WOW!!! Can it be a year already? I took my lovely wife Nancy to the tourist trap of Granbury TX for a overnighter at one of the local B&B's. It's really a quaint little town and kinda romantic. Now it does have more than its share of texas pretentious blue hairs wandering the streets with a male counter part in tow practicing the appropiate 2 to 3 steps in her shadow. Thats another story. Lets focus on the occasion at hand. Friday the 16th was our 1 year anniversary!!! What a wonderful thing. The weather was a little dicey for my liking but when Nancy asked me how to dress I said "live large baby, put on your leathers!!" so off we went with minimal belongings and maximum motor-scooter!! It was fantastic!! We went down route 4 from Cleburne to Granbury with all its twist and turns and scenery. Its not a very long ride from here (about an hour) but its always one of my favorite roads especially on a long day when I can venture further out to Mineral Wells then Possum Kingdom. With an early start we had plenty of time to do some of the tourist stuff. Right now we have been visiting local Texas wineries and there just so happends to be two in Granbury. Check in at the B&B and on with the tour. The first being the Barking Rocks winery. Yes thats right, Barking Rocks.
As the story goes per the proprietor of the vinyard the farm was once owned by Helen Knox. She with her I supposed sense of glory had her initials inset in the side of the stone walled barn signifying her leadership. Well according to his story he couldnt ever decide on a name for his wines and vines. Enter excessive alcohol intake here. He recounts that after a nght of very excessive drinking with his friends that the stone initials also looked like a dog barking.....hmmmm barking rocks? BARKING ROCKS!!! YES THATS IT!!!!! Sobriety came but the name stuck. For his wines I must say they were a little dry for me. The reds were dry. The rose's were dry. The whites were dry. Me thinks he is a fan of the dry wine. Did you know that red wines are really clear? Let me explain. Red grape juice is clear. They process the red grapes with the skin ON to give it its color. If it were processed like a white wine with no skin on the grape it would be just as clear. Things that make you go..........HHmmmmmmmmmmmmm
On to the next winery. De'Vine Wine in the town square. Sounds a little touristypreppyishyuppyfied doesn't it. Turns out the franchise is owned by a juice company in CA. They had it alllll. Great wines, great pesto, meat, cheese and cracker plate. Great service and a great port wine. Very sweet. All that wine tasting makes a couple hungry so off we went in search of sustinance. Hanks grill here. Food was good. Our server did need a little education on how to perform his job and I was more than happy to accomidate him. What is the first thing a server is supposed to do upon my arrval to a table? Anybody?? Hi, my name is ________. I'll be your server today. Can I start you off with some pickle projectors or maybe some freedom fries? You get my point. Give me a name!!!! At the close of the meal he brought me my change. A $1, a $5 and a $10 bill. That really doesn't leave me much choice on a tip does it? I can promise you that the $10 was out at this point in our relationship. I carefully explained the value of giving me variety regarding my choices of currency and how this CAN AND WILL have a direct affect on his financial well being and future economic status. Onward. Back at the B&B for a little break. Our B&B came with its very own onsite inn keeper. She was available pretty much all the time. Nice girl, Melinda was her name. The inn was a queen ann build of about 120years old and nicely redone. Each room was themed with an era. Ours was the colonels room. Military memorabilia from 1890ish thru WW1. Some cool stuff. Oh, by the way, if anyone desires to get into the B&B business this one is for sale at the low low price of $339K. This bargin price does include the contents and a web site. Inn keeper is optional.
That night we ate at a little place called The Loft. Dinner ran about $70 and for the selection seemed worth it. I enjoyed the chicken scalopini while my beautiful bride selected the roast duck, mmmmmmmmm. She always picks goood.
