Its 11 o’clock at night on my first day living in my new cabin and I am using my DSL hook up!!!!!! I should be excited about having my first dinner here (chicken rice and fresh picked green beans), sleeping in my new bedroom and enjoying my wonderful view but to be flat honest I’m totally excited about the DSL. It’s was great cooking on my new stove and taking a shower in my nice big shower but now I can also watch the Daily Show when ever I want!!

I have so much to do, finish moving out of the house my friend so generously allowed me to use, and it is a MESS I will start that clean up tomorrow. I also have to get this house in order, I have so much to do that that aint gonna happen any time soon. I have had 6 days off and I got a lot done but I’m getting ready to work 5 out of the next 7 days, that doesn’t sound like much but I work 12 hour days, so I wont be able to get a lot done this next week. Oh well I’m in my new home, I have DSL and a phone so all is good!!

I have so much work to do around the house I am living in and the cabin I’m having built that’s its not even funny.

Yesterday my day started early; when I was at the bear & wine fest last Sunday I saw some wood boxes one of the venders had. I asked him what he wanted for them, the price was right, and we arranged for me to pick them up this week so off I went at 8am to pick up boxes. When I got home I unloaded the boxes, dropped the trailer, and went to have a “quick” cup of coffee with friends. I mentioned I needed to go to Lowes for light bulbs and asked them if they wanted to go and off we went to Galax. At Lowes I bought my light bulbs and an under counter trash can holder, (it was on my list of things to get for the cabin) then I made the mistake of letting them take me to the garden center. One of my friends is forever looking for deals and she found one. In the garden center there were these racks of $1 plants. I now have about $25 worth of plants in my yard that were not on the list. On the way home one of the ladies asked if we would mind going to this little restaurant she knew about. Close to that restaurant was this little model home she wanted to look at; the rest of us were game and off we went to Fancy Gap. After lunch we went “a little further” to Canen to check out a vegetable “stand”. By the time I got home it was 5pm but I knew I could go the cabin for a little while soooo...... I fed the horses and the dogs and got ready to head up to the cabin. As I was putting the dogs in the jeep I noticed that I had a flat tire and it was starting to rain. I looked off into the distance at the rain clouds; they did not look too bad so I changed the tire and went up to the cabin. I got home around 8pm. I did a lot yesterday just not the lot I needed to do.

Today I am going to get things done around the house and the cabin, after I go into town and get the tire fixed………

I spent a few hours at the Floyd Fandango Beer & Wine Fest today. I was supposed to spend all that time directing traffic but because of the weather traffic was light and I was able to scout things out. I will say that for the very short time I was there I had a great time. I heard three bands, Robert Jospe & Inner Rhythm Sextet, Blue Mule and my favorite Basshound. I experienced my first wine tasting, I don’t seem to have much of a wine pallet, and checked out some pretty good beer. Of course I got a funnel cake. There were some nice vender's there but because I was pressed for time I could not check them all out. I’m going to do my best to take in a full day next year. Its’ a bit pricey at $30 a person and then you have to pay $5 for a wine or beer glass and then pay a $1 to taste the beer (you get a nice big “sip” for a $1, it seemed worth it to me and the wine is “free”) I feel if you factor in a whole day of music its worth it.

I have been watching these two all morning. The male has been taping on and around the window I took these photo from. He has also been checking out the bird house the two are resting on. The pair have been putting on quite a show, hoping over each other on the power line over head. The male has been ruffling his feathers and chirping. The female just sits there and listens. I don’t know what type of birds these are, anyone know?

The tree my friend has been working on

I have been very fortunate to have met people I consider to be mentors. My first mentor was Mr. Simms. He worked at the Christ Child Center in Tampa Fla and in my short time there he taught me much. Next was Mary, she is still a friend and I have learned much from her in the 28 years I have known her. Recently I have been fortunate to meet another person who has in the short time I’ve known her taught me a lot. Today she taught me how to use a chain saw. My life has not been easy and I have been thrown some big curves but I have also been lucky to have met people that have helped me to make the right choices. Mentors are great I wish everyone had a few.

There is this scene in “National Lampoons Christmas Vacation” where the Chevy Chase character, Clark, after many attempts, finally gets the Christmas lights on his house to light. When he connects those two extension cords a chorus singing halleluiah starts up, his face lights up as bright as the lights on his house and you could see in his face how happy he was. I had that same look and could hear in my mind the choir singing when I rounded that corner and saw a truck and excavator in my drive way. The power company’s contractor was there to hook my cabin up. I now have power to the cabin, all I need is for the electrician to come back and finish his work and I will have lights!! Halleluiah! Halleluiah!