Made In America!

Yesterday, I walked eight miles and then I spent the majority of my day—taking care of business and I got a lot of work done. Even though, I still had more to do, I called it a day around four o'clock, because I was tired of typing and talking on the phone and I needed a break from it all—and that's exactly what I got. 

Around five o'clock, Carol and James, our good friends and neighbors, came over for a visit. You know how it feels when some people walk into a room and make you feel great and then there are the others that make you feel great when they leave a room, well, Carol and James are the kind of people who make you feel great the second that you see them and you never want them to leave.

The minute they walked inside our trailer we had so much to tell each other—we never stopped talking, except when we were laughing and there was much of that. After Carol had thanked me for loaning her   the book, Canyons To Remember she told me how much she had loved reading it too, so we talked about that great book for several minutes, while James and Tony talked about the weather.

After we had caught up with each other's news, Carol and James started telling us about their new corral that they are building to work their horses, Maya and Chance aka Big Daddy. "We ordered over 1,200 feet of steel pipe for it and guess what?" Carol said, excitedly. "Yesterday, James taught me how to weld! I'm a welder!" And that is when I turned totally green with envy.

"OMG! That is way too cool, Carol!" I said. "I've always wanted to know how to weld. In fact, I have been thinking about signing up for that Club Ed welding class."

"You don't have to, because James can teach you," Carol said. "It's really not that hard to do and James is a great teacher." Carol said, as James smiled at me. "We bought a plasma cutter, too and it is so neat and James can show you how to use it too..." By the time we had finished talking about welding and their new plasma cutter—it looks like I will be a welder before this week is out and I am so excited about it.

Then I told them about a conversation that I had with a dear friend the other day. "She told me that she is trying to only buy "Made In America" products to help our country get back on its feet, but she said it was really difficult, because just about everything we consume is being made in China and third world countries. So, the other day when Tony and I went shopping we decided to make it a game to see who could find the most "Made In America" products—and it was really shocking and depressing and a real eye-opener for us. We found nothing "Made In America!" Every time we looked at a garment or a well known U.S name brand—it was made in China or some other country. The Levi Strauss jeans that I am wearing were made in Haiti and this sweatshirt that I bought from J. C. Penney was made in Thailand..."

After I finally got off of my soap box, Carol said, "I bet your new Justin Gypsy Boots are Made In America." When we looked inside my beautiful, pink Justin Gypsy boots, that I love so much, the label read: "Leather Upper Balance Man Made Materials Made In China!"

After I finally got off of my soap box for the second time, we changed the subject and had a really fun visit. Before dark—we hated to see Carol and James leave. 

Today has been quiet, which is good, because I caught up with all of my paperwork. This afternoon I went over to the Lodge to visit with Kinky. "Maude is so sweet. She is doing great and she has really fit in well with our older dogs. But, she has bonded with Tony. She loves him and sleeps in his chair when he is outside working and she follows him everywhere he goes." Kinky smiled and then laughed.

"Maude is a real sweetheart," Kinky said. "Just like my Sophie is..." Then he bent down and petted her gently on the head. Then I told Kink about fixin' to learn how to weld from James and he thought it was cool, too. An hour later I came home.

Y'all have a great evening!