Tomorrow is the best Holiday of the Year, Thanksgiving and this farmer/blogger is going to just enjoy the day. I am going to just be thankful for all I have. Thankful for the lessons learned in my life. Thankful for the friends I have met along the way. And the good family I have still. The lady friend that I met just over two years ago now, and enjoy a caring loving relationship with. Thankful for my children, a great son who is a better dad than I ever was, four wonderful, loving daughters who are great homemakers and socker moms with lipstick to boot. A great daughter in law and four great son in laws.. Thankful they all have good work and provide well for their kids and planning for retirement some day.....Thankful for good health, a warm comfy home with even a new fireplace and work yet to be done on it. Thankful for a shingle roof that does not allow water into my home. Thankful for a nice Chevy truck that now is no longer a Perdidal, but instead has two working headlights, fixed today under the good Chevy warranty. Thankful for my buddies in my Promise Keepers Bible Study....Thankful for grass to mow in the summertime and thankful that now it has taken a break from growing till spring...Thankful for a snow blower that may be needed this winter. Thankful for 19 grandkids of all ages...Thankful they all have jobs, doing well or are still in school. Thankful for the RV that sits in my barn and awaits the trip to Naples each winter. Thankful for memories of great times past, and even dreams that some nights transport me back in time to revisit those memories.
I have a lot to be thankful for but foremost for a loving God that forgives my many sins and mistakes of the past. And the assurance of salvation for an eternity given by HIS grace to all believers....We don't earn it nor deserve it, but we can claim it, that is a huge gift to surely be thankful for. With that I will close this and thank him in advance for all the good food we will all partake of tomorrow Thanksgiving Day....
Happy Thanksgiving to you all....
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
The Fireplace (191)
Today it happened. A fireplace was born right here in this house. Randy Denham told me a few weeks back that Rick Zellers was maybe the best brick mason in Indiana. After today, I think he may just be right. His work is precise and creative. Rick ask me a couple times if I wanted this or wanted it that way. Finally I said, "you know Rick, your the doctor here, you make it look the best you can and I know I will like it...Sure enough I loved the fireplace, it just looks warm and cozy without yet striking a match. I told Rick when it was done that "I knew if I just kept my mouth shut it would turn out great, and it did...Experience and creativity carried the day here. Will wait a couple days for it to "cure" out before starting a fire but I am excited about it. It will offer a great place to watch a fire burn, maybe with a glass of my favorite Brown County Wine, Old Barrel Port and maybe a little cheese and crackers.
Yes they are a bit dirty and messy at times, but for my money there is nothing like watching the glow of a fire place burning and crackling and popping. Never the same twice, always something different, kind of like a sunset I guess. Always the same but always slightly different. And of course the warmth of it all especially on those first few really cold days of winter ahead of us. Maybe the first really good blizzard with snow blowing every which way but Sunday. Yes that is when its the best, cold and lots of blowing snow, that is when you know you did the right thing, installing a messy, dirty fireplace....Yes it was the right thing to do...
OH and one other important fact...I looked up the chimney and if Santa has not put on a lot of pounds he can make it down....Merry Christmas
Yes they are a bit dirty and messy at times, but for my money there is nothing like watching the glow of a fire place burning and crackling and popping. Never the same twice, always something different, kind of like a sunset I guess. Always the same but always slightly different. And of course the warmth of it all especially on those first few really cold days of winter ahead of us. Maybe the first really good blizzard with snow blowing every which way but Sunday. Yes that is when its the best, cold and lots of blowing snow, that is when you know you did the right thing, installing a messy, dirty fireplace....Yes it was the right thing to do...
OH and one other important fact...I looked up the chimney and if Santa has not put on a lot of pounds he can make it down....Merry Christmas
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Warren Buffet and Me on Taxation (190)
Warren has a bit more money than I, so I think we will talk about his ideals but I do agree with him that the very wealthy have been getting way too big of a slice of the pie for way to many years. On WGN one of my favorite radio stations (AM 720) yesterday was a news item that Mr. Buffet stated that his secretary who he pays $60,000 a year, paid about a 30% tax rate last year. He earning I think it was 51 million paid a rate of 17%. And he just used the legal deducts etc. available to him and the other very rich of the nation. And maybe the reason he voted democratic to try and rectify this injustice. Why would a guy like him blow the whistle on getting to big a slice of pie? Well I think because he is an honest man who loves the American system of free enterprise and knows that the rich are being allowed to get unfairly favored in our system. For what its worth I agree with Mr. Buffet. I was always under the assumption that when you got into the millions that you paid something like 50% tax rate. Well that is probably so if you don't take advantage of what deducts that are available legally to use.
