Merry Christmas!
If you happen to be a Muslim, Jew, Buddhist, Hindu, Wicken, or some other religion, please consider this as just a friendly greeting. I still wish you the best of everything you may be looking for. I hope this Christmas Letter finds you in good health, good spirits, and with a tasty beverage of your choosing in hand. In any case, cinch up that shoulder harness and hang on for the ride.
2007 has been a year. A year about like '06, '05, '04, and so forth. Those are the ones I can recall, so if your memories of us are prior to that, you know better than I, what kind of years we've had. They've all been successful trips around the sun, or we wouldn't be here to tell the tale.
All the kids who should be working are. The Marine is still a Marine, the student is still in high school, and absorbing only what she wants, not what they want her to. Good luck to the NY public education system, on that. She's probably not the first red head they've had to deal with. On the adult level, Meg and I are still grateful to the taxpayers of NY for providing us cushy benefit laden jobs to help absorb those tax dollars.
All our beasts continued their free rides in 2007, giving plenty of warm and furry love in return for the comfort we provide. It makes one wonder why they have to be so snooty and controlling, given their apparent lack of goals. Even the critters that make noises at night seem content as they've not been waking us up too much lately. Life is good in Sanitaria Springs! There is some question. however, regarding the night critters. My therapist says they could be in my head and he should know. He's beginning to repay me the $50.00 I lent him to get his Internet degree, so I'm certain of his qualifications. He makes Dr. Phil seem like a loudmouth red neck. Wait! Dr. Phil is a loudmouth red neck.
So far this year, sadly, no geniuses have been revealed to be sitting on the branches of our family tree. No international awards have been received, no huge promotions or renowned accomplishments heralded, and we still haven't won the lottery. We have, however, had three lovely short vacations south of the boarder. Once to Easton, once to Wilkes-Barre, and the infamous St. Clair fiasco. That was some conga line, but we may never be allowed to drive through Schuylkill County again. At least PA citizens now know how we party in NY, and we're fairly sure they'll rebuild St. Clair and forget about the whole sordid affair in time.
So, our dear friends, have a truly great Christmas and New Year 2008! Don't forget to designate a driver you trust. It really sucks to be found in a pink tutu, a big bow strapped to your butt, at 3:30 AM, on your boss' lawn. It's a humiliation you don't need, believe me. I'll leave you with that bit of advice as our gift to you for Christmas '07. Enjoy!
The Winfield Family
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Saturday, October 13, 2007
HEY! Where'd My Summer Go????
Ahoy!
Quite the nautical greeting, eh? Well, a Pirate needs to be a little naughty in his greeting, don'cha think? It was Summer on Wednesday, but by Friday Fall fell like a ton of bricks. It's Saturday. It's 45 degrees F, and I'm running the furnace. In perspective, I had to sleep with the A/C on several nights earlier this week. Hummm.....upstate NY in the autumn.
I got to see my brother Ron and his lovely wife Mitzie last week. Unremarkable, except that the last sighting was around the end of the sixties or mid 1970. I guess we're a private family. The occasional Christmas card or call when our oldest brother "Moose" is having a crisis in sunny Florida, is all we hear from R & M. It was truly wonderful to see and hear them. It was a whirlwind 1.5 hours with very fast catching up on 3.5 decades. I suppose all families are like this, but I'm only in one, so I'm not sure.
My son Chris and my favorite daughter-in-law Jaime, have settled into their new home in Rome, NY. New in the sense that I think of a new place. It's probably 100+ years of age, but new to them. I hear there is a lot of stuff to do with it, but I think that's a large part of the charm of an older home.
Ashley was in a horse show last weekend. Won prizes in quite a few categories in both English and Western, including an overall first in her class. Proud? Can't button my shirt or get my hat to fit! Next Saturday, she's at it again, and once again it's while I'm at work. Her mom, Pat, and possibly Heather and Lindsay will go and watch her awhile. I hope so, as she can use the encouragement. We all can use some of that now and then.
Ben just made Sargent. I haven't seen him in his stripes, but maybe he'll send a pic and I'll share it on the olde blog.
I'll end with the thought that Meg, Heather, Lindsay, and Dylan all worked the environmental clean up of the Susquehanna River, last weekend. I'm attaching a pic or two of that, for the readers' enjoyment.
Until the next time I get ambitious, have a great Fall!
Friday, August 10, 2007
HEY! Where's Summer Going?
Let's have a look at this font. Not too bad. We'll go with it this time. How do you like the green? Well, it's still Summer and things are still greenish. August has yet to burn the lawns of SS brown and crispy, and there are still some blossoms on the flowering plants. Warm nights are still to be enjoyed on the deck with a cold beverage in your sticky little hand, and the artificial stars twinkling under the umbrella can cover for any that are missing in the late summer fog.
