Sunday

Here I sit in q quiet household, Peanut and Kiwi are still wearing their WVU gear and STILL singing Country Roads over and over and over again. Did I mention that they are both Rich Rodriguez fans and they love singing Country Roads. 

Well yesterday was a great day. Ralph and Amy hosted the family tailgate at their place, and what hosts they are. It was a really nice get together and game watch party for everyone to enjoy. 

So how did the game turn out? After a sluggish first half where we just couldn't seem to hold onto the ball, they managed to pull out a 45-3 victory over Robert Morris for the official return to the Rich Rodriguez era. There is a lot of room for improvement, but I seen something that I haven't seen in a number of years here in Morgantown. A competent Coach leading our team, someone who understands every aspect of the game and doesn't make bonehead decisions. Now players may fail to execute, but Rich will always put them in a position to win. Welcome back Rich. 

Todays plans are not much, maybe do a little relaxing and maybe a little bit of running around. Who knows, all I know is both Michelle and I are off today and tomorrow.

Have yourselves a great day, make some more memories. 

Saturday Morning Rambling

Here I sit in a not really quiet household, Kiwi and Peanut are up early and they are ready to do some tailgating today for the first WVU football game of the season. They are both big Rich Rod fans and are both happy to see him return as our coach, even though his last time here was long before either of them were even thought of. They are still fans. 

So it is day one of a three day weekend, I'll pay for it next week at work having to make up 8 hours (life of a contractor) and working 4 10's to make up the hours. I also have to travel to Clarksburg on Tuesday morning for a Gas 101 class, so I'll make time and milage for that then I have to turn around on Wednesday and travel to Parkersburg for the day to meet the rest of the team in that facility. That'll be a couple of hours there and a couple of hours back plus working all day. I get pauid travel time and mileage, so next week will be busy, but that is this coming week, today is Saturday. 

Speaking of Saturday, the Mountaineers play this afternoon and Amy is going to have a get together / tailgate / watch party at her house, so it's going to be a great day. Kiwi and Peanut are staying here and watching the game. They want to stay close just in case we get far enough ahead and the bus driver has scored two touchdowns himself that Rich calls them to come in and play. Peanut and her Cat like (uh she is a cat) reflexs and Kiwi with the aerial attack where no one can outjump him, they are going to be unstoppable. 

Have yourselves a great day. 

Let's Go Mountaineers and welcome back Rich!!!!!

Big Ole Hairy Friday!!!

Yes, it is once again that time of the week that we all look forward 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 again the dawn of another weekend and a Big Ole Hairy Friday and a Holiday Weekend!!! 

Are you looking for a little bit of cheap entertainment, and by cheap I mean free. Head on down to the Ruby Ampitheatre and see Maddie and Tae and this will be the last Concert of the 2025 Concert Series. It was a good summer, now we will be turning our attention to High School Football starting next week. 

Speaking of Football, you might notice that there is a lot of traffic around town. The excitement has returned to Morgantown in that Rich Rodriguez is back home and is ready to take the field as our coach again for the first time since 2007. I am so happy to have him back, and with the large uptick in season ticket sales so are a number of other people. 

Have yourselves a great day and the start of a great three day weekend.

Hi ho hi ho!!!!!

Photo Flashback Thursday

Once a week, I like to take a little bit of time out, time to look at some of the 30,000+ photos that I have stored on my computer. Little lost moments in time that I either captured with a lens, scanned, or just stole from somewhere on the internet. I like to find just one and post it up and recall or relive the picture to the best of my ability. Sometimes this is a pretty easy task, and sometimes it's not that easy, but one thing it has always been a lot of fun.

Has it really been 15 years since I last played competitive Softball (meaning non Senior League and no age limits). This was the 2011 MiHaley's Softball team. I would retire after this season and not come back for a few years when they formed the Senior League for those of us over 50. 

I called these guys my Boys of Summer, and there were a lot of great games and great memories with these guys. 

Have yoursleves a great day

Hi ho hi ho

Lucy's Journal

Journal Entry – August 27th

Written by Lucy, the white and tan Shih Tzu

Dear Journal,

Ohhh, I can hardly sit still. My tail’s wagging like crazy just thinking about it — Saturday is almost here, and that means one thing: Mountaineer Football!

Now, the humans think they’re the only ones who get excited for game day, but they have no idea about our secret little tradition. Yep, it’s me, Peanut, and Kiwi — the true superfans.

Here’s the plan:

Step 1 – Pre-Game Snacks
I’m on snack duty. I’ve already stashed a couple of Milk-Bones under the couch cushions for halftime. Peanut says she’ll raid the kitchen counter for chips if the humans look the other way (he’s a master of the silent swipe). Kiwi? he’s going straight for the popcorn bowl, no hesitation.

