Another Monday, Another Trip

Here I go once again on this bright Monday morning. I will be taking my nose and sticking it on the collective grindstone for the week starting today. So let's all take our collective noses and stick them on that thing so we can collectively make this a better world to live in. 

I'll be working in Weirton one more time this week, I have a very strong feeling this will be my last week there, I've called Gary and let him know I'll be up there this week. Before I go to Weirton I have to go to Robinson Township and try to get in for an N-95 Mask fitting. If I don't get in as a walk-in this morning, I have a 3:30 Wed appointment. Fortunately, the highway right beside my hotel is a straight shot to where I need to go and vice versa. The N-95 masks will allow me to do fieldwork anywhere including counties that are shut down due to covid. 

I think Michelle's Mother Goose nickname is going to stick, the last three days there has been this one goose who keeps walking up to the patio door as if to say, HEY LADY, I'M HERE AND I'M HUNGRY!! My wonderful wife always responds in kind and puts some bread out for them. Our backyard is a zoo, maybe we should start charging admission and call Michelle's occupation as a zoo keeper. 

Anyways have a great day and the start to a great week of changing the world.

Hi ho hi ho

Sunday

Here my friend Peanut and I sit on an early Mother's Day Sunday morning, we're here discussing cat physics and if Lavern and Shirley were better than Happy Day's. I say no, the Foz ruled but she kind of likes Lavern and Shirley. We're out here collecting our thoughts for the day and have something playing on the TV. 

Mother's Day is a holiday that has it's origins right here in North Central West Virginia. The Mother's Day tribute is in downtown Grafton, but the Anna Jarvis Museum is actually south of Grafton. I would like to wish my Mother Sandra Irene a very Happy Mother's Day as well as my lovely wife, who is the mother of two. Also a Happy Mother's day to all Mother's out there and even the ones who have stepped up into the role like our soon to be bride Hayley. Happy Mother's Day all. 

The agenda for my repetitive life, we're going grocery shopping this morning and then come home and do the weekly chores that we do every Sunday and then the day belongs to us. I know it's going to be an 80% chance of rain today, so whatever we may or may not get into one can wager that it will in fact be an indoor activity. I do have to get ready to go back to Weirton tomorrow and this will most likely be the last week I'll be working that segment. Possibly heading down to Romney the following week to work.

Have yourselves a great day today. 

Saturday Morning Ramblings

Here I sit in a quiet Household, Peanut is out here and we are once again telling cat jokes and she is listening to my stories from the road from the past week. She does miss me and likes to listen to me speak. Something is playing on the TV, no idea what it is as it is on for noise more than anything else. 

Looking back on the past week there really wasn't a whole lot of excitement, just a lot of me knocking on doors and talking to people. I did not get a chance to see Gary as he was busy this past week, but we're going to try to hook up sometime this upcoming week as I will be in Weirton one last week. After this upcoming week, it looks like I will be working in an area of the state known for its Peaches. 

No big plans for Michelle and me today, Hayley did stopover last night as Michelle made a triple batch of Spicy Sausage Rigatoni for her and Bethany. They both love it and when we make it they want the leftovers. We checked our inventory for Deer food and we're good for this week, so there probably won't be a trip to Rural King today. 

Today is the last day for finals for WVU, but most of them have already left for the year. The few sticking around could be sticking around for Graduation next weekend. Traffic will be greatly reduced and will drop off even further after next weekend. 

I did give Michelle a new nickname yesterday. We had a couple of Geese that came to the back patio and I swear one of them is going to be knocking on the door before it is over with asking for food.  

They stayed around until Michelle fed them (along with the Deer, the Turkeys, the Ducks, the Groundhogs, Chipmunks, Squirrels and the 1,000 breeds of birds flying around on any given day. I told Michelle I think these Geese have adopted her and she is now Mother Goose. Good times at the Hall's Backyard Zoo, no Giraffes yet but give her time they will be showing up too. 

Have yourselves a great day today, I think Peanut and I are laying back down. 

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 once again the dawn of another weekend and a Big Ole Hairy Friday.

