Thursday

Ahh...the weather has been wonderful! I'm so glad that the weather has turned for the better. Those record high temperature days and nights were beginning to make me think that we had jumped right over our usual June & July and hit August without blinking.

It was different leaving out this morning with one less tree at the end of the driveway. Dad came over yesterday evening with Sean and cut up the tree that had fallen; and cut down the remaining portion of the one that was struck by lightning and the one that had the top broken out during the previous storm. Trees everywhere again. Sean cleared up the wood from the tree out front and is scheduled to come on Saturday and work on the tree that is left.

I attended a great Lunch & Learn at TecHead today. Sean presented a great class on the new features of Adobe Creative Suite 5. Anyone that is looking for first class training can find it here.

It was a great day to be out of the office. I really did enjoy the drive into town. Normally it's not a fun trip between the traffic and the heat. It really would have been a nice day to go down to the river and take some photos of the wildlife. Perhaps this weekend.

Email & Newsletter Gleanings:

Gonorrhea Lectim

This is good Information about Gonorrhea Lectim

The Center for Disease Control has issued a warning about a new virulent strain of this old disease. The disease is called Gonorrhea Lectim. It's pronounced "Gonna re-elect 'em," and it is a terrible obamanation. The disease is contracted through dangerous and high risk behavior involving putting your cranium up your rectum. Many victims contracted it in 2008...but now most people, after having been infected for the past 1-2 years, are starting to realize how destructive this sickness is.

It's sad because Gonorrhea Lectim is easily cured with a new drug just coming on the market called Votemout. You take the first dose in 2010 and the second dose in 2012 and simply don't engage in such behavior again; otherwise, it could become permanent and eventually wipe out all life as we know it. Several states are already on top of this, like Virginia and New Jersey , and apparently now Massachusetts, with many more seeing the writing on the wall.

Military Inspection

The colonel who served as inspector general in our command paid particular attention to how personnel wore their uniforms. On one occasion he spotted a junior airman with a violation. "Airman," he bellowed, "what do you do when a shirt pocket is unbuttoned?"

The startled airman replied, "Button it, sir!"

The colonel looked him in the eye and said, "Well?"

At that, the airman nervously reached over and buttoned the colonel's shirt pocket.

A Sermon Walking
Author Unknown

Reporters and city officials gathered at a Chicago railroad station one afternoon in 1953. The person they were meeting was the 1952 Nobel Peace Prize winner. A few minutes after the train came to a stop, a giant of a man - six feet four inches - with bushy hair and a large mustache stepped from the train. Cameras flashed. City officials approached him with hands outstretched. Various people began telling him how honored they were to meet him.

The man politely thanked them and then, looking over their heads, asked if he could be excused for a moment. He quickly walked through the crowd until he reached the side of an elderly black woman who was struggling with two large suitcases. He picked up the bags and with a smile, escorted the woman to a bus. After helping her aboard, he wished her a safe journey. As he returned to the greeting party he apologized, "Sorry to have kept you waiting."

The man was Dr. Albert Schweitzer, the famous missionary doctor who had spent his life helping the poor in Africa. In response to Schweitzer's action, one member of the reception committee said with great admiration to the reporter standing next to him, "That's the first time I ever saw a sermon walking."

Catching Up On My Email

I've neglected my email for a few days and boy has it been bulging with interesting looking stuff. Enjoy!

Email & Newsletter Gleanings:

Where he AIN'T

He was just a little boy,
On a week's first day.
Wandering home from Bible school,
And dawdling on the way.

He scuffed his shoes into the grass;
He even found a caterpillar.
He found a fluffy milkweed pod,
And blew out all the 'filler.'

A bird's nest in a tree overhead,
So wisely placed up so high
Was just another wonder,
That caught his eager eye.

A neighbor watched his zig zag course,
And hailed him from the lawn;
Asked him where he'd been that day
And what was going on.

'I've been to Bible School,'
He said and turned a piece of sod.
He picked up a wiggly worm replying,
'I've learned a lot about God.'

'M'm very fine way,' the neighbor said,
'for a boy to spend his time.'
'If you'll tell me where God is,
I'll give you a brand new dime.'

Quick as a flash the answer came!
Nor were his accents faint.
'I'll give you a dollar, Mister,
If you can tell me where God ain't.'

The Doctors

A Japanese doctor said, "Medicine in my country is so advanced that we took the kidney out of one man, put it in another, and have him looking for work in six weeks."

A German doctor said, "That's nothing, we can take a lung out of one person, put it in another, and have him looking for work in four weeks."

A British doctor said, "In my country, medicine is so advanced that we can take half of a heart out of one person, put it in another, and have them both looking for work in two weeks."

A Chicago doctor, not to be outdone said, "You guys are way behind. We took a man with no brains out of Chicago, put him in the White House, and now half the country is looking for work."

Did You Ever Wonder...

Every wonder what is exactly going on in an 18-year old's head? Or what they think about what is going on locally or in the world?

Well, now there is a place to find out, just what one is thinking at 18yearoldanswers.wordpress.com

Ask your questions and find out!

Closing!!!

Boy was I surprised this evening when I stopped by the Ace Hardware/Pleasants on the way home to buy a new mailbox and discovered that they are CLOSING!!!

Walter was sorely disappointed to hear it. He figures that they are moving West towards Brandermill and Woodlake.

The Aftermath

I got out early this morning, before heading to work, to survey the aftermath of last night's 'adventure'. The front ditch is full of tree limbs and lots of tree debris. There are going to be some busy people at the house on Wednesday working on getting this mess cleared up.

There won't be any mail delivery at the house today - I have to pick up a new mailbox. We're beginning to think that the mailbox is cursed. This is the second one that we have replaced in a year. Hope this one stays around longer than the last.

After all the trees that we have cut down within the last year (with a few more that need to come down), it's going to sound really funny, but we may just have to plant a few in the Fall. We'll at least they will be well chosen and planted strategically.

Lightning Strike

We had a line of thunderstorms come through early this evening, before I came home from work. Walt called to check on me - he said that they had hear a crack. Turns out that the cracking sound was lightning splitting the tree at the end of the driveway.

On my way home I saw pieces of the tree that had exploded out were down the road and across the street. Some had blown as far as our side door.

More tree photos.

UPDATE ON THE TREE

The split tree has fallen across Fordham. I called 911 (although I wasn't the first) I was thinking that they would dispatch VDOT to clear the road, but they dispatched fire & police.

A few of my pictures even made it into the rotation on WWBT12 - Close Up, Tree hit by lightning, and Down for the Count

While we were waiting for assistance to arrive, we headed out to survey the damage. For a while there I thought for sure that we were going end up with a multi-car pile up at the end of the driveway. I don't think that anyone coming around either curve towards our driveway was paying any attention. A couple came within a few feet of hitting the tree.

We were graced with the presence of Chesterfield's finest (police & fire). They shut the road down, which was really done by the tree, but they put out flares to keep the idiots from hitting the tree.

