Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in th0ts0vu's LiveJournal:

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Friday, January 21st, 2011
6:01 pm	One of these days... One of these days they’ll be right and we’ll get all the snow they promise us. We did get an inch or so overnight, enough that I figured I’d better clear the sidewalks and driveway. So at 5:30 this morning I was outside shovel in hand doing what is basically my civic duty. Of course if I didn’t do it then while it was relatively warm,. I’d pay for it tonight after I get home. The part they seem to have right is about the cold and wind. That so far seems to be as advertised. Frigid blasts out of the northwest that burned my cheeks and ears when I stepped out at lunch. I’m going to need plenty of Chapstick this weekend…and Emma may need her beagle jacket. Life has been quiet lately. Even work which has been keeping me very busy has slaked off a little. Granted we are out of the holidays and planning for quieter times of the year, but all the same it feels good to breathe and not worry about everything that has to be done. The lag time is what is allowing me to type this now. It’s been missing for a long time. There are snippets of ideas that come in and linger, but never long enough for me to find my keyboard and type. I’m thankful for today. * * * * * * * * A Facebook friend linked to a column written by one of my favorites back in Ohio yesterday. Regina Brett wrote a column about an idea that a teacher from my old school had based on a column that Regina wrote years ago. The old column asked the question “What’s the secret of life?” The new column is some of the answers that 11 years of high school students have had. But before you read it, ask yourself the same question, “What’s the secret of life?” http://www.cleveland.com/brett/blog/index.ssf/2011/01/regina_brett_what_is_the_secre.html I don’t know that my answer is any better than anyone else’s. Nor do I think I do a very good job of living it out, but here goes…Cherish your blessings; your friends and those you love. Enjoy the times together. Laugh and talk and pray and love. The thing that’s bugging me isn’t going to be the end of the world. Let it go. Quit worrying about it. Trust that the Lord knows what He’s doing and that He has already given me something better. And your answer is… p.s. I’m kind of hoping that the February 1st storm they keep mentioning they miss on as well. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Monday, October 25th, 2010
9:57 pm	Moments We walked together, You and I. An interesting stroll Down lanes Into shops Pointing Whispering Sharing interests. Our fingers knit together Our words jumbled Falling over each other In joy Excitement Love There were giggles And gasps Laughter stifled We stood at the edge of the dune You and I Looking out The wide stretch of beach The huge expanse of the ocean The wind tossed your hair Made my eyes water But we were there You and I A moment to cherish We walked the beach You and I Carrying our shoes after a bit Enjoying the beach’s sun warmth The wet sand The occasional wave at our soles Arm and arm we strolled A stumble for fun Collapsing besideontopofeach other Laughing Knowing the day was special Precious Meant to be savored One of our falls Slipped into an embrace Sand cushioning us Holding each other close Our eyes locked Then closing in a kiss Still further we walked Alone Save for the gulls The waves The grass And the sand We stopped and rested Leaning back Blanket beneath Looking out Seeing forever Seeing each other Longing to see More deeply We touched Bodies close Hands sliding Over clothing Below Finding flesh Soft smooth warm Touching Caressing Awkwardly Then easily As fabric parted We were two alone Became one You and I Lost in the moment Lost in longing In feeling In desire Lost in each other In sensation New Fresh Exhilarating Climbing Rising Ecstatic We lie together YouandI Knit together Hearts and bodies Peaceful Joyful Knowing nothing better Only the love of the moment The love of the years The love of promise to come We walked together YouandI Across the sand The light Swirling a welcome A blessing On lovers Rising from the surf (Comment on this)
Wednesday, March 24th, 2010
