July 4th 2010 Family Photo

July 4th 2010 Family Photo
Originally uploaded by Germburner

Here is our family photo on the 4th of July. Later it sounded like my neighborhood was under siege, but it was only the fire works that went into the wee hours of the night. We are truly blessed to live in a country with some many freedoms, like religion, speech, and even to publish stuff on the Internet.

Fashion

Yesterday we went to church, then went to the Texas Roadhouse for lunch. While we were there I noticed a couple of the waitresses wearing miss matched socks. I asked Amy if they knew their socks did not match, and she said that they did. Evidently that is a fashion statement, as opposed to a political statement. It reminds my of a children's book that Max Lucado wrote titled, If I Only had a Green Nose, which is a great children's book no matter how old your are. This sock thing is a fad just like the bell bottoms of the 70's and late 90's as they made a resurgence. Clothing fashion is such a strange concept, how things that look good today, my children will laugh at when they are my age.

A few interesting tib bits from the news. A hot dog eating champ was arrested for trying to crash Nathan's hotdog eating contests. (Link) You have got to be kidding me, I mean really, there is much more news worthy stories out there. On a second level, a contest to see who can eat the most hot dogs. This is something you do as kids, with hot dogs, pizza, or Cream Puffs. (I would like to mention that I hold the family record for the most cream puffs eaten at 3. I must clarify that these were the "BIG" ones, not the little ones). Only in America, will we have a contest to see who can eat the most hot dogs. It does not stop there... ...in Amarillo, Texas, there is a steakhouse that will cook you a 72 oz steak for free, if eaten in 1 hour along with the sides, while sitting in front of the entire restaurant.

For all the soccer fans out there, the following link will take you to a video of a couple of announcers, announcing a goal in the world cup. I have always said that it is funner listening to the Spanish announcers while watching, and this is even better.

Soccer Announcers

Going to Swim WIth Dolphin

Going to Swim WIth Dolphin
Originally uploaded by Germburner

Here is the crew getting ready to meet the Dolphins, Cap would not kiss the dolphin, and Ella, gave it "Eskimo Kisses".

Birkenstocks Demise

Bahammas 2010 241
Originally uploaded by Germburner

My sandel's finally fell apart. Natually they decided to do this while on vacation in the Bahamas. They held up for 2 days, until I submerged them in swimming pool water, at which point the two section seperated. It was a true travesty, so I had to pay 16.99 for a pair of 2.00 flip flops at the restort. They are not even comfortable flip flops, part of today's quest, is going to be replacement sandels. That, along with laundry, a trip to the swimming pool, a pasta supper or grilling shrimp on the grill, and mailing two memory sticks of vacation photos to Honey.

Story Time 6/25/10

Note - I actually wrote this last week, but am just now publishing it.

I started mowing the grass tonight, but took a break for story time. Current we are reading, Thank You Santa". So reading a Christmas book while the kids are playing with the Halloween decorations they found in the draw. It is like the twilight zone.

Thank goodness, we have moved on to a non-holiday book, it is "If you give a cat a cupcake". A good book, not quite as fun to read as "If you give a pig a pancake," but fun none the less. These books kind of remind me of a TV show call connections, which start with some mundane event, and threads its way to great discovery.

Reality TV, Really?

So the other day I was spending the night in a small hotel with nothing to really do but watch TV. I happened to stumble across the Golf Channel, I like golf, so I wanted to see what was on. After a few minutes, I decided that reality TV has gone to far. (A thought that I have been harbouring ever since "Survivor" started). So here is the setting, a private resort with a golf course, 10 lady golfers who played in college, and saw a little pro action, and one big house. It is like Survivor crossed with The Real World. As you can image, the challenges were all based on who was the best person on the golf course. I was telling Amy about this and she said, "Isn't that kind of what they do every week on the pga tour."

We live in a world with abundant access to books, I mean we have the printing press, Amazon's Kindle, the Sony reader, a variety of newspapers, magazines, yet, the average American house has 2.24 televisions per house. Americans spend, on average, 4 hours of Television per week. We have become a nation that would rather watch someone else's lives, that we would participate in our own life. That is what I think about reality TV...

Slow Camera

Swinging
Originally uploaded by Germburner

I was taking a picture, well this picture with the Sony camera, which is not quite as fast as the Nikon, but what do you expect for a camera that is 1/4 of the price, and fits into your pocket.

Swinging

Swinging
Originally uploaded by Germburner

Cap is enjoying the swing, at what he calls, "The Little Park". Little or not, it has swings, and is within walking distance.

Fathers 2010

"One father is more than a hundred Schoolmasters." ~George Herbert, Outlandish Proverbs, 1640

So happy Father's day, the day which father's are recognized for being, well themselves for the most part. Ole George was right about fathers and schoolmasters, while I learned a lot of book smart from the teachers, I learned more about they way the world worked, in particular a 1966 mustang, than anyone else. My dad taught me how to use a drill when I was 5, I have a 5 year old and he is not going to be touching that drill for a few more years. I learned how to welded before I could drive a car. The first vehicle I drove down a street was a 5 Ton GMC Winch Truck (or Gin Pole Truck), it had a Detroit diesel engine, and 13 speed roadranger transmission. (I don't think I had started drivers education yet). More important, he taught me about integrity, honor, and respect, treat others the way you would want to be treated. Every year, they would put together a vacation trip to Houston, so I could See a doctor. Once the doctor visit was over, the trip was great, lots of fun.

Here's to dad's, while they may be sitting across the room from the conversation, looking at the paper, they are still listening to every thing. No matter what time you call, or how insurmountable the problem, they always have sound advice, and an extra heavy tow-rope to pull you out. No matter how many questions you ask, they always seem to have an answer.

Saturday Morning 6 AM

I think one of my favorite times is saturday morning around 6:00 am. I get up before the kids, and can have a bit of peace and serenity. It is also a nice time to sit outside. One of the issue I have with the greater Houston area in the summer is the heat. Right now it actually feels kind of cool. In the panhandle it cooled off pretty good once the sun went down, making the back porch an "attractive" place to it. Here it is still 85 degrees, with 60 % humidity, so it is not very cool.

There are a few things I could do, pick-up back yard, go for a walk, fold my laundry, or even take some advil for the headache, as I stayed up to late to be up this early.

I can actually hear a cow mooing in the pasture across the street, which is one reason, my does not feel like it is in the big city. That is until you get on I-10 to drive into work with 500,000 other people.

Tonight the president was on television, talking about the oil spill. The spill that has been going since April 20th. One interesting fact that I learned today, was the bp (British Petroleum) has more employees in the good ole USA than any other country, including Britain.

"Mean while back at the ranch," have you ever wondered why cliches are so popular. Sayings like, "bite off more than you can chew," "a rolling stone gathers no moss" are just things people say with out much thought. Is it that we are out of phrases, or just to lazy to think of something to say... ...or perhaps they are just sayings we like to use, because they sound so different than their meaning. Take "what ever tickles your fancy" has nothing to do with someone tickling you (or me) until we laugh. It means, If that is the way you like it, then it is okay with me". This would be the McDonald's slogan, unlike Burger King which has, "Have it your way."

Do Not Come In My Room

Well today was the kids first day back in Katy, which was an interesting lesson in kids. Ella I think has been missing sleeping in the same room as big brother. Cap on the other hand spent some time in his room with the door closed. In fact, he needed a pencil and paper to make a do not enter sign for his door. Which is funny on two different levels. First, instead of "Do Not Enter" the sign said, "Do Not Come in My Room." Secondly, mom and dad will always knock first, but come into the room, leaving Ella, who does not read, to absorb the new sign on Cap's door, which is still hanging on his door. Amy informed me that while closing the door is easy, the is fun in making a sign. I wonder if that will work at the office?