I notice the doors don't shut all the way without an additional shove these days. That old dampness is creeping into every molecule of the woodwork causing things to fit poorly, and the cabinet doors are unable to make a solid connection with the little magnetic latches. Dog days of summer, eh? The dogs wish for a cooler time, so maybe they should call these the 'cat days of summer'. The cats seem to enjoy just lying around in whatever sunny spot they can find, and soak up the heat. I've always heard it was mad dogs and Englishmen who stayed out in the noonday sun. The cats haven't heard that one yet, I guess.
I look around and wonder if I'm going to get everything done before it turns cold this Fall. So much to do, and so many Coronas to keep from spoiling. That's a nearly unresolvable conflict. I may need to recruit some assistance on one end or the other of that deal.
All is well in SS. There have been many good times and a couple of bad ones, but by and large the boat just keeps chugging along. Summer concerts are all in our wake, with only one for Ash at the Great New York State Exposition (State Fair) yet to go.
Ash, Dylan, and Lindsay have spent most of their holiday from school at camp. Overnights and day camps have been blended to save only time for a little trip here and there with the families, with emphasis on beaches and water parks. It makes us think of when we were kids and only worried about our next pleasure, eh? They need these times, and too soon they are only memories, recalled in quiet hours with their own children and grandchildren.
I hear a hammock calling me, and a chilled 'Rita' is whispering "don't forget me", as the clock heads into mid afternoon. The umbrella is drying from this morning's shower, the deck will soon be ready for me to kick back, and it's my day off so why the hell not!
If you thought there would be some deep thoughts in the old North of Disorder blog this month, you're doubtless disappointed, but hang in there. I promise to think once again when September comes.
Arrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I notice the doors don't shut all the way without an additional shove these days. That old dampness is creeping into every molecule of the woodwork causing things to fit poorly, and the cabinet doors are unable to make a solid connection with the little magnetic latches. Dog days of summer, eh? The dogs wish for a cooler time, so maybe they should call these the 'cat days of summer'. The cats seem to enjoy just lying around in whatever sunny spot they can find, and soak up the heat. I've always heard it was mad dogs and Englishmen who stayed out in the noonday sun. The cats haven't heard that one yet, I guess.
I look around and wonder if I'm going to get everything done before it turns cold this Fall. So much to do, and so many Coronas to keep from spoiling. That's a nearly unresolvable conflict. I may need to recruit some assistance on one end or the other of that deal.
All is well in SS. There have been many good times and a couple of bad ones, but by and large the boat just keeps chugging along. Summer concerts are all in our wake, with only one for Ash at the Great New York State Exposition (State Fair) yet to go.
Ash, Dylan, and Lindsay have spent most of their holiday from school at camp. Overnights and day camps have been blended to save only time for a little trip here and there with the families, with emphasis on beaches and water parks. It makes us think of when we were kids and only worried about our next pleasure, eh? They need these times, and too soon they are only memories, recalled in quiet hours with their own children and grandchildren.
I hear a hammock calling me, and a chilled 'Rita' is whispering "don't forget me", as the clock heads into mid afternoon. The umbrella is drying from this morning's shower, the deck will soon be ready for me to kick back, and it's my day off so why the hell not!
If you thought there would be some deep thoughts in the old North of Disorder blog this month, you're doubtless disappointed, but hang in there. I promise to think once again when September comes.
Arrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Monday, May 28, 2007
They Give More Than They Get
I stumbled, half asleep from the late night journey home, onto the front porch, and was suddenly startled fully awake. Something had landed on my back as I'd bent to pick up something left on the porch. Gathering my senses, I soon discovered a very small calico kitten purring and rubbing against my neck. I recall thinking she had probably wandered away, had seen a person, and was looking for some temporary companionship before heading home. I petted and chatted, then put her down and went inside and to bed.
That was my first introduction to "Baby", "KK", "BK", or "Baby Cat". It began an over 15 year relationship during which neither of us tried to tame the other. Soon, Baby was living with me when I was home from Utica and my job, and became a permanent part of my life. She came and went when she wanted, never looking thin or hungry. I'd spot her on the roof of my barn of an early morn, examining the birds nesting in my eves, planing her hot breakfast. In a short while, she might curl up on the back porch if it was warm out, or be looking to come inside to curl up on a comfy spot in the warm house.
Baby was the only animal allowed in my bed, and would only come when she decided to, but was never turned away. A perfect sleeping companion, she stayed near my face all night and if I awoke would reassuringly purr me back to sleep. She didn't mind my marriage and bringing other humans into the house, but when Tucker,the black and white male cat, came to stay, she never went into the cellar for a meal again. Always ate in the kitchen after that.
