This last day of March started out bright and sunny but as the day wore on the clouds and dampness set in. I guess you could say March is going out like a damp lamb. It is hard to believe that we are 90 days into 2009. It has been a bumpy 90 days for the country and gosh only knows what’s going to happen in the next 90 but its spring and anything is possible. Heck there was work done on my cabin today, go figure. With luck the electrician will be there tomorrow and once he is done the insulation can go in. I am trying not to get excited about the cabin but things are starting to move along and it’s hard to keep that “it will be done when it gets done” attitude.

How can I tell its spring? I have 3 main indicators: how much hair do I have to sweep up every day (I have 2 dogs and a cat), how many small animals and birds do I have to rescue from the cat (2 birds so far) and……. how badly do I want to plant something. About 2 weeks or so ago I planted some basil just to have something green around. I told myself that I was going to hold off on the flowers and plants this year but I needed something from the store and saw some pansies and I just could not resist. I did resist the magnolia tree, barely. It was beautiful, but I could not figure where I would put it so now it’s on the sometime in the future list.

I have been paying attention to what is starting to bloom and bud now. Yellow tips and daffodils have bloomed. Willows have tiny green leaves on their branches giving them a green silhouette and many other trees have a slight red tinge to them, an indication that they are getting ready to show their new spring growth. On the bank next to my driveway the previous owner planted many different types of spring flowers. I know she planted daffodils they are every where. There are other things coming up also; I think I see what could be irises but I don’t know. Until I see the flowers I won’t know what gifts the previous owner has left for me. I wonder how much of what I see now will turn out to be weeds. This year is for learning and boy do I have a lot to learn!

I was talking to my #2 son, venting was more like it, when he said to me “things haven’t gone too great for you up there (the Mt’s)” Lets face it, it took longer than I had hoped to find a contractor to build the house and its taking even longer to actually build it. Every thing I have wanted to do has cost a lot more than I had budgeted. Someone burned my barn down and now…. I hate my job. Humm. I will admit that lately I have wondered if I did the right thing in moving up here. I miss my family, I miss my friends and god knows I miss my job. I am not where I wanted to be by now. Things are not going the way I want them to go. So why am I here?

Rounding the corner, just before I turned on to road that leads to my house I saw the Buffalo wrapped in clouds. I saw the first live skunk I have ever seen up here. I saw baby cows jumping and running. When I got on my road I felt at home. A house is just a house, some day it will be finished. A job is just a job I can always find another. I miss my friends but I have been very privileged to meet a lot of very good people up here and the phone and internet allow me to keep in touch with my distant friends. The reason I am up here is because I want to be. Its not heaven but for me it’s close.… kinda.

touch of spring

It was a very pleasant week here in the Mt’s . It felt a lot like spring and I spent as much time as I could outside. I spent a good deal of the day Thursday removing wild roses from around my fruit trees and while that was not all that fun it was “rewarding”. I have been reading the seed/plant catalogs that have been coming my way, and while I don’t plan on doing a lot of planting this year these magazines are giving me some ideals. I won’t get away with out buying something but my goal is not to over buy. I want to live on the property and in the cabin for a little while before I buy that walnut tree that grows 60 feet tall and 40 feet wide.

The cabin roof has been shingled. We will see what gets done next week.

A touch of spring

What a difference a week makes. Last Sunday I was slipping and sliding on my way to work yesterday we reached 73 degrees. In the afternoon I opened up the house to fresh air and sun today I am planning on working in the sunshine and fresh air at the cabin site. March came in like a lion of sorts, we had an intense but brief bout of winter and in less than a week we are having a touch of spring.

This weather and the nature of my job is exposing me to new bugs and I have caught a head cold. Ever since I reached the age of 40 I have been getting colds in the spring and fall. I don’t remember this bi-annual illness thing prior to that age but no cold is going to keep me inside today. I need to be in the great outdoors even if it is only time spent picking up trash from a job site.

The view on my way home today... gotta love it

I woke up this morning, stumbled into the kitchen let the dogs out, turned the coffee on, checked the fire in the wood stove and looked at the digital thermometer. At first I thought it said 21 degrees but after I fixed my cup of coffee and put my glasses on I took another look at the temp. It had changed to 1.6 degrees that’s when I realized that the 21 had been actually 2.1. burrr rabit!!!

I took a ride to the local convenience store yesterday afternoon to get some sour cream for my home made chili when I came across another Jeep owner. This guy has a red Jeep with a 4 inch lift kit, beefed up tires, wench and all kinds of stuff. He is a real Jeep enthusiast, kind of a Jeep jock. well I love my Jeep but I only know how to drive it and I haven't gotten any "attachments" YET , so a lot of what he had to say went over my head. But we had a good conversation anyway. He told me how he had some fun whipping around on Buffalo Mt rd in drifts that came up higher than his wheel wells. I told him how I got stuck and then pulled out by a range rover. "His reply; oh no I know that guy and I'll never hear the end of it!" It’s a small world.

