Goodbye 2018

January

* January started off with me taking a trip to St Louis for my 2018 certification for RTI so I can work in the field for the coming year. It is something I have to do every year, and this year Michelle did not go with me.

* Moke and Ang held a birthday party for Ryleigh out in Blacksville, it was a well attended event.

* I was named the new Fire Warden for our area at work for my floor. I was supposed to be the backup, but I turned out to be the primary as the previous Fire Warden moved to another building.

* WVU Men's basketball team achieved the #2 ranking for a week in January.

* An idiot driver hit the telephone pole across the street knocking out my electric for a number of ours and my cable for an extended period of time.

* Big snowstorm caused traffic in Morgantown (at least where I live), to come to an absolute standstill.

* In ended up with a touch of the influenza, knocking me out of both of my jobs for a shirt time period.

* I made my first drone flight in late January after the weather cleared up a little bit.

February

* Phil started my month out horribly by seeing his shadow. Damn rat.

* I finally reached a magic number, I reached and surpassed the number of days that my Dad was alive. His life ended too short.

* Jimmy Buffett had announced that he was returning to Pittsburgh in 2018, tickets went on sale and I grabbed ours.

* Michelle, Chris and Jim all got called to Ohio to clean out her Grandmothers trailer as it was being sold.

* I made my second drone flight, I was still learning how to fly it.

* West Virginia teachers walked out and went on a state wide teachers strike that went on for a while. They ended up getting their demands.

March

* March kicked off with a visit to the Hovatters Zoo, we bought season passes for 2017 but never used them enough to make up for the cost of them. It went to a good cause though.

* Jim and Chris had a big estate auction of Michelle's Grandmothers (Dad's mother) place, they did it at the Woodland Church and had a great Auction.

* MEPCO stopped production at their coal mine, this would eventually mean an end to Michelle's employment at MEPCO.

* I won an EBAY Auction for one of my favorite childhood toys, a Cox Airplane.

* We went shopping at First Defense and upgraded Michelle's carry pistol, something she was much more comfortable with. We traded in one I had bought from my niece a couple years earlier.

* Uncle Junior, aka Rev. George Koon, had been called him to be with Lottie.

* My Cousin Heather also died in a car wreck, she was in transit to see her first Grandchild when the fatal crash happened. 

April

* April started out with a drone flight, I took the drone out to Mylan Park and put it up for a little while.

* The annual Johnny Koon Bowl-A-Thon was held at Suburban Lanes, we did not make it over this year.

* We subscribed to the Dominion Posts electronic edition. It had been a number of years since I was a daily DP reader, and this was an attempt to get back into that habit.

* Hayley ended up crashing her car. Michelle and I bought her a Volkswagon Jetta so she wasn't without a car.

* I made a drone flight out at Mason Dixon Park.

* Mylan Pharmaceuticals announced that is was going to lay off 500 employees, this was after laying off 300 the previous fall.

* April ended with us smoking a pork butt and having Hayley over for dinner.

May

* I crashed my drone screwing around in the yard and had to order a couple more sets of propellers.

* Sadly, Michelle's employment at MEPCO had come to an end, they had shut down all the mines a few months earlier, and she was one of the last people to leave the company as it shut down. It was a job she loved.

* Softball season once again started and the boys from Whitetail Crossing re-assembled to compete in the over the hill league as it is referred to. I think it is the funnest league to play in.

* I put the drone up yet once again, this time I took it to where my Grandparents raised their children at the end of Van Voorhis and made a couple of flights over my childhood home.

* Michelle wasn't too bored, she was offered a job as the Office Manager for X-Treme Labor Solutions, a job that she absolutely loves. She gets to change peoples lives and hire people at career jobs.

* We took a trip to Blackwater Falls during the Holiday weekend.

* I did my yearly duties of going to the local graveyards where family members are buried and placed flags on the graves of those who served our nation.

June 

* The Old Fart softball league in which I play in (Over 50) started in June.

* Michelle started her new and current job, she only had a few weeks off before they called her and offered her the office manager position. They were starting a Norther WV Office to address Oil and Gas, and they are booming.

* We attended Smitty and Steffy's 15th Wedding Anniversary at Coopers Rock.

* I had a brother that none of us knew who he was or anything about him, a few years earlier we started a search to find him. In June of 2018 the search officially ended as we found Jonathan, my big Brother. I spoke to him a number of times throughout the month trying to answer questions and give him information about his past that he didn't know.

* Michelle and I started to talk about a cruise for 2018 now that she had secured steady employment.

* Chad turned the big 3-0.

July

* July started off with a scare, Peanut had some health issues and we had to run her to the emergency clinic. We feared and prepared for the worst, but she pulled through and everything is OK and she is still my baby.

* After a years absence, Jimmy Buffet returned to Pittsburgh and Michelle and I were there. We rode in a Limo up with some friends and had a good time.

* Michelle, Layla and I all took a road trip. We treated our former flower girl from our wedding to a nice little surprise. We took her to Idlewild Park for the day, and it was a hot one.

* The 19th Anniversary of my Dad passing occurred during this month, but unlike any before all six offspring know who each other are or contacted each other.

* We attended a benefit Spaghetti dinner for our friend Vanessa.

* In late July, we announced that we were going to do it again. We booked and paid for another cruise and the timing was perfect. I was going to settle to book in the aft when one opened up 6th floor mid ship where we like to book our rooms and we jumped on it.

* WV Mountainfest started, Michelle and I went one day, earlier in the day and never returned to the venue for any of the concerts.

August 

* Michelle traveled up north for her nephew Jonny's birthday party. She traveled and I stayed home and worked.

* My blog's feed was no longer picked up by Facebook. I had used Feedburner to push my blog to twitter, then Facebook would pick up the twitter feed, but they stopped picking up outside feeds. Hence no more automatic posts to Facebook.

* Michelle and I celebrated seven wonderful years of marriage with an Anniversary Dinner at Fusion Restaurant.

* The students at WVU returned to Morgantown, making traffic once again a pain in the butt.

* The Johnny Koon Light up night was held, they had to move it down over the hill from where it was usually held, but it seemed to work out fine. My niece Amy continued her streak of winning all the door prizes once again. The event raised $4,925 for pediatric brain cancer research for WVU Children's Hospital.

* Softball season came to an end for us, we were in first place most of the season and lost two straight games during the playoffs ending our season.

September

* The Mountaineers started the season out right with a 40-17 win against Tennessee in Football.

