Tag: teach

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Hopeful

“Return to the stronghold [of security and prosperity], you prisoners of hope; even today do I declare that I will restore double your former prosperity to you.” — Zechariah 9:12.

Peach says:

Hi, old friend!! It’s been too long!! I think about writing here every day! We have imaginary conversations! I couldn’t settle for an imaginary one today!

How is life treating you lately? Drop me a note and I’ll pray for you like we have been friends for life!

It’s definitely a new season. We are looking forward to Jerry’s retirement. We are thinking of present and future endeavors. Still looking at campers, hoping and trusting we choose ‘the right one’! We are both writing more, but neither of us maybe writing quite as much as we want, but we are definitely more focused and making good progress at learning to adapt and juggle. Remember we have a new grandbaby on the way from the youngest son and his fiancé? Well, we found out that our oldest son and his wife are now also expecting! We just are amazed!! So, that’s number 6 and number 7 on the way!!

“Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.” — Psalm 127:3

I’m kinda baby crazy right now!! 🥰👶🥰

In many ways everything is the same as last year, yet everything feels and seems different! We learned a lot. We have made decisions and taken actions a lot. Processes of time brought some things to completion, some things to fruition, and the Lord has just blessed us. I’m of a mindset we are never without His blessing once we give ourselves to Him, but some seasons are definitely sweeter than others, though all He WILL cause to work out to our good because we love Him and are called unto His purposes. All in His time.

Right now, I feel content in pursuing a path that helps us be ready for our future, while also working as much as I know how, to be useful in telling the good news of Who I know Him to be.

Also s’mores! Lol! I have discovered I really like s’mores! They make a great dessert! I’m just saying!

Been studying a bit for this next podcast, number 5. The number of GRACE! It’s about The Blessing of God on us His people, how important it is to Him for us to have it, know it, and understand it, walk in it. And what (or whom) He has blessed cannot be cursed.

I get hopeful every time I think of someone accidentally tripping across our podcast blog, or on Spotify or Stitcher, and learning, breathing in knowledge of the goodness of God, from a regular girl who isn’t an ‘influencer’ by today’s standards, but is an ambassador by His standards, just a Christ follower, a lover of family, and maybe s’mores! 🤣🤣 Somebody who runs to work, walks the dogs, gets groceries, cooks dinner, does laundry. Takes 4 insulin shots a day, and gets up and does it all again tomorrow, just like them! I’m hoping it will be enlightening and uplifting, shining a light from Him on their path!

I pray this next week, your hope is strengthened in all number of ways. That you will find courage to take at least a baby step forward every day! “Return you to the stronghold, you prisoners of hope!”

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bible faith Life Mustard Mustard on my Collar podcasts thankful Uncategorized writing

Mustard on my Collar

Batman says:

Mornin y’all,

Today is a great day, we finally got Peach’s podcast started. That’s right, I’ve harped and nagged and muttered and mumbled and she finally recorded one, the introduction to a series where Peach hopes to make a community of God fearing people, feel welcome and possible learn some things in the Bible. The podcast is on Stitcher and Spotify and we are trying to get it on Apple podcasts also.

This is a very first recording and you can tell Peach is a bit hesitant, but as it progresses she settles down and speaks easy and without hesitation about a subject she’s passionate on. I did my best to edit the audio so you all don’t laugh at my effort (my youngest son is the audio engineer not me) I think she sounds perfect when she gets going.

This is a learning experience for us as much as a teaching experience, we hope some will listen as the podcasts are put up, and someone who needs it gets something from them. I know in my heart that as Peach does more they will flow and give off valuable insight into the Bible and Gods word.

We welcome comments, critical (not demeaning) as well as encouraging ones, as we want to learn and give the information in a manner that’s easy to listen to and follow.

