Maureen Dowd never has an answer!

Political columnist are supposed to criticize the politicians. I know that is their job,but the vitriol and negativity exhibited by some is just plain unintelligent.
I am an optimist always have been.
Don't believe in going backwards, as it has no purpose.
I am not talking about studying history. That is important, so we don't make mistakes others have.
That I understand .
Being negative for negatives sake, I don't understand.
Maureen Dowd is one writer I have to say gets under my skin.
I am sure that is part of the fascination.
She is intelligent, yet she never has an answer or idea of what the solution to an issue is.
She is quick to criticize,yet never offers the correct alternative ,or at least her opinion of what it might be.
Any opinion is just that. How boring if we all complained all day, and no one ever took a chance on implementing their beliefs.
Great ideas come from need and desire.
I am sure Maureen's desire is to be part of the problem, not the solution.
This of course is just my opinion.

I have no problem with people having political opinions, but give me a solution.
BTC

We are moving in May 8th like it or not.

We are moving in to the house up north very soon.
We are painting the inside,final coating the floors,custom coating the walls with murals,
putting all electric and plumbing in and finalizing the designs all at the same time.
We have to put the carpets in but will probably do that once we are in.
The good news is we have thrown or given away all our furniture so there is not alot to move around.
If we can get the plumbing done, and the electric hooked up, and the painting done.
We are good.
It is mad rush time, as of course were having a function at the house in one month.
It would never get done if we weren't.
I forgot to mention we are completely re landscaping the entire property also.
New patio,new grill new bushes and lawn and sprinkling system.
Other than that we are done .
Ha

The Devil is in the details!!!!!

When redoing a house or building one the true pain in the butt is the final details ,trim,tile ,lighting ,paint ,paper things like that. The framing ,roofing ,siding are the easy part.
The house begins to look good ,and then you have to finish it.UGHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!
All the little details can become overwhelming . The way around this is to have a designer and meet well in advance, and make the decisions about how the house will be done then don't change your mind.
Build it the way you decided, and then live in it a while to decide if you want to change anything.
You can always do something down the road.
The trick is to have experienced people around you, listen to their advise, and then do it. This is not easy as if you are not a decisive person you will second guess yourself again and again.
I am lucky my wife does the research and makes the decision.
She is very good at it.
Very few fights about the houses have taken place . we have done remarkably well considering.
BTC

Jeff Beck and Tal Wilkenfeld

I headed in to the Irving Plaza, recently named the Filmore Irving Plaza to capitalize on the name of the Filmore East.
Not sure why they did that, maybe it brings more old rockers out to try to recapture their youth.
Anyway headed in with a few of my old buddy's and saw the show.
Jeff Beck is as fine a guitar player, as the world has ever seen.
He doesn't sing so it's all instrumental.
He was amazing.
The playing was perfect and quite beautiful.
He has been reborn lately, after his recent induction into the Rock and Roll Hall\ of Fame.
He has introduced a young girl to the rock world named Tal Wilkenfeld and she as a bass guitar player she is reinventing the bass as a premier instrument.
I am sure there are players, as talented as she is ,such as Pedro Arevalo who plays with Dickey Betts and Great Southern.
He has his own Album out and he is very talented .
This girl Tal though brings an excitement and passion to the instrument rarely seen.
She has a smile when she plays that is infectious.
You find yourself smiling along with her.
As talented and good as Jeff Beck is, she has helped revitalize his career, and adds a true breath of fresh air to the rock world.
I am sure she will have a very long and illustrious career in the music world where ever it takes her.
It was great to see Mr. Beck play again, and he is one of the all time greats who will define our era.
I remember listening to Jeff Beck Truth while a Junior in High School with Rod Stewart
as the origional lead singer.
Rod Stewart never sounded better than on that album.

BTC

Dogs are funny and the projects are not as interesting as we get further.

My dogs are very funny and unique to my experience. I suppose that's why people love their dogs so much.
They are so innocent and they are so particular.
This morning my older Lab Sweetie of the famous "Sweetie Tea" fame,decided she would take her sweet time going to the bathroom.
I take her to the same vacant lot every day to go, and she usually takes a few minutes and circles and does her business .
This morning she circled and stopped ,and walked around, and circled again and stopped, and walked around and circled again, and repeated this maybe 6 or 7 times before finding the comfort zone .
Very funny ,and particular about the spot, and the feeling to be comfortable. The older she becomes the more particular she is about things. I think we are all that way and she has earned it. The pleasure she has delivered to the family is immeasurable.
Food, Exercise , sleep and comfort.
She will now sleep at my feet with one of her paws actually on top of my foot or shoe so if I move she knows it.
I now call her Needy Sweetie!
The framing part of the houses is some what interesting, as the shape of the house takes place ,yet at some point there are a tremendous amount of things you don't think of that really don't make the house look different, but are mandatory to building the house.
During the time when they put those on, the house looks very similar.
The truth is it is different every day, but the subtleties are just that.
I am going to see Rock and Roll hall of fame inductee Jeff Beck at Irving Plaza one of my favorite venues tomorrow night.
I will write a review this weekend her on my blog.
BTC

Said good bye to my hero and the houses move along.

A few weeks ago I said good bye to my dad after a long illness. He handled the end with all the kindness and grace he did all things with.
He went quite gently and is whole again.
He lived a long and full life and got to see his kids grow up and raise their own families.
He fought in the Big War where he was was a B17 pilot. He dedicated his life to his community and his family.
You can't ask for more than that.The house projects don't seem to be important at this time, but we are moving along.
I am posting current pictures of all three houses.
We are very close to finishing the house up north and are looking forward to being back in the house .
BTC