Company's Coming!

          My big summer surge of activity will begin over the next couple of weeks as our daughters come in from New Jersey and Texas to visit us.  We will be doing some fun things around town, but mostly just hanging out and enjoying one another's company.  My wife and I only get to see them in person a couple times a year now and our visits are always too short.

          When our kids grow up and move away it seems like everyone's life is busy and there is often not enough money for frequent visits.  Some of you may be fortunate enough to have your grown kids and grandkids nearby, but sometimes even then schedules don't allow for visits like we might like.

         For those of you who still have children at home, savor it as much as you can.  Take pictures, go to activities, and establish close family bonds and traditions.  It seemed like I had to work a lot when my kids were younger, but we still had a lot of good times.  I tried to take them places that I hoped would enrich their lives.  I made every attempt to attend every soccer game, dance recital, award ceremony, and whatever other school or church event in which they were involved.  It all has sped by so fast--graduations, weddings, births.  Now the next round will be the grandchildren who are here now and are still to come.

        I'm scheduling my posts ahead of time for the next couple of weeks so they will post automatically.  However my blog visiting and commenting may be somewhat curtailed.  I should be able to acknowledge comments on my blog and visit the blogs of those who have commented, but beyond that I am not too sure.  But I will be here so please keep your comments coming.

         If you missed The Soundtrack of My Life this past Monday please check it out.  I started a new feature called Tossing It Out Tuesday.   This coming Tuesday I will be talking about junk mail.  My Thursday Debate Day topic will be concerning government pensions.  The other days will be topics that you will hopefully enjoy.

         My thanks to Ellie at Ella's Edge for the kind mention on Wednesday.  She was talking about "change"--I guess there are several of us thinking of that word.  I'm still making changes in my blog.  Have you noticed any yet?

          If you have children who are grown and on their own, do they live near to you or far?  How often are you able to see your grown children?  If your children are still living with you, how do you make quality time for them?  Who is visiting you this summer, or who are you visiting? 

         Still looking for some government paid employees to weigh in on this past Thursday's debate.  I still need to be convinced that I am wrong.  Or am I?

After a Meaty Week.....

             This has been one meat filled week on Tossing It Out.  This upcoming week I'll change the subject.
I hope more of you will join us on Monday for The Soundtrack of Your Life Blogfest.  You can read about it at the top of this page and sign up on the Linky List.  As of the moment I am writing this we have thirteen participants so we have space for you.  Tell us about you and the songs that would accompany a recap of your life.

           The rest of the week I've not planned yet, but I'm still trying for shorter posts.  I seem to have a problem keeping my word count down. I'm still working on this.  Do you ever feel that your posts are too long?

       I was so delighted to see an acknowledgment given to me by Mary at Giggles and Guns.   Mary featured a post around a comment I had made on a topic that I know is familiar to many of us--finding motivation and inspiration to keep writing.  I usually don't have that problem, but I guess that also kind of goes back to my long-winded blog posts.  It's such a pleasant surprise to visit a blog and find yourself featured in a post.  Thanks, Mary, for the ego boost.

       Then there's someone who's been getting his name in many other blogs this week after the trailer for his upcoming book was released.  Most of you probably already know Alex J. Cavanaugh's great blog and have probably already seen his book trailer, but in the event that someone out there has missed it then check it out:


       My good wishes to Alex and to his book CassaStar which will be released in October.

       Speaking of books and authors, Stephen Tremp's adventures in publishing are almost as exciting as his book Breakthrough which is soon to be rereleased.    Not a typo--- re-released!   If you missed Stephen's story check out his blog--it's an interesting story.

And now let the games begin:
          I was tagged by Jules at Trying to Get Over the Rainbow. It started a little iffy for me when I saw that she had disclosed the contents of her purse. To my relief she asked me to empty my pockets. Okay that's easy enough--not that much there.  I normally only deal with four pockets.

         Pockets have always been an important part of my clothing. I must have a pocket in my shirt and don't often wear the few pocketless shirts that I do own. My pants must have ample pocket space--never know what I might have to carry. Here's the rundown of what I usually have in my pockets when I leave the house:

        In my shirt pocket I have a rarely used cell phone just in case I need to make a phone call; a business card holder that currently holds cards with my blog address just in case someone is interested; and, of course, a pen just in case I need to write something down.  Eventually I hope I will require different business cards where the blog address is just a part of the whole, but currently that's all I'm advertising.

