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May 31, 2005
Redesigning the tree house
I like the overall look of the tree house but there are still a few elements that aren't quite right and I've been struggling with these for some time now.
Liz and I were chatting last night and something she said triggered the feeling I'm looking for. Liz said that peace had temporarily returned to her little corner of the world and then we mentioned fun too and it occured to me that that's the feeling I'm going for.
I come to the tree house when I want to have fun, maybe write about the old ninja, or when I just want to sit and rest and do nothing, maybe write something peaceful or read the comments and see who dropped in today. And that's what I want for my friends too. The tree house should be a place to come and play or just sit and rest when you're feeling weary.
So that's what I'm trying to do here, create a place that's fun yet peaceful. I'll get it yet and when I do I'll look at it and say "It's perfect".
And Liz you're right about the blue font, it's got to go.
Update - later today
I added a yellow border between the green and the brown so that the brown doesn't look washed out against the dark green and made the container a bit thinner so it looks more like a tree (thanks again Liz).
Now I have to work with the border a bit as it's still too dark and work on the background too.
Here's another thought.
Maybe the tree should sit against a blue background (gotta get the right blue), which represents the sky.
You then look up the tree, which has bark on the outside of it, and at the top of the tree, sitting in a green canopy of leaves is the tree house.
Anyway, back to work
Update - next day
I think I finally found the combination I wanted. The green and yellow banner were just kind of off, especially next to the green tree house picture, caused the picture to look washed out. By reversing the colours the picture stands out much better and I'm still in keeping with tree colours.
Now to go to work on the font and background.
Posted by OldGuy at 9:55 AM | Comments (2)
May 27, 2005
Story Idea
I just got an idea for another little story so as usual I'm going to mull it over for a few days before I give it a go.
Stay tuned.
And yes Liz I cried when I got the idea. ;-)
Posted by OldGuy at 10:16 AM | Comments (1)
A Fairy Tale Wedding in the Front Yard
While walking to the bus this morning I passed by a yard that had a purple sand cherry tree and an apple tree planted side by side. A branch of the apple tree extended into the cherry tree and the image that came to mind was the following.
A dashing young prince attired in royal purple and his fair princess robed in raiments of virginal white stand side by side before the wedding altar. She reaches over and clasps his hand and at that moment they are frozen in time to forever stand before the world proclaiming their everlasting love.
Posted by OldGuy at 9:15 AM | Comments (1)
May 26, 2005
Some Days Just Suck
Well, it certainly isn't the best of days, not by a long shot.
Had a rough time at home last night and the old man lost his temper.
Yeah, I know it happens but I hate it nonetheless.
I'm not sure how things are at home today because I've been at work all day. Guess I'll find out in about an hour.
Other than that it's been a very busy day at work and I'm bone tired both from last night's incident and work and I just want to get home and sit down and have a coffee in peace.
On another, happier note, I'd like to thank the folks at Liz's site for their help with my blog the last few days.
Don't know who they are ? Go to lilliebet.com, link's just down the page a bit.
Posted by OldGuy at 3:30 PM | Comments (3)
May 20, 2005
Signs of Spring
A tree laden with white blooms as though hundreds of angels had alighted overnight and now reach heavenward again.
A field covered in dandelions stretching into the distance.
Will Dorothy find the Land of Oz today ?
A cardinal sitting high atop a branch guarding his tree like a beefeater guarding the gates to the palace.
A trio of bluejays doing aerobatics overhead.
Which one will win this aerial contest ?
A ballon hanging silently over the horizon.
Soon the air will be filled with them, dozens of plump multi-colored bon bons filling the sky.
Posted by OldGuy at 1:01 PM | Comments (3)
May 19, 2005
JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes
The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation is holding it's annual walks to cure diabetes in Canada over the next few months.
My employer, a health-oriented organization is getting involved again this year so I've decided to help out as I now have a personal stake in this.
The JDRF holds walks throughtout the world.
Check out the JDRF in your part of the world for walk dates and times.
Here is the link for walk dates in Canada.