Step 2 – The Viewing Spot
We’ve got the best seats in the house. I curl up right in front of the TV, Peanut claims the arm of the couch like a king, and Kiwi perches on the lampshade for her “aerial view.” It’s a perfect stadium setup — no ticket required.

Step 3 – Cheering
When the Mountaineers score, I bark once, Peanut flicks her tail, and Kiwi lets out a big, proud squawk. It’s our own little touchdown dance. Last season, Kiwi got so excited he knocked the remote off the table. Dad blamed it on me, of course. Typical.

Step 4 – Halftime Shenanigans
While the humans refill their nachos and drinks, we’ll run our own little halftime show. Kiwi usually flies figure-eights in the living room, Peanut wrestles with me until I pin him (yes, I said pin him — I may be small, but I’m scrappy), and then we all collapse in a fluffy pile until the third quarter starts.

Football, food, and a little chaos with my cousins — that’s what Saturdays are all about.

So yes, Journal, I’m ready. By the time the Mountaineers take the field, the three of us will be in position, tails and wings at the ready.

Let’s gooooo Mountaineers! 🏈💙💛

Excitedly yours,
🐾 Lucy the Loyal Fan

P.S. Kiwi says if they win, he’s pooping on the neighbor’s Ohio State flag again. Peanut and I fully support this decision.

Wednesday

Tuesday's Tidbits

* Monday has done come and gone, it's Tuesday and you know what that means!!! It's also a Football Week Woo Hoo

* It has been 22,524 days since I was born, that is 21 years using my new,  new, new, and improved 1,069-day Calendar. 

* It has been 7,777 days since I graduated from WVU with a Degree in Geography. I love what I do and am thankful to still be working in my field. 

* 6,371 days ago Michelle and I had our first date together. Life has been much better since then. 

* 5,575  days ago I proposed to Michelle in the backyard at 4:00 in the morning. I've been the luckiest guy since that fateful day. 

* It was 5,613 days ago in front of our closest friends and family, for the most part, Michelle and I became husband and wife at the Marilla Center, it was a great day with friends and family. 

* I have now lived 2,750 days longer than my Dad did and I'm still going strong, slowing down but still going. 

* Michelle has been living a clean and productive life and beat that alcohol demon 1,404 days ago today. 

* My older Brother Jonathan lived 21,273 days, I've now outlived him by 1,267 days, making me Senior Supreme Sibling once again! 

* I have 2,353 days to go until I retire, give or take a few hundred days here or there, but I love doing what I do. Who knows, though, doing what I do I may never retire.

* There are only 345 more days to go until Michelle and I will celebrate our 15th Wedding Anniversary. 

* 153 more days until Phil steps to center stage once again for Groundhog Day.    

* 134 more days to go until my Goodbye 2025 Blog is posted. Hopefully, I can put some better content together this year.

* There are 120 more shopping days left until Christmas 2025.

* There are 99 days until I hit the age of 62. Yeah I know, I'm really older than 21. 

* Pitt comes back to Morgantown in 22 more days. I can't wait. Revenge time for Rich Rod!!!!

* In 4 Days, Rich Rod leads the Mountaineers back onto the field to finish some unfinished business. 

* It has been ∞ (infinity symbol) days that I have hated both Pitt and Penn State.

* I have written 8,051 blogs in what is now 20+ Almost 21 years since I started blogging.

* Older Drone still needs to be sent out for repairs, not a big priority at this time. My little drone is awesome and I really like it....when I take time out to fly it.  

* It's FOOTBALL!!!!!!!.  The Mountaineers Play Saturday!!!!

* I may work 4 10's next week to make up for the coming Holiday on Monday. Life of a contractor. 

* Still playing Monopoly Go. I'm still in 4th place among friends and family, Bobby is kicking everyones rear ends except for Michelle, who is #1 in my group of friends. 

* This is my favorite Tiktok, this is actually a little bit disturbing. 

* Progress on my Selfie in Space, right here. We are ready for liftoff. 

* Have yourselves a great day

* Hi ho hi ho

Monday

All good things must come to an end—but if you’ve got to wrap up the weekend, today’s a pretty exciting way to do it. Now it’s time to take our collective noses and press them firmly back onto the grindstone of life. Back to work, back to the hustle, back to doing our part to make this spinning rock a better place.

I overheard Kiwi and Peanut planning some kind of party or something for when I go to work, something about surprising Mommy by inviting a giraffe over for to get ready for an unofficial end of the Summer Party. 

My boss will be in Morgantown today, he came up last week and he will be there once again today. He's a great guy to work for as is everyone I am working with, it really is a great place to work and you are working on projects that make a difference in our own community for a Company that loves the Mountaineers. Ironically they have a number of photos around the office from the Dale Sparks Collection as well as Dan Friend. There is always some really nice photography hanging anywhere and everywhere you walk in the building. 