Other than that it was a pretty ordinary day, we picked up Mazie (Ella and I), Cap elected to watch the Charlie Brown Christmas show instead of coming with us. Charlie Brown may be 6 months out of season, but Mr. C sure like to watch them. Of course, on the TiVo, we still have a show titled, "Prep and Landing," (it is an adorable cartoon) about two elves that "Prep" the house before Santa arrives, and assist with the "Landing" of the sleigh. In 6 more months it will be back in style, just like Disco Music...

Hello World... ...are you still there?

I have been working on hanging a few pictures in the house, that is in my spare time, to make it more homey. So I had the bright idea to see if I had taken any good picture lately with my camera, i.e. "artsy" photo's. (I have taken plenty of the family, well really those have even fallen short.) After looking through several folders, I realized that I had not taken any pictures that were not related to family events, and of family members. Not that this is a bad thing, I like taking pictures of the family. The exception would be the ole house hunting trip. Amy has the good camera with her, so I am left with a small Sony camera, and the old film camera. I may have to run to wal-mart to see if they have any real B&W film, although I doubt it.

I have been so busy lately, and somewhat disjointed the past year, that I have forgotten about the enjoyment, and value in writing, along with photography. Next year I am going to set a one photo per day rule, which will be placed on flickr.... but that is in about 6 months.

Across Valdez Bay

Across Valdez Bay
Originally uploaded by Germburner

A picture standing at the Valdez Civic Center, looking across the bay at the snow covered mountain.

The Big Trip

In the morning, I get to take a big trip. I get to leave the house around 350AM, and will fly from Amarillo, to Denver, to Seattle, to anchorage to Valdez. It will be a good trip, although I am not looking forward to spending a hole day and then some traveling.

Today was church day, so I went. It was an okay service. I got to thinking that I do not remember anywhere in the bible where it says, "worship must consist of 3 Hymns, 1 offering/offertory, a 20 minute sermon, and prayer time.". Don't take me wrong, it is not that I am opposed to this, however, I do not know what Impact it has on the congregation. We call it the worship service, aside from the hymns, there is not much crowd participation.

...and the winner is...

...and the winner is...
Originally uploaded by Germburner

A picture of Cap's Soccer team. They called themselves the Tigers, and everyone had fun. It was a good season... I am sure we will play again in the fall.

3 Ring Circus

Today, I felt like I was in the middle of a 3 ring circus. It is now ~1000 PM, and I am finally winding down. A fact that would not be bad, except I walked out the front door for work @530 AM. Don't get me wrong, the day went by fast, and it was good, just long.

So now it is me and mazie, patio, Dr. Pepper (my best syb for a "Tasty Beverage"), chips, hot sauce, and my iPod.I suppose that I have reached the age of reflection. For instance, I remember the days when phones had cords. Microsoft was virtually unknown, and the Apple IIC was the bomb.

Today, I am sitting on my porch with my cell phone, that I can use for E-mail, the internet, text messaging, alarm clock, and actually make a phone call with. On the table is a iPod, which has 5 movies, probably 20 Audiobooks, and ~1,500 songs on it. Do you know how much space that would take up with CDs, or Cassette tapes, or even the "Vinyl" record. I cannot remember the last time I placed a call on the home phone.

Mazie the Wonderdog

Last night Mazie the wonderdog decided to wake me up at 3 am. She had to take care of business outside, and I don't mean barking at the moon. The last several times I have let her out, I have had to bribe her to come back in. For some reason, she thinks the perfect time to run up and down the fence and back at something is between 1200 am and 600 am. Which does not impress the neighbors. So I found myself, in a tee shirt and boxes standing in my back yard with the dog on a leash. (It is the best way to get her in the house). It was quite the adventure.

The Waiting Place

"You can get so confused that you'll start in to race down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace and grind on for miles across weirdish wild space,headed I fear, toward a most useless place. The waiting place... ...for people just waiting. Waiting for a train to go or a bus to come, or the rain to go or the mail to come, or the rain to go or the phone to ring, or the show to snow or waiting around for a Yes or No or waiting for their hair to grow. Everyone is just waiting" - Oh the Places You'll Go by Dr.Seuss. I am certain that our church is in the waiting place. Not sure what to do, not sure where to go. A group of people that are very continent, and oblivious to the situation.

Pandemic?

I feel like the world is standing on the edge of the Grand Canyon, waiting and watching to see what the swine flu will do. Will it be an epidemic, like the 1917 flu, or like the regular flu, of 2009. It is hard to say, I do think that Egypt might have over reacted by killing 300,000 pigs. The amount of information, and the speed which it is spread is amazing. This single item will aid more in preventing a world wide epidemic, that the paper masks you see on the Tele.

By now, everyone should know the WHO is not who, but the World Health Organization.

I was talking to a fellow at work, and he said that he had spent$ 20,000 on his daughter's wedding. I was shocked, to say the least, you could by a Harely for that much money. (Not that I am looking for a harley, I am just saying that is a lot of money for a wedding. I guess that if you have enough money it would not a so alarming. I am thinking that I would have to be a millionare before I dropped that kind of money on a wedding.

To many people spent more time worrying about the blessed day, instead of the blessed life afterwards.

On a side note, it rained today.

Spring has Sprung

I think that spring has sprung here in the ole texas panhandle. I have spent the majority of the day outside, in fact, I am on the back porch right now. I trimmed back the rose bushes, which is always fun. Like of like crawling through a "Biohazard" container at the hospital.

Cap had a soccer game this morning, he played almost the hole game until a knee injury took him out. No permanent damage, he is good as new right now.

Working on learning to play the guitar, I have a book from the 60's, that is not to helpful. I recently learned that like skinning a cat, there is more than one way to play most chords.

The Kick

The Kick
Originally uploaded by Germburner

Cap kicking the ball inbounds at his first soccer game.

Soccer Game and Random Thoughts

Today was Cap's first soccer game, and I hoped that I would have some pictures to upload. Unfortunately, the pictures are still on the 2GM SD card that goes in the camera. Evidently, I have managed to fill up my hard drive. It is an 80 GB (small for today's standards) but 8 years ago, it was the bomb. (I think that word probably went out of style 8 years ago as well.) Of the 80 GB, 50 GB is devoted solely to either Pictures, or Music, Audio books, and videos on iTunes. It is a shame that I did not make the jump to apply eight years ago, as there software is supposed to be better for most of the things that I like to do on the computer. iTunes, Photos, and writing. Not that I am writing a book or anything, although, this may become a book sometime of the other.

Which leads me into a random thought, do you think that people really analyze what they are putting on the Internet these days. I mean, that picture of you doing the keg stand that is on facebook, is that the best thing. Those sorts of pictures seem to resurface. I will be honest, if we had all of this neat web based interaction when I was in college, you guess it, there would be a picture of me drinking out of the "Liter". The Liter was a beer stein that my college roommate made during pottery. It got its name quite frankly because it held a liter of liquid. Aside from the water that was used to check the volume, the only other beverage it had was beer. The thing to do, was drink the liter in 3 minutes, and then take the dreaded triple shot of Goldschläger. Yikes. (Perhaps I should edit this out in a few years, or hide my blog from the kids.) It certainly was not the brightest idea that some of us had, but compared to others in the dorm we were saints.

