Tuesday's Tidbits

* Three day weekend is over, now it's time to stop all the fun and BBQ's and get our collective butts back to work. I can think of a lot of reasons to do something other than a tidbits, but here it is.

* There have been 19,175 days since my birth, I'm fortunate to be able to continue to add to that total.

* It has been 4,398 days since I graduated from West Virginia University, it had always been a dream of mine, and it is better late than never.

* 2,999 days ago I took a very special lady out on our very first date, it was Pizza Hut and a movie, and we are still going strong today.

* It was 2,223 days ago that Michelle and I announced our engagement, I felt I had made her wait for than long enough.

* It was 1,760 days ago that Michelle and I had our wedding in front of our closest friends and family at the Marilla Center.

* I have around 5,662 or so days to go until retirement, give or take a few hundred here or there one way or the other.

* In 2,300 more days the Backyard Brawl Football Rivalry between WVU and Pitt will once again resume. I feel a butt kicking of some Panthers coming up.

* Phil will one again take center stage in 247 more days as we celebrate Ground Hogs Day.

* I have 214 more days of content to write until my Goodbye 2016 blog is posted, recounting my previous year based on events that were posted right here in my blog.

* If you haven't started Christmas Shopping yet, you still have 208 more days to go to get this accomplished.

* There are 184 more days until the next anniversary of my 21st Birthday.

* There are only 130 days to go until we attempt once again to go to the Springs Festival in Springs PA. Last years event was a little dampened.

* There are but a mere 103 days to go until our next Cruise, this one has been the longest countdown as we booked it last year on our last cruise.

* 84 days to go until  Jimmy Buffett in Burgettstown, not too late to still get tickets to see this legendary performer and the Coral Reefer Band.

* In 67 more days Michelle and I will be celebrating our Fifth Wedding Anniversary together.

* In 33 days we will be partying down at the Third Annual Friends and Family Picnic at Krepps Park, I'm ready for the celebrating to commence.

* There are but a mere 21 days to go until the Official start of Summer.

* I have written 4,479 blogs in the 11 3/4 years that I have been writing this blog. That's a lot of thoughts, ideas, rants, announcements and emotions that I have put into this site over the years.

* Nothing new on the brother search, I know big surprise on that bullet.

* No work done this week on the Hall Family Tree, it's just that time of the year when I don;t concentrate on this site as there are too many things going on.

* I did run to the grave yards yesterday to replace a few american flags on tombstones of deceased family veterans.

* Michelle's company picnic will be coming up this upcoming weekend, we will be at Mason Dixon park for the days festivities.

* Val is going to have Josh and Erica's Birthday Party the weekend after this one coming.

* Make the most of today. even though our wonderful weekend is over.

* Hi ho hi ho

Memorial Day

On this day it is the unofficial start of Summer, but today is a day that we need to take a little bit of time out to honor those who gave all to protect our freedoms that we enjoy in this country. It is more than just a day off from work and an extended weekend, it is a Memorial Day.

My plans for today will be to go and buy a few flags at some local store and visit at the very minimum three cemeteries. I will start out at Arnetttsville Cemetery to visit my mothers Father, Donald Newbraugh, I'll visit East Oak Grove Cemetery to visit my Father and I'll visit Mt Union Cemetery to visit my Grandpa Hall. All three of these men served bravely in the armed forces, Grandpa Hall was a WWI Veteran and Grandpa Newbraugh was a WWII Veteran. I'll replace our own version of the flags for each of these men today and honor their service.

Enjoy your day, but don't lose sight on why we have this day. The flags are just my little way of saying thank you to my family who fought to make sure that I have my freedoms that I enjoy today.

Happy Memorial Day.

Sunday

Well here I sit once again in a quiet household, I'm the first one to recover from that losing battle with that dreaded Sandman last night and I'm up at the butt crack of Dawn watching who knows what (not paying attention) on the TV. I think it is the best little whorehouse in Texas.

Yesterday we took a little trip down south, down to Smokehole Caverns to tour the Caverns and  we also went up to Dolly Sods to check it out. The pictures from our days adventures have been posted to Facebook. Michelle did take a video of the tour, but that is going to take some processing on my part to share the tour with everyone. I will put it all together and put it up on Youtube some time in the near future.

We took the long way home and stopped by our favorite Pizza joint which had just opened a franchise up in Fairmont. I have to say that both  Michelle and I were very disappointed in the product we received. I'll travel to Wheeling next time I want that particular pizza because the one if Fairmont misses the mark so bad just something horribly.

Today we'll do our grocery shopping and may do a little smoking out on the smoker, Michelle was starting to feel a little under the weather so I want to give her a chance to recover a little so I won't run her around too much. (yeah right).

Have yourselves a great day today.

Saturday Morning Ramblings

Here I sit in a semi-quiet household, Peanut and myself are up roaming around in the middle of the night, so I thought this would be a good time to write my blog. Nothing is playing on the TV and the only background noise I hear are that of the Air Conditioning and the Cicada mating call that was pretty prevalent around town yesterday.

Well I think Michelle and I will be heading out on a road trip today, we had a picnic planned but there was little to no response for it so we have made other potential plans for the day but that can always change. We have discussed loading up Pearl with a small grill and some food and heading to  traveling to Smokehole for the day, but that all depends on how Michelle's back feels and if it is up for the trip.

