It's about to be 2010!!!

2009 is almost over. The first decade of the 21st century is almost over.

I have great hopes for 2010. I am, perhaps foolishly, about to enter my 25th and last year of employment at Southwestern Bell/AT&T. In June I will walk away from a steady job and a good salary and into the unknown. I'm a person who has always needed security and I am amazingly calm about the steps I am about to take. I don't know where those steps are leading but I can hardly wait to take them. I am stepping out on faith...in God, in myself, in the world around me.

I'm going to try to write here more, even though no one really reads it. I need to write it anyway. I try for some resolutions every year and they normally don't work but I need to try anyway.

I hope to continue the weight loss. I feel so much better.

I will try to eliminate negative influences in my life. Dr Phil says those that who don't contribute
contaminate.

I will try to save more money. I'm about to have no choice. I am about to become a possible bag lady.

I want to get to church again. I want to be in a place to worship. I need it.

I need to meet new people. I need to learn to trust. I need to embrace those who reach out to me.

I need to be kinder.

I need to read more.

Daddys are important

Mine certainly was.

I was sitting at a restaurant today waiting on my takeout and overheard a conversation between 2 women, possibly mother and daughter, both were adults. They were discussing the daughters of the younger woman and she said one of them was more likely than the other to come home pregnant because she had "the daddy love" issues. The mom then went into a tirade about her kids' dad who does not see them much. Dad is a jerk, no doubt. I don't know him but he's a jerk. But mommy has responsabilities too. She chose a jerk to make babies with. Or maybe she chose a man who did not want kids. Or maybe she made a unilateral decision to have a baby, hoping daddy would just fall into place. I've seen it happen a hundred times. Literally. I work with women with 3 or 4 kids, separate fathers, born from booty calls, not relationships and then these women expect daddy to be happy about the situation. They then wonder how their kids got so screwed up and go through life singing the single mom bullshit song.

Don't get me wrong. It takes 2 to play and consequences & responsabilities almost always fall on the mom, the primary caretaker. But women need to look at the person they decide to make a baby with and decide what kind of dad he'll be before the baby is a reality. Before the booty call, think of your child and whether they'll have "the daddy love" issues as they grow up. Moms should make better decisions.

I grew up with parents who were GASP!!! married to each other for almost 60 years and who were rocks in all our lives. Are daddys important? You are darn tootin they are!!

Bravo TV -- Unique.

I'll admit that I'm pretty much a Bravo junkie...Top Chef is a favorite, even if I don't really cook much and frankly don't understand more than half of what they do or think that every thing they cook looks like anything I'd actually eat but I love the competition and the snobbiness of their
profession. They don't ever admit their stuff tastes like crap...the judges are just too stupid to understand their progressive point of view.

I like Tabetha and Jeff Lewis too.

That being said, where do they find the contestants on these shows? A new show 'Launch My Line" just started tonight and geeze Louise, there are some unique people in this world. These are non designers who want to be fashion mavens and are paired with alleged real designers, at least for tonight. Guess we'll see if they come back. This is a possible freaky trainwreck and I've already set the DVR.

The hosts of the show are twin designers whose actual names I missed but they go by D Squared. Unique.

Game Shows

Yes, it is almost time for me to go back to work. But til then, I got stuff to say.

I have always loved game shows. Jeopardy...the best. Wheel? Love it. Millionaire with Meredith Viera? Check, Sorry Regis...Uncheck. Annoying.

There is actually a Game Show Network on cable and it is full of old reruns full of people who are now dead but who will be forever young, There are new shows and remakes of old shows too. The oldies are better but I like Lingo and Chain Reaction although the contestants seem a little...ummm...scarily clueless and unimformed.

I'd like to see my 2nd favorite....after Jeopardy...an old show called Split Second with Tom Kennedy as the host. Loved that show. GSN are you listening?

Oh, and Alfonso Riberio looks a little constipated. Carnie Wilson is kinda creepy. Chuck Woolery is Dick Clark scary young and can hold his own and does not need a bimbo co-host. My friend Drew wants to be a game show host and he'd be fabulous on any of the shows. GSN are you listening?????

White Collar

I'm not a complete grump on this blog.

I love 'White Collar", the FBI/Con Man show on USA. I don't know the FBI agent actor's name although I have become a fan. I'll get it. But the con man is Matt Bomer, the hottest and last Ben Reade on Guiding Light. I thought the kid was pretty talented then but he has certainly come into his charming own as Neil Caffrey, the con who was released into the FBI agent's custody to help out with a case and who has now become his quasi partner. Neil 's alternate motive is to find his
ex Kate, who has disappeared. But while he's trying to figure out the Kate mystery, we get to watch his sexy intelligence, his beautiful blue eyes, his flirtiness and his chemistry with everyone around him.

Love it, love it, love it!!!

Joy to the World? Not really,..

I am admittedly not in the Christmas spirit. I'm facing my 1st Christmas without family and have for years had a hard time with the holiday season. It's cliche but I hate the commercialization of Christmas. I hate the Christmas stuff in the stores in September. I hate advertisers taking traditional Christmas carols and changing the words to suit their products. I hate the unrealistic Hallmark families singing in front of their Wii and the pictures of them sitting around the candlelit table while dad carves the turkey.

I warned you that I'm grumpy.

