a little rain

A steady rain has moved in today across the upstate region, and the Good Lord knows we have needed it. Things here have been dry and incredibly dusty. ND and myself have been dealing with sinus and allergy issues for a week.  The temperatures have dropped and after an extended summer and above average temperatures the cool ,wet weather is a welcome sight.

Things have been extremely worse though for our neighbors to the north and west of us out in the mountains. Entire towns have had to be evacuated from the devastation of forest fires.  I only bring this up, because my brother and wife #3 are currently living in their RV in a trailer park in Franklin, NC. The reason for this is unbeknownst to us but, we can only speculate that his extravagant life style and his nasty demeanor has finally caught up to him and he is hiding from someone or something... 

Yesterday was NWs end of season football party and trophy presentation. I do applaud the team mom for going over and above and arranging a paintball outing..what a great time they all had. NW did pretty good, and put to use all the information he has absorbed from Senior and all the close quarter combat advice daddy gave him.  His team lost 2 out of 5 battles.  Not too bad for an 11 year old. Unfortunately, I think a "paintball monster" has been created, he is now ready to take his dad and little brother to the course and go against them.

So, I like everyone else is watching all these protest over the election. I have to say how disappointed I am but that I am not surprised. I wasn't at all happy with Obama being elected twice but, I did not burn our flag and cause property damage. Heck I just bit my tongue and suffered through the past eight years.
I think President Elect Trump summed it up best tonight on his 60 minutes interview when Leslie Stahl asked the same question... he said something to the effect of :  " if I had lost and my supporters were doing this, the response would be the opposite, Its a double standard"

-JUGM

Hopeful.....

The sun rose this morning on a new day, and an exciting time in American History. While Clinton did not shatter her glass ceiling, Trump absolutely shattered that blue wall...and I am so proud this morning to call him "President Elect".  

For me this was not so much about electing Trump, as it was for stopping another 4 years of Obamas agenda, and stopping the corrupt "Red Queen" ( thanks harry for that nickname)

I voted for the future of my boys and to protect our Constitution and Supreme Court. And to give rights back to our States and get the federal government out of our classrooms.. I voted for those who have lost jobs from EPA regulations and bad deals.

I look forward to the new administration and who he appoints to cabinet positions. Trump has a long road a head of him, sometimes it will be difficult and he will be challenged, I pray that he can deliver on his campaign promises..I pray for him and his Presidency and that  God will bless him and our Country....  

 -JUGM

PS: and God Help Mr. Trump ...because Obama is staying in D.C and I guarantee he will try to  be a thorn in his side, and continue to reek havoc in the democratic party... 

22 together

We were told that we were incompatible and wouldn't last a year.  But here we are celebrating 22 years together.  What can I say about Senior. He is my rock, he caught me and held me up the day my dad passed and has kept holding on to me ever since. When I think of how much I truly love him, I am rendered speechless as sometimes there are no words that can explain how I feel.  So today I wish my beloved Husband Senior a Happy Anniversary....I pray for 22 more years with you by my side. 

Only Me....

 

Hello Blogger friends...I know its been a while, a lot has happened since July 26th when I last posted. 

For those of you who don't know- My dad passed away on August 13th.We were told he had 6-8 months, but it turned out to be more like 6-8 days. None of us knew just how bad his health had declined, and how much he neglected himself to take care of my mother.  

His death has rocked me and my little family to the core...the boys have lost another grandparent, and Senior and I have lost much, much more. It has hurt deeply. But we all have one another and support each other daily. My dad meant a lot to all of us and he is missed every second of the day.

Mom is now comfortably in a nursing home,it wasn't anything that we actually had wanted to do, but her alzheimers has progressed so fast, that after dads health went down hill it was the best alternative for her. It is a beautiful place along the river , and she is getting excellent care. My sister and I drop in unannounced all the time, and every visit has been positive. I wish it did not have to come down to that, but it was for the best and she is where she needs to be.

My brother is still being an ass. My sister and I are getting an outside guardian for mom, as we feel with the situation with our brother and how he is behaving, that it is the best thing. All the attorneys agree, but my brother doesn't and is fighting us on it, I fear it will get much more uglier before it gets better. 

