J.D.'s SOAPBOX

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-11-26T17:30:00.002-05:00

Hello every one, now don’t have a heart attack, I know it’s been a long time..! I have been so busy around here, but that’s really no excuse, I’ve had time to do some posts but chose to rest in my easy chair. I’m sure that you all know how it is when you get out of the routine of doing things that it seems so hard to get back into it. Well that’s what happened to me! I plan to get back in the groove of blogging. Anyway, I’ve got just about all my storage places full of firewood and I think it will see me through the winter.
I’m sure that Jo has tuned you all in on the happenings around here with the grand kids. We are planning a big Thanksgiving out here with all the ‘Yankee’ family, the ‘Cajun’ family will have to wait till after the 1st. We plan to get together with them the first week in Jan. My youngest daughter will be back in the States the first week in January to visit her son’s grave site in S. W. Louisiana as she does every year. He would have been 16 years old on the 7th of Jan. he was 11 when at the time. He and his dad were jogging on the side of the road when they both were run down by an 18 year old girl… It’s a sad day for the whole family.
On a brighter note, Jo and I wish each and every one of you a tremendous Thanksgiving…

"Cross Cut Saw"

2008-08-07T08:04:00.005-04:00

Good morning everyone:

I know, it’s been a while, same old excuse, been busy! The project that I’m working on now is the replacement of the old wood stove. Jo and I were out and about a few weeks ago and ran across this little place out of town, (I guess you could call it out in the country), that sold wood burning stoves and fireplace inserts of several types. We were looking around and decided on this particular one, some places make it so hard to choose! So after we looked around, and after taking into consideration about just how it would look in our home, we finally made our choice! The old stove did a good job of heating but it was going through the firewood much too fast, and the blower went out on it just before spring, and all the parts on the new one were in good working order. So with studying all the information, we feel that it will be a lot more efficient and easier to regulate!

Well, I’m ashamed to say it, but I visited someone’s blog a couple of weeks ago and they were talking about buying a, “2 man saw”, which is more commonly known as a, “Cross Cut Saw”. Well, I told whomever she was that we have one hanging on our breakfast area wall along with another saw that I really don’t know the name of it. I told her that I would take a picture of it and post it and maybe someone would let me know the name of it.

I don’t know the name of this one…!

"Cross Cut Saw"

Also I would like to thank everyone for not giving up on me!
And I hope everyone has a great day…
JD

Broken Limb!

2008-07-27T20:59:00.003-04:00

Well, it happened..... A limb about 3 feet long at about 1/2" in diameter broke..!! There were 7 pears on it! It just couldn't handle the weight........ There are others that I feel will do the same. I'm hoping they will get ripe enough to pick before that happens! Oh well, I guess Mother Nature knows best?..

Have a good day........ JD

The pear tree

2008-07-23T09:23:00.006-04:00

Good morning Friends:

As I was out on the purgola drinking my second cup of coffee, I noticed the pear tree close to the house. It is full of pears but the one next to it only has maybe a half dozen, I wonder why? So I went in and got the camera and took a few shots and thought I would share them with you.

The tree has so many pears on it that it is so distorted from their weight! You can see the shadow of the other tree, slim and trim!

This shot is the very top of the tree and you can see
what the weight of the pears are doing to it!

They are in clusters like this all over the tree.

Some of the limbs are almost touching the ground.
I told Jo we might have to prop the limbs up so they don’t break!!

Well I hope this finds everyone in good health.
Have a great day……….. JD

Aging

2008-07-21T07:28:00.004-04:00

Hello friends:

Well it looks like it’s been a month since my last post, sorry about that. I’ve been tied up in all kinds of projects around the house. One of which, aside from mowing grass and weed eating, is the 8 X 10 foot well house that will double for a storage area, we can never have too much of that. Then there’s the running to the lumberyard and sawmill, sizing and stacking firewood for the winter, well you get the idea!

As you can see, I have my world class helper, "Riley", on the job with me….
I will be finished with it as soon as the metal roof trim comes in, it had to be ordered. My next project will be a, Back yard Shower…..! Well I’ve got a deck planned for the east side of the house but the size and cost of that project might have to wait till next summer. It will be split level and I plan to build it in sections.
*******************

I got this from that, “Friend of Mine”, this morning and thought it made a lot of scene….
**********************
George Carlin 's Views on Aging

Do you realize that the only time in our lives when we like to get old is when we're kids? If you're less than 10 years old, you're so excited about aging that you think in fractions. 'How old are you?' 'I'm four and a half!' You're never thirty-six and a half. You're four and a half, going on five! That's the key. You get into your teens, now they can't hold you back. You jump to the next number, or even a few ahead. 'How old are you?' 'I'm gonna be 16!' You could be 13, but hey, you're gonna be 16! And then the greatest day of your life! You become 21.. Even the words sound like a ceremony. YOU BECOME 21. YESSSS!!!But then you turn 30. Oooohh, what happened there? Makes you sound like bad milk! He TURNED; we had to throw him out. There's no fun now, you're Just a sour-dumpling. What's wrong? What's changed? You BECOME 21, you TURN30, then you're PUSHING 40. Whoa! Put on the brakes, it's all slipping away. Before you know it, you REACH 50 and your dreams are gone.But! wait!! ! You MAKE it to 60. You didn't think you would! So you BECOME 21, TURN30, PUSH 40, REACH 50 and make it to 60.You've built up so much speed that you HIT 70! After that it's a day-by-day thing; you HIT Wednesday! You get into ! your 80's and every day is a complete cycle; you HIT lunch; you TURN 4:30; you REACH bedtime. And it doesn't end there. Into the 90s, you start going backwards; 'I Was JUST 92.'Then a strange thing happens. If you make it over 100, you become a little kid again. 'I'm 100 and a half!' May you all make it to a healthy 100 and a half!! HOW TO STAY YOUNG 1. Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height. Let the doctors worry about them. That is why you pay 'them.' 2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.3. Keep learning.. ! Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever, even ham radio. Never let the brain idle. 'An idle mind is the devil's workshop.' And the devil's family name is Alzheimer’s. 4. Enjoy the simple things. 5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.6. The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person, who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. Be ALIVE while you are alive. 7. Surround yourself with what you love, whether it's family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge.8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help. 9. Don't take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county; to a foreign country but NOT to where the guilt is.10. Tell the people you love that you love them , at every opportunity. AND ALWAYS REMEMBER: Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. And if you don't send this to at least 8 people - who cares? But do share this with someone. We all need to live life to its fullest each day!!

Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting, "...holy sh*t ...what a ride!"
I hope this finds everyone in good health.... JD

Seven Wonders of the World

2008-06-21T08:28:00.003-04:00

I've told you before several times that a friend sent me this, well he's sent me another one that you might like, I know I agree whole heartily with !

I just hope it works... *S*

Have a great day !!

Facts about Louisiana

2008-06-08T18:27:00.003-04:00

Hey Ya’ll:
Well it’s gress cutting weather again! So, I got out there and did my job….Still have some trimming to do.

I got this from a buddy of mine down in Louisiana, it has some facts that I was unaware of and I thought I would share them with you…

If Hurricane Katrina causing the levees to break in New Orleans is the only thing you know about Louisiana, here are a few more interesting facts about the Bayou State :

*Louisiana has the tallest state capitol building in the nation at 450 feet.

*The Louisiana SuperDome in New Orleans is the largest enclosed stadium in the world.

* The Lake Pontchartrain Causeway is t he lon gest over-water bridge in the world at 23.87 miles.

*Louisiana's 6.5 million acres of wetlands are the greatest wetland area in America.

*The oldest city in the Louisiana Purchase Territory is Natchitoches, Louisiana founded in 1714.

* he first bottler of Coca-Cola, Joseph Bie denharn, lived in Monroe, Louisiana and was one of the founders of Delta Air Lines, initially called Delta Air Service.

*Delta Airlines got its start in Monroe, Louisiana when Parish Agent, C.E. Woolman, decided to try dusting the Boll Weevil that was destroying the cotton crops in the Mississippi River Delta from an airplane. It was the first crop dusting service in the world.

*Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana is the largest predominantly black university in America.* Baton Rouge was the site of the only American Revolution battle outside the original 13 colonies.

*The formal transfer of the Louisiana Purchase was made at the Cabildo building in New Orleans on December 20, 1803.

*The staircase at Chritien Point, in Sunset, Louisiana was copied for Tara in "Gone with the Wind."

*Louisiana is the No. 1 producer of crawfish, alligat ors an d shallots in America .

*Louisiana produces 24 percent of the nation's salt, the most in America.

*Much of the world's food, coffee and oil pass through the Port of New Orleans ..

*Tabasco, a Louisiana product, holds the second oldest food trademark in the U.S. Patent Office.

*Steen's Syrup Mill in Abbeville, Louisiana is the world's largest syrup plant producing sugar cane syrup.

*America's oldest rice mill is in New Iberia, Louisiana at KONRIKO Co.

*The International Joke Telling Contest is held annually in Opelousas, Louisiana.

*LSU (The Ole War Skule) in Baton Rouge has the distinction of contributing the most officers to WW II after the U.S. Military academies.

*The Louisiana Hayride radio show helped Hank Williams, Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash achieve stardom. It was broadcast from KWKH Radio in Shreveport, Louisiana from 1948 to 1960.

*The term Uncle Sam was coined on the wharfs of New Orleans before Louisiana was a U.S. Territory as goods labeled U.S. Were from "Uncle Sam."

*The game of craps was invented in New Orleans in 1813 as betting was a common activity on the wharves

*When states had their own currency, the Louisiana Dix (French for ten) was a favored currency for trade. English speakers called them Dixies and coined the term Dixieland.

*New Orleans is the home of the oldest pharmacy in America at 514 Chartres Street in the French Quarter. These early medical mixtures became known as cocktails (guess they were good for what ails ya?),

Coining yet another term.* New Orleans is the birthplace of Jazz, the only true American art form. Jazz gave birth to the Blues and Rock and Roll music. Viva La Louisiane!!!

Great Grand Son

2008-05-31T20:34:00.003-04:00

Hello everyone:

‘Breaking News’

Jo and I have a brand new, “Great Grand Son” ! Caden Wayne Miller was born at 12:59 PM Thursday, May 29th, 2008. He was 21 inches long, and a whopping 9 lbs, 4 oz! Mom and baby are doing great. sister Audrey is proud of him too. She is 3.

On a different note; I got an e-mail from a friend with an inspiring message, I don’t know if it’s true or not, but I really liked it and I think you will too .

A four year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife.

Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there.

When his Mother asked what he had said to the neighbor,

the little boy said,

'Nothing, I just helped him cry'

Have a great day………. JD

Feast Of The Flowering Moon

2008-05-25T07:45:00.003-04:00

Hello everyone, Yes, it’s me……

I hadn’t realized it’s been so long since my last post. We have been having some pretty good weather here lately and I’ve been taking advantage of it in the yard. Yeah, yeah, I hear you, that’s an excuse, you say, well you’re right I guess. I have to admit, I do get a little lazy at times. Anyway, don’t give up on me; I really do enjoy hearing from you.

