Falling Behind. Will Organization Help?

 I have fallen behind (again) in my posting, but sometimes, there just isn't a lot of riveting news at the BrierPatch. After Baby Cora arrived, things seemed a little dull around here. We did try to swim in the pool Saturday, but it was still too cold for us. See what I mean?  Riveting!

What does this have to do with organization you may be wondering? Well, it is the lack of organization that affects this blog. I am beginning to feel that I need a schedule here at the BrierPatch. So as of today, here it is: Monday will be Media Monday. Either Joe, possibly anyone else with some kind of review, or I will have a post about something in the media. (Help me English majors, should this really read a medium review? I am confused. ) Movie reviews, television show reviews, podcast reviews, magazine or newspaper article reviews will be posted on Mondays. Tuesday will be Tech Tuesday. Tech Tuesday will mainly be for my friends that have asked me for advice with their iPhone, computer, or iPad. (I don't do Windows!). Let it be known that I also have very limited advice to hand out. But I do speak beginner "help".  Send questions if you have any. I will make an effort to answer them.

Wednesday, of course will be the increasingly popular Smacks of Old Fart post.

That leaves Thursday and Friday for me to ramble on about life with Barry, the dogs, my children, grandchildren, relatives, and friends. Anyone and everyone is fair game. But, believe it or not, I do use discretion. Hopefully, this plan will help The BrierPatch stay online. If there is one thing that disappoints me, it is going to my favorite blogs and finding there is not a new post. Saturday and Sunday will probably be off days. Most blogs follow this format.

However, let me just say that all of the above is subject to change at anytime. Sometimes the best laid plans fall by the wayside. So we will have to be flexible.

This past Sunday, something exciting did happen (for Barry and I, anyway). There was a Painted Bunting at our bird feeder!

They migrate through our area every spring. Some will stop and nest before they fly further north. You can see them at Cedar Hill State Park and sometimes at Lloyd Park in Grand Prairie. However, we have never had one come to our feeder. Birding is a lot of luck. Barry just happened to look out the window and see him there. I had to take the photograph through the window, so it is not as clear as I would like.

Also, the bluebirds are back with two of their young. They seem to be nesting again. At least, that is the impression they are giving us. Or, it could be because they know we will give them meal worms, and they are just playing us.

The last thing I have to tell you is that Magic can swim. He jumped in the pond to chase ducks the other morning. I am so glad he can swim, because I did not want to go in that duck and turtle poop pond after him. He swam about half way across and then, thankfully, turned around and came back. He was sad he didn't capture a duck, but sadder that he had to have a bath.

Doesn't swimming in the pond count as a bath?

That is a week in a nutshell. Hopefully with my new organizational plan other weeks will contain more entertaining information. But, a Painted Bunting is pretty darn good.

Smacks of Old Fart

I do not have to look very far or dig very deep to find examples that fit the SOOF criteria. Yesterday I made one last trip to my storage unit. It occurred to me that having a storage unit Smacks of Old Fart. Approximately fifteen years ago my brother in law and partner in my veterinary business and I, decided we needed a large storage unit. We could use it to store our excess quality possessions (ie., junk); our excess vet. clinic equipment and supplies (ie., junk); our kids moving in & out of college possessions (ie., junk); our kids moving from single to married life possessions (ie., junk); I think you get the idea. Fifteen years ago our rate was about $75/month. Seemed reasonable. Paying the bill through the office after all. When I closed the account recently I discovered we were now paying $200/month. Even if you average that to $150/month for 15 years that equals around $27,000. Now I feel like a really stupid old fart.
Some quality things I stored. The baby crib we used for all three of our babies. Just knew my kids would want to use this crib for their kids. Guess what? It is not deemed safe anymore. How our kids survived this dangerous time in their life I just don’t know. The old: desks, beds, VCR’s, pots and pans, Christmas decorations, couches, bicycles, speakers, posters, mirrors, lamps, school (teaching) supplies, etc., etc. Nobody wanted any of these things. Why do we have this need to store these things? Not sure why, but I do know a lot of old farts have storage units.
I took most of these things to the local Goodwill store today. Couldn’t help but notice the Goodwill receiving area looked a lot like my storage unit did prior to my emptying it out this week. Just a minute, my phone is ringing. “Hello Barry. This is Bob. Want to go to a 30 household garage sale today? We can probably find some fantastic deals.” I think he means junk.
Maybe I can find a storage unit with a free month and start all over. Let me know if you agree this phenomenon really Smacks Of Old Fart! 


-Barry

Smacks of Old Fart

I'm a 65 year old retired senior citizen.  I believe you're only as old as you feel, age is just a number, and a 60 year old Baby Boomer is equivalent to a 45 year old member of that great generation that  fought and won World War II.  Retirement is more fun than I ever imagined, and aging most definitely beats the alternative.

HOWEVER, I have one fear that haunts me to the core of my soul.  Every night, when I go to bed, I ask myself....."Did I do or say anything today that Smacks of Old Fart?"  It can sneak up on you so fast that you don't even know it.  You've got to constantly be on your guard.  Things that use to be cool (like saying, "Hey, that's cool") really aren't "cool" anymore.  However, I doubt that wearing your belt buckle above your belly button or black socks with shorts and sandals were ever the height of fashion.  But, jeans bought long enough to roll the pant legs into cuffs were once considered "cool."  Now, it just Smacks of Old Fart.

Jan has asked me to keep my eye out for things that "Smack of Old Fart" and report them back to her for inclusion in her blog.  This I will do on a bi-weekly basis (if that really means every two weeks), and may even include a picture or two.  That is if I can figure out how to take a digital picture, download it to my computer, and attach it to something that I can send to her.  You see I'm really just a Big Chief Tablet and #2 Pencil kinda guy.  And, that in and of itself, probably Smacks of Old Fart.

