Tuesday's Tidbits

* Monday is over, now we are staring straight down at a Tuesday. Good time for a tidbits. 

* It has been 22,742 days since I was born, that is 21 years using my new,  new, new, and improved 1,069-day Calendar. Mom is at 30,396, which would make her 28 according to my new and improved calendar. 

* It has been 7,994 days since I graduated from WVU with a Degree in Geography. I love what I do and am thankful to still be working in my field. 

* 6,588 days ago, Michelle and I had our first date together. Life has been much better since then. 

* 5,792 days ago, I proposed to Michelle in the backyard at 4:00 in the morning. I've been the luckiest guy since that fateful day. 

* It was 5,829 days ago in front of our closest friends and family, for the most part, Michelle and I became husband and wife at the Marilla Center, it was a great day with friends and family. 

* I have now lived 2,967 days longer than my Dad did and I'm still going strong, slowing down but still going. 

* Michelle has been living a clean and productive life and beat that alcohol demon 1,621 days ago today. 

* My older Brother Jonathan lived 21,280 days, I've now outlived him by 1,477 days, making me Senior Supreme Sibling once again! 

* Old roommate Gregg proposed to his fiancée 199 days ago, I'm happy for those two. I asked him a couple weeks ago if they set a date yet, he said we would be the first to know. 

* I have 2,150 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.

* 308 more days until Phil steps to center stage once again for Groundhog Day. I'm still mad at the damn rat

* 275 more days to go until my Goodbye 2026 Blog is posted. 

* There are 269 more shopping days left until Christmas 2026. 

* There are 253 days until I hit the age of 63. Yeah I know, I'm really older than 21. 

* There are only 136 more days to go until Michelle and I will celebrate our 15th Wedding Anniversary......maybe

* There are 83 days until my second favorite season begins, Summertime!!!!!!

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

* I have written 8,300 blogs in what is now 21 years of Blogging. 

* I've taught all of my classes on the Outage Management System. 

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

* Looking for Girl Scout Cookies? Ryleigh's Page

* Looking for Girl Scout Cookies still? Arabellas Page

* This is my favorite TicTok of the week. You've Been Pittsnogled!!

Monday

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

It's going to be an altered work week for me (Life of a contractor), with Friday being Good Friday and a Hope Gas Holiday, I will need to make up the hours and work four, 10-hour shifts this week in preparation for Friday. 

Kiwi and Peanut are not too happy about it, they know with Michelle working out of state and me working later this week, that they will not be getting fed at their normal feeding time. If only they had opposable thumbs. They look so sad that they will be getting fed just a few minutes later when Michelle gets home. Maybe I should set up a go fund me site so they can order from Door Dash. Would you donate to help a poor, impoverished animal eat on their normal schedule? 

My boss is on Vacation this week, don't worry I always have plenty to do. We already have a nice upgrade to the Outage Management System, one where they can track where all of the Hope Gas Technicians are located, they way they can assign whoever is closest to the outage event. We had this at Duquense Light, there is so much information associated with this and we just installed Starlink in all the vehicles, so they can connect to the internet even in the most remote locations. 

Have yourselves a great day

Hi ho hi ho

Sunday

Here I sit in a quiet household, Kiwi and Peanut both decided that since next week is Easter, they wanted to color Easter Eggs. Kiwi had an epiphany when he realized that those are bird eggs and he came from an egg. Could these be his long-lost cousins that they are sticking down in artificial food colorings as a human celebration process? I told them they were Hippopotamus Eggs and they were both fine with that. No one tell him Hippos are mammals and have live births, be's content with thinking that. 

Nothing really on our agenda other than our typical Sunday chores that we do. It's not very exciting talking about sorting out my pills, gathering up the garbage and taking it to the dumpster, laundry, etc. No excitement in that other than comparing the times that you do it to the previous week....lol

Michelle did all the grocery shopping yesterday, so it's just a day of preparing to work another week. Michelle is working Monday and Tuesday, Friday is a Holiday for them and Thursday she had taken off anyways, Wednesday she has an initial Doctors appointment with a girl who came to my softball games with Michelle years before she ever entered Med School, Michelle has been friends with her for years. Me I'm working 4 10-hour shifts this week to make up for Friday being a Holiday. So short week, but long days for me. 

Have yourselves a great day, make some memories. 

Saturday

Here I sit once again in a semi-quiet household, Kiwi and Peanut are up once again without a care in the world. Kiwi and Peanut set up a basketball hoop in the driveway and have been playing pickup Basketball all night long. Peanut is very quick, but Kiwi has the vertical game and has a little bit of an edge. I swear these two have no trouble finding something to do, I'm surprised they haven't fired the lawn tractor up yet. 

So Michelle will be doing the early morning grocery shopping, and yours truly now that I have my Parsons computer equipment and the old Air Conditioner out of there (Jim is going to strip it down for parts and recycle it), I can get some room to move around a little in the garage, I think I am going to do a little bit of straitening and organizing. I have a number of big heavy boxes in there that are empty that I am going to cut up and organize the pallets and get the garage ready for SUMMERTIME!!!! Maybe I can get the basketball-playing critters to come and help me. 

I'm going to have to work 10 hour days again this coming week, friday is Good Friday and it is a Holiday for Hope Gas. Although I may see if I can just work it, since there will be people there. 

Have yourselves a great day. 

Big Ole Hairy Friday

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

I hope that everyone has had a good week. I've finished up all my training sessions on the Outage Management System (I'm teaching), and it has gone very well, even if I do have to say so myself. I've had a number of VPs and the President sit in on the training, and they loved it. 

