The Circle of Life

Isn't it funny how certain events mark specific memories in our brains? Where were you when Ronald Reagon was shot? How about when the first space shuttle disaster happened in 1986. Do you remember exacty what was going on in your life when those events happened? I do remember what was happening to me on those days and I also remember what was going on on the second day of May five years ago. Interestingly enough, it was a birthday anniversary for two different nieces of mine. On Debbie's side of the family, it was Ashley. She is the oldest daughter of Brenda, Debbie's sister. On my side of the family, it was Sarah, the youngest daughter of my sister, Kathleen.

Five years ago today, I rode a bicycle to work. That is not very normal for me but I remember because of some other things that happened that day. Perhaps a half hour after I arrived my cell phone rang and I answered it as I am unaccustomed to doing. After all, it was from Debbie. How bad could it be? Well, it wasn't all that bad. I mean I had been expecting this particular bit of news. After all, my mother had been very sick for a number of weeks and each day I expected to hear that she had finally expired.

I remember entering my supervisor's office, sitting down and trying to tell him that I needed to go home. I remember saying that I thought I was completely prepared for that particular event but it was obvious that even though I thought I had prepared myself, I was not completedly ready for the finality of death when it actually occurred.

Oh my goodness. Here it is, five yrs later, and I am struggling to see through blurry vision so I can complete this post. What is going on? Hopefully, my difficulty in completing this post is normal and by tomorrow, I will be back calculating life events with the logical, non emotional evaluation with which I am accustomed.

Dealer Night @ Monticello

Wow! After a full days labor at the day job, I came home to having to load the van with inventory with which to replentish our space at Monticello Antique Marketplace. It has been two weeks since the opening of the Spring and Garden Show and though we still own some things that we expected to be sold by now, we are very pleased with how things have been going. For some reason, there never has been much of an economic crisis at Monticello. Perhaps it is similar to certain vises being unaffected by recession. It seems that people still make purchases that they perceive will make them feel better about their condition.

On a side note, I had the opportunity to kind of revamp my own little display case. For the most part, it features the sorts of items which interest me. Here are some images of some of the sheves after I restocked and rearranged the case.

What can I say? We do this for fun in our spare time and and on the tenth of each month, they give us money. How satisfying is that?

Order Out Of Chaos

I would probably be in dire need of domestic legal counsel if I were to post pictures of our living space a few days ago. I'm talking chaos in its purest form. We had trails leading to trails to the bathroom and all other important rooms in the house.

Beginning Sunday afternoon and all day Monday, we started moving much of the chaotic debris from our living space to our designated area at the Monticello Antique Marketplace annual Home and Garden Show. Without having lived through it, one might not be able to imagine the relief I am currently feeling to be able to navigate to my bed without fear of tripping or stubbing my toes. Ok, to be perfectly frank, I do derive a significant amount of satisfaction when the check gets cashed at the end of the show but sometimes during the period of time leading up to the opening of the show the chaotic living space diminishes any positive anticipation of the end. Remarkably, something looking like this

and this

turns into something looking like this

and this.

The artist and project manager, Debbie, has remarkable talent for turning chaos into order. Don't you agree? She's not even done. I'll probably be posting more images later in the week. The show starts on Friday, April 8 and will be running for almost two months. Interestingly, the space will continue to look differently over the course of the next several weeks but the balance of order over chaos will continue to be maintained.

I'm Breaking My Silence!

Wow! I look at the date of my last post and am amazed that it was nearly two months ago. Time is so fleeting. I get up, go to work, come home, go to bed and then notice suddenly that the first quarter of the year is nearly past. They say you only live once so it kind of chagrins me that I can't remember any notable events during the last 90 days.

Here is something notable, at least to me. Last Friday at work I hear a friend of mine tell someone that he is helping some friends of his sell some cars. My ears perked up at this because one of ours is starting to make some strange noises and a trip to the mechanic seems to always cost somewhere between six and fifteen hundred dollars. Two of the vehicles which he described in no way fit my needs or wants. The third, however, though not really fitting our wants, had potential to fit our needs. It was a 2001 Dodge Caravan.