Today I went to the mall, a horrible place in general. I went for a few things. First I went to Barnes & Noble to see their new reader called a Nook. I have read about it and know the release has been delayed til January but was hoping they would have a demo but nada. The guy hoped to have at least a demo by Christmas. Too late for me. I've made my last trip to the mall. Not here by Christmas? What a brain fart. Actually the 2nd one. Moving to the mall was brain fart 1.

My 2nd stop at the mall was the Salvation Army Angel Tree, a Christmas tradition for me for t he last 20 or so years. This year, there were ornaments on the trees...1st names and ages only. In the past years, they had sizes and wishes but this year, nada. I'm told by the person manning the tree and they man at the office that they made a decision this year to let me make the call for the gift. Me, the person who has no kids. The person who does not know what size a 12 year old is. The person who does not know what toys are hot. The decision I decided to make was to walk away and not get either of the 2 ornaments I normally get. The guy at the office said their donations have doubled. It's December 1st. I have a BS flag to throw on that one. I predict whining on TV about the hard times before this is all over.

My 3rd stop was Dillards to buy new perfume since mine is almost empty. I wear Armani Mania, a not really cheap perfume that they apparently have either stopped making or Dillards has stopped carrying. The perfume floorwalker actually turned her nose up at me and told me that I might get it a Drug Emporium. The good news is that I did.

Any future purchases will be made online. Buh bye mall.

I don't want to feel this way. I remember Christmas as a child and I really looked forward to it. But in the past few years, it's been little but fighting for holiday time slots and the obligations of buying presents because it's what's expected. I find no joy, thats for sure. Only 26 shopping days til it's all over.

Fake Authors

I went to the library today and saw a new Bourne book. Jason Bourne is a Robert Ludlum character but the book is not by Robert Ludlum. It would be kinda impossible because he died in 2001. This book was written this year by another author whose name is in small print on the book. Robert Ludlum's name is twice the size.

Lawrence Sanders died several years ago and is still writing too. The first book I read after he died had only his name on it but the 1st clue I got was when his 35 year old character Archie McNally now had a sister. After several books and after getting to know old Archie, this was a complete surprise to me.

And today I saw a new Sidney Sheldon book and you guessed it. Dead. V C Andress? Dead.

James Patterson does it too...he's alive...but he has "co-writers"...the part of the books he writes is apparently his name on the cover.

Are these people channeling with someone like Whoopi in Ghost? Are they just semi-talented ghostwriters who cannot come up with their own characters? We all know the bottom line is $$$$. I know the estates have to agree to this so the bucks can keep rolling in but where is the respect? For the original writer? For the integrity of his work and talent? Where is the respect for his readers? I personally feel ripped off and will be utilizing the library a little more than normal because these imposters and estates are not getting my HONEST hard earned dollars.

Kinicke

Today 'Grease' was on TV and one of the things I've always loved about movies is that on film, the actors are are constant...young, handsome, haunting, brilliant, troubled...and they are not yet what they will later become, again good or bad. In Grease, John Travolta has escaped Kotter but hasn't lost his precious son. Lorenzo Lamas was a young geek. And Jeff Conaway had a future ahead of him unlike now where his claim to fame is Celebrity Rehab and possibly the most pathetic trainwreck I've ever seen on any screen. How in the world does someone get in such a condition? Continued bad choices, drugs, toxic relationships. I have a feeling he is not long for this world.

But he will always be Kinicke.

An Affair to Remember ***Spoiler****

Tonight I saw one of my favorite old movies, 'An Affair to Remember'. For anyone who has not seen this movie or 'Sleepless in Seattle', this movie stars a very sexy Cary Grant & Deborah Kerr as a couple who are both about to be engaged to other people who meet and fall in love on a cruise. They agree to break things off with their others and meet at the top of the Empire State Building in 6 months. They both do as they promised and on the fateful day both head out but only 'Nicky' makes it...'Teri' gets hit by a taxi and ends up in a wheelchair. Even worse she ends up being a teacher to a group of raggety, tone deaf children who sing 2 terrible songs that don't belong in this movie or anywhere else. But I otherwise love the movie.

The romance on the ship was extremely sexy in chaste way. They tried to be discreet and amusingly everyone on the ship knew exactly what was going on. When 'Teri' doesn't show up 'Nicky' wallows for a while and then becomes a successful artist. A chance meeting at a play leads to finale where 'Nicky' says some very mean things to Teri before figuring out as he's leaving that she hasn't gotten up the entire time he's been there. The look on his face when he figures things out is heartbreaking. And they live happily ever after. Woohoo!!!

Lubbock Homeless

Today was the Komen walk and it was great, as usual. The survivors have balloons and release them at a specific time that represents how long they have been survivors. It's a cool moment.

It was a cold morning so a brisk walk was a good thing. At the end, there are lots of goodies awaiting the walkers...food, drink, goodies. After the walk I returned my library book and there are homeless people who hang out at the library, which is next to the civic center where the walk was held. As i was leaving one came in carrying a pink bag and announced to his homies that there was was free food down at the finish line. The guys all headed down for breakfast. It made me sad and a little happy there was food down the path.

Then I was driving home down Ave Q, going about 30 mph and a man who was probably also homeless actually stepped out in front of my car hoping I'd him. I'm grateful foir brakes. I missed him by inches and he stood there looking me straight in the eye. It was pretty scary.
A S S H O L E !!! A man who saw it all pulled up beside me at the light and rolled his window to tell me he lived in the neighborhood and these guys do this all of the time. I hope
the food was all gone by the time these guys got there.