No big plans for the weekend just yet, but I know there will be some grocery shopping involved and who knows what else. Kiwi and Peanut keep us occupied with their shenanigans. 

Have yourself a great day. 

Hi ho hi ho

Photo Flashback Thursday

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

This weeks pic goes back a few years, Amy and Ralph hosted a cookout at their place four years ago. I'm not sure if it was just for Memorial Day or a Housewarming or whatever. It was one where everyone was there at the same event. 

Amy and Ralph are such good hosts, every time they do one it is memorable. This picture was one I like, it was Amy simply carrying food from the kitchen to the pavilion. 

Have yourself a great day.

Hi ho hi ho

Lucy's Journal

March 25, 2026

Dear Journal,

Today started out like one of those “this seems like a peaceful idea” kind of days… which should have been my first warning that it absolutely was not going to stay that way.

Ed suggested we all go fishing down at the Monongahela River. Fresh air, calm water, maybe catch a few fish—nice and relaxing, right? So of course I packed up Peanut, Kiwi, the Quackers, and the rest of our usual troublemakers and off we went.

For about… oh, I don’t know… six minutes, everything was perfect.

Peanut was sitting on a rock like a seasoned fisherman, tail wrapped neatly around his paws, staring intensely at the water like he was about to solve the mysteries of the universe. Kiwi, on the other hand, was NOT interested in patience. He kept hopping from shoulder to shoulder yelling, “FISHY! FISHY! GET THE FISHY!” like a tiny, feathery coach who had way too much caffeine.

And then… the Quackers.

At first, they were actually fishing. I know. I was shocked too.

But the moment the first carp was pulled out of the water, it was over.

“I caught the biggest one!” shouted one.

“NO YOU DID NOT, MINE IS CLEARLY BIGGER!” yelled the other.

They started lining the fish up side by side, measuring them with sticks, wings, and at one point—I am not kidding—one of them tried to eyeball it by comparing it to his beak.

Kiwi immediately declared himself the official judge, which somehow made things worse.

Peanut just slowly blinked and moved three feet farther away.

The argument escalated quickly. Voices got louder, wings started flapping, and before I could step in—

SMACK.

One of the Quackers slapped the other with a fish.

And that, dear Journal, was the exact moment things went completely off the rails.

Within seconds, it turned into an all-out dead fish food fight.

Fish were flying everywhere.

Kiwi was dive-bombing through the chaos like a tiny green missile, squawking battle cries and somehow throwing pieces of fish mid-flight. Peanut tried to maintain dignity for approximately two seconds before getting smacked in the side by a rogue carp—and then he joined in with surprising enthusiasm.

I tried to stop it. I really did.

But then I got hit.

Right in the shoulder.

With a fish.

And honestly? At that point, it felt personal.

So yes, I regret nothing.

There we were, a full-blown fish fight on the banks of the Monongahela, laughing, slipping, dodging flying carp like it was some kind of bizarre Olympic event.

By the end of it, we were all exhausted, smelled absolutely terrible, and had probably scared off every fish within a mile.

Peanut was covered in fish scales but looked oddly proud of himself.

Kiwi declared it “BEST DAY EVER” approximately 47 times.

The Quackers? Still arguing about whose fish was bigger.

Of course.

We packed up what little dignity we had left and headed home, leaving behind what I can only assume will become a very confusing story for anyone else who visits that spot.

All in all?

Not exactly the peaceful fishing trip we planned…

…but definitely one I won’t forget.

—Lucy

Wednesday

Tuesday's Tidbits

* Monday is over, now we are staring straight down at a Tuesday. Good time for a tidbits. 

* It has been 22,735 days since I was born, that is 21 years using my new,  new, new, and improved 1,069-day Calendar. Mom is at 30,389, which would make her 28 according to my new and improved calendar. 

* It has been 7,987 days since I graduated from WVU with a Degree in Geography. I love what I do and am thankful to still be working in my field. 

* 6,581 days ago, Michelle and I had our first date together. Life has been much better since then. 

* 5,785 days ago, I proposed to Michelle in the backyard at 4:00 in the morning. I've been the luckiest guy since that fateful day. 

* It was 5,822 days ago in front of our closest friends and family, for the most part, Michelle and I became husband and wife at the Marilla Center, it was a great day with friends and family. 

* I have now lived 2,960 days longer than my Dad did and I'm still going strong, slowing down but still going. 

* Michelle has been living a clean and productive life and beat that alcohol demon 1,614 days ago today. 

* My older Brother Jonathan lived 21,280 days, I've now outlived him by 1,470 days, making me Senior Supreme Sibling once again! 

* Old roommate Gregg proposed to his fiancée 192 days ago, I'm happy for those two. I asked him a couple weeks ago if they set a date yet, he said we would be the first to know. 

* I have 2,157 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.

* 315 more days until Phil steps to center stage once again for Groundhog Day. I'm still mad at the damn rat

* 282 more days to go until my Goodbye 2026 Blog is posted. 

* There are 2765 more shopping days left until Christmas 2026. 

* There are 260 days until I hit the age of 63. Yeah I know, I'm really older than 21. 

* There are only 143 more days to go until Michelle and I will celebrate our 15th Wedding Anniversary......maybe

* There are 90 days until my second favorite season begins, Summertime!!!!!!

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

* I have written 8,292 blogs in what is now 21 years of Blogging. 

* I've taught 3 of the 4 in-person classes, I have one more to do then I may have to do another one on Microsoft Teams for another group that we are going to integrate with by the end of the year. 

