I thought it was a Bluebird nest, but now I am not so sure.

Here is a picture, with a reflected image off the glass, of mama bird. It is not easy to get a good shot because of location, lighting and the fact she refuses to cooperate.

What does she look like to you?

PS..My youngest daughter graduates from High School this weekend and with all the family and festivities, it will be a few days before I am back with my routine…..RJV

Freedom trap

Consumerism is to an adult,

recreational imprisonment.

~ Kelly Hartland

I have been thinking…about choices..
Thinking about the good choices, thinking about the bad choices and how those decisions interact with one another and how today could be so very different if any of those choices were made differently.

What is important?
Yesterday, I stopped at our local Walgreen’s to pick something up for Megan. As I walked into the store, I could not help but notice the lines in front of two, video dispensing machines. As I was leaving ten minutes later, there was a newer, but smaller group waiting to rent their little, silver discs. I was surprised by the shear number of individuals spending money to rent videos.

Lining up to be tranquilized….They would be better served if they spent their Friday evenings blogging

Where is the balance?
Several friends laughed when I stated one of the reasons I was selling the funeral homes was because I needed to slow down and take better care of myself. I have a new saying, “I only work part-time now…50-60 hours a week”

What are my priorities?
I am reminded of the fad during the 80′s when people had bumper stickers that read “He who dies with the most toys…wins.” Already a cynical funeral director, I had one that proclaimed, “He who dies with the most toys…is still dead”

What do I waste time doing?
Is the hour or two I spend late each night and early in the morning preparing and reading blogs, the best use of my time? Would I be better off reading good, solid books?

Can I be honest with myself?
In the quiet of my heart and when I look in the mirror, do I see only the successes or do I also acknowledge my shortcomings and failures?

Spotted yesterday on a F-150 in downtown Aiken.

Our family begins to arrive on Friday and it is guaranteed to be great weekend.

A seemingly, innocuous porch light.

I was asked to hose off the front porch last night and as I was doing so, I spied some “stuff” in both porch lights. A closer inspection revealed bi-lateral bird nests. One appeared abandoned, but the other had five eggs in it, which explains why that Blue Bird has been hangining around the front porch the last couple of days.

Now, we get to watch and provide regular updates on the eggs.

Upon closer inspection…..

The lights are temporarily out of service so we don’t cook the eggs (which may have already happened) or light up the nesting material and burn the house down…neither a good thing.

Today is my parents fifty ninth wedding anniversary.

On the way to Daytona Beach for the honeymoon.

That is a long time for two people to put up with each other

They are perfect in their imperfections.

They are an example of how to hang out together for well over half a century.

They have not changed a bit…well, mostly.

The best thing they every did was….pick me.

Congratulations, Mom & Dad. I can only hope that Alicia can put up with me for that long.

I had the Tejas 8-Track in the Pontiac…..

Those were the days.

A pet peeve of mine….also rates up the with the term “giving back”, which makes me cringe as it implies (at least to me and some friends of mine) an obligation to return something you were given…as opposed to giving up something you earned to help others.

Lately, it has been a bit more of an e-diary, but still amusing, at least to me.

Big Red with a small fraction of his ball collection.

This is my 1,500th post and I chose to re-blog something I found heart-warming and appropriate.

From Raymond’s Mom, who is not my mom, because I am a different Raymond.

Click on this link and be sure to watch the 2 minute video…God Made A Dog.

Thank you to the folks who read this blog and are occasionally amused…RJV

It has been a while since I quoted Rob Firchau and even longer since I quoted Henry David Thoreau.

I have never quoted them together…until this morning.

Confidently

What a beautiful sentiment.

An Open Letter from Mom

Thanks, Yvonne.