Christmas 2006

ready for next year

These are the only pictures this year to our humble, yet great, Christmas.

Christmas 2006

Our Christmas

This
season has come and gone leaving us with warm thoughts and good memories. We
had a more modest holiday this year, as I decided beforehand not to overindulge
in spending. I went shopping for my wife only, and left the rest to her, she
does a much better job of it than I do with my once a year binge shopping
sprees.

I
purchased one of Dave Ramsey’s packages for my oldest son, which consisted of a
book and a couple of videos to try and show him some of the better ways to
handle his money, something which I so obviously failed to teach him as he was
growing up. It’s the American way, debt, promissory notes, and credit cards.
It’s a mistake that I truly regret as I see him follow in my footsteps,
borrowing to obtain the things he wants now, and little or no savings. When I
talk to him about how we have to pay over time for what we are getting on
credit anyway, only triple or quadruple the price for the added interest, sort
of like a backward savings account, he understands that it would just be wiser
to save up the money for the purchase.

I
bought myself a pair of work boots to replace the two-year-old ones that were
beginning to let the water in. Funny how you only notice when it’s wintertime.
All of the items I purchased this year were bought with cash, as I was blessed with monetary gifts this year from three different people. I did buy gift envelopes
though, and gave most of the money away in lieu of extravagant gifts to my
immediate family members. This coupled with their smaller, more humble, presents
that their Mama bought them seemed more appropriate than my usual way of doing
things. She is so much better at getting them what they need instead of
what may be a passing fancy.

Say
what you want about monetary gifts being the lazy persons way of avoiding
having to put thought, effort, and time into gift buying, I battled internally
with my own thoughts about gift giving, and the fact that I had already
verbally communicated the need to having a frugal, scaled down Christmas. I
struggled with the idea of putting the cash toward my goal of savings and
getting out of debt, but the words kept coming back to haunt me, “Give, and
it shall be given unto you, pressed down, shaken together, and running over”.
So, I gave freely, with no stipulations on how they should use it. Mind you, I
put these money gifts under the tree, and I put bows on them, and I included them in
the gift packages that they already had, and then I took them out. I removed
the fancy bows, and I put them away. Not wanting this to be a part of
Christmas, or to take anything away from the customary gift exchange on
Christmas Eve, I gave them these gifts the next day, almost failing to give my
beautiful wife her envelope on Christmas day as it was almost midnight when I
handed it to her. Seems to me that there was a lot of thought and work going
into this. I’m not saying this is the best way, nor is it for everyone, but it
certainly relieved some of the pressure off of my family, as my oldest had
already expressed his desire to scale back this year on buying so many gifts,
and I echoed his protest, and fully intended to follow through with our
commitment to a smaller, simpler, and yes, cheaper, way of doing things.

The
actions that I took this year were reciprocal, and I relaxed in the knowledge
that poor people were not struggling to buy me several things, which they
really could not afford. I did not do the usual gift opening at the in-laws,
which requires pretty faces, and awkward hugs for sometimes novelty items that
are mostly useless, or hearty thanks for clothing that would fit Sasquatch.
They did send two gifts for me, both of which I’m wearing.

Kay
cooked a wonderful Christmas dinner with all the trimmings. My oldest and his
family came over and we enjoyed the opening of a few gifts for his babies, and
one each between us. My Mama was here,
and my benevolent sister Lotus, and in addition to her other gifts, she brought
us some really nice curtains which flatter my office much more than the ones
that I already had, but she had to stay late to sew some modifications on the
back to fit the curtain rod. With Lydia’s help from a well timed phone call,
the sewing machine that we thought was useless all these years was fixed
(another impulse buy), that was her gift to us, and the curtains are up, and
nice, if I may say so myself. There are no pictures this year, as I took a
total turnaround from the usual, and decided to forego the amateur photography
and backside profiles of gift giving, so, you folks have something to be
thankful for also.

http://tejasmidget.multiply.com/photos/album/131
We
have much to be thankful for, and we are blessed to have family that we love,
and we know what the true meaning of traditional Christmas is, it is about
caring. This is our Christmas.