So maybe this Republican is kind of a "hybrid" republican as when it comes to taxes I do believe in paying my share and willingly do so. But I don't like hearing about others that are legally allowed to not pay what they maybe should. This needs fixed for sure. And I know that correcting this will not even come close to balancing the budget of this "budget busting" administations grandure everything for everybody for votes spending....But it is surely a good place to start.
But I do know if I were the "taxations czar" how I would proceed and it would surely balance the budget.
1. In any given year congress would be forced to tax equally for dollars spent. A common sense fix to this nightmare we are in.
2. If this was the case pork barrel spending would end because tax payers would insist on bare essential spending because they would know they would have to pay for it that year and it could not be paid by borrowing and burdening the future generations. And that it would not be paid by just printing additional money and lowering the value of our dollar.
We are I think very close to a breaking point for our nation and I am very concerned that one day maybe not far off we will be a nation of "have nots"....Not just the poor but all of us if the dollar collapses which it could we could go from recession to depression and into chaos in rapid order. It would not be a pretty sight when folks realized they now have nothing. I don't even like to think of chaos is the streets and man turning on each other just for survival but we may not be far from it....gosh I hope I am wrong.
So maybe this Republican is kind of a "hybrid" republican as when it comes to taxes I do believe in paying my share and willingly do so. But I don't like hearing about others that are legally allowed to not pay what they maybe should. This needs fixed for sure. And I know that correcting this will not even come close to balancing the budget of this "budget busting" administations grandure everything for everybody for votes spending....But it is surely a good place to start.
But I do know if I were the "taxations czar" how I would proceed and it would surely balance the budget.
1. In any given year congress would be forced to tax equally for dollars spent. A common sense fix to this nightmare we are in.
2. If this was the case pork barrel spending would end because tax payers would insist on bare essential spending because they would know they would have to pay for it that year and it could not be paid by borrowing and burdening the future generations. And that it would not be paid by just printing additional money and lowering the value of our dollar.
We are I think very close to a breaking point for our nation and I am very concerned that one day maybe not far off we will be a nation of "have nots"....Not just the poor but all of us if the dollar collapses which it could we could go from recession to depression and into chaos in rapid order. It would not be a pretty sight when folks realized they now have nothing. I don't even like to think of chaos is the streets and man turning on each other just for survival but we may not be far from it....gosh I hope I am wrong.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Using what you have including a son in law (189)
I did not know what to call this story. But my old antenna on my 40 foot tower was down to two CBS channels...It was getting to me, with Katie Curic as my only choice for the evening news "I was hurting" to say the least. She loves Obama and anything he thinks of to do and I fully understand the guy is a "promise them anything and everything" kind of guy. So me and Katie just don't mess well anymore. So I had to do something. My son in law Cris Post is an electronics wizard, works at Caterpillar here in Lafayette, very successful so this little job was really "small taters" for him.
But he said you know there is not many rods on that antenna of yours anymore it could be time for a new one and while were are at it a new rotor as they don't cost much.
So that is what we did and wouldn't you know it the day I planned to lower the tower 2 son in laws and my son were "out of town". So it was Cris and I and the thinking cap had to go on to work this out. Usually in the past 4 people stand by the tower and one on the roof with a rope tied to the tower and the 4 on the ground kind of "walk it down" and then walk it back up when its repaired. So instead we put the front of the loader against the tower and just backed up...it worked.
So we came up with putting the front end loader on the tractor and replacing the manual labor part. Then we usually laid it across the grain truck and then used a ladder to get up to the antenna to work. But while shelling corn that morning it came to me that maybe if I filled the hopper with corn to stand on that the height of this machine could be about perfect for a platform for my electrical engineer with a masters in business I will add, to perform his magic. Well as you can see to the right it was great, a well oiled machine we were that fine day and what a beautiful day it was.
