Category Archives: Thoughts

Only one reason to get dressed up

December 15, 2011Family, ThoughtsFamily, Thoughtswarren

I am very fortunate to have the type of job I have. For the most part, I can wear whatever I want to work. I usually go with some sort of business-casual costume but I could almost as easily wear a clown suit. I only own khaki-brown pants and brown shoes so it is pretty easy for me to get it all together in the morning and I sort of like the simplicity of my wardrobe.

10_02_2005 085 — Both of us...at the same time...6 years ago, the last time we got dressed up I think!

Sometimes, I suppose different dress is required. I always said there is only one reason to get dressed up – to honor the end of a life…like at weddings and funerals. For those occasions, I have exactly one suit.

10_02_2005 084 — I think he actually liked the tux...or is that a scream of pain?

Isaac has a band concert tonight and he had to wear something a little more special than the usually middle-school-wear of jeans and a hoodie. He had to wear a collared shirt…gasp! Of course, he forbade Emily to buy him anything with a collar in August when we bought school clothes so they had a shopping trip yesterday to prepare for the band concert.

For me, clothes are a nuisance. I am not ready for the nudist camps but I just don’t care about wearing the best designer clothes or anything but my one pair of brown shoes. Isaac is much like me though he had definite opinions on what new clothes he needed. He was so proud and excited to wear something different I think.

12_15_2011 039 — He is such a great kid, though it is nearly impossible to get a serious shot of him

You might think we are cheap-skates by how he justified his new clothes, “I can wear them at Easter too Dad!” I know better though…he is growing far too fast for those clothes to fit at Easter. Still, I appreciate his thrifty suggestion.

So, the boy turns 12 on Friday. It’s hard for me to believe that it’s been 12 years since his beginning. He is about the same height as Emily and wears bigger shoes than I wear (my brown shoes are safe!) I think the only other occasion, besides the band concert, for which Isaac can wear his new fancy clothes is his birthday party. He is a fantastic kid and I am so proud to be his Dad and to watch every minute of his journey to adulthood. I think I have the perfect birthday gift for his 13th birthday. My suit will probably fit him just fine by next year…

Best party ever!

December 7, 2011ThoughtsThoughtswarren

I turned 40 last week. Holy CRAP! I am 40! Oh, I know, you can’t believe it since I look so incredibly young and fit, but it’s true. I am 40! The night before my birthday, one of my friends texted me wanting me to meet him for breakfast. I didn’t think anything of it so I agreed and we had a good feed at Panera. I wandered into the office around 9 and found my office fully…uh…decorated. It didn’t occur to me that I was being stalled at breakfast, honestly. I texted pics to Emily and she said, “you idiot, what did you think he was doing?”

I took off the day before my birthday and my…uh..friends in the office spent a good deal of time…uh…decorating. They didn’t quite finish so breakfast was for the final touches. Anyhow, they did an awesome job and it was a great start to my day! I pretty much walked around in circles all day and admired myself in the mirror as well as the decorations in my office.

4 rolls of toilet paper went into the making of this surprise!

They were so generous! They even got me Geritol and Ensure!

Handicap parking sticker on my chair mat — This was my favorite part - on my chair pad

After work, Emily had set up a big party with some family and friends at a local bowling alley. A few months ago she was talking about a more formal dinner party and I said that it wasn’t really my style. I am more bowling alley than sit down dinner, you see. So, we switched gears and I had a great party in the bowling alley!

I guess most people stress out about turning 40. They feel old and out of touch and sloppy and all of that but I just don’t feel any of that stuff. I still act like a 13 year old most days actually. I don’t know, I like turning 40 and I am pretty proud to cross over into a new demographic on all of the forms and surveys from now on. Someday I may be tempted to buy a Buick, but for now, I am not ready to grow up!

I already know all of those words Dad

December 6, 2011Family, ThoughtsFamily, Funny, Thoughtswarren

We don’t watch a lot of television and I am often reminded of exactly why. The other day, we were sitting down to watch some tv show during prime-time. Things started out pretty much as most tv shows start…you know, with cussing. I cringed a little inside because as much as I enjoy a good cuss now and then, it is an odd situation when you’re sitting with your 8 year old and some stranger on tv demonstrates the range of their vocabulary. I am pretty realistic and a bit sexist I guess but I figure Isaac already knows most of the standard compliment of cuss words. In fact, he has used a great number of colorful words on me. Anyhow, there is just something not right about hearing cussing around your little daughter.

