Wednesday, October 19, 2011

The Stick Im taking home with me.

I am about to embark on my hunting trip for week. I am leaving Saturday morning and I am excited to get to the woods and hear nothing but the sound of the remaining leaves fall to the earth. I am ready to sit by the hot fire when its cold at night. I am ready for some alcohol induced laughs with my friend who is going with me. Bob, a co-worker of mine for the 28 years that I have been working at the plant, was the reason I started bow hunting in the first place. We have been going hunting together for over 26 years now. We share the love for bow hunting equally. We have shared this passion for so long now that we have many many memories that we share every time we go camping. (yes, the same ones over and over sometimes). We have traditions which we have created, one of which I am proud to say that I created myself...We have a stick that gets passed around to whomever shoots the biggest deer...a stick you say? Well its not just any ordinary stick....this stick is one that I created one year while sitting at camp whittling away on it. I love nothing more than carving on wood while I am sitting in camp. I was so into it that I even missed some nights hunting because I didn't want to lose my creative juices. (those juices may have been alcohol) but none the less...I was into it!
The winner of the stick gets to keep it for the year and also holds bragging rights. Bob has had the stick for 3 years and I have had it for 3 years also...so there is alot riding on this year. Although we both enjoy the peacefulness and tranquility that the woods brings, we put hanging a deer on the buck pole very seriously. The reason why we take it seriously is because we have went years without a deer being hung. I for one went over 16 years before I shot my first deer with a bow.I think it made me appreciate the woods more, always thinking that this could be the night I get the BIG one.
Another tradition started long ago was that we always take a sip off the bottle when someone shoots a deer. We hide it in the crevasse of a maple tree that  is in the middle of our camp. Its usually a bottle of R&R whiskey and its making me want to hurl just thinking about it right now. :) (I am not a whiskey fan)
 I have always said that my main purpose for going up North wasn't to shoot deer, its main purpose is to relax, no phones, no having to babysit 180 people, nothing to bother me at all....stress free baby, that's what its all about.  Its all about doing whatever I feel like doing.  Its about the camaraderie that hunters share together. Its about making new memories, and if we happen to shoot a deer in the middle of all that....then that's just a bonus. And if I happen to shoot a bigger deer than anyone else at camp...Bigger bonus because I go home with the stick.
I just got a chuckle from that last line I just wrote. It just reminded me of a childhood memory....I remember walking home when I was a kid and trying to make up songs...and I remember singing this..."I'm taking a stick home with me...I'm taking a stick home with me."
So maybe its destiny?
Heres a few pics of just some of the items that I carved on the stick.  (that Im taking home with me)

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Pet Parade 2011

The Pet Parade has come and gone. And once again this year, we picked the coldest and the most windy day of the year. What luck we have had with the weather this year for our Lupus events. But...dont think that dampened the spirit of everyone who came...Oh no...that just dont happen at our events.
For those who dont know...My wife and I started a Pet Parade that we do each year to help support Lupus called Spooky Howls Pet Parade. It was named by a 19 year old girl who passed away just over a year ago from Lupus. She named it when she was in the hospital. We have it in her memory. Her name is Jenna Kammerer.
My wife thought of the idea and I must be honest...I thought it was a bad idea at first. But once I saw how many people showed up at the fist event...I had no choice but to admit that I was way wrong. It is now one of my favorite events. All the puppys I get to love on just puts a smaile on my face.
People bring their pets dressed in a costume and we have judges who judge them.
Here are a few of the pics that my sister Felice took of the event. Its not all of them but you get the idea  Enjoy....we sure did !!.


The 1st place winner
The 2nd place winner
The 3rd place winner
I Loved this lil guy
The Great Pumpkin
How cute
The Super Heroes
The robot...They Got the Most Original
Isnt she just so cute?
I just Love this Breed
He was keeping an eye on me...lol
Spider dog

Norton...adopted by our friend Morgan

One Cool Collie
Me and my personal favorite of the day. He loved me :)

Saturday, October 8, 2011

"The Look"

          I know this may come as big surprise to many of you...but...I went grocery shopping last week. I do not know what possessed me to do it...but I did. It may have been that I knew there wasn't much to eat at home and I had a couple hundred dollars in my pocket that was just begging me to be spent. I am by no means a good grocery shopper, or any kind of shopper for that matter. I usually leave all shopping to Kim...and for good reason. My version of grocery shopping is to go down every isle and look for things I like to eat. When I find something I like, I put it in the cart. When I have went down every isle, I usually have to go find a few items that I had forgot which sometimes involves going down every isle again. Uggh...I think I looked for canned mushrooms for 20 minutes, and when I finally found the correct isle (after giving up and asking someone) (I know....its a man thing to get lost and then ask for directions) It still took me 5 minutes to find them under the sign that said "Mushrooms". But in my defense...They weren't under the sign where I was looking...they were like 10 feet down from it.  But hey...What's another 25 minutes when I have already spent 2 hrs getting grocery's for two?
        I felt pretty good when I was finished and on my way home thinking to myself...Kim will be really happy that I did this for her.(I wouldn't tell her I did it for myself...Instead I was going to take the Thank You that she was going to give me like a man)
 I walk in with a both hands full of grocery's and place them on the island in the kitchen. I go back and get another load....this time when I come in...Kim has had time to evaluate some of my purchases. I give her a look (and I know she sees me looking at her to give me her look of approval) However I didn't quite get the look of approval...instead I get the"OMG ...I cant believe you bought chips ...you know I am watching my weight...why would you buy chips" look. I didn't say anything...I just figured it was her saying thank you. :)  When I come back in for the third time, she said it out loud this time....."OMG ...I cant believe you bought chips ...you know I am watching my weight...why would you buy chips" I smiled and said "Don't worry, I will eat them by myself" She just continued to give me that "You Suck at shopping" look. I exchanged it with a "Just shut up and make me something to eat" look.