5:58 am	Arizona Getaway It's been awhile since I've written.  Work has been busy and making time to gather my thoughts is a challenge sometimes.  We did, however, manage to slip away for a week to what were supposed to be warmer climes in Arizona.  Not so much.  When you're expecting sun and 70's, rain for two days and then a peak temperature of 62 is not all that fulfilling.  We made the best use we could of the time and visited some places we may not have.  The Heard Museum was wonderful. The Desert Botanical Garden a windy treat after the rains rolled through.  The sun came out for our day at the INdians spring training game and followed us north to Sedona before we came home. We learned that we can get up and out the door in 30 minutes after I failed to set the alarm for our early flight. We learned that there is a bond betwwen fans no matter where they are. We learned that people from Chicago think that 60 degrees means that the pool is great place to spend the afternoon. We learned that God is good and He has created a magnificent, beautiful place for us to inhabit.  Let me share... ( Read more... )   (Comment on this)
Monday, January 25th, 2010
4:49 am	Do You Know...   Do you know you’re the one I want to be with?        That it doesn’t matter where or when, that there’s no one I’d rather see. Do you know that even when you roll out of bed you’re beautiful?        That even with morning breath, I love to kiss you and hold you? Do you know how much I love telling you I love you?        That you mean more to me today than you did yesterday, or last year, or 25 years ago? Do you know how much I appreciate you?        How I love the way you take care of so many little things that I miss? Do you know I love holding you?        That feeling your body warm against mine, your breath on my shoulder is exquisite. Do you know I love your smile, hearing your laughter?        That I love finding ways to make them appear? Do you know I love watching with you?        That whether you’re reading or sleeping or working, just to watch you? Do you know how glad I am I have you with me?        That after all these years that we are still here and one. (Comment on this)
Friday, February 27th, 2009
4:27 pm	Keeping up It’s been a busy week.  Lots of meetings and late nights and things that keep life hopping.  It doesn’t help that one of the guys who works for me had jury duty, another is looking at a torn labrum, my assistant is on a leave of absence and someone else had to leave for a couple of days due to a death close to the family.  But as long as you keep the balls in the air, everyone thinks everything is ok. Oy! As I was coming into work the other day, I passed a skunk who hadn’t quite made it across the road before meeting the tires of a passing vehicle.  The aroma wasn’t the smell you find right after the event, but the lingering smell.  For some reason I like it.  Maybe because it reminds me of traipsing through the woods when I was a kid and going through a large patch of skunk cabbage it brings a smile to my face. Then that got me thinking about smells that I enjoy… -   Lauder for Men [hard to find, but on sale this weekend J] -   The Trinity as it sautés together, its flavors melding -   The Chinese buffet at our local grocery. I can’t always buy, but I love to take a few sniffs -   Cinnabar on my wife -   The sea marshes as we approach the Jersey Shore x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x Ah, well.  Today didn’t get any less busy. I’ll close this one out now since it’s time to go home.  I figure that if I start in the morning and try to keep it going I’ll write more often.  One of the blessings of life is web radio and the fact that the Indians have been on a couple of times already.  While I look forward to a good snowstorm still (at least 6 inches!), I like looking forward to baseball season. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Monday, February 23rd, 2009
9:30 am	Bullets ·         I know I’m not the most regular person posting here.  It’s something I need to work on.  Especially since I’ve been feeling down lately and think it will help to focus on all of life instead of the things that are distracting me too much.  When we lose sight of the beauty and majesty of the simple things that surround us, I think we’re starting to go to a dangerous place.   ·         Part of my thinking on the above was fostered by a seminar I attended this weekend on prayer.  The leader had a simple method to allow us to focus and invest our time.  Why is it that the solutions to those sots of things are so simple.  Index cards and time.   ·         I love meetings that start after hours. (he says sarcastically)  Especially when I forget about them.  We’d planned to go out to dinner tonight and instead will be eating Pastasanga at home because I have something going on at 5.  Bother.   ·         I love living where we do.  Yesterday as I backed out of the garage, a small few snow flakes drifted by.  A cold front was approaching so it wasn’t a surprise.  What was wonderful was coming over the hill on the way to church and seeing the top of the end of SouthMountain through a haze of falling snow.  There’s a joy in that view…and hope that maybe we’ll finally get more than an inch or two.  We missed out again yesterday.   ·         I leave you with a couple of pictures from our trip to the shore last weekend.  We drove down Friday afternnon and came home Saturday evening.  We squeezed in walks on the boardwalk, shopping in downtown, walking the beach, taking pictures of the sunrise and visiting our inlaws.  The salt air was enough to revitalize, but not enough to sate.  How I’d love to go back. Soon. (Comment on this)
