Just a little news from my war boys...

.

Hey y'all!  Hugs, kisses, yada yada yada...

This is post #2997, and counting up to 3,000 strikeouts before we call it a career, btw.

Got some news from the boys in Afghanistan.


My Soldier, #3 son, is doing well.  His Reserve Unit (704th Engineer Co.) has been in country for almost a month now, and their deployment is going well.  We're able to communicate with him every few days either on Satellite Phone, Facebook, or Skype.

This is a photo that someone posted on the Unit's Facebook Support page.  This was before their departure from Ft. Bliss.  That's Phil on the right (front), sporting his standard "dookie-eatin' grin."  I know he's thinking that he wished he was carrying the big gun.  (He's always suffered from weapon envy).


His Unit has enough missions behind them now (Route Clearance) to know where they are.  And, the consensus is that they're well prepared for the job.

Man, they grow up fast, don't they??? 

Fortunately, he hasn't had any Medic work to do on his troops.  He has treated several Afghan citizens (vehicle accidents, etc.), but to this point, his troops have all been fine.  Thank God.

----------------------------------

In other news, my Airman (eldest son) will be wrapping up his current deployment in about a month.  He's attached to the 361st Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron.  This will probably be his last deployment.  

He wanted to change jobs, due to changing needs in the USAF.  He likes his linguist/cryptology gig, but the times they are a'changin'.  He applied for the new USAF Cyber Command, and was accepted!  Great news!  He'll be stationed permanently (hopefully) at Lackland (fingers crossed).  He'll be much closer, so we can visit him, and make his life miserable again!

Well, that's about it.  I just wanted to give a little update, and to thank you all once again for your love, support, and prayers for my warriors.  

It means a lot.

"Things get complicated when you get past 18." (For no particular reason)

.

Okay...I am 20 years separated from The Class of '57, due to being born too late (Mama always said that I should have been born 20 years earlier, and that I was "born 30 years old").  Heh!  Now everything makes sense...I've entered my second childhood!

But, that makes truth no less true.

This has always been one of my favorite Statler Bros. songs.

For no particular reason.

It could apply to the Class of '67, '77, '87, '97, ought '07, and probably will to the Class of 2017.

For no particular reason...

(BTW...Bitchin' leisure suits, too!)

New Year's Eve 2012

.

Ez Rainin' dogs, and cats, maaaahhhhhnnnnn....

Gonna look at LSU v. Clemson in The Chick-fil-A bowl in a while.

(I thought the gay folks had boycotted Chick-fil-A...I guess Clemson got some special dispensation from their higher-ups to go ahead on and play the game).

Hope I can stay awake long enough to figure out who won.

Probably won't.

The final sko will be on the internet at 0400 HRS when Mr. GE ALARM CLOCK reminds me that there be bills to pay.

Happy New Year, y'all!

This'll have to DO.

.

My great desire was to do y'all a V-log this evening, to wish all y'all a Merry Christmas.

I had it all planned out in my rapidly balding cranium.

It was gonna be a classic.

Trust me.

But, my staff was all "on call."  Being the generous employer that I am, I had told them to just stand by in case I had need of their services.

So, the mood to do y'all one of my famous V-logs struck me.  I heated up my iPhone, and began calling in Makeup, Wardrobe, Audio, Digital Manipulation, Key Grip, and Best Boy.

Voicemail is what I got.

From ALL of them.  Here we are several hours later, and not ONE of the ingrates has showed up!!!

Let this be a lesson at you...NEVER, EVER, NEVER, distribute Christmas bonus  8 Pound Frozen Brookshire's Turkey Coupons to your staff too early.

Crud...

So...this'll have to do.

I wish for all of you the merriest, and happiest of Christmases.  I really do.  May the peace of Christ envelop you, and yours.  May you see the light in a young child's eyes, and hear the ever raising pitch in their voice, and hearken back to when you were just as mystified, and excited at the prospects of the coming day. 

May you suffer a WHOLE night, hoping against hope that you can fall asleep, and not jinx the whole deal for your siblings, and yourself...

It was good to be a kid.

(long pause for dramatic effect)

Merry Christmas, y'all.  I love you all.  

I mean it. 