All done for the night. Now the rain comes....and it rains and it rains and it rains and it rains. Hello morning...and it rains. Breakfast is over. still raining. Oh well. Saddle up my love, were going for a ride, btw remember that leather jacket you wore? I suggest you put it on. I have ridden in the rain before and it probaly won't be the last so we saddle up and go. Shocking how much more scenery you notice when traveling at a reduced rate of speed. I always say a bad day motoring is better than a good day working. All things considered we had a wonderful time and the preceeding year leading up to this event was truly one of adventure.
How is your adventure? Have you taken any risk lately? Have you risked it all for the love of someone else? Do you remember that every breath is borrowed? I suggest that in a moment you be willing to risk everything you value for someone you love. Be vulnerable.
Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Monday, April 12, 2010
Dinner with the Outlaws
I will do my dead level best to recount events as I remember them. I was born a poor black child.....no no wait, thats a different story. My dear dear sweet son-in-law Pete invited Nancy and myself to his birthday party which was to be held at Dickies BBQ in Arlington at 6 pm saturday the 10th. Nancy and I had been out on the motor bike for a good part of the day and I usually feel some what immortal after a nice ride. A bad day riding is always better than a good day working. Back to the birthday. Pete did qualify his invitation with the information that Jeanene and her parents were also on the guest list for said party. I am not afraid. Nancy and I showed up a 6 on the dot. Everything was fine up to that point. Its fair to say we entered the building with out event but things took an immediate left turn once our arrival became known. I find the birthday group off at a table by themselves and do a quick head count. Friends Jason,Jana, Tara. Family was as follows: Pete, Tiffney, Adam & Tanae.....and the ex father-out-law and ex mother-out-law aka John and Cleta.
No Jeanene. What a surprise. Perhaps she was running late tonight. We enter and the expression on Cletas face went from "I'm Queen of the World to Who the hell invited him??........and HER!!! At this point it was clear that Pete had proofed his guest list with me but none of the other invites. Personally I was hoping for a civil interaction with the former extended family but they would not have any of that. Seeing as how my baby girl Tanae is due with her first born on July 2nd and allllll of us will be seeing ALOT of each other at the birth!!
Well Cleta said "This...This...This wont work" Then she blamed Tiffney, called her an ass and walked out the door with her john in tow. Tanae, God bless her being the peace keeper that she is left the room, called her mom and reported the sequence of events. Jeanene extended her proxy birthday wish via Tanae but was called away at the last moment and wouldnt be able to attend. Damn shame she was running late this particular day and missed all the fun. Well back to the party. Adam told pete that he was selfish and if I remember correctly he called him a "douche" before he went to get his food. That was an awkward moment for the rest of the group. Anyhow everything after that was fairly uneventful. I did seat Nancy and myself in the outlaws chairs as they had taken the time to warm up them up with their hineys before they left. I really had hoped everyone could put on their big person panties and just get along. Life is what it is. Things are what they are. Cant be changed. Get over it and be mature about things. Did anybody consider the fact that acting out that way they are only hurting the ones that love them? Calling Tiffney an ass certainly is not a very endearing term. Heres the deal. My son-in-law Pete loves his entire family. John, Cleta, & ME & my Wife. He wanted us at his party cause we are his family too. Cant anybody figure out that this was about Pete and not them? I consider this behavior a tad on the selfish side. Its sad that it permeates every day relationships to the degree that they cant be "grown ups" for an hour to honor someones birthday. Let the one with out sin cast the first stone.
No Jeanene. What a surprise. Perhaps she was running late tonight. We enter and the expression on Cletas face went from "I'm Queen of the World to Who the hell invited him??........and HER!!! At this point it was clear that Pete had proofed his guest list with me but none of the other invites. Personally I was hoping for a civil interaction with the former extended family but they would not have any of that. Seeing as how my baby girl Tanae is due with her first born on July 2nd and allllll of us will be seeing ALOT of each other at the birth!!