Have yoursleves a great day

Hi ho hi ho

Sunday Morning Happiness

Here I sit in a semi-quiet but excited household, Kiwi and Peanut are still excited that we just had an addition to the family yesterday morning, they have volunteered to human sit her. They are both very Happy. 

Ellie May (sp) joined the family yesterday morning at 5:17 AM. I had just woke up when I got the news and I was quite excited, considering they had induced labor on Thursday and it was Saturday before she came, what it was about 36 hours of labor for Erica? Congratulations to Terri, Val, and Erica, who all just became Great-Grandmother, Grandmother, and Mothers. We will need a five-generational picture with Mom (great-great-grandmother) at some time in the near future.  

 There is nothing really planned for the day. Michelle actually got everything done shopping-wise yesterday and has the house in tip-top shape, and even cut grass for me on Friday. 

Have yourselves a great day and make some memories!!!!

Saturday Morning Ramblings

Here I sit once again in a quiet household. Peanut has me up early because she is making a batch of Pepperoni Rolls and Kiwi, he's just going to make it a lazy day today and has decided that he is going to sleep in this morning. Peanut has her recipe and everything she needs to make Pepperoni Rolls. Mommy is going to be surprised. Kiwi said he'll be the quality control for them. 

So what is on today's agenda is probably some grass cutting for me, weather permitting. It's not too long, but there is a home football game next weekend, and I want to watch some College Football, so I'll take care of it this weekend if I can. 

Michelle is going to do her grocery shopping and Saturday running around. Typical Saturday for us, but this weekend there really isn't any birthday parties or gatherings we need to attend to, so that'll probably be it for us. Might take in a movie or something relaxing. No college football, but that starts next weekend. 

Have yourself a great day and a great weekend, make some memories.

Big Ole Hairy Friday

Yes, it is once again that time of the week that we all look forward 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 again the dawn of another weekend and a Big Ole Hairy Friday!!! 

Are you looking for a little bit of cheap entertainment, and by cheap I mean free. Head on down to the Ruby Ampitheatre and see Hoobastank. Festivities start at 7:00 with Cordury Brown, an artist out of Huntington and Hoobistank being the headliner for the evening. This will be the next-to-last free concert for the season. 

This is also the last weekend without Mountaineer Football, it all starts next week when the Mountaineers play host to Robert Morris at Mylan Puskar Stadium at Mountaineer Field. The excitement is about to be put into Motion. 

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, time to look at some of the 30,000+ photos that I have stored on my computer. Little lost moments in time that I either captured with a lens, scanned, or just stole from somewhere on the internet. I like to find just one and post it up and recall or relive the picture to the best of my ability. Sometimes this is a pretty easy task, and sometimes it's not that easy, but one thing it has always been a lot of fun.

This weeks pic is of my lovely wife (in back), her two amazing sisters and her Mother this past week. They decided that they were going to beautify their mom so she had herself a spa day with all three daughters. 

What an amazing family they have\, they are one big family unit that works in unison, they are amazing.

Have yourselves a great day. 

Hi ho hi ho

Lucy's Journal

Journal Entry – August 20th
Written by Lucy, the white and tan Shih Tzu

Dear Journal,

Ugh. It’s that time again. I can smell it in the air — stress, coffee, and way too much cologne. The students are back in town. Which means my peaceful summer of quiet walks and calm afternoons has officially been ruined.

The streets are chaos. Absolute chaos. We can’t even drive to the park without sitting in a line of cars longer than my tail. And not fun cars either — loud, rattling ones with music that makes my ears twitch. Every time we stop at a red light, there’s some group of them crossing the street like they’ve never seen a crosswalk before. Some even try to talk to me through the window. “Awww, puppy!” they squeal. Puppy? PUPPY? Excuse me. I’m a lady.

The worst part is the noise. I used to be able to nap without interruption, but now it’s nonstop — car horns, skateboards, laughter, the clinking of iced coffee cups. Kiwi hates it too. She squawks every time a skateboard rolls past the house. Peanut just glares out the window like he’s personally offended by the existence of humans under the age of 25.

And don’t even get me started on the traffic. Today it took Dad five extra minutes to get home because of some road construction they just had to start the week everyone came back. I sat at the window the whole time, watching brake lights blink in the distance, wondering if he was ever going to return or if he’d been swallowed by the great Student Migration.

I miss the quiet days. The squirrels were braver then. The air smelled like grass instead of cheap takeout. Walks were about walking, not dodging clusters of loud humans and their fancy water bottles.

Summer Lucy was happy. Student Season Lucy is cranky.

Grumpily yours,
🐾 Lucy the Traffic Hater

P.S. Kiwi says we should start “air striking” skateboarders again. Peanut says he’ll handle the ones on bikes. I’m tempted to approve this plan.