Back to the soccer game, Cap team did okay, they hustled up and down the field. (A phase that I have used since the game ended, which secretly means, "they got spanked.") Everyone had fun, and Alana, Ben and Zoe stayed an extra day and came to the game. I did take something like 373 pictures at the game, and I am certain that some of them will be great pictures.

I ordered an additional hard drive for my computer, it has an extra spot, so that is the direction I decided to do. Compared to developing 373 a 500 GB hard drive is a drop in the hat.

Canceled

Canceled
Originally uploaded by Germburner

Picture of the flight status board at the Amarillo Internation Airport. I still find it interesting that it is called an Internation Airport. It is as if, Devner, Las Vegas, or even Houston is a foregin country.

The Big Trip

With. Passports ready, and bathing suits packed the entire Patman clan headed to two airports this morning. The rendezvous point: Nasasu (the Bahamas). Mission: Patman Family Fun Weekend! Well one blizzard and a blowout an airplane wheel, caused mayhem. A late winter/early spring blizzard shutdown the Amarillo Airport. Meanwhile, the plan with the Nebraska folks had a blow out while taking off. They could not get rescheduled, so the mission was aborted. We had a good time at Natty's, and are getting ready to go to sleep at the ole Holiday Inn Express.

Three Amigos

Three Amigos
Originally uploaded by Germburner

The Three Amigos, hiding under the tree.

The Patman Family

The Patman Family
Originally uploaded by Germburner

Cousins

Cousins
Originally uploaded by Germburner

1966

I have a 1966 Ford Mustang sitting in the driveway. It is in decent shape, needs some body work, new paint, and new weather stripping. I just can't decide how or really where to start the project. Current the instrument panel illumination lights are out, the front speaker on the radio, and something is out of balance. That is not to mention needing new seats, and a head liner. Perhaps, I should just go buy the replacement bulbs at the "wmart" after story time.

The Passing

http://www.amarillo.com/stories/031609/obi_obits12.shtml

Bartender Song

It snowed a little today, and I have to say, that I miss the 70 degree March days now that it has turned cold again. I was pretty happy it was Friday, had an all day meeting at work, which was okay. We had a little working session, and put some music on, and I heard a song by Rehab, Bartender Song (aka Sitting at the Bar), and that pretty much describes how I was feeling towards the end of the day. It was a long week, I actually got home before 6:00 PM tonight, and was pretty pumped about that fact. The bed is sounding pretty good, and the Psychedelic Furs, Love My Way, is just not doing it for me.

Soccer

Cap and Crash are both going to play soccer this year, and they are on the same team. We had the first meeting tonight and it went pretty good. I am not the coach, I don't know that I would be very good or really have the time.

It was a cool almost cold day outside, but fortunately there was no wind, which is unusual.

Panoply

A few weeks ago at church we sang a song with the word, "panoply" in it. I had to get out the dictionary to look up the definition. The word was in one of the hymns that was sung by everyone. I just find it interesting, the songs that are selected in the year 2009. That would be 9 years after "2000 - Space Odyssey.

The Bishops Message

Today, being Sunday, I went to Church. Although sitting here thinking about the phrase, "I went to Church," does not accurately describe what happened, or what should happen during worship. I can honestly say that today, I did more than go to church. I participated in the worship service, I worshiped God in his house today. While I was worshipping God, Brother Johnny, mentioned a recent message from the Bishop of the Northwest Texas/New Mexico Annual Conferences. It was really exciting to read, and he was pretty blunt about what Church's should be focusing on. There is a link below.

The Bishops Message

Music

The other day, we were listening to the music that I have store on Itunes. I had started it on shuffle, so there is really not telling what it would play. It was the most peculiar song order, we went from some Christmas song, probably O Come Emmanuel, to The Beasty Boys, Sabotage. At this point I would like to point out that Amy was not to please with the change in music genres, and I myself found it to be like going from 0 mph to 60 mph in 1.1 seconds. It was an abrupt shift. I like music, I like a lot of different music, and there is some of this music that Amy does not like in the least. What is more troubling for Amy, is that I can have two radios going at the same time, in the same room, playing different music. Or, that I can listen to the radio scanner, while listening to the radio.

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve
Originally uploaded by Germburner

The Christmas Eve Family Photo. My don't we look nice.

Revelation 22

It has been a while since I have written anything, that was not work related. In all actuality the last time was about a month ago, when I posted a blog. I have not really had much to say, that was not related to work. A sad fact indeed, as I find myself already slipping back into the old 11-12 hour days, waking up at 5:00 and getting to the office at 6:00.

Cap participated in Christmas Program, he was a "Star", and he did good. The program was great, and afterwards, Santa came to see the kids. This year Santa was Mr. Safety this year, he was wearing steel toe boots. I guess Rodolph stepped on his toes one to many times.

Last night I read Revelation 22 to Cap and Ella, so it took 4 years, 4 months and 4 days to read the bible to Cap. We started with Genesis 1 and read straight through the bible. I missed a few days here and there, but for the most part we read 1 chapter a night. Sometimes 1/2 and others (like the Psalms) we might have read 2 or 3. Reading the bible out loud brings a new depth, and dimension to the words of God.

I would like try to read it out loud again, and after reading keep a journal, of what the reading meant to me. We will have to see if that works.

Christmas is Upon Us

Well, this Thursday is Turkey Day, or thanksgiving. I prefer to call it thanksgiving myself, because we have a lot to be thankful for. If you are reading this, then you should be thankful for the ability to read, and thankful that you had parents, and teachers who cared enough about you to ensure that you could read. I mean, I rarely use words that are more than three syllables, so it is not as detailed as reading a dissertation on the parallels between Luke and Acts. (That is an assumption on my part). My dad's birthday is tomorrow and he will be a year older, while I was thinking about this fact, it dawned on me, that a week and half after his birthday, I would also be turning a year older.

I am sure that you are expecting some rant about being another year older and that it is depressing, I assure you that it is not depressing. It is exhilarating to be having a birthday, sure I am not as agile as I was at 4, 14, or 24, and I will probably not ever "catch air" on the ski slopes, but I have gather lots of wisdom. A bit of wisdom that I have accrued, is that "catching air" might be fun, but like running into a burning building, if you are not a professional, don't do it. Keep this in mind, if you stop having birthday's that means only one of two things, either the rapture has occurred, or the other thing happened.

I love Christmas music, I mean, I really like Christmas music. Every year I will listen to Christmas music on the FM radio from the Friday after thanksgiving until after Christmas day. Last year we found that the XM radio has several Christmas stations. (I should note that they also have a Hanuka station, which has some strange sounding songs.) So we were driving back from Amarillo last weekend, and Amy announced that the XM radio already has their Christmas station up and running, at least one of them. Needless to say, I am not sure why she would inform me of this, but I have been listening to lots of Christmas music.

Reflections on the Trip

Over the past few weeks I have spent a lot, or at least a fair amount of time in reflection about life in general. I am always amazed and humbled to know that so many people have spent so much time supporting my family though pray and actions, phone calls, cards, and watching the little children. I am most appreciative of everyone who has aided a hand during my recent hospitalization and procedures.



Of course there is my dad, who drove me once again to see the "Doctor In Houston." We were waiting for an elevator in the Doctor's Office and some random guy said that it had been a long day. My dad and I agreed, and he said, "I have been dealing with these cardiologist for the last 6 years." To which my dad said, "We have been dealing with these cardiologist for the last 33 years," while gesturing in my direction. I don't think the other fellow had much to say after that. I suppose that I will be dealing with the cardiologist for the remained of my life.