She worked a long and tedious week at work and she has been in some pain the past few weeks with her back, if she doesn't want to be in the car 4-5 hours today (travel and back) then we may make some alternative-alternative plans. The weather forecast once again looks like it is going to be cooperative as it has changed on a daily basis.

Have yourselves a great day and listen to the magical sounds of the cicada mating call, enjoy it as you won't hear this again for another 17 years.

Big Ole Hairy Memorial Day Weekend Friday!!!!

Yes it is once again that time of the week that we all look foreword to, when we can take time to cease the labors for the week and take a little bit of needed time out to enjoy the fruits of those labors. It is once again the dawn of another weekend, and a Big Three Day Memorial Day Weekend Ole Hairy Friday.

Well originally we had planned on doing a small picnic this Saturday at Coopers Rocks. It was going to be a small family get together for everyone, but it seems that that plan has not come to fruition and doesn't appear to be happening as of right now. That and those pesky little critters are probably going to be making their presence known as well. The weather report seems to change from day to day, so I think those plans have pretty much been canceled. Didn't get a very good response to that event.

For any of you you who use or like Fiestaware, they are having a tent sale in Newell, WV where the factory is located June 16th - 19th. This is pretty much where Michelle is from and she wants to go down for this event. Just a little tidbit of information for everyone.

I'm not sure what Michelle and my plans are for this weekend since the picnic is now a bust. We might just pack up the car tomorrow morning and take a day trip somewhere.

Have yourselves a great day and let's get it over with and get this party started!!!

Hi ho hi ho

Photo Flashback Thursday

Once a week I like to take a little bit of time out, time to look back through the 30,000+ pictures that I have either captured with a camera, scanned or just stolen from some place on the internet and select just one picture. One lost moment in time to post up and relive briefly right here for everyone. Sometimes this is a little challenging and sometimes it's a breeze, it's always a lot of fun so no complaints from me.

This weeks pic goes back to just last year around this time. It was Memorial Day Weekend and Michelle and I had jumped in the car and headed towards the Palace of Gold just outside of Wheeling.

We had taken a day trip to this temple that I had heard so much about, but had never visited. The site was absolutely gorgeous but I'm talking about the picture this week. This pic was taken either on the front side or back side of the temple.

We walked all around the grounds including down below where there are a couple of ponds, one with a huge statue close to it.

The thing I remember about this day was that it was hot and I left my GPS hanging in the window, pretty much disabling it after we had decided to come home down 250 and back route 7, where there was no cell service and without a GPS. We did make it home and I did buy a new GPS before we got home though.

Have yourselves a great day and make your own memories this weekend.

Hi ho hi ho

Hump Day

Well that is a couple of days down, a couple more ahead of us, that just means once we get up and over today's noon time hump it will be all downhill working towards a three day Memorial Day Weekend!!!

Well I did survive Monday's Softball double header. I have a lot of work to do to get my timing and everything back, but I'm pretty confident that as the season rolls along I'll be somewhat back to form. I know Monday night I did not have my timing and was pretty apprehensive swinging the bat at first, but as we played on and I saw I wasn't going to injure either of my torn labrums any further I started to feel more comfortable in there. It was nice to return after a nearly 6 year layoff.

Looking ahead and towards this upcoming weekend I know that we have a small picnic get together planned for Coopers Rock Saturday, but no one seems to be saying anything and we'll just have to wait and see how that all works out. The Cicadas are not as prevalent as previously feared just yet, so this may be a decent weekend weather permitting. And I just looked at my phone and it says Morgantown is supposed to be sunny and 90° on Saturday!!!! Maybe it will be time to get our picnic on.

With as much rain as we have had over the past few weeks, it's nice to see that we are going to have a nice little break in the weather and nice weather for the upcoming weekend!


Have yourselves a superfantastic day, mine just got a whole lot better.

Hi Ho hi ho

Tuesdays Tidbits

* Well that dreaded day we refer to as Monday is now behind us and we are staring straight down the barrel of a Tuesday, I can't think of a better reason to do a tidbits.

* I always write my blogs a day early, meaning that this was written before I played a double header softball game last night. Per Charlie Berry I will probably be saying I am Soooo Sore today. How will I get through work. He's probably right and I'm probably in pain...lol

* It has been 19,168 days since my birth, using my 905 day calendar that makes me about 21 years old, although this morning I am probably wishing I still had my 21 year old body to recover from last night.

* It has been 4,391 days since I graduated college at West Virginia University.

* Michelle and I went out on our very first date 2,992 days ago, it's amazing as bad as the movie that I picked was that she stuck around.

* 2,216 days ago at around 4:00 in the morning I proposed marriage to Michelle.

* 1,753 days ago in front of our closest friends and family at the Marilla Center Michelle became Michelle Hall.

* I have around 5,669 days to go until I retire, give or take a few hundred here or there, one way or the other of course.

* There are only 2,307 days before my beloved Mountaineers lay an ass whipping on the  Pitt Panthers in Football once again.

* There are only 254 days until Ground Hogs Day, but I see Phil was spying on me this past weekend when we were down in Weston.

* I have 221 more days until I publish my Goodbye 2016 blog, recalling my year based on events that are posted right here in my blog.

* You have 215 days left to do your Christmas shopping, there is still plenty of time but it's never too early to start planning.

* I have 191 days to go until the next anniversary of my 21st Birthday using that old and outdated 365 day calendar.

