Tom, Aspiring Simpleton
@bgcts
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CEO, Bluegrass Critical Thinking Solutions; Strategic Planner; Ldrshp Coach; Peasant, Traveler, Reader, Writer, Localist; Husband/ Dad/ Deda; I got a guy...
Joined February 2015
Truth isn't good or bad. It just is. Truth doesn't change based on the rank of the recipient. If you can't state the evidence that would change your mind, you don't care about truth. Love your neighbor; no caveats. Goodness breeds goodness. Travel is fatal to bigotry & prejudice.
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What a day. Searched for and found wife's family in ancestral village in mountains of Croatia. Drove 2.5 hrs up and asked random woman on road about the two family names. She said to ask this other guy, who told us yep they're still around. Then found group of guys drinking beer
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This is community in Genoa that I've never seen, let alone, experienced in the US. This is the entire neighborhood turning out for the annual dinner. 1km long. Wealthy & poor eat together. Cause they live in close proximity, not apart. Drink wine. Everyone brings what they can.
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I met an old timer joiner (guild member!) today who's letting us use his saw mill and teaching us how to do old time work. There's guys like this out there still. Find them. Ask them to teach you.
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@Empty_America I was turned away by DIA from bring an Air Attache in the balkans after the AF had selected me because I had too much experience in the region, spoke the language with native fluency and did my masters thesis on the country. This is a true story.
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Received and planted 25 American Chestnuts (15/16ths) today. 3 groves planted. I hope i live long enough to see my great grandkids harvesting the nuts and spreading them far and wide. This is genuine Retvrn
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10 years ago this was 8 acres of pasture. Hayed 2-3 times a year. Now a growing forest. With morels and orchids. That first picture, if you zoom in, will show those are trees, not bushes and that is a long trail. You can do this. You really can
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At dinner tonight (in Venice, Italy) the owner asked me if everything was good. I said, yes, the food is fine. He says what about everything else. I say, Bene. He says, what is it? (Mind you this is all in Italian and I can't believe it's just happening as if I can actually speak
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And what I didn't say yesterday (too tired to write longer post) was this was the second such meeting of the day. Wife's cousins husband in MN was who gave us all the info on wife's family village from his studies. He asked that if we were gojng, could we find his grandfather's
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The past was a different country. My grandfather & his brother survived a German POW camp in WWII. They took a boat to the US Dec 1947. Settled one inside & one on the edge of this box in 1960. Grandfather was a janitor at a fine men's clothier. His brother a construction worker.
To me, this is the best real estate in the world. Half acre lots, a block to the beach, walkable city life, no crime, still connected to LA and complete privacy. Current entry level price: $14 million
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You can plant small fruit trees in your yard and in 5 years be harvesting more fruit than you can eat and no HOA or mean Twitter troll can stop you. And you'll be really happy.
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Forests mimic cathedrals. Cathedrals mimic forests. God created on. God inspired the other. We should ponder the similarities. We should give thanks for both. We should regenerate our great woods. We should build great churches anew like our forebears did. Together.
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@Jeremyakee - My woods where the creeks meet.- Halfmoon Pass, Lagarita Mountains, Colorado.- Oriase Gorge, below Lake Towada, Japan.- Dobra Voda, Serbia.- Montgomery Redwoods Grove, CA.- Star Lake, WI.- Mass.
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@no_grave_ We're planting them here! I'll never see them mature but maybe my great grandkids will. I hope so.
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Here's one for people who aren't sure bricks last or are strong. These ceiling vaults in Genoa are from the 5th century. This is the ground floor of a 6-story building. Those are marble block columns. The buildings all have modern plumbims and electric. Ancient bones.
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Peasant meal. Peasant table. Peasant home. How wonderful and truly joyful life can be when we lower the bar of contentment.
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My mom carried me out of a communist country as a baby on a train waiting to be seized and sent back. Then cleaned houses while we lived in a tiny flat above a brothel in Paris. Came to the US, became a Bank VP and FBI analyst. Toughest woman I know, still grows her own food.
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2012 hayed pasture. 2022 growing forest. At least 6 oak species, Walnuts, 4 hickory species, Chestnuts, beech, poplar, birch, aspen, white and red pine, spruce, black cherry, wild persimmon, ash, cedar, Linden, etc and a ton of fruit trees. Now an animal zoo. You can do this.
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~3+ lb hazelnuts from one bush. You can do this in your yard. Free food.
