You are officially looking at the latest Powerball lottery winner!!  We won $4.00 last night.  I'm not sure what we are going to do with the money.  Give some to family and charity mostly.  See ya.

I hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving.  Another smashing success for our hosts Uncle Tom and Aunt Jacquie.  We brought them a bottle of Copper Fox Whiskey which is made down the road from us is good ole Culpeper, VA.  Their website is www.virginiamoonshine.com.  I went to the distillary to buy some, but he can't sell it from his place.  You have to buy it from a state store.  So the guy gave me a tour of the place and how they make it.  It was cool and he had a batch brewing that filled the whole place with a yeast/corn/whiskey aroma.  Since he didn't have any whiskey, I bought a couple of T-shirts. 
The day after, I went over to Matt's and "helped" him at his new house while Melissa and Barbara went shopping in River Falls.  He was putting in the baseboard heating while my father-in-law and I tried to put in the fold down attic stairs.  It wasn't exactly a success.  It was the same stairs that was originally going into the attic, but Matt raised the ceiling a foot.  So we are each on a ladder trying to get this heavy thing to fit.  Neither of us had tool belts so everytime we needed something one of us, ME, had to step down and get it if we knew where it was.  We finally get it to fit and stay with some bracing screwed into the ceiling drywall.  We try to open it and realize that it can't open all the way because it's now hitting the rafters because the ceiling was raised.  I left to get something and heard a crash.  The half ass bracing didn't hold and fell on Matt's dad.  He was okay.  He was able to catch it and only got a few knicks and cuts.  So Matt asked us if we could hang his new thermostats rather than tear his house down.  I was able to do either.
I didn't get to talk to Chris "Liotta" very much.  He got there when I was just waking up from my nap and I'm nothing when I wake up.  I finally got warmed and we had to go.  Maybe next time buddy.  And try to get there a little sooner when I'm in my prime with "A" material.

I got some requests to be more specific for my tool list.  Here it is:
Deep well sockets
6" crescent wrench
Rafter square
post level
surface level
Torpedo level

I have some changes to the list.  Don't worry about the vice.  The workbench I got has one on it.  To be more specific with tools, I need a new hammer, some vice grips, organizers for socket wrench and those things used on peg board to hold tools.  I would also like a digital weather station.  Something that tells the weather and humidity inside and outside.  Thanks.

I just want to say that I love living in Culpeper County, VA.  BUT, the voting results in the last election just don't make sense.  I'm not talking about the governer and all that stuff.  I had a feeling Kaine(D) would be elected governor, but Culpeper County voted overwhemingly Republican down the line.   Let me give you the run down of what's going on in the county.  Culpeper is growing rapidly and they are not ready for it.  The schools and other government services are not big enough to supply the upcoming demand.  So it is inevitable that taxes are going to rise as property value and population rises.  Culpeper is a historic county and draws good tourism from people outside of the county to visit the shops and very nice restaurants in town.  The county had a vote whether there should be a no greater than %4.5 tax on food and beverages bought in restaurants and bars.  It was voted down by almost a %20 margin.  So I guess all the people in Culpeper County want to bear the tax burden themselves rather than spread it around and have tourism help pay.  There aren't a lot of restaurants in the county anyway.  Most of them are in the Town of Culpeper and those crackers that live in the town voted the same issue down last year.  I wish one of the papers would talk about this.  Maybe I will write to the editorial page and get something going. 

You know Darlington, the town I grew up in, would be a great historic little town if they could afford it.  There is a museum, an old educational academy and old railway that runs in the middle of town.  If the people that lived there could afford a tax hike to upgrade the town into something that might bring some people in to spend money, it could be really nice.  That is something the people of Darlington would have to vote and agree upon and that would never happen.  Maybe someday when the economy of western PA takes off it might happen, but I doubt if I will ever see that happen.

On a different note, I'm afraid I'm starting to listen to country music.  Something I tried to avoid for quite some time, but I'm finally giving in.  Right now I only listen to Brad Paisley, but I'm sure it won't take long until another artist make the list. 

I have come up with a shotty Christmas list this year and I'm afraid it's mostly big ticket items. 

I am going to need a new book soon.  I am interested in a couple of Easton Press books.  Here is the link, http://www.eastonpress.com/ViewProduct.asp?Sku=0302.  I would like to read Crazy Catholocism, Buddhism, or Islam.  Or go to their home page and pick out something you think I might like, http://www.eastonpress.com/intro2.asp.  I've stollen just about all of my dad's Calvin and Hobbes books, but I let him keep the Far Side books.  So the Far Side Galleries 1 through 5 I don't have.

