Wednesday

Tuesday's Tidbits

* Monday is complete and in our rearview mirrors, and tackling a Tuesday is going to be more fun that wrestling a pygmy giraffe with no logs, I can't think of a better reason than that to do a tidbits. 

* It has been 21,452 days since I was born, that is 21 years using my new,  new, and improved 1,000-day Calender. I do have to say I starting to feel my age of older 21.  

* It has been 6,692 days since I graduated from WVU with a Degree in Geography. 18+ years ago and still doing GIS and enjoying every minute of it. 

* 5,277 days ago Michelle and I had our first date together, the pizza hut is gone, the movie was 10,000 BC but she still hasn't held that against me. Best date of my life, it never ended. 

* 4,499 days ago I proposed to Michelle in the backyard at 4:00 in the morning. 

* It was 4,042 days ago in front of our closest friends and family, for the most part, Michelle and I became husband and wife at the Marilla Center, we poured sand into a vase and said our I do's and we were hitched. Nice round number. 

* I have now lived 1,664 days longer than my Dad did and I'm still going strong. 

* My older Brother Jonathan lived 21,266 days, I've now outlived him by 187 days making me Senior Supreme Sibling once again! We did find him, just never had the honor of a face-to-face meeting. 

* I have 3,494 days to go until I retire, give or take a few hundred days here or there, but I love doing what I do. Who knows though, doing what I do I may never retire. 

* There are 339 more days to go until Michelle and I celebrate our Twelfth Wedding Anniversary together. =)

* There are 202 days until my favorite season, Spring of 2023

* 169 more days until Phil steps to center stage again for Groundhogs Day, I think he and the family have moved back home in the backyard. 

* 125 more days to go until my Goodbye 2022 Blog is posted, it's been eventful and looking for more fun stuff to post. 

* There are 118 more shopping days left until Christmas 2022.

* The next Anniversary of my 21st Birthday will be in 98 more days. 

* The next Backyard Brawl where we beat Pitt's ass in Football is only 2 days away. Say goodbye to this bullet point. After 6 or 7 years and appearing in many Tuesday's Tidbit, this bullet point will retire after today. 

* I have written 6,899 blogs in the now 17 11 1/2/12ths (eleven and a half twelfths, what am I thinking) nearly 18 years since I started blogging. Seems like it was just yesterday that I started all of this. 

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

* No Drone flights this weekend, although I should have flown it as Westwood this weekend and it would make a great place to fly. 

* Took a break from yard work this weekend as Michelle and I are still recovering from poison ivy. I'm about over it but Michelle still itches. 

* Still working 10-hour day for Duquense Light, busy busy busy, and still loving it. 

* I bought a pair of HeyDudes this weekend, I have to say I love these things. Credit to Amy for having them then letting Michelle try them and then her getting a few pairs to spark my interest. 

* How about I start doing my favorite Tic Tok of the week? This is this weeks, I may know this girl...lol

* My nagging cough is still hanging around, just not as bad. 

* Do you believe that it is actually college football season already!!!!!!

* Have yourselves a great day.  

* Hi ho hi ho 

Monday

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

Looking at my week ahead there's not much going on this week......wait, this is Pitt Week. We play Pitt in Football on Thursday....this week!!!! I think I started my countdown from like 25 or 2,600 days ago when it was first announced and we are just a few days from being there. EAT SHITT PITT EAT SHITT PITT....god that felt good. 

Work wise it's just going to be another typical week. I have meetings every day, but that's every week that that happens. 

Michelle did get something for her Mom Saturday evening. They were selling overside yard Yahtzee and she bought a game of it. The dice are cut up and squared 4"x4"'s and a basket and a scorecard as well as yellow tiesack to store everything in. I think she will really love it as she used to love to play but kept losing the dice. It'll be hard to lose the dice when they are that big. I think she will really enjoy it. I thought it was pretty ingenious, Hayley already has a yard Jenga stored somewhere in the back bedroom. 

My Bug A Salt count is now 4. Michelle got to watch me shoot one and she about died laughing as it was on the wall in the bathroom and I shot it and it just dropped dead right in it's tracks and bounced and made a noise on the box that he was above. I wish I had a camera on her, these things are very entertaining. More fun that a bug zapper as you get to inflict the pain and suffering on those annoying winged pests...bwahahahaha

Have yourselves a great day.

Hi ho hi ho

Sunday

Kiwi Gnat Anialator 5000 ™

Here Kiwi and I sit on a quiet Sunday morning, Kiwi keeps reminding me of his engineering skills now. Yesterday there were some gnats in his cage and he said to me Dad, I know how to get ride of them. He said he designed and built this machine that he wants to patent called the Kiwi Gnat Anialator 5000, of course, named after himself. He calls it the Kiwi Gnat Anialator 5000, I call it my shop vac. 

I did get my first kill yesterday hunting with my Bug A Salt yesterday, I killed the unwelcomed winged invader in a single shot. I had hit sitting on my desk and asked Michelle if I should get it mounted and placed on the wall. 

