You are everything. I'll never forget this song.

What a fantastic group The Stylistics were. And this is one of a number of great songs they did. You Are Everything.

The state of the nation...and the Republican debates

The more I watch the debates, the more I realize that in many ways the same old promises to lower taxes, protect and defend America, and move away from the politics of the current administration are being made.
They are being made, but will they be kept? I haven't seen evidence that any of those on the GOP stage will actually be able to do what they promise. And if they can't, or don't intend to at all, our nation will be in a free fall.
The popularity of Trump proves not that there are a lot of stupid people out there, but that there are a lot of people who are very, very angry with the way Washington has handled things. I am one of them. Though I don't support Trump, my anger over the lies and corruption in our national leadership, is nearing the boiling point.
Where are the statesmen of yesteryear? Where are those who can lay out a strong vision for the future success of America? Where are those who have the will and ability to convey the need for moving the country back to sound, constitutional principles? Where are those who can turn the tide away from a nation floundering under the heavy burden of massive debt and the crushing demolition of unbridled political correctness? I'm sorry to say that I did not see that leader any where last night. And of course, the democratic side is a complete joke--an aging madman and an non-convicted potential felon. Clearly, anyone who would vote for Sanders or Clinton doesn't have the remotest ability to use reason.
I don't like to scream gloom and doom. I personally believe that we will find our way out of this morass in which we currently find ourselves. But if we don't do all in our power to hold those in high office accountable to us, the American people, then we are to blame for the disintegration of the finest and greatest nation to have ever existed.

Love songs for loving lovers

Here's another great one!

Two great days of winter sports!

Part of my "stay-cation" involved actually getting out and doing something fun. One of the great things about living in Utah is how close I am to great things I can do in the outdoors. On Friday, I went skiing up at Solitude with my friend, Boyd Lythgoe, and his dad and brother. But before I left, I looked outside and saw this:

Gorgeous sunrise from my front porch.

Once skiing, the snow was great and we had a good time. I took one good spill, one in which I kind of spun around out of control, lost both skis, and banged my head on the snowy slope. I sat there for a minute afterward, making sure I knew what day it was. I thought at first that the only injury I got from that was a pulled muscle in my upper thigh, but later on, when I got back from snowshoeing on Saturday, my neck muscles on both sides of my windpipe, and my lower abdominal muscles were in a great deal of pain. I didn't do anything snowshoeing to hurt them, so it had to have been from the crash skiing the day before.
Sometimes the effects of injuries don't show up right away.
I was skiing on some used skis that I picked up at the thrift store last year, along with boots and poles. I was into the entire set for less than twenty bucks. I'd tried to get a ski shop to adjust the bindings properly for me, but the said that they were too old and there were liability issues on older bindings so they wouldn't do it. I found a video on youtube that showed me the basics. Apparently, I adjusted them properly because the skis came off when they needed to and didn't come off when they didn't have to. I had also tested them prior to hitting the slopes a couple of weeks ago (I never took a bad enough tumble that week for them to be tested).
Anyway, we did over twenty runs (I actually lost count at about five), and I didn't have any falls until the afternoon, which were products of tiring legs and waning light.
Two of the original four of us stayed until the lifts closed. Here are a few more pics:

My friend, Boyd Lythgoe (far right) and his dad and brother who went with us.

That's me coming down the slope.

On Saturday, I went snowshoeing up Big Cottonwood Canyon. We started at the Mill D Trailhead. It was fairly well packed down and we could've hiked it in our boots. We went in about 1.7 miles to where the trail forks. One side goes to Dog Lake, which is another .6 miles, and the other fork goes to Lake Desolation, another 1.9 miles. We decided to go off trail at this point to get some actual snowshoeing in, so we headed over to a powdery patch and ate lunch, then snowshoed through the powder for maybe 100 yards, and joined the packed trail headed back down. After a while we took off the snowshoes and just hiked. It was a great day to be out having a mountain adventure. Of course, it's rare that it's a bad day to be having such an adventure. It beats staying in doors nearly any time.

Yours truly cutting back to the trail.

From L to R: Boyd Lythgoe, Steve Nye, Darren Nye

The nearby peaks were beautiful

Boyd and the others checking out the view across the canyon

Star Wars: The Force Awakens...great movie, great reason for going

Ann and I went and saw Star Wars: The Force Awakens finally yesterday. I kind of wanted to wait until the crowds died down (there were only maybe three others in the theater) to see it, and I had this vacation coming up in January, so that was the plan, and we carried it out. Somehow we managed not to hear any spoilers and so it was great. I'm thinking if we would've gone to one of the modern theaters with the vibrating seats and the 3-D experience, we might have encountered more fellow movie watchers. Instead, we went to the cheap theater, paid $3 per ticket, and got to see a good movie. We may not have been amongst the first to see and discuss this movie with our friends and family, but that's okay. We also didn't have to wait in long lines for tickets, stay up until midnight, or any of those other things that rabid fans normally do.
Patience usually pays off.

I really liked the movie. In fact, I got a bit misty-eyed during parts of it. Mostly, the Han and Leia scenes. As I was sitting there beside Ann and thought back our first date which had been to The Empire Strikes Back way back in 1980, I realized that we had grown old together with these people on the screen. I am rather sentimental at times.

I will go and see the other films as they come out. This one  was a reunion of sorts. A reunion with old characters, and with those of us who would remain young at heart, though we've aged along with them. The next ones will be just part of the series. Good movies, likely. Causing the same reaction in me? Not so much, I'm sure.

The Beatles had some great love songs

Here's one of my favorite love songs. The Beatles had some great ones. Enjoy!

Thoughts on leaving the house with the wrong keys

I got up early this morning, intent on writing an email, getting breakfast, and heading off to the gym. All part of my vacation week regimen, part of which was a vow to get a workout in every day. I got the first two done and headed out the door, only to find that I had the wrong keys in my pocket. You see, yesterday, in my carport cleaning activity, I had placed the keys to the shed in my pocket along with my car keys. Inadvertently, I had hung up the car keys on the hook and left my shed keys in my pocket. Then I had not gone out again last night, so the car keys remained where they hung, and the shed keys slept peacefully in my coat pocket.
That wouldn't have been much of a problem except for the fact that I had locked the door behind me on the way out. That wouldn't have been much of a problem either except for the fact that it was near 7:30 in the morning, very cold outside (it was 30 degrees, and good thing it wasn't last week when the temps hovered in the teens at night), my wife had just gotten back to sleep, and the rest were still downstairs. I would need to wake up Ann (my wife) in order to have her let me back in, which I definitely did not want to do, or I would have to wake up those who still slept in the basement.
After a few minutes of thinking it through and enjoying a nice sunrise in the process, I thought that I would call Justin, my son-in-law, who lives in the basement with my daughter Rebecca and their four kids. I got no answer when I called. I tried again. I walked around the house hoping that I'd somehow awoken them and that they would appear at the top of the stairs. I phoned again, this time leaving a voice mail. Nothing.
Fifteen minutes had gone by and I was getting colder. The beautiful colors of the sunrise were beginning to fade and I was contemplating getting a couple of sleeping bags out of the shed in order to stay warm. I still didn't want to wake up Ann.
By then I had decided that it was unlikely I would make it to the gym. I made the decision to go for a walk thinking to raise my body heat. It would be a short workout, but it would fulfill my requirement for a workout every day. The walk took about twenty minutes and by the time I made it back, Rebecca, Justin, and the kids who go to school were up and let me in. I was cold, and needed to warm up. Justin explained that his phone was turned off. Ann who woke up later told me that I could have woke her up to let me in.
It wasn't the first time I've locked myself, and I doubt it will be the last. I just chalked it up to life getting in the way of plans. I won't miss the strenuous workout all that much, and the morning was nice, even if it was brisk.

