Greg's General Store

Well I went and did it this time. I signed up for Twitter. Now I can tweet my little heart out just like that mocking bird that comes and sits outside our bedroom window every morning at 6am. I think he has it out for us because he knows we are the ones who brought the cats home. Last night while my wife and I were in the pool our cat; Mr. T was sitting there minding his own business (something he rarely does) and the mocking bird buzzed him and got him acting all crazy. Obviously they are not friends and have sparred before. So I signed up for Twitter and out of the blue I have twitter friends. Ok some of them were already blogger friends but I do have a few new ones as well. Apparently I was the last one to get on twitter because everyone else is already there. No one ever accused me of being a trend setter. When it comes to change, I like to sit back and let everyone else test the waters and when I see it is safe I jump right in. It’s kind of like leading the battle charge. That fi...

Spam is one of those foods on my “I like” list. However if I eat it too often, It becomes something that I really don’t care for. It’s the same with a lot of things too. Too much of a good thing is a bad thing. And I'm not just talking food here. I don’t mind computer spam either as long as it isn’t disguised as an email from a long lost friend. You know, one of those emails that says “Hello Greg” only when you open it, it is a link to someone that wants to send you money if you will just give them your account information. I must get about 40 emails a day and most of them are legit but I still do get a few spam emails and sometimes it is hard to tell which are which. I can live with this though because like all things in life, I can just delete the ones I don’t want and go on with my life. Lately though I have discovered another type of spam. I actually knew it was out there but it is getting worse. I am talking about the kind of spam that lives in search engines like Google and Y...

What a day yesterday was. I began my day at 345 am and it ended around 11 last night when I passed out in bed. It was a really long day but a good one. After hitting the gym for an hour workout, I came back home and began making flower arrangements for the wedding. Soon my entire family was up and we all pitched in to get everything ready. We made about a hundred deviled eggs and two big pans of Swedish meatballs for the reception. By early afternoon we were all exhausted and running on adrenaline and clouds were building so it was time to pray. God answered our prayers and the clouds went away just in time for the wedding. So here is my Thankful Thursday list: 1. I am thankful for a glorious day in the park and that everything came together for the wedding. The weather was just about perfect and there was no arguing or fighting. For a moment, I thought I was at the wrong wedding. Haha We decorated this handrail. 2. I am thankful for my family who pitched in and made the day a special...

What a weekend this was. Saturday at the market, the heat index reached 110. We were cooking to say the least. Fortunately they decided to close early due to the heat so we got home before it really got hot. (it was only 96 when we got home) I have discovered something about sales and weather. On bad weather days like when it rains or when it is unbearably hot, the crowd thins out but sales will be good. My theory is that on really nice days, most of the people who are in the market are just there to enjoy the day and really aren’t interested in spending money. When someone comes out and braves the elements they are there to buy something. Saturday evening we went out for dinner at Applebee’s. I wanted riblets for father’s day and due to the heat I didn’t feel like cooking them myself. You can’t beat Applebee’s riblets in my opinion. My sons pitched in and helped pay the tab. I thought that was pretty special. Sunday was the first day of summer and it was another hot and humid day. I ...

I am sure I could find lots of things to complain about today. But there are enough people complaining so I will do just the opposite and say Thanks. It is Thankful Thursday and I again have a lot to be thankful for. This past week we have been hit with violent storms every day. Our power has gone out numerous times and we had had to “rough it” and go without air conditioning for hours and hours in 90 Degree weather with 100% humidity. So the first thing I am thankful for is air conditioning. I am thankful that I live in a country where I have electricity (most of the time) and have the ability to turn on an air conditioner and cool off whenever I want to. Many years ago we visited the Dominica Republic. Down there, to save electricity, they simply turned off power to residential areas during peak hours. So every day from about 1:00 to 4:00, the power went off. I wonder what people here would do if that were the case? I can hear the screaming now. Number two on my list are the storms....

Ok I jammed three titles in there together but they all fit. It was an exciting weekend. The fun started on Thursday evening when we had a really big storm blow through. I ran into the front yard yelling Auntie Em, Auntie Em but had to go inside because the storm was approaching. There was rain, lightening, strong winds and even hail just down the street. Thankfully though we didn’t get any hail because it would have ruined my tomatoes which are looking great by the way. We didn’t get any falling cows either. In the middle of the storm, we heard a loud thump and I assumed that a limb must have fallen on the deck or that a house that landed on a Witch but it was too dark to tell. Shortly after that the power went out and it stayed out for several hours. Several hours without electricity is a bad thing when it is 85 degrees with 100% humidity. How did we ever survive without Air conditioning? Friday my wife called me at work to tell me that the thump we heard was actually a tree that f...

