Hump Day Wanderings.

Very funny video.  Worth the time to watch.  http://www.youtube.com/embed/zzabmVIU6EQ

Just sitting here this morning wondering if winter is ever going to be over.   I had to buy some wood pellets for the stove.  We usually don't have to use it much by this time of year.  We have used a little over a ton more than last year.  Aha--global warming.  I  need to remind myself to write Mr. Gore and thank him for informing us of that matter.  NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  What an idiot.  There should be a place for people like him.  Oh wait.  There is.  I think it is called Gitmo.  He would think global warming if he had to spend time there during the summer months.  Lost my train of thought and wandered off for a moment.  Flashbacks of a time past.

Anyway it looks as if we are going to have another taste of the white stuff.  Shouldn't last long.  Temps in the 50's by Friday. 

Hermit Jim had a post about CCC camps in the 1930's.  This pic is of a building put up as a WPA/CCC  project, afew miles from here..  The building still stands and is used today.  There was a State Lake there at one time and this was the shelter house.

 There is also an old schoolhouse next to our house that was built during that same period.  I thought I had a pic of it, but don't,  so next time.

God Bless All--johnnyb

 

Got to love that Southern philosophy

 

MISSISSIPPI DECLARES WAR ON U.S. GOVERNMENT

President Barack Obama was in the Oval Office when his telephone rang."Hello, President Obama" a heavily accented southern voice said. "This is Jimmy Boy, down here at Bump's Catfish Shack, inVicksburg , and I am callin' to tell ya'll that we are officially declaring war on y'all!"
"Well Jimmy Boy," Barack replied, "This is indeed important news! How big is your army?"
"Right now," said Jimmy Boy, after a moments calculation "there is myself, my cousin Tom, my next-door-neighbor and brother Gerald, and the whole dart team from JD's Bait Shop. That makes eight or maybe nine depending if Bump can close the store.
Barack paused. "I must tell you Jimmy Boy that I have one million men in my army waiting to move on my command."
"Wow," said Jimmy Boy. "I'll have to call ya back!"
Sure enough, the next day, Jimmy Boy called again. "Mr. Obama, the war is still on! We have managed to acquire some infantry equipment!"
"And what equipment would that be Jimmy Boy?" Barack asked.
"Well sir, we have two combines, a bulldozer, and my brother Mike's farm tractor."
President Obama sighed. "I must tell you Jimmy Boy, that I have 16,000 tanks and 14,000 armored personnel carriers. Also I've increased my army to one and a half million since we last spoke."
"Lord above", said Jimmy Boy, "I'll be getting back to ya."
Sure enough, Jimmy Boy called again the next day. "President Obama! I am sorry to have to tell you that we have had to call off this here war."
"I'm sorry to hear that" said Barack. "Why the sudden change of heart?"

Well, sir," said Jimmy Boy, "we've all sat ourselves down and had a long chat over sweet tea, catfish, greens and pie and come to realize that there's just no way we can feed that many prisoners."
SOUTHERN CONFIDENCE CANNOT BE SHAKEN

Spring (?) update

Winter just doesn't seem to want to give up its grip.  Monday was almost 80 degrees, yesterday was 21 degrees and high winds.  We missed the severe weather and blizzards that went through west of us.  Strange weather.  The weather has been pretty good for the past couple of weeks.  A little moisture but not enough.  I was able to get the fence rebuilt around the garden and got some of the early things planted.  Carrots, onions, and added to the garlic patch. The beets would have been planted if the weather hadn't turned nasty.  Carol added to her grape vines also.  It was a little early for them, but they were growing to much in the packages they came in.  We covered them well so they should be ok.   she also has some more asparagus and fruit trees coming, and more rhubarb ready to plant.  I think she is also going to divide some of the plants already established.  The horseradish is coming up good.  I probably won't dig any of it this year.  next year will be the year for it.  Usually every 2-3 years.  I will wait until September to see how it looks.  Should only dig it in months with an "r" in them.  I have a friend that makes the sauce, and it is good.  Some of the best sinus clearing medicine that exists anywhere.  We are also are planning to move our herbs and add to them also.  We are planting some of these things in cattle mineral tubs.  We can amend the soil to whatever we want and not have to be concerned about the hardpan clay.  We are kind of doing a lot of experimenting this year.  When the weather straightens up I will post some pics.

God Bless All--johnnyb

A.A.A.D.D.

Thank goodness there's a name for this disorder...  
Somehow I feel better, even though I have it!! 
Recently, I was diagnosed [by my wife, children, co-workers…] with A.A.A.D.D.  Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder.