Well Cleta said "This...This...This wont work" Then she blamed Tiffney, called her an ass and walked out the door with her john in tow. Tanae, God bless her being the peace keeper that she is left the room, called her mom and reported the sequence of events. Jeanene extended her proxy birthday wish via Tanae but was called away at the last moment and wouldnt be able to attend. Damn shame she was running late this particular day and missed all the fun. Well back to the party. Adam told pete that he was selfish and if I remember correctly he called him a "douche" before he went to get his food. That was an awkward moment for the rest of the group. Anyhow everything after that was fairly uneventful. I did seat Nancy and myself in the outlaws chairs as they had taken the time to warm up them up with their hineys before they left. I really had hoped everyone could put on their big person panties and just get along. Life is what it is. Things are what they are. Cant be changed. Get over it and be mature about things. Did anybody consider the fact that acting out that way they are only hurting the ones that love them? Calling Tiffney an ass certainly is not a very endearing term. Heres the deal. My son-in-law Pete loves his entire family. John, Cleta, & ME & my Wife. He wanted us at his party cause we are his family too. Cant anybody figure out that this was about Pete and not them? I consider this behavior a tad on the selfish side. Its sad that it permeates every day relationships to the degree that they cant be "grown ups" for an hour to honor someones birthday. Let the one with out sin cast the first stone.
Monday, April 5, 2010
My mail carrier, Texas wineries & a guy named Ritchie
So much to discuss today. It was a very busy weekend. I have been promising to discuss the inadequacies of my mail carrier for some time now so we will start there but I think everybody will find the weekends happenings interesting as well.
I have lived at my current address for 2 years and 3 months. During this time my mail carrier has neither bothered to learn my name, my address or my familys names. We have established the fact that he can identify Numbers, as anything that says
"301" on it ends up in my box. There is a man down the road who shall remain nameless since he is equally as guilty as my mail carrier. I used to call him when his mail would end up in my box typically 3-4 times a week. As a good neighbor I put it in a plastic bag on a table by my back door. Weeks turned into months and the bag would fill up. Turns out he was about as interested in collecting his mail as the the carrier was in getting it to him. This man is a local business owner. I wish I could run my business this way and still turn a profit. Anyway after months of collecting his mail I gave up on this approach. We took his mail back to the post office and explained to the POST MASTER the goings on and here is her response and I quote "If I were you I'd just throw it away" OMG!!!! Can you believe that??? Aparrently I pay this person 42 cents a whack to torture me. What the hell did she tell people to do with my mail? I'd love to camp on this for a bit but onward we go. I procured a sharpie and wrote on "Compressor Worlds" mail NOT AT THIS ADDRESS on one piece of mail, on another I wrote Compressor World @ 301 EAST not WEST and you know what happened??????????????????????????? I got a nasty letter from the post master demanding I stop writing on the mail. Now this leads to another question. I am reasonably certain that I was the only one in the room when this alleged happening of defacing a wayward piece of mail took place. Sooooooooooo why was I the lucky recipient of more government hate mail? Did everybody in town with 301 in their address get one or is it possible that maybe........just maybe they know the carrier drops compressor worlds mail here and nobody give a flying .....? They sent me the letter cause I am the one who stood up and said I dont want other peoples mail, just my own please. I'm sure this is somehow related to Homeland Security and the door nazi's who work for the TSA. Hi baby girl. How ya doing today?
So at this point in time my story is simply that I receive only my own mail and nobody elses. Yes I do believe that recycling news papers, advertisements and various other mailings is good for our environment. :-)
Quick story about my famous dog "Shiner the Wonder Heeler"
We were out at the farm last week to meet the farrier as I had decided to take a pass on this trimming. After it was all done our two dogs shiner and laz were playing tag, barking at each other and doing basically dog fun things. Well shiner ends up on his back between Nancys legs wiggling around and acting kinda dorky while laz is barking up a storm trying to get shiner to play with him. I thought I would encourage shiner a bit so I looked at him and said "git him" Things kinda went south from there. Shiner jumped up and ran away. He ran straight away. He ran straight out into the pasture, picked out the biggest horse in the herd and commenced to unleashing a rain of terror on that poor horse like he had never seen before. It was that fast. At that point the wonder dog was no longer interested in anything I had to say and was completely consumed with the task at hand.....My dog is an ass.
