Back on the Net - In Tennessee and Smiling :-)

[Guest guest]

Oooops! I totally meant to trim my last post...sorry

 

 

 

 

 

Pinpoint customers who are looking for what you sell.

 

 

[Guest guest]

Your home sounds beautiful-best of luck to you and your family. Susan

[Guest guest]

Great to see you back ! Sounds like you and your beautiful bride are

enjoying your new home - even with all the work that it brings. Bet that

little man of your is growing like a weed I'm only 4 hours from the

Ohio-Kentucky state line. If you or you and the family are even in

south-east Michigan let me know. I've met more than 1 list member while

they were stuck at Detroit Metro airport between flights - I'm only about

25 miles from the airport

 

Paula ....... in Michigan

www.farmfreshsoapsandcandles.com

farmfreshsoapsandcandles

 

 

 

> Hey y'all,

>

> Howdy to all my old friends and to those who don't know me. I'm taking

the

> time to make this post now cause my butt is dragging .. musta piled up 8

> tons of brush and tree limbs yesterday .

[Guest guest]

As always, it is great to hear from you, Butch!! A delightful read

and I am so happy to read you and your family have arrived in the US

and are settled in . . . Has Tanya been in the USA before? I was

wondering what her thoughts are as she traveled about.

 

I have a business meeting in Nashville, TN in Oct and have visited

various parts there . . . I good place to settle.

 

I think they " make " kids different these days . . . we have twin

great grandsons that are well beyond their years and never cease to

amaze us with there ability to think things through and express

themselves. Or perhaps it is the stock from which they come??!! ;-

)

 

Looking forward to hearing more as the days go on . . . stay

healthy!!

-Helen

 

 

 

, " Butch Owen " <butchowen

wrote:

>

> Hey y'all,

>

> Howdy to all my old friends and to those who don't know me. I'm

taking the

> time to make this post now cause my butt is dragging .. musta

piled up 8

> tons of brush and tree limbs yesterday .. I kept climbing up on

the pile and

> jumping up and down on it so it would sink down low enough to

allow me to

> pile more onto it. It was 92 F and humidity was so high that fish

were

> swimming through the air from Barkley Lake to Kentucky Lake and

younguns was

> hiding in trees and catching them with butterfly nets. And

Kathleen .. we

> do got some Jakes around here .. mostly good Jakes like King and

Chicken and

> Black and such that eat mice .. and a few bad Jakes. Gotta few

Copperheads

> and as I was throwing all that brush onto the pile I had already

started

> last week .. a few of them was grumbling about me disturbing their

mid-day

> sleep .. so I says, " Listen Mr. No Shoulders .. this here be my

land now and

> there ain't room fer both of us here .. so y'all better slip on

out or I'm

> gonna set lite to this pile right now. They thanked me for my

consideration

> and went on over to the corn field across the road from me. Mr.

No

> Shoulders normally don't forget kind actions so I reckon they

won't be back

> anytime soon and if they do come back they ain't gonna bother

us. And all

> that work showed me (leastways for now) that my ticker is not in

too bad a

> shape. That says much for a feller who hasn't done much manual

labor for 20

> + years. ;-)

>

> I owe lotsa folks lotsa mail and will get to it as soon as I

can .. just got

> my telephone and new PC hooked up in the last week and we are still

> unpacking lotsa boxes .. plus I am spending lotsa time working on

the

> grounds. My last post to the this list was around the 24th of

May .. I flew

> out of Turkey around then. Following is a rather short (leastways

for me)

> introduction for those who don't know me and an update of

> where/what/when/why we have been for those who do .. it will

answer many

> questions that have been asked and most likely a bunch that have

not yet

> been asked.:

>

> For the new folks .. welcome to the most friendly and informative

News Group

> on the net .. I've been here since the beginning and have watched

it grow

> from a dozen or so folks to more than 1,550 folks today. Its

> friendly because long ago it adapted to the personality of the

List Mamma ..

