This Just Can't Be Right!!

I snapped this picture today. I suppose this Burger King should "resolve" to check their spelling and then be "resolute"in correcting their sign.

© 2007 Barry T Horst



This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Retro Goes Only So Far

I was flipping through the latest issue of Old House Journal yesterday. I came across an ad for Big Chill Retro Appliances. For those of you that do not know, there is a massive business in this country and others helping the world take a step back in time. I decided to see what I could find.

I began my search in earnest at the Big Chill web-site. I came across fridges and stoves that certainly looked out of the 50's but were equipped with many of the amenities that we come to expect today (Ice-maker, Frost-Free, Radiant burners under glass, etc.). Many of the colors are truly retro. Although, I am not quite sure about red and orange. The web-site indicated they also had dishwashers but I never located them except on the Price Sheet page and in a few of the customers pictures.

I continued my search for retro-appliances and wound up at Elmira Stove Works in Elmira, Ontario. They have a complete line of 1850's style stoves to 1950's style models. They also have refrigerators and wall ovens. ESW advertised dishwasher panels. Apparently they do not make the dishwashers, only a panel to place on the front. At first I thought that's probably what Big Chill did. I looked back at their site for the price, $1695. Nope, that's got to be a real dishwasher. ESW shows a microwave also. Their web-site says the microwave is a "...deluxe 2.1 cu.ft...that matches the entire Elmira line." At least it is not as big as the first commercial microwave which was introduced in 1947 and was nearly 6 feet tall and weighed in at over 750 pounds. The first domestic microwave was introduced in 1957.

Moving to something smaller, I found a line of small appliances by Hamilton Beach that are somewhat reminiscent of some small appliances from the 1950's. The line is called Hamilton Beach Eclectrics.

Doing the research I found a fellow that made a scooter out of old appliance parts. I thought it was interesting and so I included it here. Give "The Retro-Future Scooter" a look.

For the past few years I have been seeing a lot of radios and phonographs designed to look like their distant cousins from the 1930's to 1950's. Of course, these have been modernized with current electronics as well as current features. Imagine, a radio from the 1930's with a cassette slot on the side or a CD slot on the front. Now they even make a retro phonograph with CD burner so you can record your old vinyl to CD. Cool!! If you would like to check out some more retro radios, clocks, juke boxes, etc. try CAMZ Retro, Inc, Retro Wonders, or Crosley Radio.

If you need other items for the kitchen, say a diner booth or some boomerang laminate then you need to visit Bars & Booths. You could spend like forever on their site looking at all they carry. Also, they have a page with links to several of their other web sites devoted to retro items. Click here and scroll to the bottom for the links. You can also try Lehman's. They offer many retro items. They stock various items ranging from hand crank ice cream freezers and butter churns to old fashioned steel cut nails and spoke pointers. You see, much of their trade is directed to the Amish. To help out with the retro feeling in the bedroom you can get an iron bed at American Iron Beds.

When you are almost finished with the decorating and remodeling and need a rest you can visit Kiddie Records Weekly and listen to many of the children's records from the 1940's and 1950's. Or visit Radio Spirits or Radio Lovers and listen to many of the radio shows from yesteryear. Another interesting site is Classic Themes.

I guess I'm through for the day. I suppose tomorrow I'll work on the bathroom and bring it up to retro specs. Would you like one hole or two? Do you prefer the Sear's catalogue or a corn cob? Or maybe just a chamber pot will do for the cold weather. Maybe that's taking this whole retro thing a little too far. I reckon I'll just pass and be content with the modern bathroom for now.

© 2007 Barry T Horst



This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

I Remember........

Last night,Tom and Ruth Ann, Chris' brother and sister-in-law visited. As happens when family visits the conversation eventually shifts to memories when we were young. The same thing happened last night.

Our trip down Memory Lane began when Ruth Ann asked about the Christmas candles I had mentioned in an earlier Blog post, the Gurley/Tavern candles. Chris pointed them out and then Chris, Tom, and their Dad began to discuss the various candles that they had when they were younger living in Kansas. They not only had candles for Christmas, but they had some for Spring, Halloween, and Thanksgiving. At about this time I remembered a catalog I had from the Vermont Country Store. I mentioned that our candles were the originals from long ago, but the candles were being made again. Look at the new candles here.

While we were flipping through the catalog, someone asked, "Do you remember Soaky Toys?" They are the old bottles for bubble bath that were made to look like various cartoon characters popular at the time. Chris and Tom both reminisced over the various ones they had and played with. I remember Mr. Bubble. My parents didn't buy bubble bath for me or my brother and sister very often. I suppose they thought it was a waste of money. They did buy shampoo though. For a youngster shampoo made pretty good bubbles. I wonder if it would have been cheaper to buy bubble bath and not have to buy so much shampoo because I was using it for a bubble bath?

While I was still pondering the bubble bath issue someone else started tugging us to a different location on Memory Lane. This was a very dangerous location on Memory Lane. It involved past girlfriends. Just prior to this Tom was relating his memories of going to an early Pro-Bowl at Arrowhead Stadium shortly after it was built. Then it happened. He mentioned having taken a girl to the game. Ruth Ann said that she has heard the story many times but this was the first time she heard the part about the girlfriend. We are beginning to slide down the slope now. Then, someone (Probably his sister Chris) asked Tom just how he knew how many girls he had dated before meeting and marrying Ruth Ann. He simply said he kept a list of their names.

Not content to be sitting on the sidelines I decide to wade in with both feet. Out of the blue I say, "I remember the funniest thing that happened to me on a date." Too late now, I'm committed. They want to hear it now. For a time in high school I worked at The Cinema movie theatre. We could get discount tickets to other theatres in town. There was a new girl that started at the Cinema and I decided I would ask her out for a date. She said yes so on Saturday night we wen to a movie at the 25th Street Theatre. I don' remember what was showing but I do remember what the fellow taking tickets at the door said. He looked at my date and said, "You must have like this movie a lot to come back again tonight!" As I said, I don't remember the movie and I really don't remember the girl.

During this whole episode I look over and Julie has picked up the Tavern Puzzles. You know, they are the metal puzzles (horseshoes, etc.) where you have to take off a ring or some such object and it looks near impossible to do. It is possible with a great deal of patience. Julie had involved her self with trying to solve the puzzles and then all of us get into the act. At that point Memory lane was left behind. I guess you could say it was just a memory. We were now busy making new memories with the puzzles. Undoubtedly, Julie will relate these memories to her children many years from now.

More memories later. I have to go make a few more for the future.

© 2007 Barry T Horst


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Last Night Was 1936, 1938, and 1959

The movie, "Joy of Living" 1938, came on TCM on December 20th. I was busy that night preparing for the last day of school before Christmas holidays so Chris recorded it on the DVR. Well last night we watched it. It was a cute movie which Irene Dunne and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. Irene Dunne played a Broadway star whose family sponged off of her. Irene fell in love with Douglas Fairbanks Jr. who wanted her to leave the stage if they married. Of course, the family was against this. Hilarity ensued as they went back and forth. The movie was very enjoyable and definitely worth another look. However, the real reason I am writing is this...If our lead character was an actress and she fell in love how could the object of her love tell if she was sincere or merely acting?