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

* Looking for Girl Scout Cookies? Ryleigh's Page

* Looking for Girl Scout Cookies still? Arabellas Page

* This is my favorite TicTok of the week. Got to love animals and how they interact

* Hi ho hi ho

Monday

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

Kiwi and Peanut have decided that since their humans are heading back to the office today, that they are going play a few holes of Golf in the Backyard. Michelle's Dad was a golf pro and made custom golf clubs and mad both of them their own custom sets of clubs years ago, they are just how getting around to using them. Kiwi thinks he has a big advantage, because he is a Natural Birdie on every hole. 

So what is up with me this week? Back into the office slaving away and churning along on entering GPS coordinates by hand. They will have a number of attributes associated with them and I'm up over 14,000 points so far. I'll create a service for everyone once it is completed. Things are going great for both Michelle and I, she loves what she is doing and the company she works for. 

We did do a little bit of running around yesterday, went to Shoe Carnival and found a couple pairs of Hey Dudes and a Pair of Levi Shoes all on discount, probably saved over $100 on my three pairs as did Michelle. We stopped by where Jim was set up in the old Sycamore Lanes parking lot srlling his tools, and Trish, Layla and Makayla (Arrons wife) stopped by. It was really nice to see them. 

Have yourself a great day, go help Kiwi and Peanut play golf if you want. 

For us however.....Hi ho hi ho

Sunday

Here I sit in a household that has a lot of laughing going on. Kiwi and Peanut are playing a game of Pictionary and Peanut keeps laughing at Kiwi's drawing. I hope she doesn't give him any ideas about going to Art School or anything, that's all I need for the Jack of all trades Conure to do, pick up another skill/hobby. 

Michelle did the grocery shopping yesterday morning and ran into Debbie Koon, she asked us to convey a message to Mom that Cousin Judy was in the Madison House so I passed that message on to her and spoke to her a little yesterday morning. Gerald seems to be doing much better as I spoke to him a couple of minutes as well, he speech is sounding better and that quick wit is in full force again. 

I was going to take the Parsons equipment over to Mail and More, but I got an email Friday that they have a scheduled pickup for Monday, so rather than lug three huge boxes over there, I'll let FedEx come and get them. All I needed was a laptop but they sent me all kinds of equipment that needs to be returned. 

Michelle did DE-St Patricks Day Decorate yesterday and put all of those decorations into totes, and we pulled out the Easter totes and now the place is full of pastel spring colors and Easter decorations. She decorates for every season now and has a system. We have an artificial tree up with programmable LED Lights that allows her to pretty much determine what color or colors and any patterns she wants to use. Yes we have an Easter Tree with Easter Eggs hanging on it and bows, pastel lights and a number of gnomes. 

Have yourself a great day. Make the most of it. 

Saturday

Here I sit in a semi-noisy household, both Kiwi and Peanut are super excited to cheer on the WVU Women's Basketball Team this afternoon in the sold-out Hope Gas Coliseum at 5:00. The game will be on ESPNU, but Kiwi is flying through the roof, unrecognized and plans to have courtside seats for today's game. They are super excited for the game. 

This is a sold-out game, and traffic is going to be heavy this weekend. The students are coming back from Spring Break, the NCAA Tournament here and there is a statewide swimming and diving Championships here as well at Mylan Park. Not to mention that the WVU Baseball team is hosting BYU for the rest of the series today. Morgantown is going to be busy, and there is going to be a much heavier flow of traffic than normal, so allow yourself a little extra time to get to where you are going if you are anywhere near being on this side of town. 

Michelle is going to do the grocery shopping this morning and is talking about going up to visit Hayley later this morning. Gracie is getting a little old and is having trouble getting around. They are thinking it might be getting close to that time, so Michelle is going to go up and visit her. 

Have yourself a great day, make it memorable. 

Big Ole Hairy Friday

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

Kiwi and Peanut said they are going to spend the whole day watching the NCAA Basketball Tournament. They love watching it and cheering for the underdogs. Needless to say they will both be preoccupied all weekend watching College Basketball. 

It's the end of another week at work, and I have now trained 3 of the 4 groups on the new Outage Management System that we are implementing at work. I started last week and did two more this week, now I'm looking at the home stretch early next week. Don't worry, I have plenty of other things to be doing as well, I'm getting pretty good at this multi-tasking...lol

Have yourselves a great day

Hi ho hi ho

Photo Flashback Thursday

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

Yes, this is a real picture of the celebrities of Lucy's Journal that posts every Wednesday, the Quackers. Kynlea bought a couple of Ducks last year at I think Rural King and they named them the Quackers. They stay in the back yard and were a couple of really fun birds when I met them last Summer. 

Have yourselves a great day.

Quack Quack Hi ho 

Happy Birthday Amy Dalton

I would like to take this opportunity to wish my wonderful niece Amy a very Happy Birthday today and it is a very special birthday for this amazing young woman, it's her 21st (actually it's her 40th) Birthday!!!

Amy is amazing and inspiring to all, she is one who sets out goals and goes out and accomplishes them, no matter how big or how small. Whether it be raising a family, career path or simply building and paying for a new house for her and her family. She is always focused and goal-driven. 

Amy is also a very creative photographer as well as a number of other things like organizing fundraisers and cookouts.  She has that photographer's eye on how to create a great shot that I wish I had but do not. It takes a certain level of creativity that she exhibits and I don't have.

She's an amazing mother with two kids with all the tools and guidance to accomplish anything they choose and that starts in the home that Amy and Ralph have created.

If you happen to see this amazing young woman today, make sure you wish her a Happy 40th Birthday.

Happy Birthday, Amy.

Lucy's Journal

Lucy’s Journal – March 18, 2026

Today the whole gang decided we needed a proper night out, so Peanut, Kiwi, the Quackers, and I headed to the movies. Someone had heard the theater was showing Howard the Duck, and apparently that was all the convincing everyone needed.

