Still alive, starting to blog again

Well it's been a while. I have to admit it.... I've been unfaithful to my blog.... because.... of..... ...... Facebook! I have been allured by the desire to share my inner thoughts and unfortunate ramblings with my select friends and so my blog has been neglected but on a positive note, I have collected several ideas of late about which to blog so you can expect some updates before too long. No doubt that news excites you beyond measure huh? ;o) lol

I hope you are (as I am) enjoying the change of seasons and the Fall colors. Of course they come early here compared to most places but I suspect that even way down South things are at least starting to turn. We have some beautiful Fall colors going on here though you would hardly say that all the trees have started to go. However the latest series of rains (heavy rains) may change that. I will try to snap a few pictures and post here or up on Flickr soon so you can see some of the beautiful trees here - that is, assuming I get enough sun light to take a photo lol!

My best to you all, stay happy, hug someone you love, make or listen to some music to apply that much needed balm to your soul and enjoy the change of seasons as we slip from the busy days of Summer into the relaxing beauty filled (snow filled!) days of Winter ahead (my season!).

Talk to you again soon!

Jerry

Walt Disney World - Fireworks

Walt Disney World - Fireworks

This is a short segment from a 12 minute movie of the fireworks that Walt Disney World put on at the end of our very long but enjoyable day. It was a spectacular show to say the least! The girl that plays Tinkerbell is a NUT to zipline from the top of that castle out to Tomorroland! Wow.

I haven't figured out how to upload the entire thing yet but I'll keep trying.

A Nice Vacation

Well, we just got back from a very nice vacation that was in accompaniment with returning Leah to school. We had the time this time to do some things we've not done in the past like visit Walt Disney World (Joy's first visit!) and also go to the beach (Caladesi Island) where we found some really cool shells and saw dolphins in the wild. It was also wonderful, however briefly, to see my family and spend a few hours with them again - thank you once more for putting us up on the "passes" through your area. Oh yea, we also got Leah moved into school for another year - whew!

I actually had some time to unwind this time and promised myself that once I had turned in the document my employer was expecting, I would not check my work email until I returned - and that's exactly what I did.

The girls enjoyed the pool at the vacation home again and it was in tip-top shape as usual. I got to relax with guitar a bit and the owners had added a new large-screen TV for us to enjoy too. Joy and I tried fishing one morning in the canal behind the home but no luck but that's why it's "fishing" and not "catching".

All in all, it was a great vacation and I posted some pics up on Flickr if you are a member of my Flickr friends or have a guest pass from me. I hope you enjoy them.

Now it looks as though Fall may be coming early. I guess we'll see. It wouldn't bother me as much as I love cool weather but it is a bit odd. It's been a rather cool summer really.

Hope you have had a little time to vacation or enjoy recreation too.

Kind regards,

Jerry

Thankful for my family

I have a lot to be thankful for when it comes to my family. My kids love me and have always been good kids and my wife loves me even when I'm not all that very lovable. We have continued as a family unit at times when most families would have split and gone their separate ways due to children becoming adults and people having different likes and interests. Somehow we still have managed a balance in that regard and it has added much happiness to my life. Still, I understand when it comes time for the "kids" to leave the nest and so I am grateful for each moment they share with me.

Recently my children and my wife presented me with a birthday gift that was rather expensive; a surround sound system and blue-ray dvd player. I was surprised and very touched by their generosity. It really struck me that in the past, it was always Sheila and I giving things to the kids when it came to large ticket items and so it was shocking to receive such a nice gift from the kids as I also did at Christmas when they bought me a new TV.

Anyway, of course it wasn't the gift itself that was the meaningful part of the event (although I am REALLY enjoying it) but rather just their expression of love. I know how hard Joy works for her money and Mark is newly started in creating a living for himself as an independent adult so for them to contribute along with my loving wife was such a touching gesture of love. Leah too whose sources of income are so much more limited than the rest of the gang has contributed on occasions too.

So, I just wanted to express my thanks to them in my blog and let them all know that I love them very much and appreciate their heart-felt gestures to me. It is a very humbling thing to have your children "treat" you and I just wanted them to know how much I appreciate their kindness.

Thank you kids! I love you all.

Dad

Rain Rain GO... AWAY!

Ok, so this is February and our weather is "officially" supposed to be SNOW this time of year but instead of that, we are experiencing RAIN of amazing proportions! Get this, we had almost an inch of rain since 11:30 AM this morning! - in February! Check out my weather station display of the rain totals (it's the RED line in picture above!) Sad.... So, check out this video of the rain just POURING down our front driveway and then watch the nice lightning flash at the end of the video - 59 seconds into the video (the doggies loved that one!) I hope you are dryer than we are... I'm trying to remember that rain is a blessing for the plants and hope that the temperatures will return to "normal" so we can have a bit more snow before I must give it up for the long hot summer! :O)
Ok, so check out (below) my weather station's "weather icon" - the photo it picks to reflect the "theme" of today's weather! LOL And last but not least - check out our lightning in this video! Ouch!

An Evening of Music

Last night, Sheila and I went to hear one of my favorite folk singers - Bill Staines. Bill has been traveling the United States for many years and has logged (according to him) several million miles while traveling the states. In fact he has two albums named after that pursuit "The First Million Miles" and "The Second Million Miles" which are both excellent albums.

