like a pheonix

PHISH HAMPTON 2009 from Phish on Vimeo.

phreaks, phriends and phamily......the boys are back! a lot of you know this isn't a huge suprise to me but i must admit, the news left me feeling much happier thatn i had expected. happy isn't even the right word. i am filled with love, joy, gratitude, memories and great hopes for the future. i am here. now.

my ticket request is in. we'll see. no expectations. of course, my best man, bear, lives in virginia. of course, bear and i are known to have seen a phish show or 30 together. of course, we have scored into a handful of impossible shows too. we'll see.

just one thing. PLEASE, PLEASE don't come through the best coast around my wedding. PLEASE!

HIPPIE CHRISTMAS!

JERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE

Anna Thekla (Alice) Dypoldt...Peace Be With You.

As I mentioned, Stephanie's Beloved Grandmother, Alice, passed away on November 3rd.

Most of us called her Oma and that is how I will remember her. Oma was a beautiful soul and we are all blessed to have known her. She truly reflected the beauty of this world and had a great way of sharing that with those she knew. She was very close with her family, her friends and those she loved.

Again, I feel blessed to have shared times with Oma discussing life, Love and happiness. My sympathies are with Steph, her Mom, her brother, sister and uncle as well as everyone else who has lost a friend with Oma's passing.

I will never forget the lessons I learned from Oma. Thank you, Oma. I love You.

link to obituary

Getting Back To It, Y'all

Wow! It's been over a month since I've posted here. I've been overwhelmed the dramas of life. Family, Business, Personal Relationships, Health, Car Accidents and the unfortunate passing of Stephanie's Grandmother who I feel blessed to have known and learned from.
I have a lot to share with everyone including plenty of web goodies, my Halloween with STS9, my truck accident and more.
Stay Tuned y'all.

somebody digs the deck..

da' deck..cont.

I'm almost finished with the deck. I need to build the railing and do some finishing work and then on to the rest of the yard. You can see I built my dad a ramp and included a simple raised step also.
It is almost 700 sq. feet. I used every last piece of wood and Trex. Now that's some good estimating!

da' deck

As some of you know, I've been building a deck at my parent's house. It's been a great learning experience and a lot of fun. It's not quite finished but here are some pics....


I used pressure treated 4x8 lumber for the frame and am using Trex to cover it. This thing will be there long after my parents are. I am building the railing out of pressure treated posts and redwood slats. This is the most earth-friendly design I could do in this setting, with these goals. Overall the yard will be sustainably designed, low maintenance and extremely cost effective over time!
It's obviously a 'low' deck, so I spent a lot of time grading the fill dirt around the house. I attached the deck to the house and used Deck Blocks, which worked very well. I covered the ground with landscape fabric and a gravel mix that will stop any weeds from growing up through the fabric.
Kali chillin' as soon as I get some Trex down.