Wednesday, November 19th, 2008
9:00 am	Long Day Closing The cloud curtain lifted The western horizon revealed Hues of pink and orange The snow that threatened all day Fell away from its hem Blurring the edges of sky and shroud The wind flicked gently again Our hair set to dancing Our cheeks feeling the bite Cold, ice laden air The last embers of the leaf pile Flickered to dark Left smouldering ‘neath our buckets Our eyes met and smiled Tired smiles Work well done Rest soon deserved   We gathered our rakes And buckets and sauntered off Up the long yard The houselights a beacon in the dusk My hand found yours Fingers laced together A squeeze Then another and then again Your response the same Simple words Simple gestures Glances stolen Smiles thought secret shared Gentle chuckles Then giggles bubbled forth   As one the tools fell away Turning we wrapped bodies in arms The first flake found your nose My lips found yours Your cheeks cold against mine “It’s too cold for this.” “Maybe so, but it’s fun.” “Is there some place warmer?” “We could make it warmer.” “Then let’s go where we have a head start.” “A fire?” “After.  First a shower.” “Race you.” “No, it’s too late for that, “Walk with me.”   Together we turned Resumed the walk On the porch Cold thick fingers found zippers You led in the door Hoodie thrown on a chair back Shirt hem lifted Torso bared “What are waiting for?” You asked as I watched “Now I’ll race you.” A blur of skin and bra Your shirt tossed at my face Your footsteps echoing up the stairs (Comment on this)
Tuesday, September 30th, 2008
1:11 pm	Wish You Were Here Refuge is where you find it.  Respite a state of mind   And it seems that a chance conversation and a little exploring helped me to find a place to hide away for a lunch break or two.   It’s a little borough park on the edge of a neighborhood.  It’s 200 yards from a main thoroughfare and 100 yards from a warehouse complex. The pavilion is 100 feet from the railroad tracks next to a switching railyard.   But it’s quiet Clean Peaceful. Green Tree filled   As I sat today, the locust leaves were falling in the gentle breeze.  A pair of woodpeckers worked their way up and down the trees in front of me.  Squirrels worked across the lawn, looking for whatever it is that they look for.  Titmice “fwee-fweed” above.  The baseball diamond sat vacant in the sun across the way.  The clank of a diesel engine moving box cars interrupted the stillness.   It’s been this way every time I’ve slipped away over the last couple of months.  Rain or shine. A place where everything slows down and you can feel life around you.  Real life.  Not the hustle and clamor and stress of work and business.  Life that is simple and restful.   The only thing that interrupted today was the fact that I had to come back.  And had no idea what time it was. (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, September 8th, 2008
3:35 pm	Ten Things...OK, 'Leven I’ve been tagged.  Bother.  I resist these things as much as I can, but this time I actually have been able to think of a few things…   We’re between dogs right now.  We talk about adding one to the family, but know that once we do we’ll lose some of our freedom.  On the other hand, it was always a great way to escape to say “Well, we need to go home and get Reese out.”  More than anything else, though, we really miss having him around.  We’ll see how it goes after the winter. One of the things that surprised me about losing Reese was how I lose track of the stars.  Last week while the pool was being painted, I went for a walk in the early dark.  I forgot that Orion and Sirius were high in the sky that time of night as they move toward the place in the winter sky.  How beautiful! We’re swimming again 3 mornings a week.  My hands still smell like chlorine. Speaking of swimming, one of my favorite views is from the pool.  There are two sets of floor to ceiling windows that are two panes wide.  The great thing is that they face the east, so I can watch the sky go from black to navy to hints of orange and then pinks and corals.  So. Good. I’m a good listener.  Sometimes maybe too much so; but while I do have something to say, I’d much rather listen to what you’re saying first. I have three weeks of vacation this year and I go up to four next year.  