I'm going to be getting some work benches with peg boards to hold tools.  I have a complete set of pliers, wrenches, and screwdrivers.  Anything else you could think of would be great. 

Since I get home pretty early, I'm getting back into the cooking groove.  A Kitchen Aid Mixer that lifts the mixing bowl instead of tilting the mixer would be nice.  I can't think of anything else, but little cooking tools and gadgets would be good. 

That's all I've got for now.  I will let you know when I think of something else. 

Well I'm back from blog retirement.  Give me a minute to recall what has been going on the last 6 weeks since the last entry.  Most importanly, our friends Rusty and Jenn had their twins on October 22.  One boy and one girl.  This really is a great thing because they weren't even sure they were going to be able to have kids.  Although we've bought them a few gifts already and I saw the twins last weekend, I want to say congratulations!  Steve and Alison's housewarming party was fun.  We didn't really know most of the people there, but Steve's sister Nancy and her husband Bill were there.  That's all we needed.  Bill is one funny cracker!  It's too bad we don't get to see them more often.  It's been a couple years since we saw them at Steve's last open house party.  And don't forget about Not So Young Sarah Pavlak as well.  For a little background, Nancy went to Penn State and we always used to go and visit them on the weekends.  That's how I got to know them so well.  Nice thing about those parties is that all the work people usually leave early so we all got to hang out together later in the evening.  I've missed a few birthdays since retiring.  All of my in-laws, my mom and of course my 32nd birthday was two weekends ago.  Work is going great.  Got a big fat bonus last pay for paving in front of 42 lots.  The Patriots record is barely over .500 so I have some ammo when we go there for Thanksgiving.  But that's not what I'm really looking forward to this Thanksgiving.  I can't wait to have a few glasses of wine and discuss politics with my mother in law.  Barbara, I'm afraid this is going to be a bullet you can't dodge!!  Unless you make me walk home from Uncle Tom and Aunt Jackie's, that is.  Don't be afraid.  I'm not trying to convert, only trying to educate. 

Thank you and good night.

Well it's been a while.  I started writting this one back on October 14th.  Here it is:

Good Evening.  Melissa is feeling like crap with a bad cold she got last night.  Hopefully she feels better because we have a big weekend.  Tomorrow night is Steve and Alison's party in their new house and Sunday we are going to Graves Mountain Apple Festival, www.gravesmountain.com. We finally got some much needed rain last weekend.  We got 8" from Friday to Tuesday and the rest of this weekend was nothing but clouds and drizzle.  Looks like a good weekend for the festival though.  Here is another popular story from my childhood. 

Andy and I would often go over to our next door neighbor's house and play video games or whatever in the evening.  Their house was about two hundred yards away from our house.  So whenever it was time for Andy and I to go home, we booked it across the yard to avoid the usual nightime hazards, Dracula, the Boogey Man, and the Crazy Lady that lived next door in the trailor!  There was a row of White Pine trees on the property line and we kept one area trimmed so we could go through easily.  In the summer evenings, Mom and Dad would spend time on the screened in porch.  We always made lots of noise when we were running home, because that too scares off all the creatures of the night.  At least we thought it scared off all of them.  Little did we know, but would soon learn, that there was one creature that thrived on the laughter of children as they lay waiting in the White Pines for their prey to come home.  There is another close relative of this monster that prefers to stalk its prey from dark bathrooms, but that is a different story.  But these White Pine monsters had names, MOM and DAD!  Andy and I came charging up to the tree line and just as we entered, Mom and Dad came quickly crawling out from within the trees on their hands and knees letting out a deep and growling, Rahhhh!  If you have ever taken a psychology class, people and animals have a natural flight or flight response.  So we are either going to fight for survival or run like hell!  But this night, Andy and I broke that theory right into pieces.  On this night we added the Forget It response.  As the night creatures moved in for the kill, I back peddled into a large Wild Cherry tree stump screaming.  Andy didn't even try to get away.  From a full speed run, he dropped right to the ground, put his hands over his face and got into the fetal position.  There was no fight or flight in either of us.  We just hoped it would be a swift and painless massacre.  Thankfully, there was no crying by Andy or myself on this night despite the horrors we encountered. 

Melissa is watching Lifetime and I have a full glass of wine.  This ought to be a good one!