Boxing night,, sorta

Boxing night was last night on HBO and I was watching the football game so I recorded and am watching this morning. First they showed highlights of the much ballyhooed (isn't that a great word?) Mayweather/ Marquez fight. Hardly much of a fight...Mayweather fought not to lose and didn't lose so mission accomplished. He's not a hungry fiighter. He's a complacent fighter that no one has knocked senseless yet. Certainly not PPV price worthy.

The live fight is Chris Arrieola and Vitali Klitchcko, heavyweights. Klitchcko is 6'7" and Arrieola is 6' 4", both right at 25o, big boys. My favorites. I'm rooting for Arrieola, an American and an underdog. I don't think he has much of a chance but we'll see. Klicthcko looks big and mean. Arrieola will need a KO to win.

I wonder how much the "Let's get ready to rumble." gets paid for his 5 minute a week show.

And I love the announcers. Old time trainers and boxing fans, not professionally trained announcers, all cleaned up and put in bow ties. Boxing smart and fun to listen to.

It's round 8 of 12 and Klitchsko is swatting a fly. I'd love Arrieola to get a lucky punch and prove that the bigger they are the harder they fall.

Dang...Arriola's corner threw in the towel...good call. Arriola is crying and it's sad. He fought his heart out and can hold his head up high. We'll see him again. He probably does not to use the "F" bomb in his post fight interview. His little girl is in the audience.

And the announcer said the referee called the fight.

Klitchsko was gracious in his post fight interview.

Way better than Mayweather/Marquez.

Yep, I'm ready.

Tech v U of Houston. Game time.


Go Tech!!!!!

Ladybugs

I took this picture in Anson Texas last week and it's hard to see but on the "C" in county and between the "S" & "Q" in Bosque, there are white ladybugs. I've only seen red ones and sometimes a lighter red, almost orange one but never seen white. Kinda cool.

Skin in public

There was a debate on my Facebook page about whether women who are breastfeeding should be "forced" to cover up in public. Actually, it was a poll...so you say not they should not or you are a baby hating bitch with breast issues...nothing in the middle. But I have a middle attitude, so here it goes.

A woman should not have to be "forced" cover in public. I know the benefits of breastfeeding and it is a good thing. But just as the mom has the right to feed her child and not have to do it in a bathroom, I have the right to not have tits in my face. And before the tomato throwing starts, I also don't want to see 40 pounds of cleavage, belly button rings, bare midriffs, butt cheeks, boys with the tops of their pants down to their knees or anyone in the grocery store in their pajamas. Do people truly not have any sense of propriety anymore? And do their rights really mean more than mine? I will go out on a limb and say that anyone woman who wants to feed her child and not do it in a bathroom can find a private place to do it without whipping out a boob in a lobby of a public building, a movie theater or a restaurant. Last year a woman was given a ticket for breast feeding her child while driving in a school zone, in the rain and talking on her cell phone. Talk about multitasking!!!

So the answer is no, a woman should not be forced. She should have the good sense to do it without being forced.

Ready for Fall

I updated my blog background for my favorite season of the year. I love the colors, I like the seasons changing. It's time for football, falling leaves, fair time and getting ready for the holidays. I'll be honest, not a big holiday fan exactly...I like the idea of them but for the first time I'm without a family at all and I'm lonely now. The family holiday time coming up in the next few months is going to be really hard but I'll make it through. It won't be long til we say goodbye to 2009.

So glad it's Friday...

I was out of town last weekend so am looking forward to a weekend at home!!! It's been a long and busy week and I'm ready for some downtime. Maybe the fair, for sure some Tech football on the tube tomorrow. Life is good.

Patty

Today I lost my dear friend Patty. She has been suffering from lung cancer for the last year and has been in a lot of pain for the last few weeks so it was her time. She is a true believer and is home in Glory right now and we the people left behind who love here are the ones suffering. Rest in peace sweet girl. I love you.

License plate surround

Today I followed a car home and the license plate surround said "My other ride is a United States Marine". Is that a special order or something you can buy off the rack?

Friday Night Lights

I love Netflix.

This week I have started watching Friday Night Lights. I am very impressed. I was not sure I'd like it but I am really into it.

The line notes on the DVD says "In rural Texas, there's not much in life that matters more than
high school football...". Sadly, that's mostly true. I grew up in a town pretty close to that. Friday school was devoted to playbook study. Monday school was devoted to game recap. Dreams involved hopes for athletic scholarships more than academic scholarships.

That being said, I would not have traded it for the world. Texas Monthly had an article about a Hollywood stylist person going into a small Texas town to teach them some culture. Wow, what a treat for that small town. Introduction to the Hollywood culture of pierced belly buttons, no underwear and a new boyfriend, complete with sex tape on the internet every week.

I can't say I grew up in a hotbed of culture and not much has changed. Sometimes it looks pretty hopeless I guess and would certainly not be considered exciting. But Hollywood stylist probably would never understand an entire community coming together to harvest someone's farm if they were sick or raising money if they were sick. And I may be a hick but I'd rather spend a Friday night playing poker with friends than going to a big club and waking up later passed out in my Mercedes.

I thought this TV show would make fun of small town Texas life and it really doesn't and I appreciate that.