Some day that will be home

We had a bit of snow Saturday and Sunday. While getting to work on Saturday was no big deal it took 2 hours to get there on Sunday. On the way to work Sunday I took a little “slide” trip. I got a little cocky and went a little too fast for the conditions. My south bound Jeep and I wound up in the north bound lane; I came close to ending up in the ditch. It was a good thing it happened where and when it did because pretty much as soon as I came out of the skid and was back in my lane a road scraper followed by 3 or 4 cars, one a sheriff, pass by heading north. Needless to say I watched my speed the remainder of the way home.

Coming home this morning was no big deal until I hit Burk’s Fork road. As soon as I turned off 221 the snow was at least a foot deep. I was putting along just fine until I came across a group of vehicles stopped on the road. The land rover driven by a man named Lynn and his son Wyatt was in the process of pulling two pick up trucks out of the ditch. I was asked to back up a bit and in doing so I got stuck, so sad to say my wrangler got pulled out of a ditch by a land rover. I will be getting a wench before next winter. It was a good thing I did get stuck because just a little further up the road the snow drift was so high that there was no way I was going to get by. Lynn recommended a different way and I got home, no problem at all.

The dogs loved the snow the cat was not impressed

The snow was so beautiful and to me it feels warmer with snow on the ground, less depressing. I hate that I have to go to sleep today because snow only last for a few days then it either melts or turns yellow.

Its feeling a lot like spring this last day of February; this past week we have had warm temperatures and periods rain. I have seen the green tips of what I hope are lilies on the road bank near my driveway gate. I have been warned by the folks that have been living here a long time that March is truly a month of transition. I have heard tails of blizzards and ice storms where folks were stuck in their homes for weeks!!! March is promising to start off like a lion (cub), we are expecting a wintry mix tonight and tomorrow.

Things are moving along on the cabin. The windows and doors have finally been set and they have started on the soffits. While it’s predicted to be cold next week there is no rain in the forecast till Friday so hopefully something will get done.

What a nice day it has been. It started out with a snow shower and a walk with the dogs, followed by music and brunch with friends and finished with home brewed beer and snack food at a new friend’s basement Irish pub. Days like this are what life is all about.

I learned some interesting financial information the other day. I applied for a loan and was curious as to why my credit score went down. Now I have few bills and I pay all of them on time also I very seldom have a balance on my credit card. I have savings, not much but some and my monthly obligations are much less than my income (for now that will change when the cabin is finished!!) so why did my credit score go down, your not gonna believe this but you see, last summer I canceled 2 credit cards and had my one remaining credit card limit reduced. I never used the 2 cards I had canceled; they were tied into my home mortgage and my equity line, so I did not see any reason in keeping them. The one card I kept had a high limit, more than I could ever afford to pay back if I was dumb or desperate enough to use it, so I thought it would be responsible of me to reduce the limit. Boys and girls here is why we have the financial problems we have now, the credit bureau penalized me for being what I feel is financially responsible. Here is how it goes, if YOU cancel a card it reflects on your credit score the same way it would reflect if your creditor canceled the card because of poor payment, the same applies if you reduce your limit. Another little heads up if you have 10 credit cards each with a $10,000 limit as long as you don’t use more than $4,999 on each card it will not reflect on your credit score but if you have 1 credit card with a $500 limit and you put $300 on it, you will get poor marks on your credit score. You are penalized if you use more than half of your credit limit no matter what that limit is. If you were to have 10 credit cards and go to the bank to get a consolidation loan they use to tell you to get rid of 9 of them, now they say, keep the cards just don’t use them you don’t want to mess up your credit. This just does not make any sense to me.

My farmer friend moving his cattle from one field to another

This reminds me of a winter shot but its 55 degrees out

It’s been a nice few days. I can’t believe it’s the middle of February. Other than the breeze things here have been very mild. I have been assured that the weather will get cold again. I have been told many a story of March & April snows.

The dogs and I have been taking our daily walks and I have been looking for some nice photos to shoot but there is slim pickins in that department. I haven’t had much to talk about either. I don’t like to put too much politics in this blog and that’s what been on my mind as of late so I’ll just keep my mouth shut.

For the most part things are good. I have made some nice friends up here and they are getting me out and about. They are costing me money though; I have to buy blouses because I can’t wear my t-shirts on our outings.

My builder is threatening to get some work done on the cabin. He tells me it will be done in a month….. Ok…… we will see.

