You Might Be A Redneck -- A Different Take

I received an email this morning from my friend LJ and thought it was worth putting on my blog.
We have enjoyed the redneck jokes for years. It's time to take a reflective look at the core beliefs of a culture that values home, family, country and God. If I had to stand before a dozen terrorists who threaten my life, I'd choose a half dozen or so rednecks to back me up... Tire irons, squirrel guns and grit -- that's what rednecks are made of.
You might be a redneck if:
1. It never occurred to you to be offended by the phrase, "One nation, under God."
2. You're never protested about seeing the 10 Commandments posted in public places.
3. You still say "Merry Christmas" instead of "Happy Holidays."
4. You bow your head when someone prays.
5. You stand and place your hand over your heart when they play the National Anthem.
6. You treat our armed forces veterans with respect, and always have.
7. You never burned an American flag, nor intend to.
8. You know what you believe and you aren't afraid to say so, no matter who is listening.
9. You respect your elders and raised your kids to do the same.
10. You'd give your last dollar to a friend.

Year 2009 In Review

There has been several changes in my life this year and I would like to thank God for loving me and for all the blessings that he pours out on me and my family.
First of all Kathy and I made a big change in church life early on in the year by changing membership from Northside Baptist to Saxe Gotha Presbyterian. This change took place mostly because that we had children and grandchildren that were members of SGPC and we wanted to be there for them. We have been blessed at SGPC with great worship and a lot of new friends - we miss the people at NSB, but we still keep in contact with our close friends.
We went on a cruise in 2006 and I did not like it and said that I would never go on another one, but I had to eat those words, because we went on another one in September of this year and I really enjoyed it. I guess I had made up my mind to enjoy this one before we sailed so I just laid back and relaxed - something I don't do very much. God willing we will be going on another cruise in 2010.
Medical problems did not pass me by this year, as I was scheduled for wrist replacement surgery on December 23rd, but this got canceled due to my heart being in Afib when I had my stress test before the surgery. I am now awaiting test results to see when something can be done with my ticker --- the wrist replacement surgery is going to be postponed for several months.
Kathy ended up sick as a dog (or pig) about 3 weeks ago. I had never seen her this sick since we had been married and I hope I never see her like this again.
As I write this Kathy's mother is down visiting with us for a week - she comes twice a year to spend a week with us and it is always a great time. (She just needs to clean house more when she is visiting).
All of Kathy's family will be at Wendy's for New Years and we will have our Christmas with them.
In closing I would just like to say that God answers prayers. I have a bunch of stories that will validate this, but the one that is fresh on my mind is that we were praying for rain about a year ago. God heard those prayers and he sent rain, rain, and more rain and I am sure that we need it.
HAVE A GREAT 2010.

THANKSGIVING

I really did not feel like doing a post to my blog today, but my good friend LJ called me and told me that it had been several days since I had posted anything and for me to get on the ball. So here is my post about Thanksgiving.

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Thanksgiving morning Kathy and I drove to Hilton Head Island to spend a couple of days with my brother and his wife (Bruce & Nancy). We don't get to see them very much since they live in Stockbridge, Georgia -- We had a great visit just relaxing, eating, playing cards, and eating some more. The weather was beautiful but cool which limited some outside activities. However we did get our beach walking fix a couple of times. The first day when we were out walking we ran into Rocky Purvis and his family -- it sure is a small world. Sunday Night we went to see the Trans-Siberian Orchestra at the Colonial Center. We had heard about this group for years and how good they were. Well, the production and light show were spectacular, the musicians were very talented, but we just did not care for the music they played. The musicians all had long hair and were continuously slinging their heads -- we figured there must have been a problem with flies or mosquitos around the stage bothering them. We were glad that we went, but don't need to do that again.

REAL BAD DAY

You know you have had a bad day when this happens to you. A REAL BAD DAY is when this happens and you are driving a Bugatti Veyron sports car that sells for over 1 million dollars. A man was driving near Galveston, Tx Wednesday when he was distracted by a low flying Pelican and dropped his cell phone causing him to run into a salt marsh (at least that is his story). The Bugatti Veyron is the most expensive and fastest production car in the world. If you see one of these advertised real cheap beware as salt water is not good for anything.

Enjoyed Newberry Again!

Kathy & I went with two of our good friends Bob & Jane to Newberry Saturday night and had a great time. First of all we ate dinner at the Cabana and the food was delicious as usual. I think there is a strong possibility that we all ate too much especially after we ordered a chocolate fudge cake to split between the four of us. This fudge cake must have been 6 or 7 inches tall with what appeared to be a half of gallon of ice cream between two pieces of cake that was all covered with chocolate. We did the best we could, but ending up leaving about half of it there.

After dinner we went to the Newberry Opera House to see Eddie Miles who is an Elvis impersonator (the above picture might have given you a clue). The first part of his show was excellent as Eddie did different artist and a bunch of funny stuff. The last part of the show was all Elvis stuff which Eddie did a good job on. However Elvis did it better!!!

All in all it was a great night with excellent company, food and entertainment.

The following is from a friend's blog who is the pastor of Freedom Fellowship in Greer. I don't know that I have ever heard tithing explained any better:

I had a friend of mine ask me a great question after yesterday's message on money. He asked, "When I start to tithe, how do I do it cheerfully?" This question addresses one of the great biblical paradoxes. In scripture we are commanded to give 10% of our hard earned money away and we are also commanded to give it away cheerfully. For most folks the giving away of that much income is anything but cheerful. Here's a condensed version of how I answered my friend yesterday. The first time you give 10% you probably won't feel very cheerful, but as you continue to give, and as you continue to see that God is providing all of your needs even as you give away a large percentage of income, you will begin to experience a joy that can only come from being free financially.

WHAT A WONDERFUL AND TRUE STATEMENT!!!!

Check out Cliff Marshall's blog...there is a link on this blog.

Last Week in Review

This past week was a busy week with church activities. Wednesday night we had our small group meeting where we are studying Max Lucado's book "FEARLESS". Thursday night was "Wild Game Night" with the food being superb and the fellowship great. Jon Michaels (www.jonmichaelsmusic.com) sang for us and Corley Miller (a former USC and New York Giants football player) brought a wonderful message. There were about 500 men in attendance. Friday Night was our Sunday School class social and it was another great night of fellowship and food. Sunday morning Kathy and I worked with the CREW greeting people from 7:30 am till 12:30 pm -- the CREW is going to be a great thing at Saxe Gotha.