Alone

Today on the way home, I saw a kid in an older model Mustang and thought about my sister Jo, who at about 20 bought a white 1966 or 1967 Mustang. I was a kid at the time...about 10 ...so I dont really know too much info but I think she was living in Prescott, working as a nurse's aid and she had a 2nd floor apartment. I think the car cost about $3500 at the time and I don't think she could afford it at the time because she did not have it for long. I was thinking as I was driving in that I'd ask someone about it and I could not think of a person who would know. Everyone who would have known is gone and I am sad about that. Very sad.

Birthday...2009....

My birthday balloon from Jan sings "Don't worry, be happy"
















I am a dork...birthday picture, wearing headset. I'm not worrried, I'm happy. But I am a dork.

Thanks Jan!!!

And my little friend Leah picked out some flowers for me and made me a birthday card. How sweet is that?

Lake Day 2009

Last Saturday was Lake Day at Buffalo Springs Lake with Robbie, Kyle and Deb. It was a hot and beautiful day for sailing. Or pontooning. Or however you spell it. I have pictures. There are always pictures.

Captain Kyle is so cute with his hat on backwards.


And he's cute ringing the bell we found in a shop in San Francisco. We rang every bell we saw and this one sounded the best.

And here are my homeys posing for a group picture. What wonderful friends I have.





And do these boys have their priorities in order or what?

Spenser, Robert B Parker, Appaloosa

Tonight I'm watching Appaloosa on HBO. It is a movie starring Ed Harris & Viggo Mortensen as gunmen and long time partners who team up to tame a town and bring down a desperate criminal played by the ever strange Jeremy Irons. And Renee Zelweiger stirs things up too.

The movie is pretty good and I'm not goint into too much detail but it's based on a book by Robert B Parker, one of my favorite writers. He created Spenser, my favorite wiseguy Boston detective. And he writes Jesse Stone And Sunny Randall. And now apparently westerns. Ed Harris wrote the screenplay but the dialogue is pure RBP. And in Appaloosa, Virgil and Everett are Spenser and Hawk. Check them all out. You'll see what I mean.

Living not so large..

Ok, no one can say I didn't warn them. Right now, most of my waking moments involve what I can eat, and cannot, what my points are and what I will eat next. I hate the obsession but am anxious to see the results.

I've been reading the point values of certain things and have been trying to make good choices and I have not ever been over the point totals yet. But, dadgum, I can certainly see why I'm in the shape I and 75% of the US population is in. I'm supposed to eat 22 points a day and a Big Mac is half of that. And I'm not picking on Mickey D....basically, everywhere is trouble. Today we ate at Copper Caboose and i ended up ok...grilled chicken breast, stir fried veggies...the good stuff is there if you look hard enough.

Instead of living large, I need to concentrate on living small.

I need some prayers.

Day 2

And I'm still in!! I did ok again today...stayed on program...still alive...bring on Wednesday!!!!

Today I begin...

Today I started Weight Watchers. I've kinda half way done it in the past but have never been to meetings and everything. Yesterday I went to the meeting and it sounds pretty good. And today I made it through day 1. It was pretty easy

My largest problem with the getting healthy thing (read:diet) is the obsession with food...what will i eat? ..when will i eat it? ...did i eat too much? This one sounds like preparation is the key....so tonight i measured and bagged and planned. I need to be able to grab and run. If I can keep this easy maybe I can stick with. I certainly need to. Keep your fingers crossed!!!

Pitchfork Ranch Cookhouse

Today I went to the Ranching Heritage Center on the campus of Texas Tech University to see a building that in real life I was pretty familiar with but had not seen restored and on display. I lived in this house my freshman year of high school. It looked more like the picture on the sign than what they restored. The kitchen-dining room that shows at the Center was only the base of the house. Attatched later were 3 bedrooms, 2 bath's, a living room and a large back porch with a built in freezer. My Mom & Dad were the cooks although all know who the cook was. Also behind the house was a commissary where staples were stored and once a week the different ranch houses would send over their grocery lists and my dad would fill the list and have the boxes ready for pickup. They provided meat, vegetables, eggs, canned goods and basic baking needs. No fresh bread, no fancy stuff but it was part of the pay.

This is the base of the house. It was surrounded by screened in porches. Inside the front screened in porch was the bell that got rang 3 times a day, 5 days a week and twice on Saturday. On the back screened in porch was the cistern that held water., It's the white thing shown out front of the house although I don't remember it being white. We caught rain water and drew it with a bucket. The 1st cup out of a new bucket was always the best...naturally cool and clear. I looked in the windows and found it looked pretty good but was restored a little more rundown than I ever saw it. The stove even looks like the one Mom cooked on but the refirgerator was a large built in when we were there. There is a table by the door with coffee cups and drink glasses displayed and I do remember that table. The one thing missing was an old crank telephone that
was used for ranch house to ranch house communications when we lived there. It had been there for years and I think it finally died during a storm while we were there. It was still on the wall when we left but maybe someone pilfered it before the house was donated to the Center.

I loved ringing the bell.


I took this picture because I thought the placement of the buildings was significant. The 6666 Pavilion has been at the RHC for several years so it had prime placement. Then the Cookhouse
was donated in 2007. But in Dickens and King Counties, these 2 ranches own most of the land and are large employers. I was
amazed the last time I went through Guthrie at the changes made at both ranches. Both are now modern cattle operations but I have a hunch if you visited with the cowboys that still work at both ranches, you'd find that in their hearts, not much has changed after all.