(I was gonna use the audio from this as background music for my V-log, but since my staff abandoned me...and of all times, on Christmas Eve...just use your imagination at how bitchin' it would have been).

So cute, you really hate to eat 'em...

.

Hey y'all!  Hugs, kisses, yada yada yada...

I thought I would pass along an idea for your holiday entertaining.  I know Christmas is tomorrow, and there is no way in the bad place that I'd get out to the grocery store tonight to rake up provisions for tomorrow, but...

New Year's Celebrations are on the horizon (unless the Mayans missed it by a couple of days), and you might want to give this a try.

Or not.

A friend of mine at work blessed me and my fambly with the Christmas gift of a cheese & cracker tray.  

The cheese is good.

But, here's the wrinkle...

The cheese is surrounded by mice (kinda' like they're standing guard, or something).

Now, is that cute, or what?

The mice are made by dipping maraschino cherries in melted Chocolate Bark, then applying a Hershey's Kiss as a face, and then shoving slivered almonds down between the body and face for ears.

Brilliant.

I guess the eyes are just little dots of red icing.

I'm thinkin' you could do this with Almond Bark, white chocolate Hershey's kisses, and black icing for eyes (Do they sell black icing?), if you wanted you some white lab mice to garnish your cheese tray.

They're almost so cute, you really hate to eat 'em.   And, trust me, I do really hate to eat them.

I mean, to eat them ALL.  We've still got about four that we're saving for tomorrow.

I found him! He ain't really dead!!!

.

Hey y'all!  Hugs, kisses, yada yada yada...

I was excited to discover today that Charles Foster Kane ain't really dead.

And, he's a "local," too!  I came across his vehicle, so I know he yet lives...and somewhere close to me!  Very exciting...

Still drives an old Caddy, though.

Sigh.

But, he supports our troops...so I'll give him grace...

Time to pass out the "Comment Of The Year Award" here at Andy's Place...

.

It's a long story...

But, I figured I'd better go ahead on and give out our "First Annual Comment Of The Year Award."

Like I said, it's a long story...

But, I figured I'd better do it before Friday.

Anyway...to make the story really long, the guys that work in Maintenance at my day job always invite me to their parties...Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc.  So, I'm invited tomorrow, and I decided to bring my offering of the best damn cookie that I've ever eaten (or baked, btw).  

While putting together my recipe, and getting ready to bake it this year, I knew something was just not right.  The dang thing looked WAY too big, and all.  It came out okay, but I realized right before I popped the sucker in the oven that the last time I made one of these (Jan. 7, 2012), I used Nestle's chocolate chips, and the "Toll House Cookie" recipe.  This holiday season, I cheaped out, and bought Hershey's chocolate chips, and used their recipe on the bag instead.  

The dang thing expanded up on me, and nearly made like a bad science fiction movie.  Still, it looks (and smells like heavenly sin).  

So...to make a long story even longer...I looked back at a blog post I did extremely early in 2012, because I knowed I had told y'all how to make your own pan full of sin.  I just love the internet...it reminds us of junk we just KNEW we'd remember to do, even though we forget within a few days.

Anyway....from this post, the "Comment Of The Year" goes to Jim at My Bossier:  

"When I saw all that plaid flannel and dungarees, I thought a lesbian had got loose in your kitchen. Then I realized their was no work boots and that it was just you."

Thanks so much to you ALL for all the pithy, funny, and serious comments in 2012.  (Too bad none of us will be around after Friday to continue on with the pithy, funny, and serious).

  Crud...

But, ALL Y'ALL'S comments are just grrrrrrreat!  It's been REALLY NICE knowin' y'all! 

But, y'all are all losers (except for Jim)... being initially mistaken for a lesbian really touches the heart of the panel of judges....

The "Old Man" is coming...

.

The Autumn of 2012 has been one of the most enjoyable periods of my life that I can remember (when it comes to the weather).  If you are a skinny, bony, rapidly aging dude that finds each and every approaching Old Man Winter as repulsive as I do, you know of what I speak.

Here we are on Pearl Harbor Day with the sun shining, and at 70-something.  

Fahrenheit.

Our Sweet Olive bloomed.

Again.

And her fragrance wafts up my extremely handsome nostrils each time I walk outside.

It's been bitchin' good around here!

