Category Archives: Awesome

I heard it through the grapevine

August 16, 2012Awesome, Canning, FoodAwesome, Canning, Foodwarren

I was headed home from harvesting honey on Sunday when I passed a friend on the road as I was coming off the ridge. I skidded to a stop on the gravel road (which is always a thrill!) and we talked about bees and stuff. Last week, my friend had offered for me to come pick grapes from his vines. I ran out of time last week, but my friend offered again and I took him up on it!

We picked a basket full of grapes without even working at it and I have to tell you, the smell of freshly picked, perfectly ripe grapes is incredible. I sort of hated to get out of the car, the smell was so incredible. If they made fresh grape cologne, I would consider wearing cologne. I would not consider it long as I do not like cologne at all, but I would consider it…it was that incredible.

Crushing grapes — Getting ready to cook them into jelly!

Cooking grapes down — Do you see they eyeball thing? Freaks me out!

Imagine my surprise Tuesday night when I walked into the house and smelled the grapes that Emily and Abigail were cooking into grape juice (and soon to be jelly!). The house was heavenly! Have you noticed how bad store-bought grape jelly is? It used to taste grapey and pretty good but now it just tastes purpley. It is awful.

Making grape juice…to turn into grape jelly!

Ok, sorry…sidetracked. Anyhow, I used to freak out when I saw my mom and grandma canning grape juice. They always added a few grape into the jars and as they sat upon the shelves in the cellar, I swore it looked like jars of eyeballs. No, in our grape juice, there will be no eyeballs. Our jelly will be grapey and the sun will continue to rise in the east. This is just how things should be.

Tuned in

July 25, 2012Awesome, ThoughtsAwesome, Technologywarren

I was a weird kid…ask anyone. Some would argue I am still am weird. They are probably right. Anyhow, when I was a kid, I had a small black transistor radio from Sears that Santa brought. I listened to classical music frequently on it. I also listened to Charlie Pride and CCR on 8 track so I had a diverse listening experience as a kid. Anyhow, back to that transistor radio. I loved that radio and loved the smell of the ozone it generated (or whatever that smell that old electronics make). Surely I am not the only one who knows and likes that smell? I (somewhat) understand how radio waves work but I remain amazed at how people talking somewhere in the world can end up talking through the little speaker in my hand.

Fast forward to now. I have a little bit of extra money now and then and my fascination with radios is being reborn. I got my ham radio license a few months ago and that started me learning more about radios and antennae and stuff. So, with that extra money I mentioned a moment ago, I went junkin’ a few months ago and found a 40ish year old shortwave radio…for $1!

Just this weekend, I was driving by another pile of junk someone had for sale sitting out by the road. I spotted another old shortwave radio and whipped the car around to check it out…for a mere $7 I bought another 40ish year old shortwave radio. Both radios are in pretty awesome shape and tune very well.

Aren’t those faces just beautiful

I have a third more modern shortwave radio which is nice and all but punching in frequencies on the keyboard just doesn’t have that old fashioned radio feel and the new radio doesn’t make that old radio smell. I love to stoop in near the radio with my ear to the speaker as I slowly and carefully turn the dial listening for anything interesting.

Tecsun PL-380 shortwave radio — My modern but boring to tune shortwave radio!

I have all of my radios on a table in the living room and when the lights are dimmed a little and I can spend a few minutes tuning in the world, the world feels a little smaller…and a lot more crazy! Seriously, have you ever listened to shortwave? There are lots of crazy folks on there. Still, there is even more awesome stuff broadcast on shortwave and I love searching for every bit I can find!

Does anyone else listen to shortwave (or any band in addition to AM/FM)?

Has it been 18 already?

July 23, 2012AwesomeAwesomewarren

Today is our 18th wedding anniversary. I know, when you see pictures of us, you say to yourself that we cannot possibly be old enough to have been married for 18 years but it is true. We both turned 40 this year so that makes us…young when we were married. Sometimes I think back and can’t imagine how young we really were but I would not trade a single day of our 18 years…plus 3 before that when we dated.

I guess I don’t tell Emily how lucky I know I am to have been able to marry her. We probably won’t do anything fancy tonight and I expect we will probably act today much like any other day, but I am truly as happy as I have ever been and I am so proud to call Emily my wife!