Wednesday

Tuesday's Tidbits

* Monday has done come and gone, it's Tuesday and you know what that means, my creative juices start to get fired up with redundancy. Release the Kraken of Redundancy.

* It has been 22,517 days since I was born, that is 21 years using my new,  new, new, and improved 1,069-day Calendar. 

* It has been 7,770 days since I graduated from WVU with a Degree in Geography. I love what I do and am thankful to still be working in my field. 

* 6,364 days ago Michelle and I had our first date together. Life has been much better since then. 

* 5,568  days ago I proposed to Michelle in the backyard at 4:00 in the morning. I've been the luckiest guy since that fateful day. 

* It was 5,606 days ago in front of our closest friends and family, for the most part, Michelle and I became husband and wife at the Marilla Center, it was a great day with friends and family. 

* I have now lived 2,743 days longer than my Dad did and I'm still going strong, slowing down but still going. 

* Michelle has been living a clean and productive life and beat that alcohol demon 1,397 days ago today. 

* My older Brother Jonathan lived 21,273 days, I've now outlived him by 1,260 days, making me Senior Supreme Sibling once again! 

* I have 2,360 days to go until I retire, give or take a few hundred days here or there, but I love doing what I do. Who knows, though, doing what I do I may never retire.

* There are only 352 more days to go until Michelle and I will celebrate our 15th Wedding Anniversary. 

* 160 more days until Phil steps to center stage once again for Groundhog Day.    

* 141 more days to go until my Goodbye 2025 Blog is posted. Hopefully, I can put some better content together this year.

* There are 127 more shopping days left until Christmas 2025.

* There are 106 days until I hit the age of 62. Yeah I know, I'm really older than 21. 

* Pitt comes back to Morgantown in 29 more days. I can't wait. Revenge time for Rich Rod!!!!

* In 11 Days, Rich Rod leads the Mountaineers back onto the field to finish some unfinished business. 

* It has been ∞ (infinity symbol) days that I have hated both Pitt and Penn State.

* I have written 8,043 blogs in what is now 20 3/4 years since I started blogging. I'm coming on 21 years of writing these things.   

* Older Drone still needs to be sent out for repairs, not a big priority at this time. My little drone is awesome and I really like it....when I take time out to fly it.  

* I finally took the link down to the Girlscout cookies,  Releigh's store is closed for the season.  

* Still playing Monopoly Go. I'm still in 3rd place among friends and family, I had someone pass me this last week. 

* This is my favorite Tiktok got to love Bill Maher. 

* Progress on my Selfie in Space, right here. We are ready for lift off. 

* Have yourselves a great day

* Hi ho hi ho

Monday

All good things must come to an end—but if you’ve got to wrap up the weekend, today’s a pretty exciting way to do it. Now it’s time to take our collective noses and press them firmly back onto the grindstone of life. Back to work, back to the hustle, back to doing our part to make this spinning rock a better place. 

Be prepared for longer commutes now that all of the students either have returned or are in the process of returning to Morgantown. Our population is about to double and that means even more traffic to go along with all of the road construction that is going on all over the area. It has been a headache all summer without all the extra students, especially where I live and they are widening Van Voorhis and building a new bridge in front of the house.  It is going to be even more of a nightmare especially when the school buses start to run as well. 

In a bit of bad news, Michelle found out Friday that her employer is having some financial problems and they had to lay off three people, including Michelle. So what does that mean? She is once again back in the job market and looking for employment. Business is good, they just stretched themselves a little thin with all of the townhouses they are building before selling and has a lot of money tied up into those projects it has affected the rest of their business model. Hopefully this is a short term thing or another opportunity opens up for her. We'll have to wait and see. 

Have yourselves a great day. 

Hi ho hi ho

Sunday

Here I sit on a quiet Sunday morning, it is going to be a busy day one way or the other and Kiwi and Peanut are up trying to Geocache inside the house, I told them my GPS isn't quite that precise and I'm not sure how well it is going to work indoors. They are bound and determined however to find any missing socks back by the dryer and try to pair them up with other lost socks. 

I have a couple of things going on today, Bella's Birthday Party is at 2:00 so I am going to try to make it out to that. Same facility that Jax's was at a couple of weeks ago. I'm not too sure about the Garfield Pajamas, I'm not sure if they make them in my size unless Macy's wants to let me borrow they one they blow up on Thanksgiving. 

Hayley, Tyler and Luke are talking about coming down today as well. We haven't seen them since the Zoo trip and I think Hayley wants to visit Suzanne at the nursing facility she is at. Tyler got a new job at Home Depot and he is just waiting on a start date. It'll be nice to see them as well. 

This is the third of three weekends in a row where something was planned, nothing planned next weekend yet but in two weeks Mountaineer Football is set to start. 