I suppose you would call this one of life's imponderables. Here are a few more of Life's Imponderables:
Why do we sing "Take me out to the ball game" when we are already there?
Doesn't "expecting the unexpected" make the unexpected expected?
Why is it called "after dark" when it really is "after light"?

Moving right along,

Chris and I watched two more good movies that were DVR'd from TCM earlier in the week. They were "The Next Time I Marry" 1938 and "Petticoat Fever" 1936. "The Next Time I Marry" starred Lucille Ball, who incidentally was also in "Joy of Living". Lucille played an heiress who must marry "a plain American" in order to inherit a fortune. "Petticoat Fever" starred Irene Dunne and Robert Montgomery. He portrays a wireless operator in Labrador that falls in love with a woman, Irene Dunne, that is stranded at his wireless base only to have his fiancee' show up. Both are great and are highly recommended.

Finally, after the old movies I popped in a DVD, Perry Mason-Season 2, Volume 2. I watched Episodes #21-23. What a great night; Old Movies and Old TV Shows.

© 2007 Barry T Horst



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Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Where's My Schedule? I Think I'm Running Late

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, holidays give me a lot of spare time. Therefore, I can get a lot of my backlogged "need to do's" taken care of. Well, holidays are also great for getting your internal out of sync. Way out of sync. The same has happened to me or my internal clock, as the case may be.

I generally get up at 4:00 AM to Blog, then I get ready for work, and have breakfast. I arrive at work between 6:45 and 6:55 AM daily. Once at school my schedule is set by the school day. After school I return home; generally no later than 4:30 PM. I may run a few errands on the way home. I will do a few things around the house, do school work, etc. Bedtime is between 9:00 and 10:00 PM. Then we start all over again the next morning. Weekends are not very different. The only exception is I don't go to work. I will do small projects around the house and perhaps run some errands with Chris.

But the holidays!!! I am not sure how it happens or when it exactly occurs. It may be that in the way back, deep, dark recesses of my mind I think (Yes, I do think occasionally!); anyway, I think, "I don't have to go to work tomorrow. Maybe I will stay up a few minutes later!" Perhaps I unknowingly think that if I maybe sleep a few minutes longer the next morning I will catch up staying up later! Who knows?

All I know is that it doesn't work. It just gets worse and worse. Presently, I seem to be going to bed around midnight and getting up at 6:00 AM and having a short nap thrown into the mix during the mid-afternoon. By my calculations, if I return to work on January 7, 2008 I should be going to bed around 3:00 AM. Something has got to change before then. It will. As usual, I will start a few days before the holidays end and will force myself back to bed "early" so I can start rising on time at 4:00 AM. Ahhh!! It will be nice to get back into the normal routine.

I will be on time for school and life will be grand. Until, Spring Break. And don't even get me started on Summer. Summer really throws a monkey wrench into the mix.

Before I leave today, I wanted to mention a web-site. I have been helping a friend develop her website. The web-site is for The Cedar Chest Antique Mall. I would appreciate it if you could visit the website and give it a look. I have also added a link to the web-site under My Favorite Links on the sidebar of the Blog. See it? It's right there, on the left hand side.

© 2007 Barry T Horst

This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Two Kinds of Cans-Aluminum Cans and Pecans

I do not go back to work until January 7, 2008. This is great because it gives me time to catch up on things that I have not had time to do. With Christmas over, I decided yesterday to try to catch up on a few things. I decided to take aluminum cans for recycling and to sell the extra pecans.

As we empty our soft drink cans we keep them in containers outside. I periodically bag them up and take them to Lipsitz Metals for recycling. Yesterday Chris told me that I was being "Green" for Christmas. I told her that I wasn't being "Green", I wanted "Green" Anyway, I loaded all of the bags of cans into the back of the truck and headed down to Lipsitz. I waited in line for my turn. When the time came I pulled the truck up, got out, and started to take the bags of cans out give them to the attendant. He slices each bag open and pours the cans on the conveyor. At the end he prints out a ticket which I take to the office. The ticket indicated that I turned in 54 pounds of cans. How much would I get? Once inside the office I eagerly anticipate my new found wealth. The man behind the counter says, "That's $32.40!" That is 60 cents per pound of recycled aluminum. Not bad for just drinking soft drinks and keeping the cans for about 6 months.

Now, let's look at the numbers behind the numbers. Thanks to modern manufacturing techniques there are approximately 33.5 cans to make a pound. In 1980 that number was 25 cans per pound. That is why the cans seem so much thinner now. I can remember when I was in junior high and high school guys would show off by tearing an aluminum can in half. I did that recently and was proud of the fact that I could still do it. Then I learned that I could do it because the cans are made a lot thinner these days. So much for the feelings of youth from days gone by. Back to the numbers. So let's see; 54 pounds multiplied by 33.5 cans/pound equals 1809 cans. If you divide 1809 cans by 12 cans in a 12 pack you get 150.75 packs. Let's just say 150 packs. Now we can have fun. My $32.40 divided by 150 packs equals approximately 22 cents per twelve pack. OH! If I spent an average of $2.75 per twelve pack to buy the 150 packs of drinks that means I spent $412.50 in order to make $32.40. OH MY!

Let's look at it another way. If I spent $2.53 per twelve pack ($2.75 average cost less the 22 cents made from recycling the twelve cans) that means each can would cost a little over 21 cents. Sometimes it is better to look at the little picture than it is to look at the overall big picture. The big picture can get cluttered up with lots of silly numbers that lead us away from the overall goal which is the fact that each can is worth a little under 2 cents each. Keep that in mind the next you chunk a can out the window. "Hey honey! There went 2 cents."

I felt good though, after all that was money I didn't have earlier. Maybe I will fare better with the pecans. We have one pecan tree in our yard. We had an extremely good year for pecans. Towards the end of fall I began to harvest pecans. Harvest is a fancy word that means "stoop over and kill your back". Anyway, in my spare time I would pick up pecans and store them. On Christmas Day I was cracking some and decided that I had more than I could ever use like in forever. So, I made the momentous decision to sell what I couldn't use. I kept about half a bushel and bagged the rest. I would take them to Empire Seed and then come home to wallow in my new found riches.

After leaving Lipsitz yesterday I drove to Empire Seed. For those of you that do not know, they are across the street from each other. I walk in and tell the gentleman behind the counter that I have pecans to sell. I tell him that I had I so many pecans that I could use them all and I wanted to sell the rest. He said, "That's OK. We eat all we can and then sell the rest, just like the ice cream!" I wonder if he used to work for Blue Bell Ice Cream? Any way, he then tells me, "...45 cents a pound" and proceeds to weigh them. After weighing the pecans he takes them to a massive bag and dumps them in. This bag had every kind of pecan in it imaginable, at least in my imagination. Then he announces that he has to weigh the bags empty and get the difference. I commented about the different pecans in the big bag and he laughs about buying an occasional rock or two. Then he shows me a pocket knife that was in a bag of pecans he bought the other day. He said he kept expecting the owner to come back to get it. He hasn't come yet. I tell him it is not bad for 45 cents a pound.

