tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6506189931316580312024-02-15T03:45:08.538-06:00My Two CentsJust another rambling old fart with little to addagg79http://www.blogger.com/profile/08925069219602681862noreply@blogger.comBlogger770125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-650618993131658031.post-27783714665527977602016-09-12T05:43:00.001-05:002016-09-12T05:43:17.791-05:00Small world<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">It's been a long week. I was out out on the road again with a trip to our sister company and just got back in time to head up to College Station for the first football game last weekend. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">With my job, I have the opportunity to travel a bit. Not an obscene amount like in sales or service, but more than the average bear. I get to travel to wild and exotic places like Manila or Hong Kong or Minneapolis or Buffalo or even Denver to meet with suppliers. Whenever I go, I take the opportunity to tour the sites and experience the area. Hike the local paths, eat the local food, drink the local beer. Life's a journey and sometimes we need to take time and enjoy the adventure. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Enjoy the mountain vistas (we don't have hills like these down in Houston). </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Enjoy a quaint local hotel near the academy</span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">And have the opportunity to meet some really interesting people on the trail.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Yea, Abby already let that cat out of the bag. Two weekends back, I flew up to Denver to spend a week at our sister division and I took an earlier flight up to make a side trip down to Colorado Springs for the weekend. I thought, hey, while I'm cruising the Mile High State, why not pop down and try to see some old friends? Not only does Abby rule the trails down in CS, but I sorta neglected to tell her that my old crazy roommate happens to live in the same town as she does. Ya know, the George Clooney guy that dresses in a tux for a class <a href="http://aluminut.blogspot.com/2014/11/35-years-later.html">reunion</a>? Well, like many trips I take, I tend to have an ulterior motive. So I when I planned a trip down to CS to reminiscence over old war stories with my old roommate and, while in the area, have a chance to meet up with another interesting blog friend I have known/talked with for years. I spend Saturday evening having dinner with my friend and his wife and then planned to meet up with Abby on Sunday before heading back up to Denver. I had originally proposed meeting her for coffee or lunch, but, after reading all of Shadowrun's <a href="https://shadowrun300.wordpress.com/2016/08/20/to-the-top-2/">adventures</a>, I proposed something more energetic. Too bad that the Incline had closed after Shadowrun had trekked up the trail, so we had to settle for something more sedate for this old flatlander. I left the choice up to Abby, being the local guide and she chose the Red Rock Canyon as a good alternative. I met up with Abby and Wolfgang for some hiking. Wasn't sure that she would recognize me right away so I figured why not wear something obvious (or obnoxious). Both Abby and Wolfgang were gracious trail guides hosts and we had a great time hiking all over the trails. I've had the chance to meet a few of my blog friends over the past few years and I always jump at the chance to meet the brains behind the keyboard. Abby is as funny and energetic as she sounds. We had a blast hiking the trails and trying to cover a million different topics. We were talking so much, that I sort of overlooked the trails and we certainly forgot to take any pictures. The one at the end was our post hike, let's get lunch shot. With the gathering storm clouds, I suggested lunch and we picked a local watering hole just a few miles down the road that serves some good local beer. We had lunch at the Roundhouse and spent another hour talking about different things like the Olympics, Ryan Lochte, Airstreams, Dogs, floods, etc. It was a great time but I had to head back up to Denver so we said goodbye and they headed back home while I drove around the Springs a bit more before heading north. </span><span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;">I am glad to have had the chance to meet up with them, if only for a short while. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #660000;">I got up to Arvada to my hotel with no problems and set up to work at the plant. The second day, when I got back from an morning run, I noted that there was some severe weather down in Colorado Springs and they were hammered by a ton of hail and flooding. I texted Abby to check in with her and see if they were ok (thought it was ironic that we were talking about people getting flooded out in Louisiana at lunch on Sunday) and they were ok. I also added that, out of all of the topics we covered, I forgot to talk about my roommate that I had dinner with on Saturday. I made mention that he might be closer to her than I had originally imagined. I even noted that I drove past a <i>certain</i> school crossing zone that looked mighty familiar near roomie's house, so they had to be close. I noted, offhand, that she might have even seen him once or twice around the neighborhood cause he drove one of those unique 4 wheel drive military vehicles called a Unimog. One of only a handful in Colorado. Her response was epic - </span><span style="color: #274e13;"><i>OMG - Your roommate is Unimog Guy?</i> </span></span><span style="color: #660000; font-family: trebuchet ms, sans-serif;">I never really picture him as "Unimog Guy", but it fits. <i>Sorry - no pictures of the Unimog - was too dark when I had dinner with him.</i> Still, I found it amazing that Abby knew of him and how close they actually were. Small world. </span></div>
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agg79http://www.blogger.com/profile/08925069219602681862noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-650618993131658031.post-14850980210146579472016-08-26T15:27:00.004-05:002016-08-26T15:28:58.918-05:00AIRBNB for dogs<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">First Uber, now Airbnb. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #660000;">We've got a guest for a while. My nephew's girlfriend got a new job down in Hawaii and they have some pretty strict regulations about bringing pets onto the island that required a 90 day quarantine for rabies testing. That usually means, if you want to ship your furry children down to the island, they wind up spending 3-4 months locked up pending the outcome of the tests. Somehow I </span><i style="color: #660000;">sorta </i><span style="color: #660000;">volunteered to keep the little guy for a few months while he was under quarantine (must have been the Scotch talking). Starting last weekend, we picked up a new member of the tribe. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">So, in my best Al Pacino impression: <b>S</b></span><b style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;"><i><span style="color: #274e13;">ay Hello To My Little Friend! </span></i><span style="color: #660000;"> </span></b><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">40 pounds of energy packed in an 11 pound frame. We're all getting used to each other, but he is fitting in well. Grayson is not quite sure what to make of our new guest. He wants to play with Osiris, but the dynamics are was different from Claire. Grayson feels he will squish Osiris but that hasn't kept O from running amok. I think Grayson's a bit sad that he's no longer top dog and has to share. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">In the meanwhile we are back to two mutts for the next few months. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>agg79http://www.blogger.com/profile/08925069219602681862noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-650618993131658031.post-53454108249435225992016-08-14T21:33:00.003-05:002016-08-14T21:34:35.339-05:00Dog Uber<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Another weekend, another drive in the country.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">As part of our rescue group, GBGRR, there are many jobs or assignments to spread the load. We tried our hand at fostering, but didn't seem to grasp the concept of letting them go once they crossed our doorstep. So, one of the things I can do is is playing doggy uber for rescues being shipped in from south Texas. Since I'm on the southwest side of town, it is more convenient for me to drive south to pick up an incoming foster. Several times I have been called to meet someone coming up from the valley or Corpus Christi. It's a good 3.5 hour drive (one way) from Corpus and at least 6 hours from Brownsville. Occasionally, we have a dog or two turned into another rescue group down south and they make arrangements to transport up to Houston to turn over to GBGRR. To make it easier on the people coming up, we will send out a person to handle the exchange and take the dog the rest of the way. I've done a few runs down south. Our go-to spot is usually Mikeska's BBQ in El Campo. Good, convenient spot to make that is a bit over an hour south of my place. Not quite half way, I've proposed a place further south to give the other driver some break but this seems to be the most visible and convenient spot.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I've done three since Claire passed and each has been hard to hand them off. </span><span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Especially the one back in March - Twinky. I <u>swear</u> she was the spitting image of Claire but with a</span><span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> few extra pounds. </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #660000;">I'd really like to take them home and introduce them to Grayson, but the coordinator says that the dogs are a lot of under stress from the transport and introducing them to another dog too soon could create problems. </span><i><span style="color: #274e13;">One day.</span></i><span style="color: #660000;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #660000;">Today's fare was not one but two dogs. A 4 year old Golden/Chow male mix named Buddy and a 10 month old Golden female named Chase. One was a found dog, the other was an OTI (owner turn in). I've done a few OTis and some can be really hard, especially if the owner doesn't want to really let them go. Both were great dogs and had a good rid up to Houston where I handed them off to their temporary fosters. Chase was going to one of our fosters and Buddy was going to a sister rescue group (Golden Retriever Rescue). Today was interesting in that there were a number of dogs being transferred. Two Goldens, two poodles, a chow and two Pyrenees. All being picked up by their respective rescue groups. It was sad to see so many dogs being transferred but good to see so many people working to find them homes. I played just a small part of this relay race, but it was heartening to help. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><b>Buddy</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><b>Chase</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Both rode home well. I used a cage since I wasn't sure how the two would react. Buddy got the cage first and Chase rode in the open truck. At first, Chase was very shy and nervous, but as soon as I put her in the truck, her tail perked up and she started to wag her tail. After a few miles she parked herself right next to Buddy's cage and slept the rest of the way. Long day for both dogs, but I think they are on their way to a good home. </span><br />
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agg79http://www.blogger.com/profile/08925069219602681862noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-650618993131658031.post-51939166119091846762016-08-12T21:05:00.002-05:002016-08-12T21:22:46.470-05:00More road tales<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">My job has definitely gotten interesting. With our merger last October, change was expected and change we have gotten. Several reorgs have seen people come and go. New bosses, new job titles, new roles. And the changes are still coming. Becoming part of a larger, global company is changing everyone's perspective/outlook. And, with any change, you must learn to adapt and roll with the tide otherwise you run the risk of being swept under/aside. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">My role hasn't fully changed, <i>yet</i>, but we see which way the tide is going so we are adjusting our approach. Lately, everyone has gotten into the habit of checking the company org chart on Friday morning. That seems to be the time when changes are posted. </span><br />