Y’all take a listen if you get time, they are never really long and we will post them on a more regular basis as we get in a rhythm. The podcast series is called:

“Mustard on my Collar”

You have to listen and you will see why, enjoy 😬

“There ya go Peach, cats outta the bag now”

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family Ford F150 Life New Year photography ramblings road trip thankful Time management Uncategorized writing

Dunno

Batman says:

I will preface this post with saying that it’s probably going to ramble and make NO sense at all…

New Year, hmmm ok well it’s not like we have a choice about staying in the old one, so here’s hopin y’all enjoy this one. Funny thing, the passage of time, sometimes it goes fast, sometimes excruciatingly slow, but it always passes. Sometimes I feel 800 and others 12 (Peach says I always act 12) but in the great scheme of things I age like everyone else. Time is supposed to help us grow wiser and learn from past mistakes and victories, but some don’t learn at all it seems. I for one seem to repeat mistakes numerous times before they sink in and I try stuff a different way.

Christmas is gone and I’m saddened a little, I like seeing the joy on the faces of people that get what they hoped for or get unexpected, but welcome gifts. Funny how watching the joy others get, makes a genuine person just as happy.

New Years Eve, everyone and their brother around here launches fireworks, from dark till who knows, and it is cool to watch and see. No apologies to those who move here from somewhere else and then complain about the noise scaring their pets…go back where you were and take your pets, one person’s trying to change the way 50 have always done, is kinda self centered, don’t ya think? (My post so I can say stuff like that till Peach over rules me 😬). One thing time hasn’t fixed, I am still frightened of Peach 😂😂, j/k but I am frightened I may disappoint her.

Ever wonder where stuff went over the years? I do, all the time, like where the heck did my patience go? I used to be sooo patient with everything, now it’s like calm then instant irritation. Or where did skinny me go? It’s like this big grumpy guy ate me and I’m trapped in him, trying to get out but liking peaches’s punkin pie too much. Socks, that’s easy, the washing machine eats them, end of story.

Bought a book the other day, that in itself isn’t unusual we do that quite often, this one claimed it would improve my photography skills. I’m always willing to learn to be a better photographer and I figure this fella must know a bit as he’s graduated from the New England School of Photography, been on tv shows has his own business and so on. So I fork out a few dollars and start reading…impass.. what is it about college educated people who want to teach people things, always talk at such a high level of expertise that the only people who understand them, don’t really need to be taught, as they already know the material??!! I did expect to have to struggle a bit as I am by no means someone that knows much about the technical aspect of photography, my skill lies in the ‘oh look, that would make a cool picture *snap*” and move on school of picture taking. It’s kinda funny how almost every camera on the market these days has an auto feature, and EVERY expert photographer right off the bat says “don’t use the auto feature”. Then why in the Sam Hill did they put one on the camera?? I take pictures, I like the looks of some and I trash the others, I will probably never be anywhere near Ansel Adams (he was a famous photographer), and who knows if I’ll never sell much, but I like to learn stuff. Why can’t these edumacated folks speak in plain speak. You can explain all the technical aspects and do it using plain speak instead of technical mumbo jumbo, can’t ya? I mean how hard is it to say “the higher the f/stop number, the smaller opening on the aperture” this is something I can wrap my foggy brain around. I use lower f/stop numbers to blur the background and higher to make the background more clear, easy peasy. Anyways, I’m reading it grumbling all the way and I’m sure I will glean information from it, I just wish it wasn’t taught by a rocket scientist (joke). Maybe I’m too old and set in my ways to be taught, probably be better through trial and error.

Read something yesterday I found interesting: the Country music band from my youth “Alabama” was awarded over 200 awards over its career, and are the most successful music band in country music history! Who’d a thunk it? Told y’all I’m all over the place today 😬

Peach and I took a trip in my BRAND NEW FORD F150 😬 which we bought on the exact same day of the year that I got my previous one, to go see my sister, her husband, and my mom, who’s 85 (and ornery as ever) and we had an excellent time. We learned stuff about the truck and we learned we can’t drive as long as we used to without stopping to stretch the old bones (mine Peach you’re not old). And we learned that the next day is pretty much marked off for recuperation.

By the way, John Wayne, he was awesome.

