]> http://greasy.com/solitaire/index.html solitaire's Blog en-us © 2008 Greasy.com All rights reserved. Thu, 16 Oct 2008 02:26:18 GMT 30 http://greasy.com/solitaire/bird_watch.html I'm not a dedicated bird watcher or anything, but I can't help noticing a few things about them. For one, they are beginning their migrations. I've seen robins and sandhill cranes working their way south. I also saw some unidentified species with white bellies flock overhead. I asked my golfing compadres what they were, but their responses were ludicrous (blue jays and killdeer). I've come to realize, people just don't know their birds-- or trees or insects or anything else for that matter ... Wed, 15 Oct 2008 22:19:25 GMT http://greasy.com/solitaire/day_dollar_lost.html When I watched the noon news, the Dow was actually up. Four hours later, it had lost over 500 points! Pretty depressing. Fortunately, I've been so busy all week, old man stress has stayed away. Again, apologies for not having time to read other posts. I promise to do better in several weeks. (BTW, I keep getting a blank screen at Steve's (looserobes) site. Anybody else having that problem?) So what's keeping me so busy? The number one priority has been cutting and hauling firewood. Nearly ... Thu, 9 Oct 2008 21:55:25 GMT http://greasy.com/solitaire/indiana_toss.html Amazingly enough, Indiana polls show Obama and McCain in a virtual deadlock for the state's 11 electoral votes. Living where I do (rural, farming community), and listening to my com padres (and sister and father), I find it hard to believe. I mean these numb-skulls think Sarah Palin won the debate last week--that she was marvelous! Where's my vomit bag? One golfing friend had the audacity to say Obama has no solutions to our problems--McCain does. "Are you kidding me?", I exploded! You can ... Sun, 5 Oct 2008 13:54:08 GMT http://greasy.com/solitaire/run_bad_luck.html I ain't complaining--life is good--but I sure have had a run of bad luck lately. I've mentioned my dog bite (healed), house broken in to, backing over my cat, bee stings, etc. But wait, there's more! I buried Lucy, my black Lab yesterday. She was a faithful dog, always happy to see me. She loved to run with me on my jogs, no matter how far or how hot. Yes, she'd dig in my garden or bark into the night, but how could I be angry at her as she sheepishly bowed her head in shame? Farewell, my ... Fri, 3 Oct 2008 12:42:13 GMT http://greasy.com/solitaire/good_bad_ugly.html Greetings to all my friends. To those of you who commented on my previous post, thank you. It's a little late to respond to each one, especially since I've returned. As my subject title suggests, there was a little of everything from start to finish. First, the area (Red River Gorge, KY) is beautiful. There are great hiking trails, scenic overlooks, arches (natural bridges), etc. The work site remained the same all week, requiring a 3 mile hike to it for four of us that couldn't fit in the ... Sun, 28 Sep 2008 12:55:37 GMT http://greasy.com/solitaire/kentucky_bound.html You won't be hearing from me for 10 days or so. I'm on another adventure, this time with the Sierra Club, to Red River Gorge in Kentucky. It's a short trip of about 6 hours from my house in Indiana, so the time and gas expense won't be too bad. Again, as in all my trips, it's billed as a "service" outing. We are to "build a bridge" and do some trail work. I don't know what that entails. I'm just glad we're not removing invasive species. This is pretty good timing to go. I am tired of golf- ... Fri, 19 Sep 2008 20:24:05 GMT http://greasy.com/solitaire/pigging.html My Lions club is having its annual picnic tonight--"bring a covered dish" type thing. I'm a sucker for these events. I bring more than a covered dish. I bring an appetite for a family of four. I always pig out on carry-ins. It's one of my vices. You'd think a skinny guy like me would be careful, but no. For about 360 days in the year, I'm well behaved, eating "proper" foods in moderation. Oh, I like desserts and an occasional Snickers bar, but that pales in comparison to what I CAN do to a ... Wed, 17 Sep 2008 21:08:49 GMT http://greasy.com/solitaire/mole_crossing.html I've had many different creatures cross the road when I've gone jogging, but I've never seen a mole, until yesterday. Why does the mole cross the road? Mon, 15 Sep 2008 20:22:12 GMT http://greasy.com/solitaire/heroes.html At last week's Lions Club meeting, a proud member brought his son to "show off". The young man, about 20 years old, was on Army leave from Iraq. We had been asked several months ago by the father to fund "care packages" to the six or so local boys fighting overseas, and the son wanted to thank us. He sounded sincere and said nothing more about the situation over there. Another club member commented about the "wonderful job you and the other soldiers were doing", etc. Then we all stood up a ... Sat, 13 Sep 2008 13:41:50 GMT http://greasy.com/solitaire/september_song.html From one of the greatest, Frank Sinatra--September Song. I try not to think about the sadness of the tune and words: "The days get short when you reach September". It's the time of year that gets me down. Summer's coming to an end. The day light hours do shorten. The air is cooler. I added an extra blanket to my bed last night. The leaves begin turning. The vegetables stop growing. Fortunately, autumn stretches out for a long time. That eases the transition into winter. Of course, the true ... Tue, 9 Sep 2008 13:19:01 GMT http://greasy.com/solitaire/heal_baby_heal.html It's been a week since that bulldog bit me--seems more