Red Box Movies

I am a fan.

I pick my movie. I slide my card. And the machine spits out a movie for a dollar. Buh=bye Hollywood Video.

6-30-10

A day that will live in infamy. In my mind only of course.

Barring crap with a new contract, June 30, 2010 will be my last day of work for AT&T. I'll have my 25 years and will take vacation until my 53 birthday. I have no clue what I'll do after that and will have to find another job after that really long vacation. I sat with my calendar this morning and counted days and life is good. I'm completely clueless with what happens next and am not sure I have enough $$ to live the good life but I'm gonna be ok and I will no longer be tethered to a desk.

357 days by my countl

July 3 Street Dance...It was loud

2009 street dance and the music was fine. This band is called Hat Trick and it features Mike Pritchard, one of m favorites. Lots of older music which suits me cuz I'm old.







Then we got Hogg Maulies, another talented band.








And the big star of the shw...Josh Abbott. This boy is going places,
I couldn't get a good picture because I could not get close enough to the stage. Josh is on the right side, wearing the white shirt and white cap.




I was worn out by the time I got home. And my ears were numb. It was, a beautiful night, not too hot, not too buggy, the music was good and it was a nice crowd. I even made some new friends, sorta. I was taking pictures of Hogg Maulies and these 2 were in the picture and decided to pose.
Then the kid in the plaid shirt took my picture with my own camera!!





Then on they way out, I met my friend again with his girlfriends. I took their pic's too and then emailed them over. All were nice kids. I hope they had a good time.


Happy 4th of July!!

Death in Hollywood

It's been a wild 2 weeks in Hollywood with some entertainment icons dying.

First we had Ed McMahon, Johnny Carson's famous 2nd banana, Publisher's clearing spokesman and lately famous for defaulting on his mortgage and talking bankruptcy.

Second Farrah Fawcett, a moderately talented actress probably more famous for a poster that sent every teenage boy into hormone overload. She was great in 'The Burning Bed' but was mostly the slightly more talented Paris Hilton of her day. Other than being the mother and stepmother of drug addicts over the years, she hasn't done much lately. She fought a valient fight with cancer and I admire her courage and tenacity even though I don't exactly understand it.

And Farrah was overshadowed on the day of her death by Michael Jackson who died the same day. Michael Jackson was an extremely talented musician and the icon label definitely fits. But his talent was overshadowed in later years by the complete lunacy that became his life. He changed his appearance dramatically and denied ever doing anything, His sham marriages, his "fatherhood" to 3 poor children who cannot even know what a normal life is and his completely bizarre lifestyle made me question if he was really that talented. I've seen the video of his early career that reminds me how amazing he was for a little while. It was downhill from there though. I do believe he was a child predator and a certified whack job. But he is all the news now and other whackos are going crazy with the tributes.

Then today Karl Malden died and most people don't even know who he is. Watch 'Streetcar Named Desire'. Watch 'On the Waterfront'. Read about a man who was married to the same woman for 71 years before his death. Read about a man who was an actor for 60 years. He fought for fellow actors as president of the Motion Picture Academy. No posters, no chimps, no bankruptcy. Just a decent man full of talent who entertained me for years. And I challange you to fall a little bit in love with him in 'Come Fly With Me'.

RIP to all listed and I hope that's it for awhile

July 1, 2009

Today I went to Spur to check out my Dad's Veterans marker and it looks great.



And every McCombs got some red, white & blue roses in honor of July 4.



There are so many people here that I've loved all my life..Mom, Dad, Cathy, Jo, Aunt Allene & Uncle Harold, Aunt Dorothy & Uncle Tommy, Granny, Uncle Raymond, my cousin Jimmy.

After I left the cemetery, I went by the drug store and saw Fay there. Fay owned the flower shop for years and she still knows everything that goes on. She told me there is a large bull snake out at the cemetary. She said she was out there last week and she thought someone had forgotten a water hose on one of the markers and she got closer and saw it slither off. Today, i stepped in a hole beside my mom's grave and my shoe came off and it took me a minute or so to get my shoe out. I can tell you if I'd have seen that snake while my foot was stuck I can guarantee that snake would have had a huge lunch because I'd had a heart attack and he'd have eaten me before the ambulance could have gotten there

Toes

Ok, got the toes done today and in honor of July 4, got a little extra something special....pretty fat little toe done by a Vietnamese man who spoke no English.

Where The Music is buried...

I've lived in Lubbock for 34 years and had never seen Buddy Holly's grave in the City of Lubbock Cemetery. I decided to stop at the place that the sign pointed to and was surprised at how little fanfare there was at the sight. As you can see, he was buried under the family spelling of Holley in the family plot. Legend has it that musicians get good luck if they use a guitar pick and strum the guitar on the stone. Then they leave the pick. There were a couple of picks that you can see in the picture and also a necklace.

24 years

Today is the 24th anniversary at AT&T. I got hired there 2 times and bridged some service together so it is not really a day I got hired but it's where the 24 years pile up. In one year I will be safe to retire and I can hardly wait. I don't know if I will retire but I want that feeling and I don't want to go through another contract negotiation. Let me rephrase that. I won't go through another.

The years have mostly been good. Good friends. Good Money. All in all a pretty good place to work. And a really good place to retire from. It's probably too early to start the retirement countdown but for the record, its 364 days.