But, the newly acquired Confederate Rose has given up the ghost.  She only has one dark red bloom, and a bunch of dead blossom-lookin'-dealies hanging on for dear life.

We're screwed.

The Mrs., and myself have noticed that we have a dookie-load of acorns falling from the Live Oak...more than either of us can remember in the 16 Autumns we've lived here.

And, we ALL know what that means.

Crud... 

Old Man Winter will be here in a couple of days.  Mr. Weather even said so!  (Local readers will know who I'm talking about)

Crud...I am not looking forward to Tuesday morning!  (Isn't there a store named something like that?)

 

So...why did Andy post such a lame blog post dealie about the weather?  Everybody knows that EVERYBODY talks about the weather, and we can't do nothing about it.

Well...I was just trying to make sure I remembered how to use The Globber.

That''s really why.

Crud...

Note to self...

.

...When you are changing the brake pads on your pickup truck, and you look in your son's four million piece fold out tool-kit that opens like a suitcase for an Allen Socket the right size to loosen the bolts...

...Be sure and close it back the right way!

This sucks.

And, the Advance Auto Parts guy sold me the wrong brake pads, too!

Well...The Mrs. said she'd handle putting it all back where it goes.  She said, "Give it to me.  I like jigsaw puzzles."

She is a good "The Mrs.," but this just sucks!!!

I suck...

The Confederate Rose

.

Hey y'all!  Hugs, kisses, yada yada yada...

One day last Winter I was out in my shop.  I have a nice big shop that doesn't get used nearly enough.

Here go a pitcher of it...

Anyway, I was out in the shop and noticed a bucket of water, with a stick in it.  The stick was about 18" long, and about an inch or so thick.  "Hmmmm," thought I,  "I wonder what sinister plan The Mrs. is hatching here?"  But, I got busy and forgot to ask her about the stick in the bucket later.

Time passed, and early last Spring, The Mrs. said, "I'm going out to plant my Confederate Rose."  I asked her where it was, and she told me it was in the shop.

Toing!  So, that's what that was.   In this photo you will see what she actually stuck in the ground (even though it wasn't that thick when she did.

Seems that her Mama had cut off a stick from her own Confederate Rose, given it to her, and the stick rooted over the Winter in the water bucket.

Well, that was about 7 or 8 months ago.

Lookit!

I don't think I've ever seen a flowering plant that grows that fast.  (Before anybody becomes a snot, I KNOW that all plants flower, but ya' know what I mean...I mean, make purty flaars!   Come to think of it, ferns don't flower...so never mind).

The dang thing is approaching 10 feet tall, and bustin' out all over with blooms.

I guess I wasn't paying attention in Horticulture College when they did the unit on The Confederate Rose.  I really didn't know too much about 'em, so I did me a little Goobling (especially after The Mrs. told me that there was a legend associated with the tree/bush/plant/whatever.

The Legend:  Once the Confederate Rose was pure white. During the Civil War, a soldier was fatally wounded in battle. He fell upon the rose as he lay dying. During the course of the two days he took to die, he bled more and more on the flower, till at last the bloom was covered with his blood. When he died, the flower died with him. Thereafter, the Confederate Rose (or Cotton Rose), opens white, and over the course of the two days the bloom lasts, they turn gradually from white to pink to almost red, when the flower finally falls from the bush.

About it:  The Confederate Rose or hibiscus mutablis is actually a Chinese import. Brought into English gardens in the 1600's, it is said to have gained favor in the South due to its ease of cultivation during the hard financial times after the Civil War. The hibiscus mutablis is a member of the hibiscus family which includes both the tropical hibiscus and the hardier Rose of Sharon. It is considered a large bush or a small multi-stemmed tree. The plant roots easily from cuttings, has few pests and grows vigorously during the summer. Once established it is drought resistant. The blooms appear in the fall.

 
This here is a picture from our Confederate Rose of the bloom in two different stages.

To be honest, ours have not bloomed out white to start with like all the info says they should.  Maybe we've got a little different variety, or something.  Dunno...

But, it has been fun to watch.

Hey, look!  Y'all have a great what's left of the weekend!  Gonna go cut my grass for the last time this year (hopefully...yes, we are indeed still mowing grass in NW Louisiana) on this gorgeous, warm Southern afternoon!