* I got a new GPS at work, I was granted the Cadillac of Cadillacs in the GPS World. This toy (I mean tool) is amazing.

* My Nephew Ralphie won a new truck in a raffle.

* After a year off from cruising, Michelle and I set out on our 6th Cruise to the Caribbean. It is always the highlight of our year and it killed me the year before to have to cancel it.

* Michelle's Grandmother Ruth (Gigi as she is referred to), sold her home and they closed on it in the month of September.

October

* I celebrated my 10 year anniversary (with 3 companies) at NETL. Sad but this is the first and only location I ever worked 10 years at.

* I headed out west to do a presentation, my destination was Las Vegas. This was the first time that I had ever been there and the presentation was the largest I have ever had to give on my own. Went great.

* The WVU Basketball team got a verbal commitment from 5 star recruit Oscar Tshiebwe, he has since signed his Letter of Intent.

* I had a trainer come in for two days to train me and a couple of co-workers on the new GPS system we had purchased. I was lost until the trainer came in, now I feel I could train the class.

* I put in for 2019 Training at work, I'll be in Washington DC in January and San Diego in July. Yeah me.

November

* The month started out with a trip to Amish Country for Michelle and me, a place that we love to visit and is always worth a good days trip if not a couple of days.

* We held the mid term elections (non Presidential year) where we re-elected a Senator and had to elect all of our House Members.

* Jim and Chris held their 2018 Christmas Auction in Cassville, arguably one of their best auctions to date.

* NETL named a new Director, one who is local and is a WVU Grad.

* We set up our 2018 Christmas Tree. We bought this one from Lowes and Michelle has kind of indicated that maybe she would like to start doing artificial trees instead of a real one next year.

* Michelle lost a family member when Ginny had passed away. Ginny was there when Michelle was born and she was always someone very close to Michelle.

December

* December saw the passing of former President George H W Bush.

* We traveled to Ohio for the Ohio Family Christmas. This was the first one that was not held at Gigi's house or Julies house (Michelle's Cousin) and was instead held at the Elks club.

* I attended not one, not two but three Christmas Parties at work. One was NETL wide, one was for my contract and one was my departments. All three went very well.

* Kim Brittany and I went shopping in Pittsburgh while Michelle went to her Sisters and baked Christmas Cookies.

* We attended Amanda and Joey's Christmas Pig roast at their home.

* We went to Terri and Nick's for Christmas Eve and did a live stream with Jonathan.

* I have written 392 blogs in 2018, two more than last year.

* Have a safe and Happy New Year, we will see you on the other side. 

Last Regular Post on 2018

This is it, my last regular blog for the year 2018. My Goodbye 2018 end of the year blog that I post every year will post at about 7:00 AM this morning and that will be my last blog of 2018.

Today is going to be short day at the office for me, we have a three hour early release meaning that I'm out just after lunch and will be off the rest of the week on Vacation (if that is what you call it) as I will be traveling to St Louis to transition to RTI and get re-certified for the year 2019.

While I am gone I'm going to pre-write my blogs to showing tracking numbers and everything for my flights and for times while I'm in St Louis. I still haven't done that yet, but I'll get around to it before we leave Wednesday Morning.

It's been a good year and I would say one that was productive. We have our pork and sauerkraut ready to go into the crock pot tomorrow morning, so that we can once again have good luck in 2019.

Have a great day.

Hi ho hi ho

Sunday

Here I sit as usual in a quiet household, I'm always the first to bed and usually the first to rise. I'm up a little early watching some documentary about Woodstock and collecting my thoughts on the day.

Our house is now post-Christmas. We took down the tree and all the falling needles yesterday, arguably the second worst tree that we have had for Christmas. Our first one was a little worse, but this one was a close second. I would say 75% of the needles on the tree came off as we were removing ornaments and lights. Sammy has decided to return to the North Pole since we don't have a tree up, he said he would be back next year to create havoc once again.

Today will be our weekly chores, combined with starting to plan for St Louis. I'm probably going to write a whole weeks worth of blogs in the next couple of days since Michelle and I leave for St Louis Wednesday Morning and will be back Sunday.

Tomorrow morning my Goodbye 2018 Blog will post, I just need to make the final couple entries and a post count and it is all good to be posted. Not many thoughts in this AM other than trying to wake up...lol

Have yourselves a great day today.

Saturday Morning Rambling

Here I sit in a quiet household, still brewing from last nights pathetic effort in our bowl game and watching Kung Fu Panda 2 and trying to come to the realization that next year is going to be a long one with WVU Football.

The Mountaineers played their bowl game yesterday, for the second year in a row the seasons starting QB wasn't playing the bowl game and the backup is just not up to par as to what this team needs. Syracuse beat us 34-18 and probably killed any hopes of having any success next season, something tells me the WVU Athletic Department is going to be singing the blues as people are not going to buy tickets to watch an undisciplined team that is going to struggle next season. I'm not optimistic at all for next season, and that is pretty sad.

On to reality, today is the day we are going to break down our Christmas Tree. This years tree has not been up to par form years past, we got it the Saturday after Thanksgiving at Lowes and it just would not suck up water like other trees in past years. Of course last year Michelle went and cut her own tree down with Chad, this year be bought a pre-cut tree and it just seemed to not want to absorb water and lost all kinds of needles. It's going to be interesting getting it out the door to say the least.

Have yourselves a great day today. 

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 and a possible four day weekend.

This is my last "relaxing" weekend for a while as you can call it. I'm at work next Monday and then I'm off to ST Louis for recertification and then my life is going to get very busy. It's going to be filled with my packing for St Louis and realizing the one thing I wanted to do this year considering Michelle is going to be with me and the weather is going to be nice, is to go up into the arch. Federal Monument and there is a Government shut down, so that is very much in doubt unless they get something worked out before then.

Weekend plans include one final Christmas as we have been invited over to see Luke's Christmas tomorrow afternoon / evening. However the early part of tomorrow will be breaking down the 2018 Christmas Tree. We bought it from Lowes and it just didn't seem to suck up the water as other trees we have purchased in the past and lost a number of needles.

So other than possibly watching a WVU Football Bowl game this evening, that's pretty much going to be my weekend.

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 pictures that I have either taken, scanned or stolen off of the internet through the years and find one special picture that stands out. Little lost moments in time from yesterday caught with a Cameras lens and relived right here in my blog. Sometimes it's pretty easy to find that one special picture and sometimes it's not that easy, one thing it consistently is however is a whole lot of fun.

