My Heroes

I Ginger have stolen the computer today and have taken a break from my plots for world conquest and domination to talk about my heroes! My heroes are grumps with attitude and for those who are happy enjoy it while it lasts for I Ginger, future world dictator will end all this happy stuff.

You see, I take great delight in grumpiness and evil plots and well, Happy  just doesnt fit in my world scenario.

The one thing I do like about my slave… er dad… is that he is a grumpy person.  Funny, I was told he wasnt a grump at all and then I arrived…… hmmmm…..  but he a a grump and that part I love about him.

One of his heroes is Henry Ford and the stories he tells about old Henry is that this guy was one big grump….. I like Henry Ford…. here is a picture of old Henry with his son Edsel, their daughter and son (William who owned some cat football team in Detroit city) and his wife.  Notice they are all smiling except for Henry… I can understand why he wasnt smiling for they were watching some other stinky cat team from Detroit play baseball…. but I have to admit Henry Ford is a hero of mine also for the guy knew how to rule things with a Iron Fist. (note-like dad though there are some things about Henry Ford I do not like, but  we wont talk about them here.. but if you know Henry Ford you know what we are talking about).

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Way to go Henry… who needs to smile needlessly…..

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My next hero however, turned out to be a traitor to the cause of grumpiness.  He is a world class sellout……  I love his statement; “Let them starve and decrease the surplus population!”  Yeah, my kind of guy…. its logical and it works without any effort (plus more for me!)….. so while I liked him early on in the story by the end I despised this sellout…

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Ebenezer Scrooge…… hero turned traitor….

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My next hero who turned out to be a even bigger traitor ruined my Christmas as I watched the story on TV with dad while eating and throwing popcorn….. hehehehe…. the cats sure looked horrible with all those white bits in their fur!!!   My favorite song of all time comes from this movie and here it is;

-Who couldnt love someone who is more foul than a seasick crocodile?

So, of those three only Henry Ford passed the test of being a true grump and never selling out.  I love how he ruled with a iron fist and was grumpy…..  my true hero and the image of how I like to see ppl treated when I rule the world!  Muwahahahaha

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One should only smile when they see this face…… and then only briefly….. unless I say otherwise of course… you have my permission to smile.. NOW!

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He Was Ahead Of His Time…..

For all his faults and greatness one thing that Henry Ford was years ahead of his time in was animal care and energy.

His home Fair Lane completed in 1916 was a wonder.  It had over 500 bird baths that were heated in the winter for the birds.  He loved birds  all his life and not only built over 500 bird houses on his land but also threw his support behind the migratory bird protection laws of the early 1910’s.   He installed bat homes to control mosquitoes and when he would build at a new site he tried to make sure the local wild animals were captured and relocated safely.  Sort of interesting isnt it? His  water supply came from a well and rain water and to dry your hands or hair there were built in electric blow dryers….. in 1916!!!

But, Henry Ford was not only a animal lover he was one of the earliest alternative energy people. You see he built at Fair Lane a Hyrdo-power damn electric plant that not only ran Fair Lane but was the main energy source for Dearborn, MI for many years.  Henry Ford in 1941 developed a car that today would be innovative.  You see he felt that a car should be grown from the ground, used and then recycled back into the earth when through.  So, using Soybean oil, hemp, flax, wheat he developed a plastic car built of these things and for the fuel used hemp ethanol to run the Ford V-8.  The plastic was 10 times stronger than metal and weighed a lot less than metal.  His ford car even had the back trunk lid build of this material and there is a film of him and the film below of someone else  hitting it with a sledge hammer with no cracks, scratches, dents or any damage even though it is in the middle of winter…..

He also had a suit built from soy beans and it is not well known but in the 1930’s Ford started painting their cars with soy oil based paints and used the oil in the shocks for fluid.  Henry Ford was also into recycling. When the Model T was being built the wood chips from the manufacturing were sold to a new enterprise run by his cousin named King.  There in a joint venture it was made into Charcoal…. the name is Kingsford!