I looked over at Emily and then at Abigail and I guess she picked up on my discomfort. “Did you hear all of those cuss words, Dad?” “Yes Abigail, I heard them.” “Don’t worry Dad, I already knew them. Isaac taught me most of them.” That’s a relief…I guess. My gaze turned to Isaac and he had the sudden need to go study…something.

So, we still have tv and the kids still get to watch it. They can watch any channel they like so long as it is the Weather Channel. The kids still yell at each other, but I don’t mind. “Hey Cumulonimbus face, your occluded front is running down your chin like the Noreaster tears across New England.” “Oh yeah, well the barometric pressure is making the dew build up on your weathervane of a nose!”

On the way to the outhouse

November 30, 2011Cabin, Land, Nature, Thoughts, WVNaturewarren

So, we are building our cabin, right? The land is completely raw so there are absolutely no amenities, if you catch my drift. So, we work hard about every weekend from morning until dark. We drink fluids and nature does with fluids what nature is supposed to do with fluids. Yeah, we have to pee sometimes when we go out to the property.

Last week and this week are deer hunting season in WV. I promise this is related. So, let’s pretend that one of the females who may or may not be my wife, drank some fluids during deer season on a piece of raw land out in the woods in WV. As nature takes its course, such a person may feel a little fearful of being mistaken for a deer….a white tailed deer in that exposed condition, while dealing with…uh…natural things. The obvious solution to such a dilemma is to announce one’s presence in the woods like so: “I am not a deer. I am not a deer. I am not a deer”. So far, there has been no mistake and we have had done very well with this method.

Now let’s say that a guy who may or may not be me also had fluids while working on a piece of raw land out in the country in WV. Now for a guy, the world is pretty much a fair target. Oh yes, it is all about the challenge of a good target. Anyhow, with the world as a man’s urinal, the concern over being confused as a deer is less pressing. Instead, a man is able to take in the sights in Nature’s lavatory.

It seems very late for mushrooms, but the whole point of this story is to lead up to how a guy who may or may not be me, found a really cool log that had the most exquisite collection of mushrooms growing on it. I like to touch mushrooms. Is that weird? These mushrooms were silky and really fleshy and difficult to stop touching. That’s weird I know, but I think it is fascinating that there are things in the woods that keep the place cleaned up but still look so delicate and soft. I mean, they were chewing up a log for goodness sakes! I have been making far too much contact with wood as I build this cabin and my head is suffering greatly from how hard wood is. These beautiful mushrooms eat the same wood for breakfast!

Even in the most basic of times in the woods, I am continually amazed at the power and beauty that is around me all of the time. I like to pay attention to these things, even on the way to the outhouse.

Country Neighbors

November 23, 2011Awesome, Cabin, Family, Land, Thoughts, WVAwesome, Cabin, Landwarren

I grew up in the country and it was just a natural thing then I guess. People always waved to each other and talked as you passed and left extra zucchini on your porch and helped out when you needed it. It’s been 20+ years since I lived in the country though and my city life has sort of become ingrained. We moved to Nashville and it was a huge culture shock to me…from a town of 600 or so people to a town of a million and a half. I remember as we drove in to Nashville on one of our first visits, there was a guy in a car ramming another guy in a car going full speed down the interstate among how-ever-many lanes of traffic there were then. It wasn’t a wreck…yet. They were road-raging and ramming each other. I knew this wasn’t quite like where I grew up.

The ridge board that supports the rafters at the top end

So, I became a city boy and all that friendly stuff had to be put on the back burner. It’s not that people in a city aren’t friendly once you get to know them… it’s just that you have to find a way to get to know them first and sometimes even neighbors aren’t interested in getting to know one another.

So, fast forward a bit. The folks from whom we bought the property still live on the land they retained the next hillside over. Larry, Granny Sue’s husband, delivered some scaffolding he had over at his place a few weeks back. He showed us how to set it up and use it and has let us keep it up there as long as we need it. And then last weekend as we were working on setting up our rafters. One of the boys (they are grown men but we call the brothers that live near us, “the boys” and I think they would be ok with that) came by on his 4-wheeler to ask if he could hunt on our property. I told him that any of the boys and their family could hunt but I didn’t want anyone else who didn’t live up there hunting. I would have never known whether they hunted or not during the week but I am really glad he asked.