Have yourselves a great day. 

Saturday Morning Rambling

Here I sit in a quiet household, Kiwi and Peanut are up early and inspecting the lawn to determine if I need to fire up the mower. They are the lawn police and said I will be fined treats and seeds if they find that the yard is not up to their standard. 

Michelle is going to run around and do the weeks grocery shopping today, typical Saturday for her. She does all of her running around on Saturday Mornings, and it's Saturday Morning. It usually has a trip to the tanning bed and a bunch of other stores she like to frequent. 

Do you realize it was 48 years ago today that Elvis died. I can remember I was in the back yard playing Wiffle Ball and Grandma Hall walked outside to tell me that Elvis had died. I guess it is one of those events where you always reme,mber where you were at or what you were doing when something happened. 

Have yourselves a great day. 

Big Ole Hairy Friday

Yes, it is once again that time of the week that we all look forward 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 again the dawn of another weekend and a Big Ole Hairy Friday!!!

Are you looking for a little bit of cheap entertainment, and by cheap I mean free. Head on down to the Ruby Ampitheatre and see Deana Carter. Big Country singer, sang Strawberry Wine and has a couple of Grammy Nominations under her belt. 

So what is on the agenda afor this weekend, we have another birthday celebration coming up on Sunday. This will be the third of three weekends where there is a family event going on as the summer is winding down. WVU will start their Semester in the middle of next week, so we're going to see a huge influx of people migrating into town this weekend. Traffic is about to get much worse. 

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, time to look at some of the 30,000+ photos that I have stored on my computer. Little lost moments in time that I either captured with a lens, scanned, or just stole from somewhere on the internet. I like to find just one and post it up and recall or relive the picture to the best of my ability. Sometimes this is a pretty easy task, and sometimes it's not that easy, but one thing it has always been a lot of fun.

With the summer coming to an unofficial end soon, where the students are coming back and kids are back in school, I started thinking about bread making. We usually do it when it gets cold outside. This is Michelle's stuffed pepperoni and Mozzarella bread we made with the dutch oven. This one was from I think 2 years ago and was absolutely delicious. 

Have yourselves a great day.

Hi ho hi ho

Lucy's Journal

Lucy’s Journal – “Operation Incoming Fresh Meat”

Dear Journal,

It’s me, Lucy. White and tan Shih Tzu. Strategic mastermind. World-class mischief coordinator. And today, I’m hatching my greatest plan yet.

This morning I was sprawled out on the porch, watching the street, when Kiwi the Green Cheek Conure flapped down to sit beside me. She had that gleam in her eye that means chaos is coming.

“Lucy,” he chirped, “did you know all the new students are moving back into town next week?”

My ears perked up. I know this time of year — streets get busy, sidewalks get crowded, and all sorts of humans lug boxes and bags around like distracted ants. Perfect targets.

“What’s your angle?” I asked, wagging slowly.

“Dive bombing,” Kiwi said matter-of-factly. “I’ll swoop from above, you hit from the ground. Classic pincer movement.”

I nearly choked on my own excitement. We spent the next hour planning. Kiwi would hide in the maple tree and watch for an overloaded student — preferably one with a coffee in hand. The moment she spotted them, he’d let out our signal call: “CAWW-CAWW!” (It’s actually more of a screech, but it works.) Then he’d dive straight at their head, flapping wildly and making that “I’m about to steal your soul” bird face.

While they flailed and ducked, I’d charge in from the sidewalk, barking like I’d just spotted a squirrel wearing a gold crown. My job? Zig-zag through their legs, tug at a shoelace if possible, and make them spin in circles. If we timed it right, they’d drop something — and if it was food, even better.

We ran a practice drill on Mr. Thompson when he came back from the store. He didn’t drop his groceries, but Kiwi did manage to make him yell “GOOD LORD!” loud enough to scare three pigeons away. I call that a win.

Tomorrow is the first real day of move-in weekend. Kiwi says we should be in position by sunrise, because that’s when the sleepy ones are easiest to confuse. I’ve been practicing my “innocent dog face” so nobody suspects me after the attacks.

Operation Incoming Fresh Meat is officially a go.

— Lucy 🐾

Wednesday

Tuesday's Tidbits

* Monday has done come and gone, it's Tuesday and you know what that means. 

* It has been 22,510 days since I was born, that is 21 years using my new,  new, new, and improved 1,069-day Calendar. 

* It has been 7,763 days since I graduated from WVU with a Degree in Geography. I love what I do and am thankful to still be working in my field. 

* 6,357 days ago Michelle and I had our first date together. Life has been much better since then. 

* 5,561  days ago I proposed to Michelle in the backyard at 4:00 in the morning. I've been the luckiest guy since that fateful day. 

