New Year's Eve

The Grandkids will be here tonight while their parents host a party at their home.  This is a regular occurrence.  We aren't partiers and apparently neither are most of our friends.  Just as well.  With the crazy amount of fireworks around here, it's really hard on the dog.  Even inside the house it gets pretty loud.  Buster gets really nervous with all that racket.  

Some of those fireworks are as loud as the 6lb mountain howitzer my friend would bring to various living history events.  We would set that off with about 1 lb of black powder.  It was very loud.  He usually let the police know ahead of time in case they got calls.  There is a chance for rain, maybe that will happen and keep the noise to a minimum.  But I doubt that would either.  The amount of money they must spend must be crazy.   I doubt they would let all those fireworks($) just sit due to rain.  There are some very elaborate displays around here.

Kim will head to the resort today for a last ditch effort to close out the year on a high note.  Then she will stop and pick up the Grandkids on the way home.  I will try to watch some football and clean up a few things.  We spent yesterday running errands and putting away all the Christmas decorations.  I wasn't quite ready for them to go away.  Kim does such a great job with the decorations, she works hard at it and it looks great.  They aren't up long enough for all the work it takes and how nice it looks.  But she was ready for it to go away and all the clutter of the tree taking up space.  I should have taken a few photos to show you her handy work, but they never do it justice.  It is something that has to be seen in person.  Too bad only us and the Grands go to see it this year.

Y'all have a safe New Year's eve and don't party irresponsibly if you are doing that.  I hope your New Year is better than the last.

And as always...Happy Trails

Cooler

The weather turned a little cooler Thursday morning.  A nice change after the humid 80* days we have been having.  I woke up to a message on my phone from my Uncle.  He had doe down and wanted to know if I wanted it or he would give it to my oldest son that also asked him for one.  I told him t tell my son to go butt a stump I would be there in about an hour.  He had been holding off on hunting one for the weather to get a little cooler so this morning was the day.  So I spent most of the morning driving to pick up the deer and then drive it another 40 some odd miles to the place I like to have it processed.  No, I won't process my own any more.  That is a real pain and I don't have a meat grinder.  It is a really small deer, typical for the area he lives, so I had to tease him about that.  I may get about 25-30 lbs of meat total.  With the processing fee and all the driving we don't save much money.  But it's good clean meat and has none of that crap that beef has in it and it is extremely lean. 

So lean I have to have tallow added to the hamburger.  About 10% makes it cook better.  It will be ready in about a week, then more driving.  All total about 200 miles after it is said and done.  I figure the meat cost about 3-4$/lb.  But those chicken fried steaks Kim makes, I can hardly wait.  I am already thinking about making chili too.

I keep hearing about the deaths of Carrie Fisher and now Debbie Reynolds.  Sounds like Ms. Reynolds died of a broken heart.  Too bad, she was a favorite of mine.  Then the PC crowd bullied Steve Martin about a 'tweet' he did about the loss of Carrie Fisher.  They think it was sexist and in poor taste.  This world has gone absolutely insane about not being offended.  Yet they can be bullies.

Seems also that the impostor is doing everything he can the last few days to make a mark on his 'legacy.'  He had 8 years and didn't do a thing worthwhile.  Now that he is almost out of our house, he seems to be doing more to rattle those he doesn't agree with even more than before.  What a freaking coward this guy is.  We all could tell he was wimp, but now he is showing his true colors since he won't have to deal with the consequences.  What a Jack Ass.

OK, I'm done now.  Just had to get that off my chest.

Happy Trails.

Pretty Quiet

We have been pretty quiet here.  Not much of anything going on.  I got a new e-reader for Christmas, the Kindle Fire.  The youngest son gifted me.  There is a little learning curve from the Nook Color I have been using.  I now see why the nook never really took off like the Kindle.  I will need to make a cover for it.  I just need to get some appropriate leather.  I want to tool on it but can't really decide what I want to put on there.  Those type ideas are harder for me than the actual tooling.  I have a piece of leather that is much thinker than what I would normally use, I may try to use that.  I go back and forth on that and the drawbacks of having a cover that is 3 times thicker than my previous.  I will need to figure out how to make the fold supple enough to actually work well enough.  Some thinning (skiving) will be necessary, something I have never done.

The weather here has been goofy.  It has been in the low 80's for a high and the humidity has been terrible.  It is so humid it looks like fog.  Reminds me of the few days I spent in Georgia 16 years ago. Miserable to say the least.

My Ranger truck is a four door super cab. The wife uses the back door on her side almost every time we go somewhere.  She often has more than just her purse, and the back gets that out of her way.  The other day when we got home she couldn't get the door open.  Apparently, after some research, there are some plastic parts that have quite a bit of stress put on them that wear out.  This is not an easy fix at all and I don't even have some of the tools required to complete the job.  I would hate to start this and get to a point that I can't even close the door and need to use the truck.  This is a fix that may not even happen for a while.  I hate having things that don't work right, they make me crazy, but this one will have to wait.  There is more there than I have the patience for or attention span.  My attention span I have noticed has gotten much shorter the older I get.  I even have trouble reading some of my books for any length of time.  A few pages and I am ready to move on with some of them.  Not all but most.  This getting old stuff is PITB.

Happy Trails.

Anti-Cimatic

The long anticipated Christmas weekend is now gone.  Over in a flash, much too soon for my preferences.  I have always really enjoyed it, although the passion for it has cooled from my days as a child.  However, having kids made it even better.  Now we have Grandkids.  It's almost as fun but we miss that Christmas morning and the excitement of seeing what Santa brought.  

Our traditions and family time has changed over the years to accommodate the growth of new family and the commitments they have with traditions that have developed over the years.  We have been very fortunate as far as getting to spend time with those we care about the most.  The last two or three years, there have been less family gatherings for various reasons, and I don't much like it.  Yes, I am selfish in that regard and I see no solution either.  Christmas day for more than 30 years my wife and kids and then their families along with my brother and his family all gathered at my parents home. They are now too advanced in years to be able to continue that.  

The wife lost her parents several years ago so that is now gone also.  Now my brother has grandchildren and his family gatherings have now changed.  We don't even see them, even though they live 10 minutes away.  But that is another story.

We (my wife and our kids) gather at our home on Christmas eve to eat and open gifts and play with the Grands.  This year due to Kim having to work we did it at my oldest Son's, they did the cooking.  

So that leaves Christmas day to just ourselves as my oldest goes to the in-laws for the day. Sometimes the youngest will come out but he has other plans most of the time.  So Christmas day is much too quiet for my preferences.  Just me and the rib, looking at each other, just like any other day. Except we couldn't even go out to eat after church since nothing was open.  We had thought we were going to my parents since they were alone also, but it turns out they went to my brothers and his big gathering.  Yeah, I am not liking how this is going.