Peanut immediately took his movie-going duties very seriously. He inspected the seats, the screen, and most importantly the snack counter. Within minutes we were carrying the biggest tub of popcorn they would sell us.

Kiwi rode on my shoulder all the way to our seats, chattering excitedly like he was expecting the movie to be about him. The Quackers waddled behind us in a neat little line, trying very hard to look like respectable moviegoers.

For about the first ten minutes, everything was calm.

Then Kiwi grabbed a big beakful of popcorn.

No one knows exactly why, but he suddenly flung it straight at the Quackers.

A kernel bounced off one duck’s head, and that was all it took.

The Quackers quacked loudly and started scooping popcorn out of the tub like tiny feathery pitchers. Popcorn started flying in every direction. Kiwi dove into the tub again and again like a little green popcorn fighter plane.

Peanut tried to stop the chaos for a moment, but after a kernel bounced off his nose he just started batting popcorn out of the air like it was a game.

I tried to whisper, “Shhh! We’re in a movie theater!” but I was laughing too hard to sound very serious.

By the end of the movie, the floor around our seats looked like it had been hit by a buttery snowstorm. Peanut was covered in crumbs, Kiwi looked extremely proud of himself, and the Quackers were still quietly tossing the occasional kernel when they thought no one was looking.

I’m not sure anyone fully followed the plot of the movie.

But one thing is certain…

Movie night with this crew is never boring.

— Lucy

Wednesday

Tuesday's Tidbits

* Monday is over, now we are staring straight down at a Tuesday. Good time for a tidbits. 

* It has been 22,728 days since I was born, that is 21 years using my new,  new, new, and improved 1,069-day Calendar. Mom is at 30,382, which would make her 28 according to my new and improved calendar. 

* It has been 7,980 days since I graduated from WVU with a Degree in Geography. I love what I do and am thankful to still be working in my field. 

* 6,574 days ago, Michelle and I had our first date together. Life has been much better since then. 

* 5,778 days ago, I proposed to Michelle in the backyard at 4:00 in the morning. I've been the luckiest guy since that fateful day. 

* It was 5,815 days ago in front of our closest friends and family, for the most part, Michelle and I became husband and wife at the Marilla Center, it was a great day with friends and family. 

* I have now lived 2,953 days longer than my Dad did and I'm still going strong, slowing down but still going. 

* Michelle has been living a clean and productive life and beat that alcohol demon 1,607 days ago today. 

* My older Brother Jonathan lived 21,273 days, I've now outlived him by 1,470 days, making me Senior Supreme Sibling once again! 

* Old roommate Gregg proposed to his fiancée 185 days ago, I'm happy for those two. I asked him a couple weeks ago if they set a date yet, he said we would be the first to know. 

* I have 2,164 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.

* 322 more days until Phil steps to center stage once again for Groundhog Day. I'm still mad at the damn rat

* 289 more days to go until my Goodbye 2026 Blog is posted. 

* There are 282 more shopping days left until Christmas 2026. 

* There are 267 days until I hit the age of 63. Yeah I know, I'm really older than 21. 

* There are only 150 more days to go until Michelle and I will celebrate our 15th Wedding Anniversary......maybe

* There are 2 days until my favorite season begins, a lot of people love different seasons, I am a Spring person who loves the Springtime. 

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

* I have written 8,284 blogs in what is now 21 years of Blogging. 

* Sunday was 18 years since Michelle and I had our first date. 10,000 BC was the movie. 

* Are you wearing Green? It's St Patricks Day!!!!!

* I'm still waiting for Parsons to send a carrier for their equipment. 

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

* Looking for Girl Scout Cookies? Ryleigh's Page

* Looking for Girl Scout Cookies still? Arabellas Page

* This is my favorite TicTok of the week. I know it is AI, but it is funny. 

* Hi ho hi ho

Monday

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

As Michelle and I head out to our offices today, Kiwi and Peanut have decided to alter their plans a little bit concerning the water flow into the backyard for their waterfall. I need to tell them that the stream is going to have to rise up and possibly cross itself for this thing to work, but they are both hard-headed and want to do it their own way. Far be it from me to tell those two what to do, like they ever listen to begin with. At least they are wearing safety equipment.  

So whats up for me? I'll teach my second and third classes this week for our outage management system. I may have to travel for a day, but I would prefer to do it through Microsoft Teams and screen share rather than travel 2.25 hours each way. You can't get anything done when the majority of your day is spent driving. 

Other than that SPRING Starts this week!!!

On that note, have a great day

Hi ho hi ho

18 Years Ago

It was 18 years ago today that Kiwi and Peanut's Mommy and Daddy went out on their first date together. Kiwi was tell us about the date Dad, so I sat them down and told them the story. 

18 Years ago, Michelle and I went out on our first official date together. I had asked her out to go get some Pizza and see a movie, which, in case anyone didn't know, was 10,000 BC. 

Michelle had spent all day getting ready and getting advice from Hayley, like don't drink Pop it will make you burp. 

I did pick her up and I think we went to Pizza Hut first to eat, then it was on to the movies to see this movie that I actually picked to see. Don't Mess with the Zohan and Semi-Pro weree both playing and I chose this movie. Don't ask me why.

I told Kiwi and Peanut I made Mommy wait 777 days before I actually asked her to Marry me and we have been together since that date. There is an old saying that today is the first day of the rest of your life, that could not be any truer for me on that evening. 

Best 18 years of my life and we have a Conure and a Cat to boot. 

Have yoursleves a great day. 