I'm sorry horse.***mental note, dont use "git him" around the heeler.
I will address the weekend next as I really need to apply my self to some profit taking before the day is over. I have a very interesting story about a guy named Ritchie and some local wineries.
Robert
I have lived at my current address for 2 years and 3 months. During this time my mail carrier has neither bothered to learn my name, my address or my familys names. We have established the fact that he can identify Numbers, as anything that says
"301" on it ends up in my box. There is a man down the road who shall remain nameless since he is equally as guilty as my mail carrier. I used to call him when his mail would end up in my box typically 3-4 times a week. As a good neighbor I put it in a plastic bag on a table by my back door. Weeks turned into months and the bag would fill up. Turns out he was about as interested in collecting his mail as the the carrier was in getting it to him. This man is a local business owner. I wish I could run my business this way and still turn a profit. Anyway after months of collecting his mail I gave up on this approach. We took his mail back to the post office and explained to the POST MASTER the goings on and here is her response and I quote "If I were you I'd just throw it away" OMG!!!! Can you believe that??? Aparrently I pay this person 42 cents a whack to torture me. What the hell did she tell people to do with my mail? I'd love to camp on this for a bit but onward we go. I procured a sharpie and wrote on "Compressor Worlds" mail NOT AT THIS ADDRESS on one piece of mail, on another I wrote Compressor World @ 301 EAST not WEST and you know what happened??????????????????????????? I got a nasty letter from the post master demanding I stop writing on the mail. Now this leads to another question. I am reasonably certain that I was the only one in the room when this alleged happening of defacing a wayward piece of mail took place. Sooooooooooo why was I the lucky recipient of more government hate mail? Did everybody in town with 301 in their address get one or is it possible that maybe........just maybe they know the carrier drops compressor worlds mail here and nobody give a flying .....? They sent me the letter cause I am the one who stood up and said I dont want other peoples mail, just my own please. I'm sure this is somehow related to Homeland Security and the door nazi's who work for the TSA. Hi baby girl. How ya doing today?
So at this point in time my story is simply that I receive only my own mail and nobody elses. Yes I do believe that recycling news papers, advertisements and various other mailings is good for our environment. :-)
Quick story about my famous dog "Shiner the Wonder Heeler"
We were out at the farm last week to meet the farrier as I had decided to take a pass on this trimming. After it was all done our two dogs shiner and laz were playing tag, barking at each other and doing basically dog fun things. Well shiner ends up on his back between Nancys legs wiggling around and acting kinda dorky while laz is barking up a storm trying to get shiner to play with him. I thought I would encourage shiner a bit so I looked at him and said "git him" Things kinda went south from there. Shiner jumped up and ran away. He ran straight away. He ran straight out into the pasture, picked out the biggest horse in the herd and commenced to unleashing a rain of terror on that poor horse like he had never seen before. It was that fast. At that point the wonder dog was no longer interested in anything I had to say and was completely consumed with the task at hand.....My dog is an ass.
I'm sorry horse.***mental note, dont use "git him" around the heeler.
I will address the weekend next as I really need to apply my self to some profit taking before the day is over. I have a very interesting story about a guy named Ritchie and some local wineries.
Robert
Thursday, April 1, 2010
The sun is out
What a beautiful day!! We had a 10 am appointment with the farrier at the farm this morning. He was late.........80% Well it was just so gorgeous out Nancy had to do some fast talking to convince me to go back to work. blah. A bad day fishing is better than a good day working. I just enjoy being out there so much. All seems to be right with the world at the farm. Its quiet. Its secluded. Its just so ideal and its 25 minutes from infrastructure like tractor supply, where America's farmer shops.
