Well, I'm really not doing so good with the one-a-day post thing. Here I am at work with not so much to do that I can't blog it up a little but, alas, notes that I need to finish one blog are sitting at home right next to my camera, which is needed to finish some others. Sigh......
One reason I'm so far behind these days is the result of a crash. I was pleasantly working away on a project at home when my laptop b e g a n.......t o................ w o r k......... v e r y............. s l ooooooow l y. Then there was the groan, rattle and finally the dreaded BSOD. That's blue screen of death for all you non-I-Technical minds out there, and it refers to that lovely blue screen that pops up to tell you that your computer has experienced a fatal error and is indeed no longer functional. Subsequent reboots yielded the error message; Hard Disk not found. I began to hear a consistent, very loud thumping noise that went on for a few minutes before I realized it was just my forehead banging on my desk repeatedly. I then resorted to weeping, wailing, and finally the all time champ, gnashing of teeth. Luckily I have a nifty little device that I can insert a laptop drive into and read it on my desktop computer through a USB cable. After some patience and care I was able to get no results trying to read the drive this way so I went to more wailing, and then banging of hard disk on desk before giving up. After some time to cool off I started over and went through all the steps again, patience, wailing, banging, and was finally able to read the contents of the drive. This kept me from losing all of my information, in fact in the end I only lost most of my information, say 98.5% instead of 100%. So I was lucky there. After a few minutes of copying, the drive again groaned, (its last groan) and produced this error; unable to read disk: all contents have been lost.
So then, one quick e-chat with Dell and a new drive was on its way. To the wrong address. So instead of working one day without my laptop it was more than a week without it and it was just miserable. Fortunately, the majority of the files that I was able to save were files for work and I was able to continue fairly smoothly. I did have backups of the files I needed but a lot of them were older and not up-to-date, which made life interesting at work. If you have, or are going to have a Dell laptop, get the completecare warranty, it's sure worth the money when it comes to repairs. Anybody need a hard drive shaped coaster?
Chara has blogged lately of her and Josh's house hunting experiences. Fortunately I don't have to hunt for mine, I've already found it. But, I am experiencing the joys(?) of the other side of house buying, which is selling a house of course. After weeks of hearing how much so and so "really likes the house", (which means nothing, nothing at all), I finally heard "so and so wants to make a bid on the house." To which I replied of course, "I want to let them make a bid." This is the week before the wedding, the week of the crash, (see above). The bid was low so I countered. Meanwhile someone else wanted to make a bid (which never actually happened), and then the counter offer fell through. Ups and downs. Well the next week, wedding week that is, someone came and looked on Monday, liked it and wanted to come back on Tuesday with spouse, then the first lady called back and said I'll take the counter offer if it's still good. So after giving the others a chance to make an offer, I accepted the originally declined counter-offer and now my house is under contract. That's one hurdle, now if the appraisal comes in at the right amount all I have to worry about is what the inspector will tell me I have to fix. Oh, and how to pay for it.
Speaking of Chara, and I did (albeit briefly), apparently she has news. Wonderful news. Non house hunting related wonderful news. Tandy and I found out by the addendum to their signing of the guest book at the wedding and what a great surprise it was for us! I won't give it away here, as I don't know if she is ready for the entire free world to know yet. Those of you that know, already know and don't need me to tell you, and those that don't know will know when all is made known by Chara and Josh. It was so cool that they made the long journey from Tennessee for the wedding. I mean, I'm just an uncle after all. Good luck with your offer on the house Chara, and congratulations!
Mark asked me on Monday, "So, how's the married life?" "Better than I remember it." I replied. I think Tandy might say the same.
Cheers,
Craig
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
Monday, April 2, 2007
Whew!
For a while we thought that Noah might row up in time for the wedding, but I guess he missed the turn at the I-40 junction. The current was pretty strong on the new I-35 and I-40 riverways. It stands to reason that for as long as the drought was that when rain did finally come, it would all come at one time. But, after a brief stay in a sheltered room, we got started on time and everything went off without a hitch. Well, Tandy and I got hitched but other than that....