Henry Ford also when he had parts shipped from other companies requested they be sent in crates with holes in certain places on each side of a crate a certain size. When the crate arrived the the crate was disassembled and the crate sides used for floorboards for the Model T and the pedals fit through the pre-made holes……

Below are a couple of  You Tube Films about the Plastic Car… now the Hemp supporters claim it was made of hemp but it was mostly soy and hemp was used also but more so in the ethanol according to one of his associates who worked on the car…..
remember this was in 1941…. what killed it?  WWII……

 

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Henry Ford… we collies like him!

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RIP William Clay Ford

As I was working on the Case tractor today I was listening to the radio when they announced that William Clay Ford, aged 88, last surviving grandchild of Henry Ford and last surviving child of Edsel Ford passed away today.  As you all know I am a big fan of Fords, Henry and Edsel Ford and although I despise the Detroit Lions I do sincerely wish they had won a Championship during his ownership.

The collies and our family send our deepest condolences to the Ford family and want to take this moment to thank Mr. Ford and his family for all they have done in helping others not only through jobs, fine cars and tractors, but in their giving away millions of dollars to charity and to rebuilding downtown Detroit.  They, like all other ppl have their problems and shortcomings, but their gifts to humanity have far outweighed any of the perceived problems their family may have had.  We salute the Ford family for all they have done and we want them to know they are in our prayers and we ask that God guide them, bless them and keep them through these sad times.

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_Edsel Ford Family… William is on the end on your right….

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Only One Passes Ginger’s Test

I Ginger have stolen the computer today and have taken a break from my plots for world conquest and domination to wish you all a Merry Christmas! Enjoy it while it lasts for I Ginger, future world dictator will end all this merry stuff.

You see, I take great delight in grumpiness and evil plots and well, Merry just doesnt fit in my world scenario.

The one thing I do like about my slave… er dad… is that he is a grumpy person.  Funny, I was told he wasnt a grump at all and then I arrived…… hmmmm…..  but he a a grump and that part I love about him.

One of his heroes is Henry Ford and the stories he tells about old Henry is that this guy was one big grump….. I like Henry Ford…. here is a picture of old Henry with his son Edsel, their daughter and son (William who owns some cat football team in Detroit city) and his wife.  Notice they are all smiling except for Henry… I can understand why he wasnt smiling for they were watching some other stinky cat team from Detroit play baseball…. but I have to admit Henry Ford is a hero of mine also for the guy knew how to rule things with a Iron Fist. (note-like dad though there are some things about Henry Ford I do not like, but  we wont talk about them here.. but if you know Henry Ford you know what we are talking about).

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Way to go Henry… who needs to smile needlessly…..

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My first hero however, turned out to be a traitor to the cause of grumpiness.  He is a world class sellout……  I love his statement; “Let them starve and decrease the surplus population!”  Yeah, my kind of guy…. its logical and it works without any effort….. so while I liked him early on in the story by the end I despised this sellout…

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Ebenezer Scrooge…… hero turned traitor….

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My next hero who turned out to be a even bigger traitor ruined my Christmas as I watched the story on TV with dad while eating and throwing popcorn….. hehehehe…. the cats sure looked horrible with all those white bits in their fur!!!   My favorite song of all time comes from this movie and here it is;

-Who couldnt love someone who is more foul than a seasick crocodile?

So, of those three only Henry Ford passed the test of being a true grump and never selling out.  I love how he ruled with a iron fist and was grumpy…..  my true hero and the image of how I like to see ppl treat Christmas when I rule the world!  Muwahahahaha

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One should only smile when they see this face…… and then only briefly….. unless I say otherwise of course… you have my permission to smile.. NOW!

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Collie Christmas Recommendations

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Usually by now we collies are at the window watching dad plow snow like in this picture.  Mom washed the drapes and cleaned the windows (they get lots of nose smudges for some reason!)In so we could watch our slave, er.. dad plow the driveway so he could get out to go to work to make sure we get fed! 🙂

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In front of the window is Trevor…..

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Alas, we have no snow on the ground so far…. so the old tractors rests and dad is thrilled for he hates snow!

So, we collies thought we would add a few Christmas suggestions to the Terhune and other books we mentioned earlier!