Ok, I think I have bounced all around enough for one post. Peach and I truly wish you and yours all the blessings you want and need over the new year and hope to see you somewhere down the road…

By the way, anyone know a really good travel trailer for a couple, weighing under 6000lbs…

“Yes Peach, I know Peach, but I warned them it was gonna make no sense”

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Cooking health hunting Law Enforcement Life photography Uncategorized writing

Things to Do

Batman Says:

So, here we are again headed towards a new year and all that it holds in promise. If all goes well (welp, cross that off, when has all gone well ever?) this time next year I will have less than a month left to work at a job that has encompassed 27 years of my life. Peach and I will be moving on to different things and honestly I’m ok with that. I have enjoyed this career and will think fondly about it after i’m gone, but only for a few weeks, then it goes in the “bucket” and off we go to do stuff.

I have been pondering ideas around in my mind as what to do with the time I will have. First time must be spent repairing and replacing all the little things around the place that I have let slip with the “I’ll do it later” tag on it. That honestly is not a lot of things but it is a few and should keep me busy for a couple weeks, then what? Peach has informed me numerous times that she will not be giving up her job so I will have to find interesting things to do to occupy my alone time, I will probably do a bit more fishing, I used to enjoy that and my kids called me the fish whisperer as a joke. Run the trap lines with a bit more interest, something I kinda got out of the habit of doing that I really enjoy the challenge of. Exploring new spots in which to hunt is also an option, can’t ever have too many spots to sit and surprise a wary buck. I won’t be going off taking photographs by my lonesome, as that is something Peach and I do together. I may write more, get in the habit of posting small little blurbs as to what my daily plan is and what I did the day prior, basically a record for my family to see and laugh at when I’m no longer here (you’re not that lucky Peach, it’s gonna be a long time still). Peach got me started with this blogging stuff and I don’t always hold up my end and write posts like I should. But, I won’t have the “work” excuse anymore. I have made myself a promise that I would try and write a book of stories, as mentioned in a previous post “writing interesting things” (it was I think) and putting it out there to see if there are any “old country boys and girls” like me out there that might find it humorous to buy a copy and laugh at my “out of the wrong time period” sense of humor and right and wrong. We are gonna give it a couple months to see how things settle down in the Country before we start travelling around, not in the mood for people to freak out if I’m not wearing a mask on the side of the road changing a flat tire for some lady who is helpless roadside (yes it could be a guy too, don’t get all indignant, told you I was from the wrong time period). Once we start traveling, I hope to post interesting tidbits along the way that others who are traveling around may find useful, even if it is a “do not do this or that” mistake we made that saves someone an issue. I know Peach will be posting all kinds of good things as we travel I am even gonna get her a new faster computer to use to do so (no excuses now, Peach). Been rummaging around through stuff on the internet (what a fresh h*** of grossness and stupidity you can find if you’re not careful what you search for) reading about people making money doing blog posts, that is novel. Not sure I got what it takes to do that but if someone wants me to write a blog post for their business or about a product that I am familiar with, and they want a down to earth honest opinion on, and they are going to pay me for it, then I’m your huckleberry (y’all point them my direction will ya?).

Some of you all will remember Peach and I teach firearms usage and gun safety, we have done this for a while now and its a satisfying pastime, plus brings in a little extra income. We plan to do this even after retirement as we have found that it is something people want and need. As an NRA instructor I have 3 certifications: Certified Home Firearm Safety, Personal Protection in the Home, and Basic Pistol, all of these are important to some folks, and its something we are happy to provide. The cool thing about being an NRA instructor is no matter where in the United States we are, we can sit down and give a class to anyone that wants it, provided we have the necessary safety precautions in place, and in some instances a range to shoot. Another side project I recently took an interest in to perhaps provide a bit of extra income if we need, but more to keep me active and out of the refrigerator (have I mentioned Peach is an EXCELLENT cook?) is becoming a “Home Inspector”, there seems to be a place for me as one, and it is something I could do when I wanted and not do when I was busy with other important matters (like fishing, hunting, napping is very important to me, also), it would require I attended classes either in person or online, and pass several tests (if you knew me you would know how much I dislike tests of any kind), but I think I could manage to do well enough to get licensed in the State to do it. I think I would be good at it as I have knowledge already from life experience and I have a willingness and want to help people. The biggest issue facing Peach and I as with most retirees is health insurance, but with Peach’s smarts and us listening to each others ideas, I believe we have a plan that will let us do what we want when we want without to much hassle.

