Tag Archives: Thoughts

Finishing up Christmas

March 14, 2012ThoughtsThoughtswarren

We are pathetic.

Christmas was almost 3 months ago and we still have all of the ornaments from our tree sitting in a pile in our living room. We took them off of the tree so we could haul the tree out but never got a chance to actually put the ornaments into their boxes and then into the attic.

I remember as a kid that it seemed like time took so long. It was a wait until Christmas and it seemed like we enjoyed the build-up for months in school. We made paper chains and strung popcorn and sang carols and all sorts of Christmasy things. Now it seems like Thanksgiving was just yesterday and here it is almost Spring!

I read somewhere about a theory as to why that happens…when you are a kid, a single day is a much higher percentage of your life than when you are an adult. Days as an adult seem much shorter/faster when compared against all of the days that have already bee lived.

Grandpa with our magnolia tree — Grandpa

We are travelling to PA this weekend to celebrate my Grandpa’s 98th trip around the Sun. I suppose that time must really fly for him. He’s seen so many changes in his lifetime. I remember his talking about the first time he saw a car and the first time he saw a plane fly overhead. Neither were common where he lived when he was a kid. So much has happened since then.

I was talking with my kids just the other night about things. I got a shortwave radio and we were doing a bang-up job of tuning in several stations that were broadcasting static (I don’t know why so many stations broadcast static 😉 ). Abigail asked me what that noise was and it occurred to me that with digital tuners and memory buttons on our radios, she had never heard static. It started me to thinking about TV when I was a kid…we got 3 stations on good days and had to wait for the set to warm up. Channel changes were manual (and the job of the kids) and so was turning the antenna. Cell phones didn’t exist and neither did home computers. I just saw in the news that Encyclopedia Britannica will no longer be printing its volumes. These changes are no where near as drastic as those my Grandpa has seen but still, holy cow! When I think about it, my kids do live in a much different world than I did at their age.

Kids under the Christmas tree - a Christmas tradition

I guess when it comes down to it, our Christmas ornaments are just fine sitting on the armoire. Time doesn’t have to fly. It’s still Christmasy around our house, at least a little bit. Maybe I’ll have to ask my Grandpa how he feels about the ornaments on display…I bet he’ll just chuckle…”Well Christmas was just yesterday!”

My kids, the explorers

March 13, 2012Awesome, Family, Nature, ThoughtsFamily, Nature, Thoughtswarren

I grew up in the woods in Pennsylvania. I really only ever knew the woods as the nearest “city” of 3500 or so folks was 25 miles away. I never saw any real city until I was much older and to me, that very much felt like living dangerously. Cars moved so fast (except for when they didn’t) and then there were the people. People were louder and looked different and talked different. The city was very scary indeed but the woods were easy and safe.

Years later now, my kids are city kids. They see people and roads and city stuff as normal and safe. They like to mess around at our place in the country but they never really stray too far from where Emily and I were. I am always amazed at how they like to sit inside the shell of our cabin and read rather than being outside playing in the stream or rolling in the dirt.

So, the kids were at the place last weekend and, to my amazement, wanted to explore in the woods. “Sure” I said figuring they would take two steps into the tree line and come running back. A neighbor girl came over too and the three of them ventured off.

An hour passed very quickly, so when I looked up and they weren’t back, I was a bit worried. You see, city kids just don’t venture off into the woods for an hour. They were out of sight and hearing range so I didn’t know what they were up to. I waited and eventually they traipsed up the hill with flushed cheeks and big smiles…and mud.

It occurred to me that kids used to be gone all day and the parents had no idea where they were. Emily’s granddad talks about swimming cross the local river (with barge traffic and chemical plants, etc) before he was 10. Likewise, my grandpa hopped trains and rode around as a teenager. I can’t imagine allowing my kids to do that but I am absolutely thrilled that they struck out on their own and acted like kids in the woods should act.

There are many books and discussions on letting your kids experience a little danger. Isaac took me down to their “end-point” and I was surprised how far they had gotten and how wild the area was. There was a little danger for sure and I think they enjoyed the thrill. It worried me a little but they loved it and I couldn’t be happier to see their “country eyes” light up. The city may always be good with them, but I surely hope they come to understand and love the woods too!

Well here it is January already

February 23, 2012Family, Fun, ThoughtsFamily, Fun, Thoughtswarren

Where did December go? Wait…what? It’s the end of February? What happened to winter? Who cares?! I love a non-winter! But where did all of the time go? I have been lax in posting on here because it seems like we aren’t doing anything interesting…I guess that’s because we are so busy doing things!

