Got My Stokes 2009 Catalogue and Some Rhubarb Wine

I was surprised last week when we went to get the mail - I got my first seed catalogue! It's not even Christmas yet!

I looked up a few things quickly - like, I am looking for a source for field peas, but Stokes isn't carrying them again this year.

I've got an email into Johnny's in the US to see if they will send me some, but haven't heard back yet. We want to try field peas because we could use them to feed the laying hens in the winter...

The other day I visited with one of my friends here in the Valley....she invited me in for some rhubarb wine....ah yes, rhubarb wine.

We started out sipping our wine and wondering when the snow would come....we had a good yak and drank a few more half-glasses. (I think we were kidding ourselves by drinking only half glasses.)

I mentioned the Stokes catalogue, yup, she had got hers too.....but she pointed something out to me. Since I hadn't read it front to back, I hadn't noticed the little insert they put in.

Hmmm....8% Canadian Dollar Adjusment?? WTF?? She said, keep reading...so I did. Had to read it a couple of times, because, you know, by then well we had probably had another 2 half glasses....

They go on to say that IF the US/Canadian dollar is back to par when I order, I can disregard the adjustment. OK...what if the dollar is at a point, where a 4% adjustment should be included....what about a 2% adjustment??

Wait a minute! What do they mean they purchase ALL their seed in US dollars? What?? WHY do they purchase seed in US dollars? Doesn't Stokes have their own fields where they have those trial gardens? You know, those ones you see in pictures in every single catalogue Stokes has put out since, well, it has to be going on 15 - 20 years anyway....

I know Stokes has locations in both Canada and the US. So....is every single one of their trial gardens in the US? They don't have ANY in Canada? What kind of rose coloured glasses have I been wearing lately?

We kept yakking about this, neither one of us liked it....we started to extrapolate...easy to do, just pour yet another half glass and start spouting off.....what if the seeds weren't even grown and harvested in the US?

What if...gasp....cough....they were grown in China? ACCCCCCCKKKKK....I mean, who knows, right? They're obviously not grown and gathered in Canada!

We both decided that we are going to rethink ordering from Stokes this year....then, we moved on. We talked about the economy, the US government bailouts, and what will happen in Canada. We're not immune to this global crisis by any means....our real estate markets are dropping like rocks on the West Coast at this moment.

We have the Winter Olympics of 2010 coming to our province next year....meanwhile, as I write this, Whistler (site of many of the Olympic events) is already a Buyer's Market, in terms of real estate....

By the end of our visit (and another 5 or so half glasses) we had touched on (and solved, quite admirably, mind you) every single one of the problems North America is facing! We were incredible! They should take all these leaders, stick them in a room together, and start pouring them half glasses of Rhubarb Wine....yeah, that's the ticket!!

I'm having trouble right now remembering what all of our solutions were (gee, I wonder why)....but personally, I think these bailouts have got to stop. Oh and yes, I think these executives who take these huge bonuses for letting their company FAIL....should just quietly slink away into the night. With NO bonus, NO severance. Who's on the hook for all this money? It'll be the taxpayers, of course...screw the little guy...what else is new??

Start (or keep) looking after yourselves folks...stop spending so much money...separate your NEEDS from your WANTS....grow a little garden. Try to begin to stop being so dependent on electricity (shut off the lights when you don't really need them), wear your shoes completely out before dropping $250 on new ones....

Our global economy is going down down down like a burnin ring o fire....imo, the DOW has a Long ways to go down still. Sucker rallies will be there for sure, watch the Dow chart, you'll see them. But a bottom? I think we're still thousands of points away from a bottom....that's just imo.

You see the problems retail stores are having? Quite a few of them, going belly up. I don't think that's finished with either. I think it'll be interesting to see in a year or two how many more big stores are gone....kaput...bankrupt.

I'm a Bear as you can tell, I can be quite a Bitchy Bear too....our Bull days are over with. I've been a Bear in regards to Real Estate for 2 years now...just ask my sons what their Mama has to say about them buying houses right now....

We're off soon to the Legion to hoist a few pints....we still feel beer is a pretty safe invesment :) And who knows, perhaps a few more world problems will be solved by the time we come home!

Enjoy your Saturday!!