This weeks pic goes all the way back to Christmas Eve in I think 2018 or it could have been 2018. It was such a long time ago that I sometimes lose track of the years...lol

This was a pic that we grabbed and I stole off of my niece Brittany of Kim, Michelle and Me on Terri's front porch before all the chaos began. Funny story, the plate Kim is holding she ended up losing as it had chips and dip on it and Nick and Terri's dog Simba decided that they were a little but hungry and that plate was being held a little too low.

Have yourselves a great day today.

Hi ho hi ho

Post Christmas

So much for my four day weekend, now it's time to stick my nose back on that grindstone for another three days until I get another fun filled weekend.

I need to take some time to enjoy it, because next week starts the chaos for me, but for now we'll just reflect on the Holiday.

Christmas Eve Michelle and I went to my sister Terri's. We grabbed a few pictures, had a a little bit of fun and feasted like kings. We actually did  a private live Facebook Feed for other family members who were unable to attend and the evenings festivities went well.

Yesterday I watched a Christmas Story a few times and we made it over to Chris and Jim's home to spend some time with then on Christmas Day.

It was a relaxing four days, now it's time to get back at it.

Have yourselves a great day

Hi ho hi ho

Merry Christmas

A Very Merry Christmas to all, and a happy new year. I hope your day is filled with fun and joy and memories to last you a lifetime.

Merry Christmas.

Tuesday's Tidbits

* It's Christmas Morning, time for a tidbits

* It has been 20,113 the world was blessed with my birth.

* It has been 5,336 days since I graduated from WVU, I'm still working in my field of study and I love what I do.

* 3,937 days ago Michelle and I went out for dinner and a movie, Pizza Hut and 10,000 BC were on the agenda for the evening.

* 3,161 days ago I proposed to Michelle, she said yes =)

* It was 2,698 days ago in front of our closest friends and family, Michelle and I with the help of a co-worker of hers, became husband and wife.

* I have now lived 324 days longer than my Dad did, he missed out on so much due to his early passing.

* I have 4,725 days to go until I retire, give or take a few hundred days here or there, like I said I love what I do.

* The next Backyard brawl where we beat Pitt's ass in Football is only 1,362 days away.

* There are 365 more shopping days left until Christmas. I realize not everyone has opened presents yet today, but you can always start to plan next year.

* My next Anniversary of my 21st Birthday will be in 341 more days, I'm staying the same age this year as well as next.

* There are 225 more days to go until Michelle and I celebrate our Eighth Wedding Anniversary together, seems like only yesterday.

* There are 85 days until the next start of my favorite season, SPRING!!!!!

* 46 more days until Groundhog Day, I'm hoping Phil is having a nice Christmas.

* 6 more days to go until my Goodbye 2018 Blog is posted, I've got it written mostly, unless there is another event or something. I just have to finalize it. It's a good read.

* I have written 5,485 blogs in my 14 full years now of writing about myself.

* No Drone flights this weekend, I'm slacking on that aspect of my flight time.

* I hate snow, not sure if I have ever mentioned that on my blog, but I will allow an inch today since Santa needs it to fly around.

* The Steelers 2018 Playoff hopes are dashed, lost 4 of their last 5 games and they have went from a first round bye to being on the outside looking in.

* Did I mention it's Christmas? 24 Hours of a Christmas Story, YES!!!!

* This is day 4 of my 4 day weekend. I work 3 days this week and then part of a day Monday then I'm off from NETL and on my way to get re-certified in St. Louis.

* Time to start concentrating on next week and planning for St Louis.

* 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.

* Ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho

Christmas Videos Past

Every year I try, or should I say I attempt to try to put together a Christmas Video from our Christmas Eve. I've done a number of these through the years, enjoy some of my past work and Merry Christmas Eve.



2016



2015




2014




2013

2012

2008




2007



It doesn't appear that I did one for 2006, but here is one of the first videos that I ever did to fill in a little.





2005 which is probably my all time favorite one that I have done.




2004



1999 Which was my Dad's last Christmas

Last Day of Shopping

For any of you who are waiting till the last minute to do your Christmas Shopping, well we are down to that point. This is Christmas Eve and Santa is loading up his sleigh as we speak to prepare for his journey.

I will be off today, but Michelle has to work, so this will be day 3 of my 4 day weekend. I'll be doing our final running around today since all the stores will be closed this evening and tomorrow.

For the kiddies, NORAD is still going to track Santa on the Santa Tracker that can be found right HERE. The Santa Tracker will be operational helping tracking Kris Kringle on his journey around this rock in one day, even though the Government is shut down.

Have yourselves a great day today.

Ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho Merry Christmas

Sunday Morning Ramblings

Here I sit once again in a quiet household, I'm up a little early and just watched the end of There's Something About Mary on HBO and trying to collect my thoughts for the day.

We went to Amanda and Joey's Pig Roast last night and had a great time, it had a great turnout and I think people really enjoyed themselves. Michelle and I made Haluski and it was a big hit with everyone. There was a houseful of people and everyone left with a full belly and a few stories to tell.

I finally have my Christmas shopping completed, we went to the Mall yesterday after a trip to Harry's and you talk about a place that was a bit of a madhouse. The JC Penney shoe section looked like a bomb went off there, shoes were strung out everywhere and it was almost impossible to determine what came from where and sizes. I can't imagine they closed the store the night before nor opened it yesterday morning with everything in such disarray, but we were there maybe at 11:00 and it was a total mess. We left and went to the shoe show.

Today Walmart, laundry and our typical Sunday things. It is day two of my four day weekend and I'm going to enjoy it.

Have yourselves a great day.

Saturday Morning Ramblings

Here I sit on a quiet Saturday morning, my first of four days off, I'm just starting to wake up and plan my day out. Something is on the boob tube behind me, but I have no idea what it is on. Sammy is hanging around somewhere but I can't seen to find him. I do feel him peeking over my should somehow though.

Well today is going to be a busy one, it's going to start with a trip to Harry's to pick up some meat. We stopped using grocery stores meats last year and get everything from a butcher, the quality is just so much better and the meat is obviously more fresh and not injected with any chemicals. I have to have some Hot Sausage for Breakfast Christmas Morning, it's been a tradition that has been going on for about 40 years.

After that a quick trip to the Morgantown Mall, have to get a few final things for Christmas and what ever else we may find.

