Thanksgiving

The day started out early with the good wife's parents coming over for a holiday breakfast. We had biscuits & gravy, eggs, hash browns, sausage, bacon, ham and orange juice. We ate till there was no room.

The dinner with my family was at my sister Donna's house. Did the turkey & fixin's on a large scale. We took homemade pies and Josie (the daughter) made chocolate brownies. This go around was more moderate as breakfast was still very present in memory and attitude.

We had a pretty good time with the visit's though and ended the day with going to my eldest sister's house and cutting some firewood.

Talking about firewood reminds me of the weather we're having. temps have dropped below freezing for the first time this season and is giving cause to warm coat's and heating the house is serious business. Overall, the time of year is perfect and is my favorite.

Eighteen Years of Bliss and Shrek the Third...

Yesterday, the 20th, was our 18th wedding anniversary. Time sure does fly. I can still remember how nervous I was...wondering if I was mature enough to be a married man. Heck, I was thinking that I was still thinking like a kid. Well, that hasn't changed, but I think I am fit enough to be a husband, and a father, to boot! Actually, without a good wife, being a good husband is impossible, and in this, I am blessed with the good wife.

We decided to take the four children out to the movies and everyone chose "Shrek the Third". What a let-down that was. It was a serious rehash of all that made the first two movies worth seeing. Nothing new and little to keep anyone interested. It was more about slap-stick type comedy and depending on the same (now) tired actions that first drew us in.

My recommendation is to save the money and wait for the DVD (RENT...DON'T BUY). Serious disappointment....I'm sure the box office did good initially, but as soon as word gets out...will be showing a loss.

It's Raining Snow...

Just a couple of days ago it was in the 80's, and it is now 28 degrees outside.
I normally wouldn't be very concerned, but since we have moved, I decided to put in a vegetable gardena, and wouldn't you know that it would come a freeze like this and now I'm all about making sure everything is covered up.

I checked about an hour ago and it was snowing...what times we live in.

We've now been here around seven months and being on the top of a mountain, I have noticed that very few days go by without a good breeze. I am thinking of trying to construct a windmill and see if I can generate some electricity. Actually I have determined that I will build one...just waiting for all the other stuff to get done first. Not sure the good wife would appreciate me experimenting on a windmill instead of finishing the kitchen cabinets, floors, doors, windows, and a host of other things on the docket. One of these day's you might see an old mexican trying to joust in my field....

Trip to the Emergency Room...

Well, the rib finally got the best of me and I submitted to my wife and went to the ER. The reason for the ER is that is takes up to two weeks to get in to see my regular Dr..

After some X-Ray's, I find that I've broken my eighth rib on the right side of chest in the front, along with some torn muscle. The Darvacet that is part of my pain management routine just wasn't cutting it so the doc gave me some stronger Lortab (sp) and Industrialized Ibuprofen. The L-tab seems to be working better and hopefully the Ibuprofen will reduce some of the swelling.

Other than the med's and rest, there's not much else to do. She said because of the break being in the front, that wrapping wouldn't do much good...so I just have to live it out. What a fun afternoon it was.

Till next time.

Gettin' Ribbed...

Today I was out on the roof working on the guttering and got into a weird situation...Long story short...I think I broke one of my ribs. Hurts like all get out! Enough about that.

A great friend, Nathan, came over and helped out a bunch on the house. Got a lot done and things are moving along nicely. The addition is now totally in the dry and finished on the exterior. I can now start on removing the old staircase, close the opening and start putting in the new floor upstairs. A landmark we have been looking for, for quite some time now.

The good wife was offered the library job, but turned it down. Was a go nowhere position and her would-be boss seemed a bit militant and invasive.

We are also working on putting in a garden. As it turns out, it is a rock garden. I tilled and tilled and came up with nothing but rocks. It seems like i am trying to grow plants in the middle of a gravel road. It'll work out though. Am removing rock, working in leaves to build up the soil (like there is any), and have already put in tomatoes, cucumbers, and beans. Plan on getting some sunflower and other stuff planted. Would love to get some potato's and lettuce in, but think this year will be more about soil building than anything else. Pumpkin would be fun.

