No rest for the weary

Friday night someone evidently ran off the road and took out both mail boxes for Linda & I and her mother. It took their side view mirror completely off the side of their car and landed in the big ditch. Now it didn't bother me so much since the majority of our mail is bills and junk mail but those 2 women were about to have a hissy fit for the boxes to be replaced so early this morning Linda's brother Junior and I got them replaced with the type pictured above that slides onto a 4 X 4 post. It was so humid but the job is finished in time for Monday mail delivery.

Yesterday we had a birthday party for Junior's grand daughter Haley who is now a teenager. It was a fun time eating hot dogs and enjoying family for a couple of hours. She got two things any girl loves. A new touch screen cell phone & money.

Hope all of you have had a restful and happy weekend.

Times are changing - Ready or not

This may come as a surprise to a lot of you but this "old" man is going to begin college courses week after next. I have wanted to do this for a very long time and a couple of weeks ago I made the decision to further my education with a college course at home after being out of school for 44 years.

I used to be able to say that I really enjoyed my job a lot but so much has changed in the industry I work in and it is affecting the employees I am with on a daily basis to the point that my stress level is way too high. I can only see this situation getting more severe as time rolls by so I want to be prepared to stay productive and to do that I need to shift gears and enter a different area all together.

All three of my daughters are either in the health field or training to be there. Just try to get a doctors appointment and they are usually booked ahead weeks or in some cases months so I decided to concentrate on the area concerning medical records and information technology that is becoming a desperately needed field to keep offices operating efficiently.

I know it will be a change for me but I am ready and I also know that certain aspects of my life will have to change in order to do my best. One area, sadly, will be blogging. I don't intend to stop blogging but once my books arrive and I start my study habits I will not have the hours a day I usually spend checking and posting blogs. So my friends, this does not mean I am disappearing but my daily comments may be less frequent but I will do all I can to stay in touch.

Being 64 doesn't bother me as I have extremely good health and have no plans for retirement any time soon.I am looking forward to this new adventure and will keep you posted on my progress.

The Dark Side of Odie

I think about my grandsons and how this planet is experiencing so much hatred and senseless murder that you never know where it will raise it's ugly head next.I am a pretty easy going type of guy but sometimes I just get fed up with what is going on and want to say "STOP".

One of my favorite movies on TV has been the series of Charles Bronson's "Death Wish" movies. I have watched some of them over and over again. Ordinarily I do not condone just killing anyone unless that person has, without a shadow of doubt, just did an act of horrible murder. That is when I rejoice with Charles as he takes them out of the equation.

Now this animal, Anders Behring Breivik, just did the unthinkable by killing those precious young people and others with his bomb. He admits he did it and says he did no wrong. At this point in time Odie is so angry, but not at Anders so much, as I am at the law enforcement officer that arrested him. That animal should have never left that island "alive". I would consider if an individual had killed him to be my hero for the day but now we have to be subjected to hearing him tell the families of the slain that he was doing what had to be done. This kind of thing has happened way too many times making us listen to months & years of nonsense while we house, feed and accumulate huge sums of expense on trials when there was never any doubt the person did the crime. That is my opinion and I wanted it in print.

Pea Hill Creek Cafe - AKA "Yellow House"

It was a great weekend for Linda and I. We decided to spend saturday night in Smithfield, NC because we like the area with all the interesting shops and just needed a change of scenery and a time to spend some quiet time together. We stayed at the Jameson Inn and was very pleased with their accommodations.

Linda knew of a place that I needed to see so we left Smithfield after breakfast and headed north to Virginia. Actually not far from the North Carolina border in an area known as Gasburg, Va. is a community called Pea Hill Creek and a cafe with the same name. The cafe is operated by Jim & Huyen Bui, a couple that I met for the first time today but will never forget.

They are open Friday through Sunday from 8 to 8 and on Tuesday from 5 PM to 7 PM. Tuesday evening is special in that Huyen has karaoke and draws a large crowd. When we arrived it was the end of breakfast and she was singing a song for the patrons, Jambalaya by Hank Williams, Sr. and she did an awesome job. Huyen is originally from Viet Nam but has been in this country a long time. She is the kind of person that once you meet her she is your friend and you can't wait for the next time to be with her. Oh, and the food is awesome as well.

Linda & Huyen in front of the cafe. She also loves flowers and I loved photographing them. Following are some of them I caught.

Sorry for the blur on this one

She also had a lot of cute objects on her porch that pleased our eyes.

Since the area is all near Gaston Lake & Kerr Lake the area magazine "Lake Country" awards area businesses for their great service. This one was for their wonderful food.

This one was for her interior design talents.

Cafe hours of operation.

Next are objects I found on her walls in the cafe I wanted you to see.

Next door to the cafe is her residence that she was gracious enough to allow us to tour. This is shots of her home's interior.