Operation: 'Drainage ditch' has officially begun!!!!!! As most of you know, I have never been happy with the drainage ditch in the front yard.... Erosion is a huge problem and I have been trying to combat that since I moved in. I tried planting daylilies to spruce it up and I have had many ideas what I wanted to do with it so it didn't look so Sanford & Son-ish....


Early on I messed with the idea of building a retaining wall. But of what????? Then it hit me while I was dozing off to sleep one night... Railroad ties!!!!!!! WOO HOO!!!! Little background for ya. When I was a kid I loved trains and everything about them, Heck!!!! I still do!!!! Anyways, A family friend, Steve Kockler, loved trains a ton too!!!! I'm still not sure how he worked it out but he convinced my mom to let me skip a day of school so he and I could go up to the big city, Buffalo, and watch trains and check out all the RR yards up there.... This was back in 1987 and I remember it like it was yesterday!!!!! We were at an old RR yard that was being dismantled and I saw piles upon piles of RR ties. They had to go somewhere didn't they?? Steve told me that they

• A. Threw them into a shedder and they turn into mulch.
• B. They sell them to landscaping centers and are sold for landscaping.
  
• C. They just leave them there until the EPA or the city complains enough.

SOOOOOO I went to the local Home Depot, no the women who has teeth of a 19th century chimney sweeper no longer works there, and checked out the RR ties they had. Not only were they too expensive, $10.50 a piece, but they looked like they were shipped to Iraq and used by the troops to shield them against an artillery attack and then sent back to the states to be sold. They were in really bad shape. Forget it!!! I'm not going to buy that crap... I had to go to plan B. I "Googled" 'railroad ties' and BOOM!!!! I had about 100 hits. I guess it's a pretty big business to get them from the RR company who wants to get rid of them and sell them to people at a landscaping center. It's just being a middle man. I was too cheap to do that, SHOCKER!!! I figured there must be a RR company in the area!!! WOO HOO!!!! The Lancaster & Chester RR Co. at your service!!!! I emailed the head of track maintenance Reece! He told me to give him a call and he would be able to help me out. Poor Reece!!! He is a southern bred guy who has a very distinctive southern draw and then you have me, a fast talking yankee. We had a few communication breakdowns and he had to say "Can you repeat that?" at least 20 times because I was talking so fast!!!! He told me where he had bunch just sitting around that I could have. I asked him how much I owed him and this is classic, he said "Hell! You don't owe me anything I just want to get rid of 'em."



With the help from my neighbor, Greg, we went out and hauled back about 10 with our trucks.... Yeah I know there are some macho guys out there saying, "WHAT?? They had two trucks and only got 10???". Sorry but I have my limitations!! They weigh a ton and I was exhausted.... I figured that I can come back and get more when I need. This is pretty funny!!! Want to see how much work I managed to get done for the rest of the day???? OK!!! The picture above this paragraph was taken right before I started working..... AND here is what I accomplished!!!

In my defense it was really muddy and the RR ties were just not leveling out at all.... I had enough and I was all muddy and wet AND cold!!! I took a shower and a nap. I decided that I would tackle it tomorrow... PEOPLE!!! This is not going to be a weekend project!!!! I'll be happy if I get it done by the freakin' summer!!!! But BY GOD! It will get done!!!!!

AND!!!! I purchased my 'hot water on demand' unit on Friday!!! This is the one I got... It comes in this week and I have to line up a HVAC certified person to come out and install it!!! So hopefully I'll have it all set up by the next update I write.... I'll be sure to tell you all about it!

Alrighty... I worked on it a little more on Sunday and.....


Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to a Super Bowl party and then going to sleep for at least two days to recoup from all this manual labor...


Want to hear a funny story??? Ask me about the time I ran out of gas and the police came out and everything!!!

SNOW STORM 2007!!! NEWS AT 11!!!!!