* There are 137 days to go until the Springs Festival, hopefully this year we will be able to make it there with no problems.

* We are 110 days away from our next cruise, I found out this weekend that another couple that we have cruised with a couple of times before will be on this cruise once again with us.

* We are just 91 days away from seeing Jimmy Buffett in concert once again in Burgettstown. Tickets are still on sale, which is pretty amazing since he used to sell out in minutes.

* In just 74 more days Michelle and I will be celebrating our Fifth Wedding Anniversary together, the best years of my life as I would refer to them.

* It's getting closer, we are just 40 days away from the Third Annual Friends and Family Picnic at Krepps Park. I'm just happy this was just not a one year deal and has continued year to year. It's just a day for everyone to take a few hours out, have fun, eat and talk to a bunch of great people.

* There are only a mere 28 more days to go until Summer.

* This is the 4,472nd blog that I have written for George's Journal, believe it or not it will be coming on 12 years this September since I started writing this Journal.

* Here is our 10 game season Softball Schedule for this season. All games are played on Mondays at either 6:00 or 7:00 on Ogden Field (last field and it has no lights). Hopefully I can survive the entire season.

* I did have to search for my Softball gear on Monday, it was packed away in a closet and I haven't used it in years. My glove and cleats are still intact =) but I might need a new batting glove.

* We do have a small picnic planned for this Saturday, not sure if that is going to happen now as the people who said they were coming may not now. Have to wait and see.

* Anyone seeing any Cicadas yet?

* Have yourselves a great day and pass the Bengay, I'm sore.

* Hi ho hi ho

I'm Back

It was 2010, going on six years ago that I retired from a long career of playing slow pitch softball every summer. My summers were filled with friends, great teams and a lot of memories that all ceased with the breakup of the old MiHaley's softball team.

In 2011 Michelle and I were planning our wedding and we were getting ready to start our lives together. I had been losing interest in the game for the last couple of years that I had been playing. It got to the point where it became more of a chore than something I loved so I retired from a game that I loved playing for so long.

Last fall I ran into an old team mate at Lowes and mentioned we should try to get into the new over 50 league that Boparc was going to try to do, well he took it to heart, got us a great sponsor in Whitetail Crossing and put together a roster of some pretty decent ballplayers and this is the beginning of the Championship we plan on winning this season.

Our first games, actually two games, will be this evening at 6:00 and 7:00 at Ogden Field. It will be nice to get together with four other members of my first BOPARC softball team, the old Press Box as well as a few others that I have played with or against the past few years.

My skills I'm quite sure have diminished, I'm probably no longer the feared hitter that I once was, as I have not picked up bat and swung it probably since this picture was taken years ago. I am eagerly anticipating returning to the fields that I spent so many summers on playing a game that I loved and returning to playing a game that I loved so much.

Have yourselves a great day and hope I survive tonight...lol

Hi ho hi ho

Happy Birthday George McClain

I would like to take this opportunity to wish my Brother from Another Mother George McClain a very Happy Birthday today.

George is someone who has always been there for me and I probably still owe a few hundred favors to for years worth of cars assessments, repairs and education on what I need to do. He was what I referred to as a miracle mechanic who could manage to repair the impossible in the impossible situations.

Pam and George have their own plans today, so make sure that you give him a shout out on Facebook today and wish this very deserving man a very Happy Birthday today.

Happy Birthday George.

Sunday Morning Ramblings

Here I sit on a quiet Sunday Morning, I'm the first one to recover from that losing battle with the Sandman last night, but I was also the first one knocked out and I was knocked out early. No one else is up and around and I'm watching some the movie All the Way on HBO.

Yesterday we did travel to Weston, West Virginia to visit and tour the Tri-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum and just spend a day outside of Morgantown and break the normal schedule. I had been to Weston a few times before, but this was the first time there for Michelle. I do have to say if you have the opportunity, I recommend this tour as well as the old Prison at Moundsville. Both are very educational and have a few stories behind each of them. My Photo's from yesterday are posted on Facebook.

We did actually see our first live cicadas yesterday, they were starting to come out in abundance at the Asylum. People who had never seen them before were asking about them and explained that they were just starting to come out.

When we arrived him we had a shell of one on the front wall of the house, then I looked up and this little fellow was crawling up the wall. They will be around for about 6 weeks as they seek out a mate, lay eggs for the 2033 group of them and then just die off before disappearing for another 17 years.

Anyways I hope everyone has a great day today, make the most out of it even though this is the optimal weather if you were a duck.

Caturday Morning Rambling

Here I sit in a quiet household, I'm up really early because I had a cramp in my calf that woke me up from a dead sleep, so I thought I would knock out a couple of blog posts this early AM. Don't mess with the Zohan is playing on Comedy Central and I'm trying to stay awake so that I can write this.

No big plans for us today or this weekend, Mother Nature that geriatric bitch was cooperative yesterday when everyone had to work, but once everyone got off work she switched things around. Today I imagine she is going to bring more rain for an already full water table.

One thing Michelle did mention doing today was going to Weston to visit the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum down there. She had a co-worker tell her about it last year and it is something she has mentioned doing before, so with the rainy conditions it just may be something that we end up doing today. We'll have to see.

I hope everyone has a great day today, get out and do something to make it memorable. We are never promised tomorrow so make the most out of today. OK, Saturday on 3. Ready, 1, 2, 3 GO!!!!

