Psalm

I saw this on line while poking around. I wanted to put it up simply because I liked it.... Thank you.

 

 

Psalm

I prayed to the Lord for Guidance,
He asked me to follow Him.

I prayed to the Lord for Shelter,
He showed me the way to His house.

I prayed to the Lord for Sustenance,
He put me to work for Him.

I prayed to the Lord for Forgiveness,
He told me of my baptism.

I prayed to the Lord for my Soul,
He gave me Holy Communion.

I prayed to the Lord for Justice,
He moved my hand to write
and my lips to speak.

I prayed to the Lord for Peace,
He bade me play a song for Him.

I prayed to the Lord for Wisdom,
He sat my children upon my lap.

I prayed to the Lord for Strength,
My dearest friends held out their hands
and pulled me up from the ground.

I prayed to the Lord for Patience,
He sat down with me and held me close.

I prayed to the Lord for Hope,
We bowed our heads together.

I prayed to the Lord for Love,
He laid three nails in my hand
and told me I still had one great lesson yet to learn.

Me

wood 2

ok, wood can suprise you.....I have been working on my sons long bow and all was fine until it was strung and pulled back... I found a hairline crack. Ive been working gluing and re-setting it. And after re gluing I had to re set it..... It looks good. So far so good.

.... I just got my new long bow..... Its hand Mandy 5'6' hickory long bow with a 55 pound pull...I was dissatisfied with the ebay purchase..... it was as described, but her shipping and lack or email sucked....not a thing you want to do when you want to set your

....This Summer I also had a great chance to work with wood. I stripped, sanded and retained my kitchen table. Its oak and it weights a freaking ton. I sanded and sanded through 4 grits of paper . I finished with a 350 grit. Then I added poly in 4 coats again sanding between each coat. Did it need it? No, but with kids you need several layers of poly to keep the table from being damaged from spills....... I wish I had a few more tools and more space to work with wood. I would love to make youth long bows.... Lets see where this goes....

Peace.

working with wood..

**Its been a bit since I've posted , but I have been busy. I have been busy sanding and restoring a vintage long bow for my son. I found it in eBay and I thought it was agood deal.... if it does not snap on me. It's 48 inches long and made of hickory. I did som re search on the company that made it and I believe it was made in the late 40's early 50's. No warp on limbs and no deep marks. I spent about 5 hours in sanding and removing a lot of age from the bow. The next step was in smoothing. I sanded with a 100, 225 and 330 git papers in succession ubtil it was smooth with out taking off mass.

The next step was more complex ; making a finish for it. I could have used a varnish, shelac or urithane. I chose to be green about this; I made a wax finish out of bees wax and olive oil. It took me a while to get it right so the oil would get in to the wood and leave a good shine. All without being tacky to the touch..... Between thing and his new arrows he's set to shoot.... I'll post pics asap... I'm proud of this.... I just ordered a  flemish string so we should be shooting this week end.

growing older

Well - its official, I'm on the wrong side of 40.....It was my birthday yesterday and it was boring. I read a book, did laundry, cut arrows, took a long hot shower , a straight razor shave, ate hot wings and the kids gave me cupcakes. It was nice but it just seemed like it was missing something. I remember 18,19 ,20 and 21....So many years ago. Now the years just seem to blur together and not have any real defining moments in between. I believe the more you've seen the more you don't notice life  any more.

    5pm I took several arrows that I had as a kid and I cut them down to fit my son. I had them when I was older than he was and now they'll fit him. It's funny these arrows are near 5o years old. The lady I bought them from was a shooter in 1961. If I can get 4 year out of them' I'll be happy. I let my oldest help me in using a pipe cutter and a torch. I think he had a good time in cutting them with me. My next project for him is to modify his quiver in to a back quiver.

   At about 6 pm I took off everything. Rings, necklace and crucifix and took a long hot shower. 30-40 minutes of relaxing water. I then lathered up with my new boar bristle brush and shaved with my straight razor. That took me about 20 minutes. The prep time took me longer; 20 minutes of sanding old rust spots off the blade, 10 minuted of sharpening on a whetstone and 5 minutes of honing. I could have cleaved an electron off an atom if I wanted to. My oldest watched me shave with it. I showed him how to lather and how to hold it. It will be years until he does but at least he's got a good base of knowledge for it.

 

Pax Humana

Lessons Learned

This weekend we had a kids birthday party for my 2 boys. Their birthdays are close together so we have a combined party for school friends and family. This year we were racing against the rain so we set up the piñata a bit early. My Dad brought in a nice hand made piñata of a donkey. I say hand made because most are just pre punched boxes with paper wrapped outside. This was an old school one made from news paper and glue... So the kids knock the bejesus out of it and there is candy and a couple bucks of change all over the yard... My dad gets the idea for my oldest son  to get  the head of the donkey and give it to him. He cleans it out and my son puts it on his head. I found out later that the kids were hitting my boy or as they called him the piñata. I cant fault them , its what you do to a piñata.  He was smacked around a bit but hes OK. So lesson learned kids , the Piñata is in the top 10 worse ideas for a Halloween costume. Or a really good one if you want your ass kicked.

--

9/11 + 8

Wow, its been 8 years since that horrible day. Now its a holiday. Not a happy holiday , but a true holy day.  3000+ people died in those 2 towers, Flight 19 took more lives and the pentagon hot took even more.  It was a very sad day for all of us.

