I recently completed a project to remedy a space problem in my tool shed. I have a push lawnmower and a yard vacuum. The yard vacuum was acquired back last summer and is used to dispose of the many leaves that float down on our yard during the fall. Well, anyway, setting in my shed side by side took up a lot of my valuable floor space. With a little effort I was able to design a platform that would let one sit atop the other. Now I have enough space to accumulate a lot of other stuff. When I transition to the other side I will be looking down (hopefully) with pity for those poor souls responsible for sifting thru my collection of things I just had to have. My motto is “throw away nothin’ “, if I do, I will need it again within days.
The temp has dropped around here. The days are in the low to mid-forties and the nights drop down in the low-thirties, with a wind chill in the twenties. The birds have been hitting the feeders hard and all the animals in our backyard are using the bird bath for their water supply. Jerilyn noticed that our big bird feeder was being depleted rapidly and we suspected it was the raccoon that hides under our shed during the day. The other night around 6:45pm (it gets dark here around 5pm), she turned on the outside light and, sure ‘nuff, there he was, hanging from the feeder munching away on the sunflower seeds. I retrieve the big 9 volt flashlight and shine it on him through the window, but he ignores it and keeps on eating. Finally, Jerilyn goes to the back door, opens it and yells for him to leave. He does immediately and now we take the feeder in at night and put it out the next morning. Poor guy, if he wasn’t so piggy we would be glad to share it with him. The squirrels do the same thing, but they eat a little and leave. We have a couple of possum’s somewhere around here, but I haven’t seen them lately.
Our family room looks a lot better now. The wallpaper was stripped, the walls and ceiling were painted and new carpet has been installed. It doesn’t look like the same room. When I suggested to Jerilyn that we move the furniture to different places , i.e. move the TV to another corner of the room, etc, she would have to no parts of that idea. She will replace things, but not with something different. She has a strong dislike for change. If I force a change on her, like getting a cell phone, she will eventually adapt and accept the change, but she will not do it willingly. I try not to do too much forcing. It is never good for a relationship. She is much the same way with me. I guess it’s the old give and take thing.
I have been busy during the cold weather trying to convert some VHS tapes to DVD. I have the necessary software & hardware to do that, but it does take quite a bit of time. Right now, I am converting the class of 1957 high school reunion (in 1987) for a very close friend. I know a lot of people on that tape because I graduated from that same school in 1959. Everyone in that tape was in their late forties and now they are in their late sixties. What a difference 20 years makes. I imagine the next 20 are going to be the toughest for me. My mother-in-law is ninety and I look at her and say to myself, “In twenty years I’m going to look like that.” I’m sure my kids look at me and say the same thing. Wrinkles, gray hair and creaky joints sure are hard to get use to. I just hope I don’t get cranky.
If you are a fan of the singer Jewel and you visit her website on November 28th you can get her new "Perfectly Clear" album for a $1 donation to charity: http://www.jeweljk.com/index.php .
The gas prices in our neighborhood are down to $1.69/gal. I never thought I would see gas prices that low again. A barrel of oil is currently selling for $54, down from a high of $147 in July. There are 42 gallons of oil in a barrel and that will make 23 gallons of gas, the rest is used for jet fuel, lubricants, etc. I just hope the lower prices do not encourage us to continue buying large vehicles. All the car companies are offering big incentives. I hope we all resist the urge to buy cars that get poor gas mileage, thus, forcing them to come up with better MPG vehicles.
Herewith are a few select quotes I thought you would enjoy:
“We dare not trust our wit for making our house pleasant, so we buy ice cream.”……Ralph Waldo Emerson
“A perfect summer day is when the sun is shining, the breeze is blowing, the birds are singing, and the lawn mower is broken.”……James Dent
And finally, “Eat less cottage cheese and more ice cream.”….Erma Bombeck
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Sunday, November 9, 2008
11-08-2008
A lot of things we encounter in our daily lives bring back memories. Like you, I get a few e-mails reminding me of what it was like 50 years ago. Seems we long for simpler times. Personally, I like things the way they are now. I like the friends I have now. I like the modern conveniences we have today. I enjoy the ability to connect with people so very far away. I wonder how many of us would actually go back to our childhood, or early adulthood, if we actually had to stay there. Sure, there were a lot of good times, but, there was a lot of loneliness. I had relatives that I very seldom had contact with. Not true today. I have friends in far off places that I seldom see, but, have contact with on a weekly basis. A lot of what I had to do as a teenager, or young adult, to entertain myself revolved around our TV. No so today. I cannot remember the last time I was bored (notice I did not say "the last time I was boring"). I certainly do not take all the credit for my life being so interesting. A lot of that praise goes to my wonderful friends and relatives. I firmly believe that you reap what you sow. "Be not deceived, God is not mocked; whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he reap." (Galatians 6:7). Could be a good thing for all of us to take to heart. If we want our life to be interesting, acquire interesting friends and do interesting things. Of course, I would be remiss if I did not tell you that Jerilyn is responsible for a very large part of my happiness. And, I do assume, since all my friends are interesting, therefore, their lives are interesting to them. I wonder if I am assuming too much?
