AWW!

How precious! The little younguns have all growd up! Nah...for real..we have an awesome family and I love getting to spend time with you guys! Let's do this more often, okay!?!?

To Self, From Phil

Wow. Did you ever once hang around your school after hours, after the lights had gone down, and happen to wander into one of your classrooms, now empty?

Deja Vu.

I made a new friend. She showed up at the house in Bulls Gap. So I fed her.
She is the dog with no name, Shedder of Hair, Defiler of Sweaters!

The Fabulous Prize Arrived!!! Love it!

Cari is a person of her word......she promised fabulous and she delivered fabulous, especially to this Patricia Cornwell aficionado! In the mail today I received Food to Die For, a cookbook by Patricia herself. Cari had no idea, but I also have another cookbook by Patsy, Scarpetta's Winter Table, and I had planned to purchase this one as well. Thank you, thank you, thank you! I am well-pleased. You are very thoughtful to remember our conversation about my taste in mystery writers! And the pictures of the dishes in this cookbook are enough to make me gain weight just looking at them! Can't wait to try them; one that calls my name is the key lime meringue pie. Or the lasagna with artichokes, or the Jack Daniels pie....well, you see the dilemma!
Now as to whatever happened to poor Fluffy.....well, all I can say is "poor Fluffy!"
(Sorry, fold-ees, this is an inside joke concerning the (in Cari's own words) "sick" card that accompanied my fab prize!)
I am happy with my prize, and I thank you very much for the great honor bestowed upon me in being declared the winner of the contest. (Taking a deep bow)

Happy Birthday to Barney and Cynthia

Barney already celebrated his birthday on Tuesday of this week, and Cynthia's is coming up on Saturday. Our senior group at church had a cookout at our leader's house, and she made it into a birthday party for Barney with a cake, so he was well-pleased.. not to mention well-fed!

Long live the fold!

Hello All!
Hope everyone is doing well. I know this is a busy time for most everyone. But many thanks to those of you who continue to post and comment. The students have just come back en masse. As you might have gathered I made it safely home astride the big yellow pony. If I had not, receiving this post from me would be quite spooky. Everyone is fairly well at our house. Someone dropped off a puppy that we are caring for until we can find her a home. She has made a practice of shredding the morning paper before we get up. So you will find me most mornings gathering soggy newspaper scraps out of the yard. She is very lively and sweet-tempered (even though she appears to be mostly pit-bull). Right now we are calling her Priscilla (we thought a prissy name would be funny for a dog that is decidedly not). Her puppiness is annoying the other dogs, but we might end up keeping her anyway. In other doggy news, during their annual check-up Zeke was diagnosed with heart worm. The vet said we caught it very early and he has an excellent chance of making a full recovery. However it will be uncomfortable for him and will require him to be on restricted activity for 2 months. He starts treatment in about a week, so just keep him in your thoughts. I wanted Erin to know that everyone here agrees that Ella would be a great Baby Gap model. I put up the picture you gave me in my office. She is really working that jean skirt! I also wanted to announce that Sossie has won the "Name the Volvo" contest. Your "fabulous" prize is shipping in the next few days. Philip, as much as I loved your submission, unfortunately it would never fit on the air-brushed vanity plate I had in mind for the front of the car. Speaking of cars, thanks Phil for humoring me and the big yellow beast. I had a lovely time tooling around with you. We will have to do it again soon. I'm glad you are enjoying college so far. I always knew you would.
Love to you all!
B

Books and Backhoes

Yes'm, I went to my first drill weekend. Although the experience as a whole was undesirable, it wasn't as bad as I expected. Not a very complicated group, these guys. Quite...cheery. Although, it DOES trouble me that the Sgt. over all the HE operators doesn't even know where the parking brake is on a backhoe. Hmmm. As far as school is concerned, that went outstanding, and I've been beating myself in the head trying to find the reason why I didn't go there in the first place. I have two classes with friends (after a bit of tinkering, naturally, although this DID cause me to lose my Tues. and Thurs. off days), and I look forward to seeing how it's going to pan out. Never thought I'd hear myself say that, though......

Phil

All right, already! Let's get this blogspot active!