I stole that from Erv Weinstein up in Buffalo.... He always said that on commercial breaks while I was watching "That's Incredible"... Crazy guy!!!! SOOOOOOOOOOOO I woke up and this is what I saw!!! About 2 inches of snow!!! WOO HOO!!! All you Yankees want another reason to move down to the Palmetto State, South Carolina, besides the great weather, average temperature is 55 degrees year round and you still get the change of seasons, amazingly low cost of living, nice people, JOBS, very low taxes, that everything shuts down when it snows!!! PEOPLE!!!! Let me repeat that in case you didn't read that right, everything shuts down when it snows!!! It snows down here about every 3-4 years and when it does it's an event! It's not like up north where there is a chance of snow from October through April and it's depressing.... Down here it snows for a day and it melts the next!!! So you get your fill of snow for the year and it's gone the next day... Gotta love that! I went for my walk and snapped a few pictures.....

OH I have so big news!!! Details soon!!!! All I can say is that it has to do with a landscaping job that will take me at least a month to complete, The Lancaster & Chester Railroad Co., and some great memories of a great family friend, Steve Kockler!!!!!!

DANG!!!!! When in the wide world of sports am I going to realize that I am not 22 anymore and working all day causes me to spend a week trying to recoup my sore back and muscles?????
Kripes! My house smells like my Grandpa & Grandma Cawleys with the unique order of Ben Gay......God rest their souls!!!!

The natural area is done!! WOO HOO!!!! Take a look and tell me what you think..... If you ask me, I think the guy that built it is a SUPERSTAR!!!! Give him a saws-all and a level and he is unstoppable!!!! You can't stop him but you can only hope to contain him!!!!

Bordering the driveway was a breeze compared to the constant digging and leveling I had to do for the natural area....


It's looking like Uncle Sam owes me a nice sum of money..... At least it seems that way. I used Turbo Tax and it walked me through it all and I even went through it twice to make sure I was coming up with the right figure. With my return I'm planning on having a 'hot water on demand' system. My aunt and uncle have one and my uncle Bill is one fart smeller, I mean, one smart fella..... He is definitely on my 'phone a friend' list if I am ever on "Who wants to be a millionaire". I'm pretty sure he did all the research into one and if it's good enough for him then it's good enough for this hick in Lancaster, SC. With everything I have read about them it's a win/win situation. See for yourself!!!!

IT'S BEEN A VERY GOOD YEAR.... SO FAR!

Yeah I know it's only the first weekend of January but it's been SWEET so far..... Santa was good to me at the end of 2006 even though I'm usually a scrooge at that time of the season. This is all of my Christmas decorating for the whole house!!!


That's right!!! I have a wreath on the front door and that's it. The only reason it's there is because my mom and dad got it for me and demanded it go up.... No tree , lights, plastic Santa Clause or manger scenes. If I want to experience Christmas I can just head over to me parent's house......

All I ask for is stuff for the house.... Things that I know will look good for the ladies and ahhhhhhhhhh stuff that they could give a dang about.......... Take for instance this sectional rug that I know will drive girls crazy like the hard wood floors.

And then I got this for my computer area.... Not too glamorous but damn practical!!!


As you all know, I mentioned how I take the winter off to hibernate, watching a ton of TV and drinking a few beers, but being that global warming is in high gear and it's been near 70 the last couple of days I decided to play around out in the yard. I started to tackle an area that I thought I took care of last year. I sectioned off an area and made it into a natural area. That's just another name for a part of your yard where grass never grows.... As anybody that has known me for at least an hour knows I am a huge fan of bargain shopping! Big Lots is my second home and they had rolls of landscaping border... I saw it and bought a bunch of it thinking it would be easy to install and look GREEEEEEEEEEEAT! Well I was sadly mistaken. I don't need a professional landscaper or anybody just driving by the house to tell me it looks like crap.... Look for yourself...


Told ya... It was time to actually pay the money and do some hard labor so when you drive by your not mistaking my front yard for a local garbage dump. I bought a few 8 ft. long wood borders and went to work.

Yeah yeah yeah, I known the line isn't straight. I just placed them there to see how they would look... The can of beer in the tree was placed there because I didn't want to knock it over doing all my work. My neighbor Greg came over and said I was doing too much work and I looked like I needed to take a break and have a beer with him. Don't have to twist my arm....YUMMY!