PS One more thing...I intend to get my seed orders in pretty darn quick. I have a feeling that there will be even more of a seed shortage this year. I had a pretty hard time getting some orders filled last year....and it wasn't just me. Lots of people experienced this.

And seeds can be kept for years....I'm ordering them in larger quantities and I don't think I'm the only one who did this last year, either. After all, a run on seeds equals a shortage, right??

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It's Snowing!

Starting to look kinda purty......

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A Bed for a Wolf

Our boy is Big, that's B I G.....real BIG...Half Wolf half Malamute....he has a job to do around here and gosh darn it, does he ever know it!

He spends the nights either laying on his blankie on our front porch OR running around the property, barking his head off, trying to keep the deer, moose, coyotes, bears, cougars and whatever else is out there....

We even have other Wolves, native ones, running around out here....sometimes at night they howl..and then we can hear our Wolf howling back at them (or with them)

Anyway, for probably the last year or two, we have been trying to get him a doggie bed....you know, like you see Lots of other doggies have.

Trouble is, they don't make doggie beds in Wolf size, at least not that we've been able to find....so we think and think, and just cannot come up with an idea to use as a bed for our boy.

Now, we live far enough out in the country that we don't have garbage pick up....we have to take our stuff to the closest landfill. One kinda neat thing the District has started doing is setting up what they call Share Sheds at most of the landfills.

The idea behind a Share Shed is....if you have something that you think someone else might be able to use (and it's still in good condition) you are welcome to put it in the Share Shed. Sooner or later, someone will come along and check out the Share Shed and maybe pick something up from there. Another great way to Reduce, Recycle and Reuse.

So, the other day, off we went to town and stopped off at the landfill on our way, to get rid of a bag of garbage. I look over at the Share Shed and I notice something on top of the roof. It's a mattress of some kind.

Took me about 30 seconds while I waited for the Gman and then I thought, gee that looks in good shape....someone will come and grab that. I thought maybe it's a crib mattress.

Bingo, bright light goes off in my head...aha! Wolfie Bed possibility....so out I climb, go over and get it down, take a good look at it.

Well there ya go! Brought it home, bleached it down....

put his blankie on it...

had to tempt him with a couple of cookies in order to get him to climb onto the thing....but there he is. I think he likes it! And I think he'll enjoy it tonite....better to rest his bones on than the cold hard porch floor!

Looks like he just fits on it, lol....

It's snowing again outside, I'll take a pic when it stops...starting to look kinda pretty out there!

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A Chilly Chilly Morning

It's a cold one out there this morning! I took this earlier this morning - you can see how much (little?) snow we got from that really quick storm the other day!

The woodstove is going, the house is heating up...and I'm hungry! On cold mornings like this, there's nothing better than a bowl of oatmeal - yummy! And it feels good in the tummy....don't you think?

Yup, good stuff!

REALLY good stuff!!

Enjoy your Thanksgiving today, my American friends!

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Gardens... Families ....and Genes

Awhile ago, Kathryn from Surrey asked if I had a farming gene....the short answer is Yes, I guess I do!

For the longer answer, keep reading, lol....

I have always loved to garden. It used to be that I concentrated mainly on flowers and shrubs....more often than not tho, whatever the circumstances in life, I had a small veggie garden. When the boys were young, for awhile we had a huge veggie garden, tho not as big as what I have now.....that was back in the day, on the Coast, where I could grow my beloved Corn.

So, yeah I guess I have pretty much always gardened, starting with the first house I ever owned....

My parents didn't really garden, I do remember a couple of years that they put in a veggie garden, but Dad was always very busy with work, and Mom always had lots of other stuff to concentrate on, so they stopped. They've always liked their flowers tho!

My maternal grandparents.....oh my Grandpa had a garden, I'll tell you! He always grew a big garden, and had fruit trees, and peaches growing...he was a really good gardener. He and Grandma would grow lots veggies, and Grandma would freeze them and can some....they Both had grown up on family farms in Holland.

Both my Dad and my Mom and their familes went thru World War II, living in Holland.

After Grandpa and Grandma immigrated to Canada in the 50's they first settled in Alberta, then went west to Vancouver Island. Bought a dairy farm in Chemainus...I still remember being little, maybe 5, and going to THE FARM. Oh we loved to go to the farm....I always loved being with my Grandpa and Grandma. I remember jumping in the hay loft with my cousins and aunts....boy that was some fun!

