Gobble, gobble and stuff

Still not a whole lot to report these days, other than the fact that I am officially looking for a job...... With the housing/real estate/banking/insurance/retail/tiny toy train makers market dried up, I have found myself without gainful employment for the first time in my life. The really good thing is that something else always comes along that either fills the void, or could become a long term solution. The short term solution has me working with Jason, my brother in law and best friend. He is a Registered Land Surveyor and his employee, Chris, is out with a shoulder injury. So now I'm his rod holder/bag bitch/grunt, but that's fine (for now) he pays me!

We had turkey dinner at Amy's house with the Dyer's, Brunner's, and Nana Joyce with Madison. Oh, and Uncle Reid too! It was very nice, although not so much without my parents being there.... But we weren't feeling sorry for them cause they are in New Zealand and Australia for the month, on two different cruises. Ahhhh, the rough life! But they were missed, see you both soon.

Bike Dude, as Alex calls me, and Little Will, as he calls his brother.

They can be so sweet to each other..... most of the time! They are so much fun, really.

Stephanie and a Little Turkey, asleep from tryptophan!

Jason has the contract from the USFS to repaint the lines bordering private land and Wilderness property. 8 miles, almost done, in Towns/Union Counties and 8 more to go in Clayton next week. As you can tell from Jason, the paint gets all over us, so that's why I'm in the jumpsuit! Straight up, and straight down. We can only get about 2 miles/day and it's not easy work.... But it pays! Thanks J!

Old, leftover vehicle on the Jackrabbit Mountain mountain bike trail with Lake Chatuge in the background.

My 'new' ride! Gary Fisher HiFi Carbon Pro. I'm glad I waited 10 years to buy a full suspension bike, they've come a LONG way. It weighs about as much as my hard tail, if not less, and it rides similar to it without much "bob" in the rear end. It was a demo bike and I got it for almost half price, but you can't tell it has many miles on it and it comes with the full lifetime warranty, which was the most important thing to me. So while I'm looking for a job to pay for it in 12 months, at least I'll have something to keep me occupied and not going stir crazy!!! Ciao, all!

Bye, bye summer

Wow, time sure flys by, quickly. Where did the summer go? I can't even think of what I've done, other than ride and work...... I guess sorting through my pictures, I came up with what is below. I guess I don't have much else to blog about. Hope everyone is doing well!

PDK Good Neighbor Day - Aerobatic show
Will's christening.
The boy couldn't keep his mouth shut during Father Wise's sermon, but that was OK he's only 3 months old!
The two Godparents with Amy, Jason and Will.
And of course I had to throw in a recent picture of Big Brother Alex. I bought that shirt last summer about this time!

Dual Sport riding at the Land Between the Lakes, Kentucky. Almost 200 riders raising hell through the woods!

Since the deer know they are safe on these grounds, they were out and about every morning and evening. Sadly though, they all looked malnourished.

Clark, shitter was full

After 3 months and $3,000, my disposable basement bathroom is now complete! I say disposable because I plan on just tearing my house down in a few years. But, I get to take the shitter with me! Now my buddy Matt has a place all to himself when he visits! Enjoy!

What's a living room without a place to take a crap?
Mom persuaded me to add the shower, "just in case" I don't tear the whole place down. And, it didn't really cost that much more.
This is the Saniflo Sanibest shitter. It is a self contained unit with a grinder and ejection pump all-in-one. Instead of jack hammering the floor to install a sump pump, this little guy does it all for you. It of course hooks up to the sink and shower. It does make some noise when it ejects, but it's a pretty convenient setup for about $800, toilet included. And, I can disassemble and take with me!

All I need is a shower curtain and a bar of soap!

A closeup of the tile border in the shower!

SOLD!

We sold the first house I built! You can go back to see what the house looked like during construction, but here is the final product! I am proud to say that it all came together very "easily" and is a SOLID home. We were very fortunate to get a buyer right at the end of the construction process, and they are really nice people to boot! As Jason Morris said, that is worth a lot and I can agree. I like home owners that are realistic and flexible. There WILL be things that happen to their new $800K home. But we are here to back it up and resolve the issues, if they arise. So anyone that reads this (Google search: Morris Brothers Atlanta, Morris-Brothers, Jason Morris, Matthew Morris, Morris Brothers Homes, Morris Brothers Houses) you are buying a great home from guys that actually care! (I have had a few 'hits' from people searching my previous post! Feel free to contact me.)

Family Room with built-in bookshelves
Study with diagonal designed stain grade coffer ceiling

Master bedroom with vaulted and coffered ceiling!

Master shower with seat, shampoo niche, body sprayers, dual shower heads and towel racks on the shower doors!