It would appear from all the ideas about extra income that we are going to be working just as much as we do now, but that’s not the case, all these ideas are what float around in the mind of Batman when he has to much time on his hands. Y’all keep checkin back in, if for no other reason, you can see what scatterbrained ideas I come up with next.

“Now I get to enjoy some of your awesome chili huh, Peach?”

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coffee Faith family Fear focus Life life styles Time management

Range Day

Batman Says:

Today, today was a good day, with many things accomplished, some partially, others put off till another day. Today started with a perfect breakfast of Bacon and eggs cooked to perfection by Peach. I used the French press to make a batch of Black Rifle “Coffee or Die” coffee (yes, that’s a thing here). Showers, load the truck (watch Peach go back inside because she forgot her phone), head to the range for a class with one of our long time clients and she is bringing her daughter for the first time.

Great range session, I think some new skills were learned and I believe all had a good time. Peach and I try and be attentive to clients needs and wants at the range and tailor training specific for them, this one is a photographer, often off on her own. She is a super shot (trust me on this, she’s really good) so we worked on scenarios where she was photographing and had to drop the camera, draw and shoot, all which after a few slow repetitions, she did with moderate speed, and excellent skill. Her daughter who also is a great shot and safe gun handler, shoots a rifle with skill that would make some tough guys stand up and take notice (I did, as this was the first time meeting her), both mom and daughter made the morning very fun.

Backtracking a bit, I have been teaching people to shoot for a long (very very in case you must know) time, I am a NRA pistol instructor, a Police firearms instructor, a Class K (can give armed security guard firearms classes) instructor, and give Concealed Carry classes ( CCW classes to Law Enforcement and Military families are always free thru Peach and my Company). All this is done as a side to mine and Peach’s full time jobs, we do it because we feel people need good, safe and friendly training and the two of us together, do our best to give it.

So back to today..

Peach took the time today to do a little shooting with her Glock, and I did my best to help her do it right. She is already a good shot, and more important, she is SAFE WITH FIREARMS any time she handles them. Peach has a “block” issue, I’ve come to recognize this when she shoots. She is such a perfectionist that when a bullet does not go EXACTLY where she thought she was aiming at the point of trigger break, she gets frustrated and unconsciously blocks out any instruction.

At this point I’m going to point out an old saying I heard someplace “a husband should not try to teach his wife to shoot”, why? Because it can, and often does, lead to hurt feelings or worse. My personal belief is that if your relationship is a strong one, and you (that means you husbands, or boyfriends) can show superhuman patience and kindness, all the while smiling and being gracious, then by all means then teach them to shoot (yep, your prolly right, hire someone else). Ok back to the “block”….

Patience and repetitive skill sets will get you past the “block”, as stated earlier, Peach is a good shot and has the right mindset for self defense and for sport shooting. She wants to improve and wants to shoot more than we do. So today started what I hope to be a recurring theme of getting us out there shooting more together.

Today’s only issue with shooting for Peach was rounds impacting lower than she thought she was aiming. I could see the muzzle dipping at the point of trigger break (some would call this recoil anticipation but that was not why she was doing it). Peach’s issue wasn’t recoil anticipation it was lack of trigger time with this new gun, which has a firmer trigger pull. I had her dry fire (first time without her knowledge) and she immediately saw the muzzle dip. We worked a few times with dry fire and letting her use a bit more finger (leverage works no matter how small the lever) and after less than 5 minutes, the dip was gone. Live fire and she was back on the money, now after each reload she was still sending a few rounds low, but she recognized it and concentrated on the trigger break and front site and it all came together. She wanted to stop after one particular round of shooting, but me being somewhat obtuse ( think I used it right this time Peach) I had her shoot one more magazine, and I just stayed back and out of the way. Six rounds in the 2″ circle was the result, Peach was happy and I was happy for her (always try to end any skill contest on a good note).