Busy Week, but a GREAT ONE!!!

What a Wonderful Lunch

You have heard the old saying "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas". I had to go to Greenville, SC yesterday on some business and what happened in Greenville yesterday should stay in Greenville, but it was such a wonderful experience I must tell it all. I met a beautiful blue eyed girl at Ruby Tuesdays for lunch and she squealed with delight and smiled at me all though lunch. Being in my senior years it really made me feel special to have a young beautiful girl pay that much attention to me.



Meet my lunch date - Miss Sophie

Kirking of the Tartan

The "Kirking of the Tartan" was observed this past Sunday at Saxe Gotha and it was a very, very special service. When Amazing Grace was sung accompanied with all the bagpipes and drums I doubt there were many dry eyes in the congregation.
Being the dummy that I am I did not have a clue what this was all about until I did a little research on the subject - the following is what I discovered:

LEGEND OF THE KIRKIN' O' THE TARTAN

The Kirkin' o' the Tartan tradition is an old Highland one. After the defeat of the Scots by the English in 1746, the wearing of the tartan and the keeping of any Highland ways or culture was forbidden in hopes this would forever subdue the rebellious Scottish spirit. However, as the Scots were fervent Christians, and canny as well, they clung to their ancient traditions by putting them underground. The Kirkin' was an important part of this in that one Sunday a year, the populace went to church wearing a concealed piece of the tartan and, at a certain moment set aside in the service, the tartan was touched while the minister pronounced a blessing on all tartans and the Scots once more pledged their loyalty and respect for their old traditions.

If you ever get an opportunity to attend a service where Kirking of the Tartan is taking place you will be blessed.

URINE TEST

The following sure does make sense to me even though I did not come up with this wonderful idea:
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Like most folks in this country, I have a job. I work, they pay me. I pay my taxes and the government distributes my taxes as it sees fit. In order to get that paycheck in my case, I am required to pass a random urine test (with which I have no problem). What I do have a problem with is the distribution of my taxes to people who don't have to pass a urine test. So, here is my Question: Shouldn't one have to pass a urine test to get a welfare check because I have to pass one to earn it for them? Please understand, I have no problem with helping people get back on their feet. I do, on the other hand, have a problem with helping someone sitting on their butt - doing drugs, while I work. . . . Can you imagine how much money each state would save if people had to pass a urine test to get a public assistance check? I guess we could title that program, 'Urine or You're Out'.

"Roto Rooter Time"

Since I am going to have a colonoscopy tomorrow morning I have been doing some research on the internet and have found some comments that I can use on the doctor before the procedure.
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A physician claims these are actual comments that his patients made while he was performing colonoscopies.
1. "Take it easy, Doc, you're boldly going where no man has gone before."
2. "Can you hear me NOW?"
3. "Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?"
4. "You know, in Arkansas , we're now legally married."
5. "You put your left hand in, you take your left hand out. You do the Hokey Pokey...."
6. "Hey!! Now I know how a Muppet feels!"
7. "Hey, Doc, let me know if you find my dignity."
8 "Could you write me a note for my wife, saying that my head is not, in fact, up there?"
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I am sure that my only concern will be get this over with as I want something to eat!!!

NEWBERRY OCTOBERFEST

This past Saturday Kathy and I went to Newberry, SC to check out their Octoberfest, and we had a wonderful time. Nathan, Wendy, Tristan & Joshua were already up there along with Nathan's parents Dan & Sharyl Groscost. If you have a good German name such as Groscost an Octoberfest is a good German event to attend.
When we finished taking in all the sights we proceeded to the Cabana Cafe to have a great dinner. Kathy and I have known the owner Star Chappell for several years and we were treated like royal guests. She has the best shrimp and grits that you can get anywhere. Really anything you order is absolutely fantastic. What a great Saturday afternoon we had with family and friends.
The next time you want a superb meal (lunch or dinner) check out the Cabana Cafe -- you will not be disappointed.

Cherokee County closes it's account with Bank of America...and they should!

This country is going to heck in a hand basket!!! It is a shame that as Americans we are afraid of offending someone by flying the American flag.....if anyone living here is offended by someone flying the American flag they need to get their butt out of America this includes but not limited to Bank of America. This story was on WISTV's website tonight.


GAFFNEY, SC (WIS) - The controversy surrounding a Bank of America branch in Gaffney and American flags along a motorcade for a fallen Marine resurfaced Monday after Cherokee County decided to close its account with the bank.
Lance Corporal Christopher Fowlkes was killed in Afghanistan earlier this month. Fowlkes was remembered at a visitation in Gaffney after his body was brought through his hometown. According to some, the day was hurt by the actions of Bank of America.
"I couldn't believe, in a small town, that we would encounter something like this," said Brenda Earls.
Earls said she put some small American flags in the bank's front yard before the motorcade came through. A bank worker came out and pulled up the flags, saying their display was against company policy.
"I was really stunned and didn't know what to make of it," said Earls. "But, she said the reason was also it would offend some customers."
Once the bank realized their mistake, the flags were allowed back on the route. Bank of America says this was all a big miscommunication between their corporate office and the branch.
The issue resurfaced Monday when Cherokee County took all of its deposits out of the bank.
The company said in a statement, "The bank does fly the American flag at our locations throughout the country and flags were displayed in front of our banking center in Gaffney the evening prior to our dedicated Marine returning home. We deeply apologize for any misunderstandings."
One branch worker's misinterpretation of corporate policy has left some canceling their accounts with the bank, and Brenda still hurting.
"I never dreamed it would be an issue," she said.

CRUISE 2009

Kathy and I just returned from a cruise that sailed out of Jacksonville with stops in Key West and Nassau, and we had a great great time. Our first cruise was for 7 nights while this one was only 5 nights; but this one was far superior to the first one. I only gained 5 lbs on this cruise where on the first one I gained 10 lbs - so I guess they have taken some of the calories out of the food since I certainly did not limit myself on eating. I think the big reason this cruise was superior was that Kathy and I spent a lot more of our time just laying around the pool reading and enjoying each other's company - it is amazing that two people can have this much fun together.