I have much to catch up on. There are pictures to post, stories to tell, laptop crashes to recount, etc. and so on. I'll try to work in one a day here for a while, postwise that is, so stay tuned.
It feels good to have a helper again, and surely if anyone needs a helper, it's me. We spent time with God Sunday morning, just the two of us. Prayed together and had our first communion as husband and wife.
Wife, friend, confidant, helper.........Tandy Marie Dodgen
Peace,
Craig
I have much to catch up on. There are pictures to post, stories to tell, laptop crashes to recount, etc. and so on. I'll try to work in one a day here for a while, postwise that is, so stay tuned.
It feels good to have a helper again, and surely if anyone needs a helper, it's me. We spent time with God Sunday morning, just the two of us. Prayed together and had our first communion as husband and wife.
Wife, friend, confidant, helper.........Tandy Marie Dodgen
Peace,
Craig
Friday, March 16, 2007
Pear Season
The pear season in Oklahoma is pretty short. Usually it is anyway. My pear trees (Bradford) are in full bloom these days. Unfortunately, most years they begin to bloom and we get one more freeze and they all fall off. Or, they'll go full bloom and you say, "Hey, I should take pictures of those pretty trees." But, alas, the next day the wind is 50+mph and all your blooms end up in Kansas with Dorothy. Not so this year. I have really noticed the last few days just how many (a lot) pear trees there are in Edmond. They are everywhere and they look like little fuzzy white-haired old men. From a distance that is. Wind is up today a little bit and I've noticed some "bloom-drifts" on the lee side of buildings and such, but I did manage to drag the ol' Canon pixelator out and shoot a few this pear season. 
Here are a few of my favorite shots:
Here are a few of my favorite shots:
Happy Spring Everybody!
Monday, March 12, 2007
The Cycle
The funniest thing happened the other day. I can't tell you about it though. I don't know what it is, but I'm not making it up. Something funny happened the other day somewhere, and if you had been there you would have been rolling. No kidding, it really happened.
Somebody somewhere is sad beyond belief right now. I don't know who and I don't know where, but I'm not making it up. It's really happening.
It's raining now too. Somewhere. Isn't that great? Somewhere there's snow, somewhere the sun shines, somewhere the wind blows, somewhere it's dark. No kidding, I'm not making this up.
Somewhere, right now, someone has passed away, someone is dying, someone has just been born. Someone mourns, someone rejoices. Some are eating, some are playing, some are working, some are sleeping. There is war, there is peace, there is love and there is hate. Somewhere. Right now. No, I'm not making this up. It's really happening.
We are so linear in our thinking. Mom died last August, therefore I am sad (but doing better). I am getting married at the end of March, and there will be love and happiness. My niece will have her first child in the summer, therefore we will rejoice. Every event marks the passage of time. We refer to it as the "cycle of life" and we think it linear. There is a beginning, a middle, and an end for each of us. The big picture is this; the cycle is happening right now, every facet of the cycle, in all stages, all over the world. Rain and shine, hot and cold, birth and death, light and dark. All set in motion by the one that has no beginning and no end.
It's beyond comprehension for me, eternal life. No more death and no decay. No more sadness and no more sorrow. No more cycle. Everything that happens now is just a preamble to get us ready for when real life begins. We sing about heaven a lot, streets of gold, never grow old. One of my favorites:
The grand irony is that I can't sing this song without crying. A lot. In fact, I can't think of this song without getting teary. No, I don't understand Heaven, and I can't comprehend life without the cycle. But the thought that God Himself will wipe away my tears is one that I can really get my arms around. I think about that one all the time.
No more tears......
Can't wait.
Somebody somewhere is sad beyond belief right now. I don't know who and I don't know where, but I'm not making it up. It's really happening.