I then learn that my haul came to 39 pounds. At 45 cents a pound that is, let's see, $17.55. OH!
The fellow at Empire Seed then tells me that the local Lion's Club brings in bags of pecans to be cracked. The Lion's Club then shells them to sell for $7.99 a pound. OH MY! If I did that I could make $311.61. OH GOODNESS! From both of my trips I made just under $50. Why that won't even buy a tank of gas! OH MY GOODNESS!!!!


© 2007 Barry T Horst



This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

The Night After Christmas Morn

'Twas the night after Christmas morn, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;

The stockings and such lay on the floor in a mess,
In hopes that it would surely not block our egress;

The children were playing all snug in their room,
While visions of new games danced in their heads I presume;

And momma in her finest, and I in my finer,
Had just settled down for a long winter's nap in my recliner,

When out in the den there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the recliner to see what was the matter.

Away to the hallway I flew in a rush,
Tore open the doors and stood with a blush.

The light on the breast of the new-fallen tree
Gave the lustre of calamity to the objects I see,

When, what to my wondering eyes should materialize,
But 7 cats from the branches, "What am I to surmise?"

With a mischievous leader, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be Mister and his sidekicks.

More rapid than eagles his cohorts in crime came,
And I fussed and I yelled, and called them by name;

"Now, Peanut! now, Tabby! now, Callie and Boo!
On, Mister! on Rory! and now Bristow, you too!

To the top of the chair! To the end of the hall!
Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!"

As dry leaves that before the wild tornado fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, they jump to the sky,

So to the end of the hallway the cohorts they flew,
With an ornament of catnip, and a candy cane too.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard Grandma quite clear,
She was scolding each cat, each scofflaw that was near.

As I drew up my hand, and was turning around,
Down the hallway Mister came with a bound.

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his tail,
It was all tarnished with the pine needles that fell;

A bundle of toys he had in his mouth,
As he looked like a tramp, beginning to head south.

His eyes -- how they twinkled! His tail was so comic!
His nose started to twitch as his whiskers he did flick!

His curious eyes were drawn down the hall,
He squinted and stared at his apparent downfall;

The bundle of toys he held tight in his teeth,
By my feet he stopped and left them beneath;

As if to leave an offering of peace,
An apology for being so caprice.

He stood regal and erect, a right stately old cat,
And I laughed when I saw him, as away he did scat;

A twinkle in his eye and a twist of his tail,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to bewail;

He made not a sound, but went straight to our room,
And started to refresh; and also to groom,

And laying himself down upon the furniture,
He gave us all a nod, and started for to purr;

He opened his eyes, to his cohorts gave a mew,
And away they all flew with barely an adieu.

But I heard him exclaim, ere he nodded off contrite,
"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night."


© 2007 Barry T Horst



This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

The "W" In Christmas

Below is the text of an email I received from a friend a few days ago. I believe it is appropriate for today's post:


"As every December, I vowed to make Christmas a calm and peaceful experience. I had cut back on nonessential obligations-extensive card writing, endless baking, decorating, and even overspending. Yet still, I found myself exhausted, unable to appreciate the precious family moments, and of course, the true meaning of Christmas.


My son, Nicholas, was in kindergarten that year. It was an exciting season for a six-year-old. For weeks, he'd been memorizing songs for his school's Winter Pageant. I didn't have the heart to tell him I'd be working the night of the production. Unwilling to miss his shining moment, I spoke with his teacher. She assured me there would be a dress rehearsal the morning of the
presentation. All parents unable to attend that evening were welcome to come then. Fortunately, Nicholas seemed happy with the compromise. So, the morning of the dress rehearsal, I filed in ten minutes early, found a spot on the cafeteria floor and sat down. Around the room, I saw several other parents quietly scampering to their seats. As I waited, the students were led into the room. Each class, accompanied by their teacher, sat cross-legged on the floor. Then, each group, one by one, rose to perform their song.


Because the public school system had long stopped referring to the holiday as Christmas, I didn't expect anything other than fun, commercial entertainment - songs of reindeer, Santa Claus, snowflakes and good cheer. So, when my son's class rose to sing, "Christmas Love," I was slightly taken aback by its bold title. Nicholas was aglow, as were all of his classmates, adorned in fuzzy mittens, red sweaters, and bright snow caps upon their heads. Those in the front row-center stage-held up large letters, one by one, to spell out the title of the song. As the class would sing C is for Christmas, a child would hold up the letter C. Then, H is for Happy, and on and on, until each child holding up his portion had presented the complete message, "Christmas Love."


The performance was going smoothly, until suddenly, we noticed her; a small, quiet, girl in the front row holding the letter "M" upside down totally unaware her letter "M" appeared as a "W." The audience of 1st through 6th graders snickered at this little one's mistake. But she had no idea they were laughing at her, so she stood tall, proudly holding her W. Although many teachers tried to shush the children, the laughter continued until the last letter was raised, and we all saw it together. A hush came over the audience and eyes began to widen. In that instant, we understood the reason we were there, why we celebrated the holiday in the first place, why even in the chaos, there was a purpose for our festivities. For when the last letter was held high, the message read loud and clear:


"C H R I S T W A S L O V E"

And, I believe, He still is. Amazed in His presence... Humbled by His love.

May each of you have a Merry Christmas as you reflect on His Amazing Love!



It's me again. I am not certain of the song mentioned above. I have done some searching and this may be it: Christmas Love from Tru North Music. It is the only song by that name I could find. Try the link.



And again, Have a Blessed and Merry Christmas!


© 2007 Barry T Horst



This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

A Christmas Message From Our Family To Yours

Christmas Present (No Not A Gift) and Christmas Past

Today is Christmas Eve. There is so much to do today that I started yesterday. I planned on having smoked brisket for Christmas Dinner this year. I had to trim the brisket and season it yesterday. It has been resting in the refrigerator since noon. I will fire up the smoker this morning and start the brisket around noon today. It will need to smoke for 12 hours; give or take a couple of hours. I chose a smoked brisket this year because I got a new smoker last month. I smoked a turkey for Thanksgiving and it was great.

Yesterday I also prepared a ham and a pot of broccoli and cheese soup. I suppose I cooked the ham too soon. Most of it is gone now.

Later today I will make a couple of desserts for myself and Chris' dad, Hank. The desserts are sugar-free since we are both diabetic. This year I will make a pinwheel type of pastry using pie crust and sugar-free preserves; strawberry and orange marmalade. Also, I will make a cream cheese and cherry dessert using no sugar added cherry pie filling. The crust will be ground up sugar-free pecan shortbread cookies.

