Ted’s essays

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everyday kit

What we have on us at any given time is occasionally quite important – that is when you aren’t just hanging around the house in your jammies. I stopped liking anything bulkier than a handkerchief in my pockets and have carried fanny packs from the time I had to make my own because they simply did not exist commercially … that is a long, long time ago. I refined its contents down to a list of items that I use regularly enough to drag them along whenever I leave home: with me always: moderate-sized wallet Swiss army knife with one surgically sharp blade two pens (will soon change to pen & mechanical pencil) comb lip balm thumb-drive calling cards (miniature […]

January 30th, 2015 | Category: household, practical, preparing |

in the gutter

This spring break in January has allowed a number of outside projects to be completed either in much nicer weather than anticipated or months before I would have been willing/able. Today I got to do the official, permanent (by trailer park standards) firewood shelter. It came together very well using scrap and scrounged material without a single red cent out of pocket. Better still, Missy and I are very pleased with the results – both in esthetics and function. However, while admiring my work she noticed the rain gutters overflowing with leaves, twigs and pine needles. Well, we probably won’t get a nicer day to do it for a couple of months. She cleaned out the gutters and I cleaned […]

January 28th, 2015 | Category: household, practical |

lighthouse lit

Not wanting to forget turning off our Internet when it isn’t in use, I visualized a lighthouse going along with our brass sailboats. When lit, it would remind us that our wireless and modem were on. Missy dropped it way down my ToDo list quite some time ago by finding a thrift store lighthouse and cable-tying a nightlight to the back of it. As a measure of how much priority work is behind me, I finally got to fool around with the lighthouse project. Well, that plus the switch on the nightlight cord quit sending electricity to the bulb. The nightlight, now without a switch on its cord, is now mounted with the bulb centered low inside the previously […]

January 23rd, 2015 | Category: about, household |

Spring Lake

This is not what I am accustomed to for January 4th. Neither weather nor scenery are “right” for the season. It is also nothing like what I enjoy by way of elbow room. I pulled off the trick of a photo without other people in it, but believe me, they were EVERYWHERE else I looked. When I was 11, the water agency began filling Spring Lake, flooding a small portion of “My Woods”; the private playground of my youth. Fluffy and I spent thousands of fine hours wandering and exploring nature there. Neither of us were restrained by leashes of any kind nor interrupted by other humans. We followed paths and trails created by wildlife or blazed our own. Lucky […]

January 5th, 2015 | Category: cultural, pets |

signal flags

Bob’s boat name in signal flags Bob’s boating pictures

January 1st, 2015 | Category: family, Ted Dunlap |