decided that I would hire the concrete and brick repair out to someone who specializes in that genre of construction. Since the plumbers charge me $105 per hour , I know I can save some money there. The plumbing work should finish up tomorrow, and the concrete\brick\tile guy is coming over Saturday.
My lovely wife looked at me this evening and said"You don't have to get me a Christmas present". I have already told you I have been married too long to fall for one like that.

I think I will get her a disposal! Yeah! That will surprise her, and she will like it. Now where will I find the electricity to run it?????? Okay , I'll call an electrician!!!!! Pictures of my front yard -I will post in the morning.
Thanks for your time ,
Merry CHRISTmas!

Home Interior Mackenzie style!

Sorry about the picture quality -cell phone camera is always handy! She sure is proud of her design ability. She can REDO a room in about 2 minutes. And I love it. I just seems right until you step on one of her toys in the middle of the night. Ahhhhhhhh Grandkids , gotta love em!

By the way , the picture of the young man with me on the header is my #1 son , a senior at UT and the father of this beautiful girl.

Thanks for your time,

ScottE

Really Really Just Rambling

I own a discount tobacco store in my home town. The only one in town to be truthful. Today the local news media, Channel 7 KOSA, called me to see if they could film inside my store???
It seems after a fatality in a trailer house fire last week, the authorities deciphered that a burning cigarette started the fire. Combine that with a new law about removing the chemicals that keep a cig lit that enacts in January, and my store looked like a good place for a panoramic view of a plethora of cancer sticks.
I talked with the reporter on the phone and gave my permission to video tape the interior of the store.

My point , You ask? Well , I opened this little store 10 years ago. I naively assumed that a law that was in committee in the Texas Senate would become law. I forgot that MalWart and BEH along with others had the same right to own Lobbyists as anyone. I am referring to a law that has been quashed term after term. This law was to basically remove tobacco products from any establishment that allowed minors in the building.
You know- like a liquor store has been your whole life! I was gonna be rich!!
Well, 10 years later, a lot has changed , and the place is profitable. Anything vice related-eh Bro-IN-Law! Inside Joke sorry!
I think this is a unique example of our government at work. Here you have a bill, that makes it thru the whole process, and becomes a law. Really -We are taking out the chemical(s) that keep a cigarette burning, but we are leaving all of the addictive chemicals. And the ones known to cause cancer. Out of all of our legislators-not one thought about adding this to this law? Buuuullllssssshhhhhhiiiiiittttttt!
The money talks and the rest of us take it up the butt.
No one cares if the cigarette goes out-the end user will like it better. He can relight his smoke now. No one will holler too loud-The only ones hurt are the co that makes the chemical (salt-peter) and The tobacco co that decided to add the chemical in the first place. They sure aren't gonna holler cause if they comply they get to keep all the subsidies the Fed gives them.
And they look like they are doing something for the end user. Formerly known as a smoker. Now can be found at social outcast areas statewide!
By the way isn't salt-peter something the Fed gave soldiers to keep the lead out of their pencils during the war. Wow, I wonder if Viagra stock will soften? MILF will love that!!!!!!
I have prattled on way too long-but if you happened to watch the 6 pm news, that was my store!
Did you see it?
Now we are BIGTIME-heee heeee

Thanks for your time
Scotte

MY GIRL

OKAY , #1 son -You were right about that.

When #1 and #2 sons told me they would both vote for Obama , I tried to talk them out of it. At that time they said something that made more sense than anything else I have heard. See if you agree!

#1 - Dad, I would vote Republican but for one thing. I feel that if we had spent $10 billion a month on border security and on alternative fuels, we would already have a solution for the energy crisis. Border security would help with terrorists-Who would number a lot less if we had never invaded Iraq. We have effectively forced countries to unite against us that have been at war for centuries.

Now I have friends with children in this war, and I support them. All of them!! I hope that they do their duty and get home safe. But I can't help but think , I would rather them all be home. NOW!
Son , I hope that our new President can get us out of this war--maybe if he does--it won't be another Vietnam. Obama -make Iraq use their own money and young men to fight this war.
They have billions in surplus-use it. Get our boys and girls home! We will use the military as border security-and put the money to use on that car that runs on air. or water. or helium. or better yet sand---that way we can still import it from the middle east. Shipping won't suffer!
Thanks for your time,
Pray
Scotte

UH_OH

Okay -lets preface this post by bringing you all up to speed. The company I work for in the Permian Basin has been purchased by a huge foreign company---The Jones. Now the Jones have not ever been in West Texas or even the oilfield per say.
The VP of our company has been named VP of the new company-so he is in effect our old boss' new boss. He and I had a discussion about some of the changes coming down the pike as of this buyout. This was last Thursday!! He then left for Romania with his new boss for a week.

Tuesday, I get an email from him asking for my concerns in writing-survey form--top 5 concerns. I am thinking -Wow -this guy really is good with a puter for an old man. This is a top notch form survey he has forwarded me. Signed with his name and even has a picture of him.
Should have been my first warning.

I missed it. I shamelessly continued where our meeting last week had left off........pulled no punches........explained how the new company had already dropped the ball.......solutions for a couple more problems............my bottom line figure for staying with the new company.......plus my hopes and dreams for the future.........and a little constructive criticism for our new sister company ICD. Then spell checked it all and pushed SEND.....

As soon as it finished sending a return receipt from corporate hit my box. OH SHAT SHAT SHAT. Corporate???? Why was this from VP then? Oh shat , I need to get my resume up to date!!! This is gonna stink a little.

Thursday Morning --I get an email from VP's boss - The President of Our New Company--He curtly thanked me for my input. Informed me that he was in Romania-but would contact me personally when he returned to the States. Okay........resume is now up to date......reason for leaving last employer-----------Hair trigger Send Button!!!

Sunday -check email-There it is --VP's response to my email.
He starts by informing me that both he and his boss read my TOP FIVE REASONS FOR CHANGING CAREERS the day that I sent it. It was one of the first emails they got in Romania.
He thanked me and told me that I was the only respondent at our company...(Shat-am I the only dumbedass country boy or what) and that my concerns were shared by both he and his boss. He explained that both he and the prez request my presence in Chicago Illinois the week after Thanksgiving.
Shat! Better than I hoped! Shat!! Or is it??? Shat!!! Shat!!! Oh well, I was looking for a job when I found this one----only the price of oil was at $50 going up when I hired on and now it is $50 on the down slide side.
Sis---I may be looking , but I will know more when VP gets back. He is fairly easy to read. I hope.
Thanks for your time
Scotte

Okay, Okay I guess I will post then!!!

Wow, big Sis added a little sidebar to my blog. I can now tell that ya'll have been stopping by to read the same old posts. I have been shamed!!!! Sorry! I will try to post more regularly and maybe yall will get some worth out of the wordiness that is Me.

I will post pictures of the implosion later today! And then I'll make something up if I have nothing to post.

Thanks for your time
Scotte