Just got back in the house from walking the dogs and they were very upset during the walk. I couldn’t tell what was bothering them until we got around the back corner of our property and there was a black bear up on the edge of the woods. I only saw it for a brief moment, as the dogs barking must have scared it off. I’m rather glad that the barking didn’t agitate the bear into charging us.
It’s unusual to see a bear this close to the house. I am going to have to be more vigilant while outdoors from now on.
With so many people in the medical field and the numbers growing every day there will always be a need for medical attention, no matter how bad the economy gets. A good amount of people are going back to school seeking an education in some type of the medical field. It seems that where ever I go I see someone wearing either nursing uniforms and medical scrubs and most of them are wearing the clogs that have become so popular in the last decade.
Sometimes I’ll be in a drug store and see someone wearing something that looks like a lab coat and I’ll start talking to them as if they were employed and working there, only to find to my embarrassment that they are a customer but are wearing their medical uniforms which are better known as scrubs.
I mean folks that work in a doctor’s office, or dental practice, or in a pharmacy, or in medical records or in a nursing home or in any of the numerous departments at the local hospital are sporting this attire.It is good to see that they are making a larger variety of these uniforms, with all kinds of designs and patterns which must make it easier to tolerate having to wear this type of clothing day in and day out. I’ve seen them with balloons, Micky Mouse, frogs, happy faces just to name a few.
I just got settled in with my laptop, a hot cup of coffee and the TV on a decent day time channel when a severe thunder and lightening storms comes about and knocks the power out. Good thing that my laptop was on the power surger, but the cable TV are “temporarily unavailable” what a way to start the day.
Mom wants to throw a housewarming party for our son J who just got his own place for the first time. He’s got a nice little condo that he’s sharing about a ten minute walk from his new job. His roomate told him that he never uses the kitchen, and so J is looking to outfit the place with some basic cooking necessities. He gave us a wish list of things that he’d like to have as housewarming gifts. He put on the list that he would like a jk adams cutting board, a george foreman grill, a jk adams pot rack, a waffle iron, a jk adams spice rack, a food processor and a hand mixer. I guess he was serious when he said he planned on cooking his own meals!
We told him to come rummage around our place and see if there is anything we have duplicates of that he could use, and he has already scored a colander, a splatter guard, a cheese grater, and some serving spoons and cutlery. It won’t be long before he has a complete kitchen!
Ever since we moved here, my wife has been telling me that she wants to try out a Boston Market restaurant. She says that her sisters keep telling her that they really like the food. I’ve been very reluctant to try it – I just don’t like trying different restaurants. Once I find one that I like, I try to stick to it. I hate the thought of going to a restaurant and then not liking the food!
Well, finally she dragged me into a Boston Market yesterday. It was suppertime and we weren’t home. We were in Fairfax, and she saw a Boston Market and she pulled in. I grumbled a bit, but we got out of the car and went inside. She was quite upset when we got inside and realized that it was a fast food restaurant! No one had told her that! She thought it was going to be like an Applebee’s or Ruby Tuesday. She looked at me and declared “I was expecting a different kind of restaurant; I don’t want to eat here.” So we left! That was a close call!
I’ve never been much of one to visit art museums to walk around and appreciate the art. My “art” has been working on my cars, trucks, and bikes. So I wouldn’t know the difference between a couple of shepard fairey prints and a couple of Andy Warhol prints.
But I did notice when we were walking around looking at the different apartments this past weekend with our son that many of the rooms we were looking at did have at least one obey giant poster hanging on the wall! To be honest I thought that was rather odd, that so many young people seemed to be gravitating towards this type of graphic art.
And I’ve noticed that there seem to be a large number of T-shirts being worn by folks that also have obey giant art pictures on the fronts of them. I guess this artist has captured the imaginations of the youth!
