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Showing posts from May, 2012

to God be the glory!

I think I missed an opportunity to witness last night in that I may have not given credit where credit was due.  I didn't take it for myself either but I didn't finish the explanation either, which I intend to correct at the next opportunity. One of my favorite quotes goes something like "If our lives make sense to unbelievers, something is wrong."  And it's in that spirit that I tell you today (even if I already did before) how I quit smoking. I like to smoke.  That's not a secret and it's unfortunate that something so good has to be so bad for us and expensive, too.  But as I was smoking the first cigarette in the last pack I bought, this profound sadness came over me.  I couldn't explain what it was, except to describe it as "grieving the Holy Spirit".  The Bible says the Holy Spirit lives within us and that our bodies are temples to Him.  It also says we shouldn't "grieve" Him.  And that's how I decided to quit smoki...

Yeah, it's just a coincidence

You all know how I feel about this nonsense of coincidence.  Today, I'm going to share with you a story which the odds of happening are probably incalculable.  To me, it's just another piece of evidence of a loving God.  He can do all kinds of things and to me, it's just another evidence of His providence in the world. I promised you a story but on second thought, decided not to tell it because it's not my story.  Let's just say that a little "providence" happened to someone else last Thursday or Friday and whether or not she sees it that way is up to her.  The other person that saw it shares my opinion and it involves Kate & Buck. Instead of my story, here's one from someone else.  By sharing the link, I'm hoping you see what I do.  I'm all about this and that happening and I think the Evil One has the ability to cause things to happen too.    I doubt that's the case in this story. Enjoy! http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/trending-no...

more random?

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From my Facebook page today: Remember I told you that someone from Yachats searched for my name on MyLIfe.  Today I found out that it's nobody I know.  It cost me $14 to find that out, but I thought it was funny that I saw this today.  Honestly, I don't see a thing in this other than it's there.  But if that's where the Lord wants me to go, i won't put up a fight. I'm just sayin... GoYACHATS Keep in touch with what's happening in the happiest little town on earth. Got swagger? Go Yachats Oregon! Unlike  Ā·  You like this.

feeling like a bit of a heel

I ran over some daisies last night with my lawn tractor.  They were growing where I didn't want them to grow so to me, they were a weed.  To Miss June, they were flowers just ready to bloom and she wanted to transplant them at the church.  But I was impatient and careless, and a bit insensitive.  It's not the first time I've mowed over flowers, but the first time in a very, very long time that I've done so. I respect Miss June and how she feels.  Honestly, I do and I really felt bad last night about that.  I spent a little time this morning looking for daisies in our yard that she can move to the church and I found some.  I can transplant the ones I murdered (the roots are still in good shape and you can't kill these things, I've tried!) to fill in the bare spot that will occur when she takes these to the church. I don't particularly care for these daisies.  They're Shasta daisies and they grow everywhere.  Like the snow on the mountain, ...

Well, did it work?

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So, I've bored you to death about my little tractor stories.  Well, that ends today with the conclusion of the lawn mower deck saga.  The bracket came in the mail today and the grass in the back 40 under the apple trees is freshly mowed.  I gotta go back up there and hang the hammock back up and that's a wrap.  Then it's on to making some kind of salad to have with the ribs I smoked yesterday. The mower deck works.  I had to run to Lowe's and pick up some clevis pin clips and that's all I needed.  I'll have to bring it back into the garage and raise up the deck raise and lower links, though.  Right now the mower deck is too low, but for the trial run of mowing the back 40, it worked really well.  I ran over a sprinkler that we used to use to water the garden.  Not no more, though... poor sprinkler.  I have some stuff to pick up, too, I guess. Anyway, thought you'd like to see the finished product.  The poor tractor needs a seat;...