Putting on shoes again

June 22, 2012Awesome, FamilyFamilywarren

It’s been a great week at the beach. When I got here on Saturday afternoon, I took my lace-up shoes off and have not had them on my feet since. It’s a pretty cool metaphor for the beach now that I think of it. When we are at the beach, there are really no rules and nothing tying us down. If we want to eat Oreos for breakfast, we do. If we want to read books all day and doze in and out under the tent on the beach, we do. Shoes are so constraining and sometimes life feels that way too. The beach is just the opposite of all that! I want to marry the beach.

Ok, so that won’t work and I really don’t like sand in every nook and cranny I carry around on my unshod feet. But I do love being here. Our family loves to read and we have vary varied tastes. We decided to take a picture of the books that we read this week at the beach. Some we read more than once. It was a great bit of fun and they will smell like suntan lotion for months so we will have great reminders of our time here.

We spent a lot of time together as a family just enjoying each other and we talked about a little bit of everything. We didn’t turn on the tv or do anything touristy (there isn’t anything of that sort at Topsail…which is why we love it here). We just sat and bared our soles (well, souls, and that might be a stretch but I am trying to work with the shoe metaphor here…gimme a break). I love my little family and it is so nice to be reminded of just how much on these trips. There are no appointments to make and no chores to do. It’s wonderful!

So, tonight as I pack my bags and try to find my socks and shoes, I am a little sad. Soon we will be back to the grind doing what we always do. I think of these getaways as almost sacred and everyone knows you aren’t supposed to wear shoes on sacred ground!

It’s all in your Loggerhead

June 18, 2012Awesome, NatureAwesome, Naturewarren

I have no idea why that title struck me but there we have it. It will make some sense in a minute…bear with me. So, we ate far too much food tonight after a full day of body surfing and skim boarding…with no broken bones! It was still early so we decided to take a stroll on the beach, narrow as it was. Our location on Topsail is strange…at low tide, the beach is quite wide and pretty nice to be upon. At high tide, however, the ocean comes within a few feet of…whatever you call it…where the beach ends.

Part of the walk...hunting for the largest sand crab hole! — Part of the walk…hunting for the largest sand crab hole!

Family picture on the beach — Aren’t we a pretty bunch?

So, we decided to take a walk on the narrow beach this evening and we happened upon a group of folks who were into something important…well, we figured that a body had washed up on shore. Luckily it wasn’t that. Apparently, last night a momma loggerhead turtle had laid a nest of eggs on the beach and the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center staff were busy relocating the turtle eggs from the narrow beach location further up on the dune nearby. They had a number of folks present…almost like they had done this before. One guy was there to answer questions. He told us that there are 26 miles of beaches that make up Topsail island and that every quarter mile or so, there is a turtle egg site. That makes just over 100 nesting sites. Volunteers walk the entire beach every day during the laying season to make sure they find all of the nests. They relocate nearly all of those sites to safer locations away from foot traffic and storm surges. In each move, two folks work on digging the eggs and placing them into a bucket to carry to the new site. It is a state law that the eggs be counted and confirmed during the move. Their starting and ending locations are gps mapped and one egg is harvested to maintain a DNA record.

Getting ready to move loggerhead turtle eggs

By collecting and tracking DNA, staff have determined that loggerhead turtles do not necessarily return to the exact same nesting spot each year but that there are apparently a few spots they use. One staff member said they had tracked one DNA signature between Topsail, the Outer Banks and one other place I can’t remember. Pretty cool I’d say!

The Q&A staff member said that 93% of the eggs hatch but that only 1 in 4000 or so live to maturity. Their biggest predator/enemy is humans of course. Between fishing, pollution and stupidity, humans apparently take quite a toll. Fishing vessels are now equipped with turtle escape devices (TEDs) to allow captured turtles to safely escape so steps are being taken to lessen human impact some.

The loggerhead turtle eggs ready to be relocated

So, the staff dug 157 eggs from the nest we observed and gently placed them into a new nest. They covered the site with a welded wire fence to prevent predators from digging and marked the site to prevent human interference. All in all, it was a really great encounter we had on the beach and I have been thinking about the turtles all evening. They are endangered and it makes me sad to think that someday we may not be able to witness such an interesting and truly cool scene. I guess it’s good to see things like this and to take pause now and then. It’s good to get a little loggerhead in your head I think!

