wemhall
Live Life Exuberantly
Random topics about Rohan Farm, the Bay, and life in general
383 posts
Don't wanna be here? Send us removal request.
Last Seen Blogs
girlsofnorway
Girls of Norway
re-dracula
Re: Dracula
taniacatclaw
tania catclaw
thegravekeepersdaughter
The Gravekeeper's Daughter
Text
Window Dressing
My birthday was a couple of weeks ago. At dinner, Cathy gave me a hand-written birthday letter that I love. Her words that have stayed with me? “How does one encapsulate so many years? You Don’t. You live in the present and move to the future. The past is window dressing.”
The night of my birthday, we went out for dinner at one of our favorite local restaurants, Field and Main. As we were…
View On WordPress
0 notes
Text
Top and Cathy
With no kids to talk about, Cath and I have a million stories about our dogs, particularly our first dog, Top. Don’t parents always have the most pictures and stories about their first born?! A German friend called Top “Einmalig”, which translates to “one of a kind”. This story, from 1981, involved Top, Cathy hitting a tree with our car, the MPs, the German Polizei and a little old lady. We were…
View On WordPress
#dogs#dogstories#family#germany#gooddogs#humor#krebs#memories#oldstories#polizei#puppies#stories#wurzburg
0 notes
Text
The Bufflehead
It was Easter Sunday and Cath and I were taking Carmen for a walk. As we returned, we noticed something white on a tree branch in the pond. Initially, we thought a plastic bag was caught on a limb, but soon realized we had a first-time visitor to the farm – a Bufflehead Duck.
That’s Bufflehead. Not Buffethead or Parrothead, of which there are plenty in this area.
The pond is wonderful for…
View On WordPress
0 notes
Text
They Marched On
Hup, two, three, four, Hup, two three, four… The army had been on the move forever and marched to the sound of the drums. They had lost a legion of followers, but the main fight was coming, and they were ready. They would take no prisoners in this final battle.
The drums beat, and they marched on. The cadence was locked in their heads. It was relentless and never ending. They didn’t sleep, they…
View On WordPress
0 notes
Text
Dear God,
Dear God, I ask that you guide me, so I do not become a bitter old man. There are so many of them these days. Angry at women, angry at youth, angry at our country, angry at you. Their’s is a seemingly endless list. Often, they appear angry at everything except themselves. Do not let me become that person.
God, I know in our youth, we laughed at angry old men. We didn’t see us becoming them, and…
View On WordPress
0 notes
Text
American Ingenuity
American ingenuity – we see it applied every day in all kinds of ways. Recently, I needed to look no further than a couple of local breweries, where in addition to great beer, they are serving Sausage Gravy Pizza and Bratwurst Pizza. I put those ideas in the borderline genius category.
Pizza – it’s almost as American as apple pie. Yea, it originated in Naples, Italy, but we Americans have made…
View On WordPress
#americaningenuity#beer#bratwurstpizza#deathridge#fauquier#food#germany#humor#ingenuity#meals#pizza#sausagegravypizza#silverbranch#stories
0 notes
Text
A Road not Taken
When I left the Army 32 years ago in 1992, I had several good job opportunities. One of those was with a new company called Cisco Systems, where my buddy Dave tried to recruit me. He started there in ‘91 and retired a multimillionaire in ‘99. Looking back, it’s a classic “What if…”
After graduating from West Point, my first two tours were in the “muddy boots” Army with 3ID and then VII Corps in…
View On WordPress
#cisco#ciscosystems#engineer#humor#LAN#leavingthearmy#memories#millions#networkengineering#postarmylife#stories
0 notes
Text
Who Are These Old People?
I was sitting in my cardiologist’s waiting room and looked around. My immediate thought was, “Wow, there are a lot of older people here”. And then I smiled, because I am of course one of those “older people”. Older is a relative word, but if the shoe fits…
When I was younger, one of the phrases I never thought I would utter was “my cardiologist”. That all changed after I was bitten by a…
View On WordPress
#age#Cardiologist#drugs#eliquis#health#humor#Lessonslearned#memories#Oldman#pillbox#pillboxes#prescriptiondrugs
0 notes
Text
The Best Burger
For the last 30 years, I’ve told anyone who would listen that the best burger I ever ate was at The Squeeze Inn in Sacramento, CA. The place is still around and if you are there, you should try it. It’s a great burger, but it’s no longer my “best ever”. For that, you must visit Field and Main Restaurant here in Marshall, Va for an Ooomami Smashburger. Trust me on this. You won’t go…
View On WordPress
#america#bestburger#burgers#cheeseburger#cheeseburgers#fieldandmain#fieldandmainrestaurant#food#humor#meals#squeezeinn#stories#thesqueezeinn
0 notes
Text
Making Espresso
When we returned from Germany in ‘83 there were many things we missed from our 4 1/2 years in Europe. One of those items was coffee. Good Coffee. Cathy rectified that by buying me a small Espresso/Cappuccino Maker for Christmas that year. 40 years later, it still brews decent coffee, even if it looks old and outdated.