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 We have been busy this fall as both boys have been playing football. Due to their ages they were on different teams and it has been hectic. Finally the last games were tonight. With NW's team winning the county championship, and NDs team finishing in second place. We are very proud of both boys, as this was a new sport for them...there were times when they wanted to quit, but they stood tall and made it through

Well it is getting late, so I will end this for now... Hope you all have a good night...

-JUGM

prayers please and taking a break...

 

 The past few weeks have been rough. So, I am taking a break from blogging for a bit..There has been so much going on, that I am finding I barely have time to get on the computer much less do a post. My trips to Florida are now every two weeks, if not every week. We had the hard decision to make and had mom placed in a home... I hope you never have to do that for your parent..I feel like crap, and have been incredibly emotional ever since.
As soon as we were able to get mom placed...my dads health took a downward spiral. Seems he has been neglecting himself, skipping his medications to take care of mom , and now it has caught up with him.....the diagnosis is not good.

Now mix all that together with my asshole brother ( sorry but he is) who wants to fight my sister and I on everything ....there is always that one family member that makes things difficult. All I know is given the way he has treated his family, Karma will catch up to him, and he will one day have to answer for his evil actions.

So, I do ask for your thoughts and prayers... If you comment, I am not sure when I will respond. But please know I will read it.

-JUGM

My dad ....the woodcarver

Woodcarving  is not only a hobby of my dads, it is his passion. However, with his age and his declining health, his hands are shaky, and he is no longer able to hold the tools needed to create his masterpieces. Believe me it really depresses him. Carving wood was his stress relief, and the one thing that he had that made him feel accomplished in life.
He was really good at his art, member of woodcarving clubs, and even had an entries in national competitions.
 This cardinal was one of his first. We have lots of cardinals up here at the estate, and because of that I have always liked it.

 As he got better with his craft, he carved this "Red Tail Hawk"  Senior has always admired the detail. One of dads club members helped him with the eyes, they were made to seem as if they follow you around the room.

Dad named him "Billy Bad Ass Hawk"  I think we will just call him "Billy". Now he sits on an end table  in our living room..

My dad would oblige people who would ask for a carving as a gift.My Niece loves Owls, so for a wedding gift he carved her a beautiful brown Owl. A family friends little girl loves Eagles, so dad surprised her with a carved Bald Eagle. Then one year when they were much smaller, the boys asked for sharks.

ND wanted a Hammerhead because he liked them,and thought they were cool.

And our oldest NW always  loved  Great Whites. He requested one , that had battle scars and holding a dead seal in its mouth. Dad did his best to make his oldest grandson happy:

Dad has now passed on his hand tools off to the boys.  He has promised to come for a visit and sit with them both teaching the art to his grandsons.  There are other sculptures in dads little office, he is slowly passing them off. I have asked why ? And he really won't give me an answer, but I think deep down he just wants to know they will go to a good home, and be appreciated.
I told him to see if my siblings want them, but if not, I would gladly take them we admire the hard work and detail that he put in to them. And they are something of my dads as well....and long after he is gone, they will still be here as his lasting mark on the world.

indpendence day...

  
It is very easy to to take liberty for granted in this country. People all the time misconstrue just how hard it was 240 years ago to gain our independence from Britain.
The Revolutionary War was long, hard  and very costly, over 50,000 died just on the American side, which is roughly the number of troops who have died or been injured in Afghanistan.
The majority of people back then was less then 3 million. so to lose 50,000 was staggering.

However people today are generally ignorant of what it took for America to gain her independence. It is irrelevant to them of what it took for those brave "Sons of Liberty" to begin an uprising that would ultimately result in a new country being born.

So, it got me thinking of quotes, there are many out there from our founding fathers and those brave patriots who died fighting for the cause. But, the one I found to be the most relevant in terms of our country today and where we are as a nation would actually be from Malcom X. Now I don't usually go around throwing his quotes out-but this one struck me as perfect for present day America:

"If you're not ready to die for it, put the word 'freedom' out of your vocabulary."
--Malcolm X

Those patriots in the 1770s fought for what that word "freedom" meant, and they died for it.....

How many today would?  How many of the PC crowd would step up to the plate, pick up a rifle and defend their liberties?

Thoughts to ponder for this day....

I hope you all have a safe and blessed 4th of July. Take a moment though to reflect on that fact that you have the  "freedom" to be out celebrating this day...