Plans for the day, going grocery shopping what else? It's something that we do every Sunday Morning. We make out a menu for the week usually during the week or on Saturday, then take our time on Sunday Morning going and gathering everything that we'll need for the week and a few other things. It's something we both enjoy doing and it's actually fun for the two of us. It's a good way to spend some quality time together and work as a team. 

We did go to the Johnny Koon thing last night, it had a really nice turnout and I told Amy we were going to beat her in door prizes, she beat us 5-1 but I got a real nice basket of scrub daddy products. I think the evening went very well, I asked  Michele why the change of venue, she said they just outgrew the previous location. It was very well done and everyone had a great time. Can't wait to beat Amy next year, I'll win more than she does one year. On a side and serious note, thank you Ralph and Amy for all you do for this cause. My images from last night are Here

Have yourselves a great day, do something to make it memorable for everyone you come into contact with. 

Saturday Morning Ramblings

Here Kiwi and I once again sit in a quiet household, he's all excited thinking he gets to chase the lanterns and butterflys tonight, of course he once thought he was a chef as well. It;s thre WEEKEND!!!!!!

Yep tonight starting at 6:30 at the Westwood Middle School the Johnny Koon Light Up The Night Lantern and Butterfly Release will be held to raise money for WVUs Johnny Koon Pediatric Brain Tumor Research Fund. John, Michelle and the rest of the Koon clan put this event on pretty much yearly to donate money to a very good cause. Lanterns and Butterflies are $5.00 each and are valued at a lifetime of memories. Come on out and spend some time with some great people, spend some money, watch my niece Amy win all the raffles, and while you're at it spend some more money as it all goes to a good cause. 

I'll be heading out early this morning to the laundromat, Michelle is still battling the poison ivy we both got last week, so I'll give her a chance to relax and have a break. Other than that and tonight, no big plans for the weekend. 

Michelle's Mom loves her mattress topper that e gave her. That hospital bed was really messing with her back and she could relax, so we took the old 4' topper that we had and split into 2 and covered it with a mattress liner to put on top of her bed. No more complaints of a sore back and she is resting more than ever now. 

I hope to see some people this evening, 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.

Looking for a little bit of free entertainment this evening, the Ruby Concert Series continues once again this evening with Béla Fleck tonight at 8:00. The Jakob’s Ferry Stragglers will start off the evening festivities at 6:30. Gran your snacks, favorite drink and a lawn chair and take a trip on down. 

Looking for a little bit of HS Football action which starts this week? Morgantown traveled to South Charleston last night to play, but as of press time, I do not have a score from last night's game. University High starts its season in Moundsville at John Marshall. Clay Battelle plays host to Massanutten, Va. this evening out in Blacksville. Trinity is also home this evening as they play host to Hundred at their school. Good luck to all the High Schools teams and let's have a good safe season. 

Don't forget tomorrow night is the Johnny Koon Pediatric Brain Tumor Research Butterfly Release and Lantern Launch starting at 6:30pm at Westwood Middle School track and field.  Come on out and watch Ralph and Amy walk away with all the raffle prizes. 

I hope everyone has a great day today and the start of a great weekend. 

Hi ho hi ho

Photo Flashback Thursday

Once a week I like to take a little bit of time out, time to look at some of the 30,000+ photos that I have stored on my computer. Little lost moments in time that I either captured with a lens, scanned, or just stole from 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 seems like it was just yesterday, yet it was over 13 years ago. I had taken my two favorite girls out for a day of adventure up to Ohiopyle State Park, we took the grill with us and found a picnic area where we actually made lunch and enjoyed ourselves to a fine meal of whatever my lovely wife gourmet prepared. 

This picture is part of the bike trail, it is going away from Ohiopyle and towards Fallingwater, this is a big bridge that crosses over the Youghiogheny river north of the main waterfall. 

It's amazing how fast time just flies by, Hayley is now married and living out of state. 

Have yourselves a great day.

Hi ho hi ho

Wednesday

Tuesday's Tidbits

* Monday is complete, I do not have to take any cars to be inspected today, so that in itself is a good reason to do a tidbits. 

* It has been 21,445 days since I was born, that is 21 years using my new,  new, and improved 1,000-day Calender. It's better than the 991-day calendar as it gives you a nice round number to work with. 

* It has been 6,685 days since I graduated from WVU with a Degree in Geography. 18+ years ago and still doing GIS and enjoying every minute of it. 

* 5,270 days ago Michelle and I had our first date together, the pizza hut is gone, the movie was 10,000 BC but she still hasn't held that against me. Best date of my life, it never ended. 

* 4,492 days ago I proposed to Michelle in the backyard at 4:00 in the morning. 

* It was 4,035 days ago in front of our closest friends and family, for the most part, Michelle and I became husband and wife at the Marilla Center, we poured sand into a vase and said our I do's and we were hitched. Nice round number. 

* I have now lived 1,657 days longer than my Dad did and I'm still going strong. 

