Monday

It's been a busy day. I worked on book compilation all day and handled a number of computer questions.

After I got home I picked up around the house and took a number of photos - it won't be long before I have a digital tour for everyone to see. I believe that I got enough photos to show the layout.

This evening, I hit the grocery store for some groceries. Walter came down and we cooked dinner, it was a sharing of ingredients. We made spaghetti and stuffed portobella mushrooms. It turned out great.

I found out that the bill for the county taxes has come in for the vehicles, it was better than I had anticipated by half. Which is terrific in the long haul.

Email & Newsletter Gleanings:

Thought For the Day: “There ain’t no ticks like poly-ticks. Bloodsuckers all.” —Davy Crockett

From a strictly Mathematical Viewpoint:

What Equals 100%? What does it mean to give MORE than 100%? Ever wonder about those people who say they are giving more than 100%? We have all been in situations where someone wants you to give over 100%. How about achieving 101%? What equals 100% in life?
Here's a little mathematical formula that might help you answer these Questions:

If:
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Is represented as:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 1 9 20 21 22 23 24 25 26.

Then:

H-A-R-D-W-O-R- K
8+1+18+4+23+15+18+11 = 98%

and

K-N-O-W-L-E-D-G-E
11+14+15+23+12+5+4+7+5 = 96%

But,

A-T-T-I-T-U-D-E
1+20+20+9+20+21+4+5 = 100%

AND, look how far the love of God will take you

L- O- V- E-O-F-G-O-D
12+15+22+5+15+6+7+15+4 = 101%

Therefore, one can conclude with mathematical certainty that:

While Hard work and Knowledge will get you close, and Attitude will get you there, it's the Love of God that will put you over the top!

Sunday

The morning went well. I popped up this morning and fed the boys for Walter. He's down in North Carolina on the Outer banks.

Dr. Fowler delivered an excellent sermon this morning on trials that we go through, and that most of our trials are not something that anyone of us would voluntarily ask to have.

I got a voice message while I was in church - when I checked it was from Walter. After I returned the call I found out that he and Patrick had missed the last ferry back to Hatteras Island from Ocracoke Island so they are going to have to return home via South Carolina. They'll have to take a ferry south to get back to the main land and then head home up 95. It is going to be a long drive. But at least they will have faster travel speeds than if they had made it the other way.

I headed out to pick up Sean about 1:15 and really should have left a lot earlier - I ended up needing gas, and air in my tires. After I got there we ended up visiting for about 15 minutes or so and then we were off to the birthday bash for the 5-year-olds. Cake and ice cream. The family is going to be there so it will be a nice visit.

When I got to Mom's she was taking pictures of the Red House Finch's that were hanging out in the tree in the front yard. They were taking a fit on her for being out on the front porch. It seems that they have a nest nearby. I was lucky enough to get a photo of the chicks in the nest.

It wasn't too much longer before the birthday girl and boy finally showed up. Elda had made a 'from scratch' birthday cake for the occassion and Alice brought homemade icecream. Both were delicious. Elda even made a fruit salad.

Both of them were quite excited about the big day. It was even Miss Abbey's idea to have cars on their cake. They had a great time playing with the cars. Master Terry was just so tickled he could hardly hold it all in.

They had such a good time opening present and playing with their stuff. Terry got several really nice educational type toys and clothes; and Abbey got clothes, as well, and a "Princess phone". She was so cute calling all the princess' on the phone.

Tim and his family dropped by on their way home to drop off some 2 x 2's for me to use in my screened patio project. I do believe that there are enough there to make the walls without having to purchase any wood for the project. If I'm lucky I'll get it done before the weekend, if not Sean will here and maybe he will give me a hand working on it. It could be an interesting project to work on together. It would definitely be something that 'we' could do.

I've been goofing off this evening just watching movies on television. Not anything exciting. It looks like that I am going to head off and do laundry Monday night. I was going to do it this evening, but .... I got settled in and didn't want to go out.

Mom sent along this photo of Carla - she was all chilled out, even with all the kids bustling around.

I got hold of Walter this evening, he finally has gotten back into town. I'm so glad that he got off the island without too much difficulty. He was dropping Patrick off and then heading back home.

A Triple Play of Birthday Wishes

There are a couple of five year olds celebrating
their special day!

and.... to Sandi...

Girls Day Out

I can't believe that I actually slept in until 8:30 this morning. It just doesn't happen.

My battle with the caterpillars may be coming to an end. I've noticed several cocoons on the patio table, so they must be taking a break for awhile. I'm not sure what type of butterflies/moths that they'll be but I'll share that with everyone should I be able to tell.

I hit Lane Bryant this morning before heading over to Mom's house - I found a couple of terrific pieces to compliment my wardrobe.

This afternoon I'm heading out to the Daughters of the King Tea with Mom and Miss Abbey. Elda's mother's funeral is this afternoon as well.

The tea went well. There were a number of familiar faces from previous years and as always the program was delightful. Dottie presented a wonderful story about the sand dollar and the five doves that are found inside each one. It really had Cassie's attention.

Cassie & Abbey seemed like they had a great time. Miss Abbey looks just like a little baby doll. Both the girls look so sweet in their princess 'crowns'.

Email & Newsletter Gleanings:

Thought For the Day: "Life is like photography, you take from the negative and develop"

Finally Friday

The weekend is here already. The week has flown by and I assume that the weekend will do the same.

I left work about 45 minutes early to run by Ben Franklin to pick up some oil painting supplies - Dr. Martin brought back a goregous painting of the Piazza Navona, which was slightly damaged. I was able to get three different colors of oil paints plus the oil medium and brush (so much stuff to fix such a small place - but I don't use regular oils so it was necessary). I did a bit of mixing and worked a bit a 'magic' and voile no more damaged spot. I'm quite pleased with the repair.

It has been a quiet evening, not much happening. I've just been playing around with PhotoShop trying to get this photo up so ya'll could see what a beautiful painting I was working on. The spot that I fixed was in the upper right on the building between the vines.

Walt tells me that he was headed off deep sea fishing today, but his alarm didn't go off this morning so he over slept and missed the whole thing. Not too bad of a problem though, since the day was pretty much a wash out - raining and there were severe weather alerts for areas east of Richmond. So they most likely would have had a very wet day.

Tomorrow he and Patrick are heading down to the Outerbanks for the weekend. I do hope that the weather plays nice for their trip. They will have a great time. They'll be back on Sunday afternoon late.

Email & Newsletter Gleanings:

Thought For the Day: “If men of wisdom and knowledge... and true republican simplicity of manners... are chosen to fill the seats of government, we may expect that our affairs will rest on a solid and permanent foundation.” — Samuel Adams

TRIVIA

The next time you are washing your hands and complain because the water temperature isn't just how you like it, think about how things used to be.

Here are some facts about England in the 1500s: These are interesting...

• Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May, and still smelled pretty good by June. However, they were starting to smell, so brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odor. Hence the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting married.
• Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other sons and men,then the women and finally the children. Last of all the babies. By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it. Hence the saying, Don't throw the baby out with the Bath water..
• Houses had thatched roofs-thick straw-piled high, with no wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the cats and othersmall animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof. When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof. Hence the saying . It's raining cats and dogs.
• There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house.. This posed a real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings could mess up your nice clean bed. Hence, a bed with big posts and a sheet hung over the top afforded some protection. That's how canopy beds came into existence.
• The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt. Hence the saying, Dirt poor. The wealthy had slate floors that would get slippery in the winter when wet, so they spread thresh (straw) on floor to help keep their footing. As the winter wore on, they added more thresh until, when you opened the door, it would all start slipping outside. A piece of wood was placed in the entrance way. Hence the saying a thresh hold. (Getting quite an education, aren't you?)
• In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that always hung over the fire. Every day they lit the fire and added things to the pot. They ate mostly vegetables and did not get much meat. They would eat the stew for dinner, leaving leftovers in the pot to get cold overnight and then start over the next day. Sometimes stew had food in it that had been there for quite a while. Hence the rhyme, Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days old..
  
• Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite special. When visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show off. It was a sign of wealth that a man could bring home the bacon. They would cut off a little to share with guests and would all sit around and chew the fat..
• Those with money had plates made of pewter. Food with high acid content caused some of the lead to leach onto the food, causing lead poisoning death. This happened most often with tomatoes, so for the next 400 years or so, tomatoes were considered poisonous.
  
• Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle, and guests got the top, or the upper crust.
• Lead cups were used to drink ale or whiskey. The combination would sometimes knock the imbibers out for a couple of days. Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial. They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up. Hence the custom of holding a wake.
• England is old and small and the local folks started running out of places to bury people. So they would dig up coffins and would take the bones to a bone-house, and reuse the grave. When reopening these coffins, 1 out of 25 coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realized they had been burying people alive. So they would tie a string on the wrist of the corpse, thread it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell. Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night the graveyard shift.) to listen for the bell; thus, someone could be saved by the bell or was considered a dead ringer.

And that's the truth...Now, whoever said History was boring ! ! !

Educate someone. Share these facts with a friend.

Wild Thursday

It was a really wild day! We did a full day of video taping in the office. It was a long, but educational day.

Walter & I went out after work to the Thai restaurant - wonderful food again! Consistency is a great thing.

Wacky Wednesday

What a day! The house closed yesterday and we finally received the proceeds, which went directly into the bank. I'm planning on looking for a 'house' in the next couple of years. I've got a full year at the apartment before I need to make any decisions on what to do. I may stay here for a couple of years it will all depend upon how things go. BUT...next time I'm getting someone to move me. I don't want to do it again.

I drove Walt across the river this evening so that he could attend the Lynyrd Skynyrd concert with his buddy. He's catching a ride back with him, so it won't be necessary for me to go back this evening.

Elda's mom passed away today. The funeral services are on Saturday afternoon at 3:00 p.m.


Email & Newsletter Gleanings:

Thought For the Day: Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear. - Ambrose Redmoon

WARNING STOLEN BODY PARTS

Most of you have read the scare-mail about the person whose kidneys were stolen while he was passed out. Well, read on.

While the kidney story was an urban legend, this one is not. It's happening every day.

My thighs were stolen from me during the night a few years ago.

It was just that quick. I went to sleep in my body and woke up with someone else's thighs. The new ones had the texture of cooked oatmeal. Who would have done such a cruel thing to legs that had been mine for years? Whose thighs were these and what happened to mine? Hurt and angry, I resigned myself to living out my life in jeans and Sheer Energy pantyhose. Then, just when my guard was down, the thieves struck again.

My rear was next. I knew it was the same gang, because they took pains to match my new rear end to the thighs they stuck me with earlier. I couldn't believe that my new rear was attached at least three inches lower than my original. Now, my rear complemented my legs, lump for lump. Frantic, I prayed that long skirts would stay in fashion.

It was two years ago when I realized my arms had been switched. One morning I was fixing my hair and I watched horrified but fascinated as the flesh of my upper arms swung to and fro with the motion of the hairbrush. This was really getting scary. My body was being replaced one section at a time.

How clever and fiendish.

Age? Age had nothing to do with it. Age is supposed to creep up, unnoticed, something like maturity. NO, I was being attacked repeatedly and without warning. In despair, I gave up my T-shirts.

What could they do to me next?

My poor neck suddenly disappeared faster than the Thanksgiving turkey it now resembled. That's why I decided to tell my story.

I can't take on the medical profession by myself. Women of the world, WAKE UP AND SMELL THE COFFEE! That really isn't plastic that those surgeons are using. You KNOW where they are getting those replacement parts, don't you? The next time you suspect someone has had a face "lifted," look again. Was it lifted from you? I think I finally found my thighs-- and I hope that Cindy Crawford paid a really good price for them!

This is not a hoax! This is happening to women in every town every night!

WARN YOUR FRIENDS!

P.S. I must say that last year I thought someone had stolen my breasts. I was lying in bed and they were gone! As I jumped out of bed, I was relieved to see that they had just been hiding in my armpits as I slept.

Now I keep them hidden in my waistband.

Remember: You don't stop laughing because you grow old...You grow old because you stop laughing.

Tuesday

Finally - the house is going to close. Now just to wait for the paperwork to be done with. I spoke with Dean this evening, neither he nor I have heard anything from the closing - so we are operating under the assumption that everything went well and closed this afternoon.

I got a great surprise this evening. My blog has finally been converted over to the new type. I am so pleased, I am now going to have the opportunity to explore some of the new features.

I been enjoying the evening - I watched "Night at the Museum". It was better the second time around, much better than watching it in Imax.

Email & Newsletter Gleanings:

Thought For the Day: Cheerfulness is contagious, but don't wait to catch it from others. Be a carrier!

A GREAT DOG STORY

Anyone who has pets will really like this. You'll like it even if you don't and you may even decide you need one!

Mary and her husband Jim had a dog named 'Lucky.' Lucky was a real character. Whenever Mary and Jim had company come for a weekend visit they would warn their friends to not leave their luggage open because Lucky would help himself to whatever struck his fancy. Inevitably, someone would forget and something would come up missing.

Mary or Jim would go to Lucky's toy box in the basement and there the treasure would be, amid all of Lucky's other favorite toys. Lucky always stashed his finds in his toy box and he was very particular that his toys stay in the box. It happened that Mary found out she had breast cancer. Something told her she was going to die of this disease.....in fact, she was just sure it was fatal. She scheduled the double mastectomy, fear riding her shoulders.

The night before she was to go to the hospital she cuddled with Lucky. A thought struck her...what would happen to Lucky? Although the three-year-old dog liked Jim, he was Mary's dog through and through. If I die, Lucky will be abandoned, Mary thought. He won't understand that I didn't want to leave him. The thought made her sadder than thinking of her own death.

The double mastectomy was harder on Mary than her doctors had anticipated and Mary was hospitalized for over two weeks. Jim took Lucky for his evening walk faithfully, but the little dog just drooped, whining, waiting for Mary to leave the hospital. When she arrived home, Mary was so exhausted she couldn't even make it up the steps to her bedroom. Jim made his wife comfortable on the couch and left her to nap. Lucky stood watching Mary but he didn't come to her when she called. It made Mary sad but sleep soon over came her and she dozed.

When Mary woke for a second she couldn't understand what was wrong. She couldn't move her head and her body felt heavy and hot. But panic soon gave way to laughter when Mary realized the problem. She was covered, literally blanketed, with every treasure Lucky owned! While she had slept, the sorrowing dog had made trip after trip to the basement bringing his beloved mistress all his favorite things in life. He had covered her with his love.