I’m in a NC state of mind

June 17, 2012Adventure, Awesome, FamilyAdventure, Awesome, Familywarren

My old pal Billy Joel finds himself in a NY state of mind but I have to tell you, I couldn’t be happier to be in a NC state of mind! We made it to the beach at Topsail Island yesterday and it couldn’t have come soon enough. There has been much chaos in my world lately so this trip is a long desired, much needed get away.

We made it to NC — The distance from the border to the beach is far too far!

The beach...At last! — The beach…At last!

After staying up pretty late reading last night, the kids brought me breakfast in bed this morning…at 6am. It was a great start to a great father’s day celebration. We ate and pretty quickly headed for the beach before it was warm enough for sane people to be in the water. The kids, not being sane of course, jumped right in and didn’t seem the least bit effected by the cold. I stayed under the tent some but mostly played in the surf with the kids. We laid around here and there all afternoon and went out to a really nice meal (before the crowds! I guess we got the early bird specials…oh crap, 40 has changed me!) and then took a walk on the beach. It never did get too warm today by beach standards but any day at the beach beats a great day anywhere else!

I was stupid last weekend and got a sunburn on my back (don’t ask….I told you it was stupid). Of course, here at the beach, we always wear rash guard shirts so we are protected. When I had my shirt off on the porch, my peeling lizard skin grossed Abigail out tremendously. I love grossing her out…and trading jabs with Isaac. He is growing into a great middle school kid. He just doesn’t seem to understand that Abigail will not respond like his buddies do. They are used to trading insults back and forth and trying to out-do each other with “your momma” jokes. Abigail has no tolerance for that! Anyhow, I had a great time messing with the kids and doing my fatherly duty to give them material for therapy when they get older! I love the beach where the rules are few and the junk food is plentiful!

Well friends, a book is calling my name so I will wrap this up. Just know that my mental health is quickly returning to “normal” and that I am in a NC state of mind!

In the black!

April 7, 2012Awesome, Family, ThoughtsAwesome, Family, Thoughtswarren

Isaac started taking Tae kwon do a little over 2 years ago (I looked back at that picture of him when he started…*sniff, sniff* where is my baby?) and I had pretty mixed emotions about the whole deal. I mean, taking your kid to a class where they learn how to fight, and I mean seriously fight…it just sort of seems messed up to me…or at least it did. Isaac took his black belt test today and passed beautifully. He has mastered his forms and knows many good kicks. He had to break a number of boards and spar with several other students. He really demonstrated that his skills are well defined and that his training has paid off. As I watched him spar the other students, I saw Isaac take some hits and land some hits. In both cases though, he handled it. He’s not just a little kid any more. He handled a challenge, he overcame a little pain and he fought hard and with determination. He’s become such a different (and better) young man than when he started TKD.

Getting ready for the taekwondo black belt test — Getting ready...

I think the thing that made me most proud today was how he handled himself and his nerves. Of course it is a big deal to test for the black belt. What he didn’t fully know is the degree to which he was to be quizzed on everything. The instructors asked him all sorts of questions on all sorts of topics and he really made me proud. He answered with thoughtful, complete answers that were more mature than I ever expected.

Taekwondo board breaking — Getting ready to break boards

Quizzed for black belt test — Grandmaster preparing to quiz Isaac

Teaching a kid to fight is one way to look at learning TKD. I think the more important view is that TKD teaches a young man how to handle himself in many situations. I think this whole process taught me something too. My son is growing up and I am learning just how exciting it is to watch my little boy grow into a young man. *sniff sniff*

Mah baby turned 9!

April 3, 2012Awesome, FamilyAwesome, Familywarren

My baby girl turned 9 today. How can that be?! It was just yesterday she was born! Of course, it was just yesterday I was 18 too so I guess I have blinked! Anyhow, to celebrate, we went out to eat with family tonight. Emily asked Abigail where she wanted to go for her party. We figured she would pick any number of places but we never expected she would say she wanted to eat at the Mexican restaurant where we often eat. You see, what makes it especially funny is that she always orders a hotdog or a hamburger…at the Mexican restaurant.

Well, a bunch of us ate together and Abigail had a great time! She sat at the head of the table and absolutely absorbed every smile and laugh from our group! She was in her element at the center of attention. Just as she was finishing up her ~~french~~ Mexican fries, the wait-staff brought her fried ice cream and a big sombrero. She didn’t know, as they sang her a birthday song, that she would get a nose full of whipped cream, a Mexican restaurant tradition.

