A US Bag Maker

We are a US manufacturer of bags. We also have an office in China. Some people ask us, in fact more than some, if we are in conflict with ourselves and our clever name. Well, yes, and no, and sort of. You see, 'globalization' has created a world market for our raw materials, requiring us to seek those things that is still made overseas, in small factories and large alike, where the humidity is stifling and the hours are long. I want to bring bag makers back to the US. I want to see the US recover the market it shed and the jobs it lost. Textiles may be down, but we are not out. Until such time as we rebuild our infrastructure in the US, we struggle to find a balance between building stateside bags and importing others. I can tell you this - We employ about 20 folks. If we lost our import arm, we would reduce that number to half. If we continue to find some sort of balance, we can continue to grow and hopefully grow the company to 30 people. It makes more sense to continue the growth, contribute to the economy, and continue to be The Last US Bag Company.

Obamacare

The Obama healthcare plan, or 'Obamacare' is a fleeting attempt to dismantle the private health care sector through strong arm tactics. If they are truly modeling after the Massachussetts plan then disaster is just around the corner. Does the public honestly believe that healthcare will improve? No, I think the public is looking for something different, however what they would receive is another problem like we already have. There are far too many special interests in big pharma, the insurance industry, etc. to have a plan like this work. It's like gold plating a turd - in the end, it's still a turd, and the deeper you get into it the messier it gets.

I suggest before checking off 'yes' on the next Facebook poll that the individual actually read the initiative and legislation. Just because the campaign sounds positive on TV doesn't mean it's result will be that.

Patio at 95%!!!

Sorry about the slow posts. I basically blazed through the retaining wall portion to the end. I guess I had momentum! The wall took about 3 hours to place to about 20" high, then I began the backfill and drainage pipes inside the wall. A lot more gravel and breaking up and removal of the old sod. Unfortunately, I still have about 2 yards of dirt left over. Not sure where that's going yet. I finished the wall with 2" of gravel for drainage of the planter, then 6" of topsoil, followed by landscape fabric for weed control, then 2 more inches of topsoil. I then planted the assorted perennials and grasses, finished off with some western red cedar mulch to cover.

Overall this project has not been too difficult. A lot of moving dirt and repositioning piles, but other than a sore back a few days, very rewarding to do since we saved a fortune doing it ourselves. I'll know some tricks if I do this next time to make it easier, and I will definitely know how to estimate materials usage better (I ran out of gravel 2 times!). Although it is only about 30' long overall, we moved over 15 yards of material around.

The final touch is to finish a path to the side yard. That I will save for next weekend I think. Don't want anyone to think I am too ambitious.

Book to Read: The Last Season by Eric Blehm - An excellent story of a back country ranger in Sequoia/Kings Canyon Park. Very well written.

Patio Done!

After 3 long weekends, thousands of pounds of dirt, gravel, and pavers being dug, shuttled, and set, we finally have our patio. Angie and I are both amazed at how it came out. While it's still a homeowner special, it did come out pretty clean overall. I began setting pavers Friday evening at about 6:30 and worked until the bugs came out in force at about 8:30. Zach assisted by carrying pavers from the wheelbarrow to me while I leveled sand. We started again first thing Saturday AM and had the pavers in and joints begun to be filled by 4PM-Just in time to get to Zach and Noah's premier in Snow White. After a grueling day it was a blast to see them in costume on stage! More on that in another post...

Next up is the raised flower bed along the patio. More back-breaking work but quite a reward at the end!

Tip of the week: Use a 1/8 oz. spinner when catching trout - 1/2 rips their mouth apart!

Weekend #2 - Patio

The patio project took a major turn this weekend. We filled the mud pit with gravel, compacted it, layered it again, compacted it, leveled it, then compacted it once again. By now I was beat and my legs were tired. We started the day at about 9am and finished about 8pm. With Noah and Zach filling the wheelbarrow while I did the gravel leveling and compacting, we managed to to get the borders in and map the pavers. Unfortunately, I cannot load 3k pounds of pavers into the Tahoe, so I waited till Sunday morning to find the quarry and see if they could deliver. No such luck. I decided that my aching bones had enough for the day so we went to PDX for some fun on 23rd. I figured I'd run to Mutual Materials on Monday and buy the pavers at wholesale a lot cheaper anyway. Guess what? They cost more there. They do this on purpose to channel their retail sales through their retailers. Pretty smart I guess. In the end, I went to HD and laid down the cash for the stones and sand. They should be delivered this week, at least by Friday. I can probably get the thing done Saturday assuming we have good weather.

Tip of the Week: goto www.askamexican.net for some seriously excellent interracial education!

Patio has begun

Hey. Started our patio this weekend under cloudy skies and a light rain. We (the boys and I) got about 3/4 done when the rain began to become more consistent and the dirt quickly became mud. Had to stop as to avoid falling on the pick ax when I was sliding around. The boys each did their share with Zachary volunteering a solid effort at about 3 hours. Noah gave us about 2, the first half hour of which consisted of arguing the weight of the shovel and why his was heavier than Zach's. This is funny since Zachary is nearly half his size and he was having no problem with any of the tools. Noah finally settled in to clear a path for the wheelbarrow in the front yard and did a fine job. They each earn $3/hour based on consistent work and a good attitude. I'll let Noah have a pass on the attitude this time, but next week's effort better be solid!


Photos here of the excavated dirt. We figure we transplanted at least a thousand worms and grubs. I am not sure if they are grubs, but whatever they are they are kinda alien looking. Zachary filled a bucket with them and was going to sell them as bait to the local hillbilly fishermen at the lake, but he left the bucket in the rain and the worms were a bit bloated this morning. I gave them a proper burial back into the ground from which the were unearthed so savagely. All in all I figure we moved about 4 yards of dirt around. Most went to the front of the house for a hauler to take away on Monday.

I'll be looking for 5/8- gravel this week to fill the Macia mud flat. It's gonna take quite a bit so I'll probably borrow a truck to haul it home. Once that's in we compact and redraw the boundary lines with string for accurate placement of the paver barriers. I'll have to level it carefully to match the height of the postage stamp sized patio that we got with the house. I am not sure what anyone is thinking when they put in a 10 sq. ft patio. It's currently got a 3 person limit, meaning one of us has to wait to get on when another leaves. Ridiculous.

Hey - Movie tip of the week - Watch Borat if you haven't seen it. It's thought provoking and a bit unnerving at times.

-Will