Happy Trails

Merry Christmas

To all my friends.

Just a few photos

We took a trip over to a smaller city near us to meet with some friends on the town square with our Grandkids.  This city does a great job with the Christmas decorations and wanted to share that with our Grandkids.  Then we went to their house and ate some supper and visited for a few hours.  Our host totally spoiled the Grands.

Click on the image to get the larger size

I tried a panoramic photo and due to my lack of know how didn't get it.

Happy Trails.

After Two Years

We have gotten freezing weather.  Along with 30-40 mph winds.  It cuts right through this old Texas skin.  I know it isn't cold compared to most other places, but when this is all you know, it seems much to cold to my old bones.  It is supposed to be even colder Monday morning, which is fine, it is predicted to be around 23*, I just want the freaking wind to let up.  I have taken all the precautions in order to prevent a frozen pipe or two.  I don't think we have ever had any issues with pipes at that temp, but I want to be sure.  The outside faucets are most at risk, I have them insulated and will let them slowly drip overnight.  There are to inside the wall pipes we have had freeze up a couple times, usually when it is only 20 or below.  It has never gotten cold enough to burst one thankfully, even when we had a extremely rare -2*.  That was 30 years ago and may never happen again.  In fact it was a record for this area, the official reading was 0*.  yeah, that was colder than I ever want to experience again.  I could never live in those colder places.

I hope it warms up a little more, I offered to BBQ a brisket for a single Mom after she was asking me how I cook mine.  She wanted to know if she could cook it in the oven.  Well, it will get cooked but it ain't gonna be any good.  She had lots more questions and ideas on how to do it so I just offered to do it for her.  It should warm up enough by Wednesday so I can get to her for her Christmas dinner.

Our usual Christmas festivities are changing this year.  Since Kim may have to work the resort on Christmas eve, the daughter in law offered to cook the meal and have the family time at their house. That will relieve a lot of pressure on Kim.  However, it now looks like she may not work that day anyway.  She has been hit hard business wise this fall/winter which is usually a pretty good time of year.  No idea why.  So we will try to enjoy this one even though we aren't at home where we prefer.

Happy Trails.

Changes Coming?

At our extended family Christmas gathering this past Saturday the oldest son and I were talking and the subject of changing locales came up.  It seems he has had a bellyful of living in a crowded suburban environment.  It has been coming awhile, I have seen signs of it.  He echoed many of the things I said back before we moved farther out of town for similar reasons many years ago.  The area he is in has become a tightly packed housing fiasco.  Little to no natural landscape remains, nothing but houses one right up next to the other.  A nightmare in my mind.  It was a little more open when they moved there.  That has changed drastically in about 5 years.  He said he is ready to move.

When he says this, he means to an entirely different city.  A small city, similar to the one where he went to college.  I understand completely.  Been there.  He is fortunate that his job will allow a move like that since he works out of his home.  All he needs is an airport so he can get to a larger airport for the traveling he has to do on occasion.  The city he has in mind, he doesn't particularly like.  I have to agree it is not a pretty town and it's always windy since it is on the planes of the Western half of the state.  We had considered moving there a while back.  But he was there at school and the wife's work HQ was there and I could have transferred.  The wife also has some family there that are great folks. But that was just us kicking around fun ideas we were pretty sure would never happen, just talk.  

Now it seems that talk has come back to bite us.  The Son would want us to move there also if they moved and reminded me of those words.  But he is practical and listened to what else I had to say about a move like that.  My parents are at an age that they are requiring more and more help.  While they manage pretty well most of the time, we are close enough to step up if something goes wrong. Their parents lived well beyond 90, and they are still very healthy although frail.  They could well live another 10-15 years.  By then, we will be much older also and after moving them last year, I just don't see a move in my future.  I had to tell him, to do what he thinks he needs to do to be happy, don't wait on us.  I won't like it, especially taking the Grandkids farther away, but do what you have to do, we will understand.  Hopefully it's just talk for him too, maybe he can come up with another not so drastic solution.

Happy Trails

The Countdown

As Christmas approaches the pressure is on to get everything done in time.  However, things seem to not get done, keeping us from moving forward to completing things in order to be ready.  We actually went and purchased a few gifts for the Grandkids.  That is something totally out of character for me.  If I do any shopping for gifts at all it is online.  I hate shopping in stores.  However, I wanted to look at particular gifts up close.  There is a small lake in our neighborhood that have many fish that need catching.  The Grandson says he would be interested in learning to fish with me.  So a couple of small fishing combos were in my sights.  We went a couple places actually and my least favorite place of all, Walmart, had what I was looking for.  We managed to find a couple other gifts before I was ready to get out of there.  It didn't take long.  We are still way behind this year more than usual as far as gifts.  We need to get moving soon.

Monday we attended a funeral for the sister of some dear friends at church.  One of the least 'sad' funerals I have ever attended.  I hope when I go mine will be similar.  There is enough sadness in the world.  I want happy.

While we were out I took the wife to a burger joint that is an institution in town.  She had never been and had mentioned it in the past.  It is in a location that is well out of our way, but since we were out I decided to surprise her.  She figured it out before we got there and then the food was less than what she expected.  Now she can cross that one off her list.  How often does something like that happen? you hear all these good things about someplace and you build it up and when you get there it is much less then what you expected.  It seems to happen to me all the time.  So she is happy to go to our regular chain burger place that we both think is better and spend much less.  

The Grandkids will be here for a couple days this week, and as usual I may post even less.

Happy Trails

Saturday Plans

Busy day today.  This is the day we have our annual extended family gathering.  These are all the cousins etc from my mother's and her sisters families.  There will probably be about 40 people gathered.  We all bring food, this time it will be a Mexican food supper.  This year I am bringing a huge pot of beans, the wife will make some desserts.  I usually make my chili (no beans of course) for this meal, everyone loves it.  I am out of most of the fixin's and this year we are trying to conserve a little in order to provide gifts to others in need.  It usually costs me over 50$ to get that chili made when I am out of said fixin's.  We thought it could go to others this year.

So I will be cooking the beans today as Kim heads over to a ladies breakfast and Christmas cookie exchange.  She has missed the last several of these due to working on Saturdays at the resort.  Since they have cut her back so much she now has time to attend.  I love cookies, I hope she doesn't bring too many home with her.  It's not good for my diabetes and I am too weak to resist them completely.

The hard freeze they were predicting didn't materialize this past week, at least not at my place.  We got down to just 34*.  We had some very high winds to go with that temp and it was certainly uncomfortable for this Texas boy while I was out trying to save the last of my tomato plants and cover the tender vegetation. Looks like another mild winter.  We usually have had several freezes by this time of year.  Last year we had no freezes either.  Mild winters are good as far as I'm concerned, but I think some of the vegetation requires some freezing temps.  I'm not plant expert but I seem to remember reading that somewhere.  It also helps with the bugs and makes them less prolific the next season.  At least it seems that way.  I can't remember a winter when we didn't have a freeze over two winters.  We still have a few months so it may still happen.