It was a nice day today. The week started out with snow and cold temperatures and now we have warm weather and mud. I did not do a whole lot today my project was to clean the chimney; I had that done by 9:30. I heat by wood stove for the most part and while the wood I am using is all hard wood its not truly seasoned, most has been cut with in the past 6 months so I have been sweeping out the chimney about every 6 weeks. I love the heat from a wood stove I also like to watch the hypnotizing flames as the wood burns. It amazes me how fire can be comforting and dangerous at the same time. I treat fire with respect and I keep the tools I need to control it in good working order.

We have had a few days of snow. This shot was taken yesterday morning. I did not go on a walk this morning, it was just too damn cold, 9 degrees,. Its a little after noon now and we are up to 20 degrees with a bright sun but I think I will stay in today and just listen to music and read.

• It’s the first day of February and the weather is great. This morning the sun was shining so it only made sense that the dogs and I should take a walk and we did. We took a different path this time and came upon these bones. I think it may have been a cow there are a lot of them around here.
  

• The dogs and I continued up the path, the path was up a hill and it’s easier to go up the path to start because on the way home when I can go down the path (hill) I’m lazy that way. Anyway walking along the path I looked to my left and saw this. To me it looked very inviting so up I went.

• I had never been here before but it’s a nice site. That is the Buffalo in the distance. I will make it a point to vary my walks from now on. I can actually drive the Jeep down a lot of these paths and then take to foot when the way gets too narrow.

• I’m a big The Daily Show & Colbert Report fan but with my work schedule I don’t get to see them every time they are on TV. These shows have to be seen pretty close to the air date to get the jest of the humor so I don’t worry about seeing them in rerun. I discovered something this week the Comedy Channel plays the previous week’s shows back to back on the weekend starting at 7am; the Daily Show is rerun on Saturday and the Colbert Report on Sunday. When I move I hope to have DSL and I will be able to watch what ever I want when I want on the internet, but since all I have now is Hughes Net I’ll watch the weekend reruns on TV if I have time.

I haven’t felt much like writing these past few days partly because I have been working a lot and partly because things are so depressing around here right now that it just hasn’t felt right to write.

I have moved to a rural part of Virginia and have started working in a small rural hospital. I had been working in a small hospital on the Outer Banks and I loved it. We saw a lot of poor people there and did a fare share of indigent care but nothing like what I am seeing here. Around here there are a lot of proud people who have lost their jobs and when they lost their jobs they lost their health insurance. They all do the same things; they don’t make eye contact they just look at their hands. It’s sad. This is why I am for universal health care. People should not have to worry about going bankrupt when they get sick. I guarantee you a lot of people are going to become disabled or die during this recession because they could not afford to go to the hospital for “just a little indigestion”. Some people abuse the system but most people don’t. We as a society need to change our view on health care; we need to make it available and affordable to all.

We need to pay to train new doctors. North Carolina had a nursing grant that I took advantage of. They “loaned” me money that I could pay it off in one of two ways. I could work in North Carolina for an agreed amount of time or I could pay the loan off in cash. The United States could do the same thing for Doctors. Work in under served areas like family medicine and preventative care and get part or all of your schooling written off.

In 2000 the world health organization rated the US 37 out of 191 in over all health care. In 2005 we spent 15.2 % of our GNP on health care. An article I read in The New York Times World’s Best Medical Care? - New York Times was informative. We can do better than this. People should be able to look me in the eye when they seek health care, they should not think twice about coming to the hospital with “a funny feeling” in their chest. People should not die because they don’t want to risk losing the family home.

• When I sat down at 6pm tonight to eat dinner I noticed that it was not totally dark outside. The trees were black silhouettes against a gray sky. The days are getting longer and that tends to give me spring fever. I know that spring is more than 7 weeks away and that there is a lot of cold weather yet to come but…….
  

• There has been some closure on my barn that burned down last August. One of the men involved in the “accidental” arson has been sentenced to 4 years in jail. I don’t know if that is fare or not because no one has discussed the case with me. No one asked me how I felt or gave me any ideal of how this case was going to be handled. The only reason I know what the verdict is, is because I read it in the paper. I was contacted only once by the common wealth attorneys office and that was because they wanted to know the value of my barn. I guess I will call the common wealth’s attorneys office on Wednesday just to see where things go from here who knows maybe they will tell me something. I don’t expect to ever see the barn money, lets be honest, the guy is being sent to jail for 4 years, after he is released he has to find a job and then pay off me and the insurance company that paid off the farmer who had his equipment in my barn. Unless the state of Virginia offers technical school in jail I don’t know how he is going to do it. I’m not holding my breath

I finally made it to the The Sun Music Hall in downtown Floyd. A friend and I went to hear William Walter & Co. I must say I had a very good time. The music was really good and the band looked and sounded like they enjoyed what they were doing. My friend that told me about the group said she was told that they “kinda sounded like Bruce Springsteen and the E street band” I disagree with that description, I think they sound more like Train, my friend said they reminded her of Van Morrison. No matter what the music was good.