Life, Glen Frey, and the Eagles

A guy posted this on a Facebook page, about the Eagles Glen Frey who died yesterday,. I thought it was very good:

So, so sad! Way too young to die, 67 is not old but what we all have to realize is that you can die at 37 just as well as you can 67. It's not about getting old or your age, it's keeping your health strong and staying on top of it. That's all we can do. I beat Stage 9 cancer just a year and a half ago and it was a very fast moving rare aggressive cancer. Keeping positive, never be afraid, don't think about it or give it a second thought. Keep your spirit unbroken, be a warrior and say you won't beat me, and do all of the different treatments you have to do no matter how sick they make you and painful they are you have to make up your mind from the start and verbalize it out loud and say, "I will win, nothing is going to take me down, I'm not finished with my life here on this earth, my goals, dreams and what I intend to accomplish yet. I will not let anything stand in my way or leave this world until I'm ready and I'm done with what I set out to do." A strong mind and relentless spirit will carry you through the darkest of times. Always pay attention to changes in your body, listen to what it's trying to tell you if something doesn't feel right and hurry up and go get checked out. That is vital for survival! Fly with the angels Glenn, your music will live on here forever.

I'm committed to life. I'm committed to survival. We never know when it's our time to go, but one thing's for sure--we can fight the diseases that ravage us. We can eat right, work out, try to get enough sleep and drink enough water. We can laugh. We can grab life by the scruff of the neck and make it do what we want it to do, and if we can't quite get it done, we can have a great attitude about our efforts. What we can do is put our full effort into making our lives incredible and robust.

Stay-cation time

I'm on vacation, which isn't really all that exciting because we can't afford to go anywhere. On the other hand, I spending a lot more time sitting around in these than I normally do:

Now, I really should be getting a lot of stuff done that has been accumulating for me to do. Then again, I kind of feel like I deserve to take some time off and actually relax for a few days. I plan on working, and in fact, I worked a bit today. I got the one end of our carport cleaned out that was driving me crazy. We have this immense maple tree that straddles the property line in our parking strip--actually 2/3 of the base of the trunk is in the neighbor's yard, and the thing was planted well before we ever set foot in our current locale. This tree has been our bane ever since we moved in, because, unlike most trees, its leaves don't all come down at once and they tend to blow around corners and through our gate and into our backyard even. So, for several months after they begin falling, it's a keep up game as they swirl in and around everything we have stored in our carport, or rather, that our daughter and family who live with us have stored in our carport.

Anyway, I got that done today, until the next time the tree decides to bless us with it's bounteous goodness.

I think for the rest of my vacation I'll do some cleaning of the kitchen, bathrooms, and computer room, and then maybe by the end of the week, when I go skiing and snowshoeing, I'll feel good about the whole deal. Of course, I'd probably like the skiing and snowshoeing even if I got nothing else done at all.

Stay-cations aren't all that bad as long as you don't spend all your free time working. Plus, part of my time off, I'm planning future vacations when we will actually be able to do something besides work. And that's a big plus.

We all wish for an endless love

So, in my build up to Valentine's Day, there are a few songs  for which  I will be posting the youtube links. I was asking myself this morning, what makes love songs so popular? My answer is that love is a universal feeling. Nearly everyone has loved or been in love. Most of those have lost a love or gained one. Feelings of love touch us deep down inside. We all wish love could be endless.

More great music...

I am on a love song kick. I hope you don't mind. I like sharing what I believe are some of the world's greatest love songs. Here is one of the best, in my opinion--Herb Alpert's This Guy's in Love. I hope you like it.

A beautiful sunset tonight!

I kept hoping all day for the sky to open up into blue and the sun to bathe the peaks in light. After all, we'd had a storm yesterday in the wee hours of the night and I thought that the inversion might lift for a moment. Finally, in the late afternoon, the sun won a brief battle and the Wasatch Mountains lit up. I only had my camera on my phone to take a couple of pics, and I was trying to get back to the office in my mail truck. Still, I found a good vantage point and snapped this shot.

After work, I needed to pick up a few things at the grocery store and came out just in time to see the sun going out in a blaze of glory.

So, after feeling a little disappointed that the light hadn't been what I'd wanted all day. in the end, it didn't disappoint. My phone camera leaves a lot to be desired, but I did the best I could with what I had at the time.

Over 50 and thinking of going back to school?

I am 56 and I was just doing a bit of preliminary research on the topic of going back to school. I've thought about it for a long time. There are several reasons why I haven't pursued it. Most have to do with my personal situation as a caregiver for my wife who has Rheumatoid Arthritis, Sjogren's Syndrome, Fibromyalgia and some other issues.
In the late seventies and early eighties, a stretch running from my late teens to early twenties, I attended the University of Utah. Part way through what was probably my junior "year" (like many people, I was taking a bit longer than four years to go through college while working full time to support my family), I got hired by the U.S. Postal Service. For me, accepting that job was a no-brainer. Since my high school graduation in '77, and my marriage in '80, I had  been working low-wage jobs with not a lot of upward mobility potential--at least not in careers that sounded interesting to me, and nothing imminent. At the time I accepted the job as a letter carrier, I had been working for Zion's Bank in Utah making three something an hour. I instantly jumped up to eight something an hour, so I was pumped. I was excited because that meant I could pay off my debts (including student loans and the medical expenses for our first child who had been born when we didn't have insurance), and that we would no longer have to live hand to mouth.
I thought then that I could go back to school later and finish my degree. However as often happens, life got in the way. My wife, Ann wanted to be a stay at home mom while the kids were young and I was supportive of that. But what that meant is that she wanted me to take my turn with the kids when I got off work--not go off to take classes and study at night. And, I needed to spend time with them. Dads are supposed to do that kind of thing and I wanted to be a good dad.
Still, I had it in the back of my mind that I would one day want to complete my schooling. Little did I know that there was some kind of limitation for how long those classes I had taken previously could be counted towards my degree. By the way, I can see why a class in genetics would go out of date, but a creative writing class or a Shakespear class? Give me a break! When I found out that I would have to take virtually everything over again, I really needed to think hard about why I should do it. I mean, college costs were sky-rocketing. Was it worth the burden of debt I would incur? I was then in my mid to late forties. I had hoped to be out of the Postal Service by forty.
Things became more challenging at home in 2007 when Ann was diagnosed with RA and Sjogrens. It became increasingly challenging for me to contemplate any kind of night time departures from home.
The thing is, most of that stuff can now be done online. Internet schooling is in full swing. So I began thinking about it again. I also did a preliminary search of financing college for people my age but found that nearly all of the opportunities to do so are for women:  Scholarship and Grant Money for Those Over 50 I found that there are ways to save money even for men, like getting a degree through Western Governor's University. Someone also mentioned to me about taking CLEP tests for each subject, which if passed will save thousands of dollars. The traditional student loan route is an option that I'm highly skeptical about doing this late in my life. Too much expense for too little return.
I'm still thinking about it. There are other options for educational experiences that will improve employability. It doesn't have to be a four-year university or even college per se. The magic of a college education doesn't thrill me any more as I see more and more leftist influence at the university level. There are other opportunities to learn skills that I can morph into employment when I finally leave the USPS. I just need to decide if I'm going to devote myself to making it financially as a writer, or take another path and pursue that. Until I make that choice, I will continue writing. It is after all, part of who I am.

