Lucy’s Journal – April 29, 2026
This morning started like most others—with a questionable idea and way too much confidence.
“Let’s go ride that little train thing,” I said.
“The what?” asked Peanut, flicking his tail like he already knew it was going to be a problem.
“The PRT,” I said. “People ride it all over Morgantown. How hard can it be?”
That was mistake number one.
We made our way to the Med Center Station, which looked simple enough—just some doors, a few machines, and people walking around like they knew exactly what they were doing.
We did not.
The ticket machine was the first obstacle. It had buttons. Too many buttons.
Kiwi hopped up onto the edge of it and started pecking at the screen like he was ordering lunch.
“You just bought something,” I told him.
“Good,” he chirped. “I hope it’s snacks.”
Peanut squinted at the instructions. “Why does it say ‘Select Destination’? Isn’t the destination ‘ride the thing’?”
“No,” I said, already losing patience. “We want Walnut Station downtown.”
The machine beeped angrily.
“That didn’t sound like success,” Peanut observed.
Meanwhile, the Quackers had formed a separate committee about halfway across the lobby.
“We vote Beechurst!” one of them declared.
“Why Beechurst?” I asked.
“Chicks,” they all said in unison.
I should have known.
“You are not getting off early to ‘check out chicks,’” I said.
“That sounds like discrimination,” one of them muttered.
Back at the gate, we discovered the next problem: you have to scan something to get through.
Kiwi tried to walk straight through the turnstile and got gently bonked back.
Peanut watched this happen and said, “Good system.”
I waved the ticket (or whatever Kiwi had purchased) in front of the scanner. Nothing.
I flipped it over. Still nothing.
One of the Quackers tried to go under the gate.
Another tried to go over it.
A third just sat down and refused to participate.
Finally, a nice human came over and said, “You have to scan it like this.”
We all pretended we knew that already.
Once inside, we faced the ultimate question:
“Which platform do we go to?” Peanut asked.
“There are only two,” I said confidently.
“Yes,” he replied, “and we are somehow still confused.”
The sign said something about directions that made perfect sense to everyone except us.
Kiwi suggested we just get on the next one that showed up.
“That’s how you end up somewhere weird,” Peanut said.
“Adventure,” Kiwi countered.
A car finally arrived, and chaos took over.
The doors opened.
The Quackers rushed forward like it was a bread sale.
“Beechurst! Beechurst!” they chanted.
“No! Walnut!” I yelled.
In the confusion, one Quacker tried to argue with the automated voice.
Another asked a passing student, “Are there chicks at Walnut?”
The student did not respond.
We made it onto the car—miraculously—and the doors closed before anyone could escape at Beechurst.
The Quackers pressed their beaks against the window dramatically as we passed it.
“Goodbye, opportunities,” one of them whispered.
The ride itself was… actually pretty nice.
Smooth. Quiet. Efficient.
Peanut relaxed immediately. “Okay,” he said, “this part I like.”
Kiwi ran back and forth inspecting everything like he was in charge of safety.
“Solid vehicle,” he declared.
When we finally arrived at Walnut Station, we stepped off like seasoned professionals.
“See?” I said. “We figured it out.”
Peanut looked at me. “It took us 45 minutes to get through a gate.”
“That’s part of the journey,” I said.
Behind us, one of the Quackers asked, “So how do we get back to Beechurst?”
I pretended not to hear.
Conclusion:
The PRT is a fine system.
We are not a fine system.
But we made it to Walnut—and honestly, that feels like a win.
* Monday is over, now we are staring straight down at another spring time Tuesday, time for a tidbits
* It has been 22,768 days since I was born, that is 21 years using my new, new, new, and improved 1,069-day Calendar. Mom is at 30,424, which would make her 28 according to my new and improved calendar.
* It has been 8,022 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.
* 6,616 days ago, Michelle and I had our first date together. Life has been much better since then.
* 5,820 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 5,857 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 2,995 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 1,649 days ago today.