May
God bless you all with a healthy and prosperous new year.

what is, isn't

only old shot i could find on my hard drive.

remember these urns? they used to sit atop the Eola Hotel for the last 80 years or so. until today. we chopped them down like trees because they were deteriorating so badly they were becoming a hazard. contractors bid for removal; $3,500. our bid; sledgehammers and five gallon buckets. taking down six foot tall 1,500 lb urns on the coldest day we've had so far? priceless. i saved these pieces for i-don't-know-what-yet. sorry folks for no demolition pictures, i was out on a ledge. :o)

weekend warrior

this revamped valance and crown shelf for what-nots will make chas bashful about his. he will now have to start all over with his entire kitchen.

always looking for something to do, ♪♫♪♫ baby, it's cold outside ♪♫♪♫

second chance bar stools

These are the bar stools that Lotus brought to me and I am finally getting around to cleaning them up.
A little elbow grease, a wire brush, and some paint leftovers, make the total cost of this little jibby $0.
Lucky for me, I have $0. These are probably from an old Diner, a bit of nostalgia from the past.

Shabby Chic

no, it's just a shabby sheet. we all remember a few doors like this when we were younger.

Sis comes over to do the faux marble effect on the wall board. The images do not really show how well it turned out, it is just what I was hoping for and Kay is pleasantly surprised by how beautiful it is.. Of course, we have done our best to drag out this simple bathroom makeover by painting the cabinets in the wrong color and other practice stuff.We are almost ready for a few accessories like window treatment and maybe an added shower curtain.

bath do-do over

we seem to be having a bit of difficulty coming up with a color scheme that suits us. probably due to not buying any new paint and trying to make do with unused paints we have left over. you might even see a rusty paint can lid or two. told ya i've been planning this a while.

2006-04-17

Just publishing an existing picture found hanging out in the draft section via the media locker.

DIY

just a hint of things to come

Another home improvement project best left to the pros, of course, that only means we will tackle it. As usual, I recommend this type of project to all my friends, just for the fun of it. The careful layout and intricate cuts was mostly due to the fact that this tile was discontinued and no longer available. I have one antique beige tile left over.

Photo Album 2006-10-29 #2

procedures

There Are Going To Be Some Pointless Changes Around This Office

All
right, everyone, listen up. I have some announcements to make, and they
affect all of you. I know that you received the e-mail I sent out, in
which I detailed this meeting's agenda. I wanted to meet anyway and go
over that e-mail in person, to prevent any misunderstandings. There are
going to be some pointless changes around here, folks. The sooner we
get used to them, the better off we'll be.

First, there will be no more taking pens directly out of the supply
closet. This is not to say that you can no longer have pens, but from
now on, we're going to keep track of who's taking what, with a register
on the supply-closet door. Please list any supplies you remove from the
supply closet on the supply-closet register for at least a week or two.
The sheet will get old and tattered, and it will eventually fall off
the door. After it gathers dust on the floor for a few days, I will
pick it up and file it. This largely unnecessary new measure will be
enforced rigidly.

We will also be keeping track of your e-mail. You will find the
spreadsheet I made in your in-boxes—from now on, the spreadsheet should
be open on your computer at all times. Whenever you send an e-mail, log
it into the spreadsheet. At the end of each week, e-mail the completed
log to your supervisor. The last item on your list will always document
the e-mail to your supervisor. This will be the only entry your
supervisor cares enough to check for, so failure to document this
e-mail will cast suspicion on your e-mail-record-keeping abilities in
general, and may result in disciplinary action, as outlined in your new
employee handbook.

Has everyone received the new employee handbook? Good. You should
study it thoroughly. In order to drive home the importance of our new
rules and guidelines, we will begin a series of personnel orientations
this month. The orientations will be conducted by me on a
department-by-department basis. That way, the work of an entire
department will come to a standstill while I orient it. The
orientations will take two full days, so block out your time
accordingly.

We've also noticed that the sink is often full of dirty dishes. The
only fair way to deal with this problem is for everyone to take turns
washing a load. Even those who eat their lunch outside of the
department will be expected to volunteer for kitchen duty. Check the
calendar to see which week you will need to do kitchen duty, and also
which week you will be acting as kitchen-duty manager.