So I did enough for one day...... I was going to finish it all up Sunday but it rained like crazy!!!! I did do some work but I had to stop being I was soaking wet and beat from all the dang digging and leveling I have been doing the last two days... SOOOOOO you will have to wait until my next update to see the final product...

Well it's the next weekend and it's STILL not done!!!!! I need to go and get some more material... But here is what I have so far.....

OH YEAH!!!!! This is the next project that I have already started on. I plan on placing those cedar landscaping borders along the whole stretch on driveway..... As you can see I have a few in place already.....

SKEEBO 2002-2006

As you all know, Skeebo was a house guest for about three weeks. She was a GREAT dog and was happier than heck to just chill out and watch some TV with me... Needless to say, we had a groovy time together. It was so nice to come home and have her all happy to see me. Anyways, her mom came and got her and she was all ready to be adopted but she took a turn for the worse. Her mobility was limited due to hip displacement which is pretty common in big dogs. Plus she had a history of strokes AND then her kidneys started to fail... Heck of a laundry list huh???? They rushed her to the vet and there wasn't much left to do. It was best to put her to sleep to stop the suffering. I'm going to miss my buddy.....

Not much new on the home front. OH WAIT!!! There is one thing! LEAVES SUCK!!!! They are all over my yard and clogging up my gutters. So I spent yesterday getting up on my ladder and cleaning all of the gutters.... MAN they were stuffed with leaves! I also showed all of 'em who was boss and busted out the tractor! I spent half the day blowing all of them into a little gully in the back... I think all of them are down from the trees.... At least I hope so, I don't want to rake anymore!!!! Have a good one!

NOW THAT'S A DOG!!!!!!

Say hi to Ms. America, or as her owner calls her Skeebo! She is a Mastiff and all I can say is SWEET JESUS IN A GUM BALL MACHINE she is HUGE!!!!!! By my 'guessestimate' she is about 130 pounds. Actually that's how much pressure was on my foot when she stepped on it..... I'm watching her a few weeks for my friend. She's a great pupper!!!! She is happy as a pig in poop just to be chilling out with me watching some TV. She is a HUGE baby when it comes to walking on my kitchen floor. It's linoleum and she hates it because she can't get a grip with her paws....... To be honest with you, it's kinda funny to watch her trying to walk on it. After at least 2 minutes of looking at the floor then me with the "are you really expecting me to walk on this" face she'll tip toe across it and out the door to go out...... After talking to her mom, I found out that she loves her some cheese. What dog doesn't huh???? So no matter where she is in the house she springs right up when she hears me opening up a piece. I think she is so happy to be getting cheese that she doesn't even notice the floor...... Crazy dog!

One thing that I have forgotten about with having a dog is how much they shed! PEOPLE!!! I vacuum every night!!!! BUT I wouldn't change a thing.... I love having the company.

Sorry kids but I don't have any pictures for ya this time..... I'm sad to say that I have not done anything to the house in the last couple of months..... It starting to get cold out there and I tend to hibernate in the winter months.... NO!!!!! I know what you are all thinking!!!! I will not be turning off the heat this year! That just flat out SUCKED and will never be attempted again!

The new job is going great. They have a 4 day work week program. I work 10 hours Monday through Thursday and have my Fridays off!!!! WOO HOO!!!!! A 3 day weekend EVERY week!!! LOVE IT!!!!! It's amazing how much more you can get done when you have a week day off. If I have any Dr. or dentist appointments I just schedule them on Friday. That way I don't have to take any time off... Life is good!!!!

OK so I lied........... I said in my last blog entry that I have been in the house for a year now..... Well let's rewind the tape on that statement..... I officially closed on the house July 15th 2005. The parents and I spent the next 1/2 month fixing it up. For the record, I moved in on Labor Day weekend 2005. SOOOOOOOOOOO That would make this weekend the one year anniversary! HOT DAWG!!!!!! 10 things that I have learned or starting to do in the last year since moving to the huge metropolis of Lancaster, SC:

1. Getting excited as a pig in slop when it rains because my lawn and plants are getting water...
   
2. Started listening to country music. Sorry but they sing about some funny stuff!!! The best song out there is 'tequila makes her clothes fall off'!!!! AMEN BROTHER!!!! I think I've met that girl too!!!!! HE HE HE HE HE!!!
   