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Well, it is finished. 2 year project. From cutting down trees, to milling them to stacking & drying, to cutting to size, to putting onto ceiling. GK Chesterton: A thing worth doing is worth doing badly. St John Paul II: Be not afraid!.You can do this. Be patient, work hard.
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For those following our reforestation effort at Angel Hill Farm or considering their own, here are pictures from 12 years ago and this week. Same land. Zoom in.
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Tiger moth caterpillars are notorious for predicting the upcoming winter. The wider the orange band on the black body the milder the winter. Here's one of many from the garden this morning. Zero orange on any I've seen all autumn. Goes along with what Persimmon seeds show as well
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The color, Chartreuse, comes from the French abbey of that name which makes the green liqueur. It was the excellence but super high cost of that liqueur that drove me to try to make my own. This green is only 12 hours old! This will make the healthiest, best digestif anywhere.
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This is really true. 11 years, before and after
Planting trees every year is a gift that you give to your future self, future generations, future critters, and future communities. There isn't much immediate reward, and when it starts to trickle in its almost as an unexpected gift. And then wave after wave, the gift amplifies.
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Distrubutism and localism can work even in the city. They're not nearly as wealthy as we are. Yet they live far better than most of us, are far more content, have infinity less stress.
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This, my friends, is a very tall, and very healthy, Shagbark Hickory tree
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Wife's sister and BIL liked it here so much they bought 45 acres near us. 2 creeks. Beautiful land with some steep hills, some gentle, lots of walnuts and cedars and Maples. Young hackberries and pandemic of honey locusts. Strong freshening breeze nearly every day.
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House hack.If you have the opportunity while building (or after) consider sinking cistern to catch rain water. We have 1.5k gallon in ground tank on downspouts. Have never used municipal water on garden 10 yrs. Also have muni water spigot for outdoor shower.Cold showers hot days
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Northern WI. Endless miles of publicly funded walk/bike/ski/snowmobile trails. Extremely well maintained. Not a D or R issue. All want this so pay. Could never happen in a libertarian utopia (whatever that is). These are used year round. They're *everywhere*. Btwn towns & lakes.
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Went out to get maple buckets this am. Surprise dusting of snow in woods. Starting process of boiling down 5 gallons. That makes 1 pint syrup. 40:1. I'm taking it to a quart to use this spring for liqueur when chamomile blooms. House smells delightful today.
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Daughter 3 is in preterm labor with baby 4. Gonna be a wee little preemie. She's tough. She's exhausted. Baby is good. 3 little ones at home won't see him for a while. Sky shows silver lining amid storms. Positive signs.
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Warning: discomfort ahead. Our small town in KY has a homeless camp being Auto Zone on the creek. Gonna be single digit cold for a week. Lady at our Parish has been battling city hall for a long time about shelter. We give clothes to the homeless from Amen Corner at our Parish.
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Walking to surgery this morning before shuttle service begins
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I reforest the earth by pulling saplings from one place where they would struggle and compete and putting them where I want a future forest to be where the saplings are free and can grow fast. So far it has worked great.
If you don’t have a tree nursery you can’t reforest the earth. How can you reforest the earth if you don’t have a tree nursery?
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@JeremyTate41 Another major flex is the doors of the Roman Senate which Caesar walked through to proclaim himself emperor are now on St John Lateran, the mother cathedral of the world.
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Held baby Noah first time in NICU tonight. He's a strong little man. Way beyond expected for 7 weeks early. We live in good times. I'm glad he's doing so well. The other 3 little ones are running us ragged, but that's good. Our daughter & her husband are home now. Long road ahead
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I'm certain the idea of the perfect acorn is silly to most. Not to me. I marvel at these little containers. This nut contains a mighty tree to live centuries or food to be ground into meal for breads. I love nature.
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In 1966, Grandfather asked Rep Bob Dornan to help him get his daughter and family over here from France after she and her kid (me) escaped from Yugoslavia. We landed may 1966 and lived in crappy apartments but with no crime. I wandered the city and went to beach alone as a kid.
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@alancornett They think they're being edgy. Except no so much. Also they're differentiating their subscribers, most of whom are puzzles and recipe subscribers who wouldn't see that article. Not edgy.
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@LandsknechtPike @RizomaSchool This is a well preserved surviving example of that system from the Roman fortress of Diana in Kladovo, Serbia. You can see the floor of the banquet room and the air entrance for the fires below the floor. Radiant heat. 100 AD. The spot where Trajan built bridge across the Danube
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Some people have reached out, so here's a thread about what things looked like before, then a few years ago and then today. The key take away is that you can do this if you want on your land. Some want to clear it. We're reforesting. 2012 to today. Walk with me. Angel Hill Farm.