Then there is my mom, who kept Cap while Amy and Ella made a mad dash to see me before "Blast-off." She also made dad and I an excellent meal upon our return, and checked the oil wells while dad was off. I had to call her collect from the hospital room so she could get a hold of dad, when an anaesthesiologist showed up and stated confidently, "You are scheduled for surgery." To which my response was, my Doctor failed to mention an additional surgery, and I got a little unfriendly with the fellow.



Amy and Ella came down, and Amy seemed a bit upset when I was more concerned with her taking care of Ella, then checking on my. I had a hole host of individuals who were getting paid to stare at me. None the less she had been taking care of me, and making sure that I do not pickup anything above the 10 lb threshold. This afternoon (November 9th) we got my work back-pack out, and slimmed it down to slightly less than 10 pounds. It has 1 laptop, the charger, a small note book, and some pens. So we dumped out several folders, a large note book, countless chargers (phone, blackberry, iPod,) a 1" binder that I have carried in the back pack for the past year. My back-pack is now slimmed down to the bear minimum.



Sid and Selena, flew Amy and Ella down to the greater Houston area, and much to my surprise, Sid and Amy walked into the "Anti" room where they were getting me ready, you could call it the "Pre-prep Area". Not only did they get Amy and Ella to the Houston area, but they all stayed at Selena's sister's house with their family, all of whom played a roll in taking care of Ms. Ella, and took her trick-or-treating.

Bob and Mimi, who volunteered to house me and my dad, for what we though would be two nights, but turned into 8 or 9 nights. They were very gracious hosts, and I enjoyed visiting with them, most of the time we passed like ships in the night.

Last but not least is the army of people who were praying for me, the doctors and everything else, as you can tell your prayers were answered. I had an vast assortment of calls, and several unexpected visitors in the hospital.

Wolfie

Sometimes, like all good writers, (personal opinion) I have writers block, where I am not really sure what to write. More often it is a case of, the only thing that I have to write about is work, and well I do not need to rehash that on the world wide web. I had some inspiration about what to write about while Amy was reading to the Kids...

When I was a child, my grandparents (which still is strange for me to say since I called them Marian and Father) had three dogs, Wolfie, little wolfie, and Piglet (she looked like a pig). As the story goes, when they got little wolfie, I showed up and my cousins (Bob and Allen, primarily Bob) said the Father had wash wolfie, and she shrank, at which point they presented little wolfie, who was considerably smaller than wolfie.

On a more political note, the Prime Minister of Italy, Silvio Berlusconi, said that Obama was, "‘‘young, handsome and even tanned.’’

One article that gave me the Heebie Jeebie was:

Iranian leader welcomes Obama win

What Did He Say

So last night I was at home sleeping in the bed and something woke me up. As I had left the TV on I could hear John McCain talking about something, and as I listened more closely I realized that he had evidently been defeated. So we will see how that turns out.

Dad and I made it back home yesterday afternoon, and had Patman family fun night at Honey's, which was the best food that I had eaten in a while. I am still sore, although it seems to be getting better. It was nice to see the kids, as I had not seen them in 9 days.

Procedure

You know, when the doctor says, oh it is a simple procedure, that is because they are not going through the procedure. Much like when the Auditor says, we are only doing this to help you out. I had a stint graph inserted into my aorta, two actually, to cover an area that appeared to have been leaking, and thus causing my problems. That was on Thursday. They went in on both of my leg veins, and my left arm to get it all done. Once I return to Big B I will have to scan in a photo of the drawing they did showing the location of all of these new devices. I am alive an kicking, although I feel like I have been in a major fight still. November is a good time to come down to Houston. Thanks for all the support and prayers!

Tile Floor

Tile Floor
Originally uploaded by Germburner

Look at the tile floor. The guys showed up to install it, and said, "Oh, I think it will take 3-4 days." I asked if they worked on Satuday, so that we could find a place to stay, they said, "yes, and we will work Sunday as well." One week later, that would be 7 days later, they were finished with the tile, however, they had to come back and clean up thier mess on the wood work. It is nice now that it is in, but I will be using someone else if I ever have any additional flooring needs.

Nice Stove

Nice Stove
Originally uploaded by Germburner

Look at that stove/microwave, it is wonderful you set it for 350, and "Bam, it stays at 350 degrees".

Look at the Cabinets

Look at the Cabinets
Originally uploaded by Germburner

Another Picture of the Kitchen

Looking into the Dinning Room

Looking into the Dinning Room
Originally uploaded by Germburner

Pictures of the new kitchen at the house. It was completed early in the spring, I just never got around to posting any pictures.

Political Survey

Can you answer the following questions?



1. Who has control of the United States House of Representatives?



2. Who is the United States Secretary of State?



3. Who is the Prime Minister of England?



If you can answer all three correctly, then you are 82% more politically in tune then 82% of the United States according to a pole done by the Pew Research Center. The correct answers are below. Here is the link to the survey, "Americans Flunk Simple 3-Question Political Survey."



1. Who has control of the United States House of Representatives? -- Democrats

2. Who is the United States Secretary of State? -- Condoleezza Rice

3. Who is the Prime Minister of England? -- Gordon Brown

The Surgeon, The Episode, and The ER

It rained all day yesterday, and it was cool, really cool outside. I went to see the good ole Thoracic Surgeon yesterday, expecting him to want to run this test, or that test to help eliminate or narrow down my current medical issue. I was knocked off kilter when he said, "You need to go see the original surgeon, who did your 3 heart surgeries." This was not what I expected to hear from him, and I think that Amy was a little surprised also. The surgeon thinks that my medical condition might be a result from my congenital heart disease, and subsequent surgeries. Evidently some people who have congenital heart disease sometimes will develop additional, or larger blood vessels around the large air passages. So I will be going back to the Texas Heart Institute, which is part of the St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital.

I will not be seeing or at least have an appointment with Dr. Cooley, however, I do have an appointment with one of the Surgeons who assisted with my last heart surgery in 1979.

On the way back to Borger, I had a coughing up blood episode, so we went back to Amarillo, spent the night in the hospital and had a scope run in my nose and into my lungs. (The Medical Term for this is Bronchoscopy. Overall it has been an exciting 24 hours.

All of this has set me off onto, for lack of better words, an emotional roller coaster. It is difficult to put in words some of the emotional feelings that I have had over the last 24 hours. It is particularly shocking when the person that calls to make the appointment says, "well the Doctor is in on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, and if the you want to have any surgery that might be needed it is better to come early in the week." Thus reminding me that at this point there will be some sort of medical procedure performed on me again.

LA Dodgers

This year's baseball race to the pennant has been interesting up to this point. Particularly in the National League. The Chicago Cubs, one of the lifelong underdogs, went into the play-offs with the best record in the National League, only to be beaten the LA Dodgers. The Dodgers spent a good portion of this year below the 0.500 win line, and have been working the Philly's over in the National League Championship Series. The Cubs have not won the World Series in over 100 years, and have not won the Pennant (NLCS) since 1945, the Dodgers on the other hand have not won the world series in 20 years.

This evening I spent 30 minutes completing Paper work for the Dr. Appointment tomorrow. It was a lot of fun. I ran out of room on the form for "Operations" so I printed off a sheet that has them all listed.

We also played with the Matchbox cars tonight after supper, and Ella assisted in putting them in the box. Cap go into trouble tonight and got sent to time out. Time out consist of sitting on the fireplace hearth. Ella, went over and tried to sit with him, but she is a little to short. I do not think he appreciated her sign of affection.