'K, peeps, it has been waaaay too long since anyone has posted ANYTHING in the Shepherd's Fold. Makes me wonder if the Fold has folded! Now, we aren't going to let that happen, so let's hear from everyone soon. We want to know how the first weekend of duty went for Phil, and how WSCC is going. We need to hear from Jenny as to her class, etc., this year. Cari, how was your trip back, and how were the four-leggeds faring? We always love pics of sweet Baby Ella when Erin has time to post, and Shep, wassup with you? Leese, wouldn't hurt you to post a line or two either. Jonathan, when you get back from the wilds, I know you will have a lot to tell us. Just in case we don't get back together before, have a smashing good Labor Day weekend, and Go, Vols!
Big huggin's to all of you from Sis/Aunt/Mama Soss.

Happy late birthday, Cari!

I know we all wished you happy birthday on the real day, but here we have this great blog, made for all of us by you, and we didn't even mention your special day. Soooo, have a wonderful Thursday-after-your-birthday! It has been so nice getting to see you this week, even though I am sorry that it was all at the hospital. Know that we are very proud of you and love you big time!

Bathroom to Battlefield

Please, let it be known that male Marines know how to implement the use of tampons only on the battlefield! I don't think my new unit would appreciate a shipment of those. I myself have not received tampon combat training, but, personally, I wouldn't pass on a chance to become a well-trained Maxi-medic.

Phil

Marines and a Tampon (it's ok to read! don't worry!)

Someone sent me this in e-mail today, and I wanted to share it with all of you. Hope that is OK to do on a blog; if I am breaking rules, please let me know!

Subject: MARINES AND TAMPONS (A GREAT STORY)

Tampons to the rescue in Iraq!! Don't worry, it's a good
story, and worth reading. It's even humorous in parts. It's from the
mother of a Marine in Iraq.

My son told me how wonderful the care packages we had
sent them were and wanted me to tell everyone thank you. He said that
one guy we'll call Marine X, got a girl care package and everyone was
giving him a hard time. My son said, "Marine X got some really nice
smelling lotion and everyone really likes it, so every time he goes to
sleep they steal it from him." I told my son I was really sorry about
the mistake, and if he wanted I would send Marine X another package.
He told me not to worry about Marine X because every time I send
something to him, Marine X thinks it's for him too.

He said when my husband and I sent the last care package,
Marine X came over to his cot picked up the box, started fishing
through it, and said, "What'd we get this time?"

My son said they had the most fun with Marine X's
package. He said he wasn't sure who we were sending the pack to, but
the panties were size 20, and he said one of the guys got on top of
the Humvee and jumped off with the panties over his head and yelled,
"Look at me, I'm an Airborne Ranger!!!!" One of the guys attached the
panties to an antenna and it blew in the wind like a windsock. He said
it entertained them for quite awhile. Then of course.......they had those
tampons.

When he brought this up, my imagination just went running,
but he continued. My son said they had to go on a mission and Marine X
wanted the Chap-Stick and lotion for the trip. He grabbed a bunch of
the items from his care package and got in the Humvee. As luck would
have it he grabbed the tampons too, and my son said everyone was
teasing him about "not forgetting his feminine hygiene products."

He said things went well for a while, then the convoy was
ambushed and a Marine was shot. He said the wound was pretty clean,
but it was deep. He said they were administering first aid but
couldn't get the bleeding to slow down, and someone said, "Hey! Use
Marine X's tampons!" My son said they put the tampon in the wound. At
this point my son profoundly told Me, "Mom, did you know that tampons
expand?" ("Well....yeah!")

They successfully slowed the bleeding until the guy got
better medical attention. When they went to check on him later The
surgeon told them, "You guys saved his life. If you hadn't stopped
that bleeding he would have bled to death." My Son said, "Mom, the
tampons sent by the Marine Moms by mistake saved a Marine's life."

At this point I asked him, "Well, what did you do with the
rest of the tampons?"

He said, "Oh, we divided them up and we all have them in
our flak jackets, and I kept two for our first aid kit."

I am absolutely amazed by the ingenuity of our Marines. I
can't believe that something that started out as a mistake then turned
into a joke, ended up saving someone's life. My sister said she
doesn't believe in mistakes. She believes God had a plan all along.
She believes that "female care package" was sent to Marine X to save our
Marine.

OK ONE MORE PIC

Ok now I do know how to do this. I will try harder and send updated pics of baby girl. Gosh who does she look like???? Not me.