It's raining now too. Somewhere. Isn't that great? Somewhere there's snow, somewhere the sun shines, somewhere the wind blows, somewhere it's dark. No kidding, I'm not making this up.
Somewhere, right now, someone has passed away, someone is dying, someone has just been born. Someone mourns, someone rejoices. Some are eating, some are playing, some are working, some are sleeping. There is war, there is peace, there is love and there is hate. Somewhere. Right now. No, I'm not making this up. It's really happening.
We are so linear in our thinking. Mom died last August, therefore I am sad (but doing better). I am getting married at the end of March, and there will be love and happiness. My niece will have her first child in the summer, therefore we will rejoice. Every event marks the passage of time. We refer to it as the "cycle of life" and we think it linear. There is a beginning, a middle, and an end for each of us. The big picture is this; the cycle is happening right now, every facet of the cycle, in all stages, all over the world. Rain and shine, hot and cold, birth and death, light and dark. All set in motion by the one that has no beginning and no end.
It's beyond comprehension for me, eternal life. No more death and no decay. No more sadness and no more sorrow. No more cycle. Everything that happens now is just a preamble to get us ready for when real life begins. We sing about heaven a lot, streets of gold, never grow old. One of my favorites:
In the land of fadeless day lies the city four-square;
It shall never pass away, and there is no night there.
All the gates of pearl are made in the city four-square;
All the streets with gold are laid, and there is no night there.
And the gates shall never close to the city four-square;
There life's crystal river flows, and there is no night there.
There they need no sunshine bright, in the city four-square;
For the Lamb is all the light, and there is no night there.
Chorus:
God shall wipe away all tears;
There's no death, no pain, nor fears;
And they count not time by years,
For there is no night there.
The grand irony is that I can't sing this song without crying. A lot. In fact, I can't think of this song without getting teary. No, I don't understand Heaven, and I can't comprehend life without the cycle. But the thought that God Himself will wipe away my tears is one that I can really get my arms around. I think about that one all the time.
No more tears......
Can't wait.
Friday, March 9, 2007
One Last Walkthrough
We took a final tour of Mom and Dad's house weekend before last. It was a "take it if you want it day" because anything left at the end of the day is going in the estate sale. This is what life comes down to I guess. You can't take it with you so what were once treasured possessions has now become "stuff." A lot of the items though have become treasured possessions in other homes, thus being saved from "stuff" status. I thought this might be a difficult day, but it wasn't. I got to spend the day with my family and that overwhelmingly beat out any sad memories that came my way. I suppose in a few years I'll be gone and all my possessions will turn to "stuff" unless my kids or someone else in the family decides to rescue them to remain treasured for another cycle and so on. I think eventually all the "stuff" in the world ends up in some old barn somewhere and stays there until it gets sold in an everything must go yard sale and some of the "stuff" becomes treasured possessions again. They have a show about this on TV now, it's called "Antiques Roadshow".
It's remarkable the way my family gets along. Really it is. I've heard stories, just recently, about other families trying to divide up the "stuff" in the estate and they can't do it without threatening to sue each other. That's just crazy. I mean, not one item of all the stuff I "had to have" could in any way replace one more conversation with my mom or dad. I'd sue for the chance to do that again, but not for stuff, give me a break. It's the memories we want to hold onto anyway, not the item itself really.
What's funny though is out of all the "stuff" we have gone through (and there is a lot of it) we've only really struggled over one thing. We divided the cutlery, the furniture, books, dishes, kitchen supplies, appliances, tools, dolls, even mom's paintings with nary a disagreement among us. In fact almost every item requested was preceded by, "well, if no one else wants *fill in random item here* then I think I'd like to have it." Eventually my brother kind of got the giggles and said I think we can dispense with that and just say, "I'd like *item*" and we'll go from there. The only thing that we never could get together on was dad's airplanes. It was hilarious. We'd get them out and just stare at them. We'd go through long reasonable discussions about how we should divide them up, we'd all say yes that sounds like the right thing to do, and then we'd move on to something else and they would remain unresolved. We just couldn't stay focused on the issue. It's been this way since August. We finally faced the issue during this last walkthrough. Let's just get it done we said. Ok, we all agreed.
