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	<title>Lucas Blackwood Contemplations &#187; Opinion</title>
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	<link>http://lucasblackwood.com</link>
	<description>Lucas Blackwood at your blogging service</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Tue, 08 May 2012 22:39:17 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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		<title>Broken zipper</title>
		<link>http://lucasblackwood.com/2012/05/broken-zipper/</link>
		<comments>http://lucasblackwood.com/2012/05/broken-zipper/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 08 May 2012 14:54:26 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Lucas</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Friends/Family]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Internet]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Life]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[wife]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lucasblackwood.com/?p=655</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[A few weeks ago I saw a zipper repair kit for sale online at one of those &#8220;bargain&#8221; websites. I had been looking for something to give my wife to use to repair the zipper on the hooded sweatshirt that she had hand painted several years ago. The zipper had broken and she had stopped [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>A few weeks ago I saw a zipper repair kit for sale online at one of those &#8220;bargain&#8221; websites. I had been looking for something to give my wife to use to repair the zipper on the hooded sweatshirt that she had hand painted several years ago. The zipper had broken and she had stopped wearing the sweatshirt, but she did not want to throw it away because she had spent so much time and energy hand painting the thing.</p>
<p>So when the zipper repair kit arrived, we hunted for a while to find the sweat shirt. It had been put away in the back of a closet and was being elusive. Finally we put the zipper repair kit in her sewing basket and had given up looking for the sweat shirt. Well, surprisingly enough, when my wife was looking for a gray skirt to lend to her sister to wear at a funeral, she found that sweat shirt and pulled it out of the closet.</p>
<p>We tried to use the zipper repair kit, but we were unsuccessful with our attempt. We broke two of the replacement zipper heads in the attempt. Very discouraging!</p>
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		<title>Frank Lloyd Wright was my father&#8217;s favorite architectural designer</title>
		<link>http://lucasblackwood.com/2012/05/frank-lloyd-wright-was-my-fathers-favorite-architectural-designer/</link>
		<comments>http://lucasblackwood.com/2012/05/frank-lloyd-wright-was-my-fathers-favorite-architectural-designer/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 08 May 2012 02:53:26 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Lucas</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Entertainment/Fun]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Environment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Friends/Family]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Home and Garden]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Home Improvement]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[house]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lucasblackwood.com/?p=653</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[When I was growing up, my father would take us kids out and drive around to look at open houses in different new neighborhoods. He made his living as an architectural designer and he was always looking for what the &#8220;other guys&#8221; were doing and what was the newest and trendiest thing in architecture. He [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>When I was growing up, my father would take us kids out and drive around to look at open houses in different new neighborhoods. He made his living as an <a href="http://www.frankyarchitect.com/" title="architectural designer" target="_blank">architectural designer</a> and he was always looking for what the &#8220;other guys&#8221; were doing and what was the newest and trendiest thing in architecture.</p>
<p>He had designed the house we lived in, and although at the time I thought that it was not an attractive building from the outside, I have to admit that the interior layout was really very nicely designed. It wasn&#8217;t until I was a young adult that I learned that the inspiration behind the house was from the designs of Frank Lloyd Wright. I had never even heard of the name of Frank Lloyd Wright until the album &#8220;Bridge over Troubled Waters&#8221; was released by Simon and Garfunkel. I can remember asking my father who Frank Lloyd Wright was, and he told me that he was a famous architect. I always thought it was weird for Simon and Garfunkel to be singing a farewell song to Frank Lloyd Wright&#8230;. but it did pique my interest to learn who he was. And to be honest, he really was a very good designer!</p>
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		<title>Chocolate fountains</title>
		<link>http://lucasblackwood.com/2012/05/chocolate-fountains/</link>
		<comments>http://lucasblackwood.com/2012/05/chocolate-fountains/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 06 May 2012 02:24:13 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Lucas</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Food]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Friends/Family]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Life]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[family]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[food]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lucasblackwood.com/?p=647</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Guest post by Rita Sheldon Have you seen those commercials on television for the Golden Corral restaurant where they show photographs of chocolate fountains? To be perfectly honest when I saw the commercial I thought to myself that it sounded pretty gross. So when I found myself going to the Golden Corral myself a few [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Guest post by Rita Sheldon</p>
<p>Have you seen those commercials on television for the Golden Corral restaurant where they show photographs of <a href="http://www.equipsupply.com/families/2859-Fountains" title="chocolate fountains" target="_blank">chocolate fountains</a>? To be perfectly honest when I saw the commercial I thought to myself that it sounded pretty gross.</p>