Happy 20th Phil

First: Happy Birthday Big Phil.......... Notice the shirt.....and to Jonathan a little late... Better go ahead and wish you a good one as well B!

Second: Hope Emily is feeling better soon. Not sure what nerve block she had, but I have had 2 in my back a week apart. Not fun.

Third: Sorry we missed the pool party. Did not get email from Soss til today. Work has put a block on the computers, so I cannot check the Shep blog from work anymore. My computer is not moving very fast at home. This is taking me forever to type right now.

Fourth: Hmmmmm what comes next? Just a very busy mom, who is trying to do it all. Not succeeding at it.....

Fifth: Cari here is Jonathan's address in Maine 48 Hemlock St. apt. 2 Bangor, ME 04401

OK last thing for now. If you guys plan anything again please email me: erinroth@gmail.com

I can check that at work.

Oh wait one more thing. I am going to try and post a pic. I DID IT! Please if anyone is ever in K-town please come on by.

Love to all,

Erin

Emily's procedure went well

Emily is back home from her "nerve block" (yes, it has a big old name that I can't remember) that she underwent this afternoon, and all went well with the actual procedure. Now everybody please pray that this will effectively do a number on those nerves so she can be rid of that nasty pain. It truly has been a monumental PITA!!!

Go Phil! A teenager no more!

Can it really be 20 years since that itsy bitsy boy arrived somewhat unexpectedly on that hot August day? Hope your birthday has been a good one so far, and that it only gets better for the rest of the week. Then you can pass the baton to Cari, and she can reign for her birthday week.
Loved spending time with you and those of the family who got to attend Saturday night. We just simply need to do this visitin' thing more often!
Big birthday hugs, and Molly sends cyber-slobbers.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PHILIP!

Thanks for coming!

Just wanted to say thank you guys for spending some time with us the sat. night! Loved seeing you and laughing like crazy people! Please come back very soon and KNOW THAT YOU HAVE AN OPEN INVITE!!! I love you! Phil...do I have to call every morning?!? haha!

Hugs,
Leese

Ready to eat/swim/visit?

Hi, y'all. Sharon has been covered over this week plus dealing with migraines and wedding plans, so she hasn't had a chance to post the details of our shin-dig tomorrow evening. We were waiting to see how the heat was going to be before we set the time for sure, so let's try for 6:30. There will still be plenty of time for anyone who wants to swim, but it won't be quite as hot as earlier (crossing my fingers). Looks like the menu is grilled chicken, dawgs, and burgers with the fixin's, ranch beans, cornbread salad, cake and cookies, scoops and salsa. Hopefully there will be something everybody will like. Bring your swimsuit if you like; I doubt that the neighbors would appreciate skinny-dipping! Erin, we know you have plans for Saturday, but if you get a chance, come on up for as long as you can. I would love to see that sweet Ella spashing in the pool! Looking forward to seeing everyone in less than 24 hours!

OK, here is my name for the Volvo

I am entering Ingrid as my name for your Swedish beauty. Now of course none of you is old enough to remember Ingrid Bergman in her heyday, but she was quite the gal. Be forewarned: you will have to keep Ingrid away from hot Italian cars like Ferraris, Fiats, Maseratis, etc. The original Ingrid left her nice Swedish hubby Dr. Peter Lindstrom and gave birth to twins by Italian director Roberto Rosellini ( not sure of the spelling). Gotta watch those cool and serene Swedish types!

Happy Birthday to Jonathan

Even though I am posting this after midnight so it is not officially still your birthday! I could not find your address and I am not sure of your e-mail addy anymore. Hope your day was a good one and we wish you all the best in the coming year. Seems so long since we have seen you!

Ja...Das es gut....ser gut!!

Yes, I know that's mostly German, but my Swedish is a little rusty. Thanks to those of you who have participated so far...or at least brought your special brand of humor to the blog. Does anyone have Jonathan's mailing address in Maine?

Love,
B

P.S. I leave you with some precious words oft-spoken to me by my dear Swedish great grandmother, Lovisa....De vem inte delta vilja för alltid bli känt som kålen huvuden!

I think she was either calling me "dear one"...or "she who has the head of a cabbage". I was never quite sure.

Station Vagon! Heil!

Eet seems to me zat ze novelty of ze blog has vorn off, ja? I know eet ees not because you all haf nossing to say! You vill vrite on ze blog! VRITE!! Do eet NOW!

