Although I live in a rural area, my immediate surroundings are not; I reside in a subdivision. Even so, wildlife abounds. During the non-snowy months, I can, at any given time, look out my office window and see at least one animal and usually more. I’ve spent the last five months verifying this to be […]
I remember when my wife and I were building a house. Actually, we watched someone else build a house for us. Though there were times I wanted to help, I suspect they would have charged more if I tried. The early stages clipped by quickly: digging the basement, pouring footings and basement walls, framing the […]
Years ago, my on-ramp to the Information Superhighway was closed. That is, I lost my Internet connection. It was a painful two days. Although I was fully cognizant of just how much I do online, it was unaware of how fully my life and especially my work has been integrated into and dependent upon the Internet. […]
Independence Day in the United States To all my friends and followers living in the United States of America, I wish you a wonderful Fourth of July (Independence Day, if you want to be formal). While there are certainly reasons for concern, worry, and even complaint, we do live in a wonderful country. We enjoy […]
I pride myself in having the discernment of knowing when to not take shortcuts, those times when doing so would likely end up costing more work or taking more time. Conversely, I also know which shortcuts are actually worthwhile. This applies to travel, repairing things, performing work, and so forth. Although I don’t believe in […]
Do You Leave Home or Take it With You? It was 2014 when my wife and I were selling our house. It wasn’t our plan, but things change. We had just finished updating most of it: new roof, furnace, windows, carpet, flooring, kitchen, and bathrooms. It was a three-year effort that methodically moved from one […]
On my post last April, I pondered how any effort to curtail water usage on my part could serve to help those halfway around the world who are thirsty. Alas, there is no direct solution (but I did suggest a course of action). This discussion reminded me of the prodding I heard as a child […]
I remember when my wife and I have lived with our son and daughter-in-law, it’s been a great experience for us and a wonderful time connecting with our kids in a deeper, more meaningful way. After only eight weeks, we’ve gone through three phases: 1. The Honeymoon Phase For the first few weeks, everything went […]
Although April began with the proverbial showers that are reputed to bring May flowers, it has been quite arid the past two weeks. So much so that I have had to resort to watering my lawn. I feel a bit guilty doing so. You see, as I dump hundreds of gallons of pure, clean water on […]
At work I received a shocking press release. In part of it said, “It’s an open secret in healthcare communities: patients lie.” The reasons were many. Some lie because they don’t want to admit unhealthy behaviors to their doctors. For others, by not voicing a concern they subconsciously deny its existence. Still, others make their […]