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Even with the changes, I'm still traveling a bit. Some for audits, some for conferences. As I did last year, I attended a conference on Conflict Minerals in Chicago. Nice three day deal in downtown Chicago, but they definitely don't hold this gig in the local Motel 6. <u>Very</u> nice hotel right on the river - the Londonhouse. Great corner room on the top floor. Impressive views of downtown Chicago and the downtown river. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I am a bit of an architecture nut and love older buildings. If I hadn't gone into Mechanical Engineering, I was considering Architecture as a major. I find older cities and the building fascinating. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Of course, the most interesting view was right outside of my window across the river...</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">And nobody was climbing up the side of it...</span>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">On many of my road trips, if time allows, I will explore around the local area trying to find the more interesting/mundane things. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> Enjoying some local street food and drink.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">And a local piano bar. </span><span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> Since Ms Agg is a redhead, I just had to send her a picture of this. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I am a regular TripAdvisor contributor so I tend to review and rate the places I visit - hotels, restaurants, bars, venues. The hotel was supposedly just opened a month before as part of a complete renovation. I found the hotel very nice but there were a few quirks that I had noted. I wasn't really all that impressed with their elevator system, the room was an odd layout (IMHO poor use of space) and I found an odd situation in the bathroom. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">And, of course, the throne room. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgww_kR532-QfcXJyV4WlPbR6PHszy0eF8QOkXGUYUiPlTmA_bDcHvGMGe-F8GUSfVVmmqXM0arGGuPhCpU2rIe_DeA4hThnb2X5F8QPjHZk3U8Z2e-AqjmIpOhDmt8HMabj4hEEeylPwc/s1600/IMG_0036.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgww_kR532-QfcXJyV4WlPbR6PHszy0eF8QOkXGUYUiPlTmA_bDcHvGMGe-F8GUSfVVmmqXM0arGGuPhCpU2rIe_DeA4hThnb2X5F8QPjHZk3U8Z2e-AqjmIpOhDmt8HMabj4hEEeylPwc/s320/IMG_0036.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Can you spot what I might find as odd with this set up?</span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I've got a few more trips coming up. I will post up any pictures that may peak my interest. Like, perhaps, <i>another</i> dog run this weekend. </span></div>
agg79http://www.blogger.com/profile/08925069219602681862noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-650618993131658031.post-75210473942487995932016-08-06T10:32:00.001-05:002016-08-07T15:30:58.354-05:00Pate post mortem<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #660000;">Yea, Abby, Pate is </span><i style="color: #660000;">definitely </i><span style="color: #660000;">full of testosterone. Old cars, cigars, scotch and lots of guy stuff. When your basic meal plan involves beef jerky, chicharrones, and beer, you can just imagine the stories told and deals made. But, to plagiarize the old Vegas slogan: </span><i><span style="color: #274e13;">What happens at Pate, stays at Pate. </span></i></span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Yes I was briefly tempted by the old Mustang but. fortunately, I was sober enough not to take the bait. Besides, I figured I already had a Mustang project car that wasn't getting any attention. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCTNxrfP37pZ-b8TKCZZ5qswkWXHRCa7TyTPzkX1BxGm65wy6K_PQ9dh7aJrjEZDjr4_EvgepKv37-j4sMoK26f_9TaLZghfeJq9rbKDWPg1XddWNI2PUJRGr0gEhBrGPULBDRyRPauTs/s1600/IMG_7899.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCTNxrfP37pZ-b8TKCZZ5qswkWXHRCa7TyTPzkX1BxGm65wy6K_PQ9dh7aJrjEZDjr4_EvgepKv37-j4sMoK26f_9TaLZghfeJq9rbKDWPg1XddWNI2PUJRGr0gEhBrGPULBDRyRPauTs/s200/IMG_7899.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTUgB7ci1hHXxqsyMuYHDtCko8fgDRIT1YfxxEwi0Hp_BOiIyXdLxfweKUeHBzGweHeHmPhvIHrRq7KByhZmEeWdFpiBF57lW6CeXbcoSpgzcqvlu38RY8yArhZF-wDee8PsIoZG7pADo/s1600/IMG_7900.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTUgB7ci1hHXxqsyMuYHDtCko8fgDRIT1YfxxEwi0Hp_BOiIyXdLxfweKUeHBzGweHeHmPhvIHrRq7KByhZmEeWdFpiBF57lW6CeXbcoSpgzcqvlu38RY8yArhZF-wDee8PsIoZG7pADo/s200/IMG_7900.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">As with many of the "deals" you find at Pate, there is always a back story, just like you may hear when out hunting or fishing with your buddies. Something about the conquest makes the story more "unique". </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrZEmE5UPZX8v6oHO4CNHmRvEJ6CWMbOibnrTGSkpurCjMoQbFYkLFoK5fuzj21-96-24GBd8OfNUxJ6_ma6bj1WKvd8BvyEk9Jv_2csvWVmS5NjUj1emF77mCeg9VCKV3IVP7CQQT5yw/s1600/IMG_7901.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrZEmE5UPZX8v6oHO4CNHmRvEJ6CWMbOibnrTGSkpurCjMoQbFYkLFoK5fuzj21-96-24GBd8OfNUxJ6_ma6bj1WKvd8BvyEk9Jv_2csvWVmS5NjUj1emF77mCeg9VCKV3IVP7CQQT5yw/s400/IMG_7901.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Of course, just like any "buddy" trip, there is always someone giving your advice or encouraging you to "go for it" . We were trying to convince the nephew to buy the Delorean golf cart. After all, he already has a <i>real</i> Delorean. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8jf4xRxuc8qg4kqE9MMbM2y9vnb_tPeQujWUN4DXz4iqbOe79OBHr2NJWk0pOmE34usq94J8QDGcpHwAg8v96-1BXzZRGkUWcsyycI358HZeCq_1OEPBWI5Z259LRDMGEzgm_2ErOX2Q/s1600/IMG_7936.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8jf4xRxuc8qg4kqE9MMbM2y9vnb_tPeQujWUN4DXz4iqbOe79OBHr2NJWk0pOmE34usq94J8QDGcpHwAg8v96-1BXzZRGkUWcsyycI358HZeCq_1OEPBWI5Z259LRDMGEzgm_2ErOX2Q/s400/IMG_7936.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The details alone made it a prize - working flux capacitor, Mr Fusion, smoke generator. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpn5EAsd3HpUfc7CHs3T1KMZHMEzvXYH0NfvxLuvg6l70CplxD5SnHfCSjEWGBZhgWhnHS5NcZAgHdXiKKVwNuhd3szd-cnzqtgDmsyG01YuiecIAeMt_tugUc9oKpNqiJQtIspi1tcDk/s1600/IMG_7937.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpn5EAsd3HpUfc7CHs3T1KMZHMEzvXYH0NfvxLuvg6l70CplxD5SnHfCSjEWGBZhgWhnHS5NcZAgHdXiKKVwNuhd3szd-cnzqtgDmsyG01YuiecIAeMt_tugUc9oKpNqiJQtIspi1tcDk/s200/IMG_7937.JPG" width="150" /></a> </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcjvcdU08WSKr06PQ85JE-eQNN38MUZmSLKB3gwzxHKlGlqk6gMHvea_wD6r9f2k_Xm9vzueEiSGb3w_1SZ7ECC6fBdFCOz5Ul2W4ktM3WlWin1afr1Gm_hEoYkJTUvngoHJNt6X3Fib0/s1600/IMG_7940.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcjvcdU08WSKr06PQ85JE-eQNN38MUZmSLKB3gwzxHKlGlqk6gMHvea_wD6r9f2k_Xm9vzueEiSGb3w_1SZ7ECC6fBdFCOz5Ul2W4ktM3WlWin1afr1Gm_hEoYkJTUvngoHJNt6X3Fib0/s200/IMG_7940.JPG" width="200" /></span></a></div>
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Unfortunately, the price of the golf card was equal to what he actually paid for his actual Delorean. so that pretty much was a deal killer right there. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Of course, that did not stop us from "test driving" or checking out some of the other deals.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGEi6HnntWH4pDpzZUy-4NbB0YIPTt94CJXyILf7LF95r8tpk9NvbHUhTd2ROGSHYlpcLH6rW3_WIJ6VagP4mUFTlDtgcrL9R1eTArkkbssPCTZKXWc8Os0fYD-pbS3HaK7YQXS6fSxJc/s1600/IMG_0109.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGEi6HnntWH4pDpzZUy-4NbB0YIPTt94CJXyILf7LF95r8tpk9NvbHUhTd2ROGSHYlpcLH6rW3_WIJ6VagP4mUFTlDtgcrL9R1eTArkkbssPCTZKXWc8Os0fYD-pbS3HaK7YQXS6fSxJc/s400/IMG_0109.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG52PDLyQtg1kLzXERdKftqzmmt-ZmQIPZAvqNidLylmKaZ993byBelXjQd-NRIgCUq3ahNWmlpx7CVTb8mGxh5J32BdgVGgBBWoE_Vw7-pGb9FAGVmo97Ikkco9WK93mLwQWg5SfCJ_s/s1600/IMG_7907.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG52PDLyQtg1kLzXERdKftqzmmt-ZmQIPZAvqNidLylmKaZ993byBelXjQd-NRIgCUq3ahNWmlpx7CVTb8mGxh5J32BdgVGgBBWoE_Vw7-pGb9FAGVmo97Ikkco9WK93mLwQWg5SfCJ_s/s400/IMG_7907.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Doesn'</span><span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">t everyone need a backhoe? </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG2lgALe3rd_R7fRDay9TJ1LI3w4Bc5Tji_4w98M0yTicymIKO9hJmbIZQcp8IMXa2PDyAgXXrt3GbFxBSk1rZETWopPer8ROuvayL2RtsjYOJdJ9epbOn1hofP28yZ9mt0XmFVnCXDn0/s1600/IMG_0089.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG2lgALe3rd_R7fRDay9TJ1LI3w4Bc5Tji_4w98M0yTicymIKO9hJmbIZQcp8IMXa2PDyAgXXrt3GbFxBSk1rZETWopPer8ROuvayL2RtsjYOJdJ9epbOn1hofP28yZ9mt0XmFVnCXDn0/s400/IMG_0089.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">An old Airstream project that was up for auction. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxBYv0W-OJGxGFlAq2BTxX5yAufm5VJxz0_gm9Ol9KUHs-CBt9k-ITVFj0pettj8fg7h97llwQEe3FOT_t-mNlTS_HBW_-6cqlzrw9bazcZO6-vWqyvOkqrsinmw858M8OQiiOYuXgQJc/s1600/IMG_7910.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxBYv0W-OJGxGFlAq2BTxX5yAufm5VJxz0_gm9Ol9KUHs-CBt9k-ITVFj0pettj8fg7h97llwQEe3FOT_t-mNlTS_HBW_-6cqlzrw9bazcZO6-vWqyvOkqrsinmw858M8OQiiOYuXgQJc/s400/IMG_7910.JPG" width="300" /></span></a></div>
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> Of course, it required a "<i>little</i>" work </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvCXHwrjjRJQaSUDq0XQuJh1uCfxefuxVK1z0ePec8jpapHWIRDZ2nM3vLdDViU8TZQ3hOOBq4yA3hhIaMbeCvPwfpOWKPhHiYgzyPZWJOZ0JM-yXO0tb_j6X8PXSwKQkUwk66rYv6Zvo/s1600/IMG_7915.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvCXHwrjjRJQaSUDq0XQuJh1uCfxefuxVK1z0ePec8jpapHWIRDZ2nM3vLdDViU8TZQ3hOOBq4yA3hhIaMbeCvPwfpOWKPhHiYgzyPZWJOZ0JM-yXO0tb_j6X8PXSwKQkUwk66rYv6Zvo/s400/IMG_7915.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">An old Westfalia Vanagon. This one is for my brother out west in Washington. He owns one of these campers. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3BPcvhsVGL718bz0i6hfg7VScYhqhRXioRmRrW7zYue49YInME2KbEc6o1TWIIy5dY9i4Mh5lP-LoGKOqBFHIn33YfXmxGExoSVhaaomhpJNJza16-CT-vFvXXgarsm7ibmC5bsSrW3M/s1600/IMG_7929.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3BPcvhsVGL718bz0i6hfg7VScYhqhRXioRmRrW7zYue49YInME2KbEc6o1TWIIy5dY9i4Mh5lP-LoGKOqBFHIn33YfXmxGExoSVhaaomhpJNJza16-CT-vFvXXgarsm7ibmC5bsSrW3M/s400/IMG_7929.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The nephew used to own one a Firebird back in college (Smokey & The Bandit version - complete with the screaming chicken on the hood). A real money pit. That is why he bought the hood to hang in his back yard as "yard art".</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9RACeck9tapEjRumiNejHfeL14WK9XfJMIolp7zPADGqIVQ75OA09i_FRRCxVEC6PzJ3uUGwsc-C7P0NFPDM-UlFyYWdV6dHIqPpe4_raLhDUADfpJ4JdAo8DOI19FMWhhGdZ0ziVBtQ/s1600/IMG_7924.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9RACeck9tapEjRumiNejHfeL14WK9XfJMIolp7zPADGqIVQ75OA09i_FRRCxVEC6PzJ3uUGwsc-C7P0NFPDM-UlFyYWdV6dHIqPpe4_raLhDUADfpJ4JdAo8DOI19FMWhhGdZ0ziVBtQ/s400/IMG_7924.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">After we hauled it back to our trailer and set it up so we could admire our daily haul we noted something interesting. It may have been the scotch talking but I swore that you could see the face of Jesus on the hood and THAT is why he had to buy it. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9RACeck9tapEjRumiNejHfeL14WK9XfJMIolp7zPADGqIVQ75OA09i_FRRCxVEC6PzJ3uUGwsc-C7P0NFPDM-UlFyYWdV6dHIqPpe4_raLhDUADfpJ4JdAo8DOI19FMWhhGdZ0ziVBtQ/s1600/IMG_7924.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"></span></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJX7_arbrgYOM2WVaZ6uz_R0-_dxfins372zDF7R8snigzgri_CHeKJjBkT4DJoOgE2tc3H2MGET9jG827V_6fLNReIcWmZm533KCCu7g36S1Lj0Dn0NPomC9H5SvViZvgeP_l8OdkRZQ/s1600/IMG_7942.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJX7_arbrgYOM2WVaZ6uz_R0-_dxfins372zDF7R8snigzgri_CHeKJjBkT4DJoOgE2tc3H2MGET9jG827V_6fLNReIcWmZm533KCCu7g36S1Lj0Dn0NPomC9H5SvViZvgeP_l8OdkRZQ/s400/IMG_7942.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>agg79http://www.blogger.com/profile/08925069219602681862noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-650618993131658031.post-25371932291362214112016-08-03T05:37:00.002-05:002016-08-03T06:09:50.111-05:00Catching up<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">As I said last time, I would try to post more often. Thought I would start with a few pictures from my travels over the past few months. Things have been busy, both at work and at home. Hard to believe that football season is just a few weeks away.