I slept late this morning and when I got in here she was working on the PC. She was posting the following clip for me, she’s a lot more up-to-date on the workings of this thing, thank goodness! Anyway, I took the pictures in the clip while she was in the Dr’s office waiting for her appointment. We live almost 40 miles from the Dr’s office so we try to schedule our appointments on the same day’s and as close to the same time as possible for economic reasons, the fuel, you understand. Well this particular day the “Feast Of The Flowering Moon” festival was just getting under way and all the venders were getting set up in the streets. The city had blocked of several streets for this festival. So after our appointments, Jo and I went for a walk through the streets and down into the park area and snapped more pictures. The park is large and these pictures do not do it justice, It’s a beautiful place to visit, many people that work close to the park go there to eat their lunches. The name of this park is, “Yoctangee Park”, and it’s located in downtown Chillicothe Ohio.
I really don’t know when or why the festival got started but it's held every Memorial day weekend. And as I understand, it was started when the Native Americans in the area would gather and have their Pow Wow’s and socialize with each other, and get up-to-date on all the happenings in the area. The festival used to be held inside the park, but now it has gotten so commercialized that it has expanded to several streets.
When I came in and caught Jo posting the clip on my blog, I told her that I would have to explain it now, know what she said? “That’s the idea”, she said! Kinda sneaky huh….*S*
It’s good to be back…… I'll try not to be such a stranger in the future! I hope you enjoy the clip, AND, Have a great day

JD

Feast Of The Flowering Moon

2008-05-25T07:33:00.001-04:00

Are things as they seem...?

2008-05-02T13:43:00.003-04:00

I know that you’ve all heard the old saying, “Things are Not always they seem,” …. Well,… sometimes they ARE…!!

Two men dressed in pilots' uniforms walk up the aisle of the aircraft. Both are wearing dark glasses, one is using a guide dog,and the other is tapping his way along the aisle with a cane.
Nervous laughter spreads through the cabin, but the men enter the cockpit the door closes, and the engines start up.
The passengers begin glancing nervously around, searching for some kind of a sign that this is just a little practical joke.
None is forthcoming.
The plane moves faster and faster down the runway, and the people sitting in the window seats realize they're headed straight for the water at the edge of the airport property. Just as it begins to look as though the plane will plow straight into the water, panicked screams fill the cabin.
At that moment, the plane lifts smoothly into the air.
The passengers relax and laugh a little sheepishly, and soon all retreat into their magazines and books, secure in the knowledge that the plane is in good hands. Meanwhile, in the cockpit, one of the blind pilots turns to the other and says, 'You know, Bob, one of these days, they're gonna scream too late and we're all gonna die' !!
Just thought you could use a chuckle !

Pet Peeve

2008-04-30T20:25:00.003-04:00

Pet Peeve

Another one of my pet peeves are people who park in handicapped parking places just because they are driving someone else’s vehicle with a handicap plate or mirror hangtag, that doesn’t mean that they are legally parked while in the handicapped space! On one occasion I was walking out of a supermarket when a pickup with a handicap plate on it pulled into a handicap parking space. A man of about 35 years old and 2 young boys, one about 12 years old and the other about 8, or 9 years old got out of the truck. The younger boy asked his dad if he was supposed to park there the dad said, “That’s ok, that’s grandpa’s truck.” Like the truck was handicapped? I’ve seen people pull into a handicap space and the driver jumps out and run into the store while the handicapped person sits in the vehicle and waits. I know a young lady that would barrow her grandmother’s mirror tag when she would go to the store! What’s wrong with these people? If they ever had to handle a wheel chair, or have to walk with crutches across a parking lot maybe, just maybe they would understand what these handicap spaces really mean to the people who really need them!

And remember, ---
You cannot un-say a cruel or unkind word.

A Charming Proposal

2008-04-26T14:49:00.002-04:00

Hello friends, I am true to form, Lazy and Late again!!

But today I have a treat for you. Last night Jo and I went to the Waverly High school to watch the, 'High School Drama Club', out do themselves again. These young adults were simply unbelievable in their performance of a play by, 'Delmar Burkitt', Titled, "A Charming Proposal".

The play was directed by, 'Barbara Brushart' and was assisted by, 'Carol Cornish'. The students involved were Waverly High School Freshman, Sophomores, Juniors and Seniors. To really get the full impact of these Young people's ability, you would have had to be there...!

We have put together a slide show of an array of pictures for your enjoyment. To view the slide show, click here.

Wet Pants

2008-04-16T10:00:00.005-04:00

Well you’ve probably figured out by now that I’m like a horse’s tail-

‘BEHIND’

I received this story from one of my e-mail friends and thought you might enjoyd it also…

WET PANTS
Come with me to a third grade classroom..... There is a nine-year-old kid sitting at his desk and all of a sudden, there is a puddle between his feet and the front of his pants are wet. He thinks his heart is going to stop because he cannot possibly imagine how this has happened. It's never happened before, and he knows that when the boys find out he will never hear the end of it. When the girls find out, they'll never speak to him again as long as he lives.

The boy believes his heart is going to stop; he puts his head down and prays this prayer, "Dear God, this is an emergency! I need help now! Five minutes from now I'm dead meat."

He looks up from his prayer and here comes the teacher with a look in her eyes that says he has been discovered

As the teacher is walking toward him, a classmate named Susie is carrying a goldfish bowl that is filled with water. Susie trips in front of the teacher and inexplicably dumps the bowl of water in the boy's lap.

The boy pretends to be angry, but all the while is saying to himself, "Thank you, Lord! Thank you, Lord!"

Now all of a sudden, instead of being the object of ridicule, the boy is the object of sympathy. The teacher rushes him downstairs and gives him gym shorts to put on while his pants dry out. All the other children are on their hands and knees cleaning up around his desk. The sympathy is wonderful. But as life would have it, the ridicule that should have been his has been transferred to someone else - Susie.

She tries to help, but they tell her to get out. You've done enough, you klutz!"

Finally, at the end of the day, as they are waiting for the bus, the boy walks over to Susie and whispers, "You did that on purpose, didn't you?" Susie whispers back, "I wet my pants once too."

May God help us see the opportunities that are always around us to do good.. Remember.....Just going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in your garage makes you a car.

Each and everyone one of us are going through tough times right now, but God is getting ready to bless you in a way that only He can. Keep the faith.

This prayer is powerful, and prayer is one of the best gifts we receive. There is no cost but a lot of rewards Let's continue to pray for one another.
The Prayer:

Father, I ask You to bless my friends, relatives and those that I care deeply for, who are reading this right now. Show them a new revelation of Your love and power. Holy Spirit, I ask You to minister to their spirit at this very moment. Where there is pain, give them Your peace and mercy. Where there is self-doubt, release a renewed confidence through Your grace. Where there is need, I ask you to fulfill their needs. Bless their homes, families, finances, their goings and their comings. Amen.

Too wet to mow

2008-04-07T12:53:00.002-04:00

Hello Friends:

The grass is coming through the ground so hard and fast you can almost hear it crackling through. It’s a bright green and looking good to, for now that is..! The weatherman is telling me that we have more rain on the way, and that it’s been raining on the average of every 3 days. That doesn’t give the yard time enough to dry up enough to mow! Looks like I will have to order a pair of pontoons for my lawnmower!!! It just gets to where I can walk across the yard without getting my shoes all muddy, it rains again. There’s one consolation, the Lord knows what He’s doing… That’s for sure…! Anyway, I’ve been having trouble with the breaks on the riding mower, so I went out this morning and took the whole thing apart and found the problem. I remover the break assembly and found that one of the little pushrods that pushed on the break pad was froze in place. I took my hammer and finally got it out and greased it up good, now my breaks are as good as when I bought it. I put the mower deck in the tool; shad to keep it from rusting during the winter so I pulled it out and got it all hooked up too. But it’s still too wet to mow…!! At this rate, I’ll have to hire a bush hog to mow my yard when it dries up..!!
Have a great day……….. JD

Grandma's Hands

2008-04-03T10:07:00.004-04:00

A friend sent this to me and I really enjoyed it, so I thought you might like to read it and maybe look at your own hands in a different light, I know I have….!.

Grandma's Hands
Grandma, some ninety plus years, sat feebly on the patio bench. She didn't move, just sat with her head down staring at her hands. When I sat down beside her she didn't acknowledge my presence and the longer I sat I wondered if she was OK. Finally, not really wanting to disturb her but wanting to check on her at the same time, I asked her if she was OK. She raised her head and looked at me and smiled. "Yes, I'm fine, thank you for asking," she said in a strong, clear voice. "I didn't mean to disturb you, grandma, but you were just sitting here staring at your hands and I wanted to make sure you were OK," I explained to her. "Have you ever looked at your hands," she asked. "I mean really looked at your hand s?" I slowly opened my hands and stared down at them. I turned them over, palms up and then palms down. No, I guess I had never really looked at my hands as I tried to figure out the point she was making. Grandma smiled and related this story: "Stop and think for a moment about the hands you have, how they have served you well throughout your years. These hands though wrinkled shriveled and weak have been the tools I have used all my life to reach out and grab and embrace life. "They braced and caught my fall when as a toddler I crashed upon the floor. They put food in my mouth and clothes on my back. As a child, my mother taught me to fold them in prayer. They tied my shoes and pulled on my boots. They held my husband and wiped my tears when he went off to war. "They have been dirty, scraped and raw, swollen and bent. They were uneasy and clumsy when I tried to hold my newborn son. Decorated with my wedding band they showed the world that I was married and loved someone special They wrote my letters to him and trembled and shook when I buried my parents and spouse. "They have held my children and grandchildren, consoled neighbors, and shook in fists of anger when I didn't understand. They have covered my face, combed my hair, and washed and cleansed the rest of my body. They have been sticky and wet, bent and broken, dried and raw. And to this day when not much of anything else of me works real well these hands hold me up, lay me down, and again continue to fold in prayer. "These hands are the mark of where I've been and the ruggedness of life. But more importantly it will be these hands that God will reach out and take when he leads me home. And with my hands He will lift me to His side and there I will use these hands to touch the face of Christ." I will never look at my hands the same again. But I remember God reached out and took my grandma's hands and led her home. When my hands are hurt or sore or when I stroke the face of my children and husband I think of grandma. I know she has been stroked and caressed and held by the hands of God. I, too, want to touch the face of God and feel His hands upon my face. When you receive this, say a prayer for the person who sent it to you, and watch God's answer to prayer work in your life. Let's continue praying for one another. Passing this on to anyone you consider a friend will bless you both. Passing this on to one not yet considered a friend is something
Christ would do.