Happy Trails  

Good News

Doctor says: 'no detectable cancer.'  I am thankful and blessed.  I give praises.

Happy Trails

Remembering

Most mornings I go through a semi regular routine.  One of which is sitting here in front of the computer checking email, news and the book of faces.  If you are familiar with the book of faces you are aware that each day they show you 'memories,' things that you have posted on your timeline all the way back to the beginning of your time on facebook.  It can be fun, embarrassing, entertaining and humbling.  The last of which happened to me today.  There were reminders that today is the day I got sent home from my surgery and 2 years prior to that the same for my love, Kim.  To see the out pouring of comments, well wishes and thankfulness was a wonderful reminder of the care shown to me and my bride during those rough times.  I also don't want to forget mention those of you that were here back then and the well wishes and comments that were sent my way.  They are also remembered and still appreciated.  Consequently I am feeing a bit humbled and thankful today.  That is a good thing.

On another note, it has been raining here since Friday.  I have gotten just over 5 inches of rain in that short time.  It has been raining almost continuously during that time, with most of it on Saturday and Sunday.   So we have been reluctant to get out much other than to head to the church house.  It is supposed to start slacking off today, but it hasn't as I write this.  Thing are just a bit damp.  In this part of Texas, rain is always welcome, but it seem to try to make up for the slack times all at once.  As much as I would prefer it to spread itself out over a longer period of time, we will take what we can get and be thankful.

There has been no freeze here yet.  Once again this is starting off as a very mild winter.  I still am picking tomatoes and there are plenty still on the vine.  That may all come to a screeching halt come early Friday morning.  As of today they are predicting a low of 27*,  that should end the tomatoes.  I don't think I can save them with it that low and they are in a more exposed area.  So late Thursday I will harvest the last green ones and let them ripen inside.

Happy Trails

Brain Box is Fried

There appears to be little between my ears these days worth mentioning here.  Yes, I could go on and on about the crap that is happening all over the world, but it gets me tight in the jaws and I don't need that.  Blood pressure needs to stay as low as I can keep it.

Blood was drawn today for my doctor appointment next week.  December 3 marks 2 years since my surgery.  Hopefully the good news will continue, however I think I am as prepared as I can be for bad news.  As I understand it, when prostate cancer spreads/returns, it is in the bones.  There is no cure for that.  It can take a long time for it to eventually take it's toll, with much pain.  So, I want to emphasize how important it is to get yourself checked, regularly.  It could just save your life, no one is invincible and hating doctors is a stupid excuse.  You owe it to your loved ones, if you care for anyone at all other than yourself.  It isn't ALL about you regardless of what you think.  

The Christmas decorations have gone very slowly.  The lights I like to use have developed issues.  I have just enough to use the way I prefer.  Now one string works less than half way through.  I found a broken wire and missing light sockets.  No idea.  I had to rearrange my method and it looks skimpier than usual.  This may be my last year doing this.  I don't see these being sold in stores anymore.  I did find some online, but for 20$ a strand.  Not gonna happen.  The tree we use has lights in it already. 

Only one strand now works.  They will all be removed and other lights will be put up by hand from here on out.  The wife won't buy into not having a tree at all.  We are the only ones that see it, until the Grands come on Christmas eve.  They have helped decorate the tree the last couple years, which is a big deal for the wife, but this year we are not sure they can get here in time to do that again.

We hope to get out sometime here in the near future to some of the smaller surrounding towns.  There are several that take considerable pride in how they decorate during Christmas.  This is a holdover from my childhood.  We would pile into the car and drive downtown or the neighborhoods that were known for great light displays.  We both still enjoy that.  I will try to get a few photos and hope they turn out well enough to post a few here.

Happy Trails.

Honey Do's

Yes, today's agenda consists of almost nothing but honey do's.  Christmas decorations are getting taken out of storage.  At least 6 totes full.  The wife really goes all out with her decorating, what ever the season.  Especially Christmas.  This will include setting up the 'fake' tree which requires moving around a couple pieces of furniture, a chair and a small table.  I will also put lights up outside on the house.  I do that for me.  Outside Christmas lights have been a 'thing' for me since I can remember. 

No one seems to enjoy them as much as I do.  The few times I didn't get it done I missed them.  I just hate getting up on that ladder to reach the highest par of the roof line.  I get a little nervous on high reaches on a ladder since I fell off one a few years ago and broke some things, on me.  I usually get all this junk out the Friday after Thanksgiving, but a football game I wish I hadn't watched got in the way and I completely forgot about doing it on Saturday.  I am usually one of the first getting the lights up outside, not this year.  I was reminded about it when we drove home from church Sunday evening.

The wife is gone again, over to the youngest son's to help him with things at his place i.e. hanging pictures and I don't know what else.  I think she is feeling a bit worried about him.  His bad luck I wrote about a while back seems to continue. This time it may be his own fault.  Sorry I can't say more.  She went to my parents on Friday to look at the new house and give help with ideas on how to redecorate that and see what 'upgrades' they may want/need.  

Saturday she was back at the resort trying to earn a few dollars.  Business has been very slow for her. 

She has only worked 2 days since August.  Hopefully this season will allow her to work a bit more than she has so we can buy a few gifts for others.  We will refrain from buying for each other as has become the trend.  That new TV was costly enough.  

I haven't said anything in a while about the events that caused me to begin this blog.  This will be the 2 year anniversary of my surgery for cancer so now seems like the appropriate time.  This week I will have to get some blood drawn before a doctor visit next week.  They will be checking to see if there is any indication of a return of the cancer.  At some point, these checks will move out to yearly instead of every 6 months.  I am not sure we are at that point yet.  I don't expect any negative report.

As far as my current condition is regarding the results of the surgery, I seem to have hit a point of status quo.  Nothing is changing on how things work down there, not worse, not better.  It can get frustrating at times but it most certainly could be worse and I am thankful it is as good as it is. 

The libtards are just so nutty, it amazes me they can't see or don't seem to care about their dupicitous natures.  They freaking drive me nuts.  I hate to even talk about the crap they pull, so I won't.

Happy Trails

Leftovers

Well it's all over but the left overs.  We have way to many this year.  Two small turkeys with all the trimmings.  Why two turkeys?  If you are new here, I previously talked about doing this since I wanted to try smoking a turkey for the first time.  It was a free turkey so I wasn't real worried about losing it if I messed it up.  The other turkey was going to be a back up for that reason.  The smoked turkey turned out much better than I expected.  Very smokey flavor and aroma.  Although just a bit drier on the white meat than it should have been.  The smoked turkeys I have had in the past, all commercially done, have been very moist.  That is what I was shooting for.  However, this was a hit. 