Rainy Saturday

The past week was another busy week at work, I woke up this morning at 5:00 am with no alarm clock, which is another sign that I am getting old. Today we went to the mighty metropolis of Amarillo in hopes of going to a pumpkin patch. However, it rained all day long, we did manage to get some costumes for the kids. Cap wanted to be "Lighting McQueen" from the Disney movie Cars. Amazingly enough they make a costume for that. For Ella we found a cut Lady Bug outfit, which I liked. I though it was a tad bit better then being a princess, she can be a princess a little later in life. Perhaps she will grow up to be a famous entomologist, perhaps she will become the Isaac Newton of bugs.

On the grand adventure we met up with my sister "Aunt Natty", mom and crash. We went to Uncle Edd's house to see father, it was like a brief mini-family reunion. The boys (father, Edd, and Bear) were watching the coveted football game, The University versus ou, and UT was a victor of the game. The score was 45-35. They performed a lot better against their opponents than the Borger High Football team, who lost 51-30 to Levelland.

I am about to become part owner of a bank, and I am excited about the opportunity. That's right, part owner of a bank, me, you and the other 305,186,613 Americans, as Uncle Sam with the help of Uncle Henry (Henry Paulson) purchase ownership in the banks(Link to News Article). This is a step that has not been taken since the Great Depression. When I was a kid I remember seeing a shelf at my grandparents house that had noting but bars of soap on it. I bet there were 100 bars of soap on that shelf. I have always related that type of stock piling to their growing up during the great depression.

Feeling Old

Today I ventured out in the rain (it actually rained here in the partched Texas Panhandle) to go to the grocery store. While I was there the girl who checked me out looked like she should be in the 6th grade along with the kid who pushed the basket out to the car. Yet, I am sure these two individuals were both at least 16, and I do not think I looked that small when I was 16. Then again I think I weighed 145 lbs when I was 16 so perphaps I did. Another startling revelation occured to me on the way home, I have had an e-mail account for around 12 years. That is amazing, 12 years of e-mail, I bet the kids at the store do not have many memories that are 12 years old. So know you know why I am feeling old today.

The Sheets are Done! Yippe, I can help make the bed and then crawl into bed!!!

Okay, the bed is now made, however, I was not done with this so I shall finish.

I was reading the USA Today today at my parents and they had a little article on the $700 Billion Wall Street Bailout Bill, particularly about some of the incentives that were included in the second attempt at the bill. I wanted to list two below for your consideration, (and yes this is what the politicians in DC came up with.)

1. Film and television productions. Allows more film and television show production companies to use the domestic production deduction. Estimated cost: $387 million over 10 years.
2. Children's wooden practice arrows. Exempts wooden practice arrows from excise tax, currently 39 cents. Estimated cost: $2 million over 10 years.
3. Motorsposts Complexes. Extends seven year cost-recovery period to the end of 2009 for land improvement and support facilities place in service after Dec. 31, 2007. Estimated cost $100 million over 10 years.

I did sent a little letter to Mac Thornberry asking why he voted for a bill that included the above items.

I went to see the pulmonologist last Friday, and he told me that based on the tests (he ran all the tests that he could run) that he ran, he is not sure why I am having problems, and referred my to another specialist. The next specialist has a scary title: Thoracic Surgeon, say that a few times and see if it does not make you shiver a little. I will go see him 10-14-08 @ 10:00 AM, perhaps he can explain my phenomenon.

Have a great evening below is the text to Philippians 4:4-7.

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

193

Last week when I was on vacation, I took a true vacation. I did not check my work e-mail for the entire time, I left on a Friday afternoon and did not log in again until the monday morning after I returned, a grand total of 9 days. When I logged on the computer Monday morning, I had a total of 193 e-mails waiting for me. That is around 21 per day over the eight day strech, of course if you take out the 4 days that were week end, the average is 39 e-mails. Sure there were some that were junk, and some that was mass distributed e-mails. The sad part is that when I am in town, I normally get more e-mails than that. One thing that I did not have to worry about was phone messages on the office phone. They were nice enough to delete any that I might have had over the weekend, when new software was installed on the phone system. (Oh, boy) so if the president happened to call, yeah I did not get that one.

Work has been a tumultuous affair since I have returned, none of that slowly ease into the week stuff for me, it is more like a sprinter coming out of the starting blocks on Monday Morning, the only difference is that I do not get to stop after 100 yards.

Ella had a VCU test done yesterday, which is used to determine if she has any reflux between her bladder and kidney's (Cap had reflux which we corrected.) The test itself went well, however, the results showed that she has grade 2 reflux. Which is a step above mild, so we will get to do some preventive antibiotics every day, and have the test run again in a year to see what things are like.

Once again, the NY Mets fizzled out in the waining week of the big show and did not make it to the play offs. However, Joe Torre did make it, although not with the Yankees who fired him last year, he is now with the Dodgers, and the Yankees, well they did not make the cut this year.

Vacation 2008

First things first, I will get a few items out and in the open. I am still kicking, and the family is doing well. I have had a few request, well one of them was a bit more than a request, for me to start blogging again, so here we go. It would take a few thousand words to cover what has been going on, so we will just start with last week's vacation.

We traveled to the Metropolis of Wilmore Kentucky, to visit Ryan and Amberly, Morgan, and Athan last week (actually we flew back in to the Panhandle today). The trip was great, we stayed at a little place across the street from their house, so we were close and spent some time hanging out. We did go to church last Sunday in Wilmore, and I had the chance to play golf on some Kentucky bluegrass, which was nice. However, unlike golf here in the Texas Panhandle, when you hit it into the rough you need a GPS Tracking device to find the ball. The golf course also had a lot of sand, and my shots seemed to have an affinity for the course grainy stuff.

I did get the crash course seminary experience on Monday and Tuesday. I say Monday, because I hung out in a coffee shop and library reading a book, which is what Ryan was doing. However, I will point out that my book was not nearly as deep in though or wide in the number of pages. Tuesday I did attend one class, and Amy and I went to chapel.

We also went to Nashville, and I did not see any country and western stars. However, we did get to stand on stage at the Grand Ole Opry (not a bid deal if you are a heavy metal fan, but if you like country it is a neat place.) We also went to the Zoo and it is a nice Zoo that we though were well laid out. In general Nashville is a neat little city, however, (the following information is based off of my esteemed tour guide experience) it is not the best place to take the little fellows (i.e. 1 and 4 year old).

This was the first trip in about 3 years that I did not take my laptop computer, and so I did no work whatsoever during the trip. I had a few more things to write, but I have forgotten them. Below is a link to the flickr site that has some of the pictures from the trip.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/organize/?ids=2897594270,2897594262,2897594238,2897594214,2897594168&mode=together

July 4, 2008

7-4-08 Family Picture
Originally uploaded by Germburner

Yesterday was the forth of July. In the other 178 or so countries in the world it was just another day, but in America, it was the day to celebrate independence. I find it interesting that only 2 of the signers of the Declaration of Independence went on to become president. It is additionally peculiar that these two men went on to become political adversaries. The story does not end their, both Jefferson and Adams died with in hours of each other on July 4, 1826, and before his death it is reported that Adams said, "Thomas Jefferson survives."


We decided to attend the Amarillo Dillias baseball game, why not watch "Americas' Game" on her birthday. They also had a fireworks show after the game which was nice, not quite like Boston or New York. The show did send up a variety of fire works that went exploding in the space above us. The fireworks show far out did the home team who lost 17-3, with some of their best defensive plays coming in the 8th and 9th inning when their chances for victory were already bleak. I would also like to note, that this is one of the only two days when our little family wears the same, or matching clothing. (The other being Christmas morning P.J.s.)