And after that...The Gaaaaaaaaamz...

BIGTIME BUSY SATTIDY!

.

Well, at least it was supposed to be.  What's that about the best laid plans of rodents, and Big Boys, or something???...

The plan was made for my BIGTIME BUSY SATTIDY.  Me, The Mrs., and #4 son were to hit The State Fair of Louisiana this morning (at the expense of my employer, God bless 'em)....then come home and work on our own biz for a few hours...and then I was to settle in for some BIGTIME College Football.

But, the stomach virus wrench got thowed in the works.

Bless his heart, #4 son woke up at roughly 0200 HRS puking his guts up.  Unfortunately, he did not make it to the crapper before the spew turned loose.

Eeeeeewwww...

It really wasn't all that bad.  Vomit was only on his blanket, sheets, box spring, bedroom floor, the hallway floor, bathroom floor, and all over the crapper in the hall bathroom, and on him (in voluminous quantities).  So...the "graveyard shift" hazmat crew was called in to do their yoeman-like work.  

We did our best, but I'm sure we will continue to find (and smell) vomit for a while.  

Crud.

So, as daylight dawned here at Andy's Place, #4 son was in no way interested in going to The State Fair of Louisiana...just wanted to sleep.  Bless his heart...

To throw the "pilin' on flag," it seems that The Mrs. is quite possibly beset with the same dastardly bug.  Bless her heart.  After working her graveyard shift, she removed her hazmat gear, and collapsed in to bed.  She has roused a time or two (it is 1355 HRS now), and looks progressively sicker each time she does.

Crud.

I hope they don't have the flu.  I took the flu shot at work (it's not required, but highly recommended), and felt a bit of queasiness myself this morning (but, it probably had more to do with continued cleanup of the mess, and seems to have passed).

Maybe. 

So, I've been pretty well a free agent today.  I decided to work on my own business this morning while the house slept in sickness.  It goes slow, but I really didn't have much to do until the really big games taking place in THE ONLY SPORT THAT REALLY MATTERS get going.  

Speaking of which...I've got a feeling that there will be some surprises today.  When it comes to the Notre Dame v. Pitt game, I'm not actually calling for an upset.  But, The Dame had better pay big-time attention to the passing game of Pitt...some impressive numbers...and those 4-4 teams are JUST THE ONES that can upset your plans for post-season glory.  Trust me on this one.  I look for it to be close.

I see no reason that The 'Boys of Okie State can not beat The Hawks.  I look for 220 total points, and about four million yards of total offense between 'em (not including punt return yards...but there may not be any, because I doubt either team will punt).  

Of course, I am an LSU homer, so my great hopes are for big-time shakeups above us.  And, the lay of the land is ripe for such things.  The miserable Ducks of Oregon face off against The Rubbers.  If anyone on their schedule needs a win as badly this Sattidy as USC, I'd have to have it 'splained to me.  I'm going out on a limb, and calling this one for The Miserable Rubbers over The Miserable Ducks.

But...our Tiger hopes are really in our own hands at Tiger Stadium tonight.  Am I "optimistic" about a win against Corch St. Nick, and his Tide?

Well, no.

But, my lack of optimism will have ZERO to do with the outcome of the game.  Tiger Stadium is a tough place to play, no matter how good you are.  And, trust me, 'Bama is GOOD!  It will require us (LSU) to play "The Perfect Game."  Do we have it in us?  

Dunno.

But, even a close loss to The Tide would be respected (and I look for the game to be close either way), and LSU should likely stay in the BCS bowl hunt.  Crud...I know for all my fellow LSU homers, I really sound pessimistic here.  But not really so much.  This is just one of those gaaaaamz that is so dang hard to figure that it's like a puzzle with pieces missing.  All I know to do is look at it, and find out what happens.

And, I'll be ready (and grateful that Daylight Savings Time ends tonight...seein' as I gotta be at work on my day job at roughly 0545 Sunday morning...that extra hour of sleep might just hep me keep my jarb).  

Come Sunday morning, we'll know about all of this.  But...it's possible that the next 10 hours will change the landscape of the BCS in big-time ways.

We shall c. 

Oh yeah...gotta post this.

 Catch y'all on the flip-flop!

Halloweems!

.

