Hot Enough For Ya?

Wow, I certainly never meant for half a month to go by without posting a real blog entry. I have no excuse other than work has been nuts, but... what else is new?

This has been one of the most humid, hottest and driest Summers on record, and I am not one bit sorry to see August get the hell out of here.

For the last month or so, I have spent my Saturdays helping my dad clean out the family business. John Lee & Sons was an excavation company that was run by my great-grandfather and his heirs up until about 7 years ago. I was never interested in continuing the business, and my dad closed it down not long before his father passed away in 2000.

The two-story garage that housed all of the equipment and materials used for the last 60+ years sits on a prime piece of real estate and after my dad found a buyer, he decided to clean out the monster and then hold an estate auction for the remaining goods.

Imagine all of the junk in the world and then double it. I'm talking about miles and miles of scrap metal, junk parts, old construction equipment, rusted steel, car parts, you name it. All of it had to be sorted through and disposed of to make room for the auciton that took place this past Saturday.

The auction was a success; every last item sold over the course of six hours, and after all of my dad's hard work over the last six months, he doesn't have to haul a single thing away before they tear the building down in October.

It was a little emotional for everyone, too. Most of my very extended family showed up to buy a little piece of our history and to say "goodbye" to the downtown street corner that has been in the family as long as we've been alive. It wasn't easy to say farewell to that giant garage with the little offices where my grandfather would let me sit with him when I was too sick to go to school and spoil me rotten. But its what's best for my dad and we're proud of all his hard work.

ITEM! Want to feel better about yourself? Here's a site that shows the "before" and "after" effects of photo retouching on some pretty damn famous models.

ITEM! Nick Anderson, political cartoonist for Louisville's own Courier-Journal, just won the Pulitzer Prize for his work, which he colors with Corel Painter IX. Yay, Nick and yay, Painter!

ITEM! Nothing helps the creative juice flow like scented candles. My wife prefers the fruit and flower scents, but with Fall around the corner, my favorite scents are now in season; Foods and Holidays. I'm talking about pumpkin pies, sugar cookies, apple cider, candy canes, cinnamon rolls, pine trees, and spice cakes.

But the number one scented candle ever created is without question, Beanpod Candle's Creme Brule. After being out of stock for almost a year, our local shop just got some in and they kick so much ass, I would go so far as to reccomend that you buy one unseen from this link. I am that confident you will not be disappointed.

Second runner-up for all-time greatest scented candle: Hot Chocolate also from Beanpod.
Root Candles' scented line is no slouch, either.

You can all start in with the "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" jokes now.