Thursday, March 30, 2006

Sharing the moment

I'm sharing this photo sent to me from a very proud Mother. He is the little man in her life. Who is now 14 years old. We are fortunate to know Logan and his parents. They are friends of ours in North Carolina and we miss them dearly.

Practical Gifts


My dear husband the caring man that he is, has purchased a gift for me. He is always trying to make my life easier. It is one of the many reasons why I love him so much.

I am now ready for the grass cutting season.
Got to love it. Bring it on.

Tuesday, March 28, 2006

Spring Fever

For the last two hours I have been killing dust-bunnies. Warm weather gets me motivated. It must do the same for Kirk. He is outside raking gravel out of the grass which got there from plowing snow out of driveway onto the lawn. It is not like him to do yard work. It has to be the weather.

We also changed the water in the hot tub and Kirk pressure washed the filter. So far it didn't help the PH level any. It is still high. I'm at a loss of what to do about it. The water is always nice and clear it just dries your skin to the point of wanting to scratch. After a hot tub we act like the dogs, itching and scratching.

Well, I better get back at it. (Computers cause untidy homes)

Country Music

The South has influenced me. There was a time I wouldn’t give two cents for Country Music. Now, this is all I listen to. It really hit home when I was working at Haywood Regional Medical Center. It was all I heard during working hours. Then I started listening to the words. They are singing/saying good stuff!

One of my favorites (I have many) is; Trace Adkins – Songs About Me

The relationship to this song is the: Stories About Me
It is about life, songs and stories about loving, living, good hearted man, family and God.

Many country songs talk about God. This is good. It is another one of my reasons for enjoying country music. I don’t know if this link will work from this blog but if you are interested copy and paste. It is the song and video.

http://us.video.aol.com/video.index.adp?mode=2&pmmsid=1230410

Monday, March 27, 2006

Se7en

The other evening we watched the move; Se7en.
We found it very interesting and thought provoking. We hope we learned something from it.
It caused me to do a little more research.

http://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/documents/Seven_Deadly_Sins.pdf

We are working on trying to have the seven virtues. Life is tough.

Appliances

We purchased new appliances when we first thought we had a home. This was last summer. Of course I didn't buy the top of the line of anything which could have been a mistake.

Our washing machine has been a challenge. It didn't matter what size load of laundry I put in it this thing it would dance across the floor when it came time to spin. Finally last week I called the store about the balance of this washer. I don't know why I put this call off as long as I did. I guess I thought things would work itself out. Wrong, they knew right away what I was talking about. Apparently I'm not the only one with this problem. They ordered the parts and came out in a flash to replace the whole interior the washer. The part I don't understand it looked to me that it would have been easier and less time consuming to just exchange the washer.

The repair man said that the parts came to $250. Plus labor on top of that. Lucky for us this is all under warranty. I immediately pointed out that our ice-maker in our refrigerator has a mind of it's own too. He understood that situation right off. He made a few adjustments and said "if that didn't fix it just call" and he will bring out a new ice-maker. I'm tempted to call for the new ice-maker but so far the ice-maker and I have a meeting of the minds.

Good Night Sleep

From watching TV there are many suggestions on getting a good nights sleep. There are a wide variety of pills and bed designs (latest one is the "Sleep Number Bed").

We find that the best way is to, work until you drop or having so much fun that it wears you out.
Yesterday was a combination of the two best ways.

I worked like a busy beaver from 6 am to 11 am. Then we were honored to receive a visit from our new friends/neighbors which is truly an enjoyable time for us. (I believe I have mentioned this more than once that we don't get much company so when we do it is greatly appreciated).

The weather, for this time of year is wonderful and we took advantage of it. Hot tub here we come. We may have over done it. Not sure if I got a sun burn or skin flaking from soaking to long. It was great either way. We seem to solve all our problems and any other problems in the world while soaking. Sun, hot water and beer makes our outlook on life very positive.

A touch of hunger set in. (IGA had tomatoes, green pepper and sweet onions on sale) I made bruschetta and a salad. According to Kirk I got creative since it was something he never tried before (he leads a very sheltered life or has a poor memory).

We are back to TV, we discuss and analyze the shows and commercials. Conclusion; work, fun and exercise results in Good Night Sleep.

Friday, March 24, 2006

A Day to Celebrate!

Kirk now has his guns!