Father's Day

I have to apologize to anyone reading because I seem to be obsessed with my dad right now but it's my first Father's Day without him and my heart hurts right now. I've thought about talking to someone professional but the truth is I don't see a lot of value in that. I don't mean to insult anyone. It helps some. It doesn't help me. I cannot see how talk will fix things. They say time heals all wounds and I do know that is true. Sooooooooo...please bear with me on this. It won't last for long.

Is it too much to ask?

Today John Ensign, a Republican senator from Nevada admitted to having an affair with a staff member who's husband also worked for him. I don't know the man, never really heard of him, but I have a question: Is it too much to ask to be a faithful husband? Is it too much to just do the right thing? The man was thinking of running for president in 2012. Is that dead in the water or do we forgive and forget?

Clay Walker sings a song called 'Then What' where the is a line that says "whatcha gonna do when the new wears off and the old shines new, it ain't really love and it ain't really lust, you ain't anybody anybody's gonna trust".

Why should we trust this man when he's lied to and betrayed the woman he promised to love and cherish to and encouraged a woman to lie to her husband? If he lied to a woman he loved what chance do we have?

He's not the 1st and won't be the last and he is Nevada's problem. Heaven knows there have been liars in politics since Julias Ceasar and Marc Anthony but it doesn't make it right. I come from Texas, home of some of the most questionable campaigns ever. Rumor has it that LBJ once won a county in Texas because all of the people in the cemetary not only voted but amazingly did it in alphabetical order. Bill Clinton was the biggest horndog in and out of the white house AND he had no taste in women to fool around with. The New York Governor Spitzer had to resign because of his prostitute habits.

There is probably nothing that can be done I guess. Being two faced is a requirement of political office and it will continue and we will not be surprised.

I could be wrong but Barack Obama seems to be a good, faithful and loving husband and father but we've all been fools before. I hope it's the case. He's asked us over and over to believe in him. Keep the promises you made to Michelle and you are one step up on that ladder to me.

A Good Pocket

As most of you know,I lost my dad in February and most of his stuff was already gone but yesterday I took his heavy denim coat and washed it so I could take it to Goodwill. The inside has fleecy wooly stuff and even though I had seen it a hundred times, I had forgotten that my mom had taken a piece of denim from his Levis and sewed a big old pocket inside. It was a place to put his gloves and pliers or whatever when he was out on horseback or working in the barn so they'd be handy but what I mostly remember is that it was a pretty good place for surprises. If he was out and found a pretty rock or some wildflowers or some wild plums or peaches, they were put in that pocket to bring home to us. I can remember him finding a baby bunny with no mama or a turtle and they rode home to us in that pocket too. We pretty much loved whatever came out of that pocket and we loved our daddy for bringing it home to us.

It was a good pocket.

Things that make the world a better place

1. Tropicana Trop 50 Orange Juice....1 cup, 50 calories, half the sugar of regular OJ, tastes great.

2. Our own Pirate Mike Leach and Texas Tech Football. They have made me believe that almost anything is possible and with Coach Leach, that it's ok to color outside the lines.

3. Cheetos

4. Blue Bunny Sugar Free Ice Cream. Hmmm...too much food on this list already

5. A day at the lake on with Captain Kyle, Robbie & Deb. A peaceful day, shared with great friends, always good food, no worries. And I get to drive the boat.

6. Vegas countdown. I need to get one of those started. And then I love the excitement of getting off the plane, on the train and going down the escalator in the airport, then catching our cab. And the way my heart jumps a little when we see the casino for the 1st time in a while.
Then having fun and mostly coming home. Ahhh.

7. Meals on Wheels. They feed the elderly in this town and that is a good thing. I might need them someday. They do it all without government funding, they are not part of United Way and they have done it since 1971, delivering 550 meals a day. And they deliver pet food too!!!

8. Happy Hour at the Sonic...half price!!!

9. Harvesting Pumpkins on Farm Town

10. A good night's sleep. I don't get too many of those but I cherish them.

11. Friday at 430 PM

12. A good book, a new author. I think I've found one. His name is Lee Child and I've just started his 1st book and he's just published book 13. Someone new to know and a while to get to know him.

13. George Strait

14. Williams Sonoma

I'm gonna have more...will have to add to list as I think of them.

My new friend Ed's Blog

I have a new friend named Ed & I'd like you to take a look at his blog, listed on my follow list. I don't know him personally...he is my new Facebook friend who comes to harvest for me on FarmTown. I just met him today but if Facebook says we are friends, it must be true.

I grew up in Texas and never heard the word Pocho before but know I will learn a lot from Ed. Read his 1st entry and you'll find out what it means. I haven't read everything yet but will I can tell you his Memorial Day entry made me cry.

Nice to meet you Ed.

Boxing

This I inheirited from m dad...I really like boxing. I'm sitting here now watching 2 grown men beat each other senseless for entertainment purposes. And the money of course. I'm watching a man named Froche with his nickname 'Cobra' on the front and back of his little Union Jack covered shorts and he's fighting a man named Taylor who has the word 'Arkansas' and a Razorback on his butt and a US flag on his little shorts. And both were interviewed and they even sound pretty intelligent. For girly sounding morons, Google interviews with Mike Tyson (truly an animal and not in a good way) or Oscar De La Hoya who sounds like a 12 year old girl.

