Category: Life

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Bad News Travels Fast

Lately I have been hearing the bad news on Facebook from friends much faster than hearing about it on TV. I think that is one of the cool things about Facebook. There is usually someone who is plugged in with whats happening and they post it on their wall before it can even make the news. If you have enough friends, you can find out anything you need.

One of the features of Facebook that never existed anywhere else and I really like is the pages they create during a natural disaster so people who are safe can check in to let everyone know. This is really helpful when internet service and cell phone use can be limited or not available in the disaster areas. It puts my mind at ease to know that people I care about are OK.

There are also community pages where people in your own neighborhood or local area can post short messages to alert everyone. I have seen a lot of lost and found animals – and almost all of them have a happy ending. I have seen posts warning about car break-ins and stolen vehicles. Warnings about roads closed or choked because of an accident. Good news, such as the opening dates of farmers markets and fresh vegetable stands. And a lot of recommendations sought and received for essentials services, such as auto repair, junk haulers, hair dressers, in-home daycare – even doctors and dentists.

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I didn’t know about all these home remedies

I learn something new everyday. Today I learned that there are home remedies for fleas, ticks and mosquitoes that will keep them off of your dogs. Go figure. Of course if I mention this to my wife, she will tell me that she already knew it and I will laugh because she probably did. However, I like that I learned it on my own. Did you know that if you put garlic in a dogs food every day, it will keep fleas away from the dog? Black walnut hulls given in pill form from the nutrition store will keep all three away from your pet as well.

I think that is so cool. We have a ceder filled bed for our little dog already, and now I know why my wife bought it. Herbal shampoos can also help with killing and keeping fleas off of your pets as well, without having to pay top dollar for expensive pet shampoos. That is really amazing. You never know what you are going to learn each day and each day never ceases to surprise me. I think it is time to go look up more herbal remedies and see what else I can find that will not only save us money, but keep chemicals out of our house.

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Monday Again

Some weeks the Monday seems like a really long way from Friday. I can’t wait to get all of this behind me and not have it hanging over my head. I need Friday to hurry up and get here.

Not sure if this pressure is from the way daylight saving time has made the sun last longer and made me more anxious to get out of work and be at home or someplace outside. I like the idea of daylight saving time and with we have this much sun all year ’round.

This year has been very rainy and making the old saying, “April Showers Bring May Flowers” a real promise to us. As much rain as we have had this Spring, I am pretty sure this area won’t have any trouble later with drought. We’ve only had a couple of summers with serious drought that I can remember.

Usually the problem here is too much rain – and when the dirt is so saturated and muddy, farmers cannot plant their crops and our lawns turn into mud bogs.  I was hoping to get outside this weekend and plant grass seed in a few bare spots and rake up the last of winter’s leaves and burr balls. But it is too wet to do anything like yet. I might have to take off a half day from work next week if we get a sunny day – just so I can get a start on my yard work!

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Out to eat

I took my lovely wife out to eat last night and then for a couple of drinks and dancing. The restaurant was really good. We had Indian food which is very spicy, at a new place on the South side of town. Not having ever eaten Indian food before I only had a slight knowledge of what to expect and was pleasantly surprised. I knew that it would be spicy, but they gauge the spice factor for those not accustomed to it and that I didn’t know. I would have tried it years ago if I had but known that.

After dinner we went to a little place downtown that plays blues and jazz music for a romantic evening. We really enjoyed it and had a good time just talking like we used to before we married. That was the best part for me. I think sometimes people get so caught up in life that they forget to talk to their partner. Then when they have problems, they think that they have changed or drifted apart, when all they did was stop talking to each other. Not about everyday things, but the other stuff, like dreams and such. I hope that never happens to my wife and I.

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New mower

Well the old mower finally died. I guess I am going to have to buy a new one, because I am tired of trying to fix the old one. Since I like to garden, I am going to splurge a little. There is a small John Deere tractor that has the mowing deck as well as other attachments for tilling, post hole digging attachment and such. I have enough property to warrant buying one, because I will get plenty of use out of it.

We have long wanted to put up a fence around the property and this way I can do it myself, without hiring a company to come out and do it for me. I will have all of the necessary tools at my disposal. Of course, once I do that my wife will probably start buying livestock, but I don’t mind. She has these little miniature horses that she just fell in love with and wants to buy so badly. They are kind of cute, but I told her that if she wants pets like that, she has to buy others for food as well. Some goats would be nice to have. Goat milk is really good for you and you can make lots of stuff with it. I guess this year is going to be interesting to say the least.

