LAST DAY 2023

 QUIET ENDING OF THE YEAR, morning walk.

CANNON SAYS "GOOD MORNING!"

First time Cannon has ventured across the field for a friendly "hello."

 Neighbor preps to load horses and leave for a day's riding.

 

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DYNO FAILURE

Had to watch several times. The sound up for sure.

 

Do You Dare Even Look: From TBP 

A read worth the time. 

 

"The information is out there, you only have to let it in."

Jesse Stone series. All on Prime January 2024.

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Bacon, eggs, avocado, pico de gallo.

Breakfasts going into the new year

Healthy and tasty.

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Thanks for the visits this year. YMATA will continue and we will see what we see in the weeks and months ahead. 

 

A good friend from up north says that years ending in "4" have always been good years for him. He is old enough now with wisdom, experiences and insight.

 

"I do not know!!"

 

Happy New Year, good health and God Bless.

 

 

 

 

 

HAPPY IN MY OWN LANE... - BEEMAN'S GUM - GRACIE WAS A GOOD GIRL - SCARE THE SHIT OUT OF PEOPLE - JIBBER JABBER - BABYMETAL

 Unbothered. Moisturized. Happy. In My Own Lane. Focused. Flourishing. 

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GUM

Has been a million years since I saw this gum on the shelves. A staple in my youth. Black Jack has a distinct taste, if memory serves. But I have forgotten the flavor of Beeman's. Will try that. History repeats!

Can you name the movie?

"Hey Ridley, got any Beeman's?"

"Ya, I think I got a stick."

"Loan me some, will ya, I'll pay you back later."

"Fair enough."

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Hello from Gracie and a Merry Christmas too. 

 

Because life happens:    An hour after this photo was taken and shared, Gracie suffered a heart attack and passed in the care of her loving family. 

Gracie was a good girl. God Bless.

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Christmas Eve Day in east Texas, 2023

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Jalapeno Ranch. Not pushing the brand. 

 

I have taken to the flavors and heat of Jalapeno Ranch dressing over the past several months. Happened on it at a local pizza joint in Mt. Vernon and have been hooked ever since. 

After a few months searching, the bride came upon this brand this past week and brought me home a surprise. Chicken Cesar salad that night as it should be. An all around dipping sauce, too. 

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Something to be said about very good friends!

I admit, there a few folks in my life with whom I would hook up with on this adventure. 

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Christmas Day 1950

We always opened presents after dinner on Christmas Eve. Mom insisted that the kitchen be cleaned up and that the dishes washed, dried and put away. My job was drying the dishes from the rack as mom washed. Once the kitchen was in order, into the living room we would go, presents opened. The waiting for that day and moment is as strong this season as it was in the growing up years. 

Although now, the bride and I open one present on Christmas Eve and the remaining ones Christmas morning. A marriage of family histories. 

Presents in those early years were always some kind of model log truck with trailer and logs to load. Building blocks from which I could build worlds.  The toys were heavy duty and would withstand the demands from the sandbox and running loads of logs down the gravel driveway. A quick trek up the back hill would find real stick logs to load and unload. Real sticks were added to the building blocks and my imagination was the only limitation. 

I remember adult friends coming to visit on Christmas Day and I would be most content and lost in the new worlds I was building from those Christmas Eve presents. On one such Christmas Eve, I was given a logging sled on wooden runners. There was a boom and motorized winch. I would load logs by swinging them through the air to the toy trucks and I would skid the loader along the rug from one living room wall to the other. Dad soon learned that motorized toys for his son brought with it the need of extra batteries.  Did not take but one day for a restriction being placed on daily construction limited to one set of batteries. Not even a minor setback on the building of new worlds.

And yes, a BB gun came one year. I shot many a bad guy in the hills behind our house. Then the single shot .22 rifle. Safety and use taught to me by my father. Many a floating log was shot as it floated down the south fork of the Willapa River running past my grandparent's ranch. One box of .22 shells was my quota on those weekend visits so every round was thoughtfully spent. By design. 

