Yawn!! Huh? What year is this anyway?

It's been ages since I wrote anything in here.... mostly because very little has happened since the last posting. Christmas is right around the corner again and our living room is still a construction zone. Other people have coffee tables..... we have table saws.

Still we did manage to make some minor progress a month or so ago. The exposed beams in the ceiling were finally boxed in and look much better now! I still have to do some trim work around them but I just never seem to find the time to drag everything out into the back yard and get the project going.

The work is basically cutting and nailing up some moldings around the edges of the beams to give them a more finished look. Also I still have base molding to cut and nail up around the perimeter of the room. That then needs to be caulked top and bottom to eliminate potential entry points for bugs..... ants in particular.

Just manage to get those things done and I can then move the book cases to the far west wall and empty the middle "bedroom" of most of its contents. Case upon case of books. With those two items accomplished we can then move the living room furniture out of what will be our bedroom and put it in its proper place too.

We've done some "shopping" (not buying) and have found a wonderful replacement for our aging "sleep number" bed out back. It's a natural latex foam mattress with an adjustable slat style spring foundation. The "Sultan" series at the IKEA store..... very comfy!!! :-)

On the down side of all this planned work is the fact that our entire house seems to be sinking into the ground. It is most noticeable in the living room and master bedroom. In both the difference in elevation from one side of the room to the other is enough to notice without instruments. You can literally feel yourself walking up or down hill. Sad fact of life number 734 is that we're both getting too old to worry about it too much. Having the house leveled would cost far more than benefit payback. (Upwards of $20,000 on a $67,000 home) This house simply isn't worth it as it has far too many other flaws.

Outside we're accumulated half a dozen different stray kitties. They are a mixed bag of colors and personalities ranging from very shy but talkative to the generally friendly "pet me" versions. Also we're convinced that there is a little genetic mischief going on around here as their tails range from full.... to half.... to none at all. Our little Amber kitty is one of the tail-less versions.... and is just adorable. Could not ask for a sweeter kitty.

Competing for the food with the kitties are...... possums. Ugly nasty little critters that just have very little good about them to speak of. So far this year I've killed three with my pellet rifle. I'm pretty sure there is a 4th out there based upon the blood trail but the little varmint actually waddled off after being shot 3 times.

Keep in mind this is a break barrel pellet gun so there is a LOT of time between rounds. Pull the trigger... "POP!"...... move out of the door..... hit the barrel to break it open..... push down all the way to re-cock the air spring piston...... locate and insert another pellet into the barrel...... pull the barrel back up and lock it into position...... ease open the door and re-acquire the target.... and fire again.

If I'm going to kill something..... I want it dead...... quick. The old "one shot - one kill" philosophy. Since we're still in the Dallas city limits I can't go bigger than a 22..... so I bought one last week. It's a Hammerli model SA22 built in Switzerland. Good heavy feel.... blued barrel and matte black synthetic stock with a 17 round tube type magazine. I mounted a 3 to 9 X 30 scope with illuminated reticles. (cross hairs) It's semi-automatic and is loaded with long rifle hollow points. I still need to align the scope to make sure the round strikes where I'm aiming but that's not too difficult.

My pellet rifle is accurate enough that from a standing position at the back door of the house (which is usually where I shoot the possums from) out the the storage shed in back...... I can put a three shot group into a knothole and cover that with a nickle..... not bad. The 22, being slightly heavier, feels more stable when standing at the same position. Once the scope is sighted in one shot ought to do the job nicely..... but I could send three down range in under a second. That's significantly faster than the pellet rifle.

Muzzle velocity is roughly the same between the two weapons..... but the 22LR round weighs 6 to 8 times that of the pellet. Using the old mass X velocity = kinetic energy formula one would get 1200 units of force delivered with the pellet VS 9600 units of force with the 22. That simply equates to knock down power. Hint.... in that area more is always better!! ;-)

As usual I have a few things to do around here so I have to go. Y'all take care of each other.