Black Friday

No, I don't even attempt that madness.  I rarely ever shop anyway and it is mostly restricted to online.  If I can't get it online I don't need it.  I don't care if they were giving stuff away free, I ain't that crazy.  I saw a couple videos of animals fighting inside a store with punches thrown and a woman stealing a package from a very young child and then the mother took her on and she proceeded to cry foul that the mother was treating her so badly.  Are you kidding me?  If I was a betting man I was say she was a Prius driving, tree hugging, latte drinking libtard, from the way she looked.  Yes. I'm judging and I don't care.  Just a take of look at this stupidity.

Here's the one that really got me...for vegetable steamers, why did she need 3 and why didn't the other get one out of the pile instead of stealing from a child, and it looks like she was trying to take another out of the Mom's hands....really?  You just can't make this stuff up.  Volume warning...

I don't believe much of that happens around these parts, even though we get a bad rap about being backwards in Texas I don't think you will find much of that here.  At least not in this part.  If it does happen I can almost guarantee they ain't a native.

Turkey day went well except oldest son and granddaughter were sick and had to stay home.  Daughter(in-law, hate calling her that, prefer daughter) offered to stay home with the grandson to avoid possibly getting us and my parents sick.  They usually spread everything amongst themselves so she was being cautious.  We asked them to come anyway. 

The food was terrific, Kim does a great job with it all.  She usually makes a pies and makes a sugar free one for me.  She makes this fantastic Coconut cream pie that is so out of this world.  I even ate some of her super great sweet potatoes that I usually avoid due to all the brown sugar she adds.  I didn't realize it but she made those with a sugar substitute and it was hard to tell the difference.  Lots of leftovers of course and I will probably hate turkey before it is all gone.

Kim is working the resorts this Friday and Saturday and it is so very quiet here after everything.  I probably won't do anything productive and feel guilty.....yeah right.

Happy Trails

Still Too Busy

I'm sure most everyone is this time of year.  Still trying to help at Mom's and dodge the land mines of my Dad's stressed out behavior.  He got tired of our presence Monday I'm guessing.  Most of it is frustration that he isn't able to do much on his own.  He can get upset over nothing easily, he perceives comments or actions out of context and then reacts, badly I might add.  We have enough here to keep us busy prepping for Thanksgiving to keep us out of their hair for a few days.

We don't see or hear from the kids much these days.  I know they are busy as we are and the youngest has been putting in some really long hours and dealing with disasters and miscommunication at work.  The things he goes through would absolutely kill me, but that seems to be the nature of the business he has chosen.  Looking forward to a couple hours with them Thursday and then they will be off to the In-Laws for the rest of the day.

We will spend the next couple days getting things ready for the feast and family.  The house needs a good once over sense we haven't been able to spend much time on it lately.  Lots of other errands to run also.  At least we shouldn't have to try and navigate the grocery store this week.  It just gets crazy there.  I was also surprised how bad traffic was Monday on the way to and from Mom's and the couple errands we ran.

I used to navigate heavy traffic every day to and from work and could deal with it without getting to stressed.  These are actually roads here.

Except for those jackwagons that would force me off the road because they believed a blinker gave them automatic rights to the lane I was already occupying.  It was as if I had a sign that encouraged other drivers to 'please cut me off.'  Invariably it would lead to screeching tires or evasive action that would cause my jaws to get tight.  Not a good way to start the day at a job the dealt with other people all day long.  I didn't need to be in a crappy mood when before I even started on the daily fires that needed to be put out.  I could handle it most times and get there and calm down after a few minutes.  Now the traffic seems to bother me more than it ever did before.  Granted the traffic has gotten much worse than when I was commuting in it.  It seems that the non-rush hours are nearly as bad as the rush hours I used to travel in.  Glad I don't have to do that any more.

If I don't make another post before Thursday, I want to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving.

Happy Thanksgiving...Trails.

Urgent

Have been more involved in getting Mom and Dad squared away than I thought we would at this point of this move.  It has consumed most if not all our free time of which there is less than you might imagine.  Mom has gotten a deep sense of urgency about finalizing getting the house they moved from finished up.  She is so stressed she isn't a lot of help when we try to accomplish things.  We would probably get much more done if she wasn't there but we need to ask questions on what she wants to do with things we find.  Then she changes her mind about what she wants. 

