Stories and other stuff

Ugh.  I give up. It's garbage now.  It's so bad down there that I salvaged what I could, but I'm ready for all of it to be thrown away.  The clean-up crew and dumpster are on the way.  They'll be here at eight-thirty. I asked God on Sunday to give me the money to divorce.  I meant it.  I was at the end of my rope. God sent a flood. And more rope. The thing is this:  It's a disaster that's housing a blessing.  It's cleansing.  My basement is gonna be clean and I'm gonna get rid of stuff I don't need, don't want, and probably don't even miss. I'm praying for something else tonight. God, my friends, is so good!

I'm done for the night. Tomorrow I have more to do but for tonight, I'm finished. Tomorrow I'll need rubber gloves and bleach.  I have the bleach.  Some kill everything known to man stuff has been applied to the basement.  Once everything is cleaned out, Servicemaster will come back and clean the floors.  Everything, and I mean everything that was in contact with the floor in my basement has to come out.  By the time I'm done, the only thing left will be the ceiling and the studs. Honestly, the best thing the Servicemaster man could say is "Tear out everything.  Keep the sinks but that's it." That sounds like a bigger chore than it really is.  The only room in the basement that's done with drywall is the little bathroom.  The rest of it is wood paneling and only around the exterior of the basement.  Taking it out is going to be easy. I'm just going to need a big dumpster.  A really big dumpster.  Fortunately, the...

Hey, gang. Well, I survived the traffic from Ogden to Salt Lake and back and made it through another visit to my former place of employment.  I surely like seeing my Guard friends but I just feel so out of place there.  It's odd, but I can't shake the feeling each time I visit there that I just don't belong there anymore. Still, always nice to see my friends and I think I have a pretty decent fantasy football team this year. Anyway, if you're wondering what stuffed tomatoes has to do with anything, well, so am I.  The story goes like this: When I was trying to rebuild some trust in a relationship a couple of years ago, I found some internet accountability software and set it up so I had an accountability partner.  Sadly, things changed and the only persons I'm accountable to for my internet usage these days are myself and  God.  I get an e-mail once a week telling me about the questionable websites I visit and if there are none listed, then I didn't...

You learn a lot of things in the military.  One of the things I learned is that if most of your clothes are of the same color group, you can wash them all together.  When you're on a long TDY at a base with a couple hundred of your closest friends, laundry can be a chore.  I don't like laundry.  I'm not good at laundry, but I'm learning to do my own laundry, when it doesn't magically disappear.  I'm not good at it as I said, but I'm getting better. My day was a combination of blue and pink, mostly surrounded by a cloud of sadness.  I went to say goodbye to an old friend today.  It's always nice to see people I grew up around and I chit-chatted with them for a few minutes before leaving.  One gave me a great idea for a blog that's going to turn into a message I was asked to write for church.  I've been struggling with that but one of the guys I used to work and bowl with gave me a great idea.  Thanks, Chuck! When I got home, I cut the...

It's been a bad day at the ranch.  On top of everything else that's going on, I found out that my friend, old boss, and mentor, Glen Sutton, passed away.  The list of folks that had the most influence on my life is kind of short; Glen was one of those men. I have a lot of fond memories about Glen, but nothing was more profound than a conversation we had about being a supervisor one day.  It was a short conversation, but an important one that I never forgot and influences me to this day in many relationships.  As I think back on many memories of Glen, I can still hear those words as clearly as the day they were spoken. But that's not my best Glen moment.  The day he beat up the airplane will stay with me as one of the funniest things I'd ever seen. We often, as human beings, ascribe personality traits to mechanical things, like our cars.  Airplanes are no different.  They are made of the same components, same wires, same metals, but different airp...

How can so much be happening in my life and so little at the very same time?  It's an interesting little quandary.  Also, something to think about... why isn't the word spelled quandry like it sounds?  It's akin to spelling color "colour".  It means the same thing but really doesn't require the extra vowel. But I digress. Done!  Finito!  Finished!  Folks I'm all done!   eating a foot long chili dog for dinner. I've had enough!  Everyone gets to that point and I'm so there!   there were chili fires too. Seriously though, I think everyone gets to the break point and tonight I found mine.   did I mention it was a real deli-style foot long hotdog with the bun and everything? Anyway, a lot of stuff happens in my life I don't get.  But I saw this the other day and thought I'd share with you.   Click here  and you can read a story about a guy pushing a rock.  It's germane to the ongoing saga that is my little ...