Okay, if you've been hanging out around this pitiful Titanic for very long, you know that I DO NOT LIKE ME NO HALLOWEEMS!

I GETS SCARRED WITH ALL THEM HAINTS SNEAKIN' AROUND THE HOOD!!!

But, Great Nephew Tucker (who The Mrs. keeps care of 3 or 4 days a week) is all geared up, and not too scary!

He's goin' as a duck.

Sure hope his Mama puts some britches on him, and keeps him clear of lakes, rivers, and reservoirs, though...

So anyway....BOO!

NEVER...NEVER...NEVER...

.

My friend, Pat Austin, snapped this shot at the nursing home where her Mama lives.

NEVER give up the fight!!!

Big day tomorrow for Louisiana College Football Fans...

.

...Probably the biggest day we've had since the BSCS National Champeenship last season, too!

Maybe even BIGGER in a way.

The (WAC) Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (LA Tech is where I attended College for a cup o' coffee, and a snore) are now 5-0, and ranked #23.  Honestly, I can't remember the last time LA Tech was ranked in the top 25.  It's happened.

I just can't remember the last time.

The Bulldogs take on the pussyish Texas fAggies (newly invited to the SEC...God rest it's soul) at Independence Stadium in Shreveport on Sattidy night.  I would honestly love to be there, as it is an 8 minute drive from Andy's Place.  But, I gotta get up WAY early on Sunday Morning to work for The Man.

It sucks getting old.  There was a time that I'd have not had one worry about staying up all night, and then being at work the next morning at 0600 HRS.

Coulda' done it with both eyes clear, and competently, too.

It sucks getting old.

Sucks.

Anyway, this will be Tech's chance to make a firm statement to the fans of  The Only Sport That Really Matters.  They've won on the road against much larger programs (from more respected conferences) this season.  This game is listed as a "home" game, seeing as it is in Louisiana.  But, Shreveport ain't Ruston, and we've got just tons and tons of retards here in town from Collij Stashun.  With any luck, most of them will get thowed in jail for trying to steal slot machines from the boats...public urination...or just jump off the roof of the Horseshoe Casino Hotel trying to prove to they mama again that they can fly.

Go Bulldogs!

In a more serious notation...the revamped, #3 ranked (surprised the hell out of me) Cocks of SowCahlanah Cocks visit Tiger Stadium for a kickoff at roughly the same time.

Man...WE REALLY NEED A WIN HERE, TIGERS!  We are beat up...banged up...locked up...

You name it!  Goodness do not be on our side right now.  But, it is Sattidy Night in Death Valley...and anything can happen.  A win puts us back in charge of things.  A loss...

...Well...

...It's over for any shot at an SEC Champeenship (which is all that really matters to us SEC homers).

I'll be looking at it on TV, and on the computer.  ESPN is carrying the Tech v. fAggies game on WatchESPN (which is on the computer).  

Well...I'll be looking at it until I fall asleep at roughly 2045 HRS (which I always do on Sattidy night).

It's a rule.

I hope y'all's teams do good, too!

Too wo' out to tell y'all why...

.

Vacation...stomach bug...painting (mostly scraping, and sanding at this point)...sob stories...chirrens coming home to visit, and chirrens going half a world away...

Maybe I'll get it all together in a few days to tell y'all just WHY I don't have the energy to tell WHY I'm iz too wo' out to tell y'all why.

Maybe.  

Probably.

Yeah...Probably.

Let's us just do us a rerun...

.

I spent a good part of the afternoon playing roundball out in the driveway with #4 son.

I am sure that I will suffer tomorrow because of it, but it's all cool...

We had a great time.  

I thought I would do better than I did, even though it has been a WAY long time since I shot hoops.

I suck.

Just sayin'...

Anyway, the afternoon event lead to a long discussion between me, and #4 son about the greatest basketball player that ever lived, Mr. Pete Maravich.

So, we spent a lot of time after dinner looking at The YouTube videos of "The Pistol."

Finally, I remembered that I had actually posted about His Greatness in the past.

So...RERUN IT IS!

Andy takes a REAL DAY OFF!

.

Okay...the last few weeks/months/years/my entire life/whatever, I've always used my "days off" to do junk that needed did.