> its informative because there are a large number of product

dealers who must

> depend on having correct answers if they wish to remain in

business .. as

> well as a large number of end users (non-dealers) who have both

interest and

> expertise in the areas discussed on this News Group. Those folks

I just

> mentioned also help to keep the group honest because we can smell

the con

> artists, bovine excrement spreaders and phonies when they put out

garbage ..

> they will be challenged .. and exposed if they don't change their

behavior.

> This group welcomes Young Living folks .. because many of the

valuable

> members are ex-YL'ers who learned from this group that they had

been

> victimized .. and had been led down the path of untrue, unsafe and

dishonest

> hype concerning use of EO by the self-styled guru of BS .. Mr.

(Not Dr.)

> Gary Young .. and his flock of misinformed groupies. If you want

to learn

> something .. ask questions .. you'll get answers. If you lurk and

wait for

> others to ask be advised that many other lurkers are probably

doing the same

> thing .. no question is dumb because nobody is born with the

knowledge this

> list is concerned with .. and you can bet that there are many

folks who

> have the same questions you have. So .. come on out and play ..

introduce

> yourself and you and your questions will be welcomed. :-)

>

> I am a retired (30 years) US Army Military Police Officer who

spent half his

> life outside the USA .. I lived in Turkey over 26 years .. 19 +

years this

> last trip. After retirement I worked as a corporate manager on a

contract

> for the US Gummit for 5 + years .. then opened my own American

invested

> Turkish company for 10 + years. At the same time I co-founded and

ran an

> agriculture NGO (Black Sea Agri-Business Group) and

created/managed a

> Turkish company for SATO Travel out of Arlington, VA. I was into

> consulting, creation of foreign invested companies and

international

> contracting .. and bulk export of Turkish origin essential oils

(100 kg

> minimum) and Rose Otto (1 kg minimum) for many years .. as well as

export of

> many other natural products with large volume minimums. I

consulted on and

> supplied the Rose roots/cuttings for a US AID sponsored Rose Oil

industry

> in Madagascar .. and consulted/planned similar projects in the

Balkans and

> in Afghanistan. I opened Appalachian Valley Natural Products

(AVNP) in

> Friendsville, MD in Summer 1999. AVNP still functions and

continues to grow

> .. happy customers in 50 US States and 87 other countries now. We

have

> retail sizes at http://www.av-at.com/prices.html for all buyers and

> wholesale larger sizes at http://www.av-at.com/wholesale.html ..

folks who

> are sellers of products can purchase EO (only) from that wholesale

link

> .. no need for a tax ID, etc., unless the goods are to be

delivered to an

> address in Maryland .. then I must have data on file or charge the

5% MD

> sales tax. No tax on goods delivered outside MD. I just noticed

that the

> email address on the wholesale link still leads to my old (no

longer active)

> address .. the new email address is ButchOwen .. it will be

> corrected today.

>

> All of our products are pure, unadulterated, high in quality

(purity and

> quality are not the same thing .. there are pure, mediocre oils

out and

> about) Lot Number Controlled and either GC or GC/MS tested ..

buyers

> requesting same can have a free copy of any analysis. I have

neglected my

> business since May 2007 but my folks in MD have continued to do an

> outstanding job without me .. proving that the real work is done

by them ..

> but .. sales have dropped by 50% since May. Why? Because this

is an

> industry based on information (and unfortunately, often on

misinformation)

> .. so if one is not active on the News Groups they will continue

to get

> orders from their long-term loyal customers .. but the new

folks .. or those

> who might sometimes shop because they are impressed by a

particular article

> written by a knowledgeable (or sometimes not so knowledgeable)

seller ..

> will not visit them. Sometimes outa sight is outa mind in this

industry.

