Once in a blue moon (updated)

Temps stared out around 41 this morning and light rain. It's now 34 and the snow just started. Still too warm to stick, but temps are dropping. For once, I am glad to be home camped out on the computer drinking wassail and watching the traffic reports.
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Looks like squirrel moving day. I have spotted 5-6 of the little tree rats scurrying out in my yard trying to pack it in before the freeze. Dog's going nuts trying to get at them.

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Addendum:

Seems that somebody is happy with the snow...

Frost on my cacti

Forecasters down here are projecting the possibility of snow tomorrow.

From the way the news crews are covering it and the city is going into massive preparation, you'd think that we were hunkering down for another hurricane. Typically, when the road conditions get dicey, they wind up shutting down school districts, closing businesses, firing up the sand trucks (hey, we only get to use them once every 10 years or so!).

I love my fellow Texans, but as I've pointed out before, a lot of them don't how to drive on ice/snow. I am not going to claim to be a seasoned veteran, but I've logged a fair amount of hours on winter road and have some experience handing lousy road conditions (driven on black ice on the Autobahn). Even with that experience, I am off this week (working on chores) and have no intentions of hitting the streets mañana. Although, I may keep any eye out for all of the shennanigins on the road.

Who knows what mother nature may bring?

Home on the range

Back from west Texas.

Very long drive, tired. Weather was good, still trying bag that elusive jackalope.

The trip/weekend started out well, but I fouled up big time. I got a bit of a mess on my hands and I am seriously pissed off. No one I can blame but myself so I am in a very foul mood right now. I will get past this issue, but right now I am not in the holiday mood, but I am getting better.

It may sound morbid, but what helped raise my mood yesterday was attending a funeral for an old acquantance I worked with/knew for a long while. Harry was 58 years young (only 6 years older than me) and passed away suddenly while returning from Oklahoma visiting with his daughter and grandkids. Harry was a great man and the service was packed/oveflowing. As one of his close friends noted, with so many people attending, they should have charged admission. Most of the people attending were from my old company and, while we got talk on how everyone was doing, but it was a sad occasion to play catch up. I am in a quasi network of people who worked in one company that formed a close bond and it seems that the only updates I hear now is when people pass away.

It spite of my very sour disposition at the time, what sobered me up was that my problems, no matter how bad I make them out to be, pale in comparison to the loss of a friend/loved one. Life is way to fragile/brief to sweat the little stuff.

"Dance like no one is watching, love like you'll never be hurt,sing like no one is listening,and live like it's heaven on earth."- William Purkey

Friday Follies (gurgle, burp)...

OK. Mildly overdid it. Better than previous years, but still had too much. Need to run extra 5 miles just to pay for the pie.

It is great to have my son down here, even if for a very brief time. He is working on a project for one of his classes so he has to go back early Sunday but momma's ecstatic to see him. Of course, it was interesting last night as we watched the game. You see, my son, Bless His Heart, attends that other university that just happens to be the rival to the Alma mater that I attended. In spite of my best efforts at indoctrinating/cajoling/brainwashing him, he chose his own path and he elected to attend the other institution and has done great. Outstanding grades, top of the class, already has pulled in three intern slots over the past three years and those were not lightweight jobs. So, he made an excellent choice in his academic selection and I have not doubt that he will be a great success in life, but, once a year, when the two football teams meet on the gridiron, things can get heated. Somewhere along the line last night, I think momma said that if the other team wins, he's on his own for spring tuition. In the end, my team didn't lose, they just got outscored (again). In the morning light, everything alright with world again and, no, he does not have to pay for his tuition.


Black Friday. Be afraid. Be very afraid.
Stuffed with Turkey & dressing, and oozing giblets and gravy, the masses have descended upon the malls/stores early this morning. Armed with adds and shopping lists cranked up on coffee and leftover pumpkin pie, the mobs are wandering the retail landscape like some seen from Zombieland. Already hearing reports of mall parking lots being 1/2 full (and it is only 0645). Given the choice of braving the malls/traffic, hanging the Christmas lights, raking up leaves, or heading west, I chose the latter. I am headed out to the Pecos region with my brother for a short hunting trek. Scored an open slot on the lease and, since I was off next week anyway, thought I would snatch up the opportunity. Should be back in a few days.

Vaya Con Dios!

Have a great weekend and enjoy the rest of the holidays!

Gracias

Many Thanks !
Muchas Gracias !,
Molte Grazie !
Shukran !
Xie Xie !
Tusind Tak !,
Merci Beaucoup!
Danke Schön !
Domo Arigato !
Muito Obrigado !
Bolshoiy Spasibo!!!!