Many hours exploring river banks and fields.

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JIBBER JABBER

Gladness and Silence Amid Chaos and Violence  Another good read from the Burning Platform. 

BabyMetal from VOX DAY

Worth reading and watching. I have watched several times. New to me. They have been around for awhile; established; talented. Can draw a crowd. Have a large following.  Loud and visually entertaining. How refreshing in this day and age.

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Presents all delivered. Visits with friends, hugs and the from-the-heart exchanges of good tidings. Smiles and handshakes.

To all who have visited here this past year, a most wonderful Merry Christmas wish to each and every one. God Bless!!

 

 

 

PHOTO DUMP - NET STORIES - JIBBER JABBER

 FATHER AND SON 1946

 

NEW CAR OFF THE SHOW ROOM FLOOR

FIRST AIRPLANE RIDE 1955

 7/17TH CAV HUEY COBRA 1969 - CENTRAL HIGHLANDS RVN

 RADIAL ART - KETCHIKAN ALASKA - 1989

FLIGHT LINE OCTOBER 1966; FT. RUCKER, ALABAMA

1963 CORVETTE - SUMMER 1966 - BARRACKS FT. RUCKER, ALABAMA

 THE BEACH PARTY - PANAMA CITY WEEKENDS - 1966 - WHERE GUYS MET GALS

Not the "I-BAR" but flight candidates from Ft. Rucker and gals from the airlines' stewardess school met here on the weekends.  Many youthful stories written on those sandy beaches.  

 PAIR OF ROCKETS IN FLIGHT - CENTRAL HIGHLANDS - 1ST AIR CAV 1967

MARCH 1967 - DOOR GUNNER SHOT OFF PILOTS DOOR HANDLE IN FLIGHT
 

 FIRST HELICOPTER FLIGHT SOLO TOSS IN THE CREEK - FT. WOLTER'S, TX 1966

FIRE FIGHTING WATER BOMBER 1989 - DAWSON CITY AIRPORT, CANADA

 

THE WAY IT SHOULD BE

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RESTAURANT CHAINS DISAPPEARING

The prices of a hamburger and fries alone, in today's markets, is a tipping point. No wonder so many of our favorite places to eat are heading towards "remember when."

A GOOD READ FROM THE Z-MAN ON THE BURNING PLATFORM .

From The Feral Irishman. Telephone pole transformer/connections sounds like a muscle car starting. Cannot stop watching.

And this just in. 

ID's Required to Shop.

Will you comply?

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JIBBER JABBER

A trip to Dallas last weekend to visit with family and eat homemade Mexican food. The art of street tacos at their best. Great conversations, story telling, me laughing so hard I had to put my head down to recover. I followed that my spilling a class of water over the table. But boy oh boy did I/we have a great time.  

The wife drove and found us an alternate route to the brother-in-law's home via Royal Lane. Got us off the 635 ring road early, minimized the hectic traffic experience and "quieter"  drive. She had time to tell me some of her growing up years in Dallas as we passed landmarks along the route. 

New construction and building along 635 will never be done. Temporary exits are defined by a maze of cement barrier walls dumping traffic at a stop light. I think the growing city will continue forever. Industrial power transmission lines surrounded by construction cranes easily offer up opening titles and panoramas of the next dystopian movie. 

Yet within minutes inside the 635 circle, quiet neighborhoods of new built homes nestled next to remaining 1960's one-level family homes built on sprawling, tree-covered lots, further define Dallas. High walls and fences in some areas are just that.  Small malls pop up along the way. They are everyday lifelines for those neighborhoods. 

The Dallas Metroplex population ( Dallas - Ft. Worth - Arlington) is just shy of 8 million people. 

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Appreciate the visit this week.

