So, What The Heck Is That...?

My wife ordered these things to help her in the production of freezer meals. After the first use, she was so excited--they worked amazingly well. It wasn't until after she praised the product that I saw it for the first time...

What the heck is that? I thought.

I then asked for and was given a demonstration. 

What you do is take a ziplock bag, open it, open the Baggy Rack (an official name...), set the open bag in between the "V" and insert the sides of the bag into the clips on the side of the rack. Now you have a self-standing device in which you can put all the good stuff. Once you're done, you unclip the bag, zip it up, and put it away.

It's magic!

And, if you think about it, it really is. Imagine trying to put in half a chicken, a can of tomato sauce, various herbs and spices in a bag that's just laying on the counter. Of course, if can be done, but why not use something to make life so much easier?

If you do an internet search for "Baggy Rack" you'll find dozens of choices you can order. And if you're thinking of preparing freezer meals and think the Baggy Rack could help, my advice is to get it--order it now and you won't be sorry. 

What the heck is it?

A Baggy Rack, that's what. 

When Do You Put Up Christmas Lights...?

The neighbors put theirs up last weekend. Probably should have followed their example. But, no...we'll find another time to do the deed.

Putting up outdoor Christmas lights.

It's not a questions of if, but when.

For those of us who celebrate the season, it's a question asked every year, along with, when should we put up indoor decorations, should we get a live tree or finally buy an artificial tree, when is it "officially" the Christmas season?

Our last house had fantastic holiday decorating potential. Because I'm cheap and afraid of standing on ladders, we didn't take full advantage. We did decorate the front entrance and it turned out great, if I don't say so myself. We had a timber frame which worked well in hanging white lights. We didn't have to do a lot to make an impression, and when it snowed...it looked beautiful.

Our new house is, well...not as accommodating.

We have a front entrance that could work, but there's rain gutters--no timbers. We bought some plastic hooks that you can attach using a pole, but that didn't work so well. There's some things I don't miss about our old house, but I do miss the entrance. 

We'll eventually climb under the stairs, haul out the bins full of Christmas lights and decorations and get to work. If it turns out--even semi-decent--I'll post some pictures.

To answer the question, when to put up Christmas lights...

The answer is, whenever you want.

Give Thanks...That We Knew And Loved SamDean

 My son thought our four-year old rag doll cat was sleeping. When he checked a little while later and the cat had not moved, he realized something was wrong. He had passed. No warning, as far as we could tell...just there last night when we went to sleep, gone today.

We're blessed to have known him.

Not long ago, we were home to two dogs and two cats. Now, we're down to one...my son's dog. Losing a pet leaves a void, a pain in your soul that takes time to heal, if it ever can. We rescued SamDean as a weeks-old kitten. We had no idea what type of cat he was, but we took a chance. He surprised us all the way he kept growing and growing until he tipped the scales around twenty pounds. 

He had the loudest purr, and the most brilliant eyes on a cat I've ever seen.

Because our dog never grew to accept him like we did, we kept them separated, which wasn't ideal, but it allowed us to keep him under our roof.

After we discovered him this morning, I did some research. Our best guess is a heart condition took him from us. It can strike with little or no warning. 

There's no proof, of course, but I feel animals understand things. I'd like to think SamDean knew we loved him, knew we gave him a home and food and shelter, knew he lived in a safe space. I also feel that we'll be reunited in the future. The love between our pets and ourselves feels other-worldly, something beyond the temporal, bordering the eternal. Our family is blessed to have known and loved SamDean. We're thankful we could be part of his life.

R.I.P., SamDean Winchester. You'll be truly missed.

Some Heroes I've Never Met...

 I only know them by their last names...Rilmer (or Riemer...), Mischler, Frurin, Schinick, Johny (possibly a first name...), Kircher, Hal Junior, and my dad...

I met him.

The others, never, and considering the time that's passed between when these pictures were taken and now, I'm betting they're all gone. I missed my chance. 

This is a photo of my father's B-17 crew. I've tried researching their plane, Hell From Heaven, but it eludes me. I found it once, searching the internet many years ago, but every time I search now, I can't find it. Which means, I can't find out who these brave men were. My mother knew of them--one, I don't know which, was from Montana or Wyoming...some place close. She might have met him, I'm not sure. But, my mother's gone, too, so, once again, I've reached an impasse.

Today, we honor veterans. They deserve the day--they deserve more than a day, a month, a year. The life I've lived would be vastly different had the millions of families not sacrificed their greatest gifts--their sons, daughters, fathers, mothers--to defeating evil.