Indoor soccer continues to rage so weekends are taken up with that. Work has been wild with no near hope of slowing down. I haven’t been to the place in the country for awhile…at least not to work on the house.

Ah yes, that brings me to something we did do. Isaac and I went out in the woods last weekend to do some ballistics testing…for science of course. We mainly wanted to see if gunpowder would still propel a bullet out the end of a gun. Folks, I am pleased to report that gun powder still works! In my last post, I promised that we would delve into the maths in this post.

Now I know that math freaks a lot of people out. As I do computer programming for a living, I guess I have grown accustomed to it so I often do not think of how other people think about the maths. Friends, I hope you will bear with this discussion on the topic. As part of our testing, we discovered that the gun powder worked 100% of the time. Many of the bullets obviously had anomalies though as not all of the bullets made it from the muzzle of the gun to the target as they should have. I cannot find any explanation other than bullet defects. I am going to use a technical term here but we hit the target “most” of the time. It’s hard to quantify “most” so lets’ call that the mystery of math.

Target shooting with a single action — This is an old single action revolver...lots of fun to shoot. We feel like quite the cowboys!

Anyhow, back to ciphering…we enjoyed 100% of our time shooting 228 bullets from 3 separate firearms. The maximum number of bullets we shot in a single volley was 19. The minimum was 19 also (it is so much fun emptying a clip all at once…why would you ever shoot less than the max?!)

Dear friends, it seems that the maths aren’t too hard when it comes to target practice. I am apparently suffering from being unable to count the months. I am not sure if there is a cure…besides maybe more target shooting…

Hoeing out!

January 30, 2012ThoughtsThoughtswarren

A friend of mine mentioned on facebook that he was getting rid of 75% of all of his personal possessions. There must be something in the air because we have been cleaning out this weekend in our house as well. Sometimes I get stressed out just looking around at all of the stuff that we seem to accumulate. Actually, I blame it on school as the kids seems to bring stuff home every single day. We recycle about everything and paper is one of our biggest loads each week as we haul it out.

So, anyhow, the junk-induced stress hit a peak on Friday night so I started piles…a pile to donate, a pile to keep and a pile to throw in the can. I am honestly not sure which pile was bigger. It was excellent therapy at any rate. The kids sort of avoided the whole process until, in my hoeing-out frenzy, I strongly urged them to make piles with their stuff. Isaac fussed a little until I started into his stuff making the piles for him. His ideas did not match mine and I think he caught on.

I remember a family in my home town when I was growing up. They seemed to let things just completely go for awhile and then they would clean in a frenzy, pitching every thing in sight. It was pretty hilarious but their place went from one extreme to the other in the course of a day. I remember the mother of the house saying that she was going to “red up the house” Is that Pennsylvania phrase? I think most people know what I mean when I say we are hoeing out so that must be pretty common…but redding up the place?

Things are calmer at our house and my blood pressure is much better. I know most people like the therapy of redding up the house. I am not sure why collecting stuff is so easy yet causes so much stress. You would think that we would be better at avoiding the stress of junk but it just doesn’t seem natural. Maybe it’s called redding up because when your face finally gets red with stress, you gotta de-junk!

Warren and Betty

January 16, 2012Food, ThoughtsFood, Thoughtswarren

It just doesn’t have a ring, does it? We watched Julie and Julia the other night and it just has a ring that makes it perfect. But forget the ring. I really really liked the movie. Now don’t tell my guy friends but I might even buy a copy of the video for my collection. I am not sure what made me like it so much but I have been walking around the house talking like Julia Child.

There were all sorts of neat things that Julie and Julia made in the movie but one thing in particular stood out to me. I guess I needed to shoot for my something in my ability range but I really liked the scene when Julie was trying to make poached eggs. Unlike Julie, I have eaten a lot of eggs in my life but never have I had a poached egg. Julie struggled cooking poached eggs so I thought the challenge would be fun for me. So, I consulted Betty Crocker and followed her recommendations.

Betty and I are like peas in a pod I guess. We even had the exact same custard dishes that she used in the pictures in the cookbook. Perhaps I channeled Betty but the steps seemed pretty simple. I boiled 2 inches of water, cracked my eggs into custard cups and poured the eggs (quickly..that’s the secret) into the water. They foamed a little bit but I let them boil for 4 minutes and scooped them out with a slotted spoon.

