Putting up the tree

James hanging ornaments

Julie, James & Patrick

Patrick hanging ornaments

James of course hung the most

it was a warm moment

a wee little tree for a wee little home

and it only took about 4 seconds for James to ask where the presents were...


It's the first Christmas for me without my Dad, and we honored his request of last Christmas with a moment of silence..

"I won't be with you next Christmas, I don't want you to forget that this has always been my favorite time of the year, and I want you to remember me when you turn your lights on every year from now on".

Gnome Walking Stick

After much procrastination, I finally finished the gnome walking stick

Now it's among the other finished walking sticks..

Close up of gnome face..

In hand...

I really hate painting...

Email me if you want one.. Crickhollowcarving@gmail.com

Devil Stain.. morality...

What is evil? Could evil be a lack of light... light being defined as goodness, kindness, love, beauty, and hope.. or is evil simply complete innocence?

Are the acts of complete evil perpetrated by people always done for the purposes of what are considered to be classic evil? Or are the true acts of abject evil committed with the purest of intentions, by the the most innocent of souls...

I guess that would slip into a discussion of morals... Right and wrong... Shit. To define morality is the biggest cluster fuck of discussions to get into.. So by all means, let us now define morality.. the base morality of mankind would fall under the heading of the golden rule I would imagine, or hope. Even then, what one person would consider to be done unto them and be ok, wouldn't necessarily be defined as a doable thing to the next person.. thus the cluster point comes into play. What's right for one isn't always right for all, or rather agreed upon by all.

What law is to be followed at this point? God's? Man's? Which God? What man?

We could all probably agree on most common points, killing, stealing.. things of that nature. But what then. Like minded people flock together, then then hate those that do not agree with them.

Respect is the simple answer to this dilemma. Not agreeing with someone is where basic principles of this mindset come into play. You do not like what someone stands for? Then leave them be. Don't be so easily offended, change the station, put the book down, teach your children what you consider to be "right". The best weapon you have against "the devil" is to deny him.. it's also the easiest.

Easy to deny the devil and his evil ways? Sure.. character, honor...

Couple respect with understanding and you are fairly unbeatable... Disagree, yet understand opposing points of view.. ride that rail for a while and you will see what bliss is truly about...

Simply listen, feel no hatred, and be patient...

Robot James lands.. thus the world is secure

I was informed this evening that Robot James had landed, direct from planet Robot.. hey, he's four...

We were treated to the various methods that were used to protect this planet, from the magic hunting knife to the "heavy" hammer, the primary weapons that Robot James employs from his arsenal. Unfortunately for our dogs, they have been deemed "anti robot pixie dogs" and therefore the ultimate enemies of mankind and so must be destroyed. They all wound up under my bed hiding from their newly landed overlord... great.

Upon further investigation it seems that Robot James also employs the dread "snap" explosives to confuse the anti robot pixie beasts, then uses his summoner to call in reinforcements, drawn from their home planet by the dazzling bright light...

Sometimes if you just give in and let the imagination of a child run all over you, traveling from one planet to another is as simple as being quiet and letting them drive the logic and reason train for a while...

Abortion... A small rant

On every corner of every street on the internet, there is a soap box.... Upon said soap box there is someone spewing forth a commentary that they feel is worth listening to, this then is my soap box. I stand here to talk, maybe some will listen, maybe most wont.

I ran across a blog that I shall not name, nor shall I link to, lest more people fall victim to this disgusting asshole... There is very little out there that can offend me, but this one did it. I wont even get into content.

To take a position on a subject is what people do, to argue that position with people that do not agree with you is what comes naturally. To debate your position in hopes of changing minds can be a noble endeavor, but to simply insult people, I just do not get.

Seems this blogger is an educated individual, which makes it all the more ridiculous. I read through several exchanges she had with people dumb enough to leave comments.

The sad part about it is that open debate on any given subject can be quite entertaining. If you are going to take the time to bring it up, why not engage in serious discussion about the topic? The topic in question that brought me to the blog was abortion.. A topic that brings forth rabid folk anyway, but again, why can't it be discussed in a serious, civil manner?

We all know that you can't really debate a matter of opinion, yet it's within these same debates that the most interesting times can be had. These are real opportunities to treat with people from all walks of life, to share views and opinions with those that we do not agree with, so why get three steps into it and begin insulting everyone? That seems nonsensical to me, a waste of effort.

I love to sit around a dinner table and engage in a lively debate over such issues over the course of an evening, but to borrow a phrase from Julie.."There's always one asshole that takes it a bit too far.." Yet, in most cases, that is a risk I'm willing to take...

How long could you make it without tossing out an insult?

My opinion on the matter goes like this... I do not agree with abortion, I think the legality of the issue should be left up to individual states and put on an actual ballot.. (frightening thing for socialists... letting the populace actually decide an issue...) While I feel like abortion is really used as an expensive method of birth control, which is a sad state of affairs in my opinion, I think that it should be legal, for that all too rare - actual case of rape, danger to the mother, or molestation. Bad situations can actually be avoided by abstinence, or use of a condom... either one is cheap & fairly simple...

So on to it then... What do you think about abortion?