As I get ready to stuff the bird and toss him in the oven, I like to take a moment to remember what we have that we to be thankful for:

• our life
• our health
• our families
• our friends
• our home
• our prosperity
• our freedoms
• our upbringing
• our surroundings

I am grateful to have the opportunity to enjoy some of these blessings with my family. I want to remember those who cannot be home with their loved ones. To those men & women who serve abroad, to those working to protect us from harm, to those who stand ready to lend aid and comfort, I thank you. It is on your shoulders we stand so that we can enjoy today with our families and friends. I hope that whereever you are, whatever you are doing, you can take a moment to enjoy the day and remember our blessings.

Thank you...

Prep'in the LZ

One day left.
Turkey's thawing, wine's chilling, the beer is iced, the ingredients are ready, the table set. One more day until we gorge ourselves until our eyes bug out.

I have bird duty. On t-days of old, I used to run in the local charity 10 k run on Thanksgiving morning (sort of justifying the massive intake). I would get up at the crack of early, stuff the bird and toss it in the oven before I headed out for the run. Nowadays, I run a bit less, but still do the needful and then go take the dog for an extra long walk/run. Festivities start around 1300. Of course, we always tend to have way too much food and this year looks to be no different. One interesting twist this year is that this is Grayson's first turkey day with us. Shadow pretty much knew the score. He knew who to kiss up to for handouts (mom) and who to cuddle up to for constant petting (dad). I won't even get into the whipped cream incident of a few years back. By the end of the day, the dog would be totally stuffed and worn out. To the new kid, it will be like a kid in a candy store. We'll see how his manners are. Junior is expected to be home this afternoon. Mom hugs to follow.

Half day at the office today. It is always fun (NOT) to hang around work during the holidays. People start to disappear/leave like a zombie movie. Of course, there is always some crisis or fire drill or urgent report that needs to be done and, apparantly, I am the only one with two working brain cells (not at the same time) who is available that can fix the problem or give them their report. Look, people. I am here to take care of my own trivial problems/crisis. You need to find a solution or wait until next week when the "expert" is back from vacation. Hard to stay in a festive mode when you keep getting these requests. The one bright spot is our typical "let's leave early" rumor. Typically, it starts sometime on Wednesday morning. Casual coffee conversation (Do you know when we can leave? Have they released everyone yet? How long are we going to stay today?). When I know, you'll know. But yesterday, the powers that be (the company lawyer is in charge this week) decided to make the call and let everyone know the schedule early (OMG - they actually thought this out!). We got the notice early yesterday:

In appreciation of your efforts and results, we will have an early release day tomorrow for some employees who comply with a healthy lifestyle. Any employee who agrees to exercise at least once during the extended weekend (Wednesday-Sunday) can leave at 3 pm tomorrow. If you agree to exercise at least twice between Wednesday and Sunday, you can leave at 1:30 pm. If you're willing to exercise three times, you can leave at noon tomorrow. We will use the honor system and you can decide the type and duration of your exercise. Our Compliance Officer asked if the operation of a remote control or performing 12 ounce curls (drinking a beer or a big glass of Cakebread wine) count as exercise events and we said "no".

I used to have shipping and that normally made me the last one out, but since I plan to knock down another 10k and will be out hunting this weekend, I will take the 1200 exit strategy.

Take care and travel safely. Enjoy the holidays.
And if you venture out on Black Friday, shop safe, shop smart.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Short week

I am a fan of short weeks (sort of).

A lot of people have taken off for the holidays and I am ususally wind up being one of the "last ones out" to take care of the place before we close up for a few days. With family in town and my son in school until Wednesday, we don't need to go out of town like many people do. It is nice to stay home for the holidays and play catch up on chores, put up lights, eat way too much, brave the crowds on Black Friday, watch a number of games, hit the auto show, get in some hunting. Even with everyone coming over on Thursday to my place, it still gives me time to work on some projects around here.

I normally like having the quiet time at the office to finish off some reports and make headway on several projects, but, typically something breaks or someone has an emergency shipment/problem and I wind up getting sucked into helping them. The one good thing is most of the big chiefs are gone so the atmosphere is a bit more relaxed (but not much). We had our company Thanksgiving dinner last week. A lot more mundane than previous years (less hoopla, fewer gifts), but it was fun nonetheless. In the old regime, we used to have a Christmas party for the entire company in one of the large hotels in downtown Houston. Very nice affair with massive amounts of food and liquor and a ton of door prizes. Nothing like seeing your CEO dressed up like Santa Claus or Elvis or wearing a genuine kilt. The guy was always a wee bit over the top at times, but at least it was amusing to watch him. At least the company is doing pretty well and we can celebrate the holidays on a high note. Another year I did NOT win the prize....

Only two more days until Thanksgiving.

Watch your giblets...