Friday night lights

I had the opportunity to attend the first football game of the season at my daughter's schools last night.  I am a big football fan and always enjoy watching a game at any level.  We went to a few last year and sadly out team lost in blowout fashion each time.  Last night was different.  Though the level of competition was lower the team played great and had a commanding lead when we left in the third quarter.  The school has a small student base so having enough kids to field a competitive varsity team is an accomplishment in itself.  But I could tell by watching last night that the program has made real strides thanks to good coaching and a large investment in facilities.  I hope they have a successful season and continue to improve.  We will cheer for them whenever we can.  Another thing I took from the game last that is that football games really act at a big social for the fans.  Adults were catching up with their friends that they hadn't seen over the summer.  Kids were chasing each other up and down the hill.  It was a fun experience for everyone.

Until tomorrow,
Dave

Land

In past blogs I've talked about wanting to be a collector of antiques and artifacts.  I have been thinking about that lately and instead of having material possessions I think I want to start accumulating land.  I'm not sure where or how much but I think it would be cool to have land in several different parts of the state.  The mountains or foothills are an obvious choice.  Just in case of a zombie apocalypse or some other form of unrest it would be nice to have a place to flee.  A place where I wouldn't have any neighbors and where I could keep my family safe.  A creek and a mountain top would be nice to have as well.  The beach is another option but the North Carolina beach is so overdeveloped and expensive that I really don't think that is an option.  One of my favorite parts of the state is the pee-dee region also called the sand hills.  Few live there and the terrain is mostly marsh and pine forests.  I'm not a hunter but I do like to fish so some place with a fishery would be a good choice for me.  I enjoy watching shows about survival and living off the land so if I ever decide I want to try it I would like to have a place of my own to go.  And when it is time to retire it would be nice to know that we have a place that we can build a nice house and have some real space to enjoy.  As always these are just hopeful ramblings as of right now I don't have the funds to become a land baron, but maybe someday.

Until tomorrow,
Dave

Scrapping

I have a new hobby.  It is scrapping…no not scrap booking but the act of finding different types of metal and taking them to the junk yard for money.  The ultimate prize is copper and brass.  After my father-in-law passed I took some of both to the yard and got over a hundred dollars for my mother-in-law.  The scrap yard was the coolest place ever.  I had no idea they took all kinds of junk and actually paid you for it.  I saw everything from cars and BBQ grills to some guy scrapping the wheels off of a bicycle.  Since that day I have be obsessed with finding metal.  Being an accountant I don't deal with much but there is one easy source of metal that I can get my hands on.  Aluminum cans.  On my drive in to work this morning I must have passed 10 cans on the side of the road.  It got me thinking that on Saturday mornings I should drive around looking for cans.  I know I would probably spend $10 on gas to find $0.50 in aluminum but it would be a fun hunt.  If all else fails I can raid the recycle bin in the break room at work.

Until tomorrow,
Dave

Ice Water Challenge

It has been fun watching friends, celebrities, and complete strangers take the ice water challenge.  The best part is knowing that with each bucket of water being poured over a head a donation is being made to and ALS related charity.  ALS is a horrific disease that kills slowly and painfully.  A co-worker and friend lost her fight to ALS to three years ago and I'm hopeful all this recent attention will get researchers refocused on finding a cure.  Have I taken the challenge? No, but my daughter did this afternoon.  I will gladly make a donation but have no interest in having a bucket of cold water poured on me.

Until tomorrow,
Dave

The Big 100

This is my 100th blog post since it was launched on New Year's Day.  I initially said I would do a post every day this year but if that was the case I would be well over 200 posts at this point.  Life got in the way and I lost my motivation to do daily posts.  However my other resolution for this year is still in place….I still have not eaten a french fry.  I said in my post yesterday that my new motto is "make the most of everyday."  I'm not exactly sure what this means and I hope it will become clearer, but for the time being I think I will try to do something to improve the life of my family each day.  It may be little things or big things.  This is one I really think I can see through the rest of the year and really the rest of my life.

Until tomorrow,
Dave

Summer

Today marks the last day of Summer 2014 for my family.  My daughter starts second grade tomorrow and it is back to the routine of early morning wake ups and early bed times.  Homework starts again and life becomes a little more structured.  Doesn't sound fun but in reality I think all of us are ready for this summer to be over.  It had many fun times but I think it will be remembered by the loss of two members of the family.  My father-in-law Bill passed in mid-June after a long and courageous fight with cancer.  Though he had been sick for several years his passing came quite suddenly. It was a difficult time leading up to and following his death but family members rallied and supported one another.  Life if far from normal since Bill passed but life carried on and we took our annual trip to Michigan.  It was a nice time though it went too quickly.  We came back to find the health of our fifteen year old greyhound, Gray had deteriorated.  We made the gut-wrenching decision to put him down.  Gray had been around since before I knew Susan.  He had been a fixture in our lives and he will be missed.  Life is precious and this summer reminder us of that.  Though it is still 2014 I feel a new year starts tomorrow.  We are looking forward to the new year ahead and making the most of every day.  I think that will be my motto for the upcoming year….make the most of every day.

Until tomorrow…...or next month,
Dave

Happy Birthday

Its been too long!  Tonight I want to write about an event that has been 20 years in the making.  My most prized physical possession has recently turned 20 years old.  May of 1994 was the first time I set my eyes on it.  It has been a part of most of the memorable experiences of my adult life.   A gift from my Grandma Mary, I never expected to still have it 20 years later let alone still use it everyday.  It is of course my 1994 Chevy S-10 pick-up truck.  I'm sure I could have bought several others with the money I have put in to it over the years but I wouldn't trade it for anything.  It has transported most of my favorite people in the world including three of my grandparents.  It carried me from the doldrums of Delaware to a new life in North Carolina.  It has seen almost every mile of I-95 and vast parts of the Midwest.  It has been as reliable as a twenty year old car can be.  It has no air-bags, or automatic windows and locks.  The anti-lock brake light has been on for at least ten years.  Fuel efficient…um no.  Load and smelly…um yes.  But it is still very special to me.  My relationship with the truck predates that with my wife and daughter yet they have adopted it as part of the family.  I hope 20 years from now I still have it and it is still running.  I'm sure my daughter will not want it but maybe a grandchild will be interested in a classic!!!

Until "tomorrow",
Dave