Hmmmm....

As you can see, I really could not think of a good title for the blog, so I used the "Hmmmm". This reminds me of one of my neighbors up the street. I he a very talkative person. If there is ever a laps, pause, or brief silence in the conversation, he fills the void with one of the following, "un-HU", "yeap," or "mmmhu." (We are using Ebonics, because I am not really sure how to spell any of those.) Which naturally brings me to the discussion of the, "awkward Silence" in conversation. Silence in a conversation, is only awkward when you are not well awkward with the individual you are conversing. There is only one big exception, and that is when they drop some bombshell of information, that never in your life you would have expected them to say, admit to, or have actually done. Mean while in your mind you are searching desperately for the cliche which will get you past this moment of awkward.

It was an eventful week this week, the headlines would read something like this:

The dynamic duo attend pre-school

The 24 hour stomach bug hits

Honey goes to the shop for repairs

I will refrain from putting the highlights from my week at work in the blog, needless to say, there were some colorful moments.

Today Cap and I went and assisted setting up tables with the rest of SPRC for the "Weclome new Pastor" hamburger cookout. Tommorow, I get to help cook hamburgers, which is always a time for "Male Bonding" at the church.

Swinging Ella

6-14-08 030
Originally uploaded by Germburner

Here is Ella playing in a swing at the park, I think that she is having a good time, how about you.

Cap the Soccer Star

6-14-08 197
Originally uploaded by Germburner

Here is Cap playing soccer. He still thinks it is better to throw it, rather than kick it.

Ella and Cap

Ella and Cap
Originally uploaded by Germburner

Here is a picture of Cap and Ella. Amy's is actually holding on to Ella's arms.

Mr W's Birthday

Mr W's Birthday
Originally uploaded by Germburner

Here is a picture with the boy's at Mr. W's Birthday Party.

OKC

Last weekend we went to OKC (which is short for Oklahoma City) to celebrate Whaetly's birthday. The trip was a lot of fun. We took the pickup which was good, until we hit a monsoon about 10 miles from the hotel. I had to get out and put a tarp over the luggage. I agree with the boyscouts, in that you should always be prepared. Cap thought the rain and Storm were just one more big adventure. We went to White Water and had a good time, I did several laps around the lazy river (walking, not floating), and played in the kids pool with the kids. Actually, it was more like herding cats. Saturday night we had the birthday party, complete with cup cakes that turned your teeth green. On Sunday, we went to the big furniture store, the mall with the Apple store, and Kid's Pottery Barn. I am not sure why they call it pottery barn, I did not see a single pot in the joint. I played with an apple computer at the apple store, I really was not to impressed. Perhaps that is because I have had 13 years of Windows pumped in from Microsoft.

This weekend, we stayed in the area. Yesterday, I took a desk to the salvation army, and one to the transfer station. It gets transferred to the municipal dump in Pampa. Then I worked on the Mustang. Last night we took the kids to the park. Cap played in the water park, and Ella and I made a few laps.

Today we went to church and had our first experience with the new pastor. He seems nice, he can sing so he lead the hymns.

105 F

Today the high temperature in Borger reached 105 degrees Fahrenheit. That is pretty hot for the second week in June. I swear that I can watch my grass turning brown in the heat of the day. I did not realize how hot it was today, until I left the office at 5:30 pm, it was about 30 degrees warmer than it had been at 6:20 am when I walked in. In the event that you did not know, the Fahrenheit temperature scale was developed by Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit (1686–1736). I for one think it is interesting that America is one of the few countries that us the Fahrenheit scale, which was actually invented by a German Scientist.

I did get the new computer desk set-up and the computer put into the desk. It is nice, and the draws are not falling off like the old desk. So, in the next few days the old desk will take a drive over to the "Transfer Station". That is the city's way of saying, the "central trash depot" or perhaps, the "trash truck central". What they do is bring in all of the trash trucks, dump them in a building, and load all the garbage into semi trailers which are hauled to a city 30 miles away for disposal. This was less expensive then operating our own sanitary land fill. Again, another oxymoron, how exactly is a landfill sanitary, when you dump thousand of tons of trash in it daily?

Changing of The Gaurd Tommorow, our new computer desk will arrive. I have to say, that I am excited about this prospect for the following reasons.

Tomorrow, our new computer desk will arrive. I have to say, that I am excited about this prospect for the following reasons.

1. The computer is currently on the bar.
2. We do not have any bar stools.
3. I have to sit 1- feet away from the monitor to comfortable type the blog.

So tomorrow evening, I will be moving the computer to the new desk, yippee.

This is the week in June when many Methodist Pastors move to a new church. Because the Methodist church is a correctional church, the pastors are assigned by the bishop and his cabinet, and this is the week when most will be moving. Don, our current pastor is moving to Abilene to take on the role of District Superintendent, where he will be more of a pastor to the pastors. Don and his family served our church for 5 wonderful years, and they will be missed.

Our new pastor is coming from Childress, and I have heard many positive things about him. One thing that I always find interesting is the question, "What do you think of the new pastor". When I was in high school I asked one of the older members this question (several actually and got more or less the same response)- You know I have seen 13 pastors come and go, and when this one leaves, I will still be there. At the time I was taken back by this comment, but it does have some stark reality in it. I believe that the pastors are at church to aide, guide or otherwise facilitate the members in ministry to the community. I think most churches are good at doing ministry to the other church members, however, where we sometimes fail is in engaging the community. I will say up front, that I to fail in this aspect.

All theories beside, Don and his family, exemplified their love of Christ in the way they served our Church. If I had it my way, they would not be leaving. However, it is also note worthy to say, when I have things "my way" and do not listen to God, the ole train usually derails. If you cannot think of anything to pray for this week, pray for your pastor, and all the pastors that are in the great Methodist shuffle.

Annual Confrence

Last week I attended the United Methodist, North West Texas and New Mexico Annual conference in Glorieta, NM. It was a good conference, and it was the first time in over 30 years that the two conferences convened together. I should point out that both conferences have shared a bishop since 1968. The business of the conference was completed. Through out the week there were several worship services which were very spirit filled and powerful. The conference Preacher was Rev. Tyrone Gordon, who reminded us that everyone is on the list for communion, and that as fishers of men we should use a net to bring in all fish, instead of a rod and real, with "special bait" to bring in one select type of person. I listened to the reports of the delegates that went to the General Conference in Ft. Worth last month. (I the event you do not know, every 4 years the United Methodist Church has a General Conference, where delegates from each annual conference across the world come together to do the business of the church and to worship together.)

On a more personnel note I was able to visit with many off the former pastors that had been to my church, and some other pastors who I am friends with. I did get to visit with Ryan, and had lunch with he and Don one day. The Cooke's took me to Santa Fe for dinner one evening which was good. While the business of the church is an important aspect of annual conference, it was far overshadowed for me by the worship and fellowship.

Dumpster Fire

I had a little bit of excitement today, which did involve the fire department and 911. I was out back mowing and smelled, and then saw smoke. I went to see what it was, as it was in the alley and found a dumpster on fire. It was a few houses down, but I called 911 anyway. I mean, why not let the professional fire eaters deal with the situation. While I was talking to the operator I walked up the street to verify the address. When I returned on of the girls that lived in the house the dumpster was behind was spraying water in the dumpster. Her mom came out and I said that I had called the fire department, and she seem put off by this, turned and walked back in the house. It even took the firemen 15 minutes to get it out, so I don't think the garden house would have done much good. As it turns out the mom's boyfriend had put coals from an outdoor fire pit into the dumpster that were not completely, how do you say it, extinguished. I would hope that if anyone saw the dumpster behind my house on fire, they would not hesitate to call 911. So in the event that you see it, go ahead and call.