Mary forgot about dying. Instead she and Lucky began living again, walking further and further together every day.

It's been 12 years now and Mary is still cancer-free. Lucky? He still steals treasures and stashes them in his toy box but Mary remains his greatest treasure.

We all need to remember to live every day to the fullest. Each minute is a blessing from God and never forget....the people who make a difference in our lives are not the ones with the most credentials, the most money, or the most awards. They are the ones that care for us.

Monday

What a wonderful morning! The temperature is great and the weather report is for a high of 89-degree. It is a nice way to start off the week. It will be terrific weather to enjoy the patio in the evenings.

The closing on the house is today at 3:30 p.m. Then that page of things will be all over. I'm glad that it will all be done. So much work.

Well, they rained on my parade - no house closing until tomorrow. Strange. Everything was all set for today, but...who knows? They did have a few objections that needed straightening out at the house. We had to go back and pick up the dog house and a chair that was mistakenly not taken to the dump. Plus somehow we forgot some meds in a drawer, my thought was just throw it away. But...anyway, things will close out tomorrow.

Work is going well. I'm busy all the time. There is still so much to learn. Everyday is something new. It is amazing. It seems that the more I learn the more there is left to learn. It is truly a never ending process.

This evening I have had a wonderful visit with Mom while I gave her a perm. It was nice visiting. We haven't done much visiting for quite sometime.

Aunt Jo has been moved over to rehab and is beginning the recovery process after her hip surgery. Aunt Barbara & Uncle Jimmy have been busy at work getting Aunt Jo's things moved over to a new apartment - first floor. It is really great of them to take on such a daunting task of gathering everything together and get it back into it's right spot in the new place. After having moved the majority of my own 'stuff' what doesn't look like much can take up a whole....lot of boxes (especially books and such).

Some sorrowful news, Elda's mother is in the hospital and not expected to recover. She passed away this morning, but they were able to revive her. From what I understand she will most likely not recover. My prayers go out Elda and her family.

Email & Newsletter Gleanings:

Thought For the Day: “The next best thing to being wise oneself is to live in a circle of those who are.” — C.S. Lewis

It's Your Birthday

Ben, May all your BIG wishes and dreams come true in the coming year.
Happy Birthday - Judy

Sunday

I'm off for Church this morning - choir practice, Sunday school and Worship service. This afternoon, Alice is bringing Terry over for a haircut. I've got bunches of stuff to send home with her.

Mom sent along this picture that she took last night while I was holding the puppy.

I had a full afternoon - Alice & Terry came by to have Terry's hair cut. He was a real shaggy dog, that needed to have major trim job. He was a really big boy, he sat in the high chair while I cut his hair. This was a big change since he normally sits in Alice's lap while I cut his hair.

The final walk through of the house was done this afternoon at 3:30 p.m. So far, we've heard nothing from the realtor's. So I suppose that no news is good news.

I was able to get the storage room cleaned out this afternoon. I installed Tyvek on the outer wall to keep the weather and critters out. I feel better about storing stuff out there now that the Tyvek barrier is in place.

I've been enjoying the wonderful weather that we've been having today. I've opened up the windows and backdoor. The cool air coming in has been quite pleasant. Carla has enjoyed going out and playing today as well. At one point today, she ran around the building and went to Walter's front door to have him let her inside. She was so silly. But it does tell me that I need to put a move on getting the screening put around patio area. So that she won't get away from me. Although at least for the moment I know where she'll be - either Walter's or my front door.

The new hair style/cut made a BIG splash at church. Everyone really liked it. Dr. Fowler even made comment. The men in the choir behind me kept playing with the back of my hair saying it was "so bouncy". They were just too full of themselves. I even had one comment that it made me look a lot younger. Ego boosters all around.

Email & Newsletter Gleanings:

Thought For the Day: "Two things are infinite: The universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein

I had heard this before but this is the first email I had seen on this subject. In light of political correctness, I hope that this doesn't offend anyone but I thought that the information in this email was worth knowing about.

Who is Barack Obama? Could he be a sleeper?

Probable U. S. presidential candidate, Barack Hussein Obama was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, to Barack Hussein Obama, Sr., a black Muslim from Nyangoma-Kogel, Kenya and Ann Dunham, a white atheist from Wichita, Kansas. Obama's parents met at the University of Hawaii.

When Obama was two years old, his parents divorced. His father returned to Kenya. His mother then married Lolo Soetoro, a radical Muslim from Indonesia. When Obama was 6 years old, the family relocated to Indonesia. Obama attended a Muslim school in Jakarta. He also spent two years in a Catholic school.

Obama takes great care to conceal the fact that he is a Muslim. He is quick to point out that, "He was once a Muslim, but that he also attended Catholic school."

Obama's political handlers are attempting to make it appear that Obama's introduction to Islam came via his father, and that this influence was temporary at best. In reality, the senior Obama returned to Kenya soon after the divorce, and never again had any direct influence over his son's education. Lolo Soetoro, the second husband of Obama's mother, Ann Dunham, introduced his stepson to Islam. Obama was enrolled in a Wahabi school in Jakarta. Wahabism is the radical teaching that is followed by the Muslim terrorists who are now waging Jihad against the western world.

Since it is politically expedient to be a Christian when seeking major public office in the United States, Barack Hussein Obama has joined the United Church of Christ in an attempt to downplay his Muslim background.

Let us all remain alert concerning Obama's expected presidential candidacy.

Saturday Stuff

This morning I'm headed off to King Louie's to have my hair cut and at least the front done with highlight.

Dad has agreed to allow us to borrow the truck to finish up the clean out of the house. It is driving me absolutely crazy that it isn't finished yet. But today is the absolute deadline. The new owners are doing a walk thru on Sunday. I hope they come during daylight hours as there is no electricity at the house. Dean had it turned off a week ago.

It is going to be difficult to clean up the place since there is no electricity and no hot water to clean with.... Muddling through on this thing is going to be the most difficult part of the whole sale of the house. Oh well, at least I didn't do it.

UPDATE on Aunt Jo - She will be moved from the hospital on Monday to rehab. The surgery went well and they have been working on getting her up daily since then. She'll be in rehab for a about a couple of weeks. While she is there, things have been arranged to move her from her upstairs apartment to one on the ground level. She's staying in the same apartment complex and will actually be within walking distance of the location of her church service. Aunt Barbara Jean has been terrific in dealing with all the necessary detail to get this taken care of - Thanks.

My hair came out terrific - Stuart did such a great job. She always does. I have a nice bob with highlights in the front. It feels GREAT!

WOW! We finally finished up cleaning up the house. It took two trips to LG's house to store stuff for Dean & Sean; and three trips to the dump to get rid of the accumulated junk that we've had for 8-16 years. Who knew that we could have accumulated that much?

I headed out to Mom & Dad's house after the finishing up of the house. I got to play with the new puppy. It seems that April had one little one this afternoon around noon. I got to bottle feed her a little this evening. Carla thought that she was something too.

Email & Newsletter Gleanings:

Thought for the Day: "Good boundaries are good self-care."

Hokie Hope Day

The Governor here has declared today a day mourning for the victims at Virginia Tech. The alumi association has declared it Hokie Hope Day - requesting everyone wear orange & maroon as a show of support. I don't own anything orange and maroon - but the office has put together ribbons for everyone to wear.

