Greg's General Store

What can I say. I had a totally awesome weekend. It all started on Friday when I took the day off. I slept about an hour later than normal and got up at 430 am. I then headed out to the gym to take a spin class. I have really been pushing hard to lose some extra weight and the extra class was just what I needed. It was a super class and I got a really good workout. After that, I spent the rest of the day, working in the garden, pulling weeds and getting plants ready for Saturday. Saturday morning it looked like rain but by 8 am they skies began to clear and we got a really good crowd at the market. I met some really nice people and sales went well. Meanwhile, my son was doing well at the Wine Festival, selling his plants. When I got home from the market I had a really nice surprise waiting for me in the form of a package of goodies. It was from Edie and It was jammed full of nice surprises. There was everything from candy to a shiny new car. That’s right. Edie bought me a red Ferra...

I took the day off and I am as busy as a bee in my flower garden. So I will try to post tonight if I have a chance. In the mean time, check out the flowers I posted on HOPE . Have a wonderful day, Greg

Wow is it Thursday already? Where does the time go? It has been a really busy week for me so let me get right to my list before something else comes up. (Something did just come up but I am going to get this posted before I start my next assignment) 1. I am thankful for another great workout week. I have been pushing myself harder this week on my workout routine and it is beginning to show. I lost another pound, Whooo Hooo. Mary also pushed us hard last night at spin class and I am sore this morning. 2. I am thankful that no one was hurt in my little tree trimming escapade the other day. Things could have turned out much worse. 3. I am thankful that it is Thursday even though it snuck up on me. That means that the weekend is almost here which also means that Monday is right around the corner. It’s just another chance to put on my Monday morning happy face. 4. I am thankful that my boys are doing well in school and so far have had no major problems. I know there is a long way to go but ...

It was late Monday night when we got the call from JW. She and a friend had attempted to cut down a tree in her yard. At around 830 pm, they gave up. At 9 pm she called me, Mr. Can-do. My wife, Mrs. Can-do took the call but because it was so late, decided to do the cutting on Tuesday afternoon. We arrived on the scene at approximately 4 pm. The tree was still standing but it had a huge notch cut in it. After assessing the situation, I decided to remove a few limbs before attempting to complete the tree cutting ceremony. Now let me stop right here and state a few facts: 1. This notch in the tree wasn’t your standard V-notch. It was much more complex. It was a partial V with a bit of the tree left in one side. The theory was that once the tree started to fall, it would hit that chunk of wood and cause the tree to spin and land in precisely the right spot. That spot was halfway between the fence and the pool. Good plan. 2. The chain saw had dulled the night before and so a new blade was p...

Wow its Monday again. Where did the weekend go? Is it just me or is time rushing by faster and faster? No matter how hard I try, I just can’t seem to get everything done on the weekend. We did get a lot accomplished but it was just a drop in the bucket. I think they need to make Monday part of the weekend since everyone seems to hate it so much. That way I can get more done and those people that hate Monday can keep it to themselves. At this morning’s weekly meeting, I looked around the room at all the unhappy people. I haven’t seen that much sadness in one room since the last funeral I attended. It amazes me how many unhappy people work here. Is it this way everywhere or just here? I guess these guys have a lot to be unhappy about. I mean most of them only have a high school education (if that) and they are only making around 25 dollars an hour to sit around and complain. Anywhoo. I have decided to start my own happy club. I think I will call it The Society for the promotion of: Happi...

When I was young, one of my mother’s favorite things to do was to lock herself in her bedroom and threaten to kill herself. She did this when she was depressed and wanted to “get back” at my father for one thing or another. She suffered from depression a lot. I can still hear her saying “I have a gun and I am going to shoot myself.” (My father kept a loaded handgun in his bedroom because he was a special policeman and we knew it) She would continue despite our crying and pleading until one of us called my father at work and got him to come home. A fight always followed. Many times I found myself praying to God to take me away from that place and relieve my pain but He never did. So eventually I gave up on praying and I gave up on God. I reasoned; why pray if He never answers and if He doesn’t answer my prayers then He must not exist. I have always had an analytical mind so that made since. When I was 18, I joined the Navy to “See the world” but I really just wanted to get away. So I l...

I may sound like a broken record but again I have so much to be happy for. And I don’t care if I sound like a broken record. I am thankful. Please join Sonia and the rest of us over at Truth for the Journey and tell us why you are thankful. I am thankful that I am happy and positive. It is a choice you know. Last night I heard about a great group of people called the Secret Society of Happy People . It is a group of people who express their happiness in an effort to discourage parade rainers. Parade rainers are people who always look at the dark side of everything and go out of their way to try to bring everyone around down to their level. Let’s fight back happy people. I am planning on joining this society. Along those same lines, I am thankful that I am slow to anger. Now my family may not agree that I am slow to anger but I really am. Have you noticed all the anger in the world these days? The shouting in the Town Hall meetings, the violence on the streets and the road rage in traf...