Happy Birthday Pamela Sue McClain

I would like to take this opportunity to wish my sister Pam a very Happy Birthday today. If my math is correct this would make her 47 years old, or 18 years old using my new and improved 905 day calendar.

Pam is the kind of sister that every sibling needs at least one of, she has a huge heart, very genuine and would bend over backwards for anyone. A very genuine person that it is an honor to call my sister.

I'm not sure if George has anything planned for today, she has never really seemed like one to make a big deal out of her own birthday but will go out of her way for others. I'm sure they will do something special today.

If you happen to see Pam today, make sure that you take a little bit of time out and wish her the happiest of Birthdays today.

Happy Birthday Pam.

Big Ole Hairy Friday

Yes it is once again that time of the week that we all look foreword to, when we can take time to cease the labors for the week and take a little bit of needed time out to enjoy the fruits of those labors. It is once again the dawn of another weekend, and a Big Ole Hairy Friday.

Now that I am using my cat in my blog, she is going to start to negotiate a few of the terms with me. Better food, how many times a day her kitty litter is cleaned a day, how many treats she gets a day and what kind. I think all of this fame is going to her head...lol

Anyways Happy Friday!!!! We made it and it's time for another weekend. Due to this crappy weather I'm not sure what mine and Michelle's plans are this weekend. Mother Nature has been acting like a cranky old geriatric bitch the past few weeks and giving us a whole lot of rain and pretty much spoiling our perfect weekends. I wish she would cheer up a little and give us a little bit of sunshine.

I guess if I have to choose for it to rain this weekend or next weekend, I will choose this weekend as next weekend is Memorial Day Weekend. We have a picnic planned next weekend, weather and Cicadas permitting. Can anyone think of an alternative plan if next weekend is not cooperative?

Have yourselves a great day and put those minds to work on the alternative plans.

Hi ho hi ho

Photo Flashback Thursday

Once a week I like to take a little bit of time out, time to look back through the 30,000+ pictures that I have either captured with a camera, scanned or just stolen from some place on the internet and select just one picture. One lost moment in time to post up and relive briefly right here for everyone. Sometimes this is a little challenging and sometimes it's a breeze, it's always a lot of fun so no complaints from me.

This weeks picture is serving a double purpose for me. One it is a flashback to a Rosiak 4th of July Picnic and two it's a picture of me and a very special lady who is having a Birthday today. Today is Trish Donaldson's Birthday so I had to find a way to sneak her into my Photo Flashback for the day.

Like I said this picture was taken at a 4th of July event that I have been going to for I think 17 years now, this year will make the 18th consecutive year that I have been attending the Rosiak Family 4th of July Picnic. Trish's Mom and Dad put on the party every year and it's a great time that includes a big water battle. I've been going to that party for so long I watched her cousin go from a young kid to a budding author, whom I own his work from Amazon.

Have yourselves a great day and don't forget to wish Trish a Happy Birthday today.

Hi ho hi ho

Hump Day

Well that is a couple of days behind us, a couple more ahead of us and now all we are going to have to do is get up and over this noon time hump and we can see the dawn of another fun filled weekend off in the distance. It's just beyond tomorrow's Photo Flashback.

For anyone looking ahead to the weekend and wanting something to do, there is a Lumberjack Competition at Mylan Park if that is your thing. It should be pretty interesting for anyone wanting to attend since there will also be a number of vendors there as well.

I don't know about anyone else, but I believe that the water table is nice and full here where I live, so Mother Nature can cease with all of the rain that she has been giving us recently. I'm ready for a little bit of warm weather and sunshine, weather that makes you want to fire up the BBQ grill, or just spend some quality time outdoors. Come on Mother Nature, give someone else the rain for a while.

I hope everyone has a super fantastic day today, maybe Mother Nature will start to cooperate with us a little bit...lol

Hi ho hi ho

Tuesday's Tidbits

* Well that dreaded and dreary day that we all hate so much is now behind us, it's time to concentrate on Tuesday so you know what that means.

* There have been 19,161 days since my birth, using the new and improved 905 calendar that makes me 21 years old by my calculations.

* There have been 4,834 days since I Graduated from WVU, I love Graduation weekends at WVU for a number of reasons. Mainly, they are all leaving...lol

* It was 2,985 days ago that Michelle and I went out on our very first date, Pizza Hut for dinner and and 10,000 BC for the movie.

* 2,209 days ago I decided that I had made Michelle wait long enough and proposed marriage to her, I wasn't letting this one go.

* It was 1,746 days ago that Michelle and I had out wedding in front of our closest family and friends at the Marilla Center.

* I have around 5,676 days to go until retirement, give or take a few hundred here or there.

* 2,314 days until the Mountaineers beat the Shitt out of Pitt in Football. I can't wait to once again kick a little Panther butt all over the place.

* We are but a mere 261 days away from Ground Hogs Day when Phil gets to once again take center stage. Hopefully he is still recovering from the hangover from all the booze we sent him last winter.

* There are 228 more days to go until my Goodbye 2016 blog is posted.

* You sill have 222 days worth of Christmas Shopping for 2016, it's never too early to start.

* There are 198 days to go until the next Anniversary of my 21st Birthday, if you are using that old and outdated 365 day calendar.