While all the manly men were out with chainsaws in the road, I visited with the next door neighbor who filled me in on her description of the lightning strike. She said that, "the tree trunk swelled up and then exploded. Boom!" The way she described it, it reminded me of the end scene of Highlander when he absorbs all that energy and blows stuff up.


The tree has been cut out of the road and thrown in the ditch. There is plenty of space for us to get out of the driveway. I'm sure glad that Dad and Sean are coming over in the middle of the week to take down the other trees that have been damaged during the storm.

It's going to be ugly in the morning - I'll post some after the storm pictures tomorrow.

Weekend In Review

Saturday's puppy class went very well. Bounce had a great time getting to play with Onyx. It nice to see him playing and having fun with another dog that wanted to play. Next class though, we're going to have to wait until the end of class to let them play, so they both will be more focused on class first then play.

We got some great training tips on how to keep him from jumping up on people that come to the door. We also found that we had given him too many markers to stop a behavior. Walt & I settled on one and it really has helped in stopping him from messing with Carla. She'll be so much happier now.

I worked on my final graphics design class lessons. I'm waiting now on the final grade from the olive oil labels (the instructor is moving and won't be back until the after the 4th). I resubmitted my "Poppy Corn" box and have my final "Liberty Bill" ready to go once I've received the final grade on the Poppy Corn box.

I've also been working on a couple of other outside projects. A restaurant menu and an email advertisement. I've got the menu completed for now - I need a couple of things from the restaurant before it is complete, but for now it I've completed it as far as I can. The email is underway, I want to have that done by Wednesday.

Wacky Tuesday

I started off the day by chasing an elusive "red moon". Walter called me at 2:00 a.m. to let me know that the moon was an eerie red color and that I should go out and get a picture. I hopped out bed, grabbed the camera and headed for the door. Where I promptly discovered that I was not able to see anything. So I ventured out on a quest to capture this phenomena on 'film'. I headed westward on Hull Street with the thought that once the trees cleared out just a bit I could find a place where better to see this red moon. No such luck. It had probably already set by the time that I had gotten out the door.

Well trip turned out to be a bust, but then again there were apparently a bunch of actual busts going on last night as well. Law enforcement was everywhere! One officer was lurking under the bridge at 288, and another with a couple of cars pulled over near the house. I thought at first it was a sobriety check point, but they had the trunk open in the car that they had pulled over.

I spent the day at the front desk, learning what to do. Answering the phone is the easy part. Answering the questions from the calls is an entirely different matter. It is going to take some time to get it all together to be truly fully effective.

As I was checking out one of the patients today, she handed me a card with her husband's blog, The Snail and Other Poems. He is posting his poetry and their love story. Once it is complete he will be publishing it as a book. What a way to share how much you love your spouse, devoting a whole website and publication to them.

This evening Walter & I headed out to look for the current edition of Rolling Stone magazine so that he could read the newest controversial article. It was not to be. The clerk at Barnes & Noble told us that they had literally flown off the shelf. They were all sold out and didn't even have a suggestion as to where we could get a copy.

Not to let a trip to the bookstore go to waste, we wandered around the store for a bit seeing if anything caught our interest. We did find a few of the headings amusing. On one set of shelves the headings read: "Self-Help, Relationships, Sexuality, and then Psychology" Did they really mean it that way??? There seemed to be some sort of subliminal message in that line up.

After wandering around a bit longer one of the clerks asked if she could help us find anything. Well, we really didn't think that she could, since we've been waiting for eight years Jean Auel to complete her next book (there had been 12 years between the last two - so we really weren't expecting anything). Low and behold were we surprised! Her next book, The Land of Painted Caves: A Novel comes out in March 2011. This will be the final book in her Earth Children series. We were tickled pink. I have already reserved our copy. Walter is absolutely thrilled that he will finally get to finish the series.

Email & Newsletter Gleanings:

An Observation

The last four letters in "American" = I Can
The last four letters in "Republican" = I Can
The last four letters in "Democrats" = Rats

End of Lesson. Test to follow in November. November will be set aside as "Rodent Extermination Month".

Father's Day 2010

I sprung a surprise on Dad this afternoon. It took multiple phone calls to Mom's cell phone and a few peremptory messages left at Alice's house, but it worked. He and Mom met me at Yamato Steakhouse & Sushi Restaurant.

We had a great time together. I order a tempura eel roll - Mom & Dad both even tried some. Dad even had voluntary seconds!! Our chef was quite entertaining as well as informative.

It was nice getting out with Dad. I'm so glad that he enjoyed his day.

Email & Newsletter Gleanings:

Found an interesting post at Navy Moms For Freedom of Speech on the topic of Father's Day. A message from President Obama. It is hard to believe, or at least it should be, that the President is so out of touch with what is important. Read it for yourself.

Feathered Surprise

I kept hearing chirpping outside my office window, and occasionally was seeing a glimpse of feathers. I finally got a good look out and saw what all the ruckus was about.

A juvenile Cardinal was perched in one of the shrubs near my window. He was doing a really good job of 'pretending' that he wasn't there. Maybe sometime soon I'll be able to get some photos of his parents.

More Photos



Email & Newsletter Gleanings:

Crisis Communications in 10 Steps

Every once in a while companies are faced with situations that put their reputations at risk or hold the potential to alienate audiences. Left unaddressed or not taken seriously, these situations can put a business … well, out of business.

So how does a business respond to such crises in a way that is honest, appropriate and proactive? By implementing a strong crisis communications plan.

Whether your business’s crisis is a natural disaster, a product recall or the theft of customer data, you need to be prepared to disclose crises and address questions from staff, investors, the public and the media. Ideally, a preliminary crisis communications plan has already been created and stored in an identifiable binder in a central location by your communications team. The plan should outline possible scenarios and a plan for communicating to all audiences. That way, in the unfortunate event that your business is faced with an emergency, you will be prepared to handle it and ready to get into action through these ten steps:

