Today is the day I received huge privilege, honor and blessing in my life as I became a Citizen of the United States of America - One Nation Under God.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Sunday, November 2, 2008
All Hallow's Eve 2008
I choose not to celebrate Halloween - my employees (and others in our department) choose to celebrate it. They are an incredible group of professional administrators...and apparently dancers! Here is their performance this year at work before we opened the doors to the public for normal customer service.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Tipping Trees
Due to immense rot in a neighbor's tree causing a large limb to break off on to their house, we had to take it down this weekend. But to take it down safely, we had to take another neighb or's tree down first! Having got that one down we realized it too was totally rotten.
Funny thing happened after we tipped one tree and it was totally laying across the road, blocking the whole street (you'll see from the photos/videos how obvious that was!) when up comes a couple of cyclists. I had to stop them trying to go any further for their safety, as when you buck the boughs they can often spring back as the main stump shifts position and fly up. They asked me "What are they doing?", so I looked across as this huge tree in the middle of the road and said "I think they are taking a tree down..what do you reckon?" to which they replied "Oh really?" Some people...I just replied "I guess.... " and laughed at them.
Enjoy the videos!
Funny thing happened after we tipped one tree and it was totally laying across the road, blocking the whole street (you'll see from the photos/videos how obvious that was!) when up comes a couple of cyclists. I had to stop them trying to go any further for their safety, as when you buck the boughs they can often spring back as the main stump shifts position and fly up. They asked me "What are they doing?", so I looked across as this huge tree in the middle of the road and said "I think they are taking a tree down..what do you reckon?" to which they replied "Oh really?" Some people...I just replied "I guess.... " and laughed at them.
Enjoy the videos!
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Perspective.....
A young woman was about to finish her first year of college. Like so many others her age, she considered herself to be a very liberal Democrat, and among other liberal ideals, was very much in favor of higher taxes to support more government programs, in other words, redistribution of wealth.
She was deeply ashamed that her father was a rather staunch Republican, a feeling she openly expressed. Based on the lectures that she had participated in, and the occasional chat with a professor, she felt that her father had for years harbored an evil, selfish desire to keep what he thought should be his.
One day she was challenging her father on his opposition to higher taxes on the rich and the need for more government programs. The self-professed objectivity proclaimed by her professors had to be the truth and she indicated so to her father. He responded by asking how she was doing in school.
Taken aback, she answered rather haughtily that she had a 4.0 GPA, and let him know that it was tough to maintain, insisting that she was taking a very difficult course load and was constantly studying, which left her no time to go out and party like other people she knew. She didn't even have time for a boyfriend, and didn't really have many college friends because she spent all her time studying.
Her father listened and then asked, 'How is your friend Audrey doing?' She replied, 'Audrey is barely getting by. All she takes are easy classes, she never studies, and she barely h as a 2..0 GPA. She is so popular on campus; college for her is a blast. She's always invited to all the parties and lots of times she doesn't even show up for classes because she's too hung over.'
Her wise father asked his daughter, 'Why don't you go to the Dean's office and ask him to deduct 1.0 off your GPA and give it to your friend who only has a 2.0. That way you will both have a 3.0 GPA and certainly that would be a fair and equal distribution of GPA.'
The daughter, visibly shocked by her father's suggestion, angrily fired back, 'That's a crazy idea, how would that be fair! I've worked really hard for my grades! I've invested a lot of time, and a lot of hard work! Audrey has done next to nothing toward her degree. She played while I worked my tail off!'
The father slowly smiled, winked and said gently, 'Welcome to the Republican party.'
If anyone has a better explanation of the difference between Republican and Democrat I'm all ears.
She was deeply ashamed that her father was a rather staunch Republican, a feeling she openly expressed. Based on the lectures that she had participated in, and the occasional chat with a professor, she felt that her father had for years harbored an evil, selfish desire to keep what he thought should be his.
One day she was challenging her father on his opposition to higher taxes on the rich and the need for more government programs. The self-professed objectivity proclaimed by her professors had to be the truth and she indicated so to her father. He responded by asking how she was doing in school.