Posted by OldGuy at 3:49 PM
May 15, 2005
I Need To Get A Life
We bought a new vacuum cleaner last week and this morning I gave a real trial run, did the whole house.
I was getting pretty excited about how great it worked when I realized I was getting cranked up about a vacuum cleaner.
How sad.
Posted by OldGuy at 1:22 PM | Comments (4)
May 14, 2005
Inspiration for "Ridin with the Devil"
I wanted to explain how I came up with this one so here goes.
One of my favourite fictional villains is George Stark from Stephen King's "The Dark Half". I already wrote about him once before so I'll just say here that he's a very scary guy.
Anyway, I got to wondering the other day what a guy like George would do for fun on a Saturday night and the answer was go out and kill some people of course and the poem grew from there. And because George isn't scared of anyone he might even invite the devil along for the evening and teach him a few tricks.
Posted by OldGuy at 3:22 PM
Another Birthday and A Night Out
Today is my son's 17th birthday so we're having dinner and watching a movie later (his choice).
Happy Birthday son.
My wife and I and a couple of friends went out to dinner and a comedy show last night. I laughed so hard my ribs still hurt.
The best was a lady by the name of Caroline Picard. She's a brash- talking 53 year old from Louisiana and she's fantastic. If you ever get the chance to go to one of her shows don't miss it.
I think I may create categories for my blog again. I'd done it before but took them out again. Now I actually have stuff to categorize.
And lastly, the spooky stuff ("Welcome to the Dark Side and "Ridin with the Devil") do not represent my views on life, I'm not a psycho killer or something. This is just me having fun with words. Thought I'd mention that, wouldn't want somebody dropping in and thinking "Hey OldGuy, I can dig where you're coming from". Maybe I'll put a disclaimer up about that.
The real me is the guy who enjoys catching bugs with his daughter and watching movies with his son and going to a comedy show with his wife and a few friends and reading a good book and noticing how lovely the river looks on a cold, calm December morning.
Posted by OldGuy at 2:12 PM | Comments (2)
May 13, 2005
Ridin With the Devil
It's Saturday night and I’m gonna rock and roll
Go ridin with the devil and sell the man my soul
In my big black Caddy with the big mean V-8
Get them tires smokin cause it's gettin mighty late
We’ll cruise all the bars down on 69 street
Listen to some honky-tonk and groove to the beat
Pick up easy women and take em for a lark
Come on old son, let’s go do it in the dark
See the two chiquitas standin by the bar
Let’s pick them honeys up, go cruisin in the car
Rev that baby up till she really starts to fly
Make those sweeties beg not to let em die
Hey, let's crank it up a notch, make it really real
Give them little girlies a taste of sharpened steel
You know, I like you Scratch, you’re really kinda swell
Now let's get this party started and raise a little hell
Posted by OldGuy at 12:34 PM
May 12, 2005
Things I Want To See
I want to watch the world God made
All his creatures on parade
Sit and stare at the stars so bright
On a warm and balmy August night
See an old man sweeping his stair
Does he dream of his bride young and fair ?
Watch a child play on a swing
Or look for buttercups in the spring
Dance outside when snowflakes fall
And capture them inside a crystal ball
See the waves crash upon the shore
Smell the ocean and hear it roar
Look up and see an eagle fly
Or hear the sound of a baby's cry
All these things I want to see
Because they mean so much to me
Posted by OldGuy at 10:36 PM
May 11, 2005
Another Article for Divorce and Back
Posted by OldGuy at 2:54 PM
Comments
I've enabled unregistered comments so feel free to leave one.
Of course I reserve the right to approve them ;-)
Posted by OldGuy at 1:00 PM
The Legend of Bigga Ninja
The old ninja warrior left his disciples waiting in the woods at the rear of the property and approached the darkened house looking for a way in.
There were no open windows or doors so he would have to break in. Damn, why did people always lock everything. Just once he'd like to walk into a house through the front door. He wasn’t young anymore and the thought of scaling the wall or climbing up a rope pissed him off. And it was raining too so everything would be slick which meant he’d probably slip and break his hip again, unless he had a goddamn heart attack first.