I very much liked checking out the folks that were there to listen. Where I come from most of the bands play in bars, and those bars are for the most part not family friendly. What I saw at this event were baby’s in mother’s arms and people that easily could have been those baby’s grand parents all dancing together. I did not dance. I just sat in the seats provided sipping my cappuccino (no beer for me I had to drive too far =-( and enjoying the music. I was not really impressed with the acoustics of The Sun Music Hall. I have been to hole in the wall bars where the sound was better but the band was good and they for the most part were able to work with what they had. In my opinion The Sun Music Hall may not be a perfect place to play music but it offers a good space for a bunch of people to listen to music and enjoy a night out with family and friends

“As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our founding fathers ... our found fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake. And so to all the other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.” Barack Obama

I have started a new job and did not think that I would be watching the inauguration today. My orientation syllabus had me working until the12:30pm lunch break and while I had mentioned on Monday that I had really wanted to watch it I had no expectation of being able to. When class started today the instructor informed us that her husband had commented on how surely she would be letting us watch the inauguration and that we would be taking our lunch break early.

We were sent on our lunch break at 11:45am and I quickly set out to find a TV set. I knew that the patient waiting areas had TV’s but I did not know exactly were these areas were. It wasn’t long before I heard the sound of thousands of people cheering and knew I had found a TV.

The waiting room I found was empty except for one patient waiting for an X-Ray. I went in acknowledged him and sat down to watch. Right after Biden was sworn in as vice president others slowly began to join us. We chit chatted while the music played. “What time is it” I commented “by law Obama has to be sworn in by 12 noon because that’s when Bush stops being president” shortly after that the TV announcer whispered that technically Biden was president because he had taken the oath office and Obama had not. Those of us in that waiting room waited patiently for our future president to be sworn in. We commented on how nice he and Michele looked. Aaaa’ed when one of the Obama girls squinted one eye shut while looking into the camera and sun. We were quietly enthusiastic. I had the sense that all of us were hopeful but not expecting much. We listened as Obama was sworn in as our president and then we listened to his speech. Those around me seemed to feel that the speech was well done. We then introduced our selves to each other, we would be working together at the same facility and hopefully would be seeing each other again and then I quickly made my way back to class. I may have gone quickly but I was still late. To be honest I don’t care that I was late; somethings are more important than making a class on time.

Ombam’s speech was good. I especially liked the paragraph that I have posted above. I agree that “As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals” I have a bumper sticker on my Jeep that has a quote from Benjamin Franklin it says “They that give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” I put it there when the government said that not every one was entitled to habeas corpus. I will keep the sticker there because I believe in liberty ABOVE all else. I hope that the new powers that be can let go of the restrictions placed on that liberty by the past administration but I know that It is very hard for power to let go of power.

I am so bummed. I have to work today and I will most likely miss the inauguration. Damn!! I wanted to see this one in real time. I have a lot of hope for this Pres-to-be after what we as a nation have been through these last four presidencies, Regan, Bush, Clinton (dumb ass I like him but he screwed up big) and Bush 2 (very few sequels are ever as good as the first, and while the first wasn’t the worst Pres he wasn't that good either). No matter what at least for the first time in a long time I don’t hear a lot of negative comments on our top leader. It won’t last long. He will screw up some how or another because no matter what anyone thinks he is not the second coming. I wish him well and with that I wish the American people well. We deserve it.

This was the view this morning as I was leaving for work. We had a dry fluffy snow last night that was pretty much gone by the time I got home this afternoon.

Today is ending on a positive note. Friday’s deep freeze froze my pipes so since Friday I have not had any running water but after talking to a friend and running some ideals by her and trying them I have running water. I will climb under the house before I leave for work tomorrow and see if I have any leaks. Another positive is that it is snowing. I love the smell of snow. I might not like it tomorrow when I have to drive to work but tonight its beautiful.

Burrrr freakin rabbit its cold out there!! As I write this its 14 degrees. The high today was in the 20’s; the low tonight is to be around 7. Like I said Burrr freakin rabbit!!

I have been pretty much hold up inside today this the last day before I start my second half century on this planet, well any planet. I have looked forward to the big #50. I spent my first 25 years growing up. The second 25 years raising kids and I hope to spend the next 25 doing what I want. I don’t know what the future will bring I really don’t care. Life is too short to sweat too much of the small stuff.