Pat

AUTHOR'S NOTE:  I have just been informed by my daughter that wearing socks, even black socks, with sandals and shorts are are now considered fashionable. Can you believe it? That one snuck up on me in a hurry. See what I mean. You've really got to keep your guard up.  

One Week Old and Oh So Cute

Little Tiny Cora

Are You One of the 3.9 Million?

Or were all the 3.9 million teenage boys?

Daenerys Targaryen (Khaleesi)- my favorite
character. She has dragons!
source

3.9 million people watched the Season 2 premiere of Game of Thrones. I was one of them. While it has been a few weeks since the debut of Season 2, I still wanted to write a little something about this series. I can't write much, because the series can be grim to watch, and this is a family blog. 

It is an epic fantasy based on the novels of George R. R. Martin novels. I have to admit, I have not read the novels.  It might have helped me follow the first season, but then, again maybe not. It is a convoluted story, that adds characters all the time. Seven noble families fight for control over the mythical land of Westeros. There are three principal story lines. I find the story captivating and have really enjoyed the series. But, be aware, this imaginable story is filled with deceit, brutality, incest, sex, nudity, and mythical creatures. It is hard to believe some (or a lot) of the scenes are actually on television. But as they say, "It's HBO." 

The photos are of just a few of the many characters in this series.

Arya Stark-just one of the females that
is planning revenge. She has a list, guys!
source

Tyrion Lannister- devious, but is the nicest of the
Lannisters (which is not saying much)
source

Saturday Night Live had a funny skit about Game of Thrones.  The skit has been removed from YouTube and NBC for music liability, but as of this post, it was still on the linked site, if you wish to watch it.

SNL Skit

What are you watching?

Seriously?

Did you really think I wasn't going to post anything about Cora Kaye Schneider? The photos are below, if you don't want to read the post!

Michelle was admitted to the hospital on Saturday evening, April 14th to begin the process of giving birth to this beautiful little girl. She and Miles were troopers through this undertaking, as Cora was not born until Monday, April 16th at 5:26pm. As the nursing shifts changed, Michelle was afraid she was going to run out of kind nurses before Cora was delivered.

The Schneiders and Briers, of course, were all up to the hospital and back home several times during that time.

I must give a shout out to Brett. He was there and took care of anything that needed to be taken care of.

He got Miles out of the hospital for lunch a couple of times, he drove people around, he took the kids to play, and cooked Sunday evening dinner for them so I could relax .  (Shannon and Joanie were at the hospital giving moral support to Michelle.)

I also must give kudos  to Dr. Wiley, Michelle's obstetrician. When she put Michelle on bed rest, Cora was barely 2 pounds. With her guidance, Michelle was able to grow Cora to 5 1/2 pounds by delivery.  She was patient and confident that she could deliver this baby without a c-section.  Plus, when she came in to see Michelle on Tuesday, she sat and held the baby for long time. We love her.

Click here to see the photos:

This slideshow design created with Smilebox

SMACKS OF OLD FART WEDNESDAY

SMACKS OF OLD FART

This is the introductory guest column called “Smacks of Old Fart”. You’re probably wondering where this title came from. Well, here is the skinny on that. While on a recent vacation with our friends Pat and Jennifer Oler, it became apparent that we were all getting old. Things just kept happening that just really smacked of something old farts would do. So, the four of us thought “you know there are a lot of old farts out there that would love to read a blog about this subject” (actually it was Pat’s idea). That is if they could find their glasses...oh yeah..they are on top of their heads. Like most old farts we procrastinated. Pat and I (Barry) decided (actually this was Jan’s idea) rather than figure out how to write and post a blog of our own, we could write a guest column and post it on Jan’s  blog, Inside the BrierPatch. Not to be confused with Inside the NFL. Pat and I decided we would make Wednesday our day to post. We plan to alternate. Therefore, without further ado, the following is Volume 1, No. 1, April 18th, 2012. (Oh s__t, April 18th, did I forget to file my taxes?)

I really do not try to do stupid things. Technology doesn’t help in this regard. Tonight while calling my SOOF co-writer, Pat Oler, is a case in point. You know when I was young, I had at least all my friends, relatives, work and other telephone numbers memorized. Not sure if I could still do that but thank goodness I don’t have to. I looked up Pat and Jennifer’s number on, what else, my cell phone. Personal file cabinet and keeper of all important and necessary information to function. Then I called them on my land line. I can actually hear the conversation on a land line. Anyway, Jennifer answered, and we were catching up when I heard her phone beep and what sounded like a recording come through. The number being announced on her caller i.d. was familiar. You guessed it, yes it was me pocket calling the Olers from my cell. Doesn’t that just Smack of Old Fart? 

If you have any SOOF stories please forward them to me. You might get credit. Maybe not. 

The photo is a re-enactment of me pulling off this SOOF snafu.

Yours truly,

Barry

ps: Jan said that this information I just gave her was a SOOF article itself. I think it is more of a ps.

 I was reading one of my veterinary news feeds, “Animal Health Smart Brief”, when I segued to an article on how bats fly so efficiently. Then I jumped to an article called “The Most Ridiculous and Comprehensive Way to Test Toilet Paper” by the Consumer Reports People. Well it turns out that White Cloud TP sold at Wal-Mart is better and cheaper than Charmin.  I think Pat would have commented, “well I rectum it is”. He is more homespun than me. Tune in next week to see what I mean.

Holy Memorandum! The Secret to Bats’ Super-Efficient Flight Could Help Make Better Military Drones