For Collie Lovers we suggest from the Terhune Memorial Society anything by the person who knows more about Terhune than anyone in our opinion;

Kristina Marshall.  We have her FOREVER FRIENDS and it is a thrilling and wonderful book about all the collies that lived at Sunnybank with the bloodlines coming out of Sunnybank!  This is a must have and just type in Terhune Memorial Society on Google to get more information or type in the book with Kristina Marshall’s name. 🙂 She also has several other book and all of them are GREAT!!!!

For Automobile Lovers;

A great read about the history of Henry Ford, his family through to the early 90’s, the Ford Company and the cars a excellent book is ;

FORD, THE MEN AND THE MACHINE by Robert Lacey

For the best biography about Henry Ford we have read and can recommend volume one of the three volume set by Nevins.  Volume one covers Henry Ford, his family life, Ford Motor Company, the cars and his other activities up to 1915.  It is fascinating to see the beginnings of the Ford Company and how they did all they could do to keep it going until it finally exploded into the beginning of the huge company it is now. This book is: FORD, THE TIMES, THE MAN, THE COMPANY

For Our fellow Footy Fans we recommend the following;

THE OFFICIAL HISTORY OF MANCHESTER UNITED with the forward by Sir Bobby Charlton.  It is by the football team and various volumes go from their beginnings to 2005, 2008, 2009, 2012.  They are all the same except for the year they end.  This is one great book of one great team!

UNITED; THE FIRST 100 Years by Paul Joannou is the best history of the wonderful Magpies of Newcastle!!!!

For Movie Lovers we recommend;

THE QUIET MAN with John Wayne and Maureen O’ Hara

HIS GIRL FRIDAY with Rosalind Russell and Cary Grant

For the men;

Any Three Stooges Films

For the Women;

Any movie with Katharine Hepburn

Hopefully this will help……

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I Ginger think the ultimate Christmas present is printing out this picture of me lifesize and putting it on your wall………

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We will soon pick up more of our hiking in the nature center soon….

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HE Was Ahead Of His Time

For all his faults and greatness one thing that Henry Ford was years ahead of his time in was animal care and energy.

His home Fair Lane completed in 1916 was a wonder.  It had over 500 bird baths that were heated in the winter for the birds.  He loved birds  all his life and not only built over 500 bird houses on his land but also threw his support behind the migratory bird protection laws of the early 1910’s.   He installed bat homes to control mosquitoes and when he would build at a new site he tried to make sure the local wild animals were captured and relocated safely.  Sort of interesting isnt it? His  water supply came from a well and rain water and to dry your hands or hair there were built in electric blow dryers….. in 1916!!!

But, Henry Ford was not only a animal lover he was one of the earliest alternative energy people. You see he built at Fair Lane a Hyrdo-power damn electric plant that not only ran Fair Lane but was the main energy source for Dearborn, MI for many years.  Henry Ford in 1941 developed a car that today would be innovative.  You see he felt that a car should be grown from the ground, used and then recycled back into the earth when through.  So, using Soybean oil, hemp, flax, wheat he developed a plastic car built of these things and for the fuel used hemp ethanol to run the Ford V-8.  The plastic was 10 times stronger than metal and weighed a lot less than metal.  His ford car even had the back trunk lid build of this material and there is a film of him and the film below of someone else  hitting it with a sledge hammer with no cracks, scratches, dents or any damage even though it is in the middle of winter…..

He also had a suit built from soy beans and it is not well known but in the 1930’s Ford started painting their cars with soy oil based paints and used the oil in the shocks for fluid.  Henry Ford was also into recycling. When the Model T was being built the wood chips from the manufacturing were sold to a new enterprise run by his cousin named King.  There in a joint venture it was made into Charcoal…. the name is Kingsford!

Henry Ford also when he had parts shipped from other companies requested they be sent in crates with holes in certain places on each side of a crate a certain size. When the crate arrived the the crate was disassembled and the crate sides used for floorboards for the Model T and the pedals fit through the pre-made holes……

Below are a couple of  You Tube Films about the Plastic Car… now the Hemp supporters claim it was made of hemp but it was mostly soy and hemp was used also but more so in the ethanol according to one of his associates who worked on the car…..
remember this was in 1941…. what killed it?  WWII……

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Looking back and a pleasant surprise from a Ford… :)

Yesterday was the anniversary of Trevor’s passing and quite a few of you wrote, phoned us and even visited. Thank you for everyone that did!  It was a sort of melancholy day.  With my delay in being able to go to Edsel Ford’s home I was a bit down in the dumps.  But, having everyone contact me cheered me up a bit and talking about Trevor and sharing the memories helped too.