Anyhow, we agreed that he could hunt so I figured he would go on to do other things with his day. Instead, to our surprise, he asked if we needed help. I was thrilled because Emily and I were trying to maneuver 16 foot long 2×8 boards around by ourselves on the second story of the deluxe shed. It was going to end up with a bout of intense negotiation. So, our friend climbed up and we started to work. We worked an hour or so before we had to head home.

That’s about half of the rafters done!

Now that’s one thing, helping a guy for an hour, but the next day we got up there and my friend came over and brought his brother with him! We worked together all day long and got half of the faters in place and secured! They were a huge help and I was delighted to get to know them a little better. We had met on other occasions, but we hadn’t really talked or goofed around before. Aside from their tremendous help, I absolutely loved the sense of community and belonging that we have felt up on the ridge. The neighbors across the way (she’s a sister to the brothers) came to visit the first day we showed up. Our kids have played with their kids every time we are up there. They invited us to a potluck dinner one night where we talked about all sorts of things and may have solved the world’s problems. The brothers who helped with the rafters along with Larry and Granny Sue have been so kind and helpful as we work on the new place. With the utmost respect I say that I am so glad to have country neighbors!

See all of the progress on the cabin

The Eastern time zone

October 14, 2011ThoughtsThoughtswarren

When Emily and I lived in Nashville, we used to go to bed at 10:00. We were on Central time so prime-time TV started at 7 and the news came on at 10pm. It seemed natural, you know…turn on the news, ignore it…brush your teeth…then off to bed. I don’t know about you, but I am asleep before my head even hits the pillow. So, in Nashville, we were asleep by 10:30 and we got up at 5:30.

Here in WV, things are a little different. We still ignore the news when we bother to turn it on and we still brush our teeth, but it seems like the only consistent thing in our nighttime routine is the fact that we don’t go to bed until 11:30. We still get up early at 5:45 so I have no other option but to blame our lack of sleep on the Eastern time zone.

I know that getting six and a quarter hours of sleep isn’t really ideal. It may shorten our lives a bit even. The only way I see to handle it is to leave the Eastern time zone or to start paying attention to the news. I am not sure that I like the taste of either option so I will just have to live on the edge in the Eastern time zone. EDT/EST baby!

We are Falling

October 3, 2011Nature, Thoughts, WVFallwarren

We were cruising along pretty well with the summer bit. The sun was hot and the leaves were green. Each morning we could pretty much count on wearing short sleeves and shorts. We were in Summer until Friday. Rains came and wind came and Isaac had a soccer game. The temperature got down to somewhere in the 40s and that’s about how many inches of rain we got too…40. Not really of course. Isaac ended up being ball-boy for the second game after the game he played. He was soaked through to the bone after the second hour in the rain wearing only his uniform. Emily and I were only slightly better. I was shivering like a 5th grade boy at a Sadie Hawkins dance.

Well, all of that is to say the Fall is here. Some parts of Fall suit me well. I love the colors and cider and finishing up the garden. I hate cold and all things cold related though.

I thought it was probably good for my own mental well-being to find some pics of the awesome things of Fall…you know, so I don’t drink my sorrows away in a vat of apple cider (which by the way, is almost ready to be made!).

I have been collecting pics of our travels out to the bee farm and some of them really feel like Fall to me (minus the cold and misery). I am not sure what makes them feel like Fall. Anyone else have things that just seem like Fall?

My braces are off!!

September 15, 2011Adventure, ThoughtsAdventure, Thoughtswarren

A little over 2 years ago, my foray into the world of braces and oral pain began. I am here to tell you that yesterday, my braces were removed. I didn’t have braces in the traditional sense because I was fitted with Invisalign aligners. Part of that process, though, involved the installation of tons of knobs and buttons and bumps on my teeth so the aligners could grab onto something. So, I had knobs and bumps and stuff removed yesterday and my teeth are straight!

