Clifty Falls

Tami and I took a day trip to Clifty Falls yesterday. It was a nice day for a drive. We explored the park and hiked the trail to the falls. I only visited Clifty Falls one other time, and that was when I was really young. It was a good day and we enjoyed the trip!

I'm a real rebel!

A sad commentary

This would be funny if it wasn't so sad. We've gone from the Greatest Generation fighting World War II, to people wanting transgender people in the military... AND wanting the military to pay for sex change operations. How in the world did we get from there to here? It makes so very sad!

Funny Pencils

I just GOTTA get some of these for school!

Shattered Dreams

I remember when I was a little boy I had all kinds of toy cars. There were Hotwheels, Matchbox, and others. My friends had them too. We would always play with them by racing them down the inclined driveway or building roads in the dirt. I also remember my friends and I bragging about which of those cars we would get when we grew up. It's safe to say none of those dreams came true for any of us. I've never seen Hotwheels cars that were Honda Civics or Minivans. That would be more true to life. But then again, what little boy is going to hold up a Ford Taurus and tell his friends "This is the car I'm getting when I grow up."?

Why?

Why did the chicken cross the road? Oh wait... he didn't. He tried, but didn't make it.

Parenting

This is parenting done RIGHT! Whoever came up with this is a real 21st century parent. Bravo! Bravo!

Peepers

Jeepers creepers! Look at those pretty little peepers!

I'll just leave this here...

Elliott's weekend

This little fella spent the night with his grandma and Goppa on Friday. The weather was hot, so a lot of swimming was the order of the day. We also took a trip to "Touch a Truck". Elliott LOVED the firetruck!

It never ends

You would think the supply of these crazy signs would dry up at some point. But I guess as long as people are making signs, they will continue to make ones that look like these...

All alone

I'm ashamed to admit this book describes me to a "T".

A Friday Chuckle

Here's a Friday chuckle for you...
Honestly, isn't anybody paying attention anymore?

26 and counting

Today Tami and I celebrate our 26th wedding anniversary. It boggles my mind to think I have been married that long. I have been blessed with an incredible marriage, and I am so thankful for my wonderful wife. Just like all marriages, we've experienced peaks and valleys. However, I am happy to say the peaks outnumber the valleys a hundred fold.

26 years ago, the Lord was pleased to have us stand in His house and exchange wedding vows. "In good times and bad, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, until death do us part." God certainly knew what he was doing when He put us together.

Tami and I marvel daily at the passage of time, and how we are witnessing first hand the gradual breakdown of our physical bodies. Our bodies may be sagging, wrinkling, expanding, and aching, but our love for one another grows stronger every day. Our love can never sag, wrinkle, or break down. Obviously we were in love on our wedding day 26 years ago, but it wasn't until we had (more) children, grandchildren, and experienced everyday life together, that we knew what kind of love we really have. We have an incredible marriage and I am so eager to see what the next 26 years brings us.

Soli' Deo Gloria!

First Brisket

Back in April I purchased my new smoker. At that time I smoked a couple of pork shoulders with great success. Today I ventured into the world of smoked beef brisket. I am so happy with the results. The 11 lb. hunk of meat was dry rubbed with spices and smoked with hickory wood for more than 12 hours. The photo below shows a nice bark. The bark is the dark outer "shell" of the meat. It looks burnt, but trust me... it's not. The meat was fork tender and delicious. In full disclosure I will tell you the meat was just a tad dry. A few minor adjustments in cooking temperature and meat preparation should rectify that small problem when I smoke my second brisket. The overall verdict is that this was a good result for my first effort. Heck, no PitMaster ever made his first brisket perfectly. Smoking meat requires a lot of trial and error, and practice. I won't be entering any BBQ contests, or opening any restaurants, but I will certainly be feeding friends and family with delicious smoked meats in the near future.

Sums it up

This pretty much sums it up, doesn't it?

For the record...

