Curley's Backyard Version 5.3

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Originally uploaded by jae cee

My pool has finally found a nesting spot. Geez, it's about time too. I just got to clean it up on the outside and move the deck to the far side of it so the girls and I can soak our toesies. I'd like to add a wooden fence around it for added protection and also the blue color is way gaudy. On the far end we are going to add a solar heater and make it useful earlier and later.

Yeah, my backyard is starting to take shape. We still have a lot to do like add a patio where the deck used to be and plant some trees. We're at odds about what to cover the rest of the yard. Karen wants grass and I wanted a synthetic putting green. I'm bigger than her, I can win this. Haha.

I was supposed to play in a golf tournament this weekend in Angel Fire but that idea fizzled when we had to buy a new motor for down stairs swamp coolers. Karen is relieved that I'm not playing this weekend and she thinks she's putting me to work...haha. Geez, I can't wait until this weekend... I actually get to break out my power tools and make noise. Yaay.

Glory Days Moment......I remember as a kid during the summer we would be in some summer recreation program at Window Rock Elementary School and we would take trips to the pool in Navajo, NM. I used to be able to swim under water from end to end. Those were some fun times.

I went and visited my dad this past weekend. We had a good time and it was good to be back on the ranch. My dad asked me when was the last time I was there and I had no idea. It was just too long.

Here are a couple of pictures I took of the landscape around my home. Times have indeed changed but the landscape will be the same long after I'm gone. I remember looking at these features with my young eyes and it still looks the same now as it did then.

Shi zhe'e

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Originally uploaded by jae cee

Here's a pic of my dad. There are very few. I actually had to sneek this one and of the one's I have this one is my favorite because it's very candid and he's smiling. For a long time, my dad has been in and out of my life and just recently he came back in to my brother's and my life. It took a lot of time and questions to be answered but he is here and I couldn't ask for anything more. Life is too short for me to be angry and especially for him to be reminded of his absence. He's here now. He loves his grandkids and he tries his best to spoil them as best as he can.

He's my dad.

I'm going home to visit my dad and grill up some t-bones for him. Funny thing, a couple of years ago he came to our home for Father's Day and I plated him up with a chubby t-bone and he told me he had never had that kind of steak before. All those years of ranching and all he's had was round steak. Haha. I got him a new radio, a new flashlight, gloves, deck of cards, and and a roll of Skoal. Of course we loaded up his pantry with some tasty vittles and several cases of sodas. We'll probably do the same this weekend with a little extra...he's easily pleased. The girls are going to get a kick out of visiting him and the farm.

Have a Happy Father's Day my good people! Be safe.

P.S. Do something special for the old man..... a tie and the big piece of chicken just don't cut it. Maybe a new NFL Licensed Pittsburgh Steelers Odyssey 2 ball putter. :p

Splish Splash...........ayyyy!

Peek a boo
Originally uploaded by jae cee

Jump in y'all..........the water's just fine.

Yep, we got the pool up and running. We just have to figure out how to keep the dang beavers from piling in and taking over the place.

Ding Dong the Bitch is Gone!!!

Yay, my stupid, pain in the ass, hill billy neighbors moved away! Geez, it's been great since they left. No more of the late night parties and police visits!

Believe me, good riddence. Don't get me wrong, It takes a lot to piss me off. Those folks were a red rash for all the folks in the neighborhood. The mister was cool at times but he had a temper and when he got hammered he run his motorcycles up and down the street in the middle of the friggin night. His wife was a work of art Marlboro huffing skank that would walk over you if you were bleeding on the sidewalk just to get her mail.

The word in the hood is that the house might be cursed because the last three owners were all tweaked in the head. #1. Wife left man for another woman. #2. 30yr old dude with a 50+ yr old wife that would have regular drive deliveries, wink wink. #3. The formentioned gang of dumbasses.Bleh.

I hope some cool ass people move in. Sane ones. Kind folks. Somebody you can borrow a cup of sugar from. I just hope it's a single family. I hope the mister golfs. Wouldn't that be cool.