Another week has gone by. I have started a new job, it’s an hour from home and I’m not a morning person. I have to leave by 5:45am to make sure I am at work by 7am. When orientation is over I will switch to nights. I have had the long commute before and it was no big deal but I sure am gonna miss the short drive.

Nothing has been done on the house again this week. I did talk to my builder and he finally explained to me that he is finishing up another house so the owner can get his occupancy permit. I told him I understand but I would like my occupancy permit also.

I tried to post this yesterday(Friday) but my Hughes Net internet would not let me.

Shortly after my 17^th birthday my mother took me to the NC DMV in Mt Holly to get my first drivers license. We had landed in Mt Holly just a few months earlier, I don’t know why we just moved around a lot, anyway I got my drivers license and a few weeks later we moved to Pennsylvania. Well I never got a PA license and 3 years later I was back in North Carolina and that’s were I stayed. I had the same driver’s license number for over 30 years but today I got a new one, today I got my VA license. Bummer. I love where I’m living but NC was home for a long time and it was good to me.

• We had some rain last night.. and yesterday for that matter. Yesterday the weather service posted a flood watch for this area, this morning I could see why.
  

• I did get a job on Monday in the department I wanted but it’s quite a drive from here and a lot less money than I was making at the beach. I’m sure I can make it on the pay cut, the cost of living is less than at the beach but I was hoping to put a lot more money into savings than I had been. You know, spend this last 15 years before retirement save, save, saving. Now I think it’s just going to be save, save. Sometimes you just have to go with the flow.
  

• Work on the cabin has come to a standstill. Now I’m hoping to get into it sometime at the end of February. I know we need rain but I would really love to get into my own house!!

I had hoped to walk everyday but yesterday I did not, it rained too much. On Tuesday we did take a walk and I’m happy to report that I found acorns all over the place. I had heard that there were no acorns at all this year and I did not see any on my property so I know that there were a lot fewer acorns than in years past. Hopefully this decline in acorns will be short lived.

Today started out cloudy and dreary. I truly could not remember the last time it had been sunny, but dreary or not I had made a resolution to get back to walking and so the dogs and I went for a walk. To be truthful it was hard to get stated but once the walk began it became a pleasant experience. We walked to where the cabin is being built or about a mile, well I walked the boys and girls ran, once there I did some work around the property and then walked the mile back. Now I drive that route nearly everyday and I see the barns the trees and the fields but it seem like I see more of these things when I walk; today was no exception. I saw the creek, the tree that I just love, the red barn on the hill and of course Buffalo Mountain. The air was fresh and clean there was a scattering of birds singing and a touch of blue between the clouds. All of these things are so hard to experience while driving even if the top is down on the Jeep. No, to experience these sights and sounds one must walk. When I got home I felt refreshed and ready for breakfast; nothing like a good walk to wet the appetite. After breakfast while sweeping I noticed a light shining on the floor that I had not seen for a while, it was the sun. The sun came out today! The afternoon was sunny and warm. I could not stay inside so what did I do? I cleaned the windows, east and south facing, and chopped kindling for the up coming week. I spent every minute I could outside. Towards evening the clouds started to return but that’s OK because the sun we got this afternoon was like medicine for my soul and right now I feel great!

I heard the other day that astrologically speaking we are nearing the end of a period in which Pluto is traveling through Sagittarius causing a time of extremes. These two astrological entities reacting with each other bring with them a time that is “compulsively expansive and optimistic” with religious, social and political upheaval; a time when things shift from one extreme to the other quickly. During this time it is said there is a “breakdown” where things that are no longer of use are done away with and replaced by things that are useful. I’m not all that “into” astrology but it does kinda seem like the way things are.

The time of Pluto in Sagittarius is almost over. Supposedly on January 25 Pluto will enter Capricorn and so say the astrologers we will enter a time where we will contract and solidify. “While in Capricorn, Pluto will demand that the structures that secure our lives have a strong foundation in practicality, and any structure that has been weakened through irrational and unrealistic practices will be forced to transform itself in one way or another”*. This sounds good but the last time Pluto was in Capricorn there was a lot of war including the US revolutionary war.

*http://www.astrodynamics.net/Articles/Pluto-in-Capricorn.htm

Being a Capricorn myself I don’t “believe” in astrology, everything mentioned can be explained in a million different ways I merely find this interesting.

one last beach shot (for now)

It’s hard to believe that in less than 1 hour it will be the second day of January 2009. I have been away for the past week. I spent Christmas on the Outer Banks with my family and while it was great to see the family it was also great to come back here and sleep in my own bed.