-- Author Unknown

Home Churned Butter

2008-03-31T15:09:00.003-04:00

I was just wondering how many of you have sat on that little 3 legged stool and actually milked Ole Bossy? I can only remember 2 or 3 times that I milked that old cow, I was a little whippersnapper back then. I had watched grandma countless times so I knew the drill. First you be sure that Ole Bossy had a good portion of feed or hay to keep her busy, then after giving her a few pats and rubs on the side you were going to be milking on, to let her know you will be there and not to get excited. The last thing you want her to do is plop her foot into the bucket, or kick it over. Then with the drying towel over your shoulder and your milk bucket with warm, clean water in hand you sit on your little stool and wash her bag and utters. This serves 2 purposes, one it lets her know what you will be doing down there, and two, It’s for sanitary reasons. Then when Grandma was finished with themilking, she would strain the milk several times and put what she wanted to serve at the table in her refrigerator. I don’t ever remember her boiling it.
I know that if you’ve ever milked Ole Bossy, you know what this is and what you do with it!

The rest of the milk would be prepared and put aside to be churned. Then the milk would be poured into that old churn and churned into butter? I remember that when the butter was almost ready, I had to let Grandma finish it up because it was hard for me to churn, but she was use to it. When the butter was finished, and if my mother was around, she would use a teaspoon and make a baby’s footprint in the middle of the butter. She was an artist and sign painter. I remember once she was hired to paint some advertisements on a grocery/dry goods store windows in Columbia La.,(Leg Rodgers’s grocery store). Along with several products advertised was an advertisement for ladies underwear, Mr. Rodgers asked her to be discreet with the wording. So, the sign read, “Seat covers- .50 cents a pair!” The reason they were so expensive is because they were store bought, not flower sack bloomers…! If memory serves me right, the ‘Coldwell Watchman’, the, (Columbia news paper), printed pictures of it!
I’m kind of rambling here, but if I don’t put it down when it pops in mind, I might forget…. Anyway…!
Things were a little different at home; we didn’t have electricity, running water, or indoor plumbing of any kind! And when my mother milked the cow, she had to go through the same procedure with the exception of the refrigerator. The milk that was to be served at the table was put into a gallon pickle jar with waxed paper over the mouth and then the lid screwed on. A string was tied to the top of the jar and lowered into the spring. The water was iced cold year round. That’s how we cooled our watermelons and anything else that needed to be kept cold. The spring was a natural fed spring. We did have an, “Ice Box”, for short time cooling of the butter and milk. If you have ever churned you own butter, then you know what an ‘Ice Box” is! I remember the “Ice Man” that would go by about a quarter mile from the house and we, as young’ns, would have to meet him at the main road and carry the chunk of ice to the house to put in the ice box. Normally it would start out at about 10 to 15 pounds but by the time we got it home and after we had sat it down to let our hands and arms thaw, it would be considerably less! Oh well, this post was supposed to be about the, ‘Churn; but you know how it is, It’s like Lays Potatoes Chips, you can’t eat just one……..!!

The Apron's History

2008-03-22T10:45:00.002-04:00

One of my e-mail buddies sent me this, “Apron” history and I thought you might like to read it, I know that, like me, it will bring back a few old memories!
I remember just about every use mentioned preformed by my grandmother, and for that matter, my mother had an apron too, she also knew what it was for!
*************

I don’t think our kids know what an apron is.

The principal use of Grandma's apron was to protect the dress underneath, but along with that, it served as a potholder for removing hot pans from the oven. It was wonderful for drying children’s tears, and on occasion was even used for cleaning out dirty ears.
From the chicken coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy chicks, and sometimes half-hatched eggs to be finished in the warming oven. When company came, those aprons were ideal hiding places for shy kids. And when the weather was cold, grandma wrapped it around her arms. Those big old aprons wiped many a perspiring brow, bent over the hot wood stove. Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that apron. From the garden, it carried all sorts of vegetables. After the peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls. In the fall, the apron was used to bring in apples that had fallen from the trees. When unexpected company drove up the road, it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust in a matter of seconds. When dinner was ready, Grandma walked out onto the porch, waved her apron, and the men knew it was time to come in from the fields to dinner. It will be a long time before someone invents something that will replace that 'old-time apron' that served so many purposes.

REMEMBER........

Grandma used to set her hot baked apple pies on the window sill to cool.

Her granddaughters set theirs on the kitchen counter to thaw.

Yard Deer

2008-03-20T08:49:00.012-04:00

Hello Friends:
I would like to share with you some new happenings on the mountain. Our 4 legged friends decided to pay us a visit last Tuesday afternoon. As you can see, we were blessed with a low cloud and Jo whispered to me to come look out the window and this is what I saw standing looking back at us. The first one was no more than 15 feet from us! I don’t have to tell you that we both were delighted. It’s been some time since their last visit and looks like they brought their young’ns along with them…..

Enjoy!

Have a great day.......... JD

Double Jeopardy

2008-03-15T14:30:00.004-04:00

Well, I guess I’ve come down with that dreaded, “Writer’s Block”… I’ve been reading a few blogs trying to get some good ideas on something to write about. The only thing that I got an idea about was from a documentary I saw on TV last night about a man in Texas who was acquitted of the murder of his wife. The FBI brought him up on the same murder, DUH, I have always been taught that that was against our constitution! That it’s double jeopardy…!! Whether or not he was really guilty is beside the point, it’s still wrong. Just before the second trial was to begin, he skipped the country and went to, I think it was Holland, The FBI tried to extradite him back to the USA but the Holland authorities would not send him back as long as they were going to try him again on the same charge he was acquitted on in the first place. They even knew it was wrong! So the FBI agreed not to re-try him on that charge and he was sent back. All he was charged with was passport and I.D. fraud and was sentenced for that, and now, the FBI said they think they know a way they can circumvent their agreement with Holland and try him again on the same charge anyway after he serves his time for passport and I.D. fraud!
It’s my opinion, ok? That if the FBI gets away with this, and does re-try this man on the same charge that he was acquitted on, and is NOT termed Double Jeopardy, what is in store for you, me, and everyone else who one day may be charged with a crime, will they try us 2 times for the same crime, or 3, 4, 5, or more until they find a jury that will hand down a GUILTY verdict????

Am I the only one who feels this way?

What do you think??
JD

The Blizzard

2008-03-07T10:18:00.000-05:00

Ok, Ok, I know I’ve been lazy..!! But don’t forget, I’m retired, so I’m allowed..!! *S*

It looks as though we’ve gotten our BLIZZARD we were promised and it looks as though we will be snowed in with this one. But I do have to pat myself on the back; we were just about out of firewood, had about 2 more days worth left in the wood shed day before yesterday. So I called my source and made arrangements to pick some up yesterday, Boy, am I glad I did, I got 3 load’s and the snow starts this morning, whew..!! After I got it unloaded out of the truck, and covered it up in the utility trailer I sighed a tremendous sigh of relief, and silently said, “Thank you Lord”. I know He was looking out for me because the man I get my wood from had to take off and go buy a new chain saw because his old one went out on him, Not only that, he sprained his ankle and couldn’t finish the job on his own so his dad came to his house and finished the job for him! So again, Thank you Lord…!!!
Now here Jo and I are in a warm house watching ‘Him’ cover everything here on the mountain with His blanket…….
Have a great day…………..JD

VOTE DAY

2008-03-04T08:27:00.010-05:00

Well, here it is, March 4th, time for the voters here in Ohio to go do their civic duty and vote for their choice in the primary. I sure hope the weather doesn’t put a damper on the turnout at the poles. We all need to put on our rubber boots and grab our umbrellas and go stuff the ballot box! I know Jo and I will do just that, so please join us,,,,! After you’ve made your choice, run down to your favorite watering hole and enjoy a hot cup of coffee.

Just remember that the right to VOTE, can and does have a direct bearing on ALL your rights!!

Have a great day... JD

Prince Harry

2008-03-01T11:56:00.002-05:00

Another pet peeve

I was watching the news yesterday when they were showing Prince Harry in his army uniform and rifle and making a big deal out of the fact that he was in Iraqi fighting the terrorists. DUH, how many of those terrorists would like to get hold of him?? This morning I see where he is pulled out for his safety! I mean, Hey, plaster it all over the TV and radio!! Just think how high their ratings would go, or haw many news papers they would sale if he were captured, or worse, killed, God forbid! It’s hard for me to understand and wonder just how far ahead the reporters and even editors look before printing things like this; does it even make a difference to them? It reminds me of an earlier post of mine about the news media telling everyone where and when a DUI checkpoint would be! Then report that their efforts are not doing enough good to justify the cost of the checkpoints!
It appears that something isn’t right!

It’s just my opinion. Tell me what you think

7 weird things about me

2008-02-26T19:31:00.004-05:00

Jo has gone and tagged me to take part in the meme!
7 weird things about me.

Here Are The Rules
1. Once you are tagged, link back to the person that tagged you.
2. Post THE RULES on your blog.
3. Post 7 weird or random facts about yourself on your blog.
4. Tag 7 people and link to them.
5. Comment on their blog to let them know they have been tagged.

Here are the 7 weird things about me:
1- Don't like to wear socks to bed.
2- I like potato salad sandwiches.
3- I like cold fried chicken.
4- No matter where I'm going, I'm always in a hurry to get there.
5- I don't care if the sheets are wrinkled and the bed is unmade.
6- I like to mow the grass.
7- I like hot Dr Pepper.

My list of bloggers that I've tagged. Let me know if you take part in the 'meme' so I can check out your list.
Gina's FNPResidency
Mysti
Rambling Rose
Yasmine
Sweetgrass Farm
Cindy's Snaps
Cupcakes

How we got here

2008-02-25T20:46:00.002-05:00

I recieved a comment from a blogger friend, ‘Hope’, who wanting to know just how we happened to be here in the Little House on the Mountain. Well it was a challenge to say the least. As I said in a previous post that I retired in October of 2003. By this time we had already had everything sorted out and ready to hit the road. We had been living in a camper trailer, a 29’, 2 bedroom job for 3 years before I retired. It wasn’t bad at all with only the two of us and there was plenty of room.
We moved the camper up here to Southern Ohio and parked it in a camper park and lived there while we looked for something anchored to the ground. We went to a realtor and found several places for sale and we looked at them and just couldn’t believe what they were asking for what was in bad need of repair…! The realtor dug way down to the bottom of the pile of paperwork and came up with one she had listed. She gave us the address and we rode out to look at it. We drove and drove and finally came to a cleared out place along side of the road with just enough room to park the car. There was a stone lined walkway that winded down through the shoulder high weeds, briers and tall grass to a house that we couldn’t see! Jo wouldn’t go through that jungle, she said “You go ahead; I’ll wait in the car…….” After I went for a look around, I told her that she had to come and look at it, and finally agreed to look and was impressed. Jo and I went back to look at it again, then the realtor came out with the key and we were both taken by the condition of the inside, it was as neat as a pin, very well kept!
I really liked what I saw and so did Jo; there was a small clearing around the house which was the yard, the house was 130’ back from the parking area. I could see the potential. From that time forward, I would compare this house, property, and price to every place we looked at and kept coming up with this one. But, we kept looking, I bet we’ve been up and down almost every back road in southern Ohio, and after about 4 months and 5000 miles, we decided on The Little House On The Mountain..!! We’ve doubled the square footage and are planning a large deck off to the side with a fire pit in the yard. There’s still a lot of work to be done and I think we can handle it ok……
There have been additions to the area that are eye sores, but when the leaves are out during the summer, we can’t see anyone else….

