A buddy of mine came to visit a few weeks ago and we had planned to go out to the ocean and go fishing, water skiing and knee boarding. We were both so excited to spend some time away from home and have some fun, and go wild. We made a list of things we needed not just for the road trip but for the trip on the water as well.

It took a lot of thinking and gathering to get everything we needed but we did it. Before we knew it we were out on the open road on the way to the ocean front with my buddies boat hooked to the back of the truck ready to rock and roll on the water. When we finally got to the boat dock, my buddy noticed that his lanyards were old and rusty and needed replacing as soon as possible.

I searched Google through my phone to find a good deal on lanyards, and it didn’t take much time at all to come across a site that offers lanyard pins at a great price, so I immediately ordered some for him without him knowing at the time. When it arrived shortly after, I wrapped them up as a gift, knowing his Birthday was in a few days, and gave them to him before he had left to go back home.

He was so happy to have them for his boat, I couldn’t be any more thrilled to know I helped my buddy out, when he least expected it. It might have been a small item, but its something he needed and the price wasn’t something I couldn’t ignore.

I have the misfortune of suffering each year with allergies and it seems like this year my allergies have lasted weeks longer than usual. I’ve been sneezing and having sinus headaches ever since the temperatures hit 70 degrees. I’ve always been sensitive to tree pollen, but now I’m concerned that there are other things in the air that bother me, too. An air purifier might possibly help with my allergies and also help reduce the sensitivity to the other things that are giving me such grief.

Sneezing Due To Allergies

It’s raining again tonight. It seems like we have had rain part of every day or every night for the past week. It’s depressing, but I tell myself that the ground needs the water. Some parts of the country have terrible problems with drought during the summer and I hope we never have to deal with that. The spring rains are our promise of plenty of water later this summer.

I have a girlfriend who moved out to Colorado with her husband and daughter about 10 years ago. She posts on Facebook quite a bit, and I remember her writing on Facebook about the wildfires that they had in Colorado last year. She is hoping that all the snow they had this year will head off the kind of drought they suffered last year, which contributed to the risk of fires breaking out all over the state.

Since I live a rural area with a lot of trees, I can understand the terror of dealing with all the trees around you possibly catching on fire. Not only do you risk having your house and everything in it destroyed by fire, but you have to deal with horrible smoke – making it hard to breathe and see. I really hope that I never have to deal with the threat of fire up here in the Blue Ridge Mountains. I really don’t know what I would do or where I could go if I was told to evacuate my home and just take what I can carry with me.

So, I’ll deal with these rainy nights and will be glad to see the sun shine and better days.

My family owns property up in Maine and we used to go up there for long summer vacations. The cabin is what they now call “rustic.” But it was great fun to sleep in old army bunk beds and eat out on a screened porch and spend days on the big lake. If you haven’t spent any time in Maine, you might not know that they have 5 seasons: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter and Mud Season.

The time of year that the locals call Mud Season, is because the ground is no longer frozen and is saturated with melting ice and snow, and many rainy days with little sunshine or wind to dry it out. When it’s Mud Season, the only thing you can do is buy a good pair of Muck Boots and be prepared to do a lot of walking when your car or truck gets stuck in the mud. We would buy our boots from Hanks Clothing and they have a website now so everyone can buy a pair of boots, warm Acorn slippers, or any other rugged outdoor wear. Check out their online store: hanksclothing.com. Might be a good place to use some of the gift cards that you got for Christmas.

One of my favorite gifts that I received on Christmas was sent in the mail to me by my most favorite aunt in the whole world, Aunt Ginny, who retired and moved to Florida about 5 years ago. She is so happy there, but I really miss seeing her so badly. I don’t know when she plans on coming back up north for a visit, if ever. She really hates the cold in the winter and the heat in the summer and you can’t really rely on great weather in the spring and fall. I do believe we can thank global warming for the wacky weather we have been experiencing the last decade or so, but that’s my opinion, I know that this subject is very debatable. But as far as I’m concerned, the proof is in the pudding.

Alpinestars Roam Waterproof Boots

But back to my favorite gift sent to me by Aunt Ginny. She sent me a pair of the popular Alpinestars Boots that I had put on my Christmas wish list, but really didn’t expect to get because I know that they don’t come cheap. I actually went online today during my afternoon break at work and looked the pair of boots up that she was so generous in shipping to me. They are the Alpinestars Roam Waterproof Boots. Of course I don’t know where she ordered them from or if she got them on sale, paid for shipping and handling, questions I wouldn’t dare ask her, but I know it most likely cost her up to $200. No way I could afford to buy them on my own, I can tell you that.