okay, here we go.  Tom. I like your blog.  It appears to be fairly easy to post to it.  I wonder if this will get much use.  I am reminded of other things we had tried but lasted for only a few weeks, ie a couple of message boards, Skype computer phone, the Keene Photo board, etc.  I hope it does.  I don't know if Eric has placed his blog on his computer again or not.  So here is wishing you success in the venture and some good communication among the family.  Dad Jones

Cool... I'm on...

That was easy. I like the idea a lot Tom. Don't expect all my posts to be very long though, and yes - unless I'm provoked, I'll stay away from politics on this thing. My Thursday morning ritual is to log on to work and update my project status. My boss has to give a high level status of all of his employees projects. So, posting here is making me late doing that. Sure hope I can access this at work. We'll see. I like the fact that there's a spell checker on this thing. Now that you have this Tom, you better plan on sharing some photos for once!

Nice Blog Butt...

I really like the template as well. I'm glad you got this started. I'm posting my first comments here to see how it turns out. So...Vicki and I have been thinking a lot about what we're going to do when she retires. We have ten acres of virgin forestland up on Northern Idaho, and yet we're settled here and happy and doing fine. We don't HAVE to move, but in the end we decided to push through and at least get the process rolling. Our house in the Springs is on the market now, although nobody has even glanced at it as far as we know. Then we started thinking, 'what if the house sells, and I can't find a job with Sears up there?'. So I figured I may as well go through the process of looking for a transfer just in case, and come to find out there is a job opening for a laundry tech in the Sandpoint, ID repair center. Sandpoint is only 25 miles north of where we will be living, so it's a perfect opportunity. I sent in my application, my resume and my cover letter thinking I wouldn't hear from them, but "at least I gave it a shot". Wonder of wonders, they like my resume and they want me up there sooner than later, and here we may not even sell the house before Vicki retires. So, after some discussion, we decided that since we will be retiring in Idaho in the long run, it is more important that I have a job up there, so I will probably be moving up there in the RV and living on our land, hooked up to Papa Pahl's electricity and water next door, while Vicki finishes up her tour here in the Springs. She retires right around Thanksgiving. If the house doesn't sell we'll probably just rent this house out and rent another house up there until the house does sell, at which point we'll be able to start building on our property. So, although the paperwork is still rolling, and I haven't been offered the job, I'm pretty sure I'll get it and be moving up to Idaho soon. Mary, as sad as it is, this may affect my ability to attend your wedding...grrrrr. I'll keep you all up to date. Love Billy

Never thought I would do this....

I've been an avid reader of blogs for several years now (mainly political blogs). I once toyed with the idea of setting up a political blog, but stepped back and realized that I'm not that kind of person. What kind of person, you might ask, would blog politics and national news? Well, I can attest, after much experience that this person typically has mental issues. Call it what you will: Egotistical A-Hole; Napoleon Complex; Obnoxious; or Crude and Rude. I've no problem reading the blogs if they offer good material, but to become one of "them" is out of the question. Nor will I ever sign up on Facebook, MySpace, or any other freako website. I shudder thinking about it. So why am I doing this? I'm fortunate to live in the same city with the bulk of my family. Mom and Dad are only a few miles away; although Bobby and the family are moving, they'll no doubt return to take their place on the very edge of civilization. Michael, Mary and Joe decided to hitch up the wagon and homestead in the country (cue the banjos, please). Be that as it may, we still live in the same valley and are at most only 2 days travel by stagecoach and mule. Despite the close proximity to one another, however, it is still difficult in this day and age to communicate with one another. Life is hectic in this day and age; we all have things to do and places to go. Calls are occasional, visits even less frequent. Even more difficult is trying to communicate with nephews and nieces who are now living...well, out there with my Green Acre siblings. It occurred to me not too long ago that this would be a decent way to talk with each other. All my Sib's could post to this blog, and update their busy lives, or reminisce about good times. Dad could post a short blurb about the mechanical gifts of the son of his favorite son. He could renew discussions with young Eric over Church Doctrine. Mother and Father could post stories of their childhood, or updates to Family History. Pictures can also be uploaded (after being stored on Keene of course). I think it's safe to say that this avenue of communication differs significantly from those of political blogs. I'm not doing this because I'm a sicko and a crackpot; it's because I want to be close to family when we haven't the time otherwise. It's taken awhile to find the right template, and of course, I'm learning the ropes regarding everything else. Maybe one of my brethren, or sisthren know how to do this sh**. Thank you and have a great evening.