* There are just 144 more days to go until the Springs Festival, we missed it last year but would love to make it up there this year. Hmmm, maybe a trip to the other Amish County should be in the planning.

* We are counting down and that number is just 117 more days to go until our next Cruise this September once again aboard the Carnival Pride.

* Michelle and I will once again go and see Jimmy Buffett again in Pittsburgh in just 98 more days. Tickets are still available.

* Michelle and I will be celebrating our Fifth Wedding Anniversary in 81 more days.

* There are only 47 more days to go until the Third Annual Friends and Family Picnic at Krepps Park. Come on favorable weather.

* There are but a mere 35 days to go until me second favorite season of the year, SUMMERTIME!!!!!

* This is the 4,463rd blog that I have written for George's Journal, not too bad for 11 3/4 years of blogging. That is a lot of thoughts, words, memories and emotions that have been put into this blog.

* Nothing new on the brother search, it's a dead end street but maybe something will happen eventually. There is always that possibility and there are new avenues to explore.

* The Hall Family Tree has seen little to no work done on it this past week, although there are currently 347 members in the family tree.

* Peanut is doing great, she is a bundle of joy to say the very least about her. She just has that lovable and magnetic personality about her.

* I had to take Pearl back to Hartsell's Exxon, a rear brake shim had just simply slipped. Brian took care of it and sent me away as a happy and satisfied customer.

* Have yourselves a great day, get out and make the most of it by making a few memories.

* Hi ho hi ho

Monday

All good things must come to an end, that even includes the rain filled weekends where the weather is a little less than cooperative. It's time to stick our collective noses back on the grindstone and get back to doing what it is we do for a living.

You might notice Morgantown is a little different today, the University had their commencement yesterday so the town starting today will be pretty much empty with the exception of the locals for the next three months. So in Morgantowneze, They're Gone for Three Months!!!!!!

I do have to take Pearl back into the shop today, we had our rear brakes done and something has happened to them. We had new pads and new rotors put on the back and something just does not sound right and it sounds like they are grinding again. I'll stop by the garage this morning and have Brian take a look at them.

Peanut the cat is doing well. Her and Sophie got a few new toys yesterday morning to play with. My wife spoils those little monsters, she is out of control I tell you with spoiling the furbabies at Peanut's new Furever home.

On a side note, 39 years ago today was one of the saddest days of my life. My Grandpa Hall passed away in 1977.

Have yourselves a great day today, I'm sure Sophie and Peanut will be partying with the humans gone today.

Hi ho hi ho

Meet Peanut

Well here I sit in a semi-quit household, Peanut our new house cat and I are up watching beerfest and collecting our thoughts on this wonderful day.

We picked up Peanut yesterday with a little assistance of an internet search.  We were suffering from an empty household and this little bundle of joy that I found was exactly what the Doctor ordered.

She is very playful, very loving and an absolute bundle of joy that is about to be one very spoiled cat. Sophie took to her instantly, but not as quickly as Michelle did who fell in love with her at first site. Peanut is a name she has always used for little babies, and this is the name that this little kitten was given. You can never replace a lost pet, but you can always find a new one with a different personality to share memories with.

If you are ever in search of a pet, I suggest Petfinders to assist you in finding a specific animal, breed, or aged animal that meets your search parameters. We got very lucky as Peanut was exactly what we were looking for and she was in a very close city that didn't take too long to travel to (Point Marion, PA) to retrieve her. Peanut was already litter trained and has had her first set of shots.

I will say that this little bundle of joy has brought back a lot of joy that was just missing in this household this past week. We honor the fallen and will never forget them, but we look to the future with great expectations of parenting the perfect replacement.

Have yourselves a great day.

Saturday Morning Rambling

Well here I sit once again in a quiet household, I am the first to recover from that knockout blow administered by the dreaded Sandman last night and I'm up early watching Office Space and collecting my random thoughts for the day.

Kim's Bella and Dot Show that she had scheduled for today has been cancelled, her mentor is unavailable for today so it has been cancelled. I'll keep everyone updated on if and when it is rescheduled.

We are most likely going to be adding to the household this morning. We found some kittens on a website and we are going to go this morning and hopefully pick her up. The household just seems a little empty, so we had to get a companion for Sophie before we needed to get her a prescription for Kitty Prozac for depression.

Be careful driving around town this weekend, it's Graduation weekend at WVU meaning many students have returned one last time with their parents, the town should convert to Summer mode Monday when all that excess traffic this city sees subsides foe a few months.

Have yourselves a great day today.

Big Ole Hairy Friday the 13th

Yes it is once again that time of the week that we all look foreword to, when we can take time to cease the labors for the week and take a little bit of needed time out to enjoy the fruits of those labors. It is once again the dawn of another weekend, and a Big Ole Hairy Friday the 13th.

Well I got the good news last week, I'm back to full time at NETL as I have been at 3/4 times since Christmas. I finally have additional funding and will be there for full work weeks now. I can't remember the last Friday I worked there, but it has been a while.

Now the question is what to do about my job with RTI. Answer is I keep it and work both jobs. RTI is just a part time job anyways, so I'll just throw any money I make with them straight into savings and let that build up a little.

Kim is having a Stella and Dot Show tomorrow at the Holiday Inn Express if anyone is interested.

Chad had an interview this week for a job at WVU, we're waiting to hear back to see if he has gotten the job. Keep your fingers crossed and hope he gets it, this is a job that was made for him.