That was the most exciting thing that happened all day. I did try it and I can swing the golf club while talking on the bluetooth ear piece. Just thought that you should know.

The Sabbatical

I am calling it a sabbatical, because that is a $5 word, and you would not be reading this if you did not want to come across one of those every so often. The word actually means, any extended period of leave from one's customary work, esp. for rest, to acquire new skills or training, etc. I have not written anything in about 6 months (give or take a few days). I suppose that the sabbatical was on set or as a result of long days and early mornings at work. Additionally, going from 2 on one to a man defense with the kids has been a change. Right now I am sitting at the dinning room table, typing on a keyboard that is about 7 feet from the computer. Wireless technology is great. We got the tile re done in the old kitchen, and I decided that it was time to get a new computer desk. So we have on e on order.

Today, I attended the funeral of my mom's sister, my aunt. While it was a nice service, and good to see everyone, families should make it a point not to need name tags at funerals by getting together more than once every 10 years.

I have pondered as to why I quit writing, and for the life of me, I have not figured really why. I do know that it is a stress relieving activity, so I will pick it up again, along with golf. Can you say FOUR! Do you ever wonder if the greens keepers in the world, are like Bill Murry in Caddyshack?

Cap and his Gingerbread House

Cap and his Gingerbread House
Originally uploaded by Germburner

Boys Weekend

Amy went to Albuquerque over the weekend, leaving Cap and I at home. Cap spent Thursday and Friday at Honey and Bear's. We also had breakfast on Saturday, Supper on Saturday, and lunch on Sunday at Honey's house. (I would have fed him myself, but who would pass up Honey's cooking?) We had a good time and survived the weekend with out Momma, although there were a lot of questions about where she was. I am happy to report that she and Ella have returned home safely, and in good spirits.

Last week I finally returned to my real job, it was a bit of a shock to the system. I am working on mentally preparing myself for tomorrow, and the return of the fast pace. I do not have any issues with the fast pace, I just had a few to many days of a pace that was more like a stroll or even a saunter, instead of a sprint slowing down to a marathon.

FedEx tried to deliver my new flash on Thursday and they left one of those tags because it has to be signed for. So I called them and it took 15 minutes for me to explain to the customer "help" desk that it was futile to deliver the package on Friday and most likely on Saturday as well. I was ready to pull my hair out.

I have been thinking about Christmas, and I have the following question. Why do we have a celebratory candlelight church service the evening before Christ was born? Have you ever thought about that? Don't get me wrong, I love the Christmas Eve service, with the Christmas carols, the candles, and communion, but have you ever wondered that?

Ella's New Doll

Ella's New Doll
Originally uploaded by Germburner

Ella and her new doll.

Cap Shoveling Snow

Cap Shoveling Snow
Originally uploaded by Germburner

Captain Snow Shovel

End of Year Review 2007

In the event that you did not know it, 2007 the year of the pig is coming to an end. As I was sitting down to hammer this out, I thought to myself, "I will not write the generic stuff about how good of a year it was, and that time seems to be flying by like a Boeing 747." However, it is hard not to start with some cliche about the year. Below are some high points to the year.

Cap turned 3
Amy Turned 31
I turned 33
Ella Mae arrived in August (2 1/2 weeks early).
I purchased my first "Artificial Tree" which looks surprising good considering I have not watered it.
The pressure plate in the mustang went out again.
I Purchased the Nikon D80 SLR camera, that's right it is a sweet camera.
I transferred out of the refinery!!!!

I was taking to my sister the drug-dealer in training (don't worry it is all legal) about the group called the Decemberist. She had not ever heard of them, and I kind of like some of their stuff. They have one song that is or was on the radio titled O Valencia!

We took Ella to the doctor today, she has a cold and an ear infection (I hope I am not violating HIPPA), while she and Amy were at the Doctors office, Cap and I went to Barns and Noble. I was going to purchase a few books, but I left my wallet at home. I felt a bit embarrassed buy the situation, because I realised I had no money after she said, "That will be 20.19." It did remind of my aunt Dorthy, who spilled the entire contents of the hospital cafeteria tray onto the floor.

Cap Shoveling Snow

Cap Shoveling Snow
Originally uploaded by Germburner

Here is a picture that I took yesterday of Cap in the driveway. He wanted to play outside because I was shoveling the snow off the driveway. Of course, he also wanted to shovel the snow with me.

Yule

Today was the kind of day that I like, with the exception of attending one funeral. I woke up and went to the office to work on sending a note out with my boss. Then I ran down to the Tar Box creek and checked the Oil Wells on the Hodges. After that I went home, at some lunch, attended a funeral. After that I had a message on my phone from my dad, he had locked the keys in his truck and was stranded at the riverview station. So I went to rescue him, and Monroe. Once that was done I stuck around and ran the pulling 54 joints of tubing into a well.

The Funeral was the second one that I have attended this month. Today it was Max Nuttall's funeral. Max was always at Church, the first one there on Sunday morning and he locked the doors once the service had completed. He was always happy and a pleasure to talk to. When I was learning how to play golf, I got to play with him a few times. There was a group of retirees that would hit the links at sun-up and he was usually there.

A few weeks ago I attend the funeral of Dorthy Fahle, who was a neighbor on the street that I grew up on. In the summer she and her husband (Mark) would sit on their front porch for a couple of hours each night. As a kid I would usually find my way down to visit. They were both wonderful people. The first few years that I lived on the block during the winter, Dorthy would have a bible study on Monday evenings for all the kids on the block.

On a side note, the word Yule means: Christmas or the Christmas Season. In case you wanted to know.

Stick'em Up

Stick'em Up
Originally uploaded by Germburner

Here is Cap and Braegan showing off thier new work gloves on Christmas Eve.

Merry Christmas

The holidays are upon us, and many people across the world celebrated Christmas on Tuesday. You can count me as one of the masses that did celebrate Christmas. Christmas has been a splendid time for the most part. The only exception is that my aunt and uncle were involved in an 80 car pile-up on I-40. They both landed in ICU and are still in the hospital. We went Clovis last Friday to celebrate Christmas with Amy's family. One famous line that I heard on Saturday was, "Well there is only 31 people coming today."

Of course Santa came and gave me some nice oven mitts (top of the line), candy, two movies, and boxers and socks for the year. Cap and Ella had fun, particularly Cap. He enjoyed opening presents, and playing with his new toys. He got a couple of new Geo Trains. Ella got some neat dolls and a mat that has animals that make noises, the lion growls, the elephant trumpets, etc.

I have started posting some pictures on a site called flicker, below is a link to my pictures. I think that will work better in the future. I have had some issues with blogger only allowing me to upload one picture per posting, which is inconvenient when you have a lot of pictures.

http://flickr.com/photos/22236683@N06/

Snow, Ice and Rain

Over last weekend the weather man was predicting a rather large ice storm for our area. Thankfully he missed the forecast. For Friday he is predicting some snow flurries, which means that it will dump 12 inches of snow on top of everyone. (Well probably not, in all actually they do pretty good about predicting something that is fairly unpredictable.) I would pull my hair out if I was a weatherman (or person if you want to be politically correct).