And now the exciting part we got it back up put the bolts back in the hinged base and went inside for the test. Cris set it to scan the channels and low and behold I went from two very liberal Network channels to a selection of 29 free TV digital channels and I am located 60 miles northwest of Indianapolis. And did not even turn the rotor around to take in maybe Ft. Wayne or Champaign Ill, maybe could pick up 2 or three more? Hey, I am in "tall cotton" here now. I got the local fox channel, I got NBC and ABC and all the public and christian tv anyone could ever want...But mainly I don't have to watch Katie anymore worship her idol the current occupant of the white house. Actually CNN is the real Communist Network News for sure but CBS is leaning hard in that direction the last year or two...Fox leads the polls and for good reason....
By the way the corn harvest is progressing slow but good....the yields are about average in some fields, very good in the one I am in now and not so good in the one I did last week. But the main thing is its getting done maybe about a week left at the present 2 loads a day pace. All of my corn goes directly to the two Tate and Lyle corn sweetener plants here in Lafayette. And my corn having gotten planted a little late not because of mono or lazyness, but wet weather, is still carrying pretty high moisture content. Tate and Lyle is working with me on it and taking two of my wet loads per day and it blends in with other dryer corn that is coming in...they are good people to work with....all is good...corn going to town and now watching NBC and ABC and Fox....
Oh, by the way Veterans day was great, I do agree with Obama's assesment of the current men and women serving our nation. They equal the "greatest generation" of WW TWO...they are a great dedicated group of warriors...
And the nation is responding to celebrate veterans day more so than in the past. At noon I stopped by the" Applebees" eatery, and enjoyed a free 6 oz steak with some potatoes and veggies.
Last night I talked sweet pea into accomponing me to eat at the "Texas Road House" which was again free for me and on my way I went by "Mike's Car Wash" for a on the house honor veterans wash job. Then after dinner on my way home Susan called and alerted me that Culvers Ice cream, which she passes on her way home, was offering a free Sundae to all vets...But I had enough honoring for one day, I proceeded to my new "Denver Mattress" king size bed for the ultimate treet, 8 hours of rest....
But he said you know there is not many rods on that antenna of yours anymore it could be time for a new one and while were are at it a new rotor as they don't cost much.
So that is what we did and wouldn't you know it the day I planned to lower the tower 2 son in laws and my son were "out of town". So it was Cris and I and the thinking cap had to go on to work this out. Usually in the past 4 people stand by the tower and one on the roof with a rope tied to the tower and the 4 on the ground kind of "walk it down" and then walk it back up when its repaired. So instead we put the front of the loader against the tower and just backed up...it worked.
So we came up with putting the front end loader on the tractor and replacing the manual labor part. Then we usually laid it across the grain truck and then used a ladder to get up to the antenna to work. But while shelling corn that morning it came to me that maybe if I filled the hopper with corn to stand on that the height of this machine could be about perfect for a platform for my electrical engineer with a masters in business I will add, to perform his magic. Well as you can see to the right it was great, a well oiled machine we were that fine day and what a beautiful day it was.
And now the exciting part we got it back up put the bolts back in the hinged base and went inside for the test. Cris set it to scan the channels and low and behold I went from two very liberal Network channels to a selection of 29 free TV digital channels and I am located 60 miles northwest of Indianapolis. And did not even turn the rotor around to take in maybe Ft. Wayne or Champaign Ill, maybe could pick up 2 or three more? Hey, I am in "tall cotton" here now. I got the local fox channel, I got NBC and ABC and all the public and christian tv anyone could ever want...But mainly I don't have to watch Katie anymore worship her idol the current occupant of the white house. Actually CNN is the real Communist Network News for sure but CBS is leaning hard in that direction the last year or two...Fox leads the polls and for good reason....
By the way the corn harvest is progressing slow but good....the yields are about average in some fields, very good in the one I am in now and not so good in the one I did last week. But the main thing is its getting done maybe about a week left at the present 2 loads a day pace. All of my corn goes directly to the two Tate and Lyle corn sweetener plants here in Lafayette. And my corn having gotten planted a little late not because of mono or lazyness, but wet weather, is still carrying pretty high moisture content. Tate and Lyle is working with me on it and taking two of my wet loads per day and it blends in with other dryer corn that is coming in...they are good people to work with....all is good...corn going to town and now watching NBC and ABC and Fox....