Email & Newsletter Gleanings:

Thought For the Day: Comes from the editorial page of the Richmond Times-Dispatch:

The Peace Prayer of St. Francis

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, Let me sow love; Where there is injury, pardon; Where there is error, truth; Where there is doubt, faith; Where there is despair, hope; Where there is darkness, light; And where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled As to console; To be understood, as to understand; To be loved, as to love. For it is in giving that we receive, It is in pardoning that we are pardoned, And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Sprinkles Again

I was watching the weather this morning and we have 'sprinkles' on tap for the day. It will be nice to finally get back to the nicer weather thsi weekend. We finish up with the house on Saturday and I will be so happy.

I want to at least get started with screening the patio this weekend - hopefully that will help retard the on slaught of catepillars. It will also help keep the patio dryer when it rains.

News around the office about the middle school, Sean (was attending) and the high school that Danielle attends had a lock down due to a couple of guys walking around the area with guns. The story goes that they were on their way home from turkey hunting - the only problem with that story is that there is no where around the area to hunt.

This in from Mom:

Found out tonight that there is an area around the schools that is huntable. That's where the boys were this morning when the students from the high school saw them. Was told that there was also a student at the middle school that got quite upset about them. No wonder with all that has happened this week. Don't know if any charges were filed against either of them. Maybe the later news will give the answer.

Email & Newsletter Gleanings:

Thought For the Day: “It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong.” —Voltaire

Why our country is in trouble!

A Washington, DC, airport ticket agent offers some examples of why our country is in trouble!

1. I had a New Hampshire Congresswoman ask for an aisle seat so that her hair wouldn't get messed up by being near the window. (On an airplane!)
2. I got a call from a candidate's staffer, who wanted to go to Capetown. I started to explain the length of the flight and the passport information, and then she interrupted me with, "I'm not trying to make you look stupid, but Capetown is in Massachusetts." Without trying to make her look stupid, I calmly explained, "Cape Cod is in Massachusetts, Capetown is in Africa. "Her response - click.
3. A senior Vermont Congressman called, furious about a Florida package we did. I asked what was wrong with the vacation in Orlando. He said he was expecting an ocean-view room. I tried to explain that's not possible, since Orlando is in the mi ddle of the state. He replied, "Don't lie to me, I looked on the map and Florida is a very thin state!" (OMG)
4. I got a call from a lawmaker's wife who asked, "Is it possible to see England from Canada?" I said, "No." She said, "But they look so close on the map." (OMG, again!)
5. An aide for a cabinet member once called and asked if he could rent a car in Dallas. When I pulled up the reservation, I noticed he had only a 1-hour layover in Dallas. When I asked him why he wanted to rent a car, he said, "I heard Dallas was a big airport, and we will need a car to drive between gates to save time." (Aghhhh)
6. An Illinois Congresswoman called last week. She needed to know how it was possible that her flight from Detroit left at8:30 am and got to Chicago at 8:33 am. I explained that Michigan was an hour ahead of Illinois, but she couldn't understand the concept of time zones. Finally, I told her the plane went fast, and she bought that .
7. A New York lawmaker called and asked, "Do airlines put your physical description on your bag so they know whose luggage belongs to whom?" I said, "No, why do you ask?" She replied, "Well, when I checked in with the airline, they put a tag on my luggage that said (FAT), and I'm overweight. I think that's very rude!" After putting her on hold for a minute while I looked into it (I was laughing). I came back and explained the city code for Fresno, CA is (FAT - Fresno Air Terminal), and the airline was just putting a destination tag on her luggage.
8. A Senator's aide called to inquire about a trip package to Hawaii. After going over ! all the cost info, she asked, "Would it be cheaper to fly to California, and then take the train to Hawaii?"
9. I just got off the phone with a freshman Congressman who asked, "How do I know which plane to get on?" I asked him what exactly he meant, to which he replied, "I was told my flight number is 823, but none of these planes have numbers on them."
10. A lady Senator called and said, "I need to fly to Pepsi-Cola, Florida. Do I have to get on one of those little computer planes?" I asked if she meant fly to Pensacola, Fl. on a commuter plane. She said, Yeah, whatever, smarty!"
11. A senior Senator called and had a question about the documents he needed in order to fly to China. After a lengthy discussion about passports, I reminded him that he needed a visa. "Oh, no I don't. I've been to China many times and never had to have one of those." I double checked and sure enough, his stay required a visa. When I told him this he said, "Look, I've been to China four times and every time they have accepted my American Express!"
12. A New Mexico Congresswoman called to make reservations, "I want to go from Chicago to Rhino, New York." I was at a loss for words. Finally, I said, "Are you sure that's the name of the town?" "Yes, what flights do you have?" replied the lady. After some searching, I came back with, "I'm sorry, ma'am, I've looked up every airport code in the country and can't find a Rhino anywhere." The lady retorted, "Oh, don't be silly! Everyone knows where it is. Check your map!" So I scoured a map of the state of New York and finally offered, "You don't mean Buffalo, do you?" The reply? "Whatever! I knew it was a big animal."

Wednesday

The day has been quite busy. I've been working on gathering up documentation and working on a couple of websites. I am even ahead on a document deadline. Yippe!

This evening I'm off to get my laundry done. I'm going to pop over to the laundry, which is just across the parking lot and get the wash started. The one thing nice about doing laundry at a laundry mat type facility is that all the loads can go in at once. Just a bit faster than the regular one load at a time.

I've got all kinds of catepillars hanging out on the patio. I've been invaded. These guys have been hanging out for the last few days. They weren't there while it was raining, but afterwards they have burst forth with a vengence.

Sean's texted me this evening and we had really nice conversation. He's going to come over on the 4th and spend the weekend with me. We had to go throught the calendar to figure out which weekend that was going to be available.

I also had the opportunity to talk with Danielle this afternoon as well. She had received her report card - her GPA is over 3.3. I'm proud of her achievement. She's getting ready for graduation, the Senior prom, and all the other senior class activities that are coming up. Miss Faith has been doing well and isn't giving them too much trouble. I hope that they get to come over an visit sometime in the near future.

Email & Newsletter Gleanings:

Thought For the Day: Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear. - Ambrose Redmoon

Tuesday

The state is attempting to recover from the senseless killings here in Blacksburg. What makes people do such a thing.

Email & Newsletter Gleanings:

Thought For the Day: "Never believe that a few caring people can't change the world. For, indeed, they are the only ones who ever have." Margaret Mead

Guest Speaker

After a few of the usual Sunday evening hymns, the church's pastor slowly stood up, walked over to the pulpit and, before he gave his sermond for the evening, briefly introduced a guest minister who was in the service that evening.

In the introduction, the pastor told the congregation that the guest minister was one of his dearest childhood friends and that he wanted him to have a few moments to greet the church and share whatever he felt would be appropriate for the service. WIth that, an elderly man stepped up to the pulpit and began to speak.

"A father, his son, and a friend of his son were sailing off the Pacific coast." He began.

"When a fast approaching storm blocked any attempt to get back to the shore. The waves were so high that even though the father was an experienced sailor, he could not keep the boat upright and the three were swept into the ocean as the boat capsized."

The oldman hesitated for a mome, making eye contact with two teenagers who were, for the first time since the service began, looking somewhat interested in his story.