Many of our friends have been raving about the new Mandarin Japanese buffet and sushi bar restaurant that opened in town recently. So I decided to take the family there for dinner last Sunday evening. The atmosphere was nice enough, but the buffet was smaller than I would have liked. Our sons enjoyed the sushi bar (no raw fish for me thank you very much!) and my wife and I found plenty of food that we liked. But when the bill came for about $20 each, I was not impressed. I’ve had better meals at other buffets for much less money. I don’t know if this restaurant is going to be able to compete with the others if they keep their prices so high!
My sister was asking me yesterday where she could find a local digital camera repair shop. She says she has been having problems with her camera and wants to get it fixed. She told me that she lent her camera to a friend and she thinks it was dropped.
To be honest, the whole concept of having to need camera repair was a little bit of a surprise to me.
I have had about eight different cameras in my lifetime and none of them have ever broken! I even have my old Polaroid “Swinger” camera and it works just fine! The problem I have with that is finding the film, if I were inclined to want to use it! So I’ve never had to worry about where to take one for camera repair! I usually only buy a new camera when new technological advances inspire me! I guess I’ve been lucky in that department!
Today when I was driving to town I noticed that all of the BP gas station signs have been changed to simply the word “Shop” with the BP logo beside the word. In much smaller letters you can read BP gasoline. I’ve been wondering how the local stations were going to be able to survive in the aftermath of the horrible destruction in the Gulf from the massive oil spill. I’ve heard so many people talking about how they will never buy BP gasoline again.
It will be interesting to see how this consumer reaction will affect the local gas station owners. I wouldn’t be surprised if many of those gas stations go out of business.
This morning, as I was backing out of my drive way, I noticed that my next door neighbor has a For Sale sign in his front yard. This just came out of no where, all of a sudden like. I’m not sure what’s going on there but I will approach him this week end see what’s up.
When we moved from New England to here, we tried to find a moving truck service where we could load the truck ourselves and have them do the driving. We couldn’t find a company like that. Now I’ve learned that there is a company called ABF U-Pack Moving that is located in a city about an hour from where we lived that does just that! I don’t know if it had been there when we moved; if so I wish I’d known about it! It was extremely difficult to move ourselves down here – we had to make about five trips with one-way rental trucks. If we move again, I’ll check them out for sure!
I am so disappointed in the violent reactions of some people in response to the new healthcare bill. Threats, and shooting out windows! I really think that this kind of reaction is over the top! It makes me really sad that people would stoop so low. These politicians really are trying their best to serve their constituents – responding with threats and violence is just plain nuts! We are supposed to be living in a civilized society, not the Wild West! Grow up people!
It seems that at least once a week I get someone else’s mail delivered to my house. Being a good citizen I always put it back in the mailbox so it can get delivered to the correct address. But I have to wonder if there is mail address to my house that is being delivered somewhere else in error and that just gets thrown away instead of being sent on. This is a frustrating thought. I wish the USPS was not having that kind of service issue!
I’ve been hearing for a long time that the Postal Service is considering dropping Saturday deliveries as a way to trim their budget. I think that it is a very good idea. I don’t need to be receiving bills in the mail six days a week! Often we don’t go out anywhere on Saturday and it is a nuisance to have to make a special trip down to the mailbox to get the mail. On regular weekdays usually someone is driving past the mailbox in the afternoon and can just stop on their way in the driveway to pick up the mail.
I would encourage the Post Offices to stay open on Saturdays, however, to make it easier for people who work during the business week to be able to go to the Post Office on their day off to buy stamps, pick-up packages, etc. But home delivery, I won’t miss it on Saturdays for one minute!
One of the things that I enjoy a lot about where we live is the fact that we have three acres of land, and live across from a large farm. On our land, about half of it is woods. We don’t really notice our neighbors very much, the landscaping has been nicely done so that their houses are not immediately visible out of most of our windows. I like the fact that at night there is no light pollution, so we can look up at the sky and see the stars. For the most part, the only sounds we hear are the sounds of the livestock from the farm across the street, or the birds singing.
One of the things that has surprised me about living out here is how many of my neighbors say that they can’t get high speed Internet at their homes. I can remember when we lived in New England we were stuck with slow dial-up, but technology has advanced considerably and now it seems that people can get high speed wild blue Internet service just about anywhere in the country!