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I've been out on the road a fair amount. Chicago, Buffalo, Atlanta, Fort Worth, Some for work, some for play. Looks like the job is kicking it up a notch and I will be back out on the road this fall to more far off and exotic places like Denver, Minneapolis, San Jose, Dallas, Paris, Milan, etc. I know, life's hard all over.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I was able to sneak off to Pate again in April for a few days of R&R. Typical guy trip with my brother and one of his sons. This was a pretty good year - weather was sketchy, nobody go sick, we scored a few deals, bought another bar light (or two), drank some beer, didn't come home with any new projects (well, except for the car lift). </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Weather looked ominous for a while...</span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">You can find all sorts of conveyances...</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">My brother hurt his knee (translation: he's an old fart) and he wound up renting one of those mobility scooters to ride all over Pate while we browsed for the deals. Good thing for him - we wound up covering about 6-8 miles per day covering the entire meet. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Not quite the same as texting and driving...</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH226BafVbGmeIWCUg72zd1TwznOH4WtcU79Pum70uwoSHWXfm_0f5SSc9HDTzB42VS9j67-OrM5FzzQ9GKKBQnWkuHxfyE7k4KdFEcXmpNG99y5KF8zX7qqNYWD309v9Psk6kpgZoUic/s1600/IMG_0101.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH226BafVbGmeIWCUg72zd1TwznOH4WtcU79Pum70uwoSHWXfm_0f5SSc9HDTzB42VS9j67-OrM5FzzQ9GKKBQnWkuHxfyE7k4KdFEcXmpNG99y5KF8zX7qqNYWD309v9Psk6kpgZoUic/s400/IMG_0101.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Need a lift?</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Wagon train</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Yard art?</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">When you really need to go back in time for another round...</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoVXPm1p4F7M9EHZ1fPYCAZknGKJPvwg6ELGl-9b3GJqIcpbZpqhA-xOmAX9trl_tQ48HjJJtoJHILXpHXtQD5IkLfwcJ6EMwYT_7YRdHek36NOL6kBlUGHJ_A2oZh6B0a_c4BzJJAEwE/s1600/IMG_7940.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoVXPm1p4F7M9EHZ1fPYCAZknGKJPvwg6ELGl-9b3GJqIcpbZpqhA-xOmAX9trl_tQ48HjJJtoJHILXpHXtQD5IkLfwcJ6EMwYT_7YRdHek36NOL6kBlUGHJ_A2oZh6B0a_c4BzJJAEwE/s400/IMG_7940.JPG" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcGN_Qi3DMDjH6Sk_eQy3lDOZ5eKDt8SjmwANfC9J3bsgh64UfDrzoAQBnjfeUKHKC1goMkDzs2I9EV1U4Sl4AiEe8x4S2TzBcdUNtzUuWIxPU-V0oxJ9VA1Uy5gkPYelxuLXRMvs_kxs/s1600/IMG_7934.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcGN_Qi3DMDjH6Sk_eQy3lDOZ5eKDt8SjmwANfC9J3bsgh64UfDrzoAQBnjfeUKHKC1goMkDzs2I9EV1U4Sl4AiEe8x4S2TzBcdUNtzUuWIxPU-V0oxJ9VA1Uy5gkPYelxuLXRMvs_kxs/s400/IMG_7934.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">And a new ride for the grandkids...</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Of course, when my brother crashed for the afternoon, nephew and I "borrowed" the scooter to make one last run through the meet...</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrnteZvSMZZAnfD0kVOH26ws29Bzw7TbBy20vDWc6P7XmxHJMgOxaa1h6z7FhKfArGPJeZJloF8R16QdjcDoMPtWtif6VdSwIJJgzm3lApe3U4A545Dkvku75fEIKWtMJBbkEntMl2rbU/s1600/IMG_0114.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrnteZvSMZZAnfD0kVOH26ws29Bzw7TbBy20vDWc6P7XmxHJMgOxaa1h6z7FhKfArGPJeZJloF8R16QdjcDoMPtWtif6VdSwIJJgzm3lApe3U4A545Dkvku75fEIKWtMJBbkEntMl2rbU/s400/IMG_0114.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">And I had my eye on this sweet looking convertible. Just <i>slightly </i>older than my son but still a nice ride.. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkPa9XNl6wLwQc5lomasah0e0SRwCCbQr0GEPpzjBPaS6yahnqgd_CWUWdUh9apdlThrsJsYpdyO5DuuSIMuPhOwJTrqA345ADqRYiElEJDe8kMr8OjuofteicY4oD3oi6HiKpl2KNEgA/s1600/IMG_7890.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkPa9XNl6wLwQc5lomasah0e0SRwCCbQr0GEPpzjBPaS6yahnqgd_CWUWdUh9apdlThrsJsYpdyO5DuuSIMuPhOwJTrqA345ADqRYiElEJDe8kMr8OjuofteicY4oD3oi6HiKpl2KNEgA/s400/IMG_7890.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">But this one <i>really</i> got my attention. Only a measly $2k and you can drive it home today! </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmFRhIyVH0TPVLF6a0x2fiKEXq5A6LFZcHOk-4ff-WdPdfnZ5PJksI8acJgR0CQbrKaEp1SKy6vK-yzVebDb25E7nr26IOt1kswDr4ELTx43aFgJRqnYTF3T9Rb76IGDXAgtGl7jaQ3Kg/s1600/IMG_7898.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmFRhIyVH0TPVLF6a0x2fiKEXq5A6LFZcHOk-4ff-WdPdfnZ5PJksI8acJgR0CQbrKaEp1SKy6vK-yzVebDb25E7nr26IOt1kswDr4ELTx43aFgJRqnYTF3T9Rb76IGDXAgtGl7jaQ3Kg/s400/IMG_7898.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">A 1966 Mustang "Ranch" car. It's had a "<i>few</i>" modifications done... </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Of course, being frugal (aka <i>cheap</i>), I didn't really buy much this year. Instead, I blew my Pate money on getting the driver's seat for the landbarge reupholstered at a local shop while we were up at Pate. It was pretty rough before, but looks like new now. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> </span>agg79http://www.blogger.com/profile/08925069219602681862noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-650618993131658031.post-16133974853450400042016-07-31T11:33:00.001-05:002016-07-31T11:37:53.978-05:00Hello from the other side<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><b>Hello</b>, it's me</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>I was wondering if after all these years you'd like to meet</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>To go over everything</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>They say that time's supposed to heal ya</i></span><br />
<i style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;">But I ain't done much healing</i></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Sorry for the <i>prolonged </i>absence. Things got busy, I got sidetracked, work escalated and I kinda wandered off the grid for a while. <i>All lame excuses</i>. I am not really sure what happened, but my muse left me and basically I put my blog life on hold for a while. I even stopped visiting everyone's blogs. <i>Sorry about that, guys. </i> </span><br />
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">It's been busy over the past few months. Birthdays, anniversaries, road trips, dog park, camping, floods, Pate, reorgs at the office and the ensuing changes, trailer repair, etc. </span><br />
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Mrs Agg is doing well. She's been busy trying to wade through all of the legal morass that comes with settling an estate and closing things out. We continue to clear out her parents/sister's home and getting rid of a lot of stuff accumulated over a lifetime is hard, sad. Still looking for homes for a few of SIL's feline children. It's coming up on a year since SIL passed and there is no real rush to wrap this up. The house is only 20 minute away and, honestly, I am not pushing anything. This is her family home and she can take as much time as necessary to find closure. Right now, it is finding homes for the cats. I know that, when the times comes to sell the house, it will be a hard break for her. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Grayson is doing well. He still misses Claire but we've tried to make up for it with extra attention/treats. I've made it a point to hit the dog park a few times to let him socialize. I've also been out with our foster group for a few weekend adventures. Back in April, we did the Doggy Party on the Plaza again. Very nice dog-centric event sponsored by the city. In keeping with current trends, this year's theme was </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>Star Wars</i></span><span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">. Needless to say, there were a lot of interesting costumes and more than a few wookies & yodas around. Our group, always on the left side of fanatic, had a lot of furry participants decked out in bandoleers or yoda ears. And our resident carpenter outdid himself again with our "float". Needless to say, our group came away with the trophy again this year. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Last weekend it was the Annual Dog show at NRG stadium. Grayson and I had a fun time albeit a bit melancholy since Claire wasn't with us this year. Lots of dogs and doggy stuff. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>Dog cam</i></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i style="color: #274e13; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">Loving the attention</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i style="color: #274e13; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">Grayson & Emma working the crowd</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i style="color: #274e13; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">Attention ham</i></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">We roamed the hall and got to tour all of the booths and free samples, although I don't think Grayson was as interested in doggy shirts and leashes or pet psychics. </span><span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I did manage to get Grayson to still still for a pawprint that turned out to be pretty good art. There was group doing the pawprints for donations (big basket in the picture) and we talked people doing the pawprints to do the same gig at our annual picnic in October. I wound up winning the drawing for the basket and the $$ that was donated and I turned the money over to my group and may give the basket up as an auction item at the picnic. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i style="color: #274e13; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">Grayson & Emma</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Picasso would be jealous</span></i></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">There may be another fur buddy for Grayson at some point in the future but, for now, we need to deal with the excess feline population. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">And I <i>promise </i>I wont' take as long for my next update....</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> </span>agg79http://www.blogger.com/profile/08925069219602681862noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-650618993131658031.post-52769987317640627272016-02-14T06:50:00.000-06:002016-02-14T06:52:51.265-06:00Clean up<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Happy VD to everyone! With all the cards and floral sales on every street corner, it's hard not to forget today. Of course, after ~36 years of wedded bliss, momma and I tend to do this day on the d-low. At this point in life, we are trying to downsize/eliminate stuff instead of accumulating more trinkets & baubles. We are trying to focus on a simpler, less cluttered lifestyle. Given what we amassed over the past few decades, that may take a while. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Following Abby's lead, I have been cleaning out some of my files/pictures. Been resorting and reorganizing some albums. Moving things around, Rebuilding some old albums. Of course, there are more than a <i>few </i>dog pictures. Here are a few from the dump:</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">One left over from Thanksgiving at my brother's house with my dad and Claire passed out from too much turkey & dressing. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8jUYQ8DGxmo7k-Ej8GVjw1MvWSZf7n49Repd89QRqC55MBH8VLIkJS3D7AR6o7-RM6ROn7wVUaULGhLAha1BV7ZZ62K_2fk9P0SIlBx7A745Wp9k1QuYFEQeRq5ASJouzFs-t854HFrc/s1600/IMG_7552.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8jUYQ8DGxmo7k-Ej8GVjw1MvWSZf7n49Repd89QRqC55MBH8VLIkJS3D7AR6o7-RM6ROn7wVUaULGhLAha1BV7ZZ62K_2fk9P0SIlBx7A745Wp9k1QuYFEQeRq5ASJouzFs-t854HFrc/s400/IMG_7552.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">A few from the old days. A lot of people from my previous company have reconnected on line and have been posting updates and pictures of the old days. It's been 16 years since the old place got bought out and shut down and a number of people have moved out of the area. A lot of us have items in our cabinets/closets we collected over the years at the farm and a few have been posting pictures of old items that they took or held on to when the plant shut down. This is one of the mugs they gave out at one of our annual picnics. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoTYQ1YjK4GA_YfnwesFGJlwaS8ZmKpTfBGOxYvXdd4X3ilc2VcsltTUpw15vJRTfL7EFs0_064PJQjMkTAAuhvQowC5mxD7W0BvVaGPqp7ckJdmYqYVtnjFNRVRA3PLVUEYTMLNsR3Ek/s1600/IMG_7673.