The only thing I hate is the round girl in her bikini

On a strange note, on 'Rock of Love with Bret Michaels' the loser from last season claims her name is Daisy De La Hoya and that she and Oscar are cousins. Speaking of morons. The entire family has a total IQ of 47. Now Daisy is the star of her own show on VH1 that shows her looking for love so I can only assume she has a good manager because there is no way she is smart enough to take care of herself. I won't be watching Daisy. Once really is enough

Pimento Cheese

I've always liked it but it has been my best friend the last week or so. I have 3 temporary crowns and pimento cheese is soft and not too hard on the old mouth. So basically it's been my main food source for the last 10 days. I'll have to see if I still like it when I get the permanent crowns.

Ok, this is a pathetic post

Well the cat is the winner....

Today I looked in the nest and all of the babies are dead. The mama bird probably abandoned them after the cat knocked one out and I scooped it up in a spoon and put it back. So I took the nest to the dumpster, washed out the wreath and put it in the garage. I know it's goofy but it makes me sad. We had life and then death and they never even got to fly. I look for some sad analogy there...it kinda describes me too. And it makes me sad.

That Darn Cat!!!

The devil cat jumped up on the door and knocked one of the babies out of the nest. I managed to run him off and picked up the little birdie with a spoon and put him back in the nest. It will be a miracle if he survives. And I thought all eggs were hatched but there was still one in the nest and he jumped up again and knocked it out and it for sure did not survive. And I'm sad to say that the egg was covered in bodies yesterday and easy to see today. I'm wondering if another bird was already a goner today. It's hard to tell because I don't really want to touch anything because the mama bird may not come back.

That cat and the water bottle and I have a date with destiny.

Birds are here!!

We have birdies!!! 2 hatched yesterday, the other 2 today. I have seen them with their heads up but they won't put them up for the picture...they insist on sleeping!! I have given them secret service code names. Meet Rabbit,
Raccoon, Racehorse and Rock Lobster.

But we do have a problem:

Our mortal enemy...the cat who lives down the street. This is not the actual cat but he looks just like this one and has the same look in his eyes. If he gets near the babies, I hope mama bird boxes his ears.

Meet El Diablo

Easter, a long time ago..

I don't know exactly what year this was taken but we lived in on Davis Street in Bagdad from 1st grade--1963 through 3rd grade--1965. I'm thinking 1st grade because I had a particularly rough year on the playground. Notice the wounds on my left leg...not just the bandaid which could have been anything but the scab on the knee which I had my entire 1st grade year as I tended to fall off the merry go round on a regular basis.
Mom made the dress and there was probably some gloves and a new purse to go with the hat. I always got new shoes, a new hat, gloves and purse. The red arm and shadow belongs to Tony King, according to the back of the picture. The only thing I really remember is that I don't think he lived with his parents...or maybe his mom was there but I don't remember a dad around. Maybe he and his mom lived with his grandparents. The house behind him was his...we live across the street. We were about to go to church and had already had Easter baskets and hunted eggs. A few pieces of candy but mostly Paas colored eggs. I can still smell the vinegar. After church there would have been ham or roast for lunch. Then we would have changed into play clothes and played outside til dark.

As you can see, I was a dork even then.

Belly Buttons and Thongs

I think I'm a fud or getting old or possibly both but why do I have to spend time in every store looking at various belly buttons? I don't like it under any circumstance but it is less offensive on skinny little minnies under 20 but when you see a 200 pound 50 year old woman whose belly is hanging over her pants like an old man's and the there is a 4 inch gap between the bottom of the shirt and the bottom of the belly, it's not attractive. I have to wonder if it is an intended fashion statement or if she just doesn't have any clothes that fit.

And THEN...the clerk in the store squats down and her shirt is too short and you see her thong hanging out the back of her pants...hmmm...not attractive!!!

If I had a cute little body and not the aforementioned big belly I'd want to show it off too and these little girls can dress really cute but too little is sometimes too much.

Cupcakes

I love cupcakes.

There is a new store in Lubbock called 'Peace of Cake' and all they sell is cupcakes. Apparently they get up at 4am and make the cakes 6 days a week and sell til they sell out every day. If they don't sell out, they give the cakes to their neighbors. Today, I bought a cupcake. It was chocolate chip with puffy buttercream icing. And it was $2.50. It was a pretty good cupcake but it was no $2.50 cupcake. I'm pretty sure they don't use cake mixes but if they did they could make 24 cupcakes from a box. That is $60. Of course, puffy icing is probably not cheap.

It will be interesting to see if they are open in a year.

Birdie Update

I have done a little reading on robins in the last couple of days and I've learned a litttle more. Robins tend to always lay 4 eggs, no more, no less and sure enough, this morning I dragged the stool over and there are now 4 eggs. It doesn't exactly say they can count but apparently their little bodies can cover 4 eggs when they spread their little wings. And it takes 12-14 day for the babies to hatch and then another 14 days before the leave home for good. I first discovered the eggs on March 31 so our babies should be hatching by April 14. My camera and I will be ready.

I'm gonna be a grandmother!!!

Those of you that know me are scratching your heads right now wondering how is that possible??? Well, today, in the wreath on my door I discovered a birds nest with 3 eggs in it!!! I have teased my friend Deb, whose cat had 3 kittens 2 weeks ago, that our grandchildren cannot play together because her grandkids would eat mine. I'll keep you posted!!!!

