Greg's General Store

I know you have heard that song line: “It’s all about the Benjamin ba-by” but I am here to tell you that it just isn’t true. For those that are not “Hip” like me, Benjamin refers to the hundred dollar bill. Ok I just gave away my not-with-it-ness by using the word Hip. I don’t even know what term they use these days for being "hip" but you know what I meant. The point is, that it really is all about the attitude ba-by. These days, I sometimes look for a good attitude and customer service more than I do the actual product itself. I avoid some establishments and go out of my way to others based solely on the service that I receive. Some of it has to do with lack of job satisfaction but I truly believe that some people would be miserable no matter where they work. I work with some of these people and sometimes I just have to bite my lip because I really want to say something. Every once in a while I do slip when it is just too much to take. If I feel I am getting close to sayi...

Better watch out, there is something going around and it is very contagious. I won’t say where or who I got it from but I am trying not to give it to anyone else. I hope I haven’t. You know what it is don’t you. It’s the blog blues. It’s when you have lots to write about but for some reason you just can’t sit down and write. I think in the pre-blog days it was called writers block. I actually blame mine on the weather. It has been so nice lately that I just want to be outside. The bad part is that I have so much to write about that I feel I should at least write a little. Last week was the start of the Spoleto festival here in Charleston. The market was packed with people on Saturday. I didn’t know it but during Spoleto, the Farmers Market says open later than usual. They had bands, jump castles, more vendors than usual, jugglers, people on stilts, and magicians. There was a small brass quartet playing right behind us and I wanted to ask them if they could play the Umpa Lumpa song f...

We had another round of bad storms last night. Fortunately there were no tornadoes in our immediate area. I think the closest one touched down about 30 miles away. These storms keep getting worse these days and I have to wonder if it is a taste of things to come or just a low spot in the rhythm of life. When I look at the news, I see chaos all around me and it looks there is no relief in sight. There are killings, floods, earthquakes, fires, riots and more disease than one can mention. Even if some of these things don’t directly affect me, they still cause stress. It’s no wonder I am tired all the time. I really need some serious quiet time to recharge my batteries. And I know I am not alone. In talking with some other people at work they are all feeling the same way. What we need is little quiet places in our lives where we can get away and sit and meditate. I like working in the greenhouse. That is my quiet place. I am still reading Psalms. I know, I know, I am a slow reader. I do e...

TGIM. It was a busy weekend for us but a great one. I took Friday off and got some Honey-Do’s done around our house. We started by taking my son’s car into the shop for some needed repairs. It is really running bad and it looks like a bad fuel pump is the culprit. After we dropped it off at the shop, my wife and I went to breakfast. Sitting down to breakfast is something we rarely do so it was a nice treat. We went to the Berry Patch . They have the best breakfast in town in my opinion. After we got home, I did some lawn mower tune-ups and then did a little work on our plants. I barely scratched the surface of our plant maintenance though. Saturday was a busy day at the Farmers Market. The place was very crowded as there are lots of tourists in town. It was cool in the morning and never really got hot. But where were the fashion police when you need them. What is up with some people these days? We had more fun people watching that we have at a boat landing. Big floppy hats must be in s...

I loved visiting our Capitol. We had a private tour of the Capitol building thanks to our Senator. If you are visiting our Nation's Capitol, make sure and write your Senator and ask for tours. They can be very helpful. Most people were hearded around in the Capitol building in large groups of 15 to 20 people and had to wait in long lines. We however were taken from Senator Demint's office to the Capitol building via the underground tram system and had a personal tour with just the 4 of us. One of the places we all wanted to visit in Washington was the Vietnam Wall. We had numerous friends and family members that served in Vietnam so it is very special to us all. I love this picture as it shows three indipendent groups of Hero's. First off there is the Wall itself showing all the names of the brave men and women who died fighting in the Vietnam war. If you don't get choked up at this wall then pack your bags and get out of my country. Whether you supported the war or not...

My plans were to sleep late then get up and fix breakfast for my family but that didn’t happen. I awoke around 5 am to the sound of thunder. I lay there trying to go back to sleep as the thunder continued to crash about every minute or so. As I lay there, I heard the thunder booms getting faster and faster until they were going off continuously. If you are a big weather buff like me, you know what that means. Usually it is a sign of a tornado developing. I got up and went to the living room and turned on the TV. It was as I suspected. The Weather Channel was reporting tornado activity in our area. The system was moving rapidly though and it was soon gone. There were reports that a tornado had touched down near my Mother in Law’s house so being that it was Mother’s day, I decided to go check it out. I got my oldest son up and we headed into town. We only found a few trees down in that area but it was obvious that there had been hail from the small branches and leaves littering the roads...

Can you tell what is wrong with this picture? It is of the Women's Memorial at Arlington Cemetary. Looks kind of strange doesn't it. This may help you out. This is a picture taken in the opposite direction from the other side of the reflecting pool. (That is The Lincoln Memorial off in the distance) And the answer is: The first picture is actually upside down. It is a reflection of the memorial taken in the reflecting pool outside. I should have lots more Arlington photo's in a few days. Stay tuned. Have a wonderful day, Greg

I have lots to tell about our trip to DC so let me get started. To begin with we took a plane up and the train back. For some reason, I was able to get cheaper tickets that way. It was also something my family wanted to do because my sons had never flown or taken a train. The train ride was 9 hours long. The flight was only 3 hours but that doesn’t count the waiting. For the flight, we had to arrive 2 hours early. Then there was a 2 hour hold over in Atlanta. It also took us 30 minutes to get our luggage so the total flight time was 7.5 hours. It was also much less of a hassle as far as security to take the train. They didn’t make us take our shoes off or unpack my CPAP. The plane seats were small too and I rubbed elbows with the people beside me the entire flight. My knees were also jammed into the seat in front of me. The seats on the train were large and there was a foot rest to prop up your legs. We could walk around whenever we wanted. On the plane, they gave us a 2 oz pack of pre...

It sure is great to be back home. We had a wonderful trip but like the saying goes; "There is no place like home". I have so much to write about and tell everyone but today I will just try to get caught up on my blog reading. I do have tons of pictures to share but since I am running late, let me just give you a teaser. This is one of the places we visited. It is a library. I bet you can guess from this one picture where we visited. I will post lots more later today and in the following weeks. This is the fountain in front of the building. Here is a little hint for those that are just waking up. A lot of Congress men and women use this library. :) Have a wonderful day, Greg