I didn’t have any trouble like Julie did and I am so glad. Poached eggs are a lot like hard boiled eggs without the shell except they aren’t quite hard boiled and they do seem to taste a little different to me. I am not sure why but it was a good taste and I will definitely make them again!

So, after eating my poached eggs, it occurred to me that there are probably other things that are kinda well known but that I have never cooked or eaten. I started making a list but I would really like it if you, my friends, could suggest some stuff that I should cook and eat that are sort of famous…I am going to make Eggs Benedict next.

Yosemite Sam always used to say, “Sufferin’ succotash” and it occurred to me that I have never had succotash. And then I got to thinking about fancy stuff that people are supposed to know about…like bananas foster and cherries jubilee. I have never made ratatouille either…it’s a cool movie for sure but I have no idea what it tastes like…not like the rats/mice in the movie I hope but I am willing to try.

Anyhow, I promise I won’t go down some cooking-blog-road (not that there is anything wrong with that) but can anyone help me with some more things I need to make? I am not trying to find myself or escape from my job like Julie was, but I could probably use a new excuse to sample a little wine and eat too much. Help!

Welcome Spring!

December 21, 2011ThoughtsThoughtswarren

I get these streams of consciousness in my head sometimes so it may be tough to stitch my thought pattern together but I was listening to XM radio the other day. The WWI-Snoopy-Red-Barron song came on and it made me think about time.

I got to thinking about how time flies and the Snoopy song made me realize that my Grandpa, who is 97, was alive during WWI. My paternal Grandpa fought in WWI. I suppose it doesn’t seem quite like yesterday, but with the rate at which time is flying for me, I can imagine it might not seem like such a distant past to my Grandpa.

This scene was quickly followed by a headlock and noogie!

Isaac turned 12 and Abigail is going on 9. Where did that time all go? Why am I spending time at work? Wouldn’t it be nice to just enjoy every minute of their fleeting childhood? Hmmm…well, maybe not every moment. Isaac is a pre-teen now and showing his colors very well.

Anyhow, I got to thinking about why time flies so fast and it is all about retail, I am convinced! I was in the local grocery store the other day and noticed that they have Easter candy out already! It’s not even Christmas! I get building up for a holiday but really? Easter in December? Time flies though so it will be here soon enough.

Easter candy is almost gone...in December?

We received a catalog in the mail from a big outdoor clothing place. They were advertising their end of Winter sale…it wasn’t even Winter yet but it’s over already?!

I don’t want time to fly as a general rule. I do enjoy (almost) every moment with the kids and with Emily and I want those times to slow down. But Winter? Nope…come on Spring!

Only one reason to get dressed up

December 15, 2011Family, ThoughtsFamily, Thoughtswarren

I am very fortunate to have the type of job I have. For the most part, I can wear whatever I want to work. I usually go with some sort of business-casual costume but I could almost as easily wear a clown suit. I only own khaki-brown pants and brown shoes so it is pretty easy for me to get it all together in the morning and I sort of like the simplicity of my wardrobe.

10_02_2005 085 — Both of us...at the same time...6 years ago, the last time we got dressed up I think!

Sometimes, I suppose different dress is required. I always said there is only one reason to get dressed up – to honor the end of a life…like at weddings and funerals. For those occasions, I have exactly one suit.

10_02_2005 084 — I think he actually liked the tux...or is that a scream of pain?

Isaac has a band concert tonight and he had to wear something a little more special than the usually middle-school-wear of jeans and a hoodie. He had to wear a collared shirt…gasp! Of course, he forbade Emily to buy him anything with a collar in August when we bought school clothes so they had a shopping trip yesterday to prepare for the band concert.

For me, clothes are a nuisance. I am not ready for the nudist camps but I just don’t care about wearing the best designer clothes or anything but my one pair of brown shoes. Isaac is much like me though he had definite opinions on what new clothes he needed. He was so proud and excited to wear something different I think.

12_15_2011 039 — He is such a great kid, though it is nearly impossible to get a serious shot of him

You might think we are cheap-skates by how he justified his new clothes, “I can wear them at Easter too Dad!” I know better though…he is growing far too fast for those clothes to fit at Easter. Still, I appreciate his thrifty suggestion.