We were happy to return to the States, but in addition to good coffee, there…
View On WordPress
#cappuccino#coffee#drinking#espresso#foodblogs#humor#italiancoffee#maximespressomachine#memories#moka#mokapot#oldstories#stories
1 note
·
View note
Text
Valentine’s Day
I’m one of those guys who, although not always in a timely fashion, notices milestones in my life. It turns out this Valentine’s Day is the 51st Cathy and I have shared. Yea, our first was in 1973, when we were both students at Ottawa High School.
Cath and I in the OHS Yearbook for ‘73
At the time, we had been dating for about eight months. I have no memory of what we did on that momentous…
View On WordPress
#51valentine’sdays#age#family#highschoollove#Lessonslearned#love#loveinlife#memories#myvalentine#OHS#oldstories#Ottawa#stories#valentine’sday#weddingprayers#weddingvows
0 notes
Text
Carmen’s Surgery
My walking companion for the past nine years is sidelined. Carmen needed surgery last week to repair a ruptured ligament in her left rear leg. We went down this road with a previous dog, Holly, and are familiar with the journey. It doesn’t make it any less distressing for the three of us.
Carmen in Happier Times.
Yep, nine years of walking together came to an end about ten days ago. Our…
View On WordPress
0 notes
Text
January
I may not hate January, but I don’t exactly love it. After the fun and festivities of Thanksgiving, the Christmas holiday season, and New Year’s Eve, January arrives like a fat dose of reality, cold and hard. When I was at West Point, it was the start of what we called “Gloom Period”*.
The weather, reduced daylight, post-holiday debt, broken resolutions, and springtime forever and a day away all…
View On WordPress
0 notes
Text
Tammy
Recently, I stopped in at David’s Barbershop for a haircut. My usual barber wasn’t there and instead, Tammy cut my hair. We were making small talk, when I learned she was one of the original boat people* who escaped from Vietnam. She told a fascinating story filled with both sadness and hope.
You know what I mean by barbershop small talk with a new barber – the weather, what’s new in town,…
View On WordPress
0 notes
Text
Mooseburgers
The last time I saw Tim, I was back in Ottawa for my Brother-in-Law Jack’s funeral. I didn’t know it would be the last time, although I suspected it might. Mark, Howard and I were invited to Tim and Renee’s home for a lunch of Mooseburgers, with Tim serving as grill master.
Cath and I had visited Tim and Renee a few weeks before, while in Ottawa for my 50th high school reunion. After flying into…
View On WordPress
#age#bestfriends#BoyScouts#brothers#family#friends#friendship#kaleidoscope#love#memories#OHS#oldfriends#Ottawa#ottawagluttons#Scouts#snapshots#timstouffer
0 notes
Text
Snow Satisfaction
In 1988, Cath and I enjoyed a ski vacation in the village of Ischgl, Austria, known for both its skiing, and its Après-ski activities. It also presented the opportunity to ski from Austria to Switzerland, as long as we brought our passports. As is usual, Cathy had the last word after we completed the run.
While stationed in Germany in the ‘80s, we took many ski vacations to Austria, sometimes…
View On WordPress
#Austria#beer#drinking#family#germany#humor#Ischgl#love#memories#oldstories#Rollingstones#Satisfaction#skiing#snowsatisfaction#stories#wife#Winter
0 notes
Text
Sounds of Silence
It was an early winter morning a little before sunrise – that liminal period of time between darkness and light. When I left the house to feed the horses, it was so quiet, the silence felt deafening. I soon discovered the opposite was true. In that cold predawn silence, sound was everywhere, once I started listening.
That Liminal Period Between Darkness and Light.
I have to admit on most…
View On WordPress
#age#barkingdogs#birds#Comfort#deer#fauquier#God#godandnature#gooddogs#horses#Lessonslearned#listen#nature#neighbors#quiet#sound#soundsofsilence#stories#sunrise#turkey#Winter
0 notes