* My older Brother Jonathan lived 21,280 days, I've now outlived him by 1,505 days, making me Senior Supreme Sibling once again!
* Old roommate Gregg proposed to his fiancée 227 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 2,122 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.
* 280 more days until Phil steps to center stage once again for Groundhog Day. I'm still mad at the damn rat
* 247 more days to go until my Goodbye 2026 Blog is posted.
* There are 240 more shopping days left until Christmas 2026.
* There are 225 days until I hit the age of 63. Yeah I know, I'm really older than 21.
* There are only 108 more days to go until Michelle and I will celebrate our 15th Wedding Anniversary......maybe
* There are 55 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 8,333 blogs in what is now 21 1/2 years of Blogging.
* It's Finals week at WVU, they should be pretty much gone by this weekend.
* 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 TickTok, I have this song stuck in my head.
* Hi ho hi ho
Kiwi and Peanut are both upset that Mommy and Daddy are heading into the offices and they both said that they would rather stay home today. I know they are planning on something, I just don't know yet quite yet.
Typical week for me ahead, working on a number of different projects and delivering products that other departments can use. I'm feeling pretty good about it, however I do have an interview this evening for a job that I will most likely be offered. Significantly more money, but I would have to go to Washington PA every day and with everything going on in the world that may be a little too risky right now, but we'll have to wait and see.
They officially put in a Market C where Michelle works, we already have had one. It's self service and you even pay on the honor system, and to be honest it has worked out pretty well. I think the University has one at the Hospital, there is one at the Mall and a few other places I have seen these types of places.
Have yourselves a great day.
Hi ho hi ho
I told Kiwi and Peanut that next Friday, not this Friday will be the last day for Students at WVU. They will still be here the next week taking finals, but other than that, that completes the school year for them all. It'll be nice to see a lot less people around town for a few months.
Of course when the students are gone, that means roadwork. Last year was a nightmare here with them expanding the road, moving utilities and building a new bridge and everything. Would you believe that that new bridge was opened up last week and everything is paved down here in the valley. So I'm excited about that. Watch turning into my driveway, it's paved smooth but there is a big drop off from the road surface to the ditch.
Have yourselves a great day
Hi ho hi ho
Lucy’s Journal – April 22, 2026
Dear Journal,
Today started out as one of those “this is either going to be a great idea or a terrible idea” kind of days… and honestly, I still haven’t decided which one it was.
It all began when I announced to everyone that we were putting in a garden out back. Not a normal garden, though. Oh no. We were going to grow useful things. Delicious things. Revolutionary things.
“Pepperoni rolls,” I said proudly.
Kiwi tilted his head like I’d finally lost it. Peanut just blinked slowly, which I’ve learned means, this is going to be chaos and I’m here for it.
The Quackers? They didn’t ask questions. They immediately grabbed… well, I’m not sure where they got tiny shovels, but suddenly they had them and were marching toward the backyard like a construction crew that quacks instead of talks.
Within minutes, the yard looked like we were searching for buried treasure.
I supervised.
(Important role.)
We dug up a nice big patch of dirt, and I carefully explained the planting process:
Step 1: Bury pepperoni.
Step 2: Bury rolls.
Step 3: Wait for nature to do its thing.
Kiwi kept insisting that’s “not how agriculture works,” but I reminded him that he once tried to hide sunflower seeds in the couch cushions to “grow a snack couch,” so I wasn’t taking criticism.
Peanut helped by batting pepperoni slices into the holes… and occasionally eating the evidence.
The Quackers, meanwhile, had gone completely rogue.
Instead of following the pepperoni-roll plan, they had formed a very serious assembly line and were planting pickles. Just… whole pickles. One after another.
I asked what they were doing, and they all stopped, looked at me, and gave one very firm, unified:
“Quack.”
Which I’m pretty sure means, mind your business.
At one point, I decided to improve the garden by introducing bacon bits.
“Imagine it,” I said. “A bacon bit bush. We’d never have to buy salad toppings again.”
Kiwi nearly fell off the fence.
