Our (cough) high speed internet service is provided by a company called Wild Blue. At least it does when the moon is in the right congress, and the weather co-operates, and the wind doesn’t blow the pine trees too far to the left. Needless to say, the “service” has been pretty iffy lately. For 95 [...]
Entries Tagged as 'Uncategorized'
The Thing About Family
October 22nd, 2008 · 1 Comment · Uncategorized
The strictist definition of family is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity. That is, they are related by blood. Last month I went back to my hometown in North Carolina for a family reunion. This was an extended family reunion, the 55th year in a row that it has been held and the first [...]
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I’m Baaaaaaaaack….
October 20th, 2008 · 1 Comment · Uncategorized
I guess if you’ve been paying attention, you know I’ve been on a blogging break for the last few weeks. It wasn’t planned; it just sorta happened. I have something called Seasonal Affected Disorder (SAD). Thanks to SAD, when the days start getting shorter, it takes me awhile to adjust. I usually get a little [...]
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The Remodel Rag, or Bernie Comes Out of the Closet
September 20th, 2008 · No Comments · Uncategorized
If you’ve ever considered buying a house and remodeling it, you should probably reconsider, unless you’re into self-flagellation, or insane, or you’re a building contractor or have the necessary skills to build a house from the ground up.Those skills include plumbing, electrical, carpentry, dry wall, painting, heating and air conditioning, tile, and a multitude of [...]
The Trail
September 16th, 2008 · No Comments · Uncategorized
When you mention The Trail in this part of Virginia, most folks assume you’re talking about The New River Trail State Park, and not the Appalachian Trail which also passes thru here. The New River Trail is a 57 mile linear park (the only one in Virginia) than runs from Galax to Pulaski with a [...]
Toodling
September 9th, 2008 · 1 Comment · Uncategorized
Anne and I met in Germany in 1968 and got married there the following year. One of our favorite things to do was something we called toodling. We’d hop in our VW Beetle, which we called Myrtle, the Mean Green Machine, and go for a drive. Most of the time, we had no itinerary other [...]
September 7th
September 7th, 2008 · 1 Comment · Uncategorized
Well, the big day has finally arrived. Today is my 60th birthday. I googled the date and found that I share a birthday with Garrison Keillor, one of the people I most admire. Warren Zevon, a singer/songwriter that I include in my top ten favorites of all time, died on this date. And in 1927, [...]
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Ennui
September 3rd, 2008 · No Comments · Uncategorized
Ennui. What a funny looking word. Ennui. Ahn-wee. From the French . It looks nothing like it is pronounced. Ahhhhn-weeeeee. I love the way it rolls off the tongue. It’s an interesting word, because it has more than one accepted pronunciation. AHN-wee or ahn-WEE, your choice. A feeling of utter discontent resulting from a lack [...]
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Listening to the Fog
August 30th, 2008 · 1 Comment · Uncategorized
It was foggy out this morning. I sat on the porch with my coffee for an hour or so listening to the sounds in the fog: the startling bray of one of the miniature donkeys on the farm next door; the lowing of a cow across the way; the caw-caw-caw of a crow. Each sound [...]
Going Green…..or, Puce….whatever
August 24th, 2008 · 1 Comment · Uncategorized
One of my pet peeves is the way my groceries are usually bagged at the checkout counter. It doesn’t matter which grocery store or where the store is located, ever since stores started using plastic bags, my groceries have gone to hell in a…well….plastic bag. When I was a teenager, I worked for The Great [...]
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