The aged minister continued with his story, "Grabbing a rescue line, the father had to make the most excruciating decision of his life: to which boy would he throw the other end of the life line.

He only had seconds to make the decision.

The father knew that his son was a Christian and he, also, knew that his son's friend was not.

The agony of his decision could not be matched by the torrent of waves. As the father yelled out, 'I love you, son!'

He threw out the life line to his son's friend. By the time the father had pulled the friend back to the capsized boat, his son had disappeared beneath the raging swells into the black of night.

His body was never recovered.

By the time, the two teenagers were sitting up straight in the pew, anxiously waiting for the next words to come out of the old minister's mouth.

"The father," he continued, "Knew his son would stepinto eternity with Jesus and he could not bear the thought of his son's friend stepping into an eternity "without Jesus. Therefore, he sacrificed his son to save the son's friend."

How great is the love of God that he should do the same for us. Our Heavenly Father sacrificed his only begotten Son that we could be saved. I urge you to accept his offer to rescue you and to take a hold of the life line he is throwing out to you in this service."

With that, the old man turned and sat back down in his chair as silence filled the room.

The pastor again walked slowly to the pulpit and delivered a brief sermon with an invitation at the end. However, no one responded to the appeal. Within minutes after the service ended, the two teenagers were at the old man's side.

"That was a nice story," politely stated one of them, "But I don't think it was very realistic for at father to give up his only son's life in hopes that the other boy would become a Christian."

"Well, You've got a point there," the old man replied glancing down at his worn Bible. A big smile broadened his narrow face. He once, again looked up at the boys and said, "it sure isn't very realistic, is it? But I'm standing here today to tell you that story gives me a glimpse of what it must have been like for God to give up his son for me. You see... I was that father and your pastor is my son's friend."

Monday

My Aunt Jo fell Sunday night and broke her hip. She is at St. Mary's Hospital. Aunt Barbara Jean thinks they might need to do surgery today. We don't have any further details yet - but everyone please add her to their prayer list. An update on what I do know, Aunt Jo will most likely have surgery on her hip in the morning. She is experiencing an extreme amount of pain and they are attempting to make her as comfortable as possible until her surgery.

The work day was busy and full. Everyone is back from vacations and there is a whole lot of catching up to do. Which will probably go on for at least a week or more. One of our dental assistants received a wonderful "edible bouquet" from her husband. She was so nice and shared it with everyone in the office. They had made used chocolate dipped strawberries and orange wedges along with plain strawberries, grapes and pineapples with cantalope balls made into flowers. It was amazing.

I took Miss Carla over to Pet Smart this evening and had her nails clipped. She'll walk much better now. I left her in the car while I ran into Wal-Mart and did my grocery shopping. I think I got everything that I'll need until next pay day.

I got a report from Dean - the trees in the neighbor's yard are still standing! Yippee! Now all they have to do is remain upright until after the 23rd. Then we are in the clear.

I've got to get by the lawyer's office in the next couple of days - I need to sign the deed for the sale of the house otherwise, things will get put off, and that is something that no one wants to happen.

Email & Newsletter Gleanings:

Thought for the Day: THE FOUNDATION: TAXATION “To take from one, because it is thought his own industry... has acquired too much, in order to spare to others, who... have not exercised equal industry and skill, is to violate arbitrarily the first principle of association, the guarantee to everyone the free exercise of his industry and the fruits acquired by it.”—Thomas Jefferson

I got this really great cartoon from the Patriot Post. What a graphic description of the date our taxes are due. I particularly think that the 'eyes popping' are a really great extra touch.

A Wet Sunday

The rain has arrived. This time Carla didn't make a peep when it started raining. She just hung out and slept.

I'm headed off to church this morning with Walter. Then afterwards, I'm headed back out to the house to see how much we can get taken off to the dump today. I will never be so happy as when I'm not hauling household content to the dump.

What a miserable afternoon! We were at the house working on finalizing the clean out and it was raining. Try hauling stuff out to the truck on a regular basis and not end up being soaked to the core. What a miserable, miserable day to spend a Sunday afternoon. We managed to get one truck load done before heading off to the dump, when the wonderful weather front dropped buckets of rain upon us as we were emptying the truck. Wet & Cold is not a pleasant place to be.

That being said, the one truck load of stuff was all that we were able to get done today with the weather being the way that it is. There is hope that tomorrow evening will be better. After I got home this afternoon, I had some company. Walter brought down the movie, First Knight to watch. I started piddling around putting stuff away and he promptly fell asleep. So he and Carla have been sleeping the afternoon and early evening away. I've managed to empty all the original boxes that I brought over to the apartment. Now I've got to get started on the remaining bins of stuff that I brought back over the last couple of days.

Email & Newsletter Gleanings:

Thoughts For the Day:

• He charged nothing for his preaching, and it was worth it, too. - Mark Twain [Hmm, apparently Mark Twain had a real bad experience with a newbie preacher].
• "With hurricanes, tornados, fires out of control, mud slides, flooding, severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to another, and with the threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks, "Are we sure this is a good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?" - Jay Leno

A BUSY DAY

This has been a really, really busy day. I've been over to the old house with Dean and Sean working on the final clean up. There is so much 'stuff' to throw out and to take to the dump it is almost ridiculous. It truly is amazing how much five people can accumulate in eight years of living in one place.

Tim came over and helped out with a number of things. He took the sofa and love seat over to Alice for her den; he returned a dresser and mirror to Mom & Dad's house; and then....took home the refrigerator and a few other things. THANK YOU!

We borrowed Dad's truck for a couple of reuns to the dump and it looks like we will need to borrow it again tomorrow for a couple of more loads. We still have to clean out the side room and the rest of the stuff from the toolshed. Not to mention whatever is under the house.

I got an email from Mrs. Danielle today, she's gone and gotten a new email address. What is the world coming to? I guess they are getting all set up for their permanent move to Lynchburg in June. I hope that they've had a great week.

Walt and & went out for dinner at the Thai restaurant again tonight. All different food with the same result. WOW.

Later on this evening (late....) Walter and Patrick (friend from churc) showed up at the house. Patrick has a degree in Networking, so he fixed the little router issue I was having. Which turned out not to be a router issue but a duh moment. I didn't need the router - I have a wireless router/modem that just needed to be configured. I don't think it took 10 minutes until everything was humming along like it was suppose to.

Email & Newsletter Gleanings:

Thought For the Day: "Inspiration arrives as a packet of material to be delivered." - John Updike

Oh No! Friday the 13th!

Oh No! It's Friday the 13th! What are we all going to do....go to work, etc. just like normal. For those superstitious folks - lock yourself up tight and it will all be over in 24 hours. See you Saturday.

This evening I'm headed out to the house to help finalize the 'clean out'. So much stuff to move and trash. Dad's letting me borrow the truck tomorrow afternoon, after he's gone hunting of course, to haul stuff off to the dump. Tim's going to come by and do some shuffling of stuff to Alice's house; and maybe I'll be able to get a few things to Danielle over the weekend, that is if she is home from Lynchburg.

The office is a buzz this morning. The Executive VP has his family in visiting the office and today is the last day for one of the dentist in the office. One of the front office staff brought in a chocolate bundt cake to send him off in style.