Then it is home to make Haluski. Amanda and Joey's Pig Roast is this evening and they have asked us to make Haluski to bring for tonights festivities. Michelle is going to concentrate on the dough dumplings and I'm going to work on frying up the cabbage and Bacon. I've never used prepackaged noodles to make it and have always used dough dumplings, something Jean taught me years ago. One of my all time favorite foods to eat.

Have yourselves a great day today.

Ho ho ho ho

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 and a possible four day weekend.

Being that Tuesday is Christmas and there is an executive order that all Feds are to have Monday as a Holiday, meaning our site will be closed, this could very well mean I get a four day Holiday weekend starting after work today. Woo Hoo. Oh, and I get a three hour early dismissal today and on New Years Eve!!!!!

That would mean 4 days off, back three before another weekend and then back 1 more day before new years and me heading to St Louis. It's going to be a little break before life once again gets very hectic for me. I'm going to enjoy my little break before the chaos starts.

Have  yourselves a great day and and get that Christmas shopping started for you procrastinators.

Ho ho ho ho

Photo Flashback Thursday

Once a week I like to take a little bit of time out and look through some of the pictures that I have either taken, scanned or stolen off of the internet through the years and find one special picture that stands out. Little lost moments in time from yesterday caught with a Cameras lens and relived right here in my blog. Sometimes it's pretty easy to find that one special picture and sometimes it's not that easy, one thing it consistently is however is a whole lot of fun.

This weeks pic goes back to Christmas 1998, my Dad's last Christmas that he was around. A month later he started his downward spiral that would eventually cost him his time on this rock.

We had not had a Christmas at his home in a number of years, since Jean had left him and moved to Florida, but 1998 was a year I had to move back in and all the siblings decided that we were going to do a Christmas there. Dad wasn't too keen on it and didn't want anything to do with it until the morning of the 24th. He was going to work and changed his mind and went full steam ahead in making this day happen.

This is a picture of him, with Val and my sister Terri.

Have yourselves a great day and enjoy the video of the 1998 Christmas.

Ho ho ho ho

Christmas Party

Two days down, two more ahead of us, now all we have to do is get over that noon time hump and it is going to be a party at work. Nice way to start the downhill portion of the workweek as we work towards the Pre-Christmas Weekend.

My contract is having an office Christmas Party this afternoon (my third of the year...lol) and I'll be taking a crock pot full of scalloped potatoes in. Michelle says to start it early this morning and let it cook until the party. I'll take it into my office and plug it in until the chaos begins. It was the best party of last year in my opinion, and of course the chaos is right outside my cubicle so it's real easy access for me for everything. I can be snacking all afternoon.

As of the time I am writing this, I think Michelle's Office Christmas Dinner is this evening, so I can stuff myself this afternoon and make sure my belly is full when I leave work so I don't have to worry about cooking dinner for myself.

Have yourselves a great day.

Ho ho ho ho

Tuesday's Tidbits

* Monday is once again in our rear view mirrors and we are staring straight down the barrel of a Tuesday, can't think of a better reason to do a tidbits.

* It has been 20,106 days since I was born, I guess the world needed a future fat bald headed Geographer =)

* It has been 5,329 days since I graduated from WVU, speaking of WVU they just had commencement and the students are gone till after the first of the year.

* 3,930 days ago Michelle and I went out for dinner and a movie, Pizza Hut and 10,000 BC were on the agenda for the evening.

* 3,154 days ago I proposed to Michelle, the day my life changed forever.

* It was 2,691 days ago in front of our closest friends and family, Michelle and I with the help of a co-worker of hers, became husband and wife.

* I have now lived 317 days longer than my Dad did, he missed out on so much due to his early passing.

* I have 4,732 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 1,369 days away. It did feel good beating them in Basketball a couple weeks ago.

* My next Anniversary of my 21st Birthday will be in 348 more days, I'm staying the same age this year as well as next.

* There are 232 more days to go until Michelle and I celebrate our Eighth Wedding Anniversary together, seems like only yesterday.

* There are 92 days until the next start of my favorite season, SPRING!!!!!

* 53 more days until Groundhog Day, I have sent Phil liquor, cigars, fine cheese and a few female groundhog ladies of the night, hopefully he gets the hint of early spring.

* 13 more days to go until my Goodbye 2018 Blog is posted, I'm currently writing it and am near the warm time of the year. I really do enjoy taking the time and writing this, taking a month at a time and taking the time out and reflecting. It is written over several weeks.

* There are 6 more shopping days left until Christmas.  It's next Tuesday and now is the is the time to finalize everything.

* I have written 5,480 blogs in my 14 full years now of writing this little piece of my life on the internet.

* No Drone flights this weekend, I'm slacking on that aspect of my flight time. I'm running out of season to fly. I'm such a slacker.

* I hate snow, not sure if I have ever mentioned that on my blog.

* Will Grier announced he wasn't playing in the bowl game, but Arizona States QB basically screwed his leg up (and possible NFL Chances) on the last play of their bowl game this past weekend.

* I think Michelle's office is going out for an after work Christmas Dinner one day this week, it;s just going to be a small gathering of the employees.

* My Christmas shopping is done. Yeah!!!

* I have a Co-Worker who is going to be the Westover Santa this Thursday Night. They change out who is going to be Santa every Night and this is his night to do it.

* 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

Back to Work

Time to stop having all that weekend fun and stick our collective noses back onto the grindstone for another fun filled week of doing what it is we do for a living.

This should be my last full week at until the second week of 2019. Next Tuesday is Christmas which is a Holiday which will cut that week short and the following week New Years falls on a Tuesday and then it is off to St Louis for me (and the beginning of a couple of months of Chaos) for the rest of the week after the New Years. We do have my Department's Christmas Party on Wednesday to look forward to.

Speaking of RTI, I am switching over to them as my employer (rather than the sub that employed me), so they sent me a new box of supplies for the 2019 year to do my field work. I still haven't really looked through the box, I guess I should to see if my 1st quarter lead letter and segment materials are in there..lol

Have yourselves a great day.

Hi ho hi ho

Sunday Morning Ramblings

Here I sit on a quiet Sunday morning, I'm up a little early watching who knows what on the boob tube and collecting my thoughts for the day.

I got a start to my Christmas Shopping yesterday, Kim and Brittany picked me up and we ran to the Robinson Township Mall for the day. I have to say it was a pretty memorable day, I think they three of us had a pretty good day, Kim taught me a few iPhone / Facebook picture features that wasn't previously aware of. now I know how to do the 3D and their version of 360° pictures on Facebook. I do have a 360° camera Michelle bought me a few years ago laying around here somewhere. It was a day that I will always remember.