Peanut seemed supportive until he realized bacon bits weren’t immediately edible in large quantities (he tested this thoroughly).
We covered everything up, patted the dirt down, and stood back to admire our work.
Our beautiful, confusing garden.
Rows of future pepperoni rolls.
A mysterious pickle patch run entirely by ducks.
And one experimental section labeled “bacon bits (pending).”
If this works, we’re geniuses.
If it doesn’t… we’re still probably going to dig it all up and eat whatever we find anyway.
Either way, I’m calling today a success.
Now we wait.
—Lucy
Lucy’s Journal – Harvest Day (a.k.a. The Moment of Truth)
Dear Journal,
Today… we harvested the garden.
I woke up feeling confident. Excited. Possibly even a little famous, because I was pretty sure we had invented agriculture 2.0.
Kiwi, however, had the look of someone preparing to say “I told you so” at least twelve times.
Peanut stretched, yawned, and immediately walked outside like, let’s see what snacks grew overnight.
The Quackers were already out there. Of course they were. Standing in a neat little row. Watching the garden.
Guarding it.
From what? Not sure. Possibly from us.
We gathered around our masterpiece:
I grabbed the first shovel.
“Moment of truth,” I said.
I dug into the pepperoni roll section… slowly… dramatically… like I was uncovering buried treasure.
And what did we find?
Not pepperoni rolls.
Not even close.
Just… dirt. Slightly greasier dirt. And one very questionable piece of pepperoni that Peanut immediately tried to eat before Kiwi smacked it away.
“Well,” Kiwi said, puffing up a bit, “as I have been explaining—”
“Next section!” I interrupted.
We moved on to the pickle patch.
Now THIS is where things got interesting.
The Quackers rushed in, shoving us aside (rude), and began digging like their lives depended on it.
And somehow…
Somehow…
There were MORE pickles.
Not grown. Not attached to anything. Just… buried pickles. More than we remembered planting.
The Quackers were thrilled.
They started tossing pickles around, quacking like they had just discovered gold. One of them even hugged a pickle. I didn’t know that was possible, but it happened.
Peanut grabbed one and ran off like he’d won a prize.
Kiwi just stared and said, “That’s not how plants work. That’s not how anything works.”
I’m choosing to count that as a partial success.
Then came the bacon bits section.
We all leaned in.
I dug carefully.
Nothing.
Dug deeper.
Still nothing.
Not a single bacon bit sprout.
I sat back and sighed. “The dream… is gone.”
Peanut checked anyway. Thoroughly. Just in case.
The Quackers offered me a consolation pickle.
Kiwi looked very satisfied.
BUT—
I have a new theory.
Maybe bacon bits don’t grow in spring.
Maybe they’re a fall crop.
Or… maybe… we need to water them with ranch dressing.
I haven’t ruled anything out yet.
So yes, technically, the garden didn’t work.
But also?
We now have a pile of slightly dirt-flavored pepperoni, an overwhelming number of mystery pickles, and a brand new plan for next season.
I’m calling it:
Garden 2.0 – Now With Science
Kiwi says he’s in charge of the science this time.
We’ll see about that.
—Lucy
* Monday is over, now we are staring straight down at a Tuesday.
* It has been 22,761 days since I was born, that is 21 years using my new, new, new, and improved 1,069-day Calendar. Mom is at 30,417, which would make her 28 according to my new and improved calendar.
* It has been 8,015 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. Has it really been 8,000 days?
* 6,609 days ago, Michelle and I had our first date together. Life has been much better since then.
* 5,813 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 5,850 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 2,988 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 1,642 days ago today.
* My older Brother Jonathan lived 21,280 days, I've now outlived him by 1,498 days, making me Senior Supreme Sibling once again!
* Old roommate Gregg proposed to his fiancée 220 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 2,129 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.
* 287 more days until Phil steps to center stage once again for Groundhog Day. I'm still mad at the damn rat
* 254 more days to go until my Goodbye 2026 Blog is posted.
* There are 247 more shopping days left until Christmas 2026.