> But as always before .. I have returned. So .. get to ordering

y'all. ;-)

>

>

> For those who have known me for many years .. and who often

believed I would

> never leave Turkey and return to the USA .. howdy doo and here I

am in

> Tennessee now. ;-) I look forward to meeting again (and for the

first

> time) many of the old friends at various AT shindigs .. and ..

will do so at

> the Austin, TX shindig the end of August. On that shindig .. true

it was

> that the cut off for discount accommodations had passed but that

has now

> changed .. Christina or Kathleen or someone will be putting

something out on

> that soon .. so y'all come on down .. you heah? ;-)

>

> Wife Tatiana (Tanya) & Son Alexander (The Great) flew out of

Turkey to visit

> family in Russia in late April .. I flew out of Turkey to Georgia

in late

> May .. bought a new Jeep Grand Cherokee, spent a few days in GA

then picked

> up Tanya & Alexander at Dulles (in Washington, D.C.) on 5 June.

We headed

> to my company (Appalachian Valley Natural Products) in Downtown

> Friendsville, MD (population 597). Stayed at an old (restored)

B & B right on

> the Yeogh River .. organic food and fresh baked bread daily,

etc. I'll

> post their link and contact information later .. some folks on the

list

> visit the store in Friendsville now and then and this B & B is the

place to

> stay. John Croskey has stayed there .. loves it too. Alexander

had a ball

> there playing out in the rain .. a first for him as it couldn't be

done on

> the streets of Ankara. ;-)

>

> We headed to Paris, TN on 14 June .. started looking for a home.

Lots of

> inexpensive) properties in this vacation area of Kentucky &

Barkley Lakes &

> Land Between the Lakes (LBL) .. reason is because its not

crowded ..

> Kentucky Lake is 250 miles long as the crow flies and has close to

2,500

> miles of shoreline. One can find a home on 10 acres (mostly

woods) with

> lake view for 200 K or so .. problem is .. those homes are

normally 2nd or

> vacation homes .. so they are small .. 1,700 sq ft or so. Also

can be found

> much larger homes but on small lots as they are normally lakeside

and run in

> the 400-500 K range .. and both types are off the beaten path ..

maybe 10-12

> miles from the nearest gas station. Paris, TN (county seat of

Henry

> County) is a quaint, totally Suthran town with a town square

around the

> courthouse and lots of buildings 150 years old and such ..

population of

> Paris is around 9,800 and Henry County has around 31,000 folks ..

just my

> speed. Entering Paris one sees a large Welcome sign topped by an

> enormous Catfish .. Paris (and the Kentucky Lake area) are known

as the

> Catfish Capital of America .. they boast the world's largest fish

fry in

> early spring .. hundreds of thousands of folks visit this one week

> festival. Paris is on Highway 79, roughly 120 miles NE of

Memphis and 110

> miles NW of Nashville .. 20 miles from Murray, KY. Paris is NOT

a place

> one should settle in if they are seeking their fortune .. its a

place to

> retire. Families here for 250 years have nailed down all the

service

> industries and there's really no room for new small businesses.

>

> We found the home we wanted and had a contract on it within 8 days

of

> arriving .. closed on 2 July and took possession on Friday the

13th (the day

> I turned 65). Nice place out in the county .. 6 miles south of

Paris ..

> surrounded by woods and corn fields .. a house here and there ..

deer and

> turkey play in my back yard and in the fields/woods around us.

Not a

> single day passes that we don't see wild critters. Bald Eagles

thrive in

> this entire area and they often visit our property and the woods

behind.

> Hummingbirds use LBL as a stopover for their migration and there's

a

> Hummingbird Festival at LBL next week .. lots of them flitting

around our

> patio too .. we have feeders out .. in addition to having

honeysuckles off

> the patio.

>

> Our place is 3,800 sq ft, with 3 BR, formal dining room, formal

living room,

> family room, sun room, 2 full and 2 half baths .. with hardwood

floors

> downstairs except for the sun room. It sits on 2.5 acres of

landscaped

> property .. has over 80 nice, well placed trees .. ceptin' for 8

misplaced

> sycamores who have now been turned into a very large brush

pile. ;-) The

> house sits around an acre and a quarter back from the road. Has a

> brick/rock/decking patio with a hot tub and a 2.5 car garage. A

bonus (at

> least for me) is a 1,200 + sq ft insulated, electric wired steel

building

> out back .. that is my workshop and Fortress of Solitude .. one of

the first

> things I bought was an apartment size frig for that building .. so

anyone

> stopping by can have a cold drink of well water (great it is) or a

soda ..