Saturday Morning Ramblings

Here I sit in a semi-quiet household. Peanut and Kiwi had one of their all-night board games. Right now they are in an intense game of Battleship and trying to figure out each other's strategies. I think Kiwi is cheating with his birds-eye view every time that Peanut yawns from being up all night. 

We put Pearl in the shop yesterday at Hartsells, part of the exhaust had come undone, and we took it to Brian to have it repaired. He always does great work, and to tell you the truth, I can remember going there when it was an Esso station years ago with Grandpa Hall to get gas. I graduated with Brian and have been friends with him for going on 50 years. 

So what is on today's agenda? Breathing a little easier as the WVU students are out of town on Spring Break!!!! I don't know who is happier, them for being on Spring Break or me that most of them are gone for the week. Traffic should be less backed up for the next week. Michelle will be doinggrocery shopping and me, I'll be me. 

Have yourselves a great day. 

Big Ole Hairy Friday the 13th

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

I think Peanut and Kiwi are taking this whole Friday the 13th thing just a little too far, but hey if that is what makes them happy and floats their boats then so be it. They do keep things lively and entertaining around here to say the least. 

No big plans for the day, well I guess that really isn't true as we have to have the exhaust repaired or replaced today on Pearl. It broke off at the between the mufflers (had dual mufflers) and the manifold. We're going to take it to Hartsells this morning and have it repaired. It's broken in half, so something tells me this may not be a cheap repair. Brian did do the exhaust last time, so it may still be under warranty so that could save us some money. 

Have yourselves a great day

Hi ho hi ho

Photo Flashback Thursday

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

I played around a few weeks ago with AI, like it is something I always do for my blog, and I had it create an AI image based on what it knows about me. I did have to upload a picture for it to use, but this is what it made. I have no idea why it has me drinking coffee, yuck. 

Have yourself a great day. 

Hi ho hi ho

Lucy's Journal

Lucy’s Journal Entry – March 11, 2026

Dear Journal,

Today turned out to be one of those days where the plan changes halfway through… and somehow gets even better.

This morning I was exploring the garage with Kiwi, Peanut, and the Quackers when we discovered something very interesting tucked behind a stack of old boxes. It was a big dusty bag filled with Ed’s old softball equipment! There were gloves, a bat, a few softballs, and even one of those hats that looked like it had played about a hundred games.

Kiwi immediately hopped up on the bag like he had just discovered treasure.

“BALL GAME!” he squawked.

Peanut flicked her tail like she was a professional athlete who had been waiting her whole life for this moment. The Quackers, of course, started quacking excitedly and waddling around the garage like a team preparing for the big championship.

So we carried (well… mostly dragged) the equipment out to the backyard to start our big softball game.

Now, there were a few problems with this plan.

First, Kiwi kept trying to sit on the softball instead of hitting it.
Second, Peanut thought the glove was a toy and kept pouncing on it.
Third, the Quackers refused to stand in the outfield and instead followed the ball every time it moved.

We tried to bat, but the ball kept rolling under the porch.
We tried pitching, but Kiwi kept yelling “MY TURN!” whether it was his turn or not.

After about fifteen minutes of total chaos, Peanut sat down in the grass, looked at the softball, and then very deliberately nudged a big red rubber ball that had rolled out of the garage.

Kiwi tilted his head.

“Kick… ball?”

The Quackers looked at each other.

QUACK QUACK!

And just like that, softball was officially canceled.

Kickball, however, was a huge success.

Peanut was surprisingly good at guarding the bases. Kiwi took his kicking very seriously and did a little victory flap every time the ball rolled across the yard. The Quackers ran after the ball like a feathery stampede every time someone kicked it.

At one point Kiwi kicked the ball straight toward the garden and the entire team—Peanut included—chased after it like we were in the championship game of the Backyard Kickball League.

We laughed, we ran, and we probably broke every official rule of kickball ever written.

But it didn’t matter.

By the end of the afternoon we were all laying in the grass, tired and happy.

Softball equipment discovery: successful.
Softball game: not so successful.
Kickball game: legendary.

Sometimes the best games are the ones you didn’t plan.

Until next week,
Lucy

Wednesday

Tuesday's Tidbits

* Monday is over, even though it was a short weekend I am still adjusting to Daylight Savings time. 

* It has been 22,721 days since I was born, that is 21 years using my new,  new, new, and improved 1,069-day Calendar. mom is at 30,375 which would make her 28 according to my new and improved calendar. 

* It has been 7,973 days since I graduated from WVU with a Degree in Geography. I love what I do and am thankful to still be working in my field. 

* 6,567 days ago Michelle and I had our first date together. Life has been much better since then. 

* 5,771 days ago I proposed to Michelle in the backyard at 4:00 in the morning. I've been the luckiest guy since that fateful day. 

* It was 5,808 days ago in front of our closest friends and family, for the most part, Michelle and I became husband and wife at the Marilla Center, it was a great day with friends and family. 

* I have now lived 2,946 days longer than my Dad did and I'm still going strong, slowing down but still going. 

* Michelle has been living a clean and productive life and beat that alcohol demon 1,600 days ago today. 

* My older Brother Jonathan lived 21,273 days, I've now outlived him by 1,463 days, making me Senior Supreme Sibling once again! 

* Old roommate Gregg proposed to his fiancée 178 days ago, I'm happy for those two. I asked him a couple weeks ago if they set a date yet, he said we would be the first to know. 

* I have 2,171 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.

* 329 more days until Phil steps to center stage once again for Groundhog Day. I'm still mad at the damn rat

* 296 more days to go until my Goodbye 2026 Blog is posted. 

* There are 289 more shopping days left until Christmas 2026. 