LOVE Mother Nature…!!

Bear

2008-02-21T20:16:00.003-05:00

Well folks

There you have it....!

The answer to the,

'AGE OLD QUESTION'!!

Addition

2008-02-21T09:07:00.003-05:00

Good morning everyone.... *S*

Well we got up this morning to about 7 degrees out, sure was hard rolling out from under those warm covers. Just think, (its 37 degrees in Fairbanks Alaska..!!!) We got a little more snow early this morning and it covered my shoveled out walkway to the wood shed, guess I will have to do it again. I push the wheel barrow around to the wood shed, fill it with firewood and push it back to the front porch which is at ground level where the back porch is 3-1/2 feet off the ground. Then I prop the front door open and push it into the living room and stack the wood in its place near the heater. That beats haling it in arm load by arm load. With hard surface floors rather than carpet, cleanup is a snap.
When I added the living room and bedroom, I insulated the floors with 1” Styrofoam placed tight at the bottom of the floor joists leaving a 6” dead air space thinking this would do the trick. Also the addition, as is the existing structure, is skirted to the ground to keep the wind out to protect the water lines and such. Well,…. I plan to get under there this summer and add 6” fiberglass insulation……. !

This picture was taken just as I was getting started on the addition. I had just finished getting the support’s laid out and leveled getting ready for the floor beams and joists.
The average pitch on our property is 36” drop every 20’, not too bad!
Appx 1-3/4” on 12”

This picture was taken from about the same angle as the first while under construction. This should have been an evening, rather than a morning shot so everything would have been clearer.
The 2 windows on the back, the one up high and the one down low, open during the warm weather for draft that creates natural air conditioning.

Picture Change

2008-02-20T08:16:00.001-05:00

Hello everyone:
Some of you might have noticed that I’ve changed my picture, well it’s because a friend of mine said it looked like it was supposed to have a number under it…! Well, that’s one of the main reasons people need friends, they will tell when you look like, ^%$^%$*…!
It’s been a while since my last post, that because I’ve been in a tussle with that old stomach bug, I think I might win this time.
We’ve had a pretty steady snow fall since the wee hours of the morning and it doesn’t look like it’s going to let up anytime soon. We’re supposed to get our satellite hookup on our PC tomorrow, I hope they have 4-wheel drive or the snow plow works on the road in the morning! It’s supposed to really speed up our service, I can hardly wait!!
I hope you ALL have a great day …………..JD

Old Man And His Dog

2008-02-13T08:52:00.004-05:00

My son sent this to me and I thought you might get

a tear or two out of it TOO..!
***********************

The Old Man and the Dog
by Catherine Moore

"Watch out! You nearly broad sided that car!" My father yelled at me. "Can't you do anything right?" Those words hurt worse than blows. I turned my head toward the elderly man in the seat beside me, daring me to challenge him. A lump rose in my throat as I averted my eyes. I wasn't prepared for another battle. "I saw the car, Dad. Please don't yell at me when I'm driving." My voice was measured and steady, sounding far calmer than I really felt. Dad glared at me, then turned away and settled back. At home I left Dad in front of the television and went outside to collect my thoughts. Dark, heavy clouds hung in the air with a promise of rain. The rumble of distant thunder seemed to echo my inner turmoil. What could I do about him? Dad had been a lumberjack in Washington and Oregon. He had enjoyed being outdoors and had reveled in pitting his strength against the forces of nature. He had entered grueling lumberjack competitions, and Dad placed often. The shelves in his house were filled with trophies that attested to his prowess. The years marched on relentlessly. The first time he couldn't lift a heavy log, he joked about it; but later that same day I saw him outside alone, straining to lift it. He became irritable whenever anyone teased him about his advancing age, or when he couldn't do something he had done as a younger man. Four days after his sixty-seventh birthday, he had a heart attack. An ambulance sped him to the hospital while a paramedic administered CPR to keep blood and oxygen flowing. At the hospital, Dad was rushed into an operating room. He was lucky; he survived. But something inside Dad died. His zest for life was gone. He obstinately refused to follow doctor's orders. Suggestions and offers of help were turned aside with sarcasm and insults. The number of visitors thinned, then finally stopped altogether. Dad was left alone. My husband, Dick, and I asked Dad to come live with us on our small farm. We hoped the fresh air and rustic atmosphere would help him adjust. Within a week after he moved in, I regretted the invitation. It seemed nothing was satisfactory. He criticized everything I did. I became frustrated and moody. Soon I was taking my pent-up anger out on Dick. We began to bicker and argue. Alarmed, Dick sought out our pastor and explained the situation. The clergyman set up weekly counseling appointments for us. At the close of each session he prayed, asking God to soothe Dad's troubled mind. But the months wore on and God was silent. Something had to be done and it was up to me to do it. The next day I sat down with the phone book and methodically called each of the mental health clinics listed in the Yellow Pages. I explained my problem to each of t he sympathetic voices that answered. In vain. Just when I was giving up hope, one of the voices suddenly exclaimed, "I just read something that might help you! Let me go get the article." I listened as she read. The article described a remarkable study done at a nursing home. All of the patients were under treatment for chronic depression. Yet their attitudes had improved dramatically when they were given responsibility for a dog. I drove to the animal shelter that afternoon. After I filled out a questionnaire, a uniformed officer led me to the kennels. The odor of disinfectant stung my nostrils as I moved down the row of pens. Each contained five to seven dogs. Long-haired dogs, curly-haired dogs, black dogs, spotted dogs all jumped up, trying to reach me. I studied each one but rejected one after the other for various reasons: too big, too small, too much hair. As I neared the last pen a dog in the shadows of the far corner struggled to his feet, walked to the front of the run and sat down. It was a pointer, one of the dog world's aristocrats. But this was a caricature of the breed. Years had etched his face and muzzle with shades of gray. His hipbones jutted out in lopsided triangles. But it was his eyes that caught and held my attention. Calm and clear, they beheld me unwaveringly. I pointed to the dog. "Can you tell me about him?" The officer looked, then shook his head in puzzlement. "He's a funny one. Appeared out of nowhere and sat in front of the gate. We brought him in, figuring someone would be right down to claim him. That was two weeks ago and we've heard nothing. His time is up tomorrow." He gestured helplessly. As the words sank in I turned to the man in horror. "You mean you're going to kill him?" "Ma'am," he said gently, "that's our policy. We don't have room for every unclaimed dog." I looked at the pointer again The calm brown eyes awaited my decision. "I'll take him,"Isaid. I drove home with the dog on the front seat beside me. When I reached the house I honked the horn twice. I was helping my prize out of the car when Dad shuffled onto the front porch. "Ta-da! Look what I got for you, Dad!" I said excitedly. Dad looked, then wrinkled his face in disgust. "If I had wanted a dog I would have gotten one. And I would have picked out a better specimen than that bag of bones. Keep it! I don't want it" Dad waved his arm scornfully and turned back toward the house. Anger rose inside me It squeezed together my throat muscles and pounded into my temples."You'd better get used to him, Dad. He's staying!" Dad ignored me. "Did you hear me, Dad?" I screamed. At those words Dad whirled angrily, his hands clenched at his sides, his eyes narrowed and blazing with hate. We stood glaring at each other like duelists, when suddenly the pointer pulled free from my grasp. He wobbled toward my dad and sat down in front of him. Then slowly, carefully, he raised his paw. Dad's lower jaw trembled as he stared at the uplifted paw. Confusion replaced the anger in his eyes. The pointer waited patiently. Then Dad was on his knees hugging the animal.

It was the beginning of a warm and intimate friendship. Dad named the pointer Cheyenne. Together he and Cheyenne explored the community. They spent long hours walking down dusty lanes. They spent reflective moments on the banks of streams, angling for tasty trout. They even started to attend Sunday services together, Dad sitting in a pew and Cheyenne lying quietly at his feet. Dad and Cheyenne were inseparable throughout the next three years. Dad's bitterness faded, and he and Cheyenne made many friends. Then late one night I was startled to feel Cheyenne's cold nose burrowing through our bed covers. He had never before come into our bedroom at night. I woke Dick, put on my robe and ran into my father's room. Dad lay in his bed, his face serene. But his spirit had left quietly sometime during the night. Two days later my shock and grief deepened when I discovered Cheyenne lying dead beside Dad's bed.

I wrapped his still form in the rag rug he had slept on. As Dick and I buried him near a favorite fishing hole, I silently thanked the dog for the help he had given me in restoring Dad's peace of mind. The morning of Dad's funeral dawned overcast and dreary. This day looks like the way I feel, I thought, as I walked down the aisle to the pews reserved for family. I was surprised to see the many friends Dad and Cheyenne had made filling the church. The pastor began his eulogy. It was a tribute to both Dad and the dog who had changed his life And then the pastor turned to Hebrews 13:2. "Be not forgetful to entertain strangers." "I've often thanked God for sending that angel, "he said. For me, the past dropped into place, completing a puzzle that I had not seen before: the sympathetic voice that had just read the right article...Cheyenne's unexpected appearance at the animal shelter..his calm acceptance and complete devotion to my father. . and the proximity of their deaths. And suddenly I understood. I knew that God had answered my prayers after all.
Life is too short for drama & petty things, so laugh hard, love truly and forgive quickly. Live While You Are Alive.Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity. Forgive now those who made you cry. You might not get a second time.

Note = Pride is a very strong emotion and can wreak havoc in a person’s life if not controled..!
(Note – I added the picture’s.)

The Streets of San Francisco

2008-02-06T18:29:00.000-05:00

~THE STREETS OF SAN FRANCISCO~

After being elected as one of four delegates by my Union brothers and sisters to represent our Local Union, Local Lodge 470 district 161 out of Lake Charles, La, at The International Association Of Machinists and Aerospace Workers International Convention in San Francisco Ca. in September ‘2000’.

R to L
Terry Taylor, B.R., Greg Conrad, Pres., J.D. Dupree R.S. and Floyd Wesson Del.
Our District and Local delegates.

Sightseeing was at a minimum because we only had a week to take care of business but was able to squeeze in a few shots that I would like to share with you. There is one thing for sure, if you want to see it, just stand on any corner for a short while and you won’t be disappointed! This one is a life size billboard on a sidewalk!

I know you all have seen detective movies where the cops

are chasing the bad guys up and down the, ‘Streets of San Francisco’

and wonder if the streets are really that bad, well you can believe it!

Here is a good shot of the Bay from a high spot on one of the streets.

Our greatest disappointment was the Golden Gate Bridge; it was almost totally

hidden from view because of the fog! The fog was like this the entire week!

While we were out on the Crouse, we did get a good shot of,
‘The Rock’, that famous Prison, ‘Alcatraz’

Jo and I even rode on the famous Rice a Roni Trolley car,
They have it on the turntable which is still operated by hand.