> or an ice cold beer. ;-)

>

> Tanya loves the kitchen .. wall to wall solid maple cabinets ..

its roughly

> 1/3 the size of the apartment we had in Turkey. Actually, if I

tally the

> dimensions of the kitchen, laundry room and sun room (its 36' X

18 " ) the

> three of them are roughly the size of the Turkish apartment.

Come to think

> on it .. the storage space (closets and such) inside the home

cover roughly

> more space than that Turkish apartment. She is grinning like a

Cheshire

> Cat cause the dining room looks sorta special now.

>

> Those who know me and have visited me in Turkey know that back in

1994 I

> planned to return to the USA and go to law school so I shipped all

my

> household goods to Clarksville, TN .. but with my ticket in

hand .. I

> changed my mind at the last minute and opened a Turkish company.

Having

> shipped all of my belongings, I had to start from scratch and as I

was

> single then and had plans to stay that way .. I chose to live with

> mismatched pieces of this and that (early Salvation Army) I picked

up from

> various contractors who were leaving country. When I married

Tanya we had

> plans to return to the USA one of these days soon so we purchased

nothing

> new. When we hit the USA we needed furniture. I had a nice

piece of

> Duncan Fife and a half dozen pieces of Drexel bedroom furniture in

storage

> (for over 13 years) .. but had nothing for a dining room. Those

who have

> moved around a lot know that you can't empty many boxes if you

don't have

> lots of closet space and some dining room furniture. I started

looking

> around and was shocked to see lots of poorly made dining room

sets .. a

> table with 6 chairs and a china cabinet .. for roughly $2,500 ..

not high

> quality and most likely made in China or Bangladesh .. stuff that

would lose

> half its value when it was delivered. Got tired of that and as I

had

> decided to make Tanya's birthday gift a special .. but practical

one .. I

> went antique shopping. Found a 60-70 year old Drexel solid

cherry set ..

> table with 8 chairs, a buffet and china cabinet .. quality that

will

> continue to increase in value and something Alexander can pass to

his

> grandchildren someday. We're gonna eat beans, taters, collard

greens and

> catfish for a year just to pay off the Amex card I put it on ..

but at the

> end of that time we'll have something nice in the dining room and

in the

> meantime .. my wife is very, very happy .. as am I. :-)

>

> Lazy the average Russian is NOT .. frugal the average Russian

IS .. they are

> used to hardships and Spartan living. Though better educated than

the

> average Russian, Tanya is the average Russian regarding these

traits. She

> was raised in the city but she and her brother spent summers on her

> Grandma's farm .. so swinging a hoe or even a chainsaw .. and

planting,

> harvesting and putting up fruits and veggies is something she

likes to do ..

> and is good at. Lucky I am in this (and many other) ways to have

her beside

> me because a Spring Chicken I ain't .. and will come a time that I

might not

> be able to do all the work needed to maintain this place. She

helps me a

> lot now .. works hard she does .. and she accepted my desire for a

fair size

> chunk of land knowing full well that she will have her hands full

in time.

>

> Alexander loves this land .. he rolls in the grass .. chases

crickets and

> lizards and butterflies and all the little critters he had never

seen

> before. He lays beside me in the grass ..when he is not sitting

on my

> chest ;-) evenings and likes to watch the sun set .. then he

looks at and

> jabbers about the moon and stars. I have a tractor mower but

also a push

> mower for hard to get to areas .. Alexander has a toy push mower

that blows

> bubbles .. he spends an hour or so daily cutting grass with it ..

he

> considers this to be a very serious endeavor. ;-) He loves to

work

> outside .. yesterday I cut down 8 sycamore trees that were

dangerously too

> near the house .. dropping leaves and bark and such and blocking

sun from

> the area that will be our rose garden next year. I drug the logs

and heavy

> brush to the back of the place with my Jeep but all the lighter

limbs and

> such were dragged by hand .. the little rascal worked for hours

dragging

> limbs that weighed half as much as he does. Not an ounce of fat

on him ..