A great Bee Gees song!

A great love song by the Bee Gees. Enjoy!

Looking back, and looking ahead to 2016

For me personally, 2015 was a great year. It reached its peak in the last few days. I like it when years go like that, but that isn't always the case, and in my case, much of the way a year goes is based upon attitude. Did some bad things happen to me during the year? Of course they did. But I think that when it comes to survival and ultimately, victory, the attitude we take toward the challenges of life is what makes the difference. I no more believe I'm going to lose now, than I ever did. Coming off victorious sometimes requires tenacity and stubbornness greater than the brutality of the challenges. It requires sheer will at times. I remember once hearing that Olympic runner (winner of the 1984 Olympic marathon), and former world record holder in the marathon, Carlos Lopes looked at each marathon as one man against another. He would say (to paraphrase) that the other guy running next to him was just as tired as he was, and all he had to do was the keep running until the other guy gave out. That's how I view my challenges in life---keep on surviving until I leave the problems behind, whether the problems are people or events. With people, I actually don't try and leave them behind (unless they deserve it and only a few really bad people do), but strive to out-stubborn them. That is my way of winning. I will outlast those whose ammo is negativism. Period.

But 2015 ended, not with having to outlast anyone, but with a sense of great happiness. At the last, I celebrated with the rest at midnight, banging my sauce pan with a wooden spoon, ringing in the new year. And what a year that promises to be! It is never guaranteed, what kind of year will happen, but looking forward with a positive attitude, and taking setbacks with courage and faith, go a long way toward fulfilling the promise of the newness. 2016 might not end up in grand fashion like 2015 did, but it's starting out like a miracle. When you view it with those eyes, you see that whatever else happens, you can win in the end. And that, is a beautiful thought.

Mistletoe: a great Christmas tradition

Among all the traditions people follow at Christmas time, one of my favorites has got to be the traditions of kissing under the mistletoe. I've actually liked this one for a very long time. Even in my youth, I once went out an bought some "Moose-eltoe" (a gag gift that looked like moose droppings with a plant attached to it) and hung it in my car, hoping to snag a kiss or two from my date.

When all else fails, tape it to the ceiling.

These days, it's easy to just find some fake mistletoe (real works just fine too) and hang it in a likely spot. Then, all that needs to be done is to wait for the opportunity of your loved one walking beneath it and use that opportunity for a bit of smooching. Of course, you can't always predict what will happen next.

Dave Koz is some great smooth jazz

Here's a great tune for the day. Enjoy!

Leftists, liars, and losers

Leftists are losers. Take one look at any society that has embraced leftism for a long time and you will find the most decrepit, unworkable, poverty-stricken, oppressed, and just plain bad societies on the planet. Leftists are often liars too, with those who are in power claiming great things will come if we only follow their despotic program of ruin and despair.

To a leftist, the ends (having the people wholly dependent upon the state) justifies the means (anything they want to say or do to get us there). They spread a gospel of feelings. How one feels about something is more important than the actual results of doing something. For example, if you feel good that the government is taking money out of your pocket and giving handouts to millions of poor people in America, all in the guise of helping them out of poverty, well, that's good enough. Never mind that programs that urge perennial dependence on welfare have not worked to reduce poverty rates. The actual results do not matter to a leftist. What matters is that it feels good to do it.

Perhaps one might say that those to the right of the political spectrum offer the same dream of unfulfilled hopes and tragedy. You might even be able to provide a few examples of extreme right oppression. Countries in which Islamic fundamentalism rules should be chief among these examples. We cannot discount the effect that extremism has upon its adherents.

Yet leftism has just as many detrimental outcomes as Islamic fundamentalism does. One need only to look at the purges of Mao Tse Tung's China, Stalin's Russia, or the horrific conditions of North Korea and Venezuela to see the evidence mount up that any ideology that doesn't include principles of morality, liberty. and free markets doesn't add up to any place worth living. Corruption and extravagance among the elite is what needs to be purged, not those who have differing religious or political views.

Committed leftists, like Obama, are often misconstrued as weak. Obama isn't weak. He's very strong in his leftism. And if you like the false ideals and solutions promulgated by the left, he is your champion. But everyone must take responsibility for that which they espouse. If and when those who are fighting the left fail to change the course America is now on, then those who are promoting such a course are in fact, guilty of the ruin and despair that will result. If your goal is to turn America into a smoking ruin, then you must reap the results of an America-less world.

Super glue equals super fix

I have tried all kinds of treatments for the cracked hands and fingers I get from working in the outdoors during the winter. I get splits averaging about 1/2 inch long in my fingers near the knuckles often, and splits beneath my fingernails as well. They are painful. Though I've tried everything from Norwegian Formula Hand Cream to Bag Balm and nearly else that anyone has recommended, my hands still split and hurt. Sometimes Super Glue is the only answer. That's right...Super Glue. Just a drop or two on the split will  help it heal up fast.

Now, I've got to figure out what to do about the awful itchiness I'm feeling on the backs of both hands. I've tried lotion, coconut oil, and several other things and my hands still itch like crazy. I can't see anything like hives or redness--I just feel the itch.

I think it's time I took a trip to the Uintas to see if I can leave this kind of stuff behind. It's not likely, but it would be fun to just get away from the busy-ness of work and into the woods. For this mailman, the day after Christmas cannot come fast enough. On the plus side, I've been able to stay cheerful for the most part even when stressed out of my mind, so that's good.