1. As a crisis unfolds, keep in mind that there is always a hierarchy of concern: Be concerned for victims first, employees second, and customers and investors third.
2. The second a potential crisis rears its head, contact senior level staff and communications personnel immediately.
3. If the crisis occurs on site, secure the area of the crisis through closed doors or banner roping and gather facts, working cooperatively with authorities.
4. Work with communications staff or outsourced experts to create a communications command center and designate a spokesperson. Create talking points and key messages, anticipating the questions that will be asked and practicing the responses. Also make sure this command center is armed with multiple phone lines, printers, fax machines, computers with Internet access and fully stocked office materials, like pens that won’t stray far and pads of paper.
5. Your messaging should communicate your action plan—what are the next steps? What is your business doing to resolve the situation and ensuring that it does not happen again? Ultimately, though, actions speak louder than words—you’ll be expected to follow through with this action plan and questioned if you don’t.
6. Avoid jargon in your messages. This can work against your messages and key points by creating further confusion. Additionally, don’t speculate in your messages—just stick to the facts and as the facts become available, provide updates.
7. Be accountable and don’t blame others. It is possible to be accountable without admitting guilt or wrongdoing by simply acknowledging that an event has occurred.
8. Tell the truth. Because the likelihood is that if you haven’t, someone will find out and you’ll have an even bigger communications disaster on your hands.
9. Remember that the media is not the bad guy—they can and often will help you get your message out during a crisis or emergency. That being said, there is no such thing as “off the record” and it’s not advisable to argue with reporters or go on the defensive. Perhaps most importantly when dealing with the media, know that silence is not golden, nor is a statement of “no comment.” Not commenting opens the floor to the public filling the void with rumor and speculation and, in many cases, doing so appears to be admission of wrongdoing or apathy. There are of course situations in which you will be legally prohibited from providing a direct comment to a crisis such as a pending lawsuit or legal action—but usually in these situations you should still be able to offer some sort of response.
10. Use multiple channels to get your message out. Media are often the first to come knocking when word of your emergency or crisis occurs, but keep the message in your control by consistently communicating through multiple channels. Utilize social media such as Twitter™, Facebook or blogs and update your website as the crisis or emergency is dealt with. Many companies have found great success in temporarily turning their home page or adding a specific landing page into an online communications command center. Larger companies also often implement hotlines for those affected by the crisis or emergency to call for information or assistance. For crises with less immediacy, promote this hotline in person and via direct mail with a letter and a memorable item, like a Healing Hand Key Tag for giving a hand or a Puzzle Piece stress ball for putting the pieces back together. Don’t discount the power of personal phone calls or e-mails, either.

When it comes to successfully handling a crisis, preparation is key and so is communication. To learn more about crisis communications and these ten steps and prepare your business or organization to meet any situation head on. (Okay, I've searched and cannot find where I originally came across this. I'd be happy to give credit, if someone comes up with the author. I believe that it came from a Blue Paper from 4imprint.com. - jps)

Short Week

I'm working a short week this week. I've got tomorrow off and am looking forward to taking care of a number of things that need my attention to complete. I might even be able to get outside a while and get some sun. Now that would be amazing.

For anyone that is interested in further information about creating a QR code like the one that we have at the office you can create you own QR code with this FREE online QR Code Generator. You can make this link to your contact information, website or other information. Very cool. This would be great to have on the back of a business card to give quick access to your website or contact information. There is a great article here about them and other usage ideas.

Email & Newsletter Gleanings:

Thought for the Day: "The republic was not established by cowards, and cowards will not preserve it." --American writer Elmer Davis (1800-1858)

Maxine Should Run For President

Maxine should run for president. She was right on with this one!

Everyone concentrates on the problems we're having in this country lately: illegal immigration, hurricane recovery, alligators attacking people in Florida.

Not me. I concentrate on solutions for the problems. It's a win-win situation.

• Dig a moat the length of the Mexican border.
• Send the dirt to New Orleans to raise the level of the levies.
• Put the Florida alligators in the moat along the Mexican border.

Any other problems you would like for me to solve today? Yes? Think about these:

1. Cows
2. The Constitution
3. The Ten Commandments

COWS

Is it just me, or does anyone else find it amazing that during the mad cow epidemic our government could track a single cow, born in Canada almost three years ago, right to the stall where she slept in the state of Washington? And, they tracked her calves to their stalls. But they are unable to locate 11 million illegal aliens wandering around our country. Maybe we should give each of them a cow.

THE CONSTITUTION

They keep talking about drafting a Constitution for Iraq .... Why don't we just give them ours? It was written by a lot of really smart guys, it has worked for over 200 years, and we're not using it anymore.

THE 10 COMMANDMENTS

The real reason that we can't have the Ten Commandments posted in a courthouse is this: You cannot post 'Thou Shalt Not Steal,' 'Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery,' and 'Thou Shall Not Lie' in a building full of lawyers, judges and politicians...It creates a hostile work environment.

Jail vs Nursing Home There is Justice

Let's put the seniors in jail, and the criminals in a nursing home.

This way the seniors would have access to showers, hobbies, and walks, they'd receive unlimited free prescriptions, dental and medical treatment, wheel chairs etc. and they'd receive money instead of paying it out.

They would have constant video monitoring, so they could be helped instantly if they fell or needed assistance.

Bedding would be washed twice a week, and all clothing would be ironed and returned to them.

A guard would check on them every 20 minutes, and bring their meals and snacks to their cell.

They would have family visits in a room built for that purpose.

They would have access to a library, weight room, spiritual counseling, pool, and education. Simple clothing, shoes, slippers, P.J.'s and legal aid would be free, on request.

Private, secure rooms for all, with an exercise outdoor yard, with gardens. Each senior could have a P.C., a T.V., radio, and daily phone calls.

There would be a board of directors to hear complaints, and the guards would have a code of conduct.

The "criminals" would get cold food, be left all alone, and unsupervised, lights off at 8 pm, and showers once a week. Live in a tiny room, and pay $5000.00 per month and have no hope of ever getting out.

Justice for all.

Cool News From Google

Our office received notice today from Google that we were one of their "Favorite Places" with this designation, came a window decal that denotes us as such. The really cool thing about the decal is the QR code (the black and white image in the bottom right hand corner - blown up on the right) this bar code allows people using smart phones to access information about the business on the spot by scanning the code. Want to try it out? Scan the image on the right.

I downloaded the SavvyShopper app for my Motorola Android and it worked like a dream. Scanned the QR code and immediately I was taken to the Richmond Smile Center's Google Places page. Chalked full of information about the practice. You can read more on the Richmond Smile Center's Blog post Richmond Smile Center Gets Nod From Google

Sizzling Sunday

After all the huffing and puffing yesterday, I was hoping to that the temperature would drop a few degrees, but it was not to be. I've had to go out this afternoon and turn on the sprinkler to water all the potted plants. The Hostas were looking a bit wilted as were the tomato plants.

Bounce has been fantastic for the last two days. It's hard to believe that only one puppy class could have that much of an effect, yet it does appear to be so. He has been much calmer and does come right away when called.

Walter & Kelly got back from Virginia Beach late last night. Walter was a bit crispy. A good night's sleep didn't hurt at all - his 'burn' is settling in to a nice brown hue. Give him a few more days out like that and he'll be bronzed in no time.

I've posted a few more photos of Sean's graduation - some that we took after my camera batteries died.

Graduation and a Big Wind

Now I know what you are thinking right off, just from the title of this entry. I will admit that the speaker did seem a bit long winded during Sean's graduation ceremony, that is not the reason.

I'll just start from the beginning. The whole day has been pretty busy and hectic. Bounce had his first puppy training class - he did an excellent job once he was in class. Poor thing endured motion sickness and threw up in the car on the way there and then had to have a Dramamine before we could come home. He was even iffy then, but we made it home successfully. Just in time for me to run into the house, change clothes and dash back out the door to head off for Sean's graduation.

The big day finally got here and I know that there were times that he didn't think that he would ever see it, but here it was and he has so much to be proud of. He completed school!! Way to go Sean! Here some pictures. The batteries ran out on me after I took the video, so I snatched Mom's camera and took some more photos. Here's the link to the ones that she took and the last few that I was able to take with her camera. Meanwhile you can watch him as he accepts his diploma.