He is one Happy Camper! Even though they charged him $175.00 in taxes, he didn't care. We should be able to get that money back. There are more forms to fill out and forms to copy and in our case, forms to find from November 2005. They may be in Kirk's truck. His filing system needs help. When it comes to paper he is not the most organized person. Either way, with or without forms the pressure is gone and his soundness is complete at this point in time.

Now we have to get his gun cabinet in the house. He managed to get it as far as the back step in the garage. My strength has slowly managed to disappear. Once upon a time, I was able to pick up all kinds of heavy items. Not sure I can help him now. We may have to wait until someone with muscle arrives to move it indoors. Then he can lock the guns up and look at them every now and again. Yippie.

Wednesday, March 22, 2006

Birds of a Feather


This is in reply to the last comment.

Birds of a feather; yes we are! We are very happy birds. We thank the Lord for bring us together. I thank God every day for making Kirk as persistent as he was. God will also be our judge of our past, present and future. We pray.

We made mistakes. We make lots of them and we know it.
(Who hasn't?)

As for class; we probably don't have any according to other mortal humans.
In God's eyes we are all equal. We will do our best to serve and please him.

Tuesday, March 21, 2006

10 years

On March 27 we will be married 10 years. I know that is not a long time in the Anniversary accomplishments. However, when I met Kirk he only asked for 5 good years. I am now going to reminisce.

Early in 1992 I was put into the position of selling hot dogs on the side of Pine Island Rd. Bewildered about my new job and how I got there, along came a man that was determined to change all this.

My first impression was who is this nut case out of the 50's. Cut off sleeves shirt, sun glasses hanging in the front V of his shirt, cigarettes bulging in his pocket, hair sprayed stiff, big plastic mug of coffee which turns out to be beer later in the day and a southern accent, I can't understand a word he is saying. Back then I nodded a lot in acknowledgement, not having an idea of what he said.

He was very persistent. A real salesman. After about a month or so of visiting me everyday at my hot dog stand he convinced me to visit his auto body shop. I did need things fixed on my hot dog cart so I took advantage of the offer. He was seeing some wild gator catching female and I was being hit on by some menopausal entrepreneur. Some how we got jealous of each other. One thing lead to the next. Kirk made a poster of his last name in big letters K I E R S T E A D.
He hung it up in his office. He told me to memorize it because that was going to be my last name.
Now I think, he has really lost it! He said over and over "All I want is a good 5 years".

Too many things happen I would have to write a book. (not in the mood) 1994; I am sort of on my way back to Canada. Had enough of all the stories and promises. Kirk is now in NC and I am passing through or staying. I gave him an ultimatum. Of course you all know, I stayed. He is a salesman! He changed me. In a strange way we match and I love him to pieces.

We are both starting over. Neither one of us had a "pot to piss in or a window the throw it out of". That was OK. We are truly in love. (Ok, we had a dispute or two, which caused me to start walking to Canada, one cold night. The police picked me up and took me home. Kirk slept through the whole thing)

Every anniversary we promise each other another 5 years.

Monday, March 20, 2006

Dog Grooming Day

This is a real event. We think we are getting better at this. The dogs are not crazy about this day but we don't think they liked it much when they went to real groomers either.

Kirk decided since it is Spring, Shadow should be cut a lot shorter. We have a large pile of hair and one upset dog. I'd take a picture but I'm sure no one would notice the difference.

It took at least an hour or more to accomplish this task. Now I'm doing the math. Should Kirk start making money at welding instead of dog grooming it may pay to take the dog to a groomer here. Only good part about Kirk doing the cutting is that Shadow won't bite him. When I was shopping for groomers and mentioned that Shadow was old, fat and mean the price went up. Ok, we better do this ourselves. This is still a joint effort. I hold the back end, he cuts or he holds the front end with teeth, I cut. We have it under control.

Peaty is the easy one. He doesn't like it but he doesn't fight back. He is a half hour job. Poor little guy only gets scared when I get close to his little peter with those noisy/vibrating clippers. Kirk just tells him "I'd feel the same way" . It is one of those you have to be there. We think they understand us.

What can I say. We love our dogs.

Sun Rise

Kirk can't get over how early the sun rises here. This is in comparison to North Carolina. Like every morning around 5:00 am, he was sitting in his Lazy-boy reading the Bible or welding manuals and watching/listening to the fishing show. But, this morning he noticed the sunrise at 5:30 am. He went on and on about it. Not sure why but it sure made him a "happy camper".

Since we are morning people I guess this extra light in our day produces more energy and motivation to do more. He now wants to order material to finish the gate. Customs brokers are on the list of things to check out first. We can't afford any more fees that double the cost of material coming from the USA.

