Advice in raising children

 A favorite car
 1976 Ford F150

Now:
For some reason I was thinking yesterday of telling my grandkids, ‘Soon you will realize you knew/know nothing about raising kids.  Soon and very soon you will learn from some expert, what you thought was right, was actually  180 degrees out. The expert will be a grandparent, friend or the latest hit writer on parenting advice.”
I will not try to tap dance a good answer. I blew it more times than I can count. But when Jack Jr and Mark David were born, the doctor forgot to give us the instructions booklet, on the care and feeding of this beautiful child we had just been blessed with.
I have met some great parents. Parents who raised their children to adulthood and never fought the drug war, they never had to go down and collect their son or daughter from the jail.
I actually KNOW other truly wonderful loving parents whose children spent the majority of their adult lives in prison.
We, parents, as a rule try the best we know how to be good parents. We give it our all, but still, because we do not have the ‘instructions booklet’ things can go wrong.
All children are free moral agents. They make up their minds as they see fit. And live their lives. Some of us succeed in spite of ourselves but got here with mother’s prayers.
We head for Oak Ridge, TN today for a couple days out! WE are giving Rosemary and her grandpa Jack a ride to see her cousins Jude and Kennedy. Of course the parents Josh and Megan are going along too!  We hope to have some great family time.
                                             Nite Shipslog

The world passed me by

Early interesting Cars:
This is a 1964 Merc with a continental kit. You were super cool if you had that tire on the back bumper in the 1950s!

And so today:
I read and hear the statement, “The World Has Passed Me By!”  In fact it really has.  Time doesn’t stop, just because we old folk have slowed down.  We think we have kept up, but we haven’t. I can appreciate you older folk who handle the smart Phones. You can Post from them and answer e-mails and play games. Good for you.

But as a general rule many of us progressed thru the Bag Phone, up to the flip phone and handled it pretty darned well, but then came the PC, then it seemed immediately, Mr. I-Phone topped that, with a phone that was a library, directions center, research engine and a camera.

Books could be written and probably are about mistakes made by us neophytes and our SMARTER THAN US phones. My sister once addressed an e-mail to me critiquing our cousin, a very intelligent dude, highly educated but with an ego bigger than mine, and that is saying something. (LOL) She had no idea she had clicked ‘reply all’  sending the info to cuz also.

I was actually at a yard sale and got in on a conversation of a senior who had critiqued his boss, thinking he was talking to the next in command when he was actually addressing both.

The above incidents were very embarrassing. BUT these are small compared to supposedly smart politicians who have lost their positions, not knowing they were addressing the world.

To top all that, Evelyn, my nemesis, says this should be Wednesday’s blog.  Or maybe it is Thurnesday’s.  I just cannot keep up.

You know something? We were shopping last night and I about bumped into a shopper coming out of a side aisle answering a phone with, “Ok You got ME!”  I turned to Sherry and said, “Honey I can’t even remember answering a phone, I miss it.”

Go ahead, answer your phone (if you can figure out how!), Life is good even at 80 & counting. Thanks for reading tis drivel. Love you guys that read.  (Go ahead, comment and make my day!)

But what I am trying to say in this rambling, YES the world has always passed older folk by, it is just faster now due to the progress in electronic advances.

Nite Shipslog
PS: our parents felt the same, "life is too fast!" they said.

That cannot be an antique…

                  A 1952 DEsota, New when I was in the 9th grade.

And so today:
Once Son Mark and his cousin Steve Helms came back from a trip with the pickup loaded with farm stuff from a farm auction. I saw a ‘Manual Size or Sycle ‘on the truck with wooden forks above the blade.  I said I have never seen one of those, it must be an antique.

My BIL Sonny Helms was known to say in his later years, “That cannot be an antique, I used one of them.” He said the same that day, but I don’t remember what he called it. Some of you farmers will know the name. I couldn’t find a good picture, but I think these workers are using them:

I have been pretty busy in my play area. I have been restoring antiques. I laughed when MA said in her blog, when at first you do not succeed TRy again. I read that just after I noticed the top of the Buffet Cabinet I am working on would have to be stripped again. So I did: Here it is now:

But I am most proud of two hand made antiques. An end table and night stand.  The Night stand here:

Is solid walnut made from rough lumber planed and built by a 13 year old kid:

This is the end table, it is soft white pine built by the same kid in Shop class, Valdese, NC High School:

Those have been in several families’ homes. Both had about 5 coats of different color paints and many repairs over the years.
It is hard to think I am restoring antiques that I made myself.  LOL Most amazing is that they are still around after being passed around the Siblings and parents homes.

I also did something for me. I covered my work table with this pretty excess blue formica from son Mark.   I needed some color. LOL


Nite Shipslog

This is crazy

Early interesting Cars:

 '88 Honda Cr X.  I was always a GM man, but Honda has been our go to vehicle for years now. I cry for Detroit and a revival of Amreican cars.

And so today:
I love the internet. YES it is something only dreamed about years ago. BUT.
My new niece Kathy, in Kenya has faster internet than I
My nephew in Saudi Arabia has faster internet. We are still on the net via cell. We buy a mobile hotspot from Verizon. Imma thinking someone is trying to tellus to buy hard wired internet service. LOL

 I took some pictures of projects in process here and tried to up load them. So far has taken about 2 hours. Hopefully in a few hours it will be better. This short entry has so far taken 30 minutes.
Sherry also fielded some terrible phone calls today. A nephew, ‘Big Mark’, is having very serious health problems concerning his liver. Dear friend MaryAnn, subject of one of my books, is having open heart surgery in the next few days.  And here I am fussing about internet connections.

I am hoping for better tomorrow.
Y’all take care,
Sherry and Jack.
Nite Shipslog