Because I've never met (save one...) of the men in these photos, I don't know their stories, their histories, their experiences. I'm sure there are living descendants who have heard the stories. I'd love to spend time with their children and find out what happened, answer many of the questions I've had since I was old enough to understand the war and those who fought in it.

I've heard that many of those who served and sacrificed didn't like to talk about what happened...a reasonable response. Had I the opportunity to ask them what happened those decades ago on foreign lands and they refused to answer, I would have nothing but respect for them and move on.

But, if they chose to share, I'd soak up every fact, every detail. If that happened, maybe I'd regret knowing what they did. I hope not, because it's knowledge, knowledge I could pass to my children so those sacrifices wouldn't be forgotten.

To me, they're heroes, and always will be.

Great...Now I Get To See Those Creepy Dolls All The Time

 I've been posting at least one picture a day since early 2011. If you do the math, that's a lot of pictures. Back then, I could only post 200 pictures on a Facebook photo album. When I hit 200, I started a new Pic Of The Day album. I don't know when, but sometime since 2011 and now, Facebook evolved so now you can post as many pictures as you want in an album (I don't know if there's even a limit...).

I kept the tradition of creating a new photo album for my daily pictures and last month, I opened my twenty-forth edition...

Like I said, that's a lot of pictures.

In order to post the pictures, I go to my account and pull up my photo home page. The first picture of the album becomes a thumbnail--it represents the entire 199 pictures contained therein. Because I look at that home page every day, I try my hardest to find something extra "photo-worthy." I want something pleasant to see each time I access the page. From the screenshot, you can see the first pictures from albums sixteen through twenty-four. 

Number twenty-four is a doozie.

Creepy dolls.

I attended a work party that day. We meet at a hospital facility. The dolls are used for training. Yeah...they're still creepy. I thought it was a great picture, and because it was the first picture of album twenty-four, I get to see those creepy dolls every day.

It could be worse. The party was fun and conjures good times. It could have been a picture of something unpleasant, something bad. Instead, I'll be seeing those dolls.

Until I hit 200 photos...then the creepy dolls will slide one place right. It's just a matter of time.

So...About That Extra Hour Of Sleep

 Why?

Or better asked, how?

How can I never catch a break on that "hour of sleep" thing?

It's a mystery...

One that grows with each passing year.

Back in the day, Daylight Savings changes never affected me. I would use that extra hour of sleep in the fall and deal with the stolen hour in the spring. No big deal. Now, I look forward to the fall when we get an extra hour of sleep. The problem is, I can't remember the last time I actually took advantage of that extra hour of sleep. I keep waiting up early. 

It's even hard for me to sleep in on my days off.

Such is life.

It's easy to complain about how it gets so dark so early...that seems to hit everyone hard, but for me, it's the sleep thing. This past change was true to form. I woke up and glanced at the clock...6:24am, and because I had not yet adjusted the clock, it was really 5:24am. Bummer. Another year, another lost opportunity. And it wouldn't be such a big deal, but it's such a comfort the day before when you know there'll be a gift--the gift of time--the next morning.

I wonder if I'll ever be able to take advantage of that hour.

Here's to trying next year!

Cache Valley...A Little Crowded Piece Of Heaven

 Last week we drove over to Cache Valley. We ended up in the middle of the valley, surrounded by mountains. It's not as populated in the area between Logan and Sardine Canyon...

But, that's changing.

I lived in Cache Valley for four months back in the fall of 1984. I attended one quarter of school at Utah State University. I was continuing a family tradition, my dad attended USU, as did my bother, my uncle, and several friends. I've always considered myself to be an Aggie fan, even though I wasn't a "True Aggie."

When I lived there, in a small apartment just west of Old Main, I didn't concern myself with over population or traffic, probably because it wasn't an issue back then. Thinking back, the only time I even thought about traffic was driving on Main Street and cursing whomever timed the traffic lights. The frustrating part wasn't too many cars, but trying to time the lights so you could drive straight through without stopping.

Fast forward almost four decades. The cities in the valley have exploded. In Nibly, where my son is helping build a house, I stood in a field, a field that's been used for farming for generations. Sure, it's only going to be a dozen or so houses in this development, but you multiply that by dozens of similar projects and before you know it, houses and businesses will line the valley floor until there's no where else to build. 

I've seen it before...in Davis County where they're literally running out of buildable land. It's happening in Cache Valley, and when that fills up they'll go west...

Where we live.

Can't be stopped.

Cache Valley is a true natural beauty. It's why people love living there and want their children to live there, too. I'm not saying more people destroys the beauty because people are beautiful themselves and they bring that beauty with them. I'm  am saying that Cache Valley is a place where more and more will get to experience that beauty first-hand.

And if they're okay with traffic, then there's no problem.