I’m struggling with when to use them now.  What am I going to do then?  Oy! I’d found a little park not far from the office that’s perfect for an escape at lunch.  Shady, nice clean pavilion, and peaceful.  Just right. One of my favorite things to do after work is mow the lawn.  It just helps get the ‘ya-yas’ out. I went to my first concert in years over the weekend and was so glad we made the effort…and not just because I got a jump on Christmas gifts for our nieces and nephews. I think that because we don’t have kids, in my head I’m about 10 years younger than my body tells me. I’m blessed to be where I am and to be doing what I do at home and work at church and with friends. Thanks for the challenge.  It’s been good to think of these things today.     No tags from here.  If you’d like to list 10 random things then, please feel free. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Monday, July 28th, 2008
10:26 am	In the Quiet You know you make my heart ache so. How I hate to see your dreams sundered Your hopes laying in waste about you The tears in your eyes Born of sadness and frustration   Question rise haunting How long must I wait? How much should I give? How much can you take Yet ne’er repay?   The well is dry My heart bereft The phone lies silent The bell doesn’t ring The mailbox sits empty still   I know how you hurt Rest close here now, Your head on my chest Your tears dampening my shirt You are precious You should know You should hold   Chase misery away Flee the ache of dismay Rest here close Restore your soul Heal your heart Lift your eyes Walk anew   (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Wednesday, May 28th, 2008
1:17 pm	Breaking Away   It appears that April finally ended a week ago Friday.  The cold rains have ended and we seem to me making a mad dash to cram all of the pleasantness that May is into the week that is left before June strikes.   We celebrated the end of April by taking a trip to the shore a couple of weekends ago, beating the summer crowds by a week.  We ended up with a wet day on Friday, but that merely meant we could watch Prince Caspian at its first showing on the Boardwalk.  Saturday, after the gray that was Friday, broke gloriously clear.  Of course, you have to be awake at 5:30 to realize that properly…and so that you can run out the door and hit the boards and beach in pursuit of pictures.  And see the limo from a local prom dropping its cargo off at the hotel across the street.   After years of being farther south, I was surprised that the sun came up straight off the end of the boardwalk on the northern end of Ocean City.     ( Read more... ) (8 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, April 18th, 2008
1:08 pm	Awash drifting, drifting, drifting. join me as we lose ourselves in quiet close your eyes  relax my hands on your shoulders fingers gently kneading massaging pain fading burden lifting a kiss atop your head. drifting relaxed free of encumberances naked in a sea of warm gentle water lips  meeting yours joy  meeting our souls sensation rising rhythm ecstasy peace love rest (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, April 16th, 2008
1:13 pm	Ch-ch-ch-changes   We finished swimming early this morning.  Since the new guard gets there when he should, we’re taking advantage of the early chance.  One of the best parts of swimming this time of year is that we can see the dawn breaking as we do.  At the end of the pool is a window from floor to ceiling that looks out to just where the sun should come up.  As we swim our laps the sky goes from dark blue to lighter.  Brighter light creeps up from the horizon toward the heavens.  It’s like watching a framed movie.   I ran out before I left for work and tried to get a picture of the crabapple tree as the sun hit the blossoms.  It didn’t work as well as I’d hoped, but I’ll try again as long as the blooms are there and the sun cooperates.    As I came back in, I noticed that the hawthorn next to the driveway is leafing out. Last July it lost all of its leaves.  Every once in a while a fresh leaf would show up on one of the lower branches, but, for all intents and purposes, it looked dead.  We figured that the Japanese beetles did such a number on it that it couldn’t recover.  While we had talked about taking it out, it looks to be good that we didn’t.   With Spring here (maybe), my mind drifts to times earlier, fond memories, and rekindled hopes for precious moments to be relived.  I can imagine (can you?) lying on a blanket by the lake, maybe bundled up in a sweatshirt.  Lying under you and looking up into your eyes with your hair falling down around your face, the sun creating a haze in the margins of your hair, my hands on your jean clad waist and just waiting for you to come closer so I can kiss you, feeling the wonderful weight of your body on me as we embraced closer than we thought possible. Just being there, savoring the moment and knowing that while it's not forever, it would be wonderful if it was.  Then, after the spring chill finally catches up with us, getting up (maybe not as fast as we used to) and going home and finding a pleasant way to warm up.  The day’s a comin’. (Comment on this)