* It was 5,599 days ago in front of our closest friends and family, for the most part, Michelle and I became husband and wife at the Marilla Center, it was a great day with friends and family. 

* I have now lived 2,736 days longer than my Dad did and I'm still going strong, slowing down but still going. 

* Michelle has been living a clean and productive life and beat that alcohol demon 1,390 days ago today. 

* My older Brother Jonathan lived 21,273 days, I've now outlived him by 1,253 days, making me Senior Supreme Sibling once again! 

* I have 2,367 days to go until I retire, give or take a few hundred days here or there, but I love doing what I do. Who knows, though, doing what I do I may never retire.

* There are only 359 more days to go until Michelle and I will celebrate our 15th Wedding Anniversary. 

* 167 more days until Phil steps to center stage once again for Groundhog Day.    

* 148 more days to go until my Goodbye 2025 Blog is posted. Hopefully, I can put some better content together this year.

* There are 134 more shopping days left until Christmas 2025.

* There are 113 days until I hit the age of 62. Yeah I know, I'm really older than 21. 

* Pitt comes back to Morgantown in 36 more days. I can't wait. Revenge time for Rich Rod!!!!

* In 18 Days, Rich Rod leads the Mountaineers back onto the field to finish some unfinished business. 

* It has been ∞ (infinity symbol) days that I have hated both Pitt and Penn State.

* I have written 8,035 blogs in what is now 20 3/4 years since I started blogging. I'm coming on 21 years of writing these things.   

* Older Drone still needs to be sent out for repairs, not a big priority at this time. My little drone is awesome and I really like it....when I take time out to fly it.   

* Life is much better when you eat Girl Scout Cookies, just saying, Ryleigh would appreciate it. They are really doing well and it benefits their troop. 

* Still playing Monopoly Go. I'm still in 3rd place among friends and family, I had someone pass me this last week. 

* This is my favorite Tiktok for this week. Everyone likes Hot Dogs

* Progress on my Selfie in Space, right here

* Have yourselves a great day

* Hi ho hi ho

Monday

All good things must come to an end—but if you’ve got to wrap up the weekend, today’s a pretty exciting way to do it. Now it’s time to take our collective noses and press them firmly back onto the grindstone of life. Back to work, back to the hustle, back to doing our part to make this spinning rock a better place. Of course Peanut and Kiwi are once again planning to wreak havoc on the homestead while we are gone. 

I'm starting to get myself back into a routine with this going to the office thing. It was an adjustment initially, you know getting up and getting dressed and having to travel someplace other than the other side of the living room. 

Nothing new from Parsons, (which is feast or famine) at the moment and they are at the start of another contract, so I have no idea if my skillset will have much work this contract, but you never know. It's like a light switch when they start moving money around for tasks. Hence why I am working at Hope Gas, which hopefully is going to turn into a long-term thing. 

Anyways, have yourselves a great day and the start of a great week. 

Hi ho hi ho

Sunday

Here I sit yet once again in a quiet household, Kiwi and Peanut are up wrapping gifts and preparing the fruit and vegetable trays for Erica's Baby shower this afternoon. They are such helpful pets, I wouldn't trade either one of them for the world. 

Michelle got the shopping done yesterday, and today is Baby Shower Day. I had a funny feeling a few weeks ago that the baby would be here before the shower, but that is not the case, and Ellie Mae just isn't ready to make an appearance just yet.

Other than that I'll be bringing my camera today, hopefully to capture a few moments in time that could otherwise be lost. We'll see if we can catch a few memories for Erica. 

Have yourselves a great day, make it memorable and capture the moments. 

Saturday Morning Ramblings

Here I sit once again in a quiet household, Kiwi and Peanut are playing a game of Monopoly over on the table, hard to tell who is winning because they are both quiet, concentrating and planning on how to destroy their opponent. Come to think of it that looks like Peanut on the TV, if she is a movie star she is buying her own treats..lol

So two weeks down at work, future is looking promising and they have moved me upstairs to the second floor across from the VP. Better set up and now I am ready to start rocking and a rolling. I did notice that a number of people on my floor had similar roles with Mylan when they were in business. Mostly human resources and IT people. I'm liking what I am doing, that is the main thing. 

So what is on todays agenda? Michelle is going to shop, I'm not sure if I will cut grass, I just did it Sunday, but I do need to fill the gas cans back up. I've exhausted both cans this summer filling up the mower a few times. This fill up will probably last me through the rest of the mowing season. 

Have yourselves a great day. 

Big Ole Hairy Friday

Yes, it is once again that time of the week that we all look forward 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 again the dawn of another weekend and a Big Ole Hairy Friday!!!

Are you looking for a little bit of cheap entertainment, and by cheap I am meaning free. Head on down to the Ruby Ampitheatre and see Sierra Hull live and in concert. I can't say I know anything about her, but I did watch a video of her and she is cuntry blue grassy and is pretty talented. If you are not doing anything it might be worth a trip down to see her. 