Is anyone else out there feeling overwhelmed? I know I am. Maybe it’s the Michael Jackson coverage or the Town Hall meeting coverage. It might be the “school supply list from you know where” that we got this year. Any one of those things would have a weak person reaching for the Prozac. But that isn’t what has me overwhelmed. I never anticipated so much participation in a giveaway. I mean I am really impressed. Bloggers are the best!!!. My website visitor count went up by a factor of 10 and so did my blog visits. It looks like I need to get some really special items to put in that box. I may also have to get a really big hat to put all the names in but that is ok, I will do it. And it’s not too late to sign up or visit my website to get in the running. You may just find a riveting article on collecting rainwater . As for the items mentioned above: Michael J? Come on, enough is enough, bury the man. (rumor has it that the reason for the delay is that he had so many chemicals in his body...

Break out the confetti people it’s time for a giveaway. And not just any giveaway, a Super Duper Giveaway. And why am I doing this you might ask? A. Because I am a nice guy. B. Because school starts tomorrow and I have all that extra traffic to look forward to. C. Because I got a check from the government in the mail. D. Because as of yesterday, I had 20,000 visitors on my blog. If you picked A or D you may already be a winner. Then again you may not be a winner but you surely are intuitive. And the reason I am going to do a giveaway instead of just giving a prize to the 20,000th visitor is because this person didn’t leave a comment or even their name. That’s right; a stalker. See it pays to leave a comment on my blog. So the next question is what to give away. Well I thought about giving away $20,000 dollars to go along with the 20,000 visitors but since item "C" didn’t happen. (I am thinking my stimulus check got lost in the mail) I will have to go with something a little m...

It’s Thankful Thursday again over at Truth for the Journey . I have a huge post today since I have been away. If you don’t want to read it all, just read highlighted portions and skip the rest. Of course you will be missing all my usual humor and I know you won’t want to do that. The first thing on my list this week is that I am thankful for a great vacation. We had a great time in the mountains of Georgia and North Carolina. Our trip: We stayed in a little town called Dillard Georgia. There isn’t much in Dillard but it is very close to some places you may want to visit and it is a very nice little town. We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express. It is a little hotel that only has about 50 rooms. There were quite a few people staying there on Saturday night but after that there were only about 5 other rooms occupied. Nice and quiet, just like I like it. This hotel has an indoor pool and hot tub and they offer a full complimentary breakfast. They offered a mean biscuits and gravy and some ...

Just a quick note to let everyone know that I made it home safely. We had a great trip but it is great to be back home too. I will fill everyone in on the details tomorrow along with my Thankful Thursday post. I have photos too. I will also be visiting everyone's blog tomorrow. Today I am trying to catch up on the 110 emails that I had waiting for me and also the tons of work that no one did for me while I was away. It figures. :) You know what they say: Job security. Haha Have a great day, Greg

Well school is just around the corner for my sons. They are already starting to get depressed. So in a last ditch effort, we are going on vacation. That's right, we are heading for the mountains. The bad news is that this means that I won't be able to post for a while. Now that depresses me because my web pag e was just beginning to take off. But before you know it, I will be back and hopefully have some great photos to share. I am also hoping to bring home some nice big gems from the NC gem mines. It took a lot of searching but we found one that isn't salted. At this place, you actually dig the dirt yourself. For anyone who doesn't know what salted means, it means that they put shinny rocks in the dirt so that you find something pretty. Those pretty rocks are worthless but the kids like them. I guess that is ok for most children but mine used to find these shiny rocks and were disappointed when we told them it was worth nothing. I will let you know how this place turns...

Again I have a lot to be thankful this Thursday. I am actually thankful every day even though I am only writing it down on Thursdays. On the other days, I go straight to the source of my thankfulness. Every day I thank God for my blessings and I do have a lot. Today I am thankful for my attitude. This covers a lot but to mention a few, I am thankful that I am not a hothead that runs around angry all the time. I am also thankful that I get along with others and that I am someone that other people like to have around. I am thankful for my ever growing patients. Last night on my way home, traffic on the highway was going at a snail’s pace. I was in the right lane. The left lane was moving a little faster but I decided to stay where I was and be patient. Just around the bend, all the cars came to a screeching halt. There was a tire in the left lane. Some people had been going around it and some were going over it. My little car is too low and it would have surely caused me to wreck. A lit...

It’s a shame that we have to worry about security. Why can't people just get along? When I was in the Navy it was a big deal even when it wasn’t in the civilian world. I still practice some of the things I learned in the Navy. For instance, when I stop at a traffic light, I like to leave a little room between my car and the one in front of me. That will allow me to escape in the event that someone goes postal at the traffic light. Some other good ideas are to alter the routes that you take on a daily basis and vary the lights that you leave on in your home when you are gone at night. I may be a little paranoid but I always look around when I am in a crowd to see who is around me. I also make a mental note where all the exits are when I am in a public building. Those are good things to do with the state of the world today. But the part that is killing me is the technology security. I don’t think I am alone in this either. I have so many logon names and passwords that I can’t keep t...