Those of you who remember I recently posted about Edsel Ford being a genius and today really brightened when I was contacted by Edsel’s grandson Edsel II.  At first I was sort of in disbelief but then when I checked the ID it was him. He left a very nice comment about the post about his grandfather.  I am very humbled and moved that I was contacted by the grandson of two men I really admire…. actually three for Henry II was Edsel’s son and Edsel II’s father.  Henry II saved Ford and while he did not have all the answers he hired the best ppl to come up with those answers! A big thank you to Edsel II for contacting me.  One thing I wish I could tell Edsel II is that my wife has an ancestor named Edsel Ruddiman…. for those Fordophiles out there yes, that is the Edsel who was Henry’s best friend in school and whom he named his son Edsel after.  Now, I thought my wife made it up until she showed me the family tree proving it.  Edsel’s brother James married Margaret Ford… Henry’s sister!  So, while my wife is not related to the Ford family she does have a strange connection! 🙂 LOL

But, seriously, if Edsel II ever reads this let me say your comment meant a lot to me!  Thank you!  May God Bless the Ford Family, Edsel II and the Ford Motor Company.

Now, back to Trevor….  I thought about him all day and missed him more than ever.  Its hard to believe he has been gone for a year.  On July 2 it will have been three years since Anya left us.  August brings 7 years since Niamh left….. summer is sort of a bittersweet time of year…..  but through it all I have found that I am so grateful to have had Trevor.  With Trevor I knew for 6 months the end was near.  So, I was as prepared as I could be.  It didnt hurt any less, but it was nice to be able to say a long goodbye!  Unlike Niamh, Hallie and Anya and MacKenzie who all had the death out of the clear blue sky strike like lightning, leaving me to wonder what happened and regretting not being able to say goodbye.   Each one of my collies has blessed me by their being part of my life, by their coming to me, even their deaths have opened up the door to new friends and new adventures.  Each of them still bless me even though they are now gone.  I loved them all and it is the truth when I say I am humbled to have been loved by them.  Why would they love a old cranky guy like me?  I had nothing to offer them and I perhaps needed them more than they needed me.  But, non-the-less they loved me despite who I am and made me a better person because of it.  THere seems to be something very unfair in the fact that these wonderful, beautiful, loving, unselfish giving fantastically beautiful beings who were 10 times a better being than I will ever be are gone and I am still here.  It just does not seem right.  They changed the world and my life for the better…. I only hope they felt I changed their lives for the better.  I tried to and I only hope I did so.

Having Trevor was just one of those “accidents” that happened.  Yes, an accident to everyone but God.  He left me a better person and stronger.  As I walk into the future without him and the others I know they helped me to become stronger and better, but still I am not half the wonderful being they were and are.  One lesson I learned for sure is do not take your dog, cat or family member or friend for granted.  I have learned life is fragile and at any moment they can and do leave you when God decided it is time for them to come home to Him.  So, take a moment, hug those around you, tell them you love them and think…. as you go to bed tonight would you want your last words, actions or moments to be the ones you had with today or would you like to get another hug, to say you love them or pet them on the head.  Do so… there are no guarantees they will be there…. make the most of it.  What does it cost you but a few moments of your time….

To Trevor and to all my collies thank you for loving me. I am unworthy of such a selfless love.  Your loving me makes proves you “mere” collies walk closer to God than I do, will ever be able to do and than most ppl will ever do.  Thank you to MacKenzie, Chessie, Niamh, Hallie, Sadie, Anya and to you Trevor forever.  A word of thanks to old Cheyenne and George the cats who loved me and proved to be much more loyal friends than I could prove to be…. finally, a big remembering thanks to the dogs of my childhood Heidi and Rusty and Snoopy.  Its been almost 40 years for some of you and I still love and miss you.   Also, thank you God…. for showing me how we humans with all our brains need to stop thinking we are so darned smart and to take a deep breath and to see that the beings who actually love the way you do are… dogs…. they love us when we are not nice, they love those who abuse them, they will die for us and more… yet all they ask is us to love them back…..  what a small thing to ask for us creatures who can walk on the moon….