None of this will mean much to a lot of people, it will offend some, and some will get it. Today was a “good day” for Peach and I and I hope it was a “good day” for you all as well.

I’m going to end this post with a hopeful request..

Say a prayer for their safety and give thanks for their sacrifices, and if you see a Soldier or a Police Officer tell them you appreciate all they do.

“No peach you cannot shoot an apple off my head no matter how good a shot you are”

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bible Faith family focus health Life life styles Uncategorized

Outside

Batman says:

Outside, the place not inside, not in your house, car, office, tent, bus, camper…you get the idea (if not, leave now, you’ll be bored). God created us outside, we have always been apart of the outside world, and most people, if they are honest, will admit they are happier when outside enjoying Gods creations.

When I was young (go on, make the jokes, but I was actually young, of course that was before cell phones and more than 3 channels on the tele) I spent every waking moment outdoors, traipsing through the woods, running barefoot everywhere, doing fun stuff. I actually had working trap-line before the hunters with dogs whined and got steel leg hold traps outlawed (if u can’t kill a deer without chasing it with dogs till it’s exhausted, then shoot it, maybe you need to rethink your hunting prowess).We kids ran all day, outside and pitched a fit when it was dark and Mom called us home to get a bath and go to bed. Never in our wildest dreams could we imagine sitting in front of a television screen and ‘playing’ games all day (we had Clue, Sorry, Monopoly board games and others for rainy days). Video games, even had they been around back then, I’m willing to bet would not have done as well with us as this last couple generations. The problem is the parents, they allow the television to be a fix all baby sitter. Parents do not take responsibility for their kids (I’ll give you the few rare ones that do, but in my job I see it daily) actions, they don’t set firm limits and when their kids act out they blame everyone else but themselves. Read a quote from an actor, don’t remember who but it goes “Respect is taught at home,If a child is disrespectful, it’s your fault, It’s not societies fault or a video games fault, it’s Yours”We were taught respect or we got a belt period. Think we grew up ok getting a spanking that we deserved. Anyways I got off on another post for later, this was headed in the right direction then a squirrel ran by and I was distracted.Outside, anyways back to that, I cannot imagine a more harsh punishment to a child of my time than to be told he or she could not go outside and play. It was as if the world turned upside down. Today, and today’s parents, their punishment consists of repeatedly telling their kids over and over not to do the same thing they keep doing. When the punishment is much simpler. Make them go outside and play, not to a friends to play videos, but outside in your yard or park and actually spend time outside in God’s masterpiece creation. I’m willing to bet that if you do this enough, video games will become second fiddle to being outside and physically having fun with their friends. As for the adults, don’t care what you say or do, you to need to get outdoors as much as possible, to rejuvenate your soul. God made this planet not only to live on, he made it for us to enjoy being out on. I am a firm believer that every time I go outside, even for a short period, that it takes worry and stress off my mind and body. If this were Peach’s post she could find a scripture instantly to match this ramble, sorry if have to look for one it will take a week.I will leave you all with this thought, think back, when you were young, on a trip or walk with your parents. Then think where you were when you had the most exciting and interesting fun together, I’m betting you were outside someplace. Folks, God made it for us, don’t waste it by staying inside looking out, go Outside and experience it.

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family Life life styles

Upgrade

Batman says:

Peach and I have decided to upgrade our ham licenses from Technician to General, which will like I explained in an earlier post, allow us more frequencies to converse on when we pass the test. “There’s a Test?? You know I stink at tests!!” to which Peach does as she always does, rolls her eyes and tells me to be serious, which kinda leads to the reason for this post (the test part not the me trying to be serious, which if you ask Peach, I rarely am).

I have often wondered what twisted personalities develop questions for Ham tests, I mean, if you look at them on the face they are a mixed jumble of technical jargon that the normal person has no clue what the meaning is (I’ll give a few examples in a bit). Now before all you Ham enthusiasts get all uppity, finish reading. There are two types of Ham operators, generally, I believe (leaving out the preppers, not because they don’t count but, because they mostly are using Ham for preparation for society collapse, good on ya for being prepared.) My two types are people that just want to turn on a radio, find some people talking and have a fun conversation, making new “contacts” and hopefully lifelong friendships. The other type also enjoys the same things, but these are the technical ones, the ones that desire to use computers, tinker with new equipment, find new ways to do things, which generally improves Ham radio for most others (except when it comes to tests).