It took a little over 2 hours.
It's all dad's fault. He didn't make enough. Think about it this way. When we went through the house taking down mom's paintings and dividing them up, everybody that wanted one got one. Or two. Any disputes, (paintings that were desired by two or more people) we drew names and that was that. Everyone was happy and it only took a few minutes. The planes however, ugh, there were only 5 or so. And only 3 that were wire planes handmade by dad. But, there were 8 or 9 of us that wanted one. What was really funny was how we danced around each other trying to be polite but at the same time saying, "I want that one!" That's why it took so long to get this done. We did get it done and I'll post a picture in a day or two, if I can remember to take my camera to the storage unit (yes I pay for additional space to keep MY "stuff") and take a picture of my plane. Not only did we get it done, we still like each other. That's the best part.
So here's the lesson. Listen up now. If you've got yourself a hobby, (mine happens to be woodworking) and you're going to make things that people will want, especially family, you better make enough to go around. Dad failed to realize, you see, that one day his 6 kids would have 19 more, and those 19 would get married, and then they would have kids.........He should have made 50 planes or so, then everybody could have had one. Mom was the smart one, lots of paintings, she was thinking ahead there. Then again, dad's planes will be much more rare since there are fewer of them and that will make them worth a lot more when they finally make it on "Antiques Roadshow."
That's all for now, I'm "stuffed".....
It's remarkable the way my family gets along. Really it is. I've heard stories, just recently, about other families trying to divide up the "stuff" in the estate and they can't do it without threatening to sue each other. That's just crazy. I mean, not one item of all the stuff I "had to have" could in any way replace one more conversation with my mom or dad. I'd sue for the chance to do that again, but not for stuff, give me a break. It's the memories we want to hold onto anyway, not the item itself really.
What's funny though is out of all the "stuff" we have gone through (and there is a lot of it) we've only really struggled over one thing. We divided the cutlery, the furniture, books, dishes, kitchen supplies, appliances, tools, dolls, even mom's paintings with nary a disagreement among us. In fact almost every item requested was preceded by, "well, if no one else wants *fill in random item here* then I think I'd like to have it." Eventually my brother kind of got the giggles and said I think we can dispense with that and just say, "I'd like *item*" and we'll go from there. The only thing that we never could get together on was dad's airplanes. It was hilarious. We'd get them out and just stare at them. We'd go through long reasonable discussions about how we should divide them up, we'd all say yes that sounds like the right thing to do, and then we'd move on to something else and they would remain unresolved. We just couldn't stay focused on the issue. It's been this way since August. We finally faced the issue during this last walkthrough. Let's just get it done we said. Ok, we all agreed.
It took a little over 2 hours.
It's all dad's fault. He didn't make enough. Think about it this way. When we went through the house taking down mom's paintings and dividing them up, everybody that wanted one got one. Or two. Any disputes, (paintings that were desired by two or more people) we drew names and that was that. Everyone was happy and it only took a few minutes. The planes however, ugh, there were only 5 or so. And only 3 that were wire planes handmade by dad. But, there were 8 or 9 of us that wanted one. What was really funny was how we danced around each other trying to be polite but at the same time saying, "I want that one!" That's why it took so long to get this done. We did get it done and I'll post a picture in a day or two, if I can remember to take my camera to the storage unit (yes I pay for additional space to keep MY "stuff") and take a picture of my plane. Not only did we get it done, we still like each other. That's the best part.
So here's the lesson. Listen up now. If you've got yourself a hobby, (mine happens to be woodworking) and you're going to make things that people will want, especially family, you better make enough to go around. Dad failed to realize, you see, that one day his 6 kids would have 19 more, and those 19 would get married, and then they would have kids.........He should have made 50 planes or so, then everybody could have had one. Mom was the smart one, lots of paintings, she was thinking ahead there. Then again, dad's planes will be much more rare since there are fewer of them and that will make them worth a lot more when they finally make it on "Antiques Roadshow."