* There are 273 days until I hit the age of 63. Yeah I know, I'm really older than 21. 

* There are only 157 more days to go until Michelle and I will celebrate our 15th Wedding Anniversary......maybe

* There are 9 days until my favorite season begins, a lot of people love different seasons, I am a Spring person who loves the Springtime. 

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

* I have written 8,276 blogs in what is now 21 years of Blogging. 

* Michelle loves Starbucks, but the last couple of months she has replicated her favorite drink at home at a fraction the the cost and much easier.

* It does feel weird only having one employer at the moment, been a while since I could make that claim.   

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

* Looking for Girl Scout Cookies? Ryleigh's Page

* Looking for Girl Scout Cookies still? Arabellas Page

* This is my favorite TicTok of the week. I know it is AI, but it is funny. 

* Hi ho hi ho

Monday

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

Kiwi and Peanut have both decided that even though they like daylight savings time, it's still too early for them and their bodies just havn't adjusted yet. They have decided to sleep in as Michelle and I head out to work. I told Kiwi the early bird gets the worm and he looked at me and said I like seeds Dad, Seeds not earthworms. Worms are for those outdoor cats less intelligent than him. 

So what is coming for the week ahead? Well I did update my linkedin, indeed and my resume to make them all up to date with the recent changes, I really didn't mention too much when I worked for Parsons, what I was doing for the DoD was not something I wanted out there. It was fun while it lasted, but that chapter of my life at least for now is over with. I'm sure if they needed man hours they would reach back out to me, but I would be working for a private company contracted to them again like I was when I worked for Lancesoft. 

Have yoursleves a great day. 

Hi ho hi ho

Sunday

Here I sit at about the time we set the clocks ahead an hour. Kiwi and Peanut have volunteered to be the official spring forward guys in this household tp make sure that our clocks are all set ahead an hour so that they reflect the right time. 

I do love Daylight Savings time, and to be honest my body has been slowly adjusting over the past few days for the time change, so I think I'm ready for the time adjustment. 

No big plans for the day other than resting and relaxing and getting ready for the week ahead. I know Kiwi and Peanut were still drawing up plans for their planned stream diversion and building the waterfall in the back yard. They are both innovative, but I don't think that they will pull this off. I know they were going through the garage and found my old softball equipment and are thinking about calling Lucy anbd the Quackers for a little bit of a game this week. 

Have a great day, make some memories. 

Saturday Morning Ramblings

Here I sit in a quiet household, Kiwi and Peanut are playing a game of Operation. Peanut is kicking Kiwi's butt on this because she is much more patient, and those surgical claws make things easier for her as opposed to Kiwi's trying to use his yapping beak while trash-talking his sister. 

Yesterday was my official last day with Parsons. I have my equipment packed up, and I'll take it to FedEx this morning to return my PC Tower the two monitors (that are really nice), and my laptop. It was a great job, but they ended the Casual employment thing as a few supervisors were taking advantage of workers, and some filed complaints that they were unethical (they are govt contractors, this is big), so rather than get dinged, they just ended the program altogether. I really haven't worked for them since June and it was a feast or famine type of job. I can still work for them if the situation presented itself; I would just have to go back through a third-party vendor like Lancesoft, like I did before. 

I had a pretty good week at work, I'm about done with the training PowerPoint for the new website for the putage management site. My boss's boss wrote roughly 30,000 lines of code to make this thing work and I even have to say it is state-of-the-art. I can't show it to anyone because the information inside is both proprietary and protected by TSA-ISS. 

Michelle was off yesterday and is enjoying a three-day weekend. They had to take their network down for system upgrades, so they gave her the day off. She's happy.

Have yourselves a great day

Hi ho hi ho

Big Ole Hairy Friday

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

Well it is with some sadness that I have to announce that today is my last official day with Parsons. HR has decided to eliminate the Casual Employment situation and that affects me and my situation. I really haven't had any billable hours since June, hence why I am at Hope Gas, but this ends a three-year stint of employer either as a contractor or as a Parsons employee. I really like my boss and he was sad to call and tell me last week, but we ended up doing more BSing than work talk. I have a bunch of equipment to send back, a workstation, dual monitors and a laptop that all need to go back. If any work comes up, Marlan would rehire me through a third party (like when I worked for them through Lancesoft). It's basically just changing my situation again. 

So what is on my agenda for the week? Same as every other week. nothing planned, Michelle will do Sams Club shopping tonight and we are planning on another boring evening at home. 

Have yourselves a great day

Hi ho hi ho

Photo Flashback Thursday

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

This weeks pic goes back a few years, back to when we won our first of three Steelers Trivia Championships. Once a week, I like to take a little bit of time out, time to look at some of the 30,000+ photos that I have stored on my computer. Little lost moments in time that I either captured with a lens, scanned, or just stole from somewhere on the internet. I like to find just one and post it up, recalling or reliving the picture to the best of my ability. Sometimes this is a pretty easy task, and sometimes it's not that easy, but one thing it has always been a lot of fun.One of the prizes if you get field passes for before the game. 

Michelle and I went down early, the guy you see behind us? Hines Ward who was the first player out on the field by hours that day. He happened to win the Superbowl MVP that season, the team we were playing was the Colts and Payton Manning won the Superbowl MVP the next season, the Santonio Holmes won it a couple of years after Peyton, right after Eli won it. 

I remember it was cold as hell that day. Hot Chocolate hit the bleachers and was frozen before it ran off the edge. 

Have yoursleves a great day

Hi ho hi ho

Lucy's Journal

🎳 Lucy’s Journal – The Great Bowling Cat-astrophe 🎳

Thursday, February 26, 2026

Dear Journal,

Tonight will go down in history as the night we were politely encouraged to leave the bowling alley.