The first user type is a young child or adult introduced to Ham at school or by a friend of the family or at a field day etc. They become excited to talk to people around the world (yes it’s possible to do) and enjoy doing so. This type does not care how the radio works, does not care how many volts equal a millivolt, kilovolt, volt cola or whatever. They just want to be able to talk and make friends. They will probably never open a radio up to fix a bad diode or bulb, won’t build or adjust antennas, will buy what’s best and use it based on what’s in the instruction manual. They want to know the rules, so they can follow them and be good Ham operators, and generally are happy with the knowledge they have.

Type two, the tinkerers, question everything, look for ways to talk farther, improve speed, make antennas easier to adjust (tune). These are the people that over the years, have improved Ham radio two-fold over what it was capable of doing in the early days, and they continue to question and try and improve each time they have a moment.

I believe both types have their place and both add something to Ham radio, and now the reason for the ramble:

Who writes these tests? I mean seriously??!! Why does a person need to know how many nanofarad’s equal a picofarad just to talk on a radio to someone?? Why do I care how the efficiency of a RF power amplifier is determined? Answer is “I don’t” except to upgrade my license, based on God knows who’s idea of what knowledge I need to be licensed to talk on Ham radio legally. This is where the two sides butt heads, the one side could care less, the other thinks everyone should know.

It’s my blog post (when Peach lets me call it that) so I’m gonna go out on a limb, why not make the test relevant to what you can and cannot do? Questions about the rules, would in my humble opinion, better serve the Ham community and teach what’s proper. By all means, if your type 2 then go forth and prosper, keep up the good work, but that’s no reason to expect the average person to learn how to calculate how long a wire antenna needs to be to be resonant on 80 meters (use the online calculators out there it’s easier).

Peach and I will wade through the technical crap that we will never use, and we will pass our tests (confidence is key) even though we believe it’s not relevant to why we are doing it. It has gotten “easier”, they took out the Morse code requirement (CW) which is weird because it would actually be relevant to a lot of people.

Anyways, I have to go learn what a discriminator, a mixer and other things I will never use are, the test is next month and my mind doesn’t like being crammed with useless knowledge, even if I only have to retain it till I pass the test.

Y’all take care

The pic above is all Peach and I use to talk on the air, it’s all we need.

Oh, when you write to give me heck, please use decent language, sometimes little kids read these posts to

73 y’all

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At the Workplace

Batman says:

Ever had that boss or coworker that just has to be right, has to be done their way or it’s wrong or stupid? Welcome to adulthood, where EVERYONE thinks their way is the only way something can or should be done. Yep, I fall in this category to at times, but knowing this I try and see another’s point of view and if an idea is better, then I grudgingly acquiesce to that way, usually after huffing and puffing around a bit.

Now I admit it readily and I am working on doing better at fixing it, but there are some, who no matter what, cannot seem to admit they have the same issues. These individuals are usually in positions that have a direct and proximate effect on others. They are the top of the tier, and those directing and or planning how others will do things. Without fail, they are highly educated, both academically and job field related training, or they have absolutely no job related skills and are in their position do to management training or education.

The common worker, the one that goes out and actually performs the tasks are more often than not, left out of ANY discussions on how the job they do should be done. These ‘expert’ bosses, have forgotten how, or never really did know, how the job is done in real life. They go to academies, they go to conferences, they attend training seminars and come back full of ‘great ideas’ on how the common worker should not only do the job, but how they should act and feel while doing it.

The gist of this musing is hopefully to inspire those that are in the position to make changes, to ask the worker bee, and their line supervisors for input and actually CONSIDER what is said to see if it has merit and not just disregard it out of hand because some class or group meeting you attended said their way was best.

Sometimes the least academically educated person in the room has the most of what 99% of us need and that’s COMMON SENSE.