I watched an interview with Mike Huckabee on Sunday morning, and I noticed two major points about all of his responses. He did not criticize the other opponents on anything and he actually answered the questions. I was quite impressed. He seemed genuine, especially when you pit him against some other politicians (Ted Kennedy for example.)

This week Jerry Jones (the owner of the Dallas Cowgirls) and some NFL guy testified to the Texas House Regulated Industries Committee about the cowgirls not being on normal cable. I read a report in the paper that quoted Jones as saying, “As America’s team, the Dallas Cowboys have millions of fans outside the home market who are being kept in the dark by Big Cable."

Of course, on the other side Todd Baxter, general counsel for the Texas Cable Association, said, "The billionaire NFL owners have every right to make more money, but they need to be intellectually honest about it and stop blaming the cable companies."

In my opinion, the state government should not be involved. This should be dealt with as most business deals are dealt with. If the cowgirl fans want to watch them play on the NFL network, the cough up the money and pay, or protest professional football all together. My vote is for college football or even Baseball. Also, I think someone should really tell Jerry Jones that the Cowgirls are not America's team.

Life in the Fast Lane

I took yesterday off from work, witch was really nice. I took Cap to Kid's Kamp, and because it was me, when I was standing in the church the power went off. So I checked on a few things and waited for the power to be restored, and checked on a couple of other things. Then I went and ran some errands. (Welcome to my exciting life.) It was a nice day off, and I enjoyed it.

The wind has been blowing strongly yesterday and is forecast to blow hard today as well. During the night it switched from the North to the South, and is part of mother nature's plan to de-leaf all trees in the Texas Panhandle.

The Christmas lights are going up all over town, along with the environmentally friendly policy of cutting healthy trees down and sticking them inside a house for a month. Where the trees become a fire hazard and cleanup mess. On the other hand you can purchase a plastic tree, where you will save a tree. If you think about it, instead of having a nice biodegradable tree to dispose of, the plastic tree will be around for the next thousand years, if not more. Of course if your name is Clark W. Griswold, you will drive out to the county and pull your tree up. Note: This house has not decided on a tree this year.

An interesting article that I ran across in the Newspaper. I find the first few paragraphs the most amusing.

Local couple receives a sweet homecoming

Three Amigos

On the Fast Track

I was looking through a FAO Schwarz Catalog over the weekend and found an interesting gift idea. I think that the gift might be a bit excessive no matter whose family you are in. If I was a kid I would love to have it. However, I reflex back to the many miles I road my bike down the alley and the hours I played on the north side of the house with my cars and trucks, and it was fun.

The caption is to small to read so I have written it below.

D 1942 Willys MB Junior Replica On the road again, this time in an authentic replica of a real Willys, sized for kids. Just as tough as its grown-up version, the 2/3 scale model has a 5.5 hp engine that goes up to 20 mph on private property (no streets, please!). Detailed with a cushioned canvas seat with room for two, plus working headlights, seat belts, side mirror, rollbar, and all-terrain tires, including a spare. This set of wheels is also designed with an additional brake pedal on the passenger side that parents can use to teach about safety and the responsibility of driving. Includes steel roll bar (not shown) as a safety feature and a removable canvas top for covered driving. Gasoline powered. 7' x 3'. SPECIAL ORDER. PLEASE ALLOW TWO WEEKS FOR DELIVERY GIFT WRAP NOT AVAILABLE. AGES 12 AND UP. $9,900 EACH ($900)

Thanksgiving

One of my friends wrote that Thanksgiving is the only holiday that is devoted solely to a meal. I do not really agree with him, however, his observation is interesting. One could use the same logic and say that Valentine's day is an event devoted solely to one date. Or perhaps the MLK day is devoted to one person (well perhaps that is a bad example because it is devoted to Martin Luther King). I think that the meal around thanksgiving is more the central piece of the puzzle, with the larger pieces being a celebration. A celebration of Family, Friends, and all that we have been bless by the lord with. Below are a few pictures that I took over the thanksgiving holidays.

Dining Room Table prior to the Patman Celebration

Happy Thanksgiving

Once again the traditional thanksgiving holiday has arrived in America. Millions of people across the nation gather with friends and family to over indulge on turkey, desert, and sweet potatos. I have many things that I am thankful for, and I will not try to list them all here. In synopsis, life is good! Below are a few Halloween pictures.

Where is the Fall

TOday is November 16, 2007, and the high temprature was in the 70's. That is some 20 degrees warmer than the average hight for this time of year. Perhaps the earth is getting warmer. I saw the comic strip below in the newspaper on 11/4/07, and though that it was fitting. I am espically found of it since I have a degree in Environmental Science. I hope that it is not diffucult to read.

The kids are doing well, they are both growing, and it has been quite a change having Ella around. She has been responding alot lately to funny faces that I make, which is exciting. I should not that Cap has also been responding to the funny faces that I make.

If you have a chance you should listen to "Breathe" by Michael W. Smith.

New Concrete

I have found that running around with two kids take more energy then just one. It takes up four times as much energy as one (or so it seems). So of this could be getting up earlier to go to work at my new job. It is a good job, and I do enjoy it, although I am still adjusting to the sheer amount of driving that I do. Last week it was 220 miles, and I was in class at the home office for two whole days. That might not seem like much but at the old job it took ~1 to 1 1/2 months to put that many miles on the blue light special (my work truck there.)

Ella slept through the night last night, or at least she did not need a snack like I did. I have never really been good at sleeping through the night, I can remember as a kid waking up in the middle of the night, going downstairs and eating Goldfish crackers while watching CNN. (It was in the day after cable, but only 13 channels.)

Cap helped me in the backyard yesterday, we go an area ready to cement in. Once it was ready I began the process of making the cement on sack at a time. Ten sacks (800 lbs) later I had a nice little slab pour over an area that is always overgrown and difficult to maintain. Everyone, but Cap, (including Mazie the Wonderdog) put their hand or foot print in the wet concrete. For some reason Cap did not want to put his hand in.

Amy called on Thursday to inform me that the people were going to put in the new patio door. I said that i would have cleaned off the porch if they would have given us more notice. It looks nice, slides easy and locks. It is a much needed improvement.

Digging

Last night, or really it was evening time because when I think of night I think of midnight out at the bar causing trouble, I started digging a trench to lay some new conduit and wire to a plug in the back yard. Cap was my assistant. He and I put on our digging clothes and went to work. There towards the end, he told me that I was a "Good Digger Boy". I am still not sure what he means, so I will take it as a complement. It was fun, I find it interesting how fast a 3 year old can go from a jolly good time, to a near melt down. Ella is doing well, currently she is trying to settle down for a nap before her final feeding of the day. I tried to feed her a bottle at our bible study but she did not want any part of it.

As of late, I have had no major revelations about life, or the world around me. However, I do want to interject that the Red Sox will be playing the Indians in the ALCS, and once again the Cubs lost out in the playoffs. The Curse of the Billy Goat lives on.

Fall

The fall is starting to take shape here in the panhandle. The leaves are beginning to turn yellow as the surrender to the hard fought battle against the weather all summer. It is not a mass surrender yet, only a few here and a few there. The sun is sleeping later each morning and going to bed early each evening, reminding everyone that winter will soon be here. One observation that I have always had, is that the shortest day of the year, is in the middle of December, and we normally have our coldest spells in January and February. I find that interesting, I know that it is an exciting revelation. If you think that is not exciting, then just for a minute ponder the life of the early astronomer. The countless hours they sat and stared at the sky thorough their primitive telescopes.

Cap and Ella