Ze vagon, call her..."Ovlov"...

..."Ovlov Swedespeed".

Sveet, ja? Ja.

Name the Volvo Contest

Hey folks....
Hope everyone is doing well. It appears the novelty has worn off the old fold...but I know that the start of school is a busy time for most everyone (we are gearing up on my end). If there was such an award as "Most Prolific Poster", I would award that to you, Sossie. Thank you very much! As for the title of this post...our neighbors have graciously bestowed upon us a lovely Volvo station wagon. In order to welcome her to our menagerie of vehicles, we have decided to hold a Name Our New Volvo contest. Lest you think we are strange, we have not historically named our vehicles. This started with Jason's last acquisition-a 25-year-old, $700 pick-up truck that we named Buford.
Here are a few details and tips-
We are pretty sure the car is a "she". The Volvo has a few years on her-but she is a classic and has aged quite gracefully. She currently has a tan exterior with a rich chocolate interior. Like all Volvos, her heritage is Swedish. (Extra points given for a name with Swedish/Scandinavian origins.) Since we are such a varied bunch, the prize will be tailored to the winner. Please use the blog to post your entries or questions. The last day for entries will be Aug. 15-that is so I may bring the prize home to Morristown when I come to visit Aug 17-24.

Good luck and thanks for humoring me!
B

Do all of you have this link?

Tonight as I was clicking on my Animal Rescue icon in my toolbar, it occurred to me that everyone may not know that just by clicking daily you can help to feed animals that have been rescued. I do it daily under two different screen names; it only takes a second. I stuck it up at the top in the toolbar so I am reminded each time. Anyway, I know we all are lovin' our four-leggeds, and this is just one way we can love a few more! Click here: Fund Food for Animals @ The Animal Rescue Site

Sorry for no posts

Hey All!
I have in been Kingston, Tn (without Internet) since Friday visiting my college friend, Gina. We hoped have a fun-filled weekend of visiting, but unfortunately her husband Michael had to be rushed to the emergency room on Saturday morning. They admitted him, so we spent all day Saturday and most of Sunday at the Roane County Medical Center in Harriman. He is nauseous all the time and in tremendous pain almost constantly. No diagnosis yet, but they think it might be his gall bladder. Just keep all of them in your thoughts! I will write more when I have a chance.

Love to you all,
B

PS Dad, I will have to ask someone about the sound clip-I'm sure it can be done, I just need to know how.

Have a great weekend, one and all

Hmmm, not much action in the old Fold lately, so thought I would post good wishes for the weekend coming up. Hope wherever you go or whatever you do that you have the best of times and enjoy every minute.
God bless us every one! (Echoes of Tiny Tim, eh?)

Welcome back, Phil!

So glad that you are back amongst us again. Now take it easy before classes begin, and enjoy being home in Mot-town. (Ask your dad about Alva, who used to say that all the time.) Love you!

Welcome Home Philip and ZEKE!!!

I'm very, very glad to welcome home two of my favorite "people". I trust that Philip is now safely home to 4450 Woodhaven. I am also glad to report that our little wayward canine came strolling down the road this morning as pretty as you please-a week to nearly the hour that he ran off. Still dragging that leash! It is a true testament to the power of prayer. I had the nuns at St. Mary's praying for him, lots of people in Sewanee, and even a bunch of people praying for him on three online lost/sick pet prayer chains. We're having steak tonight to celebrate! Thank you all for your prayers and good thoughts!

Love to you all!
B

Airportman

St. Louis's USO is full of old people. PFC go home (After he goes to Charlotte first...wait, what?)

Latest, Latest

Phil flies out of St. Louis at 4:16 to Charlotte?!! (you figure it out) and from there to Knox arriving at 9:29 p.m. Pray for safe travels. Thaks
shep

Thank You!!!

Hey all, I am so thankful for all your prayers and thoughts going up for me. Not gonna lie...it was a lil bit scairwee, hehe!! But, God is good and I am feeling much better. I'm so proud of Phil!! Been thinking about him today. Wish I could be there. I love my awesome family sooo much! Thank you again!