Michelle baked Christmas Cookies with her Chris and Amanda and a few others. They did manage to bake a wide variety of cookies for all to share. I know Michelle loves to bake, something tells me it was more of a memorable day when a group of them got together and baked.

Overall I would say both Michelle and I had pretty memorable days with some very special people.

Have yourselves a great day.

Saturday Morning Ramblins

Here I sit on a quiet Saturday Morning, I'm up early and going back to bed, but thought I would put my daily thoughts into the world wide interwebs while I'm awake. Not sure what is playing on the TV behind me, but it doesn't seem like something I am going to watch. Peanut is still sleeping in the bedroom with Michelle and I'm just here with Sammy.

Today is a cookie day, Michelle is going over to her Sister Chris's and they are going to start baking Christmas Cookies at her house. A group of them are getting together, so they should be having a lot of fun making cookies. Me, I'm going to get a start on my Christmas Shopping today while Michelle is baking. She has done most of hers online leaving me as the slacker on this.

I have finally started writing my Goodbye 2018 Blog, the year end re-cap where I go through my blog month by month and relive it one final time before we start on a new year and new content. I'm about a 1/4 of the way done with it (not including all the formatting I've done) and have about none months worth of content to still write.

Have yourselves a great day today.

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.

It's going to be a busy day and weekend, I have to finalize some business travel for January, obviously I'm going to be in St Louis the first week of January for RTI, I do this every year for certification and this year I am actually becoming an RTI employee instead of being a subcontractor to them, I will be employed by RTI.

I will also be heading to Washington DC again for the ESRI Federal Users Conference in late January, I have to handle all the travel arrangements when I travel while working for AECOM, I just have to finalize my hotel, I'm taking a Federal Vehicle down rather than my own car, that was if I get stuck on the beltway I'll be in an automatic as Pearl is a 5 Speed. I was there a three years ago and I'm a little excited about this one as well. The Mecca of GIS is the ESRI Conference is in San Diego and it appears I will be going to that one as well this summer.

Tomorrow will start a busy weekend, I'm basically going to start my Christmas Shopping while Michelle is going to go over to her Sister Chris's and bake Christmas Cookies. A group of them are getting together to bake, they are trying something different this year. Hopefully this will work out well and there will be lots of delicious Christmas Cookies.

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 pictures that I have either taken, scanned or stolen off of the internet through the years and find one special picture that stands out. Little lost moments in time from yesterday caught with a Cameras lens and relived right here in my blog. Sometimes it's pretty easy to find that one special picture and sometimes it's not that easy, one thing it consistently is however is a whole lot of fun.

This weeks picture goes all the way back to August of 1999, might even had been my first day of college. I had my psychology assignment in front of me and I was just starting to rejuvenate my academic career, it had been 17 years from the time I had graduated High School to the time I started college. I was 35 years old and had no idea what I was getting myself into, but it was about to change my life and I needed to grab the bull by the horns on this one.

This is me studying after my first day, note that this is so long ago that a few things were present. One, I was still into NASCAR and Dale Earnhardt was still alive and racing. The other thing, yes that is a cigarette in my right hand as I was a smoker then and for a couple more years until I gave them up for good in May of 2002. Going on 17 years ago.

Todays post is brought to you by the number 17...lol

Have yourselves a great day.

Hi ho hi ho

Hump Day

Two days down, two more ahead of us, that just means we need to get up and over this noon time hump and it will be all downhill as we work towards another fun filled weekend.

Morgantown should start seeing a lot less traffic for the next month starting just about today. It is finals week here and there are a couple days left, but I can see a number of students who are done or about to be done taking off. It really the only time of the year when the University really shuts down. Grad students, especially those who come from abroad stay here during the summer for summer sessions, but Christmas break was the longest continual break for them and that is when they even traditionally went home, or at least that was my personal observation when I was there.

I have set up the formatting for my end of the year blog, the one that recounts my year based on what is posted in my blog. It is the funnest blog of the year to write, because you have to reflect back and recall your past year including events that you may have forgotten about. Now comes the fun part, writing it.

Have yourselves a great day.

Hi ho hi ho

Tuesday's Tidbits

* Monday is once again completed, now we are staring down the barrel of a Tuesday once again, time for a tidbits.

* It has been 20,099 days since I first showed the world myself, this planet has been blessed with my presence ever since.

* It has been 5,322 days since I graduated from WVU with a Degree in Geography. Seems like only yesterday.

* 3,923 days ago Michelle and I went out for dinner and a movie, Pizza Hut and 10,000 BC were on the agenda for the evening.

* 3,147 days ago I proposed to Michelle, right in our back yard at 4:00 in the morning, she accepted.

* It was 2,684 days ago in front of our closest friends and family, Michelle and I with the help of a co-worker of hers, became husband and wife.

* I have now lived 310 days longer than my Dad did, and I'm enjoying every minute of it.

* I have 4,739 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 1,376 days away, even thought we did beat their ass in basketball this past weekend.

* My next Anniversary of my 21st Birthday will be in 355 more days, I'm staying the same age this year as well as next.

* There are 239 more days to go until Michelle and I celebrate our Eighth Wedding Anniversary together, seems like only yesterday.

* There are 99 days until the next start of my favorite season, SPRING!!!!!

* 60 more days until Groundhog Day, Phil don't disappoint me this year buddy.

* 20 more days to go until my Goodbye 2018 Blog is posted, the blog that is my last blog of the year and recaps the previous year. Time to start formatting.

* There are 13 more shopping days left until Christmas.  You still have plenty of time.

* I have written 5,473 blogs in my 14 full years now of writing this little piece of my life on the internet.

* No Drone flights this weekend, I'm slacking on that aspect of my flight time. I'm running out of season to fly. I'm such a slacker.

* I hate snow, not sure if I have ever mentioned that on my blog.

* Will Grier has announced this past weekend that he is forgoing the bowl game to prepare for the NFL draft. I thank him for all he did for us and wish him the best and continued success at the next level.

* Sammy the Elf on a shelf is still running around the house getting into things.

* It feels like it's Christmas Prep time, I know Michelle is going over to her sisters this weekend and they are all baking cookies.

* The house has been sold and closed on, we have new neighbors upstairs as the new owners son is moving in. They seem like some really nice people.