Later this evening will be the grand event of the day-opening presents with the kids. The best part of this is seeing Jace open his presents. It seems that when he finishes opening all his presents he wants more to open. I am not sure if the fun is in getting a lot of presents or in opening a lot of presents. Tell me if you've seen this before: Child tears into present and barely notices what is inside then sets it aside for the next present; Procedure is repeated until all presents are open; Then the child announces, "Is that all?" or "Do I have any more?" Better yet, the child plays with the wrapping paper or the boxes and forgets the toys altogether.

I can remember when I was much younger waking up on Christmas morning and walking down the hallway to the living room. My parents were standing in the doorway. No one could go in until my older sister and brother were there also. I was always first, I was the youngest. Then, my sister Michal and my brother Lance appeared in the hallway and we were all allowed to go into the room and see the tree. Underneath the tree were the toys and things that "Santa brought" to us. Somehow Santa was always able to arrange things so that all the toys he brought were next to all the presents that my parents already placed under the tree. It seemed like the entire room was filled with toys, and yes clothes. We got clothes for Christmas too. We always got stockings filled with candy, nuts, fruit, and a coconut. I can remember my brother and I spending a portion of the day trying to get into the coconut. By the time you got into it the coconut wasn't like the kind in the store but it was still great anyway.

One year I remember snooping in my parents room for the Christmas presents. My parents would buy through the year and hide them in their closet. One day while snooping I can remember seeing something that I really wanted for Christmas, although now I haven't the vaguest idea of what it is. The important thing is that I really wanted it then. I could hardly wait for Christmas. Christmas Day came, I looked for my present, and there it was. On my brother's side of the tree. It was his, not mine. I didn't snoop much after that disappointment. The most memorable Christmas was the last Christmas before my father passed away. He had always wanted a model train set and had never been able to get one. My dad got an electric train set for Christmas that year. He was so excited about it. We set it up and we all got to play with it. He passed away 3 months later,

I better stop for today. The keyboard is getting wet and I need to find the Kleenex.

Have a safe holiday.


© 2007 Barry T Horst



This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Technology Is Great; Sometimes!

I apologize for the late post. I started checking my email this morning at 4:00AM. While going through the mail the virus scan began. This was around 4:15 AM. I continued checking and working and THEN......

Nothing! After several attempts to do anything I finally get the dreaded message, "Internet Explorer--Not Responding". Boy was that the understatement of the year. Not only was Internet Explorer not responding, but Mailwasher, AVG, Outlook, and Windows Task Manager. NOTHING! After a considerable amount of time I had to manually shut down. That's right. I had to push the button. Then I sat and looked at the computer waiting for it to come on. Oh, that's right. I shut down manually, that means I have to turn the thing on manually also. Great, it rebooted and ran through all of the diagnostics. After the computer was through doing it's thing I was able to do mine which was to continue sifting through the old mail and check for new. Next, I began working on the Blog.

After working on the Blog for a short time I remembered---Fantasy Football. I had forgotten to check my teams progress and adjust the rosters. I have 2 Fantasy Football teams. Their names are The Texas Fire Cats and The Feuerkatz. Both of my teams made the playoffs with first round byes. The Texas Fire Cats record was mediocre at 5-8. The team has also been mediocre in the playoffs. We finished the season in 8th place and are in the Consolation bracket of the playoffs battling for 9th place. Go figure!

My other team, The Feuerkatz did better with a record of 9-4, finishing in 2nd place. I lost a game in the playoffs (Thank you Dallas Cowboys!) and will be playing for 3rd place this weekend. I will let you know how both turn out later in the week.

Back to Blog. I think I have gotten this mornings problem with the computer ironed out. Everything seems to be perking just fine. My son Scott gave me a Western Digital Passport HD to try to help with the External HD that is not inclined to divulge any of the information stored on it. I imagine much of the holidays will be consumed trying to recover all of the info on the drive. When this is done, more pictures for the blog.

I was reading the Latest Issue of PC Magazine yesterday. It is their 25th Anniversary. There is an interesting article in the magazine looking back over the past 25 years. (Sorry, it is not posted on-line yet.) Among the interesting things in the article: In April 1983-A hard drive (unknown size) cost $1795.00. That is equivalent to a 1GB drive costing $367,616.00 today. September 18, 1984 brought us the AT&T Dataphone 2400 baud modem for "...super-fast data communications...". Wow! And that was fast 23 years ago.

I am sure there is a lot more but I did not have time to finish yet. I had to work on the printer. Last Thursday night at approximately 9:00 PM I was preparing things for the last day of school. I wanted to make a coloring book for my students so they would have something to do over the holidays. I sit down and begin to locate likely pages on the Internet. After making my decisions I click on the little printer icon. I hear the printer making the normal sounds; loading paper, adjusting print heads, etc. Then nothing! (I suppose this story should be at the beginning since it occurred first but it sounds better here.) A notice pops up on screen and informs me of "Cartridge Error 50C--Refer to Owners Manual)". Great! I have now idea where the manual is. That was put away 6 years ago when I bought the thing. So my next stop is the Lexmark website and quickly look for a fix. I am in a hurry and half way read the answer and try to fix it. Long story short, I stopped because I still needed to finish preparing for school.

I finally had time last night to get to the printer again. I looked up the error message and methodically went through the prescribed procedure. Turn off printer; Lift scanner deck; Remove color cartridge; close deck, Turn printer on; Look for error message. I did all of this--No Message. The website then instructed me to: Turn off printer; Lift scanner deck; Replace color cartridge; Remove black cartridge; close deck, Turn printer on; Look for error message. GREAT, I think! I got the error message again, now what does it mean? I checked and find out that the color cartridge is shorted. How does that happen? I replaced the cartridge and now I'm back in business.

While in the printer I decided to clean it up. I achieved this feat by transferring the old gooky ink and dusty paper lint mixture to my fingers. Now this incredibly sticky mess came off the inside of the printer quite easily. I was very proud until it came time to take it off my fingers. It apparently doesn't work that way. This must be the ink that is designed to smear and run when it gets wet, but stubbornly stays on your fingers for next to forever after a good scrubbing.

Blog tomorrow--Getting Ready For Christmas Day


© 2007 Barry T Horst



This work is licensed under a
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Tis The Season

This has been a very good year. We continue to live in Robinson on the “Farm”. I just did not “farm” this year. Some of you may know that I am referring to my vegetable garden. It seems that our spring was so wet and my Spring schedule so hectic that there never seemed time to prepare the ground and actually get to work on it. While we all missed the fresh vegetables from the garden it did allow me more time to work with my flowers. Chris and I worked very hard last winter to protect the flowers and we had several that survived. I was kept busy all summer with the survivors and the new flowers that were planted, but it was worth it. The garden was very pretty and very restful to work in. Some of the flowers I had were marigolds, gazanias, carnations, dianthus, zinnias, geraniums, mint, chrysanthemums, and many others that I can’t remember the names of. I apologize for not having pictures posted but the hard drive containing the photos is not being cooperative. Guess I will need to get a new one.

