The Davies Crazies are 2 weeks in to our next adventure. Zed is out playing in the sand box while the kiddos and I are holding down the home front. We’ve enjoyed some amazing visitors; Mylee, Dax is still looking for you, Abby the girls want you to come back and go to the suseum, and Dad the kids can’t wait to go swimming. We are so blessed to have family that loves us and is willing to help out.
I believe by this time last adventure we had a black eye, not this time, just two puking kids and two kids with diarrhea. I know, not pretty, but it’s a day in my life. Some prettier things…we planted a garden and enjoyed a fun event for kids who have parents that are deployed. There’s a benefit to having so many kids…more chances to win. Think a 43″ TV and Chuck E Cheese gift card on top of the toy each kid in attendance got to pick out.
We’re also anxiously waiting our next assignment to be loaded in the system. We’re anticipating moving to Germany this summer, but as of this moment it’s just words. Everyone who has ever been slightly attached to the military knows that you can’t believe or act on anything until it’s in writing and even then it has a chance to change. There are some things I’ve started working, just so I don’t stress eat or bite all of my nails off…dang nails are gone already. Once it’s official I’ll be sure to post about it.
Catch Up Time…
I’ve been horrible about keeping track of my Selfish Year, but I’ll try to catch up.
Lost 10lbs so far
Successfully done date dates with the girls
Ran 35 miles (broke my tail bone so I haven’t run in a while)
Read 4 books
I’ve gotten a 86 on my fitness test
This will be my 3rd post this year
Completed 3 sewing projects
Completed 4 acts of service
Setting aside the $ hasn’t been so good, but I also haven’t spent more than I make
Have not started reading the Book of Mormon yet
I have my ups and downs with talking to the kids appropriately
No chore or bedtime routine
New resolution
Stop biting my nails – fail so far
Go to bed NLT 10pm each night – usually a fail
So there you go…all caught up. Cross your fingers for us that our assignment is loaded soon!
Should you not be familiar with the with the area, Delmarva, where the Rooster has his coop, is a peninsula. The peninsula is made up of parts of three states, Maryland, Delaware and Virginia.
During the BIG BLOW (Storm Quinn) last week, March 2nd to be exact, we were stuck here on the peninsula for a brief time. The winds were far in excess of what was safe for vehicles to cross the bridges off the peninsula. Pictured above is the Chesapeake Bay Bridge from Kent Island to Annapolis. Pictured below is the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel that connects the southern tip of Delmarva to Virginia Beach.
So what’s going on today, March 7, 2018? Storm Riley is this one’s name. I just happen to be in the Nutmeg State of Connecticut hanging with the son’s family for a few days. And what does the National Weather Service have to say?
URGENT – WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
National Weather Service Taunton MA
415 PM EST Wed Mar 7 2018
CTZ002>004-MAZ010-011-RIZ001-080515-
/O.CON.KBOX.WS.W.0006.000000T0000Z-180308T1200Z/
Hartford CT-Tolland CT-Windham CT-Eastern Hampshire MA-
Eastern Hampden MA-Northwest Providence RI-
Including the cities of Hartford, Windsor Locks, Union, Vernon,
Putnam, Willimantic, Amherst, Northampton, Springfield, Foster,
and Smithfield
415 PM EST Wed Mar 7 2018
…WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 AM EST THURSDAY…
* WHAT…Heavy snow. Total snow accumulations of 8 to 15 inches,
heaviest in the higher terrain in northern Connecticut and
western Massachusetts.
* WHERE…Portions of northern Connecticut, western
Massachusetts and northern Rhode Island.
* WHEN…Until 7 AM EST Thursday.
* ADDITIONAL DETAILS…Travel will be very difficult if not
impossible. Tree branches and wires could fall. Snowfall rates
of 1 to 3 inches during the height of the storm with
thundersnow possible.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…
A Winter Storm Warning for snow means severe winter weather
conditions will make travel very hazardous or impossible. If you
must travel, keep an extra flashlight, food and water in your
vehicle in case of an emergency.
A Red Pot Recipe
So what does the Mrs. do on that miserable day last week, she makes, without a doubt, the finest Beef Stew of our fifty-two years of marriage in her big red pot.