Christmas Lists and Wish Lists

I keep an Amazon wish list, mainly for reminding me of things I think I need or want. It's rather extensive and I'm adding stuff to it all the time. You may check it out here: Press "Now" to continue.
I don't really expect anyone to purchase anything on this list for me, although I make it available to those who really feel the need to buy me something for Christmas, my birthday, etc. So now, if anyone asks me what I would like for my birthday, I can direct them to this link instead of trying to think of something. It works well because I never really remember things for which I have a need until I'm actually, well, needing them. Wants are a bit different, but there too, I can't remember the titles of cds I've run across in music books and said that I would like to have those cds. The same with books. I'm thinking this is the best way I've come up with yet for remembering. And then again, if I can't remember, maybe it isn't all that important.  Unless you want to spring for the Taylor guitar. I am so much kidding it's not even funny...

Family Christmas party a great success

We had our Roe family Christmas party this afternoon and it was great seeing everyone. Our gift exchange this year was supposed to be homemade gifts and after one of my friends suggested it, I set about making a wreath. First I viewed a video on youtube on how to make one, then I gathered the materials and started in. I admit that I'm not crafty, and barely artistic and so much needed input from my wife, Ann (who is highly artistic), helped to put things in the right place on this thing. She also took some pictures of the initial stages of the creating, with me in them, but that camera has since been lost, before I could get those pics downloaded. Anyway, here's the finished project that my daughter-in-law, Marie, ended up with:

Yes, I hung it from my guitar rack to get a good pic. I think it turned out okay for mostly being done by a rank beginner. I will admit though that it was Ann's idea where to place the little seed heads beneath the bow and she tied the bow and wired it on.  I like the way it turned out and I'm glad someone will be using it. There were many great and imaginative gifts at our party. I won't be making a lot of wreaths or other crafts in the near future, but I learned something and wouldn't have thought of it on my own.

Christmas cooking is just plain awesome

We have a family Christmas party tomorrow. Tonight, after going out for dinner, I made some chili verde and some artichoke/spinach dip. It's cooling now, not quite ready to put in the fridge. In fact, I just burned the roof of my mouth sampling the chili verde. I'll be staying up late tonight so that it can cool down a bit before cooling it down a lot. Of course, I could probably just put it outside. The high tomorrow is only supposed to be forty.
One thing I always have trouble with is when I'm trying to make two recipes at once. For a while there, I was thinking I was going to be making chili verde artichoke dip. Luckily, I managed to avoid cross-recipe tragedies that I've been unable to avoid in the past. Like the time I was trying to make a coffee cake and some cheddar broccoli soup at the same time...
Now that I've got the cooking out of the way for the party tomorrow, I only have two or three more events for which to cook something. There's the family party a week from Sunday for Ann and I and our children and grandchildren, but prior to that, I have a work party that I'll need to bring something to--I haven't decided what. Right now I'm thinking beans, but that could prove to be too much for my limited time this year. Maybe I'll sign up for the chips...
For the family party on the Sunday before Christmas, I'm on the line for shrimp cocktail sauce and guacamole. Nothing real difficult.
I need to start looking for some sales on steaks for our traditional Christmas Eve dinner. I'm hoping for a snow storm that night. There's nothing like barbecuing on a snowy Christmas Eve to make one feel good and homey.
Somewhere in there I'm going to begin making treats for the neighbors. I'm not sure what I'll make this year. Maybe some fudge as that goes a long way, and maybe some things to go with it. I'll have help of course.
Now, I need to get to the store, maybe tomorrow, and pick up some eggnog. Southern Comfort is my favorite brand. What's yours? Christmas is a busy time for all of us who celebrate it. But let's do just that--celebrate with happy hearts and warm welcomes to our loved ones. I personally can't think of a better way to spread love.

Remember: the most important things in life aren't things

I had some visitors tonight. I like visitors, for the most part, and these guys are my friends. I appreciate it whenever friends stop by, even if I'm about to leave, though if I'm about to leave I feel bad that I can't visit long enough. See, the way I look at it is people are the most important things to spend time with on any given day.
And, though I spent a lot of time today getting various tasks done (it was my day off), I did some things I felt I personally needed to do. I went to the gym early in the morning for the first time this week. I was able to do my treadmill run for cardio, but I ran out of gas when I tried to do my strength training exercises. This month has taken its toll on my physically, but then I knew it would and that's part of the reason I keep working out to be prepared for times like this.
I also took my 4runner over to the shop for a tune-up and oil change, then walked home. That was exercise. Then later on, I walked back to get it--more exercise. The place is only .4 miles away, so no big deal.
Early in the morning I was looking up wind chomes, I mean chimes, for a possible Christmas present. I found some that might work, but they are supposed to remind one of a meadowlark and I'm not quite sure they do. Here's the link: you can judge for yourself.
I went to an antique store and browsed around searching for that one gift that would be well thought out, to no avail. I ordered flowers for Ann's birthday which is this Saturday, I shopped at a candy store. I cleaned out a slow drain, made dinner and filled the dishwasher. Yet the most important thing I did all day was when I spent time with people. Spend time with those you love. They can leave unexpectedly. The things we wish we would have said to them, sometimes have to go forever unsaid. Don't make the mistake of waiting too long to say them.

How to Christmas shop for kids, from one who's bad at it

I'm not really a good gift giver, and it doesn't really matter to me if I receive any gifts. I like to be around my family and friends at Christmas time--that's my kind of gift. Gifts are one of my lowest things on my list of the Five Love Languages. I often find myself at a loss when it comes to choosing gifts for my grandkids. I'm ashamed to admit that I like to just find something and get it done. I've found though that the simple power of observation helps a lot. Here's an example. We have noticed that our grandkids when they're in a certain age range, always seem to love to find the flashlight in the house and play with it in a dark room. I was out at Harbor Freight last year and I saw on the shelf on sale some headlamps. This would be perfect for my grandkids, I thought, and I snapped up two of them, thinking of the two boys, Taggart and John, who are the same age and would love to play with them. I should've picked up more as the other kids would love them too. I probably will before I give any of them away. Noticing what they seem to have fun with, even if it's not necessarily a toy, can lead to ideas of what they might like.
Another thing that you can do is go to Amazon and type in the search box: toys for three year old girls, toys for five year old boys, toys for ten year olds, or any other combination you might need. This will give you a list of suggestions. I've found this to be quite useful.
You can type in the same kind of word combinations into Google and find websites like this: clicky-clicky
A time tested way of finding out possible gifts for kids is to ask their parents what they think their child might be interested in. We asked our son Ben and his wife Marie what kinds of things their kids might want and they gave us some direction--they said some kind of toys or activities that will help their kids to learn. This was very helpful.
All that being said, I've found that making sure you know the interests of the kids you are buying for goes a long way toward finding a gift those kids will love.