Pork Ribs, Rubber Jerky, and Rock'N'Roll

I went home to Two Grey Hills last week for Memorial Day. It was good to see the family and it was way good to see my ma'sani. Geez, it's been so long since I've laid eyes on the eastern Chuska range. The trees are green in the patches of aspen groves and oak thickets. I miss the days of herding sheep up the mountain and spending the summer months with my grand parents at the cabin. Mmmm...I remember tooling around while the sheep were grazing, sharing my lunch of Vienna sausages and crackers with the sheep dogs, and sipping a warm Shasta.

I grilled some baby backs with a spicy/sweet dry rub. (Emeril's Essense with some brown sugar). Man, my step dad had a field day ... I think he went through about 12 ribs. My aunt showed me up with some very juicy ribs but I had to point out that she cheated because she cooked hers in the oven. No flames, there's something wrong about that. I had a couple of ribs and a helping of potato salad and ducked out for some zzzz's. I needed it too because I went to see Iron Maiden the night before. Man, what a show. I've never seen them before and that is one of the best shows I have ever seen. Rock n Roll baby.

After we hung out with the family we had to leave. I was still tired a little but we had to start out our trek back to Rio Rancho. Geez, I hate being so far away from home. When we lived in Shiprock, it was only about a 45 min drive. Now, it's turned into a long 4 hour drive. But you have to live where the work is. So, we started out and after a painful fill up at the Newcomb Mustang we started south towards Gallup. I was cruising at the usually ludicrous speed of about 70 on old US 666, south by all means too, when I reached behind Karen's seat to fetch me a cool Gatorade in the cooler when BOOM....... Dang, my rear clinched and the steering wheel started to wiggle back and forth, good thing that I had a good grip on the wheel with my left. My right hand hit the back of the seat and I flung it around to gain control at the required 10 and 2 o'clock driving position. It's a good thing that I'm a ninja. Anyway, the left rear tire was instantly in shreds of rubber jerky and was almost ready to lose the bead and running on the rim. I pulled over and luckily it was on a good shoulder. Thank God it was still light out. The girls in the back seat, watching Dora and Boots, never felt a thing. :) I got out and changed the tire with the spare which had low tire pressure. Check your stuff people!! Everybody was safe. I said a prayer and moved onto Rio Rancho with out incident. It could have been worse.

It was still an awesome day out. It was worth the adventure.

Rez Golf

Well, we did ok at the golf tournament. My brother was supposed to play with us but he couldn't make it so we were a little handicapped but we managed to sport a 62 for the day. Man, what a fun day. The golf tournament was for the Cochiti Braves baseball team. There were mostly natives playing which made it interesting when a couple of beers have been consumed. I think it made the white dudes kind of neverous to hear the 'yips'! and 'aye aye's!' calls when a team sunk a putt. Some of them were loud. Dang it was great.

That course is beautiful is nested in hills near Cochiti Pueblo. It was windy but it was fun to play. My putting was way on. I putted a 25 footer and we got and eagle but snubbed that with a lame-assed 5 foot bogey at the 18th. If we had made that hole, we would have tied for first. After the round, we had lunch and had a raffle. Boy, I wanted to win a Hooters calendar but with my luck I got nothing.

Alot of the Pueblos out here have a golf courses and the are all well staffed and get good business. Man, they have their shit together. With all that land out in Dinetah, I wish we could have one course where a sheepherder can play on a day off. Canyon De Chelly golf course? Window Rock Golf Resort? Navajo Links and Country Club? Geez, we are way behind in the biz of tourism. Oh well, we can just depend on Monument Vally horseback tours and Jeep trails in Canyon De Chelly I guess. Dang, no beer though.......forget it.

My Mom is a Jedi

Originally posted 5/19/2005

I was so excited that Saturday morning because I was going to see The Empire Strikes Back.

Whoa, I had every thing right...I was good all week, I made my bed, I kept my room clean, I was nice to my little brother and sister...Hell yeah, the Force was definately with me. Mom's going to take me and Alex to the show...Alex had better taken a wiz before we get seated, I'll be pissed if I miss anything good.