This is my 4th year working in Waco ISD. Good news. I have been promoted to Kindergarten. For the last 3 years I taught Pre-K. The district realigned the campuses and moved all Pre-K classes to 4 “Pod” campuses. I did not want to leave Brook Avenue, so I asked to move up to Kindergarten if there was an opening. There was! I work with a wonderful group of people at Brook that really cares about the children. I could not ask for a better group to work with. It has been an adjustment getting accustomed to a different curriculum, but I think I have finally adjusted.

Chris has a lot more time on her hands since our grandson Jace has started Kindergarten and we quit running the antiques booth at the Cedar Chest. It proved to be more time consuming for us than we had hoped. Jace still visits often and has to stay for short periods when his parents schedule requires it. Yes, he also comes to visit just to visit. Chris has enjoyed using this extra time decorating the house. She also likes to shop for things that she thinks Jace will like. Chris has also discovered eBay. She loves to search for small items which she uses to decorate with. She has found several Gurley candles and other decorative items this way. As always, Chris loves to take care of her family.

Julie graduated from MCC with her Associates Degree. She has been working at HEB in the pharmacy. This has been hard for her since the pharmacy is open 24 hours and she has had to work some late shifts. She is planning to return to college soon and possibly pursue a degree in education. She has mentioned that she is interested in Elementary Bi-Lingual. She enjoys helping with Jace, so I know that she would be a good teacher. Julie also designed the logo for Grandpa Hank’s car lot.

Scott has returned to MCC also. He is working very hard to keep his grades up because he would like to pursue something in the Medical/Nursing field. He still works part-time at Circuit City. With any spare time that he has he works on cars, helps us do many things here at the house (Lifting, Moving things, etc.), and helps his Grandpa at the car lot occasionally. Scott, Jessica, and Jace have moved to Robinson and live nearby which makes it very easy to visit each other and help out each other when needed.

Jessica is a Pharmacy Tech at HEB. She has been there long enough that she is now working Monday – Friday and is able to have weekends off to spend time with Jace. This past fall Jessica and Jace also went to many Baylor football games with me. Jessica loves football, especially if she gets to go to the game and see it live. Jessica was also able to visit her family in East Texas several times this year. Jessica’s family came to Robinson for Thanksgiving this year.

As mentioned earlier, Jace is in Kindergarten at Robinson Primary. He thoroughly enjoys school and stays on Blue most of the time. Jace helped his Grandma Chris and Aunt Julie decorate our tree and the house for the holidays this year. You may look at the decorations by clicking here> CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS SLIDESHOW. I had to run some errands yesterday and Jace went with me. We were talking about school and his Christmas party. Out of the blue he said, “Mrs. Ringo knows everything!” I agreed with him and assured him that since I am a teacher I also know everything. He agreed. It seems that part of our discussion had centered on who stayed in school longer; his class or my class. My class left at 12:00 Noon. His class left at 1:00. Try explaining to a 5 year old that his class stayed longer because they stayed until 1:00 instead of 12:00, “But Grandpa, 12 is a bigger number than 1. Your class stayed longer. We left first.” That lasted a while but we soon called a truce and continued with “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”.

Hank, Chris’ dad, continues with the car lot. For those of you that do not know, Hank operates Aardvark Auto’s in Robinson, TX. He enjoys his time there and going to the auto auctions. He still has his rental properties. Between the car lot and his rental properties, Hank is kept very, very busy. However, he does find time to sing at church and visit his sister June in Moberly, Missouri.

That sort of catches you up on all of us in a nut shell, a big nutshell. Kinda like a coconut shell.

We would like to take this opportunity to wish all of our family and friends a glorious holiday season. Please remember that while we get busy in the day-to-day hustle and bustle of shopping, gift-giving, and holiday parties; the real reason for this holiday season is the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. I would also like to ask all of you to take a moment to remember the families of those who are fighting for our nation overseas during this holiday season.
© 2007 Barry T Horst


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A Timely Message From Our Family To Yours

Plan, Plan, Plan, and Plan Some More

As noted before, I teach Kindergarten at Brook Avenue Elementary. Yesterday was the next to last day before the Christmas holidays. It was also the day of our Christmas Field Trip. For Kindergartners, field trips are pretty big deals. It's like the whole reason some come to school. After all, some of our children do not get to experience a lot outside their neighborhood. When I tell my class about the upcoming field trip they all think they will be going the next day. This continues for a week or two. Then they begin to forget about it until you send permission slips home. Then it starts all over again. The next day you hear something like this, "Are we going on the field trip today?" I say, "No, that is next week."

We teachers plan and prepare for our field trips well in advance. Especially since it is so important to the children that the trips occur without any problems. Yesterday's field trip was no different. Our trip was planned on, submitted, budgeted for, and approved in September. GREAT. No problems in store for this group come field trip day. We would be going to Cameron Park and then to the Mayborn Museum at Baylor University for their Christmas Around the World activities. GREAT!

Our planned itinerary for the trip went something like this:

9:00 AM - Buses arrive. Children board buses and we leave for Cameron Park.
9:10 AM - We arrive at park and children exit buses for playground. This is the day they get to run and play as reward for all their hard work up till now.
10:15 AM - Teachers prepare for picnic lunch.
10:30 AM - Time for lunch. After lunch children get to play, go to restroom, and get a drink of water.
11:30 AM - Buses arrive for loading and transport to the Mayborn.
11:45 AM - Arrive at the Mayborn for the exhibits.
2:15 PM - Load buses and make our triumphant return to school after a successful field trip.

No Problems!

Actual day of the field trip:

9:00 AM - Buses arrive for loading and the students are ready to board. We go to the buses. Bus drivers tell us that one bus is for 3rd grade, the other is for 4th. Oh! Go call to get this straightened out.
9:15 AM - Bus drivers are satisfied that Kindergarten can go on field trip and load bus. The other bus it turns out is for 3rd grade. They too are going on the same field trip, except in reverse order.
9:20 AM - Preparing to leave and the driver mentions that she will be taking us to the Mayborn. NO! We are supposed to go to Cameron Park. Bus driver has to call to get this new wrinkle straightened out.
9:30 AM - Bus driver returns. Trip to Cameron Park is OK. BUT....that means we will need the bus all day and we will have to pay extra for the bus. It seems they thought we would only be gone 1/2 day. We leave for the park.
9:32 AM - As we head to the park the children start to sing. There were 3 distinct groups singing. Their favorites were "The Wheels On the Bus", "Jingle Bells", and "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer". They sounded like this, "The wheels on the bus go round and round, round and round, round and round. The wheels on the bus go...Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way. Oh what fun it is to ride in...a very shiny nose. And if you ever saw him you would even say it glows. When all the other reindeer saw him, they would...go round and round, round and round, round and round." It was great.
9:40 AM - Arrive at park. We need our coats since the weather is cool. Children run and play.
10:15 AM - Teachers prepare for lunch.
10:30 AM - Lunch. Then you hear from the children, "We are going to eat on the ground?", "I don't want to.", "I'm not hungry.", "I want to play." and so forth.
11:15 AM - Bus arrives early, children want to get on bus but can't. The bus is early and we get to the museum early. A few minutes later we get on bus anyway and head to museum.
11:35 AM - We arrive at museum early. The weather is warming so we leave the coats on the bus then the bus driver tells us that she will be leaving and we have to take everything with us. A different bus will pick us up and take us back. So we take our coats, ice chests , and boxes into the museum. They are not ready for us because we are early. We walk around the grounds until they are ready.
11:50 AM - Let the festivities begin. The museum was great and fun was had by one and all.
2:30 PM - We board our bus for the return trip. We are tired. No singing now. The bus driver has not been to our school before. He gets lost and we get a tour of the neighborhood. He asks directions and we arrive safely back at school at 2:50 PM. Dismissal is at 3:00 PM.