We were not impressed with Key West other than the excursion on the glass bottom boat. We went out 6.2 miles to a reef and got to see lots of fish -- sure wish I had of taken a fishing pole with me or a big net. It was so humid in Key West that I did not get many good pictures as my camera lens kept fogging up. We had been to Nassau before and did enjoy going to the Atlantis again and looking at all the fish they have in the aquarium there -- we saw a diver take a ride on the back of a 300 lb sting ray. All in all this vacation was one of our best -- we will try and top it next year.

WORK HARD -- PLAY HARD

Today has been a very busy day and that is good, because when it is all over you know you have accomplished something. Nailbenders had their monthly community work day today and we ended up at the church painting for Jesus again....there are lots of rooms that apparently need to be painted at Saxe Gotha. Came home and helped Kathy with the housework ... not much help just mopped all the floors. Then it was outside for yard work like weed eating, edging, and mowing....I will be glad when Mr. Frost shows up and puts this grass in a dormant stage for the winter. We will be going over to Nathan & Wendy's this afternoon around 6:00pm for Joshua's 5th Birthday Party. They sure do grow up in a hurry.

Now for the Play Hard part. Kathy and I will be sailing out of Jacksonville, FL Monday on a 5 day cruise to Key West and Nassau. I plan on doing absolutely nothing except resting, eating and having a great time. To all of our friends that will be working this coming week we hope you have a great time, because we certainly will not be thinking about you. Love everyone anyway!

MONKEY SEE MONKEY DO!

Next week I will be on a mandatory unpaid leave from work due to budget cuts at SCDC, and after putting much thought into what I should do with my "unpaid" week off the decision was made to go on a cruise. This is what I call the "Federal Government Thought Process" -- the less money you have coming in the more you spend. I think I can get used to this kind of living.

BIRTHDAY Number 65

My 65th birthday was yesterday, and what a wonderful day it was. Our friends Evan & Audrey Eusey from Emporia, Kansas, were in town and they spoke to our Sunday School class about their upcoming mission trip to Japan. Nathan and Wendy joined us for Sunday School to meet Evan & Audrey and hear what they had to share with us. After SS we all went out to eat at Copper River Grill and had a wonderful meal and fellowship.
Sunday afternoon I had my usual nap and the older I get the longer the naps are. I wonder why that is?
Sunday evening we went over to Nathan & Wendy's and had a great meal and visit. Nathan and Wendy are great cooks!
Back to reality this morning as it is just another work day.

UPDATE

There is a lot going on in our lives at the present time, and I am very thankful that I am here to deal with it and enjoy it all. God is good in everything that he does.
This coming Sunday Evan & Audrey Eusey will be in town and we have invited them to come to Saxe Gotha and speak to our SS Class to share their hearts concerning their upcoming mission trip to Japan. I am sure that God is going to use them to touch the hearts of everyone there.
This past Sunday at Saxe Gotha they had a Faith Fair....I had never heard of one of these, but let me tell you it is something that all churches should have. There were booths set up everywhere with all the things that will be taking place this coming year at Saxe Gotha, and real live people there to discuss what they had to offer. I might also say that I enjoyed all of the refreshments they had.
The Nailbenders started painting SS rooms this past week and are going to continue this week starting tomorrow night. I am excited because I was just given a T-shirt with the Nailbenders logo on it so I guess I am now a member of a group that does things for others to help them out.
Kathy, her sister Carole, and mother (Mrs. Garren) flew out of Charlotte this morning headed to Naples, Fla to visit Mrs. Garren's brother. They arrived safe an sound, but had some interesting driving through heavy rain storms on the way from Fort Lauderdale to Naples. They will be flying back into Charlotte, NC this coming Thursday...then I will be going to Charlotte to pick Kathy up.
I guess that is it for tonight, but our daughter Wendy has to proof read this in the morning and make sure that I did not make too many mistakes....She has her work cut out for her.

A Few Random Sayings

1. I signed up for an exercise class and was told to wear loose fitting clothing. If I HAD any loose fitting clothing, I wouldn't have signed up in the first place.
2. Wouldn't it be nice if whenever we messed up our life we could simply press 'Ctrl Alt Delete' and start all over?
3. Why is it that our children can't read a Bible in school, but they can in prison?
4. Wouldn't you know it...brains cells come and brain cells go, but FAT cells live forever.
5. Why do we have to swear on the Bible in court when the Ten Commandments cannot be displayed outside.
6. Life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes.
7. Marriage changes passion. Suddenly you're in bed with a relative.

"BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING" or someone is

The old saying about the thermos bottle that will keep cold stuff cold or hot stuff hot....how do it know.
My question is how does everyone in the free world know that I am getting older...or politely should I say a senior with some aging challenges. My point is as follows:
Several years ago I started receiving emails about joining AARP, which I think you can become a charter member at the age of 50. How did they know.
Then a few years later I started receiving mail and email about such unmentionable things as Metamucil, Preparation H, etc. How did they know.
Then along came all of the emails about Viagra, Cialis, oysters and the other potency drugs that are on the market. No comment.
Then I get an application in the mail for my life time hunting and fishing license which you can get at the age of 64. How did they know.
I am really getting concerned now because today I got an email from Orbit Power Wheelchairs saying that I may qualify for an electric wheelchair at little or not cost. I am just wondering how they know I don't have any money.
I think it is wonderful to get old!!!!

THIS IS SO SAD!!!

My heart goes out to the former Chairman and CEO of the former General Motors Corp. "Rick Wagoner". I don't really know how they expect Rick to live on the just announced pension and benefit package that he will be receiving. He is only going to get $1.64 million in annual benefits for the next five years plus an annual pension of $74,030 for the rest of his life. He also has the option of cashing out his company-provided life insurance policy for the small amount of 2.6 million. I think Rick certainly deserves a much better severance package for bankrupting GM. I really feel sorry for this guy!

