End of the decade

This my last post of the year. In fact, it's my last post of the decade.

Happy new year, loyal blog readers. Can you believe it's 2020? Can you believe Y2K was 20 years ago? This blows my mind!

We got Farkle'd

We got "Farkled" in Gatlinburg. Farkled, you ask? Yes... we ate twice at our favorite place in Gatlinburg. Fannie Farkle's. Fannie Farkle's sells fresh dipped footlong corndogs and smoked sausage with grilled peppers and onions. It's street food. There's no place to sit down and eat it. You stand on the sidewalk and eat off a ledge right in front of the window where the food is cooked. Who needs the Apple Barn or any other fancy restaurant? This place is awesome! Sometimes simpler is better. I recommend Fannie Farkle's to anyone. Go get Farkled in Gatlinburg. You won't be sorry.

Wind Damage

Well... there goes my new pool cover. The windstorm last night ripped some of the grommets and tore the cover partly off the pool. This new cover lasted three months. It's not unusable, but I certainly would like to have gotten a few seasons out of my cover before the thing ripped. Oh the joys of owning a pool!

Still here!

The House of Representatives approved two articles and impeached President Trump over a week ago. Nothing has happened since. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has yet to send the articles to the Senate. Could it be the democRATS know that have no case against a duly elected President? What a complete crock!

A Smoky Mountain Christmas

We just got home from our Christmas in the Smoky Mountains...

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas, loyal blog readers...

Ready Freddy?

Oh my goodness! This is SCARY! I am guilty of at least five out of eight of these. I really am getting old!

Mick's Holiday Brew

One of my favorite gifts ever from a student. Mick'e Brew!

In case you are wondering if I opened this gift in front of the students, the answer is no. The child's mom works at the school and she delivered the gift before school opened for the day. I tucked it safely away in my car before the kids could see it.

Christmas humor

Just a little Christmas humor today...

A sad letter

Every Christmas season brings no shortage of heartbreaking letters to Santa. This is just one of many just like it. This child is a victim of an abusive household. What he asks for is gut wrenching.

More Impeachment

The Dems are crowing today. They think they have scored some major victory. In reality, they have perpetrated a partisan hoax. Impeachment? For what?

IMPEACHED!

Well... they did it. The Democrat controlled House of Representatives impeached President Trump. They impeached him for one reason and one reason only. They never got over the election loss of 2016 and they will do anything to get rid of him. Anything... including impeaching him for nothing at all. President Trump committed no high crimes, no treason, did not pressure foreign governments for political gain, and did absolutely nothing wrong. Yet here we are... the President has been impeached with zero Republican votes and even a few Democrats who voted against it. Now the case will be tried before the United States Senate where it will be quickly shot down. The President will never be removed from office, and he has all but been guaranteed a second term in office. Way to go, Democrats. You not only shot yourselves in the foot... you blew your whole leg off.

Trump 2020!

a VERY special Christmas card

A few nights ago I was perusing this year's Christmas cards, and happened upon what I believed (at the time) to be a VERY SPECIAL card. Keep in mind it was a bit dark and I wasn't wearing my glasses. I opened a fancy card and behold, what did I see? A card from The Holy Family! Jesus, Mary, and Joseph sent Tami and me a Christmas card! What kind of list are we on? What did we do to deserve such an honor?

In actuality it is a card from the Holtz family. However, if you check out the photo, you can see how at first glance it looks like The Holy Family. Tami and I got a good laugh out of this one.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Christmas by the numbers

I've mentioned it before on this blog... Time is a funny thing. It passes imperceptibly and stops for nothing and no one.

I got to thinking today. Tami and I have been married for 28 and a half years. This will be our 31st Christmas together (counting the years we were dating).

This is my 30th Christmas in teaching. The last week before Christmas break NEVER gets any easier. Trying to corral thirty five 4th graders who are excited for Christmas is even more difficult than it used to be. As I type this, there are two more days of school before the kids get a two week break. Trying to get any semblance of teaching done is next to impossible. But it's not for a lack of trying! I keep teaching and the kids keep ignoring me. It's the way of the world for an elementary teacher at Christmastime.

After this year I have 5 more Christmases as a teacher and then (Lord willing) I get to retire.

Time is marching on and I am powerless to stop it. I may as well sit back and enjoy the ride.

Morris the Cat

After the 9 Lives cat food commercials of the 70's and 80's, Morris the cat fell on some hard times. Fame and fortune is temporary, and some handle it better than others.

Christmas Town

Tami and I toured Christmas Town at the Creation Museum last night. The grounds are decorated beautifully, and there is even a live nativity. The Christmas story from Luke 2 is on a loud speaker as you ponder the wonder of that Holy night. It was just barely spitting rain and the temperature was in the 40's. There is a $10 charge for parking, but the rest of the event is free. I highly recommend it to everyone!

Hidden Valley Lake

Look at the beautiful sunset over Hidden Valley Lake this evening. Not only was the sky gorgeous, but the colors were reflecting off the water too. Breathtaking!

They're all in

The Democrats introduced two articles of impeachment. They have nothing because there IS nothing. This whole process is going to come back and bite them.