We all survived thanks to the advance planning and unerring execution of that plan! "Yeah, right!"


© 2007 Barry T Horst



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Welcome To My World

Last night Chris asked me, "Are you finished with the paper?" That sounds like an innocent enough question. After all, when most people finish the paper you can tell they are finished. The paper ends up being a mess. Not so for me. If I get the paper first I will look at it section by section. I begin by setting the inserts aside. I then begin with the last section. After reading each section I fold it neatly and then place it back in the correct order. I then look at whatever inserts interest me and then return them to the paper. This process becomes a little more difficult if someone has beaten me to the paper. Before I can begin to read the paper I must straighten it and get it back together. Then I can look at it. When I finish, the paper appears to look as if no one has looked at it yet. Hence the question, "Are you finished with the paper?"

It doesn't end with the paper. Lets go grocery shopping. Items must be placed in the cart neatly, not just thrown and piled in. Ideally, similar things should be together. Same is true for placing the items on the belt for the checker, especially with refrigerated and frozen goods. It doesn't stop when I get home. First, don't help! Let me do it! The canned goods must be placed in the pantry grouped according to what it is. Soups and canned meats on one shelf, canned fruits and vegetables one another, all labels facing the front, etc. The same goes for the refrigerator and the freezer. You know the drill, "A place for everything, and everything in its place."

I tend to also group and arrange the glasses in the cupboard also. Like colors together. We have some of the glasses like they have at some restaurants. You know the kind. They are blue plastic, have a smooth pebbly finish and a soft drink logo printed on them. Our cups have the Pepsi logo. When ever I put these up the Pepsi logos must all be facing the front. If not, I have to fix them. In another cupboard we have cups/mugs. All are grouped according to style and since these are the Campbell's Soup mugs they are arranged with the graphics facing the front. Isn't it horrible?

When Chris does the wash she will hang up the pants and shirts at one end of the curtain rod for me to tend to later. Why? Well the clothes on the rod are arranged in order by what article they are and by color. It goes something like this: Seasonal items (Sweaters and such); Dress Pants grouped by colors; Long sleeve dress shirts grouped by patterns and then colors. Then I have Polo style shirts with stripes grouped by predominate color and comes the solid Polo style shirts grouped by color. Near the end I have t-shirts grouped by color. At the end I have a section of t-shirts that I have received as prizes from various promotions. Oh by the way, all the hangers are white plastic. No colors for the hangers and definitely NO WIRE HANGERS!

The same goes for the socks in the sock drawer, as well as other items of clothing.

At work I have been accused of being Obsessive-Compulsive. I will take out a ruler or tape measure to determine how to place something on the wall. It must be evenly spaced. It must be hanging straight. I even clean the room before the custodian comes in to clean the room. I don't like a messy room. My students know that I don't like a messy room. they help pick up any trash and make sure the chairs are pushed under the tables.

My grandson, Jace, likes to sort things and place them in order also. Just like his Grandpa.

Thanks Jace for the compliment.

Welcome to my world!"


© 2007 Barry T Horst



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Milestone For The Blog

The Blog has reached a milestone this evening. The Blog has had its first international visitor. The Blog is barely one week old. A few days ago I installed a FEEDJIT widget on the site. This widget tracks the location by city of the visitors to the Blog. This evening we had a visitor from London, England. Left click the map on the upper portion of the left sidebar and see where the other visitors are from. Just think, visitors from far and wide; from Riesel, Texas to London, England are viewing and reading the Blog.

Isn't technology wonderful?


© 2007 Barry T Horst



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Way To Go McDonald's

Some of you may remember my post from yesterday, Can You Believe This???. This is the post where I show the local McDonald's displaying the Texas flag above the American flag. I drove by today on my way home from work and the flags were flying high and proud in their proper positons.




Thank you McDonald's for your prompt action!


© 2007 Barry T Horst



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CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS???

I snapped this picture on the way home today from work. It was approximately 5:00 PM. I suppose it had been this way most of the day.

This is in front of McDonald's # 27359. It is located at 7961 S IH 35 in Robinson, TX 76706. Who knows how many thousands have driven by and have seen this.

What do you think? Leave a comment.

© 2007 Barry T Horst


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It's 2007 And I Can't Wait For 1938

I was born in 1956. I am 51 years old. I enjoy using my computer, talking on a cell phone, and am still fascinated by spaceflight. I like to watch DVD's, listen to CD's, and other types of recordings.

Today, we take for granted things that were not common yet or would have only been a dream when I was born. Yes, computers were around when I was born. But they didn't sit on a desk or were small enough to carry. They were in a room. More precise, they were as big as a room. Think Univac. Space flight was in its infancy. Sputnik launched on October 4, 1957. Video recording was possible, but not by the general public as it is today. Recording on magnetic tape was still in its infancy in the 50's, having only been developed in the 1940's. Interesting side note here is that Bing Crosby was involved it's commercial development. DVD's and CD's were not developed until the 1980's. The concept behind cell phones began in 1947 but the technology was not developed yet.

Yes, we have that technology and more today. Through much of this technology I listen to CD's on the way to work and enjoy music from the 1940's and 1950's. I can listen to old radio shows from the 1930's - 1950's. I watch TV shows from the 1950's. I am able to retreat to a time period before I was born.

So why do so many of us spend so much money and time to use this modern technology in order to go back to a period of time when this technology was in its infancy? Is it because many of us are afraid of today's world and we search for a time that we think is safer, more secure? I suppose people see the 1930's, 1940's, and 1950's as a safer more secure time compared to our world today. Why? In the 1930's we had the Great Depression and the rising threat of Nazism. In the 1940's we had World War II. And in the 1950's we had the Cold War. Presently we are faced with global terrorism.

Was that time any safer or more secure than today? Probably not! The difference is that we know how that time period ended and we survived it. I believe that the same thing will occur today. Then in 2057 our children will long for the "good ole days" of 2007.