> all muscle and a bundle of energy and exuberance. He'll not turn

17 months

> old till 5 August but he continues to function far ahead of his

> chronological age .. folks guess his age at 2 + but he sometimes

acts like

> he is 3 +. I gotta be real careful what I do because he copies

my actions

> .. he sees something one time and tries to do it himself. All

parents

> think their kids are special .. and rightfully so. I have 5

offspring ..

> the oldest being 44 years older than Alexander .. and though all

of them

> were/are special and above average to me .. I can't honestly say

any of them

> were fabulously handsome or extremely special in their behavior ..

not till

> Alexander came along .. and my other offspring agree with me on

this.

> ;-) He is mind boggling .. a danged genius this youngun. Those

list

> members who have met Alexander know how handsome he is .. and a

more

> charming and flirtatious youngun is hard to find. Folks stop us

in stores

> to comment on him .. and if they're ladies .. he turns on the

charm .. if

> they're men .. he just smiles at them. I reckon it comes across

in this

> writing that he is both my Son and my Sun. ;-)

>

> Back to the place .. we waited 11 days from closing to possession

because

> the feller I bought from was a nice guy and needed the time.

Like me, he

> is a retired US Army Officer .. we didn't really do much

negotiating .. I

> bid quite under his asking and the next day he came back splitting

the

> difference .. I knew that he knew I had my eye on another nice

place too so

> I went up but 2% and added that this was dependent on his leaving

the

> appliances .. and the tractor lawn mower. He accepted and asked

for 11 days

> to clear out. He had to sell .. his kids had graduated university

and had

> flown the coup, he was teaching full time in a local university

and he and

> his wife were deeply involved in church activities .. no time to

take care

> of the land and the home was too large for them .. plus, they were

building

> a smaller home on a small piece of land that is much nearer to

their church

> and they needed to shake loose from this mortgage. It was a win-

win

> transaction and for that I am happy.

>

> While waiting .. we went out to visit an old military buddy in

Rogers, AR ..

> he has a lotta waterfront land on Beaver Lake. Like here on

Kentucky and

> Barkley Lakes, Beaver Lake has a lotta Giant Stripe Bass

(sometimes called

> Rockfish). First day out we caught a bunch .. but they release

most of them

> and release all under 5 lbs or so. We kept but two that day ..

one over 8

> lbs and one 19 lbs & 7 oz .. 37 inches long. I hooked it less

than 15

> minutes our from his dock .. took over 25 minutes to bring her in

on a

> relatively light rod and 17 lb test line. It is true that most

fishermen

> are liars .. or is it that most liars fish? But I got photos of

this rascal

> and will post them to the photos section in a few days. ;-)

>

> My 5 + tons of goods that had been in storage for 13 + years in

Clarksville,

> TN were delivered the day after we took possession .. the storage

company

> sent workers so it was not so difficult. It was like opening

Christmas

> gifts as I had forgotten many of the goodies that were in that

storage lot

> .. but I hadn't forgotten the antique copper items and many

Turkish carpets

> and kilims I had purchased off and on since the early 60s. ;-)

The 20 ft

> container of personal goods/clothing, etc., shipped from Turkey

arrived last

> week ..and as I paid for shipping from apartment to door instead of

> apartment to inside the home .. no labor was furnished .. so me

and a couple

> of off duty Paris police officers unloaded that container (over 4

metric

> tons of goods) onto my driveway in 57 minutes flat .. only had 60

minutes to

> do it or I would have had to pay extra to the freight line. We

were tired

> puppies when we again moved it all into the home .. and the cops

realized

> how lucky they were to be in law enforcement instead of being

laborers.