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoTYQ1YjK4GA_YfnwesFGJlwaS8ZmKpTfBGOxYvXdd4X3ilc2VcsltTUpw15vJRTfL7EFs0_064PJQjMkTAAuhvQowC5mxD7W0BvVaGPqp7ckJdmYqYVtnjFNRVRA3PLVUEYTMLNsR3Ek/s400/IMG_7673.JPG" width="300" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">And a key ring with one of our product names.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAEovJKf4gfvxLyd8CEc-TWgYiDfdC2mto6YYMzRopc_QQ7K-3Sll5TvmYowo7h-8VeeT_xZYLqktVB8hwxSCB-zHk4hcmpCEPj_Tcd_cVhs_qNZk8-nTlSUuF-NDicO1JA-aGRCfbtb8/s1600/IMG_7738.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAEovJKf4gfvxLyd8CEc-TWgYiDfdC2mto6YYMzRopc_QQ7K-3Sll5TvmYowo7h-8VeeT_xZYLqktVB8hwxSCB-zHk4hcmpCEPj_Tcd_cVhs_qNZk8-nTlSUuF-NDicO1JA-aGRCfbtb8/s400/IMG_7738.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Our Airstream group had their annual luncheon and I ran into these two old retired Airstreamers. A cute couple even considering the one on the left celebrated her 93rd birthday last week.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">And, a few left over shots from last month's half marathon. I always look at the shirts intending to buy one, but just can't seem to find the right slogan for me. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUaR3ziDgl3z0JcVthSxaj7eK7jPJUnmms9C6UvRVo11XExJeis3BcNqbGA1rwMrhrSRSijldDmG5NPjhHf41Ni4tKL1UJ12QZArkdlD2mCpMNDO8wAJamHduFvtj8sN7fIPYQu4inlLg/s1600/IMG_7698.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUaR3ziDgl3z0JcVthSxaj7eK7jPJUnmms9C6UvRVo11XExJeis3BcNqbGA1rwMrhrSRSijldDmG5NPjhHf41Ni4tKL1UJ12QZArkdlD2mCpMNDO8wAJamHduFvtj8sN7fIPYQu4inlLg/s400/IMG_7698.JPG" width="300" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">And, this week's prize was something I spotted while driving into work this week. Do you see what caught my eye? </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmYKBeWMeQli3UmKhyzrEyMnj7S_rlMEhCoDgqwKIHNVG6AEOmaMLs0LiTRO-7qGvhbEW4Vi1dBnzTmOYyU8zF79VeKBvpOA9EiRnNi2M54GN5GKQ9GBEx05E71Q0B1TbjdnNzL-kxaX0/s1600/TRuck.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmYKBeWMeQli3UmKhyzrEyMnj7S_rlMEhCoDgqwKIHNVG6AEOmaMLs0LiTRO-7qGvhbEW4Vi1dBnzTmOYyU8zF79VeKBvpOA9EiRnNi2M54GN5GKQ9GBEx05E71Q0B1TbjdnNzL-kxaX0/s400/TRuck.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div>
agg79http://www.blogger.com/profile/08925069219602681862noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-650618993131658031.post-64791502689793882492016-02-07T07:12:00.001-06:002016-02-07T07:12:47.893-06:00Nuts to you<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #660000;">Slowly working my way back to some sort of normal. Barely 1 week inside of February and I feel like it is April already. Work is a real challenge right now. Ever since our merger with our Italian compadres, things have take on a whole new direction. Lots of new priorities, objectives, initiatives. And my favorite word - "</span><i><span style="color: #274e13;">synergy</span></i><span style="color: #660000;">". Anyone who has gone through one of these merger/buyout deals is intimately familiar with that term. We've already seen a few people depart the scene. The operations VP, 3 Engineering Fellows, one of the Marketing directors, and, oh yea, the new president. Most of these guys had over 15 years of experience with the company and they knew were all the bodies were buried. Needless to say, it has left several people around here about </span></span><span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">as nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. Not sure of my ultimate role or longevity, but being a pragmatist (or maybe a pessimist), I fully expect things to change in a big way. We are already working on new goals/objectives. As I tell my people, the boat has turned into a new heading. Either you are on board and embrace the new direction or you may wind up as a castaway. Remember the mantra: </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i> Resistance is Futile</i></span><span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyrIYXGE9xxiQbC71r8oDFf7v6qW-tzyjg8j9DGdh31ToFpdZO2uihThIIEOqNpQfnQwPGGpDBGdjWJWg0hw8H3Ol4JE423QQxQ3EzMOX_VxWYySIiPNJipOUpJMtS7Ol7bUOP5Za_xvE/s1600/dogandponyshow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyrIYXGE9xxiQbC71r8oDFf7v6qW-tzyjg8j9DGdh31ToFpdZO2uihThIIEOqNpQfnQwPGGpDBGdjWJWg0hw8H3Ol4JE423QQxQ3EzMOX_VxWYySIiPNJipOUpJMtS7Ol7bUOP5Za_xvE/s400/dogandponyshow.jpg" width="327" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And don't feel sorry for me. I am not really complaining. I've done a lot with the company and I see a lot of new opportunities ahead. I've traveled to a lot of places and seen a lot of things, so I am grateful for the chances I've had. I still feel a I have a strong roll in the new regime, albeit different. I expect a road trip to France/Italy in the near future, so things are not all that bad. Beyond this year, who knows? In the meantime, I will take the cards dealt to me. Besides, one of the few benefits is that all this drama at the office has kept me distracted from dwelling on Claire. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #660000;">Another distraction has been the damn cough I have had since October. Nothing I have done, nothing I have taken has seemed to help. Multiple trips to the doc, with no real progress. Around Christmas, I finally switched over to a pulmonologist - a guy that deals with respiratory problems. A chest x-ray revealed nothing, allergy test was negatives (although I told my wife that he said I might be allergic to redheads), but the CT scan (computed tomography) showed some small obstruction in one of the bronchi of my lung. Nothing alarming, just something to get checked out. At this point, I am so fracking tired of this cough that I am willing to try voodoo or a seance to get rid of it. So, the doc recommended a Bronchoscopy. That is similar to a colonoscopy, just from the other direction. Normally an outpatient process. Check in early, dress in that silly hospital gown, get wired up and knocked out and they run a scope down your throat (or nose) into your lungs. I was knocked out at the time, so I don't recall anything aside of being hungry and really jonesing for some coffee. Everything came out fine and the doc said they found a pistachio lodged in one of airways that was creating the irritation/coughing. Pistachio? I don't recall having any of those for a </span><u style="color: #660000;">long</u><span style="color: #660000;"> while. Like, </span><i style="color: #660000;">maybe </i><span style="color: #660000;">back at one of our football games at A&M. As my loving wife glibly pointed out, </span><i><span style="color: #274e13;">y</span></i><span style="color: #274e13;"><i>ou are what you eat</i></span><span style="color: #660000;">. Gee, thanks. Good news is that the nut is out and I should start to recover soon. May take a week or two for the irritation to go away, but, hopefully, this is will clear up quickly. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Feeling a bit better now, if not somewhat sore/tired. Not sure if that is from the procedure or from the lack of coffee. Of course, that does not spare me from any lectures I get from my loving spouse on watching what I eat.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Yea, right. I'll take that advice to heart.... </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEqzZlg7V27eYoU1sx0hmOMWsIsI172N1mLuq40UFX0Iup9h2QqzjIYc6MSVPXtYumsDlYpkcopjCBljQhX-IeiBkBwMMGNeDwnBN7ZwPFTZw8OeSLmcoFl8WUsnCl0TPUziuHAR1sZjs/s1600/no+we+won%2527t.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="381" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEqzZlg7V27eYoU1sx0hmOMWsIsI172N1mLuq40UFX0Iup9h2QqzjIYc6MSVPXtYumsDlYpkcopjCBljQhX-IeiBkBwMMGNeDwnBN7ZwPFTZw8OeSLmcoFl8WUsnCl0TPUziuHAR1sZjs/s400/no+we+won%2527t.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #660000;"><br /></span></span>agg79http://www.blogger.com/profile/08925069219602681862noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-650618993131658031.post-598341224277443112016-01-24T20:56:00.002-06:002016-01-25T18:04:14.312-06:00Gotcha Day<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">My Golden Beginnings Group has a number of funny traditions. Regular meet & greets every other weekend, the annual dog show, our annual picnic, several dog centric events (Rice Festival, Barktoberfest, Party on the Plaza, etc. One of the things that some people celebrate is Gotcha Day. The day that a person or family adopts someone (person or pet). Yea, I know it may sound silly, and most dogs don't get the concept of time (except when it is time for a walk or dinner). This is more of a celebration of when someone new joins the family or tribe. Since we have no idea on when our dogs were born, we tend to remember or celebrate the day they came on board. Grayson was around Easter in 2009 and Claire was today in 2010. It was a mere 6 years today that Grayson picked up an accomplice. At first, we decided to foster another dog to see how Grayson would handle the additional dog and split attention. We felt it might wear him down and make things less "boring". At the outset, we had not intention of taking on a second dog. Claire, however, had other plans. An incredibly sweet disposition, she showed up with a smile on her face and that constant tongue that seemed to never tire. After a few days, we were hopelessly hooked and we determined to give her a furever home. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">First truck ride home.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> Partners in crime</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcfCOoGoUB1ZOQHGQG6VMyBjp50wQZVk8mOr-5IHJ2Ubuhyphenhyphen33sPwNRkdlhN3wMVIhHyoUBCd5A-hY6L40y1Jsm4n0OQwhtGaN-KpIY9FQr35jrmePFC0QCJxKVwyCbCrWuvxRD5wtF9Cs/s1600/IMG_3595.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcfCOoGoUB1ZOQHGQG6VMyBjp50wQZVk8mOr-5IHJ2Ubuhyphenhyphen33sPwNRkdlhN3wMVIhHyoUBCd5A-hY6L40y1Jsm4n0OQwhtGaN-KpIY9FQr35jrmePFC0QCJxKVwyCbCrWuvxRD5wtF9Cs/s400/IMG_3595.JPG" width="300" /></span></a></div>
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Mischief and mayhem </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvRZeIRVqejaDGkXYlzreK1Yqd73fCb7HidXziSNsD3cWsCZl50Gukp575oO76rzv6FjWhKRMOZGO7_wXGC7j7_1jkWzwRTsebaw36VHMMtkJdNPofM2zHzIXccaQkz4j6Naox53HXM0U/s1600/IMG_3789.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvRZeIRVqejaDGkXYlzreK1Yqd73fCb7HidXziSNsD3cWsCZl50Gukp575oO76rzv6FjWhKRMOZGO7_wXGC7j7_1jkWzwRTsebaw36VHMMtkJdNPofM2zHzIXccaQkz4j6Naox53HXM0U/s400/IMG_3789.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Always ready for those invaders </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Her favorite pose </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> As I said...</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> A good nap buddy</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> A regular chick magnet</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> Able to nap anywhere</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> Anytime</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> Always following Grayson's lead</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> Never short of attention</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> A real ham</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Grayson's better half</span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I'll admit I am having a hard time not having her under foot anymore. She left a big hole in our lives that's going to be hard to fill. Whenever I walk Grayson, I still carry her collar and leash with me. I know it is silly, but it seems like the right thing to do to me. Grayson is a bit out of sorts and trying find his new normal. On one hand, I think he is feeling guilty that Claire is no long around. I know he misses her, if not for just keeping him in line. This past week he seems a bit more clingy, looking for attention when before he had to share it with Claire. We've tried to give him more attention, love, extra walks, and I think he is enjoying being the top dog again, albeit he is a bit sad/guilty about the whole situation. It's going to take some time for this scar to heal. </span></div>