Lil Hallie and I….. even at this point she knew who she loved…. *smile*

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By the way, Edsel Ford is on your left, his wife Eleanor is next and Henry II is next to her. Henry II became head of Ford after old Henry gave up the reigns in 1945.  Henry II is the father of Edsel II.  Then is Benson and Josephine and William who is still alive. 🙂  Most families hope to have a famous member of their family.  The Ford’s had many brilliant and famous people and the Ford’s running the show now are intent on becoming number one.  I for one am rooting them on. 🙂

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A GENIUS!!!!

A pure collie post will be coming later today……

While I believe Henry Ford was a genius I have come to believe that after the Ford Model T that the true genius at Ford was his son Edsel.  You see, Edsel with Bob Gregorie designed the Model A, then he designed the 32 Ford the famous Deuce!  He developed the teardrop Fords, the Lincoln Zephyr and the Lincoln Continental!  He founded Mercury and his designs are still considered some of the most beautiful cars ever built!

While old Henry was developing a V-8 (no small feat!!!!) Edsel was putting sealed beam headlights into the fenders, creating Continental Kits, designing locking ignition switches on the steering wheel and creating new looks that were copied by everyone in the automobile industry.  While Henry fought four wheel brakes and hydraulic brakes Edsel put them in with safety features!!!  Safety glass… Edsel put that in the low price Fords…. the first low price car to do that!  While Henry was putting hydraulic shock absorbers on the Model A’s Edsel was developing bucket seats and Fords had them in the 1930’s!!!

Henry got all the attention but the guy who put Ford into the fast lane in advancing technology was the unsung hero… Edsel Ford.  Unlike his father Edsel was a all around nice guy who did not agree with his father about much outside of making Ford the tops and even that was a war for Edsel!

A soft spoken man who liked to remain in the background Edsel loved life and boats, cars, airplanes, art, music, animals and his family.  Dogs, Edsel’s family had lots of dogs and yes they had at least one collie!!!  His daughter Josephine loved animals and was a big supporter of taking care of animals during her lifetime!

Edsel gave money to Admiral Byrd for his polar expeditions,  for Amelia Earhart and other explorers.  He supported the arts and his main love after his family were cars.  But, he loved beautiful cars and he had up to 18 cars in his garage at any time.  Oh yes, Fords, Mercurys and of course Lincolns.  But, he also had some beautiful European cars and even had some American makes like Cadillac!!!

Edsel Ford’s son, Henry II took over the company in 1945 after his father died and old Henry could no longer lead. He saved the company and took on Chevrolet for almost 40 years and made it a powerhouse once again after old Henry almost wrecked the company.  Benson another son did wonderful research in many areas and while we mentioned Josephine his other son William Clay Ford is still alive today and owns the Detroit Lions.  The William Ford who is in charge of Ford now vows they will be number one again and in most countries they have passed GM in sales and last month total company sales came within 6,000 total vehicles of catching GM in America!

If it hadnt been for Edsel Ford would not be here now….  he saved the company and was a wonderful human being who no one spoke badly of.  He was overshadowed all his life by his father……  which is too bad.  But, I dont think Edsel would’ve had it any other way other than his father being nicer to him.  Edsel was the force behind Lincoln being bought by Ford and from that point on he designed one beautiful car after another…… each a legend in the automobile world.

With my busy schedule I have decided to take one day off to rest….. no collie business, no tractor business, no school, no work… just a day to recharge.  What am I going to do?  Well, I am heading off to Ford House.. the home of Edsel and Eleanor Ford….. I can;t think of a better way to just get away from it all.. and by the way… look up Ford House and take a look at his home.. this guy had a gorgeous home!

So, a salute to Edsel Ford!!!!  May God Bless his soul….