This is how it manifests:

I decide to water my garden. 
As I turned on the hose in the driveway, I looked over at my car and decided it needs washing.

As I started toward the garage, I noticed mail on the porch table that I brought up from the mail box earlier.

I decided to go through the mail before I wash the car. 

I lay my car keys on the table, put the junk mail in the garbage can under the table, and noticed that the can is full.

So, I decide to put the bills back on the table and take out the garbage first.

But then I think, since I'm going to be near the mailbox when I take out the garbage anyway, I may as well pay the bills first.

I take my check book off the table, and see that there is only one check left.

My extra checks are in my desk in the study, so I go inside the house to my desk where
I find the can of Pepsi I'd been drinking.

I'm going to look for my checks, but first I need to push the Pepsi aside so that I don't accidentally knock it over.

The Pepsi is getting warm, and I decide to put it in the refrigerator to keep it cold.

As I head toward the kitchen with the Pepsi, a vase of flowers on the counter catches my eye--they need water.

I put the Pepsi on the counter and discover my reading glasses that I've been searching for all morning...

I decide I better put them back on my desk, 
but first I'm going to water the flowers.

 I set the glasses back down on the counter, 
fill a container with water and suddenly spot the TV remote. Someone left it on the kitchen table.

I realize that tonight when we go to watch TV, I'll be looking for the remote,
but I won't remember that it's on the kitchen table,
so I decide to put it back in the den where it belongs, but first I'll water the flowers.

I pour some water in the flowers, but quite a bit of it spills on to the floor.

So, I set the remote back on the table, get some towels and wipe up the spill.

Then, I head down the hall trying to remember what I was planning to do.

At the end of the day: 
the car isn't washed 
the bills aren't paid 
there is a warm can of Pepsi sitting on the counter 
the flowers don't have enough water, 
there is still only 1 check in my check book, 
I can't find the remote, 
I can't find my glasses, 
and I don't remember what I did with the car keys. 
Then, when I try to figure out why nothing got done today, I'm really baffled because I know I was busy all day, and I'm really tired.

Winter storm Virgil

Spring has arrived with a vengeance.  I am ready for winter to be over with.  This should be about the end of it.  The moisture was good.  Well received by the farmers.  Still need a lot to just be caught up on the moisture end.  Still amused at why we have to name a damned blizzard!!!!

We had a few days of nice weather, so I was able to start some of the garden prep work.  I took down all of the fence around the garden and bunny-proofed the cattle panels better.  A couple of more good days and I will about have that done.  It is about time to put in the root crops.  Probably right after the first of the month.  Had it not been for the storm, I would have put them in last week.  Onions that I missed last fall are coming up, so I guess it is time.

We have various projects planned for this spring.  Among them is more storage for dry goods.  That will give us more room for the canned goods in the house.  Carol has canned some ham that was on sale.  She has dry canned some other things.  Hopefully this year will be a better garden year.  We have some fruit trees coming soon, and more asparagus. 

Thought for the day--Sometimes I think I am too picky,  but then I watch my dog look for a place to poop!!

God bless--johnnyb

Ultimate Freedom Video

Even if you aren't a country music fan, I think you'll agree that Alan Jackson 's rendition of this hymn is beautiful, as is the slide

show reminding us of the reason this country became the greatest nation in the history of mankind..    Ultimate Freedom

Hope you are all having a good week.--johnnyb

 

 

TGIF

That used to be one of the big things of the week.  Being retired, everyday is Friday, or Monday or Saturday.  Doesn't make much difference now.  But for those who look forward to it--TGIF.   Weather has been up and down this week.  We've pretty much had all seasons.  Warm days, cool nights,  snow flurries, and possibility of thunder boomers tonite and tomorrow  and then blowing snow on Saturday nite and Sunday.  Then a little warming again.  I need SPRING.  AND NOW!!!  I am going to have to get some pellets for the stove.  Last year we used 2 1/2 pallets.  This year we are looking at 3.  2 years ago was 3 pallets also.  I hate to have them laying around through the summer.

We have started a few pots of tomatoes and some herbs in the house.  Yarrow is coming up, but nothing else yet.  We have other things to start as time goes this month.  We have been collecting mineral tubs from some cattlemen in the area.  We will use them for flowers, herbs and some root veggies.  Kind of a cross between container and raised bed gardening.  As time goes, I will include pics to show how they work.

Just a cute pic for today--

God Bless All--johnnyb

Welcome

Welcome to Chase Saxton.  Check out his blog.  Very interesting.  Glad to have you stop by.

And then it is winter

 Just an interesting little thing. 

(Disclaimer....I am not calling anyone old!!)