Have yourselves a great day.

Hi ho hi ho

Photo Flashback Thursday

Once a week I like to take a little bit of time out and look through some of the 30,000 photographs that I have either captured with a lens, scanned or just simply stolen off of the internet, Little lost moments in time that I like to post up and reflect upon with everyone.

I can't help to look back upon the life of Phin this week. I think back to the time just a few months ago that we got her and brought her home, what a wonderful bucket of joy she was. I watched her grow and taker on her own individual personality, one that she wanted to be involved in everything, but from her own safe distance and perspective.

This weeks pics are just a few that I have of her. They were all taken the first few days she was in her new home.

RIP Phin

Phin the Cat: August 24, 2015 - May 11, 2016

It is with great sadness that I have to report that Phin has passed on. We had her fixed on Monday and there were some complications with the surgery, she swallowed the tube that was giving her life and caused additional complications.

She has been resting but was very restless yesterday evening as if to indicate that she was suffering. We had been administering her meds but Phin was the fighter and fought to live every minute.

About 5:45 this morning I looked over at her after she had just got done playing with her Christmas bulb and she was laying lifeless on the floor, passing onto Cat Heaven.

Mine and Michelle's hearts are both broken, she returned from work to say her Goodbyes.

Phin was a great cat and will be missed.

Hump Day Phin Update

Phin is Camera Shy so I used a random pic from the net

As many of you know we took Phin in on Monday to get fixed. It was supposed to be a routine operation to fix her and everything went well on that part of it.

When they were bringing her out of the operation she bit the hose that was going into her trach and bit a piece off and ingested it. Additional measures were required including an additional incision to pull the tube out of her that she had fought and bitten off.

The tube was removed and she is still recovering. The first night you could tell she was still doped up and now she is starting to become herself once again slowly returning to that never resting rambunctious feline who loves to attack my feet. She is doing good and slowly but surely recovering.

Thank you to the people at Morgantown Veterinary Care, she should be back to full pain in the ass mode here in another day or so.

Have a great day

Hi ho hi ho

Tuesday's Tidbits

* Well that dreaded day that we refer to as Monday is once again behind us and we are staring at a Tuesday, can't think of a better reason to do a tidbits.

* There have been 19,152 wonderful days since my birth, that's about 21 years using that new and improved 905 day calendar that I suggest everyone uses...lol

* There have been 4,377 days since my graduation from West Virginia University, who will be holding their graduation ceremonies this coming weekend.

* 2,978 days ago I took this wonderful woman out for a date, Pizza Hut and the movie 10,000 BC and she still stuck by me. The day my life started to change for the better forever.

* It was 2,202 days ago that I proposed to my wonderful wife, I figured I had made her wait long enough and it was time to pop the question.

* 1,739 days ago at the Marilla Center in front of our closest family and friends we had ourselves a Caribbean style wedding.

* I have around 5,683 or so days to go until I retire, give or take a few hundred here or there of course

* In 2,321 more days WVU will lay a butt kicking on Pitt in football once again. They are long overdue in their annual butt kicking.

* Phil will have his day in 268 more days as we celebrate ground hogs day in 2017. Too much good weather ahead of us however to worry about that rat...lol

* In 235 more days I will publish my Goodbye 2016 blog, recounting the previous year based on what has been written here in my blog.

* There are 229 more shopping days left to go until Christmas, never too early to start planning.

* There are only 205 more days to go until the next anniversary of my 21st birthday.

* In 151 more days Michelle and I will attempt to attend the Springs Festival once again, weather permitting of course.

* There are only 124 more days until our next Cruise which happens once again in September, this is something Michelle and I love doing and this will be our fifth cruise.

* 105 to go until the Parrot Heads in Pittsburgh will once again reunite to see the immortal Jimmy Buffett. I can't wait, always a high point of our summer.

* Michelle and I in just another 88 days will celebrate our Fifth Wedding Anniversary together. I am a very lucky man and very lucky to be married to such an amazing woman.

* There are only 54 more days to go until the Third Annual Friends and Family Picnic that will be held at Krepps Park.

* There are just a mere 43 more days to go until the official start of Summer!!!!! My second favorite season of the year after Spring.

* This is the 4,455th blog post that I have written for this blog. Going on 12 years as a blogger of daily thoughts and recollections of my life and those around me.

* Nothing new on the brother search, I guess something new would be if this status would ever change.

* No work done this week on the Hall Family Tree, it's just that time of the year when there are other things that I would rather be doing.

* Phin is doing fine after being dropped off and picked up at the vet yesterday to be fixed. She has been sleeping and resting and on the road to recovery. She kept meowing at me as I had her in the carrier to take her to the vet, but she was a good kitty once she got there.

* My sister Kim is having a Stella and Dot Trunk show this Saturday at the Holiday Inn Express.

* I did get all of my guns cleaned and oiled this past weekend, it's been a while since I oiled them so they are now all cleaned up and ready to go shooting. The price of Ammo is dropping as well, so a shooting day for everyone might be a good idea.

* The Blue and Gold Mine Sale is this weekend at Mylan Park if anyone is interested in a big yard sale.

* Today is election day, get out and vote. This is the Primary election, who wins today is who you will see in the general election for your party in the local elections. Who will be on the ballot for President this fall will be determined after the delegates are counted at the conventions.

* Make the most of this day and live it to its fullest.