My paternal Grandparents lived in Holland (my whole family is from Holland). He managed a farm there, livestock and also crops, tho I'm not sure what kind. They had their own garden behind their house, and if I remember right, the house was next door to the farm my Pake managed....(Pake...you know, Friesen for Grandpa).

No, you probably don't know...ok, Holland is made up of provinces, same as Canada. Friesland is a province - they have their own dialect. So, they don't speak true Dutch, they speak Friesen..or Friesan, however it's spelt....Pake is Grandpa, and Beppe is Grandma....there ya go.

We went their when I was 10...wonderful trip...flat flat land...no kidding....same as the Prairies, I guess....so flat your dog could run away from home. Three days later, you could still see him out there on the horizon...yes, that flat....

A lot of Holland was reclaimed from the sea...hence, it's flat.

Boy, I sure am getting off track here, aren't I?

So anyway, Kathryn, yes I guess I do have a gardening gene! But a person doesn't need one to start gardening....all you need is the desire. Start real small and see what happens...it can't hurt! Sphere: Related Content

Not Much of a Storm!

Well, the snow lasted maybe half an hour tops, altho it was coming fast and furious....we never lost power, and we have just a light skiff of snow....

Guess that's the Cariboo.....if you don't like the weather, wait 15 minutes - it'll change :) Sphere: Related Content

It's Really Stormy Out There!

Wow, what a weather change...in about 10 minutes! It was pretty darn nice out there today, yes a bit cold, but still.....this afternoon I was working outside down at the barn. I was actually moving manure over to the veggie garden...it's not even frozen yet, lol!

The hens were out with me, and so was the Wolf....all of a sudden, the wind came up...whooooosh! Next thing I knew, the trees were bending over, the wind was screaming.....then it started raining, then it turned to hail.

The girls were running to their coop, and I was running behind them, to close them in....once I got them in, I turned around to look for the Wolf.

He was up on the PORCH by this time....I yelled at him, I thought you were supposed to Protect ME....you Wuss!! He just looked at me, wagging his tail.

I ran up to the house, got us both inside, and then the hail had stopped (of course AFTER I got pelted by it running)

Now it's snowing like a bugger out there!! The lights were flickering a little bit ago. I made sure we have extra water in jugs, just in case the power is out....I already have the flashlight, and the windup flashlight, and the windup lantern all at hand.

I better come off the computer for a bit, just in case! Maybe next time I write, I will have a picture of lots of Snow on the ground!!! Sphere: Related Content

Lovage

Reader Aunt Krissy was asking for more info on lovage....here's a pic for you Krissy...

it's Very easy to harvest and dry....just hang the stems upside down....click over to here to see how we did it:

http://countrylivinginacariboovalley.blogspot.com/2008/08/drying-herbs.html

It's a perennial, so it will come back every year....tho it does die down to the ground in the fall (at least here!)

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I'm a Terrible Blog Owner

Unbelievable! I thought I would sit and reply back to the comments all you good folks have left. when you leave a comment, I receive it by email.

So, I let it sit in my inbox until I can reply, then I delete them.....well, I have now noticed I am replying to comments made in early October!

Terribly irresponsible of me! And I promise, I will get back to replying to the rest of them Very Very Soon!

Please don't stop commenting - we Love reading all your comments!!! Sphere: Related Content

Canning Pea Soup

The other day, the Gman made up a big pot of ham and pea soup....homegrown and homesmoked ham, along with those Alaskan peas that we grew in the garden this summer. He added some other goodies, carrots, lovage and other herbs and cooked it for the day over our woodstove.

We decided to can up the leftovers, we've got 6 jars in the canner.

Since we got the smoothtop stove, we're leery of using it for canning....so we picked up one of these things....it attaches to the propane tank of our barbeque....so now I guess all the canning will be done outdoors!

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Wanna Save Some Money? Put a Timer on Your Hot Water Tank

We heard about this idea from HomesteadingToday.com. We thought it was a great idea, so when we hit up Home Depot several months ago, we bought a timer for our hot water tank.

It costs us $60....paid for itself in the first 3 months!