It only takes 2 people to turn it around. The ride we took on
it might not be such a big deal but we will always remember that ride.

San Francisco’s finest came out to insure our safety,
And to assist in any way they could, Thanks guys

Ed Asner was a guest speaker at the convention and Brother Tom Buffenbarger, our international President, presented him with a certificate stating that he is an honorary member of the I.A.M.-A.W

Toward the end of our convention, all the delegates and their spouses were invited to an elaborate banquet with just about anything you could want to eat or drink. The only rule was, if you were bashful, you did without

These two couples were representing their Local Unions,
one from North Dakota, the other from South Dakota.

This statue was a hum-dinger, we walked right by it and a
little boy and his mom was right behind us …..

And when the statue leaned over to shake the little boy’s hand,
his mom had to hold on to him, because he was vacating the area!
His mom and the statue convinced him to shake his hand.

We even watched this guy stack rocks! Now they are just rocks,
no glue or anything holding them there but gravity and balance!

Pier 39 after dark at Fisherman’s Warf

A view of a typical corner from the ‘Rice a Roni Trolley.’

I have 2 more CD’s of pictures and wish I had time to go through them all and show them all to you, but that wouldn’t be practical. I hope you enjoyed these…
JD

Dirt Roads

2008-02-03T14:24:00.000-05:00

A friend sent this to me and I thought some of you might relate to it as well.

Dirt Roads

What's mainly wrong with society today is that too many Dirt Roads have been paved. There's not a problem in America today, crime, drugs, education, divorce, delinquency that wouldn't be remedied, if we just had more Dirt Roads, because Dirt Roads give character. People that live at the end of Dirt Roads learn early on that life is a bumpy ride.
That it can jar you right down to your teeth sometimes, but it's worth it, if at the end is home...a loving spouse, happy kids and a dog. We wouldn't have near the trouble with our educational system if our kids got their exercise walking a Dirt Road with other kids, from whom they learn how to get along.

Criminals didn't walk two dusty miles to rob or rape, if they knew they'd be welcomed by 5 barking dogs and a double barrel shotgun. And there were no drive by shootings. Our values were better when our roads were worse! People did not worship their cars more than their kids, and motorists were more courteous, they didn't tailgate by riding the bumper or the guy in front would choke you with dust & bust your windshield with rocks. Dirt Roads taught patience.

Dirt Roads were environmentally friendly, you didn't hop in your car for a quart of milk you walked to the barn for your milk. For your mail, you walked to the mail box. What if it rained and the Dirt Road got washed out? That was the best part, then you stayed home and had some family time, roasted marshmallows and popped popcorn and pony rode on Daddy's shoulders and learned how to make prettier quilts than anybody. At the end of Dirt Roads, you soon learned that bad words tasted like soap.

Most paved roads lead to trouble, Dirt Roads more likely lead to a fishing creek or a swimming hole. At the end of a Dirt Road, the only time we even locked our car was in August, because if we didn't some neighbor would fill it with too much zucchini. At the end of a Dirt Road, there was always extra springtime income, from when city dudes would get stuck, you'd have to hitch up a team and pull them out.
Usually you got a dollar...always you got a new friend...at the end of a Dirt Road!

A lot can be said for a, 'Dirt Road'

Auther= Paul Harvy

Logger's Trash

2008-02-02T18:59:00.000-05:00

Another pet Peeves

Today I made my way down the mountain to get some gas for my truck and to air up the tires on my utility trailer which had lost pressure during the cold spell the last week or so. As I was on my way down, I looked at the area where the logging Co. had left all their trimmings, an ugly site to behold!

Well I noticed that someone had cut some of the trimmings up into smaller chunks. They had been there for over a month so I thought, if someone had planned to take them, they must have changed their mind. They were not stacked but laying at random and scattered all over the place, they were cut just the right size for me to load into my empty trailer, so I did…! That one area looks a little better now..

I got a generous pile of fire wood; better me using it than letting it rot! If I get real rambunctious this summer, I just might clear the whole mess up in that area, it makes good fire wood..! Can’t wait until all the leaves come out, that will help hide the trash the logging companies left laying around..

And while I sat there looking at all the clear cut area, I said to myself, I said, self I sure do hope this road don’t slide off down the hill! It seems to me that the people who clear cut these hills would think just a little bit past their noses! Like, what will happen to the soil if we get a lot of rain, will it just slide off? I wonder what their answer would be, oh well, we don’t live around here anyway…? I think that all lumber companies should have to plant 2 seedlings for every tree they cut, and be restricted from clear cutting! But you know as well as I that money talks..!

And never forget:
You cannot ‘Unsay’ a cruel or unkind word.

Note –
These pictures were taken on 2/2/08, I forgot to reset the date when I replaced the batteries.

Importing products

2008-01-26T16:27:00.000-05:00

I think I will ramble for a while.

I hear that, a lot of businesses are complaining about the drop off of business, people who use to drop into the restaurants 2 or 3 times a week, but now they only see some of them once and some of them once every couple of weeks! The restaurant owner was talking to a news reporter last week about his business dropping off and it looks like he will have to lay some workers off if it doesn’t improve! Let us say that these customers were producing a lot of the merchandise, fruit and vegetables that these businesses sell to their customers. The very people who provide raw materials to these businesses, the beef and vegetables to the restaurants, Toys for the kiddies, cabinetry and furniture for the furniture stores, the paper mill, the automobile dealerships and all the other places of business around a typical city.
Let’s look at it like this; the restaurants around town, have started to buy their food products from another country to save a dollar or two on this and that. The auto dealerships are importing other country’s autos. The cabinetry and furniture are being imported. Dangerous toys are being imported; and when their business starts to dwindle, they start crying and asking, WHY? It’s because a few workers at the cabinet shop were laid off, and a couple lost their jobs at the auto dealership and all the others. The money they use to make wasn’t there anymore to spend at the businesses around town! Some couldn’t pay their rent / house payments, so what happened to these people? Well they had to go on welfare just to survive! And who pays for that? The people who still have an income and paying taxes, that’s who! It is my opinion that if someone decides to stop trading with a place of business, then they should tell them, when they start supporting the community, state, country, whatever the case, then they will support their business! I know that you can see where this is going!
Now taking everything into consideration, and for the savings of a couple of dollars, the city is slowly being destroyed and in the long run these businesses are losing in a big way!! With this one city about to die, there are a lot more following suit! And for the life of me, I can’t understand how these corporate heads, with all their education and foresight can’t see this coming! I, with my limited education can see it! I can’t help but think that they do see it coming and just don’t care as long as their pockets fill up first!!
The farmers lose their farms, the waitresses, the automobile dealership sales personnel and mechanics lose their jobs. The auto makers lose their jobs. The people don’t trade their cars / trucks in as often and don’t go out riding around as before because of the price of gas. Hey it’s like a snow ball rolling down a high mountain, it grows with every rotation!! Property / home sales are down. And this is just the tip of the iceberg!
There are so many people who are supporting these companies that import most of their product from other countries to make a little bit more without thinking about what it’s doing to their own community until it impacts them personally! $$$$$$$$$ is the bottom line. My mother and aunt were once told by a neighbor that if they went across the state line, they could save a few dollars. My mother told her that if everyone did that, what would happen to our town?
Think about it! Do the math !
I am talking about MAJOR JOB LOSS!!!!
That’s another one of my opinions..!!
And Pet Peeve

I’m wondering if anyone out there agrees or disagrees with me??
JD

Link Loving 2008

2008-01-25T14:09:00.000-05:00

This came from Jo at Bits and pieces.

I have randomly selected 5 of you below to be tagged and I hope that you will similarly publish this post in your blog. You will have to tag 5 other bloggers and just keep adding on to the list. (Do not replace, just keep on adding! Yes we hope it will be a long list!) It’s real easy!
Tag others and see your Technorati Authority increase exponentially.

The benefits of Viral Linking:- One of the fastest ways to see your technorati authority explode!- Increase your Google PageRank fast- Attract large volume of new traffic to your site- Build your community. - Make new friends!

Add your blog url at the end of the list... The Strategist Notebook/Link Addiction/Ardour of the Heart/ When Life Becomes a Book/The Malaysian Life/ Yogatta.com/What goes under the sun/ Roshidan’s Cyber Station/Sasha says/Arts of Physics/And the legend lives/My View, My Life/ A Simple Life/What Women REALLY Think/Not Much More Than This/Jayedee/Jenn/Beth/ Christie/Marla/Cailin/Simone/FlipFlopMom/Katrina/Gill's Jottings/Work of the Poet/ Wakela/Modern Day Goddess/Livin With Me/Are We There Yet??/The Erstwhile Librarian /Lynne's Little Corner of the World/Violetlady At Home/Bits And Pieces/ JD's Soap Box/ You are next...

Sue at Sweetgrass Farm

S at The Black Cat Lounge

Jim at Rural Way Of Life

Mysti at Mysti's Spiritual Journey

Blossom at Blossomcottage

NOW TAG/ADD 5 OF YOUR FRIENDS' BLOGS.

Ordering on line

2008-01-24T14:32:00.000-05:00

~Another Pet Peeve~

Ordering on line and their return policies
“PASSING THE PROVERBIAL BUCK”

Have you ever ordered a product though the Internet? And after 4 to 6 weeks it gets to your address. You open the package and find that it isn’t what you ordered or, it doesn’t work, or it’s broken? No matter what the reason, you have to send it back to be exchanged, replaced or fixed? Now, this is where the fun starts! You find the contact number on the shipping label; it’s a toll free number, good thing! It has been my experience that most of the time a woman will answer with something that sounds like, “Thank you for calling, then name the company,”, how may I help you?” Then the fun starts again because you can’t understand half of what she is saying because of her accent that can’t be recognized! Then you start explaining your problem to her and she asks for your name, address, phone number, date of purchases, date of delivery. Then she asks for the item number, shipping code and a hundred more questions. After you give all those answers, she tells you that she is connecting you with the shipping department and there comes that music indicating you are on hold!! And every 3 minutes or so, a recording will come on telling you that you are a valued customer and waiting for the next available operator! Well, that always told me that I need to get a good soft cushion and a tall glass of something to drink because I was going to be there for a while! FINALLY.. A voice on the other end said, “How can I help you?” Well you take it for granted that ALL that information you spent so long dishing out before was all entered on their computer…. NOT..!! All over again! By this time your butt is so sore you feel like saying, “To hell with it”! But, you hang in there because you have a good bit of $$$ tied up in this product and after you have gone through all the information again, the guy on the other end tells you that he has it all entered and is transferring the call to Human Resources to document my claim and there comes that infernal music again, after what seemed like 2 hours, a voice comes on and asks, How may I help you, I tell her what the other guy said and she asked, “What was his name”? Yep, you guessed it………Remember that old song, ‘Starting All Over Again’! _^&^%$&^*

Forgive your enemies. It messes up their heads.

L.H.O.M.

2008-01-22T08:55:00.000-05:00

I just thought I would give you a little background about the 2 of us, and show you what Jo and I are so proud of..!