You know. . . time has a way of moving quickly and catching you unaware of the passing years. It seems just yesterday that I was young, just married and embarking on my new life with my mate. Yet in a way, it seems like eons ago, and I wonder where all the years went. I know that I lived them all. I have glimpses of how it was back then and of all my hopes and dreams.
But, here it is... the winter of my life and it catches me by surprise...How did I get here so fast? Where did the years go and where did my youth go? I remember well seeing older people through the years and thinking that those older people were years away from me and that winter was so far off that I could not fathom it or imagine fully what it would be like.
But, here it is...my friends are retired and getting grey...they move slower and I see an older person now. Some are in better and some worse shape than me...but, I see the great change...Not like the ones that I remember who were young and vibrant...but, like me, their age is beginning to show and we are now those older folks that we used to see and never thought we'd be. Each day now, I find that just getting a shower is a real target for the day! And taking a nap is not a treat anymore... it's mandatory! Cause if I don't on my own free will... I just fall asleep where I sit!
And so...now I enter into this new season of my life unprepared for all the aches and pains and the loss of strength and ability to go and do things that I wish I had done but never did!!  But, at least I know, that though the winter has come, and I'm not sure how long it will last...this I know, that when it's over on this earth...its over. A new adventure will begin!
Yes, I have regrets. There are things I wish I hadn't done...things I should have done, but indeed, there are many things I'm happy to have done. It's all in a lifetime.

So, if you're not in your winter yet...let me remind you, that it will be here faster than you think. So, what ever you would like to accomplish in your life please do it quickly! Don't put things off too long!! Life goes by quickly. So, do what you can today, as you can never be sure whether this is your winter or not! You have no promise that you will see all the seasons of your life...so, live for today and say all the things that you want your loved ones to remember...and hope that they appreciate and love you for all the things that you have done for them in all the years past!!

"Life" is a gift to you. The way you live your life is your gift to those who come after. Make it a fantastic one.

LIVE IT WELL!
ENJOY TODAY!
DO SOMETHING FUN!
BE HAPPY !
HAVE A GREAT DAY
Remember "It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver.

LIVE HAPPY IN 2013!

LASTLY, CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING:

 TODAY IS THE OLDEST YOU'VE EVER BEEN,

YET THE YOUNGEST YOU'LL EVER BE

SO - ENJOY THIS DAY WHILE IT LASTS.

~Your kids are becoming you......but your grandchildren are perfect!

~Going out is good.. Coming home is better!

~You forget names.... But it's OK because other people forgot they even knew you!!!

~You realize you're never going to be really good at anything.... especially golf.

~The things you used to care to do, you no longer care to do, but you really do care that you don't care to do them anymore.

~You sleep better on a lounge chair with the TV blaring than in bed. It's called "pre-sleep".

~You miss the days when everything worked with just an "ON" and "OFF" switch..

~You tend to use more 4 letter words ... "what?"..."when?"... ???

~Now that you can afford expensive jewelry, it's not safe to wear it anywhere.

~You notice everything they sell in stores is "sleeveless"?!!!

~What used to be freckles are now liver spots.

~Everybody whispers.