FACEBOOK

When I signed on to Facebook about a year ago I did not do anything with it for a couple of months because there was no one on it that I knew or maybe I should say I did not know how to find anyone. I finally received a friend request from someone I had known several years ago, and that got me started using Facebook on a regular basis. I am convinced that Facebook is the best thing since sliced bread. It is a way to find old friends, keep abreast of what people are up to, keep informed about what is going on at church, and of course reading a good bit of foolishness. Just this weekend I found out that the daughter of a girl I went to high school with in Asheville went to high school here in Columbia with the son of some of our friends from Northside Baptist. If you are not on Facebook I would recommend that you join and begin to find out how small the world really is.

MASS CONFUSION

I wrote a blog on May 4, 2009 entitled "The Simplicity of Medicare" which detailed my search for the proper medicare supplement policy. I have been covered by Kathy's medical insurance from the county for years, but she was told by someone from the county (who I will not name) in April that once I turned 65 I would no longer be covered by her policy. Therefore that is the reason I was researching all the options outlined in the blog. Well I finally figured out what I was going to do with Medicare and the supplement policies after much studying of all the confusing information and having two insurance agents come to the house explaining what I needed. I signed up with United Health Care and already have my ID card and the policy goes in effect 8/1/09.

GUESS WHAT??? Kathy checked today with payroll to make sure they would not be taking anymore money out of her check for my coverage, and they wanted to know why she was dropping me from her insurance. It just happens that the nameless person misinformed Kathy and I am still eligible for coverage as long as she is employed by the county.

Now that I am still going to be covered by the same good insurance that I have had for years it means I don't need all this stuff that I have just committed to. There has been several phone calls made today and there will have to be a couple of letters written to cancel the supplement policy and part B of Medicare. In 4.5 years when Kathy retires I will have to do all the research all over, because you can bet Medicare benefits will not be the same.

I spent a bunch of hours working on this due to the nameless and clueless person that works for the county, but hey I don't have anything better to do than waste my time.

"TMI"

Could it be possible that the news media has inundated us with TMI concerning Michael Jackson and Mark Sanford?

I really liked some of Michael's music and enjoyed seeing him perform, but his life was a total wreck. I would go as far to say that he was a very, very sick puppy. I am sorry for Michael's family that they have lost a love one, but I don't care to hear anymore of the details. OKAY! Our governor is short several bricks of a full load, and the news media is making sure all of us know it. It would be nice to watch, listen or read the news without hearing or seeing anything else about our gov's escapades or his "soul mate".

Of course the news media's TMI gave me something to blog about - which is probably also TMI.

"RANDOM THOUGHTS"

A spokes person for the Michael Jackson family was being interviewed on national news the other evening and made the following comment: "I have been telling the family for years that Michael was going to wake up dead one morning."
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I think living on top of Mt Mitchell in the summer would be great! Our daughter Wendy and her family went up there this past Saturday and it was in the 60s. That is only about 40 degrees cooler than it was in Lexington. I could stand some of those temperatures during the summer.
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Our ice maker went on the blink about 2 weeks ago, and I have replaced the ice maker & water solenoid valve to the tune of almost $200.00. We still don't have any ice and the refrigerator started making a noise yesterday so last night Kathy and I went to Lowe's and fixed the problem -- we bought a new refrigerator.
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Kathy and I went to a wedding in Greenville Saturday for the son of some good friends that we have known for several years. In fact Kathy and I were married in their house 28 years ago this coming November. We were at the same church 20 years ago for their daughters wedding. Our good friends were married in this same church 40 years ago. A long family history of being married in the same church!!
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"GOD IS GOOD"

"AMAZING STUFF" Just reported on MSNBC

Citigroup plans to raise employees’ base pay
Increases by as much as 50 percent to offset small bonuses

Citigroup Inc. is increasing base salaries for many of its employees, with some getting as much as a 50 percent boost, to help offset smaller bonuses, according to a New York Times report published Wednesday.
Citi faces restrictions on bonuses as part of a new government compensation oversight plan because it received bailout funds from the Treasury Department. By shifting the mix in compensation packages, it will allow Citi to pay most employees as much as they received in 2008 while adhering to bonus caps, according to the Times report citing anonymous sources.

I AM VERY PROUD OF MY DAUGHTER HOPE

My daughter Hope is an Assistant Professor of math at Western Kentucky University and she has been burning the midnight oil for several months working on obtaining a grant from the National Science Foundation. I am a very proud father this evening after learning that all her hard work paid off. Check out the following link.
http://www.bgdailynews.com/articles/2009/06/23/news/news4.prt

FATHERS DAY -- WOW!!!!

This Fathers Day had to be one of the best I have ever had. First of all I got a card from my Kentucky grandson's Jacob & Mason and another card from my daughter Hope and her husband Bruce. Sunday morning my other two children Scott & Wendy along with their families came to church to worship with us. What a treat it was to have all of them in God's house together. Sunday afternoon Hope called from Kentucky and wished me a Happy Fathers Day, and we chatted for a while. Sunday evening we went over to Wendy and Nathan's for dinner, and I must say they outdid their selves with a delicious steak meal. I just don't think Fathers Day can get any better than this one. Thanks to all my children and grandchildren.

CLEMSON - They can implement these changes, but give a coach a $350,000 raise per year..WOW! See my blog from yesterday.

CLEMSON, SC (WIS) - Clemson University says they will be eliminating 450 positions and raising tuition 4.5 percent to deal with a $45.7 million funding loss.
In a meeting Thursday, the Clemson Board of Trustees voted to raise tuition for its students and cut some employees' jobs.
For in-state students, there will be a 4.5% tuition increase, and for out-of-state students, a 7.5% increase.
The trustees are using federal stimulus money to keep that hike from going any higher for now.
The university will eliminate 450 jobs, either through not filling open positions or offering early retirement.
Clemson President James Barker says the cuts go deep, but called the budget "a responsible, strategic plan that protects academic quality and minimizes impact on students."
We don't know specifics yet, but departments and majors will be reorganized and consolidated to deal with the shortfall.

Could our priorities be screwed up???

Does this remind you of how our banks and big companies have been managed in the past several years? Maybe this is where our current flock of CEOs got their training.

CLEMSON SPORTS not effected by recession

People all over the world are experiencing tough times now due to the economy. We have millions of people here in the United States that have lost their jobs. Companies are filing bankruptcies left and right or our government is using our money to bail them out. School systems all over the country are having to let teachers go, and cut back on programs due to a shortage of funds. Universities are raising tuition because of limited funding from state governments. In other words the news is full of doom and gloom with a bleak outlook for the future........