So what is on our agenda for the day? I'll do Sams after work and Michelle and I will go out to dinner. Tomorrow we have our running around to do, and Sunday will be Erica's Baby Shower. So it is going to be a busy few weeks ahead. 

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, time to look at some of the 30,000+ photos that I have stored on my computer. Little lost moments in time that I either captured with a lens, scanned, or just stole from somewhere on the internet. I like to find just one and post it up and recall or relive the picture to the best of my ability. Sometimes this is a pretty easy task, and sometimes it's not that easy, but one thing it has always been a lot of fun.

How about for this year, I go clear back to the year 2016. I had been retired from softball for about five years and I saw Steve Reckart (back row on left) out and about and we joked about a Senior Citizens Softball League, well low and behold, BOPARC decided to start having a Senior Softball League (50+) and we threw a pretty good team together. Whitetail Crossing was kind enough to sponsor us and we brought a few of yesterday's stars out to come and join us or play against us. 

The rules are different than traditional softball, because we were old, but that was a team of ballplayers and it was a lot of fun hitting the field with old teammates through the next few years. 

Have yourselves a great day

Hi hi hi ho

Happy Birthday Randy Hamrick

I would like to take this opportunity to wish my Nephew Randy Lee Hamrick a very Happy Birthday today. 

If my math is correct, and I know that it is because I use an abacus, Randy should be celebrating his 37th Birthday today. Wow if he is 37 I must be getting to be over 21, or at least people aren't going to believe me when I lie about my age anymore. 

Randy is a multi-talented handyman and has been working with his Dad Nick for a number of years as well as some of his own stuff. I'm very proud of him and who he has become. 

I'm not sure what Randy has planned for the day or if there is even anything planned for him, but he is loved by his entire family and has taken the title of world's greatest uncle from me from what I understand. 

If you happen to see Randy today, make sure you wish him a very Happy Birthday. 

Happy Birthday, Bub. 

Happy 14th Wedding Anniversary to my wonderful wife

The normal Wednesday blogs will return next week, this week, however it is being replaced with a very special day in my life. A day 14 years ago when I went from a life of being a Bachelor to being a married man. 

It has been 14 wonderful years of marital bliss with the most wonderful person it has ever been my pleassure of ever meeting, the one who has changed my life for the better.

Michelle is the absolute love of my life and this was a very special day for me. Jimmy Buffet themed and we feasted on food being surrounded by friends and family. 

To my wonderful wife Michelle, I love you with all my heart and here is to the next 14 years. Happy Anniversary. 

Tuesday's Tidbits

* Monday has done come and gone, it's Tuesday and you know what that means. 

* It has been 22,503 days since I was born, that is 21 years using my new,  new, new, and improved 1,069-day Calendar. 

* It has been 7,756 days since I graduated from WVU with a Degree in Geography. I love what I do and am thankful to still be working in my field. 

* 6,350 days ago Michelle and I had our first date together. Life has been much better since then. 

* 5,554  days ago I proposed to Michelle in the backyard at 4:00 in the morning. I've been the luckiest guy since that fateful day. 

* It was 5,592 days ago in front of our closest friends and family, for the most part, Michelle and I became husband and wife at the Marilla Center, it was a great day with friends and family. 

* I have now lived 2,729 days longer than my Dad did and I'm still going strong, slowing down but still going. 

* Michelle has been living a clean and productive life and beat that alcohol demon 1,383 days ago today. 

* My older Brother Jonathan lived 21,273 days, I've now outlived him by 1,246 days making me Senior Supreme Sibling once again! 

* I have 2,373 days to go until I retire, give or take a few hundred days here or there, but I love doing what I do. Who knows, though, doing what I do I may never retire.

* There are only 366 more days to go until Michelle and I will celebrate our 15th Wedding Anniversary. 

* 174 more days until Phil steps to center stage once again for Groundhog Day.    

* 155 more days to go until my Goodbye 2025 Blog is posted. Hopefully, I can put some better content together this year.

* There are 141 more shopping days left until Christmas 2025.

* There are 120 days until I hit the age of 62. Yeah I know, I'm really older than 21. 

* Pitt comes back to Morgantown in 43 more days. I can't wait. Revenge time for Rich Rod!!!!

* In 25 Days, Rich Rod leads the Mountaineers back onto the field to finish some unfinished business. 

* There are 1 more day to go until Michelle and I celebrate our Fourteenth Wedding Anniversary together. 

* It has been ∞ (infinity symbol) days that I have hated both Pitt and Penn State.

* I have written 8,028 blogs in what is now 20 3/4 years since I started blogging. I'm coming on 21 years of writing these things.   