Last Thursday, in the wee hours Molly, Ashley's little Peekapoo, barked once and woke me up. I was later to find that she was alerting us to the neighbor who spotted my beloved KK dead in the street in front of the house. He was coming home from work, and spotted her laying in the road. He didn't want the kids to see what was possibly one of their pets in such a state, so he put her behind the guard rail. She was beautiful to the end, and even then she looked like she could pop up and sprint away. She was healthy and youthful even at 15 years, and met her end doing what she always loved to do. She was out hunting and roaming the neighborhood in the night, keeping it free of various rodents and pests. Some pets, like our family Lab, Andy, are larger than life forever in our minds. I still look for Baby, and catch myself when I realize she won't be where I expect her to appear, or jump up on my lap on the deck like she did Wednesday evening to share my burger with me. But she'll always be in my heart, and I'll never forget the unconditional love and understanding she gave me. I only regret that, sadly, we can never repay our animals for all they give. Love your pets with deeds as well as your hearts, for too soon they are gone, and only their memories remain to warm our lives.
Happy hunting Baby.
That was my first introduction to "Baby", "KK", "BK", or "Baby Cat". It began an over 15 year relationship during which neither of us tried to tame the other. Soon, Baby was living with me when I was home from Utica and my job, and became a permanent part of my life. She came and went when she wanted, never looking thin or hungry. I'd spot her on the roof of my barn of an early morn, examining the birds nesting in my eves, planing her hot breakfast. In a short while, she might curl up on the back porch if it was warm out, or be looking to come inside to curl up on a comfy spot in the warm house.
Baby was the only animal allowed in my bed, and would only come when she decided to, but was never turned away. A perfect sleeping companion, she stayed near my face all night and if I awoke would reassuringly purr me back to sleep. She didn't mind my marriage and bringing other humans into the house, but when Tucker,the black and white male cat, came to stay, she never went into the cellar for a meal again. Always ate in the kitchen after that.
Last Thursday, in the wee hours Molly, Ashley's little Peekapoo, barked once and woke me up. I was later to find that she was alerting us to the neighbor who spotted my beloved KK dead in the street in front of the house. He was coming home from work, and spotted her laying in the road. He didn't want the kids to see what was possibly one of their pets in such a state, so he put her behind the guard rail. She was beautiful to the end, and even then she looked like she could pop up and sprint away. She was healthy and youthful even at 15 years, and met her end doing what she always loved to do. She was out hunting and roaming the neighborhood in the night, keeping it free of various rodents and pests. Some pets, like our family Lab, Andy, are larger than life forever in our minds. I still look for Baby, and catch myself when I realize she won't be where I expect her to appear, or jump up on my lap on the deck like she did Wednesday evening to share my burger with me. But she'll always be in my heart, and I'll never forget the unconditional love and understanding she gave me. I only regret that, sadly, we can never repay our animals for all they give. Love your pets with deeds as well as your hearts, for too soon they are gone, and only their memories remain to warm our lives.
Happy hunting Baby.
Friday, May 11, 2007
There's Spring Springing Up All Over!
Just when we all thought 'The Springs' was never going to break free from
Old Man Winter's icy grasp, the sun is out, the grass is green, and I'm on my second mowing! Ouch! All the water the ground has absorbed from the past year's flooding and snow storms, has made everything sprout up at a truly alarming rate. That's a good thing. Another good thing is that it's all that closer to Benny Boy coming home from his second foray into George's Folley. His phone-con the other night told us that he's heading this way from 'over there', and will be back in about 6 weeks. There's a couple of more stops for the ship to make, then it's home to Camp Lejeune. He's talking about re-enlisting, but has about a year to make up his mind. A lot can happen in that time.
Chris and Jaime were 'home' for a few minutes last week. It was wonderful to see them, share a meal, and then wave so long as they disappeared into the sunset. Maybe they will move back East in a short while, and we'll get to see and harass them more often. Why should they escape all the harassment? We love them and it would be nice to have them closer.
As everyone reading this is about to be involved in the same thing the olde Pirate is, (mowing, cutting branches, making flower gardens, getting a new septic system, looking jealously at new roofs), remember one thing: You have to sweat a little now to really enjoy those "boat drinks" on the deck all Summer long. Get out and work you scurvy lot! Then, kick back in that deck chair, put your sandals up, and let the world spin out of control. Don't let the little umbrella poke your eye out.