Edsel Ford and His Family!

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Edsel and Eleanor

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The 1932 Ford…. the Deuce which is my favorite Ford of all time….

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The 1939 Mercury, Edsel’s creation comes to life!

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To me, the most elegant and beautiful car ever built the Lincoln Continental, Edsel’s greatest creation……

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SALUTE to you Edsel!!!!!

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Our Christmas And THANK YOU!!!!!

We are very happy with Christmas, with lots of doggie treats, a wonderful meal and lots of loves. Even Ginger got what the rest of us got which shows what a softy the old guy is.

Dad was very happy for he received the other two volumes of the Ford, the man, the times and the company so he can study the history of the Ford family, Henry Ford, the company and the cars.  He got lots of Reeses Peanut Butter Cups…. and he  got a hat for plowing snow, some money for tractor repairs and lots of wonderful goodies as well as some old family heirlooms which while not highly valuable are very sentimental to him….. 🙂  He also received a item that years ago he had sold due to rough times…..  it was given back to him at Christmas and we never saw him so moved…..  his expression as he held it was very moving for it was like a old friend had come home.  He has always regretted selling it, but it had to be done at the time and now it is back with him and he is really thrilled.

We took a afternoon nap as Dad and the family took the Ford for a visit and then he played with us and we had a riot….

Dad visited all your blogs today and was so thrilled to do so.  We all enjoy all your blogs and your comments and your kindness… thank you for being our friends, for your kind words and for visiting our humble little blog.  We love you all and we truly hope your Christmas was a very happy and blessed time!

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We hope you had a Merry Christmas and thank you for your support, comments, kind words and friendship through the past years.  God Bless You All!!!!

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The Collie Recommend

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Usually by now we collies are at the window watching dad plow snow like in this picture.  Mom washed the drapes and cleaned the windows (they get lots of nose smudges for some reason!)In so we could watch our slave, er.. dad plow the driveway so he could get out to go to work to make sure we get fed! 🙂

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In front of the window is Trevor…..

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Alas, we have no snow on the ground so far…. so the old tractors rests and dad is thrilled for he hates snow!

So, we collies thought we would add a few Christmas suggestions to the Terhune and other books we mentioned earlier!

For Collie Lovers we suggest from the Terhune Memorial Society anything by the person who knows more about Terhune than anyone in our opinion;

Kristina Marshall.  We have her FOREVER FRIENDS and it is a thrilling and wonderful book about all the collies that lived at Sunnybank with the bloodlines coming out of Sunnybank!  This is a must have and just type in Terhune Memorial Society on Google to get more information or type in the book with Kristina Marshall’s name. 🙂 She also has several other book and all of them are GREAT!!!!

For Automobile Lovers;

A great read about the history of Henry Ford, his family through to the early 90’s, the Ford Company and the cars a excellent book is ;

FORD, THE MEN AND THE MACHINE by Robert Lacey

For the best biography about Henry Ford we have read and can recommend volume one of the three volume set by Nevins.  Volume one covers Henry Ford, his family life, Ford Motor Company, the cars and his other activities up to 1915.  It is fascinating to see the beginnings of the Ford Company and how they did all they could do to keep it going until it finally exploded into the beginning of the huge company it is now. This book is: FORD, THE TIMES, THE MAN, THE COMPANY

For Our fellow Footy Fans we recommend the following;

THE OFFICIAL HISTORY OF MANCHESTER UNITED with the forward by Sir Bobby Charlton.  It is by the football team and various volumes go from their beginnings to 2005, 2008, 2009, 2012.  They are all the same except for the year they end.  This is one great book of one great team!

UNITED; THE FIRST 100 Years by Paul Joannou is the best history of the wonderful Magpies of Newcastle!!!!

For Movie Lovers we recommend;

THE QUIET MAN with John Wayne and Maureen O’ Hara

HIS GIRL FRIDAY with Rosalind Russell and Cary Grant

For the men;

Any Three Stooges Films

For the Women;

Any movie with Katharine Hepburn

Hopefully this will help……

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I Ginger think the ultimate Christmas present is printing out this picture of me lifesize and putting it on your wall………

Read Full Post »