4 years ago when Jo and I moved into our, (Little House on the Mountain), picture #1 and #2 is what we had. By the time this picture was taken, I had cut and cleaned up most of the underbrush in the front yard. It had been let go for so long that undergroth was chest high and the only access was a 3 ft. wide, stone lined walk with woodchips between the stones leading to the house. If you look at the left side of the house, you can see how thick it was. The electric meter is on that side and only a narrow trail for the meater reader led to it. The undergrowth was up against the bunkhouse on the right side of the picture! By the time I had the largest part of the brush and briers cleaned out of the front yard, I knew that the job was too large for us to do by hand. So I called a young man with a bulldozer......... Smart move!!

Pic-#1

Pic-#2

Picture #3 reflects the hard work that went into improving the grounds.
And picture #4 show’s that Jo and I have doubled the size of our,
(Little House on the Mountain)…!

Pic-#3

Pic-#4

Diabetes

2008-01-19T13:15:00.000-05:00

Hello Friends, I thought I would let in on some information about Diabetes. My wife has this problem and has done some extensive research on the subject. If any of you, or someone you know has Diabetes, then I suggest strongly that you stop by her Blog! That address is, -

http://www.jonjdsbitsandpieces.blogspot.com/

You might find something that will help you down the road….. I really think you will enjoy reading her blog, actually it’s both our blog but she’s the one that keeps it alive. She has a gift with words that I don’t have.

~American Suicide~

2008-01-17T10:09:00.000-05:00

~American Suicide~
I checked with Truth or Fiction at the address below and found that this is TRUE…!
http://ss659.fusionbot.com/cgi-bin/ss_query?keys=American+Suicide&sitenbr=120222903

American Suicide.........Very sobering

I recieved this from afriend, now I'm passing it to you!
*******************************************************************

We know Dick Lamm as the former Governor of Colorado In that context his thoughts are particularly poignant. Last week there was an immigration overpopulation conference in Washington , DC , filled to capacity by many of America 's finest minds and leaders. A brilliant college professor by the name of Victor Hansen Davis talked about his latest book, "Mexifornia," explaining how immigration - both legal and illegal was destroying the entire state of California. He said it would march across the country until it destroyed all vestiges of The American Dream.
Moments later, former Colorado Governor Richard D. Lamm stood up and gave a stunning speech on how to destroy America. The audience sat spellbound as he described eight methods for the destruction of the United States . He said, "If you believe that America is too smug, too self-satisfied, too rich, then let's destroy America . It is not that hard to do. No nation in history has survived the ravages of time. Arnold Toynbee observed that all great civilizations rise and fall and that 'An autopsy of history would show that all great nations commit suicide.'"
"Here is how they do it," Lamm said:
"First, to destroy America , turn America into a bilingual or multi-lingual and bicultural country. History shows that no nation can survive the tension, conflict, and antagonism of two or more competing languages and cultures. It is a blessing for an individual to be bilingual; however, it is a curse for a society to be bilingual. The historical scholar, Seymour Lipset, put itis way: 'The histories of bilingual and bicultural societies that do not assimilate are histories of turmoil, tension, and tragedy.' Canada , Belgium , Malaysia , and Lebanon all face crises of national e xistence in which minorities press for autonomy, if not independence. Pakistan and Cyprus have divided. Nigeria suppressed an ethnic rebellion. France faces difficulties with Basques, Bretons, Corsicans and Muslims."
Lamm went on:
" Second, to destroy America , invent 'multiculturalism' and encourage immigrants to maintain their culture. Make it an article of belief that all cultures are equal; that there are no cultural differences. Make it an article of faith that the Black and Hispanic dropout rates are due solely to prejudice and discrimination by the majority. Every other explanation is out of bounds/SPAN>

"Third, we could make the United States an 'Hispanic Quebec ' without much effort. The key is to celebrate diversity rather than unity. As Benjamin Schwarz said in the Atlantic Monthly recently: 'The apparent success of our own multi-ethnic and multicultural experiment might have been achieved not by tolerance but by hegemony. Without the dominance that once dictated ethnocentriy and what it meant to be an American, we are left with only tolerance and pluralism to hold us together.' Lamm said, "I would encourage all immigrants to keep their own language and culture. I would replace the melting pot metaphor with the salad bowl metaphor. It is important to en sure that we have various cultural subgroups living in America enforcing their differences rather than as Americans, emphasizing their similarities."

"Fourth, I would make our fastest growing demographic group the least educated. I would add a second underclass, unassimilated, undereducated, and antagonistic to our population. I would have this second underclass have a 50% dropout rate from high school."
" My fifth point for destroying America would be to get big foundations and business to give these efforts lots of money. I would invest in ethnic identity, and I would establish the cult of 'Victimology.' I would get all minorities to think that their lack of success was the fault of the majority. I would start a grievance industry blaming all minority failure on the majority plation."

"My sixth plan for America 's downfall would include dual citizenship, and promote divided loyalties. I would celebrate diversity over unity. I would stress differences rather than similarities. Diverse people worldwide are mostly engaged in hating each other - that is, when they are not killing each other. A diverse, peaceful, or stable society is against most historical precet. People undervalue the unity it takes to keep a nation together. Look at the ancient Greeks. The Greeks believed that they belonged to the same race; they possessed a common language and literature; and they worshipped the same gods. All Greece took part in the Olympic games. A common enemy, Persia , threatened their liberty. Yet all these bonds were not strong enough to overcome two factors: local patriotism and geographical conditions that nurtured political divisions. Greece fell. "E. Pluribus Unum" -- From many, one. In that historical reality, if we put the emphasis on the 'pluribus' instead of the 'Unum,' we will " Balkanize " America as surely as Kosovo. '

"Next to last, I would place all subjects off limits. Make it taboo to talk about anything against the cult of 'diversity.' I would find a word similar to 'heretic' in the 16th century - that stopped discussion and paralyzed thinking. Words like 'racist' or 'xenophobe' halt discussion and debate. Having made America a bilingual/bicultural country, having established multi-cultum, having the large foundations fund the doctrine of 'Victimology,' I would next make it impossible to enforce our immigration laws. I would develop a mantra: That because immigration has been good for America , it must always be good. I would make every individual immigrant symmetric and ignore the cumulative impact of millions of them."
In the last minute of his speech, Governor Lamm wiped his brow. Profound silence followed. Finally he said, "Lastly, I would censor Victor Hanson Davis's book 'Mexifornia.' His book is dangerous. It exposes the plan to destroy America . If you feel America deserves to be destroyed, don't read that book."
There was no applause.
A chilling fear quietly rose like an ominous cloud above every attendee at the conference. Every American in that room knew that everything Lamm enumerated was proceeding methodically, quietly, darkly, yet pervasively across the United States today. Discussion is being suppressed. Over 100 languages are ripping the foundation of our educational system and national cohesiveness. Even barbaric cultures that practice female genital mutilation are growing as we celebrate 'diversity.' American jobs are vanishing into the Third World as corporations create a Third World in America Take note of California and other states. To date, ten million illegal aliens and growing fast. It is reminiscent of George Orwell's book "1984." In that story, three slogans are engrd in the Ministry of Truth building: "War is peace," "Freedom is slavery," and "Ignorance is strength."
Governor Lamm walked back to his seat. It dawned on everyone at the conference that our nation and the future of this great democracy is deeply in trouble and worsening fast. If we don't get this immigration monster stopped within three years, it will rage like a California wildfire and destroy everything in its path, especially The American Dream.

If you care for and love our country as I do, take the time to pass this on just as I did for you.
NOTHING is going to happen if you don't!

Another Pet Peeve

2008-01-16T08:40:00.000-05:00

Re-stocking fees!!

Re-stocking fees? Whatever happened to Customer Relations?? How much trouble is it to put it back on the hanger, or slide it back on the shelf? Normally, it’s being returned so the customer can buy something that fits, or that they like! Just what would they be doing if you didn’t have anything being returned, drinking coffee? I wouldn’t mind it so much if the employee was getting that, “Re-stocking fee! It seems that businesses just keep thinking of ways to dig around in your pockets and root out every coin you have! The only thing I can say is to ask what their return policy is before you pay for it and if they tell you that there will be a re-stocking fee if returned, do like I’ve done in the past, just drop it on the counter and tell them to go ahead and re-stock it now for free. If enough people would do that, I think the re-stocking fee would fade away….…

This is just one man’s opinion
What do you think….?
JD

Tax Reminder

2008-01-15T08:34:00.000-05:00

I got this reminder in my E-Mail this morning...

DON'T FORGET TO PAY YOUR TAXES..!!

*
*
*

21 million illegal aliens are depending on you!

Muchas gracias

This is not meant to be funny, Because it's NOT..!!

Taxes

2008-01-14T20:01:00.000-05:00

Taxes!!

We, the working men and women work our butts off to earn enough to keep a roof over our heads, food in our bellies and cloths on our backs. And that’s after TAXES, and that’s not always enough to do the job. These folks are what are referred to as (the middle class)! Now, our taxes are taken out of our pay checks before we get it. Now, most of the business owners pay quarterly, by-annually or annually! OK, now it bugs the devil out of me when they get so far behind in their TAXES that it’s impossible to pay it back. But, hey, that’s ok; there are outfits out there that will negotiate that amount down for you. One man got on TV and told us that he owed $200,000.00 to the IRS and this amount was negotiated down to $40,000.00! Now that makes me wonder, who has to make up that $160.000.00??? That amount would have gone a long way to help a school district in financial trouble! Or helped fix a few pot holes in an interstate somewhere! But no, that school district had to raise taxes to cover that $160,000.00, or those pot holes will just have to stay there and make people dodge them and get into a finder binder in the process, or worse! That is just a couple of examples of the problems that can, and will come up! Think of all the negotiating going on every day to, in my opinion, cheat on their taxes! Now, If I could go that long without paying my taxes and get the total up there where I would, ‘qualify’, and all the time rat-holing what I was supposed to have been paying all along, then have someone negotiate the total down by 75%, hey, I would come out smelling like a ROSE!! And you would be covering for ME… How about that…!! We, the middle class are the ones that are covering for these people that are doing all the NEGOTIATING!!! Just gets my goat!

That’s another one of my opinions..!!
~And Pet Peeves~
What do you think?

Those Donation / Survey Calls..!!

2008-01-13T14:58:00.000-05:00

My pet Peeves
Those Donation / Survey Calls..!!