© 2007 Barry T Horst



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What a Night-Did Some Shopping-Never Left Home

Dreams are really wonderful things. I have noticed that in my dreams I often know the people involved; or at least they are vaguely familiar to me. Also, in dreams I can do things that I know that I can't do in reality. I remember having dreams in which I could run faster than a speeding bullet, leap tall buildings; you know, the whole Superman thing. In dreams you can do things you have always wanted to do but were unable to. You can do the impossible. You can...... well, follow your dreams!

Last night I had a dream. In this dream I was shopping. I was shopping in a Goodwill store. I was shopping in a Goodwill store for a toothbrush; an electric toothbrush. Now tell me, who goes to Goodwill looking for an electric toothbrush? I found one that I apparently thought would fill the bill. It was red. Not only was it red, but it had a Kool-Ade logo on the side. Now that is what I really want, an electric toothbrush that advertises for Kool-Ade. When I went to the counter to ask the sales lady about the toothbrush she informed that there was a small hole in the side, but that it still works. I looked and sure enough, there was a hole. I remember thinking to myself in the dream, "How did she know there was hole in it? How did she know that it worked? Did she use it?" Yuck! I put the toothbrush down. I didn't really want a Kool-Ade Electric Toothbrush anyway.

I don't think I will be following that dream anytime soon. Oh, and the lady. It seems that she is the mother of one of my students from several years ago. Just think, one night you might be working at a Goodwill Store or looking for used electric toothbrushes. Yeah, in your dreams; in your wildest dreams.

Before I go, I must tell you that Boo-Boo is sitting here with me this morning. He would like some attention and is trying to get it by rubbing his head on me while I type. This makes for a lot of re-typing. He also takes his paw and will touch my arm as if he is saying, "Play with me, PLEASE!"

"Yes I will play with you and rub on you Boo as soon as I finish this!"


© 2007 Barry T Horst



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Morning Surprise!!!

I went to shave this morning.

Look what I found in the sink.





© 2007 Barry T Horst



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Alarm Clocks and Cats

Not wanting to be a slugabed, I have an alarm clock on my bedside end table. (Geez Rory. You make a better door than you do a window!) Rory just jumped on the desk and has decided to play with the cursor on the monitor. (Get out of the way! I can't see!) Anyway, as I was saying...Chris also has an alarm clock on her side. They are fairly normal and straightforward as alarm clocks go. I was looking in the latest Sharper Image catalogue yesterday and they had a few different alarm clocks. One was very interesting. After pushing the snooze button a second time it will roll off the end table, search for a place to hide, and them sound the alarm. This way you must get out of bed to turn it off. {Here it is: Clocky Run-Away Alarm Clock } I have seen others that have lights that simulate the sun rising in order to wake you slowly.

You may be wondering why I am writing about alarm clocks. You may be wondering why I am writing about alarm clocks at 5:15 in the morning. This is why. I have my alarm clock set for 5:30 AM so I can get up and get ready for work each week day. I don't set it on week-ends. I don't have to get up that early. The cats have yet to figure this out. If I don't get up at 5:30 they see it as their mission to wake me up. I suppose they are afraid that if I don't go to work I will not be able to buy them cat food and kitty litter. Either that or they are truly concerned for me and would hate for me to be late for work. I suppose the reason for the early morning wake-up could even be because they are bored and simply want to be entertained. I am not sure why they do it. All I know is that they do it. This morning was no different except that Mr. Puss started around 4:45 AM. He came to my side of the bed and started to meow. In my face. After he woke me up I began to pet and talk to him. Yes, I talk to my cats. Whats wrong with that? Having awakened me and feeling good about himself he retreated to the top of the desk and laid down. He is there now supervising the Blog once again.

Mr. Puss likes to go to Chris' side of the bed and take his paw and lightly touch her on the face. When Chris pushes his paw away the game has begun. He will proceed to touch her face again. If Chris ignores him, he will pursue the game until she complies and pushes his hand away or pets him. Boo-Boo and Mr. Puss will also play with your hands. If you are asleep and your hand moves they will attack it. If you want them to stop you will have to take your hands and bury them under the covers. Tabby and Boo-Boo will also visit Chris if any portion of the bottom of their food dish is showing. I suppose they believe they are out of food and will starve if the bowl is not filled at that moment in time.

I have to relate a funny story that happened shortly after Chris and I got married. Chris' parents came to visit us one weekend. We lived in Arlington at the time and her parents spent the night. The next morning Chris' dad, Hank, came to breakfast and started to tell us about the strangest thing that happened while he was sleeping. Apparently sleeping with his feet out from under the covers, one of our cats from the early days came along and decided to take a nibble on his toes. I remember him saying he didn't know what it was and kicked it across the room.

Aren't cats wonderful? We really could save a little money and not have to buy alarm clocks.


© 2007 Barry T Horst



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Which is Better...a Window or a Door?

I can remember when I was younger I would often hear, "Barry!!! You make a better door than you do a window!" Well, for those of you that do not know me I want to assure that I was not a carpenter in my younger days. At the time I did not know what the speakers meant. After all, I was just a kid. As I grew older and wiser, I came to learn just what they meant.

However, the meaning of the phrase was driven home quite well recently. I was in my favorite recliner and watching TV. When along comes Mr. Puss and plants himself right in front of the TV. And just in front of the TV, but right in front of the remote control sensor. One of the wonders of the 21st century brought to it's heels by a cat. I begin to politely request that Mr. Puss should remove himself from his desired location of rest. This doesn't work. I then begin to loudly proclaim, "Move cat! You make a better door than you do a window!" That didn't work either. All I got from Mr. Puss was a, "Are you talking to me?' look.

Now, I know exactly what is meant by "You make a better door than you do a window!" And I am sure that Mr. Puss will be around for sometime to make sure I do not forget any time soon.

PS...Peanut likes to remind me of the same concept while she lounges on the cable box. You see, she has the unique ability to place her tail at the precise spot on the cable box that is capable of blocking the remote signal to the box, thus bringing the entire concept of modern society to it's knees. Or at least the ability to use the remote for the cable.

In this picture you see Mr. Puss directly in front of the remote sensor. And look under the TV. That is Peanut placing her tail in the precise location to throw the cable box into the Dark Ages. Tabby is in the foreground. INTERESTING SIDE NOTE: The movie on the TV at the time is "Talk About A Stranger" (1952). The young boy on screen is Billy Gray a couple of years before "Father Knows Best" premiered. Also his character's name is Bud; just as it was in "Father Knows Best".



More Blog later....


© 2007 Barry T Horst

Friday Evening, The Weekend Begins

It is Friday evening and the weekend begins. What better way to start a weekend than to have the weather in the upper 40's, wet, and miserable. And the prospect for the weekend gets even better. It is likely to get colder and freeze Saturday and Sunday night. Oh yeah, the weatherman (aka "That Noble Prognosticator of all Things Climatic") reminds all of us that Saturday will be rather windy; wind gusts up to 40 MPH and that sort of thing. So let me get this next bit taken care of straightaway-----"Go fly a kite!" There! I said it and I feel better.