On top of all that, Mom broke her foot.  I don't really understand how it happened but it was as simple as just taking a step.  It's not real bad, she actually won't wear the brace they gave her since it hurts more than using a shoe.  Yeah, I know but you have to know my Mom, I just suggest.  She didn't want to bother us to take her to the ER when it happened.  She couldn't drive so she had Dad do it.  Not a good thing.  Kim chastised her for not calling,  Her response was that we have done so much lately that she didn't want to ask for more.  That is exactly why they moved closer to us.  Frustrating to say the least. 

One of the reasons she is in a more urgent mode is that they found out that my cousin ( that is buying the house) will be approved Monday rather than early January.  She anticipates her wanting to move in sooner, probably by the holidays I would assume.  She fluctuates also between what she wants to do with the remaining items at the house.  There isn't much furniture left, just a lot of odds and ends.  Tons of glassware and decorative items.  First she wants to sell it all, then she is worried about people traipsing through her house.  Then she would call Salvation Army and just donate everything so she could be done with it and they would haul it all off.  Now she is back to wanting to sell it but not sure who would do that.  It would take several days and not all of it would get sold I'm sure and that would need to be disposed of. The rest of our family mostly all have jobs or kids events and aren't available to help as much even on weekends, and that takes it's toll. 

We also had a quick birthday party for my Dad who turned 88.  I was told he has never had a birthday party.  It took him a bit to figure out he was having a birthday party when he saw the whole family at my brother's.

All of this has been on top of just our everyday life that includes trying to get Kim's car in to get the bumper fixed and have the roofer come out.  We can't get Kim's car in until 12/14 they are so busy.  The roofer spent some time in the ER with his wife and that was pretty serious.  I told him don't worry about us to take care of family first.  The roof will wait.

Kim was invited to have a table at a private show at someone's home that has this holiday event every year with various vendors.  Since she was 'new blood' they anticipated she would be very popular and do well.  Turns out the event was much farther than she knew, well over 150 miles round trip.  She made 22$ in sales and said most all the guests and vendors were friends or knew each other and for the most part ignored her.

These are just the highlights.  We are hoping things settle a bit after Thanksgiving but probably not.

Have also been bothered quite a bit more than usual about the various situations that are happening across the globe.  I try to keep that off this blog sense there are so many others that have a better way of explaining/writing their thoughts about it.  But there are times that I just have to vent.  I do a lot of shouting to myself in my head and at the TV (yes I am watching the network news again but my filters are on high alert.)  Kim hears some but I try not to rant with her to much, I do that enough already.  She doesn't need the burden of my concerns of what I see and perceive going on in the world.  She is not oblivious but chooses to focus on what she can control.  She has taught me a lot about that just from her actions.  She is my rock and I try to be hers.  As long as we have each other things will be OK.

Happy Trails.

Crazy

Things are just nuts.  So much going on I can't keep track of it all. 

Be back when I have more time, a couple days or more, I don't know.

Happy Trails.

Libs

They drive me to distraction with their way of thinking and trying to force it on me and mine.  

In regard to Syrian refugees or any muslim refugee, if you want them here, how willing would you be to house them at your house?  No?  Why not?  Yeah, I thought so.

You say I'm not tolerant and I shouldn't judge, isn't that exactly what you are doing?  Get out of my face with your twisted logic.

Oh, and Happy Trails

Weather Hindrance

The weather has taken a significant turn.  Wet, windy and much cooler.  It has hindered any progress on the roof getting repaired.  I expect the roofer will get started Wednesday when the weather is supposed to be dry for the next few days.  I have no real idea how long it should take him to get it done since it requires replacing the entire patio decking.  I would assume maybe 3-4 days.  Also have an appointment to get the heating unit checked out.  They missed the regular October schedule.  This will be just in time as the weather has been getting cooler over the last couple weeks.  We will need it soon I am sure.

We also need to get back over to Mom and Dad's to pick up another table Kim wanted and see if we can help with putting away things and hanging pictures at the new place.  It may need to wait until the roofer is done.  I don't feel real comfortable leaving people I don't know around my house working without me there.  Kim may be able to for a bit and help with some things without me.

With all that has been going on we need a break.  A while back I found out that one of my favorite music artists (and Kim's too) would be performing Tuesday evening in Austin.  And it's FREE!.  I have been following his schedule for quite sometime in order to see him live with absolutely no luck.  He goes to a lot of those Cowboy Gatherings and private shows and none are anywhere close that we could go and come in one day.  Austin is close enough to make an evening of it.  Kim has no idea other than a few hints from me to be ready to go by a certain time and to dress western for a music venue.  We will stop along the way for supper and then head over to the theater. 