The Sun has got him fired up and I'm holding him back. April 2 the time changes it should be 6:30 am before he sees the sunrise. Maybe this will hold him back a bit.

Sunday, March 19, 2006

Robin, here's your sign!


Spring? Is it on it's way?

According to Kirk and an old saying "When you see the Robin it is a sign of spring". Ok, bring it on. I saw the Robin and even took a picture to make sure.

(Sure, now the blog site won't let me download the picture) (next day; got picture, not the one I wanted but you get the picture)

You have to take my word for it, for now. I have a picture of a Robin sitting in our tree in the front of the house. Sure, the first day of Spring is March 20 according to the calendar. Can we have some heat to go along with this season? The Sun's job is to "Heat & Light the Earth" (for you folks in the south, I'm referring to one of my favorite commercials; Jimmy Dean sausage commercial) Ok, I know, it heats the south first.

Thursday, March 16, 2006

Sock it to me!

I have to say that I am impressed with the quality of socks here. Yes, you read this right. Socks.

Last October when it started getting cold I purchased a package of socks at the local TSC store. I have plenty of socks but I felt I needed some thicker socks. I was like a bear preparing for a cold winter. From day one they are my favorite socks. They are always warm, never seem to get dirty and stay on the foot. Since I only have three pair I do laundry often so that I always have a pair to wear. Even after all the washings they are thick, warm and comfortable. Kirk has three pair too and he feels the same way about his socks. Yes, Canada is the place to buy socks!

Prospective customer arrived at our door today!


They saw our sign! Then they saw the gate!

Are we ready? Of course not.

Since we are not sure of the price of material here. It was difficult to give them a firm price on building a gate. They seemed interested even though we couldn't give them a firm price.

After some conversation we find that they are in a similar situation regarding US/Canadian relationship. He is US. She is Canadian. I could be wrong, but we seemed to bond on the difficulties of adjusting to the differences in the countries.

It was just exciting to have someone drop by to ask about Kirk's work. Now we wait and see if they really return. He said he would.

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

Some days pay

Life is full of surprises. The last few days have been amazingly pleasant at work. I do not understand. It is almost like some one read my mind or my blog (there was no mention of either) and decided, I'm not that bad to work with.

To top it off, I was not that productive today. I was tired, drank too much coffee before arriving at work so when it came to icing cakes I had the shakes. Not good. It really slows me down. I was so afraid and sure a critiquing/questioning comment was heading my way but I was wrong. It is good to be wrong sometimes. I had a great day. I kept plugging along even though I felt drained and it paid off.

Kirk had a good day too. He received payment for the bale elevators and the customer was very happy with the work. Kirk said I should take a picture of the check/cheque it would be like keeping the first dollar made in Canada. By the time we pay off materials and supplies needed a dollar is about all that will be left. I'm not taking a picture.

Sunday, March 12, 2006

Dog's Fears

Peaty has many fears, worries, is wimpy, insecure and has selective hearing. However, he will fights back if Shadow get in his face. It is no surprise, he is my dog!

Last night there must have been thunder. I didn't hear anything other than his little quiet barks and growls to get me up. He is good. He didn't wake up Kirk. It is 3:45 am and the pacing is enough to let me know he has to go outside to do something. I scurry to get my cloths and shoes on to take him out. I'm now ready. So is Shadow and Peaty with bird in mouth. I open the sliding door. It is raining. Shadow makes a bee line out. Peaty stops, starts shaking nervously and relieves himself right in the doorway. Please, tell me this isn't happening.

I sure hope that spring in Canada does not have a lot of thunderstorms at night. I don't sleep well as it is.

I get things cleaned up. Shadow returns. She may be old, fat and mean but she still knows enough that it has to happen outside. Wind, rain, snow, sleet and thunder, when she has to go she will go. (Kirk's dog.)

peat and I finished the night on the couch. Bird in mouth and in my face (he normally likes to sleep at my feet) until 5:00 am. The bird dropped to the floor and tension was gone. Kirk was up at 6:00 am. The day starts.

Thursday, March 09, 2006

Email keeper

I got this quote by email and it is a keeper

"Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well-preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting '...holy shit...what a ride!'"
by Mavis Leyrer of Seattle, age 83

Brother to the rescue again!