So I came home from work yesterday, and I find out Kim picked up a few things from the grocery store also. I didn't respond the way she did...meaning, I didn't immediately look to see what she bought so I could cut her down for being such a terrible shopper. (that would be like biting the hand that feeds you) Instead, I just thought to myself that she must have picked up the few items that I might have forgotten.
Later as we hunkered down on the couch to watch a movie...I see Kim get up and open the Freezer.
I was thinking ....Alright !!! Kim is getting us some of that Ice Creme and chocolate that I had bought.
I hope you can understand the extent of my surprise when I heard her ask me... "Do you want a Reece's Peanut butter Cup?" It only took me a nano second to quickly replay MY shopping night in my mind before I came to the conclusion that I didn't buy any Reece's Peanut Butter Cups.
 I saw her glaring at me with that look that said..."just say it and get it over with"
Do I dare tell her what I was thinking? Oh no....I did not say any of the smart aleck comments that I was thinking about saying....Like..."I cant believe you bought candy...you know your watching your weight"  No.... I would never say something like that.
Nor did I say..."Who are you and what did you do with my dieting wife?" I would never say that either.
Instead...I just said what any man taking the high road would say.... "Two Please"



Monday, October 3, 2011

Home Alone + 6

            I was alone again this weekend. Kim went with her mother to visit Taylor. So I had the house to myself...woohoo....ok ...I had to share the couch with the 2 dogs, but at least they didn't complain about what TV programs I watched. And they only asked me to do something for them twice a day so my movement off the couch was limited.
           As you may have seen in one of my earlier posts, we have created quite a collection of animals... 2 dogs, 4 cats, and a bird. Now....You don't realize how much work these animals are and what effect they have on your lives until you plan on spending a quiet weekend alone. But it made me wonder, how did we come to have so many animals?
 I am not going to throw my wife and kids under the bus for making this collection of pets so large....no,... I did that in an earlier post and far be it from me to do that again. Instead, I just want to thank them...so here goes. :)

Thank You Taylor....for giving your dog Romeo to us after you started college. He has the most annoying bark that a dog could ever have. The fact that he barks whenever someone comes in the door...and continues to bark throughout the whole visit, even after he runs and hides under the bed...well...That's just a bonus. :)
Romeo...cutest little dog you will wanna Mute

Thank You Timberly....for bringing home a stray cat and begging us to let you keep him. Elijah is not only the most hated cat amongst the animals in the house. He is also the most meanest cat that we have, And as a bonus...he is also the most chased cat too....Rico goes nuts sometimes for no apparent reason other than to just bully him, I don't know what I would do with that spontaneous irritating commotion. Hmmm , Maybe that explains why he is so mean?
Elijah ...meanest little cat you will ever not  want to have on your lap

and speaking of Rico...

Thank You Timberly...for giving us your dog Rico after you started college too, he has been just a loving dog....what would I do without him? What would I do without him barking at every car that goes by, or howling at the mail truck even after it has left our house and is three houses down. You know how we just love that beagle howl !! And the bonus here is.... I'm just not sure what I would do without fighting him for bed space at night. Man I just love that. :)
Who can resist a face like that?

Thank You Kim, for bringing home that cute little flea infested kitten that we named Noah.
 "The verbal cat" as we call him...his lovely meows at 4:30 AM is just what the doctor ordered. And the fact that he is the red headed step cat of the family just makes me love him that much more....I mean who could resist those funky looking goat eyes that he has?
"The Vocal One"...I swear he thinks he can speak English ...only it comes out in Cat

And let me also Thank you Timberly  for the fancy feline we call Simon, You wanted another cat for your birthday and since your friends mother was giving them away, and we didnt have any money to buy you a birthday present....we went with the present that would give us the biggest bang for our buck.."the free kitten". And want a bang he has given us. We are so very fortunate that he is the only cat that doesnt go outside....ever. (its no wonder he is the fattest cat too)
And since he  has the longest hair of all the cats...it easy to tell whos hair is on any of my black clothes. So , thank you to Kim for  also for keeping the endless supply lint rollers that we have on hand at all times. What would we do without them?
Simon...Mr. No Personality
P.S. Kim usually makes the bed so I am not throwing her under the bus for that either.

and finally....Thank you Kim for picking up little baby Tim-Tim out of the box at K-Mart and begging me to let you take him home with us. You knew I couldnt say no in front of everyone who was there adoring the lil baby kittens. Who can resist a scared little kitten face? That was a really good move to get what you wanted. :)
And you know how he gives me that annoying little nudge in the face when I am just starting to fall asleep every night?....well...who could live life without having that?
Tim Tims...I like Loving animals...just not after I am asleep


Did I miss any thank yous? Oh yeah...

Thank you Taylor for letting us permanently watch your bird, it took me 3 months before  he would even come close to me...and now I cant get him off from me. I mean...if I would have known that he required all of my attention....every hour until 10pm....every minute....every second...well...I would have asked you to let us have him along time ago. And the bonus is...if you fall asleep with your laptop open on your lap....you wake up with a button less keyboard.....priceless !!
Chico Boots...aka....the Thing Wrecker....any Thing.

So that wraps up my Thank you's  for the day...

See and you guys probably thought I was going to throw them all under the bus.   :)