When was the last time you bought clothes pins? The clerk at Winco Foods (shameless plug) was surprised her store even carried them.  Honestly, so was I.  I thought this was going to be a difficult item to find but the same folks that make stick matches also make wooden clothespins.  I didn't go completely old school, they're the metal spring kind.  I like Winco.  They're cheap.  They also had foot long hotdogs AND foot long hotdog buns.  And chili for 95 cents a can.  Guess what's fer supper around here one night next week? Why did I need the clothespins? Well, I've erected something in my backyard that looks like some sort of 1950's television antenna array.  It's a clothesline.  It was embedded in the garage.  I mean that.  Boards were nailed up to hide this thing in the studs.  I had to saw them to get the thing out.  Fortunately, I had just the power tool for the job.  I'm not on a survivalist kick by ...

What do those three things have in common?  Well, first off it's a great way to start a Thursday.  Each is a blessing in its own particular way.  I didn't have really anything I needed to do today, so sleeping in is a blessing.  It's so warm in the hangar and I think the heat just takes a lot out of a person.  I enjoyed nine hours of peaceful slumber and got up at about a quarter to eleven this morning.  It felt good to get some rest.  Apparently the mutts were tried too.  They were still sleeping when I woke up. I took them for a walk today.  I tried to just slip out with the wondermutt. Katie is old but she's as smart as she wants to be.  She looked up and saw the leash missing and came bolting to the door.  Walks with the two of them aren't bad but they are short.  Katie's a bit of a pork chop and she's getting to be a grandma dog so a walk is a good idea.  A long walk is not a good idea for her.  It's always a b...

I know there are those of you that are somewhat skeptical when I talk about how God works in my life.  You do, though, have to admit it's either the biggest coincidence in the history of the word that these things happen to me or maybe, just maybe, I'm right.  I don't think there's a middle ground there.   Someone once told me I see what I want to and I've talked about that before.  My answer is that I just see what's there to be seen.  Sometimes, though, I think the interpretation of the things I see are open.  Sometimes, I don't know how to interpret them, as the story last Sunday illustrates.  I saw the wife.  She saw me.  Why?  I haven't a clue, other than knowing it was a divinely inspired meeting. There are times, though, that I know exactly what things mean.  I shared with you the songs on the blog last night.  The last one talks about the darkness and morning coming.  Before I turned in, I was reading a book...

Well, that post, well, sucked.  I deleted it.  Y'all know I'm not happy about the politics of this country and I'm frustrated that nobody's looking out for us.  I mean that.  Nobody is.  We're not a fringe group.  We're just the people that do the working and paying taxes and living and dying.  We're not the poor, nor a fringe group that's being picked on.  We're just the "shut up and color" crowd.  It bothers me. Lots of things bother me.  Tonight, for instance, there are three absolutely beautiful rib steaks in the fridge.  People back in the day used to call these club steaks.  They're about an inch and a half thick, bone-in, and nicely marbled.  They'll be great on the grill. I cleaned the pool today.  I mowed yesterday.  I cleaned off the patio today.  It's a beautiful night out and it's a Saturday.  I've worked hard all week and managed not to screw anything up for our inspection at work. ...

I have a story to tell you about a dollar bill. I had $11 in cash on Wednesday night.  I was hungry but knew I needed $10 of that for gas to get me back and forth to work, so as I walked out of the building at lunchtime, I decided to stop in the break room and buy something from the vending machine. It's been hot in the hangar and in the house, too.  It's ninety degrees in the house at two a.m.  I've been sweating a lot, so I wanted a salty snack.  I chose a bag of potato chips, put my money in the machine and pushed the button. The spiral mechanism in the vending machine promptly screwed the bag of chips into the shelf above and didn't dispense them correctly.  No big deal.  A gentle shake and I'm eatin' chips.  But, alas, the gentle shake didn't dislodge them.  Nor did round two, where I gave the machine a harder shake. I have a lot of pressures in my life.  And last night, I found out just how close I am to popping that safety valv...

