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About bigskybuckeye

Born in the Big Sky Country of Montana and now living in the Buckeye State of Ohio, Richard is the creative mind behind Big Sky Buckeye. Retired after 40 years of teaching, I enjoy writing, photography, traveling, and following a healthy lifestyle.

Hubby’s Toolbox

 

combination wrench screw bolt and pointed top hammer

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Hello Big Sky Buckeye readers!  I am a housewife who has a story to share with you.  My dear husband is a great guy and a loving spouse, but I do have issues with his home maintenance skills.

I guess it is okay to tell you more here.  Just don’t tell my husband . . . okay?

My hubby’s toolbox is home for his most precious tools.  Fortunately, one particular tool is no longer found in his toolbox.  Please allow me to tell you why.

Every home has a bathroom commode (or as we Americans say, a toilet).  I think commode sounds much more elegant, and my home is definitely a beautiful place.

The commode “always” needs to be in perfect working order, and routine maintenance is sometimes required.  This aging commode needs a facelift as its seat is cracked.  Hubby says he can buy a new one and install it in a flash.  I remember him telling me, “No problem.”

Wives, have you ever heard your husband say the same thing?  Sometimes a “simple” job turns into a nightmare.

The rest of what I tell you comes directly from my dear hubby’s mouth (after he confessed to me all of the dreary facts).

A commode seat is attached to the porcelain bowl with a pair of bolts and nuts.  Seeing that this commode is an older model, the metal bolts and nuts have rusted together because of the passage of time and bathroom moisture.

My poor hubby strains and works to free up the nut on each bolt, but he is experiencing extra frustration.  He tries a couple of different wrenches, but the bolt and nut remain sealed for eternity (or so it seems to him).

But ah!  My hubby’s toolbox contains other usual devices.  He comes back to the bathroom with a hammer and a chisel.  (I kid you not!)  He plans to be careful, and a gentle nudge from the chisel will break off the rusted nut from each bolt.  I can just hear him saying, “This chisel will do the trick.”

Lying back under the commode to insure he has a proper angle, hubby positions the chisel carefully against the nut.  With a graceful swing of the hammer, everything will be okay.

Right?

Oh, so wrong!

The chisel slips off the nut, and the hammer busts out a small hole in the porcelain bowl.  Now, you know what husbands do when disaster hits.  They run out to the garage for a “deep thinking” session.

You know ladies; it is good to give your husband some space when he is working on a home maintenance project.  However, I become curious and wander into the bathroom to check on hubby’s progress.

Thinking he is finished, I decide to help him clean up.  (He has thoughtfully taken the hammer and chisel with him.)  There are some shavings of some kind in the bowl so I decide to flush them down and away.

Oh my!  I flush the commode, and the mother of all floods rushes onto my pristine bathroom floor.  With water everywhere, I sprint to the garage to locate my “deep thinking” hubby, who is in deep water now.

Well, let’s wrap up this story before I become aggravated again, and you all enjoy more laughs at my poor hubby’s expense.  We now have a three-color commode with slightly differing shades of color for the seat, the bowl, and the original tank.

Yes, my husband manages to replace the seat, but he needs to return to Home Depot to purchase a new porcelain bowl.  We won’t even go into the rest of the mess he makes in replacing the bowl . . . oh my goodness!

Hubby’s chisel now hangs in the garage since it has been banished from sitting in his toolbox ever again.  Next to the chisel, rests a note (from yours truly).  The note states, “Remember to Always Think.”

Wives (and husbands), can I let you in on a quick tip?  Always call a professional!

Vance Havner Quote

board chalk chalkboard exam

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I still believe we ought to talk about Jesus.  The old country doctor of my boyhood days always began his examination by saying, “Let me see your tongue.”  That’s a good way to check a Christian:  the tongue test.  Let’s hear what he is talking about.

From Proverbs 10:14:  “The wise lay up knowledge, but the babbling of a fool brings ruin near.”

Monday Memories: Sweet Tasting Fruit Cake

Today’s memory was published about a year ago, and this poem has been updated from its original form.  Taking this fruit cake down from the shelf, it is being re-gifted to you.  Enjoy!

Another Christmas is approaching, soon to be here

Sharing a delicious treat, makes one’s mission clear

 

Chef Benson’s “Old Home Classic” has been baked

Dashing to a local grocery, purchasing some to take

 

Christmas fruit cakes filling a shopping cart

Making each shopper feel clever and smart

 

Each cake is guaranteed to surprise and please

Weighing a full pound, taste buds will be teased

 

Each fruit cake is prepared with home-baked care

Allowing many, many others to send one to share

 

The highest quality ingredients go into every slice

Producing a rich sweetness that will likely entice

 

The special recipe includes ingredients plus yummy fruit

Filled with golden raisins, cherries, and pineapple to suit

 

Pecan and walnut pieces add much to the flavor

Tasting this delicious cake is something to savor

 

Each serving is filled with additional nutrition so great

Adding high fructose corn syrup, hunger meets its fate

 

Benson’s special fruit cake makes a great gift each year

Sending to family and special friends, far away and near

 

Every sweet box arrives without any expiration date

Re-gifting this cake to someone else, may be its fate

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This delectable fruit cake is just waiting for someone to taste!