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agg79http://www.blogger.com/profile/08925069219602681862noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-650618993131658031.post-33264698552366113012016-01-21T05:46:00.000-06:002016-01-21T06:12:22.769-06:008 years later & another 13.1 miles down the road<span style="color: #274e13; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>That which does not kill us, makes us stronger. (Nietzsche)</i></span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I capped off another half marathon on Sunday. Numero 8. The ocho. Two more and I can be officially classified as a "</span><i style="color: #660000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">veteran</i><span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">" although I don't really feel much like one. Another shirt, another medal. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">After 8 years, this has become almost routine. I went, I ran, I made it across the finish line upright once again. I'd like to say I improved on last year's time but that would be a lie. Given my poor training regime, this persistent cough that just won't seem to go away, and losing Claire last week, I was debating not even going this year. After Julie passed in August, I had made an internal promise to dedicate this year's run in her memory. I wasn't looking for any records this year, but after things went south last week, I questioned my resolve. I did decide to make the run, but, honestly, my heart wasn't in it this year. I have always found running to be somewhat therapeutic. One of those sports where my main competition is myself. Running a longer distance gives me a lot of time to debate issues, have internal conversations, consider options. This year it probably wasn't the best year to be alone with my thoughts. I spent more than a few </span><span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">miles thinking about poor Claire. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">On the surface, this year's run was pretty good. The course was good (flat, fast). Weather was pretty much perfect (cool, dry) with temps in the mid 40s at the start. There was the usual mob of +25,000 runners which led to the normal 28 minutes delay to cross the start line AFTER the starting gun. I like this annual run, but having that many bodies on the course really slows up the pace. I think I would prefer some of the smaller, less popular runs. The crowds/spectators were up to their typical form - wild, noisy, enthusiastic. Many, many, many funny signs along the way:</span><br />
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<ul>
<li><span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Worse Parade Ever</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Hurry up! My arms are tired from holding this sign</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">You are almost finished! Oops. My bad. (with picture of Steve Harvey)</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">13.1 miles all for a free banana</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I thought I was signing up for a Netflix Marathon</span></li>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I wasn't really expecting to break any of my records and came in a bit slower than last year. The only drama I had this year was that my phone died around mile 12 so my pacing program shut down before I crossed the finish line. I'm not as sore as I have been in the past, but that's probably due to my slower pace and pre-race prep (thanks to Rock Tape and Alieve). Right now, I am not sure if I will go for number 9, but, given my propensity to not learn my lesson and repeat things, the chances are highly likely. The good news is that, after completing 5 of these things, I have a guaranteed slot for the 2017 race. Hopefully, next year I will be in a better mood/condition. </span><br />
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agg79http://www.blogger.com/profile/08925069219602681862noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-650618993131658031.post-32627867062733769972016-01-12T21:23:00.001-06:002016-01-13T20:48:46.886-06:00Claire<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It breaks my heart to tell everyone that we lost Claire last night.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkbCItu6jm1TSzOAQnxqnUbj9vD842OPaTHPoxH8PoujiUWNqpi9984ox8q6Y3fZT5X1js0H6rE5UzrIU7Glnve5k-FXUloc2FIUWdN0TgE5s1CyArlg2KwwsgKafl9dkMaL8EX-V4YWM/s1600/IMG_0006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkbCItu6jm1TSzOAQnxqnUbj9vD842OPaTHPoxH8PoujiUWNqpi9984ox8q6Y3fZT5X1js0H6rE5UzrIU7Glnve5k-FXUloc2FIUWdN0TgE5s1CyArlg2KwwsgKafl9dkMaL8EX-V4YWM/s400/IMG_0006.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQynMjvBjmMHIr6Zsb_frgBVRnaF_41XZ2MXdWyNTfDYc8K6dcvhZQdzlzmYH6wkIU8cbx66biStjTPC7tnbi6XoY4olpZY2JnOZ_pNnIaiXgTql3Cgjxd4I-suvOVDbWjdDbsqU2m4SY/s1600/IMG_5306.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQynMjvBjmMHIr6Zsb_frgBVRnaF_41XZ2MXdWyNTfDYc8K6dcvhZQdzlzmYH6wkIU8cbx66biStjTPC7tnbi6XoY4olpZY2JnOZ_pNnIaiXgTql3Cgjxd4I-suvOVDbWjdDbsqU2m4SY/s400/IMG_5306.JPG" width="400" /></a><span style="color: #660000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It was a very long night and I can explain more later but she was not feeling well yesterday. She threw up in the morning and was a bit listless but looked ok when I left for work. By the time I got home last night, she couldn't stand on her own and was in a fair amount of pain and discomfort so I took her into the vet to see if they could help. Looks like she was bleeding internally and there may have been some masses on her kidney/spleen. I transferred her over to the 24 hour emergency animal hospital for observation and a deeper check. They did another x-ray and ultrasound and indicated that there was a mixture of issues and her prognosis was not good. I stayed with her for a long while but she just wasn't getting any better. The vet told us that we could do surgery but her chances of survival was 20-30%. </span><span style="color: #660000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">After an extended debate, momma and I decided to ease her pain and let her cross the bridge. Now she is running free with Shadow chasing squirrels and enjoying as much bacon & eggs as she wants.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">A very gentle. sweet soul that loved everyone. Always up for a belly rub and looking for attention, she kept Gray on his toes. Grayson is my running buddy, a real clown who is up for mischief and mayhem. Claire was the more mature one of all of us. We didn't rescue her, she rescued us. She taught me to be a better person. When I picked her up almost 6 years ago, we weren't sure if we could handle another dog. I think she made her mind up as soon as she got in the truck. Thanks Claire for all the slobbery kisses and hair and unconditional love. The house is bit more empty and quieter tonight without her parking herself in the hallway/kitchen/closet. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">God, I'm going to miss that sugar face. </span><br />
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agg79http://www.blogger.com/profile/08925069219602681862noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-650618993131658031.post-42907381775992520982016-01-10T22:01:00.000-06:002016-01-10T22:02:07.563-06:00Motivation<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Happy <i>Belated</i> New Year Y'all!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I fully intended to post something introspective or meaningful around the 1st, but that just wouldn't be me. Too many distractions I suppose. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Spent New Year's out in the country at our annual Rally with the Airstream group out in the country drinking champagne and blowing stuff up. Nobody lost an eye, nobody got blowed up, nothing was set on fire. The dogs, however, were not as impressed with all of the fireworks. Lots of food, games, drink. A fairly sedate rally, something that us old codgers prefer. We've held these at the same RV park for the last 20 years, so this has almost become routine. The only I have to note is that my folks have retired from the club and they were an integral part of this event over the past 35+ years. Ever since they officially retired last year, it is a bit more complicated to do these gigs without their participation. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As one might surmise, I have been lacking the proper motivation to post up anything meaningful. With our new company, I have been buried with new projects, priorities, tasks, and I am somewhat distracted. I spent the last week with my counterpart from France going over our strategy on how we are going to cut costs and save the company mega bucks. 2016 is turning into a very interesting year. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I have also been under the weather for a while. Have had a nagging cough and shortness of breath since October that I cannot seem to chase away. Been to the doctor several times for different drugs and treatment but nothing has really made the difference. I go back again on Monday for a CT scan to see if they can figure out what is wrong with me. Not a cold, but something that is just wearing me down/pissing me off. </span><span style="color: #660000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">That said, I am signed up for my 8th turn in the half marathon this weekend. No way I am ready for it this time. With all of the distractions at work and this nagging cough, I have not been training all that much this year. Seems like I lack the proper motivation. Even this week is already booked full with a day in probate court and a 2 day road trip to Cincinnati. My brother asked if I would still be doing the half this weekend and I told him affirmative. This is number 8 and I just can't quit now. To me, this is the annual reminder of my good fortune and blessings. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Besides, I am too close to 10 to give up now. I am just not expecting to set any PRs this year.... </span><br />
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> </span>agg79http://www.blogger.com/profile/08925069219602681862noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-650618993131658031.post-55853342512777434512015-12-25T09:23:00.004-06:002015-12-25T09:24:21.923-06:00Joyeux Noël!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I hope everyone is having a safe and happy holidays! Now is the time for family and friends to gather together and celebrate the season. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Legal Marketing: Auguri di <b>Buon Natale</b> e Felice 2013" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqdDCekVnsUtbrUVPw-ZAAthCG_gsqD57tZHzaTsjmsAO5ODGA9oBgwU01-VdRB4romcNppja7gLA7o3ZWnSJikxmNaSNSmK6KJtxzVFkRQ78vtiQDJ8E-mCTarxyJGsUh3kkiKpCiEWR9/s400/auguri-bon-natale-glitter.gif" width="400" /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">With temperatures projected to be in the high 70's, I don't think we are in for a white Christmas this year.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I'd love to claim that our shopping was done a long time ago, but, I don't like to lie and it just doesn't seem to be in my nature. Something about hitting the stores on Christmas eve seems to be in my horoscope. As usual, I am stuffing the bird and wrapping gifts on Christmas morning. At least my son and his better half are home for the holidays and we get to spend some quality time together (even if he is drinking up my beer).</span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Have a Merry Christmas! And remember to save room for some pie!</span></div>
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<br />agg79http://www.blogger.com/profile/08925069219602681862noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-650618993131658031.post-64477371164756740282015-12-10T09:33:00.000-06:002015-12-11T12:33:47.893-06:00Reset, Re-calibrate & Reboot<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="color: magenta;">Test. Test. Test. Is this thing on? </span></i><span style="color: #660000;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Sorry guys. I've been absent from the keyboard a <i>while</i>. Kind of a self imposed hiatus from the blogosphere. </span><span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">No real excuse although I seemed to have misplaced my muse. Things have taken a different turn down here and I have been distracted from posting anything or even keeping up with everyone. </span><br />