For her birthday, Abigail wanted folks to donate money to relief efforts for the recent tornadoes in Kentucky. We sort of poked around a little though to see what else she wanted. I figured she would pick a new book or maybe some clothes…nope. She wanted wood files. That’s right – my little girl wanted wood-working tools that she has seen me use. Heck, I was happy to oblige…she got wood rasps for her 9th birthday!

After we got home tonight, she was just a delight. She danced around and laughed and said, “this was a splendid day!” That’s my baby girl…growing up so well!

Bullets vs. hard drives

March 28, 2012AwesomeAwesomewarren

Did you ever wonder what would happen when a bullet passes through different things? I have always enjoyed shooting a random pumpkin or a tv. Just fyi…a pumpkin makes an excellent display when shot with a proper shotgun. A tv is far more dull than I expected. I suppose that shooting a plugged-in-and-running tv might be interesting but I digress.

Anyhow, guns are awesome things…in both good and bad ways. I truly enjoy target shooting…that’s one of the good-awesome aspects of shooting. So, a friend of mine at work often heads to the shooting range with me at lunch. This week, Emily came along with us too. She wanted to shoot her Valentine’s day gun (and you thought I wasn’t a romantic).

So, my friend and I work at an IT business. We are both involved in developing software but we often get old or crashed computers in that are headed for the big website in the sky. We always recycle every bit of equipment that comes in. Part of that includes destroying the hard drives to protect any information that might be on them. Eventually, every hard drive gets shredded in a super cool shredder machine that eats them like a paper shredder chews stupid credit card offers.

Anyhow, that gives us an opportunity to pre-destroy the hard drives via bullet. We took two hard drives to the range the other day and shot them with a bunch of different guns. The one that surprised me most was the 38 caliber bullet. If you look carefully, you can see how it ricocheted off of the hard drive face. I couldn’t believe it! How could a bullet not pass through a simple hard drive?! One bullet splattered on impact. Why oh why 38 are you so weak?

Bullets through a hard drive — 45 through the top left, .223 through the bottom right and beside the splattered 38

We stepped it up a bit with other calibers and had great success with the 45 caliber and the .223 (typical assault rifle ammo). I knew those bullets would penetrate but I was incredibly surprised about the 38.

So friends, if you ever find your self in possession of a hard drive that simply needs to be shot, I can heartily recommend only calibers larger than the pitiful 38!

And that’s how you send off a mortgage

March 21, 2012Awesome, FamilyAwesome, Familywarren

My parents bought the house they are in awhile ago. I was not born in that house but it is the only house I ever knew as a kid. So, like many folks, they paid for it month after month for what seems like an eternity. Just in the last few months they made their final payment and are now mortgage free.

Shooting a 45! Check out the ejected shell!

We were in PA for a party (more on that another day) and had a little time to hang out with an old friend. You see, my brother was also in for this party so it was a pretty cool opportunity to hang out with a guy that we have both known since for as long as we can remember. Jefé(as we will call him here…to protect the innocent) has been a great friend, especially so to my brother. They went to school together since kindergarten (I went with Jefé’s sister since we were in kindergarten).

Shooting a 44 magnum — Jefé shooting a 44 magnum...get ready...

Anyhow, Jefé found himself in possession of a small cannon. Yes, a literal cannon. My parents had their paid-off mortgage papers, we had access to a cannon…do you see where this is going? Isaac, my brother and I spent the day target shooting with Jefé, so the cannon as grand finale was a perfect end to the day. Right after dark, Jefé loaded the cannon with powder and my Mom stuffed the mortgage down into the muzzle.

Mom putting the mortgage into the cannon

We stood around anxiously waiting for the fuse to burn down. It was only a few seconds but the excitement we all shared was so awesome! The cannon fired sending flames and smoke and the remnants of the mortgage flying through the air. The mortgage had met its match and lost!

;

Click here for a sideways video of the cannon (my software to rotate it properly is messed up…but you will get the idea!)

I can’t wait until my mortgage is paid off. The few seconds of excitement blowing Mom and Dad’s away was so much fun. I am sure they are relieved and proud and relieved. Honestly, every bank should be required to supply a cannon to folks when they pay off their mortgage. There is such celebration when you sign on for a mortgage but the best part usually goes by without even a mention. Not me dear friends…a cannon will be a part of many important celebrations in my life!

(By the way, shooting a cannon is incredibly dangerous so DO NOT try it on your own! You can’t pay off your mortgage if you’re dead!)

My Home Among The Hills

Life in WV!