Wait a minute, Wait a minute!

There seems to be a ray of hope on the horizon.

It was announced this week that Clemson basketball coach Oliver Purnell has agreed to a two-year extension on his contract that will boost his salary from 1 million to about 1.35 million. I realize that I am not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but it seems to me that the money could be better spent in other areas of education during these lean times. I am not picking on Clemson -- just over paid coaches in general.......

Zoo Similar to Prison System

Friday morning 6/12/09, at 9:25am, one of the gorillas broke containment at Riverbanks Zoo.

Since I am employed by a prison facility I can see the similarities in operating procedures of the Zoo and most prison facilities. First of all I find the phrase "Broke Containment" very interesting, because it was a plain and simple case of "ESCAPE" - we need to call things what they are and stop using all these fancy words. When there is an escape in the prison system the institution is locked down --- so was the Zoo. The Gorilla was back in the exhibit within 5 minutes, but Saturday the exhibit was still closed or locked down....the same thing happens in the prison system. I think the reasoning for the continued exhibit lock down is to punish the gorillas by not letting them have visitors....they also do this in the prison system.

Riverbanks Zoo has 3 gorillas (Chaka, Mike and Kimya). I can just imagine the conversation that is going on between these 3 now. The one that escaped is probably being called a big fat hairy knuckle dragging dumb ape by the other two because they are not getting any visitors due to his escapades....you see they are having to punish all three of them, because the Zoo Police don't know who the bad gorilla was.

THE RAINBOW

Genesis 9: 12-17
12 And God said, "This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: 13 I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 14 Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, 15 I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. 16 Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth."
17 So God said to Noah, "This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all life on the earth."

GOOD WEEKEND

Hope and her family came in from Kentucky Thursday night staying until Sunday morning, and we thoroughly enjoyed their visit! Our grandson's Jacob & Mason are growing up way to fast. We all visited Riverbank Zoo Saturday and had a real good time along with the other 10,000 people that were there.

All of the other children and grandchildren came over Friday night for dinner --- That was a good time, but you can imagine how loud that got at times with six grandchildren running around. There was also a watermelon killing after dinner.

Saxe Gotha had their church picnic Sunday at the Saluda River Club with approximately 500 people attending. It was a great time, and also a special family time since Nathan, Wendy and the boys were there. God has certainly blessed Kathy and I with a wonderful family!!!!!

BAPTIST TO PRESBYTERIAN

Kathy and I joined Saxe Gotha Presbyterian Church this past Sunday. We had both been Baptist all of our lives, but after negotiating with their senior pastor and staff we could hardly turn down their generous offer that was placed on the table for us to become members. We will only have to observe 8 of the 10 commandments, tithe only 6 per cent of net, and attend church only 3 times a month.....What a Deal!!
Seriously, we were saddened to leave Northside Baptist, but felt that God was leading us to make this change for various reasons, none of which were anything negative about Northside. Northside is a GREAT CHURCH which we were blessed to attend for several years, and we certainly made some life long friends there. We are looking forward to our new venture at Saxe Gotha meeting new people and growing spiritually in our journey.

Lost a Framer

The Department of Corrections is serious about no tobacco products on any of their property. One of the inmates that was an experienced framer here at the frame shop is alleged to have had in his possession some tobacco this past weekend and he is now in lock-up. He will have a hearing later this week or sometime next week and if he is found guilty he will lose his job and get shipped to another facility. We have more business on the books now than we have had in several months and we are one framer short....that is not good since it takes months to train someone.

FREE VIAGRA -- "What a Deal"

I was reading all the bad news about our economy on MSNBC today and came across the following article:

Out of Work? At least the Viagra's free

Drugmaker offers prescription program for people who have lost their jobs

Trenton, N.J. - Pfizer Inc. is unveiling a new program Thursday that will let people who have lost their jobs and health insurance to keep taking some widely prescribed Pfizer medications including Viagra for free up to a year.

You can now lose your job, but keep your smile ;<)

GOOD TIME!

Last night Kathy and I went out with some of our new friends from Saxe Gotha Presbyterian Church and had a wonderful time. We had dinner at Hennessy's Restaurant which was fantastic - the food and service were superb. We then proceeded to the Town Theater and saw the play "Guys & Dolls" . It certainly was well worth missing American Idol and a few hours of sleep to have such a delightful evening.

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SWINE "FLEW"

THE FIRST SWINE "FLEW" PANDEMIC

and Jesus cast the demons out of the two men and

into a herd of swine who then performed cliff

diving into the sea. Mt. 8:28-34

THE SIMPLICITY OF MEDICARE

Since I am fast approaching the age of 65 I have started checking into medicare to see what it covers and checking into supplement insurance to cover what medicare does not cover. I do believe that there is going to be non-covered charges that little old me is going to be responsible for.
Medicare has plan A,B,C and D....it is my understanding that they give you plan A, but B will cost you $90.00+ per month. Even if you have plan A & B you need to have a supplement policy to take care of things that A & B does not pay. Now the supplement companies have plan A,B,C,D,E,F,F1,G,H,I,J and J1 it depends on how much you want to pay out of pocket as which one of these you go with. You can opt not to take plan B from medicare and go with C which is really a policy that is a gamble as to where they will pay any of it or not. After you make all of the above decisions you need to decide what you are going to do about plan D (I think D stands for drugs)....I really have not got around to studying this plan yet.
I still have about three months before I really have to make a decision, but the truth be known I should have started studying this about 10 years ago and then I might have been able to make an intelligent choice sometime soon.

CHARLESTON

Kathy & I went to Charleston last Friday and Saturday for a little rest and relaxation. However, I don't know how much R&R we got, but we certainly did have a wonderful time. It all started with a shopping trip to the Tanger Outlet which is one of our favorite places to shop. Next we went to Longhorns in Mount Pleasant for a Delicious dinner and ended the day with a walk on the beach at the Isle of Palms.