We have ours set so it comes on from 8am - 10am....yes that's right, only 2 hours out of 24! Keep in mind there are only two people living here (usually, lol).

Also, the Gman says it really helps that we have a very good quality hot water tank - a John Woods. Also, since the people who built the house had a total of 8 folks here, it is a Big tank - 60 gallons....

We figured out WHEN during the day we needed the most hot water....for us, it's early - mid morning times....that's when we're busy in the kitchen. And if I have laundry to do, I almost always do in the morning.

If you figure out When you need hot water the most, you can set up your timer to best suit your needs....

Our timer has already paid for itself, and now, everytime we get a Hydro bill...well, it's lower than it used to be! And you know, I still have nice hot water in the taps when we make dinner!

When we moved up here, we had to buy a new washer and dryer. We bought a front loader washer....mainly because they use Soooo much less water. Another bonus is that when the wash cycle finishes, the clothes are so much drier than with a top loader....that should have decreased actual dryer time.

But it was only a couple of months later, I started thinking about the cost of running the drier whenever I did laundry. So, next time we went to town, I bought two of these.....they were half off, paid $18 total.

I use them ALL the time. As a matter of fact, I think the dryer has been used maybe 20 times since we moved here, and that is mostly when the parental units come, stay for a couple of weeks, and do their laundry.

I set up the drying racks upstairs in one of the spare bedrooms.....leave the door open. With our woodstove going constantly at this time of year, and with heat rising....the clothes are dry in no time. The racks can hold an amazing amount of laundry too...I can easily hang two loads onto each rack....

During the summer, when we don't use the woodstove, the clothes still dry pretty quick. Mind you, I don't wash clothes and then Need Them Right Now....I'll hang them up one day, and then fold them the next.....easy....

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Frosty Morning

It was Sooo pretty this morning....sooo much frost on the ground and on the trees...the whole of the Valley was in a shiny shimmering frost...it was beautiful!

The pic doesn't do it justice at all....but as you can see, still No Snow....

Tomorrow is the last day for open buck deer hunting (under 4 points). After tomorrow, it moves to 4 points or better for one week....then that's it.

The Gman has been out and about traisping thru the woods...but nothing yet. He's seen lots of does, but the bucks are laying low. So tomorrow, he says he could use an extra pair of eyes. He assures me I won't have to handle the gun....I'm hesitant. And chicken. And Yella', as we say. Next year, I should see if I can get YoungManDaniel up here to go hunting....then I could stay at home...where it's warm!

If no posts are made in the next two days, send out a Search Party....

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Our Stove (Was) a Piece of Cr*p)

When we moved into this place, the fridge and stove came with it. Last summer, pffft, just like that, the fridge died....in the Summer...when it's HOT. When we just can't do without a fridge.

Let me back up...the stove we inherited was....well, a Piece of Crap...Literally...With Capitals. Everything I baked I burned...until I put the temperature timer in there and we realized the oven was out 100 degrees. OK, that explained a few things.

The stovetop wasn't that great either....

So, when the fridge died we went up to the Puddle and picked out a new one. While we were there, I tossed out to the Gman...."we should get a new stove while we're here and get rid of that "POC". Great idea....so we picked one out and left the store with both a new fridge And stove.

Well....shucks. This stove turned out to be even a Worse POC....unbelivable.....it started out just fine. But a few months later, the stovetop seemed to be well...kinda falling apart. The oven, of course worked fantastic. Irony is our life!

So...over the last year we had to replace an element...and the stovetop itself had a big of a sag to it. The warranty period expired, and about a month after that we were again, up in the Puddle.

So the Gman decides to go back into the store. I meanwhile was shoppppppingggggg...nuf said. Later he tells me the fellow at the store will basically charge us about $60 for use for one year of the stove, and will put the rest towards a different stove. Well...sweeeet.

Soooo...over the last 2 weeks or so, he has been researching stoves....I have learned more than I think I ever need to know about a stove. Ask me what a hidden bake is.....warming zone, warming drawer...expandable elements...I can pass this test.

Finally, we narrow our decision...should it be convection or not? We decide not...we keep shortlisting....finally, we order our stove over the phone.

