This picture sooooooooo reminds me of our cat, Gus, when he was with us. There was not a project in this house that could be started and he would be right there in the middle of it. Cheryl loves to sew and he loved to come and set on top of her pattern. It got to be quite a joke in our house. He would ALWAYS plop himself in front of my monitor when I would be on the computer or he would play with the yarn when I was making hats. We miss him. Here is a picture of Gus in the middle of Cheryl's sewing stuff. We like it so much that we are thinking of having a 750 - 1000 piece puzzle made out of the picture.






Just wanted to say hi for the day. Still in a depressed funk. Sorry "State of Mind" for some reason I thought you lived in Washington. Senior moments you know. Foam old buddy how come you don't dress up for Halloween? Those kids would love it. Jeralee, your children are angels so I guess the costume fits quite well.

Going to take my depressed body and lie down and feel sorry for myself. Like I told some friends last night, it is hard to put up with these small inperfections when you are Irish and feel you are perfect in every way. Oh, Lord it's hard to be humble when you are perfect in every way.

Have a nice day everyone.

A friend sent me this picture and I just thought it was so neat. What a story.

I hate depressions. They come from out of nowhere, make you feel like you are lower than a snake's belly and cause you to just feel rotten. Yep, I am suffering from a bout of depression today. No reason for it that I can think of, it just happens. I told Cheryl one time that it feels like someone threw a blanket over you. Maybe it was the self-portrait Foam sent me of herself; scary, very scary, and I thought she was a pretty, petite German type lady. Then Pam said to put a raisin in the belly button to be dressed like a cookie or something. I worry about Pam, she is a spicy Grandma. I know what it is... I had to go into Utah on Saturday. AYEEeeeeeeeeeeeee.

Well, the new TV shows have been out for a while now and I am curious which ones are liked the most. Personally, I really like "Chuck" which comes on Monday night. Then I like NCIS; Ghost Whisperer is all right but a little far fetched at times. I also like Moonlight (the girl is so cute) and Life. Heros is getting too wierd and the Bionic woman I am still deciding on. Whatever happened to Lost? I thought it was a highly ranked show.

How about those Boston Red Sox. I am not a Boston fan but was impressed with how quickly they showed Colorado how the big boys play baseball. Then there is the Oregon Ducks who showed USC that there are other teams in the PAC-10. (Right Jeralee)

I was truly surprised that I received no comments about my feelings on Rosie O'Donnell. Maybe everyone agrees or they just didn't want to hurt the Irishman's feelings. I throw comments like that out just to see what response I get. I do that in church at times. I will ask questions that I already know the answer to just to see what others think. Interesting, vellllly interesting.

So how IS everyone dressing up for your Halloween fun and parties? Cheryl decided on the Cat in the Hat and I am going as Tim, the Ramblin' Irishman incognito. Come on Foam I know you are dressing up for your school and Pam I am willing to bet you will do something for those grandchildren. My friend from Washington, The Insane Mind, I worry about the costume being a bar stool and a pole; that is scary.:)

Got to go. Have a nice day everyone.

No special caption with this picture. I just liked the colors in it and the time of year it reminds me of.

We are suffering from the Halloween costume dilema in our house. Cheryl always likes to dress up some way some how but this year is having a problem deciding on what to do. Oh the stress it is causing that poor woman. She could dress up as Hillary Clinton but then it would traumatize all the little children and scare the by-gollies out of many, many adults.

I have come up with the perfect candidate for President of the United States... Rosie O'Donnell. All foreign countries would stop their terrorism plans, there would be no attacks on the President of the United States, Congress would be in such a state that they would be numb. Why no attacks you might say? Well consider this; once that mouth got going all our enemies would realize she is doing more damage than they could possibly come up with. Why try to attack?

Okay, okay enough of that. Got to make a run to SLC with the bus tonight and pick up a group of students who are flying in from somewhere. I just love going to SLC with it's crazy drivers and many, many vehicles. Luckily I am in the bus where I can shove myself around a little also.