Taken aback, she answered rather haughtily that she had a 4.0 GPA, and let him know that it was tough to maintain, insisting that she was taking a very difficult course load and was constantly studying, which left her no time to go out and party like other people she knew. She didn't even have time for a boyfriend, and didn't really have many college friends because she spent all her time studying.
Her father listened and then asked, 'How is your friend Audrey doing?' She replied, 'Audrey is barely getting by. All she takes are easy classes, she never studies, and she barely h as a 2..0 GPA. She is so popular on campus; college for her is a blast. She's always invited to all the parties and lots of times she doesn't even show up for classes because she's too hung over.'
Her wise father asked his daughter, 'Why don't you go to the Dean's office and ask him to deduct 1.0 off your GPA and give it to your friend who only has a 2.0. That way you will both have a 3.0 GPA and certainly that would be a fair and equal distribution of GPA.'
The daughter, visibly shocked by her father's suggestion, angrily fired back, 'That's a crazy idea, how would that be fair! I've worked really hard for my grades! I've invested a lot of time, and a lot of hard work! Audrey has done next to nothing toward her degree. She played while I worked my tail off!'
The father slowly smiled, winked and said gently, 'Welcome to the Republican party.'
If anyone has a better explanation of the difference between Republican and Democrat I'm all ears.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Submitting....
It's been way too long since I blogged and part of that has been the reason for this latest blog. As a species we wrestle with submissive behavior on a regular basis. Sometimes we are calling others to submit, and oftentimes others are calling us to take up a submissive stance. Either way, the very art of this character trait causes a deeper disciplinary act within us all.
Many of us have been on both sides of this fence - the submittor or the submittee. Which is easier? HA...that's a no brainer. It's so easy to call people to submit to us, right? Hmmm...not always. I guess that depends on who is doing the calling. Mr Ego-Hey-Look-At-Me has no trouble doing so. Doesn't even stop to consider it. But Mr I-Got-To-Get-The-Right-Balance will still call for an act of submission, but be constantly and thoroughly checking his stance to ensure it is fair and responsive to the needs of the majority,and tweaking it accordingly. Even so, while it can be all that, it still doesn't make it right. This is how cults grow up and out of hand.
And what about the person being called to submit? Yeah, OUCH! Not many relish that one! But what we submit and buy in to often states what we are about and what it really is that makes our core tick. I'm not talking about being controlled here. Control is completely different as it implies you have no power or ability to make a choice outside of that being enforced upon you. Submission is choosing to agree to a leader. Or not, as the case may be. Submission becomes hard when you know the leader calling you to submit is right, but you still don't wish to do it. That could be your boss, your parent, your webmaster, your pastor etc.
So whether you are the submittor or the submittee in any category right now, I challenge you to stop and ask yourself - is that which I am requesting or that which is being requested of me fair, honest, and something that I buy in to and respect? How and what you submit or buy in to speaks volumes about the person you are. If you simply go along for the ride with others you still have to be accountable for that, as it is unequivocally your choice. Equally if you pound out the requirement for submission in to others unrelentlessly and without due consideration, don't be surprised when the masses won't support your leadership.
Many of us have been on both sides of this fence - the submittor or the submittee. Which is easier? HA...that's a no brainer. It's so easy to call people to submit to us, right? Hmmm...not always. I guess that depends on who is doing the calling. Mr Ego-Hey-Look-At-Me has no trouble doing so. Doesn't even stop to consider it. But Mr I-Got-To-Get-The-Right-Balance will still call for an act of submission, but be constantly and thoroughly checking his stance to ensure it is fair and responsive to the needs of the majority,and tweaking it accordingly. Even so, while it can be all that, it still doesn't make it right. This is how cults grow up and out of hand.
And what about the person being called to submit? Yeah, OUCH! Not many relish that one! But what we submit and buy in to often states what we are about and what it really is that makes our core tick. I'm not talking about being controlled here. Control is completely different as it implies you have no power or ability to make a choice outside of that being enforced upon you. Submission is choosing to agree to a leader. Or not, as the case may be. Submission becomes hard when you know the leader calling you to submit is right, but you still don't wish to do it. That could be your boss, your parent, your webmaster, your pastor etc.
