Thursday, November 27, 2008

Thankful

Inklings posted about the twenty things she is thankful for. I thought I would add my twenty before anyone else.
1. Someone else who cooks
2. Coming home to a clean house (rare)
3. Sunny days in the middle of winter
4. Three bathrooms when two are full :o)
5. WWW.anything..... the internet, which gives us access to the world
6. My comfort zone
7. People who push me out of my comfort zone to try new things
8. That a president only serves a 4 year term
9. Mountain meadows filled with wild flowers (Hey, I'm in touch with my feelings)
10.That I have six great kids (not seven)
11. Precooked, ready to eat, just heat, anything (even though I like to cook)
12. Creative people who invent things to make our life better
13. Other creative people who write, paint, compose for us to enjoy
14. Modern medicine
15. The moment when the rain stops, and I get to smell the freshly scrubbed air filled with the scent of pine and sage
16. Being able to be inside, warm and dry, while it is raining, or snowing
17. That I don't have to rely on my hunting skills to have food on the table (those who saw my last deer will understand)
18. Hot chocolate, with mini-marshmallows
19. Cell phones
20. That I have someone who has put up with me for almost 22 years

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Seven Things About Me

My sisters all borrowed this blog, so why not me.

1. When I was a kid, I was accident prone. I fell off a stage and broke my foot in four places. I fell off a storage ledge, almost a story high, and landed on my chin, breaking up teeth. I got hit in the head with a hammer, and I fell over a barbed wire fence, cutting my ankle to the bone. (I’m sure there are many more, but that’s the highlight edition. This also explains a lot of why I am like I am. :o))

2. I couldn’t skip when I was in kindergarten, and thought I was going to fail that grade.

3. I was a DJ on a High School Radio station.

4. I have been a rodeo clown for a small town rodeo.

5. I hiked almost 2500 miles in 5 summers, 250 of that pulling a handcart.

6. I am very good with primitive weapons. I throw knife, tomahawk, and lance, and also shoot an Indian bow, and have won competitions with these.

7. As a hunter, I killed my first deer with my hunting knife. (long story, not pretty)


Have a great day. Stick.

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Not Purple Rain--Purple Pain

We recently remodeled our master bedroom suite to add a shower to our half bath. Aside from being very happy with the results, we also needed to paint the new resulting larger bathroom. We took paint chip cards and scattered them all over the new tile to see what we liked the best. Our tile has shades of gray and brown (sounds weird-looks great), and we chose Dover Gray as the new wall color. As soon as we started painting, my wife called me in the bathroom (I was doing a couple of other projects while she was painting). I walked in to see what would have made my mother very happy, a light lavendar bathroom.

After living with it for a week or so, we have decided to repaint, so we are now looking for a new wall color again. Wish us luck.

Take care. Stick.

Saturday, November 15, 2008

A New Look

I decided to change the look of my Blog. Hope you like it.

Apathy, disrespect, and derision

For those who may not know, I am a teacher. Recently, a group of my friends and associates have been discussing education and its failings, and we have come to a sort of consensus. Although there do exist some poor teachers in our society, generally we believe that the problem lies in the attitudes of those being taught. Whether the attitudes are learned from peers, parents, or developed on their own, the tendency in students who are not succeeding in school seems to be apathy and disrespect.

Many of these students think the world either owes them something, or is going to hand them something, so they don't need to worry about school. This leads them to believe that they don't need the education being offered to them. The other side of that coin tends to be disrespect towards any authority figure, including teachers. They believe they can do, and/or say, anything they want, and nothing can be done to them. I am not supporting corporal punishment, but I know even the threat of that was enough to keep me toeing the line all through my school years. There is no accountability for these students, and they are right, there really is no way we can make them do anything. All we can do is try our best, hope for the best, and hope that somewhere down the road they finally get it.

Take care, and keep trying. Stick.

Monday, November 10, 2008

Quotable Quotes

We just recently listened to a talk. We were encouraged not to give up on those who have strayed, no matter how far they may be off the path. We were to encourage them to return, and that it is never too late However, this quote was within the content.
"Repentance will bring forgiveness, but it may not restore what might have been, or
what could be."
It gave me cause to wonder what those who stray could have done had they never strayed. It makes me a little sad to think of all the great things that might have ocuurred if not for choices made.
Take care, and stay close to the Lord. Stick.

There's a light at the end of this tunnel

We just recently remodeled our master bathroom. A's sister, who runs a Handy-Jill business in Denver area, had agreed to do the work. We had a half bath in place, but no shower, or tub, for the master. Just outside that half bath, we had a small storage area near the back door. We walled that off, and installed a double shower. We wanted to have a light in the shower, and planned to power it up with the old light switch from that side of the bathroom. The only problem came when we switched it on. The light in the shower came on, but not the old bathroom ceiling lights. We could not figure it out. In the middle of all of this, we went to a wedding in SL. A's older brother was there, and he is a contractor. He agreed to stop in here on the way back to where they live and help us out. Two hours after he got here, we finally had the power all straightened out. Thank goodness for great relatives who are willing to help. We hope to soon have a nice, working, 3/4 bath!

Take Care. Stay clean. :o) Stick.