Abandonment issues

The wondermutt has abandonment issues. I was gonna take him bye-bye to the store.  The dogs needed grub and I thought I hadn't walked him for a while so I'd take him for a ride.  As soon as I snapped the leash on him, the beaglemutt was right there, about jumping out of her fur to go too.  She'll get in the car without trying to 'r-u-n-n-o-f-t' (gotta love you some O' Brother, Where Art Thou?). As we were piling into the car, there was this look of panic on Bucket's face.  I could see it in his eyes.  Katie was about half-way down the driveway and Bucket was getting in first.  He didn't want to go. Bucket was a rescue mutt I adopted from Petsmart.  Something told me I had to take him home with me.  At the time, I didn't know what it was.  It was so strong a feeling that I turned around and went back and got him.  I think the Mrs. thought I was nuts but she let me spend our last $136 to adopt him.  I wouldn't find out why unit ...

new parts for old stuff

I have old stuff.  My lawn tractor is 30 years old this year.  Runs great, but it has a few things that needed fixing, like the varidrive lever that fell off when I was plowing the other day.  Sears is hit and miss on whether or not they have the stuff I need.  They didn't, so I took the lever to Lowes and found hardware that would work.  Got out for less than $10 and that included the new hardware I needed for the mower deck. My boat is the same way.  It doesn't get used much anymore, mostly because I have trust issues with the motor and trailer.  I had a bad experience a year ago this coming weekend that cost me a lot of money I didn't have and I never so much as put the boat in the water.  The bearings on the trailer went out.  They've since been changed and I towed it home from Green River with no incident.  I'd like to get rid of it but I can't sell it right now.  But what I can do is keep it from leaking gear oil all over my...

Renovations...

I told a story Saturday about wanting Chinese food for dinner but not buying it.  Part of the reason was correct but it wasn't the whole reason and I'd like to share that with you today. When I don't mention the wonderful things a loving God does for me, and attribute it to something else, I'm not giving Glory to God and I want to fix that right now.  It's been bothering me since it was brought to my attention.  I'm not ashamed of my faith, but sometimes I stop and think twice about sharing because I don't want the two men with the white coats and butterfly net to show up on my doorstep. I'm well aware that some think I'm a few fries short of a happy meal.  Sometimes, I think I'm a little oversensitive to that.  But things do happen in my life that aren't explainable and I got to share some very appropriate Bible verses via Facebook tonight in response to something I re-posted from my nephew's page.   The verses were from 1 Cor...

giving thanks for this day!

The last post I wrote did not do justice to the day.  I'm hoping to rectify that right now. Each and every day we have on Earth is a gift from God.  Maybe you don't see it that way, but I surely do.  We all have our good and bad days and nobody knows for sure what each day will bring.  There are, though, those extra special days God gives us that make life special.  Today was a day like that. Our worship service was wonderful today.  I saw a young couple dedicate their new baby to the Lord.  It was so wonderful to see three generations of this family praying over this child.  We celebrated young people moving forward with graduations from high school on down.  One of the "think about it" moments our pastor shared with us hit home, as they often do.  I'd kind of mentioned I was almost in that place not twenty-four hours before. It still causes me to stop and think sometimes that with everything that's going on in the world, with all...

Thank the Lord for the mechanical age

I'm done for a bit.  I'd say I'm done for the day and for the most part, I am.  I have to go on dog poop patrol, clean up the leaves off my lawn that used to be at the bottom of my swimming pool and put the shop vac and pressure washer away.  Those items cane in handy when I drained the pool earlier this week.  Out with the alge-filled water with the nine zillion leaves and one roof shingle; in with just over five thousand gallons of nice, pure, clean water. I'm happy to have the pool.  It's going to be a long, hot summer. I've already had to clean out the pool once.  It's like a dirt magnet.  And, no, before you ask, I'm not gonna do the "pool boy" dance.  Ain't nobody wanna see that! Not even me. I'm so thankful for several things today:  My tractor and its little gadgets would be high on that list.  So would my truck, which is about half-full with yard debris from the back 40.  I raked it today and picked up the piles tha...

Lots of yard just means lots of yard work

I'm officially tired.  I woke up at five for no particular reason this morning.  I guess it was just the thing to do.  But on a Saturday?  Really? I worked my fat little touche off today but it felt good.  It really did.  I accomplished stuff but this yard is almost too many for just one person to handle.  Being sick this week didn't help out, either.  But progress is being made and tomorrow, first on the priority list is starting the five thousand gallon fill.  The pool is ready to be filled up.  Then I can put my things away that I used to clean the pool and get to work in earnest on the next project which is the back 40. I got quite a bit of it tilled up today.  Some of it, June has already planted.  Raspberries are bound and determined that they're gonna take back their part of the garden.  I found two more that have popped up since I thinned out the weeds there a couple of weeks ago.  Wanna know what else gro...