> ;-)

>

> Folks said I would have a lotta cultural shock when I returned ..

and I've

> encountered a bit of that for sure. Gasoline is very cheap in the

USA

> (compared to other countries) .. motorized yard tools like chain

saws, weed

> eaters, blowers, lawn mowers and such haven't really increased in

price

> since I left the USA in 1988 .. but hand tools like hoes and

shovels and

> ladders and such have gone up 200-300% and odds are none of them

are made in

> the USA now. Automobiles are cheaper than before and far cheaper

than

> outside the USA. Meat is cheap .. veggies and fruits are high ..

setting up

> a new household is expensive for sure and as I wrote above ..

outta sight is

> outta mind and sales go down while operating expenses stay the

same .. so

> buy my stuff y'all. ;-)

>

> So .. I'm back but I'm not " too back " . Gotta lotta work inside

and out

> calling to me .. like cutting up a few logs when I finish this

email.

> I'll get around to answering folks this week .. still got places

to go and

> things to do .. gotta travel to Fort Campbell, KY (55 miles away)

one day

> this week .. the business there will take all day. Gotta buddy

coming up

> from Georgia later this week with a truck load of things I had

stored in his

> shed in 1999 .. mostly military memorabilia and items of value to

nobody but

> me.

>

> I'll post more later .. gotta go cut some logs now. Good to be

back in the

> US of A and on the Oils & Herbs Group again.

>

> Y'all keep smiling. :-) Butch http://www.AV-

AT.com<http://www.av-at.com/>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Butch,

I always enjoy reading your messages as well. Welcome back to the USA. I

hope you and your family will be very happy in your new home.

 

 

Jo Ann Nourse

 

 

Take the Internet to Go: Go puts the Internet in your pocket: mail, news,

photos & more.

 

 

[Guest guest]

¶ I always enjoy reading your messages as well. Welcome back to the USA. I

hope you and your family will be very happy in your new home.

 

[Dave]: Huge dittoes, Òîâàðè÷! Welcome home.

 

 

 

 

 

Version: 7.5.476 / Virus Database: 269.10.25/926 - Release 7/29/2007

11:14 PM

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Sounds like you found a bit of Paradise Butch! I am very happy for you and your

family, and thank you for sharing your " story " with us. Always an entertaining

and interesting read for sure. You brought a smile to my face this morning.

 

I often wondered how you were doing while you were absent, and I am relieved

to hear you and your family are safe and sound at your destination. Alexander

the great sounds like a bundle of joy. Enjoy your precious time together as

they grow up so fast.

 

Welcome back...

Take care

Joanne

 

 

 

Be smarter than spam. See how smart SpamGuard is at giving junk email the boot

with the All-new Mail

 

 

[Guest guest]

Butch,

 

I'll add to the overwhelming welcome back messages too! It really was a

treat to read one of your long posts again, especially one dealing with so

much happy stuff! Alexander must be incredible, and yes, it does indeed

come through in your writing that he is your " sun " (what a good way to put

it). Sounds like you and your family have a lot to look forward to in your

little slice of paradise.

 

Congrats,

Susan Farr (was Gerritsen)

 

 

 

>

>

>

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Hey, Butch!

 

Glad you all are over here and are safe and sound. Enjoy putting down

new roots!

 

Dede

[Guest guest]

Merhaba (Hello) Butch,

 

> For those who have known me for many years .. and who often believed

I would

> never leave Turkey and return to the USA .. howdy doo and here I am in

> Tennessee now. ;-)

 

I have learned never to say never, so here is a big welcome back Butch :-)

 

Congrats on the new house as well - saglikla kullanin (loose

translation - use it in health).

 

Be well,

Sevi

[Guest guest]

Butch, welcome back!

Butch it is so glad to hear from you and to hear how you and your family are

doing. I love hearing about your property and the plans you and Tanya have

made. Your son sounds like a great little guy.

 

Best wishes to all of you,

 

Carol