Days later, we hear the stove is in....off we go again to the Puddle.....we have now cleaned our other stove and loaded it into the truck....drop it off at the Store. We get the box with the new stove...we open it up there in the store....

guess what???

The stove is damaged....there is NO way we are taking this thing....so they order in another one for us. We go home....no stove. No big deal, we got the barbeque, the woodstove (tho it's not a cookstove) and we got the George Foreman grill, lol!

Four days later, we're kinda thinking we'd like an Actual Real Stove! Then the store called....the stove did NOT come in....the stove will arrive end of NEXT week.

We said....we'll come see what u have on your floor....the Gman could be going off to work any day now. That would leave me with No truck, No Way to pick up a stove and we are too far for delivery....

Finally, tonite....we have a stove. It's Not the one we wanted (we wanted white)....it's also Not the one we ordered. But we kinda like the way it looks....and it's a smoothtop.

Kinda funny, when the salesman got everything rung up and handed me my receipt, I said...."It's got a one year warranty" and I just looked at him....man, I hope I don't have to see him Again next year! ( We got a good deal tho, because of all the frustration!)

Anyway, it doesn't match the rangehood and it doesn't match the fridge.....guess what???? Pretty much as soon as I can....I'm going shopppppingggggg again. And in the meantime, the Gman is whistling away in the kitchen....I think he's looking at the stove, lol!

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Putting Food By - Book Review

I've had this book since the early 1990's. It's been a great resource for me to use for well, um...putting food by.

It looks like it was first printed in 1973. Authors are Janet Greene, Ruth Hertzberg and Beatrice Vaughan.

The book covers pretty much everything on freezing, canning, other types of preserving and even has recipes for canning convenience foods. It has a lot of info on preserving berries and making juices.

It talks a lot about HOW to can safely....mega important. It explains in depth which foods you can can safely using a water bath canner, and which ones need to be canned in a pressure canner....and WHY.

Also covers canning meat and seafood, making pickes, drying foods and root cellaring.

It has a chapter with recipes to make for Christmas giving!

I've used this book every year. We always use this Stew recipe - page 181. That's the raw pack stew the Gman made this summer!

If you want to check it out, see if your library has a copy. Or, you can order one thru Amazon on that link over there on the right!

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The Encylopedia of Country Living

I had mentioned the other day that I was going to throw a few books up on our blog....say what I liked about them, and how valuable they may be for people interested in homesteading....or gardening....or raising animals...or whatever.

Here's the first one...I'm doing this one first because it's probably First on my list....what a great book!

The Encylopedia of Country Living, by Carla Emery. What a woman she was....I have read this book from front to back, back to front...probably I dunno eight times maybe. What a book! I have the updated 9th Edition, printed in 2003.

It's 871 pages (not including the index) of information, I kid you not. Here's the Contents:

Introduction to Plants

Grasses, Grains and Canes

Garden Vegetables

Herbs & Flavorings

Tree, Vine, Bush & Bramble

Food Preservation

Introduction to Animals

Poultry

Goats, Cows & Home Dairying

Bee, Rabbit, Sheep & Pig

Interwoven in all these subjects is Carla's story - the story of her life, her marriage, motherhood, travelling to markets etc. to sell her book.....by the time I finished reading this book for the first time, I felt I knew her personally. She had that ability, obviously....as well as writing in plain simple easy to understand language.

I asked the librarian at our local small library if she could bring the book in for me. She did, and I was eager to get home and get started....I could keep the book for 3 weeks.

After the 3 weeks, I renewed it....and then I renewed it again...and again...and again...until finally Mary gently let me know that she needed it back! She had to send it back to the original library. And so I resolved to myself to buy the book...at some point.

The following year (early this Spring) the Gman and I went to the Seed Swap in town....we picked up all kinds of seeds, and some nifty seed potato varieties...and then we kept walking around looking at the tables of all the vendors.

There was a lady who ran the local bookstore...well, I couldn't believe my eyes! There it was right there on the table, 1 lonely copy of Carla's book....but I didn't have enuf cash left to buy it.

I think she saw my eagerness and then my disappointment at not having enuf money left...I asked her, would she take a cheque? And she looked at me, and said yes Dear I will take your cheque...

Weeeeeeeee! And that's how I got my book.....