Have you ever been sitting in your recliner, your belly full from just getting up from the dinner table watching your favorite program on the tube and it happens…! The phone rings, your wife answers it, the guy on the other end asks, “May I speak to the man of the house”? Of course the answer is “Yes hold on” and hands you the phone. You struggle to get the remote out from under the cushion that you are sitting on. After what seems like an eternity, you get the remote and mute your volume. By this time you’re aggravated, because it took so long to find the remote and mute your program that you bark into the phone, “HELLO”, there is a pause on the other end, then the guy on the other end introduces himself and starts in on his pitch about the charity organization that he represents and what they intend to do with the money that they collect. You being a retired person on a fixed income and your insurance keeps going up, your house note is due, home owners insurance seems like it goes up a little more each month and you just found out that the Co. you worked for is moving to Mexico and you don’t know what is going to happen to your retirement money, or whatever your reason is for not wanting to hear all this. You say, “Sorry pal, but things are kinda stretched out right now so I’ll have to pass”. The guy on the other end is persistent and doesn’t want to take no for an answer! Or, it might be someone trying to sell you something, what do you do, use a few choice words and hang up? Well here is what I’ve used, when they start into their sales pitch, I ask for their credit card number, there will be a short pause then they will ask, "What do I need my credit card number for?" I tell them that I charge $25.00 per interview, either they give me their credit card number or this call is terminated! That’s when you hear the ‘CLICK’…! Well by this time, your movie is shot anyway so you might as well go polish your bowling ball,…….. or something…!!,

This is just one man’s opinion
What do you think….?
JD

John's Comment

2008-01-13T11:24:00.000-05:00

Hello Friends:
I got a comment from John concerning my immigration post. Brother John has a very good complaint and I feel the same as he does! If you read John’s comment on immigration under, ‘My Pet Peeves’ you can read his feelings on the subject. Now John went through miles and miles of RED TAPE, forked out many $$$ to be admitted while all these illegal’s are slipping into the USA and getting all the benefits that they don’t deserve! I sympathize with you John, and look at the hard working, Taxpaying American and legal immigrants that have, Pledged Allegiance To The Flag of The United States of America, that are holding up the economy! Thank you for stopping by John……

Immigration

2008-01-11T22:19:00.000-05:00

Immigration, I’m not against Immigration as long as it is conducted legally! Have a sponsor, a job, a place to live, read and speak English, an all the other required registrations by our country! The only way I would agree with the, ’Guest worker program’, is if all our laid-off people were working first! With so many company’s moving out, and all these illegal aliens moving in, there’s no wonder that we have so many people losing their homes, automobile’s and basically their lives! Bush said we should allow these illegal aliens to stay because they have been working and paying taxes, yeah right! Today I heard on the news that our government is considering making it against the law to ask what a person’s immigration status is, Can you believe that?? If this is voted in, how is an employer going to know if he / she will be breaking the law if they hire this applicant? OH, and what do you think about the, ”Mexamerican National Anthem”?? Yes, that’s what I said, ”Mexamerican National Anthem”, I understand that it has, or is going to be re-written in Spanish…!!! I don’t know if that’s what it’s going to be, or has been named.
Just think of the boost in our economy if these people were deported and have these people come back in through the proper channels and requirements…! Our schools would be a lot better funded; our welfare system wouldn’t be so congested, This list could go on and on………!

Just one man’s opinion
Do you agree or disagree?
Click on ‘Comments’ to let me know!

C. B. Radio

2008-01-10T22:30:00.000-05:00

You know sometime you hear or see something that sparks a memory of the things you use to do, or the organizations that you’ve belonged to. Well I was going through my profile and thought I would go through my interests list and settled on, ‘Country Living’. As I scanned through the list I ran across a person in Australia, and I remembered a Man in Melbourne Australia that I used to chat with almost every night on my CB radio. His name was Allan. Now this was back in the mid 70’s to early 80’s, it was on one of the upper frequencies on Sideband. I was in Southwest Louisiana and it was about 9:30 pm in Louisiana and Allan was eating lunch the next day in Melbourne. I thought it was pretty neat, given the fact that it was on a directional antenna that I built myself. It was a 4 element shooting star, along with a Maverick 250 upper and lower booster backing up a President Washington 40 channel upper and lower sideband. Anyway, in 1973 a group of guys were on the air chatting and one of them suggested that we have a, ‘coffee break’, and invited anyone who was listing to join us at the West Lake Park. I think that there were 8, maybe 10, (I have a bad memory) people showed up and as we all got to know each other someone said, Hey, why don’t we form a club? Well that how it got started! We got back on the air every afternoon after work and talked to a lot of people and decided to have an organizational meeting. We set a date, time and place and when everyone got there we held an election of officers! To make a real long story real short, after about a year and a half, the president resigned in midterm and as Vice President, It was my job to finish the term. I was re-elected the next 2 elections. I had just started building my home and had to resign because I was unable to conduct club business as I was working evenings and weekends on the house. I guess you are wondering what the name of the club was. The name was, “Bayou ‘C’s C B Radio Club…! By this time, we had 173 families. We had a youth club that elected their officers and conducted their business themselves. We had a Non-profit tax exempt and Charter. Our charity was the Muscular Dystrophy. In 1975 we had one of the largest Jamboree’s / Coffee Breaks, in the South! We were able to donate almost $6’000.00 to the Muscular Dystrophy. There were other ways our club served the community and travelers. We helped re-store the old Rail Road Depot to convert it into the Depot Museum In Sulphur La.. We would set up at the road side park on Interstate 10 west of Sulphur on Holiday weekends and invite travelers to stop in and for some free coffee and donuts, soft drinks and stretch their legs and wake up before they got back on the road. Everyone who stopped would sign in, we had people from all over the US stop in for a rest. We were able to get the supplies from local merchants and gave them credit in the American Press.

Oh, by the way, My Handle locally was, The Lord Braxton. And on Skip, it was The Unit 41 S.W. Louisiana. I talked to people all over the United States, Canada, South America, Australia, The U.K., U name it…. Anyway, I thought I would through that in…..

Another Pet Peeve

2008-01-09T14:31:00.000-05:00

I copied this out of. Truth of Fiction
http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/h/hershey.htm

Here is the address for Truth or Fiction so you can read it for yourself.
Hershey's Chocolate Is Moving Some Operations from the U.S. to Mexico-

Truth Summary of the eRumor: The eRumor laments that the American Hershey company that makes Hershey chocolate products is moving to Mexico.

The Truth:

There is a significant move by Hershey from the United States to Mexico in what the company calls a "global supply-chain transformation." Not all the operations are making the move but according to a June, 2007 article in the Los Angeles Times about 3,000 of the company's 13,000 employees will be cut.About 900 workers are to lose their jobs in the company's home town of Hershey, Pennsylvania and the Hershey plant in Oakdale, California, is closing down. Operations there are being moved to Monterrey, Mexico.The times quotes Hershey CEO Richard Lenny as saying that labor costs in Mexico are 10 percent less than in the U.S. and that by 2010 the changes will save shareholders $190 million

*******************************************************

This, my friends just reinforces my fear for a lot of Americans who made this company what it is today. Not to mention all the Americans who bought their product! Now we all get the Royal slap in the face! Don’t be fooled by the numbers they predict, 3,000 jobs lost, you can bet it will be a lot more as time goes on. And I’m here to tell you that the only thing that will make those numbers climb will be their gross income! And what will increase that gross, everyone one who buys their product! It darn sure won’t be me.. I’ll not buy another, Hershey's Chocolate Product.. Where are these 3,000 people going to find work when all these companys are moving out of the country?

This makes me wonder, who’s next, how long are we as American going to put up with this kind of treatment? Everyone seems to be interested in lining their pockets and to hell with everyone else. I think we all should be making some real nasty phone calls..

I also wonder, Is this only one man’s opion??
What do you think?
JD

No Greater Pain..!

2008-01-07T09:38:00.000-05:00

In the life of a parent or grandparent, the greatest pain they can suffer is the loss of a child or grandchild. It never seems right that a child should leave this world before the parent or the grandparent. Their young lives just beginning.
Today would mark our Warren's 15th birthday. He was taken from us April 8, 2004 by a teenage driver that should not have been behind the wheel of a vehicle. We discovered through all of this that the value of a human life in the state of Louisiana is a couple of small fines and a slap on the back of the hand for the driver.
I debated rather to do this blog on Warren's birthday or as a memorial in April. I decided it would be more fitting to celebrate his life than to again mourn his death. Time has eased the pain for all of us that knew and loved Warren, but the loss of such a wonderful child will be felt long into the future. All that knew Warren will agree that just having him in our lives even for the short time that he walked among us was a blessing that God bestowed on each of us.
As one memory of Warren I recall the time that we visited the family when they lived in Ponca City, OK. We had taken Warren bowling for a few hours. Grandpa had a little surprise in store for Warren and his Mother. He had it hidden in his pocket. After sending the ball down the lane he turned around to give Warren and Angela a big toothy grin. He had picked up a set of "Billy Bob" hillbilly teeth on the trip there and had popped them in his mouth before smiling. I am sure that Angela wanted to just disappear at that time. Warren however was a totally different story. I remember his laughter and the light in his eyes. His eyes said it all .......... They spoke volumes of the love that he had for this Grandpa of his that would do anything to make him happy and bring him joy and laughter.
I want to leave you with a link to Warren's Memorial Web Site that I built for him in 2004. Please join us in celebrating Warren's Birthday today by hugging your children and grandchildren and telling them how very much they mean to you.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY WARREN!

My pet Peeves

2008-01-05T13:13:00.000-05:00

My pet Peeves

I don’t know how many of you got that e-mail that was going around back in September, I think it was, that how nice it would be to send a few extra Christmas cards addressed to Walter Reed Hospital for a recovering American Soldier. Well I got one and I sent 6 cards. Today I got them all back marked, “Return to sender”…! I understand now that they will not accept them unless they are addressed to a specific soldier…! Now that really got to me, for the life of me, I can’t understand why they couldn’t just pass them out, and the soldiers could pass them around!

I just wonder how many cards were ”returned to sender”?

What do you think….?
JD

My Background-2

2008-01-05T11:51:00.000-05:00

If you remember, I told you that I would give you a run-down on my grandma.
I guess the best place to start is at about 4:00 am..! That’s what time her feet usually hit the floor…! If it was in the winter time, she would light the heater so Grandpa would have a warm place to get dressed for his day’s work. Then she would have to take care of her personal business. Now the outhouse was about 100 yards from the back door, so again, if it was in the winter, she would have to bundle up for the trip. When she got back, washed up, she would turn on the oven, (They had water and gas piped in because they lived in town), Then she would start the dough for the buttermilk biscuits, putting them in a pan and in the oven they would go. Then she fried up a big platter of salt meat and a big platter of fried eggs. She always had plenty of Jelly and jam with a bowl of home churned butter, that’s where the buttermilk came from for the biscuits.
By this time the coffee was ready and she would wake everyone for breakfast and go back to finish setting the table. If you were too slow getting up, then you didn’t eat until dinner, because when Grandpa was finished eating, she was putting everything up and washing dishes. There was no snacking between meals! In addition to her house work, she took in washing and ironing for a little extra money. After she finished a load of clothes, and that was with an old wringer type washing machine. There were two rinse water tubs that she ran them through, then the wringer again and then hang them on the clothes line….! Now, by this time it’s time to start dinner, same rules apply at the dinner table as at breakfast, when Grandpa is finished, so is everyone else.…! This is where all us kids learned not to lolly gag at the dining table..! It sounds like Grandma was a mean old cuss, not true, it’s just that she had a routine and if it was interrupted it would ruin her entire day! Anyway, after dinner she would get the ironing and folding done. Between the ironing and folding, she would get supper started. At 4:00pm sharp, she would step out on the front porch and blow her police whistle, that would let Grandpa know that it was time to come eat supper…. Same rules apply there too. Now all this is done in winter. During summer, it’s a different story…! In the summer time, she had, what she called a back yard garden, well that back yard garden was more like today’s truck farm…! Between meals and house work she tended to her back yard garden. She also took in some washing and ironing if she had the garden in shape.