I have got to quit. Cheryl is in one of her moods where she is flitting here and flitting there while bugging me all the time. I CANNOT CONCENTRATE... doesn't that silly woman know that?

Have a nice day everyone.

I have often wondered who the "REAL" father of my children was. Not that I am accusing my wife of infidelity because I know better but early in her life she was abducted by aliens and the affects had long lasting results. Starting on the right and going counterclockwise that is Leslie, Kimberly, Katherine, Michael, Patrick with Kip being held by his mother. I knew I had proof that my children could not possibly be my own and here it is. Cheryl and I are having some very long discussions about her previous life.

This being the Halloween season I thought it would be proper for me to show just how that alien abduction has influenced my wife to do strange things.




Now did those aliens do silly things to her mind or what?

Have a nice day everyone.

This is a picture of me when I was first born. I was such a sweet little angel. (No, the pink flowers doesn't mean that someone thought I was a girl!!!)

Monday morning has dawned bright and cold with a lot of new snow in the mountains. I have pushed Cheryl out the door so she can get to work on time and I am just goofing off while getting ready for my naptime.

What a weekend I had. Friday I took the football team to their district championship game which they lost very badly. The game never started until after 10:00 pm which meant we never left the arena until after midnight. By the time I got home it was going on 3:00 am. I had enough time to get my 8 hours of off duty time and then take a bunch of choir students a big gala. They were there until after midnight as well, although I must admit it was an enjoyable program. When we exited the building to go home there was a raging blizzard going on. I could hardly see the road due to driving snow. So another late night. Sunday, because I am such a gooooooood boy, it was up and off to church at 9:00 am. Needless to say I am a bit tired today.

I see my other niece, Avery, has been reading my blog. Thank you for your comments. I feel sorry for this particular niece because she lives in a place that is so horrible that we don't even like to mention the name. It is (cough, choke, vomit, spit) UTAH.

It is nice that my nieces read my blog but dangerous in other ways. Now I cannot say any bad things about my family or Cheryl's since these nieces are Cheryl's sisters children. My sister, Aleaha, reads my blogs so I can't say anything about my family or embellish my accomplishments cause she knows better. Man, this sucks. What am I going to write about? Where is Foam when you need her?

After today Cheryl and I will be filing for a divorce. Today I am having a man with a backhoe come and take out several lilac bushes, rose bushes, trees, and anything else I can think of. How does that song go, "They tore down paradise and put in a a parking lot." That is exactly the plan. Needless to say Cheryl is not happy with my decision. Oh, I forgot to put out the garbage. Gotta go.

Have a nice day everyone.

As the caption to this picture said, "Archaeologists have discovered the remains of the first politician." Oh how true.

This will be my last blog for a few days since I have several bus runs lined up and, yes, I WILL remember them this time. I want to thank those who sent me helpful hints on how to help my memory; now if I can just remember where I saw them. Hmmm.

I had a silly question go through my head this morning. (Which demonstrates why my head is considered a vacant space.) Where did the number 13 gain it's notoriety as being unlucky? Did it come from the hangman's noose? A hangman's noose was tied with 13 wraps in the knot and in some areas it is still illegal to tie a knot with 13 wraps. I wonder what happened to the person who was hung with only 12 wraps? Maybe they were considered not quite so bad as to deserve the 13 wraps. Hmmmm, again.

I am sure most of you have seen the pictures of the wedding gowns made out of toilet paper. Quite innovative if I do say so and talk about being useful... you can get married and have a years supply of toilet paper at the same time.... Of course if you have a grandson like I have a toilet paper gown would come in handy when an emergency occurs and there is not paper around. Hmmmmm.

I was thinking about Foams picture of the skeleton in the bathroom. A lot of people call a bathroom a closet. Is that possibly where the saying came from, "She has skeletons in her closet." Maybe it is a German thing; they do strange things, or so I have been told. I think they learned it from the Canadians. I guess from now on when I hear the statement, "They have a skeleton in their closet", I will know that they have a skeleton in their bathroom.

Well I am sitting here listening to Bobby Goldsboro singing about "Honey" and the tears are blurring my vision so I had better wrap this up. Where is that toilet paper gown when you need it?