So whether you are the submittor or the submittee in any category right now, I challenge you to stop and ask yourself - is that which I am requesting or that which is being requested of me fair, honest, and something that I buy in to and respect? How and what you submit or buy in to speaks volumes about the person you are. If you simply go along for the ride with others you still have to be accountable for that, as it is unequivocally your choice. Equally if you pound out the requirement for submission in to others unrelentlessly and without due consideration, don't be surprised when the masses won't support your leadership.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
A new start
It has been funny coming back to blog after all this time. As I read the start of the last one I posted it was all about "firsts". And it still is. Only now it is with my new job. "Firsts" are happening on a daily basis and I've been there 6 weeks nearly now. God is doing a new thing :)
I love my new job; the people are encouraging and positive - they don't send me hate mail, black mail, smash up my office windows and neither do they break in and steal my laptop. They do timely professional development reviews and you even get pay reviews and increases! Imagine that! But most of all the work is challenging and others are genuinely interested, supportive and invested in what you do. They want to see you grow and what to be a part of your success. It is an awesome environment to find myself blessed to be in.
As the 40 days of fasting came to an end, I dreaded that things would just slide back. I actually felt quite sad about the prospect. But I can certainly say that has not been my experience so far. When you cry out to God, he is faithful - all the time
I love my new job; the people are encouraging and positive - they don't send me hate mail, black mail, smash up my office windows and neither do they break in and steal my laptop. They do timely professional development reviews and you even get pay reviews and increases! Imagine that! But most of all the work is challenging and others are genuinely interested, supportive and invested in what you do. They want to see you grow and what to be a part of your success. It is an awesome environment to find myself blessed to be in.
As the 40 days of fasting came to an end, I dreaded that things would just slide back. I actually felt quite sad about the prospect. But I can certainly say that has not been my experience so far. When you cry out to God, he is faithful - all the time
Monday, April 21, 2008
40 Days - Day 8
Wow!
"Firsts" are just coming up all over the place - too many to mention, but the Lord works in mysterious amazing ways alright! My husband and I are just growing and blossoming left right and center. Which is more than I can say for the flowers. After temperatures of 84F last weekend, it snowed on the valley floor this weekend! What's with that?
So this is my last 2 days in my current job. As I sit and look around my bare office with boxes stacked up with my belongings I can feel a new season coming through. I pray to God it is summer - physically and spiritually! Haha.
I'm looking forward to a few days R&R before I start my new job. Exciting times all round. God is doing a new thing us for sure \0/
"Firsts" are just coming up all over the place - too many to mention, but the Lord works in mysterious amazing ways alright! My husband and I are just growing and blossoming left right and center. Which is more than I can say for the flowers. After temperatures of 84F last weekend, it snowed on the valley floor this weekend! What's with that?
So this is my last 2 days in my current job. As I sit and look around my bare office with boxes stacked up with my belongings I can feel a new season coming through. I pray to God it is summer - physically and spiritually! Haha.
I'm looking forward to a few days R&R before I start my new job. Exciting times all round. God is doing a new thing us for sure \0/
Thursday, April 17, 2008
40 Days - Day 4
Still alive and kicking!
Yesterday was a day for "firsts". Fed my husband tofu for the first time in his life and he actually almost enjoyed it. Living in a city where hippiedom is rife, it's easy to get overwhelmed with stereotypes when they are constantly in your face. So this was a good experience of finding out that something about the lifestyle isn't so bad after all and learning tolerance. I don't think I will start growing leg hair just yet though ;)
My first was getting the opportunity to share some deep personal experiences with a lady who is going through much the same as I did, only ten years later. I had never met her before, but she was very open to the discussion. It was so heart-warming being able to take my past pain, draw alongside hers with understanding, and encourage her to keep pressing on in prayer and faith, knowing that this is just a season, and one day her life will be full again. It's such a priviledge when we get the opportunity to share such personal moments with one another, especially when we don't even really know them.