~You have 3 sizes of clothes in your closet.... 2 of which you will never wear.

~~~But Old is good in some things: Old Songs, Old movies, and best of all, OLD FRIENDS!!

God Bless-johnnyb

Monday Morning stuff

This is a very interesting video to watch:   Life on a self-sufficient farm.  It is worth the 7 minutes.

We had another winter storm blow through yesterday.  Just a few inches more.  There was a little more wind this time.  It blew shut all the paths we had scooped out.  These pics were taken yesterday morning.  There had been freezing fog all night.  The ice on the trees were a pretty sight.

And  our humble abode. 

 Carol is filling out an order for some more blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, almond trees and asparagus.  She tries to add a little each year.  The heat last year was tough on our trees.  It was hard to keep enough water on everything.

She has also been soaking a pot of beans overnight.  she just put them on to cook for later today with the addition of a ham hock.  I think corn bread is also on the menu.  Add a little homemade ground horseradish in the bowl and I am in heaven.

God Bless all--johnnyb

I received this from a friend and wanted to pass it on---johnnyb

Why Do Societies Give Up?

By Victor Davis Hanson

2/14/2013

Why do once-successful societies ossify and decline?
Hundreds of reasons have been adduced for the fall of Rome and the end of the Old Regime in 18th-century France. Reasons run from inflation and excessive spending to resource depletion and enemy invasion, as historians attempt to understand the sudden collapse of the Mycenaeans, the Aztecs and, apparently, the modern Greeks. In literature from Catullus to Edward Gibbon, wealth and leisure -- and who gets the most of both -- more often than poverty and exhaustion implode civilization.
One recurring theme seems consistent in Athenian literature on the eve of the city's takeover by Macedon: social squabbling over slicing up a shrinking pie. Athenian speeches from that era make frequent reference to lawsuits over property and inheritance, evading taxes, and fudging eligibility for the dole. After the end of the Roman Republic, reactionary Latin literature -- from the likes of Juvenal, Petronius, Suetonius, Tacitus -- pointed to "bread and circuses," as well as excessive wealth, corruption and top-heavy government.
For Gibbon and later French scholars, "Byzantine" became a pejorative description of a top-heavy Greek bureaucracy that could not tax enough vanishing producers to sustain a growing number of bureaucrats. In antiquity, inflating the currency by turning out cheap bronze coins was often the favored way to pay off public debts, while the law became fluid to address popular demands rather than to protect time-honored justice.
After the end of World War II, most of today's powerhouses were either in ruins or still preindustrial -- China, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Russia and Taiwan. Only the United States and Great Britain had sophisticated economies that survived the destruction of the war. Both were poised to resupply a devastated world with new ships, cars, machinery and communications.
In comparison to Frankfurt, the factories of 1945 Liverpool had survived mostly intact. Yet Britain missed out on the postwar German economic miracles, in part because after the deprivations of the war, the war-weary British turned to class warfare and nationalized their main industries, which soon became uncompetitive.
The gradual decline of a society is often a self-induced process of trying to meet ever-expanding appetites, rather than a physical inability to produce past levels of food and fuel, or to maintain adequate defense. Americans have never had safer workplaces or more sophisticated medical care -- and never have so many been on disability.
King Xerxes' huge Persian force of 250,000 sailors and soldiers could not defeat a rather poor Greece in 480-479 B.C. Yet a century and a half later, a much smaller invading force from the north under Philip II of Macedon overwhelmed the far more prosperous Greek descendants of the victors of Salamis.
For hundreds of years, the outmanned legions of the tiny and poor Roman Republic survived foreign invasions. Yet centuries later, tribal Goths, Visigoths, Vandals and Huns overran the huge Mediterranean-wide Roman Empire.
Given our unsustainable national debt -- nearly $17 trillion and climbing -- America is said to be in decline, although we face no devastating plague, nuclear holocaust, or shortage of oil or food.
Americans have never led such affluent material lives -- at least as measured by access to cell phones, big-screen TVs, cheap jet travel and fast food. Obesity rather than malnutrition is the greater threat to national health. Flash mobs go after electronics stores, not food markets. Americans spend more money on Botox, face lifts and tummy tucks than on the age-old scourges of polio, small pox and malaria.
If Martians looked at the small box houses, one-car families and primitive consumer goods of the 1950s, they would have thought the postwar United States, despite a balanced budget in 1956, was impoverished. In comparison, an indebted contemporary America would seem to aliens flush with cash, as consumers jostle for each new update to their iPhones.
By any historical marker, the future of Americans has never been brighter. The United States has it all: undreamed new finds of natural gas and oil, the world's pre-eminent food production, continual technological wizardly, strong demographic growth, a superb military and constitutional stability.