And why did they always call on him for this crap anyway he wondered, why not some young honcho eager to prove his manhood.
He threw the rope over the balcony and when he was sure it was firmly attached to the big flowerpot he started to climb.
Halfway up he started to slip and the next thing he knew he was rocketing down the rope. He hit the ground with a bone-jarring thud and his first thought was that he had indeed broken his hip. He got up slowly and his leg held so he started up again.
He made it to the top and struggled over the edge onto the balcony floor where he lay trying to catch his breath. After a couple of minutes he got up and walked to the balcony door, which thankfully was unlocked. He started to open the door when he remembered … something ... the alarm … something about the alarm.
Oh well, it probably wasn’t important anyway he thought and opened the door, triggering the silent alarm that would send a death squad to the house within minutes.
He crept quietly into the library and started to cross to the door. Farted. Took a couple of steps. Farted again. Damn cabbage rolls he thought. He loved them but they always gave him gas. He usually didn’t eat them on days he had a mission but, well, his memory wasn’t what it used to be and he had completely forgotten about tonight’s mission until after dinner.
Oh well, it couldn’t be helped, I just hope I don’t set off any alarms he thought, not knowing that he already had.
He crept into the hallway and down the hall when he remembered that the kitchen was on the second floor. Stupid way to build a house but he was in the mood for some ice cream anyway so why not.
He made his way to the kitchen and opened the large walk-in freezer, looking for the ice cream, hoping he'd find some maple walnut. Chocolate, vanilla, cherry, where the hell was the maple walnut. And then he spied it, tucked behind several cases of vodka. So, the guy’s an ice cream connoisseur he thought. Well, at least he’s not a complete fool. He had a couple bites of ice cream and crept back into the hall and upstairs to the master bedroom.
In the bedroom he quickly found the safe and using his lock picks got it open in seconds. He reached inside and found the diamond. Good, now he could get the hell out of here.
He crept out of the bedroom and started to race down the stairs when a cramp hit him and he realized he’d had too much coffee today. Bathroom, where was the bathroom? To hell with it, no time now, he’d just have to get out fast and hope he didn’t pee his pants.
He was almost at the front door when it burst open and several large men with guns stormed in. The old warrior quickly sized up the situation and realized there were too many of them to fight it out and besides he had to go pee so bad now the pain was threatening to overwhelm him; he’d have to use his secret weapon.
He reached up and whipped off his ninja mask revealing his large, glowing, multi-coloured ears, temporarily blinding the gun-toting assassins, then dashed out into the night and rendezvoused with the others.
“He did it”, remarked the youngest, “he got the empress's diamond back.”
“Yes”, replied the other, “that’s why they call him Bigga Ninja.”
Posted by OldGuy at 11:39 AM | Comments (2)
May 10, 2005
The Old Man and the Young Woman
The old man parked the car, got out and opened the back door. The young woman thanked him, took his arm and they walked into the airport terminal.
They proceeded to the ticket counter where the young woman got her boarding pass and checked her baggage, then they walked into the bar, sat down and ordered drinks.
"So are you excited about finally seeing Australia" the old man asked.
"Gosh yes, it's always been my dream. I just hope it's everything I imagined" the young woman responded.
"Well, I'm sure they have kangaroos, but I doubt there are any wizards" the old man said.
"Yeah, I guess that was kinda silly, but a girl can dream can't she" she laughingly replied.
They sipped their drinks quietly and a few minutes later a voice overhead announced flight 415 departing for Australia from gate 10.
They left the bar, walked to the gate, and said their goodbyes.
"I'll miss you" the old man said.
"I'll miss you too, but I'll only be gone 3 months and by that time it'll be summer. We can sit out on the porch and have a couple of beers and trade stories again. Anyway, I better get going or the plane will leave without me." And with that the young woman boarded the plane.
The old man watched until she was on the plane, then waved and turned to go.
"Have a good life" he said as the plane taxied down the runway.
The old man walked out of the terminal, got into his car and drove to his best friend's house. When he got there his friend opened the door, and seeing the tears in the old man's eyes he hugged him and ushered him into the house.
"So how did it go" his friend asked.