Yesterday was a day for "firsts". Fed my husband tofu for the first time in his life and he actually almost enjoyed it. Living in a city where hippiedom is rife, it's easy to get overwhelmed with stereotypes when they are constantly in your face. So this was a good experience of finding out that something about the lifestyle isn't so bad after all and learning tolerance. I don't think I will start growing leg hair just yet though ;)
My first was getting the opportunity to share some deep personal experiences with a lady who is going through much the same as I did, only ten years later. I had never met her before, but she was very open to the discussion. It was so heart-warming being able to take my past pain, draw alongside hers with understanding, and encourage her to keep pressing on in prayer and faith, knowing that this is just a season, and one day her life will be full again. It's such a priviledge when we get the opportunity to share such personal moments with one another, especially when we don't even really know them.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
40 Days - Day 1
So those of you who follow my blog are in for 40 days of total randomness hehe. I'm just going wherever I'm led during this time, so anything could happen. Hold on to the cissy bar - could be a rough ride!
So Day 1 went well yesterday - we got to 9:00am without anything too disasterous happening ;) Then the call came from one of our sons to say he was stranded due to car issues. Seems the ignition switch was PMSing big time and needed holding in a certain position to allow the car to continue running. Errr....did I mention it was a stick shift? LOL So we BOTH drove it to our mechanic's shop about 20 miles away - my son steering and holding the ignition switch at the required place, while I changed up and down gear for him. We got pretty good at that - see, driving in England all those years helped enormously as it was a natural place for a stick shift for me! Never would I have figured the problem out. Turns out that after-sale car alarms cause a huge issue with ignitions, as the alarms are not designed for the lifetime of the car, and as they fail, they cause crazy things to happen to electric units around them. Once the alarm system was removed the car purred in to action.
Also read something that made me stop and think, and I wanted to share it with you. Life gets tough at times, right? You just never know when the next battle is going to come and from which angle, but you can bet your bottom dollar it is coming, and usually without much warning. Sometimes it can be with a loved one, or maybe even a parent or sibling. Someone says something and before you know it you are in a total out-of-proportion argument, and one of you ends up telling the other you never want to see or speak to them again. Yeah, who of us hasn't been there at some point. Friends or other family try to persuade us to change our minds, and our reponse often falls way to "No, it's a decision I can live with". Well good for prideful little us huh. But what about after that? Is it also a decision we can DIE with? Yeah, there's the crunch right there! Can we live with the choice knowing that we also die with that choice, or possibly even worse, the other person dies leaving us with no option to change our choice anymore (yeah - I should have warned you guys this was a post-caffeine blog!)
And so it is with your decision about having a personal relationship with Jesus. So you can live with the decision not to get to know him? That's great, seriously, because life is a trial. But can you die with that decision too? Can you take that risk? Like my son's car - usually it takes one person to drive it when everything is working fine, but if anything goes wrong, you can need 2 at the controls. Life is easy to navigate on our own when everything is going well, but when it turns to stormy waters, who have you got in your boat to help you. To REALLY help you. And don't let the after-sales life "alarm" coverage fool you - it won't work forever, be it a mother, a friend, a girl-friend! All these fail and perish in time too. Your thoughts.........
So Day 1 went well yesterday - we got to 9:00am without anything too disasterous happening ;) Then the call came from one of our sons to say he was stranded due to car issues. Seems the ignition switch was PMSing big time and needed holding in a certain position to allow the car to continue running. Errr....did I mention it was a stick shift? LOL So we BOTH drove it to our mechanic's shop about 20 miles away - my son steering and holding the ignition switch at the required place, while I changed up and down gear for him. We got pretty good at that - see, driving in England all those years helped enormously as it was a natural place for a stick shift for me! Never would I have figured the problem out. Turns out that after-sale car alarms cause a huge issue with ignitions, as the alarms are not designed for the lifetime of the car, and as they fail, they cause crazy things to happen to electric units around them. Once the alarm system was removed the car purred in to action.
Also read something that made me stop and think, and I wanted to share it with you. Life gets tough at times, right? You just never know when the next battle is going to come and from which angle, but you can bet your bottom dollar it is coming, and usually without much warning. Sometimes it can be with a loved one, or maybe even a parent or sibling. Someone says something and before you know it you are in a total out-of-proportion argument, and one of you ends up telling the other you never want to see or speak to them again. Yeah, who of us hasn't been there at some point. Friends or other family try to persuade us to change our minds, and our reponse often falls way to "No, it's a decision I can live with". Well good for prideful little us huh. But what about after that? Is it also a decision we can DIE with? Yeah, there's the crunch right there! Can we live with the choice knowing that we also die with that choice, or possibly even worse, the other person dies leaving us with no option to change our choice anymore (yeah - I should have warned you guys this was a post-caffeine blog!)