Old Man Winter's icy grasp, the sun is out, the grass is green, and I'm on my second mowing! Ouch! All the water the ground has absorbed from the past year's flooding and snow storms, has made everything sprout up at a truly alarming rate. That's a good thing. Another good thing is that it's all that closer to Benny Boy coming home from his second foray into George's Folley. His phone-con the other night told us that he's heading this way from 'over there', and will be back in about 6 weeks. There's a couple of more stops for the ship to make, then it's home to Camp Lejeune. He's talking about re-enlisting, but has about a year to make up his mind. A lot can happen in that time.
Chris and Jaime were 'home' for a few minutes last week. It was wonderful to see them, share a meal, and then wave so long as they disappeared into the sunset. Maybe they will move back East in a short while, and we'll get to see and harass them more often. Why should they escape all the harassment? We love them and it would be nice to have them closer.
As everyone reading this is about to be involved in the same thing the olde Pirate is, (mowing, cutting branches, making flower gardens, getting a new septic system, looking jealously at new roofs), remember one thing: You have to sweat a little now to really enjoy those "boat drinks" on the deck all Summer long. Get out and work you scurvy lot! Then, kick back in that deck chair, put your sandals up, and let the world spin out of control. Don't let the little umbrella poke your eye out.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Don Imus
It's great, America! Yes, we'll miss Imus and his fund raising, belligerent banter with political big wigs, and posers in general. However, his firing is a door slam on all the crap we don't like on the radio. Sure, adults don't listen anyway, but our kids do! Think of it: No more derogatory rap and hip hop aimed against black women or women in general. It's the changing of the sacred cows on broadcast media, and America wins. Black women may no longer be called "ho" on the radio or TV. This means that all other aspersions toward them are also strictly forbidden whether the mumbler is an elderly white guy or some young black. Sponsors, tune in your radios, drop every show that promotes disparaging women, and get some wholesome noise on that box.
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Not Easy Being Murphy
It's 5:15 AM in Murphyville and the day needs to be set into motion. I need to do a lot of loud barking and continue 'til dad comes downstairs and hoots at me to "shut up, Murph"! Ah, there he comes now, I'll just keep barking while he goes to the bathroom for his wake-up relief. Now, if I groan and squeak loudly, he'll remember it's time to feed the dog.
Wait! I better go to the door and bark a few quick bursts. He probably doesn't remember that I need to visit the lawn for a few seconds before I start breakfast.
Ah, that's better. Now, I can eat in peace. Boy, dad, that coffee sure smells good. If I watch carefully and never let that cup get more than 8 inches away from my face, some of that might jump out of the cup and into my mouth. He knows I love coffee. Sure, dad wants to look at the paper, but I can make it easier for him if my face is between him and the print. I have to keep him in touch with drool. The constant dodging of my beak and wet face keep dad alert and ready for whatever the day might throw at him. He thinks the puzzle will sharpen him up for the day, but I know it's my face in his business that works best. I wonder why dad stopped having breakfast before heading to work? Hummmmm...........
Oh oh! Here comes mom! Gotta bark real loud so she knows I'm still here! Gotta start her day off with a bang too!
May 26, 2007, 6:05 AM - It's been a few months since this blog was started, but 'being Murphy' only becomes more and more interesting. This morning, though Ashley is in Canada on a school trip, Murf dutifully went over to the stair door, stood really close, and barked really loudly! It's time for Ash to be coming down those stairs and she better be ready to pet the dog! That's Murphy's view of the situation, and he's sticking to it no matter what!
Wait! I better go to the door and bark a few quick bursts. He probably doesn't remember that I need to visit the lawn for a few seconds before I start breakfast.
Ah, that's better. Now, I can eat in peace. Boy, dad, that coffee sure smells good. If I watch carefully and never let that cup get more than 8 inches away from my face, some of that might jump out of the cup and into my mouth. He knows I love coffee. Sure, dad wants to look at the paper, but I can make it easier for him if my face is between him and the print. I have to keep him in touch with drool. The constant dodging of my beak and wet face keep dad alert and ready for whatever the day might throw at him. He thinks the puzzle will sharpen him up for the day, but I know it's my face in his business that works best. I wonder why dad stopped having breakfast before heading to work? Hummmmm...........
Oh oh! Here comes mom! Gotta bark real loud so she knows I'm still here! Gotta start her day off with a bang too!
May 26, 2007, 6:05 AM - It's been a few months since this blog was started, but 'being Murphy' only becomes more and more interesting. This morning, though Ashley is in Canada on a school trip, Murf dutifully went over to the stair door, stood really close, and barked really loudly! It's time for Ash to be coming down those stairs and she better be ready to pet the dog! That's Murphy's view of the situation, and he's sticking to it no matter what!
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