So, the boy turns 12 on Friday. It’s hard for me to believe that it’s been 12 years since his beginning. He is about the same height as Emily and wears bigger shoes than I wear (my brown shoes are safe!) I think the only other occasion, besides the band concert, for which Isaac can wear his new fancy clothes is his birthday party. He is a fantastic kid and I am so proud to be his Dad and to watch every minute of his journey to adulthood. I think I have the perfect birthday gift for his 13th birthday. My suit will probably fit him just fine by next year…

Best party ever!

December 7, 2011ThoughtsThoughtswarren

I turned 40 last week. Holy CRAP! I am 40! Oh, I know, you can’t believe it since I look so incredibly young and fit, but it’s true. I am 40! The night before my birthday, one of my friends texted me wanting me to meet him for breakfast. I didn’t think anything of it so I agreed and we had a good feed at Panera. I wandered into the office around 9 and found my office fully…uh…decorated. It didn’t occur to me that I was being stalled at breakfast, honestly. I texted pics to Emily and she said, “you idiot, what did you think he was doing?”

I took off the day before my birthday and my…uh..friends in the office spent a good deal of time…uh…decorating. They didn’t quite finish so breakfast was for the final touches. Anyhow, they did an awesome job and it was a great start to my day! I pretty much walked around in circles all day and admired myself in the mirror as well as the decorations in my office.

4 rolls of toilet paper went into the making of this surprise!

They were so generous! They even got me Geritol and Ensure!

Handicap parking sticker on my chair mat — This was my favorite part - on my chair pad

After work, Emily had set up a big party with some family and friends at a local bowling alley. A few months ago she was talking about a more formal dinner party and I said that it wasn’t really my style. I am more bowling alley than sit down dinner, you see. So, we switched gears and I had a great party in the bowling alley!

I guess most people stress out about turning 40. They feel old and out of touch and sloppy and all of that but I just don’t feel any of that stuff. I still act like a 13 year old most days actually. I don’t know, I like turning 40 and I am pretty proud to cross over into a new demographic on all of the forms and surveys from now on. Someday I may be tempted to buy a Buick, but for now, I am not ready to grow up!

I already know all of those words Dad

December 6, 2011Family, ThoughtsFamily, Funny, Thoughtswarren

We don’t watch a lot of television and I am often reminded of exactly why. The other day, we were sitting down to watch some tv show during prime-time. Things started out pretty much as most tv shows start…you know, with cussing. I cringed a little inside because as much as I enjoy a good cuss now and then, it is an odd situation when you’re sitting with your 8 year old and some stranger on tv demonstrates the range of their vocabulary. I am pretty realistic and a bit sexist I guess but I figure Isaac already knows most of the standard compliment of cuss words. In fact, he has used a great number of colorful words on me. Anyhow, there is just something not right about hearing cussing around your little daughter.

I looked over at Emily and then at Abigail and I guess she picked up on my discomfort. “Did you hear all of those cuss words, Dad?” “Yes Abigail, I heard them.” “Don’t worry Dad, I already knew them. Isaac taught me most of them.” That’s a relief…I guess. My gaze turned to Isaac and he had the sudden need to go study…something.

So, we still have tv and the kids still get to watch it. They can watch any channel they like so long as it is the Weather Channel. The kids still yell at each other, but I don’t mind. “Hey Cumulonimbus face, your occluded front is running down your chin like the Noreaster tears across New England.” “Oh yeah, well the barometric pressure is making the dew build up on your weathervane of a nose!”

The Eastern time zone

October 14, 2011ThoughtsThoughtswarren

When Emily and I lived in Nashville, we used to go to bed at 10:00. We were on Central time so prime-time TV started at 7 and the news came on at 10pm. It seemed natural, you know…turn on the news, ignore it…brush your teeth…then off to bed. I don’t know about you, but I am asleep before my head even hits the pillow. So, in Nashville, we were asleep by 10:30 and we got up at 5:30.

Here in WV, things are a little different. We still ignore the news when we bother to turn it on and we still brush our teeth, but it seems like the only consistent thing in our nighttime routine is the fact that we don’t go to bed until 11:30. We still get up early at 5:45 so I have no other option but to blame our lack of sleep on the Eastern time zone.

I know that getting six and a quarter hours of sleep isn’t really ideal. It may shorten our lives a bit even. The only way I see to handle it is to leave the Eastern time zone or to start paying attention to the news. I am not sure that I like the taste of either option so I will just have to live on the edge in the Eastern time zone. EDT/EST baby!

My Home Among The Hills

Life in WV!