Ingredients
Vegetable oil, for searing
2 1/2 pounds beef chuck, cut into 2-inch cubes after searing whole.
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 medium onions, cut into 6ths
1 1/4 pounds medium potatoes, quartered
4 medium carrots, cut into 2-inch pieces
4 medium Parsnips, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 can, Cream of Celery Soup
1 can French Onion Soup
1 can of Red Wine (Cab)
Directions
Pre-heat oven to 300 dgrees. Add vegetable oil to bottom of pot on high heat on stove burner, salt and pepper meat to taste, insert roast into pot when oil is hot, sear for one to two minutes on each side. Remove beef, cut into 2 inch squares, return to pot. Add all other ingredients, stir and place in oven for four hours, remove and serve.
So just last month Ben, our 16 month old Standard Poodle and I visited the Vet. He was throwing up, had diarrhea during the night, not eating or drinking. Just the age old failure to thrive diagnoses.
It’s a Friday and I got him to the Vet for an exam. They kept him for the day, IV for dehydration, Xrays, Antibiotics and several phone calls during the day. “Come in after six” they say, “and you should be able to take him home. It’s a good thing you got him here when you did, could have been dead by morning.”
FYI: Three days prior Ben and I were on a 250 acre farm and he was chasing flocks of geese and having a grand time. I did observe what looked like him nibbling on something on occasion. Goose Poop I suspected then and the Vet confirmed most likely and the cause of his problems.
Diagnoses after blood tests: Colitis, Pancreatitis, severe dehydration. All this due to Dietary Indiscretion was the Vets call. Seven days of Antibiotics, $1,000.00 lighter in the wallet and directions for an interim diet of baked sweet potatoes and venison mixed together we got to go home.
Man’s Best Friend, Foie gras be damned! I do love that dog, all 65 lbs. of him. No Poodle cut, looks like a black bear. As you can see, he’s a great watch dog. Ben’s full name is, Benjamin Franklin Fiddler, my BFF.
Yesterday was the sabbath, so off to church I went, in a manner of speaking anyway. You see, herself was going to church and its eleven miles away in the big city, I was the Uber driver on this day. She also wanted to get her 10,000 steps in and had decided to start walking after the service. She would ring me up, as our friend Amal always says when she wants a call, when she has 10K on her feet. Her driver would obediantly return for the pick-up. Hey, it’s been 52 years of wedded bliss and she makes a fine meal, so I’ll be there.
Our daughter Sarah lives near the church and I would spend my Sunday service with her as she folded her laundry over a fine cup of Dunkin Donuts’ coffee. I get a small black, no sugar, she a large with nine pumps of whole milk.
I don’t get a whole lot of one on one with this child, she’s a busy VP of sales for a seafood company and on the road quite a lot. Usually when in her company it’s a small to large gathering of family and friends. What a wonderful Sabbith this turned out to be as we shared where we are at this time in our lives.
Just for my own curiosity I looked up the word “Sabbath” and found it’s an oxymoron of sorts. I’m referring to the witches and Devil part of course.
a day of religious observance and abstinence from work, kept by Jews from Friday evening to Saturday evening, and by most Christians on Sunday.
2.
a supposed annual midnight meeting of witches with the Devil.
Origin
Old English, from Latin sabbatum, via Greek from Hebrew šabbāṯ, from šāḇaṯ ‘to rest.’
When I saw the below piece in my email this morning, I read it over several times. I read over #12 several additional times. I thought, just perhaps I’d left my children (three of them) with some wisdom and a few precious life’s lessons. They are grown now with their own families, and we constantly strive to give them their space. Were we to follow the code of ethics of the American Indians we would all be spiritully advanced.
Sabbith with my daughter, it was spiritual.
Every great person, despite their culture, religion, tribe, or ethnicity, believes in certain words of wisdom.Those words transcend the differences among people. This code of living forms one’s character. It molds every culture to be unique and unrepeatable.
Possibly one of the most spiritually advanced and personality building code is The Native American Code of Ethics that was originally published in the Inter-Tribal Times in October 1994. It’s a Code of Ethics that teaches everybody, American or not, how to live their lives in the best way.It’s fascinating to note that most of these teachings are reflected in other beliefs and faith as well.