Several years ago Tami and I purchased and old, cabinet style record player/stereo. We absolutely loved it. It produced a richness of sound that cassette tapes, CD's, or MP3 couldn't recreate. Unfortunately we sold it during a time when we needed a few bucks. This past weekend we entertained the thought of buying another. However, we decided against it because we really have no place to put it right now. It was still fun to think about playing vinyl records again :-)

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday today to my eldest daughter, Jessi, and my grandson, Elliott. I can't believe our little Elliott is 4 years old today. Time sure flies when you're having fun!

Happy Birthday!

Give Up?

The answer to yesterday's riddle lies within the punctuation, and not the riddle itself. Notice there is a period at the end and not a question mark. This makes the riddle a statement and not a question. You are being told that the word "what" has 4 letters, the word "sometimes" has 9 letters, and the word "never" has 5 letters. There is no answer to this riddle because there is no question to begin with. Tricky, tricky! Punctuation is important, ladies and gentlemen.

Riddle me this...

Riddle me this...

Jeans on sale!

Me: Hey, guess what? I got an incredible deal on these jeans. They were on sale!

Tami: Really? How much were they?

Me: Two bucks!

Tami: Oh, "deer"!

Loose Wire

Have you ever started a task thinking it will be an easy job that will only take a couple of minutes? Yeah, me too. It happens all the time. For example...

"The internet is down. I think the problem is probably a loose wire. It should be a simple fix. I'll just go down and take a peek..."

Gimme a sign!

Y'all know how much I love signs... especially dumb ones. Whelp! Here we go again!

So........ We're just supposed to GUESS?????

I can't breathe

The word literally is quite possibly the most overused and misused word in the english language right now.

For example:

"I am literally starving to death right now!"
Ummm... no, you're not. You're really hungry right now.

"I am literally going to tell my boss to go jump in the lake!"
Well, not exactly. If you did, you wouldn't have a job much longer.

"I am literally the worst singer in the world!"
Nope. You may be tone deaf, and a truly bad singer, but you're not the worst.

"I am so tired. I am literally going to sleep for a week!"
Not even close. You may sleep longer than usual, but your bladder might have something to say about you sleeping for a whole week.

However, there are times when the word literally can be used appropriately and correctly.

For example:

"I am literally typing a blog post right now".
True.

"My lawn mower is literally out of gas".
Also true. No mowing will happen until I make a trip to the gas station.

"Yesterday it literally rained hard for more than an hour".
Yep! True as well. We had some fairly wicked storms yesterday afternoon.

And then there's this:

This is LITERALLY me right now...

Doughnut forget Abby's birthday!

Look at this awesome birthday cake! Abby's good friend, Caleb, made it himself.

In case you don't know, Abby LOVES doughnuts. Note the doughnut boxes in the left side of the photo as well.

Happy Birthday, Abby!

Happy Birthday to my baby girl, Abby! My little sugar lump turns 20 today. This is a significant birthday in the Meyer house. Today marks the end of our days with teenagers. We love our three kids dearly, but as any parent knows, the teen years can be challenging to say the least. Tami and I will never again be the parents of teenagers. We will be grandparents of teenagers, but that is all together different. When our grandkids are teenagers we get to watch the show instead of being part of it.

Happy Birthday, Abby! I love you very much!

Feeling Sick

I think I feel a cold coming on...

I better get the extra strength...

A great night

What a great night! My eldest grandchild, Sveta came over for some one on one time with her grandma and her Goppa. She got to swim, eat PB&J sandwiches, stay up late, and spend the night. Tomorrow her little brother, Asher, will join us for some swimming. In case you're wondering, Elliott is camping with his other grandparents. Through all this one thing is certain... these grandchildren have two sets of doting grandparents who love them very much!

Estate Sale

My in-laws are downsizing to a condo after living in the same house for 50 years. Tomorrow there is an estate sale where most of the stuff that won't fit in the condo will be sold. Preparing for this sale has kept me busy and quite distracted. Things should get back to normal in a few days.

No Chocolate

You may find this shocking, but I don't like chocolate. I know, I know... what kind of weirdo doesn't like chocolate? Well... me.

Chocolate ice cream? Can't stand it!
Chocolate bars? Yuck!
Chocolate milk? Meh!
Chocolate fudge? Ewwww!
Hot fudge? The worst!

Having said that, why does this thing look so delicious? It probably looks better than it tastes.