<p>So when I found myself going to the Golden Corral myself a few days ago, and I saw the big chocolate fountain in the dessert section, and all of the plates of fresh fruits and pieces of angel food cake, marshmallows, and Rice Krispy marshmallow treat bars, all skewered with bamboo skewers I decided to pass it up. Until I saw that the chocolate fountain was actually really, really popular. I decided that I would go ahead and go up to the fountain and take one of the skewered strawberries and dip it in the chocolate and give it a try. I mean, what do I have to lose, anyway? I&#8217;d already paid for my meal, and it was all-you-can-eat buffet. Isn&#8217;t one of the biggest reasons that I go to a buffet is to be able to try new things without committing to ordering a huge plate of some unknown food and then hating it? Of course it is! </p>
<p>Well, to my surprise, I really DID like it. I think that the reason I thought that I would not like it was that I was expecting the chocolate to be dark chocolate, which is bitter, and I don&#8217;t like bitter. But this chocolate was delicious &#8211; I&#8217;m not sure if it was milk chocolate, or semi-sweet, or a combination. Regardless, it was delicious and I went ahead and took a lot of the different fruits and dipped them into the chocolate and filled up my plate with a lot of chocolate dipped strawberries and apples and marshmallows and pieces of angel food cake. </p>
<p>I think that I&#8217;m going to look into what kind of chocolate they used and see if I can get some of it to melt in the crock pot at home and just dip some fruit in it at home and see if I can get a similar taste. That would be a nice dessert to have at the next family party that I have to hold!</p>
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		<title>Frozen Pizza</title>
		<link>http://lucasblackwood.com/2012/05/frozen-pizza/</link>
		<comments>http://lucasblackwood.com/2012/05/frozen-pizza/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 04 May 2012 00:27:15 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Lucas</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Food]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Money/Finances]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dinner]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[food]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lucasblackwood.com/?p=124</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I am a pizza fan. I could eat pepperoni pizza, seven days a week. It used to be that pizza was a cheap meal but those days seemed to be long gone. So it is nice to see the pizza wars that are going on with the several large pizza chains that are here in [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I am a pizza fan. I could eat pepperoni pizza, seven days a week. It used to be that pizza was a cheap meal but those days seemed to be long gone. So it is nice to see the pizza wars that are going on with the several large pizza chains that are here in town.</p>
<p>As far a frozen pizza goes, you just don&#8217;t want to go there!</p>
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		<title>I&#8217;m A Stubborn Old Cuss Sometimes</title>
		<link>http://lucasblackwood.com/2012/05/im-a-stubborn-old-cuss-sometimes/</link>
		<comments>http://lucasblackwood.com/2012/05/im-a-stubborn-old-cuss-sometimes/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 03 May 2012 23:12:22 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Lucas</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Home and Garden]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Internet]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lucasblackwood.com/?p=639</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I really don&#8217;t know what all the fuss is about, my current address plaque suites me just fine, but I guess I&#8217;m the only one since I keep getting harassed by folks about looking at new address plaques and finding a new one to put up. You see the one that is presently installed on [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I really don&#8217;t know what all the fuss is about, my current <a href="http://www.mailboxandbeyond.com/AddressPlaques.html">address plaque</a> suites me just fine, but I guess I&#8217;m the only one since I keep getting harassed by folks about looking at new <a href="http://www.mailboxandbeyond.com/AddressPlaques.html">address plaques</a> and finding a new one to put up. You see the one that is presently installed on the front of my house is the one that I made in Shop Class back in high school and I&#8217;ve gotten pretty darned used to having it there. I know that it has faded out a bit during all of this time, I mean it&#8217;s been outside in the weather for all of these years, but I can still read it just fine, thank you very much!</p>
<p>This morning when I checked my email, my sister had sent me a link to a company that has a ton of <a href="http://www.mailboxandbeyond.com/">house address plaques</a> that is wanting me to check out and pick one to order to put up to replace my home made one. I have to admit that there are some might fine looking address signs there to offer, but I&#8217;m a stubborn old cuss and I&#8217;m standing firm on this issue.</p>
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		<title>Sometimes&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://lucasblackwood.com/2012/04/sometimes/</link>
		<comments>http://lucasblackwood.com/2012/04/sometimes/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 13 Apr 2012 08:57:27 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Lucas</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Entertainment/Fun]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Life]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Facebook]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Internet]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lucasblackwood.com/?p=605</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I haven&#8217;t been on Facebook much these past couple of months, but today I signed in and I saw this and felt compelled to copy and paste it on here. These words just seemed to hit the spot today for some reason. I hope I&#8217;m not coming down with anything&#8230;.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I haven&#8217;t been on Facebook much these past couple of months, but today I signed in and I saw this and felt compelled to copy and paste it on here. These words just seemed to hit the spot today for some reason. I hope I&#8217;m not coming down with anything&#8230;.</p>
<p><a href="http://lucasblackwood.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/sometimes.jpg"><img class="aligncenter  wp-image-606" title="sometimes" src="http://lucasblackwood.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/sometimes.jpg" alt="" width="383" height="232" /></a></p>
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		<title>Vessel Sinks Online</title>
		<link>http://lucasblackwood.com/2012/04/vessel-sinks-online/</link>