Debbie had clued me in early that she was not at all ready to be seen driving a minivan but the fact that the vehicle only had 104,000 miles made me want to at least get the VIN so I could check and see if the vehicle had any secrets that I wasn't being told. I had my brother Dave check the Chrysler data base for any recalls of which there were two minor occurances which had been timely repaired. Even Kelly Blue Book screamed "Go buy that car!" I told Debbie that I needed to take her by to see the car because all of my senses were telling me that this was an opportunity that doesn't come around very often. I said all we would do was look at it, drive it, and if she wasn't sold then we'd walk and I was ok with that. We did a quick walk around and a casual inspection of the interior. The car was really clean and nice. Apparently, it was well taken care of by its owner. My friend handed me the keys so we could take it for a spin. We get a half dozen blocks away and she says "We can go back now. This is nothing like I'd imagined. I really want it!"

Isn't it interesting that something which is old and tiresome to one person, can be so new and exciting to someone else.

I'm Back! Thanks for Waiting!

I just completed the first day of my second week back to work. It has been a pretty smooth transition back into the normal work week. I've felt great and have had no discomfort or difficulty during my return. I am so thankful to The Creator for His blessing me with continued health and the ability to do a physical job.

The other day Debbie and I went to a short class at the doctor's office regarding our diet. Well it wasn't our diet specifically, it was more a healthy diet in general. Did you realize that a certain amount of fat in one's diet is healthy. Of course you did. But I was interested and a bit pleased to find that at least two tablespoons of olive oil per day is recommended. That is just soo exciting to me. I have only recently learned to enjoy a vinegrette dressing on a salad and to find that I can have at least two tablespoons of dressing is just amazing. Here is a simple recipe for a vinegrette. You can tweek it in so many ways so be creative and healthy.

Start with 3 parts olive oil and one part acid. (Choose a red or white wine vinegar or a basalmic or white basalmic vinegar) Add a teaspoon or so of dijon mustard, a bit of salt, a bit of pepper, and perhaps a pinch or so of brown sugar. Give it a good shake for a minute or so and taste. If it is too oily still, add a bit more vinegar, too sour perhaps a touch more oil or sugar.

I read a couple of novels over the last couple of weeks. I hadn't read a novel in many, many years and wasn't sure what to expect. I chose my novels differently than perhaps some people might. I suppose it would be prudent to see what most people are reading and choose from that list. I, however, don't always do things the same way other folks do them. I love talk radio and since it was Christmas time suggested to the people around me that I was interested in reading a couple of novels by popular talk show hosts. The hints were heeded and the books arrived at my door step from Amazon. The first book I read was Glenn Beck's "The Overton Window".

This was his first attempt at a thriller I believe and it was ok. The overton window concept is facinating. I hope you'll look it up as I don't have the time to adequately explain it. The story itself was interesting but it seemed to end too abruptly as if the author all of a sudden discovered that there were too many pages. I appreciated that the language and content was not particularly "adult" in nature and because of the PG rating, I don't mind suggesting that you read the story. I might even enjoy hearing how you liked the book.

This post is going a bit long as I am often prone to do so I'll stop for the evening and post on my second novel in a day or two. Thanks for wading through this drivel. Each of you brings a bit of light to my existance and I am grateful for it.

A Blessing in Disguise

My hernia surgery has definitly been a blessing for us this year. Afterall, without the surgery, we would have never had the opportunity to spend time with family to the extent that we did this year. We were blessed to spend time with family down state during the Thanksgiving holiday and again for an amazing six days during Christmas. I have never, in my whole adult life, had this many days free to spend quality time with family.

Let me share a few highlights of the last couple of days.

Hans, Shirley, Jonathan, Debbie, and I drove down to Jacksonville, Oregon on Wednesday the 22nd of December. On the 24th we gathered with a few thousand other believers for an outstanding Christmas eve celebration of the birth of Jesus in the outdoor ampitheater of Applegate Christian Fellowship. There was some inspirational music and an uplifting message from Ben Courson.

It really was an enjoyable event. I even think I saw an angel.

Well, maybe not but it looked like an angel to me!

What a great place to live. There is enough humanity to support all of the comforts that we tend to be accustomed to but in addition to that, there are some common sights that are a bit unusual in populated areas. There were a couple of mornings where we were treated to events like this.

I'll let you in on a secret, we came home with some venison in a jar which I am totally looking forward to adding to my diet but I still haven't gotten tired of seeing them on the hoof.

Monticello Antique Marketplace Christmas Show 2010

I just have to tell you. In case you don't automatically follow Debbie's blog, the Christmas show at Monticello Antique Marketplace started yesterday and once again she is doing fantastically. Ok, there are many other dealers down there doing extremely well also but I just had to brag a bit. After all, there is a small amount of credit in this for me as well.

Come on down tomorrow or in the near future anyway and enjoy a few moments browsing through the show.