I mentioned in my last blog that my niece from Oregon has a blog. Now this niece is an interesting person. She is a professional harpist which is extremely neat in it's own right, but she is also a boxer; you know like the Million Dollar Baby. Now how does a harpist become a boxer? The only other one who did that as far as I can recall was Harpo Marx. Now there is a role model to follow. (Just kidding)

Have a nice day everyone.

Now you have to give someone in the department of highways credit for a sense of humor. They should have more signs like this for construction sites.

I was going to post a picture of myself with the caption, "What an idiot looks like", but I couldn't find a picture. I am not one to have many photos taken of myself since the years have not been kind to me. I don't see how all you ladies stay looking so beautiful all the time while men, on the other hand, seem tooooooo...... well let's just say you are much better looking.

Why would I post such a caption? Well, the story behind that is I AM AN IDIOT!!! I had a scheduled bus run yesterday and I completely forgot it. I thought it was for today. My boss tried to call me but when the phone rang I passed it off as another telemarketer and wouldn't answer it. He then tried to call on the cell phone and I didn't recognize the number so I thought it was a wrong number and refused to answer it. Needless to say that when he did catch up with me he thought I had been in an accident or whatever. When I told him,"No, I was just setting in front of the computer," he sounded a little exasperated. Anyone got any good ideas about how to improve memories?

It is cold and rainy here today and I love it. Two things I like very well are wind storms and rainy days, as long as I don't have to be out in it. I snuggle up to my old computer, a good book, or favorite movie, pop some popcorn, grab a cold Pepsi and settle in.

Surprise, surprise, surprise my niece Jeralee, who lives in Oregon, sent me her blogging address. Cheryl and I hardly ever hear from or about her unless her Mother stops by for an occasional visit. When those visits do occur you can be sure that every child in the two families is discussed thoroughly, so much so that their ears should be well done.

I have been looking for a used laptop that I could acquire and take with me on the bus for two reasons; one, so I can do my indexing while waiting, waiting, waiting, and two, so I can watch movies on a larger screen while waiting, waiting, waiting. The little 7 inch screen is okay but very little. So if anyone knows of a good used laptop (cheap) let me know.

A couple of blogs ago I mentioned that I would like to learn ventriloquism. (I don't know how I can learn it when I can hardly spell it.) Foam asked me what kind of dummy would I use and in my mind I came up with three. G I Joe, Gordy the biker, and Pam the Grandma. I could have a lot of fun with those.

Time to quit and get to doing some indexing. Oh before I forget I have to say Happy Birthday to an old (ooooolllllldddddd) friend in California; Kay Keith. Happy Birthday old timer. Cheryl might call but don't count on it. She forgets things worse than I do. She keeps asking me who I am and where is her husband.

Have a nice day everyone.

Now don't tell me that many teachers would like something like this to take care of that "ONE" child in the class that is always doing something wrong or etc.

Is it true that today is National Mushroom Day? Well how about that and I thought there was nothing to celebrate. I guess I will have to get me a calendar that tells me what is being celebrated each day of the year. This is exciting... National Mushroom Day!!

So what new and exciting things are happening in my otherwise boring life? Nuthin!!

We went to Kim and Robin's yesterday and had dinner with them and the kids. Other than being a little on the loud side (Brandon and Jeremy) we had a great time. We attended church with them where they were addressing the congregation about prayer. I tried to catch up on some sleep while they were talking but Cheryl felt like that was rude and kept nudging me.

The mightly hunters are attacking the hills like a horde of angry bees in search of poor little Bambi. Now is not a safe time to be in the mountains. I have to smile at the ones who say it is so they can get some winter meat. By the time they spend all the money for toys, guns, food, gas, vehicles, campers plus many other items I can't think of right now, they would be better off to purchase meat at the local butcher shop... it is cheaper. On top of all that a deer does not produce that much meat. If it is big enough to produce even a 100 lbs of meat it has to be so old and tough that you want to just feed it to the dogs.