* There are 232 days until I hit the age of 63. Yeah I know, I'm really older than 21.
* There are only 115 more days to go until Michelle and I will celebrate our 15th Wedding Anniversary......maybe
* There are 62 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 8,325 blogs in what is now 21 1/2 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 TicTok of the week. Reminds me of Peanut and Kiwi.
* Hi ho hi ho
Nothing really planned for the day, the temps are supposed to drop and our nice weather is going into a hiatus.
With the NFL Draft starting this week, and it will be in Pittsburgh part of my attention will be on who the hometown Steelers draft. I look for the Steelers to start with an Offensive Lineman, probably a Guard, but that is just a guess. New Head Coach in Mike McCarthy and a new staff, so gone is Mike Tomlin and his staff and they mean a change in philosophies from the sideline. Ironically the last time the Steelers played in a Superbowl, they lost it to a Green Bay team that was coached by.....Mike McCarthy.
Other than that a few chores today and preparing for the upcoming work week.
Have yourselves a great day.
So what is on today's agenda? Michelle will do the grocery shopping this morning and I'll pitter around the house for a while. Chris is wanting to have a birthday party for Jim at the New Hill Community Park, I have never been there before but I have looked at it in Google maps. I guess it is the housing development right before you turn into where Moke and And live, this will be a first for me going there. Or should I say a first when it was not part of a gold course. My Dad used to play that course a lot and I had fun riding around on the gold cart with him. Hopefully the weather holds out.
Other than that not too much planned, but when do we ever really have anything planned anymore. I'm getting old and am no where near as active as I once was.
Speaking of Moke, he has a new website up, one that has a blog and is more on the technical side of things rather than like mine for shits and giggles. BytesNation is a great site and worth a bookmark if you want to learn about Artificial Intelligence and things on the technical nature. It's actually very well done, and very informative. I can see it cited in academic research to be honest with you. Take a bow Moke.
Have yourselves a great day.
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 is our trip to the Hovatters Zoo last year, a number of people from both sides of the family went up last year and enjoyed a zoo day.
Speaking of the Zoo Day, Michelle and her sisters have been talking about planning another big get together if anyone is interested in going. If you are interested in going and making some memories that day, let us know. Last year we took up a bunch of food and sat out at the picnic tables and feasted.
It was and will be a fun time.
Have yoursleves a great day.
Hi ho hi ho
Lucy’s Journal – April 15, 2026
Dear Journal,
This morning started with what Kiwi dramatically called “The Great Human Panic of Tax Day.” Everywhere we looked, people were rushing around like squirrels that just remembered they buried their nuts… but couldn’t remember where.
Peanut sat in the window, flicking his tail, watching cars zoom by like they were in some kind of race. “You’d think the government was handing out free tuna the way they’re acting,” he said.
Kiwi puffed up and chimed in, “Maybe they forgot to do their paperwork! Imagine waiting ALL YEAR and then—BOOM—last minute panic!” He flapped around like a tiny green accountant having a meltdown.
The Quackers were less concerned and more entertained. They lined up like little judges on the porch, quacking every time someone sped past. “Late! Late! Definitely late!” they declared, as if handing out penalties.
I’ll admit… we all laughed a lot this morning.
By afternoon, things had settled down, and that’s when Peanut got that look—you know the one. The “I have a terrible idea and I’m proud of it” look.
Next thing I know, we’re all down at the downtown parking garage.
“Alright,” Peanut whispered, like we were in some kind of heist movie, “keep your eyes open.”
“For what?” I asked.
“For opportunity,” he said.
Kiwi landed on a railing, looking suspiciously official. “We are conducting… inspections,” he announced.
Turns out, Peanut’s “plan” was to check for unlocked cars. And, well… you can probably guess the rest.
Let’s just say the Quackers thought this was the funniest mission of all time. They waddled around like a coordinated squad, giggling (yes, giggling) and keeping lookout.
Kiwi kept shouting things like, “Target acquired!” and “Abort! Windows up!” which made it feel way more serious than it was.