This afternoon we had a get together for him at the house with family. His Uncle Mike even it made it by for a short while. It was nice to see everyone out to help him celebrate this big accomplishment.

Just as the last of the party crowd was heading out to their cars the wind here really whipped up and started blowing all sorts of debris around. I ran out to the car to bring in somethings before the rain hit and saw that our neighbor's huge tree in their front yard had snapped and half of it had fallen over their driveway. It's got them pretty much blocked into their yard. Their only way out for now is to drive through our side yard and out our driveway. While taking a few pictures for them, I heard a snap - a tree in our backyard had snapped off about 25 feet up and top had clipped a second tree on the way down and landed on top of our Holly tree in the side yard. Thank goodness that it didn't hit the house or anyone and stayed out of the street.

Friday Is Here

Well we've made through another week. There were a few days there that I wasn't sure if Bounce was going to make it or not. I'm just about at my wits end on what to do with him. By this time we should have had at least one puppy training session under our belt, but...not till next weekend. I do believe that he's beginning to try Walter's patience as well. I'm beginning to think that Bounce has 'read' the flyer for the training classes and is trying to see if he can exhibit as many of the 'behaviors' that they are going to cover in advance of the class.

My patience with our neighbors is really wearing thin. They have yet to make any form of payment towards the vet bills. I've spoken with our homeowners insurance company and they tell me that if I know who their homeowners insurance company is I can just call them directly and file a claim without them being involved. Now only to find out who that would be. Walter has tried to help them out - they have a car that he helped them list on Craig's List so that it could be sold to pay off the bill. They did have someone who was interested but they wanted to make payments to them. I guess that fell through. It truly is beginning to look like I am going to have to find an attorney and take them to court, unless there is anyone out that would like to make a donation to the cause (Bounce's vet bills).

Where is the responsibility? It seems some days that there isn't anyone out there that has even the vaguest notion of what that is.

I got off a few hours early today and really enjoyed the afternoon reading in out in the sun room. All the sunshine without the humidity. Very nice.

Is It Really Tuesday?

Coming into the office after a three day weekend has been trying. Who'd have thought that so much could go wrong in such a short time in a place where no one was at?

One of our external hard drives decided that it just couldn't handle the thoughts of a power outage. I arrived this morning to find a lovely message displayed in red on my desktop monitor "No Drive Found - Please Format". Definitely not a delightful thought when there is nearly a terabyte of information on said "unformatted" drive!! After speaking to the drive manufacturer, I was up for a real happy dance. Turned out that part of the trouble was that the drive had difficulty recovering from the power outage, due to outdated firmware. A couple of hours later and we're all back up and running smoothly. YEAH! For a while there I was ready to bang my head on the wall in frustration and ready to shed a tear in frustration over the whole ordeal. I was in no way remotely happy with the thought of trying to recreate the information that was on the drive. Grrr. In addition to this 'little' problem, our time clock had been knocked out as well. That didn't take much for them to get it back up and running. Thank goodness for small miracles.

At least my headache has finally subsided and perhaps I can get the major task that I've been assigned for the day accomplished.

On the James

How many Great Blue Heron's can you find in this shot?
Hint: There are more than two.

I picked Walter up from work this morning and took the opportunity to do a little hunting with the camera. There were loads of things to take photos of, but the grand prize was the Great Blue Herons. They were everywhere in the middle of the James.

More Photos of the Great Blue Herons

Along the James

I had the opportunity this evening to get a few pictures of the wildlife along the James River before the light was too bad to even take a photo. Enjoy!

Sunday

Bounce did well in his crate over night. I'm sure that he's not at all happy about the situation, but he is going to learn who's in charge, and it is most certainly not him.

I was sitting on the porch this morning reading and the birds were going crazy. Quite the racket. When I spied our neighbor's cat sitting about 30 feet up in a tree. I was just about certain that someone was going to have to rescue the darn thing when he politely walks right down the tree and jumped safely into the yard. Not to think this was some herculean effort - the tree is sloped and the jump wasn't any higher than 10 feet.

The dragonflies have been darting here and there virtually all day. One minute they are basking in the sunshine on the sidewalk the next they are on the stump in the yard. They look like miniature airplanes taking off and landing here and there. Sometimes barely stopping, only briefly allowing their feet to make contact with a solid surface before they are off again to a new place.

Around midday I gathered up the weedkiller and headed out to get rid of various bits of undergrowth and small trees. I've noticed as the tall weeds have died off the back neighbors cat have been retreating into his heavily overgrown yard. If nothing else I am depriving them of their hiding places in our yard. Perhaps before the end of summer they will have withdrawn from our yard for the most part.

Before dinner we caught sight of a Blue Bird enthusiastically enjoying the bird bath in the backyard. With time I do hope to see more and more of him and his other feathered friends.


Email & Newsletter Gleanings:

Thought For The Day: “Even after the recent Super Bowl victory of the New Orleans Saints, I have noticed a large number of people implying with a lot of bad jokes that Cajuns aren't smart. I would like to state for the record that I disagree with that assessment. Anybody that would build a city 5 feet below sea level in a hurricane zone and fill it with Democrats is a genius”. -- Larry the Cable Guy

"Where are the Nail Clippers"

I have the power of attorney for an 88 year old spinster woman who is confined to bed in a local nursing home. She has been a part of our church family for all of the 13.5 years that I have pastored at Westside Bible Church. Amongst my duties as POA (an acronym not far from POW for a reason) is shopping for personal items that she needs brought to the home.

That is how I came to be in the Shoppers Drug Mart this afternoon on a quest of senior proportions. It was my job to hunt down a bottle of Estee Lauder “YouDew” perfume, a mirror small enough to see one’s chin but not large enough to see one’s face, and some large nail clippers.

I was not feeling particularly enthusiastic about doing this shopping because I knew it was going to take me into parts of the store where I was going to have to ask for help. I have never been good at finding specific things in stores and as I get older (I am 44) I can see I’m getting even worse at item specific browsing.

So in full acknowledgement of my weakness I made a beeline to the perfume department and asked the perfume lady outright if they had the particular brand I was seeking. After a long look at every label on every shelf she broke the news to me that they did not. I thanked her and got out of there.

Next on my mental list: the compact mirror. I began to wander aisle after aisle in the hopes that its shiny nature would catch my eye and I would not need to painfully ask for help again. Once I started getting into bleaches and detergents I knew I had gone too far and headed back in the direction I had come. Along my path of repentance I encountered the perfume lady again. From the look on her face it was clear I was projecting a sad demeanor of lostness as she looked at me with an “ahh did you wander away from home and get stuck out in the cold rain without your mommy can I help you (again)” look.

“I’m looking for a small mirror” I said in the best “I’m OK” voice I could muster. She lead me off to the makeup section (which is why I was never going to find a mirror on my own) and pointed to a few on display so I was sure to not miss them. I picked up a small a mirror, made sure I could see only my goatee in it, and hightailed it to a more male-friendly part of the store. Surely nail clippers would be near something more comfortable like tooth brushes, wart remover, or body waxing even.