Carla passed away a few years ago...how I would have loved to have met her in person! Her beautiful spirit shines thru in this book of hers.....

If you're interested, see if you can get a copy from your local library. Or, if you want your own copy....click on the book over in the right hand column of this blog and you can order it thru Amazon.

You won't be disappointed...I promise you! If you're new to the idea of raising your own food and/or animals...you will learn a LOT from this book.

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Kathryn from Surrey (who wants to move to the island and grow my own food...)

Kathryn From Surrey - Are you out there? I want to let you know I have NOT forgotten your comment with those questions.....remember? These questions:

How do you know what to do and when to do it? (is that two questions?)
Do you read farming books every day?
do you just do trial and error and then take notes and refer to them?
Do you have a farming gene?
Did it take you a year to find your rhythm?

And I wanted to let you know that I am going to start answering your questions...not today (Becuz I need to go drink beer and get horse poop :) Hey, I have to get my priorities in the right order!!

But soon, real soon! I think they're Great Questions....so good that I should take them one at a time and put some good info out there....

Don't know if you have noticed, but I have already put 5 Really Good Books over there in the right hand column. I think I should try to sum up each of the books....kinda like a book review. That way, you'll know why I like each of them. Then, if you want, try to see if your library has a copy. Or, just click on the book over on the right, and it will take you directly to Amazon where you can order a copy for yourself.....plus I would get a tiny referral too!

Thanks for your patience!

Annie Sphere: Related Content

Still No Snow

It's a Gorgeous Day out there today....the sun is shining, it's not too cold...and there is NO snow. Seems kinda strange that we don't have snow out there yet. It has snowed...twice. But then it warms up again, and the snow disappears.

This lack of snow is hampering my Hibernation plans....I should be laying on the couch, with a blanket over me, lost in a book. But as long as we don't have snow, it just doesn't feel right to not be doing something outside....

I figured I better take down that temporary chicken wire fencing we had put up in the main veggie garden. Hauled all the Tposts down to the barn, rolled up the wire and put it in the greenhouse.

The pitter patter of little feet....HA! These gals follow me around all over the place.

And now, a Wolf joins them....argggg!

Then I started raking leaves....dumped them on the beds in the main veggie garden. There's no shortage of leaves around here with all these aspen trees!

Came in the house to find a phone message from our friends....the poop trailer is full again....yippee! So soon we'll head down to their place to take it home. With this warm weather, we're lucky to get one extra load. If we're even luckier, we'll maybe get one more! It's pretty bad when I get so excited about horse manure...sigh, I gotta get out more!

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It's a Special Day!!!! Eman's Birthday

It's my oldest son's birthday today...Happy Birthday Eman!!!

He was Such a Happy baby...always smiling and laughing....

He slept in a drawer when we went visiting, lol!

Into sports at a young age....he played soccer, softball, enjoyed fishing and building forts in the woods....

Riding his Harley.....

He won a Fishing Derby with this catch! He sure was proud of that fish...we took it to his grandparents and we all ate salmon together!

This is him with HAIR.....he refuses to have hair now, he's been that way since he was a teenager...nope, no hair for him.

He liked hanging out with his little bro.

He got a Bullseye!!!

On the Oregon Coast, on their trip to meet Mickey Mouse









The lead in the School Play

He loved his Hamster....

He also loved to bake....for awhile I thought he may become a baker, like his GP (GrandPa)






When the boys were in their teens, we went to Cancun...boy did Eli have fun!

No sooner had we arrived than he:

1) Buried his lil bro in the sand....

2) Slammed Tequila shooters in celebration of his reef snorkeling experience.....

3) Hung out with Banditos in sombreros carrying machine guns.....

A Huge Sigh of Relief when this day came! Graduation from High school....Class of 2000

After high school, he started working in construction....he builds beautiful houses on the West Coast!

Unheard of....not only is he wearing a Suit, he's got a Mop in his hands!

He still has a sweet tooth and he still likes to bake...and doesn't even need a reason to bake, as you can see!

He's so serious tho.....

I think he should lighten up, don't you????

Stop being so serious boy....get out there and have some fun!!!!

Have a Wonderful day today, Puddin Pop....your Mama and the Gmans luvs ya!!!!!

Happy Birthday Eman!!!

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