This and That

Oh where to start...
I seem to have misplaced my peace of mind somewhere. I don't mean to say that I am unhappy at all, I really am not. In fact, I am probably at one of the most happy parts of my life. I have a wonderful wife and good kids, a stable job with people I enjoy working with, I have found a great avenue to express myself and grow through my writing here and at other sites. And yet I don't truly feel at peace. I have to admit that much of the affairs of the world/U.S. such as the economy and the upcoming election are truly beginning to weigh on my mind. I think that's part of the reason that I have been a bit lacking in my post of late. I make a concerted effort, as many of you know, to maintain a certain level of positivity here. I have had enough negativity in my life in the past and truly desire to leave it in the past. For the most part I am successful. Even, I think, when I write about some of the issues that I believe we will all face in the future that will not be...pleasant, I try to keep my outlook as positive as I am capable of. I guess you could say I follow mom's old advice "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all."

The other thing happening is that I've been swamped. I've been trying to get a lot of end of year stuff, and things that need to get done before the ground freezes, completed in a timlely manner and it has just been sapping the energy out of me; we're planning to expand our approx 450 sq ft garden to nearly 1100 sq ft, a little more than doubling it! A~ and I have some great plans for next year, including trying to start participating in our local farmers market by selling some of our homegrown veggies. It's not only so that we can maybe make a little extra $ from our efforts, but we also want to offer a few different items from everyone else in the hopes of inspiring others to start looking outside the standard green peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes and jalapenoes that seem to be the only things offered there. It also goes along with my greater effort to try to get people producing more food for themselves at home here in my community.

In other news, we had a great family outing last night. All three boys are just at the early stages of learning to play violins/violas and are coming along great. They have in their heads though that their really not very "cool" instruments. Well last night we had the opportunity to go down to SLC and catch a concert from a band named Apocolyptica that is in effect a cello quartet. Here's the rub though... they are amplified and play old school heavy metal on them with a drummer backing them up! That's right Metallica on a cello! It was absolutely AMAZING! I've never seen anything like it. Even A~ who is not a real Metal fan enjoyed it. (I'm not even a big heavy metal listener anymore, though I was in my younger years.) The boys came home really excited to play their instruments having just had a new door opened to them. If your curious about what it sounded like you can check them out HERE. This is almost exactly what we saw last night. It may not be your "cup of tea" but it certainly does give the whole thinking outside the box idea a new spin. (Phelan if your reading, you have got to check it out, you'd love it!)

So anyway, things have been busy and showing not signs of slowing any time soon. how about you? Had a chance to check out my new "other home" online yet. If not, drop in a give it a read. Dropping in here from the new site? Welcome, I hope you'll keep coming by and I look forward to hearing from you.

P~