WOW! Just WOW!

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Without comment, from my Facebook page this morning: God Bless You HERE is a new version of Lonely People. Remember to love and support your neighbor ♄ ā€˜Lonely People’ Jars Of Clay god-bless-you.org Watch this thoughtful video set to the Jars Of Clay version of 'Lonely People.' Unlike  Ā·   Ā·  Share  Ā·  5 hours ago  Ā·  AND this: God Bless You God can soften the hardest hearts! LIKE if He softened yours! From Gangland To God god-bless-you.org Watch the incredible story of rough-living gangster, Davey Falcus, and his journey out of the streets and into the church. Unlike Ā·  Ā· 91520 Ā· Share Ā· 26 minutes ago via Conversocial

I knew there was more to it than I thought (updated)

First off, I should never try to write this thing when I'm tired.   I went through and fixed this mess.  The nexus of a decent story was in here someplace but it got lost between the temptation to fall asleep and fighting off Bucket who wanted to play. So, I wrote this post about being lonely earlier.  I am.  I admit it. I love my mutts, but as wonderful as they are (thanks Bucky for the doggy slurp), they're not people.  I really didn't like most people for the longest time and was content with my little bubble.  Not so much anymore and I'm starting to realize that it's not good to isolate yourself from the world. I had an interesting day yesterday.   I kinda think that it was a day filled with one little  revelation after another that added up to something at the end.  I don't think any of them had anything to do with lonely, but I got to see some very interesting things yesterday, but didn't put them together until I was on my way home...

Just deal with it.

I wish i felt better.  I had to postpone lunch with a friend today because honestly, I don't think I could eat. The throat is still a little scratchy but some Dayquil capsules and Ibuprofen ought to fix that little problem. A cold, like everything else, is something you deal with.  Two days of rest is enough.  Today it's drugs and work. If you're a frequent reader of the blog, you can probably tell when I'm writing about something I enjoy, vs just writing to take my mind off things that tend to weigh heavy on it.  I thought the tractor piece, at least for me, was pretty well written; with the exception of telling y'all I'm going to tear apart the tiller motor instead of tossing it.  Maybe it can be fixed, too.  Who knows?  I do know for sure it'll need a new piston. I try to take things in stride.  I really do.  But I have these things called feelings.  I don't know where they come from, how they grew back, or sometimes, quite honest...

more from the blind squirrel

You should be able to tell that I gots me some more of that there internets thingie.  I was gonna skip it this payday, but I've found that I do quite a bit of living online (banking, e-mail, research, etc...)  and I had to pay as I go again this month.  I really wasn't going to but I've got some things to take care of and only internet can help me. When you get done reading this you're gonna know a lot more about garden tractors than you want to, so my advice is to quit reading now.  Trust me, you have better things to do. Several years ago, I picked up a great deal on a garden tractor.  My very first one Wendi bought for me and like a dumbass I gave it away when I thought we were gonna lose the house last year.  In reality, I didn't have the money to fix what needed fixing.  The engine was going to have to be rebuilt sooner than later and I think the belt broke on the mower deck, so I found her a good home.  I found some parts that go with th...

Is it that odd?

I like sharing things but there are some things best kept to yourself, which is what I'd like the person or persons who shared whatever bug I've got with me to remember.  I'm ill.  I'm drinking orange juice and tonite will be a Nyquil night. As y'all know, odd things sometimes happen to me.  This little story happened last Sunday after church. I went to Lowe's to pick up some sprinkler parts and flowers.  As I was making my way to the car, I noticed a piece of plastic on the ground.  I know I had a $5 Lowe's gift card I used on Sunday from a survey I filled out at the Lowe's in West Jordan so I just assumed that's what it was.  But I picked it up and someone else is probably glad I did vs. someone else who's less honest.  Someone had dropped their Lowe's credit card. I didn't think twice; my cart and I went right back into the store and I patiently waited my turn behind a man who was returning a barbeque for a defective igniter. (I ...