I tried to be the responsible one. I really did. But somewhere between Peanut’s sneaky tiptoeing and Kiwi’s dramatic commentary, I lost it and started laughing so hard I had to sit down.
We didn’t cause too much trouble (Peanut insists it was “just light mischief”), but we definitely left our mark on the day.
On the walk home, Peanut looked very satisfied with himself.
“Best. Tax Day. Ever,” he said.
Kiwi nodded. “Way better than paperwork.”
The Quackers just quacked in agreement.
And honestly? I can’t argue with that.
—Lucy 🐾
* Monday is over, now we are staring straight down at a Tuesday.
* It has been 22,754 days since I was born, that is 21 years using my new, new, new, and improved 1,069-day Calendar. Mom is at 30,410, which would make her 28 according to my new and improved calendar.
* It has been 8,008 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. Has it really been 8,000 days?
* 6,602 days ago, Michelle and I had our first date together. Life has been much better since then.
* 5,806 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 5,843 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 2,981 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 1,635 days ago today.
* My older Brother Jonathan lived 21,280 days, I've now outlived him by 1,491 days, making me Senior Supreme Sibling once again!
* Old roommate Gregg proposed to his fiancée 213 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 2,136 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.
* 294 more days until Phil steps to center stage once again for Groundhog Day. I'm still mad at the damn rat
* 261 more days to go until my Goodbye 2026 Blog is posted.
* There are 254 more shopping days left until Christmas 2026.
* There are 239 days until I hit the age of 63. Yeah I know, I'm really older than 21.
* There are only 122 more days to go until Michelle and I will celebrate our 15th Wedding Anniversary......maybe
* There are 69 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 8,317 blogs in what is now 21 1/2 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 TicTok of the week. Reminds me of Peanut and Kiwi.
* Hi ho hi ho
I think Kiwi and Peanut have broken into our old wedding stuff and have decided the celebrate the start of the weekend Jimmy Buffett style. They are really in a festive mood and they have Jimmy streaming on the Alexa app. I think they like this time of the year as well, very festive of them.
So no plans on the agenda as of yet, but you never know what may come our way or what we will end up doing.
I'm still a couple of months from starting my Friday blogs with the free concert series, helping me fill up content for people to read.
Have yourself a great day.
Hi ho hi ho
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.
Can you guess who this sexy Geospatial Genius is sitting on Grandma Hall's lap? It is none other than your favorite Blogger/Geographer, me!!!!
Don't ask me what year this picture was taken, being I'm only 21 I'm going to guess that this picture was sometime on or before 2004, but that is just a guess on my part. Forget that Grandma Hall has been gone since 1980, she had a time machine she hopped on to help pose for this picture.
Have yourselves a great day.
Hi ho hi ho
Lucy’s Journal – April 8, 2026
Dear Journal,
Today started with a very serious plan. Kiwi said we were going on an adventure—like in that movie where the kids walk along train tracks and have a big journey and discover themselves (or at least find something dramatic).
Peanut was immediately on board, mostly because he thought there would be snacks involved. The Quackers didn’t really understand the assignment but loudly agreed anyway, which is pretty standard for them.
So off we went.
Kiwi took the lead, puffed up like some kind of feathery explorer, declaring, “All great adventures require train tracks!” Peanut nodded like he knew exactly what that meant, even though I’m pretty sure he was just hoping for a hot dog stand somewhere along the way.
We walked. And walked. And walked some more.
Around neighborhoods. Past the river. Up a hill. Back down another hill. The Quackers argued the entire time about which direction “felt more train-tracky,” which, for the record, is not a real navigational method.
At one point, Kiwi climbed up onto a fence post, looked around dramatically, and announced, “They have to be around here somewhere!”
They were not.
Peanut started to get suspicious about an hour in.
“Are we sure Morgantown even has these things?” he asked, flopping down dramatically on the sidewalk.
Kiwi refused to admit defeat. “All great stories involve perseverance,” he said.
“Yes,” I said, “but most of those stories also involve actually finding what you’re looking for.”