Monday, March 17th, 2008
2:01 pm	Wake Up Call ( You are about to view content that may not be appropriate for minors. ) (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, February 20th, 2008
4:58 pm	I love winter.  Matter of fact it's been snowing lightly here most of the afternoon.  I guess that means no eclipse for us.  Or else the cloudy evening we'll have will be a little darker. But spring is around the corner, regardless of what Phil or your local groundhog said.  And I am reminded of those days as they approach... Can you imagine... ...walking hand in hand and feeling the wet leaves under our feet, the spring in the air, a tangible part of it.  ...hearing the call of the birds, their feverish flitting about as they build and mate.  ...leaning you against a picnic table with my arms wrapped around you and feeling your lips on mine, our sweat-shirted bodies pressed close against each other.  ...the giggles and quiet, your hair ruffling in the breeze, the sound of children's laughter and the trees waving.  ...watching the brooks and rivulets bubble along seeking the deeper place where they belong and wondering how cold that water is.  ...a splash and laughter, then a fumbling chase and inordinate joy in the moment we are knowing and sharing.  It can't come soon enough. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Wednesday, January 30th, 2008
1:59 pm	Your Napkins Are Safe   We finally went back to swimming today.  We went AWOL a couple of weeks ago, apparently right after they started taking attendance with a daily check off grid.  There were a lot of white boxes between check marks.  It’s what happens though when you’ve been stuffed up and hacking up a lung for the last two weeks.  My greatest fear is that it happened when I turned 50.  I won’t fall apart that fast, will I?   We said good bye to part of the family this weekend.  Reese hurt himself on Friday and even after a visit to the vet and some treatment and drugs, didn’t improve over the weekend.  We’ve been waiting for this to happen, knowing that we were coming to a time when we would have to make a decision, mostly because of his age.   He lived a full life.  He loved food, loved chasing scents.  He was in heaven a couple of weeks ago when we had balloons that he could chase and burst.  He was a cuddler and loved to have the back of his ears scratched.  He never was much of a kisser and loved grumbling more than talking. Until the end he was a good dog, even when the pain was too much and he was really suffering.   Monday afternoon was a time of taking down gates and opening the house up for the first time in the 9 years we’ve lived here. There’s no more “We gotta go, Reeser.” and watching him trot to his crate for a treat.  Tuesday morning I was reminded that the newspaper bags can be pitched, not used to pick up after him on our walks.  There are no more insistent brown eyes prompting me to take him outside, no more whimpers from below as we eat dinner and he encourages us to share.   Sometime down the road we’ll decide it’s time again; that we want to go out for a walk in the predawn and the dusk, that we miss the feel of a soft coat under our fingers and the sight of a wagging tail from someone glad to see us when we walk in the door.  But for now, we’ll be happy to remember.  He was a good boy. p.s.  The title?  His favorite thing was to shred napkins.  It didn't matter whose lap they were in, they weren't safe.  Silly dog. (5 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, January 3rd, 2008
5:51 pm	The Days Just Past Sad to say, a lot of us commented about how fast the year slipped away. I think we waste a lot of our time on the things that don't matter so much that we become numb to the way it's whizzing by. (You could translate those things that “don't matter so much” as work, but since it keeps a roof over my head and food on the table, I shan't. *wink*) Then when you get to do the things you love to do they go just as fast because you're enjoying them so much.   I have to learn to enjoy the time I have now. I know that I’ve slipped into that rut.  Now I just have to find a rut you really enjoy...and then fix the steering to get over there.  Maybe kick it into 4 wheel drive.   It’s been awhile since I had a real update.  I took this last month when we spent a night at a place down on the Chesapeake. It was a great night away; friends, great food, good music, plenty of laughter.  Wish more of our friends could have made it. (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, December 21st, 2007