Saturday morning started with a good healthy breakfast including a bacon and ham omelet, grits, hash browns, toast -- well maybe it wasn't healthy, but it sure was good. We then drove to Mt Pleasant, parked the car, and walked to the top of the Arthur Ravenel Bridge, and enjoyed the beautiful view of Charleston and the harbor. No Charleston trip is complete without visiting the market and the battery so we did the tourist thing and took in both of those before returning home.

Sunday was another great day! We went to church with Wendy and her family and later that day we had all of the SC family over for hamburgers and hot dogs.

GREAT WEEKEND!

Kevin's Witness Lives On

The following video appeared on the Times News Online from Hendersonville, NC. This video is of the ACC All-Star basketball players vs. the Crossfire team in the Asheville Civic Center on April 18th. Jamie Johnson, Crossfire Co-Founder, had a message at halftime that lets us know that Kevin is still searching for lost souls.

Good Sunday

Sunday evening we had all of our in-town family over for dinner which was something that we had not done on a Sunday evening in a long time. We had a great dinner and a real good visit. God has blessed us with a GREAT FAMILY!

FRAME SHOP

The hours of the Frame shop have changed from 7:00am - 3:00pm to 8:00am - 4:00pm. This was done for the following two reasons: 1. So Kathy and I can go to the YMCA each morning to get our much needed exercise and hopefully drop a pound or twenty. 2. In an effort to make our hours more convenient to some of our customers such as school teachers. It sure has felt good the last two mornings going to the "Y" and getting the old pumper working early in the morning.

The next picture is of a display that was put up at our HQ Showroom recently. This display gives customers coming to the showroom shopping for office furniture some idea of what we offer at the frame shop.

THE RUMOR MILL

Rumor has it that Larry Johnson "Has Been Stiffed Again". It is reported by sources, that wish to remain anonymous, that Johnson will not receive his $3.5 million guaranteed salary next year because he breached his contract after messing up big time. Stay tuned for more details to follow if someone will tell me about them. Until then you might give Mr. Johnson a call and get the straight of it from him personally.

HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF

Kevin Varner ("V-Man") A Wonderful Christian Man

On March 26, 2009 Kevin Varner (nickname "V Man") went to be with his Lord and Savior, and receive his reward for being a good and faithful servant. Kevin and I lived in different states with lots of miles between us so we really never became close, but there were three things that I knew for certain about Kevin. 1. Kevin had a passion about sharing his faith and he wanted everyone he came in contact with to know Jesus as their personal savior. 2. Kevin had a love for motorcycles and speed like only a few people have -- I don't mean that Kevin enjoyed leisurely riding his bike -- Kevin wanted to ride it at top speed. He once told me that he was clocked coming out of a turn at one of the large racetracks at 190 mph. 3. Kevin loved coaching & playing softball for CrossFire Ministries, and the big reason he enjoyed it so much was that he got to share his faith with other people.
Kevin was only 37 years old, but he did more to fulfil "The Great Commission" than most people like me could ever dream of doing in their lifetime. Kevin went after lost souls just like he rode his bike --- with boldness and wide open!

Kevin will be missed by all of his family and a ton of people that he made everlasting friends with.

The following pictures are of some of Kevin's family and friends that rode their motorcycles to his service. There must have been 50 or 60 bikes there -- Kevin touched lots of lives!

"POOR U. S. TREASURY"

"TWO WOLVES"

One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside all people. He said, "My son, the battle is between two "wolves" inside us all.

One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.

The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith."

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, "Which wolf wins?"

The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."

Author Unknown

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A FEW YEARS MAKE

This is then and now pictures of Robert & Kathy (Brother and Sister). And, no I am not going to publish the years that seperate these two photos - I stay in enough trouble without doing that.

How To Get Out Of Debt . . .

Very Interesting Concept.

more about "How To Get Out Of Debt . . .", posted with vodpod

INTERESTING

Obama agrees to sign $410 billion spending bill
WASHINGTON - Acknowledging it's an "imperfect" bill, President Barack Obama said Wednesday he will accept a $410 billion spending package that includes billions in earmarks like those he promised to curb in last year's campaign.

I don't remember promising that!!

Good Music and A Message

What a $.42 cent stamp will buy

Post office bought S.C. mansion so postmaster could transfer


By ADAM BEAMabeam@thestate.com
The U.S. Postal Service is helping a former Lexington postmaster sell his $1.1 million home on Lake Wateree.
Ronald Hopson was transferred from Lexington to Carollton, Texas, last year — just before the Postal Service instituted a hiring and promotion freeze.
As part of the Postal Service’s employee relocation program, a relocation company paid Hopson for the appraised value of his home, which sits on five acres on Lake Wateree near Winnsboro in Fairfield County.
That company, Cartus, will then sell the home — typically for less than the appraised value. The Postal Service will pay Cartus the difference, plus administrative and other fees.
It’s unclear what Cartus paid Hopson for the home.
The Postal Service usually ends up paying between 14 percent and 20 percent of a home’s value, according to Greg Frey, a Postal Service spokesman.
That could range from $168,000 to $240,000.
“We don’t buy houses,” Frey said “We enable our employees who qualify to serve the company to move. If that means there is some way we can help ... that’s what we do.”
The Postal Service has been hard hit by the economy, especially with the decline in direct-mail advertising, Frey said. The board of governors is considering cutting back mail delivery in an effort to save money.
All of the Postal Service’s revenue comes from postage, Frey said.
Efforts to reach Alison Sedney, Cartus’ communications director, were unsuccessful Friday.
Efforts to reach Hopson were unsuccessful.
Hopson earns $92,000 a year in his new job as a branch supervisor, Frey said. Frey said he could not say how much Hopson earned while he was working in Lexington, because the law only requires that the Postal Service release an employee’s current salary.
Hopson bought the land, which was vacant, in 2007 for $150,000, according to Fairfield County Assessor Wendell Irby.
The county has appraised the house, which has six bedrooms and an indoor pool and spa, at $1,161,940, Irby said.
While Cartus paid Hopson for the house, technically Hopson still owns it. The deed will not transfer until the house is sold to a new owner.
Frey said not all homes are eligible for the relocation program. In February, in response to lowering home values because of the mortgage crisis, the Postal Service lowered the cap for the program to $1 million.
Under the new policy, Hopson’s Lake Wateree home would no longer be eligible.
The Postal Service is an independent government agency, meaning it is run by a board of governors appointed by the president, but receives no taxpayer money.
The Postal Service has 665,000 employees and nearly 33,000 post offices across the country.