		<comments>http://lucasblackwood.com/2012/04/vessel-sinks-online/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 09 Apr 2012 22:24:16 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Lucas</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Friends/Family]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Home Improvement]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Internet]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[remodeling]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lucasblackwood.com/?p=591</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It looks like my sister-in-law has changed her mind once again about how she wants her master bath made over. Part of the Easter dinner conversation was about the do over that is taking place over there, and the beautiful vessel sinks that she found online and now wants to use in their master bath. [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>It looks like my sister-in-law has changed her mind once again about how she wants her master bath made over. Part of the Easter dinner conversation was about the do over that is taking place over there, and the beautiful <a href="http://www.bathroomvesselsinks.com/vessel-sinks.asp  ">vessel sinks</a> that she found online and now wants to use in their master bath. Most of the talking was done by her while my brother basically nodded his head and smiled on occasion when he felt it was warranted. I feel so bad for him to be stuck in this marriage with a loud mouthed woman who seems to be busy making his life miserable all because they got pregnant and decided to &#8220;do the right thing&#8221; and get married, for the baby&#8217;s sake.</p>
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		<title>April Showers</title>
		<link>http://lucasblackwood.com/2012/04/april-showers/</link>
		<comments>http://lucasblackwood.com/2012/04/april-showers/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 07 Apr 2012 08:22:02 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Lucas</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Environment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Home and Garden]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[flowers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mother Nature]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[rain]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lucasblackwood.com/?p=120</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Well we haven&#8217;t held true this year with the old saying that April Showers bring May Flowers. I sure hope that we do get some rain soon, my well is acting like it is running on the dry side and that isn&#8217;t good news. I wonder who ticked off Mother Nature this year. We have [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Well we haven&#8217;t held true this year with the old saying that April Showers bring May Flowers. I sure hope that we do get some rain soon, my well is acting like it is running on the dry side and that isn&#8217;t good news. I wonder who ticked off Mother Nature this year. We have had nothing but wacky weather for so very long, it&#8217;s getting old.</p>
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		<title>Teen rated video game</title>
		<link>http://lucasblackwood.com/2012/04/teen-rated-video-game/</link>
		<comments>http://lucasblackwood.com/2012/04/teen-rated-video-game/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 03 Apr 2012 21:50:15 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Lucas</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Entertainment/Fun]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[game]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[money]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[teen]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lucasblackwood.com/?p=571</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Sandra was telling me that her ten year old son has asked her if he could use his allowance money to buy a video game called Uncharted 3. She asked me if I had ever heard of the game, or played it myself. I told her that I have not played that game before, but [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Sandra was telling me that her ten year old son has asked her if he could use his allowance money to buy a video game called <a href="http://www.thesource.ca/estore/product.aspx?language=en-CA&#038;catalog=Online&#038;category=PS3_AD&#038;product=5815100">Uncharted 3</a>.  She asked me if I had ever heard of the game, or played it myself. I told her that I have not played that game before, but heard that it is a Teen rated game, so I would encourage her to steer him in a different direction at this point in time. I know that there are a lot of parents that let their pre-teens play Teen rated games, but I think that it is a mistake. </p>
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		<title>Guard your cash closely</title>
		<link>http://lucasblackwood.com/2012/03/guard-your-cash-closely/</link>
		<comments>http://lucasblackwood.com/2012/03/guard-your-cash-closely/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 28 Mar 2012 21:20:10 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Lucas</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Friends/Family]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Life]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Money/Finances]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[work]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cash]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[crazy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[family]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lucasblackwood.com/?p=566</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[During the past week I&#8217;ve heard of two incidences of family members losing cash and it drives me crazy. My own mother mailed cash to one of my nephews in a birthday card, and the birthday card was never received. What drives me crazy about this instance is that she has done this before and [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>During the past week I&#8217;ve heard of two incidences of family members losing cash and it drives me crazy. My own mother mailed cash to one of my nephews in a birthday card, and the birthday card was never received. What drives me crazy about this instance is that she has done this before and lost the cash, and we had a long talk about how she should never put cash in the mail. And to top it off, she has seen my nephew several times recently and she could have simply handed him the birthday card instead of putting it in the mailbox.</p>
<p>The second instance is when my niece left her rent money, which was in cash, in her purse at work. The employees have to share lockers, so several people had access to her purse during the day. Her money went missing, and so she claims that she has no rent money. I cannot understand for the life of me why anyone would leave large amounts of cash in a shared locker at work. Why she did not keep the money in her pocket, or in her locked car stashed under the seat or in the trunk or glove box I have no idea at all. It was hard biting my tongue on that one, I&#8217;ll tell you that!</p>
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