Last night Bill sang many of my favorites and Sheila's too. It was a very small and intimate venue at the Lake Street Church up in Evanston and so it was a very nice evening. They even provided treats during intermission (including carrot cake and coffee or tea plus some cookies.

I purchased a CD of course plus a music book with probably the majority of his songs in it.
It will be fun to learn to play many of his songs on the guitar. Sheila purchased one of his books too but I'm not sure if it's a surprise gift for someone so I can't tell you too much about it right now. Later on I will say more about it.

All in all it was a really nice evening and we got his autograph on everything we purchased.
Bill as a singer has been said to remind people of a cross between Burl Ives and Kenny Rogers. As a guitarist he is somewhat unusual in that he plays the guitar left-handed and with the guitar upside down (string #6 on the bottom - not top). That means his fingering of the guitar chords is very unique. There have been other famous guitar players that adopted this style of playing (such as Jimi Hendrix) but Bill does so with "finger-style" picking which makes it very interesting. He is quite an accomplished guitarist and his songs all tell stories. He has experienced a lot of life along the road and has many stories to share from his travels, some of which are quite funny!

All-in-all (despite the very cold temperatures and icy wind blowing), it was a very nice evening out.

If you would like to check out Bill's music, you can find him on iTunes or visit his own web site.


Jerry

Coffee anyone?

Well, this morning started with a bang! I went down to our Starbucks coffee shop (yes, we have our own - right in the building where I work!) and the girl who works there in the shop (who is always nice) filled my order, proceded to hand me the coffees (white chocolate moca for me, regular chocolate moca for Sheila) and the lid popped off the chocolate moca and boom - it spilled all over my pants! Needless to say she was upset and apologetic but I told her not to worry about it - I'm wash and wear! LOL So, how did your day start today? LOL - Love to all, Jerry

Crummy jobs - part 2

So, think you have a bad job? Look at these poor fellows - up about 60 feet in the air, temperature was around 25F (not counting wind) and they are replacing a glass panel at the tippy top of the buildling..... Makes me glad I work inside where it's warm!!!!

Snowfall 12JAN09

A snow movie for those of you in warmer climates.....

Digging Out!

Ok, so I really love the snow. When other people are complaining about having to shovel constantly during a season of our notorious winter, I am rejoicing and wanting more as my driveway and road in front of my house becomes impassible. Yes, I'm sick! I noticed this morning after a pretty good snow overnight that Herman, my neighbor, was headed out somewhere in his four-wheel-drive vehicle early this morning. Here's Herman making his way down our street.... As you can see it was a pretty good snow last night (and continues some today)! We have been getting some pretty steady snows off and on most of December and now January with the exception of that one goofy Saturday after Christmas where it hit 65F!!! NOT a good day! In fact, it was a pretty rotten day (refrigerator died, water was coming up in the basement since the sump pump died.. you get the idea). But today is much happier and we got a nice snow and I'm happy again. You can see there are some pretty good drifts around our cars! (we have 4 this weekend in the drive - wow! since Aubrey is visiting with us and you aren't allowed to park on the street which prevents the snow plows from doing their thing! - or you can have a nice ticket!) So, you just have to remember the "winter rules" and everything goes along just fine for the most part.

However, one of the "bains" of our winter existence in this area and also one of our best friends is the lowly snow plow operator. Without this dedicated, tireless and sleepless civil servant, we would not be able to get out of our houses and go to work or buy groceries, go to movies, church or do just about anything at all besides build snowmen! This of course is due to the snow clogged arteries over which we attempt to drive after a "big dump". So, we are in debt to this fellow indeed because he lets us get out and buy more groceries! When snows are light, he shows up in a really big truck with a really big blade on the front with which he can clear the snow out of our street. When snows are heavier (like today), he shows up in an industrial strength road grader! Here he is as he goes by.... wave to the nice snow plow driver! :O)

However, as with most civil servants, his presence is not always so dearly appreciated. One of the less enamoring aspects of his job is that he periodically (and completely) buries the entrance to our driveways with his snow plow. Now look at the picture again. That's a shot of him burying the driveway entrance to our neighbor Herman's house. This will no doubt come as somewhat of a shock to Herman as he just drove away from his home a few minutes before our friendly snow plow driver buried his driveway (as he is doing in this photo). So, when Herman returns, he may have a bit of a problem getting into his driveway! If you have a moderately sized snow blower, then you might not mind quite so much this sudden onslaught at the entrance of your driveway. However, if all you have to work with is a snow shovel, a sore back and weary hands, you may wish to greet the poor snow plow driver with less than a friendly jesture as he drives by piling another two foot tall and three foot wide strip of snow across the entire entrance to your driveway with nary so much as a glance as to the damages. Our poor civil servant; so unappreciated! There he is just doing his job and us all lathered up and mad at him for burying the driveway once again that took us an hour to clear out from his last onslaught! I guess greatness in snow removal is just never fully appreciated.

Oh well, for those of us who are sick enough to love snow, we just fire up the tenacious snow blower in our garage and go after the mountain of snow between us and freedom (while secretly hoping that rotten snow plow guy is gone and doesn't come back by our street again today!!!!) :)

Oh yeah, For REALLY heavy snows.... we have this!

LOL!!

Cheers and I hope you stay warm and dry!

Jerry