HUGS,
Leese

Latest info on Phil

Update on Phil today...he graduates in the morning (24th) and is the "honor graduate" complete with singular recognition, certificate, and such, but no promotion. We saw the honor graduates at Camp Lejeune, and they are individually recognized. Kinda sorry we'll miss the one graduation he is recognized in. He leaves Ft. Lost in the Woods bound for St. Louis airport about 10:30 a.m. which he thinks is about 2.5 hrs away. He does not know his flight time as yet since he will not get his ticket until tomorrow when he receives his orders. He has already called his unit in Knoxville and he needs to report there at 10 a.m. on the 25th. So far that's all I know. Love to all,
s

Eventful Sunday

"Leese" had to go to the ER this morning from church and they are keeping her overnight. Stress test in the morning, and then she can come home. So far all the tests look good, and Dr. Rama thinks that her symptoms possibly came from one of her medications being too strong. Of course, the stress test should tell him more. Say a little prayer for her, please. Hugs to all!

Pool Party???

Michael and Sharon wanted me to check with you folks about a possible date to get together at their house. We wondered if Saturday evening, August 4 is possible. Thought I would run that date up the flagpole and see if it gets any salutes! We are trying to plan around Emily having to go back to UT for all the pre-season stuff, etc. Let us know how that date works for y'all.
Love to all,
Soss

Hallelujah!

If I could somehow get a sound clip for the Hallelujah chorus and post it, I would in a heartbeat. I'm just glad it worked. Welcome to the land of the posters!

Love,
B

P.S. Still no Zeke

Well Bee,
I received the invitation e-mail just now, so here goes. I really don't know why today is the magic day because you said you had sent it umpteen times. This is the first time I have gotten this particular screen, so maybe this is the right path. Love to all.

You will always be a LC to us!

Way to go Phil! Sorry the sarge is such a twit. (Although I did manage to find a nice shot of him!) Can't wait to see you in August!

Love,
B

P.S. The rabid sloths were a nice touch!

Thank You, Sergeant. You've Made Me A Martyr.

'Tis I, everyone's favorite weekend warrior, broadcasting from the heart of the Wood. But not for much longer. I am but a few short hours away from my last weekend in Hell. As you may or may not know, yours truly, in a completely unexpected turn of events, ended up being the honor graduate. While others were busy asking Sergeant if they should go ahead and get Lance Corporal chevrons put on their uniforms, I sat quietly by, biding my time and thinking about things like home and PopTarts and at what age Lindsay Lohan was actually possessed by Satan. But mostly home. And PopTarts. After attaining the highest score (a perfect one, I might add) on the final TRAM test and finally finishing training, Sergeant said, "Yeah, you did good. Now go mow my grass." Then, to make a long story short, he called me into his office along with two others and asked who we thought had won. They each pointed at the other, and then he said my name and I was like WHAAAAT and they were both like WHAAAAT and I proceeded to do the Get-Down-Lance-Corporal-naNAHnaNAH dance and then Sergeant was like Shepherd you're getting promoted NOT!!! and the 2nd Place was like SWEET and Sergeant was like NOT!!! and 3rd Place was like SWEE- and Sergeant was like NOT!!!!!! and said he won't promote 1st or 2nd because we're Reservists and he doesn't like Reservists and we're like WTF??? and he says that 3rd place won't get it either because 3rd place is just too low and 3rd place is all like WTF??? and then we were all told to get back to mowing...and then he shot my dog and fed my first-born to a pack of rabid sloths and left my PopTarts in the toaster too long. And that was the end of that.

WTF, indeed.

Now I must depart, for the lunch break is nearly over and I have to get back to buffing the floor in SSgt.'s office and wondering why he even bothers to buff his heinous floor in the first place.

I wish everyone well, I hope Zeke returns from his sojourn soon and with pictures, and I shall see you all on Tuesday.

Lance Corporal Phil.....NOT!!!

No Zeke Yet

Thanks to all of you for your good thoughts so far. And yes, Jenny, it made me laugh. Thank you for the comic relief. Dad, I re-sent that link. I'm crossing my fingers, toes, and eyes in hopes that it makes it to you this time.

Love,
B

Missing Zeke (He's the one on the left)

Hi All,

Hopefully by the time you read this, Zeke will be home safe and sound. He broke free while a neighbor was walking him yesterday around lunchtime and he and Zella took off for the woods. Zella returned sometime in the middle of last night, but so far no Zeke. We are especially worried because he still had a leash around his neck when he took off. There is not much but woods out here and we hope he has not entangled himself. Jason, Zella, and Little Pig are out looking as we speak. Just keep him in your thoughts and prayers!

