June 4, 2010
Sorry Kristi(e), it's all about me

If you tuned in to see a cute picture of my sweet niece Kristi(e) then I apologize. I have one tuned up and ready, but this post is all about ME. But enough about me, what do you think about me?

On to this past week, up in Portsmouth OH this week for a customer's grand opening. This is a new type of location in that it has both a contractors and a retail side. Portsmouth is a small town so I hope Lute will be able to fill the Lowes/Home Depot void. Shhhhhhh, don't say anything. Skuttle was welcomed on their impressive sign for a Tuesday evening reception and an open house Wednesday.

After the open house I drove to Falling Waters WV, famous for being the hometown of TJ Jackson; but also the location where Pvt (CSA) John W. Riley was captured, and General Pettigrew was killed in July, 1863. I asked around, no one remembered our great grandfather. I got up early Thursday morning and headed for an APR open house in New Oxford, PA. Of course I had to drive through one of my favorite places, and observe the North Carolina high water mark of the Confederacy, the Bloody Angle, and Little Round Top. Certainly one of the landmark areas which made our country.

Saw a pretty rainbow Thursday evening and pulled over to take a picture. Nice, huh? Grandma said to make sure and enjoy these; you don't know when you'll see another one. That's a lot nicer story than the one my Sunday School teachers taught me when I was a kid....that one scared the hell out of me.
And hats off to Mr. Jim Joyce and Mr. Armando Galarraga. This incident may be a good thing for baseball as it showed good sportsmanship and understanding. The knee jerk reaction calling for instant replay is superficial; the real story is in the actions of the participants, not the "fans." I mentioned in my tweet this should be required viewing for all amateur athletes' parents. The constant griping I've witnessed over the past 25 years from the stands becomes more childish, boorish, but yet in my old age amusing every year. Come on folks; they are games designed for children to get exercise and enjoy it. Try not to have a cardiac over it. Now on the other hand, NASCAR..............well I've rambled enough on this subject.

And last, my new superfoe, the black ant. I had a little incident last fall when I got up at 430AM and proceeded to argue with my bed partner over my unscheduled wakeup time. I looked outside, saw the paper had indeed been delivered, and proceeded to retrieve it. By the time I poured my milk on my cereal I had some odd symptoms; dizzy, feverish, sweating....why I thought I was in love (actually I am). I was bitten by something on top of my foot, thought it must have been a spider. Well guess what? Last Saturday while working in the yard I saw one of these bite me. Not a fire ant, not a spider, not a hybrid Godzilla-type superant; no.................. a black ant. Within minutes the same type of symptoms appeared, I went in the house and asked Terri for some benedryl tablets. After she looked at me she called 911; the EMTs were there within a few minutes (sorry the details are a little fuzzy, I don't recall exactly what happened). They put me in the ambulance, hooked me up to an EKG, supplied some oxygen and observed my vital signs whcih were all good. Although I felt really bad the medicine worked quickly and they let me out. I felt like I had the flu for the rest of the day, but much better on Sunday. All because of this super-villain!

And so an eventful comes to an end, but with a fun weekend and week planned. Jackson will enjoy Senior Sunday at church, give the closing prayer at the Baccalaureate Sunday evening, a few parties and then graduation Thursday night! Jay, Holly, Cooper and Keelyn will be here from Wednesday through the weekend, and the Big Rock Keli Wagner Lady Anglers party is next Friday! Whew, I'll be worn out.

Have a good weekend

Oh, guess it was all about you Kristi(e)

May 28, 2010
Ever feel like this?

Busy week, much busier than anticipated....so what's up with that? We are still doing a lot of school year-end stuff; all of which is enjoyable as we celebrate Jackson's accomplishments and graduation. Last weekend was beautiful on the water Sunday, caught enough fish for a good dinner or two, or three. Been in the office every day except for Thursday when I played golf with the Ludwig family from PA. Terry is a good friend and customer, and visits the coast each year with his family. We play golf every year and it is always a lot of fun. This year we played North River, which was my first time. It is a difficult course with lots of sand and water. I busted over 50 on the front (first time in a while) but calmed down to a 46 on the more difficult back side. I recommend the course if you're in the area, especially on a weekday like today; not very many people playing. The course is wide open so wind is normally a factor; however I'm pretty sure I would only play it in some wind, as I'm sure the skeeters and no see'ms are plentiful.

Pop and Dink are doing well; although Pop seems a bit more confused lately. Nothing new there, but the lucid moments are been more infrequent. This seems more significant in the later afternoon and evening. Then Dink thinks of something which must be done immediately and we're off and running. I'll bet she'll be happy when Terri is out of school so she can use her 24/7.

Memorial Day is always the greatest weekend in motorsports, although the Monaco GP ran 2 weeks ago we are still able to watch 2 races in Charlotte and the Indy 500. I was lucky to attend Indy in its heyday and see Mario, the Unsers, AJ, etc. in what was definitely the greatest spectacle in motor sports. Looking forward to watching that Sunday afternoon, go Danica!