It all started when I casually suggested that the gang try something “classy.” Naturally, that translated to Kiwi yelling “STRIKE!” at full Green Cheek Conure volume before we even got out the door, Peanut sharpening her claws on my shoelaces in preparation for “competition mode,” and the Quackers marching in formation like they were heading into athletic battle.

We chose our teams very scientifically:

• Team Feather & Fur – Kiwi and Peanut

• Team Waddle & Wonder – Lucy and the Quackers

The trouble began at the shoe counter.

Peanut insisted on size 7s “for traction.”
Kiwi attempted to carry off three different neon pairs because they “matched his aura.”
The Quackers refused shoes entirely and tried to bowl barefoot, which apparently violates several policies.

---

🎳 The Alley Action

First frame: Kiwi insisted on being the “coach.” He rode on top of the bowling ball all the way to the foul line before dramatically launching into the air mid-roll. The ball guttered. Kiwi blamed “lane turbulence.”

Peanut, however, is a natural.

She crouched.
She focused.
She swished her tail like a metronome of doom.

And then — STRIKE.

The entire alley applauded. One older gentleman asked if she was “league-certified.”

The Quackers tried synchronized bowling. They pushed the ball together… which might have worked had they not pushed it backward into the ball return. We learned two things:

1. Bowling balls are heavy.

2. The ball return makes a very alarming noise when you use it incorrectly.

Lucy (that’s me) attempted grace. I did a smooth approach, confident swing, and—
…fell directly on the polished lane.

Style points? Yes.
Pins? No.

---

Escalation Phase

Kiwi began announcing everyone’s scores in a dramatic sports-commentator voice:

“PEANUT TAKES THE LEAD WITH ANOTHER STRIKE! LUCY ENTERS A REBUILDING YEAR!”

Peanut knocked over two more strikes and a spare.

The Quackers formed a pep squad and started chanting, which turned into marching, which turned into sliding. One of them somehow ended up in the snack bar holding a pretzel bigger than his head.

At one point, Kiwi attempted a trick shot by dropping the ball from shoulder height.

We were given a friendly reminder about “standard bowling technique.”

---

🏆 Final Score

• Peanut – 162 (clearly a ringer)

• Lucy – 88 (with flair)

• Kiwi – 74 (claims sabotage)

• The Quackers – “Participation Ribbon”

Peanut strutted out like a feline champion, tail high, demanding celebratory tuna.

Kiwi insists there will be a rematch “under regulation tournament conditions.”

The Quackers are banned from synchronized backward pushing.

All in all, a successful evening.

No permanent injuries.
Only minor embarrassment.
And one slightly confused bowling manager.

Until next time,
Lucy

P.S. Kiwi is currently practicing his “victory speech” in the mirror. He did not win.

Wednesday

Tuesday's Tidbits

* Monday is over with good reason to do a tidbits. 

* It has been 22,714 days since I was born, that is 21 years using my new,  new, new, and improved 1,069-day Calendar. mom is at 30,368 which would make her 28 according to my new and improved calendar. 

* It has been 7,966 days since I graduated from WVU with a Degree in Geography. I love what I do and am thankful to still be working in my field. 

* 6,560 days ago Michelle and I had our first date together. Life has been much better since then. 

* 5,764 days ago I proposed to Michelle in the backyard at 4:00 in the morning. I've been the luckiest guy since that fateful day. 

* It was 5,801 days ago in front of our closest friends and family, for the most part, Michelle and I became husband and wife at the Marilla Center, it was a great day with friends and family. 

* I have now lived 2,939 days longer than my Dad did and I'm still going strong, slowing down but still going. 

* Michelle has been living a clean and productive life and beat that alcohol demon 1,593 days ago today. 

* My older Brother Jonathan lived 21,273 days, I've now outlived him by 1,456 days, making me Senior Supreme Sibling once again! 

* Old roommate Gregg proposed to his fiancée 171 days ago, I'm happy for those two. I asked him a couple weeks ago if they set a date yet, he said we would be the first to know. 

* I have 2,178 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.

* 336 more days until Phil steps to center stage once again for Groundhog Day. I'm still mad at the damn rat

* 303 more days to go until my Goodbye 2026 Blog is posted. 

* There are 296 more shopping days left until Christmas 2026. 

* There are 280 days until I hit the age of 63. Yeah I know, I'm really older than 21. 

* There are only 164 more days to go until Michelle and I will celebrate our 15th Wedding Anniversary......maybe

* There are 16 days until my favorite season begins, a lot of people love different seasons, I am a Spring person who loves the Springtime. 

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

* I have written 8,268 blogs in what is now 21 years of Blogging. 

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

* Looking for Girl Scout Cookies? Ryleigh's Page

* Looking for Girl Scout Cookies still? Arabellas Page

* This is my favorite Tiktok, a little song about concrete. 

* Hi ho hi ho

Monday

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

Michelle and I are off to work, the two house pets are taking it easy band relaxing because they know next weekend they actually lose an hours sleep when Daylight Savings time begins so they are trying to compensate for it.  Must be nice to live the carefree life of an animal with great humans. 

So whats up this week for me. Still chugging along on one big project, also preparing some training materials for a new website we are pushing out to Dispatch, and a couple of other things on my plate. Don't worry, I'm not bored at all with delivering usable products. I think they are really starting to like me more so than ever before. 

Have yourselves a great day, make some memories. 