And so it is with your decision about having a personal relationship with Jesus. So you can live with the decision not to get to know him? That's great, seriously, because life is a trial. But can you die with that decision too? Can you take that risk? Like my son's car - usually it takes one person to drive it when everything is working fine, but if anything goes wrong, you can need 2 at the controls. Life is easy to navigate on our own when everything is going well, but when it turns to stormy waters, who have you got in your boat to help you. To REALLY help you. And don't let the after-sales life "alarm" coverage fool you - it won't work forever, be it a mother, a friend, a girl-friend! All these fail and perish in time too. Your thoughts.........
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Meet my Daddy!
So I want to introduce you to my family; mainly my fantastic Father. I would put a photo up of Him for you to see but unless you've met his Son you're not going to be able to see Him anyway.
So let me introduce you to His Son first. Hmmmm......I don't have any photos of him either, but His name is Jesus. Some of you have already met Him. He is the most amazing, loyal, faithful, loving, compassionate, awe-inspiring, devoted friend you will ever have. Given that, I can't possibly imagine why anyone wouldn't want to meet Him. But there are some who just cannot bring themselves to. It's kind of crazy, because every day in our lives we instantly make countless decisions - what we are going to eat, what we are going to wear, who we are going to hang out with - all kinds of things that affect our well-being and vitality here on earth. But given the decision of overcoming death and having eternal life without the ongoing pain, suffering and hardship of this world and we actually not only stop to consider if this is what we want, but we fight it!
Back to my Daddy. He's not just mine. He's a great big awesome Daddy to everyone and anyone. You just have to believe in Him. Heck, even if you don't believe in Him, He still believes in you and loves you. More than you realize. Yeah, I know. You think I'm crazy believing in something you can't see. Note I said YOU can't see. Because I can. Look at it this way. Imagine it is a very cloudy night. It is pitched black. As morning comes you would still expect it to get light wouldn't you? You still KNOW the sun (Son) is there even though you can't see it shining in the sky. Why? Because you have had an experience with the sun before. You've grown up as a baby having many daily experiences of the sun revealing itself to you from behind the clouds. However, you had to open your eyes and look in the correct direction to see it first. And so it is with God. Baby steps first until you learn which direction to look in and have your first experiences of knowing He's there...maybe a little hidden behind the cloud of your life that you have wrapped yourself in, but He's there!
Curious as to why you would WANT to know Him yet? Because he has an amazing gift for you.......it's totally free and totally awesome! He's wrapped it up just for you and it has your name on it. Kinda like a present under the Christmas tree. He's gone to more effort and pain than you will ever comprehend to provide this gift for you. Wouldn't it be awful if we took time and effort to find just the right gift for someone, and then they didn't even open it? How would YOU feel? Gutted and disappointed!
Want to know more about your gift? Leave me a comment with your MSN Messenger nick and I'll tell you more. It will be one of the best decisions you have made....so far.
Finally, I would like you to meet two more members of my family. They are the Pastors of my church, Jubilee World Outreach. Wonderful people full of encouragement, kindness and hope. They also love you, care about you and pray for you so that you may come to know the hope they have in God. \0/
So let me introduce you to His Son first. Hmmmm......I don't have any photos of him either, but His name is Jesus. Some of you have already met Him. He is the most amazing, loyal, faithful, loving, compassionate, awe-inspiring, devoted friend you will ever have. Given that, I can't possibly imagine why anyone wouldn't want to meet Him. But there are some who just cannot bring themselves to. It's kind of crazy, because every day in our lives we instantly make countless decisions - what we are going to eat, what we are going to wear, who we are going to hang out with - all kinds of things that affect our well-being and vitality here on earth. But given the decision of overcoming death and having eternal life without the ongoing pain, suffering and hardship of this world and we actually not only stop to consider if this is what we want, but we fight it!