December went by so fast this year; I have been going back and forth to the beach this fall to work and to spend the holidays with my family and friends but now its time to get a job here in VA and make this my home. I have planed on changing my residency and making the move to the mountains official as of January 1. On this last trip to the beach I brought the rest of my stuff that was in storage so I guess I am now a resident of the state of Virginia. I have lived in North Carolina for the past 30 years and NC has been good to me I will miss it but I am loving it up here in VA.

Happy New Year to every one and I hope the year ahead is a lot less “interesting” than this one has been.

#3 and I spent most of the day just driving around and a good deal of that driving was done on the parkway. It was a beautiful day, a little cool and breezy at times but the sun was out, the sun being something we haven't seen much ot lately, a good picture taking day.

Tomorrow is Christmas eve and we will be on our way to the Beach to spend Christmas with the family. It's hard to believe that this year is almost over. Hopefully next year will be an improvement over this. Things for me have been good but I know it has been a tough year for a lot of folks.

These past few days have gone by quickly. My #3 son is here on his winter break from school and I have been keeping him busy. He has helped me out a lot tomorrow we will be bringing a good size load of wood down to where I am staying to help keep me warm.

Yesterday was the first day of winter and today was I believe the coldest day of this season. Today I have been inside making carrot cakes for friends while #3 son is out and about with friends. Yesterday we spent a good deal of time at the cabin. I tried to position the cabin in such a way as to take advantage of the winter sun. To me it looks like a wood stove and the sun should keep me toasty.

We have done some driving around the county this past weekend and while on Alum Ridge we pulled over to get a few shots of these cows. They look like Oreos to me. I don’t have the slightest ideal what type of cattle they are but their interesting

I got back from the Outer Banks Tuesday afternoon. I went there to work the weekend and to pick up another load of “stuff”. These short work trips are all a blur. I never even got to see the water except from the Jeep (on paved roads). This shot is of the sound around Colington Island. My #3 son came back with me. He is out of school till January and wanted to spend some time here with me, besides I needed someone to help me unload the trailer!!

Nothing has been done on the house but I can’t fault the builder it has rained just about every day this month. I went on the NOAA website and looked up the rain totals for the month of December so far. According to NOAA this area has had 3 days of sunshine and 14 days of either partly cloudy or cloudy skies.

The work prospects are looking good. I got two calls today, one asking if I would be interested in a position the other wanting to know when I would like to come in for a pre-employment physical. I guess there is a chance that I might be working a little closer to home soon.

I got this little note in my last credit card statement. It basically tells me that they are going to raise the interest on my credit card balance to nearly 20% and that it could go higher. now they are allowing me to "op out" of this, and I did, but I wont be able to use their card when it expires and at that time the rates will change. I wont be using their card a lot sooner than that, I am looking for a different company now.

What really pisses me off about this is that I have been their customer for nearly 20 years. I very rarely have a balance and I typically charge around $1000 a month; lately with building the house it has been a bit more than that. Now admittedly they make very little off me with finance charges but credit card companies charge the seller a fee of between 3 and 5%. so every month the credit card company makes about $30 off my card.

I am very pleased with the new credit card rules that have been adopted. Regulators adopt new credit card rules - Yahoo! News the consumer needs some law's that are on their side!!

I have been seeing a lot of commercials for Hughes Net lately. Hughes Net is a satellite internet provider. The house that I am staying at has Hughes Net and to be honest I’m not impressed. For $60 a month I get “unlimited” internet access…. kinda. The other week I went on line and watched the “Daily Show” I had missed it the night before and my mom said it was a “good one”. I downloaded it using ,Hulu a great site by the way, I was getting good “reception” that day and thought well what the heck I missed “Chuck” while I was away I’ll watch that too. Half way through “Chuck” my signal strength went way down. I thought there was something wrong with my computer, maybe a virus? I did a virus scan, I checked for tracking cookies, deleted my temp files every thing I could think of short of calling my son, the family IT guy. After I rebooted my computer a few times I decided to check my Hughes net connection at the source. When I did that I found out that it was not my computer it was Hughes Net. They had decided that I was using too much internet and cut me off. Where I came from, and I know things are different here, but where I came from for $100 I got local and unlimited long distance and DSL. I watched TV shows on the net any time I wanted to. When I was in the camper I paid $30 a month for dial-up; dial-up sucked but I knew what I was getting. I don’t see enough difference between Hughes Net and dial-up to warrant a $300 to $600 initial out lay, a two year contract and $60 a month. Just my two cents worth!!

I did enjoy the slow down time the almost bitter cold gave me yesterday, I was able to work on my egg Christmas ornaments.