"GRAMPS SAYS THIS IS WHERE HE FIRST KISSED YOU" - NEW PRINTER - AN ANOMALY - JIBBER JABBER

A HOLIDAY TO REMEMBER

https://youtu.be/xnZGEUA4oBk?si=CYu4QBmKD0OAgfH6

Of all of the grand moments in this video, the one that grabs my heart is the moment of appreciation of watching a grandchild turning out to be pure gold. 

Those were the days. Not smart enough to have put this in the barn. And yes the car in the video above spools up the wheels of grand old memories.

Came across THIS SONG (ADIOS) recently and did not realize I was listening too Linda Ronstadt.  Take the time to listen. The girl can crawl into a song, tell a story and take us with her.

I have forgotten the many years ago I listened to her when she was with the Stone Poneys in the mid 1960's. (Different Drum - Stone Ponies Evergreen Vol.2) I can still see this album cover always sitting on the record cabinet, close to the turn table.  

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NEW PRINTER

For years, I have wanted to learn 3-d printing. I experimented with it somewhat in 2006/2007. Just recently I was lent a Makerbot Mini printer to play and learn from. 

It has been setting idle for awhile. Nine year-old model but hardware and software all new to me. New vocabulary to learn. Learning to think inside this technology also new. I am fortunate to have help from a young man in NH.

There are many videos that have been helpful. And there are videos of no help at all. So, firmware updated - check. Printer attached and recognized - check. Basic commands learned to get a first print - check. My expectations were that all of this was not going to go easily and that I would have hurdle after hurdle to get over. Check check!

Printer heads cooling down on the third pass (slice). Have learned that someone else has tried to work on the printer heads and put parts back on backwards. Current printer head clogged. This weekend's project. 

I have learned in all of these years not to try to fix things that need fixing without first learning the best approach. Thinking I know what I do not know has almost always resulted in complete failure and caused more damage to a part or piece.

I plan to use the most non-invasive approach to cleaning the blockage on the printer head. Teaching videos have been most helpful. Will know later today.

Failure is most always a part of learning anything new. Stay tuned!

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AN ANOMALY

Folks in the health care industry, with whom I have visited regarding my recent (4 months ago) Saddle Block Pulmonary Embolism have all, with out exception, looked at me with facial expressions of "you are lucky to be alive"!

My recent visit with my PCP this past week was no exception. He had the same look while reading all of the doctors reports while I was in the hospital. 

Apparently, the doctors had discussions of what procedures to follow in my treatment. Invasive removal of the embolism or let the body heal using blood thinners. My recovery period while in the hospital was positive and the doctors decided to not use invasive measures. There had been neither a heart attack nor any heart damage.

The exact cause of the embolism was not completely clear to them. An "anomaly". I was, however, overweight, sedentary and dehydrated. All of which contributed to the event.

Suffice it to say, all of this has gotten my attention. My wife, with tears in her eyes, crying and holding me tight a month ago was also a wake-up call. She had been holding all of this in for three months. "I almost lost you." A most powerful moment in this man's life. The woman loves me. Me!

Today, down 25 pounds. Best diet plan ever. Walking and working the next 13 pounds to lose. I have been given a second chance.

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JIBBER JABBER

December 2023. The month will go fast and most of us will get lost in the holiday season to some degree or another. Some outdoor decorations are up, lights - a few - and fresh cookies currently take up a good portion of the kitchen table; none of which either one of will even tease ourselves with. Delivery of cookies start tomorrow to folks who are important in our lives and who have welcomed us with open arms, friendships and from the heart warmth. They have impacted our move here and confirmed often that we are where we are suppose to be at this time of our lives.

Gifts to be mailed will be gone this week. We do not do Christmas cards anymore but every year, think we should be doing. 

The winter weather for the next week forecasts temperatures in the mid-sixties during days flooded with sunshine. Mornings are brisk and the days are conducive to getting outside.

Thanks for the visit this week. Squeeze this month for all the goodness you can. Giving and receiving.  Avoid crowds and, if you cannot, up your senses of those around you.