My Thoughts:
The USPS has just announced that they may be cutting deliveries on some days during the week because they are experiencing money shortages. It is also rumored that they may request a bailout from our government (that would be us), and the sad part is that they will probably get it. This is just another example of the greed and waste that is so prevalent in this country today.

"CRAZY PAPA"

Last Saturday afternoon we picked up our 4 1/2 year old grandson Joshua to stay with us while his 8 year old brother Tristan was recuperating from the flu. We had him for three nights and enjoyed every minute of his stay - well almost every minute of it. The first night he slept with both of us, and he sure is active little fellow while he is sleeping. I am not sure that I have ever been kicked that many times in one night even by Kathy.
For some reason during the three days that Joshua was with us he started calling me "Crazy Papa" -- I really don't know where he came up with that one????

$900 MILLION DOLLARS

Someone please explain this to me!

We have millions of people out of work here in the US. Health care and education along with lots of other vital services are being cut everyday due to a shortage of money, but it seems that the US can keep spending money like it grows on trees. According to our Secretary of State (Mrs. Hillary Clinton) the US is going to pledge $900 million to rebuild Gaza after Israel demolished parts of it in the last little skirmish that took place. My question is "If we didn't break it why are we fixing it?"

Our New "OBAMANOMICS" Household Budget

1. Since our employers are having severe budget problems we are going to request they decrease our pay by at least 10%.
2. We are going to increase our church tithe from 10% to 30% of our gross income.
3. We feel led to start donating at least 20% of our gross income to other charitable organizations.
4. We have been skimping on all of our utilities so our plan is to use all we can in the future.
5. We are going to add all of the premium channels to our cable for our viewing pleasure.
6. We are going to purchase a couple of new automobiles adding 2 large monthly payments.
7. We feel like we also need to start taking several vacations per year - with or without pay.
8. I guess while we are at it we might as well purchase a much larger house.

As you can imagine by doing all of the above we will be spending in excess of what we earn by a very large amount! But who cares? We have a plan to eliminate at least half of our debt over the next four years.

Life is Good!

A Weekend with Ashlyn

We were blessed this weekend to be able to keep our granddaughter Ashlyn from Saturday until Monday evening. Ashlyn's two cousins Tristan & Joshua came over Saturday afternoon and they had a great time playing together. Kathy and Ashlyn watched Lady and The Tramp Saturday night and I will have to admit that I went to bed as I had already seen that movie about 120 times. Sunday morning we all went to church - Ashlyn went to children's church while Kathy and I went to the contemporary service (or what we call the rock & roll service). Kathy took Ashlyn shopping Sunday afternoon and she got a shirt, jacket, and a couple of movies -- They watched one of the movies which was something about space dogs. We played some Yahtzee together before dinner and then Ashlyn and I watched the movie Winn Dixie - that sure is a good one. Monday morning we all went to the zoo and really enjoyed ourselves. We went to the 3D theater and watched a short film about Sponge Bob -- I stayed busy dodging things that kept coming out of the screen and trying to hit me. The highlight of the zoo trip was seeing Ashlyn riding a pony - she was smiling from ear to ear. GOOD WEEKEND!

GLAD THIS WAS NOT ME!

I have a good friend (I refuse to mention any names) that was working in Greenville, SC today at a trade type show and during his break he visited the restroom across from his booth. He could not figure out why there were no urinals in the restroom, and on his second visit he still could not figure out the absence of urinals. A little later in the day he sees a gentlemen exiting from a room down the hall and after checking it out - yes you are right he had been using the ladies room. He says that the images on the door were so small you could not tell if they had a dress or pants on. Oh well some of us are just "Lost and Clueless".

Smart Phone "Smarter than Me"

For the last 10 years or so I have carried a cell phone and a Palm T5 business organizer. The Palm is for storing contacts, appointments, excel spread sheets, word documents and etc. I have got so used to having all this information at my finger tips I would be lost without it.

Gadget technology continues to march on and they now have what they call "Smart Phones" that does everything that my my two gadgets combined did plus other interesting stuff. I am one of these "not going to be left behind type people" so I purchased a HTC model 6800 smart phone on Ebay, had the phone activated, transferred all of my information to it and put aside my old cell phone and Palm till I could get time to sell them on Ebay.

I soon discovered that I really liked some of the features of this new gadget, but some of the features of this smart phone were not very easy to use, such as dialing the phone while driving down the interstate at 80mph. However, I made the decision to put up with it's short comings due to the benefits it offered in other areas - that is until the end of last week when the phone called three people with it stored in my front pocket without me touching it or telling it to call anyone. Yesterday I reactivated my old phone, got out my palm and returned to the dark ages. If you are looking for one of these phones check out Ebay, because this one will be for sale very soon.

"FUNNY STUFF"

The following is a sample of the funny stuff that takes place in our home and I am here to tell you that this really happened.

Every year when the weather starts getting a little cold we put the electric blanket on the bed, and this winter was no exception. However, there has been some problems this year that we have never encountered before. It seems that we could not get the temperature regulated in the house of a night so we were both comfortable - Kathy was hot and I was usually cold. We tried adjusting the heat pump thermostat, putting heavier cover on the bed, removing cover from the bed and nothing seem to work.

After two months of being miserable during the night the problem was finally solved last Friday morning. I don't think I mentioned that our electric blanket has dual controls - yes we had the controls switched. Kathy would get hot and turn her side down causing me to freeze - I would get cold and turn my side up toasting Kathy. I think you get the picture.

You would think that two grown adults would have discovered this error before two months passed, but then again you need to take into consideration who the two parties involved were.

Have a good day!

Some Things Never Change

It was Wendy's birthday today and Kathy had baked her a cake. One of the grandchildren asked to lick the bowl that the frosting had been in. Two more of the grands had to join in on the fun. I can remember loving to do this when I was growing up.