The next time I meet someone who says that they can’t get high speed Internet at their place, I’m going to ask them if they’ve tried satellite internet. It’s worth a try!
I was using my John Deere tractor to plow and scoop snow out of the driveway, and the oil line broke. Well, it is never a good time for a breakdown, but this is one of the worst times! So I took my tractor to the local John Deere dealer for repairs. There was a time that I would have been able to do the repairs myself (I have done it before) but ever since my accident I have not been able to do that kind of repair anymore.
Well, they really overcharged me drastically. They charged me for five hours work when I know it would have only taken me three, and they charged me for four quarts of oil, when I know it only takes three. Even the owner’s manual tells you that it only takes three! I told my wife about it and she told me that I should bring the error to their attention and ask them politely to correct their mistake. I’m afraid that if I complain that they will remember me as a bad customer and not take good care of me in the future. So I’m inclined to let it ride. My wife says that I should just approach them nicely and assume it was a typographical error and for them to please correct it. She says if I handle it right then they won’t be upset. I really don’t know what to do!
We are still trying to recoup from the weekends snow storm which left us with over 2 feet of snow and the skies have opened up once again and there is more snow coming down. We are supposed to get another 10 inches or so in the next 24 hours or so. Many businesses are being hit very hard and power is out everywhere.
My sister-in-law has been asking me what kinds of family-friendly shows there are around here. She’s been thinking about coming to visit us in a couple of months, and wants to bring her kids with her. She was particularly interested in trying to buy some Sesame Street Live Tickets or Disney on Ice Tickets. Personally I’d rather get some Kentucky Derby Tickets but I guess that wouldn’t make her very happy! Besides, the Derby isn’t local, and we don’t have the resources to travel that far right now. And it will be quite some time before I’m up to traveling that far anyway. Just my luck I’d travel there and then be in too much pain to leave the motel room!
So it is probably just as well that we look for local entertainment. I’m sure glad that finding places to see and go and do is so much easier than it used to be – just a few clicks of the mouse and you have fun at your fingertips!
We had quite the blizzard this weekend – I think we got about 20″ of snow in less than 24 hours! For this area, I understand that is a record for the past 103 years! We lost a few trees in the front yard; the snow was quite wet and heavy this time around. Unfortunately for my wife, who had to go to work, one of the trees that fell blocked the driveway. Fortunately for my wife, I am in my glory when I have the chance to get on my John Deere tractor and push and scoop snow, and when I can start up my chain saw and cut up trees!
So although I am still in a lot of pain from my car accident, I popped a couple of extra pain pills and managed to get our place cleared up enough for my wife to get out to work. I know she certainly appreciated my expertise! Now I hope we don’t get any more snow for a few days, I’m going to be in a lot of pain for the next couple of days!
When we moved down here a few years ago, I really felt that we were living out in the “boonies.” After all, we live across the street from a farm. When we look out the front room window we never know if we will be seeing cows, sheep, goats, or horses grazing in the pasture. Things move at a much slower pace around here, which isn’t really a problem, it’s kinda nice actually. I just wish that the snow removal on the roads went a little quicker. It’s been 2 days now since the last snow storm and the roads are still a complete mess. School was cancelled today because of the roads and tomorrow they are opening 2 hours late.
My wife had to run some errands today. No big deal, right? Well early this morning it rained out. It rained really hard! It didn’t last very long, maybe an hour, but it sure did cause some serious road flooding! My wife had to find several detours to get to and from where she needed to go! It sure added at least an hour to her travel time; detours on these winding country roads take you many miles out of your way to get around a road block! Detours can be very problematic around here!
Here we go again with another snow storm on the way. Last night we got a light taste of some now, but tomorrow is supposed to be bad. Another weekend of nasty cold and wet weather. I feel sorry for the people that are trying to make a living on their weekends, this is like the 8th nasty weather weekend in a row. Spring is looking and sounding better and better as this trend continues…….