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">To paraphrase something Terri said earlier, I like to think that we are working towards a new </span><i style="color: #660000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">normal</i><span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">. With SIL's passing back in August, life has taken some different turns. We are slowly settling her estate and wading through the morass of legal paperwork/probate/estate planning. Trying to close out someone's life is not something we were trained to do. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Momma is holding up well. Everyone is concerned with her but she is handling the situation without needing much of my help. I am more of a moral support, providing the back and legs to whatever needs to be done. Clearing out the storage room, going through all of the files, fixing the sprinkler system, taking supplies to the food pantry, feeding the cats (poop scooping as well), etc. Just another day in the hood. We are slowly closing out things at her house. There's no real rush on our part (or, at least I am not rushing momma). The house is only 20 minutes away so it is easy for us to go over and take care of things. We still have way too many cats (IMHO) but we have been able to offload one to a friend. We are looking at other options to reduce the horde, but still keeping our promise to SIL to find good homes for all of them (no shelters) - going against the advice of some "<i>friends</i>". In the meantime, they continue to live in the high life in the cat house. They ain't suffering too much (<i>unless it's when I leave the TV tuned into the Walking Dead Marathon</i>). </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">At work, things have taken on a whole new level of intense. We merged with another bigger company in October and, as with any merger, things are changing. New name, new priorities, new overlords. I have been out traveling a bit on supplier audits with a road trip to Wisconsin and California and it looks like I am going to do a bunch more next year. We were supposed to go over to France a few weeks back right about the time all of the crap went down. We actually had people in the air to Paris on Friday when everything fell apart. The company made the decision to cancel the meeting and send everyone home and do the conference via skype. Things have settled down a bit but my horoscope has a road trip to France in my future for next year.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">At home, we've been busy as well. I have been able to make most of the home football games at A&M in the trailer with the dogs. Not overly impressed with the team's performance, but at least we had a decent time camping. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I also have been doing more doggy stuff over the past few months. Claire & Grayson are doing well, although Claire is slowing down a bit. Honestly, I am worried about her - her back end is weak and she doesn't have the stamina for long walks. Have taken her to the vet for testing but, at her age (12/13), there is not really much that they can do. We did pick up a guest for Thanksgiving week while my brother was off shore on a cruise. Parents/brothers did a Caribbean cruise (I passed) and I offered to take care of his fur baby. A 7 year old Border Collie called Dot. A very cute, intelligent and intense dog. At first I was worried that she would not get along with my two, but they were best buddies by the second day. Since Dot is a trained sheep dog, it was funny to watch her try to herd Grayson when they were out running. Cute dog. By the end of the week, momma wanted to keep her. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtDMdbhZG7GLId1kvA2IcIAEHG8iBLR63iiLRNttjJjpAORxmi-0TgxjsWwO6MfoIjo6RLnTHKySauGY8uUtX8A5Gux66jJEz4gHxUUccnwZ9YqJ3_xDbiY1rTmkt1tV7Fw_USNef8NyI/s1600/IMG_7489.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtDMdbhZG7GLId1kvA2IcIAEHG8iBLR63iiLRNttjJjpAORxmi-0TgxjsWwO6MfoIjo6RLnTHKySauGY8uUtX8A5Gux66jJEz4gHxUUccnwZ9YqJ3_xDbiY1rTmkt1tV7Fw_USNef8NyI/s400/IMG_7489.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I also wound up doing a foster run the same weekend I picked up Dot. Got a call to meet a woman down in El Campo (1.5 hours south) to pick up a OTI (owner turn in) dog that was to be fostered by our group. Duke was an absolutely gorgeous 18 month old Golden that was full of energy. The woman was turning him in because her job had her travelling 5 days a week and she was moving to a place were there weren't any good options to take care of the dog. She had the dog since it was a puppy and just wasn't able to be home enough to take care of him, so she did the right thing and chose to give him up to a family that would give him the love and attention he deserved. </span><span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">One of the harder OTIs I've done. She was heartbroken to let him go. I only had him for the short drive back to Houston, but had decided that, if we didn't already have Dot to take care of, I would have taken him home. I just read on our website that Duke has already found a furever home with a good family and another Golden buddy. That's one of the reasons I stick with this foster group - the benefits far outweigh the costs. </span><span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I am trying to get back into the swing of things, but no promises. One step at a time. First order of business is to go catch up on everyone's blogs and that may take me a while. </span><br />
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agg79http://www.blogger.com/profile/08925069219602681862noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-650618993131658031.post-45224286598556816022015-09-28T20:49:00.000-05:002015-09-30T06:04:46.771-05:00Some days you're the dog...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It's that time again for our annual GBGRR annual picnic this past Sunday. Despite the gloomy weather and sudden downpour, the outing was huge success. Not quite as many dogs as I have seen in the past, but there were more than a few Goldens running amok. Good food, lots of really neat raffle prizes (didn't win any again), lots of wet dogs and <u>no</u> conflicts/fights. I've been doing this gig for about 5 years now and am still amazed on how well everyone (dog & human) get along. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">With all of the mayhem and activity, I lost track of Grayson & Claire a few times (many Goldens do look very much alike), but, like a kid on a playground, they eventually found me. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A few shots of the carnage...</span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Of course, my two kids were totally exhausted when we got home. Wet, tired and happy, they pretty much crashed for the rest of the day. </span></div>
agg79http://www.blogger.com/profile/08925069219602681862noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-650618993131658031.post-26623428364605520812015-09-20T10:03:00.000-05:002015-09-20T10:03:47.454-05:00Closing things out<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The last few weeks have been quite full/melancholy. I am not sure if it good or bad with being busy, but it has kept us from dwelling on her passing. I am most saddened for my wife. She has been holding up well, but this has been a very long and sad journey for her over the past few years. First her dad fell ill several years ago and passed away 2 years ago after a long battle with Alzheimer's. Earlier this year, we lost her mom due to the same illness. Finally her sister passed recently. She has a lot on her plate of late and I am trying to take some of the burden off of her shoulders. We are in a kind of void right now - sort of grief/guilty phase. Sad to have lost her sister at this age, but glad she is no longer suffering. Will take a while for things to right themselves again. </span><br />
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #660000;">In the interim, we've been working on multiple fronts to take care of things for Julie. Arranging a memorial service, working with the funeral home, drafting up an obituary, posting updated on Facebook. Momma and I argued about the FB posting but I felt we needed to do it so that her friends would know and could post their comments. A few were surprised with the news since Julie did not really want her condition and prognosis shared with many. While I am not a big FB fan, a few friends were starting to mention about missing her and I felt it was our responsibility to post something in her honor. The obituary took a bit of editing before we posted it but it finally hit the paper before Labor Day. I wanted to write more about her career and love of cats but when we got the price for the simple obit, we were a wee bit floored. The cost of a simple obit was running almost $6.00 per word, hyphen, comma and period. </span><i style="color: #660000;">And that's per day.</i><span style="color: #660000;"> I read some of the obits in today's paper that are running 4-5 columns and cannot help but think that run somebody close to $3,000. I told my wife that, when I go, all she needed to put in the paper is "</span><i><span style="color: #274e13;">Agg Died</span></i><span style="color: #660000;">". I am not sure how Julie would feel about paying this much money for a short synopsis of her life but I felt that we owed it to her. And her friends really appreciated it. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #660000;">We did arrange for a memorial service right after Labor Day. She did not want people to interrupt their plans/vacations and since Julie wasn't very religious, we chose a Methodist church </span></span><span style="color: #660000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">next to the Medical Center where a number of her friends/coworkers could attend.</span><span style="color: #660000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> Very n</span><span style="color: #660000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">ice service, reception, a much larger turnout than we had expected. I had spent the week prior combing through pictures at her house and what I had taken over the years to craft a slide show of her over the years. I even stole a few pictures from friends that had posted to Facebook in her memory. I got the idea from a previous memorial service and people really seemed to enjoy it. A few shots from the slide show:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #660000;">We are spending time over at her house going through the records, sorting things out, making calls, feeding the </span><i style="color: #660000;">cats </i><span style="color: #660000;">(</span><i><span style="color: #274e13;">anybody want one?</span></i><span style="color: #660000;">), emptying litter boxes. Julie had a love for animals in her life and she was passionate about her cats. My wife came from a cat family but I have slowly brought her over to the dark side and the world of dogs. Don't get me wrong, I don't have anything against cats, but I am just not really a cat person anymore. I am not sure how well my two furbabies would take to a feline guest. While I feel fairly sure that Claire, old softy she is, wouldn't have too many issues with a cat (</span><i><span style="color: #274e13;">heck, she loves anybody</span></i><span style="color: #660000;">), Grayson kinda has a personality that doesn't mix well with felines. He's had a few close calls with neighborhood cats but I have kept him on a tight leash whenever one is around. In my opinion, if he ever did try to go MMA with the local calico yard cat, my money's on the cat. I'll regale you with my cat history later. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #660000;">On many of the walks I had with Julie, one of her concerns was with her cats. What would happen to them, who would take care of them. We had a solution in one of her friends volunteered to take all of them, but that friend died unexpectedly last year from brain cancer. I told Julie that, because of the dogs, I could not commit to taking the cats, but I did promise her that we would do everything humanly possible to find them good homes. They were not going to be neglected or turned over the the shelter and we would work the back channels to find homes for all of them. Initially, she wanted to turn them over to the Animal Life-Care Center up at A&M that takes care of pets when their owners pass away. Sort of a pet sanctuary. Beautiful state of the art facility with the best care. The problem is that they were <i><u>very, very</u> </i>pricey. A quick estimate of how much it would run for her cats came out to be more than the cost of her house. So, in the meanwhile, the cats have the run of the house while we work on finding homes/servants for them. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #660000;">I wound up giving her Camry to my son. I have been taking care of it for a while so I know it is in good shape and a good replacement for our old '93 he currently drives in Austin. Ice cold A/C, new battery & tires, a working radio, and only 77k miles. The car even came with Lojack but I don't think Julie ever activated it. The only problem is that we cannot find the title so I am going to have to work through the state to have a new one printed and then have it transferred over to him. Actually, I will have it transferred to me and then I will transfer it to him. Turns out that in Texas, you can transfer a title to a family member (aka bother in law) for only $45 and save on paying the taxes on the sale. Unfortunately, junior being her nephew does not fall in that category, so we will have to juggle the title a bit to make it work. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #660000;">Progress is slow, but we are moving forward. </span></span>agg79http://www.blogger.com/profile/08925069219602681862noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-650618993131658031.post-75091084850172568182015-08-31T11:38:00.000-05:002015-08-31T11:38:04.817-05:00Saying goodbye<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I wish I had some good news but I am saddened to pass along the news of SIL's passing. Julie passed away peacefully Saturday afternoon at MD Anderson with friends and family by her side. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">She has been struggling with her cancer for the past two years with various degrees of success but, ultimately the cancer spread and took her light. She went into the hospital two weeks ago in a good deal of pain and nausea. They tried to stem the pain and give her some comfort, but the cancer had spread to the point it that not much could be done. </span><span style="color: #660000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The past few days were hard on everyone. She had been slowly declining since the weekend and things did not look promising. Along with my wife and I, several of Julie’s friends took turns staying with her at the hospital so she had someone with her. Our son drove down Friday afternoon to see her as well. We went up to the hospital Saturday to sit with her and her friend, not really sure how much time she had. She passed away quietly around 3:00 pm with my wife by her side. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This has been long in coming. Julie was nephrologist (</span><span style="color: #660000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">kidney doctor) and knew the score. Ever since</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: #660000;"> she was diagnosed 2+ years ago, she was pessimistic about her chances but chose to fight it regardless. Despite all of the obstacles thrown her way, she kept fighting it. Several months back, she and her oncologist decided the chemo wasn't doing anything but making her sick and stopped the treatments. Afterwards, she seemed resigned to her fate. My wife stayed with her throughout the entire process. Staying at home with her, the multiple trips to the hospital/ER, taking care of her treatments. She set aside a lot of things to be at her sister's side, providing some comfort. I'll have to admit, it wasn't easy, I am not sure I would have had the stamina to do it. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">To provide some minor respite, we tried to get her out of the house for a day just to break the routine, even if for a short while. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: #660000;">She loved spending Saturday afternoons over at my brother's garage (GRAJ). Between talking on cars, family, dogs and eating something from the grill, it was something that enabled all of us to forget about life for a while. </span></span><span style="color: #660000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">My wife would bring her over to our house every other day as another break. Julie loved walking the dogs with me when I got home, even if it was 98 degrees outside. She looked forward to it, it gave her some relief from the pain, and the dogs certainly didn't object. We spend a lot of time discussing her status while walking the dogs. We covered a lot of topics, ideas, questions. I broached the subject of her final wishes. With her mother's passing earlier this year, she decided to be cremated but did not want to be buried back at the family plot in Arkansas. Instead, she wanted to remain with us, although, we haven't determined where we will wind up. I told her that I wanted to be cremated as well but, in lieu of a burial, I wanted my ashes spread over Kyle Field. Fat chances of that happening - something about </span><i style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: #20124d;">some sort of regulations against that</span></i><span style="color: #660000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">.</span><i style="color: #660000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </i><span style="color: #660000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I was not trying to be morbid on these discussions and she felt some relief to unload on me as it was hard to discuss these issues with my wife. We also talked/debated about a memorial service. She did not really want one because she didn't want to burden everyone and didn't want people to feel sorry for her but I kinda convinced her that her family and friends might want to have one, if for anything to remember and honor her life - sort of a sense of closure for everyone. We have yet to figure out any details (still too painful to consider), but we have debated using the local church near the medical center. That way a lot of her coworkers and friends could attend.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Right now, things are moving slowly. Understandably, momma is exhausted. I am taking off this week to help settle her affairs, play chauffeur, clean out litter boxes and serve as a general roustabout. </span>agg79http://www.blogger.com/profile/08925069219602681862noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-650618993131658031.post-30008940240809149162015-08-22T11:14:00.001-05:002015-08-23T21:51:32.754-05:00The long goodbye<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I haven't posted much about my SIL lately. Honestly, guys, it wasn't because I didn't care or want to share, but, the news just really hasn't been good. SIL has been fighting the good fight and struggling against her cancer but the journey hasn't been easy. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Julie went under the knife almost 2 years ago and it has been a struggle ever since. A lot of infections, much pain, many trips back to the hospital. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This past weekend we did our weekend trip across town to my brother's garage. Sort of a break from the routine/rut but I think that Julie felt she needed one <strike>more</strike> last time with the family. My son and his wife were down for the weekend and got to spend some time with her. It was a good time but Julie was in a lot of pain and really not feeling well. I think it was because she felt this was the last time she would be at the GRAJ. We kept an eye on her and kept asking if she wanted to leave early. We did finally pull out early and, on the way home, she and my wife decided that she needed to go to the hospital to try and see if they can do something about the pain. She checked in late Saturday night and they diagnosed her with pancreatitis. They were able to deal with it somewhat but she is in a lot of pain and is very tired. They moved her to palliative hospice care to try and dial in her pain meds and she has been there all week. My wife has been up there most days and I have been going up in the afternoons to sit with her and give her a little company. She is struggling and discouraged and ready to go. Her doctor friends have been by several times and have talked with us on the side and have been pretty honest with their thoughts/opinions. Her chances of getting any better are pretty nil. The cancer has metastasized into her lungs and has made it hard for her to breath. We are headed up to the hospital now to sit with her and talk about what she wants to do. Julie just turned 62 two weeks ago and the past two years have been very hard her and my wife. </span><span style="color: #660000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We are preparing for the inevitable</span><span style="color: #660000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> but I know this will devastate my wife. I know that Julie has thanked me for being there this week but I feel really helpless. </span><span style="color: #660000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">All I can do is be there for her and her sister. </span><span style="color: #660000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It is no longer a matter of if, but a matter of when. Everyone asks if they can do anything but it is really in the Lord's hands right now. </span>agg79http://www.blogger.com/profile/08925069219602681862noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-650618993131658031.post-78290627349847978882015-08-19T21:41:00.000-05:002015-08-19T21:41:23.956-05:00Taking it easy<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Claire's back home tonight. </span><span style="color: #660000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The vet said she </span><span style="color: #660000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">came through her procedure with flying colors. No complications and they were able to remove the mass easily. They are sending it off for a path test but the vet said it didn't look bad/alarming so he felt this was more of a cyst/growth, but I'll wait until the lab test come back next week. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Meanwhile, Claire is on the DL for the next two weeks. No walks, no swimming and no baths until the stitches come out. I will take her back on Friday to have her bandage removed. She is a bit groggy and not up to her normal personality, but it may take a day for the effects of the anesthesia to wear off. In the interim, she's getting extra attention/loving. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="color: #660000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span><span style="color: #660000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span>agg79http://www.blogger.com/profile/08925069219602681862noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-650618993131658031.post-61118082057889969732015-08-18T21:40:00.003-05:002015-08-18T21:40:40.041-05:00Paws crossed<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A lot of things on the plate right now. We are handling some challenges with SIL that I will elaborate on later. SIL would come over to the house every 2-3 days to walk the dogs with me when I get home from work. It has turned into a routine that the dogs seem to love even if it is still 95 degrees. Even though she is getting tad older and a wee bit slower, Claire still loves to roll over and do some "grass twerking" when we get to our local pocket park. Seems to be a routine for her and who am I to deny her inner puppy. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">When we were out last Thursday on our normal walk, I spotted something odd with one of her paws that I hadn't notice before. I thought one of her pads was cut or inflamed but it turned out to be not the case. Some odd growth on the side of her left paw. It looked red and swollen and I initially thought it was some bug bite but it wasn't bothering her. She wasn't limping or showing any signs of distress even with me poking at it. Not something I wanted to see. Goldens are susceptible to getting mast cell growths, some of which can be cancerous. One of our club members just lost her dog of 12+ years yesterday due to a massive tumor under her neck and this kind of discovery frankly scares the shit out of me. I booked an appointment with the vet on Saturday and had it checked out. The vet said took a simple biopsy and said there were some suspect cells and growth that needed to be addressed soon. Not willing to wait, I booked her into surgery in the morning to have the mass removed and sent off for analysis. Right now, it is small enough to be removed without having major complications but I am still concerned. Claire's a tough old girl but I still worry any time they put her under. I am sure she ain't going to be happy but I'll post her progress tomorrow when she gets home. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>agg79http://www.blogger.com/profile/08925069219602681862noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-650618993131658031.post-76420813988646742002015-08-15T09:05:00.003-05:002015-08-15T15:31:40.810-05:00Walkabout<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGmhXpDrFg8E_CJ4VvwkEyb5O66vi6qLh8jPpsHZAjZ_1zUFk70jfHBrUZbUzoOn1fZ48s_hE9jhZOgOwmh6GoeGTwCRW6sKsIDqFcpmziPo2hCAj8HIfJIZ3VJ48sslm_tissMcxT4pQ/s1600/WildCoverFromAuthorsWebsite.