On a more alarming note, we have reason to believe that there have
been some abuses of telephone privileges in the office, particularly
long-distance privileges. You have each been issued a telephone code.
The 14-digit code must be entered to obtain an outside line. This way,
we can track phone usage. We anticipate savings of close to $30 each
month with this time-consuming new procedure.

Next on the docket: the water cooler. The water cooler will be moved
to the back closet. The way the water cooler sits now, it juts out into
the hallway. The new location will minimize delays for everyone, except
those who need water. You're welcome. If some of the higher-ups had had
their way, we would have gotten rid of the cooler altogether. I'm on
your side here. I was fighting for you guys on this one.

What else do we have? Lunch hours. Lunch hours will be taken at set
times from here on out. You must plan your day around lunch. If work
prevents you from taking your lunch at your assigned time, you will
have to make other arrangements for eating. Eat a protein bar. Oh,
there will be no more eating at your desks, either. And whenever you
leave your desk, your outgoing voicemail message should notify callers
of your absence. Also, start thinking about whom you would like as a
bathroom buddy. I'll explain what this entails at our next meeting.

I think that's all. We'll have monthly departmental meetings to
discuss these changes and to hear your ideas on ways to improve
efficiency. At least we will for the next couple of months, but we'll
probably forget to schedule the meetings after a while. Not like that
matters, though, because it isn't as though a single one of your
suggestions will have been taken seriously, much less implemented.

Oh, and don't forget that Thursday is crazy-shoes day, so go buy
yourself the craziest pair of shoes you can find. Thank you for your
attention.

By Daniel Wyatt

November 5, 2003

forward; forward; forward

If you have friends & family that communicate via e-mail, inevitably, you are going to end up on the forward; forward; forward list. Every once in a while, if you bother reading them at all, one comes along worth sharing. So, here is my entry that I thought I would pass along. If, like me, you found one you would share but don't want on the forward; forward; forward list, feel free to post it here. it's not going anywhere....maybe.

pitter patter

what makes our hearts glow, what brings sunshine to our mornings. after the reunion, these two bitty girls came to see us and made us smile. for a moment, there are no worrys, there are no problems, when you know the wonder of these precious gifts.

Reunion 2006

a small family and extended family gathering that seems to get smaller every year or it just seems that way to those of us that grew up on reunions. we were totally bored with them as teenagers but as we've have gotten older have realised the significance of families gathering together to show their solidarity and share some of our common interests. the newest additions to the family clan are especially welcomed, we have new babies that we love to meet and adopt into our club, and hope the best for them and many years of life and their own reunions to come.

Family Tradition

A noble tradition probably born of necessity that I hadn't experienced until I became a part of Kay's extended family. As a last labor of love and respect, the male family members dig the final resting place and build a wooden vault to place the casket in. Immediately following the services, the grave is covered over, all work is done by hand. This grave was especially difficult and took them eight hours to dig due to the long dry spell that we have been having. The heavy clay soil located in the hills of Sicily Island was compacted and took pick axes to penetrate. Personally, I have only had to assist with one grave digging for Kay's younger brother who passed away when Darrell was seven.

PRIMITIVE

cave & rock drawings

We have figured out that the cave & rock drawings found around the world that has perplexed mankind for centuries is nothing more than child's art.
Here, as evidence, is a drawing involving many legends and myths. It appears to tell us the story of a great fishing expedition, with a catch so big as to need multiple casts, only the disturbance has conjured up an even greater beast from the deep that is going to swallow up both man and his great fish. We call this mammoth whale....Jonah. (You may notice that the mans head is covered, prehaps as a symbol of protection).
Tale as told by gramps, an old fart, and illustrated by cody to befuddle the wise.

Kay's Garden

kay's flowers are varied and we tried to capture some of the petals in bloom

7/30/06

hospice care

staying warm plays a big part in healing injuries

convalescing after a bail from a collapsing scaffold incident, i too have personal care to help nurse me back to health.

GB rally

after a few days intermission, the grandkids bikers rally reconvenes. we have many other duties and community services that we also have to make time for.