Neanderpundit

I’m not a drinker. I confine my drinking to sharing a fine white botyrized wine after dinner, or, occasionally, pulling on a bottle of port after a thick steak and an Indy race.

This caffeinated beer, on the other hand, brings back some memories.

When I was in high school we had an Italian prefect, Father Ernest. Father Ernest weighed around 120 lbs, wore only a shortsleeved shirt and dog collar even in the nastiest of weather, and could drink a gallon of beer, and NEVER use the bathroom.

Father ernest got along well with my parents, and spent a lot of time at our home. He’d often bring a special beer or wine with him, as his contribution to a meal- he still had family and friends in Italy (his family home) and they’d send him specific vintages he liked.

He came to America as a Salesian novitiate and learned to speak english in Louisiana. You could barely understand a thing he said.

When I was around 20, he stopped by the house one time to pick some mint- mom grew it beside the pump house. He came back almost a year later, and was carrying a bottle of something that was black as the inside of a cow.
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No, I didn’t watch the debate, I did something way more important, I read to my daughter. Then, after she went to bed, I watched the first 20 minutes of Full Metal Jacket, then turned it off. Thus, I minded myself of the reason for our actions and the men who partake therof.

Mr Cheney, as you’ve all seen, can Take Care Of Himself.

This is my busiest time of year- I’m doing all the little outdoor things I need to do to make sure that the house is ready for another Indiana winter- it’s a tough gig, and doing it on a 60 year old house which was neglected almost all it’s life is a chore.

Last year I spent a great deal of time tuckpointing and cleaning, and near the end of the season I spent nearly 10k having the west end of the house excavated, jacked up, sealed, and backfilled. it was an amazing amount of work, and I’d rather not repeat it, so this summer, I put in a retaining wall to keep the dirt up against the house from washing away. The retaining wall is on the back slope of the yard, a precipitous slope which is good only flor sledding.

Anyway, 500 odd retaining wall blocks weighing in excess of 60 lbs each had to be hand carried and placed, and this last weekend, I finishjed all the backfilling and put down heavy plastic and covered the resultant terrace with large river gravel. I ache everywhere. Next weekend I have some friends I need to help with some projects, and then I need to jack up the roof of my garage and replace a sagging header, then replace the garage door. Then I’ll be ready for winter, more or less, and I can call it quits and move to indoor projects for a while. Home ownership is such a pain. Promise I’ll return to more blogging soon.