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I think this is right. Very intelligent wife gave up a career to stay home & raise 4 kids. We moved a lot. I didn't make 100k till last two years of career. We saved. Now I can be selective with clients. We visit grandkids, travel, leaving them land, legacy. Not hard. Really.
Obtaining a household income of 200K+ via having both parents in full time "professional" work is no longer aspirational for many Americans. It reduces your chances of having a big happy family and lots of grandkids. That kind of lifelong grinding is immigrant-coded TBH.
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Just watched Its A Wonderful Life with son and daughter-in-law (who had never seen). Older i get the more I cry during the movie. I understand it more and more. It's about Mary as much or more than George. Watch the film again. Empty your cup. Be open to the message.Love everyone.
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He's nearly giddy teaching us the mill. He's not just good at what he does, he's truly generous. We're having him over for dinner this week. He showed me his books on woodworking. We're gonna cut a lot of wood
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My friends @jdflynn & @canonlawyered started a Catholic news outlet a few year ago. Several of my friends support them monthly so they can feed their kids, pay their mortgage & report what no others will. I read this piece to my wife and cried doing so. Not metaphorically. But.
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This *may* be the best thing I've ever seen on this app.
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In the Chateau de Annecy today there is a display of medieval furniture and it is still in workable condition. Absolutely practical (beds with walls to keep in heat) and lasting craftsmanship. All made to take apart and reassemble quickly.
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Romans built this bridge 2000 years ago. We could build this today if we decided to. Our math and computers are better but not what's in our hearts.
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No amount of cash to families is going to make them have more kids. It's not about money. It's not about child care. It's slightly about car seats in small cars, but slightly. It's a natural result of the Enlightenment winning. The individual over the family. It taught that you,
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@prchovanec “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.”.― Mark Twain.
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There are countless who look at this, without air and water, and genuinely believe it it will save humanity. Yet they cannot figure out how to live in the Rub al Khali or Sahara or grow plants there.
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@no_grave_ There'll be three groves on land we're reforesting. Along with lots of black walnut, oak of multiple species, hickory, beech etc. This is how you make America great again. Trees. Soil. Creeks. Connection to land.
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@aspiringpeasant When I bought our farm 21 years ago most of the old growth oaks in the woods were marked for logging. I stopped that asap. But you could get $2-3k per tree. Yeah No. They're worth way more to the animals for food, to me for saplings and to the earth cause they're awesome.
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@shagbark_hick We (@alancornett and I) take guests to this street every year on Cultural Debris Excursions. Our guests are blown away by the lifestyle there. The people they meet are far more content with life on far less than we have here. In terms of money, that is. Their apartments are the
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@archi_tradition I'd say that one except it's no longer a church. 😢. So St Peter's first and then a close race btwn Gesu, San Siro and Assunta all in Genoa
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Grandson Noah Benjamin born this morning. 5.5 lbs. For a 7 wk early preemie he is strong. Long ways to go. Thanks for your prayers. Will take his sisters and brother to see him in NICU today.
Daughter 3 is in preterm labor with baby 4. Gonna be a wee little preemie. She's tough. She's exhausted. Baby is good. 3 little ones at home won't see him for a while. Sky shows silver lining amid storms. Positive signs.
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Mutuals, which of you is this?.Be honest. Fess up and raise your hand. Pretty much all guys.
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I mean, where do you start?.- Poverty is caused by capitalism.- Medieval people were dirty and stupid.- There's no such thing as a slippery slope.- Assisted suicide will never expand beyond terminal illness.- If you sold the art owned by the Church you'd end poverty.- Gov't cares.
Name one thing you were told as a kid that you later learned was completely false. I'll start: "The medieval Church was evil and greedy and only tried to control people.". That's an utter lie. The Church built hospitals, established universities, commissioned art, gave alms to
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Málaga Cathedral teaser. More coming later. Glorious. Glory be
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The University of the South in Sewanee, TN. The third pic is of the new dining hall. Built to look old. Recently tore down old gym and built another to fit in with old architecture. This is possible. It cost no more (prob less in long run) than building ugly.
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Need strong energy before going into the woods for hours of splitting. I think this is a genuine breakfast of champions. Buttered toast. Avocado. Shredded Parmesan. Fried egg. Flavor is just magnificent. And energy for the day. God bless you all, my friends.
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Best old door seen so far in Bologna. Old. Door within the door. Magnificent
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@Toomertastic One of my favorite chur he's in the world. Accidented on a choral concert one visit. Empty on another. Packed yet another time. Can't get enough.