"If you mean is she gone, the answer is yes" the old man said.
"And did you tell her the truth ?"
"How could I, she doesn't belong here, she never did, you know that. There's nothing but old people here. It might have been okay while she was growing up but she's a woman now, she needs to get back to her world and have a real life."
"Will she really forget this place."
"If everything goes right, yes. She'll start to forget as soon as the plane crosses over and she'll have forgotten everything an hour later."
"And you're sure it'll work" his friend asked.
"That's what they said, there've been a few accidents before and they've always managed to send them back. They would have done it years ago but she had no family to go back to so they agreed to let her grow up first."
"And what about you, are you still going through with your plan" his friend asked.
"Yes. I lost one family years ago and the pain was almost too much. I can't go through that again" the old man said.
"Then goodbye my friend."
"Goodbye, take care of yourself" said the old man, "maybe we'll be see each other soon."
The old man left his friend's house and walked down the road leading out of town. He had walked about 5 miles when he came to the border. He'd been there many times to look at the tree on the other side but had never gone any further. Now he crossed over and went and sat under the tree and took out his favourite book and started too read.
As his real age finally caught up to him he started to feel very tired and soon fell asleep. About an hour later, his face turned up to the warm sun and dreaming of the young woman, he died peacefully.
Posted by OldGuy at 9:29 PM
May 9, 2005
Footer Again
It was no problem, I just had to change the colour of the footer bottom and now I have the yellow line showing up. It makes the bottom border look like it changes from brown to yellow.
I like it.
Posted by OldGuy at 11:21 PM
Footer
It's fixed, looks good on every page now. I must have stared at the code for the longest time before I noticed the problem, but it's done.
Speaking of which, ever notice how you can stare at a problem for hours and not see the fix but if you walk away from it and come back a few hours later the solution slaps you upside the head like a wet ironing board cover ? ;-)
This is strange though, when I view the footer at home it's green with yellow writing but at work it's green with yellow writing and a thin yellow line underneath as if the border is made up of 1 pixel of brown and 1 pixel of yellow on top. I think it's the IE 5.5 issue again. I'm not going to mess with it though because it's too much trouble and I like it anyway.
Unless...
Posted by OldGuy at 11:47 AM
Great weekend
This was a truly great weekend.
The weather finally warmed up and it was clear and sunny all weekend.
I spent the entire weekend outdoors with my daughter and we had a fabulous time. We skipped rope, played ball, went to the park, picked flowers, walked a gazillion miles, etc.
Point is we spent the entire weekend outdoors enjoying life and having fun together. We're both quite tanned and very tired but we enjoyed ourselves.
Also, as today is Mother's Day in Canada the family went out for breakfast this morning. We were a bit worried that we wouldn't get in anywhere because we hadn't made reservations but things turned out fine and we didn't even have to wait in line at the restaurant. We also had a nice Chinese dinner, nothing too fancy just the store bought stuff that you throw together. It turned out pretty good, and followed by ice cream for desert made for a delicious meal.
So, back to work tomorrow. Too bad, it was such a wonderful weekend I hate to see it end.
And speaking of Mother's Day I still owe Bill an article. Think I'll write about my mother.
It's coming Bill.
And finally, I've been playing around with the design again. I can't help myself, it's just so much fun and that's what the tree house is all about right ?
The footer looks good on the main page but I mucked it up everywhere else. Oh well, I'll fix it. Added a brown border too, kinda like tree bark.
Posted by OldGuy at 12:49 AM
May 5, 2005
Gotta Get Back in Gear
I haven't felt much like writing lately.
I've been in a bit of a funk and the weather's been cold and wet which really gets my arthritis going so with all of that I've been somewhat unenthusiastic.
Anyway, I'm going to make an effort today.
Besides, I owe Bill an article by the weekend.
Bill, if I can't think of anything new I might have to resurrect an old piece. ):
Posted by OldGuy at 10:42 AM | Comments (3)
May 1, 2005
Done Fiddling Around for Now
I like the new look so I'm gonna go with it for now.
So what do you think ?
Posted by OldGuy at 8:45 PM | Comments (9)