Unpacking, Painting, and Settling In

The painters are at the house today.  The 18 foot ceilings were a little daunting, so we are taking advantage of the local contractors and workers to finish the paint effort.  Tina's bathroom and the dining room were enough for us.  The movers dropped off our boxes (and the refrigerator off the back of the truck) and bolted, leaving us with a fairly substantial amount of boxes.



The guest room looked like a moving van.  There was literally no space to maneuver for a couple of days.  The packers actually packed up trash bags of packing paper among other ridiculous things.  We had to have our stuff reweighed because they said we had 16600 lbs of stuff, putting us over the limit when the boat is calculated in.  The reweigh changed the total weight by 2500 lbs.  Hmm. . .  Someone was cheating the system.  Anyway, I will post a few photos of the painted rooms once they are done and we are organized.

Back to San Diego, back to regular updates. . ?

The two dogs, Tina, and I are headed back cross country.  Many visits and many stops.  We have some photos that we will post when we get settled but, so far, so good.

Joshua

Long time, no posts. . .

I thought I would throw some photos of our boating adventures in since I haven't actually blogged in a while.  We'll see if I can keep it up.  We bought a boat and the truck to pull it at the beginning of the summer and I've been learning to fish and catch lobster since.

Here are the dogs on the boat.  Of course, they are outfitted with the latest safety equipment.

Tina and I on the boat (don't worry; someone else is driving).

Otto would rather sit in the driver's seat than hang out on the deck.

Hammie in for a swim with Air Force friend Jeff.

A rather large claw on this guy.  As of June 30th, I had harvested 45 lobster.  Since then, I've lost two pots and picked up one lobster.  I'm pretty sure the pots are being poached now. . .  Ah, well. . .

Finally, here's Tina driving the boat.  It is currently in the shop, but is running fine.  I've learned a lot about outboards since we got the thing.  One of the things I've learned is that they need early maintenance to ensure you make it back to the dock.  I've been out about twenty times.  Tina has joined me on about six or seven of those outings.  So far, so good (knock on wood).

~Josh

No Naples. . .New Video

Well, to make a long story short, Naples has fallen through. Too complex and painfully boring to explain. We'll see what else pops up. In the meantime, I'm posting this video of Hammie and the Habanero sauce. He's a pretty funny guy who can't say no to handouts, but he's getting smarter about the hot stuff. You'll have to look at it sideways, but it is pretty comical. It's the way he reacts to hot sauces. . .

Naples?

I received word from my detailer that I am penciled in for a billet in Naples, Italy. Tina and I have some decisions to make. . .

~Josh

Flying Snow Dogs Video

Here's video of the dogs in the snow. We used them to knock down the two foot drifts in the backyard. No animals were hurt in the production of this film.

~Josh

Renewed Focus. . ?

So, last year, I decided that I would stay up on the blogging a little better and it worked until about mid-Summer. The last entry that we had was pre-Ireland trip. Since then a couple of things have happened. . .the trip to Ireland. . .orders to the Naval War College. . .a cross-country move with several visits along the way. . .a new home. . .Thanksgiving. . .snow. . .Christmas. . .snow. . .

Here are some photos of the journey. We'll see if I can keep up a little better this year. More to follow.

Tina and I atop St. Paul's Cathedral in London.

A mini-reunion headed through northern Missouri.

The boys are getting along. This picture was not posed. I promise.

Marble House in Newport after the big snow. Photo courtesy of Tina and a borrowed Hummer.

Christmas Dinner Table

More to follow.

~Josh

Ireland

The route is planned. . .

~Josh