Homesteading

Homesteading

There’s no better feeling than accomplishing something with your own two hands.

We recently completed a construction project at our home. I watched each member of the work crew ply their trade with certainty and skill. I was envious.

I sit in a climate-controlled office most days typing on a keyboard and talking on a phone. I don’t mean to belittle what I do, because I worked very hard on my education and to become proficient at my profession. But as I ...

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Farming

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Radio – I Listened With Frequency

Radio – I Listened With Frequency

It looks like a square with a corner cut off.

In 1972, when I was 10 years old, my dad’s parents gave me a Christmas present that would change my life. A Sony ICR-1826 model transistor radio.

This small, white cube would send me down a career path that a lucky few travel.

Late at night, long after I was supposed to have been asleep, I would turn the radio down low next to my pillow and tune in voices from hundreds, even ...

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Radio

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Dogs

Dogs

He came to us when he was between 5-7 years old.

We’ll never know exactly how old he is because the people who drove to the dead end road in front of our home, removed his collar, dumped him out, and drove away, didn’t leave a note.

It was a 102-degree July day in 2006.

He came to the sliding glass door on the back of our house and stood their waiting to be let in. I would assume it was exactly what ...

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Pets

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You’re Wrong About Me Being Wrong

You’re Wrong About Me Being Wrong

Civility is rapidly becoming extinct.

Once upon a time, Americans knew how to respect each other. That mutual respect has been replaced with vitriol and an inability to agree to disagree.

Americans have always held a myriad of beliefs, be they political, religious or otherwise. That hasn’t changed.

What has changed is the self-discipline most people used to possess when it comes to allowing others to have beliefs different from their own.

Today, anyone who wants to publicly express their views is likely to ...

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English Language, Social Media

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It’s a Matter of Manners

It’s a Matter of Manners

My brain is much younger than the rest of me.

It started out as an occasional thing, but has since rapidly picked up in frequency. I’m referring to the use of my last name.

There isn’t much else that’s more of a reality check than when most folks start calling you mister.

“Mr. Moore, it’s nice to see you!”

“It’s nice to see you, too. Please, call me ‘John’.”

“OK, Mr. Moore.”

Sigh.

Most of us feel the same exact way that we did when we were ...

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art, English Language

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Pinball and Bowling Are Different

Pinball and Bowling Are Different

He’s a stupid idiot.

If some future civilization discovers our ruins and writings, I’d highly doubt that even a Rosetta Stone would help them. Between redundancy, poorly crafted metaphors, and oxymorons, they’ll never figure us out.

Recently, I was working in my shop on a John Deere lawn tractor that had taken ill, when an ad came on the TV set behind me claiming that something was ‘new and improved’. How can it be both? I guess it’s just as possible as ...

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English Language

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May The Fourth Be With You

May The Fourth Be With You

Independence Day is a great day to watch Independence Day.

Most families have their own holiday traditions. At Christmas at our house, it’s serving specific dishes for dinner. At Thanksgiving, it’s having a smoked ham.

At some point over the last decade, watching the movie “Independence Day” has become our Fourth of July tradition.

We usually grill something, thank the Good Lord for our country, and then sit down to watch Will Smith fight aliens.

It’s a good time.

However, I miss the old Fourth ...

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Holidays

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Charge It

Charge It

We bought an electric car.

First, let me say that I do not consider myself a hippie, tree hugger, environmental whacko, or anything of the sort. But I do believe that being a good steward of my little piece of Mother Nature is the responsible thing to do.

And being a cheapskate helps. Buying less fuel is always nice.

In 2003, my wife and I bought our first hybrid car. Cars that were both gasoline and electric were not common then. I considered ...

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Cars

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Say What?

Say What?

“You can’t make this stuff up.”

Actually, you can.

“These are mostly highway miles.”

Ever had a car salesman say that to you? It’s one of the many lines we’ve been trained to accept as fact.

I’ve never asked an Impala if its life has been an easier one simply because a little old lady from Pasadena drove it to church on the freeway each Sunday instead of a city street, but I’m guessing that a mile is a mile is a mile.

Why is ...

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Unanswered Questions, Uncategorized

The Door To Our Past Is A Jar

The Door To Our Past Is A Jar

We buy a lot of food that we used to make ourselves.

Consumerism has made the world a better place, but it’s also made us quite lazy. What we used to be forced to make at home for economic reasons, we now, generally, just go and buy.

Last week, I made what was by my own count, the second loaf of bread in my life. Granted, I used a bread machine and didn’t knead the dough by hand, but it was still ...

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Food, Home Cooking, Uncategorized

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