If you are not a fan of old west music or cowboy music you may be unfamiliar with Don Edwards.  He can sound exactly like the great Marty Robbins when he is singing one of Marty's old songs.  Here are a couple samples.  The first one, 'Coyotes,' really speaks to me and Buster will sing along with the yodels every time her hears it.

Enjoy.

Happy Trails

I Have Chosen

 

I won't be intimidated, I won't surrender, I won't submit.  Now the rest of the world must awaken.

No regrets, no retreat.

Postponed

The roofer called Friday evening.  The materials he went to pick up weren't quite the same color as my current roof.  He would be able to get something similar but not exact.  Which to me is fine.  Since the roof is so flat no one actually ever sees that part of the roof.  I gave him the OK, not that it really matters since I need that roof repaired.  This minor glitch will delay him until Monday.  Rain is predicted for then and Tuesday.  I would assume that it will get delayed again.

Haven't heard from Mom since we left her Thursday.  No news is good news.  I will be more comfortable when we are able to communicate with them better.  Waiting until the 23rd when they get phone service and internet installed.  I am really surprised it will take that long to get someone out to do that work.  I hope they get better at monitoring their cell phones until then.  The good thing is they are much much closer now and it is easy enough to just drive over if we need to check on them.  Can be there in maybe 10 minutes as opposed to the previous 45.

Kim and I have started kicking around ideas about what plans we want to make for Thanksgiving.  We usually have the kids and Mom and Dad over.  Not sure that will be the plan this time.  We suspect that there may be some that want to do something different.  So we may be alone to our own devices.  We usually invite my brother and his family but they never accept opting to always go to the in-laws family.  I'm sure will extend the usual invites but will be prepared to do something different. 

Saturday I cleaned up around the house.  Since we have been so involved with getting my parents moved things have gotten a bit out of hand around the house.  With Kim at the resort all day she won't be in my way and I can do it when and how I want to.  That means I can stop and watch college football while cleaning.  Did I say that out loud?  Actually anything and anyhow I do it is appreciated by Kim. 

Hopefully after the next couple weeks things will settle down into the Christmas season routine and we all know how relaxing that is.  Good Times!

Happy Trails

Finally

The roofer called a couple days ago.  Says he will start on Saturday.  Was surprised he would work Saturday.  Hope the weather holds since he will be removing all the decking that has rotted also.  Might be hard to protect what's left since it is all downhill from the rest of the roof on the house.  Will just be glad to finally get this behind me.

Happy Trails

Motivated

I woke up Thursday motivated to get things done at Mom and Dad's new digs.  When we left Tuesday things were moved in and mostly in place but quite a bit of disarray also since things weren't fitting quite like Mom had expected.  I was ready to go pretty early and caught Kim off guard.  I just knew how frazzled Mom would be looking at the mess and not really being able to get much done without help.  She more than likely felt overwhelmed.  They stayed gone most of the day Wednesday and that is probably why.

We hadn't been able to get hold of them for various reasons.  They only have their cell phones, which they have trouble operating at times.  They will get landlines but not until the 23rd.  

We showed up early and caught them there and jumped into organizing and clearing things away.  I got their spare bedroom/office squared away.  Both computers up and running but still need internet connection.  Got furniture relocated and various lamps and things up and running, just quite a bit of stuff done that makes it more livable without tripping over misplaced furniture and boxes.  Emptied quite a few boxes also and got those and a couple items of furniture that will make a return to the old house and be disposed of in the future. 

Still much more to do, hanging all the pictures/paintings etc. and getting the remaining items squared away.  Some of that will change again after Mom determines things should be changed after living there a while.  At least now it looks manageable and should ease Mom's mind now.

Feel much better that their situation is easier and I think we got a ton done.

One of the things that happened on moving day I didn't mention just added to the stress.  I went to pick up a couple burgers for Kim and I for lunch in her car.  I never go through the drive through, it seems something always gets messed up with the orders.  But today, it was empty and I decided it was convenient.  I followed another car into the lot and then into the drive through line.  For some reason the jack wagon decided to back up, with out looking.  Yeah, he did.  I was to close to take evasive action just honked the horn but too late.  Smacked the bumper pretty good.  Now I have to deal with his insurance and get her bumper straightened or at least realigned.  It's not bad, almost unnoticeable but still an irritant added to an already stressful time.  It could be worse I reckon.

Shifting gears....here are the wallets I recently completed that Kim wanted for her visits to the resorts.  Little to no tooling this time to keep the cost/price down.

Sorry I missed the Veteran's Days posting.  Just know that I hold all Veterans in the highest regard for the sacrifices you made for our country.  I thank God for men and women like you.