Sean called to tell me about what was happening. He caught me up on what was going on with Hershey and Nibbles. They have been up to all kinds of antics. He and Dean are headed over to the house to work on the toolshed. Cleaning it out and sorting through the stuff. They are taking some of the big stuff over to LG's to be stored.

Email & Newsletter Gleanings:

Thought for the Day: "The most wasted day of all is the day we have not lived... loved... and laughed..."

BLONDE JOKES

Okay, I know they aren't 'politically correct', but they really are funny no matter what color your hair is....

Did you hear about the two blondes who froze to death in a drive-in movie? They went to see "Closed for the Winter."

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Why did the blonde resolve to have only 3 children? She heard that 1 out of every 4 children born in the world was Chinese.

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A blonde hurries into the emergency room late one night with the tip of her index finger shot off. "How did this happen?" the emergency room doctor asked her. "Well, I was trying to commit suicide," the blonde replied. "What?" sputtered the doctor, "You tried to commit suicide by shooting your finger off?" "No, Silly!" the blonde said. "First I put the gun to my chest, and I thought: I just paid $6,000.00 for these breast implants, I'm not shooting myself in the chest." "So then?" asked the doctor. "Then I put the gun in my mouth, and I thought: I just paid $3000.00 to get my teeth straightened, I'm not shooting myself in the mouth." "So then?" "Then I put the gun to my ear, and I thought: This is going to make a loud noise. So I put my finger in the other ear before I pulled the trigger."

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Did you hear about the near-tragedy at the mall? There was a power outage, and twelve blondes were stuck on the escalators for over four hours.

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A blonde went to an eye doctor to have her eyes checked for glasses. The doctor directed her to read various letters with the left eye while covering the right eye. The blonde was so mixed up on which eye was which that the eye doctor, in disgust, took a paper lunch bag with a hole to see through, covered up the appropriate eye and asked her to read the letters. As he did so, he noticed the blonde had tears streaming down her face.

"Look," said the doctor, "there's no need to get emotional about getting glasses."

"I know," agreed the blonde, "But I kind of had my heart set on wire frames."

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A blonde was shopping at a Target Store and came across a silver thermos. She was quite fascinated by it, so she picked it up and brought it over to the clerk to ask what it was. The clerk said, "Why, that's a thermos.....it keeps some things hot and some things cold."

"Wow, said the blonde, "that's amazing....I'm going to buy it!"

So she bought the thermos and took it to work the next day. Her boss saw it on her desk. "What's that,' he asked?

"Why, that's a thermos....it keeps hot things hot and cold things cold," she replied.

Her boss inquired, "What do you have in it?"

The blond replied, "Two popsicles, and some coffee".

Thursday Showers

First the big news for the day, drum roll please......

I HAVE PHONE SERVICE!!!

I figure that I would at least have all the DSL stuff connect, so that when I finally got my service in I could use it. Much to my pleasure I found that there was a crackling on the line and was able to finally get it to work!!!! Turns out the plug in the kitchen has to be "bent" a certain way or it won't connect, a problem, but one that won't wait since now I can actually call someone. And better yet, they can call me! SO, everyone that has been trying to reach me I am now in touch with the world once again via the phone.

Wow! It was really raining this morning around 12:15 a.m. Carla pretty much had a total fit. She could hear the rain echoing in the stair well outside the front door and it sounded like people moving. I had to prove to her that there was no one outside the door before she would settle down. From the bedroom it sounded like I was sleeping on the porch right next to the downspout. What a way to be lulled to sleep!

The day has been great! I accomplished a lot at work. I even left early, I didn't go to lunch so I left about a 1/2 hour early. Carla really was happy that I came in early. She played outside and had real fun on the grass. I was able to get the patio cleared off and cleaned up. The bedroom is coming along and I've just about got everything all straightened up.

I put the phone to good use this evening and tried to touch base with all the family. I even had a lovely conversation with Aunt Jo.

Walter came down to visit around 8:00 p.m., he had just come in from Fluvanna. He put in almost 14 hours today. We watched Talledega Nights this evening - what a humorous movie.

Email & Newsletter Gleanings:

Thought for the Day: "Gun control historically serves as a gateway to tyranny... Only armed citizens can resist tyrannical government.” — Rep. Ron Paul

The story of two houses...

LOOK OVER THE DESCRIPTIONS OF THE FOLLOWING TWO HOUSES AND SEE IF YOU CAN TELL WHICH BELONGS TO AN ENVIRONMENTALIST.

HOUSE # 1:
A 20-room mansion (not including 8 bathrooms) 28 rooms total, heated by natural gas. Add on a pool (and a pool house) and a separate guest house all heated by gas. In ONE MONTH ALONE this mansion consumes more energy than the average American household in an ENTIRE YEAR. The average bill for electricity and natural gas runs over $2, 400.00 per month. In natural gas alone (which last time we checked was a fossil fuel), this property consumes more than 20 times the national average for an American home. This house is not in a northern or Midwestern "snow belt," either. It's in the South.

HOUSE # 2:
Designed by an architecture professor at a leading national university, this house incorporates every "green" feature current home construction can provide. The house contains only 4,000 square feet (4 bedrooms) and is nestled on arid high prairie in the American southwest. A central closet in the house holds geothermal heat pumps drawing ground water through pipes sunk 300 feet into the ground. The water (usually 67 degrees F.) heats the house in winter and cools it in summer. The system uses no fossil fuels such as oil or natural gas, and it consumes 25% of the electricity required for a conventional heating/cooling system. Rainwater from the roof is collected and funneled into a 25,000 gallon underground cistern. Wastewater from showers, sinks and toilets goes into underground purifying tanks and then into the cistern. The collected water then irrigates the land surrounding the house. Flowers and shrubs native to the area blend the property into the surrounding rural landscape.

HOUSE # 1 (20 room energy guzzling mansion) is outside of Nashville, Tennessee. It is the abode of that renowned environmentalist (and filmmaker) Al Gore.

HOUSE # 2 (model eco-friendly house) is on a ranch near Crawford, Texas. Also known as "the Texas White House," it is the private residence of the President of the United States, George W. Bush. So whose house is gentler on the environment? Yet another story you WON'T hear on CNN, CBS, ABC, NBC, MSNBC or read about in the New York Times or the Washington Post. Indeed, for Mr. Gore, it's truly "an inconvenient truth."

True: http://www.snopes.com/politics/business/gorehome.asp

IF I HAD MY LIFE TO LIVE OVER
by Erma Bombeck
(written after she found out she was dying from cancer)

I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren't there for the day.

I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage.

I would have talked less and listened more.

I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained, or the sofa faded.

I would have eaten the popcorn in the 'good' living room and worried much less about the dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in the fireplace.

I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth.

I would have shared more of the responsibility carried by my husband.

I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed.

I would have sat on the lawn with my grass stains.

I would have cried and laughed less while watching television and more while watching life.

I would never have bought anything just because it was practical, wouldn't show soil, or was guaranteed to last a lifetime.

Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy, I would have cherished every moment and realized that the wonderment growing inside me was the only chance in life to assist God in a miracle.

When my kids kissed me impetuously, I would never have said, "Later. Now go get washed up for dinner." There would have been more "I love you's" and more "I'm sorry's."

But mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute... look at it and really see it... live it and never give it back.

STOP SWEATING THE SMALL STUFF!!!