And now, here's a great song by the Oak Ridge Boys: Thank God for Kids

Staying fit when you're busy

This month is December, and being the typical mailman, I'm getting a lot of overtime. We have over the past months been doing 30 percent of Amazon's volume, but recently that has climbed to 70 percent. The overtime is great on the wallet, but with time, it gets to the point where it wears one out. Then add to that my personal circumstances of working out after work are now trashed, due to family responsibilities at home, and you can see that my regimen has been trashed.
I've given a lot of thought as to what I might do to counteract this annual trashing of the routine. My first thought is, to not worry about it. The body needs some time to recover from hard workouts and maybe I just need to decide that December is that time. I can begin again with renewed vigor in January.
Then again the gym rat in me says "no". There's got to be another way. I thought about basketball players in the NBA. In the off-season, the dedicated ones do a lot of strength training to build themselves up for the season. Then, during the season, they can't work out as much as they'd like, but they are doing other things to keep in shape. In their case it's playing basketball. So, I ask, how can I emulate that while delivering mail, mostly from a truck?
One way is to decide that the trips up to people's houses with packages is my workout for the day. I can run, to increase the intensity of my workout, or I can walk, to keep from tripping or for an easier workout. With hundreds of packages each day, this kind of working out can add up. I may not get the intense focus on various areas of the body to strengthen, but my general fitness can remain high. And I can tone it down in a limited way by walking instead of running.
So, think of your own personal circumstances and do the best with what you have.
Another to consider is diet. This time of year it's easy to grab treats that your loving friends and neighbors have dropped by. It's much easier to grab a cookie than to make a sandwich, for example. But this is the time to keep on top of your eating habits and limit yourself. I like to choose certain days to overindulge--my family's Christmas party is one of them--and then limit myself the rest of the time. Don't keep totally away from Aunt Mildred's fudge, but limit yourself to one small piece. That way, you keep a certain amount of control. Eating habits are even more important than exercise in the way we feel and in maintaining a healthy weight.
And then, when you set your goals for the New Year, you will have already created within yourself the discipline you need to advance those goals past the first month and throughout the rest of the year.

The stupendous importance of dreams and goals

I'm sitting here dreaming of winter and the inevitable snow, wondering if it will come, and if I'm going to make it through these next two and a half weeks until Christmas--and knowing that it will and I will. Part of making it through challenging times is having dreams and plans for the future. I like to have plans for the near future and distant future. Both of these provide beacons up ahead for us to strive to reach.
My near-future dream, and I'll call them goals from here on out, because they are definitely concrete and achievable and not pie in the sky wishes--include some fine Utah skiing after the first of the year, some snow shoeing, some travel and sight-seeing, even if only locally. I have a strong desire to go out into the wintry world of whiteness once we get some snow, and to see some horses standing out in the snow. Maybe near an old ranch house with a wood post fence. I like thinking of things like that, horses outside, a nice warm fire glowing in a nearby house, the smell of good, home-cooked food, kind and warm people within. I'm kind of homey and maybe a bit old-fashioned and that's what appeals to me.
Further on, my goals take me into the spring and summer months and once again enjoying the high country. I'm planning a backpacking trip in July and hoping a few of my good friends can accompany me. It's so much more enjoyable to go with a few good friends. My summer of mountain exploration will lead naturally back into the fall, and I hope to get out deer hunting again this year. It has been a few years now since I last went.
Looking at my future for years out, I also like to have plans and things to look forward to. One of those is my eventual retirement from the U.S. Postal Service. That's about ten years away. Not that I plan on sitting around once that time comes, but it will be nice to move on and follow my interests and that will be about the time I can do it. Someone once said that the key to happiness is to have many passions in life. The reason being is because if something happens and you can't pursue one of them, you have others that can keep you occupied. I am a man of many passions. If I go blind and cannot see the beautiful scenery of my mountains, I can devote more time to music listening and playing. There is always something more to do. That keeps me going.
I hope to enjoy a long life and much happiness throughout and goals with plans to get there are part of the process. Those goals, in the distant future, help us live through challenging present circumstances. So that's what I would encourage you, my readers to do--have a plan, make goals, and strive to reach them. Eleanor Roosevelt once said, "the future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams." I do.

A fabulous sunset tonight.

It was another amazing sunset here in Salt Lake county. Here are some pics.

Looking southwest over our house.

Killing two birds with one stone, a fabulous sunset, and  my Dr. Seuss Christmas lights.

I hope the sunset was just as nice wherever you may be.

No Shave November...was shave time for me

November is No Shave month. It's a great cause, to help raise awareness of cancer patients who often lose their hair. However, I shaved off my goatee the second week of November. It was an either/or proposition. My wife, who has Sjogren's Disease and thus very dry skin, including her lips, didn't like poking from my facial hair on her cracked lips when we kissed. I was either going to only get a peck or two, or I was going to have to shave. For me, it was a no-brainer. I am now hairless on my face.
For you guys out there who don't have this issue with your wives, etc., grow some hair in support of those cancer victims. As for me, I will lose the hair in support of my wife who also has a couple of very debilitating conditions.
It may be a very long time before I have facial hair again, but that's okay. I can wait.

Music: one of my favorite things

I am a maker and keeper of lists. One thing I make lists of is music. I have several music lists on Spotify, for example. For the uninitiated--and I'm sure those are few and far between these days--Spotify lets you find songs and/or artists you like and create lists that you can play back. I've found Spotify to be really nice when I'm not having connection issues. I think sometimes that Comcast is throttling the band width in our household because we have so many people on devices at once. That can lead to dropping off in the middle of a song on Spotify.
That being said I have more than twenty-five lists of songs on Spotify. I have six different Christmas song lists alone.
I also like to use Pandora for music listening, and, although I cannot create my own lists with this website, what Pandora does is help me to find new artists  via the Music Genome. I click the thumbs up on songs I like and Pandora tries to find more songs for me with similar attributes. Conversely, when I clicke the thumbs down symbol, Pandora will drop that song from the list of songs it will play on any of my different Pandora "stations".
For an interesting comparison between Pandora and Spotify, go here: clickety-click
I also have a large collection of cds and MP3s of my own. I rarely use the cds any more. I have ripped nearly all my cds into MP3s, so for now, I just keep the cds handy and collect them. I will pull them out sometime in the future when I have some upgraded listening equipment and the time to just lay back with headphones and listen.
That's another thing. I think that with all the background noise, one cannot hear the flaws inherent in MP3 technology, or the FM radio kind of technology that web-based music listening sites use for their free versions. I understand some of them are upgraded if you use their premium level, which requires spending money. That isn't really worth it to me.
One thing anyone living with me can attest--I listen to music a lot. Maybe not every day. But on the days I listen, I usually listen for a long time. Most of the time I'm discouraged from listening by those who wish to watch tv. So, the bottom line is, if you want to hang out with me, be prepared to listen to some good music.

That being said, here's a great song by the amazing, Nat King Cole:

Life's lessons as taught by Moonlight Graham

Do you ever wonder about people you used to talk to frequently, but no longer do for whatever reason? Sometimes it's not just as easy as picking up the phone. There could be many reasons why someone who's in your heart and thoughts may be unable to communicate. I think about that sometimes. Sometimes, I want to talk to people who have died. Other times, I have a painful yearning to talk to those who are living, but with whom I no longer talk like I once did. Often as I see something I think, I wish so and so was here to see this, or I wish she or he was here sharing this with me.