Alas, my browsing blindness quickly kicked in again and I returned to walking aisles aimlessly as before, but now with the added pressure of not running into the perfume lady again. Once again kitchen cleaners made me realize I was way off track so I retreated to the end of a row a few aisles back. As I stood there listening for the “Here we are!” cry of nail clippers somewhere in the store, I looked around and over to the pharmacy counter where I saw a young woman my eldest daughter’s age working. I thought about asking her where the nail clippers were but then I wondered if she might think I was dumb asking a pharmacy person for directions to something that was neither taken internally nor applied topically.

I continued to stand there, undoubtedly looking lost and alone, as I pondered the vocational appropriateness of asking that girl for help. I glanced over at her thinking that maybe she would offer help and save me the embarrassment of doing so. At that very moment she did look over at me and gave me back a very subtle “I understand your embarrassment” look before returning to the work she was doing. Unexpectedly shunned, I turned and stared blankly at the shelves in front of me.

I was standing in front of the condom display.

Not wanting to appear lost suddenly didn’t seem like the worst impression I could leave on the employees of the store so I went to the pharmacy girl and very clearly stated, “For the life of me I can’t find nail clippers.” She was very nice, pretended to believe me and pointed me back across the store . . . where the perfume lady saw me.

Test Drive

I stopped by the Toyota Dealership yesterday for a look at the new Tacoma. Just for fun, I took it out for a test drive. I wanted to sense that new "feel" before they become extinct...

The salesman (wearing an Obama "change" lapel pin) sat in the passenger seat describing the truck and all its "wonderful" options. The seats were of particular interest. He explained that the seats directed warm air to your butt in the winter and directed cool air to your butt in the summer heat.

Feeling like messing with his mind, I mentioned that this must be a Republican truck. Looking a bit angry, he asked why I thought it was a Republican truck. I explained that if it were a Democrat truck, the seats would blow smoke up your butt year-round.

I had to walk back to the dealership......damn guy had no sense of humor.

Saturday Excursions

Well, today was suppose to be Bounce's first puppy class, but it was not to be. They called last night at 9:45 p.m. to let us know that we weren't having class. It seems that a couple of the people that had signed up for the class had backed out. We'll have to wait for a couple of more weeks before they have a class beginning again.

This morning started off badly with Bounce - while I was getting ready to head out with Walter on an errand, he decided to get one of my brand new Italian shoes and chew it up while sitting on the sofa. He came close to death...Walter saved him by putting him in the utility room. This was one of the reasons why we were taking him to puppy classes.

Our morning errands took us down to the river where I was able to get a few new pictures and then over to the Arboretum - in search of a Chai Latte - I saw this pair of swans swimming on the lake. Now that's something that we don't normally get to see. Way cool. Walter was so nice to pull over and let me out to take pictures.

I've uploaded a few more of the ones that I took to this album. Enjoy!

On to PetSmart where I picked up Bounce a new crate. This one will be much better for keeping him contained. It is wire and big enough for him to move around in. Better to be confined than for me to be ready to 'kill' him. (Not that I would, but there have been a few times when it has crossed my mind.) He's just going to have to learn who is the boss.

The last couple of stops to finalize the morning were pretty quick. A stop into Stein Mart for a replacement pair of shoes. I was happy to see that they still had a pair in my size. I'm locking them in the closet from now on after I take them off. Then to Pleasant's Hardware, Walter's favorite shopping location for some sort of fastener.

So far this afternoon & evening, Bounce has been giving me the "sad" look from his new cage. Then the "indignant" look. It won't be long before he's trying the "pity me" look in an effort to get out. Too bad cause it ain't happening.

Email & Newsletter Gleanings:

The Navy has 3 NEW SHIPS

USS REAGAN

Seeing it next to the Arizona Memorial really puts its size into perspective... ENORMOUS!

When the Bridge pipes ' Man the Rail' there is a lot of rail to man on this monster: shoulder to shoulder, around 4..5 acres. Her displacement is about 100,000 tons with full complement.

Capability

Top speed exceeds 30 knots, powered by two nuclear reactors that can operate for more than 20 years without refueling

1 Expected to operate in the fleet for about 50 years
2. Carries over 80 combat aircraft
3 Three arresting cables can stop a 28-ton aircraft going 150 miles per hour in less than 400 feet

Size

1. Towers 20 stories above the waterline
2. 1092 feet long; nearly as long as the Empire State Building is tall
3. Flight deck covers 4.5 acres
4. 4 bronze propellers, each 21 feet across, weighing 66,200 pounds
5. 2 rudders, each 29 by 22 feet and weighing 50 tons
6. 4 high speed aircraft elevators, each over 4,000 square feet

Capacity

1. Home to about 6,000 Navy personnel
2. Carries enough food and supplies to operate for 90 days
3. 18,150 meals served daily
4. Distillation plants provide 400,000 gallons of fresh water from sea water daily, enough for 2,000 homes
5. Nearly 30,000 light fixtures and 1,325 miles of cable and wiring 1,400 telephones
6. 14,000 pillowcases and 28,000 sheets

USS BILL CLINTON

The USS William Jefferson Clinton (CVS1) set sail today from its home port of Vancouver, BC

The ship is the first of its kind in the Navy and is a standing legacy to President Bill Clinton 'for his foresight in military budget cuts' and his conduct while holding the (formerly dignified) office of President.

The ship is constructed nearly entirely from recycled aluminum and is completely solar powered with a top speed of 5 knots. It boasts an arsenal comprised of one (unarmed) F14 Tomcat or one (unarmed) F18 Hornet aircraft which, although they cannot be launched on the 100 foot flight deck, form a very menacing presence.

As a standing order there are no firearms allowed on board.

This crew, like the crew aboard the USS Jimmy Carter, is specially trained to avoid conflicts and appease any and all enemies of the United States at all costs.

An onboard Type One DNC Universal Translator can send out messages of apology in any language to anyone who may find America offensive. The number of apologies are limitless and though some may seem hollow and disingenuous, the Navy advises all apologies will sound very sincere.

In times of conflict, the USS Clinton has orders to seek refuge in Canada.

USS BARACK OBAMA

Details are as vague as his past, his economic policies and his credentials to lead.

But don't you worry..........he has a plan!

A Teacher Lets Obama Have It

A TEACHER FROM THE GREAT STATE OF MISSOURI WILL LOSE HER JOB FOR STANDING UP FOR ALL OF US. Give this teacher and true American a standing ovation. This 4th grade teacher has said it all, and she was brave enough to attach her name to it. (I checked this out on Snopes.com, and found that while the letter is reportedly an actual correspondence, the author that it was attributed to was only someone who had forwarded it and her email signature had remained on it when it was forwarded again.)

April 17, 2009

The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, DC 20500

Mr. Obama:

I have had it with you and your administration, sir. Your conduct on your recent trip overseas has convinced me that you are not an adequate representative of the United States of America collectively or of me personally.