Thanks!

B

Storm's A-Comin'

There is a big, dark, creepy storm on its way here, so I thought I would stay at work a big longer and grace you all with a few words. Hope everyone is having a good Wednesday! Is Rusty feeling any better?

For those of you who would like to add picture to your postings (like this one I took of a big, dark, creepy, railroad bridge) it is as easy as sending an e-mail attachment. When you are writing your post, look for the button that is located to the right of the spell-check button. When you put your mouse over it, it says "Add Image". When you click it, a screen will appear that gives you the option of browsing for an image (much like you would browse your computer for an document/image to attach to an e-mail message) or using an image from online. (To use an online image, you just need to add the URL address.) Once you find the image you want to use, choose the layout and size, and Blogger will upload it for you. Take care, everybody!

P.S. Due to success (I hope) of this blog, Jason is going to try and set one up for his family!

Trial post

Never mind me; I posted already tonight but it hasn't shown up....just trying again to figure out what went wrong, if anything. It simply may not have shown up as quickly as I expected, but just in case I was only sending huggin's to everyone and wishing you a happy hump day tomorrow.

Hi, y'all

Less than two hours and it will be Wednesday......doesn't time fly when you are having fun! (Or out of school for the summer!) Good to see a post from Jonathan and Ellen when I signed on tonight.
Huggin's to everyone, and happy hump day coming up!

Welcome Jonathan and Ellen and Help for Erin

Welcome, welcome, welcome. Now if we can just get Dad and Cynthia up and posting. Erin, once you log-in, you should see a link to "Edit Profile" on the right-hand side of the Dashboard screen under your name. If you click that, you can change your display name. Make sure to save the changes and you should be good to go, E-rock. Are we going to hear from "El-Money" (Ella) too?
I have to say that Jason is responsible for 98% of the garden. He also built a greenhouse so we can have some things year round. I will try to post a picture of it. Feel better, Rusty!

What up hommies!

Hey y'all! How's everyone doing? We've enjoyed reading all the happenings via the back posts of this blog...way to go Cari!

We're keeping wicked busy up here in the near arctic. I'm chasing snakes and Ellen's picking plants. We've been doing lots of canoing and spending time downeast on the coast of late (the breeze there keeps the skeeters down). We did our first sea kayak trip this past weekend...pretty cool (literally, since the water temp is a whopping 55degF right now!...and that's summer temps!).

Hope Rusty is still recovering well. And Phil, hope your last days in the middle of nowhere go well...safe travels home!

Take care everybody!
Jonathan and Ellen

"I been sick, you know"

Poor little dog. Brutus bit Rusty Saturday afternoon, and Rusty had to spend the rest of the night at the emergency vet clinic. He didn't enjoy waking from anesthesia at all, but he's feeling a little better now. We have to watch him closely so he doesn't lick his stitches or else he'll have to wear the cone, and he certainly was not a fan of it. He isn't, however, minding sleeping between me and Wesley one bit!

Good to Hear from Everyone!

Hey Everybody,
Thanks so much for taking part in this! I'm so glad Erin and Sossie have joined us. Sossie, that's really nifty about the name of the farm. I just came up with the blog name, but it makes it so much more special to know that it has a historical tie with the family. Jason and I just got back from a pick-up drive with the doggies. (Jason drives and I sit in the back with the dogs. He has this harness system rigged up for all of them). And of course they made us stop for ice cream! It was a really lovely night. Our blackberries are coming in full force too. Jason just made a cobbler with some of them and the rest went in the freezer. Things in the garden are really coming out too-corn, peppers, tomatoes, watermelon (watermillion as Aunt Joe would say) and my first pomegranate is now an inch long! This is an earlier picture of the garden.

Erin, I can't wait to see those pictures!

Good night everybody, sleep tight!

Cari

Here goes! My Maiden Voyage!