That's all for now, I'm "stuffed".....
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Checking In.....
Ok, it's been awhile. I really didn't realize how long since the last post until my loyal readers (both of them) pointed out that I hadn't blogged in a long time. I haven't run out of thoughts, I've just been busy.
I started teaching Bible class this month and have been concentrating on weekly study for class. It has, as usual, been a blessing, but it's also hard work and I like it. We are studying the book of Acts and I began teaching in chapter 6 with the story of Stephen. It's a great story. What an impact his life (and death) had on the church. And what an impact it had on the one in attendance giving consent to his death. Saul's presence there was the beginning of change that would turn him from a role as the chief persecutor of the church to its greatest advocate in the gentile world. Truly a life of repentance. Last week and this week we are talking about Peter and Cornelius, wonderful stuff. "God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life." And I'm certainly thankful for that.
I've also been preparing for the wedding, which has been fun. I have taken a much more active role in the planning this time which is greatly appreciated by my bride. I did make a mistake the other day however. I discovered that you can get personalized M&M's online. So I went and looked at them and decided they were pretty cool, but a little too pricey. But, I showed them to Tandy just for kicks and what do you know, they were delivered yesterday. And they are pretty cool but I think I'll keep any other neat, expensive ideas I get to myself.
Friends threw a shower for her this last Sunday. We got a lot of great gifts and have a lot of people to thank. Our two favorite gifts, in no particular order, were the couples devotional Bible from the Edmond church staff and wives, and the fact that all of her new sisters got to be there.
We have officially booked our delayed 'moon. Cozumel for a week in June, woohoo! Never been to Mexico, never really been to the beach, never been snorkeling and I'm already excited to try it all. We have also booked a day long sailing trip around the island, which as I understand from all the reviews online and from a co-worker, is well worth the money. I haven't decided what to do on the weekend of the wedding, I'm saving it to surprise Tandy. I'll take suggestions if you have any. Last night we went and picked out a band to go with her ring. I'll post pictures of the completed ring, once it is completed. 31 days left 'till the wedding, if you're in town come on by, we'd love to have you. Don't forget to grab some M&M's........
More soon,
Craig
I started teaching Bible class this month and have been concentrating on weekly study for class. It has, as usual, been a blessing, but it's also hard work and I like it. We are studying the book of Acts and I began teaching in chapter 6 with the story of Stephen. It's a great story. What an impact his life (and death) had on the church. And what an impact it had on the one in attendance giving consent to his death. Saul's presence there was the beginning of change that would turn him from a role as the chief persecutor of the church to its greatest advocate in the gentile world. Truly a life of repentance. Last week and this week we are talking about Peter and Cornelius, wonderful stuff. "God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life." And I'm certainly thankful for that.
I've also been preparing for the wedding, which has been fun. I have taken a much more active role in the planning this time which is greatly appreciated by my bride. I did make a mistake the other day however. I discovered that you can get personalized M&M's online. So I went and looked at them and decided they were pretty cool, but a little too pricey. But, I showed them to Tandy just for kicks and what do you know, they were delivered yesterday. And they are pretty cool but I think I'll keep any other neat, expensive ideas I get to myself.
Friends threw a shower for her this last Sunday. We got a lot of great gifts and have a lot of people to thank. Our two favorite gifts, in no particular order, were the couples devotional Bible from the Edmond church staff and wives, and the fact that all of her new sisters got to be there.