You are so obsessed with appeasing the Europeans and the Muslim world that you have abdicated the responsibilities of the President of the United States of America.

You are responsible to the citizens of the United States. You are not responsible to the peoples of any other country on earth.

I personally resent that you go around the world apologizing for the United States telling Europeans that we are arrogant and do not care about their status in the world. Sir, what do you think the First World War and the Second World War were all about if not the consideration of the peoples of Europe? Are you brain dead? What do you think the Marshall Plan was all about? Do you not understand or know the history of the 20th century?

Where do you get off telling a Muslim country that the United States does not consider itself a Christian country? Have you not read the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution of the United States?

This country was founded on Judeo-Christian ethics and the principles governing this country, at least until you came along, come directly from this heritage. Do you not understand this?

Your bowing to the king of Saudi Arabia is an affront to all Americans.

Our President does not bow down to anyone, let alone the king of Saudi Arabia... You didn't show Great Britain, our best and one of our oldest allies, the respect they deserve yet you bow down to the king of Saudi Arabia .. How dare you, sir! How dare you!

You can't find the time to visit the graves of our greatest generation because you don't want to offend the Germans but make time to visit a mosque in Turkey ...... You offended our dead and every veteran when you give the Germans more respect than the people who saved the German people from themselves. What's the matter with you? I am convinced that you and the members of your administration have the historical and intellectual depth of a mud puddle and should be ashamed of yourselves, all of you.

You are so self-righteously offended by the big bankers and the American automobile manufacturers yet do nothing about the real thieves in this situation, Mr. Dodd, Mr. Frank, Franklin Raines, Jamie Gorelic, the Fannie Mae bonuses, and the Freddie Mac bonuses. What do you intend to do about them? Anything? I seriously doubt it.

What about the U.S. House members passing out $9.1 million in bonuses to their staff members on top of the $2.5 million in automatic pay raises that lawmakers gave themselves? I understand the average House aide got a 17% bonus. I took a 5% cut in my pay to save jobs with my employer.

You haven't said anything about that. Who authorized that? I surely didn't!

Executives at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will be receiving $210 million in bonuses over an eighteen-month period, that's $45 million more than the AIG bonuses. In fact, Fannie and Freddie executives have already been awarded $51 million not a bad take. Who authorized that and why haven't you expressed your outrage at this group who are largely responsible for the economic mess we have right now?

I resent that you take me and my fellow citizens as brain-dead and not caring about what you idiots do. We are watching what you are doing and we are getting increasingly fed up with all of you.

I also want you to know that I personally find just about everything you do and say to be offensive to every one of my sensibilities. I promise you that I will work tirelessly to see that you do not get a chance to spend two terms destroying my beautiful country.

Sincerely,

Every real American

Fabulous Friday

After our deluge last night, Friday has shaped up fairly nicely. Rumor has it that the Memorial Day weekend weather may not be the best in the world for outdoor activity, but hey for those of us who aren't working it is a day off. Be prepared with alternate plans should the weather throw you a curve.

Walter has planned for us/him to do some yard work Saturday. That's after we get through with Bounce's first professional training class. I sure hope that it is well worth the funds that were expended. I will be so happy to have him back on track and doing what he should be doing.

Hawk

Saw this hawk on the power line as I was leaving out for work this morning. I was lucky to have the camera handy and a great zoom!

Neighborhood News

A couple of days ago one of the neighbors had their two dogs get out - they dashed through the woods and killed one of the feral cat. Our next door neighbor caught us as we came in this evening to let us know that the dogs had gotten out again and had killed another cat behind our tool shed.

Turns out that the one they got today was a breeding female. Our neighbors plan on fishing out any kittens that maybe under the shed and taking care of them. Better them than me, I don't have that kind of time to devote to that endeavor. I'm having enough trouble dealing with the behavior issue that Bounce has. Good luck to them.

I lost Walt for awhile this evening, when I finally found him he was outside with the next door neighbors and Animal Control. Seems that they are working on getting the dogs owner to take responsibility for their animals. Since these two have been out killing the cats, we have to be extra careful with our dogs.

Dang, just when I was getting comfortable letting them back out in the yard on the lead to play we have this new issue to deal with, and it's not even the neighbors whose dog bit Bounce. Grrr....Just what we needed, more drama on the corner.

Chipmunk Baby

I got a phone call from Sean this evening he had been out walking and found a baby chipmunk. I could hardly believe it. Those things are definitely hard to see let alone capture.

Walt & I rode out to pick him up and sure enough there it was. Hanging out in Sean's coat pocket. He seemed a little lethargic, hopefully the little fellow was only a little dehydrated. Sean started giving him little drops of water in the car on the way home and he seemed to perk up slightly. He was definitely a sight to see. Hopefully he will pull through and be okay.

He reminded me somewhat of "Wee Cockrell", Danielle's rat that she had about 5 years ago. He wasn't much bigger than this when she brought him home from the pet store.

UPDATE: The little fellow made it through the night, but passed away around 9:30 the next morning.

Disturbing News

ou could have knocked me over with a feather! I just heard yesterday, that a gentleman that I have known of for over 35 years had been arrested, tried and convicted of child molestation. Obviously it happened - they wouldn't have had the evidence to convict him otherwise, but....this type of behavior is so contradictory to the man that I was acquainted with. Just a total opposite.

It happens, but WOW! It was the absolute last thing that I thought that I'd ever hear about him. Of course how well do we really know anyone or what it is that could have influenced them. I'm sure that I'll be shaking my head over this for years to come.

Then on top of this I found out that a senior pastor at a local church had been having an affair with one of the women in the congregation. That in and of itself is bad enough, but he has since left his wife of over 20 years and moved in with the 'other' woman. Drama, drama, drama.

Weekend Wrap Up

It has been a very busy weekend. I was out and about doing some shopping on Saturday - an activity that I don't do that often. Most times I'd really rather have someone else to do it if possible. But I did find a couple of pair of shoes and a nice dress at Stein Mart.

We ended up finally breaking down and signed Bounce up for Beginner Education classes at Pet Smart. We are truly in need of "professional help" for him. Ever since his ordeal in March, he's been having a few issues. Hopefully eight weeks of class will help us get him straightened out.

Walt's had a bit of trouble with his vehicle, but hopefully the mechanic at Midas will be able to get him all fixed up first thing on Monday. Nothing like working on the car only to have something else go wrong with it that then requires a mechanic to straighten it out. Yuck!

I hopped by Fresh Market, Monday afternoon to pick up a few things and this gentleman was playing out front. He was pretty good too. A nice distraction from the normal noises from the street.

CHHS Concert Videos on YouTube

Here are the videos that I recorded during the May 20th Spring Concert at Clover Hill. The links below are to the videos on YouTube and they are also available on Facebook on the Clover Hill Marching Cavaliers Alumni page. Enjoy!