like a month. I'm slowly healing, emphasize the word slowly. I'm still unable to do my usual work and things. No jogging and little walking. I checked the paper's TV section to see what sports are on today to keep me occupied. Holy cow! I counted 20 college football games, golf, racing, women's basketball, three baseball games, and other assorted events. It's the 20 football games that mystify me. Can that many games draw an individual ... Sat, 6 Sep 2008 13:19:22 GMT http://greasy.com/solitaire/corn_mazes.html It's that time of year in the Midwest. Farmers with time on their hands, money to burn, or just plain crazy, are making grand designs in their corn fields for "tourists" to walk through. Now, why would anybody in their right mind want to pay to walk in circles through a field of corn? ($8 a head I read) These are mazes, the designs of which can only be seen from a plane. You have no other view than corn as you wander hopelessly in search of the exit. I fail to see the thrill in that. I sup ... Tue, 2 Sep 2008 21:31:49 GMT http://greasy.com/solitaire/fangs.html How quickly the wheel turns. One day I'm on top of the world (previous post), a couple of days later I'm in the hospital emergency room! I'm about one mile into my scheduled 7 mile jog, when out of the bushes races a huge white bulldog toward me. Usually, he runs right past me, but this time he full out lunges at my groin area and sinks his fangs into my inner thigh (thankfully just missing my privates). I went down in a heap, blood gushing out. The little 6 yr old girl the dog was protect ... Sun, 31 Aug 2008 14:25:49 GMT http://greasy.com/solitaire/top_world.html For some of us, life is not only good, it gets better. To wit: > I had a hole-in-one Aug. 26th--my second. Sweet. > I came off the waiting list and am now going to Red River Gorge KY on a Sierra Club Service Trip in 3 weeks. Psyched. > My sister from Virginia (Barbara) has been staying with me all week, and we've been having a great time. I love eating her vegan meals--I furnish the veggies, she cooks. We've been inspecting log cabins for her to build in the family farm woods. It's always ... Thu, 28 Aug 2008 21:27:35 GMT http://greasy.com/solitaire/breezing_breeze.html I just gotta tell you, not bragging or anything, I not only completed the 5k run this morning (a goal in itself!), I won my age division and broke my personal best time by a minute (25' 10"). Yep, I'm feeling pretty perky. It was hot and very humid out there, even at 8AM. No wind, however--just a light breeze. I thought I started out too fast, but seemed to get into a smooth gait with fairly long strides. Before long, I was passing the quick starters and just kept on truckin'. My sister ro ... Sat, 23 Aug 2008 16:08:53 GMT http://greasy.com/solitaire/losing.html Enough already. Unfortunately, it's only gonna get worse. I'm speaking of the political campaign. I watched quite a bit of the "conversations" between Pastor Rick and Obama/McCain last night (switching to the Olympics). I'm not going to comment on who said what or on the "winner/loser". Let's just say I was disgusted by the questions and answers of both candidates. This mixing of religion and politics has no business in our republic. I cringed as I listened to them both "humble" themselves ... Sun, 17 Aug 2008 14:33:19 GMT http://greasy.com/solitaire/land_lubber.html I was invited to spend a day "on the lake" this weekend. A friend has a house up there with a boat to cruise the lake. I declined. Some people would love to take my place. I long ago decided I was not a water person. My grandparents had a lake cottage in S. Michigan. We would go up there frequently when I was a young'n. I didn't especially like fishing, and hated our slow boat tours around the lake shore. I learned to swim there, but never really enjoyed the water. What can you do besides ... Thu, 14 Aug 2008 22:24:34 GMT http://greasy.com/solitaire/need_ac.html Let's try this post again. My first attempt was "lost"--later found on another site. I'm writing about the fact that I haven't had to turn on my central air condition(ing?)all summer. For one reason, it's been a relatively cool year, only one day at 90. Heck, even my truck AC has been inactive. But the main reason is my old farm house is surrounded by shade trees. Plus I've learned to keep the windows closed except for the basement and third floor "attic". Hot air escapes, drawing up the c ... Sun, 10 Aug 2008 13:10:57 GMT http://greasy.com/solitaire/pills_good_health.html As many of you know, I'm sort of a health nut. I got it from my mother. (It's a shame cancer killed her.) I'm fairly thin because I watch what I eat and exercise daily. The "10 best foods for you" are eaten with regularity. That doesn't mean I don't occasionally fall off the wagon. But on the whole, I'm careful about my choices. I don't supplement my diet with vitamins because I make sure I get them with the variety of foods I eat. However, I do take several pills each day to assist or pre ... Sun, 3 Aug 2008 13:50:48 GMT http://greasy.com/solitaire/fine_day_rothenburg.html It was forty years ago, nearly to the day. I was hitchhiking on the Romantistrasse--a "blue" highway running North-South connecting small touristy (romantic) towns in Germany. It was a warm, sunny day. A little Volkswagen passed me by, but I ignored it until I heard a beep beep. It had stopped to give me a ride! I squeezed in next to a young girl (11-12) and her mother. I immediately said "I don't speak Deutsch". She commenced conversing in English! We exchanged information on who we were ... Thu, 31 Jul 2008 00:05:12 GMT