Confucius says...

According to Wikipedia Confucius was born out of wedlock to a dad of 70 and a mother of 15.....she seemed to like her men a bit older...Anyway we all know some of the more famous Confucius quotes...."Everything has beauty but not everyone sees it"........"I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand." ......."What the superior man seeks is in himself, what the small man seeks is in others" and the go on and on. Such great words of wisdom indeed.....I played around with my own wisdom and came up with these.









This last one will definitely get printed out and hung somewhere as it reflects so perfectly how I feel towards my daughter. We spent another great afternoon together today visiting with my parents, my brother and his wife and son Sasha who they adopted from Russia back in late February. He is 6 years old and you can tell he is not from NE Texas easily but it is so amazing how quickly kids can pick up on a new language....or anything new for that matter. Anyway he and I bonded quite nicely today too. Its first time I guess I had seen him since March at my aunts funeral. We were not sure how he would react to going to a funeral since the reason he was up for adoption was both parents were killed in a car wreck in Russia. He seemed to handle that well and is adjusting pretty good considering the changes he has been through since moving here. He is an extremely bright kid but also has some anger management issues I am sure will have to be addressed soon. For a kid who has been through so much he is doing awesome. I will try to have some pics of he and I racing our bikes and playing basketball posted here soon. He got a bit mad when I won one of the races. I, unlike some people, believe it is unhealthy to let the kids win all the time lol. They have to know how to lose and accept defeat IMO but then again what do I know huh? ;)

We went by and looked at a nice lil car today also. Mallory had been given a 1995 Tahoe 4wd for her first vehicle.....not a really good first vehicle considering the price of gas now days. I am hoping we can work something out on getting this car for her....it gets almost 4 times the gas mileage as the Tahoe would get most likely. And I know the people who are selling it quite well and went to school with their kids(long ago crush on the daughter the same age as me) Their daughter lives in the small town of Meridan CT. I told her to pass my email addy along to Kim so hopefully I will hear form her soon.....Anyway hoping I can help my daughter get this car....she needs something along this line of car to get around and get some gas mileage.....Lord knows she drives better and should get better gas mileage than her mom....(just kidding B.....Love ya)

I have been studying some landscaping ideas and as I mentioned in a friends comments section one of the things I wanted to incorporate in it is a maze or possibly a labyrinth eventually. Nothing big to start out but something I can always add outwardly to to make bigger at any time. Maybe some hidden benches to enjoy a nice glass of wine while reading some Maya. Possibly a fountain or a gazebo in the center to reward you (and me) for finding the way through the maze. Just an idea since I DO have just under 5 acres to fill up eventually. I am planning to connect each aspect of my landscaping with a path so everything is accesible even if barefoot. Whats the use of being in the country if you cannot go barefoot right? I will have to research more what type of hedges (r possibly even the native cedars)to use in the maze. It won't be as elaborate as some of the mazes in Europe by far but something of an eye catcher for the many small Cessna type planes that fly over the area and an enjoyable experience for friends and family when they come to visit.

Another thing I want to look into when I get the house built is harnessing the wind power that this land is situated so greatly for. Always a nice cooling breeze there. Its not the highest spot around but its not too far from it. Maybe a power making windmill or two and possibly incorporate some solar panels to make even more electricity. Oh so many ideas....they literally jump around in my head all the time awake or asleep. Some I remember...some I forget...all are good at the time.

As our long ago friend Confucius would say ....."By nature,men are nearly alike; by prctice they get to be wide apart" ....I want to distance myself from the average. I want to practice a different way....not follow the easy paths. I want to learn from the past not to repeat it but to take what I like about it and mesh it with what I like about the present and what I want from the future. That is what will make Brad who he is. Not by the things that make me like others....by the things that make others want to be like myself. And each day I strive for this goal....reaching.....some day I will grasp it. I cannot go back and make a new start but I WILL make a new ending.

Brad