Growing up as a boy with a brother who liked to fight (it was mutual), my teeth were a wreck. I had chips and dings in my teeth, both top and bottom. After grinding all of the extra stuff off of my teeth, they ground my teeth too. I no longer have chipped or uneven teeth! Although those chips were hard won, I am happy to be free from their unhappy appearance. I have to tell you though, it was a lot more fun getting those chips than having them ground away. Holy cow was that awful!

Before Invisalign

After Invisalign…cheesy grin at no extra charge

So, I was fitted for retainers and now I will spend 4 months wearing them 24/7. If all goes well with that, I will wear them only at night after that period. I am pretty pleased with how all of this went down. I would do it again if I had to go back in time. What I wouldn’t do, however, is use Invisalign. I would get the regular old fashioned braces and be done with it. Mainly, I like the cool colored rubber bands. Actually, either way you can see stuff in your mouth. Invisalign aligners are not invisible and I needed to wear rubber bands anyhow in order to move my teeth and bite around. With the bands, Invisalign aligners are a ton more work every time you eat or drink anything besides water. No thanks. Hopefully I will never know though.

Gimme a call

August 2, 2011Family, ThoughtsFamily, Thoughtswarren

My baby boy is growing up! It seems like just yesterday he was born and here we are preparing to send the boy off to that wasteland that is middle school. I grew up in BFE so we had k-6 in one school and 7-12 in another. It was somewhat terrifying because of that age span but there were a lot fewer kids and most everyone’s family knew everyone else’s family so trouble was somewhat minimized. Anyhow, Isaac will soon be headed to “real” middle school where there are hundreds of kids…my little baby!

As a sort of “nerve pill” for Emily and me, we decided that we wanted Isaac to be able to reach us at any time. So, we ventured out to the mobile phone store and were thrilled by the technological spectacle that presented itself. Well, actually, we were flabbergasted by the price of phones and mobile plans. Holy cow! Anyhow, we decided that with soccer practice starting soon, Isaac needed to be able to contact us and, more importantly, contact his friends.

Isaac put up quite a sales pitch for a full-blown smart-phone. The sales guy was all too willing to help Isaac make his case. Fortunately, we held our ground and got Isaac a poverty-level phone…you know, one with calling and texting only. I sure hope he can survive. My poor baby!

I know, lots of people made it through middle school without phones. I don’t care. Technology is around us and we embrace it. We are trying to be sensible though and are using this as a way to teach responsibility. Any time I see a way to expand communication, I am for it!

None of us is too worried about middle school. We are building it up so we all have positive expectations of the next school year. A little bit of trepidation crops up now and then in the back of my head, but I know it is going to be alright. Heck, my baby boy is only a phone call away!

It’s gouda stuff!

May 13, 2011Family, Food, ThoughtsFamily, Food, Thoughtswarren

I was wandering through the grocery store the other day (which is really the only way I ever experience the grocery store) when I passed by the cheese area. A certain joy overtook me as I saw that delectable red wax wheel covering, what I remembered to be, the cheese of the gods. When I was a kid, my parents used to get a wheel of gouda cheese every now and then. My brother and I waited patiently as mom and dad unwrapped the cellophane and sliced through the wax to cut out our wedges. It was a bit of a delicacy when I was growing up so we got a fairly small piece each time so we could make it last several days. I remember enjoying that whole experience so much.

04_12_2011 033 — That was supper one night

So, I bought a small wheel of gouda cheese the other day and did the routine, opening the wrapper, cutting the wax, doing all the stuff like when I was a kid. You know what? It was almost as good as I remember. My tastes are probably a little more exotic now than they were when I was a kid but I think my “taste memory” kicked in and made it taste far better than it really was.

Now I am no longer bound by rules of sharing or making it last or even letting anyone know I even bought the stuff. It’s weird maybe, but I wanted to sort of keep it to myself a little. Isn’t that weird? Anyhow, I plowed through that wheel all by myself. It was the first I had in a long time and was just sort of cool. I think I will buy another wheel of gouda cheese though, and this time, I may just share small slivers with the kids. We may try to make it last and talk about how special gouda cheese is. I think my kids need to develop a “taste memory”. I don’t know if they will ever have the love affair with gouda that I do, but I can try! After all, not too many other foods can describe themselves…it’sa gouda!

Anyone else have a “taste memory” for something from when you were a kid?

My Home Among The Hills

Life in WV!