I polled everyone at the table, which they preferred.  It was a resounding reply for the smoked.  My oldest son doesn't even care for turkey said it was the best turkey meal he has ever had.  He ate like it too, having several helpings.  I guess this will be the way from now on.  We will cut it back to one turkey though.  Sent leftovers home with everyone and still have 2 one gallon zip lock bags of turkey.

Most will be frozen for later use through the coming months since you can't find turkeys in the stores after Christmas.  Mmmm turkey sandwiches.

Today I will watch some college football and hope my team pulls out a win on the last game of the season, and become bowl eligible.  From being a promising year with high hopes it has become a disaster to say the least and the coach is under fire.  He may not last till the bowl game if they get one.  Too bad, while I thing the coach is a great man and has high principles and conducts himself with class, the results have not met the expectations of the deep pocket boosters.  The win record always outweighs the character of a man I'm sad to say.

I hope your turkey day was satisfying in every way.

Happy Trails.

What To Do

We are both just sitting here today wondering of we should be doing something more constructive.  It is a bit unusual that we don't have any plan for the day, even if it is something very small.  We have not been real busy but there has been something almost everyday that has occupied us for a while.  

Sunday was my Dad's 89th birthday.  This visit turned out better than most.  He can get irritated at the slightest thing and you never know what it might be.  Yes, it did happen, but I managed to ignore it for the most part.  I have to do this for my sanity and that of my mother.  I honestly don't know how. she has done it all these years.  Anyway, my grand-kids came also and brought the people that take care of them.  My youngest son found time to come also.  He had replaced his truck with a used Explorer, so we got to check that out.  Looks like he made a great deal and it is only one year old with very low mileage.  Still has manufacturer warranty on it.  Seems he caught a break for a change.

I have half a notion to start smoking the turkey today since there is nothing on the agenda.  The weather seems to be closing in and rain is predicted.  I am not real keen on the idea of running back and forth to the smoker trying to keep a fire going for 10 hours.  Maybe tomorrow will be better, I need to check the forecast.  It appear tomorrow will be better, today has thunderstorms predicted.

If I don't get back to this before the holiday I want to use this opportunity to wish you a happy one. Enjoy the time with your friends/family, life is fleeting.

Happy Trails.

No Photos

We did take a quick trip into the hill country Thursday after all.  However it was quicker than usual and there just wasn't much 'color' in any trees to make for pleasant photos.  It was a dud of a trip due to other factors also.  

Friday we were supposed to have a strong cold front move in.  It did, around Noon, with some wind and temps dropped about 10-15 degrees.  It was already in the 80's.  They are predicting lows of 34* by Sunday morning.  Unless this cold front is packing more strength that hasn't quite arrived, I don't believe it will happen.  Either way, it's still nice to have some cooler drier air that is already here.  I will most likely get out my roll of plastic sheeting and cover the tomato plants to try and induce the current crop to ripen.  Tomatoes stop the ripening process at 50*.  The clear plastic will act as a mini greenhouse and allow some more of them to get ripe before any freeze shows up.  

We usually have Thanksgiving lunch at our house with our kids, grandkids and my parents.  The same will happen this year Lord willing.  I have wanted to fry our turkey in the past, but the wife has better sense than me about it.  We would only use it once a year and then it would sit, in the way most likely.  The expense for something like that just doesn't work out.  I have tried to get others to go together and fry a bunch of turkeys all at once and split the cost of the oil etc.  No dice.  So I have decided to buy two turkeys this year and I will try to smoke one while Kim bakes the other.  I have never smoked a turkey, so we will have a back up in case it goes wrong.  I have smoked a lot of meat in my life and after these many years I have perfected my technique.  This is a whole different game. I hope it works out great since smoked turkey tastes soooo much better IMO.  The store had a free turkey if you bought a spiral cut ham.  That's the one I will use to smoke.  Messing up a free one will be easier on the budget.  The other expensive turkey will get the traditional treatment.

Happy Trails.

Plans Foiled

We had wanted to head down to Padre Island today and enjoy the surf.  But the great weather we have been having is now gone.  It windy and cloudy and cooler than would be comfortable sitting on the beach.  So we are sitting here pondering where we will go if at all.  Maybe the Hill Country just for a change of scenery.  The walls are closing in a bit.  

I have been in front of the computer the last 2-3 days trying to recover photos and documents that I lost when windows crashed on me.  I have gotten some software that finds things like that.  However, I had no idea how many times one picture can show up on your computer as a lost file.  I assume it is from 'caching' photos that have been opened or viewed previously.  There were over 200K photos recovered.  A lot of them are just repeats and corrupt files.  So I have been trying to weed those out. The ones I saved also have to be culled for repeats and then put into appropriate locations to help me locate them again.  I wound up deleting quite a few that 'looked' like I had seen them previously.  Oh well, I don't care at this point.  I recovered very few documents, at least I have recovered quite a few photos.  Going digital with photos is convenient but has it's hazards.

Hopefully if we head out somewhere I can get a few worth photos to post here.

Happy Trails

Spectacular

The weather the last couple days has been near perfect.  Cool mid fifties in the morning and upper seventies for a high with not a cloud in the sky.  The Chamber of Commerce couldn't be happier with this weather to greet all the tourists that inundate the city near me.

I don't have much of interest to say today so I will post a few photos I have taken over the last week or so.  I love this time of year.

The butterflies are everywhere, these are Queens, not Monarchs.

Dawn a few days ago

This guy is still running around chasing does with a weird hat

This one was intent on the ladies and paid me no mind

Last night's super moon, brighter than I have ever seen it.

Oh and the drain on the washer is clear, the Liquid Plumber appears to have worked.  Three loads and no overflow.

Happy Trails

Grands

My precious Grankids will be here this weekend.  I will be somewhat busy with that so little to no posts.  I am still fighting a slow moving drain for the washing machine.  I have tried using a 'snake' but I can't get it past the bend in the pipe about 3 ft down.  It drains but not fast enough to keep it from running over the top onto the floor in the wash room.  Last resort before I call a plumber will be to try some Liquid Plumber and let it sit for a few days while it does it's thing.  Not sure how well it will work on a clog made up mostly of what I suspect is lint from the washer.  

As for this being Veterans Day, I am most grateful we have men and women that have and will lay their lives on the line for our country.  Maybe it's time that we consider that every male should spend some time in the military so they can get a real education instead of the 'hallowed' (said in jest) halls of higher learning.  Maybe then they can appreciate what this country is really about.

Veteran's thank you for your service and sacrifices.