My dear brother arrived last night (at our bedtime) with wood and a chimney sweeper. Now, if it will just stop raining, Kirk can get the chimney cleaned and we are back to burning wood. Actually, Kirk convinced me that the chimney is safe because everything burned out when we had the chimney fire. Worry wart that I am started a fire under protest. On the first nice day, he is going to clean that chimney or I will bug him to death. He won't see 65.

On Kirk's birthday we had the pleasure of a visit from Frank and Cindy (just before our bedtime). We thank you. We truly enjoyed the company. It was a wonderful surprise. In fact I have to tell you, as I was leaving for work the next day half dead due to lack of sleep, Kirk repeated many times " I really like Frank & Cindy". I really do too, just earlier in the day.
Love you both.

Tuesday, March 07, 2006

BD present

Kirk got his gun license! Just in time for birthday.
He still has a few more hoops to jump through before he can pick up is guns at the border. Then comes the verification and then he can lock them up.
I'm sure nothing more will be done with them. We've been together since 1992/1993 and I've never seen him use them (ok, shot a rabbit or two and a groundhog), other than to clean them and put them back in the gun cabinet.
I feel fishing will be his leisure of choice. Guns will be just pride of ownership. He is an American! (just my opinion and thoughts) He could prove me wrong.

Monday, March 06, 2006

Trying something new!

I'm not sure when it will show up or how. It is audio blog.

I get to call a phone number and record my blog. Look out, my babbling voice on the WWW.

Scary thought. Just trying my best to keep up with technology. (or should it be - don't try this at home with too many beers)

Bale elevator




Kirk is a busy beaver. Moving right along on building this bale elevator. It is another learning experience because it is something new and sort of a custom build as the buyer is giving Kirk pointers as to how it needs to work for his situation. The next one should be easier. Kirk is starting next one tomorrow. (double click on pictures to enlarge) By the way the picture of me is just for show. I didn't do a thing on this project. P.S. Kirk's Birthday is tomorrow. I promised him I wouldn't have a party this year. Easy promise. We don't know anyone here. I guess I sort of promised I wouldn't mention it either. OK, white lie. #64

This is a test only a test!

this is an audio post - click to play

Friday, March 03, 2006

Great Day at Work!


I really do work with a very nice group of people. Sure we have our ups and downs but overall it is a good work environment. Today seemed like I was more accepted for some reason?

Don't know if yesterday had anything to do with it. I approached the store owner with an idea. It is not my idea. It was something that sold well at Bi-Lo, Puppy cupcakes. I told him about it and he asked to see what it looks like. I whipped one up and we are now selling Puppy cupcakes.

At first, I felt like I was overstepping my bounds again. I felt a tension or resentment for having the nerve to talk to the owner. Heck, sales ideas are copied all the time. If it sells it keeps us working. I'm all for sales no matter where I work. (whipped up 8 Puppy cupcakes to start with at $1.99)

When the first Puppy sold this morning the tension eased. Then the second sold about 1/2 hour later as the cashier saw it while checking out the customer. Next one sold hour later. Soon came "we better make some more" as I'm off this weekend. We made 12 more. It was fun. Just being part of a team is a great feeling.

I really do like working here. Like I said, a great bunch of girls/women all working together. Sure we have different speeds and talents which really do compliment each other. I also now know the ONE that is super organized and the keeper of the freezer. Rotation is not a problem. I feel so much better. Too quick to judge again. Shame on me.

Thursday, March 02, 2006

One good scare after another

Yesterday was more than we bargained for. It was a beautiful winter day. When I get home from work I start a fire in the fireplace. Kirk came in with the dogs to visit and we both commented on well the fireplace was burning considering there was no wind outside.

For some reason the dogs got uneasy and wanted outside again. So I took them out. Moments later a vehicle pulled in the driveway blowing its horn pointing at the roof yelling "did you know your chimney has flames coming out of it"? At this point I have some sort of dumb look on my face not realizing what they are trying to tell me. As in, this is not good.

Then it hit me. Fear. I ran in to tell Kirk. It seemed all we could do was close the damper tight and pace, inside and outside. The heat from the flue made the walls smell cooked. The fire did die down as we watched the hot cinders burn in the back of the flue. The fireplace glass door still hot this morning.

Next project is to clean the creosote out of the chimney before using the fireplace again. It started snowing buckets this morning and all day so it will be awhile before this project will happen.

Then to close the day off! We get a call from Mom & Dad. They had an accident. They are Ok. Scrapes and bruises and a good scare. Their van is totaled. Not sure of all the details. We offered to help if needed and sure to get more details in the near future.

God loves us all. Thank you.

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