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Eye doctors

Well, I guess it is time to go back to the eye doctors. I only have one pair of contacts left and they wont refill the prescription unless I have another eye check. It’s not like I didn’t know this, but I was hoping I could get out of it. It seems silly to me as my prescription has not changed in years. However, the doctor says that just because it hasn’t changed before, doesn’t mean it wont change now. I suppose I am just stubborn. If I don’t have to spend the extra money, I would much rather not. I can think of a million things to spend that money on without it going into the eye doctors pocket.

I should be thankful that it is not a dentist appointment. That I would probably leave town to avoid. Like most people I hate going to the dentist, so I am not going to complain about the eye doctor anymore. He isn’t so bad. I wonder if I should get some colored contacts, just for fun. They have some pretty wicked colors out now a days. They even have ones for Halloween and such. I think that would definitely be neat, but I am not sure the wife would like it.

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I need a vacation

I really need a vacation to somewhere tropical. Between the weather, work and family issues, I am so past due for some serious R & R. I would love to go to the Virgin islands and just bask on the beach in the sun. This would actually be the perfect time to go as it is not hurricane season and the weather is mild this time of year. I know that my wife would love to enjoy some good weather and get herself a tan. I have been there once before when I was younger and in college. It was a spring break kind of thing, but without the wildness. My friends and I weren’t the wild party type.

We are all just a bunch of computer geeks, but that didn’t mean we had no fun at all. We drank like everyone else, but it wasn’t the out of control stuff you hear about on the news and such. There were certainly no “Girls gone wild” on our spring break, much to our disappointment. I have always wanted to take my wife there though, and I think it is about time. I am going to check out reservations and such to see just what the damage will be.

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Valentines day

Oh boy it is here again. This is one holiday that can be totally distressing for men. We rarely know what women actually want and the usual flowers and chocolate seems trite and inconsequential.My wife loves me, but I think this year I had better step it up a notch. Her reaction last year while polite and appreciative, was just a little less enthusiastic then it usually is. She always goes all out for me and this year I am going to have to do the same for her. I am wondering if I should get her a piece of jewelry.

I have seen all of the ads for the usual jewelry sales and such, but I want to get her something that she will treasure. There is also this used car that she has had her eye on. We have a car payment for our new vehicle that I drive back and forth to work, but she insisted that a new vehicle for her when she doesn’t work is too much. Maybe I should get her the used one. I think she would be very very happy if I gave her that car for Valentines day. Yes I do believe that I have found the perfect gift.

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Carpet Cleaning

The last time I called a carpet cleaning company to come do the carpets in my house, I thought I was getting a deal with a coupon for three rooms for $30. That was a bargain and that is what I expected to pay.

Of course, when the guy got here he told me that the $30 rate would not do the job my carpets needed. He recommended a lot of extra chemicals and processes that ran the estimated bull up to over $100. I told him that I only had $30 and that I would take $30 worth of the cleaning this time. If it wasn’t good enough then I would have to call them back in a month or two.

He was obviously disappointed that I couldn’t be talked into the higher charges. But he did a decent job. For $30 it is worth having someone else bring the equipment, chemicals and labor. But for $100 I could buy my own carpet cleaning machine and do the job myself every month for a couple of years for no extra charge except a new bottle of carpet shampoo once in a while.

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Winter Series Premieres

This month has a few nice surprises for TV viewers. A lot of new shows on cable are having premieres. I’m particularly interested in two new shows on the FX cable channel. The first one is called “House of Lies,” a new show about PR and consulting for big business. The other one is the second season of a show called “Shameless.” It looks like a peek into the world of a drug addict and street criminal and his family living in poverty in the slums of Los Angeles.

“House of Lies” is a drama with a lot of explicit sex. I thought it looked interesting from the previews, but the show I watched was disappointing. It was like a formula of “do this, then that” with nudity and references to every hot button like gay, divorce, retired, strip club, etc. for shock value rather than writing a good story.

“Shameless” is supposed to be a drama with a tinge of comedy. The characters are pathetic and I’m not sure yet if we are supposed to laugh at them or cry for them.