* My older Brother Jonathan lived 21,266 days, I've now outlived him by 180 days making me Senior Supreme Sibling once again! We did find him, just never had the honor of a face-to-face meeting. 

* I have 3,501 days to go until I retire, give or take a few hundred days here or there, but I love doing what I do. Who knows though, doing what I do I may never retire. 

* There are 346 more days to go until Michelle and I celebrate our Twelfth Wedding Anniversary together. =)

* There are 209 days until my favorite season, Spring of 2023

* 176 more days until Phil steps to center stage again for Groundhogs Day, I think he and the family have moved back home in the backyard. 

* 132 more days to go until my Goodbye 2022 Blog is posted, it's been eventful. I have it started. 

* There are 125 more shopping days left until Christmas 2022.

* The next Anniversary of my 21st Birthday will be in 105 more days. 

* The next Backyard Brawl where we beat Pitt's ass in Football is only 9 days away. I believe that countdown started with 2,500 or 2,600 days and we are almost there. 

* I have written 6,891 blogs in the now 17 11/12ths nearly 18 years since I started blogging. Seems like it was just yesterday that I started all of this. 

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

* No Drone flights this weekend, the weather was really nice but the opportunity just wasn't really present for me to fly. I was even off, I have no excuses. I think I want to fly to a few graveyards where family members are buried next. Might be something I can stitch together later for a project. 

* It was nice to get some yard work done this past weekend, that little dump trailer we bought is absolutely invaluable. Plus now I have a three-ton floor jack and some stands. 

* Still working 10-hour day for Duquense Light, busy busy busy, and still loving it. 

* Michelle's Bosses are back from vacation this week, no more swinging on the chandeliers at work. 

* How about I start doing my favorite Tic Tok of the week? This is this weeks, I have always loved tornados for some reason. 

* I still have this nagging cough that I have had for a few weeks now, especially when I lay down. 

* Don't forget that the Johnny Koon Light Up the Night Butterfly & Lantern release is this Saturday. 

* It seems like everyone was at the beach last week. Jim and Chris went to I think Nags Head, Brittany was at Myrtle Beacch and Amy and Ralph were back at Ocean City. 

* Have yourselves a great day.  

* Hi ho hi ho 

Happy Birthday Moke

I would like to take this opportunity to wish my nephew Moke a very Happy Birthday today.

It seems like it was only yesterday that Pam and George were having their first baby, a small and precious package of a young child that has grown into the Mountain of a man that he is today.

He is a pretty remarkable man, he's an Iraqi War Veteran, a great Husband and one of the best fathers in the world candidate's for two young children.

Not sure what his wonderful wife Ang has planned for Moke today, but whatever it is it is going to be a special day for him that is for sure.

If you happen to see him today, take a little bit of time out and wish him a very Happy Birthday today.

Happy Birthday Moke.

Back to it Monday

I do have to say that I am quite enjoying these things called weekends and having them off. You're not rushing around because you're racing the clock trying to make sure you can get everything done that you need to get done. A couple of days of relaxation is nice. Now it is that time again when we stop changing mower blades and cutting hedges and that kind of fun stuff and get back to doing what it is that we do to make this world a better place. It's Monday, let's get to it. 

Nothing big planned for my Calender ahead, Moke's Birthday is tomorrow and the Johnny Koon Light Up Night and Butterfly release will be this Saturday. An event that I ould love to see everyone attend, $5 for each butterfly or Lantern and the money goes to a very good cause which is the Pediatric Brain Tumor Research Fund at WVU Childrens Hospital.

Today however it is back to work for both Michelle and I and her sister Chris is back from Vacation so they will be splitting time up with their Mom. She seemed to love that foam mattress that we brought for her, it was a 4" King size topper that we cut down to a single (size of a hospital bed) for her to sleep on. 

The local kids are back in school I think starting tomorrow, so allow yourselves a little extra commute time if you travel the same path and time as school busses. Kids will be jumping on and off and will be excited for the first day of school which will last until the second day of school when they want to return to Summer vacation. 

Have yourselves a great day. 

Hi ho hi ho

Sunday

Here Kiwi and I sit once again, he's claiming to be internet famous because he managed to photobomb me taking a picture of Michelle's new shirt. He's chiming about obtaining an agent and holding out for more treats. He's such a bird businessman. 

I'm liking these weekends off, I didn't get a chance to cut the grass yesterday morning, but we did get the overgrown hedges trimmed and managed to throw all that brush into the woods. Michelle played the role of tractor driver and dump master, although I think she threw everything out by hand. It makes it much easier to back my car into place now. We also pulled out a lot of invasive plants that were running rapidly through the hedges. I don't think we are done yet but by 10:00 yesterday morning it was already in the mid 80's and my old fat ass doesn't do too well working in the heat anymore. 