That my friends, was a routine day for my Grandma…!!
Nobie Mae Perry
JD

Another Pet Peeve

2008-01-04T22:49:00.000-05:00

My pet Peeves
A couple of weeks ago I heard on the news that a city in Ohio was considering abandoning their DUI check points because it didn’t seem to be doing enough good to justify the cost..!!! WELL DUH, I wonder why it doesn’t justify the cost..!!! The News Media gets on the air and reports that the checkpoints will be at such and such intersection at such and such time so be prepared to stop when directed to do so…!! Well… if I wanted to go out drinking with a reduced chance of being caught, all I would need to do is turn on the news and see what route NOT to take…!!

This is just one man’s opinion
What do you think….?
JD

Some of my background-1

2008-01-04T18:50:00.000-05:00

I went back to see the old home place year before last and was amazed to see that it was still standing. Although the vegetation was grown up around it, and the front porch was gone. The brick chimney that my Dad built somewhere around 1945 or 1946 was still standing. I was about 4 years old at the time and I guess the reason I remember it so well is because when he hooked the old horse up to the old mud and moss chimney and pulled it down, snakes scattered. There was a nest of them in the base of it. My mother was screaming and my dad and the neighbors were trying to kill them with sticks and shovels, it was a sight to see.

I lived the first 9 years of my life along with 2 brothers and a sister in this old house in Columbia La. in what my older brother dubbed ‘skunk holler’. There were only 2 bedrooms and one of those was the master bedroom/living room combination. They were happy years, I guess because we as kids, had no idea what our mom and dad had to go through just to keep clothes on our backs and food in our bellies. My dad died in this house, in July, 1950. He was 37 years old and died of TB when I was 9 years old. I remember standing on the front porch watching as they carried his body to the hurst, it was raining…...
This old house had no electricity, no indoor plumbing of any kind. For heat, we had a fireplace and one of those old Ben Franklin potbellied heaters. My mother cooked on an old 4 eye wood burning stove with a side oven on it. I can remember my brother and I running along each side of the trail through the woods as my dad would ride on a slide pulled by our horse. We would pick up pine knots and put them on the slide, they would be used in winter to make a hot fire in the fireplace and wood burning heater to heat the house. I could tell you a lot more about life in this old house during those 9 short years and the things I found myself in trouble for..! But I will have to save that for another post…..
Like Meryl Haggard sang,- "No amount of money can buy from me the memories that I have of then, and no amount of money can pay me to go back and live through it again"…!
After my dad died, us kids started spending a lot of time with our grandparents, My grandpa was the blacksmith in Columbia, A.E. Perry, Shop #9, above the door hang a sign that read, ’We can fix anything from a broken heart to the crack of dawn’
Now my grandpa was a shade tree philosopher, He had many words of wisdom that didn’t mean a thing to me until I grew older and started thinking of the things he would say. As I would analyze some of them, they would come clear to me, like the one that struck the hardest in my mind was, “You are the master of your thoughts until they are spoken, then you become their slave”, A profound statement. Another one is, “Time is a long time coming, but a short time gone”. And it only seems like he told me that 15 minutes ago………! He told me once that a tree wasn't half as far up as it was down, and he said, if you don’t believe it, just climb up there and look down..! He was always free with his words of wisdom after he had indulged in a few snorts of his, ‘sweetheart wine’. He loved his sweetheart wine.
One day my Grandmother told me that if I would go out to the shop and round up all his hidden wine bottles with some wine in them, she would give me a dime for each bottle I found with some in it. Well being such an enterprising young man of about 10 years old, I found a bottle that was ¾ full. Then I went out in the field behind the shop and found several empties and poured a little in each one of them and took them to grandma, Yep, you got it, she saw right through it and told me that she would give me the first dime she caught climbing a skinned sapling backwards! Well, I learned my lesson right then and there, I got into trouble with grandpa….!
I’ll have to give you’ll a run-down on Grandma one of these days, and if you’re not 60 years or older, then you probably won’t believe a word of it…!

The Outhouse

2008-01-03T15:58:00.000-05:00

OOOOOH that country living, you got’a love it…!

This is our back-up, a fully functional, organic out house..
Complete with pictures, calendar, wash basin/pitcher, magazines, air freshener and a coal oil lamp.
We are contemplating putting in a small wood burning heater for our winter comfort.

You might call it, ‘The ultimate in togetherness’…!

- Inside view-

You know, as I sit here talking about our outhouse, my thoughts wonder back to the one I had to use as a child. Now that one had none of the conveniences that our organic outhouse has! No air freshener, it was one of those that made you wish your neck was long enough to reach the door for fresh air…! I’m sure that there are some folks out there that
know just what I mean, and know

what the Sears Roebuck catalog was for too, not reading, that’s for sure. No wash basin or calendar either. The pages in the new Sears Catalogs are hi-gloss, no help there…!

To be continued……

*****************************

Another Pet Peeve

2008-01-02T22:05:00.000-05:00

Another Pet Peeve
It is said that Wal-Mart is the leading employer in the world….. A couple of weeks ago, there was a march on Wal-Mart and the reason was unclear to me because I came in on the last half of the news report, just in time to hear the reporter say that Wal-Mart imports 70% of their stock from China..! My feelings on this are that if Wal-Mart supported AMERICAN workers by buying that 70% of products here at home, and pay their workers a reasonable rate of pay, and furnish them with an insurance plan, just think how much their employees could save, and spend more..! More taxes could be collected, hundreds of thousands people would be back to work making that 70% of products that are being imported…! I also hear that the majority of their employee’s are living at, or below the poverty level. It is also reported that the dwindling number of tax payers of this country are having to help with the cost of health care for these employees..!
It was reported on the news of one of a Columbus Ohio news stations that all the donated toys and gift bins for the needy were empty! People were not able to donate as they use to, and other charity groups around the country were not able to meet their goals this year, Think about it, if Wal-Mart supported the American worker, There would be a lot less needy families, you know the ones, the ones that have to depend on Welfare just to get by, and the one’s that can’t afford to pay their house notes and loose them. I think Ohio is high on the list of home repossessions, wonder why? Also, there would be greater tax revenue to help with supporting school districts to keep schools open instead of closing them or raising taxes on the working people! Wal-Mart is not the only one causing this problem, there are the big corporations moving their companys and jobs out of the U.S.A. and I understand that they are being given tax breaks and incentives to do so and claim that they are doing it to help enhance that country’s economy! That’s BULL CRAP…! It’s for cheap and slave labor…. And they don’t have to worry about taking care of the environment..!

This is just one man’s opinion
What do you think….?
JD

Confession

2008-01-02T10:08:00.000-05:00

‘The Confession’

I must confess that when I started this blog, I intended to use it as a release to air all my frustrations in the form of, ‘Pet Peeves’. However I’ve changed my mind, blogging is new to me and as I look around at other people’s blogs, I can see that as a rule, the real intent behind blogging is to enjoy meeting people, sharing a multitude of interests and views. I've found that you can sometimes listen with your eyes, better than with your ears when you read between the lines!

Blogging will jog your memory and as you start thinking back on your past, the memories seem to spread like a spiders web, if you know what I mean. You start remembering parts of your life that you haven’t thought of for years! Some happy times, some not so happy, but hey, they’re memories…!

Anyway, I will be slipping a, ‘Pet Peeve’ in on you from time to time…….. *S*

PS: I do feel that, ‘Under God’, should remain in Our Pledge of Allegiance, AND, ‘In God We Trust’ should remain on our money…!

ALSO, I feel like WE should have the right to display the American Flag anywhere and at anytime you choose…!!

This is just one man’s opinion
What do you think….?

Ringing in '2008'

2008-01-01T08:57:00.000-05:00

'Miss Taryn'

I could not have picked a better image

to welcome you to

“THE BIG DAY”
(I have to let you know that Miss Taryn is drinking a 'Non-Alcoholic Grape Juice..!!)

We’ve been looking forward to it all year, or maybe some were dreading it's arrival! Anyway, here it is and I suggest we all make the best of it. I don’t know just how you feel about it, but I think I will do something that will give it some meaning, don’t know yet what that will be, but you can bet I’ll enjoy it whatever it is…!

Well here it is a little after 9:00 am and we are getting snow flurries. We didn't have a white Christmas, but looks like we will have a white New Years Day...!

We really miss our kids, G'Kids and GG'Kids down in SW Louisiana, and in Texas, at 1,100 miles away, its hard to visit as often as we would like. Not to leave out Nick and Angela in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. We won't even guess at the miles on that one, but it is 9 hours time difference.

My posting today is going to be a short one, so Jo and I would like to say,

HAPPY NEW YEAR..!

Also, Jo and I would like to wish Britt a HAPPY 15th BIRTHDAY..!!!

My Pet Peeves (TV Pop-Ups)

2007-12-31T10:18:00.000-05:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR

TO ALL

Pop-up’s on the T.V. screen telling you what you’re watching and what’s coming on next, or next week or even next month, why can’t they just wait until next week or next month to blab it, and when they do, do it while a commercial is on ? Have you ever been watching a good spy movie or one that was using multiple languages and when the caption was on screen, a pop-up covers it up and you don’t know what was said? Well the statement that was covered up with a pop-up might have been critical to understanding the whole plot!! Boy that gets my goat! Then you are sitting there wondering why they are doing this or that in the movie, the entire movie has lost its plot, ever watched a plotless movie???
I have a little hand held box with a bunch of little buttons on it, I can push one of them that will tell me what will be coming on next, if I’m interested, that is!! It even has a button that if I choose to push it, it will tell me what channel is on and what is playing.
I use to have a 25” TV that we watched and the news media was blocking out about 15%, sometimes more, of the screen with pop-up’s or scrolling news reports along the bottom of the screen, and their network information and what channel they are on, like you didn’t already know what channel or news network you were watching, on top of that! Well, I thought to myself, I’ll fix that! So, we went to town and bought a BIG screen TV, you know, one of those $1,300.00+ jobs….! Well guess what, you guessed it, The pop-ups were BIGGER too… real smart huh? Same problem…!

Then here’s the BIG’n,
Commercials that last longer than the movie segments!! I do realize that commercials help keep the networks on the air, but I pay quality $$$ to get the programming on my TV!! Why do I even have to sit through these commercials in the first place?? Could you PLEASE answer that for me ?
I just wonder if there’s anyone out there that feels the same way, or am I just too hard to please..?

This is just one man’s opinion.
What do you think….?
JD