Happy Trails

The Neighborhood

Our neighborhood is growing way too fast for my liking.  We live outside a major Texas city, in what was once a rural environment.  It is now a full on suburb.  We have been here since '86 and to see the changes is just amazing.  It has become one of the fastest growing areas in Texas.  With that growth has come good things and a lot of bad things.  

The good list is extremely short.  Various businesses have come with the growth and has made some things more convenient.  But there have been many negative trade offs too.  The first being people. There are more of them around me now and I don't like it.  It's getting much too crowded for my tastes.  The traffic has become a major problem.  The main route into town is one of the busiest highways if not the busiest in this part of the state.  I avoid going into town as much as possible and not just due to the traffic.  People have become much less considerate and have no problem being rude for absolutely no reason other than I was there.  

I subscribe to a website that has a lot of neighborhood news.  Folks will post questions seeking help with issues etc.  They also use it to complain.  Complaining about silly stupid things.  It was pretty funny at first.  Now it has gotten irritating.  There are always know it alls too, that really know absolutely zip.  This website can be helpful also with recommendations for contractors and such. 

This is why I joined it, for useful information and help others with legit questions.  

Since we were a rural area, there are still a lot of Whitetail Deer here.  We have way too many actually since there is no predation or hunting.  Consequently there are conflicts with so many deer around.  There are many many more deer mow than when we were rural.  Food for them is an issue.  Now we get the complainers whining about how they destroy their landscape yet they feed them corn so they can watch them in their yards.  They get hit by cars and loose dogs chase them.  They think the fawns by themselves have been abandoned and try to help needlessly.  I guess they haven't spent much time outdoors.  Don't get me started about the complaints about the military training and the noise they make on the 'Camp' near us.  They have been there since the 1800's when no one was around, you moved out here bud so shut up.

This neighborhood website has all the news about the bucks being in rut this time of year and warning people.  There was a recent reminder how dangerous the bucks can be at this time of year.  One man related how he is still recovering from wounds when he was attacked and gored several times by a horny buck while he was trying to get to his car.  There are also photos for folks dogs that have gotten gored and reports of at least 3 dogs having it happen to them and one died.  I feel sorry for the dog and not so happy with the owner that didn't keep the dog inside his fence.  It would only happen here if it was running loose.

The other day Buster was out back and a buck was near the fence.  Buster will charge the fence trying to chase them off on occasion.  Well this buck was guarding his girlfriend in the brush.  He wasn't a bit scared of any dog.  This video is after Buster charged the fence the first time.  The buck charged back and hit the fence with his antlers and was ready to fight.  Glad we have a fence.

Happy Trails

Relieved

I stayed up until 2 AM waiting for assurance that hildabeast wouldn't sneak into the White House by whatever method she might employ.  I would hate be with her at home today.  I might even feel a bit sorry for Bill, nah, not gonna happen.  

I am relieved that we won't have an all out assault on our Second Amendment and all the issues that would cause.  I have no doubt if she had been successful in getting it neutered it would have divided this country beyond repair.  I really don't think the anti-gun nuts really understand what it means and what it means to the patriots of this country that realize it's importance.  

I am relieved that we won't get any new Supreme Court Justices that will focus on a left wing agenda and legislate from the bench.  Although you can't be sure that is possible with some of the ones recently appointed that turned colors once they got in there i.e. Roberts and that other joker.

I am relieved that the left wingers after spewing their hate for months on TV and the press may actually shut up for a couple months, at least until Trump takes office.  Nah, that won't happen either, but it has been fun to watch them be so dumbfounded with all the deplorables and 'uneducated.'

I am relieved that we will most likely never see another Clinton in public office except maybe for a public prison cell.  Yeah, there is a chance their daughter may take up the banner.  

I am under no illusions that all things will definitely be solved and get better.  We may have gone to far already and this just postpones the last gasp a while.

I am under no illusion that we elected the best person our country has to offer.  

I am under no illusion that we won't get what we deserve if we don't return to the moral values we once had.  God is watching.

I am hopeful that our borders will be more secure and have a more stringent immigration policy.

I am hopeful our military and veterans will be treated the way they deserve and be rebuilt to a position of strength, and they can take pride in their jobs again.

I am hopeful our country's security will become much better for us all and thus the world.

I am hopeful we will put our own people first before we help others and not give a rats butt about those that don't like us.  

This could go on all day, but you get the idea.

I am cautiously optimistic.  

Happy Trails

Snake Bit

Snake Bit is a term that you are probably familiar with.  No, not in the literal sense.  It is used to signify that a person has an unusual amount of bad things happen to them.  And it seems to keep happening over and over.  As much as I hate to say it, it seems my youngest son may be snake bit.  I won't go into every detail that has happened to him but just to give you an idea of what he has faced over the years I will give you an idea.

It started when he began driving.  He had an old Ranger pick up, but with most kids that age he also had a good stereo in it.  So he carried a big pouch of CD's for his listening pleasure.  There were over 100 CD's in that thing.  He bought most of them with money he had earned working at a restaurant, then a grocery store and finally Hobby Lobby.  One night he went to a movie with friends and when he returned to his truck it had been broken into.  The only thing taken was that pouch of CD's.  Not a big deal but it cost him.  Then it happened again somewhere else, he lost much more in a backpack.

After he moved out, his new Ranger truck got broken into at his apartment.  Not just once but more than 10 times.  After once or twice he left it unlocked with nothing in it.  The unlocked idea was to keep them from breaking the lock on the door.  Several times with it being unlocked they still jacked the lock up.  He would come out to his truck and find that it had been rifled through, the glove box and the console.  There was nothing to take so he lost nothing.  Then the low lifes tried to steal the truck and jacked up the steering column.  These things caused several trips to the shop for repairs to the door lock and the steering column/ignition switch.  

During all this time he had a friend get kicked out of his house and he had no place to go.  He offered him his place to stay.  I tried to give him some advice about that, but he wouldn't hear it.  The guy stayed with him for several months eventually finding a job.  They were getting along great and had plans to move to another larger apartment as roommates.  Then one night this guy didn't come home. 

This is when he discovered that he was missing some things.  As he started checking around, he was missing a lot of things.  As it turns out, this guy had been in jail overnight.  Longer story short, they cut ties.  He lost over $15K worth of items from this guy fencing his things to support a pain pill addiction.  How do you lose that much without noticing?  Well, my son was a collector of various things.  He kept these things in places you don't look everyday.  So it was pretty easy for this guy to pull the wool over the eyes of his 'friend' that trusted him.  No, insurance wouldn't cough up a cent. Since he was a 'roommate' he wasn't covered.  My older son, who is in the insurance business even wrote out an appeal that he was pretty sure would work, it didn't.  More hard lessons learned.