Funny story though, we decided to cut grass yesterday afternoon, Michelle said if I buy Pizza, she'll mow grass. I heard a great big bang and then the riding mower stalled out. She restarted it once again when she engaged, it stalled out. I went and looked a little closer, she ran over the sewage manhole the wrong direction and bent one of the mower blades down (see pic). So off to Lowes we went to pick up a couple new blades, Michelle or Ray as we call her in the shop, switched them out after we jacked the tractor up and finished mowing the grass. You know I was wanting a good floor jack, now I have one. 

I'm going to try to make it to Arabella's birthday party this afternoon, but we'll how I feel later this afternoon. I've had a nagging cough the last week or so, so I might just play it safe. We'll see how I am feeling, 

We did manage to cut up our old mattress topper into 2 mattresses that Michelle has put on her Mom's bed. Hopefully that will help her sleep better, as those hospital beds are not really that comfortable. We dropped it off to her right before we went to Lowes and put it on her bed, she loves the new topper. 

Our weekly menu has been made, so that means it's time to go and shop for what we need for the week. One of Michelle's co-workers brought in a big zucchini for her, so we're going to cut it up, bread it with some panko bread crumbs and fry it up. Maybe a little yum yum sauce on the side. You know what I wish I had, was all the sauce recipes for the old Atomic Grill. Those were all amazing and all unique and original. 

Have yourselves a great day, make it a memorable one filled with moments in time that we will all l.ook back on fondly some day. 

Saturday Morning Ramblings

Here Kiwi and I sit in a semi-quiet household, he's still trying to convince me to allow him to drive, Peanut to run the gas and Sophie to sit on the seat so that the safety features allow it to start so he can cut grass today. He really likes to help out. 

Speaking of Kiwi, I ordered this shirt for Michelle this week and it arrived yesterday. Not that we are trying to increase Kiwi's ego or anything. It was either this or one that says he's bitten you three times and we are way past that point...lol

Yes, we are going to try to do some yard work today, I might even hook the dump trailer that we bought and assembled last week to clear a few things out. It's been a couple of weeks since I cut and the weather has been less than cooperative, to say the least. I'm not sure how many more times we will mow this fall, but today will hopefully be one of them.

The WVU Students are back in town and classes have started already, now it is time for all the local schools to get ready to start. I think their first day for this year is Tuesday. It seems like it was just yesterday that school was letting out for the year and it was the start of summer, time does seem to go quickly. 

Make this a memorable day and make it special. Create memories with the ones around you, you'll be glad you did someday. 

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 you are looking for a little bit of cheap, and by cheap I mean free entertainment tonight. Sister Hazel is playing at the Amphitheater downtown. They will be going on at 8:00 PM with the Company Stores opening up the nights festivities at 6:30. Sister Hazel was a pretty big band back in the day and with the students back in town, it could get crowded downtown. 

No major plans for us this weekend, hopefully, the weather holds up and I can finally get my grass cut and some things done around the yard. It's been raining all week, so not much of a chance to cut it, and it's starting to grow to the point where it needs cut. 

We finally got both cars inspected now, both needed some work. Ice needed a drivers side control arm replaced, we did the passenger side a couple of years ago and now we had to do the drivers side. Pearl is on her third set of rear brakes, but somehow the front brakes still look really good. Both cars are good for another year, all taxes are paid up until next year and we do two-year plates, so we are good to go. 

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

Hi ho hi ho

Photo Flashback Thursday

Once a week I like to take a little bit of time out, time to look at some of the 30,000+ photos that I have stored on my computer. Little lost moments in time that I either captured with a lens, scanned, or just stole from 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.

Now I have to ask everyone, has there ever been a better-looking baby that this dashing young man right here? Yep that is non other than yours truley and I would imagine this probably goes back to 1964 or so, maybe 1965, but I would argue 1964 as I am still quite young. 

The young lady to the right is my cousin Sharon, I'm sure Lynne was around somewhere but that is Sharon. This pic was taken at the house down in Van Voorhis that Grandma and Grandpa Hall owned, then sold around 1969 or 1970 when we moved next door to the Church (Drummond Chapel) that Grandpa Hall finished his working career working at. 

Have yourselves a great day

Hi ho hi ho

Wednesday

Tuesday's Tidbits

* Ice is getting inspected today and going into the garage this morning, can't think of a better reason to do a tidbits. 

* It has been 21,438 days since I was born, that is 21 years using my new,  new, and improved 1,000-day Calender. It's better than the 991-day calendar as it gives you a nice round number to work with. 

* It has been 6,678 days since I graduated from WVU with a Degree in Geography. 18+ years ago and still doing GIS and enjoying every minute of it. 

* 5,263 days ago Michelle and I had our first date together, the pizza hut is gone, the movie was 10,000 BC but she still hasn't held that against me. Best date of my life, it never ended. 

* 4,485 days ago I proposed to Michelle in the backyard at 4:00 in the morning. 

* It was 4,028 days ago in front of our closest friends and family, for the most part, Michelle and I became husband and wife at the Marilla Center, we poured sand into a vase and said our I do's and we were hitched. Nice round number. 

* I have now lived 1,650 days longer than my Dad did and I'm still going strong. 