Yet we don't talk confidently about capitalizing and expanding on our natural and inherited wealth. Instead, Americans bicker over entitlement spoils as the nation continues to pile up trillion-dollar-plus deficits. Enforced equality rather than liberty is the new national creed. The medicine of cutting back on government goodies seems far worse than the disease of borrowing trillions from the unborn to pay for them.
In August 1945, Hiroshima was in shambles, while Detroit was among the most innovative and wealthiest cities in the world. Contemporary Hiroshima now resembles a prosperous Detroit of 1945; parts of Detroit look like they were bombed decades ago.
History has shown that a government's redistribution of shrinking wealth, in preference to a private sector's creation of new sources of it, can prove more destructive than even the most deadly enemy.

Day after Q

Nice bright sunny morning.  Temp was +2F this morning with windchill at -17F.  We ended up with somewhere between 12-15 inches.  It was a nice winter storm.  We did not have the wind that was forecast, so it is sitting nice on the fields and pastures.  Ther was a little wind, but not bad.  Wasn't enough to classify it as a blizzard here anyway.  Just a winter storm.

This picture was from our front door this morning:

This picture was from the back yard:

Some areas of the state had a lot more snow,  but it did cover most of the state.  Another storm is forecast for Sunday.  Not supposed to be much snow, but more wind.  The moisture will be good if it will stay on the fields.  National Weather Service just announced that it was the worse winter storm to hit Kansas in decades.  We have had bigger snows, but this one covered most of the state with either snow, thunder, lightning, rain, sleet and whatever may have fallen from the sky.  There was a house fire in Wichita yesterday, during the snow storm, that was caused by a lightning strike. Strange, strange, strange.

Did a little snow shoveling this morning.  Not much.  Just enough to clear the snow away from the doors.  cleaned out a small area for the chickens to come out and look around.  The dogs have been wondering around the yard, mostly looking for a place to do their morning stuff.

Everyone have a good day.  God Bless--johnnyb

"Q"

We are still fighting the crud.  Not worse, but the cough is still with us and it has zapped any energy that we may have in reserve.  And after a winter of total vegging, that ain't much.  We have been preparing for a winter storm to blow through today and tomorrow.  I think we are ready for it.  Propane tank has plenty in it for a few days if then power goes out and we have to use the furnace.  It is just a heater and doesn't need power to run.  Did a wally world run Monday and stocked up on some things we needed.  The storm is not of the magnitude of  the ones in the NE, but 50 MPH winds here are terrible.  Nothing to stop it except barbed wire fences,  and that ain't much of a wind break.  Once in a while a jack rabbit will stick it's head up and block a little, but only a little unless he freezes in place!  I see the NWS has put a name on the storm.  Q!!!!  We don't even rate a full name.  But that doesn't surprise me.  They will probably give it a name when it gets farther east.  Naming  storms puts a burr under my saddle anyway, especially winter storms.  It's not like there is so many that the NWS can't keep track of them!  What's wrong with "the blizzard of 06"?  If you talk about the hurricane of "05" most people would know what you are talking.  Probably some that are still unaware of it.  Just their annual house cleaning and........I won't go there.  That's a bigger and uglier burr.

Cleaned the chicken house and put new straw down, so they can have a nice place to spend the storm.  They haven't been out much this morning.  They came out to see what I was doing earlier, so I gave them some scratch food and protein (cat food) to make them happy.  I also put out food for the wild birds.  I need to put some out for the game birds yet and then I will be done until evening.

It started snowing about 30 minutes ago.  The ground is starting to become white.  The moisture will be good.  The wind is from the SE now, but will turn to the North tomorrow.  That will make for some weird drifts. 

On the national scene....I see where our illustrious VP was out campaigning for gun control yesterday.  At a meeting put on by gun control idiots he told a woman the best way to protect herself was with a double barrel shotgun.  He told her they were easier to aim than AR 15 and could be just as scary.  That is what he has for his wife.  So much for taking our guns away from us!!

Time to go.  Hope everybody has a good day, and anyone in the path of "Q", stay warm.

God Bless--johnnyb

Wednesday already

I am finally starting to feel almost better than death warmed over.  This past week has not been good.   I did feel good enough to take a little walk yesterday afternoon.  Will be glad when it has run its course.  Carol has also been down with it.

Last night was the annual kindergarten party in D.C.  Such a farce!!  It would be nice to think that there might be at least one person there that has the best interest of the country in their hearts, but I don't think there is.  Seems that the only thing the White House is wanting to do is take our guns away so there will be a free run.  Think again, Bucko!!  Enough BS.  I don't need to say more.  It's all been said before.

Our weather has not been too bad.  We had 1/2 inch of rain this weekend.  Not enough, but anything is good.  At least it settled the blowing dust.  The spring winds have came a little early.  I am afraid this year is going to be ugly.  We have all of our seeds and will start them soon in the house.

Time to play like a horse turd and hit the trail.----God Bless--johnnyb

The Ninja applicants

We have kind of been under the weather this week..Both of us has the good old crud.  Haven't felt much like posting anything.  I did come across this cute story and thought I would pass it along.