I don't know. Sometimes, even frequently lately, I get thoughtful and wistful. Does that ever happen to you?

What I really like to think is that in the future, all of those conversations that we wish we'd had will take place, some time, some way. And then, some part of me moves into my personal Field of Dreams and I think of the Moonlight Graham quote, "You know, we just don't recognize the most significant moments of our lives while they're happening. Back then I thought, well, there'll be other days. I didn't realize that that was the only day." I'm hoping that I get to "have a catch" with some of those people sometime. But just in case, I'm trying to make the most of each moment with the people I cherish, because those moments could end in an instant.

Huge mule deer near my grandkid's school

On Sunday, after church, I stopped by the local elementary where some of my grandkids attend school. There is a huge vacant lot nearby, owned by Salt Lake County, fenced. This is just adjacent to the parking lot for the school. Of course these guys know they're safe here. Here are the pics.

This monarch was the biggest of the bunch and seemed totally unthreatened/

This guy isn't far behind him. He was taking a great interest in the camera.

Another fine buck in the group.

Christmas in the mall, 1970s

Last night, on the way to visit my mom who lives in Murray, we drove past Fashion Place Mall. As I looked at it, I noticed the immense facelift it has had in recent years. I wondered, with all the outside facing stores, if there was actually an indoor mall there anymore with the long walking areas, lined with stores and food vendors. The last time I was in the mall, all the food establishments were located in one place. Not so in the 1970s.
I grew up right across the street from a field that would one day be replaced by Fashion Place mall. The field was a great place to play as a kid. Then, when I was about 13, construction began on the mall, and the construction site too was a great place to play. There wasn't a lot of security and I remember prowling through the place with my friends when it was still concrete and steel girders.
Soon, the construction stopped, the stores moved in, and it became another place to hangout. Gone was the field that I had enjoyed as a youngster, and now, here was the mall, a different, but still fun place to hang out.
I remember the year the roof collapsed and many of the stores had to steeply discount their wares because of water damage. I remember the smell of the nuts from the nut place, whose name I can't recall. I remember checking out any number of stores, and buying food and watching people.
It was also a great place to get my first "real" job. Okay, I had been a paper boy. That was real work and a real job, but it wasn't the kind of job you could only get after you turned sixteen. The mall opened up vast opportunities for employment. When I turned 16, I applied and got hired at Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour Restaurant, and said good-bye to delivering papers.
Farrell's was a great coming of age place to work. Some of fondest memories have to do with Farrell's.
There were races we had around the mall. One time I ran around the mall with a couple of friends and thought I was doing well because I was keeping up with my older friends all the way around the mall. Then, I stopped and they went for another circuit. Sure put me in my place.
Once I started working a the mall, the friends of my youth, though they were still my friends, receded into the background and the ones I spent the most time with were the people I worked with. Farrell's employees spent a lot of time doing things together even when we weren't at work.
I worked there for a couple of years, then moved on. I ended up working at Lafayette Electronics, and later the Cottage Restaurant, both in the mall.
One thing I'll always remember was the hustle and bustle around Christmas time. The mall would fill up with people and the restaurants, including Farrell's, would be packed, even when it wasn't a Friday or Saturday night. Even after I got married in 1980, I used to love to go to the mall during the Christmas season and people watch. I disliked shopping, and would try to be done well before December, but I always liked hanging with the people who were out there trying to find the perfect gift among all those other people trying to do the same thing.
I remember when Farrell's went out of business and Lenscrafter's moved into that slot. I went there to buy some glasses and it was so weird because in my mind I was saying things to myself like, "that's where the kitchen used to be," and "over there was the large room with all the signs," and "there was the player piano," and "right there is where the pay phone used to be that I used to use." Now, even Lenscrafter's is gone from that spot, or so it appeared when I drove past the outside of the mall a few months ago.
I haven't been there in several years. Ann's health pretty much keeps us from doing the mall walking thing, and I haven't gone by myself. I'd like to though. I'd like to take a walk through those immense halls and picture in my mind's eye the things of yesteryear. I'd like to picture what it looked like back then and remember. I recently found this quote from the television series The Wonder Years: "Memory is a way of holding onto the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose."
And indeed, I want to forever keep some of the memories I have.
Perhaps one day, I will walk those hallowed halls of the mall again and those memories will envelope me like a soft, warm blanket. 

Ushering in the Christmas season: My light hanging debacle

I got my Christmas lights put up on Thanksgiving morning. Actually, I had been invited to a Turkey Bowl football game, and had briefly considered running a 5k that morning. As it turned out, it was very cold, and for both playing football and running, a little colder than I would like. As for the football game, I wishfully considered it and then decided that it was a great opportunity for injury to occur--injury that would seriously hamper my ability to bring in income at my highest opportunity for overtime.
So, in order to reduce the risk of getting injured, I opted for putting up Christmas lights. I used to watch Bishop Stevenson (not really a bishop, but that's another long story) out there in the frigid air in his insulated coveralls putting up lights. He did it at night too, probably so he could see how they looked as he got them connected. Anyway that job looked very cold in the dark. I was doing it in the light.
And it was still very cold. I came in several times to get warm. Of course, it would've been a bit warmer if I'd had gloves on. As I began putting them up, I realized that for another year, I had forgotten to buy some new clips to attach to the rain gutter or shingles and I was going to be stuck with using the metal screwed in hooks that previous owners of the house had used. It was either that or wait until the next day off to get them up, and since it takes me a while to motivate myself to do it in the first place, that wasn't going to happen. It was now or never.
As I actually began hanging the first string of lights, I realized that last year, I had lost several of the metal hooks--never a good option because they fall out so easily--and that there were huge gaps between the places I'd need to secure the light strings. In some places the gaps were about eight feet long. This is not conducive to good, straight, uniform light hanging, but perfect for Dr. Seuss-type decorating. Did I mention that I'm a natural for the Dr. Seuss lighting?
Within an hour or two, I had the lights up and working, despite having started at the wrong end of the plug and having to figure out a new way to connect power. Now, all that's left is the star on top of the roof. I hope to get that done next week sometime and then maybe I'll take a pic and post it.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you who take the time to read my posts. Sometimes the things I write may seem strange, incoherent, or just not your cup of tea, so to speak. Fair enough. As an individual, I have my own idiosyncrasies, my own way of looking at life. I'm thankful for all of you and your own differences and ways of looking a things. I wouldn't be posting anything if I wasn't getting readers, so a big THANK YOU to my loyal readers. I hope all of you have an amazing time today wherever you may be.

And if you can reach through my computer, give Scout a pat on the head.

Gratitude: I'm grateful for picnics

In thinking about things I'm grateful for, often overlooked are picnics. Of course, spending time with loved ones is always a thing to be thankful for, but picnics are a special case. Picnics are special because by their very nature, they are outdoorsy kinds of things. I spend time on hikes now looking for good picnicking areas. I spend time on four-wheeling drives looking for likely spots as well. One never knows when one will stop and eat and it pays to know the landscape. In the long run, the food tastes better when you can relax and enjoy yourself, rather than have to just plop down anywhere because your hunger is insatiable. That being said, I think picnics, with few ants, are priceless.