Please visit Truth for the Journey if you would like to participate in Thankful Thursday. Here is my list for this wonderful Thursday: 1. I am thankful for my youngest son passing the 6th grade. He did really well but it came down to the wire in one subject. I was actually praying for a D in that one subject but he ended up with a C which is wonderful in my book. He never ceases to amaze me. I have trouble looking at a 6’ boy and remembering that he is only 12. 2. I am thankful for all the aches and pains that I have right now. Last night I spent several hours weedwacking our yard so I went to bed really tired. This morning despite my aches and pains, I still went to the gym just like always. I managed to get in a pretty good workout. I am still on my way to better health and even though the pounds aren’t leaving me, the inches are. 3. I am thankful for all the rain that we have had recently. Even though some people have gotten more than they wanted, we really need it. It is nice not...

It was business as usual at the gym this morning, however when I got to the locker room, the TV was tuned to the religious channel. I think they call it the Christian Channel but from what I saw the infomercials were anything but Christian. The one that was on when I first got to the gym was all about something called “No Sin Oil” This stuff was truly amazing and so was the preacher that was selling it. As luck would have it, Pastor Frank got to the locker room at the same time I did and he just rolled his eyes at the TV and we both shook our heads in disgust. So this preacher was selling “No Sin Oil” He quoted out of the Bible some passage about keeping sin out of your house and then went on to say that this “Miracle No Sin Oil” could do it for you. Wow a shortcut. I like that. I guess he forgot to read the part on HOW to get sin out of your life. So he said that by just taking a little of this precious oil and putting a dab on you, all your sins would be gone and not only that they w...

Some of you may have noticed that I haven’t been posting or reading as much as I used to. I haven’t lost interest in Blogging I assure you. Between trying to take care of my plants and school coming to an end for the year, I just haven’t had as much time as I need to properly Blog. I hate just tossing out a post that rambles just like I am doing at the moment. Haha So my oldest son went off to Palmetto Boys State this weekend. He will be gone all week. Did I mention that he was one of three boys selected from his school to go? I’m not bragging, I’m just saying…..Ok I am bragging but as a parent it is legal. It is a weeklong event up at the State House in Columbia SC. I am hoping that he gets to meet our Governor but if not I am sure he will meet some other politicians. I had an awesome day at the Charleston Farmers Market even though it rained on us twice. Because we have so many daylilies blooming, I also went to my favorite (not) flea market to sell some of them. I know I have told y...

Well it's Friday and you know what that means? Well normally only that tomorrow is Saturday but today is a special day for Greg and Mrs. Greg as you all like to call her. Actually her name is Diane and today is our 28th Anniversary. That's a big Whoo Hoo. So this morning I went to the gym to work out and although it isn't right to brag, I just had to brag about my anniversary to one of my friends. His name is Frank and he is a preacher so I thought he would be impressed with the 28 years. He was but he informed me that he and his wife had been married for 49 years. Way to take the wind out of my sails. So what do you get for someone who you have been married to for 28 years and already has everything? Well she has me and I consider myself a diamond (in the rough). So I started shopping around and came across a few ideas: Chain saw.... Practical but not romantic. Cast net.....Been there done that. (long story) New tool set....I may be on to something here (or maybe not) 5 ca...

I will start with Thankful Thursday . This morning I am thankful for a lot of things: 1. I am thankful for my wife of almost 28 years. Tomorrow is our anniversary and we beat the odds by making it this long. 2. I am thankful that both of my children made it through another school year without any really major incidents. 3. I am thankful that I got the boat trailer fixed this week without hurting myself and with only 5 trips to the hardware store. I sometimes impress myself. 4. I am thankful that I have lots of fresh veggies to eat and all I have to do is go to the garden and pick them. Cukes anyone? 5. And finally I am thankful that I didn’t kill myself cutting the tree down yesterday and now I have proof that I didn’t evolve: After spending over 3 hours up in a tree trying to cut it down I have come to the conclusion that there is no way that I evolved from apes or lemurs or any other tree dwelling creature. This morning my legs, arms, feet, hands, stomach and even eyes and teeth are ...

My wife and I both finished reading the book “The Five Love Languages” by Gary Chapman. If you remember I won the book over at Truth for the Journey . I had heard of this book and from what everyone told me it was a “must read” for anyone who is married. After reading the book, I have to agree. My wife and I have been married for almost 28 years. You can take off the “almost” come this Friday by the way. Anyway after that many years, you would think that we would know just about all there is to know about the other person wouldn’t you. Well that is mostly the case except when it comes to communicating to one another. The truth is we each speak different Love Languages and so our communicating over the years has often been non-communicating. After I read the book it was obvious that my primary Love Language is “Words of Affirmation” followed by “Physical Touch”. My wife on the other has “Quality Time” as her primary Love Language followed several of the others. I guess women are just mo...