After what felt like forever (and at least three wrong turns suggested by the Quackers), we all kind of just… stopped.
There were no train tracks.
No grand discovery.
No dramatic movie moment.
Just us, a little tired, a little confused, and very aware that we had absolutely no idea where we were going anymore.
That’s when Peanut said the smartest thing anyone said all day:
“Ice cream?”
And just like that, the adventure changed direction.
We found a little shop, piled in, and ordered way too much. Kiwi tried to “sample” everyone’s cones (without permission, of course), the Quackers managed to get ice cream on each other, and Peanut dropped his scoop and stared at it like his whole world had ended… before immediately ordering another.
We sat there laughing about how we set out for this big, meaningful journey and ended up completely failing to even find train tracks.
But honestly?
It didn’t feel like a failure.
It felt like one of the best days we’ve had in a while.
Turns out you don’t need train tracks to have an adventure.
Sometimes you just need your favorite crew, a questionable sense of direction, and a really good ice cream cone.
—Lucy
* Monday is over, now we are staring straight down at a Tuesday. Good time for a tidbits. I like these 8 hour days better.
* It has been 22,747 days since I was born, that is 21 years using my new, new, new, and improved 1,069-day Calendar. Mom is at 30,403, which would make her 28 according to my new and improved calendar.
* It has been 8,001 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. Has it really been 8,000 days?
* 6,595 days ago, Michelle and I had our first date together. Life has been much better since then.
* 5,799 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 5,836 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 2,974 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 1,628 days ago today.
* My older Brother Jonathan lived 21,280 days, I've now outlived him by 1,484 days, making me Senior Supreme Sibling once again!
* Old roommate Gregg proposed to his fiancée 206 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 2,143 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.
* 301 more days until Phil steps to center stage once again for Groundhog Day. I'm still mad at the damn rat
* 268 more days to go until my Goodbye 2026 Blog is posted.
* There are 261 more shopping days left until Christmas 2026.
* There are 246 days until I hit the age of 63. Yeah I know, I'm really older than 21.
* There are only 129 more days to go until Michelle and I will celebrate our 15th Wedding Anniversary......maybe
* There are 76 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 8,309 blogs in what is now 21 1/2 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 TicTok of the week. And people wondered why I never pitched, seen too many of these through the years.
* Hi hoi hi ho
It is back into the offices today for both Michelle and I. She is coming off a five-day weekend, and I'm just finishing up a three-day weekend and rested and relaxed. I do go back to a normal 8-hour day today instead of those longer 10-hour days. You wouldn't think that's tiring, but in an office environment and sitting at a computer screen, that makes for long days, especially when you are doing tedious tasks like transcribing numbers from paper copies into a spreadsheet (handwritten, so OCR Readers are out of the question), so I can convert the coordinates into a geospatial dataset. It'll help us improve spatial integrity with where things are located.
It was nice to see Hayley, Tyler, and Luke yesterday. They all came down for Easter Dinner thar Michelle (actually Peanut and Kiwi) prepared. It was an absolute feast, and it was great to see everyone. I hadn't seen any of them since Thanksgiving.
So what is coming up in the week ahead? I have a weekly meeting first thing this morning, we use it as a skull session as to how we will be addressing projects. Michelle has an ever-expanding role where she picks up new skill sets all the time. She is quick to pick up on things, so she is becoming a bigger and bigger asset every day. She actually closed a $4 Million deal last week, which she was quite happy with. I asked her if we get to keep the whole $4 Million, the answer, unfortunately, was no.
Have yourself a great day.
Hi ho hi ho
Not sure what today really holds for us, I see that Morgantown has finally announced its Summer Concert Series for 2026. I like the Fabulous Thunderbirds and .38 Special, I have actually seen .38 Special before when they were at the Greer Pavilion years ago. I remember going to Greer and buying my tickets and going to Westover Park when they had the old bleachers from the old Mountaineer Field in there. There are a number of good acts and a nice mixture of artists, but I'm sure I'll cover that this summer on Fridays.