* My older Brother Jonathan lived 21,266 days, I've now outlived him by 173 days making me Senior Supreme Sibling once again! We did find him, just never had the honor of a face-to-face meeting. 

* I have 3,508 days to go until I retire, give or take a few hundred days here or there, but I love doing what I do. Who knows though, doing what I do I may never retire. 

* There are 353 more days to go until Michelle and I celebrate our Twelfth Wedding Anniversary together. =)

* There are 216 days until my favorite season, Spring of 2023

* 183 more days until Phil steps to center stage again for Groundhogs Day, I think he and the family have moved back home in the backyard. 

* 139 more days to go until my Goodbye 2022 Blog is posted, it's been eventful. I have it started. 

* There are 132 more shopping days left until Christmas 2022.

* The next Anniversary of my 21st Birthday will be in 112 more days. 

* The next Backyard Brawl where we beat Pitt's ass in Football is only 16 days away. I'm ready. 

* I have written 6,883 blogs in the now 17 11/12ths nearly 18 years since I started blogging. Seems like it was just yesterday that I started all of this. 

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

* No Drone flights this weekend, the weather was really nice but the opportunity just wasn't really present for me to fly. I was even off, I have no excuses. I think I want to fly to a few graveyards where family members are buried next. Might be something I can stitch together later for a project. 

* Michelle has a new alarm clock, a new mattress topper, and now a new weighted blanket, she has been sleeping like an absolute rock. 

* Still working 10-hour day for Duquense Light, busy busy busy, and still loving it. 

* Michelle's Bosses are on vacation this week, which means a week-long office party. I think they are going to try to book the Dolly Parton Concerts all week and put it on the company expense account....lol

* How about I start doing my favorite Tic Tok of the week?  This is this weeks, got to love the guys who are playing Senior League Softball. 

* Michelle and I were at Petco this past Sunday, we were in the bird section buying some things for Kiwi. We noticed the price of Green Cheek Conures has pretty much doubles since he adopted us. I think the cheapest one was $1,000. The girl said students buy them up when the school year starts then try rehousing them when they move back home. She said a lot of the people who worked there, have Green Cheek Conures. 

* It was 45 years ago today, Elvis Presley died. 

* Have yourselves a great day.  

* Hi ho hi ho 

Monday

All good things must come to an end, and I'm liking this weekend off thing, but now it's time to take our collective noses and stick them back onto that grindstone of life and get back to it. Now it is time to take on the world and make this a better rock to live on. 

Michelle is flying solo taking care of her Mom, Jim and Chris are heading out on Vacation this week to refresh and recharge, so Michelle is going to be taking care of her Mom. They both stopped up on Thursday and gave her a spa day, cutting her hair, doing her nails etc. 

I'm sticking Ice into the gargage tomorrow morning, she needs to get a little work done and get inspected for the year. I got pearl done last week, it's ice's turn to go to Hartsell's and get her yearly inspection. Brian is very good and is highly recommended to anyone who may need some work done to your car, plus I've known him over 40+ years. He was actually one of the guys who drug my drunken butt downstairs at the 1984 WVU Penn State game when we snapped the losing streak. 

WVU Fallfest I think is tomorrow night, I can't honestly say that I have heard of any of the acts. Going into my Senior year we had 3 Doors Down and the Black Eyed Peas opened up for them, this year I don't know of any of these acts. Could mean that I'm just getting old, or that today's music kind of sucks. I'll go with the today's music sucks. 

Have yourselves a great day. 

Hi ho hi ho

Sunday

Here I sit on a quiet Sunday Morning, Kiwi and I are talking about what is a better cake, I prefer white cake and he prefers a seed cake. He must not like the icing. I think he's still mad because I didn't let him drive the tractor around the yard yesterday. 

Speaking of the tractor, Michelle and I went to Harbor Freight yesterday and bought a little dump trailer that attaches to the lawn tractor. It's a small 10 sq ft capacity and not meant for any big jobs, but for that price it beats the heck out of pushing the wheelbarrow around the yard. It took us a few hours to assemble it, but once we got it assembled I attached it to the Husqvarna we bought a few years ago and Michelle road it around the driveway and yard to get a feel of it. 

We tried a new restaurant yesterday here in town. I've never eaten at the Varsity Club so we decided to give it a try for dinner last night. I figured since Michelle (or Ray as she used to be known as) did most of the build, so buying dinner was the least that I could do. My only question is how did I never eat here before? The food is great, as from a Hot Sausage Hoagie fan, I found someone close who makes them and makes them good. 

Plans for the day, grocery shopping and probably a nap since it is calling for rain. 

Have yourselves a great day. 

Saturday Morning Ramblings

Here I sit on a quiet Saturday Morning, Kiwi and I are up discussing if the Pirates should eliminate the Pirate Parrot and replace him with a Green Cheek Conure. You know for a bird, he has some really innovative ideas for the early morning. 

So what is on my agenda for the day? Well a trip to the laundromat for me in the early AM. I know the students won't be there that early, so I'll get a good start on it. 