3. Got myself a tractor and I live for the weekend so I can head outside with my straw hat and throw in my ear plugs and start mowing!! OH!!!! Did I mention that it has a cup holder?!?!?! GOD BLESS AMERICA!
4. Washing off the porch at least once a month from the dust the speedway stirs up every Saturday night.
   
5. Always remembering to drive the truck when I go some place in town so I fit in..... THANK GOD I bought that truck!!!!!!!!
6. Seeing someone cruising down my street on their 4 wheeler or dirt bike and not thinking twice.
7. Learning to accept the fact that I must pay more to have the house at a comfortable temperature whether it's heat or air conditioning.
8. That you can buy almost anything at the Dollar General or Big Lots!
9. I can't do everything I want to the house in one weekend!
10. I didn't learn this in the last year.... But it has just solidified my belief that I love my life and where it's going!!!

The house is still rockin' like the Rolling Stones, those guys are older than my dad!!!! WHOW! The yard is a work in progress.... Almost all of the plants given to me are planted and growing like crazy!!!! EXCEPT! For this little guy. I don't think you have to be an arborist to see that this poor baby has seen better days.....


Check out the wagon in the back of the picture..... That thing is full of day lillys!!!! KRIPES!!!! They have been in there for the whole summer. AND they are still growing!!!! Those things are like weeds!!!!!! GEEZ!!!!

So I thought I would tell you all what my plans are.... Well I want to met a girl who will wear a cheerleading outfit..... WHOOPS!!! Wrong blog!!! HE HE HE HE HE HE!!! NO but seriously. I am building the 'McBride express way' in the back...... I'm sure anyone reading this is saying, what the??? Let me explain with some help from Google Maps and some pictures..... I have the Lancaster Motor Speedway, "THE FASTEST DIRT TRACK IN THE SOUTH!", about 500 yards away from my back yard. ALSO! There is the local dump and recycling center there. Here is a map I just made. I plan on making it wide enough to drive my tractor and wagon so it's easy access to the dump. Yeap!!! I am a full blown redneck!!! It has been more of an adventure than I thought.... I went back there to survey where the trail needs to go and folks!!!! This is going to sound funny but I got lost in the woods!!!! I felt like those crazy kids in the Blair Witch Project...... I just was going in circles and I finally walked out of the woods 3 houses down... I felt pretty dumb!!!! BUT!!! That's not going to stop me from completing the McBride express way!

Here is the view form the back yard.


And from the path looking back to the house.



So I have always known that there is some gravel in my back yard BUT I didn't know how much was there...... It's a freakin' pile!!! I started digging it up but I kept on getting gravel!!! It kept on going!!!! SO!!! I have a gravel pit now!!! I have no idea what to do with it all. Any suggestions???

Alrighty ya'll I'm off to bed...... I hope everyone had a rockin' Labor Day weekend.....

WHERE HAS THE YEAR GONE?????? I just realized that I have had the house for one year now!!!! I closed on it 7/15/2005..... WOW!!!! I have done a lot in the last year and y-all have been there with me the whole way! I'm going to sound like those old guys on the Bartel & James commercials and say "I thank you for your continued support." Remember those???? I think they ran back in the 80's.

Well I have been one traveling fool since the last time I posted anything on here. Last weekend I was on the 'Andy M. Summer tour 2006' that took me up to NY, NO not the city! The good part of NY. Western NY!!!! We had the Cawley family reunion. It rained all day but that did not stop the beer from flowing and meeting all the family members that I had never met... I brought up my draft system and hooked that baby up to the keg and it worked like the days I built it ten freakin' years ago!!! Can you say "Mcgiever"??? It was a great day but I had a headache and had to be driven home that night.... DAMN headaches!!!!! OH YEAH!!!! GUESS WHAT???? My cousins Carmen & Kathy hooked me up with all the snacks!!!! I have dinner for the next month thanks to them!!!! Talk about a great family!!!! They are lookin' after me!!! I consider it a contribution to the 'Andy, I'm going hungry, McBride' fund....