Don't worry about who doesn't like you, who has more, or who's doing what. Instead, we should cherish the relationships we have with those who do love us. Let's think about what God HAS blessed us with, and what we are doing each day to promote ourselves mentally, physically, and emotionally.

Wednesday

Walter is off to work in Fluvanna again. They've given him a company truck for the trip. He'll be putting in some overtime hours for the next few days.

I'm in the home stretch of the video-audio training materials. I will never be so glad as to finally get through with all the video watching. I've gotten most of the training finished - still some online materials to go over, but it's geting closer.

After work I headed out to the house to pick up a few more things. The boys had been busy removing trash (boxing materials & stuff) we just don't have a place for in the new places. I've made a deal with Dean - Friday evening and Saturday that we both be there and dive in to finish it up!

I popped by Mom & Dad's to drop off my collection of gift bags - now these are something I may have to swipe back from time to time from Mom as the the need arises. We had a short visit, since Mom had not been back long from Mamaw Stapleton's and I needed to get back home with Carla. Walter called and we ended up heading out for a late dinner after I dropped Carla back home.

We went out for some Thai food at the Siam Paragon. The whole experience was some next level stuff. I've never seen nor heard Walter carry on about a place so much in my life. We started out without a clue as to what to eat, however our waiter (who turned out to be one of the owners) was extremely helpful in helping us pick out what to have as 'newbies' to Thai food.

Before we began with any food we started out with a couple of glasses of Thai tea. What a concoction, ice tea with milk, a very weird combination but delicious. About this time is when Walter began having the glazed over culinary look. For appetizers we tried the tempura vegetables and fried calamari. The batter on both was so light and crisp, none of the normal heaviness that comes with deep fried food, plus the sauce for both was also very light, so you didn't loose the taste of the food in the sauce.

On to the main course: Walter had Pad Kra Prow, which was on the hot side. I had a dish called Pad Woon Sen I had a version with shrimp, scallons and squid. Delicious - as an added bonus I got to keep my chopsticks, which were imported from Thailand. They were spectacular to eat with! Perfectly balanced! Wow, what a treat.

Now normally dessert is a rare event, but since the food didn't weigh heavy on us we jumped right in to try some of their desserts. Walter had the Taro Custard and I had Mango and Sticky Rice. The custard arrived warm on a plate drizzled with chocolate sauce, while my dessert was a combination of warm and cool, plus the rice was covered in a coconut milk sauce. I would have never thought to put the combination together but it was perfect.

All the way home all Walter was doing was going on and on about how next level the food, food presentation, and service were. He said that we had really be out to eat. I do believe that if he could do so he would be there to eat everyday.

Email & Newsletter Gleanings:

Thought for the Day: "How do you get world peace. You get world peace through inner peace. If you've got a world full of people who have inner peace, then you have a peaceful world." Dr. Wayne Dyer

Tuesday

More video instruction to go over today - Only four more videos to watch. Yeah! Then it will be on to other projects.

Alice is coming over this afternoon for a bite of lunch. We are timing this almost to the minute. If we both leave work at the same time, we can both be at my house at the same time. So if we are good we will both be back to work exactly on time. It could work out that we are here when the maintenance guy comes to look at the phone lines.

No such luck on the phone lines, however, Alice and I had a delightful lunch together. We both left work at just about the same time and arrived together. I was able to giver her the grand tour (all of 5 minutes) and then we settled in for great conversation and a nice Italian salad. Carla enjoyed having the company as well. We left talking on the phone and both arrived back at work simultaneously. Neat stuff.

I was disappointed when I got home to find that I had no phone service. The maintenance staff had not come in...it is becoming irritating that I am paying for phone service and DSL that I can't use. I guess I'm calling the repair service again tomorrow first thing. It is almost a safety issue - no way to get in touch with the outside world (now if it weren't for the fact that Walter is close by - I wouldn't even be able to get my blog up at night). It would be pretty bad if I needed to call 911 or someone needed to get in touch with me for a family emergency.

I'm going to be back here for a short while tomorrow while they install my cable, so maybe, just maybe the phone can be fixed at the same time.

Email & Newsletter Gleanings:

Thought for the Day: "Anybody can become angry, that is easy; but to be angry with the right person, and to the right degree, and at the right time, and for the right purpose, and in the right way, that is not within everybody'’s power, that is not easy."” - — Aristotle

Monday

I slept well last night - like a rock. Miss Carla did so as well. She was on the bed with me and didn't move at all. Amazing.

There is a lovely layer of frost on the ground this morning and looking out my back door I have a such a wonderful view. It is going to be nice when the temperatures warm up slightly so that I can take advantage of the patio on the weekends.

I left work a bit early this evening, I skipped lunch. I dropped by home to pick up Carla on my way back over to the house. I was working on picking up more 'stuff' that I hadn't gotten over the weekend.

Right now I'm battling with my phone service. Verizon says the line is good to the box, but there is no service inside the apartment. I've got the apartment working on repairing the lines, especially since Verizon said they were going to charge me over $95 to fix the lines inside the apartment. Since they are coming into the apartment tomorrow to do the repair I took Carla up to the maintenance building to 'meet & greet' the maintenance staff. That way she'll not be too upset with their coming. It was a very productive meeting.

Afterwards, Carla and I went to the house and packed up the car with additional things for the house. Food, cleaning supplies, the toaster and vaccum accessories. Dean was there throughly exhausted from his moving today - they have had to haul boxes and miscellaneous stuff up two flights of stairs to their apartment. I wouldn't want to be doing that at all.

I have the cable guy coming to put service in on Wednesday so that I can watch some type of television. I don't watch very much at all, basically the news and programming on our Channel 33; Law & Order, Monk, House, and CSI as well. Other than that not much else.

Email & Newsletter Gleanings:

Thought for the Day: "I am neither an optimist nor a pessimist. I am a possibilitist." Max Lerner

Happy Easter

I received this lovely e-card from Debbie, what a nice way to start off my first day in the new place.
I've also been enjoying the lovely view from my backdoor. It over looks a green yard that rolls down to the creek. The robins have been all out and about this morning hunting for worms. The wet ground has really eased their job. Carla is watching from the door, but she is more interested in the cat that is walking along the edge of the grassy area and the woods. I know if I turned her out she would fly like a mini jet to get the cat. This is somehting that she'll have to get used to being around. But she'll protect the zone around the deck from them - which means no cat spray on the furniture. Yippee.

The day has been going well, I've narrowed down the number of boxes to about three. The books are up and the biggest mess is still in the bedroom. Carla has been enjoying the time outside. I've had her on a long lead so she's been just as happy as a clam. In fact she even got the opportunity to chase a cat up a tree. So, there is happiness for her.


Spoke to Danielle this evening - she said that Miss Faith had a "Peep" today and really enjoyed it. She was going, mmmmm...

Email & Newsletter Gleanings:

Thought for the Day: "A man is rich in proportion to the number of things he can let alone." Henry David Thoreau

He weighs in at 22 pounds and measures a little over 3 feet. he is a breed of rabbit called german giant (how appropriate!). this is his owner, Hans Wagner, struggling to hold him up. from the NY Post article:

We don't feed him an unusual diet said Wagner. He goes through more than his brothers and sisters, but he eats the same food mix. His favorite food is actually lettuce. He can never get enough of it.