Back to my Daddy. He's not just mine. He's a great big awesome Daddy to everyone and anyone. You just have to believe in Him. Heck, even if you don't believe in Him, He still believes in you and loves you. More than you realize. Yeah, I know. You think I'm crazy believing in something you can't see. Note I said YOU can't see. Because I can. Look at it this way. Imagine it is a very cloudy night. It is pitched black. As morning comes you would still expect it to get light wouldn't you? You still KNOW the sun (Son) is there even though you can't see it shining in the sky. Why? Because you have had an experience with the sun before. You've grown up as a baby having many daily experiences of the sun revealing itself to you from behind the clouds. However, you had to open your eyes and look in the correct direction to see it first. And so it is with God. Baby steps first until you learn which direction to look in and have your first experiences of knowing He's there...maybe a little hidden behind the cloud of your life that you have wrapped yourself in, but He's there!
Curious as to why you would WANT to know Him yet? Because he has an amazing gift for you.......it's totally free and totally awesome! He's wrapped it up just for you and it has your name on it. Kinda like a present under the Christmas tree. He's gone to more effort and pain than you will ever comprehend to provide this gift for you. Wouldn't it be awful if we took time and effort to find just the right gift for someone, and then they didn't even open it? How would YOU feel? Gutted and disappointed!
Want to know more about your gift? Leave me a comment with your MSN Messenger nick and I'll tell you more. It will be one of the best decisions you have made....so far.
Finally, I would like you to meet two more members of my family. They are the Pastors of my church, Jubilee World Outreach. Wonderful people full of encouragement, kindness and hope. They also love you, care about you and pray for you so that you may come to know the hope they have in God. \0/
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Geocaching 101
During the last hunting season my husband bought me an awesome handheld GPS system; a Garmin eTrex Vista HCx no less! He figured that since I am no woodland Tarzan as he is, when I get turned around I will always be able to find my way back to the rig. So far it has worked well ;) When we were traveling in Washington State earlier this year we met some people who were also geeky, and introduced us to the world of geocaching. Now having this fantastic GPS system it seemed only logical to explore this new-found hobby.
Our youngest son is a little geeklet too, and quite a head of knowledge on his shoulders, so we waited until we were in the UK with him to check out our new Geocaching skills. Armed with laptop, we found caches on the website. Once you have the cache you wish to go and find, you simply download the coordinates to your handheld GPS and off you go! Simple right? NOT! In the UK there is no WAAS System available. This means you are just using GPS accuracy to locate your cache, so the GPS will get you within 20-30 feet of your target. The rest you have to figure out on your hands and knees, using the cryptic coded clues given on the geocache website, if any is given at all.
So naturally we picked the wettest day of the vacation to go geocaching, and we picked the hilliest part of the county in which to seek a cache! Pounding through the muddy woods off the beaten track wearing 3 inch mud-platform sneakers, we soon began to look conspicuously suspicious, wander vaguely round and round in circles between trees as if looking for a good place to hide a dead body! Those walking their dogs eyed us in a typically British fashion, looking away abruptly if we made eye contact with them, but curious enough to turn and sneak another peak after they passed, hoping that we weren't still looking in their direction.
As one leg began to slide backward down the hill and the other remained stationery at the top of the hill (ouch!), our son found the geocache hidden at the base of a tree in an old ammunition box! Sweet :) How appropriate! You see, we are also members at MajorGeeks.com so the ammo box was very topical. Flat Tim, the 2D downloadable version of one of the co-owners of MajorGeeks, has his own website depicting his travels, so it was only right that we took him on his first geocache with us.
So having signed the log book, we picked up two Travel Bugs (no, these are not malware...you are safe to click the link!) and headed back to the car. Do you know how long it takes to remove 3 inches of mud from your feet so you don't trash the rental?? The Travel Bugs are now back in Oregon, USA and I am looking for a couple of cache boxes to stash them in. There are a few near to our home, so we are hoping to move them on this weekend.
In conjunction with our son, who is also a great fisherman, we are now planning planting our own geocache box with a Hunting & Fishing theme. It'll be great to see how far the Travel Bug fly fishing lures might get ;)
Our youngest son is a little geeklet too, and quite a head of knowledge on his shoulders, so we waited until we were in the UK with him to check out our new Geocaching skills. Armed with laptop, we found caches on the website. Once you have the cache you wish to go and find, you simply download the coordinates to your handheld GPS and off you go! Simple right? NOT! In the UK there is no WAAS System available. This means you are just using GPS accuracy to locate your cache, so the GPS will get you within 20-30 feet of your target. The rest you have to figure out on your hands and knees, using the cryptic coded clues given on the geocache website, if any is given at all.