What a difference a few degrees and no wind can make. Yesterday when I went out to feed the horses my face just about froze off. It was 16 degrees outside and the wind was kicking. At that very moment, the second the cold wind hit my face, I knew that I would be spending my day inside cleaning and doing artsy / crafty things. The Floyd Christmas parade was that afternoon at 3pm, I had intended to go but while I like the colder temperature I don’t want to freeze my butt off so I did not think I would be making it; I didn’t. I hear it was very good. I can’t wait to see the pictures. I was not going out if I did not have to. Well anyway I did have to go out; I needed to replenish my wood stores for the wood stove, when I went up to the property, (remember all that wood I split that’s where it is) I got a good feel for how great a southern exposure can be. While the cabin does not have any windows in it yet, the sun shining on the inside made the cabin, even in it open state, feel warmer than the “outside”. I can’t wait to live in that cabin. Boy is this a rambling paragraph, lets get back to the weather. I gathered my wood and went back to the house and stayed warm. This morning when I went outside there was no wind and the temperature was 23 degrees, it felt almost balmy. Its suppose to be much warmer today which is good I have to spend a lot of time at the building site today.

I can’t even remember when I last posted; things have just been so busy. This week I got back from the beach on Tuesday hauling a trailer filled to the rim with stuff I have in storage and then went to class that night, Wednesday I unloaded the trailer and went to a job interview, Thursday I cleaned house and such and went to class, Friday I don’t know what I did it was a blur. Today I went into Christiansburg and took my EMT test, I won’t know for at least 2 weeks if I passed but I don’t care NO MORE CLASS!!!!!! I also gave a pint of blood and did some shopping. On the way home, while listening to Christmas music it started to snow. We barely got a dusting but it was beautiful.

The moon Jupiter and Venus on a clear windy night in Nags Head

this is not normal November beach traffic.....

Its been a very busy week or so…

I just got back from the beach; I went there for thanksgiving and to put a few days in at work. The beach was busy. Traffic was almost as bad as it is in the summer…. Well maybe not that bad but it was close. Work was busy. Sometimes I get the feeling that folks go to the beach just to go to the ER, work was great we were slammed.

My family and I celebrated thanksgiving on Friday, there was way too much food and the company was wonderful. I can’t wait for Christmas. The holidays are always best when spent with family and friends.

The house is moving right along. The roof is on, we will see how long it take for the windows to be put in.

It is bitter cold and windy this morning but I am hold up in the house with a warm fire and a hot cup of coffee. I love the wood fire heat but one of the disadvantages of wood heat is that you have to bring the wood into the house. On a cold day bringing wood in is not fun. I like to keep at least one day ahead on the indoor wood supply, I feel wood burns better if it is room temperature, so every morning right after feeding the dogs and my first cup of Joe I bring in the wood. This morning right as I stepped out of the house Mellow whinnied really loud at me and then just stared.

Mellow is a nice sized tan mare that belongs to my friend who is letting me stay at her house. My friend also has a mule named Amos. While she is away farmer Tim normally takes care of the horses but it makes no since for him to come down here every day while I’m here so for the next few months I have taken over that job. It seems I am being or have been trained by the horses to feed them on their schedule and Mellow was ready to eat. Dutifully I prepared their food, donned my shoes, heavy coat and gloves and marched my way up to the barn and fed them. I don’t mind feeding the animals and there is something about the feel and smell of a horse that I like but I wish they would be a little more patient in the morning. It would have been nice to have had two cups of coffee before I went into that cold windy barn yard.

The dogs are checking out the cows in the back ground.

This morning there is a dusting of snow on the ground and ice on the pond. The air is cold and damp with scattered snow flurries flying about on the breeze; perfect hot coffee and warm fire weather. I know in a few months I will most likely be complaining about this type of weather but today I’m enjoying it.

Today we had snow! Well actually it was more like the world had a bad case of dandruff but it was white and it did come from a cloudy sky. I’m not really wanting a cold snowy winter but it will be nice to see a little snow.

I had a good weekend. I spent both days enjoying food and the company of friends. I also took the scenic route around Floyd County to get to some friends house on Sunday and again on my way home that evening. I find it difficult to locate land marks while driving winding county roads at night; I call that taking the scenic route.

There was some progress on my cabin today. They started putting up the logs and my builder says weather permitting the walls should be done by the end of the week. Could be a good week; could be an even better week if one of my job inquires works out.

The weather for the past few days has been kinda dreary but on my way out yesterday afternoon I took this shot. We are back to cooler temperatures today; if the gurus at the Weather channel are correct the cooler temp’s are here to stay for a while. I don’t mind I seem to work better in the cold of course if this wind doesn’t let down I wont be working out side!!

Not much has happened this last week in fact I’m getting kinda board. I find myself looking forward to Thanksgiving not so much to see the family but to go to work. I’m soooo ready to get back to work. I keep telling myself that when they get really working on the cabin that my altitude will change but to be honest I like going to work. I’m doing a lot of physical work around here but I miss the interpersonal relations that you get at a job.