Next week I'm off to OH, WV, PA and MD.

Ever feel like this?
Know this young man? Heather, beware......your children may resemble this maniac!

May 20, 2010
Productive week

Got a lot of things done in the office this week, sat here and saw some nice days go by; still have a couple of vacation days to spend before month-end, and I should have gone fishing but had a little too much on the table.

Jackson has discovered the joy of golfing. I walked 9 with him twice this week; on Monday night he made a par on the second hole, his first! Putted for birdie and missed it, but was able to make a 2 foot downhill putt that would make the strongest man shiver a little. Good for him he didn't know just how hard the putt actually was.

He finished his senior project with a presentation last night. At this point in his high school career I believe he has nothing else to do except show up for practice and the graduation excercise. Stick a fork in him, he's done. Graduation is June 10th.

I plan to work in the office again next week, and maybe take a day if the sun shines right and the wind don't blow. Have you ever tried to sell a humidifier in May? Well do I have a deal for you!

May 17, 2010
strong>Honeysuckles
I've had the opportunity to be in the roadster several times this week, and on the boat three times; and the sweet smell of honeysuckle has been nosed up many times. We have some between our garages and I always enjoy catching that fragrant bouquet that always reminds me of times long ago..............
Did I mention the granddaughter? I went to see Keelyn Wednesday; we had a nice chat Her eyes seem very alert in this picture

Then I asked her to do an impression of Popeye...........................

A very impressive impression don't you think? Or at least that was my impression............

In town most of this week, graduation looms on the horizon

May 8, 2010
Special edition

Normally I try to post once a week, but this week was something special, yessssireeeeeBob, something special indeed; a heckuva fishing trip it was, and for a change I took a page from the Fishin Optishin's playbook and took pictures; yes I did, I took a picture of every fish I took, no duplicates, each and every one of them was photographed for posterity.

With an open Saturday, I decided to go to New Bern to try my luck fishing for bass; the wind was forecasted to be very high, and I knew that saltwater fishing was out of the question; so after finally getting to sleep around 1230 I was up at at'm a little after 3, to put the boat in about 530 in New Bern.

With the high wind the water was blown out of the river to the point that the bass tournament was scheduled to end early to make sure everyone could get their boats out safely. Sure enough when I pulled out at 1030 the USCG-Hoboken crew was pulling their safe boat out because they could not launch. There was a big Ford F-150 sitting in the left hand lane with the trailer off the end of the ramp, back tires in the slime, waiting for a tow truck. Everyone helped me back up to the edge, and although far from perfect I was able to get Nell One on the trailer well enough for the short ride home.

Just as I got her on the trailer I heard cannon fire from the Neuse River. Seems as though the Yankees are trying to take New Bern again (what do they think it is, Pine Knoll Shores?). Kinda wished I stayed around to see that but then again I was happy to be back on the trailer.

The wind was really honking on the way home; went by and saw Pop and Dink, both were doing well.

Oh, and Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers.

And did I mention the cutest little granddaughter in the whole wide world?
Although you might find this uncharacteristic, I digress, you wanted to see the fish pictures didn't you; well right below are pictures of all of the fish, enjoy...............

These critters were hanging around the Trent River; sorry the photo quality is poor.

I'm going to take a few days off next week, maybe I'll have some luck then.

May 5, 2010

Keelyn Marie Riley

7 pounds, 11 ounces

21 inches long

All are doing well, looks like a keeper
Here Cooper meets his little sister, who he wanted to call Chocolate Milk Cooper.

And with a new family member, all other worries seem very insignificant, it is a good week

April 30, 2010
Another busy week

So who are these people and why are they "stickin them up?" No, they're not George Washington figures, they are nuns, and part of a fun new game FO gave me

You take one of the figures and insert as shown

........then fling them out by pulling the trigger

...............at a target that comes with the game; all part of a fun new game (not from Milton Bradley) called NunChuck. Yes, I know.....first class seat on the plane to hell, you're not the first to tell me that. These games are always fun until someone gets their eye poked out.

In other MhC news, Jackson went to his prom last Saturday night. I was on my way to DC and missed all of the festivities; lovely young lady and a handsome fellow

But wait! There are two young ladies; yes Jackson escorted 2 ladies to the prom. that might explain that smle on his face, and the green envy in the eyes of his pals.

And in granddaughter news, well there isn't any yet. Jackson and I visited the Sanford Rileys on the way home from the Charlotte Quail Hollow PGA event (Tiger says duh-huh, he said you'd know I mean) and they looked very happy, and ready to have a baby. Should be any day now, when news breaks out, I'll break in with news.

Supposed to be in town all week, except for a day trip to Philadelphia Wednesday, shouldn't be long now.