Later this morning Michelle and I talked about mowing the lawn, Kiwi really wants to drive the lawn tractor around the yard, but I told him his legs just are not long enough to reach the pedals, steer and have his butt in the seat to deactivate the safety mechanism so it will start. I think he's plotting with Peanut to work the pedals, he's planning on steering and he's going to have Sophie lay in the front seat and the three of them will work in unison to mow our grass. Michelle may overrule that. 

Other than that, no big plans for the weekend other than relaxing. I am putting Ice in the Garage Tuesday to get her inspected. Pearl was inspected this past Tuesday, now it's Ice's turn to get the once over and a new sticker. 

Have yourselves a great day, enjoy the weather and allow yourselves a little extra travel time as we have so many new to the area people in town right now. 

Big Ole Hairy Fridaay

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.

First and foremost, Move In Day started yesterday, which is the first day that students can move into the dorms. Traffic will be quite heavy over the weekend as parents are moving their kids to the dorms and other students are returning to town. Next Wednesday is the first day of classes at WVU for the new school year. With that being said, allow yourselves a little extra time when traveling around town today, especially if you live anywhere near student housing or any larger shopping places like Walmart.  I so enjoyed it when they were not here and they are back already. Shi.....I mean welcome back. 

Looking for a little free music tonight, a band called Sanctus Real will be playing at the Amphitheater. They will hit the stage at 8:00 and a band called off brand will open the nights festivities up at 6:30. I do have to say that I am not familiar with either of these acts, but just because I've never heard of them doesn't mean that they are not bands worth seeing. 

No big plans for the weekend other than some yard work. My grass needs cut and I'll put Michelle on the tractor and I'll run the push mower to get some places that the riding mower can't. 

There will be some Steeler Football this weekend as the Steelers open up their 3 game exhibition season tomorrow night at 8:00 against Geno Smith and the Seattle Seahawks. I'm in the mood to start watching some football, I don't know if anyone else is, but the dawn of football season is upon us. 

Have yourselves a great day

Hi ho hi ho

Photo Flashback Thursday

Once a week I like to take a little bit of time out, time to look at some of the 30,000+ photos that I have stored on my computer. Little lost moments in time that I either captured with a lens, scanned, or just stole from 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.

How about for this week I bring out an old video from the late 1980's, a time when music was magical and the place to be was the 1987 Preston County Buckwheat Festival Battle of the Bands. 

The long haired hippy that is playing lead guitar is no other than my little brother Gary and his band. The music you are hearing is all original, it's stuff that they wrote and performed rather than being some cover band. I really used to believe that Gary was going to make it in the music industry as a guitar player, but of course I am extremely biased. =)

Have yourselves a great day. 

Hi ho hi ho

Wednesday

Tuesday's Tidbits

* Pearl is getting inspected today and we'll be scheduling Ice's inspection this morning, can't think of a better reason to do a tidbits. 

* It has been 21,431 days since I was born, that is 21 years using my new,  new, and improved 1,000-day Calender. It's better than the 991-day calendar as it gives you a nice round number to work with. 

* It has been 6,671 days since I graduated from WVU with a Degree in Geography. 18 years ago and still doing GIS and enjoying every minute of it. 

* 5,256 days ago Michelle and I had our first date together, the pizza hut is gone, the movie was 10,000 BC but she still hasn't held that against me. Hayley told her to not drink pop so she didn't burp...lol

* 4,478 days ago I proposed to Michelle in the backyard at 4:00 in the morning. 

* It was 4,021 days ago in front of our closest friends and family, for the most part, Michelle and I became husband and wife at the Marilla Center, we poured sand into a vase said our I do's and we were hitched. Nice round number. 

* I have now lived 1,643 days longer than my Dad did and I'm still going strong. 

* My older Brother Jonathan lived 21,266 days, I've now outlived him by 166 days making me Senior Supreme Sibling once again! We did find him, just never had the honor of a face-to-face meeting. 

* I have 3,515 days to go until I retire, give or take a few hundred days here or there, but I love doing what I do. Who knows though, doing what I do I may never retire. 

* There are 360 more days to go until Michelle and I celebrate our Twelfth Wedding Anniversary together. =)

* There are 223 days until my favorite season, Spring of 2023

* 190 more days until Phil steps to center stage again for Groundhogs Day, I think he and the family have moved back home in the backyard. 

* 146 more days to go until my Goodbye 2022 Blog is posted, it's been eventful. I have it started. 

* There are 139 more shopping days left until Christmas 2022.

* The next Anniversary of my 21st Birthday will be in 119 more days. 

* The next Backyard Brawl where we beat Pitt's ass in Football is only 13 days away. I'm ready. 

* I have written 6,876 blogs in the now 17 11/12ths nearly 18 years since I started blogging. Seems like it was just yesterday that I started all of this. 

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

* No Drone flights this weekend, the weather was really nice but the opportunity just wasn't really present for me to fly. I was even off, I have no excuses. I think I want to fly a few graveyards where family members are buried next. Might be something I can stitch together later for a project. 