* 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

Monday

The weekend fun is all over with, time to stick our collective noses back onto that so called  grindstone for another fun filled week of doing what it is we do for a living. 

Looking at my week ahead, it seems like all of my meetings are to be held today and tomorrow, with the rest of my weeks schedule pretty much open, but that can always change. We still have one more Christmas Party at work, but that will be next week and my companies Christmas luncheon. We've already had the NETL wide one and the one for the prime on our contract, now it is time for the Engineering Group to have our Christmas get together. That's held in our office area, so food and drinks will be available all day so to speak. That is next week though. 

Michelle will be working at the vet Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday this week, so I will be on my own for dinners most of the week. I tell you I am starting to make a pretty mean corn dog with that air fryer we bought a few months ago, move over Gordon Ramsey...lol

Have yourselves a great day. 

Hi ho hi ho

Sunday Morning Rambling

Here I sit on a quiet Sunday morning, Sammy is hiding somewhere and I can't seem to find him, and there is nothing on the TV as the Comcast X1 is a total failure and does not reboot completely about 50% of the time. Talk abut an overpriced piece of junk system.

Michelle and I had a good time yesterday, it was the Elks club that we had our party at, not the VFW as previously reported. Everyone seemed to have a good time and there was more than enough space.

Afterwards we headed over to Calcutta to see her Dad and Karen and spend a little bit of time with them. They treated us to a nice dinner and some conversation before we got back in the car and headed back to West Virginia.

One thing I did notice there yesterday, Gas in Calcutta was as low as $1.98 a Gallon believe it or not. We saw that price after filling up for $2.07 a gallon. Gas in Burgettstown PA (on the way back) was $2.99 a gallon, how can there be such a price difference in locations that really are not that far apart?

Have yourselves a great day.

Ohio Christmas

Here I sit in the early AM, I'm up a little early but I'll be going back to bed. The small of Michelle's broccoli casserole emanates from the kitchen as we are preparing for today's festivities.

Michelle and I will be heading north later this morning, we will be traveling to East Liverpool and then Calcutta Ohio to do the yearly Ohio Christmas (formerly known as Gigi's Christmas Party) but this years festivities will be held at the local VFW as opposed to a home that was sold out of the family earlier this year.

After the party we will be heading on over to Calcutta Ohio to visit with Michelle's dad and spend a little time with him, Karen and Spencer the 29 toes cat that her dad adopted a few years ago.

Ironically today will be my third Christmas Party this week, we had an NETL wide one on Thursday, we had our contracts yesterday at work and then today's party.

It's going to be a long day of travel as we will return this evening, but it is always a day that I look forward to and a day of the year I always enjoy.

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 I guess this is kind of like my second Friday this wee, considering that we had Wednesday as a Holiday in remembrance of George H W Bush and his passing, no complaints from me however, I'll take two fridays in every work week...lol

We will be heading up north tomorrow for the Ohio family Christmas. Over the past year Gigi, who usually hosted the event has been placed in care for people up in age and her home was sold this past summer. So that we don't intrude on anyone, this years Christmas will be held at a local VFW in East Liverpool. Same people, same plan, different venue is all there will be.

WVU has their last day of classes today, next week starts finals week and then they are gone until the first day of classes January 7th. About the time I return from St Louis.

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 pictures that I have either taken, scanned or stolen off of the internet through the years and find one special picture that stands out. Little lost moments in time from yesterday caught with a Cameras lens and relived right here in my blog. Sometimes it's pretty easy to find that one special picture and sometimes it's not that easy, one thing it consistently is however is a whole lot of fun.

This weeks pic goes all the way back to about the mid 1970's, these are the people who I grew up with, the people who raised me. My Grandpa Hall was sitting in his chair, and it kind of looks like this was prior to him having his first stroke and my Grandma Hall back when she also in good health.

These are the times of the memories that I had of Grandma waking up every Saturday morning around 1:00 am to start to do the family laundry (we hung, then ironed everything back then). It was a time when she would also get up around that time on Sunday to start the family dinner that we seemed to have every Sunday.

These are the people who were the inspiration of my values and were a big inspiration to anything and everything I may have accomplished in my adult life. I owe them everything.

Have yourselves a great day today.

Hi ho hi ho

Hump Day

Two days down, two more ahead of us, that means all we have to do is get up and over this noon time hump and it will be all downhill as we work towards another fun filled weekend.

Now we are once again at a dilemma, Wednesdays are my hardest blog to write and being that it is in real time last Sunday Morning when I'm actually writing this, you can tend to get a little bit of writers block.

We are getting a high profile visitor today at work, high enough profile that our morale subcommittee had to move our date and location of the Christmas Party. It was originally going to be today, but now it has been moved to tomorrow due to the Assistant Secretary of Fossil Energy using the space today for an all hands meeting. I guess high profile appointees take precedence over us having some lunchtime fun and games....lol

Update, we are off today as there is a Presidential Directive to shut down all Federal Facilities not related to National Security to observe the passing of former President George H W Bush.  So I get a midweek weekend.

Have yourselves a great day.

Hi ho hi ho

Tuesday's Tidbits

* Monday is all behind us and a Couple of my sisters are in New York City looking for Buddy the Elf, can't think of a better reason to do a tidbits.

* It has been 20,092 days since I first showed the world myself, this planet has been blessed with my presence ever since.

* It has been 5,315 days since I graduated from WVU, You know I still have nightmares that I'm missing a final and wont graduate, and it has been 14 1/2 years since I did.

* 3,916 days ago Michelle and I went out for dinner and a movie, it was our first date and the start of the next chapter of my life.

* 3,140 days ago I proposed to Michelle, right in our back yard at 4:00 in the morning, she accepted.

* It was 2,677 days ago in front of our closest friends and family, Michelle and I became husband and wife.

* I have now lived 303 days longer than my Dad did, life is short and sometimes it's things like these that make you realize how short it really is.

* I have 4,746 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 1,383 days away, I was actually cheering for them this past weekend.

* My next Anniversary of my 21st Birthday will be in 362 more days, I'm staying the same age this year as well as next.

* There are 246 more days to go until Michelle and I celebrate our Eighth Wedding Anniversary together, seems like only yesterday.

* There are 106 days until the next start of my favorite season, SPRING!!!!!

* 67 more days until Groundhog Day, Phil don't disappoint me this year buddy.

* 27 more days to go until my Goodbye 2018 Blog is posted, the blog that is my last blog of the year and recaps the previous year. Time to start formatting.