I kind of long for the days when I would venture out (by myself) and spend the time doing the same thing. I didn't have all the niceties though, I just had my horse, my old 30-30 carbine, 5 shells and away I would go. I used to be so proud of myself that I could make a killing shot with just one bullet and would bring the remaining 4 home. I always figured that if it took me a carton of bullets to get one animal then I needed to go home and practice some more.

I had one occasion where greed got the best of me though. (I hope those of you who might be anti-hunting will forgive my stories. I no longer hunt with a gun but try to get some camera shots.) I was following a large doe and her two yearlings up the mountain when I suddenly came upon them. I shot the one yearling and the doe but the other yearling got away. As I finished dressing out the first yearling I drug him down to where the large doe had fallen. To my surprise the other yearling was laying on top of her. I could not find a bullet hole anywhere; I guess it had died of fright. I cussed myself for being so greedy that day. The snow was waist deep and I had to get three animals down the mountain in it. I was sooooooo tired when it was all said and done. The venison meat sure tasted good though.

Sure hope the spud farmers get their potatoes out before the snow hits. We have had a couple of storms come through that is definitely warning us of things to come. There are fewer things worse than frozen potatoes to work in. When they warm up they turn to mush and stink to high heaven. We would have to run them over a sorter table and pick all the mush and yuck out before they could go to market. It would be so bad that we would have to wear rubber gloves or our hands would just be soaked, let alone frozen.

Okay, enough of my ramblin about my youth and the things I did. I am sure I was one of those kids whom the teachers would have liked to send down the shredder slide.

Have a nice day everyone.

Now THIS is one frightening image. I probably won't sleep for quite a few nights now.

The snow has come and the snow has gone. Actually it is a little early for snow to stay on the ground since there are still many potato crops that need to be harvested. In my home town of Driggs, ID it was not uncommon at all to harvest in the month of October. Of course it was done with one eye on the sky and the other on the job.

Took the volleyball team to a meet the other night... they got their butts whipped. The coaches were so furious with them that they refused to stop and let them get something to eat. After realizing that maybe that was a little too harsh they came to me and asked me if I was hungry. I said I could always stand something to eat cause I knew that was their way out of being a little too harsh and they were saving their own embarassment. Women... I tell you they are STRANGE.

I am supposed to be paying our bills right now but blogging is more fun. I see where "Fried Lemon Pie" has quit blogging and she will be missed. Sometimes there was some very colorful language when she would get upset by some happening in the world. I am finding that to blog every day is very hard. I have decided that I will blog when I feel I have the time and the inclination. I do miss all the comments though and still visit some of the sites for jokes, information and just to see how everyone is doing.

I had better close and get to paying bills. Cheryl wonders just what I do with my time while she is gone; I tell her I do nothing so don't expect anything. I do have a load of wash I better go take care of so she won't have to do it. I will close with this bit of humour....

Blonde Jokes
A blonde named Pam is appearing on "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" with Regis Philbin.
Regis: "Pam, you're up to $500,000 with one lifeline left: phone a friend. If you get it right, the next question is worth one million dollars If you get it wrong, you drop back to $32,000. Are you ready?"
Pam: "Yes."
Regis: "Which of the following birds does not build it's own nest? Is it A) robin, B) sparrow, C) cuckoo, or D) thrush."
Pam: " I think I know which it is, but I'm not 100% certain. I'd like to phone a friend. I'd like to call Carol."
Carol (also a blonde) answers the phone: "Hello?"
Regis: "Hello Carol, it's Regis Philbin from Who Wants to be a Millionaire. I have your friend Pam here who needs your help to answer the one million dollar question. The next voice you hear will be Pam's..."
Pam: "Carol, which of the following birds does not build it's own nest? Is it A) robin, B) sparrow, C) cuckoo, or D) thrush."
Carol: "Oh geez, Pam. That's simple. It's a cuckoo."
Pam: "Are you sure?"
Carol: "I'm sure."
Regis: "Pam, you heard Carol. Do you keep the $500,000 or play for the million?"
Pam: "I want to play; I'll go with C) cuckoo".
Regis: "Is that your final answer?"
Pam: "Yes."
Regis: "Are you confident?"
Pam: "Yes; I think Carol's pretty smart."
Regis: "You said C) cuckoo... And you're right! Congratulations, you have just won ONE MILLION DOLLARS!"
To celebrate, Pam flies Carol to New York. That night they go out on the town. As they're sipping champagne, Pam looks at Carol and asks her,"Tell me, how did you know that it was the cuckoo that does not build its own nest?"
"Pam, it was easy," replies her friend. "Everybody knows that cuckoos live in clocks."