He lived close to work so he never put a lot of miles on this new Ranger truck.  Over the last few months his truck has started acting up.  Unusual for a truck with so few miles, but it was happening.  I recommended a shop I used to use and had great results.  That was many years ago and apparently they are now crooks.  They soaked him for about 1600$.  It didn't fix it.  He took it back and they changed some things no charge and told him some BS story what went wrong.  He is not at all mechanically inclined, he is more the artist type.  That fix didn't work either.  Took it back again and they did who knows what but gave him an estimate of $4k to fix it.  They didn't really know what was wrong and were just going to replace parts and hope for the best.  

He found a friend of a friend that was a mechanic and this guy found out was wrong.  He actually had bad piston.  He came up with a temporary fix and was back on the road.  

He sold the truck yesterday, after experiencing another issue that left him stranded and had to have it towed.  Instead of sinking more into a truck that is almost 10 years old, he decided to cut his losses. Now he will have to find a new ride and deal with payments he doesn't need.  

I am not even mentioning the work issues and the broken hearts he has bad from women with too much baggage.  There are even more incidents that will make you roll your eyes but I will stop here.

In all this he has learned some valuable lessons, while not getting down about it.  We were talking about this a bit and I mentioned that he could sure stand to catch a break.  He said that in all this, at least one thing he takes away that keeps his sanity, 'it's just stuff.'  He is pretty bright and has a good heart, he will be alright.

Happy Trails

I Knew It

I can't say I told you so.  I did however say I thought all this hubbub about hildabeasts emails was just another diversion, to distract from the latest wikileaks.  Have you heard anymore from wikileaks lately?  What a joker this Comey guy is.  I am sure he has absolutely no respect among the rank and file FBI staff, the ones that do the job because it's the right thing to do.  This is one of the big failings of our system, political appointments.  They are indebted to the person that appointed them.  However I don't think we have ever seen such a travesty with these appointments as we have with obama's. 

What a joke this country has become.  So what's your guess, was he directed by obama to come up with the latest findings or was he paid some of the huge amounts of cash that the clintons have extorted over the last two decades?  Maybe both.  Either way, if the dems steal this election he gets to keep his job.  If the milquetoast republicans win, he may still get to keep his job.  They don't have the nads to do anything about it.  They will just say something like, 'let's put all this behind us and start moving forward and rebuild our country/relationships.'   I see no action to bring the guilty to justice being taken except for some innocent staffer that will take the fall.  Similar to Ollie North.

I don't know that I can take sitting and watching the election results again.  I was sorely disappointed in 2012.  I didn't think there was anyway we would have another four years of the disaster we had in the white house.  But it happened.  Much of it due to the right staying home and not voting because they didn't like the candidate.  We see how that has turned out.  Now we have the same sort of scenario playing out with the Never Trump crowd.  I just don't know if my mental state can take another four years of this crap.  It may even get worse.  In fact I am sure of it.  The first victim will be the second amendment.

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

Many prayers will be offered over the next few hours.  Lord help us and our country.

Time Slips By

It's just been a crazy week and I didn't even realize it was already Friday and I hadn't posted since Wednesday morning.  Plans as usual got all messed up and nothing planned came about.  Our friend that we were taking supper to since she had been in the hospital, well she got stood up by us.  The wife made them the meal but then she got really sick really fast.  We didn't think it was a good idea to feed them food she had made.  She certainly didn't need that after her previous ordeal.

With the wife being sick most everything else got put on hold.  She didn't move much from the bedroom.  I did what I could but mostly she didn't want anything.  It just had to run it's course.  We had planned on meeting the Grandkids and the people that live with them at the zoo Friday.  While she was better and we were pretty sure she was over the crud, she had no energy.  We cancelled.  

Most of next week may be wet.  Saturday I need to haul all the limbs we cut to our collection sight.  I may have several loads.  My little Ranger doesn't hold much.  The wife may be well enough by then to help a little.  

Today Kim was doing the laundry and noticed water all over the floor of the washroom.  I pulled the dryer away from the wall so I could get to the washer and take a look.  I could see no water leaking from the hoses.  But there as a little water around where the drain hose connected to the wall but the wall wasn't wet.  I then pulled the washer out so I could get to it and pulled the front off.  No water leaks anywhere.  Only thing I can guess is the drain pipe overflowed.  Poured some Liquid Plumber down and we will try another load and see what happens before I move everything back.  What a PITB.

Happy Trails

Busy Tuesday

We finally managed to vote yesterday.  33 minutes in line.  Not bad considering how long the line was on our previous attempts.  It would have been at least double that.  Even that isn't a long time considering the sacrifices made for us to be able to exercise that right.  However with the couple health issues I have, it could spell trouble to stand in a line for that long.

We also got all our other errands done that had been put off from the day before.  By the time we got home I was pretty bushed and my stinking feet hurt.  Not sure what's up with that, I have never had feet that hurt before.  I chalk it up to my lack of movement/exercise since my surgery.  A big fat couch potato if you will.

About the time we got home and had lunch I sat down to give the feet a rest and the wife says we need to head to the hospital over in the next town.  Our friend that was admitted that I mentioned in yesterday's post was having surgery to 'install' a pace maker.  Off we went and spent a few hours there.  But I was able just to sit and visit with her family and relax enough to recharge.  She seems to be doing well.  She will head home sometime today and we will take supper to them so they don't have to worry about that detail.

Shifting gears here, I am not quite sure what to make of all the news, wikileaks, emails and the standing in the polls.  I hear so much crap it just boggles my mind, so I try and shut off some of it. But crap still leaks in since I just am not the sort to shut out news completely.  I still and so disgusted by everything I see and hear.  The most disgusting are the polls being conducted about who is leading who in the electoral college.  I still believe that media is lying about those polls.  In all my 60 some odd years I have NEVER been polled, ever.  I also have never known anyone to be polled.  How is that even possible?  I don't trust them.  But I also know that the left will stop at nothing (Bengahzi)to advance their agenda, NOTHING (Bengahzi).  Just look at their (Bengahzi) candidate.  No, I am not saying the right side candidate is spotless.  Now there are even more indications/emails that reveal that everything we suspected about Bengahzi is true.  It appears they knew ahead of time of the impending attack  The left side candidate is so far out of touch with reality (Bengahzi) I can hardly fathom what is wrong with her supporters minds.  There has to be serious mental disease involved.  

SMH...happy trails

Plans Change Quickly

This life is fleeting.  You never know what may come, or go.  Monday we had plans for many errands.  It was going to be a busy day but not hectic.  We were going to try to make another attempt to vote, head to the grocers, Costco, the bank, the post office and maybe eat lunch out some where.  

We were having a relaxing morning as usual.   While checking email one came in from our church with the name of my best friends wife as the subject.  It was a very short email with no details.  She was in ICU and needed prayers.  We just saw her the night before and she was fine.