Happy Trails

Moving Day

There has been a lot going on and my thoughts are a jumbled mess so this may not make a lot of sense but I needed to get this down.

It was decided that it would be most preferred if I waited until Tuesday before the movers come to take down my parents computer.  So I had an unplanned time to work on the wallets.  I managed to get near finished.  I can't get back to finishing until after the move. 

Kim was going over anyway as planned Monday.  She has been a tremendous help to my Mom.  Not only for the labor she provides but feedback and ideas Mom respects and a sounding board for other issues.  As she went to leave, a dead battery greeted her in her car.  We just replaced it in March of '14.  Kim wasn't sure if she may have left a dome light on when she was searching for something the night before. 

I jerked it out and put it in my truck for her.  She had a lot of errands to run before and after her time at Mom's plus we would need her car also.  She took it to the dealer that replaced it previously.  They checked it out and told her it was bad.  I assumed there would be an adjustment charge for the time we used it.  The gave her a new battery at no charge.  Sweet!  That's never happened before.  She said she complained that this would be the third battery in five years and that was just too much.  They agreed.  Not sure if that is why she got it at no charge but it works for me.

Tuesday was hard.  It took longer to load and move than to unload.  There is sooo much stuff over there.  It just boggles my mind, it's intimidating.  The movers showed up early while my Mom and Dad were at the doctor getting results of tests.  On top of everything that is going on there was somewhat bad news at the doctor's.  Surgery in the future for my Dad.  The way he responds to surgery it's a good thing they are now moved where help is readily available.  

Turns out there isn't enough room for all the furniture Mom wants to take after all.  Some things will have to be moved back to be sold/disposed of.  Not sure how this will affect Mom, but she will get over it eventually.  She is very resilient.

It was a trying day.  Will go back again today to install the computer and get it hooked to the internet, hook up their TV's that are much smarter than me, they have soooo many wires on that stuff.  There is still so many things over there at the old house.  Most will have to be sold now that we see exactly how things fit.  All the little knick knacks and decorations for every season and holiday.......oh my.  You have no idea and I can't begin to describe how much there is still to deal with.

We are still alive but quite worn.

Happy Trails

I See a Light

I was informed that Tuesday my Mom has scheduled the movers to come.  I assume they will finally be staying at the apartment they have been planning to move into.  Earlier than I expected but grateful it will mostly be over.  The will need to have an estate sale to dispose of the remainder. 

The stress of all this has caused quite a bit of tension between Mom and Dad.  Not at all unexpected unfortunately.  It may even get worse before it gets better.  It's hard to live with my Dad is all I'll say.

I will head over today and take down their computer and bring it home with me.  I will take it over and set it up once they get all the furniture moved in.  I expect I might be scarce around these parts for the next few days.  The end of this never ending saga is in sight.

Y'all try to behave while I'm gone.

Happy Trails

I Hate Plumbing

Yes, I do.  What I do may not really be considered Plumbing truthfully.  It generally takes me longer to fix a small problem than what I would expect as normal.  We have two baths.  The one nearest my office was the boys bathroom when they were home.  I have had to replace the sink faucets in there twice.  I went the budget route and have had to pay the price of doing more plumbing in there than I ever would have guessed.  It also included replacing the supply lines to both faucets at least that twice if not more.  It turns out we have unusually high water pressure and the lines leaked occasionally.

The last set of cheap faucets I put in there had issues with the handles that urn the water on.  They would get stuck and then the plastic knob would break when you tried to turn them.  Did I say they were cheap?  I replaced the knobs and fixed the stickiness.  Or so I thought.  We rarely use that bath but guests would.  So the faucet knobs didn't get used regularly and the hard water played havoc.  They got sticky again very soon and the new knobs also broke on one of them.  We actually turned the water off to that one around the time I had surgery so I didn't get around to fixing it. 

The idea was we would replace both with high quality this time.  But the expense of those things, sheesh.  With all the other expenses we had been incurring along with the need to fix the leaky roof it was put off.  Until Friday.  I had found some we wanted at Home Depot on sale.  Kim was anxious to get them done before Thanksgiving when family would be over most likely. 

The cabinets under those sinks are a catch-all.  So they are loaded up with various items like cleansers and old plumbing parts.  So you have to unload all that too.  The most frustrating thing was a leak I couldn't seem to get to stop once I thought I was finished.  I tightened and tightened worrying about getting it to tight (stipped). What was leaking was from a spot I didn't even touch in this process.  How does that happen?  Did I tell you I hate plumbing?

