This blog doesn’t really get much priority in the scheme of things.  That’s probaby as much because I don’t make any money from it as anything else.

And June has been busy.  Our oldest son went off to work at church camp, my wife had surgery, life went on in its normal busy fashion, and so forth.

I did start a new web site (like I needed MORE to do!).  It’s called Racing Wrecks, and will feature pictures and videos of wrecks and accidents in all different types of motorsports.  There will be a new picture or video each day, and it is hoped that some of the site visitors will send in their own pictures or videos.  The only requirement is that no one should get hurt from the accident.

I was able to make what is probably the last addition to the arsenal, so to speak.  I found a little Kel-Tec PF-9 9mm. pistol this past Saturday, and could not pass it up.  It is an ideal concealed-carry pistol, and the price was right.  I hope to get to try it out at the range shortly.  When I do, I’ll post a report here.

Whoosh, where did that week go?   Beats me.

We were able to get our garden weeded a little bit before nearly passing out due to the heat.  Then we had dinner at Sonny’s Bar-B-Q… yummm.

As seems to be the way, with church, family, and “real job” responsibilities, it’s hard to find time to update my blog here.  I’m also running the www.MotorSportsNews.net and Cold Nose Consulting websites, so this one has lower priority.

On Saturday, May 24th, I was able to take the Kentucky CCDW class, and passed both the written test and the range test (hee hee… I outshot the rest of the class on the range). 

On Sunday, May 25, my family and I drove to Flatwoods, Kentucky to see my parents, and to Westwood to see my in-laws.  We spent Monday there, and drove back home on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, May 28, the family and I left for camp meeting at Camp Victory in Somerset, Kentucky, where we spent four glorious days. 

Bro. George Griffis and family does a great job of running the camp.  Each day we had breakfast, a morning service, lunch, then free time until dinner, followed by the evening service. 

Tony Hutson was the featured preacher Thursday and Friday nights, and there were many other fine preachers who also preached.  This being my first time, and also due to my poor memory for names, I unfortunately didn’t get to catch everyone’s name who was there.  I do remember Bro. Larry Groves and his family, and Bro. Dan Aldridge and family.

After returning home on Saturday morning, the afternoon was spent in nap time trying to catch up on lost sleep.  We had our usual church schedule on Sunday, and then back to the old routine today.

Maybe this is going to be a continuing series at Baldo Comics…

I thought this was great… it was sent to me by friend Heather M., and is from www.BaltoComics.com…

Yikes, where has the time gone?

Two weekends ago, we took off and drove to Louisville just to get away.  We took a nice dinner cruise on the Star of Jeffersonville.  The food was good, but the music was kind of loud.

Last weekend, was the great snow storm of spring, 2008, which was mostly melted by noon on Monday.  We measured 7 inches of snow on our back deck.  We spent Saturday inside together, and watched a bunch of “Ninja Warrior” episodes.  

I also reinstalled a curtain rod in our bedroom, where our wired-up kitty, Emma, had climbed up the drapes and torn the mountings out of the drywall.  I might as well not have bothered, because she did it again earlier this week.

So I’ll be repairing THAT again THIS weekend.  Exciting stuff, eh?

… how much fun it is to break through ice with your shoes.    I used to do that all the time as a kid. 

While I was walking in to the office today, I found a frozen-over puddle, and that urge just hit me.

CRACK-CRACK-CRACK

I walked the rest of the way in on the parking lot with a smile on my face, despite the bitter cold wind.

We traveled to the home land on Saturday and Sunday to see our parents. Where’s the home land?  For me, it’s Flatwoods, KY, about 10 miles from Ashland, KY.  My wife’s family is living in Westwood, which is a suburb so to speak of Ashland. 

We stopped off at the Cannonsburg Flea Market, which was a lot of fun, while my wife attended a baby shower (durn babies get so dirty!).

Items at the flea market ranged from copyright violating logo sweatshirts to a trombone to a fiberglass life-size statue of a horse, and all sorts of junk in between.  There were several CB radios (remember those?), shotguns, and more used books and VCR tapes than you could ever read or watch in a lifetime.

Later in the weekend, we visited the flea market in Russell, right in front of AK Steel (formerly ARMCO, pronounced ARM-a-CO by some locals).

There was something there for just about everyone… mostly junk.  One place had some knives supposedly made out of Damascus steel with large price tags, but I wonder if they were really Damascus steel or just someone making them up in a garage somewhere and acid-etching them to look like they were.

I only spent $3.00 at both places.  I got away cheap.

My wife and I also drove through downtown Ashland, trying to remember what stores were where back when we lived there.

We discovered that the old Steckler’s men’s clothing store was formerly the location of the Second National Bank.  I don’t recall the name of that bank nowadays, but it sits at the opposite end of the same block.