Toenails: Reminding me of an excellent adventure

This past Labor Day, early in September, my brother Mike and I went on a hike up Lone Peak. The trail is very steep and as we came down, my toes were jammed into the front of my hiking shoes. Three of my toenails, on my left foot only, turned black underneath. Now, almost three months later, two of them still are black.

I wonder how long this lasts. I'm thinking I may need to do some research as to how I can keep this phenomenon from happening. On the other hand, it makes my foot a little more interesting. I won't let anyone paint my toenails later on so that I can keep up this image, but like scars, it reminds me of battles fought and won. It reminds me that I did something very challenging this past summer and that I have something to talk about. My toenails may not always be this color, but I'll remember that they once were and how they got that way for a good long time.

Super amazingness from the night sky: another thing for which I'm grateful

A month or two ago, early in the morning in the eastern sky, Jupiter, Venus, and the Moon were all grouped close together. As I would get up in the morning and leave for work, I saw them daily, just as the first twinge of light was beginning to appear above the Wasatch peaks. In my rush to accomplish many things prior to heading off to work, I would forget until I was leaving late, and the only camera available would be my phone--a poor substitute at best for my Canon SLR, especially at that time of day.
Gradually, the three heavenly bodies drifted further apart. Now, the Moon is nowhere to be seen near the two planets, and the two planets themselves have spaced themselves quite a distance apart. It's part of a recurring cycle. One day, in the not too distant future, they'll all be close together again in the sky. Maybe then, I'll get out the better camera and get a better shot.
I watched a documentary called John Denver: Country Boy on Netflix last night. I really liked it. One of the things it mentioned was that in the song "Rocky Mountain High" the line "I've seen it raining fire in the sky" refers to a time when he and his buds were out in the mountains during the time of the Perseids meteor shower. That would be awesome! I need to do that sometime.
I'm always grateful for the beautiful stars at night, and for sharing the view with those who are equally appreciative. One of these days, I'm just going to lay back on a hillside somewhere and stare up at the sky--maybe even during the Perseids meteor shower, but any time would be great.

Gratitude: I'm grateful for fabulous health product recommendations

So over the past year, I've discovered three items that have improved my life, thanks to the recommendation of others. These three items are coconut oil, psyllium husks, and melatonin.

Coconut oil can be used in a variety of ways. I have mostly used it for my dry skin. Since I work in an industry that requires me to be outdoors in harsh weather conditions, my hands can get extremely dry. When I remember to put in on my hands, it helps out a lot with this condition. I understand it makes a great massage oil too, though I have yet to try this usage.

The psyllium husks that I use come as a powder that I mix with water and drink. I have had diverticulitis twice this year and needed to find a way to get more fiber into my diet. In addition to providing that, psyllium husks provide other health benefits as well.

Melatonin was recommended to me as a way to reduce long hours of wakefulness in the middle of the night. It has worked amazingly well. For years, I've dreamed only rarely. Since I've begun taking the stuff, I have had dreams nearly every night. I think that might mean that I'm falling into deeper and thus more restful sleep. Certainly that's beneficial.

When people recommend great products to me, I think it's highly appropriate to thank them. So my gratitude goes out to those who have suggested the above products to me. They have made me life better, by helping me with some of my minor health issues. Thanks!

Today I'm grateful for butt-kicking good recipes

There's nothing like getting a treat from a neighbor or friend. It's especially nice when that treat is out of this world. Even better is when that friend shares the recipe with you.
The thing about the internet is that there are millions of people sharing a lot of great recipes...far too many to try in any one lifetime.
So, I narrow it down by things I must eat. And one of those things is great oatmeal cookies. I got a great oatmeal raisin cookie recipe a few months ago, and it was so good, that even though I made mistakes making it and when I put them in bags they turned into crumbs, I snarfed down the crumbs. And then I tried making it again after contacting the person who had posted the recipe and using the tips she gave me. They worked better, were still delicious, and still turned to crumbs. I guess I'm going to need to get a real baker to make them for me.
I've received other good recipes in the past year...a great cinnamon coffee cake recipe that I made for Christmas morning last year...that was fabulous! And many other great concoctions.
I'm grateful for people who share their recipes. Now, if I could only get them to cook for me, I'd be really grateful.

The Christmas Postal tide is rising

Just a quick pic to show you what today looked like in my mail truck. We are steadily increasing in our parcels and it will be peaking in just three or four weeks from now, but already, I'm having a tough time finding room for all the mail.

The thing most people don't know is that these trucks are ill-equipped for  the increase of online ordering and the corresponding increase in package delivery. There aren't any shelves in our trucks, so no matter how well we stack them, a few bumps, corners, or stops and the entire pile is soon jumbled. Within the next year or so, we'll be getting trucks with shelves, so that should help a lot.

Gratitude: Today, I'm thankful for Flo

So yesterday I was delivering my mail and there were a lot of Progressive ads going to homes along my route. I was looking at Flo all day.

I'm kind of thankful for Flo. Those commercials early on were appealing and something fresh. I know it sounds weird, but Flo is a bright spot in a world of stupid commercials and television programs. I don't typically like commercials, but there are a few entertaining ones and the ones with Flo in them are among the best. Besides that, I think the woman who portrays Flo is probably nice in real life, and the world needs more nice people, especially in the kind of world in which we live.

So two thumbs up for Flo. I hope she has a happy Thanksgiving.

Song for a Winter's Night

Eleven inches of snow in Tooele today. We didn't get anything here in West Valley. Still it was mighty cold. I felt it to both body and soul. Here's a great Gordon Lightfoot song for the day...Song for a Winter's Night.

Today I'm thankful I never got soaked, and other assorted topics

Winter has finally come to Utah. It's just as well. I was getting burned out of keeping up with the yard, and now, I can look forward to not having to do that kind of stuff until spring. I got the Accord finished with the safety and emissions inspection--it had failed because the bracket that holds the battery in had broken. Anyway, I replaced that today. I got a tool in the mail that's supposed to help with clearing obstructions from toilets. In our basement, where our daughter, Rebecca and her family live, the toilet is having issues. I had plunged it last week and got a toothbrush out, but then found out that there might be more toothbrushes and whatever else in there and that it was still sluggish. Rather than pull the toilet to clear it, I got online and looked for easier solutions. Anyway, I found out about the toilet auger that a bunch of people swear works well, then I checked the video that's mentioned in the comment section. In case you ever need to know this, here it is.

I put Rebecca's husband, Justin on the task this morning. I'm anxious to see how it went.

Ann and I are going to try and finish up our Christmas shopping for the kids and grandkids sometime today. We like to get it done early, so we don't have to worry about it. I still have a bunch to do for Ann, but what do you expect? Her birthday is December 12, then there's Christmas, and on December 30th, our anniversary. If I could figure out how to get Mother's Day and Valentine's Day into December, I would and then I could have the whole shebang over for the year.