HI ho hi ho

Sunday

Here I sit in a quiet, but entertaining household. Kiwi and Peanut wanted to do something special for Michelle and me, so they have decided to put on the play Romeo and Juliet for us here at the house. Kiwi has built a stage in the back bedroom, and they have been rehearsing all weekend in order to surprise us. Such thoughtful pets, I don't know what I would do without them.

I do have to submit my taxes before the end of the weekend. I did them last weekend and wanted Michelle to go over them for me to look for any mistakes that I may have made, and then we can file them. I owe the state again this year, just like every year except last year,  but what I owe the state was greatly reduced by what I paid in Vehicle taxes, and now I owe the state a whopping $4. I think I can live with that...lol

Other than that, nothing really is planned for us. The Olympics have concluded, so I guess that means I'll go back to watching Adama Sandler movies and South Park reruns all weekend. 

Do you believe it is already March? I'm looking ahead at the forecast, and they are calling for it to be 70° on Friday. I like that a hell of a lot better than single-digit temps when it is just too damned cold. 

Have yourselves a great day, make it special and rest of for the week. 

Saturday Morning Ramblings

Here I sit in a quiet household, Kiwi and Peanut have both are getting excited for WVU Baseball. They watched our first home game of the season on Wednesday and are planning on watching the Mountaineers this afternoon as they take on Kennesaw State, but they are a little sad that the game is being played in Georgia rather than here at home. They both love their Mountaineers. 

So what is on today's agenda other than hiding the lawn tractor keys from a rambunctious conure who likes to hide and steal the keys from Daddy. No lawn donuts this weekend my little feathered friend. 

Our agenda? Michelle will once again do the grocery shopping, she can do it so much quicker without me tagging along plus she is pretty proficient at it. 

Anything other than that will be pretty much ad libbed, when or whatever we feel needs to be done today. The weathr should be a little bit warmer, I guess Phil and Mother Nature are going to take it easy on us this weekend after the crap of last weekend. 

Have yourself a great day and make some memories. 
 

Big Ole Hairy Friday

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

Kiwi and Peanut have indicated that they are both tired of winter and are ready to start planning for Spring by doing a little Spring Cleaning of the garage. Organizing Dad's tools, straightening up a little etc is what they said they are planning on doing. Personally, I think they have some kind of ulterior motive, like storing materials for this waterfall they are planning on making happen. I have to give them credit, they are in fact, big dreamers. 

Michelle is going to run and do our weekly shopping and that's all we have planned for the moment. 

Do you believe that it is almost March? This year has just flown by, I'm not complaining as I hate the Winter months, but we are getting closer to my favoite time of the year which is spring. I should keep an eye out for the daffodils to start sprouting and blessing us with their beautiful color and aroma. 

Have yourselves a great day

Hi ho hi ho

Photo Flashback Thursday

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

This weeks pic goes back to 2018 when I had to travel to Las Vegas for work. I'm actually standing at Caesars Palace, looking across the famous fountains that Evil Knievel about killed himself trying to jump. The building at the right was Hell's Kitchen in Las Vegas and across the street was the Flamingo where Donnie and Marie had a residency at the time. 

I don't know why, but one of the things I wanted to see was the Fountains at Caesar and there I was. 

Have yourselves a great day

Hi ho hi ho

Lucy's Journal

Dear Journal,

Today began like most Wednesdays in our household — with me, Lucy (brilliant, beautiful, slightly chaotic green cheek conure), supervising operations from the curtain rod while Peanut (striped menace, professional napper, part-time tiger) pretended not to be plotting something.

By 10:17 a.m., the gang had assembled. Peanut. Kiwi (who insists he is the responsible one, which is adorable). And the usual crew of backyard consultants who still owe me for the waterfall project.

Naturally, we decided civilization needed our presence. So we went to the Morgantown Mall.

---

🛍️ Operation: Mall Mischief

The automatic doors whooshed open like we were royalty. Peanut strutted in like he owned the place. I took flight and immediately established air superiority near the food court signage.

We conducted a full inspection:

• Escalators: ridden. Twice.

• Decorative plants: lightly investigated.

• Mall directory: aggressively critiqued.

• Random kiosk with phone cases: suspiciously shiny.

At one point I landed on the big mall map and made an announcement:

“Did you all know KMart used to be in here? Right there.”

I tapped the old anchor location with my beak.

Before it went up on top of the hill. And then… well… we all know how that story ends.

Peanut nodded solemnly like he personally remembers 1998.

“Retail history is important,” I told them. “Respect your fallen big box stores.”

Kiwi tried to eat a pretzel sample during this moment of silence. Disrespectful.

---

🍟 The Food Court Incident

I will not confirm or deny whether a napkin dispenser was involved.
Or whether Peanut attempted to “liberate” a French fry.
Or whether security gently suggested that “pets are not permitted.”

We prefer the term mobile chaos consultants.

---

🚜 Field Trip: Rural Curiosity

After mall operations were completed (you’re welcome, Morgantown), we decided to head up the hill to Rural King.

The second those doors opened, Peanut’s pupils expanded like he had seen the gates of Valhalla.

• Tractor supply section? Fascinating.

• Work boots? Excellent for scratching.

• Baby chicks? EXTREMELY intriguing.

I perched on a rack of camo hats and declared:
“We could absolutely build a superior waterfall with these supplies.”

Peanut found the feed section and acted like he was reviewing agricultural investments. Kiwi attempted to interview a bag of sunflower seeds.

We maintained what I would describe as moderate chaos levels.

---

📝 Final Thoughts

Malls may change.
KMart may vanish into retail legend.
But one thing remains constant:

If you let a conure and a tiger cat loose in public, you are going to have a story.

Tomorrow we may focus on world domination.
Or snacks.

Probably snacks.

— Lucy 🪶