1. Rise with the sun to pray. Pray alone and often. The Great Spirit will listen only if you speak.
2. Be tolerant of the people who are lost on their path. Ignorance, jealousy, anger, and greed stem from a lost soul. Pray that they’ll find guidance.
3. Search for yourself, by yourself. Don’t allow others to create your path for you. It’s your road and yours alone. Others might walk it with you, but nobody can walk it for you.
4. Treat your guests in your home with consideration. Serve them the best food, offer them your best bed and treat them with respect and honor.
5. Don’t take what isn’t yours either from a person, community or culture. It wasn’t earned nor given. It isn’t yours.
6. Respect every little thing placed upon the earth.
7. Honor other people’s thoughts, desires, and words. Let each person express themselves.
8. Never speak of others in a mean way. The negative energy you put out into the universe is going to multiply when it returns to you.
9. All people make mistakes. And all mistakes can be forgiven.
10. Negative thoughts cause illness of the mind, body, and soul. Practice optimism.
11. Nature is not FOR us, but a PART of us. Animals, plants and every other living creature are all part of our worldly family.
12. Children are the seeds of our future. You need to plant love in their hearts and shower them with wisdom and precious life’s lessons. When they’re grown, give them space to mature.
13. Avoid hurting other people’s heart. The poison of the pain you cause will return to you.
14. Be honest at all times. Honesty and truthfulness are the tests of one’s will within this world.
15. Keep yourself balanced. Work out the body to empower the mind. Grow rich in spirit to cure emotional pain.
16. Make conscious decisions regarding who you’ll be and how you’ll react. Be responsible for your actions.
17. Respect the privacy and personal space of those around you. Don’t touch the personal property of others – especially holy and religious objects. That’s forbidden.
18. Be true to yourself first. You can’t nurture and help others unless you can nurture and help yourself first.
19. Respect others religious beliefs. Don’t try to force your beliefs on other people.
20. Share your good fortune with others. Also, participate in charity.
If you’ve read this far and were wondering, I picked up the Mrs. at the 6 mile mark 90 minutes later. What a girl!
The first Valentine’s Day I can remember takes me back to third grade at #2 school on Wyoming Avenue in Audubon, NJ. Audubon was a Jersey suburb of Philadelphia, just four miles away from the Walt Whitman Bridge. Using my fingers to count on, I’m guessing I was eight years old at the time.
Mrs. Lippincott was my teacher. I googled her and learned she died in the year 2000 at age 98, she taught for 39 years. When not in school I always called her Aunt Grace. There were a lot of male and female family acquaintances back then that I called Aunt and Uncle this, and Aunt and Uncle that. They weren’t relatives mind you, but that was what I was expected to call them. Even my mother called Aunt Grace, Aunt Grace, she taught my mother also.
In early February while in third grade there was a note sent home saying something like this; “All children are encouraged to bring in Valentines to share for Valentine’s Day. There should be 24 Valentines brought in to pass out. Please send in the Valentines in a bag and I will store them until it is time to hand them out. Here are the names of our students if your child would like to personalize the cards.”
My mother bought me several sheets of punch out Valentine cards. I’m guessing 12 cards to each sheet, I don’t remember there being envelopes. On the back of what ever picture or saying was on the front were dotted lines labeled To:, From: and Message. I can remember there were one or two girls in the class that I was sweet on, but if I wrote a message, that I can’t remember. I do remember addressing the cards though.
Through the years, almost 75 of them, I’ve sent cards on Valentine’s day, given jewelry to my little lady, sent flowers and taken herself out to dinner at a fine restaurant.
I remember twelve years ago, I was in Florida for a Hurricane Conference. I was working for a County Emergency Management Office at the time. My oldest daughter happened to work for the Health Department in the same county, she was a nurse and that departments Emergency Management Coordinator. We both were required to attend the same conference, so we traveled down and back together.
On the last day of the conference we got together for breakfast and agreed we’d make every effort to make Savannah, Georgia on the way back north to Maryland. We would break early from the conference, around 2:00 I believe and head north. Our bags were stowed in the car and we were checked out of the hotel right after breakfast, we were not going to hesitate.