On the writing front, I think I'm going to find some agents to whom I can submit my Christmas poem entitled The Cowboy's Mile: A Christmas Story. I feel that it would be easier to try and explain my idea for the poem with illustrations to an agent rather than to a publishing company. It's a lengthy poem--about two to three type written pages of verse--and it would lend itself well to a format with a stanza or two on a page with an illustration to go with it. I'm fairly certain both children and adults would like this story--I just need to find a way to get it published. I'm also confident that it would be well-received among the Christian book market, so maybe that's the kind of agent I need to approach.

As for gratitude today, I'm grateful I didn't ever stay out in the rain long enough to get soaking wet. It might have caused trouble with clothes clinging and all of that. Okay, I know, that sounds like a weird thing to be grateful for, but I have my reasons. And I am trying to think of things I don't normally think of for which to be grateful. Normally I don't mind getting soaking wet, especially when it's very hot. But this year, it seemed kind of like, well, it didn't ever really get hot enough to need that cool down effect, another thing for which I'm grateful. And, it's just plain hard to get out of the wet clothing. I'm thankful I never got that wet and that all my excursions this year were relatively tame. Well most of them. That's a story for another time.

Today I'm grateful for sunrises and sunsets

Earlier this year, during the summer, I went hiking specifically to take pictures of the sunset from the Salt Lake Overlook. It was a great experience that I enjoyed immensely. I have been treated to many great sunsets this year. I have been treated to spectacular sunrises. When I see them, I try to share them because, well, spreading the joy is always a good thing.
Sometimes when I see a beautiful sunrise, I cannot help but think of others sharing it too. That's one of the great things about both sunrises and sunsets--that many people can see them, if they take the time. Sunsets and sunrises lift the spirits and impress upon the mind the beauty of God's creations. And I kind of like that.

Sunset along the Kings Peak trail, 2014

Gratitude: for advice that's worth more than I paid for it

In looking back over the past year, I've received a lot of good free advice. Some say, advice is worth what you pay for it. I say, that in the past year, the free advice I've gotten has been as valuable to me as if I'd paid a lot of money for it. I don't think that we often count free counsel by others when it come to gratitude, but this time, I'm going to. So thanks for the advice. It has been worth far more than I ever paid.

Gratitude, green lights and geese

November is typically the month when we tend to think of gratitude a bit more frequently. Of course, that's associated with Thanksgiving Day. Really, we should be full of gratitude all the time for our great blessings. I've participated in the past in events that included listing some of the things I am thankful for on social media sites. Over the next couple of weeks, I'm going to be posting in this blog some of the things for which I'm grateful.
This first one is going to seem odd to some, not so odd to others. I'm thankful for green lights. That's right. Green lights. Far better than red lights, green lights suggest that it's okay. Okay to proceed, okay to go, okay to do a lot of everything. If I see two green lights in a row, I sometimes think that maybe this day, God is on my side a bit more than usual--and I can always use that kind of feeling.
I was a bit sad earlier today. Feeling blue. Blue's normally my color, but not when I'm sad. But then, something amazing happened. I hit two green lights in a row and somehow I knew that everything would be all right. So, I want to thank God for making sure I saw that today.

There was something else I saw today that had God's mark all over it. I was at the gym, having just completed my workout and I was walking around just thinking for a minute. I walked down to the west doors and looked up at the magnificent sky. The perfect mixture of blue, gray, and pink warmed my heart, but just then a flock of geese flew past, heading north. Within seconds another flock flew by, this time heading south, and then a third group, heading south as well. Big, beautiful birds bringing to me, a message of peace. God knew my heart needed it this morning and he delivered, as he always does when I decide to trust in and honor him.

Have you seen her? Betcha by golly wow!

I like sad songs from time to time. That doesn't mean I'm sad every time I listen to them. Far from it. There are times though. I remember times in the past when I've been sad. And songs of lost love are usually the saddest. Now, this singing group, the Chi-lites....they are great. They also have some nice Afros. I had an Afro once, believe it or not. It kind of reminds me of the old NBA announcer who once asked, "How tall is that guy?" and his side-kick said, "Six foot eight...seven two if you count his hair."

Another great song is the Stylistic's "Betcha By Golly Wow" This is just a great song that isn't a sad song. Some of these old Mo-town groups are fabulous! Sit back and enjoy a couple of classics!

Life's trials stink

Two days ago I got a call from my daughter (who with her family, lives in our basement) while I was at work.
"There's water everywhere and it's coming from the floor drain in the basement. Sewage has backed up into the bathtub. What should I do?
I have used up all my leave time for the year. I couldn't go home to assess the situation myself. "Call a plumber," I said. "Go with whichever one can get there first".
Hoping that she could handle the situation from there, I worked the last three hours until quitting time, and then went straight home, abandoning my plans for a workout at my local gym.
When I finally got to take a look at things, they seemed rather dire. The plumber would not be there for a couple of hours, so I set about using the shop vac to suck up water. I knew I wouldn't be able to dump it until the plumber arrived and fixed things.
When the plumber got there, he got the drains clear, but emphasized a problem I already knew we had...that somewhere in the main line going out to the street there's a "belly" in the line. This can lead and has already led to multiple backing up problems. He left and I got back to work, mopping, cleaning tubs. Trying to deal with another problem that the plumber had found, which was that the basement toilet was not working properly and that there was likely something lodged within. I was trying to dump shop vac water into it and flush it down, but it didn't want to go down. Only by adding additional water after pushing the handle would the thing go all the way down, but eventually even that stopped. I thought I'd be calling the plumber back the next day to pull the toilet.
However, in the process of trying to plunge the water down, the object that was blocking things actually became dislodged and floated partway into the bowl, I could see the brush end of a toothbrush. I plunged my ungloved hand into the tank and grabbed it. It didn't want to come, but I insisted. Once I got that out and washed my hands, I tried flushing the toilet again. It worked! Rebecca had been carrying water up the 12 steps all day to dump it somewhere, and was all done in, so I washed all the sopping towels, semi-cleaned the toilet, sprayed out the tub (it would still need a good scrubbing), sucked up the remaining water off the floor, and after a long, hot shower, called it a night.
So, this year we've had the freezer go out, the roof replaced, and a flood in the basement. Things come in threes, as a friend reminded me, and we've had our three. No more necessary this year! I think I will schedule a plumber from now on every six months to run a cable through the lines, and if that doesn't work, well, I guess we'll have to take more drastic measures. One of the neighbors said that the same thing happened to them and the guy who fixed theirs said that the houses in the neighborhood had settled since they'd been built and the lines going out to the street have virtually no downhill gradient. Good to know...
Yeah, I'm fairly certain that we'll be moving again. I was fairly certain before, so now I'm even more so. I'm just glad that life's adventures don't all involve cleaning up sewage.