*  Hi ho hi ho

Monday

Well that fun filled thing that we refer to as the weekend is now over with, it's time to take our collective noses and put them back on the grindstone for another fun filled week of doing what it is we do for a living.

We are taking Phin to the vet this morning, thanks to MSNAP we are going to have her fixed. I'll take her in a drop her off before I go into work this morning and Michelle will pick her up this evening when she is done. I'm sure she is going to be sore for a couple of days, but there be limited excitement for her for a while.

I'm back in the office this week after being out pretty much all last week at the WVAGP Conference. No idea what I will be heading into, but I have my work e-mail forwarded so there should not be too many fires that I have to put out but you never know.

Have yourselves a great day today and make the very most of it.

Hi ho hi ho

Happy Mothers Day

Well it is a very special day here in West Virginia. Today is Mother's Day, a day we take out and celebrate the special women who made it all possible for us to be here in the first place.

Mother's Day is a holiday that has it's origins right here in North Central West Virginia as the first Mother's Day was observed in Grafton, a town not very far from here. It was started by a woman named Anna Jarvis over 100 years ago and is still celebrated to this day.

For me, my Mother is in the middle of this picture with my wife Michelle and yours truly. She has been a very special and very inspirational Mother to me and everything that I have done in my life. She has given me both life and inspiration and those are the two biggest gifts that a mother can give a child.

Happy Mothers Day Mom, I love you and thank you for everything that you have done for me.

My wife is also a Mother of two wonderful kids, one of which snuck in the house at 12:30 this morning to make sure that her Mother has a little surprise when she wakes up.

Happy Mother's Day to all of the special Mother's out there, if not for all of you, none of us would be here.

Saturday Morning Rambling

Here I sit once again in a semi-quiet household, I am wondering if Phin ever sleeps to tell you the truth. She is always up and is always playful. I'm up watching White Men Can't Jump on the television and collecting my thoughts on the day.

We are taking Pearl into the garage this morning to have the front brakes changed. It's something that I would normally do, there is a lot less muss or fuss taking it to the garage to have it done. I just figure it's a little easier to have it done than to do it myself. Who knows with this weather lately if I am going to have a dry place to do them.

Other than that no big plans for the day. I don't want to over exert Michelle, she was diagnosed with Sacroiliac Joint Dysfunction Thursday and was in a lot of pain yesterday. She really needs to see someone about this and WVU can't get her into a rheumatologist until December 6th which is kind of ridiculous considering the States largest medical facility is about a mile from where we live plus there is another large medical facility about as close. She may have to look into her options.

Yesterday was total gridlock around Morgantown, it was the last day of finals and the day the students had to be out of the dorms. Hopefully today it will ease up a little bit and by next Sunday after Commencement they will all be gone until the fall giving Morgantown residents some peace and quiet.

Have yourselves a great day.

Big Ole Hairy Friday

Yes it is once again that time of the week that we all look foreword to, when we can take time to cease the labors for the week and take a little bit of needed time out to enjoy the fruits of those labors. It is once again the dawn of another weekend, and a Big Ole Hairy Friday.

Well that is three days in at the WVAGP, it wraps up at noon today and that will be it for 2016 and the WVAGP Conference. They are redesigning the website and that will be updated in the next few days. We took a drone picture of us all on Wednesday, and that will be included on the cover of the new website design.

I did get some good news yesterday. As everyone knows I was not fully funded for this year where I work. I was only working 3/4 of the time and only drawing 3/4 of my salary all year long. Hence why I took a job with TNG earlier this year and am currently employed by RTI/Headway right now working on another project. Well, I'm back to being fully funded at NETL as of now. I'll still be working for RTI as well, but we are in a slow transitional period right now and I have 0 billable hours this week with them. As time goes on however, everything I make with RTI will just go into our savings account. Win Win situation for me, as it's just extra money for our cruise this fall. Woot Woot.

I hope everyone has a great day today and a great weekend.

Hi ho hi ho

Photo Flashback Thursday

Once a week I like to take a little bit of time out and look through all of the tens of thousands of pictures that I either have captured with a lens, scanned or just stolen from some place on the internet. Little lost moments in time that I like to post up and briefly relive here. Sometimes this is very easy, and there are times that you struggle, but one thing it has and always will be is a whole lot of fun.

This weeks pic goes back quite a few years. It was at a time when Michelle and I had just started dating and I had taken Michelle and Hayley out Geocaching for the first time for something to do. It was also the first time that I had taken Michelle to Ohiopyle.

This image was grabbed down by the natural water slide. None of us went swimming that day, but we did track way out into the woods to find the cache that day. I remember it was raining (after pic was taken) and we just didn't have a care in the world that day. Hayley ended up finding the cache at Ohiopyle.

It was a fun day and I had a couple of special ladies with me that day. It's just hard to believe that was over 8 years ago.

Have yourselves a great day, I'm at the WVAGP again today. Happy Cinco De Mayo

Hi ho hi ho

Hump Day and Day 2 of WVAGP

It's the middle of the week, you know what that means, it's up and over than noon time hump as we work towards another fun filled weekend conning up. 

Today is day two of the WVAGP Conference at West Virginia University. Yesterday was pretty much a get registered day and opening remarks and statements. A couple of people that I used to work with will be speaking today and I'm just planning on soaking it in. 