MUSIC & PIANO -- I HAVE A SHORT CIRCUIT

Making the decision to take piano lessons was not a difficult one since I had wanted to play the piano for years, and I knew it was now or never. Karen, my piano teacher, explained to me that learning to read music and play the piano was going to be a difficult task since it was similar to learning a language from another country. I will have to agree with her that learning music is very difficult, but that is only one part of the equation. The entire process is very complex and goes something like this -- your eyes must see the notes on two different lines at the same time (treble & bass clef) sending this information to your brain where a couple of things take place 1. Your brain must recognize the music notes your eyes are seeing, process that information and hopefully store it for later use 2. Your brain has to process this information in a split second and send signals down your arms to the tips of your fingers at which time your fingers must strike the correct key making a sound. In order to play the piano all of the above must take place hundreds of times a minute without any short circuits and that is where my problems lies -- I have a short circuit somewhere between the sheet of music and my fingers which I suspect is in the gray matter between my ears.

GREAT WEEKEND!!!

Saturday started out early with a trip to Sams Club to pick up some items we were running short on - mainly a box of York Peppermint Patties. Kathy tells me each little York peppermint goodie only has 40 calories and they are made of dark chocolate so therefore they have to be healthy, and if you only eat six at a time the total calorie count is only 240 - not bad for all that sweet stuff.

Next it was off to the Bard Yard Flea Market (poor mans mall) to return a tape deck that I had purchased a couple of weeks ago that was not working. There is a frame shop at the flea market that I purchase prints and moulding from to use at our frame shop and while I was there I had to conduct a little business with them also. If you ever have trouble finding something you want at regular stores you might want to try the flea market - they have any and every thing.

Saturday afternoon we went to Kyndall's (granddaughter) gymnastic competition in Lexington. I tell you that girl is built for gymnastics and she is getting better and better each time she performs. I am so proud of her! **Videos Included**

SUNDAY WAS AWESOME! We got to take three of our grandchildren to Sunday school and they really enjoyed themselves plus they must have paid attention since they were able to tell us about the Bible stories that they had heard. Other than accepting Jesus as their personal savior there is not anything in a child's life (or adult) anymore important than being in Sunday school on a regular basis. Children are like little sponges and in Sunday school they are able to soak up much needed spiritual information that will remain with them for life.

The Deacon's meeting Sunday night was like a topping on a dessert and a true blessing to me. It is just a wonderful thing being in a room of 30+ men sharing with each other and praying for each other. There is a lot of good men at Northside and I am just glad to be a part of such a loving body of believers.

GOD is GOOD!

Preparation For Tomorrows Blizzard in Columbia, SC

Columbia and Lexington, SC absolutely goes crazy when there is a chance of snow. The weather people are calling for maybe a dusting of snow here tomorrow, but as I write this schools are already canceling classes for tomorrow and several business have already said they will be closed tomorrow. Wow it is 47 degrees outside right now and there is no snow in sight, but there are already a ton of cancellations - go figure.

I had to go to WalMart today to pick up a couple of items and the grocery part was packed. I did not put two and two together until later, but people were there stocking up for the big up coming dusting tomorrow.

I will have to admit that it would be nice to see some snow here since we very seldom get any of the white stuff here in the midlands. So everyone put another log on the fire - get all cozy and watch our government waste millions of dollars tomorrow on a big party.

Birthday Party

Our grandson Tristan turned 8 years old today and there was a big party at the bowling alley in his honor. He had lots of his little friends there and they really had a good time bowling, screaming, eating and of course the most important thing "opening presents"! They had things in the gutters to keep the balls on the lane -- boy I sure wish they had those when I was bowling in the league. All of our grandchildren sure are growing up in a hurry.

Evolution of My Recorded Music

I never did get involved with the 8-track music because of the poor quality, and maybe it was a little before my time. :) My music collection started with 33 rpm and 78 rpm LP records, and over several years my music library became a nice collection of my favorite music. I also kept updating my equipment so I could get the best quality that was possible. It finally dawned on me that the newest and greatest music storage device was the cassette tape, which was probably several years after the cassette really became popular -- I normally am a little slow where new technology is concerned.

Now the evolution process begins with the transfer of my music from records to cassette tapes which takes a lot of money to update to the proper equipment and bunches of time to transfer the music.

I am now set for years of music enjoyment listening to all my favorite songs on the most modern of music storage devices. Then one day I happened to catch part of a conversation about "Music on a CD" which was Greek to me. After a couple of years I realized that the "CD" was really the way to go -- I told you earlier that I was slow.

Since there wasn't a way to transfer my cassette music to CD I just started purchasing music on CD, and after spending a lot of money on new equipment I am back in the music business again.

I just discovered that there was equipment available to transfer cassette music to my computer and then burn the music to a CD. After spending some money on this equipment I am now in the process of making CDs with all of my old cassette music on them. I also had been introduced to the MP3 player recently so I am putting some of this music on one of those also.

I will now have my music (or some of it) on cassette, CD , MP3 player, 3 different computers, USB storage devices and smart phone. I hope there is not anymore music storage devices on the market that I have not heard about or that may be in the development stages -- because I just don't have the room to store anymore music storage devices.

BUSY WEEK

This week sure has been a busy one so far. Somehow when I was off work for two weeks the paper work did not stop and that created a lot of catch up work along with my day to day chores. We have to take inventory twice a year (July and January) so that little project also created some extra work this week. It is hard to believe that a little frame shop can have 20K worth of inventory, but all the moulding, mats, glass, fastners, prints, and finished inventory adds up in a hurry. I guess I had better get busy selling some of the inventory.

I have to go by the hospital today when I get off work to see my good friend Bob Marshall who is having a heart procedure done this morning. Please pray for a sucessful procedure and a quick recovery. Bob and I call each other cousins because his birth mother was a Wells and lived in Canton, NC where I had a lot of kin people. It also seems at times that we are both full of bull!

Sometime this week I have to pick up my deer sausage and that is a 1 1/2 hour trip -- oh well maybe I should not have shot "Bambi".

Kathy's mother has been visiting with us since New Years Day and we will have to take her back to Hendersonville this coming Friday. I know that she will be glad to leave since I had a big list of chores for her to do while visiting -- I did not see any reason for her to just sit around and get bored. :)

One of our Grandsons (Tristan) will turn 8 this coming Saturday and we will be going to a birthday party that afternoon. -- WOW all the grands are growing up in a hurry!

Maybe on the 7th day I can rest like it was intended for man to do. That would be great!!