Becoming more familiar

I'm becoming more familiar with posting videos I take and syncing a think-pad I use with the laptop I use and the two most frequently desktop computers I use. I'm not an expert, mind you. It's a trial and error type thing where I don't really know what I'm doing. I'm just clicking away most of the time and signing up my email the rest of the time.

Today is Thursday March 13, and tomorrow is the last day of school before the beginning of spring break 2014 and my family is on its way to beautiful Panama City Beach, Florida for our spring break vacation.

Wait a minute, that's not true. I confess. We're not going to PCB, Fla for spring break. We don't have any plans in the making to visit that place. Monday is St. Patrick's Day and we'll likely go to Lawrence, Kansas to watch their parade and let the kids go home with their grandparents who live in Lawrence, while "The Best Thing" (you like what I did there? You know, I'm Swamp Thing, my boys are Thing one, two and three) and I go to a pub and enjoy an afternoon kid free.

Then, I reckon I'll spend the rest of spring break doing things to repair and improve my home and property. If the weather gets really nice, I'll take Thing one and Thing two to pitch a tent at a nearby lake.

I hope to sell one of our surplus vehicles this Saturday. That will be nice to be shed of that. Then, we'll have to decide if we wish to keep the other vehicle that's not the van. We'll keep the van and, speaking of the van, we'll get it serviced over the weekend as well. I'd like to sell the wagon and then purchase a pickup by the end of the summer. I'm also on the lookout for a good single axle trailer to purchase and implement into our plans.

Well, enjoy Things two and three in the video and the backyard of our house. Blessings upon you all.

Have you seen this man?

Clearly, the reward amount is a typo in excess of $900!

That folks, is not an exaggeration. That's me after a typical day teaching sophomore English.

Today, more sunlight and warm southerly breezes. Last night, more sleeplessness.

I don't have much to report. Dad is down in Daytona, Fla. for bike week as a representative of Chariots of light.

Early spring is making us all a little crazy.

We're all a little crazy already.

Love and blessings to you.

It is tomorrow, today!

The sun'll come out, tomorrow...

Tomorrow is here today! The sun is out in east central Kansas! Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! What a welcome sight to behold. The glorious sphere of near infinite nuclear fusion and white light has dissolved much of the atmospheric water vapor (clouds) and has warmed the air and cheered our hearts and has given us hope that June, July, and August are indeed on their way.

The sun being out has had a quite discernible impact on my own attitude. It was just flat out nice to be out and about yesterday, on Sunday afternoon, and to get all the tires aired up on the bikes for a family bike ride to the park. It was a popular idea, too, for the park near our house was filled to capacity with smiling adults and children and the screams of delight tumbled on the strong breeze from out of the south. 

My oldest and I had made a Pinewood Derby car, and Friday night we had three test runs, then Saturday morning was the competition. He placed 3rd, 2nd, 4th, 4th. His last race he placed 3rd, then they re-raced for some reason I couldn't discern, and he placed 4th that time. It was a hectic event, and pretty enjoyable for the most part. 

Saturday afternoon I spent cleaning up the south half of the yard inside our chain link fence. It was a complete mess and was in need of attention. I finished up well enough for the afternoon and I burned up all the little sticks in the yard and then we enjoyed a campfire into the evening with some of the firewood we had. 

Sunday, before the bike ride to the park, we had a fit of spring cleaning and I brought in my shop-vac to clean some hard to reach areas and up high. We finished off the weekend with some shrimp cocktail, grilled pork chops,  and a nice salad. 

The clocks have changed, of course, and I'm looking forward to more evenings of outdoor activity with the added daylight. Spring is on its way, people. Get your work gloves out!

Sister, sister

Yesterday was my sister's birthday, so I'd like to wish her a happy birthday: Happy birthday sister!  (I thought I better not use her name for cyber security reasons). She's been a good sister to me. I would supply all my droves of readers (10) with pictures of her and us from our childhood or our adulthood, but I have no pictures to share, sorry.

I'll share a story with all of you (10) that's from my sister's and my childhood:  when I was little, I didn't like steak. I know, go figure. Anyway, I would chew it, but I wouldn't swallow it, because my dad pretty much made me try it. Often I would receive derision from my family for "storing" my chewed up pieces of steak in my cheek; chipmunk style. Well, once I had removed said chewed pieces to the side of my plate and my big sister, always the surrogate mother, wished to make a point by stabbing one of the pieces onto the end of her fork and eating it, along with the admonition "You're wasting perfectly good pieces of steak!"

What a satisfying experience to reveal to her what she'd just stuck in her mouth and where it had been.

As I said, I don't have any pictures of my older sibling...to share on the internet.

The sun is starting to peek its head out. That makes me happy. The snow is almost completely melted. That also makes me happy.

Blessings upon you.