Clover Hill Fight Song - directed by the Drum Majors (past, present & future)

Gonna Fly Now - Performed by the CHHS Jazz Band

Hoptown Blues - Performed by the CHHS Jazz Band

The Cavalier - Written & Directed by Todd Milam (CHHS alumni 1983), performed by the Clover Hill Band featuring the CHHS Alumni Band.

Office Max - Performed by Percussion Ensemble

Way To Go!!

Sean called me as I was heading out this afternoon to let me know that he had passed his final test!! He will be graduating on June 12th.

Fabulous Friday

After getting to sleep late this morning, and going into the office for a whole hour, I was off for an afternoon of fun and frivolity with Diane.

We met up at the Clinique counter at Macy's for makeovers. We had an absolute blast. Ryan did out make up and of course we both had to pick up something. New lipstick, blush and eye shadows just in time for the beginning of summer.

Poor Diane had a hard time even getting there, just as we thought she was going to get to pull into the parking lot she got pulled over. They are going to have to get this thing with the rocket launcher straightened out. Ex-husbands can be pretty horrid - but to tell law enforcement that your ex has a rocket launcher is pretty far out there. Dang, she drives this little bitty Mazda and there isn't any room in that thing like that.

We did a bit of shopping and then headed out to Tropical Smoothie.

Electric Bill

Not sure what's going on with Dominion Power, but I'm sure pleased with it. We got our electric bill today for a whopping $11.57. I vaguely remember hearing something about adjustments being done to the bills, but WOW!!

Walter said it reminded him of his electric bills in his apartment in the dead of winter (with gas heat). Now, if we can have another one like this in August or September that would be fantastic.

Catching Up

Another week has come and we're half way through this week. Where has the time gone. This past weekend was pretty non-eventful as weekends go.

Friday evening, I was busy downloading and installing my CS5 Master Collection. Exciting!! I didn't get to play with it a whole lot over the weekend, but I did try out the content aware feature in Photoshop. WOW! That is going to save so much time and aggravation.

I did get out with Diane & Ryland for dinner on Saturday night. We had a fantastic time at Yamato Japanese Steakhouse & Sushi Restaurant. The food was absolutely delicious and the Tempura Eel Rolls were to die for.

The first of the week, although rainy, whizzed right along without any difficulty. Going to be working a teleconference call this evening, and then I'm off on Thursday for an alumni band concert. It's going to be fun.

Good News From Sean

Sean called me this afternoon with some great news! He took the Math testing for his GED yesterday and scored a 510, but had only needed to score a 410 to pass. Terrific job! One more test to go. Keep up the good work.

Mid-Week Already

It has truly been a full week thus far. Loads of fun getting together the new Smiles of Richmond magazine and even a Smile of Kapaa (Hawaii). There are a couple more to complete but I'm well under way to have them done in short order.

There have been some odd computer things going on, not really sure what's up but it seems to be a problem outside of the office rather than in house. Tomorrow, I'll get started on figuring that out.

We had a terrific rain storm as I left the office today. I'm so glad that I ran out during lunch to pick up stuff from the Fresh Market, otherwise I'd have been a drowned rat coming out of the store.

Email & Newsletter Gleanings:

Thought For the Day: "[J]udges ... should be always men of learning and experience in the laws, of exemplary morals, great patience, calmness, coolness, and attention. Their minds should not be distracted with jarring interests; they should not be dependent upon any man, or body of men." - John Adams

PECANS IN THE CEMETERY

On the outskirts of a small town, there was a big, old pecan tree just inside the cemetery fence.

One day, two boys filled up a bucketful of nuts and sat down by the tree, out of sight, and began dividing the nuts. 'One for you, one for me.. One for you, one for me,' said one boy.

Several dropped and rolled down toward the fence. Another boy came riding along the road on his bicycle. As he passed, he thought he heard voices from inside the cemetery. He slowed down to investigate.

Sure enough, he heard, 'One for you, one for me. One for you, one for me.' He just knew what it was. He jumped back on his bike and rode off. Just around the bend he met an old man with a cane, hobbling along.

'Come here quick,' said the boy. 'You won't believe what I heard! Satan and the Lord are down at the cemetery dividing up the souls.'

The man said, 'Beat it kid, can't you see it's hard for me to walk?'

When the boy insisted though, the man hobbled slowly to the cemetery. Standing by the fence they heard, 'One for you, one for me. One for you, one for me.'

The old man whispered, 'Boy, you've been tellin' me the truth. Let's see if we can see the Lord.'

Shaking with fear, they peered through the fence, yet were still unable to see anything. The old man and the boy gripped the wrought iron bars of the fence tighter and tighter as they tried to get a glimpse of the Lord.

At last they heard, 'One for you, one for me. That's all. Now let's go get those nuts by the fence and we'll be done.'

They say the old man made it back to town a full 5 minutes ahead of the kid on the bike.

A Blonde City Girl

A blond city girl named Amy marries a Colorado rancher. One morning, on his way out to check on the cows, the rancher says to Amy, "The insemination man is coming over to impregnate one of our cows today, so I drove a nail into the 2 by 4 just above the cow's stall in the barn.. Please show him where the cow is when he gets here."

The rancher leaves for the fields. After a while, the artificial insemination man arrives and knocks on the front door.

Amy takes him down to the barn. They walk along the row of cows, and when Amy sees the nail, she tells him, "This is the one right here."

The man, assuming he is dealing with an airhead blond, asks, "Tell me lady, 'cause I'm dying to know. How would YOU know that this is the right cow to be bred?"

"That's simple -- by the nail that's over its stall," she explains very confidently.

Laughing rudely at her, the man says, "And what, pray tell, is the nail for?"

The blond turns to walk away and says sweetly over her shoulder, "I guess it's to hang your pants on!"

( It's nice to see a blond winning once in awhile.)

Super Saturday

It's been a good day. Got a homework assignment completed and turned in. I even got it back graded, a 95! Finished up a brochure and got started on a couple of more brochures and class assignments.

Email & Newsletter Gleanings:

Thought For The Day: "It has been said the greatest volume of sheer brainpower in one place occurred when Jefferson dined alone..." John Kennedy

HOW DID JEFFERSON KNOW WE WOULD SCREW IT UP?

Especially read the last quote from 1802.

When we get piled upon one another in large cities, as in Europe, we shall become as corrupt as Europe. - Thomas Jefferson

The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not. - Thomas Jefferson

It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debts as it goes. A principle which if acted on would save one-half the wars of the world. - Thomas Jefferson

I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them. - Thomas Jefferson

My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government. - Thomas Jefferson

No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms. - Thomas Jefferson

The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government. - Thomas Jefferson

The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. - Thomas Jefferson

To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical.

Thomas Jefferson said in 1802: 'I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around the banks will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered..'

Stress Management

A lecturer, when explaining stress management to an audience,raised a glass of water and asked;'How heavy is this glass of water?'

Answers called out ranged from 20g to 500g.

The lecturer replied, 'The absolute weight doesn't matter. It depends on how long you try to hold it.

If I hold it for a minute, that's not a problem.
If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my right arm.
If I hold it for a day, you'll have to call an ambulance.
In each case, it's the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes.'