I'm home from the road, got back yesterday afternoon and I'm sitting here relaxing today after a wet week. I'm just trying to stay dry today...lol

Nothing really on my agenda for the weekend other than assisting my lovely wife in any wedding planning she is planning on doing this weekend. A trip to rural king may be on the agenda and with all the rain this past week, possibly cutting some grass again. 

I am happy to see much less traffic that is around town, it's thinning out as students are finishing up finals and moving back home for the Summer. Tomorrow is the last day of finals, but my guess is 95% of the finals have probably already been completed. As I recalled, the only Saturday Final I ever had was for a night class. 

Have yourselves a great day today, make it memorable. 

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 someplace 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, one thing it has always been a whole lot of fun.

This week's pic is from my sister Terri and Nick's wedding some years ago, and I'm thinking they are coming up close to a 30th Anniversary here sometime in the next year or so, that is if my math is correct. 

It's a picture of my Dad walking Terri down the Isle, something I will have the honor of doing for Hayley in about a month. I was standing off to the side here, and a funny story about this day. Kim and Ed were up top filming the day's events and I was sitting with my sister Pam for the ceremony. Sometime after this, I was reviewing the tape with Kim and asked the question of who was the bald guy sitting beside Pam. It was an instant realization that that was the first time I had seen my thinning scalp. I knew it was thinning, people told me about it, but until someone films you from above you never really understand. It was a shock to the system, to say the least. Of course, what's Kim's solution, she told me to get spray on hair as she was laughing profusely.  

Have yourselves a great day. 

Hi ho hi ho 

Happy Cinco De Mayo

Tuesday's Tidbits

* Monday is once again behind us, I'm out the door later this morning to head to the Northern Panhandle. Sounds like a great time to do my sister Kim's least favorite blog of the week that I write. 

* It has been 20,976 days since I was born, that is 21 years using my new and improved 991 day Calender. I prefer my calendar as it is the best calendar and it is variable. 

* It has been 6,197 days since I graduated from WVU with a Degree in Geography. I also have a minor in Communications and a Minor in History. 

* 4,794 days ago Michelle and I had our first date together, Pizza Hut and 10,000 BC movie that was horrible. 

* 4,023 days ago I proposed to Michelle, 4:00 in the morning but she was expecting it. 

* It was 3,545 days ago in front of our closest friends and family, Michelle and I became husband and wife at the Marilla Center, then we feasted like Kings and Queens. 

* I have now lived 1,185 days longer than my Dad did and I'm still going strong.

* I have 3,935 days to go until I retire, give or take a few hundred days here or there.

* The next Backyard Brawl where we beat Pitt's ass in Football is only 494 days away. 

* There are 289 days until Michelle and I head to Pittsburgh to see Reba in concert. The Concert was supposed to be this August (actually it was supposed to be in March of last year) and they have moved it until the middle of February next year. So basically I bought tickets for a concert in 2022 in 2019. 

* 274 more days until Phil steps to center stage again for Groundhogs Day, he has ended his winter vacation and can once again be seen in the back yard eating the Corn Michelle puts out. He and his wife live under the old bridge in the back yard. 

* 241 more days to go until my Goodbye 2021 Blog is posted, I'm hoping for a big year this year. 

* There are 234 more shopping days left until Christmas 2021. You still have plenty of time. 

* The next Anniversary of my 21st Birthday will be in 211 more days. 

* There are 93 more days to go until Michelle and I celebrate our Tenth Wedding Anniversary together. =)

* There are only 47 days until the start of  Summer 2021. My second favorite season of the year. I'm currently enjoying my favorite season. 

* I have written 6,390 blogs in the now 16 1/2+ years since I started blogging. 

* Drone still needs to be sent out for repairs, not a big priority at this time. 

* WVU is starting their finals today, most of them should be gone by Saturday with Commencment there the following weekend. 

* We are only about 3 weeks from the High School Graduations here in Mon County. 

* I'm ready for the warmer weather this week, but this April showers stuff is getting a little carried away. Besides that, it's May. 

* Oh, May the 4th be with you (had to put my Star Wars reference in. 

* Keep a watch on Mon County's COVID numbers, Kim pointed out to me that when the students leave, our numbers tend to go up as there is less testing. 

* Corona Virus, you can still track it as it is now starting to pick up steam and the numbers are increasing. 