My sometimes roommate came by today and taught me how to snap green beans.  Apparently it does not need to involve a paring knife and she probably snapped five to my one because she's a pro.  I'm a rookie gardener and she started the spring off bound and determined to teach me something about gardening. Today was a day for harvesting in the garden, as was yesterday.  I picked some green beans last Friday which were added to aggregate of what you'll see in the picture I'll attach at the end.  I know I like photos and I'm hoping you don't mind if I share.  I'm not boasting.  I'm just very grateful to God for how He helped us have a bountiful harvest.  Besides, for as much as I've talked about the garden this year, I thought I'd show you that if you water things enough, they will grow. The potatoes should still be in the ground.  Something or someone keeps digging them up.  When they're off the plant, they're done growing, and I wish the...

I told y'all my little story on Sunday about what happened to me.  I know a lot of things. Like right now, I know it hurts to breathe and I'm not makin' that up.  I pulled sumpthin' besides green beans in the garden about an hour ago.  It really hurts. I told Miss June last night about my story and how I got where I was.  I asked her if she shared that with the Mrs.  She did, and the wife's reply was that sometimes things are just an accident.  Um, yeah, sure,.... that's what it was.... just an accident. I'd sent Wendi something a few weeks back about accidents or providences and just using her as an example, it just still makes me wonder how much I missed in my life because either I was too busy or too stubborn to see what was in front of me. I can't say what purpose our little appointment with destiny had.  That's something I don't understand, but what I do know is that for all the things I don't know, this one I absolutely do. Runn...

I woke up late.  I didn't set my alarm because I rarely sleep past eight.  I did wake up about 7:30, but rolled back over and went to sleep.  Two hours later, the dogs woke me up.  They had to go, and when I looked at the clock, so did I! But I gotta take the dogs out first.  So I do.  And then I see the little half-dead kitten on my doorstep.  I don't know if this one is gonna make it, but I put him someplace safe and got him some water.  Small voice inside tells me that pussycat needs some milk, so I get him a small dish of milk instead and take a couple of minutes and make sure it's going to drink some of the milk. In the mean time, I woke up stiff so before the dogs went out, I started to run a hot bath.  I thought I'd have 10 minutes to sit in the tub before church.  Um, nope.  After pussycat, it's now 9:51 and church starts at ten. Apparently I have another washing machine problem that I only became aware of yesterday. ...

So, today is kinda my first day of the rest of my life, so to speak.  When I told my little story yesterday, I had every intention of packing up the car and spending the next two days in Jellystone.  I had a bit of a change of heart, though.  I decided to sleep in, then there were plenty of things to do around here. I went to the farmer's market this morning but didn't find anything I could live without.  It's kinda early for things yet.  I did decide I wanted some peaches, so I drove up to Willard and bought a box.  I'm going to can them and eat them later.  They were blowing out the last  of the cherry crop for 99 cents a pound so I bought some to make cherry jam.  I need some amaretto, though, to make it and I don't know how I feel about a trip to the liquor store. Right now, I'd say, probably not. My mom came up.  She wanted some green beans then she wanted to to to get some other stuff so we drove back up the fruit highway so ...

There comes a time when you have to realize that no matter what you do or say, your best efforts aren't going to get the job done.  I came to that realization at about three o'clock this afternoon when I saw something in someone's eyes that I've seen, thankfully, only very rarely.  I saw hate.  And it was aimed at me. I'm learning a lot about being a Christian, too.  And one of the things I'm learning, again, is that there's a time to walk away.  I don't think you ever stop praying for someone, but I think that once you share what you can, there comes a point where sharing any more is just counter-productive.  That's sad, but I think, true.  I even read something about this recently and both of those things converged today in the parking lot of the credit union I belong to. I've always said that I'd know when it was time to walk away.  I truly believe that God led me on this adventure and maybe, just maybe it was to help me change.  I thi...

My pastor and I had a brief discussion on Wednesday about the evil one and how Satan uses our past to try and hold us back from a future that God wants us to have.  I think that's true in that sometimes the thought runs through our heads that tell us we're never good enough to find forgiveness from God.  But I think that he can use our past to define us to others, too. I found that out yesterday.  I'd had a brief conversation on Tuesday with someone who's favorite person, quite frankly, I'm not.  That person said some things about me that used to be true.  In an attempt to cast a different light on the subject, I reminded the person of a couple of instances, which I thought, demonstrated otherwise. But it's tough to look at yourself in how others see you.  I don't see the things the person shared with me in myself anymore.  I know I'm capable of those things, but I don't, for the most part, act that way anymore.  The whole incident made me ref...