* Older Drone still needs to be sent out for repairs, not a big priority at this time. My little drone is awesome and I really like it....when I take time out to fly it.   

* Life is much better when you eat Girl Scout Cookies, just saying, Ryleigh would appreciate it. They are really doing well and it benefits their troop. 

* Still playing Monopoly Go. I'm still in 3rd place among friends and family, I had someone pass me this last week. 

* This is my favorite Tiktok for this week.

* Progress on my Selfie in Space, right here

* Have yourselves a great day

* Hi ho hi ho

Monday

All good things must come to an end—but if you’ve got to wrap up the weekend, today’s a pretty exciting way to do it. Now it’s time to take our collective noses and press them firmly back onto the grindstone of life. Back to work, back to the hustle, back to doing our part to make this spinning rock a better place. Of course Peanut and Kiwi are ready to throw themselves a humanless party, they are just waiting for us to go out the door. 

So how was my first week at Hope Gas. A little confusing at first, we're still getting things set up. They brought me in to do AutoCAD but it was just a smokescreen in order to move me around under another Supervisor from my understanding. Other than that I like where I work, the people I work with and it's actually a pretty nice setup overall. 

This is week two of going to an office after working from home exclusively for five years, I missed the interaction with humans, not that Kiwi didn't keep me company. I'm still working for Parsons on my other job, so I still will be working from home on occasion. They have 6 month short term contracts with their client (DoD) and it's every February and August that a new statement of work comes out so we know how much funding and effort they will need for the next six months. It really is a feast or famine type thing, and it has been famine the last couple of months. Hopefully there will be work for me this contract period. You never know though. 

Have yourselves a great day

Hi ho hi ho

Sunday

Here I sit yet once again on a quiet Sunday morning. Kiwi and Peanut are conspiring to do something, I'm not sure what just yet, but I don't know if I trust them. Something about building an ice skating rink to combat this summer heat. 

So what is on my agenda for the day? Weather permitting, I am going to try to get the grass cut. They dug a big hole in the front yard this past week and have it fenced off for something or another, which makes cutting grass a little more challenging to say the least. 

To prepare for work this week, I bought myself a new lunchbox at Sam's Club on Friday so I'll start taking my lunch. I was putting a banana in my backpack, but one got smooshed all to hell one day to the point I had to start looking for alternatives. 

Other than that we're going to relax today. 

Have yourselves a great day. 

Saturday Morning Ramblings

Here I sit once again in a quiet household, Kiwi and Peanut are extra happy this morning knowing that their humans don't have to work today and they will get to spend some time with them. Dad reported to an office this week for the first time in five years and they just didn't know how to act. 

So what is on todays agenda? A lot. Being that we are now both working, there are things that need to get done that either she nor I have time for during the week. Grocery shopping, writing blogs and a birthday party are all on my agenda today. It's going to be a busy day to say the least. 

First week back is nice, I have probably the nicest cubical I have ever had for any office. My desk has a button where it goes up and down automatically, dual monitors are attached to the desk and all I have to do is plug my laptop in and I'm good to go. Everyone is spaced pretty far apart that you really get the feeling that you are the only one there, but you're not. I had to travel to Clarksburg on Monday rather than Tuesday as they had some licensing issues with the software for my computer. I thought I was going to be working in an ESRI environment, but seems the job description is a little bit different than what I am actually doing. Crash self taught course of AutoCAD is how my week went. 

Have yourselves a great day, we're going to be busy as heck.

Big Ole Hairy Friday

Yes, it is once again that time of the week that we all look forward 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 again the dawn of another weekend and a Big Ole Hairy Friday!!!

Are you looking for a little bit of cheap, and by cheap I mean free entertainment this evening? Head on down to the Ruby Ampitheater this evening and sit down and have some fun listening to Changes and Latitude, a Jimmy Buffett Tribute Band. If you never got the chance to see the real Jimmy and get the parrothead experience, tonight is your perfect opportunity and it is free of charge. 

It's nice of finishing up my first week of work actually back in an office for the first time in over five years. I'm still looking to do contracts from home and I'm still working for Parsons, but with som much uncertainty I had to find something a little more stable that does not depend on Federal Contracts. 

Have yoursleves a great day. 

Hi ho hi ho

Happy Birthday Jax McClain

I would like to take this opportunity to wish a very special boy a very special little boy a very happy passage from being a rookie at this thing we call human life and now officially ending his rookie year and is now starting to earn his veteran status. 

It was one year ago today that Jax blessed Calvin and Jeanetta with his presence and entered into the family. 

Calvin and Jeanetta are planning a first birthday get together tomorrow at the Community Building where a lot of the family events are hosted. I know I am planning on being there tomorrow afternoon. 

If you happen to see this future Super Bowl Winning Quarterback, make sure you take a little bit of time out to wish him a very Happy Birthday today.