I use three pockets in my pants.  My back pocket contains a well worn wallet with ID's, credit cards, and other cards that I occasionally might need.  I've had this wallet for several years and will probably use it until it's about to fall apart.  In fifty years I think I've owned less than ten wallets.  I like to get maximum mileage out of them.  They're kind of like a pair of shoes that really get comfortable.  I hate to toss them out.

My left pocket contains keys for two cars, a front gate, and my house.  Car keys have gotten so much more complex than they used to be with alarms and keyless ignitions and all.  I used to carry a pocket knife in my key pocket.  Now the keys are about all my pocket will hold.

I rarely use cash, but I always like to have some just in case.  Now most places will accept credit cards no matter how much you're spending so I use them for nearly everything.  The cards I use give me points for each dollar spent and I can redeem those points for nifty gift cards, free hotel rooms, or cash rebates.  It actually seems like a better deal if you pay off the balance every month like I do.  The real problem is that in using cards the companies and the government can keep track of every dollar you spend, what you buy, and where you are when you buy it.  That seems pretty scary, but they can find out this stuff regardless.  It's all spooky, but is in line with things predicted in the Bible.  Guess that's getting off track and is a topic for a future blog post.

           And that's what's in my pockets most of the time.  Thank goodness Jules only tagged two people so I'm going to do the same.  And since they both seemed to think it was funny that I got tagged then I will tag:

Alex J. Cavanaugh  and Yvonne at Welcome to My World of Poetry. 

Have a great weekend!  Stay cool if you're where it's hot, and if you're where it's cold then I wish I had your weather.

Waterslide Season

           Here we are on the giant waterslide rushing downhill to the end of summer.  Sure, we're only a couple weeks in, but it's going to go fast judging by how fast the year's been rushing by already.   And it's been hot, hot, hot!  It's been hot across much of the United States-- that is from what I've been hearing on some of the blogs, but fortunately so far we've had a pretty pleasant summer in Southern California.

         It was pretty hot on Tossing It Out this week.  The week started with my list of my 10 Hot Latin Favorites.  If you like Latin influenced music you can still go check it out and tell me what you think.  On Tuesday I talked about hot, sizzling carne asada cooked on the grill--a great summertime cook out treat.

         I want to express a big thank you to all of those who responded so positively to my Wednesday post about Daniel Jackson's blog from prison, The Saga of the Concrete Jungle.  If you have not yet visited this blog I encourage you to check out my post first, and then go visit Dan's blog.

         Thursday and Friday were hot topic days for debate and thought.  You can still add your opinions, but read through the comments on these posts--I was very impressed by what many of you had to contribute here. 

          The upcoming week will hopefully be as equally interesting as the last.  Tomorrow (Sunday) I continue with my study of the book of Jonah--we find out what happens next after the big fish spits Jonah out on dry land.  Monday I will be eschewing the favorites lists and returning to a Blog Boggled entry where I will be talking about some blogging related issues.  I will return to another list format on the following Monday, July 19, as I invite all who are interested in posting the Soundtrack of Your Life. 

         This coming Tuesday I will be continuing a story that I started in March about products made by the Dolores Canning Company.   I had offered up my chili recipe using a Dolores Chili Brick at that time.  This past week I was delighted to receive a shipment of Dolores Pickled Pigs Feet and Pork Rinds.  During the weekend I will conduct a sampling of these products with a panel of family members and we will give our verdict and hopefully have some pictures.

        The balance of the week will be rounded out with some yet to be determined topics, including my traditional debate topic for Thursday.   Hope you will stay tuned throughout the week for all the fun.

  

            I wanted to mention a favorite post this past week and that was Marvin's Old Silly's Free Spirit Blog which had a nice post:  Does God Go To Your Church?.   This one really spoke to me this week.

          Oh, and one more thing, have you noticed any of the changes in my blog yet? Probably not. They've been pretty subtle so far, but I assure you that they have been happening slowly and will continue in the days and weeks to come.

And now some awards:

           From Carol at Under the Tiki Hut comes The Versatile Blogger Award.  I'm not sure how many times this has been passed to me now, but who's counting.  It's always a pleasure to be recognized as "versatile"--why what the heck, it's nice to recognized period.