He continued, 'And that's the way it is with stress management. If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, As the burden becomes increasingly heavy, We won't be able to carry on. '

'As with the glass of water, You have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again. When we're refreshed, we can carry on with the burden.'

'So, before you return home tonight, put the burden of work down. Don't carry it home. You can pick it up tomorrow.

Whatever burdens you're carrying now, Let them down for a moment if you can.' So, my friend, Put down anything that may be a burden to you right now. Don't pick it up again until after you've rested a while.

Here are some great ways of dealing with the burdens of life:

* Accept that some days you're the pigeon, and some days you're the statue.

* Always keep your words soft and sweet,just in case you have to eat them.

* Always wear stuff that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it.

* Drive carefully. It's not only cars that can be "recalled" by their maker.

* If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.

* If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.

* It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to be kind to others.

* Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time, because then you won't have a leg to stand on.

* Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance.

* When everything's coming your way, You're in the wrong lane.

* Birthdays are good for you. The more you have, the longer you live.

* You may be only one person in the world, but you may also be the world to one person.

* Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once.

* We could learn a lot from crayons...Some are sharp, some are pretty and some are dull. Some have weird names, and all are different colors, but they all have to live in the same box.

*A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.

A Friday Off

It has been a very full day. I had the day off today with the purpose of waiting on Verizon to come and install a land line at the house.

After piddling around the house for a while first thing this morning I set out for the mall in search of a necklace to go with a new dress. I had one particular one in mind, but although I had been told by the store that it was there in stock, it wasn't. Turned out it wasn't even close to the one I was looking for. Oh well, another time.

A quick run through at Wally World armed me with vegetation killer for the yard. Time to take out some weeds and baby trees! Walter's quite protective over the grass though. I did promise to be careful around the new grass. I'm pretty sure that I didn't take out any of it.

Our installer, from Verizon, showed up promptly on time and set right to work getting us all set up. Turns out that the original installers didn't set up the phone line. It wasn't long before we were all set and the phone had a dial tone. It wasn't 20 minutes before the first call came into the house.....A TELEMARKETER!!!! Then about 2 hours later the second call came in and it too was a TELEMARKETER!!!!

What was particular interesting about the second call was that they already had my last name. Dang it had only been a week since we ordered the line, and we're already getting calls. Not good at all. I immediately hopped online and signed us up on the National Do Not Call Registry for all of our phone numbers. I know for sure that Walt isn't going to be happy at all if some telemarketer calls here during the day while he's sleep. I surely wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of that call.

Email & Newsletter Gleanings:

Skinny Dipping...

An elderly man in Louisiana had owned a large farm for several years. He had a large pond in the back. It was properly shaped for swimming, so he fixed it up nice with picnic tables, horseshoe courts, and some apple, and peach trees.

One evening the old farmer decided to go down to the pond, as he hadn't been there for a while, and look it over. He grabbed a five-gallon bucket to bring back some fruit.

As he neared the pond, he heard voices shouting and laughing with glee. As he came closer, he saw it was a bunch of young women skinny-dipping in his pond. He made the women aware of his presence and they all went to the deep end. One of the women shouted to him, 'we're not coming out until you leave!'

The old man frowned, 'I didn't come down here to watch you ladies swim naked or make you get out of the pond naked.'

Holding the bucket up he said, 'I'm here to feed the alligator.'

Some old men can still think fast !!!

The Restaurant

A group of 40 year old girlfriends discussed where they should meet for dinner. Finally it was agreed upon that they should meet at the Ocean View Restaurant because the waiters there had tight pants and nice buns.

10 years later at 50 years of age, the group once again discussed where they should meet for dinner. Finally it was agreed that they should meet at the Ocean View restaurant because the food there was very good and the wine selection was good also.

10 years later at 60 years of age, the group once again discussed where they should meet for dinner. Finally it was agreed that they should meet at the Ocean View restaurant because they could eat there in peace and quiet and the restaurant had a beautiful view of the ocean.

10 years later, at 70 years of age, the group once again discussed where they should meet for dinner. Finally it was agreed that they should meet at the Ocean View Restaurant because the restaurant was wheel chair accessible and they even had an elevator.

10 years later, at 80 years of age, the group once again discussed where they should meet for dinner. Finally it was agreed that they should meet at the Ocean View Restaurant because they had never been there before.

This and That

Closing in on finishing up my classes for my Graphic Design certification. Only 3 more assignments to complete.

Email & Newsletter Gleanings:

THE PROMISED LAND

Over five thousand years ago, Moses said to the children of Israel "Pick up your shovel, mount your asses and camels, and I will lead you to the promised land."

Nearly 75 years ago, Roosevelt said, "Lay down your shovels, sit on your asses, and light up a Camel, this is the promised land."

Now Obama has stolen your shovel, taxed your asses, raised the price of Camels, and mortgaged the promised land!

I was so depressed last night thinking about Health Care Plans, the economy, the wars, lost jobs, savings, Social Security being broke, medicare being broke, retirement funds, etc . , that I called ' Lifeline' and got a call center in Pakistan.

I told them I was suicidal.

They all got excited and asked if I could drive,

Meeting the president

One sunny day in late January 2013 an old man approached the White House from across Pennsylvania Avenue, where he'd been sitting on a park bench. He spoke to the U.S. Marine standing guard and said, "I would like to go in and meet with President Obama."

The Marine looked at the man and said, "Sir, Mr. Obama is no longer president and no longer resides here."

The old man said, "Okay," and walked away.

The following day, the same man approached the White House and said to the same Marine, "I would like to go in and meet with President Obama."

The Marine again told the man, "Sir, as I said yesterday, Mr. Obama is no longer president and no longer resides here."

The man thanked him and, again, just walked away.

The third day, the same man once again approached the White House and spoke to the same U.S. Marine, saying, "I would like to go in and meet with President Obama."

The Marine, understandably agitated at this point, looked at the man and said, "Sir, this is the third day in a row you have come here asking to speak to Mr. Obama. I've told you already that Mr. Obama is no longer the president and no longer resides here. Don't you understand?"

The old man looked at the Marine and said, "Oh, I understand. I just love hearing it."

The Marine snapped to attention, saluted, and said, "See you tomorrow, sir."

Productive Saturday

Jeff came up this morning from North Carolina on business and he and Walter have been out all morning.

It's been a very productive day. Sean came over this morning to do some yard work for me. he was able to partially remove one of the flower beds. Then using the monkey grass that he was digging up, he created a new bed next to the driveway. It looks so much better! Once it takes hold it is going to be so nice - it will keep the slope next to the ditch from eroding

A bunch from our 'Gutter' group got together at Glory Days Grill for dinner. We had a great time. It was nice catching up with everyone.

It was funny, while we were having dinner I noticed that there was movement in the holly tree next to the patio. Turned out that there was a nest full of baby Robins. What made it even more remarkable was that last year there had been another nest there as well. (Sarah & I had tried to get some pictures last year - but it had been much later in the evening and the light was horrible.)