* We're actually Yellow for COVID for Monongalia County, although most of the rest of the state is red you can track the state stats HERE. We're still Orange on the Harvard map though. 

* I'm STILL converting some old VHS tapes to Digital Format for Trish. I really need to get back on this as I am such a procrastinator.

* Have yourselves a great day.  

* Hi ho hi ho

On the Road Again

Well, all good things must come to an end, and yes that does include those fun-filled things that we refer to as weekends. Now it is time to take our collective noses and stick them back on that grindstone for another fun-filled week of doing what we do for a living. Me I'll be working out in the field this week and having all kinds of fun meeting new and exciting people. 

I'm back on the road working for RTI this week, I'll be heading out later this morning and heading to Weirton where my hotel is located and it's close to where my segment is located. I'm staying at the same hotel that I have stayed at numerous times before, it was just unavailable last week, hence why I worked closer to Moundsville. I'm working a very large segment so I will probably be up there a few more weeks at the very minimum. Michelle and I are IHG Rewards Members, so it's a nice way to keep totaling up our rewards points. My weather forecast for this week, rain, rain, rain, rain. 

We did have a pretty productive weekend with Hayley's Wedding Shower and us managing to get the grass all cut yesterday. A riding mower makes everything so much easier. We were also able to get our air conditioner in the window and have it all set up and working for the summer. That makes Michelle Happy. 

Have yourselves a great day.

Hi ho hi ho

Sunday Morning Ramblings

Here I sit on a quiet Sunday Morning, Peanut is still sleeping and I'm out here collecting my thoughts for the day and planning the day's activities. Not sure what is playing on the TV, it's just basically playing for noise and light as I like to sleep with a TV on. 

Hayley and Tyler's Wedding Shower went pretty well, it was a really nice turnout and we were able to pull it off with success and exceeding Michelle's goals. A big thank you to all the people who helped set up and break down and to everyone who attended the event. You absolutely made this future bride's day. It's amazing what an inspired group can accomplish when they put their minds to it. 

What's on the day's agenda? Grocery shopping to start the day, the household chores, and weather permitting we'll be cutting the grass this afternoon as it is starting to get a little high. I'll also be getting ready to travel to Weirton to work this week, but most of that is ready with the exception of my just simply packing my clothes. You figure traveling 7 of the last 8 weeks I've pretty much got this packing and preparing thing down pat and efficient. I've already got my hotel booked, I learned last week to book it much sooner than Saturday, and I'll once again be across the street from where my brother Gary works. I'll try to hook up with him one day and see what he is up to. 

Have yourselves a great day, thank you once again for all who made yesterday a very special day. 

Saturday Morning Ramblings

Here I sit at home on a quiet Saturday morning, I guess you can call it the quiet before the storm that is today. I'm sitting out here with the noise on the TV and just simply collecting my thoughts for the day. 

Well today is the big day before the big day, Hayley's Co-ed bridal shower is today at noon at the Woodland United Methodist Church on the Mileground, we went up last night and decorated and will be helping host it this afternoon. 

Their wedding is still a little over a month away and they are getting married on Assateague Island but we are all staying in Delaware for the wedding at the same beach house. After the wedding they are planning on going to San Diego for their honeymoon for two weeks. 

Today should be a fun day, I'll have my camera with me and will be taking a number of pictures of the days festivities. 

Have yourselves a great day, hopefully I will see you today. 

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 once again the dawn of another weekend and a Big Ole Hairy Friday.

It's going to be a busy day and probably busy weekend in general. Final preparations will need to be done today as we prepare for Hayley's Bridal Shower tomorrow afternoon. She wants a pasta bar set up and Michelle is going to deliver three different types of pasta and a few different sauces to place on them. I know Tyler is making the homemade marinara sauce and we'll be partying down at the church tomorrow.

I got back last night, so I'm sure I'll have some running around to do today for things we normally do and also for the shower. Hopefully we'll get a chance to see everyone tomorrow as I will also serve double duty with my camera to try to capture the days festivities and moments in time so the bride and groom can look back and reflect some day. 

Have a great day. 

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 someplace 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, one thing it has always been a whole lot of fun.

This week's picture goes back to 2010, but the writing on that chair goes all the way back to probably the 1980's. 