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGmhXpDrFg8E_CJ4VvwkEyb5O66vi6qLh8jPpsHZAjZ_1zUFk70jfHBrUZbUzoOn1fZ48s_hE9jhZOgOwmh6GoeGTwCRW6sKsIDqFcpmziPo2hCAj8HIfJIZ3VJ48sslm_tissMcxT4pQ/s200/WildCoverFromAuthorsWebsite.JPG" width="133" /></a><span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I normally don't do movie or book recommendations. I feel that my tastes in books & movie differ from other (<i>normal</i>) people. My picks can be somewhat twisted (or warped as the wife tells me) and what I find funny/interesting doesn't always follow the norm. I'll leave the movie reviews to Abby. She is way better at finding good movies and is pretty much spot on when it comes to her reviews. That said, I did want to share one of my recent screenings. I have a number of different movies queued up in my Netflix account. They are all over the road from new releases to comedies to classics. One that I bumped to the top of the list recently was the movie <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2305051/?ref_=nv_sr_2">Wild</a> with Reese Witherspoon. Based upon Cheryl Strayed's tale of hiking the Pacific Crest Trail alone. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Basically a story of a woman of finding redemption by hiking over 1000 miles on the PCT one summer. </span><span style="color: #660000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The PCT is over 2600 miles long and runs from the Mexico border all the way up to Canada crossing a wide variety of terrains/mountains. Not your typical Sunday stroll in the park. D</span><span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">efinitely not for the novice or faint of heart. Cheryl hiked it solo back in 1995 after some personal tragedy as a means of finding her self. An interesting saga of how an ill prepared person with grit & determination can overcome some daunting challenges. Cheryl was definitely not prepared at the outset of her hike but she managed to conquer the trail despite all of the obstacles she encountered along the path. And, while I am not an overly huge Reese fan (was a pretty good June Carter), I really liked her portrayal. Very compelling. Something that I is on my bucket list that I will probably never cross off. And I found the story so interesting that I went out and bought the book. I've only done that 2-3 times when I found a movie interesting enough to dig into the back story. Again, I normally don't recommend books but this one was a great read. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I've hiked small portions of the Appalachian Trail (AT), but nothing more that a couple of weekend treks. Backpacking has always been a passion for me. Hiking & camping along the mountain trails was something that I would prefer to do in lieu of a vacation at a spa resort. That's why I was really into our treks at Philmont in New Mexico with the scouts a few years back. Unfortunately, we don't have too many mountains down here on the on the coast. I guess it started out when my family spent a few summers camping out in Colorado </span><span style="color: #660000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">when I was a young pup. <i>Long</i> road trip from </span><span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">New Jersey in the old Pontiac station wagon. Later, when both brothers were off at college, my parents & I spend a few weeks in Red River, New Mexico. My dad & I hiked up to Middle Fork Lake and spent a few nights camping out. That sort of sparked my passion for backpacking/camping and led to my </span><i style="color: #660000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">walkabout</i><span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> in 1977. The summer prior to my junior year I was taking some summer classes and working a minimum wage job down at the Chrysler dealership. Things were at a lull at the time and I was taking one of those motivational speaking courses for. One of the exercises was to express your passion and what you would do given the time and availability and I expressed my desire to go backpacking in the mountains. The instructor encouraged me to follow through on that desire and I jumped on the idea. </span><span style="color: #660000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Mom wasn't exactly thrilled with the idea but supported me nonetheless. I loaded up the Plymouth and headed west to West Texas and New Mexico. I spent 2.5 weeks roaming through west Texas and hiking the mountains of New Mexico. From the Guadalupe</span><span style="color: #660000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> Mountains to Cloudcroft to White Sands to the Gila National Forest to Red River to Palo Duro Canyon. Nothing like the trek that Cheryl made, but it was a cathartic road trip for me. Something to recharge the batteries. Deep down, I'd love to make a long hike like she did but, at this stage, I have too many obligations and conflicts. </span>agg79http://www.blogger.com/profile/08925069219602681862noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-650618993131658031.post-74954074091718324662015-08-12T21:21:00.004-05:002015-08-12T21:21:57.139-05:00Warm enough?<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Been a wee bit warm down here of late. I guess we are making up for all that rain we had earlier...</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5zB73xP-Su30y71PjA7pvDeDuYVTGFew6VSUmLb7SckD5VNEBVnAx4R4AxkW-BR-QmxZAvvtP-1gUoc5D0ayPomPNa4wTTQPFy3G17qtRuhrFSGJKLXRlguwzLoU1YeZCtHu0GbNEUmM/s1600/hot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5zB73xP-Su30y71PjA7pvDeDuYVTGFew6VSUmLb7SckD5VNEBVnAx4R4AxkW-BR-QmxZAvvtP-1gUoc5D0ayPomPNa4wTTQPFy3G17qtRuhrFSGJKLXRlguwzLoU1YeZCtHu0GbNEUmM/s400/hot.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Working on staying cool, keeping the yard alive. Thinking about giving the dogs a Chihuahua haircut, but, not really. I would probably wind up ostracized from the Golden group. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I would write more but I think my keyboard melted. </span><br />
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<br />agg79http://www.blogger.com/profile/08925069219602681862noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-650618993131658031.post-89112940090099359612015-08-09T20:47:00.000-05:002015-08-09T20:47:03.911-05:00Psst. C'mere. I gotta deal for you.<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>H-town</i>. Ya gotta love this place. Granted, it doesn't have the majestic peaks and vistas of </span><span style="color: #660000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>some</i> places. No interesting trails like the Incline or historical sites like the Arch, but we do have a beer can house and the Space Center. And we have our share of interesting people with a talent for turning a profit. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">From localized flooding to irrepressible heat to alligators in your yard, there is always some story or event that really stands out and makes us unique. From last Tuesday, we had a incident at the local Victoria's Secret shop down in Rice Village. For those not familiar with Houston, Rice Village is in the hoity-toity district with a bunch of high end stores that tend to cater to people with more discriminating tastes. </span><span style="color: #660000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><u>Not</u> your normal </span><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Target or Walmart crowds. Anyway, there was a break in at the </span><a href="http://abc13.com/news/burglars-smash-into-victorias-secret-steal-lingerie/901682/" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Victoria's Secret</a>. <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Seems that some folk decided to drive a van through the front of the VS storefront and make off with some of the goods. Speculation is running amok about who would do this nefarious deed and what would be the market for said items. </span></span><span style="color: #660000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Yea, right. I <i>always</i> buy my wife's <i>un</i></span><span style="color: #660000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>mentionables</i></span><span style="color: #660000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i> </i>s from a roadside vendor or off of Craigslist. Oh, wait. </span><span style="color: #660000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">If I am mentioning them here, can they still be considered as "</span><i style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">unmentionables</span></i><span style="color: #660000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #660000;">That sort of reminds me of one of my old scout stories. I got a million of them but, to paraphrase the Vegas slogan: </span><i><span style="color: #274e13;">What happens on the trail, stays on the trail</span></i><span style="color: #660000;">. Well, not so much the trail, but one of many scout stories. Many, many moons ago, when we were knee-deep in scouts, we did a </span><i style="color: #660000;">lot </i><span style="color: #660000;">of things to raise money for the troop (keep it clean, folks). One of our many fund raising ideas was a community garage sale. Everybody donates items for sale to the troop ans we have one massive yard sale with all proceeds going to the troop. Was a fun/interesting event. If you have ever done a garage sale, you know that you can see/sell a lot of interesting things. And with other people donating stuff, anything is up for sale. While sorting through all of the incoming donations, Tracy, a friend and one of our scout moms, picked up an <i>interesting </i>thong that was up for sale and noted that: "</span><i><span style="color: #741b47;">Oh, yea, I always get my underwear from garage sales</span></i><span style="color: #660000;">". That cracked up most of us running the whole sale. I just have to wonder, exactly what is the market for a van full of hot undies? </span></span><span style="color: #660000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span>agg79http://www.blogger.com/profile/08925069219602681862noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-650618993131658031.post-21860744329139031022015-08-01T15:30:00.003-05:002015-08-01T15:30:53.858-05:00Tails from the road<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Points to Shadowrun. I figured she might know where I was a few weeks back. After all, I was kinda in the neighborhood (if not across the state). I had a business conference in Chicago for a few days at the end of June. I'll admit I've been to Chicago many times but usually it is either passing through or visiting plants on the west side of Chicago. I have never been downtown so I took the opportunity to check out the local flora and fauna. I got in a couple of nice long runs along Lake Shore Drive, found an amazing pizza place (Blaze Pizza) that makes your pie in 3 minutes, hiked across downtown to visit some of the tourist sites, took the "L" train back to the airport. Pretty good conference, a nice break from the daily headaches at the office. One more city off my bucket list. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhXlmtZKL-Fm8QCwTazjUp9M5N-jRwxq9hHXF7YVK3TGcMX1Mvp3uWF-z57HKW8F-1sEuZEZsBlK1E8ozZfILvjXeVVTbOxuuvkStZtFDZ5BQoqDf6cCNpr38iixU2f2zbh0-bjabq1DQ/s1600/IMG_7030.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhXlmtZKL-Fm8QCwTazjUp9M5N-jRwxq9hHXF7YVK3TGcMX1Mvp3uWF-z57HKW8F-1sEuZEZsBlK1E8ozZfILvjXeVVTbOxuuvkStZtFDZ5BQoqDf6cCNpr38iixU2f2zbh0-bjabq1DQ/s400/IMG_7030.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">Water wall</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">Two guesses where what TV show this fountain is featured in</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">Some really good pizza</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #660000;">Last weekend I took an extended trip up to New Braunfels (south of Austin) with my brother and his family to spend some time tubing on the Guadalupe River. It's sort of a summer tradition down here in Texas. Take a scorching day and go spend it floating down the river on inner tubes with a few </span><i><span style="color: #351c75;">hundred</span></i><span style="color: #660000;"> other people trying not to get fried. Momma and SIL were not able to go so I took the furry kids instead. First time they've been to the river. For two old hot dogs (</span><i><span style="color: #274e13;">who don't swim</span></i><span style="color: #660000;">), it was an interesting weekend. Hot, wet, & overfed but I think they made out just fine. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We even squeezed in a side trip to a local dog park that just opened up. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> </span>agg79http://www.blogger.com/profile/08925069219602681862noreply@blogger.com4