We also went up and saw the bare, empty lot where the Bluegrass Restaurant used to sit.  We pulled into the lot and parked the car briefly in the 2nd slot (lines were still were painted on the asphalt), where we met back in 1976.   It was hard to believe it wasn’t there any longer.

STORY OF ELIJAH
The Sunday school teacher in a little country church was carefully explaining the story of Elijah the Prophet and the false prophets of Baal. She explained how Elijah built the altar, put wood upon it, cut the steer in pieces, and laid it upon the altar. And then, Elijah commanded the people of God to fill four barrels of water and pour it over the altar. He had them do this four times “Now, said the teacher, “can anyone in the class tell me why the Lord would have Elijah pour water over the steer on the altar?”

A little girl in the back of the room started waving her hand, “I know! I know!” she said, “To make the gravy!”

LOT ‘S WIFE
The Sunday School teacher was describing how Lot’s wife looked back and turned into a pillar of salt, when little Jason interrupted, “My Mummy looked back once, while she was driving,” he announced triumphantly, “and she turned into a telephone pole!”

GOOD SAMARITAN
A Sunday school teacher was telling her class the story of the Good Samaritan, in which a man was beaten, robbed and left for dead. She described the situation in vivid detail so her students would catch the drama. Then, she asked the cl ass, “If you saw a person lying on the roadside, all wounded and bleeding, what would you do?” A thoughtful little girl broke the hushed silence, “I think I’d throw up.”

DID NOAH FISH?
A Sunday school teacher asked, “Johnny, do you think Noah did a lot of fishing when he was on the Ark ?”
“No,” replied David. “How could he, with just two worms?”

HIGHER POWER
A Sunday school teacher said to her children, ” We have been learning how powerful kings and queens were in Bible times. But, there is a higher power. Can anybody tell me what it is?” One child blurted out, “Aces!”

MOSES & THE RED SEA
Nine-year-old Joey, was asked by his mother what he had learned in Sunday school. “Well, Mom, our teacher told us how God sent Moses behind enemy lines on a rescue mission to lead the Israelites out of Egypt . When he got to the Red Sea , he had his army build a pontoon bridge and all the people walked across safely. Then, he radioed headquarters for reinforcements. They sent bombers to blow up the bridge and all the Israelites were saved.” “Now, Joey, is that really what your teacher taught you?” his mother asked. “Well, no, Mom. But, if I told it the way the teacher did, you’d never believe it!”

THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD
A Sunday School teacher decided to have her young class memorize one of the most quoted passages in the Bible; Psalm 23. She gave the youngsters a month to learn the verse. Little Rick was excited about the task — but, he just couldn’t remember the Psalm. After much practice, he could barely get past the first line. On the day that the kids were scheduled to recite Psalm 23 in front of the congregation, Ricky was so nervous. When it was his turn, he stepped up to the microphone and said proudly, “The Lord is my Shepherd, and that’s all I need to know.”

CHURCH SMILES #1
There was a very gracious lady who was mailing an old family Bible to her brother in another part of the country. “Is there anything breakable in here?” asked the postal clerk. “Only the Ten Commandments,” answered the lady.

CHURCH SMILES #2
While driving in Pennsylvania , a family caught up to an Amish carriage. The owner of the carriage obviously had a sense of humor, because attached to the back of the carriage was a hand printed sign… “Energy efficient vehicle: Runs on oats and grass Caution: Do not step in exhaust.”

CHURCH SMILES #3
Sunday after church, a Mom asked her very young daughter what the lesson was about. The daughter answered, “Don’t be scared, you’ll get your quilt.” Needless to say, the Mom was perplexed. Later in the day, the pastor stopped by for tea and the Mom asked him what that morning’s Sunday school lesson was about. He said “Be not afraid, thy comforter is coming.”

My friend Janet C. sent these to me.  Thanks, Miss Janet!

I was able to try out the new Springfield Armory XD .45 ACP on Saturday, January 12.

In a word… AWESOME.

I didn’t have a whole lot of rounds to put through it, but I had enough to find out that this is an accurate pistol, especially when compared to my 1911, which was NOT a slouch in any way.

The XD kicks a little bit more than the 1911, which makes sense to me, since it’s lighter.  It fits my hand more comfortably, and the sights were much easier to use.

The only other guns I’ve held that felt as good were the Smith & Wesson Military & Police .45 ACP, and a Heckler & Koch .45 ACP pistol.  The S&W was about $70.00 more than the XD, and the H&K is about $500 more, so those will have to wait for now.

On the car front, I had to get new tires for the 1995 Honda Accord (184K miles).  I chose Cooper CS4 touring tires in a 195/70-14 size from Bob Sumerel Tire in Ft. Wright, KY (I highly recommend this place, by the way). 

I’ve had good success with Coopers in the past, and I do like the fact that they’re affordable and American-made.  So far, they are awesome tires, handling rain and sleet with no problems whatsoever.