Oh, by the way Veterans day was great, I do agree with Obama's assesment of the current men and women serving our nation. They equal the "greatest generation" of WW TWO...they are a great dedicated group of warriors...
And the nation is responding to celebrate veterans day more so than in the past. At noon I stopped by the" Applebees" eatery, and enjoyed a free 6 oz steak with some potatoes and veggies.
Last night I talked sweet pea into accomponing me to eat at the "Texas Road House" which was again free for me and on my way I went by "Mike's Car Wash" for a on the house honor veterans wash job. Then after dinner on my way home Susan called and alerted me that Culvers Ice cream, which she passes on her way home, was offering a free Sundae to all vets...But I had enough honoring for one day, I proceeded to my new "Denver Mattress" king size bed for the ultimate treet, 8 hours of rest....
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Happy Birthday to the Marines (188)
Today is the 234th birthday of the Marine Corps. Happy Birthday Marines!
Three years ago today my wife and I were honored to be present when the President and other dignataries dedicated the new Marine Corps museum near Washington DC. It was a day about like today, partly sunny and fairly warm. It was a great day and Linda although hurting from her oncoming cancer, I think enjoyed the day. She got to see the President maybe 150 to 200 feet in front of us. He gave a great speech and then awarded the first medal of honor in the war on terror to a Marine who had given his life in Irag. His parents were there to accept the award but did not come forward. A couple days later we saw them accept it in a white house ceremony. Also today was the day that Marine Captain from South Dakota, honored Linda by pushing her around the grounds before the ceremony. It was a good day, I will never forget it, nor the Captain, nor the time I spent in the Marines. ( The Captain and my Linda can be seen at right here at the bottom of all the pictures)
Today there was an honor ceremony at Ft. Hood also. Those that died by the hand of the Army Major Muslim terrorist were remembered. Our current occupant of the white house has trouble using the work terrorist or war on terror. I don't know his problem but he definately has one about the whole matter. But had this Major shouted out Jesus Christ before the shooting I am sure he would have been a religious finatic of the first degree...but for now he is just a burned out counselor who kind of flipped out....I hope soon our occupant of the white house will evolve from a community organizer to become our commander in chief and turn to the job of protecting this nations from all enemy's foriegn and domestic, and forget about all these socialistic ideas and ideals that go along with everything for everybody. That is communism and will not work.
We will learn a lot more as time passes but can you believe that this man bought two guns in August, sent emails to know terrorist and even spouted out before many soldiers how wrong this nation is to fight muslim terrorist? I can't nor can I believe where this nation may be headed.
Three years ago today my wife and I were honored to be present when the President and other dignataries dedicated the new Marine Corps museum near Washington DC. It was a day about like today, partly sunny and fairly warm. It was a great day and Linda although hurting from her oncoming cancer, I think enjoyed the day. She got to see the President maybe 150 to 200 feet in front of us. He gave a great speech and then awarded the first medal of honor in the war on terror to a Marine who had given his life in Irag. His parents were there to accept the award but did not come forward. A couple days later we saw them accept it in a white house ceremony. Also today was the day that Marine Captain from South Dakota, honored Linda by pushing her around the grounds before the ceremony. It was a good day, I will never forget it, nor the Captain, nor the time I spent in the Marines. ( The Captain and my Linda can be seen at right here at the bottom of all the pictures)
Today there was an honor ceremony at Ft. Hood also. Those that died by the hand of the Army Major Muslim terrorist were remembered. Our current occupant of the white house has trouble using the work terrorist or war on terror. I don't know his problem but he definately has one about the whole matter. But had this Major shouted out Jesus Christ before the shooting I am sure he would have been a religious finatic of the first degree...but for now he is just a burned out counselor who kind of flipped out....I hope soon our occupant of the white house will evolve from a community organizer to become our commander in chief and turn to the job of protecting this nations from all enemy's foriegn and domestic, and forget about all these socialistic ideas and ideals that go along with everything for everybody. That is communism and will not work.
We will learn a lot more as time passes but can you believe that this man bought two guns in August, sent emails to know terrorist and even spouted out before many soldiers how wrong this nation is to fight muslim terrorist? I can't nor can I believe where this nation may be headed.
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