 

Lonely Road

From 2 Corinthians 3:18:  “And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit.”

landscape photography of withered tree

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Sometimes life resembles a lonely road

Walking endless miles, filling with shame

Surrounded by darkness, bearing life’s load

Feeling mixed up, never into the game

 

God’s Word and Spirit bring transformation

Empty, spiritual desert . . . leaving now

Bringing dramatic change, new foundation

An oasis of faith becomes a vow

 

Discovering new hope, suffering ends

God’s light shines ahead of our faithful steps

Stumbling and failing, no longer contend

God’s Glory reigns supreme, without missteps

 

Old ways transforming to a better life

Exchanging total control with our Lord

God’s Grace gives, without cutting like a knife

His everlasting love, brings rich accord

 

God’s army of angels, walking ahead

Lonely road left . . . following Christ instead

willow tree angel figurine

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Haiku Series #43 (With God)

Bringing Comfort

Worries, anxiety

Will all come out in the wash—

Leave it with Jesus

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Photo by Kevin Menajang on Pexels.com

 

Waiting

Messiah, Prince of Peace

Advent proclaims His coming—

Jesus, our Savior

red lighted candle

Photo by Nubia Navarro (nubikini) on Pexels.com

 

Ultimate Love

God in human form

Greatest gift ever given—

Blessed Salvation

backlit cemetery christianity clouds

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Lee Strobel Quote

statue of jesus

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God is the God of do-overs, and that should give us great hope.  We really can be absolved of our past.

From Acts 22:6-8:  “[From the conversion of Paul] While I was on my way and approaching Damascus, about noon a great light from heaven suddenly shone about me.  I feel to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’  I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ Then he said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth whom you are persecuting.'”

2 in 1 Barnabas Award

Renee from Heart Tokens has graciously nominated me for this Barnabas Award.  I am truly humbled by her appreciation of my writing.

If you have not visited Renee’s site, I encourage you to do so.  She is a Christian who shares her faith without reservation.  She inspires many readers with her praise and love of God while sharing other experiences in her life.

The Barnabas Award is presented in recognition of encouragement and inspiration a blogger brings to his or her readers.

How the award works:

  1. Thank the person who nominated you, and share their blog.
  2. Think of five bloggers that encourage and inspire you and nominate them.
  3. List five things about yourself and answer the questions.
  4. Lastly, ask your nominees five questions. Why five? Because it is the number that signifies grace.

Five things about me:

I am a retired teacher who’s turned to writing.  After 40 years in the classroom, my writing journey has been a true joy.

I now live in Ohio, the Buckeye State.

I grew up in Montana.  I will always look forward to visiting my homeland under the Big Montana Sky.

I grew up with five siblings (four brothers and one sister).  I’m the oldest, for better or worse.

I have nine grandchildren between my blended family in Ohio and Montana.  The most recent addition arrived on November 29 . . . a boy.

Here are the answers to Renee’s questions:

If you were given as much money as it took to change something for the good, what would be that one thing you would choose?

Eliminate hunger across the world.  I am far too blessed with what I’ve been given.

What is one trait from a bible character that you wish you had/or am currently working on having more of?

Witness the Lord’s Word much as Apostle Paul did.  I have felt God’s nudges to write more Christian-themed poetry as a way to share my faith.

If you could have been in the crowd that day the young man had the loaves and fish lunch, what do you think your modern-day lunch would have consisted of?

My lunch would have consisted of the same fishes and loaves.  To humbling break bread with Jesus would be a life-changer.

If you had a choice, which would you do, stop world hunger or stop bullying?

I already addressed hunger, so I would then turn my attention to removing bullying from our culture—schools, workplace, on the street, politics, and so many other places.  Jesus commands us to love one another, just as our Lord loves us.

Do you believe that we can change the world by the words we speak? Whether negative or positive?

We can change the world in a positive way, one conversation at a time.  The world definitely needs more positivity.

Here are my five questions to my nominees:

What do you like most about blogging?

Who serves as one of your main inspirations for life?

Do you have a favorite quote or verse from Scripture?  Feel free to share it.

If you could change one negative thing in our world, what would you want to change?

Besides God and Jesus, who is a person or an event which you enjoy reading about from the Bible?

My nominees:

To those whom I give this award to, I dearly appreciate you for your unwavering inspiration.   If you wish, you are invited to participate.

Deb

Sonrisa

Jason

Suzette

Robbie

 

Friday, the 13th

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Does Friday, the 13th, bring on bad luck?

Breaking a mirror, let’s not make a scene

Crossing paths with a black cat, now fear struck

This Friday’s trying hard, to make us scream

 

Let’s focus on a different number

Twelve delivers a comforting meaning

Twelve Days of Christmas, never to shudder

Twelve Tribes of Israel, never demeaning

 

For some people, “thirteen” seems unlucky

Not really sure why others whine and fuss

Heading out the door with my dog Lucky

Snow flurries in June, now that’s treasonous!

 

So, what’s the big deal about the 13th?

Just change the calendar to the 14th

horseshoe luck sidewalk

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