            Carol made her customized rules for accepting this award:   List your seven most memorable moments OR new words to the tune of "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star."

           Since I'm not feeling particularly creative in a songworthy way, here are seven memorable moments:

1.   My son's birth
2.  My first daughter's birth
3.  My second daughter's birth
4.   My third daughter's birth
5.   My birth-- well, I don't actually remember the moment, but it was memorable and my mother has reminded me about it my whole life.
6.   My and my wife's wedding.
7.   My lunch -- okay, okay--maybe I won't remember it that long but (ugh) I'm remembering it right now.

           And that's my duty done, so now I have to pass this on to five more Versatile Bloggers and they are:

1.   Lisa at 1 Wasabi Mommy
2.   Jessica at Alliterative Allomorph
3.   Sig at Beadedbears Nonsense and Complete Waste of Time
4.  Stephen at Breakthrough Blogs
5.   Marjorie at Everything Emerald

There you go bloggers!  If you want it then it's yours; if you already have it now you have another one; and if you don't want it then ignore it.  You can follow the same rules that Carol gave or make up your own.  And the rest of you make sure you stop by to visit them and let them know you saw their award here.

And Now Another Award:

            From Patricia at Patricia Stoltey's Blog comes the "Creative Writer" Blogger Award, formerly known as Lesa's Bald-Faced Liar Award.   I'm glad they changed the name cause I like to tell the truth, but of course sometimes I tell stories that aren't really true. 

I'm sure you've all seen this one and already know the rules, but here they are anyway:

1. Thank the person who gave you the award and link to them.
2. Add the award to your blog.
3. Tell six outrageous lies about yourself and one truth. (Another variant: Tell six truths and one outrageous lie. YOU get to guess which variant I chose – and which statements are true, as well as which are lies.)
4. Nominate six creative liars–I mean writers–and post links to them.
5. Let your nominees know that they have been nominated.

Here are 5 lies and 1 truth:

1.  I was once a roadie for the Marshall Tucker Band (a popular country rock band in the 70s)
2.  I was the salutatorian of my graduating class in high school.
3.  I have hiked the entire Appalachian Trail.
4.  I performed in a circus that featured Ted Cassidy and Jackie Coogan from the television show "The Addams Family".
5. While rafting down the Colorado river through the Grand Canyon, the raft I was in capsized and I broke my leg, necessitating a helicopter rescue out of the canyon.
6.  In the late 70s I spent one season working as a featured magic act in a carnival sideshow.

There you go -- which one is true?

Now here are my nominees:

1.  Fatherhood and other Common Terrors
2.  Welcome to my World of Poetry  (I don't think you have this one yet)
3.  Alex J Cavanaugh
4.  Falen Formulates Fiction
5.  Creepy Query Girl
6.  Unedited

         There you go -- that's six.  Hey! Somebody want to run over and tell them I gave them this in case I forget?  I do tend to forget.  

          Have a great week end one and all!

Saturdays Are Fatter Days

        If I ate as much as I usually do on Saturday I'd be absolutely huge--A Blob with a Blog would be my new blog title.  Most Saturdays I get up and have a breakfast--well that's normal enough since I usually do that.  Typically I'll have a few biscuits and some coffee.  It's nothing extraordinary.

          At midday, my wife and I usually go for a sit down meal at a restaurant.  I almost always clean my plate since I've become so conscious of the starving people in China or wherever it is they are starving.  It's that guilt factor.  I cannot bear to see my leftover food carried from the table to be thrown in the trash.  I wish I could send the food that I waste to the starving children.  Since I can't, I just wish the restaurant would give me smaller portions and charge me less.

           My wife and I have tried the sharing route a few times.  That doesn't work that well though.  Our food tastes are very different.  So we end up with two complete meals which really have too much food for one person on each.  To be a good boy, I clean my plate as best as I can and then waddle out of the restaurant and head home, where I immediately take a nap since I am now so full and lethargic.