I immediately texted my friend to find out more.  She had gotten sick and was throwing up and started having seizures, at least 5.  He had to have EMS out to the house and then transported to the ER.  It was a mixture of failures at the ER.  The doctor was relying on test results alone and told them everything was normal and he had to release her.  Then she had two more episodes while he was out of the room.  She wasn't having seizures after all, her heart was stopping, for as long as 30 seconds. So the ER doc decided that maybe something was wrong after all.  We are still waiting on word of what the next steps will be.  She has had no history of any heart issues.  The preliminary thoughts are that she has a syndrome/condition ( I forget the name) that certain triggers can cause your heart to stop.  Sometimes it restarts on it's own, other times it may need help to restart.  We have a mutual friend that has this also, so it is not real rare.  They have to find what the trigger is.  The immediate thought is to place a pacemaker, but they don't really know yet.  Another specialist will have to determine that for sure.

I tell this only to emphasize that there are no guarantees in this life.  You have no promise of tomorrow, no promise of your well laid plans coming to fruition.  No promise of another breath.  She was fortunate in that it happened while her husband was home and not while she was driving, or taking care of her small grandchildren alone.  It could easily have been much worse.  With this sort of uncertainty in life, there is no real comfort for your mind unless you have your soul right with God.

Our plans for today will be similar to our plans for yesterday while waiting word on what the next steps the doctors will take.  But we aren't certain, but we are prepared and have that peace that passes all understanding.

Happy Trails

We Tried

To vote early yesterday.  We went twice actually.  First time couldn't find a parking spot, second time we couldn't even get into the parking lot.  I checked online this morning and the place we attempted to vote at had one of the highest turnouts in the county.  We have a few more days to try early voting. If we can't get in I guess we will just stand in line at the regular polling place and hope for the best. The last election the line wasn't as long at the regular poll than the early voting spot was.  Maybe it will be best to just wait until Nov. 8.  It's November 9 for the democrats.  

Not sure what to make of this latest FBI investigation of hildabeasts emails.  It falls in line with the things I have read about obama suspending the election results after she gets elected due to being indicted.  It also falls in line with more false flag moves to distract from the wikileaks revelations.  I have no doubt the last is most likely true.  I also have no faith in anything the FBI does at this point other than some political move to help the white house.

What a messed up system we have and a sad facsimile of what we once were as a country.  I though I couldn't get any more disgusted.  I was wrong.  What is the point where I just don't care anymore? Scary to think about.

Happy Trails......if you can find one

Old Work Friends

Wednesday I drove down into the South Texas Brush country.  A friend I worked with many years ago lives down there, has all his life.  He is a Texas Country Boy.  He could be a poster for that.  I hadn't seen him in about 5 years but we chat online every few months.  He had also invited a few others I knew, some better than others, that worked for the same State entity I did but in other counties.  I knew them as well and got to spend a few hours telling lies and eating dead wild hog meat.  

It was about a 2 hour drive (85 miles) to get there having to navigate the entire width of the rat hole I live North of before I hit the open highway.  Even then it wasn't without it's hiccups. Road construction closed a large portion of the road I used to one lane.  

It was worth it, to see these old faces and cut up and just visit with no agenda.  The faces have aged as well as the bodies but the men I knew are still there.  The things that made me become friends with them in the first place are still the same.  That's refreshing to know that.  These were the guys that made the job worth it.  They deserved more from the job than they ever got or asked for.  Brought back a lot of great memories.  I was going to take a few photos of those old faces but got so caught up in the fun I completely forgot.

Happy Trails

Early Voting

Early Voting began Monday in the county I live in.  The wife and I will take advantage of this.  We were planning on going on one of the first days we could.  Monday we did a few chores around the house and outside, sat down to rest a bit and looked at a quick news report.  The early voting locations were overwhelmed with voters.  The wait being well over one hour.  One of the reasons we were going to vote early was to avoid the crush of voters on election day.  Apparently that is not going to happen.  Our county experienced a record turnout for the first day of early voting.  This is a good thing that there are so many that are exercising this right.  There is no real way to read into it anything, this county has gone blue the last two presidential elections and there were record turnouts then also.  So I try not to read anything into it and be disappointed later when the results are tallied. So we will wait a few days and try again with the hopes that the lines will be a bit shorter.  I am not sure how my recent back issues will be effected by standing still a long time.

There are only two locations to vote early that are reasonably near us.  So we have little choice to pick one that might have less folks.  The other thing is, most all the folks working the polls appear to be volunteers.  Almost all of them are many years into their golden years.  They don't get in a hurry even if they could.  Plus the fact that the way voters are checked in is so antiquated it slows the process anyway.  There is only ONE person checking everyone in and then he passes that person off to another person who completes the check in process. Then your are handed off to another person who will guide you to a voting machine when one comes open.   

I don't understand why this process hasn't been modernized.  Why not issue a credit card type voter registration card instead of the paper copy.  It could have the 'chip' that could be read by the voting machine and record that you have voted.  It would have all the information that the check in folks look for.  This would eliminate the slow check in process.  Various security measures could be added to verify the person is legit.  No it wouldn't be perfect, but how perfect is the current method? Just get in line at a voting machine, swipe your card and vote.  You could have multiple lines for all those folks instead of one speeding up the process considerably.  This would also encourage others to vote that have less patience for the wait and won't vote for that reason alone.  The technology is there, it will have a cost but the results IMO would be worth it.

Happy Trails

Results

The painting for the most part is complete.  There is still a little touch up.  However, we aren't sure we like the results.  While the color we chose is something we both liked, our dark cabinets and other items have seem to make it look much different than we expected.  The color is a 'terra cotta' but it seems to be a bit darker than we both anticipated.  When the lights are on in that room you can even see a glow of that 'terra cotta' color coming into the adjoining room.  So we are waiting a few days for final touch up, especially along the baseboards.  We are considering painting the baseboards an off white to help tone down the other.  At least it's just paint, that's easier to remedy than some other type project.  Just the expense of paint and a little time and effort.

The cold front that was expected early this morning still hasn't arrived and it's now 10:40 AM.  They are saying mid morning now.  10:40 AM is mid morning and I see no signs of it.  The predictions have changed significantly now.  No more talk about 40* temps and highs of 80 and not 70.  That's NOT a cold front.  It is supposed to usher in some dryer air which will be very welcome.

No, I refused to watch the debate last night.  Nothing could be said to sway me anyway, so why bother.  The things I have read aren't encouraging for the right side of thinking.  What a disaster this is shaping up to be.  I read an email from my local State Representative I found though provoking.  Here is the text of it in it's entirety:

Speaking before a local civic group recently, I posed the following questions: How many of you are tired of the presidential election? If you could, would you choose to vote right now, ending all the discussion, political ads and cable news coverage?