12:22 pm	(1 Comment |Comment on this)
Wednesday, October 24th, 2007
8:52 am	Greener Days Coming! Our office is being remodeled.  Over the course of the last few weeks the construction crew has encountered some interesting problems. You know, things like a set of railroad tracks paved over to add on to the building years ago…and a water main under said tracks that broke open and left a hole 12 feet deep under part of the building.    With that news, we’ve been forced to drink bottled water for the last week plus.  Not so bad, but bottled water consumption is one of the more “un-green” things to do.  80% of the bottles are discarded and not recycled which wastes petroleum resources and fills the landfills.  I’m just hoping we can get back to what we’ve been doing.   While I’m concerned about being environmentally friendly, everyone who firmly believes in the cause is focused on the fact that people are the problem.  The thing is that all of the solutions that are offered deal only with the symptoms of the problem and not the root cause.    Maybe we should set up “Green Solution” centers where those who are willing to do their part to eliminate the root cause of the problem could report and be, well, removed from the situation.  Of course, our innate selfishness would probably kick in and the supply of people willing to help out with the solution would dry up.    Maybe what we do to take care of the poor supply is start a lottery similar to the old draft lottery.  The exception would be it wouldn’t be for a specific day in a year, but a specific date over the last 75 years.  We would use a random number generator and get a date.  Everyone born on that date would report to a “Green Solution” center to remove themselves from the problem.  If there weren’t enough people born on that date, then we would select an alternate date and those people would report to “Green Solution” to remove them selves from the problem.   In order to avoid any hue and cry about discrimination, you wouldn’t be able to buy your way out of the problem and you couldn’t go into hiding to escape either. If your birth date comes up, you have to do your duty.  It certainly sounds reasonable to me.  Everyone should have to pitch in.  It’s for the planet; for future generations.   I wonder if Al Gore would lead the first volunteers.  If he wouldn’t, I’m sure he’d like a franchise.     The preceding is all written tongue in cheek.  I’m not that maudlin. (Comment on this)
Monday, October 22nd, 2007
2:16 pm	Aaaaaaahhhh!! So often when we get away, I come back more frazzled than when I left.  Between the logistics and everything else, Sometimes the vacation stress is more than the stress relief that goes with the vacation.  Then you have a simple time away and it makes everything else dissolve away.   At the end of last week, I had a conference to attend along the Delaware River in Northeastern PA.  I’d been hoping to go and on the way back take pictures of the changing leaves which should be reaching their peak.  Driving across the state Wednesday, I realized that the change wasn’t coming so quickly and that the change I was anticipating wasn’t happening.  Even once I got off the expressway on to the surface roads closer to the Inn, the leaves were mostly green with a smattering of yellow, orange and red.   Friday morning as I left I stopped to take pictures of the other side of the river under overcast skies.  There wasn’t much in the way of color there, so I expected more of the same on the drive.  However, I was pleasantly surprised to drive through the drizzle and see bright colors along the roadsides and across the fields.  Just beautiful.  And while I could appreciate the beauty, I couldn’t help but wish that the weather was a little more amenable to photography.   Another good thing: while color up there might be near peak, I think that ours will happen at the end of this week…of course, we are supposed to have rain the last half of the week as well.   As far as the conference went, I attended most of the meetings and enjoyed hearing the different reports and music and getting to meet so many new people.  Even more I loved being able to take the time to get away by myself and read and think about what I was reading.  I can’t remember coming home from a trip feeling so refreshed.   Even after watching the Indians go down in flames over the weekend, I still think life is pretty good.  (1 Comment |Comment on this)