I started working on replacing them and couldn't find my plumbers putty and Teflon tape.  I know I had some but they were making a great effort of avoiding my detecting their hiding place.  Another trip to Home Depot.  Got home and promptly stepped in water puddle in the wash room.  Right beside the water heater we had replaced right after my surgery.  GRRRRR.  It wasn't there 45 minutes ago when I left. 

It turns out it was the water filter on the back of the refrigerator.  A pin hole leak developed in that short time.  Got all those things done and fixed.  Haven't put everything back like it was as I wait to see if there are any leaks.  There were a couple minor ones so far that just needed a little tightening.

I really hate plumbing.

Happy Trails

Friday 11/15

I am supposed to head over to Mom's to load up a few things to take to their new apartment.  Mom has moved into a higher gear now that they have furniture in place.  However, there is still much to pack a move and it goes pretty slow as Mom has her way and method of doing this.  It isn't always the best of easiest but it's what works for her.  She still thinks she has plenty of time to make the move.  She knows she doesn't have to be out for 7 weeks so that is her target goal.  Really.  That's a higher gear for her.  Although she did mention calling the movers to get the rest of her furniture.  Once that happens they will actually be living at the new apartment.  I am guessing it will happen next week of the following.  She sees the money she is paying for that place and not living there and taking advantage of the things they are paying for i.e. food, cleaning etc. is motivation to get moved sooner.

Kim has a craft class she enrolled in today and won't be able to come with me.  She is a great buffer between me and Mom when I get frustrated with her 'method.'  I will need to be extra vigilant about my approach.

The leather wallets I am working on may not be finished for Kim to take with her Saturday.  Have run into a couple issues.  The interiors I use came without the holes punched this time.  No idea why.  I don't really need them, it just makes it easier, I can punch my own holes.  I also got ahead of myself on a one step but have been able to work around that but it slowed me down significantly.  These things happen when you let your skills sit idle to long. 

We are getting more rain this weekend.  Could be more flooding on top of what we have had the last two weekends.  It won't take much the way the soil is saturated now.  It started a light rain last night.  And the patio roof leaked.  Less rain by far than before and it leaks and one when we had over 8 inches.  I don't get it.  I did make contact with my roofer and the bad weather had delayed him and he says he should be here next week....if the weather holds.  I am guessing it will be an additional week now.

Finally.  My primary care doctor blood results for my diabetes check up were better than I expected.  Well within the 'good' range.  This was a surprise from the numbers I was getting at home compared to last time.  I never really know what to expect anymore.  Now to work on getting them even better.

Happy Trails

Forgot

Yes, I actually forgot that I should post something for Monday.  Just got busy with various things.  Nothing worth mentioning.  It's kinda like when folks ask you, 'what you been up to?'  and you can't really tell them.  But you know you have been doing something.  That's how it's been.

We did get Kim's computer back from repair.  The OS had a fatal crash.  It seems to be working fine although Win 10 is back on it.  We had provided a Win 7 disk to reinstall.  Not sure why it's 10 since he told Kim we could now upgrade to 10.  I think it was an auto download and install by Windows Update and he just didn't realize it.  The good thing is there are no more of the junk programs that you get when you buy a computer.  I did reinstall the programs she uses for her business.  It seems to run much better now without all the crap.  I just hope that since it's 10 we don't have another catastrophic failure.  Luckily she had a backup for her business and was easily reinstalled.  Sad how much we depend on these machines now.

Went over to Mom's to load up some rugs she wants placed in the new 'apartment.'  They have new furniture being delivered Tuesday, so she wanted the rugs down already.  It was my first look at the place.  It is an apartment type complex that they are moving into.  It looks much better than I expected.  And it should with what it costs them per month.  I have been running questions through my mind about this move that have vexed me some.  There are multiple answers.  Since she seems to have a handle on her emotions now, I posed the main question to her,  was she surrendering?  She didn't quite understand me, so I rephrased that to 'giving up.'  She assured me she was not and elaborated more than I expected.  I was satisfied with the answer.  She does not at all have a sense of resignation but a more optimistic outlook.  A huge relief.

Will be working on some new wallets Kim wants to have on hand for the upcoming gift season.  They get done rather quickly since I plan less to no tooling on them in order to lower the cost/price with the idea they will sell faster.  It's a tough market to judge.

Posting may be light to sporadic this week, my brain is elsewhere and I am avoiding the politics scene a great extent.  No, my head won't be in the sand.

Happy Trails