* There are 20 more shopping days left until Christmas.  You still have plenty of time.

* I have written 5,464 blogs in my 14 full years now of writing this little piece of my life on the internet.

* No Drone flights this weekend, I'm slacking on that aspect of my flight time. I'm running out of season to fly. I'm such a slacker.

* I really hate Hypothermic DiHydrogen Monoxide, or snow as it is better known.

* Michelle is planning on working at the vet again this evening, but I'll just be working one job.

* Sammy the Elf has done a really good job remaining still and appearing lifeless as Peanut and the rest of the animals try to find him. He's really good at this trick.

* Do you know what is getting pretty amazing, they are making portable jump drives with a Terrabyte of storage on them. My first computer had a 40 MB Hard Drive and this thing as a Terrabyte of storage?

* Yes I can sometimes be characterized as a geek.

* I am now the worlds first 21 year old who is eligible for the 55+ discount. 

* 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

Happy Birthday Kim Sanjulian

Terri and Kim

I would like to take this opportunity to wish my Sister Kim SanJulian a very Happy Birthday today. We started out in life where I was one year older than her, but since I am only 21 years old, she has passed me up by a couple of years by now.

It was exactly 21+ the number of years she is older than me years ago at the very time that this blog is posting that Kimberly Joann braced up with her presence.

Kim I do know is with one of my other sisters (Terri) enjoying the sights and sounds of New York City. They are both up there on a bus trip and will be spending today in the Big Apple.

If you see Kim today, which would be pretty remarkable unless you're in New York, take a little bit of time out and wish her a very Happy Birthday today.

Happy Birthday Kim

Monday

It's time to put the thought provoking conversations with Elves into our memory bank and start to look at the week ahead. It's time to stop with all the relaxing and getting back to doing what it is we do for a living.

Looking at my week ahead, it's going to be a semi-busy one at work. I actually have the Morale Sub-Committee Christmas Party Thursday and Friday is the USS E2 Christmas Party (the prime on our contract). Followed by a weekend trip to Ohio for that annual Christmas Party with that part of the family. To say that I am going to have a celebratory kind of week is a little bit of an understatement. I think I am capable of handling it though...lol

Michelle is working this evening and tomorrow evening at the Vet's, I on the other hand am pretty much done for the quarter with RTI and my supervisor is on a ship on her way to Cozumel, so that means we are pretty much winding down and about to officially close out the quarter this week. I should be receiving my next quarters materials in the next couple of weeks and will be ready to get at it after I return from St Louis the first week in January. Michelle is going with me on this trip this year after not making it last year.

Have yourselves a great day.

Hi ho hi ho

Sunday Morning Ramblings

Sammy

Here I sit on a quiet Sunday Morning, Sammy and I are up having an in depth conversation on Hypothermic DiHydrogen Monoxide and the adverse affects it has the ability to travel, especially in areas of excessive topographical relief. Sammy being an Elf, has an extensive amount of knowledge on the subject. When we debate Hypothermic DiHydrogen Monoxide, he is in favor and I am obviously against it.

Jim and Chris had a really good auction yesterday, Michelle put in her 14 hours of helping set up and execute the auction. I stayed home and spent the day watching college football and seeing how the college football playoff will play out. She said it was pretty successful and they had a good turnout.

 Speaking of College Football I think it will be Alabama, Clemson, Notre Dame and Oklahoma as the final 4 for the playoffs. It also got me to thinking that had we beaten Oklahoma State and Oklahoma and then beaten Texas in the Big XII Championship, that Ohio State would have jumped us into the final 4 despite being theoretically behind us in the poll. Bowl pairings for all bowls should be finalized in the next couple of days.

Have yourselves a great day today.

Happy Birthday to my Hubby

Today is a milestone in the Hall household, Ed turns "55"

So if you happen to see him today please wish him a very Happy Birthday. Love you honey and I hope you have a great day.

Saturday Morning Ramblings

Here I sit once again on a quiet Saturday morning, I'm up early collecting my thoughts for the day and watching who knows what on the television. Sammy the Elf thinks he is being cute hiding on top of the clock and I think even Peanut is dead to the world.

It is with great sorrow this morning that I learned that former President George H W Bush, a man who I really liked and even liked him better than Ronald Reagan in 1980 and a man I voted for twice, had passed away last night. The man was the Commander in Chief during a near flawless Desert Storm back in the early 1990's and a man who I have always had a great deal of respect for. Our country has lost and mourns a great man today.

On to a happier notion, the P&P Family Great Christmas  Auction is this evening at 6:00 at the Mason Dixon Park. Door prize is going to be an HD TV that they are giving away, you must be present to win. Michelle went up last night to help them start setting up and will be up there most of the day continuing to help set up and run this auction this evening. Mason Dixon Park is the venue as opposed to the Cassville Firehall. Stop by and see if you can win the door prize and whole you're at it see if there is thing else there that you would like to bid on. I know that they are going to have a number of items for the Redhat Society, a group that Michelle's Grandmother is a member of, may be in attendance.

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.

If you are not doing anything tomorrow, head on over to the Mason Dixon Park for the P and P Family Auction. As a door prize, they are actually giving away an HD TV, you must be present to win. This is a new venue that they are trying, stop on out and find you a deal or two.

With my blogs, I usually pre-write them during the week. I used to write them the night before and post them that next day automatically. Lately because of the need to be available for my RTI job, I have been writing the whole weeks worth in the early AM hours on Sunday morning. It's the time best suited for me to do this.

With that said, my heart goes out to my wife this week. She lost someone very important to her this week when Ginny passed away. She had been battling for her life the past few months and then had a brief recovery this past fall. It warmed Michelle's heart when she got a chance to talk to her last month after she came out of the coma that she was in. My heart goes out to Michelle and her family for the loss of someone very close to each and every one of them.

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 pictures that I have either taken, scanned or stolen off of the internet through the years and find one special picture that stands out. Little lost moments in time from yesterday caught with a Cameras lens and relived right here in my blog. Sometimes it's pretty easy to find that one special picture and sometimes it's not that easy, one thing it consistently is however is a whole lot of fun.

This weeks picture is of a rambunctious pitbull that happens to live with us, a pitball that has more energy than he knows what to do with and he is build like a rock. This is Chad's dog Ace who helps protect the house and lets us know when someone walks down those stairs. It is Chad's dog but when Grandma walks in the house you best just stand still as he sprints full speed from one end of the house to the other utterly destroying anything and everything in his path. I sometimes think he could run full force into a brick wall and it wouldn't phase him, the wall on the other hand may have some problems...lol

Have yourselves a great day today, make sure your pets are inside, taken care of and well fed and hydrated.