LOOK AT THOSE FEET!

Happy Birthday

Wishing you a spectacular day.

Love, Judy

Moving Day

Dad & Walter are coming over this morning to help me move. The outside help that I was going to have, got sick! Who would have imagined? That's okay though. We'll get it done, it'll just take a bit longer than I thought it would.

Well, I woke up this morning and looked outside only to actually see SNOW on the ground. The weather report was calling for it, but as usual for here it is a little unbelievable. It hardly ever snows when it is forecast to do so...but here it is all nice and white. It wasn't suppose to stick to the ground either, but...it did anyway. It is just going to be a lovely WET day to move. Thank goodness I've got some tarps that we can cover the furniture in so it will stay relatively dry.

I'll catch up from the days events here:

We started out with snow this morning and I got a bit spooked, so I had Walter pick up a U-Haul to expedite the move. They didn't have any of the traditional trucks so we ended up with a cargo van, which was adequate for the move. While Walt was engaged with getting the truck, Dad and I loaded up his pick-up with the bedroom furniture and a couple of other pieces.

Walt arrived with the truck shortly afterwards and the remaining pieces went into the van - All fitting quite nicely if I do say so myself. Of course, we delivered the first "loads" to the apartment without a hitch. We headed back out to the house to get the final stuff, and you know it isn't everything, because the house isn't closed up and the keys aren't into someon elses' hands yet...

Anyway, we pick up the majority of the remaining items and headed off to Dad's to get the boxes that I had there. Oops then and there was the beginning of the only problem with the move. The van we had was a 2006 Ford ..., when we got out of the truck and closed the passenger side door, every door in that darn truck locked automatically. Now what was really strange was that all the door lock indicators appeared to be unlocked. Please note here that all of our keys were in the console of the car as was Walter's cell phone. I had a brief meltdown, while Walter talked with U-Haul. [I talked with the local office first and got aggravated.]

Turns out that the doors locking was a really freak thing. No one at U-Haul's 800 number had heard anything like it, but the vehicle was under warranty from Ford - so they sent out a locksmith. Who upon arriving, I think questioned our sanity - because the locks were in the up position - until he tried the doors himself. He used a slim jim on the door and presto we were back in business.

The good thing that came out of being locked out was that we had time to stop and eat lunch without racing the clock to get the truck back. U-Haul suspended the rental time until the locksmith got us back into the vehicle. That was about a little over an hour.

Once we had the remaining boxes packed from Mom & Dad's house, we went to the local Midas to give blood. I know too much in one day, but the Midas blood drive here gives you a free oil change each time you give blood, plus other things as the drive goes on over the summer. Walter give blood without a problem, but I tried again, but still couldn't - my iron level is too low for them, but it is in the normal range.

We finally got all the remaining boxes and stuff into the apartment, which by this point looked liked something had exploded in it. But we were able to get the truck back to U-Haul within a half-hour of our original return time.

The boxes were but under control during the evening and I finally have got some semblence of order before heading off to bed.

Email & Newsletter Gleanings:

Thought for the Day: "The person who gets the farthest is generally the one who is willing to do and dare. The sure-thing boat never gets far from shore." --Dale Carnegie

Friday

It has been a busy day. I've accomplished quite a bit a work today. Lots of computer maintenance and layout of several documents.

I talked with Alice this morning, she has been having a great time at PhotoShop World! She has been having a little "fit" each evening, because she hasn't been able to go back to her room and "play" with her software.

Mom called and informed the crew that Mamaw Stapleton has been admitted to the hosptial. It seems that she has some sort of eye infection that needs to be lanced. So she'll be in the hospital with an antibodic I.V. for at least the whole weekend. If all goes well the surgeon will be in soon to lance the spot and drain it, so that it can begin to heal. I'm optimistic for a good report over the next couple of days, but it is in a very precarious spot that if not treated could cause a brain infection.

Sean's off to Skate-A-Way again this evening, it was a good way for him to get out and burn off some energy. Meanwhile, Dean & I have putlled boxes from under the bed and begun to sort the miscellaneous stuff that is hidden away in out of the way spots. It'll take a few days, but we have over a week to get it finished.

Email & Newsletter Gleanings:

Thought for the Day: "Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies." - Nelson Mandela

Thursday

Two days to full fledged move in day. I need to spend sometime this evening boxing up loose items and staging them in the living room for removal on Saturday.

I talked with Alice last night and she sounded so relaxed and energized. She was having a great time. She is gather so much information - slight info overload, but in a good way.

I've got plenty of "tutorials" to continue going through at work today, plus more copying.

Email & Newsletter Gleanings:

Thought for the Day: "No pessimist ever discovered the secret of the stars, or sailed to an uncharted land, or opened a new doorway for the human spirit." - Helen Keller

Wednesday

The days just fly. I've bunches of new things to get going and information to acquire. I really am enjoying my job. It does stretch the mind. Funny thing is that I'm tired at night just the good kind.

The boss is off to Italy....I'm pouting....I want to go....Maybe....next year?

I had a nice lunch out this afternoon with Ms. Marion. It has been quite a long time since we have been able to get out together. I believe that the last time that we got out together was sometime back towards the first of October 2006. I have pretty much been home since then, until I began working at the first of last month.

I've spent the afternoon at the copy machine today - boy the heat sure builds up when you're stuck next to heated up machinery.

This just in from Alice in Boston; this is the view outside her room window.


Email & Newsletter Gleanings:

Thought for the Day: "If you want to be happy for a year, win the lottery. If you want to be happy for a lifetime, love what you do."

Tuesday

Today was a busy day. Lots of new stuff going on.

As Alice was preparing to wing her way to Boston for three fun filled days at the Photoshop World Conference. We had a special guest in today, and I was able to get her an autographed copy of Dan Kennedy's Direct Marketing book. I know she will be so tickled. She has been studying his programs and newsletters for sometime now.

I hit the apartment this evening and put a few more things away. Walter dropped by and took me out to dinner with him to Ukrops - we picked up soup and sandwiches and took them back to the apartment to eat.

Email & Newsletter Gleanings:

Thought for the Day: "Every man takes the limits of his own field of vision for the limits of the world." - Arthur Schopenhauer

Things to Ponder

1. A day without sunshine is like night.
2. On the other hand, you have different fingers.
3. 42.7 percent of all statistics are made up on the spot.
4. 99 percent of lawyers give the rest a bad name.
5. Remember, half the people you know are below average.
6. He who laughs last, thinks the slowest.
7. Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.
8. The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese in the trap.
9. Support bacteria. They're the only culture some people have.
10. A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory.
11. Change is inevitable, except from vending machines.
12. If you think nobody cares, try missing a couple of payments.
13. How many of you believe in psycho-kinesis? Raise my hand.
14. OK, so what's the speed of dark?
15. When everything is coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.
16. Hard work pays off in the future. Laziness pays off now.
17. How much deeper would the ocean be without sponges?
18. Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.
19. What happens if you get scared half to death, twice?
20. Why do psychics have to ask you for your name?
21. Inside every older person is a younger person wondering, "What the heck happened?"
22. Just remember -- if the world didn't suck, we would all fall off.
23. Light travels faster than sound. That's why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.
24. Life isn't like a box of chocolates. It's more like a jar of jalapenos. What you do today, might burn your ass tomorrow.