I woke up this morning on my "day off" from my day job, and thought, "Dangit!  I'm going to take a real DAY OFF!  I'm going to do everything I want to do, and I'm not going to do ANYTHING I don't want to do"!!!

And, that is precisely what I have did.

Took "The Black Beauty" to the Snappy Scrubs car wash at 0845 HRS (roughly)...got her cleaned, and vacuurumed...

I swear, Sadie's last trip to the Vet left all kinds of dog hair in the back seat (dogs shed a lot when they're nervous, if you didn't know).  Plus, we had about 900 miles of stinkin' Arkansas road grime on her from our trip last week...

And...somebody must have shot about four ounces of snot out of their nose while sneezing (I'm looking at you, Tucker!).

Anyway, The Black Beauty is as clean as she has been in weeks/months/years/my entire life/whatever.  (When I brought her back from The Beauty Shop, The Mrs. went out there with a spray bottle of ammonia/Windex/ArmorAll/whatever that made her even more beautiful.  Just sayin'...)

My Daddy came by Andy's Place, and picked up some parts that he had ordered to be shipped here, and we talked about his business, and some other things for a while.  It was nice.

I love my Daddy.  Everybody does.

Outside of washing the car, and cleaning up the comprutuhs...I've done nothing except catch up on blog reading (I only left just a few comments, but that doesn't mean I didn't read y'all's blog posts...got 'em all read.  And, enjoyed every dang one, too!), answered a lot of REALLY OLD emails that I had been planning to, and enjoyed the fabulous (not too hot) sunshine on a wonderful, NW Louisiana day.

Plan to look at Northeast v. Baylor tonight (Oooops...I mean, The University of Louisiana at Monroe, which beat the snot out of stinkin' Arkansas, and almost beat Auburn).

A rerun...and an interesting story behind it...

.

Hey y'all!  Hugs, kisses, yada yada yada...

I almost NEVER check my "comments awaiting moderation," but since I'm taking a REAL DAY OFF for a change, I decided to clean up all the comprutuhs, and looked at it.

Seems that there was a comment awaiting moderation from a relative of mine.  I've never met her.  But, she is related by marriage to my beloved Great Grandmother, "Granny Laura," who lived to be 104.  (I had her until I was 34 years old...such a blessing, and I miss her every day).

Anyway, she very kindly asked me for info about where Granny Laura, and her husband, Ross Gilmore Newland were buried, as she is working on a family history of the Farque fambly.  (I g-mailed her the info that she was looking for, and a few extra things about the fambly that she might find interesting).

MAN!  How cool is the internext????  Evidently she found this pile of failure through a The Gooble Search, due to the fact that I have often posted about my beloved Great Grandmother (this picture that I took of her when she was about 90 is my desktop background, btw...)

So, it got me to searching this here Titanic of a blog for stuff I might have wrote about Granny Laura, and her chirrens, grandchirrens, and great grandchirrens.

Man...I came across a bunch of stuff!

There was a great bunch of stuff, but ONE really struck me.  It was an ancient post I did about an e-mail I got from one of her sons, my now departed Great Uncle Earl.  Actually, the post is about my reply to him.

This is it.

It also reminded me that Granny Laura's birthday is coming up real soon, too.


Man, I miss her every day. That's all.

Windows 7 failed on me...

.

Sigh...

Fortunately, I have both Carbonite, and an external hard drive that backs up automatically once a day.

Also, MOST fortunately, I had taken the time to create system repair discs when I purchased my HP not so long ago.

MOST fortunate....

Unfortunately, I've got a ton of programs to install...drivers to fetch...and I've lost at least the semblance of order that my desktop gave to my biniss, Dad's biniss, and to my life in general.

Sigh.

I shall be occupied.

For a while.

Laughed. Out. Loud!

So, at this motel we're staying at in Ozark stinkin' Arkansas there were these two (obviously) children of Indian descent running around the parking lot.

I figure their Daddy owns the joint. And, it's pretty okay. No complaints...

Anyway...the boy looked like he is about five. But his sister (I'm assuming) is probably nine.

Cute as a button, too!

So in my best American voice I say to her, "Hello."

She replies, as she runs past me..."Hey!!!"

The times they are a'chanin''...

She is cute as all get out! Got the Suthun' down, too...

She might one day be the wife of a Southun' Governor...