So naturally we picked the wettest day of the vacation to go geocaching, and we picked the hilliest part of the county in which to seek a cache! Pounding through the muddy woods off the beaten track wearing 3 inch mud-platform sneakers, we soon began to look conspicuously suspicious, wander vaguely round and round in circles between trees as if looking for a good place to hide a dead body! Those walking their dogs eyed us in a typically British fashion, looking away abruptly if we made eye contact with them, but curious enough to turn and sneak another peak after they passed, hoping that we weren't still looking in their direction.
As one leg began to slide backward down the hill and the other remained stationery at the top of the hill (ouch!), our son found the geocache hidden at the base of a tree in an old ammunition box! Sweet :) How appropriate! You see, we are also members at MajorGeeks.com so the ammo box was very topical. Flat Tim, the 2D downloadable version of one of the co-owners of MajorGeeks, has his own website depicting his travels, so it was only right that we took him on his first geocache with us.
So having signed the log book, we picked up two Travel Bugs (no, these are not malware...you are safe to click the link!) and headed back to the car. Do you know how long it takes to remove 3 inches of mud from your feet so you don't trash the rental?? The Travel Bugs are now back in Oregon, USA and I am looking for a couple of cache boxes to stash them in. There are a few near to our home, so we are hoping to move them on this weekend.
In conjunction with our son, who is also a great fisherman, we are now planning planting our own geocache box with a Hunting & Fishing theme. It'll be great to see how far the Travel Bug fly fishing lures might get ;)
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Bambi is dead!
It's official. The stinky, tick-ridden creature no longer walks the earth. Honestly guys, he really wasn't the cute animation you've all been led to believe in for all these years. But before we examine his personal hygiene problems in detail, let's look at his downfall on that fateful day......
It was any normal October morning. We rose well before the break of day, put on our thermal under-layers and camoflauge outer layers and waited for our son to arrive at the house. It was with anticipation we all clambered into the pick-up with steaming thermal mugs of coffee and headed out to the local McDonalds drive-thru for a hunters breakfast - sausage and egg mcmuffins with cheese.
As we arrived at the private unit we planned to hunt and daylight made itself known, we stopped, added all the extra layers, gloves and hats, loaded up the 30-06's, and while Randy drove, Ryan and I hopped up into the back of the rig for a great view of the woods. Ryan took the left hand view and I the right. We'd barely been trucking down the muddy gravel track more than a few minutes when Bambi exposed himself, butt first, from within the trees! Not at all what I expected from such a self-righteous character!! I tapped on the cab roof to stop and we grounded to a fairly quick halt. I was totally unaware Ryan had already hopped down from the rig and walked to the front of the cab on his side. I too moved in for the kill. My eyes were firmly fixed on Bambi's as the loving stare-down began. Just as hearts began to appear in his eyes, and drool started to flow down my chin as I thought of those burgers. Safety off, BAMMMM!
One-shot Lev they call me now. Bambi bucked high and ran for deeper cover. Too late - a piece of his lungs lay brightly on the ground. Score! A trophy buck - Western Oregon blacktail 5 point (11 point to you southerners). He barely got 100 feet from the point at which that fatal slug hit.
Now, about Bambi's personal hygiene. How disgusting! Cute and squeakly clean? Far from it. Lice, flea and tick-ridden smelly, gland-seeping, sexed-up creature willing to spawn with any female of it;s kind who happens to pass by. Shame on you parents who encourage your children to watch such a filthy, movie full of lustful beasts!!
Oh, one other thing, before anyone gets their political correctness noses out of joint, just remember.......carrot juice constitutes murder.....
via videosift.com
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Friday, October 5, 2007
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Success - Thoughts on 9/11
Success
To laugh often and much,
To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children,
To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends,
To appreciate the beauty, to find the best in others!
To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child,
a garden patch or a redeemed social condition,
to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.
This is to have succeeded.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Thursday, September 6, 2007
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