Does anyone know any juvenile's from 4 decades past who may have done this, much less see it some 40 years after you did it. Just one of the things from the hallowed halls of Morgantown High School that has been left there through the years. Does anyone know the perpetrator?

Have a great day.

Hi ho hi ho.

Wednesday

Tuesday's Tidbits

* Monday is once again behind us, I'm out the door later this morning to head to the Northern Panhandle. Sounds like a great time to do a tidbits. 

* It has been 20,969 days since I was born, that is 21 years using my new and improved 991 day Calender. I prefer my calendar as it is the best calendar and it is variable. 

* It has been 6,190 days since I graduated from WVU with a Degree in Geography. I also have a minor in Communications and a Minor in History. 

* 4,787 days ago Michelle and I had our first date together, Pizza Hut and 10,000 BC movie that was horrible. 

* 4,016 days ago I proposed to Michelle, 4:00 in the morning but she was expecting it. 

* It was 3,538 days ago in front of our closest friends and family, Michelle and I became husband and wife at the Marilla Center, then we feasted like Kings and Queens. 

* I have now lived 1,178 days longer than my Dad did and I'm still going strong.

* I have 3,942 days to go until I retire, give or take a few hundred days here or there.

* The next Backyard Brawl where we beat Pitt's ass in Football is only 501 days away. 

* There are 296 days until Michelle and I head to Pittsburgh to see Reba in concert. The Concert was supposed to be this August (actually it was supposed to be in March of last year) and they have moved it until the middle of February next year. So basically I bought tickets for a concert in 2022 in 2019. 

* 281 more days until Phil steps to center stage again for Groundhogs Day, he has ended his winter vacation and can once again be seen in the back yard eating the Corn Michelle puts out. 

* 248 more days to go until my Goodbye 2021 Blog is posted, I'm hoping for a big year this year. 

* There are 241 more shopping days left until Christmas 2021. You still have plenty of time. 

* The next Anniversary of my 21st Birthday will be in 218 more days. 

* There are 100 more days to go until Michelle and I celebrate our Tenth Wedding Anniversary together. =)

* There are only 54 days until the start of  Summer 2021. My second favorite season of the year. I'm currently enjoying my favorite season. 

* I have written 6,383 blogs in the now 16 1/2+ years since I started blogging. 

* I did work on my drone last weekend, it may have to been sent out for repairs. 

* WVU is in session this week and the week after that is finals next week and then we get our three months of peace and quiet in Morgantown. 

* We are only about 4 weeks from the High School Graduations here in Mon County. 

* I'm ready for the warmer weather this week, that snow we saw last Wednesday was a little surprising and kind of sucked. 

* Anyone else about ready for this COVID stuff to be behind us? 

* Corona Virus, you can still track it as it is now starting to pick up steam and the numbers are increasing. 

* We're actually Yellow for COVID for Monongalia County, although most of the rest of the state is red you can track the state stats HERE. We're still Orange on the Harvard map though. 

* I'm STILL converting some old VHS tapes to Digital Format for Trish. I really need to get back on this as I am such a procrastinator.

* Have yourselves a great day.  

* Hi ho hi ho

Just Another Manic Monday

All Good things must come to an end, and that includes these fun-filled things that we refer to as weekends. Now it is time to take our collective noses and stick them back on the grindstone for another fun-filled week of doing what it is we do for a living. 

I'm off to the panhandle again this morning, not working the Weirton segment this week as it was impossible for me to get a room at the Government rate and we are not allowed to cross state lines due to covid, so I moved it a little south this week where the state is 14 miles wide rather than 5. There are only a handful of hotels in Weirton, and due to some auctioneer convention, graduation and the normal flow of pipeline workers, all the hotels are sold out. 

Michelle is going to have lunch with Tyler's Mom Alice on Tuesday so they can discuss and finalize everything they need to for Hayley's Bridal shower this Saturday at Woodland. Her wedding date is getting closer and closer, seems like it was only yesterday that we were looking at venues that they ended up changing their minds on. 

Have yourselves a great day today.

Hi ho hi ho

Sunday

Here I sit yet once again in a quiet household, Peanut is in sleeping with Michelle and I'm out here surfing the next and collecting my thoughts for the day. Not sure what is on the boob tube but whatever it is I'm obviously not paying attention. 