Whenever the weather gets cold and wet like it is today, soup just sounds good for supper. Sooo, this evening I proceeded to make some soup. I headed to the kitchen and gathered the various and sundry items required to prepare a meal fit for....well, an ordinary sort of guy like me. First, I took the pan and added a goodly amount of water; and while I was at it, I added some diced tomatoes. Having completed this task, I needed to wait for this to heat up before I could move to the next stage of preparation. I waited. And I waited. And then I waited some more. After several minutes time and having noticed that the water was not heated and why it was not heated, I asked Chris, "Do you think this will heat faster if I turn the burner on?" She said that she thought it might and then assured me that she didn't think I should count on solar heat to work today. "Thanks!" I turned on the burner. It is really amazing how much better things like that work when you turn them on. Having accomplished the highly technical aspect of turning the burner on, I was able to finish preparing the soup. It was great and I will have plenty for leftovers tomorrow.

Making plans for the weather tomorrow....Since it is supposed to freeze tomorrow night I have to figure out what to do with the flowers in the garden. I imagine it will come down to moving, covering, and bringing inside. I have several flowers that have survived from last fall. Among these flowers are chrysanthemums, gazanias, dianthus, geraniums, and others. This will have to be done during the "big blow" tomorrow. I can hardly wait. It is so much fun covering the plants with old bedsheets in a gale force wind. It is almost like trying to put the sheets on the bed and having the cats think you are playing a new game with them (Shameless reference to yesterdays post).

Later, and obviously before I posted, I worked on my flower seeds. I saved seeds from many of the flowers in my garden. I harvested the seed heads and then let them dry out. Afterwards, I got the seeds and stored them in envelopes to keep until next season. The other day I had a "brainstorm". Well maybe just a little "brain hiccup"! I said to myself, "Self, wouldn't it be great if you could re-use the little bottles from the pharmacy that your prescriptions come in?" After all, every one keeps the little bottles from the pharmacy that your prescriptions come in because there will certainly be a need for little bottles from the pharmacy that your prescriptions come in in the near or far distant future. So, I cleaned some little bottles from the pharmacy that your prescriptions come in and proceeded to transfer seeds from envelopes to the little bottles from the pharmacy that your prescriptions come in. I had French marigold, regular marigold, zinnia, dianthus, snapdragon, and broom corn. I still have several types of sunflower seeds to store.

Posting through the weekend.

KEEP IN TOUCH


© 2007 Barry T Horst



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How Many Are Too Many?

For those that don't know it, I like cats. Maybe I should say, "We like cats."

Let me tell you a few things about our cats. First, we have too many. How many are too many and why do I say that we have too many?

Let me answer the last half of that question. Or better yet, let me tell you HOW you know that you have too many cats. When your wife (Chris in this case.) puts the electric blanket on the bed because it is getting cold and she turns it on and there is no room on the king size bed for you because the cats are there keeping warm, you have too many cats. Also, when your wife changes the sheets and can't get finished because the cats think she is playing the greatest game on earth with them, you have too many cats. That being said, I will let you do some work and figure out how many cats we have.

There is Peanut. When we got her, the kids wanted to name her Skippy. I didn't like Skippy. For some reason the name reminded me of a peanut butter brand. I called her Peanut until the name stuck. Then there is Tabby. What can I say? Tabby is a tabby. We got these two after a festival in East Texas. They were in a petting zoo and we heard that when the festival was over the fellow running the petting zoo was going to "dispose" of them. What can I say. They came home with us. We also have Callie. Yep, she is a calico. My son, Scott found her behind an air conditioner at his high school. These are the oldest of our cats. Some time later we acquired Boo-Boo. I stopped at a convenience store to get Chris a Dr Pepper and heard a kitten meowing and saw this little fluff ball. After some effort we were able to rescue him. Once in the van, we noticed a funny smell. He smelled of paint thinner or something of that nature. On the way home we began to notice another smell, but I won't go there. Needless to say, he got a good scrubbing when we got home, as did the van. Now our little fluff ball is the largest of all of our beloved critters. These four have been in the family at least 10 years now.

Believe it or not, I am not through with the cats. Approximately four years ago I was blessed with Mr. Puss. He was a birthday gift from my daughter, Julie. As with most of our pets, the name changed a few times. He started out as Mr. Kitty. Then our grandson, Jace started calling him Puss-Puss. I later refined the name to Mr. Puss. Wow! Five cats! Now that is a lot.

This is Mr. Puss supervising the latest blog posting.

Nope, still not through. Last summer, Julie just absolutely had to have a kitten of her own. After all, five is not enough. She researched the subject extensively on the Internet. She settled on a kitten from a kennel(?) that was 80 some odd miles away (Guess who had to drive her there?) and required real cash to get the little bugger. We got the kitten and went home and the little thing got sick and had to be nursed back to health. Julie did a great job with her on that note. Her name is Rory (short for Aurora).

If you counted correctly you should have counted six cats. (Even if you didn't count it is still six cats!) That is quite a few, but we love them all. In later postings I will tell you about their antics and let you see them all.

UPDATE......

Guess who just had to have a kitten all their own? Yep, as of yesterday Julie is the proud Momma of Bristow, a gray Tabby kitten.

You're right. That is seven. Oh yes, Julie has assured me that she will take care of Bristow and all expenses that she incurs.

TOMORROW: Preparations for the holidays; lights, decorations, and such.

© 2007 Barry T Horst

This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Still Working Hard At This Thing

Today was a good day. The day was cold and got colder. The day was wet and got wetter. I was able to leave work at 3:15 PM. (The operative word here is "ABLE". ) I actually did not leave until 3:30 PM. That is still better than 4:30 PM. I also received my evaluation today and got good reviews. (I sound like a movie.)

The kids at school are a little wild. They are getting excited about Christmas. The teachers are getting excited about the Christmas holidays. I am just excited!

Hold on just a moment! I'll be right back.
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I'm back! I had to take Tiger Lily out and feed her. Tiger Lily is Julie's dog. I call her Puppy, not Tiger Lily. Fortunately she was quick. It is 38 degrees and misting.

Please continue to visit. As the days go by I will be adding pictures, slideshows, etc. I invite all of you to comment if you wish. I especially would like for you click on one of the ads on the bottom of the page. If you do, you will witness one of the miracles of the Free Enterprise System. I will get paid a phenomenal amount of money per click-thru. (Well, not really a phenomenal amount. But, it will add up over time.)

Have a great night and visit often.


© 2007 Barry T Horst



This work is licensed under aCreative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Working Feverishly

I am sitting at the computer working to create this blog. I have been at school until 5:10 PM. And then I had to go to the school's Christmas Choir Concert at the WISD PLayhouse. I finally, got home around 6:30 PM and it was pouring. Thankfully, I did not melt.

Please keep in touch as I continue to work on the blog and endeavor to fine tune the entire site.

Thanks for visiting and be sure to leave a post.


© 2007 Barry T Horst



This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.