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Romantic nostalgia for something that never was (large loving contented happy families working on the farm) is weird to me. Nobody forced those masses from the farm to factory. And they willingly went to the factories. You can say they should have been happy on the farm. Not
I highly recommend that you read Akenfield. There are a handful of modern books about pre-modern European life that were written "just in time" before it all vanished. Akenfield is a big one.
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rn.Awaiting Good Friday Liturgy to begin in Seville. First Gothic church built in Spain. Built by people who had little and believed much.
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@archeohistories Yes, my favorites are those that span buildings so as not not occupy land. Brilliant and still habitable. France and Italy. Thousands of examples of this
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Peach tree branches bent to the ground under weight of fruit.
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Grandson came home from NICU today after 4 weeks. He's still 3 weeks premie. But what joy in that family.
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There is a lot to unpack in this picture. How people dressed. How close they lived. How many kids were out and about. How much time was spent getting and preparing food for the day.
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Friends, if we need a reason for doom that is closer and more practical than climate change, we might look at the responses in any threads on Asheville. Everyone seems to be asking why nobody is doing anything to save everyone. I cannot overstate how important The Illusion of.
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Pretty much any community today could build a site like this today. A church or abbey, homes, shops. It's not a matter of can. Genuine question, what would a community need to believe about itself and the world to do this again?.
Le Mont-Saint-Michel; Normandy, France. When Christianity expanded to the area, around the 4th Century CE, Mont Tombe – the original name of Mont-Saint-Michel – was part of the Diocese of Avranches. By the middle of the 6th Century CE, Christianity had a stronger presence in the
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If you defended a medieval castle, archers had wide angles while attackers had to hit narrow slits
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Reupping from yesterday. Basilica St John of God, Granada
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Rooftops in the Aosta Valley are nearly 100% large slate tiles. The weight of these roofs requires strong timber framing. Also most of these houses are stone. Including this lovely home that sprawls up a hillside and has multiple units under one roof. cc @ErikBootsma
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@JeremyTate41 The Chesterton Schools Network is quietly becoming the fastest growing schools network in the country. Classical. Catholic. Rigorous. True. Beautiful. Good. @chestertonsoc.
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@aspiringpeasant No crap. When my book club meets, every guy works to make something unique and corresponding to the book. Takes effort. Makes everything better. Shows love. Love the Uber wealthy have lost along the way.
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10 years ago a hayed meadow, now a thriving growing forest. with portals
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Neighbor's grandson caught this massive rainbow out in the river today on a fly just after saying good morning to Mrs and me. Nice young man. Didn't even weigh it. Just out it back in the river.
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@silvopasturist 12 yrs ago vs today.Oaks, Chestnuts, walnuts fruits. Water sink. Running creeks. Wildlife. On only 15 acres plus guerilla reforest ING of neighbors 8 acres.
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Post a book that isn't discussed nearly enough
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One could easily break a thumb reposting this so hard.
Until you let us build climate appropriate human scaled streets and neighborhoods and towns like this I don't want to hear another word about climate change or carbon emissions. Places where you do not need to be hooked up, where you and your family has roots, or can be rooted.
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House in Umbria for $90k. Near bus stop, one stop from town with groceries & restaurants. 5G service. Mostly free health care. Sunshine. Slow life. Yes, you'd have to move, but it's available. Or you could find the same in Iowa for even less. But don't say it doesn't exist.
Here's a 2583 square foot (240m/s) house for sale in rural Umbria - safe, quiet, beautiful - 15 mins from supermarkets/schools, etc. 20 mins to the Norcia monastery. €90,000. (US $92,836).
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If you're patient, you can plant trees into a nice tree-lined drive. Take your time. They'll grow. Put several species in there. It's ok. Your kids and grandkids will mark the time by the trees getting bigger
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@Empty_America We have a lot of people over for dinners. Most do not reciprocate. That is not an issue. We do not ask them over to get a return invite. Often we have them back again and again. Everyone has their own reasons for not having someone or anyone over.
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I had the priviledge to witness my FiL's passing into his eternal rest this morning. He was held by his wife and two of his daughters. It was lovely to see. And on this holy day. What a blessing.
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Join me on a walk through the woods and "Meadow" to pick herbs for liqueur. We starts in the garden with marjoram, thyme, catmint, spearmint, and hops. The we head out to the woods for some witch Hazel, and a bunch of sassafras.
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The clan has begun gathering. They'll all be here over the next 48 hours.
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