I also hit the wonderful state of OH to visit my grandparents... They are getting up there in age and are limited on what they can do BUT they still have one of the best yards I have ever seen!!!! It's still as immaculate as when we would go and visit them when I was a kid. Grandma gave me a few thinks for the house which I'll show you in a few minutes.

AND NOW!!! I thought I would give you an update on the job situation. They placed me in another department as a 'work share' program. Basically it's set up like this. You go over still as an employee of your old department and learn the processes of the new dept. and if you show that you are a good worker then they might hire you on... PLEASE GOD!!!!! Hire me!!!! OK.... I need your help! Please pray to whatever God you worship and ask him/her to look over me and I get hired on in this new dept.. Can you do that for me!?!?!?!?!? Women kinda frown on guys that don't have jobs...... HE HE HE HE HE HE!!!

HEY!!! Check it out! On my way home from Ohio I hit a nasty rain storm in West BY GOD Virginia and hydro planed the Civic across I-77! I did two complete 360s and thought that I might pull it out but then I slammed into the guardrail..... Tore up the fender pretty good and the door would only open half way. Nothing a crow bar can't fix!!!! All those hours that I have watched NASCAR helped me out! Throughout the whole spinning I kept the clutch in so the car still was running when I slammed the guardrail. I sat there for a second and collected my thoughts then threw her in first and went on my way..... I wasn't about to stop and ask for help in WV. KRIPES!!! I've seen Deliverance!!! Not going to be that guy!


As you all know, I have been focusing on the yard and all the work that needs to be done. Well I'm done spreading mulch next to the driveway.

I decided to also make a natural are around the big tree as well... Grass was not about to grow there so I said FORGET IT!!! I'll just throw some mulch there.... Grandma McBride gave me some more day lillys and I planted them there and CHECK it out!!! She also gave me a big old plastic owl!!!!! I threw it up in the tree not to scare any kritters but to freak people out...... I can see it now! I'll be having some friends over and we are relaxing on the front porch when one of them notices the owl and says "OH MY GOD!!! look! There is an owl over there in the tree and he is staring at all of us!". AHHHHH Yes! The stupid things that I find humor in!

Have a good one and i'll talk to you later......

Well now.... Things sure can change in a second can't they????? While on vacation this week I was informed that they are laying off, I'm sorry, the corporate term is 'downsizing' my department and I have two months to find another job before they kick my butt to the curb..... Kinda ruined my vacation but only for a day..... I was shocked more then I was angry. I have never been laid off..... Bummer huh!?!?!? But let's put in perspective shall we....... I'm single with only a few things that can be considered debt, my house and car. I could be facing what a lot of people I work with have... A family to support..... That would suck..... Sure this can put some stress in my life but I consider stress as being a 18 year kid on a landing boat ready to storm the beaches of Normandy on D-Day knowing damn well that the odds of you surviving is slim to none. Now that's stress!!!!!

Sorry to start this entry out with crappy news...... Now the good stuff!!!! My house survived it's first guests!!!!! The Haver clan came down from WI. to visit me for a few days...... They brought their four kids and 120 pound lab...... They have the nicest RV I have seen and parked their hotel on wheels in my driveway.


The kids and the dog had free rein on the house and they can make quite the mess but I wouldn't want it any different..... The Havers are my second family.... I love them and I will NEVER forget the way they helped me out during some rough times..... Great people and the BEST kids!!


They left Friday morning and I went to work on the yard...... I built some borders around each of the trees in the front yard.


All I can say is WOW!!!!! Mom and dad brought back some plants from grandma McBride's house up in Ohio. They are flowering and looking as good as anything you have ever seen on TLC or the HGTV.


I also applied a little cosmetic work to the porch. I went and bought some plastic ladis (SP) for the stairs......