A blind man and his guide elephant enter a bar and find their way to a stool. After ordering a drink and sitting there for a while, the man yells to the bartender; “Hey , you wanna hear a blond joke?”
The bar falls quiet. In a deep husky voice the woman next to him says;“Before you tell that joke, you should know something. The bartender is blonde, the bouncer is blonde and I’m a 1.82 tall, 90kg blonde with a black belt in karate. The woman sitting next to me is blonde and she’s a weight lifter. The lady to your right is blonde and she’s a pro-wrestler. Think about it seriously, mister; You still wanna tell thatjoke?”
The man says;
“Nah, not if I’m gonna have to explain it five times.”


A blonde calls her boyfriend and says, "Please come over here and
>help me.
>I have a killer jigsaw puzzle and I can't figure out how to get it
>started"
>Her boyfriend asks, "What is it supposed to be when it's finished?"
>
>The blonde says, "According to the picture on the box, it's a
>tiger."
>
>Her boyfriend decides to go over and help with the puzzle. She lets
>him
>in and shows him where she has the puzzle spread all over the table.
>He
>studies the pieces for a moment, then looks at the box, then turns
>to
>her and says, "First of all, no matter what we do, we're not going
>to
>be able to assemble these pieces into anything resembling a tiger."
>
>He takes her hand and says, "Second, I want you to relax. Let's have
>a
>nice cup of tea, and then .." He sighed...............
>
>"Let's put all these Frosted Flakes back in the box

A painting contractor was speaking with a woman about her job.

In the first room she said she would like a pale blue.
The contractor wrote this down and went to the window, opened it, and yelled out "GREEN SIDE UP!"

In the second room she told the painter she would like it painted in a soft yellow. He wrote this on his pad, walked to the window, opened it, and yelled "GREEN SIDE UP!"

The lady was somewhat curious but she said nothing. In the third room she said she would like it painted a warm rose color. The painter wrote this down, walked to the window, opened it and yelled "GREEN SIDE UP!"

The lady then asked him, "Why do you keep yelling 'green side up'?"
"I'm sorry," came the reply. "But I have a crew of blondes laying sod across the street.

Have a nice day everyone.

Considering the devastation from hurrican Katrina those folks in New Orleans might consider this type of housing for the future.

I read an interesting tidbit in the news yesterday that I just have to make a comment on. It seems there is a group of (I will say "idiots" for lack of a better word) in the South that want their states to sucede from the United States of America. Not only is it some southerners but their are some in the New England states who advocate this as well. Apparently they think each state should become an independent nation of their own. They are working on getting other states to join them including California which is where anything weird is going to happen no matter what.

Folks wake up!!! This has been tried back in the 1860's and it didn't turn out too well then. Sure America has problems but it is still the best around. I wonder how many of these parents when they conceived thought to themselves, "I want my child to grow up and become a complete idiot." It is amazing how fast we forget our history lessons. Harrumph!!! Enough of this chatter.

Took the Jr High School volleyball teams yesterday. They got blown out but it didn't seem to dampen their enthusiasm about life. They were laughing and yakking as if nothing had happened at all. One little gal kept "signing" me that I was handsome. Little does she know that I took a sign language class and do understand and remember the GOOD words. Another one approached me and said, "I have to do this as a dare. I want to tell you that you are the best bus driver we have known." Yes, my head swelled a wee bit. Those kids sure keep me thinking on a younger level. I think that is why Cheryl has been a Pre-K teacher for so many years; she loves children and they bring so much joy to her. (Of course our own kids were a whole different story... little brats anyway.)