There's one area out back that was nothing but a massive tangle of blackberry brambles that would prove rather tough to get at to pick the fruit. I managed to cut out a rather large bunch of them in hopes of making gathering the berries into a civil affair. We won't see much of a crop this year, but should see a massive improvement next year.

We have been looking into getting some livestock and at first had settled on miniature horses, but have changed out minds and are leaning towards fainting goats and peafowl. Will require some extensive fencing for the goats and the fowl will require pens with secure runs.

Along with the aforementioned stock, will also be getting chickens for egg production. The only worry I have is in the fact that we have a fairly strong population of bald eagles and chicken hawks. Will have to work on that a bit...we'll figure it out pretty soon.

I've decide to try to remove the gray water supplier's from the septic system; everything but the toilet. Will use the recycled water for the garden's and lawn. Being that the water is chlorinated, and that I am paying for it by the gallon, it seems a bit foolish just to send otherwise usable water to the septic tank.

That's enough for now...Do Good to Be Good!

Life Just Keeps Happening...

We’re in the new house and are doing quite a bit of remodeling; as money allows. We’ve installed a new spiral staircase on the outside of the house. It is located where there was a patio, which is now going to become a two-story addition. We are not only enclosing the staircase, but also providing a sitting room off the dining area (upstairs), and schoolroom/library. Downstairs, there is going to be a master closet and mudroom. You can see and read more about it by following this link: http://grdoing.blogspot.com

Things are not moving as fast as I would like, but they are moving none-the-less.

The good wife has interviewed for a job at a local library and is hoping to get it. It will be much less stress than her current job and will also add a bit of a routine when it comes to time and schedules.

I went to the dentist today and had to have two teeth removed. I have been having trouble for some time with them and was scheduled to have root canals, but upon seeing the cost associated and no guarantee that they would last very long, I decided to just get rid of them. The replacement bridge will cost me about three hundred dollars less and will totally end the problem associated with trying to save them.

On the downside of all this was the fact that the roots were very strong and I ended up having to have the surgically removed rather than simply extracted. I will also have to wait two weeks for the gums to heal so that I can have impressions made, and another two weeks for the new teeth to be made. So, a whole month of having to smile on one side of my mouth…will be worth it though.

The good son is learning about vehicle maintenance and last week he changed the oil and rotated the tires on the van. He seems to understand mechanics and doesn’t mind the work. He’s also into building models a great deal; car fever has hit.

The girl’s are doing well also. School is just so easy for them that I am sometimes envious. There’s a lot to be said for marrying someone smart…

That’s about all I have the energy to write about now, so until later…be blessed!

August of 2006? Long Time...

I can't believe how much time has passed since my last post. Here's a quick rundown of what all has been going on.

Legal Illegal:

Well, I still feel the same as I did when I originally posted my views.

• I think that one nation deserves one language.
• My tax burden continues to grow and the illegal alien is part of that equation

Since the original posting, I have become involved in promtion's and have found that if I were hispanic, I could earn 30% more income due to having the profile and language that would attract that population.

With that said, I still believe that as a Christian, I am called to welcome and help any law biding alien to assimilate into this nation; not talking about erasing heritage, but more about gaining the ability to function as a citizen of the U.S.

A Letter To My Congressional Representative....:

The only response I received was from Mark Martin who sent me a letter explaining how busy he was and how excited my letter made him. After all the "nice" stuff, he told me to be tolerant.

Ebay is dying...:

Well, maybe not. It seems to still be thriving and making someone money. I do know that it has become very difficult for the small time seller to make it worth their time.

Selling Out and Moving On...:

We did sell our house and bought a much larger home in Oklahoma. The new home was/is in need of many repairs/upgrades. I am currently taking care of the repair/remodel as money become free (free money? talk about an oxymoron).

Weather:

Talk about a switch! We went from a drought to almost flood status over the winter. We had rain, ice, snow, sleet, Thunder-Sleet, and a blizzard. We have finally been released from the burn bans and are caught up on rain. We have also had record cold and record heating bills. It has finally started to warm up and they are now talking about a possibility of thunderstorms toward the latter part of the week.

That's all for now...more later.

Do Right-to-Be Right...