I'm off to find a job and enjoy the 4th of July with all my friends on lake Wylie..... MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM GOOD STUFF!!!!! Nothing like a weekend full of marinating in an inner tube with a cold beer enjoying the sun and good friends..... It doesn't get any better than that..... HEY!?! Wasn't that from an Old Milwaukee commercial? There is always so much relaxing going on that I need a nap!!!!! Enjoy!!!!

Nobody reads what I write do they????? Here's an actual email I received, "Drew! Thanks for letting me know that your blog is updated but where are the pictures? I really like seeing the before and after ones. DREW!!! I NEED PICTURES!"I understand that people want pictures!!!!! Well! I am here to satify your hunger..... It has been almost a year since Evel Kenevel gave this house to my bride to be and myself and look at all I have accomplished!?!??! This is what I did this weekend:

Do yourself a favor! Get mulch!!!!! It's cheap and easy to use kind of like some dates I have been on. I bought this at the Fox Hole recycling center up highway 521. It's part of the Charlotte/ Mecklenburg county yard waste facilities. Check it out. Do you know how much mulch I got for freakin' $7 bucks!?!? The guy there, Dale, hooked me up!!!! He just kept on dumping mulch in the back!!! 'Conservative' was not in his vocabulary.



I mulched both sides of the porch.




I also planted day lilies in the front and on the sides of the back deck. Give it a few years and they are really going to fill in that ditch. I really need to thank Mr. Boike for giving them to me!!!! He gave me more day lilies than I know what to do with. I ran out of places to plant them. Anyone need some????


We planted a dogwood in the back corner..... Big Ron then used some of the landscape borders to make a nice little area that is a work in progress. I plan on heading back up to see Dale and having him fill me up with some compost. I'll throw it in that area and get some more plates and make it look GOOOOOOOOOD!!!!

I placed a couple false statements in this last blog hoping that people read them and ask me what the heck I'm talking about.... Until next time, keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars.

Pine straw is a rip off down here...... I think it's only down south. I have not seen it in any other part of the country. I made an executive decision not to buy into the propaganda. It also helps that they sell mulch cheap as hell at the county recycing center!!! SCORE!!!! Here is how I figure it. I have the truck, a pitch folk, two newly retired parents with good backs, time and most of all I have a body built for sin and an appetite for passion!!!!! HE HE HE HE HE!!! That's from and old Kiss song and I think it's such a funny line that I had to use it.... But really everything except for the body- appetite line is true. Unless you are a single girl and I aroused your imagination!!!! Email me and I will give you my #!!!!!!!!!Tomorrow I'll go over there and have the guys dump a load in the back..... I'm thinking I can get almost 2 cubic yards of mulch. How much is in a cubic yard? Here is a conservation table for ya...... DANG I love the internet!!!! So much free porn, I mean useful information....... UMMMM Please strike that 'free porn' statement from the record.... Back to the mulch. I'll be spreading it out all weekend.

I have been a busy bee doing a ton of yard work...... Here is the condensed list:

• Planted a few rose bushes that were given to me by my Grandma McBride.
• Mixed up some Round Up and killed all the unwanted grass.
• Bought a dogwood tree and just planted it in the corner of the house.
• Placed plastic landscaping border around each tree and part of the driveway.
• Pruned back all the trees and bushes that outline the front and back yards.
• Received some cedar wood landscaping border and cleaned them up so I can place them as a border between the front ditch and yard.
  
• Other stuff that I cannot think of right now.

That sure shows some ambition doesn't it??????? Speaking of that..... I had someone tell me that I am not ambitious because I didn't want to get all stressed and climb the corporate ladder so I could potentially make more money..... I'm very happy were I am in my life. I have a great house, a pretty stress free life style, a great job that pays me well and good benefits.... I have ambition! I have ambition to come home after work and do yard work. I have ambition to have as much fun as I can when I am with my friends whether it's camping out or chilling out on the front porch. I have ambition to do the best job I can bush hogging one of my best friend's fields at his farm. I have ambition to never ever live pay check to pay check. The list goes on!!! I want to hear what ya-all have to say..... What's your definition of ambition and if you think I'm a lazy SOB.


I'll have another update after this weekend full of pictures!