Thursday, October 29, 2015

Gray hair - LBC post

This week's LBC topic comes to us from Ramana. Gray hair. That stuff most men happily shout "better gray than gone!".

My hair started turning gray at about 18. It started with my sideburns - just touches of gray. Cool! I could order drinks in bars and restaurants from then on. And so I happily ordered Zombies and Singapore Slings along with beer. Coors was my favorite - after all, I did grow up in Pueblo Colorado. Well - allegedly grew up any way. My international beer quest began shortly thereafter - what the heck - it's always beer:30 somewhere!

The hair is a genetic gift from my mother's family - the Higgins' of New Mexico. We've all been blessed with manes of white hair. That'd be the Cadillac of gray hair IMHO. In fact when I reconnected with my great-aunt Blanch about 20 years ago, she looked at me and started laughing and proclaimed "You have to be Butch - laughing loudly. You're fat, have psoriasis and white hair. Your knees will go bad too. You're definitely a Higgins." The last time she'd seen me I was a normal 9-year old kid.

The genes make it tough to say I've earned every one of my white hairs but I'll say it anyway. And if gray hair is a sign of wisdom then I am a bloody genius. Ahem. OK -not so much. But until I trimmed my beard down to next to nothing just about every little kid looked at me in awe from Thanksgiving until Christmas. I've often wondered if that is why I never fell into that Happy Holidays political correctness trap here. It has always been and always will be Merry Christmas to me regardless of my religious views (or lack there of).

What eles is there to say about gray/silver/white hair? Well - Helen Mirren sure does rock it - as do James Brolin an Mark Harmon but I think I'll see what the other LBC bloggers think.

See ya next week - same bat time, same bat channel for another LBC post. And who knows what may show up between now and then.

Friday, October 23, 2015

Bulk buying - LBC topic

Buy more, save money. That's the credo of discount warehouse companies like Costco, Sam's Club, Winco and many others.Costco is in fact one of - if not the most admired retailers here in the good old U.S.A. They offer goods and services ast hugely discounted prices and pay their employees quite well.

So - do you really save money? Well sure - as long as you use the goods and services before they spoil/expire. A deal isn't much of a deal if half of the food spoils. For that reason I no longer belong to any wholesale warehouses - I am not in the market for things they sell that would benefit me - furniture, computers, etc. In fact I doubt I will ever buy another computer at retail - they are about half price at the local pawn shop - lol. Someone's misfortune saves me a bunch, a sad but true fact.

I will confess to having ultra-large packages of toilet paper and paper towels but most grocery chains offer those things as well as milk and bread as ;loss leaders to get you into their stores. That is normal retail.

As one who enjoys cooking I find it more beneficial to shop more often - including daily - to ensure I cook with the freshest possible ingredients.

So - bulk buying can be a good thing if you are smart about it. Buy things you can reasonably expect to use and enjoy the savings. Or spend the savings on more stuff. The choice is yours.

Thursday, October 15, 2015

Family size LBC post

There's an old saying that says you can choose your friends, not your family. It is not completely accurate as my experience shows.

Most of uou know my last name is an adopted name as my mom remarried when I was about 8 years old. My birth father's last name was Brooke. My original birth certificate listed that as my name,  In Colorado when you are adopted a new birth certificate is issued and so my current birth certificate lists my last name as McConvey.

It was only a few years ago that I first saw a picture of Paul Wesley Brooke. All I knew about him was my grandmother hated him and my mother has lied to me about him for years, telling me he died in the seventies. So I started looking in to him a bit. Turns out he was not a particularly good man - apparently a corrupt cop who spnt a  fair amount of time in prison. And  upon checking with several Brooke family members - my family members in reality - they effectively told me to pound sand - two of my actual first cousins said to never contact them or anyone in the family again - to them I do not exist.  So in two families the supposed family size is somewhat inaccurate.

In the real world I was 9 when my, mom and my step dad (though I only refer to him as my dad)  had my sister. Shortly thereafter we packed up and moved to California. Once there two additional kids, both brothers although one died before he turned one. So I have a brother 11 years younger than me and a sister 10 years younger than me. My folks had a built-in babysitter. We lived in a nice neighborhood, with lots of kids and friendly families. In truth my extended family size was 20 or so. The bigger the better as far as I  am concerned,

I did my time as an only child back in Pueblo. Although I have nothing but fond memories of my  time in Colorado, I think the family dynamic in a bigger family is more interesting. There is always something going on.  And although in my case the age difference made a difference as  kids, my brother, sister and I are close and we have each others backs.

Size matters to me. I enjoy larger families regardless of skeletons in the closet - something most if not all families have. Or at least a black sheep or two.



That's my take on this weeks LBC topic. Time to see what the others have to say -

see ya next week, same bat time, same bat channel for another LBC mash up.

Monday, October 12, 2015

Changing changing, ever changing!




I'm baaaaaaaack!  My blogging exile (self imposed) has ended, for better or worse.

The past several months have culminated in my moving from Texas to North Carolina - Time for a major life change. I now live in a small 3BR2BA mobile home in a small trailer park in a place called Conover. Just me and my trusty hound Ginger. It's the first time in over 45 years I have been alone. So far -



My son intends to open a food truck in the area. I will be helping with web stuff and marketing. Sean bought a big 5BR fixer upper and is currently stripping and sanding hardwood floors. My little trailer was move in ready but since I only brought clothes, I have been busy making purchases to furnish the place.

My first impressions of NC are it is easily one of the most beautiful states I have seen - and remember - I lived in Hawaii. NC is right up there.

Maybe I'll do some travelogue posts like Marie does when she is out and about in Ireland.

So now it is on to the next  chapter in my life. What's done is done - yesterdays over my shoulder but I can't look back for to long. There's just too much to see waiting in fron of me and I know that I just can't go wrong.