Master jacuzzi tub with Briggs and Stratton engine. Ok, maybe not a gas engine...!

Rear yard with privacy fence and Magnolia Underdeck system blocking the rain underneath the deck.

Proud Uncle, again!

Yesterday my little sister Amy gave birth to a healthy 8lb 8oz, 20" boy named William Lance Henson (Will). Momma and baby are doing great! Poor brother Alex is NOT going to be happy with the new addition..... He hates it when either of my nieces play with his Dadda, or even the dogs. So he is in for a rude awakening soon. That's all right, he'll get used to it, eventually! Here are a few pics:

Memorial Weekend Bike Ride

My friends Rick Masta, Paul Gibbons, Mark Brunner and I left Mark's house in Blairsville on Saturday morning of Memorial Weekend heading for Sylva, NC. Rick's sister has a very nice second home there and we had the place to ourselves for the weekend. All we had to do was get there! The first day was a 95 mile jaunt with about 5000' of climbing. It went well, except for my cleat sheering off the bottom of my shoe at mile 35. I could only push on the pedals, instead of push/pull. Fortunately my foot only came off the pedal 4 times. We left about 9 and rolled UP about 5. The last quarter mile to her house was straight up. I pushed, but Paul was the only one to go all the way.

Day 1 at Mark's house
Relaxing on the deck after Day 1
We called this our "album cover" picture. IF we were a band....
Downtown Sylva after a well deserved slice of pizza pie and beer!
Day 2 was a 90 mile out and back ride to the top of Clingman's Dome in Smoky National Park. Mark and I "opted" for the 76 mile ride to the top of Newfound Gap instead, just before the turn off to Clingman's Dome. The body can only take so much, and we weren't ready to try and keep up with Rick and Paul. Unfortunately the roads were really busy with cars on a holiday weekend, and lots of Harleys, as seen above. But the landscape at the top of the gap changed to Rocky Mountain type, or at least it seemed to me. We were only at 5048' in altitude, but the trees changed like no place on the Eastern seaboard I've seen before.

Day 3 we changed the return route a little and ended up with 90 miles, but probably a bit less climbing. I was worried that 3 consecutive days of almost 100 miles would really kill me, but all-in-all I felt pretty good. Here we are just outside of Hayesville, NC.

Four tired but hosed off puppies.

Beach bums

Dave got a sitter for the kids and we went out for a ride! Lo and behold, we ran into Joe Gasser who is one of my friends. His girlfriend is from the area and he was out for a solo ride, so he joined us.
Yet again a few more miles down the road, we ran into another friend of ours, Sven Eisenhauer and two of his buddies! So our group of two expanded to six! We took it easy and finished up with a light lunch at the Sea Grove Market. That evening we all met back in Sea Side at Rendezvous for some great sushi then over to Bud and Alley's for beers with some very nice scenery! (Sea Side is the township that the movie The Truman Show was filmed at with Jim Carrey).
What day is complete without PB&J at the beach?!? Chloe was so cute licking the PB&J off of the bread before eating it! She's a mess, but a cute one, thank goodness she takes after her mother! Except for the red hair..... :)

I think they like playing in the sand castle pool more than the ocean. But that will change when they learn to swim!
Day 3 at Water Sound beach. It was pretty overcast and the waves were obviously choppy. But it was a nice Sunday stroll, good times!
Miss Peyton and I about to head back to reality.... Good things do come to an end.....

Life's a beach

My good friend Dave Tufts invited me to his beach house near Destin with his two girls Peyton (3) and Chloe (2). His wife Jennifer, and her mother went to Seattle so I got the "pseudo uncle" call! We came down Thursday afternoon and made it in time for dinner in Seaside, near their vaction home that they rent. The last time I was in the Destin area was at least 8 years ago, and also with Dave, and also on Mother's Day weekend. (Sorry Mom to miss out on celebrating with you AGAIN this weekend. I LOVE YOU!) Here are pics from day one at the beach, I had a blast playing uncle and spending time with my friend!

Chloe (aka Coco) all wrapped up getting warm and dry after SO much fun!

Both girls love mermaids and here are their fins, although hard to see.
After the beach we pulled the Burley's (pull behind bike trailers for kids) down 30A on the bike path to the Water Color pool. Dave didn't go very slow through the mud puddles and she got covered, but she still looks cute! Both girls were passed out for the 7 mile trip. What a rough day. :)
Chloe LOVES con queso! I think the nacho was just a mechanical device to get the cheese to her mouth! Imagine that!

Riding back after dinner. Dave asked Chloe what the best part of the day was and she said "bike ride". That's my girl!