The movie was great, more than I expected. Too bad that Luke lost his hand and C3PO got blown up...and Han Solo...getting shrinkwrapped in carbonite like a damned T.V. dinner...coulda been worse.

As we walked out side of the Allen Theater, the sun was blinding and it was getting friggin' hot. Well, crap....Mom is runnin' late. We'll just stand here and mind our own business......mind my own business, Alex is starting to do dumb things and ask stupid questions and of course he's the only one on Main Street making light saber sound effects. Dangit, where is she?

My aunt, Verbena, picked us up. Hey, there's my baby sister. Ok, Ok, row row row yer boat.......All the way home.......

We took the turn off but what's with all these cars? Well, damn.......get moving you friggin' rubber neckers.........Hey Auntie, watch out for all that broken glass.....

There it was...Mom's car. Mangled and smashed beyond belief... groceries just scattered every where.....The car looked like a metal beast with all it's guts strewn about the cut slope. She was less than a mile from home.

MOM!!!!

I remember my big brother, Chuck, waving us forward...."get 'em out of here", he yelled... Auntie drove us home.

I cried for days.

That was 28 years ago. Mom is OK, and she has recovered from the injuries. She still has the scars where the Trans Am struck her door. Funny thing though, she has actually tatooed by the black colored fiber glass. Damned drunk driver.

Mom had my aunt pick us up from the movies because she knew we wouldn't like to go grocery shopping. We wouldn't have minded because we wanted to go get some Star Wars action figures. Something in her mind told her to leave us there at the movies. The Force? I'll never know. To this day, she still says that if it weren't for Star Wars we would have been killed in that crash. Well, in those days, seat belts were never used; we probably would have. The Empire Strikes Back is still my favorite and I think my mom is a Jedi. I wonder, if I ask, if she'll get me some Star Wars linens for Christmas.

I remember you..........

I have to write something. Seems like everytime I go to my blog my brain stops working and I stare at this blank screen. I've got a lot of stuff stored up there that I should blog about but you know sometimes your fingers aren't in the mood to tickle the QWERTY board. This spring has been more than eventfull....

My new job has been cool. I do alot of grunt work that I should have been doing at my other job. I'm up to taking the P.E. (Professional Engineer)exam but I feel that I need to exercise my surviving brain cells before I take that test. I'm learning alot and I really like that. I'm actually doing some engineering instead of drafting all the time.

Getting back into a more humanly shape is still a daunting task. I'm still chugging along though. I was hoping to thud through the Shiprock Marathon relay but I think I'll have to bench that thought for a while. I'm planning on doing one of the runs during the Duke City Marathon events. There's always something going on here in the Rio Grande Valley. Oh well, we'll see.

My brother is back at home and seems to be doing a lot better. He still has some more healing to do before he can get back work.

My eldest daughter is graduating from high school this month. Geez, I haven't seen her in 15 years but we're trying to rekindle our relationship. It's difficult because we have to sort out the missing years. Her mom has a been really cool about it all and it's great that we managed to make up. We just wished we did it sooner. Better late than never I guess. Life is way to short to hold grudges and anger. Only time will tell.

I haven't been back home in about a year. These gas prices really suck ass. Hopefully I'll be able to get out to the rez for some of my grandma's homecooking. I miss seeing the stars and hearing the silence.

I've got a golf tournament next week. I haven't swung my clubs since the beginning of March. It's going to be fun though.

I went to Megadeth a couple of weeks ago and it was a great show. Watching Dave Mustaine throw guitars around on stage was awesome. There are a bunch of other shows that I want to catch this summer.

I'm alive. Sure beats trying to cross the border.

I played golf on Saturday for the first time this year. I think I did very well but the sun went down before I could fill my card with 18 holes. On the front nine I finished with a 41 before I went in for a wiz and soda. I hope I can play more since I have a little more time this year.

There has been alot of things that are going through my brain lately. Mostly family stuff and then there is my personal well being. I'm trying to sort it out. I'm not sure if I'm ready to blog about it.

Oh well, I'll just keep on trucking.