Hands shot up in the air. Every person in the room was ready for the circus that is the 2016 presidential election to end.

Let’s examine where we are today and how we got here. In 1968, when the concept of holding national party primary elections was conceived, life was much different for the average voter. The Beatles’ new song “Hey Jude” topped musical charts, there were only three television channels broadcasting the news, and the Internet did not exist.

In today’s world, where the 24-hour news cycle reigns, anyone with a smartphone and a Twitter account can be a journalist, and talking heads fill the airwaves, it makes little sense to continue the presidential primary process we adopted four decades ago.

In the information age, it is no longer necessary to undergo an elongated presidential primary process. Both the national Republican and Democrat parties encourage over-scrimmaging at their own peril. They throw a slew of candidates into the gauntlet, allow the world to watch as they mercilessly rip each other to shreds, then present the bloodied and battered winner to fight in the final round — the general election — after their stature has been decimated. Elongated primaries serve only to encourage the devolution of policy discussions into mudslinging, fatigue the electorate, and tarnish our country’s image in the world. Yearlong national party primaries are a bad 1960’s legacy that need to be retired.

Imagine if American voters had been able to choose among all 17 Republicans and six Democrats who sought to become the 45th president of the United States. Instead, the majority of the country was forced to wait until after the first three primary elections, held in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, greatly narrowed the field, culling many of our first, second and even third choices. It would be fair to assume there would have been a much different outcome. Instead, we are left with two of the most unfavorable candidates in the past three decades (as evidenced by recent polls), whom only 9 percent of Americans elected.

So how do we fix this mess?

First, we must wrest control of the presidential primary election process from the Republican National Committee and Democratic National Committee. Then, we should institute a National Primary Date in which the entire country casts its vote in a primary that includes all candidates representing all parties on the same day. Include all qualified candidates in a primary election held the first Tuesday in April.

Additionally, we should follow our neighbors, Mexico and Canada, and limit the length of presidential campaigns, preferably to 90 days, which is ample time for the candidates to share their vision and describe how they would move our country forward.

Are you in? If so, raise your proverbial hand and contact your elected officials to let them know it’s time for a change!

What do you think?

Happy Trails

Busy

Been a little busy these last few days.  A couple leather projects some yard work and various errands, just the usual things of life.  Haven't had a lot of mojo to sit and write on the blog, especially about such mundane things.  

I am a bit more concerned about the things that are going on in the world that I have been reading about.  The crap the libtards and the complicit media spew is just mind boggling to me.  How can almost every major news outlet talking head have the same agenda, get hildabeast elected at all costs? Unfortunately there are much to many folks in this country that only listen and buy into the crap they spew forth and then vote like robots accordingly.  

A while back I read a piece that basically was a prediction about how things would go to keep the current potus in office beyond his term.  It was plausible, but I doubted whether something like that would actually happen.  Then this past week I read another article along the same vein from a completely different source and circumstances.  They also pointed out the latest confrontations in the world, mainly with Russia and the moves they have made recently.  I don't know anything about the sources whether they are conspiracy theorists, wack jobs seeking attention, or legitimate news sources.  It did give me food for thought regardless.  Then there are the seemingly false flag things going on to distract from the leaks about hildabeast's latest corrupt actions.  Can't hurt to be more prepared for a catastrophe whether natural, man made or government made.  I have no doubt of which is the most likely.

Painting should start today.  But then we will get some wet weather in a couple more days.  I think we can finish that up before it arrives.  We are finally supposed to get a REAL cold front this week.  I believe it's supposed to hit Thursday and possibly be down in the 40's by Friday.  I am looking forward to it, but I hope it's not real windy, but it probably will be with that drastic of a change in temps.  From 90's down to 40's, yeah, it will be windy.  I'll take it anyway.  

I have a couple tomatoes finally starting ripen and it looks like I will get to harvest a few before any freeze hits this year.  We generally don't get our first real freeze until mid November or later.  That will give me time to get a couple weeks worth of fresh tomatoes.  Still haven't found any onions to plant and may not since it is getting late for that.

A friend gave me her Nook color to replace mine since the battery was dying.  There is no real solution to the battery issue.  Barnes and Noble never set up a way for them to be easily replaceable. Another misstep in their management of the Nook platform.  I have been using my Nook up to the last second and it has gotten to point I am charging it daily.  So I started setting up the other Nook that was given to me.  One of the apps that I use on mine, the Bible Reader, won't even install on the newer Nook.  No idea why that is but it won't let me even download it, giving a message that it won't work on this device.  Makes no sense at all.  So I will return the gift Nook back to the original owner and contemplate my next steps.  I have settled on going with one of the Kindle's, either the Fire or the Paperwhite.  More research is needed.  If they can't use the same app for my bible I am not sure what I will do then.  I still have more questions about the Kindles, color display, available apps, etc. before the final decision.  I don't want to feel like I made a mistake after I spend the cash.

Happy Trails

Annexation

Today is the day Texas was annexed into the United States back in 1845.  What a mess that has turned out to be.  A short 16 years later Texans seceded due to the intrusion of big government. Unfortunately that didn't turn out so well and they were forced back into the Union, under duress I might add.  Over the last 8 years or so there have been rumblings of secession again due to big government intrusion.  We haven't gotten pissed off enough yet to go there again, plus the fact that our 'Texas' culture has been so polluted and watered down by the influx of illegals and 'those people' from the north or east/west coasts keeps the political landscape more inclined to big government.  It will only get worse as Texas continues to be a destination state.

The next couple days will be spent trying to get trees and shrubs trimmed back before the cold weather gets here.  The shrubs are rubbing against the house and the little sucker limbs on the trees we trimmed last Spring have returned with a vengeance.  The wife hates the way they look but there are some that are much to low for me to drive my lawn tractor under without knocking my hat off even with me contorting my body.  Those definitely need to go.

We have been talking about taking another day trip down to the coast but the weather has been hotter than usual and being on the beach with little shade in that heat is not fun.  Maybe it will cool off a little more next week.

Have a couple leather projects in the works.  Another cell phone pouch.  No money to made as I had to resort to a kit.  Things are pretty slow on the leather work front so have been holding off ordering more leather.  I did shop around to see what the prices looked like.  I could get a premium side, (that's half a whole cow hide) for 165$ in recent past.  Now they are 195$ and above.  It's a lot of leather but it takes a long time with a lot of little projects to pay that off.  Christmas has been a busy time for me with leather as folks want various gifts made.  I couldn't take any orders 2 years ago due to my surgery and I got no orders that I remember the following.  Just as well, the folks that usually order want it now and depending on how many I have it can be as much as 3 weeks or more for me to turn a product out.  They are always disappointed I can't bail them out with a gift.  Folks just don't know what hand made means anymore.

Happy Trails