           Yes, Saturdays for me are the fatter days when it comes to food.  Maybe that's why I like to do my awards on Saturdays as well.  And this Saturday is a fatter awards day than usual.   Here are some of the awards I received this past week from some wonderful blogger friends:



Awards

I received another Versatile Blogger Award from Jemi at Just Jemi
Well, it was a choice between that one and the Who's Awesome Award, but I already have them both.  So what the heck!  Gee thanks, Jemi, you are so doggone awesome and versatile in you thoughtfulness.

Then there's the
Your Blog Rocks! Award

          From Yvonne at Welcome to My World of Poetry comes the "Your Blog Rocks!" award.  Well I think Yvonne's blog rocks so here's back at ya Yvonne.  I never like to miss an opportunity to say what a wonderful and thoughtful blogger Yvonne is.  I've been doing a lot of music list posts lately --in case you haven't noticed-- and Yvonne's not only been there for every one of them, but she also blows us away with the clever way she posts her fine lists in poetry.  If you are not a fan of Yvonne's poetry blog, you need to get yourself over there right now and check it out.

Wait! There's Another Award!

              This week I discovered Olivia at That Rebel With a Blog, who in turn bestowed upon me the One Lovely Blog Award.  Now ain't that just too cool!  You never know what you're going to find when you click on a link sometimes and that's how I found Olivia's blog and now you too can click on the link and see what I'm talking about.   Besides, she's in Northern Georgia which is just a pig squeal and a holler down the road from my old East Tennessee home.   Thanks, Olivia, for thinking about me.

          Now as most of you know there are rules that get attached to these awards and they are supposed to get passed on and all that.   And as many of you know I've been indicating that changes are coming to this blog.  Well me just keeping these awards and not passing them on for now is no big change--I've done it before--but that's what I'm going to do today.   Maybe later when I need some blog topic I'll get back to passing them on, but please don't be offended if this award stops here for now.  Love you all and hope you know that.

        Speaking of those changes some of you might be saying, "I didn't see any changes".  Well there were some, but so far they are fairly imperceptible.  I'm slowly making minor changes here and there and will be doing some future posts about these changes.  The biggest jolting change I need to make is in my work habits--that is what has been interfering with the changes I'm planning for this blog.  More changes are still coming.

          And more fun is coming as well.  It's not too late to come up with your 10 HOT LATIN FAVORITE ALBUMS that we'll be posting this Monday July 5.   See my post on this past Tuesday for more info or check the Linky list at the top of the page.    Also coming on Monday July 19th is THE SOUNDTRACK OF YOUR LIFE which I talked about on my Friday post. That Linky list will show up this week.  And that will probably be the end of the lists for a while.  

            A lot of you are probably saying "YaaaaY!   Well here's another thing you can say "Yay!" about--this is the end of this post.   Yaaaay!

             Have a Fantastic Fourth of July weekend!

I'M TAKING A REQUEST

       On Wednesday I did a post about the Soundtrack of My Life.  I had something like 15 songs on my soundtrack  There was some interest expressed on behalf of others to join in on this.  Gregg from Gospel Driven Disciples asked if we could set up a blog fest for Monday July 19th.  Okay, I'm game for that.  How about you?  Care to join us?  This date two weeks away gives you plenty of time to come up with a list.

      Some of us have been having quite a good time with our lists of favorite music and movies.  Well, I know I have.  Now you can really get personal, reflective, and a bit creative.  As I explained on Wednesday, I was inspired to do this from Modern Day Drifter's Country Girl blog.  She did this a couple weeks ago and I thought it was a pretty cool idea so I decided to come up with my own soundtrack.  Now I invite you to share yours as well.

        Maybe this is the music that would be the soundtrack to a movie about your life.  It might be something you'd want to let your children or grandchildren hear to summate your life in music.  Or it could be inspiration as you write your memoir.   Perhaps it could even be the music you'd want played at your funeral.

         What songs shaped your life?  What are the tunes that bring back memories of special times, places, or people?   Do you have a soundtrack that tells the story of You? 

           The Soundtrack Of Your Life will be happening on Monday July 19th.  List the songs that describe you and your life--it can be as many or as few songs as you like.  A Linky list will go up next week.   This coming Monday will be the overwhelmingly popular 10 Hot Latin Favorite Albums list (2 of us signed up so far?).  C'mon, if you're not doing anything else jump in with your favorite musica en espanol.  And definitely don't miss The Soundtrack Of Your Life.