The conference ended around 2:00 PM and we were headed north on a five-hour or so journey. Savannah, here we come, tomorrow night we shall sleep in our own bed. We chatted about our individual training and informational sessions which were both quite different. My daughter being a nurse was learning a lot of medical and triage stuff. I learned about mitigation and disaster recovery. We even got to see Jim Cantore reporting from pool side while we were there. Jim happens to have a Twitter account if your interested. A little bit of a coincidence is that Mike Seidel from the weather Channel graduated from the same university as my daughter, Salisbury, University. Eleven (11) national championships in Men’s Lacrosse by the way.
We arrived in Savannah without a hitch around 7:30 or so, checked into our hotel and immediately went on the hunt for some food. Our first stop I remember being an Olive Garden. After parking in the back forty we found a line snaking out the door into the lot. The ladies, mostly young, dressed to the nines, with many wearing flowers, all seemed to have love in their eyes. It was February 14, we had had no clue.
We left the Olive Garden and tried numerous other restaurants, all were booked solid. Finally we settled on a Mom and Pop southern comfort food diner. There were no young’ns at this eatery, no love in any ladies eyes and only starvation in our eyes.
I swear, once we perused over the menu there was nothing on it that wouldn’t slip right down to your belly with lard or some other type of greasy digestive lubrication, or it was fried. The daughter got a salad, I had Salisbury Steak, real home food for me since that’s where I’m from, Salisbury. We toasted with water, “Happy Valentines Day my daughter.” No liquor on this menu, Bible Belt country was in vogue here. We both had been looking forward to a Manhattan to close out our adventure.
So, that was one Valentine’s Day that will always be remembered. There are many songs out there that depict love that could be appropriate for this day. I’ve picked one that I consider extra appropriate and suitable for the occasion, “The Sea of Love.”
There are many “one-hit wonders” who spend the remainder of their lives in frustrated efforts to record another hit but who are never able to recapture the magic. To some, the disappointment of failure is overwhelming. Phil Phillips is not one of those. Born John Phillip Baptiste on March 14, 1926, in Lake Charles, Louisiana, he had only one hit. “Sea of Love” it crested at number one on the R&B charts and number two on the Billboard Hot 100, remaining on the charts for eighteen weeks in 1959. I was a sophomore in high school that year and I remember cuddling up to my girl at the time on the dance floor to that great song. Every Friday night just about every teenager in Levitttown, HS could be found at Christ the King, Episcopal Church on Charleston road for their weekly sponsored dance. Levittown is now Willingboro, just a short drive from Exit 5 of the New Jersey Turnpike.
Contractual disputes between record companies effectively killed Phi Phillips career, but the song lived on, selling two million copies and earning Phillips a gold record. Moreover, the song appeared in the soundtracks of half-a-dozen movies, including the Al Pacino Universal Pictures film Sea of Love.
In 2007 Phil Phillips was inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame. Although he needed a hand of support in the beginning, once he got back into the rhythm of the song, he was in 1959 all over again at that induction. Phil Phillips is still alive today, age 91. Take a moment or two and go swimming in a “Sea of Love.”
After you listen to Phil, click on Emily West’s rendition, she does the song proud in her version of this classic that I remember so well.
Credits: Google images, NBC, Louisiana Music Hall of Fame, Weather Channel, Twitter & Wiki
I wish for each of you to fall into a “Sea of LOVE” on this Valentines day. Thanks for stopping by, and don’t forget to check on the elderly.
Fifty years ago I was a Marine Sergeant assigned to MAG-15 and a resident of MCAS Iwakuni, Japan. A bit of history of the unit: Marine Aircraft Group 15 (MAG-15) was a United States Marine Corps aviation group established during World War II. MAG-15, a transport and photo-reconnaissance training group, was commissioned on 1 March 1942, headquartered at Camp Kearny, San Diego. In addition to radio and photographic training, the Group also conducted a navigation school. Additional roles included West Coast aircraft acceptance and transport service for the Marine Corps.
History:
Marine Aircraft Group 15 was commissioned on 1 March 1942 at Camp Kearny, San Diego, California. For the next two years the group remained there as the transportation, observation and photo reconnaissance training group. They trained pilots and crews to serve in the South Pacific Combat Air Transport Command (SCAT). From its commission in 1942 until 1944, MAG-15 trained and dispatched the following unit for overseas deployment: VMD-154 and VMD-254; VMO-151 and VMO-155; and VMJ-152, VMJ-153, VMJ-353, VMJ-952, and VMJ-953.