The mighty Emperor had lost his trusty and most beloved Ninja. He sent word out through the lands for a new one. Three Ninjas responded: a Chinese Ninja, an African Ninja, and a Jewish Ninja. He took the Chinese Ninja into a room, and opened a small box. A fly flew out and the Ninja went "whish" with his sword a the fly was in two pieces. "Fine, fine", said The emperor and called in the African. He once again opened the box, a fly flew out and the Ninja went "Whish, whish" with his sword, and the fly was in four pieces. "Fine,Fine", said the emperor and called in the Jewish Ninja. He opened up the box, a fly flew out and the Ninja went "whish" with his sword and the fly kept flying around. "What does that show that you can do. The fly is still flying around?"
Without a moments hesitation the Jewish Ninja said, "Circumcision"!

Archaeological Discovery

An archaeological team, digging in Washington DC , has uncovered 10,000 year old bones and fossil remains of what is believed to be the first Politician.

 

Have a good one.  God bless-johnnyb

Not much new

Want to give a hello to our Air Force grandson serving a tour overseas for a few months.  We appreciate what you do.     I hope that the caring citizens of this country will take a moment to thank those who are serving or have served.  Get an email address and send a few words of encouragement.  Send a care package to someone.  Doesn't matter if you know them or not.  Those of you who have been there know the importance of knowing that there is somebody back here that cares.   I know there are some who don't, but **** them!!  (Pardon my French!)

I am not pointing any fingers at anyone.   It is just that sometimes we are a little negligent in doing some things that we should do.  It only takes a minute.  In my book they are all heroes.  In doesn't take an act of valor to be a hero.  In my book, anyone who is doing the job there are trained to do, and I mean actually do something, is a hero.  The men of the United States Military fit in that category.

This also pertains to the private sector.  The problem is that too many do not want to work.  They want a paycheck for standing around sending text messages when they should be working. 

Enough of this.  I get just a little testy when I think of the state of our work force. 

God Bless--johnnyb

Tales from the Whogonkies

Catchy title isn't it!  Once I heard someone say they were from the Whogonkies.  I always took that as being somewhere between here and the other side of nowhere.  I am sure that I have been to the Whogonkies at one time or another as I am sure most people have been.  It might only been in our imaginary minds as a child battling the forces of evil, (i.e. cowboys and Indians in my day), or just driving through an area of desolate country that you cannot imagine anyone ever living in.  Then again it could be that area just over the next hill that I tell the grandson is the middle of nowhere.  It is always over the next hill. So here goes my story of that area known as the Whogonkies.

Uncle Jake Holenhammer  from chokecherry draw was in town yesterday.  Said he really wasn't planning on coming to town, but when he hitched up the mules to go a neighbors, they got a little frisky and got a little out of control.  He figured they must have wanted to come to town when they took the left fork in the road instead of the right one.  Anyway he was making the best of it.  He was headed for Mz. Betsy's House of Feel Better Quick.  Said he thought it was soon enough to spring for nice all over bath, shave, and haircut,etc.  I think that there is something else going over there, but being the fine upstanding citizen that I am, I have not frequented the place.  I have seen some mighty pretty ladies going in the back door.  I just figured it was some kinfolk of Mz. Betsy, but maybe not.  I may have to check into that a little more.  Interesting project for next week.

There was a box supper and barn dance over at the Shimwater place Saturday nite.  Good time was had by all.  I was there bidding on Miss Annie Whizzlestones, box supper.  I was able to outlast the other guys and we sat in a corner and enjoyed what ever it was she had prepared.  I am not sure what the sandwich was, but I ate it to be polite.  It was worth the "backyard trots" that I got just to spend some time with her.  I may have to go courting some evening, without the sandwich this time.   Anyway we enjoyed dancing to the music of the Schnagglenathy family from up creek a few miles.  All seventeen of them.   The refreshments were provided by Uncle Ned and his boys from up Rattlesnake Canyon. I'm not sure what it was, but it was tasty.  Kind of had a little kick to it.  Wasn't to many fights this time.  Once in a while it gets a little wild.

Grandpa Smith passed on last week.  Some say he was just a little on the other side of a hundred years old.  Others said he wasn't all that old.  Just was the life he led.  I guess he had an ample supply of "shine" and tobacco every day.  Some say they didn't need to embalm him, just put him away.  Anyway he will be missed by all, especially the "shine" producers!

Speaking of the "shine" producers, been a few strangers in the area lately.  Always a little suspicious when there is strangers about.  Haven't heard of anything happening yet, but we will see.

I have to go.  the sandwich is still working a little bit.  Until next time--God Bless

It is like an early spring morning here today.  Temps in the upper 30's and misty.  Had a little rain last night.  Nothing major, but it all helps.  I heard  some patrons at the bar say that we would need 18 inches of moisture just to start back even again.  We don't get that all year sometimes, so it could be a long year ahead.  Since I heard it at the bar, it has to be true!! 