Oh, I forgot to shamelessly plug a website.  Our friends Steve and Alison (mainly Alison) are starting a home business of selling homemade pet treats.  Their website is www.4pawspetpantry.com.  They sell lots of other toys and pet stuff too.  I've been there when she bakes the treats and I've got to say they smell good!

Back to the storytelling.

Well I have to say that last weekend was bitter sweet.  Melissa and I went to Beaver County because my Super Mom got me tickets to the Steelers vs. Patriots game.  If you recall, we went last year when the Steelers won.  Unfortunately, as any of my regular readers know, the Black and Gold lost this time.  So that was the bitter part and I don't want to talk about it any more!  I'm going to get some harrassment when I go to RI for Thanksgiving.  They never forget anything up there.  I enjoy it though.  It's the only competition I get now a days.  I need to start playing racquetball or something again.  I'm maxed out tying my all time high weigh-in at 240lbs.  It's actually a little less, but still depressing.  I need to feed my need for competition.  I used to play racquetball twice a week before we bought the house.  There is a place to play here, but the only people that play come in during the middle of the day.  My neighbor plays, but he works 12 hours a day and hardly feels like playing when he gets home.  I think I'm going to put up a sign looking for people to play in the evenings at the club.  Why didn't I think of that before.  That's how I found someone to play before we moved here.  That brings up another thing.  My left knee has a slight pain sometimes when walking up steps.  I'm sure the 240 lbs is a main contributor, but I am going to the doctor next weekend to have it looked at.  I want to be able to show my kids how to run the pick and roll, the play action pass, how to take a couple of ground balls to the teeth and get right back out there when you are scared to death of another one.  Whoa, slow down.  I forgot to mention the sweet part of the bitter sweet weekend.  Last Saturday night when in Beaver County, we went to my brother's to spend some time with them.  Well, usually Gabi doesn't spend too much time with me.  She preferres Aunt Melissa.  But this weekend it was all about Uncle B.  She is being a lady bug for Halloween and Megan made two antenna headbands.  I think Andy should be a Lady Bug with her.  Why not?  Gabi and I had them on and we got a picture that almost makes me tear up.  I can't put them on here for some reason.  (Emily, can you tell me how you do it.  The temporary web hosting isn't working for me.)  And by the way, Emily just delivered her second child last week.  Congratulations Emily and Michael!  Never mind.  I figured it out.  Do you see how her ears aren't quite symmetrical?  That is a Greene trait.  My Pap Greene has it, I have it and Gabi has it.  It's really obvious when you compare baby pictures from the back.  Anyway, I played with her on the deck and she sat on my lap as we shared a piece of Boston Cream Pie before she went to bed.  Every once in a while Melissa and I go to Andy and Megan's to spend some time with just the 5 of us.  It gives us a chance to spend some time with Gabi without everyone else around and spend some time with Andy and Megan when Gabi goes to bed.  Usually when we go home, we spend time with everyone.  My mom cooks dinner on Saturday for everyone and we end up throwing the plastic balls from the ball pit at Gabi.  Another great picture.

But every once in a while, we like to get some one on one time with them.  I feel bad telling my mom and dad that we are going Andy's, but I know they understand.  The song "Always a Woman to Me" by Billy Joel is playing now.  I think that song fits Gabi very well.  Of course it fits most females well.  Maybe Billy was writing that song about a 15 month old girl.  Seems to fit. 

I hope Melissa and I get this baby thing going real soon.  It get's harder every time I see Gabi.  The fact that she looks like a Greene makes it even harder.  No offense Megan, but I can imagine having a daughter just like her.  That's right, I said DAUGHTER.  You go around saying, "I want a son" or "I want a daughter" but when it all comes down to it, it doesn't matter one bit whether it's a boy or girl.  I can thank Gabi for teaching me that.  Hold on while I dry my eyes...

October is a great time to live in Virginia.  I think next year's party is going to be in the middle of October.  We live right beside the Blue Ridge Mountains and it's a beautiful sight to see when the leaves are changing.  There apple festivals and pumpkin patches everywhere.  And don't forget about grape harvesting for the vineyards.  We got 3 pumpkins from out two plants.  One rotted and the other two look pretty good.  No watermelons this year.  The drought killed them.

I'm going to end this by putting some more pictures of Gabi and the Super Slip n Slid from our party.  See ya!

I just found out that I am almost out of room for this blog.  I get 1000 K of space before I have to start deleting and I'm at 937 K now.  I'm going to start deleting some of them next week if you want to go back and read through some of them.