the coolest thing(s) happened to me today

Hey gang! I was helping my mom for the last couple of days so I was someplace where I shouldn't have normally been.  You've heard the start of these stories.  Here's today's. I have a friend from the Guard who I haven't seen in a very long time.  I love the guy, I really do.  He's a great man, has four of the neatest kids you'll ever meet. My mom lives in Taylorsville so I was down that way, and during the project we had to go to Lowe's out in Jordan Landing.  My friend lives near there and as I was sitting at the stoplight yesterday, I was thinking to myself that I hadn't seen him for a very long time and that I ought to call him. I had to run back to Lowe's today and while at the stoplight at Bangerter & 70th, I was thinking of my friend again.  Then I looked out the passenger window and there he was!  That's no word of a lie, either.  I have a witness.  My sis was in the truck with me!  I had about two seconds to talk to him...

a little bit o' baseball

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There is more to life than the drama that each day seems to somehow bring.  Anymore, it's like water off a duck's back, though.  To steal a writing style from a friend of mine, I could write a blog and tell y'all about the most unusual message I received today from a (former?) friend and talk about trying to read between the lines, but instead I'm going to share with y'all a video of a six year old making an unassisted triple play. Baseball is a wonderful sport.

the "there's no such thing as coincidence" coincidence

I ended my last blog post by saying "there's no such thing as coincidence" in the last sentence.  So should I be surprised that yesterday, someone delved back into the archives of the blog to late February 2011 and read three posts including one titled there's no such thing as coincidence. I don't know what led the person there, but the person read three posts.  One was written after I went on an ice fishing trip.  I was struggling with quitting smoking then.  Tomorrow will be three weeks of not buying cigarettes.  Friday or Saturday will be three weeks cigarette free!  Another of the posts reminded me of some issues I was having with someone at that time last year. With a couple of minor changes I would imagine I could have written that blog post today.  The third was fairly short and just talked about how I don't believe in coincidence. Things happen all around us, and I don't even come close to pretending to understand things that do happen. ...

My life?

I got an interesting e-mail this morning.  A long time ago, I'd set up a profile on MyLife (not to chase singles, BTW).  I came across it and thought it looked like a cool thing to try.  I'd forgotten about it for the longest time. Anyway, there was an e-mail from them telling me that someone had searched for my name.  Hey, I'm not the only Dale Cooper in the world, but I find it odd that the most searches for my name come from the pacific Northwest.  My mom has cousins in Washington, but I don't know them all that well.  I only met them once and that was just about thirty years ago. Time flies. There were two things that piqued my curiosity this morning about the e-mail.  One was a search from Columbus, Ohio.  I have a feeling I know what that's all about.  The second and more intriguing is the new one today from Yachats, Or.  That's pretty close to where I want to be and I'm curious if the Dale Cooper he was looking for was me. ...

Cookin' with Gas!

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I'm sharing the song for a reason today, but it's going to have nothing to do with the blog post.  It was just a really good reminder of where I'm at and where I'm headed, which has nothing to do with going back to who I used to be.   I like to cook.  OK, I like to eat, too.  But I really do like to cook and over the years, I've picked up this recipe or that trick.  I taught myself how to make chile verde and I can get close to La Frontera's recipe.  Not all the way there, but I'm close.  My friend's mom makes the BESTEST chile verde, though and I'm nowhere near her recipe. I learned how to make homemade enchilada sauce, too.  That stuff is getting so expensive at the grocery so I made some up.  I still have half a kilo of Turkish chile powder.  I used it to make my enchilada sauce and it gave it kind of a sweet flavor.  We're having mexican food for dinner tonight in honor of Cinco De Mayo.  I figured out how to make reall...

The weed patch

Oh my, but the weeds are in full bloom at Lark Circle.  I was looking for my trimmer line today and couldn't find it but I got some weeding done.  I filled up a bag full of weeds and leaves from the south side of my house today.  I kind of forget about that part of the yard because you really can't see it from the street that well and I only see it when I mow.  I want to plant an herb garden there this year, though and the lilac bush and rose bush that are there are doing quite nicely this year.  It would be nice to add some fragrant herbs under the window, so that's kind of the plan. After I got that as far as I could, I decided I needed to start to tackle the mess that used to be a raspberry patch.  I didn't do much with it last year and the raspberries got choked out by all the weeds.  I think we maybe had six raspberries last summer.  It wasn't much and I figured the plants were probably dead. Um, not so much...  but the funniest thin...