We have officially booked our delayed 'moon. Cozumel for a week in June, woohoo! Never been to Mexico, never really been to the beach, never been snorkeling and I'm already excited to try it all. We have also booked a day long sailing trip around the island, which as I understand from all the reviews online and from a co-worker, is well worth the money. I haven't decided what to do on the weekend of the wedding, I'm saving it to surprise Tandy. I'll take suggestions if you have any. Last night we went and picked out a band to go with her ring. I'll post pictures of the completed ring, once it is completed. 31 days left 'till the wedding, if you're in town come on by, we'd love to have you. Don't forget to grab some M&M's........
More soon,
Craig
Thursday, February 8, 2007
Crimson and Orange Don't Mix
That's what it says on the cup at Sonic anyway. Crimson and Orange don't mix. So I ordered a Cowboy Cooler with my lunch yesterday, it was pretty good I guess, basically just orange soda. It came in a cup that said Crimson and Orange don't mix........In a Crimson and Orange cup. I took my cup to church last night to point out this contradiction to a man that attends there. He's a bigwig in the Sonic corporation and I thought I would give him a bit of a hard time about it. I was too late though, I said I wanted to register a complaint with him about his company and he said ok sure, then he saw the cup I was holding and said it for me. You're disappointed that the cup has two colors on it aren't you? You're the 3rd person that's brought that up to me, he said. Oh well, I guess he stole my thunder, but I did tell him if they do it again next year they should ship two different cups; one Orange and the other one ugly. heeheehee
Crimson and Orange did mix last night, at least for a little while, on the basketball court. Bedlam part 2. I must say the only thing louder than the crowd last night was the Cowboys screaming orange jerseys. Didn't help their play any though. It was a pretty good game, though I wish the officials had let them play a little more, there were an awful lot of little touch fouls called. Considering the Cowboys offensive efforts of late, I thought they did very well to keep this game close. They are really struggling these days while OU seems to be going the opposite direction with their gameplay. You gotta make the free ones though. OU did, Cowboys didn't, simple as that. Good game and OU wins bedlam this year 128-126. Here's hoping for bedlam part 3 in the Big 12 tournament. One thing I really didn't care for though, the OU crowd. The cup thing, you know, it's just for funnies, rivalry stuff, got a lot of laughs from friends on both sides of the court, I don't think that it was unsportsmanlike in its delivery or its intent. I only got to watch the second half last night, after we got home from church, and twice in that second half the crowd began to chant OSU sucks!, which I consider both unsportsmanlike and demeaning. I don't recall hearing a chant like that at the game in Stillwater 2 weeks ago but maybe I just overlooked it. I wouldn't support it there either. Pride in your team is one thing, but using that pride to demean someone else or their team is just sad. So, yay! for a good contest on the floor and congratulations to the Sooner men, but boo! to the crowd.
Ride 'em Cowboys,
Craig
Crimson and Orange did mix last night, at least for a little while, on the basketball court. Bedlam part 2. I must say the only thing louder than the crowd last night was the Cowboys screaming orange jerseys. Didn't help their play any though. It was a pretty good game, though I wish the officials had let them play a little more, there were an awful lot of little touch fouls called. Considering the Cowboys offensive efforts of late, I thought they did very well to keep this game close. They are really struggling these days while OU seems to be going the opposite direction with their gameplay. You gotta make the free ones though. OU did, Cowboys didn't, simple as that. Good game and OU wins bedlam this year 128-126. Here's hoping for bedlam part 3 in the Big 12 tournament. One thing I really didn't care for though, the OU crowd. The cup thing, you know, it's just for funnies, rivalry stuff, got a lot of laughs from friends on both sides of the court, I don't think that it was unsportsmanlike in its delivery or its intent. I only got to watch the second half last night, after we got home from church, and twice in that second half the crowd began to chant OSU sucks!, which I consider both unsportsmanlike and demeaning. I don't recall hearing a chant like that at the game in Stillwater 2 weeks ago but maybe I just overlooked it. I wouldn't support it there either. Pride in your team is one thing, but using that pride to demean someone else or their team is just sad. So, yay! for a good contest on the floor and congratulations to the Sooner men, but boo! to the crowd.
Ride 'em Cowboys,
Craig
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