Helped out at the bar last nite.  They served 120, 18-20 ounce, rib-eye steaks last night.. Was a fun evening.  Lots of good people out for wild night on the town.  Of course, with a population of less than 100 people,  it don't take long to do the town.  We draw from a fairly large area, or the bar and grill couldn't exist. 

The rest of our seeds arrived yesterday.  The pony express man slowed long enough to get them in the mail box.  I am only kidding, of course.  The pony express stopped coming here last year.  Not that we can tell much difference in delivery time.  I could tell some horror stories on that subject, but I imagine everyone has experiences on that subject.

Just a funny thing to end for today:

 Top 10 Polite Ways To Say Your Zipper Is Down

10. The cucumber has left the salad.
9. Quasimodo needs to go back in the tower and tend to his bells.
8. You need to bring your tray table to the upright and locked position.
7. Paging Mr. Johnson .. Paging Mr. Johnson.
6. Elvis has left the building.
5. The Buick is not all the way in the garage.
4. Our next guest is someone who needs no introduction.
3. You've got a security breach at Los Pantalones.
2. Men may be From Mars ... but I can see something that rhymes with Venus.

And the #1 way to tell someone his zipper is unzipped ..
1. You've got your fly set for "Monica" instead of "Hillary."

God Bless All--johnnyb

Day #1 of the rest of my life

 I always try to start each day with a prayer and the thought that "Today is the first day of the rest of my life".  I would hope that any mistakes I made yesterday,  I would have learned something from, and will not make them again.  You would think that after 66+ years, I would have made all the major ones, but stupidity prevails now and then, and I fall off the common sense wagon.  I guess if it wasn't for mistakes we would never learn anything.   The first boss I had when I got out of the Navy told me that there was a reason pencils had erasers.  Just don't get in the habit of using it.  And that is very true.

Called the tire shop and ordered a set of tires for the Jeep.  Had a blow-out on the way to sling beer Saturday night.  Then the jack cratered before I could get the spare on.  I had to call a friend who brought out a floor jack to get it off the ground.  Just really made my day!  The tires were needing replaced.  Kind of beyond the need actually.  It is just the point that I would have rather picked when to get the new ones.  Just a small detail like having money set aside for it.  Oh well,  TODAY IS THE FIRST DAY OF THE REST OF MY LIFE. Deal with it!!  Anyway they didn't have 4 of the ones I needed, so they are ordered, and will be in tomorrow.  The Jeep is a 1996 Gran Cherokee.  It has been a good vehicle for us.  Almost 200,000 miles on it.  Just the usual problems and up keep that go along with a full-time 4WD vehicle.  We try to keep it on good condition.  It is paid for and we really don't want to be saddled with a car payment!

I hope everyone has a good week.  I plan on it.  Nothing will ruin my week.  I have decided and proclaimed this as a good week!!  Regardless of how each day goes, I plan on making the best of it!
God bless all--johnnyb

Sunday over a cup of coffee

After reading the comments, and I do appreciate and enjoy them, I got to thinking again.  (Dangerous, dangerous, dangerous!)  Why don't I always post on a regular basis?  That is one of those "To be or not to be" (thieved from somewhere or something I read in high school literature class)  questions.  Sometimes I feel like I do not have anything worth-while to say.  But then I ask myself, "Self, whose idea is it that it is not important, or worth-while, or interesting to anyone else?"  If it is my idea, then it is a very opinionated idea.  Just because I think one way is no reason to think somebody else might think the same way.  All of you that are on my side board and a lot that aren't on the list, I value as very good friends.  Friends that I have never met in person, and will probably never meet in person.  Maybe that is some of the intrigue of the blogging world.  I wish I could meet you all in person, but maybe that would ruin the mental picture that we develop in our minds of each other.  I guess where this headed, if it is headed anywhere, that even if you don't have anything to say, just a good hello.

So here goes---HELLO, HELLO, HELLO.   Now that wasn't so bad, and I did it.  I really do appreciate your comments, and I will try to be more regular.  Let me rephrase that.  It didn't sound right.  I will try to post more of our doings on a regular basis.

 I did a stint as beer-tender at the local establishment of fine dining and imbibing of only the best spirits available. (Budweiser, Coors, Miller,  Corona, Busch(Yuk), Keystone (double yuk),, and a couple of others that don't deserve mentioning.  Always an entertaining evening.  Saturday nite is Rib-eye steak nite.  18-22 ounce steaks cooked to perfection.  Maybe next week I will get pictures that will get the juices flowing, so to speak.   This community is a very conservative,  most are very far right, so we fit in well . So you can guess where a lot of the conversation goes these days.  We don't encourage political conversations at the bar, but sometimes wanders that way.  Especially with the gun issue.  Most people own guns and are buying more. One person I talked to had been to a gun auction yesterday and was very happy with his acquisition.  We love this area, and feel very comfortable here. Wouldn't want to live anywhere else.  People are very friendly unless you piss them off.  Then they will never forget.

My thought or question of the day is:  Why is it that when you're driving and looking for an address, you turn down the volume on the radio?