Today they are calling for rain all day so I guess I have to stay inside which is OK. I will do some reading and work on a new project I have started. I eat a lot of eggs so I decided to make Christmas balls out of the egg shells. Its really quite easy, I just remove the egg yoke and white from the egg through a small hole, rinse the egg shell out and then paint them with primer followed by a metallic acrylic paint and then a clear coat to make them shiny. It takes a little time in between coats and I usually only do one coat a day but since I’m stuck inside maybe I’ll get two coats of color on each egg. I have never done this egg thing before but it is turning out OK

Just a few fall shots

I awoke this morning to a low guttural growl emitting from both my dogs. It was dark and just around 5:30 am so I told them to be quiet! I felt that most likely there was some type of vermin out outside that they caught a whiff of so I just wanted them to shut up and let me sleep a little more. There was no quieting them in fact they became more agitated and after about 2 minutes I found out why. Its hunting season around here and the men who my friend allows to hunt on her property were driving down her long driveway and as the growls turned into barely restrained barks all I could say to myself is that its going to be a long.. long 6 weeks.

I woke up this morning to “change”. Barack Obama has been elected by a wide majority as the president elect of the United States of America. We as a nation needed a definitive win in this election. We needed there to be no question who won and that is what happened yesterday. Now comes the hard part, now comes the time of reckoning, now Obama has to deliver on his promises. I don’t expect the economic crises to be over tomorrow or even next year, it took along time for us as a nation to get into that mess and it will take along time for us to get out of it, but I do expect to see some true progress to a more stable economy. I don’t expect our involvement in the wars over seas to be over tomorrow, or for our status in the eyes of the world change over night, but I do expect to see great progress in both those areas. It is important for Obama to represent our country in a dignified way, to avoid scandal and extremes. To work towards a united country and to make me proud to say to anyone that I’m an American.

The election is over for the most part and it looks promising for an Obama win. Right now it looks like it may be a definite win, something this country needs. The last two elections left a very bitter taste in the mouths of many, there were too many questions about who "really" won. We need an election were there is no doubt who won. When I wake up tomorrow I hope we have Obama as the president elect.

It really is a small world out there. Yesterday I met a couple who like me moved to Floyd County in July from Virginia Beach VA. Virginia Beach is about 80 miles north of where I am from. They appear to be about my age, she is nurse and I think he is a chemical engineer. I have met a lot of very nice folks here, both local and transplant, I am really happy I moved here.

Now something I have mixed feelings about, mice. It seems my cat and girl dog are real mousers. That is OK except they feel the need to eat only half the mouse, I mean they seem to be Kosher. They eat the tops and leave the bottoms. Its disgusting! I appreciate that the animals are ridding me of a very destructive force that can also harbor disease but they do not have to show me what they are doing, they don’t have to share. If they catch them outside they can keep them out side I won’t mind. I am just tired of picking dead and often times half eaten mice off the floor. Country life….. gotta love it.

It’s been another good week things are progressing on the cabin and I have been trying to spend at least 4 hours working at the property a day. Tim the farmer and I moved my camper down the hill Friday, I have a little more clean up to do on it and then I will be putting it up for sale. The camper has served me well these past few years but I don’t need it any more. I can’t pull it with my Jeep so there is no need to keep it. Any one interested CAMPER FOR SALE!!

Another 10 days has flown by…. The fall leaves are starting to thin out and there is a touch of winter in the air. I find it all very refreshing.

I did go back to the beach this past weekend to see the family and to work for a few days. It was nice to visit the beach but even better to come back here to the mountains. I do wish I could bring my job here. Its hard to find a job you like going to with people you like working with.

Construction on the cabin is coming along. The guys are putting down the sub floor today who knows they may start the walls this week.

I haven’t been keeping up with the blogg lately I have just been too busy with “things” to hassle with blogging via dial up but I have moved from my 19ft camper into a small house that belongs to a snow bird friend of mine and it has satellite internet, not the best but better than dial up!!

Things here have been good. The weather last week was warm but the fall color has been just great. It has been many years since I have seen Fall. This past week, thanks to the mild temperatures, I put the top down on the Jeep and cruised a little of the Blue Ridge Parkway. It was hard not looking up as I drove. I love the way sun light shines through the trees causing the leaves to have a glow about them. I also LOVE it when a breeze comes by and it rains leaves; it’s just so magical. I love fall!!!!

Things are coming along on the cabin. They poured the footings this week. One thing done a week, I guess that’s progress. What can you say? My builder is working on another house soooo

This has become

This

My friend Tim and I finished splitting the wood pile, a great accomplishment. Now I get to stack all this wood. Yea for me I get to be warm three times!!!