I've got a lot to do today I tried yesterday to book my hotel for working in Weirton this week, but being WV is only 5 miles wide in that stretch and we are not allowed to stay in any neighboring states due to COVID restrictions and it being Graduation weekend plus some auctioneers convention this week, that's not happening. When I travel I have to stay within the guidelines for rates, but everything was booked solid this week for that 5 mile stretch across West Virginia. I'll still be working the panhandle this week, but will be working between Wheeling and Moundsville and I will once again be staying in Moundsville this upcoming week for work. I feel DiCarlos and some Coleman's in my future this week. 

I managed to watch the WVU Spring game yesterday, I have to say I was really impressed with the Defense and how they play, the Offense, however, is still a work in progress in my opinion. I think they are a year or two away from being effective and able to control a game. Just a little too inconsistent and too many drops for my taste. 

Today's festivities will start off with our grocery shopping and chores for the week. I'll write all of my blogs for this upcoming week as I will be away working. Other than that there's not too much going on for us today. I'll be busy, but it's just a bunch of busywork that I need to do. 

Have yourselves a great day. 

Saturday Morning Ramblings

Here my co-author Peanut and I sit in a quiet household, Michelle is off in lala land snoozing away and we're out here discussing some very important cat issues. Like why does shoe only like catnip flavored treats and will pick them out if I mix them up, but she'll lick her own butt. It just doesn't make sense to this human. 

Are you wanting to see some football today? I know I'm ready to have a look and see how my WVU Mountaineers are progressing this off-season. Last year, we could not have a Spring Game due to COVID restrictions, that disease is still around, but we are having a Spring Game today at 1:00. If you are not attending the game, it is being broadcast on ESPN+ if you are subscribed to that channel. It's a different subscription than regular ESPN, but I am a subscriber and will be able to see the scrimmage today from the comforts of our home. 

Looks like I will be heading back to Weirton next week to work. The county has been cleared this week for us to work it once again and I'm the only FI working the northern panhandle due to us not being able to travel and work in other states. I do have to say after so many people in Michelle's family recommended it after they found out which hotel I was staying in, Dee Jays has the best ribs I have ever had in my life. Highly recommended. I'll be back up there this coming week. 

Hayley and Tyler stopped by yesterday. They came down to get their second COVID shots and stopped by. Her and Michelle went through all the wedding stuff we bought over the past year to determine what she is going to have at her Bridal Shower next weekend. 

One other thing we did yesterday, Michelle and I made our trip to Rural King so that all of her outdoor friends don't have to go Hungry. I swear we should start a zoo at times. 

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 once again the dawn of another weekend and a Big Ole Hairy Friday.

If all went according to plans, I should be home this morning. Done from my week out in the field doing fieldwork. It's time for me to spend a weekend with my lovely wife as we haven't seen each other much the last couple of weekends. She was in Delaware one weekend and last weekend with her Grandmother. Next weekend should also be busy with Hayley's Bridal Shower, so we can relax together this weekend. 

No plans off the top of my head for the weekend, it might just be a time to stay home and relax and probably cut the grass. A trip to Rural King is not out of the question as well as Michelle is starting to run a little low on outdoor pet food. 

Have yourselves a great day, make the most of it. 

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 someplace 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, one thing it has always been a whole lot of fun.

This weeks pic goes back to one of my finest memories of Gigi. Michelle and I would go to her house every year for the Christmas gathering, it was a big event where everyone from her Ohio family would show up. We would feast and then play Bingo before we would head to our next destination. 

One year that predates Michelle and I being together, I guess she went to Texas Roadhouse and put some peanuts in her purse. My brother in law Jim every year would somehow at Christmas remind her of that incident by somehow having a gift associated with Peanuts to surprise her. One year he had a Pizza Box delivered that was just full of shelled Peanuts, this year he gave her a Peanut dispenser filled with peanuts. It was a running joke they enjoyed and how Jim was going to give her Peanuts every year was the discussion of the day. One year he even gave her a bra, filled with Peanuts. Some of my many fond memories. She will be missed but never forgotten. 

Have yourselves a good day, I should be home tonight. 

Hi ho hi ho

Wednesday