Aren’t we all glad that the elections are over. I was so tired of answering our phone, only to find out that someone representing a politician was on the line encouraging me to vote for their candidate. I was amazed at how brutal a lot of the campaigns were. Somehow, we have to get out the message to our politicians that we want them to run a positive campaign. I read somewhere that studies have shown if you scare people, more of them will vote. I find it exceedingly difficult to believe that is true. Oh, did I tell you I saw Elvis in a shopping center the other day? I’m afraid if I examine myself too closely I will find that I live in a fantasy world.
I, like you, have been watching my investment very closely. Sadly, they are down approximately 25%. The one account that I personally manage online at TDAmeritrade is down 50%. Needless to say, I am expecting President-Elect Obama to figure out a way to restore our faith in our financial system and get our economy growing again. I have to admit to you that I did, indeed, vote for Obama in the election (as if it were a big surprise to you based on my previous musings). I think I only had one friend vote for him, so consequently, I get looked at as a "poor misguided soul". I feel compelled to say that I think he loves our country as much as we do and that he will only do what is good for us as a nation. From what I have read, his close friends and advisors think his government will closely resemble that of Poppy Bush (left of center). Only time will tell. I believe he is a reasonable man and will act as reasonable people do.
Jerilyn and I went to a Dolly Parton Concert the other night and had a wonderful time. The only downer was that I, occasionally, had nosebleed due to the fact we were so high up. Six of us (Don/Louise, Mary/granddaughter Melissa, Jerilyn & I), piled into Melissa’s van and headed off in the rain to the concert in Norfolk. It is absolutely amazing how much good conversation occurs when you put six friends together in a moving vehicle. At times, I felt sorry for Melissa (15), being in an enclosed environment with 5 people over 60 years old. Being the good person she is, she never let on that we were "older than dirt" and listened to our chatter attentively. Dolly, at age 62, put on a dazzling show for two hours. I was impressed with her interaction with the audience. If you get a chance to attend one of her concerts I feel certain you will enjoy it. I would guess about 8,000 people attended. She is not a top tier attraction, but certainly worth the price of admission.
It gives me great pleasure to say that, for now, the painting and plaster repair work is complete. It will be resumed next year, but for now it has stopped. In a few days, we will have the carpet replaced in the Family Room and then we start preparations for Thanksgiving and Christmas. What a wonder time of year. The leaves are floating to the ground and the trees are so beautiful. Just as spring is an inspiration, so is fall. I often wonder how we can see so much beauty in the world and not believe in God. In church today I learned there are 100 million church members in the United States, but only half of them attend service, on average, 85 per service. In our church, that figure (85) holds true. That is so sad. Unfortunately, Jerilyn and I are not there every Sunday. That has to be something we work on.
Aren’t we all glad that the elections are over. I was so tired of answering our phone, only to find out that someone representing a politician was on the line encouraging me to vote for their candidate. I was amazed at how brutal a lot of the campaigns were. Somehow, we have to get out the message to our politicians that we want them to run a positive campaign. I read somewhere that studies have shown if you scare people, more of them will vote. I find it exceedingly difficult to believe that is true. Oh, did I tell you I saw Elvis in a shopping center the other day? I’m afraid if I examine myself too closely I will find that I live in a fantasy world.
I, like you, have been watching my investment very closely. Sadly, they are down approximately 25%. The one account that I personally manage online at TDAmeritrade is down 50%. Needless to say, I am expecting President-Elect Obama to figure out a way to restore our faith in our financial system and get our economy growing again. I have to admit to you that I did, indeed, vote for Obama in the election (as if it were a big surprise to you based on my previous musings). I think I only had one friend vote for him, so consequently, I get looked at as a "poor misguided soul". I feel compelled to say that I think he loves our country as much as we do and that he will only do what is good for us as a nation. From what I have read, his close friends and advisors think his government will closely resemble that of Poppy Bush (left of center). Only time will tell. I believe he is a reasonable man and will act as reasonable people do.
Jerilyn and I went to a Dolly Parton Concert the other night and had a wonderful time. The only downer was that I, occasionally, had nosebleed due to the fact we were so high up. Six of us (Don/Louise, Mary/granddaughter Melissa, Jerilyn & I), piled into Melissa’s van and headed off in the rain to the concert in Norfolk. It is absolutely amazing how much good conversation occurs when you put six friends together in a moving vehicle. At times, I felt sorry for Melissa (15), being in an enclosed environment with 5 people over 60 years old. Being the good person she is, she never let on that we were "older than dirt" and listened to our chatter attentively. Dolly, at age 62, put on a dazzling show for two hours. I was impressed with her interaction with the audience. If you get a chance to attend one of her concerts I feel certain you will enjoy it. I would guess about 8,000 people attended. She is not a top tier attraction, but certainly worth the price of admission.
It gives me great pleasure to say that, for now, the painting and plaster repair work is complete. It will be resumed next year, but for now it has stopped. In a few days, we will have the carpet replaced in the Family Room and then we start preparations for Thanksgiving and Christmas. What a wonder time of year. The leaves are floating to the ground and the trees are so beautiful. Just as spring is an inspiration, so is fall. I often wonder how we can see so much beauty in the world and not believe in God. In church today I learned there are 100 million church members in the United States, but only half of them attend service, on average, 85 per service. In our church, that figure (85) holds true. That is so sad. Unfortunately, Jerilyn and I are not there every Sunday. That has to be something we work on.
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