Horses running here and there, wild turkey in the bush and you never know when white tail deer are gonna show up. It could be in the middle of the day when you're eating lunch at the picnic table and they just start running across the pasture. With the exception of my grandmothers goodness to me in raising me at the camp I loved in the Adirondacks I have never felt so connected to a geographical location. Its like...................its like....,well I guess its like a dream. A dream come true. I am so pumped about getting this house in the city sold and moving out to the farm. I am excited about having all my kids & grand kids out there on a regular basis so I can share it with them. I want them all to be a part of it. Most of all its a home that Nancy & I picked out together. That's really exciting!!! Two people who want the exact same thing. I have some pseudo blue prints of the cabin we are gonna build as soon as we get this place sold. We will start small then add on, trying to do it all on a cash basis. I am sick of watching all my money go out the door every month.
Hmmmmmm back to happy thoughts. I have 2 pictures of the camp in NY on my desk. They really inspire me. First they remind me of all the wonderful summers I spent with Mimi there. Thank God. I know I was a handful during the younger years and Mimi must have had to have the patience of a saint to endure but she recognized how much I needed her. I needed the stability and saneness she brought to my life. Of course I didn't know it at the time.........it was all about me. She knew. At this point I will say unabashedly to PAY IT FORWARD. Next is the inspiration I get from the courage and passion my grandfather must have had to build and own 2 homes. His intention was to build a legacy for his family to enjoy. Wow !!! What a visionary!!!
Living in today's society of instancy we loose sight of the degree of difficulty our predecessors endured for the conquest they obtained......... now its alllll freeeee. ok, the health insurance is only free to the folks who don't work. People like you and me can pick up the tab for the rest of the nation.
I must leave you now before my cynicism sneaks in and spoils it all and besides my motorcycle is calling my name. I realize there is more to be said regarding the camp and what impact it had on the members of the family but it will have to wait till next entry as well as what my hopes and dreams are for our farm. Yes I know I have said this before but I really really promise, we will address the inadequacy's of my mail carrier very soon. Keep the shiny side up!!
Horses running here and there, wild turkey in the bush and you never know when white tail deer are gonna show up. It could be in the middle of the day when you're eating lunch at the picnic table and they just start running across the pasture. With the exception of my grandmothers goodness to me in raising me at the camp I loved in the Adirondacks I have never felt so connected to a geographical location. Its like...................its like....,well I guess its like a dream. A dream come true. I am so pumped about getting this house in the city sold and moving out to the farm. I am excited about having all my kids & grand kids out there on a regular basis so I can share it with them. I want them all to be a part of it. Most of all its a home that Nancy & I picked out together. That's really exciting!!! Two people who want the exact same thing. I have some pseudo blue prints of the cabin we are gonna build as soon as we get this place sold. We will start small then add on, trying to do it all on a cash basis. I am sick of watching all my money go out the door every month.
Hmmmmmm back to happy thoughts. I have 2 pictures of the camp in NY on my desk. They really inspire me. First they remind me of all the wonderful summers I spent with Mimi there. Thank God. I know I was a handful during the younger years and Mimi must have had to have the patience of a saint to endure but she recognized how much I needed her. I needed the stability and saneness she brought to my life. Of course I didn't know it at the time.........it was all about me. She knew. At this point I will say unabashedly to PAY IT FORWARD. Next is the inspiration I get from the courage and passion my grandfather must have had to build and own 2 homes. His intention was to build a legacy for his family to enjoy. Wow !!! What a visionary!!!
Living in today's society of instancy we loose sight of the degree of difficulty our predecessors endured for the conquest they obtained......... now its alllll freeeee. ok, the health insurance is only free to the folks who don't work. People like you and me can pick up the tab for the rest of the nation.
I must leave you now before my cynicism sneaks in and spoils it all and besides my motorcycle is calling my name. I realize there is more to be said regarding the camp and what impact it had on the members of the family but it will have to wait till next entry as well as what my hopes and dreams are for our farm. Yes I know I have said this before but I really really promise, we will address the inadequacy's of my mail carrier very soon. Keep the shiny side up!!
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