Michelle has the grocery shopping and the Sam's Shopping done. Hayley, Tyler, Luke, and maybe Gracie will be coming down for Easter Dinner. I haven't seen them since Thanksgiving, so it will be nice to see them. I might try to put the Air Conditioner in the Bedroom Window. I'll get Tyler to assist if the weather permits.
Have yourself a great day, make it memorable.
Kiwi and Peanut are celebrating Good Friday, Michelle is off and I think I may be off as well with me working the longer shifts this past week. I think they are just sucking up for some of Michelle's Deviled Eggs to be honest with you.
Plans for the weekend? I think the kids are coming down on Sunday to visit, Michelle invited Hayley, Tyler and Luke to come down for dinner. Other than that no big plans for the weekend. I think Michelle may actually do all of her shopping today since she will be off, but you never know.
I think my life has become so repetitive that there really isn't any excitement anymore to be honest. We go to work, do things around the house and lather rinse and repeat. I'm like clockswork.
Have yourselves a great day.
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 one goes back to either 1977 or 1978. I had bought my first camera, a Kodak 126 (That was the film). It was the summer after Grandpa Hall had passed, and we were having a cookout at our house. This was Grandma Hall, you can see my dog Rocky off in the distance and we were playing a game of croquet in the side yard. We usually set up back by the garden, but we sat it up here for some reason.
I grabbed a Picture of Grandma Hall that day as well as a few other ones, but this one means a lot to me. It was a time when it was just Me, her and Rocky.
Have yoursleves a great day
Hi ho hi ho
Lucy’s Journal – April 1, 2026
Dear Journal,
I should have known something was up the second I woke up and heard what sounded like… splashing? Not the normal “someone knocked over the water dish again” kind of splashing. No, this was full-on river level splashing.
I wandered outside, still half asleep, and nearly dropped my coffee.
The backyard was… gone.
Well—not gone gone—but completely transformed. Where grass and the little half-finished waterfall used to be, there was now a full-blown WATER PARK. I’m talking winding slides, a towering waterfall cascading into a sparkling pool, and—get this—a lazy river looping all the way around the yard.
And right at the center of it all stood Kiwi and Peanut.
Kiwi (the tiniest construction foreman in history) was perched proudly on top of the waterfall, feathers puffed, chirping like he’d just engineered Niagara Falls. Peanut sat beside him, tail flicking with that “yes, I did this” look, like a gray tiger-striped mastermind.
I blinked. Twice.
“Did… did you two build this overnight?” I asked.
Kiwi chirped loudly.
Peanut just slowly blinked at me like, obviously.
Before I could even process it, the Quackers came waddling past me—wearing what I swear were tiny inflatable floaties—and hopped straight into the lazy river. A moment later, I found myself being gently “encouraged” (nudged, splashed, and mildly harassed) into joining them.
And you know what?
I did.
Next thing I knew, I was floating along in the lazy river with the Quackers, drifting under the waterfall Kiwi and Peanut had “built,” listening to the peaceful sound of rushing water. It was actually… kind of perfect. The sun was shining, the water was just right, and for a brief moment, I thought:
Wow… they really did it. They finished the waterfall. They built a whole water park. This is amazing.
That’s when the first duck bumped into me and whispered (well… as much as a duck can whisper):
“April Fools.”
And just like that—
POOF.
The slides vanished. The lazy river disappeared. The grand waterfall shrank back down to its half-finished trickle.
I was sitting in a slightly damp lawn chair. The Quackers were standing in a kiddie pool. Kiwi was hanging upside down from a branch like nothing happened. And Peanut? Peanut was sprawled out in the sun, looking extremely pleased with himself.
I just sat there for a second.
Then I laughed.
“Okay,” I said, pointing at them. “That was a good one. I’ll give you that.”
Kiwi chirped triumphantly.
Peanut didn’t move—but I know he smirked.
Still… for a minute there, it really felt like we had our own backyard water park.
And honestly?
I kind of wish it was real.
—Lucy