It is midnight-thirty and I just put a blackberry cobbler in the oven; now seems to be as good a time as any to make my very first post (I did comment under one post already) to "The Fold." (Love the name, Bee; I just have to tell you that many years ago your grandmother Mary Nell named our family farm "The Shepherds' Fold." Pop Shepherd never got around to making the sign for it, though.)
Had a wonderful phone visit with our favorite Marine this afternoon. I am so anxious to see him in person! Thankfully, it won't be as long as it has been! We will have to see about a pool party at the Martins' when he gets home; anybody up for that? They are having a church-wide fellowship there tonight ( Sunday) after evening services. Who knows how many will show up for that!
Yum, that cobbler is already smelling up the place. Barney picked the berries from the backyard patch, and I promised to make him a cobbler......well, better late than never! He may have it for breakfast. Wish we could share with all of you.
Now to see if this post shows up......SHAZZAM!!!!!

NO CLUE

Hello all,
So I posted my first blog. Ok I posted it under comments (Phil home). I think I know how to do this now. Maybe in a few months/years I will post a picture. Take care.
erin

What's wrong with this picture?

Patriotism is great, but what's wrong with this picture. BTW, that guy was pinching Wesley's rear. That's why he's smiling so big!

Heard from Jonathan

Just received an e-mail from Jonathan. He seems excited about the blog. He is just about to go out in the field without Internet access, so he probably won't be able to view it until sometime next week. Hopefully, we will get some posts from him. Dad have you or Sossie tried to to post anything yet?

I am the Phantom Publisher

Sorry, I was the one who published your first post. I have that power as the administrator of this fabulous blog (enter deep sinister laugh here).I just thought you didn't realize that it had not posted. In the future I will leave them alone. I just wanted everyone to know that you can start a post, save it as a draft, and then come back and finish it later. It will not post until you tell it to.
Thanks again to everyone for doing this!

B

P.S. What's a "rere" anyway?

"Mah Wings" Reprise

Perhaps you thought that my last post was ended rather abruptly? Well, that's because I had to get off the 'puter to go to formation. I ASSumed that it wouldn't publish what I had written...since I didn't tell it to. Foolish me, I guess. I WILL be graduating AND leaving here on the morning of the 24th, I found out. High Five. I got to ride ON TOP of a tankdozer this morning while it did donuts in the parking lot. Sergeant gives us presents from time to time. High five, Sergeant. We got in trouble on the ride home from work today for singing Journey at the top of our lungs. They stopped the cattle car and a Sergeant came on and called us a bunch of "God***n motherf***ing rere's". But we had harmony. High five, rere's. Oh, and my roommate Anderson managed to bust out the back glass of his backhoe with the bucket. They told us that wasn't possible. Never underestimate what you can do when you're motivated enough. Double high five for you, Anderson.

Later, special kids.

You can never have enough goat pictures, can you Ninny?

Jessamine the goat from Shaker Village in Kentucky

Fourth of Hooly, Mexican style! Cari may have spent the holiday with dogs, but did it include a donkey named Poncho? Hmmmmm?

Bailey gets creative

I was sorting through my pictures and found this. It made me laugh and I thought I would share.

B

When Does I Gets Mah Wings?

According to the class roster, he is Private Sheepherd. However, you might know him as PFC Shepherd. 'Tis I, special kids, and I'm coming at you from that big blank area on your U.S. map labeled "Other".....a.k.a. the midwest. I'm happy to report that it's all good in the Wood. I'll finish my training on the backhoe on Tuesday and will move on to Trams (Forklift overkill, basically) on Wednesday. My scheduled date of emancipation WAS July 24th (and, technically, it still is), but I was just told that I might have to stay here in MO for an additional three to four days afterwards

Findings from the 4th

Talked to Phil late Wednesday afternoon. He was free and about to dive into some pizza. We have already planned a "haunted place" expedition for after he gets home. You have to come too Jenny, and bring your Nancy Drew toolkit. I have a BBQ place in mind for lunch too.

In Sewanee 4th news, this was my first year to run the Annual Sewanee July 4th Mutt Show. People tell me it was the biggest one they have ever seen. We had nearly 60 dogs enter and many canine spectators. Estimates put the audience between 150-200 people. I received a lot of nice comments so I think everyone had a good time. Jason's parents came up and we gave them the whole Sewanee 4th experience- from the Mutt Show to the wonderful fireworks. I hope everyone is doing well. Feel free to post your goings on. If you have any questions about posting, just let me know.

Love,
B

sweet hat phil

Phil's Home...18 Days and Counting

Dad and Phil-Marine Graduation

We are just so proud of Philip and can't wait for him to come home!