Thinking of my little brats I think I will go call my son and tell him I love him.

Have a nice day everyone.

Well another day has dawned and I am just as dull as the previous day. Our lovely weather which was to bring much moisture has failed again to produce. The wind blew, the clouds grew dark and ominous but the rain and snow did not fall in our section of the country.

How about those Denver Broncos????? Are they a pathetic team this year or what. I will admit I don't watch football like I used to. I think it is because I get tired of hearing those overpaid, whiney babies who are playing tell now mistreated they are. The of course there are the Michael Vick's of the sport. Getting paid lots of big bucks and seem to think they are above the law. Maybe they will throw him and O.J. Simpson in the same cell so they can think about the glory days.

I think I will send my oldest son, Kip, a "howler" letter. Of course unless you have read Harry Potter you would not understand what a howler is. He has promised me a camera book (which he had) for a long time now and still no book. Darla or Kay if you read this you may call him and give a "howler" phone call. 398-1093.

Went to the Red Lobster yesterday and piiigggggeeeeddd out. We ate so much shrimp scampi that neither one of us wanted to be in the same room with the other. Whoooee that garlic does strange things to a person. We had a good time though.

Today I will be takng the volleyball team to Burley, ID for a match. They are not doing so well this year. Maybe it is because they have a new coach and are adapting to her methods. Anyway I will enjoy the trip since I do enjoy watching volleyball. Now soccor, that is another story. That is about as exciting as watching paint dry. Read LOWA's blog yesterday about her son and his hockey playing. I must admit I miss going to Bakersfield's hockey games. I didn't understand too much of it but it sure was fun to watch and be with the crowd.

This weekend starts the hunting season around here and everyone is all excited about going out and killing Bambi or a large elk. Since my hunting rifles all got stolen in California I have not had any interest in that sort of thing. I enjoy shooting them with a camera now.

Hopefully this time next week I will be a bonafide General Class Ham Radio Operator. My test is scheduled for next Monday. Why am I doing this? I don't know... just something to keep my mind active I guess. I have even thought about getting a book on ventriloquism to see if I could do it. I try to keep my mind active in some sort of way.

Enough ramblin for this day. Have a nice day everyone.

Well shoot, I haven't been on the computer long enough to get some pictures to post so I guess I will just do my "ramblin".

Took a load of high school kids to a cross country track meet last Saturday and it was very miserable. It started snowing a very wet snow when we arrived and never quit until we had finished. Those poor kids were so wet and miserable. One girl asked why I didn't come and cheer for her while she was running. I told her that I just looked out the window of the bus (where the heater was running) and said, "You're on your own sister."

The next day the weather jumped up 26 degrees, according to the weather station, but today it is a lowering sky, very windy and more precipitation on the way. Bring it on!!! Things are so dry around here that fire danger is still posted in the extremes.

What this is is great flu weather. If Cheryl gets the flu she has to sleep outside in the tent so I won't get the flu.

We have no good fish and seafood resteraunts around this area so tonight Cheryl and I are splurging and going to the Red Lobster for all you can eat shrimp. Yum, yum, yum. I love shrimp. How I would love to tie into a plate of those king sized shrimp and eat my heart out.

Finished picking the pears off our pear tree today, dug up the beets which were a sore disappointment and got three scraggly carrots. If it wasn't for our tomatoes and squash our garden would have been a hugh disaster. However, our tomatoes are so delicious and firm, the squash multiplied like rabbits and the canteloupe produced some delicious fruit.

My back is doing very well. It talks to me when I overdo and when it talks..., I listen. I was climbing a ladder last week to fix a fan and by the time I finished I was hurting pretty good. Big sissy.

Mercy I have to get back to doing my genealogy. I was so involved with it for the longest time and now I just don't even look at it. I wonder why that is?

Sure wish I knew who got booted of Dancing With The Stars last week. They have some very interesting "celeb's" this time.

Okay I have rambled enough for today.

Have a nice day everyone.