There has been a big push in our community to get people to purchase and install good quality mail boxes. The city is having the street numbers painted on the curbs in front of people’s residences, but they are also asking that the Residential Mailboxes and Commercial Mailboxes have the street numbers printed on them so that our emergency personnel can locate the proper address in a timely fashion.
At a time when every second counts, in the event of an emergency it is best to have everything in place to make the most out of what our taxes are being used for. There has been several times lately that our emergency personnel have not been able to get to where they need to be due to Mailboxes not having the name and proper address on them.
A mailbox can make a difference and I’d like to get the word out here in hopes that more people will take note and possibly save a few lives in the mean time. I’m very glad that our city council has stepped up to the plate and is taking action in this area.
My wife and I were hoping to go to the 7pm candlelight Christmas Eve church service tonight at the church down the road a bit. Although it had rained today, the weather was rather warm and we didn’t think that the roads were going to freeze during the service, so we got gussied up and headed out. When we got to church, about 6:45 we were disappointed to see that the parking lot was empty, and the church was dark. The parking lot was still full of snow from last weekend’s storm! I don’t know why the lot had not been plowed.
Needless to say, we were disappointed that there was no service. This area sure does shut down a lot more than the New England state we used to live in!
It looks like we are in for one heck of a snow storm this week end. Our local weather forecaster is calling for up to 10 inches that is supposed to start some time tomorrow evening. Guess we need to stock up on the necessary items at the grocery store and hunker down for a long cold weekend. This is going to make the last minute Christmas shopping a real nightmare for a lot of people. Glad that we have most of our holiday shopping done and just have to worry about having enough milk and toilet paper!
I find it so hard to believe that this is really winter. Yes, we have had some snow, and the temperatures are cool, but when I talk to my daughter in New England she is telling me about how much snow they have had and how cold it is up there. I can remember my many winters up there, and the memories are vivid. Talking to her I can almost see the snow and feel the cold. I’m certainly glad that I’m not dealing with that much of that white stuff anymore! And even though we’ve lived here a few years now, it is still hard to believe that it is really winter. Winter down here only feels like autumn to me. I mean after all, the grass might not still be growing, but it is still green! And I can still see it most days!
School was closed today because of flooded roads. It’s always a surprise to me when that happens; it happens a lot more frequently than I would have imagined. Growing up in New England, I’m relatively used to rivers flooding in the spring but that never closed the schools down. It just seems like the schools around here close a lot more often than I would imagine they should close. Seems to me that if the roads are flooded frequently that the department of transportation should do something to raise the road beds so that they don’t flood very often!
I know it isn’t officially summer yet, but since I am new to the area, and the weather is so much warmer here than I am used to, it sure feels like summer to me! But I am surprised about how rainy it has been this late spring! Last spring and summer we were in drought conditions, and I was afraid that we were going to lose a lot of our garden due to lack of rain. Well, that certainly has not been a concern so far this spring! It seems to have rained almost every day so far this month! Everyone around here has been commenting on that! It has been very warm, and very wet. The humidity is oppressive – I could certainly do without that!
We’ve lived in this area for almost three years now, and we are still learning our way around. We have a jet ski, but I don’t know where there are local public boat landings to launch it for us to use it. I have looked at maps and see lakes, but don’t know if any of the lakes are better for jet ski use than other lakes are, or if any of the lakes restrict the usage of jet skis! So, I want to learn some of that information so we can have some jet ski fun this summer!
If you eat, sleep, and drink golf, then you should check out the Myrtle Beach Golf Vacations for your next vacation. You could stay and Golf Myrtle Beach courses every day for a month and not play the same golf course twice!
I have never heard of an area where the concentration of golf courses is so dense! And in that area, in addition to Myrtle Beach Golf Packages to entertain yourself and your family, you can enjoy the ocean’s sandy beaches, great restaurants and amusement parks. There are great shows you can go to for an evening’s entertainment.
There are a wide variety of lodging accommodations to stay in as well. From standard motel rooms to luxury condominium suites, whatever suits your fancy you are sure to find it there! And what is really great about this is that you don’t even have to leave the country to enjoy every minute of your vacation!