* Michelle has a new alarm clock, a new mattress topper, and now a new weighted blanket, she has been sleeping like an absolute rock. 

* Still working 10-hour day for Duquense Light, busy busy busy and still loving it. 

* How about I start doing my favorite Tic Tok of the week. This is this weeks. Bird owners should appreciate this one. 

* Have yourselves a great day.  

* Hi ho hi ho 

Monday

Ahhh, the weekend is over with and I am actually refreshed. Taking the leave of absence from RTI has really helped me in relaxing as I actually got a nice little lap yesterday afternoon. Now it is time to take our collective noses and stick them back onto the grindstone for another fun-filled week of doing what it is that we do for a living. 

No big excitement this week, I am taking Pearl in to get her inspected on Tuesday, I'll drop her off in the morning and pick her up in the afternoon. It needs rear breaks replaced, so I am leaving it with Hartsel's to do that. When I drop Pearl off I'll talk to Brian and schedule a time for Ice to get her inspection done. Michelle will have to switch cars with me that day. I'll just have to take an Uber over to pick my car up when it is done. 

I'm loving my Bug A Salt, although I think the word is out that I am now a professional fly assassin and they have been avoiding me for some reason. Did you know that my Bug A Salt also has a Laser attachment that can be added for more accuracy? Yep I have a 21st Century advanced fly swatter that absolutely rocks. I'm taking pleasure in killing those little winged pesky bastards, die flies!!! They also work on other pests and it makes the ideal Christmas Gifts for guys. Ladies don't let them fool you, they would love it. 

Have yourselves a great day and make it a great one. 

Hi ho hi ho

Sunday

Here I sit yet once again in a quiet household, Kiwi and I are discussing the best way to kill all the flies and gnats in the world. After a long discussion, we decided yesterday morning that the Bug A Salt would be the most optimal and most enjoyable way to take them out. I do have an electric tennis racket that fries them, but you have to wait on them just being stupid enough to land on it before you get any satisfaction. With that being said, I know own my very own Bug A Salt. 

Yesterday being Mine and Michelle's Anniversary, the Bug A Salt was out first purchase of the day, after obtaining this fly decapitation device, we headed over to JC Penneys, She had a $15.00 coupon that was about ready to expire. She wanted a weighted blanket and we had trouble finding one, we found one on the clearance rack that started at $189 and was marked down a couple of times and eventually $35. Using her $15 coupon that was ready to expire, she now has a weighted blanket that she got for $20. This thing is quite heavy, weighing 20 lbs believe it or not. They are supposed to comfort you while you sleep, and everyone I know that has one absolutely loves it. $20 and that is just too good to pass up. 

For our Anniversary dinner, we traveled to Fairmont to go to Muriel's in Fairmont, I place that we have always loved to eat. Funny story, the last time we ate there a few years ago, we were seated at the table next to Mary Lou Retton and her now ex-husband Shannon. They were in town for their daughter's rhythmic gymnastics competition. It was a great dinner, they never disappoint even though Rocco has sold the ownership of it recently. 

Todays agenda includes grocery shopping and probably a little yard work. 

Have yourselves a great day. 

Happy Birthday Randy Lee Hamrick.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish my wonderful and camera-avoiding nephew Randy "Bub" Hamrick a very Happy Birthday today. It's very hard to get a picture of him sometimes, but I do manage to get a few.

If my math is correct, Randy will be celebrating his 34rd birthday today. I just realized I am really getting old. Wow where has the years went. 

Not sure what Randy will be getting into today, but something tells me he will be at Terri's this afternoon. I don't get to see him that often but you know he is always pretty active and into something or another.

If you happen to see Randy today, and hopefully most of us will make sure that you take a little bit of time out and with this fine young man a very happy Birthday today.

Happy Birthday, Randy.

11 Years

It was 11 years ago today that my life had forever changed. Michelle and I had already been together for a few years, and we were even living together on that fateful day, but it was 11 years ago today that Michelle took my last name as we became husband and wife. 

I was very fortunate for this lady to come back into my life, after working together (or should I say for her) years ago at the Valley Mart when I first started at WVU. To reconnect some years later after her first husband had passed away. It's almost as if it were destiny that we ended up together. 

During 11 years of marriage we have taken 6 cruises, been to Canada, DC a couple of times, spent a week in San Diego and brought her with me to St Louis with me a few times. 

We've traveled to places we had never been, raised a beautiful daughter and saw her marry the man of her dreams last Summer. We've bought a couple of new cars, both of which we still have and we have welcomed people into the family as well as said our final goodbyes to others. 

What are our plans for today, we are planning on traveling to Fairmont to eat dinner at Muriels , a place that we both love and don't frequent enough. 

To my wonderful wife Michelle, I love you from the bottom of my heart and thank you for making my life whole. I am so proud of you and everything you do. Spilling that sand was the best decision I ever made in my life. Happy Anniversary. 

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.