Hi ho hi ho

Hump Day

Two days down, a couple more days ahead of us to go, now all we have to do is get up and over this noon time hump and it is all downhill as we work towards another fun filled weekend.

I hope everyone has had a good week so far, mine hasn't been too busy. I've had a Morale committee meeting Monday, a Staywell call from my employer last night and now we are just on cruise control for the rest of the week.

It is that time of the quarter when I'm shut down from one job and just sitting back and relaxing for about a month before things start to ramp up once again. For the time being however, I am going to enjoy a little bit of downtime.

Have yourselves a great day.

Hi ho hi ho

Tuesday's Tidbits

* The Christmas Shopping Season has been officially kicked off and our tree is up, can't think of a better reason to do a tidbits.

* It has been 20,085 days since I first showed the world myself, this planet has been blessed with my presence ever since.

* It has been 5,308 days since I graduated from WVU, seems like just yesterday sometimes.

* 3,909 days ago Michelle and I went out for the first time on our first date.

* 3,133 days ago I proposed to Michelle, right in our back yard at 4:00 in the morning, she accepted.

* It was 2,670 days ago in front of our closest friends and family, Michelle and I became husband and wife.

* I have now lived 296 days longer than my Dad did, I sometimes wonder how some things would have turned out if he were still here.

* I have 4,753 days to go until I retire, unless I keep doing what it is I love to do. There are a number of co-workers in my area retiring within the next year or so. Great group of guys.

* The next Backyard brawl where we beat Pitt's ass in Football is only 1,390 days away, unless we can somehow get matched up against them in a bowl game this season which would be sweet.

* My next Anniversary of my 21st Birthday will be in 369 more days, I'm staying the same age this year as well as next.

* There are 253 more days to go until Michelle and I celebrate our Eighth Wedding Anniversary together, seems like only yesterday.

* There are 127 days until the next start of my favorite season, SPRING!!!!!

* 74 more days until Groundhog Day, Phil don't disappoint me this year buddy.

* 34 more days to go until my Goodbye 2018 Blog is posted, the blog that is my last blog of the year and recaps the previous year. Wait, 34 more days? Maybe it is time to start formatting the blog and writing it.

* There are 27 more shopping days left until Christmas.  You still have time.

* I have written 5,455 blogs in my 14 full years now of writing this little piece of my life on the internet.

* No Drone flights this weekend, I'm slacking on that aspect of my flight time. I'm running out of season to fly. I'm such a slacker.

* I really hate snow, not a little bit but a whole lot. If it were up to me we would have an inch of snow from now until December 26th, then go straight back into Spring.

* Kim and Chris are going to have an auction once again this Saturday, there will be a change in venue as they will be moving it to the Mason Dixon Park. They will be giving away a TV as the door prize, must be present to win. That's a good way to pick up a free HD TV, just saying and you could see some great auction deals as well.

* Michelle is planning on working at the vet again this evening, but I'll just be working one job.

* There are of course rumors and predictions about WVU Football Bowls situation, but we should officially know something by next week, after Championship weekend.

* You got to love some of the non traditional channels on the boob tube that most people don't watch, channels that I can watch All in the Family or Alice on, great TV shows from yesterday that everyone seems to have forgotten.

* 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

Monday

All good things must comer to an end, and that does in fact include long holiday weekends that includes overdoses of tryptophan, naps, decorating Christmas Trees, a start of the Christmas Shopping Season and the rest of all the fun that is associated with long weekends.

Now it's time to stick our noses back onto the grindstone for another fun filled week of doing what it is we do for a living.

Today is Cyber Monday, kind of the online version of Black Friday, but you can shop from the convenience of your internet connected electronic device. Many merchants follow up the Black Friday Deals with online deals that target the internet shopper, and like the black Friday merchants, there is a window of opportunity for them and that is going to be today if not right at this very moment.

I'm off this week once again from RTI, they are going to transfer my caseload for cleanup, but haven't managed to do it just quite yet. Michelle is working at the Vet this evening and I will once again be increasing my culinary skills with our power air fryer, which I am starting to get pretty good at. I can heat up a corn dog with the best of them...lol

Have yourselves a great day.

Hi ho hi ho

Happy Birthday Val

I would like to take this opportunity to wish my Niece Valarie a very Happy Birthday today. If my math is correct, and it always is, she is 20 years younger than me and I'm 21 so that would make her about two years younger than her own daughter. I would tell you her real age, but that would require me actually remembering how old I am and how old I will be.

Not sure what anyone has planned for the day, but if I know Val she will have something on the agenda if it didn't already happen yesterday evening and into this morning if the opportunity is available.

Val is a remarkable young lady who is an inspiration to those around her whether she realizes it or not, her actions are seen by all and she is influencing the next generation whether this is her intention or not. Val is fighting the fight with MS.

If you happen to see Val today, make sure that you wish her a very Happy Birthday today.

Happy Birthday Val, you got this.

Sammy Morning Ramblings

Well he has made his return as he vowed to do after last Christmas when he was put into his place of hiding for the non-Christmas Season, Sammy the Elf on a Shelf has made his triumphant return once again to the Hall Household for another Christmas season.

He is here once again to stir chaos and play his favorite game of find me and where am I now. He claims to be the World (or at least Hall Household) Champion at hide and go seek, but I'm not to sure of that as Peanut can probably give Sammy a good run for his money on that category. The only difference is Sammy can stay still, almost lifeless whereas Peanut is a fireball and I swear sometimes is addicted to catnip.

Michelle and I went out yesterday and got our Christmas Tree, last year her and chad went to a tree farm to get one, this year we had to pick the remains of what was left at Lowes as it was raining when we went and picked it up. Michelle found a nice robust one that she liked and we decorated it with I think 900 lights (6 old strands and 3 new ones). Then we took a number of decorations out of the box and placed each one on the tree. Each and every decoration has cone from someplace and they all have a story associated with them. From the $60 bulb from St Louis to a number of decorations from Queenie in the Bahamas to the Christmas Store in Amish Country, every decoration has a story of its own and we talk about each and every one as we prepare to put it on the tree, including all of our memorial ornaments where we have pictures of people who are no longer with us represented on our tree.

Have yourselves a great day today.