MAG-15 shipped out from Camp Kearny to the South Pacific on 2 March 1944. They arrived in Apamama on 1 April and operated from there as part of the Transport Air Group until October 1944. In October they were ordered to establish the Air Transport Group (ATG) in order to provide transportation services to units in the Marshall and Gilbert Islands. ATG was redesignated the Troop Carrier Group (TCG) in November 1944. MAG-15 then became part of Task Unit 96.1 which was disbanded shortly thereafter on 25 March 1945 as its responsibilities were assumed by the
Headquarters Squadron 15 was sent to Marine Corps Air Station Ewa, Hawaii in April 1945 and was quickly joined by VMR-953 and VMR-352. They stayed there through the end of the war becoming part of the TAG again and controlling the transportation units for the Marines throughout the Pacific.
In January 1947 the group became dual role when they also had fighter squadrons attach and in May 1947 they became all fighter squadrons. In March 1949 they returned to the United States and were based at Marine Corps Air Station Edenton, North Carolina.
MAG-15 moved to Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in July 1966 and included VMCJ-1, VMA(AW)-533, VMFA-334 and VMFA-232.
On 31 December 1988, MAG-15 stood down after 46 years of service.
50 Years Ago Today
February 7, 1968
Shortly after midnight, the Battle of Khe Sanh and the Vietnam War took a new turn as the North Vietnamese Army attacked with tanks and other armored vehicles for the first time.[43]The 304th Division of the North Vietnamese Army overran the U.S. Army Special Forces camp at Lang Vei with 11 Soviet PT-76 tanks.[44] In all, 316 defenders of the camp would be killed; all but seven of them were Montagnards fighting for South Vietnam and members of the Royal Laotian Army.[45]
“It became necessary to destroy the town to save it” became one of the most famous quotes arising out of the Vietnam War, as a news story by Associated Press war correspondent Peter Arnett was published worldwide about the death and destruction caused by American forces during the retaking of the South Vietnamese coastal city of Ben Tre. At least 1,000 civilians had died and 45 percent of Ben Tre’s buildings were destroyed in the bombardment by American airplanes and shelling by U.S Navy ships, a measure taken as a last resort after 2,500 Viet Cong had taken control of the city. The quote (often restated as “We had to destroy the village in order to save it”) was attributed by Arnett to “a U.S. major”; later in the story, Arnett referred to his interview with U.S. Air Force Major Chester L. Brown, who had directed the bombing.[46] The phrase, however, was actually coined by the reporter; Arnett asked the question, “So you had to destroy the village in order to save it?” and then attributed the words to Major Brown.[47]
He is in Ho Chi Min City of course, and things have changed drastically in fifty years. Fifty years ago this was Saigon, the capital of South Viet Nam and deeply involved along with the United States and it’s allies in a war with North Viet Nam. Today, so much has changed.
Jeff made the below post today on Facebook.
Took a cooking class in Ho Chi Min Vietnam thru a company called Grain. Our menu was the following; Pumpkin flower stuffed with prawn, Chicken Salad with cabbage and jelly fish. Steamed Sea Bass with Galangal, Turmeric, Lemon grass, and Banana Leaf, Coconut & Cream Caramel.
Forward: This morning I received the Balladeer's blog. With his permission It is being forwarded through my blog. If your in need of some interesting reading, check out the Balladeer @ Glitternight.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO JAMES JOYCE! His works got me hooked in my teens when I really related to his character Stephen Dedalus as he rejected his religion and indulged what I call his “young and pretentious side” in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. I wore out my copy of Joyce’s novel Ulysses and continue to mark Bloom’s Day to this very day.
Over the years Finnegans Wake replaced Ulysses as my favorite Joyce novel and I’m fonder than many people are of his play Exiles. Naturally, I’m also into his “epiphanies” in Dubliners and, poetry geek that I am, even Pomes Penyeach and Chamber Music. So, if you live in Ireland, say hello to Anna Livia Plurabelle for me today!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY SUNNY JEEEM!
Thanks for stopping by. Don’t forget to check on the elderly, especially if your on the East Coast. It’s going to be bitterly cold tonight.