This weekend I'm putting Pearl in the shop on Saturday morning to have the brakes changed. It's finally getting to that point and I've scheduled to have it done rather than do it myself in case it rains or something happens that would prevent me from doing it. 

No big plans for me yet this weekend, we'll just have to wait and see how everything goes and wait until the weekend actually gets here before we start concentrating on anything like that. 

Have yourselves a great day.

Hi ho hi ho

Tuesday's Tidbits

* Well that dreaded day of the week we refer to as Monday is now behind us, unless it's the sloths playing baseball in the backyard I can't think of a better reason to do a tidbits.

* There have been 19,147 days since my birth and of course using the 910 day calendar, that puts me at 21 years old.

* There have been 4,370 days that have gone by since I walked the halls of West Virginia University and Graduated, BTW I will be walking some of those same hallways today. 

* There have been 2,971 wonderful days since Michelle and I went out on our very first date, I have been a very lucky man ever since that day. 

* There have been 2,195 days that have went by since Michelle and I became engaged, I made her wait and she stuck by my side the whole time never once wanting to be paroled. 

* We celebrated our Marriage 1,732 days ago in front of our closest family and friends at the Marilla Center. 

* I have around 5,690 days to go until I retire, give or take a few hundred here or there of course. 

* There are only 2,328 more days until the Backyard Brawl between the great WVU Mountaineers and the evil Pitt Panthers are played once again. 

* Phil will once again take center state next February as we celebrate ground hogs day in 275 more days. 

* I have 242 more days of content before my goodbye 2016 blog is posted, reliving my past year based on events that I post on my blog. 

* There are only 236 more shopping days left to go until Christmas, you still have plenty of time to start planning. 

* There are 212 days to go until the next anniversary of my 21st Birthday comes to pass, that of course is using the old and outdated 365 day calendar. 

* There are just 158 more days to go until we once again attempt to attend the Springs Festival, we missed last years event due to bad weather. 

* In just 131 more days Michelle and I will set out once again on our Cruise to the Eastern Caribbean. 

* In just 112 more days we will once again go and see Jimmy Buffett at First Niagara Pavillion. There is a Guy's Burger Joint at the venue now and this is a great opportunity to have one of the best burgers on the planet. If anyone is thinking about going, there are still tickets available.  

* There are only 95 more days to go until Michelle and I celebrate our Fifth Wedding Anniversary together. 

* 61 days t go and counting until the Third Annual Friends and Family Picnic that will be held once again at Krepps Park. Hopefully this year the weather will be much more cooperative and everyone can go swimming. 

* There are but a mere 49 more days to go until Summer 2016

* 4,448 blog that I have written for George's Journal. That is a lot of words and a few thoughts that I have put here in the 11 3/4 of a year that I have been writing this blog. 

* Nothing new on the Brother Search, of course that should just be a static status until something breaks. 

* The Hall Family Tree still has 343 members and is static at this time as I have not been doing much with it lately. 

* I did speak to my brother Gary over the weekend, he is doing great and has a very positive attitude and recovering pretty well. He does need some more Reeses Cups though if anyone is going up any time soon. 

* I wish I had known about this a little earlier, Donn was a very good friend of mine as we grew up together. He lost his first wife Shelley on September 11, 2001 as she was working at the Pentagon keeping us all safe.

* Michelle's ThirtyOne Party is still going on, go and order something so she can get some free stuff. 

* I can't change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination. -- Jimmy Dean

* Hi Ho Hi Ho

Monday

Once again all good things must come to an end, and that does include my very relaxing weekends. Now it's time to stick our noses back on the grindstone for another fun filled week of doing waht is is we do for a living.

I will be at NETL today, but for the rest of the week I will be at the WVAGP Conference that will be held at West Virginia University. Most of the meetings will be held at the Mountainlair, which will be interesting as this is also finals week at WVU. What that means is as the week progresses, there will be less and less students on campus and more heading home for the summer.

I am kind of excited to attend the Conference, I attended the users conference in 2004 before the WVAGP was ever formed, when ESRI backed out of the users group for West Virginia, the WVAGP was formed and this is the first year that I have attended the conference as a member.

Have yourselves a great day today and make the very most of each and every second of it.

Hi ho hi ho

Sunday

Here I sit in a very quiet household, I'm up all alone and watching the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony on HBO and collecting my thoughts for the day.

Well we did do our smoking yesterday since the weather was decent for the most part. I went out yesterday morning and bought a pork loin and decided to finally break in the new smoker. I have to say that was one of the best purchases I have ever made. Previously if we smoked meats it was on the kettle grill and it really was a task to regulate the temperature. It was a constant battle keeping the temperature within a certain range. This electric smoker uses very little wood, is sealed and has a constant temperature that you don't have to worry about sitting and watching all day.

With the NFL Draft now completed, five Mountaineers were selected in the Draft and five more signed as undrafted free agents after the draft. I'm not sure if that is a school record, but there will be 10 members of last years team at NFL combines this summer. Good Luck to all the former Mountaineers at the next level.

I did learn that Mine and Michelle's favorite pizza place is now a lot closer. DiCarlo's has opened up a store in Whitehall (Fairmont) WV. That's a heck of a lot closer than running all the way to Wheeling to get a pizza.

Yes I am up a lot earlier this morning, but it's time to lay back down and get back to sleep since it is only 1:30 in the morning.

Have a great day when it finally arrives.