God Bless you all!  You are the best--johnnyb

Oh Hum

Gee, it has been a while since I have added any thing.  I guess time flies when you are having fun!  Hasn't too much going on around here.  Temperatures have been up and down.  we are going into a few days of nice weather and then the deep freeze opens again.  Most of the snow has melted off, so it is pretty sloppy when the temperature warms.   No new prospects for moisture in the near future.  What we have had has been good, but not near enough.

I was watching the mail for garden seeds that have been ordered, but then I remembered that I only ordered them yesterday!  (Just kidding.)   I am not that bad yet.  Close, but not yet!   We ordered only heirloom seeds or organic.  All non-GMO.  Especially for the things that we will keep seeds from.  Hope to get a small seed bank started, just in case.  I will start some things in the house in a month or so.

The events in the news daily are like a 3-ring circus.  There is no common sense at all in Washington, DC.   Let me rephrase that.  there is no sense, period, in Washington, DC!   The whole thing is like Comedy Central with POTUS as the headline act,  with the Nancy and Harry Extravaganza as the warm-up act.
No more on that subject, except we are in tune with Stephen's advice of last week.

That's about it for today.  I have a lot of things I would like to say, but would probably get in trouble with the guys in black suits that talk  to their wrists a lot.   I wonder, do the  Feds get bulk rates on sunglasses at Wally World ?  I am sure that they would buy them from a business in the states, wouldn't they?  O surely they would!!!

God Bless--johnnyb

Survival of the ???

A herd of buffalo can only move as fast as the slowest buffalo, and when the herd is hunted, it is the slowest and weakest ones at the back that are killed first. This natural selection is good for the herd as a whole, because the general speed and health of the whole keeps improving by the regular culling of the weakest members.

In much the same way, the human brain can operate only as fast as the slowest brain cells. Excessive intake of alcohol, we all know, kills off brain cells, but naturally it attacks the slowest and weakest brain cells first. In this way, regular consumption of wine and beer eliminates the weaker cells, constantly making the brain a faster and more efficient machine.

The results of this in-depth epidemiological study verifies and validates the causal link between all-weekend parties and engineering performance. It also explains why, after a few short years of leaving university and getting married, most engineers cannot keep up with the performance of the new graduates. Only those few that stick to the strict regimen of voracious alcoholic consumption can maintain the intellectual levels that they achieved during their university years.

So, this is a call to arms. As our country is losing its technological edge we should not shudder in our homes. Get back into the bars! Quaff that beer! Drink that wine! Your company and country need you to be at your peak, and you shouldn't deny yourself the career that you could have.

 

Happy New Years Day

 You wake up to NewYears Morning suffering from a bad case of the 12 ounce, or 750ml flu this morning, RISE AND SHINE!!  The day is wasting.  There are empty beer cans, empty wine bottles, dirty dishes strung all over the house.  Clothes in places there shouldn't be clothes, like hanging from the ceiling fan in the bedroom.  The "unmentionables"  hanging there are nothing you have seen the , girlfriend wear or have ever seen in the laundry.  Oh my God, there is a big blank after the  third bottle of tequila was opened.  There was something about the person who got the last shot from the bottle had to catch the worm in his teeth!  Man what a party it must have been.  You go into another room where you remember there was a poker game going on.  Poker chips strung everywhere.  None on the table anymore.  Oh, this is scary.  There are clothes on the table!  Underneath those clothes is a poker hand, ace high-straight flush!  Hmm, must have been the winning hand.  Your next thought is--What in the hell did some of these people wear home!   Or, did they go home.  Or who did they go home with.  At least there weren't any married couples here. You haven't looked in all the rooms yet.  You carefully search the rest of the house, but find no one.  You look around at the mess and wish you had found someone so they could help you clean up the mess.  Other wise, the next thing is to try to get it declared a disaster area so funds will be available to cover the clean up expenses.   The clothes I will keep and see if anyone comes to claim them. HeHeHe.

This is not a story from my New Years Eve Party.  I can't say I haven't "heard" of parties like this.  Of course not any that I would have been involved in!  I think I better go onto another subject before I get myself in a situation that there is no escape from.

Actually it was  a nice evening.  I helped out at the nearby  fine dining and drinking establishment.  They were serving 18-20 ounce prime rib last nite.  Carol went along for the meal.  We were home by 11 for a quiet ringing in of the new year.  It was an enjoyable time.

It snowed for most of the day.  Nothing major, just a nice snow.

 I took these pictures early this morning.  What a beautiful way for the new year to start!   The fields are mostly covered with a little bit of snow. I just hope that everyone's morning is as cheery as it is here.  Good coffee,good company with my best friend and soul mate Carol, and dog bone treats with the girls.  Good enough for me.!

 For the best as can be possible in the coming year---God Bless all of you for being the greatest friends in the world--Carol and I love you all---johnnyb