Well first a little bit of an announcement, I am taking a Leave of Absence from RTI till after the first of the year. I was a nice six-year stint that allowed me to go to some great places and meet some exciting people, but their demands for my time post covid are just too much. That and I stopped enjoying doing the field work, I just either need a break or just leave the company in general. You know when you work as many as 60 days in a row (which I did more than once) between two jobs and you have utilized your time to the max and they want more, it was just time to step back and re-evaluate whether I wanted to continue doing this. Excessive demands on my time was what caused my decision. I sent in the paperwork Tuesday. 

Looking for some good music tonight, The Ruby Mcquain Concert series on the Mon is having Jake Hoot tonight at 8:00. Cody Clayton Eagle will open the nights festivities tonight at 6:30, go on down for some free and entertaining music by a couple up and comers. 

Michelle and I will be doing our shopping at WalMart and Sams Club this evening before going out to dinner. Tomorrow is our Anniversary and I think we may go to Murials in Fairmont. I was going to work in Fairmont this weekend until I put in my paperwork, now my weekends are free. 

Have yourselves a great day

Hi ho hi ho

Photo Flashback Thursday

Once a week I like to take a little bit of time out, time to look at some of the 30,000+ photos that I have stored on my computer. Little lost moments in time that I either captured with a lens, scanned, or just stole from 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 is an old one but a good one, it goes back what is now 40 years ago. It was the summer of 1982 and we had just bought and moved into the house at East Gate. Obviously this was before the big remodel and addition that was put on a few years later, but it's a picture of the old kitchen wth my dad doing what I would presume was cooking as the stove location was about the only thing that didn't change. 

Notice the glass coke bottle and I'm pretty sure that was before they started packing them in what we know today as liters. I believe they used to sell it in half gallon glass bottles as you can see right beside the coffee cups. 

Have yourselves a great day

Hi ho hi ho

Wednesday

Tuesdays Tidbits

* Monday is complete, my grass was cut over the weekend and I'm ready for a Tuesday, how about a tidbits.  

* It has been 21,424 days since I was born, that is 21 years using my new,  new, and improved 1,000-day Calender. It's better than the 991-day calendar as it gives you a nice round number to work with. 

* It has been 6,664 days since I graduated from WVU with a Degree in Geography. 18 years ago and still doing GIS and enjoying every minute of it. 

* 5,249 days ago Michelle and I had our first date together, the pizza hut is gone, the movie was 10,000 BC but she still hasn't held that against me. Hayley told her to not drink pop so she didn't burp...lol

* 4,471 days ago I proposed to Michelle in the backyard at 4:00 in the morning. 

* It was 4,014 days ago in front of our closest friends and family, for the most part, Michelle and I became husband and wife at the Marilla Center, we poured sand into a vase said our I do's and we were hitched. Nice round number. 

* I have now lived 1,636 days longer than my Dad did and I'm still going strong. 

* My older Brother Jonathan lived 21,266 days, I've now outlived him by 159 days making me Senior Supreme Sibling once again! We did find him, just never had the honor of a face-to-face meeting. 

* I have 3,522 days to go until I retire, give or take a few hundred days here or there, but I love doing what I do. Who knows though, doing what I do I may never retire. 

* There are 230 days until my favorite season, Spring of 2023

* 197 more days until Phil steps to center stage again for Groundhogs Day, I think he and the family have moved back home in the backyard. 

* 153 more days to go until my Goodbye 2022 Blog is posted, it's been eventful. I have it started. 

* There are 146 more shopping days left until Christmas 2022.

* The next Anniversary of my 21st Birthday will be in 126 more days. 

* The next Backyard Brawl where we beat Pitt's ass in Football is only 20 days away. I'm ready. 

* There are 4 more days to go until Michelle and I celebrate our Eleventh Wedding Anniversary together. =)

* I have written 6,868 blogs in the now 17 1/2 years since I started blogging. Seems like it was just yesterday that I started all of this. 

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

* No Drone flights this weekend, the weather was really nice but the opportunity just wasn't really present for me to fly. 

* Michelle got her new mattress topper last week. She has been sleeping solidly ever since. 

* Still working 10-hour day for Duquense Light, busy busy busy. 

* Do you ever feel that your days run together? Like Each one is the same as the other except you just do different things. 

* Have yourselves a great day.  

* Hi ho hi ho 

Monday

All good things must come to an end, that includes those fun-filled things that most of you refer to as weekends. Now it is that time again when we take our collective noses and stick them back onto that ever-turning grindstone once again and get back to doing what it is we do for a living. 

Looking at my week ahead, the work week is not as eventful as last week. Between Tim's funeral and me traveling for a Job Interview on Thursday this week looks like smooth sailing. It'll be back to normal for my 10-hour days looking and tracing electrical circuits so that they all are connected electrically before the project goes live at the end of the year. 

Do you believe that we are just a few short weeks from all of the students returning to town? The first day of classes is the 17th, so we have another week or two of manageable traffic around town before the nine months of chaos once again begins. 

Have yourselves a great day. 

Hi ho hi ho