     I remember sitting on the floor in my house and feeling sick to my stomach. I watched tv for close to 13 hours that day, watching the towers fall again and again. I knew it was that start of something bad and I expected a war. I expected a war in the traditional sense. With clear cut bad guys and the American as good guys. This enemy was much worse. They hide among the regular people - they are the regular people. This made me very sour with all mid eastern people.  I clearly remember children cheering and that damn lady in black giving them candy to celebrate.  Eight years later I still carry hate in my heart and if I express it I am considered a racist. 

   Where is the condemnation from the imans? We still have not seen any thing like that from any mid eastern country. We still are in bed with Saudi Arabia. A country who's people still hate us.  Some where in the back of my head I still want to burn that entire part of the country to the ground and remove a generation from the earth. 

   What was the impact of "shock and awe?" What did we do there? Why are we still there? ......

 

Anyways with this hate in my heart it makes it hard to have a cohesive though this morning.

summertime 2009

Where does the summer go? Its been a weird on this year. The Temps have been so cold all through August and very rainy..... I did get to do a few things that I wanted to do this year and a couple more.... We did get a chance to camp out at my father in laws house downstate. We set up a tent and the boys and I bunked down by 8pm and got up at about 6am...It was a cold night but a fun night.  I don't know what prompted me but I wanted to go fishing this year. I already a 2 poles and some gear but I wanted to do more than just throw a hook in to the water. I spent time studying knots , bait and lures. I got a book about local fish and what the eat. I bought about 30 bucks in gear and a 25 dollar rod and reel combo. Nothing fancy. We started by the house and just had fun with it. We have been fishing just about every other day. Its been fun watching them really get in to it so much that they ask me to go when I get home from work. We have caught loads of bluegills, bull heads and yesterday the boys caught an 18" and 12" silver carp. Id say 5 and 7 pounds..... It was a nice fight on the line for them.... It's funny we have the best luck with a kids micky mouse set and my old style cane pole.... My cane pole cost me $4.50 and the kids pole was $12 .... that and some hooks, bobbers and worms = a fun day.....

 

Now summers over, kids are in school and I don't have my weekday fishing partners..... We only have time for Sunday after church....

 

PS if you want to catch carp..... use a can of corn and bread balls.   Chum the water with the corn and bread crusts..... give it time ----15-20 min  and they will roll in.They hit hard and they have dead eyes. Like a dolls eyes.... .. Some guys said if you add tuna juice from a can of tuna in oil in to the bread it works best..... I'll try that next week.....

10 things I hate about me.

A few days ago a lady customer told me that she did not like me. That I spoke to her like I was her father. ... She was ...how do you say ...a Jewish American Princess but aged to a spoiled age of 55. I told her to follow a certain drive route and she just did not like it. Whatever. ..Since she did not like me I'll put up what I don't like about me. I'd invite her to do the same, but most Jews are self hating anyways.

 

1. My weight. A source of health and esteem problems for years.
2. My shoulders and knees. This is just me getting older- aches and pains.
3. My Race and skin. Since the age of 5 I have never been welcomed in this country.
4. Me being tired all the time. It takes time away from my boys and family.
5. Me getting sick in 1995. **nothing to say about this.
6. Always having to work - I'd love more time off to do nothing.
7. Only knowing 2 languages - I'd love to take French, Chinese, Latin, Urdu
8. Being unsure of my self in most ways.
9. Not knowing my grandparents. I feel disconnected from the past.
10. *****Add your own here.....

Peace and Love.

Its not fair, but good

Written By Regina Brett, 90 years old, of "The Plain Dealer"
Newspaper", in Cleveland , Ohio

"To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught
me.. It is the most-requested column I've ever written."

My odometer rolled over to 90, so here is the column once more:

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and
parents will. Stay in touch.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.

8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their
journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God
never blinks.

16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful..

18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.

19.. It's never too late to have a happy childhood... But the second
one is up to you and no one    else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no
for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie.
Don't save it for a special            occasion. Today is special.

22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.

24. The most important sex organ is the brain.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years,
will this matter?'

27. Always choose life.

28. Forgive everyone everything.

29. What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change..

32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

33. Believe in miracles.

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you
did or didn't do.

35. Don't audit life. Show  up and make the most of it now.

36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood.

38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

39. Get outside every day.. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's
we'd grab ours back.

41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

42. The best is yet to come.

43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

44. Yield.

45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift."

Its estimated 93% won't forward this. If you are one of the 7% who
will, forward this with the title '7%'.

I'm in the 7%.

Friends are the family that we choose for ourselves. Because we
already have great families!

Gallup poll....

Prudes.........cloning wrong? death penalty? divorce? fur? - I'm hard
pressed to consider mant acts wrong. However you hurt a child and you have
a whole world of hurt about to happen.....

Where we stand
Ninety-two percent of Americans who responded to a recent Gallup poll say
having an affair is morally wrong, more than any of these other deeds:

Divorce: 30 percent say it's wrong

The death penalty: 30 percent

Buying and wearing clothing made of animal fur: 35 percent

Gambling: 36 percent

Medical research using stem cells from human embryos: 36 percent

Medical testing on animals: 36 percent

Sex between an unmarried man and woman: 40 percent

Having a baby outside of marriage: 45 percent

Gay or lesbian relations: 47 percent

Doctor-assisted suicide: 56 percent

Abortion: 56 percent

Cloning animals: 63 percent

Suicide: 80 percent

Cloning humans: 88 percent

Polygamy: 91 percent

Married men and women having an affair: 92 percent