My Hero

Yesterday in the mail I received a certificate from the Veterans Administration thanking my dad for his service. The signature says "Barack Obama, President of the United States" and the signature looks real, that is not a stamp, although I don't know the President's signature. Any way I look at it, it's very cool. We also got a flag at his funeral and I got a shadow box for that too. I'm unclear where to put them exactly and even though the shelves and things on them are straight, I cannot get a straight picture but it looks very cool. My dad was a veteran of WW II and extremely proud that he'd served his country.

Facebook

Ok, even though I don't exactly understand all of it, I've joined Facebook and have a wall and friends and comments. I have been found by and have found friends I have not seen in years. It's been pretty cool. I'm sure there is more to this than I have seen and I'm looking forward to exploring further. I've made it into the 21st century.

Living in Arizona

I lived in Arizona from 1960 til 1971. I went to school grades 1-8 in Bagdad, Arizona. My dad worked at an open pit copper mine for 10 years and 1 year on a ranch out there. Those 10 years were the only time in my dad's life, other than the Army, where he had to be at a job at a certain time. It was the most unusual town I've ever lived in because the mine owned all of the houses and the grocery store. My parents paid $5 a room as rent (about $30 a month) and all of the utilites were paid except a phone. If the employee wanted a different house, they'd put their name on a list and as a house came open, it would go by seniority. We had an apartment at a beginning and then 2 houses before we moved out onto the ranch. And part of my dad's pay was in "script", money that could only be used in the company grocery store, which also had drygoods and a pharamcy. I'm not sure it is legal to pay someone in other than US money and it was probably illegal even then but it seemed to work at the time. I also rememeber other businesses--a privately owned variety store, a bank, a barber shop, a beauty shop, a hamburger place and a gas station. That was it.

The company that owned the town was called Bagdad Copper Corp. There was technically another company in the town that owned an underground mine called Cypress Copper that paid Bagdad Copper for the houses. It was a more dangerous mine because it was underground and my dad was lucky to work at the other mine. Later, the mines merged into Bagdad-Cypress and were eventually sold to a company called Phelps-Dodge.

My mom and I went back to Bagdad a few years ago and things had changed a lot. The mine is still the primary employer but there were different stores and not much looked the same. We did not have enough time there but I'd like to go back again and explore.

Cars engines and Hoopties

Every day I follow this vehicle to work, an older model Kia Sportage and I don't see any visible damage on it except it appears that none of the pieces fit. Everything has gaps and sags and it scares me to see that it turns to get on the loop everyday. I think if it is ever in an accident it will fall apart completely into 400 pieces. Why would anyone drive something so unsafe looking? I watch People's Court and in New York, this would be a hooptie. (translation: crappy car)

And on the subject of cars, do you ever wonder why people in car lots open the hoods on the cars for display? Maybe it's a guy thing which is why I don't understand. I know if all engines are not alike but do people really look there first?

I'm too old to:

1. Join the Army
2. Understand the Hiltons or Kardashians
3. Be on American Idol (of course the singing thing is another issue)
4. Play running back for Mike Leach
5. To grow to be 5'9"

More to follow I'm sure.

Blog List

I just added a new blog to follow called 'What's Alan Watching'. I don't know Alan and don't even remember how I found him but I do enjoy his television reviews. Per his bio, he is a TV critic by trade so that would explain how he has so much time to watch and then write about it. Check him out. I think you'll like him.

Castle

I've discovered a new television show called 'Castle' and I really like it. It stars Nathan Fillion from 'Waitress' as a mystery writer named, appropriately enough, Castle. He has a sweet and smart 15 year old daughter and his mom, a former actress and fulltime ditz, lives with them. The 1st show has a killer using his books as inspiration and he becomes involved with the case and the pretty detective in charge. I see 'Moonlighting' type flirting and fighting in their futures. I don't remember seeing the actress that plays the detective before but she seems to have good chemistry with Castle. They work well together. And he has a very charming relationship with his daughter. I don't always like children on tv (or anywhere else for too long for that matter) but I like this relationship a lot. It's only been on 2 episodes and I'm looking forward to the next, on Monday.

That being said, I give it 3 more episodes before it's cancelled. Any show that I get attached to tends to get the ax quickly. In fact, I normally wait til a show has been on for a couple of seasons and then Netflix it so I can stem my disappointment at it being cancelled so quickly. But it will be fun while it lasts.

Grey's Anatomy

I just watched last night's episode and I boo-hoo-ed big time. Between the guy getting the face trasplant & his friends and Izzie & hers, the tears just kept on and on. I can hardly wait to see what happens to Izzy. What a great show.

Back to the Blog

It's been a while. The truth is I've had a pretty sucky few weeks. On February 21 my dad died. He'd been in the hospital for 1 week and then in the nursing home 1 week and that was it. It was quick and he did not seem to suffer too much. They said he had pneumonia in the hospital and were giving him antibiotics to clear that up. And his death certificate says he had emphysema and had had it "for years" and that was news to us. Not one time had any doctor said a thing about it. But whatever the ultimate cause, somethng had not been right for a few weeks. He was falling a lot and he was out of it in a lot of ways. It finally came to a point that I could not get him up and I called the ambulance and the rest is history.

I know that my dad is in better place. He's with my mom. He was tired. He was lonely. He'd had a good life and was ready for his 'final roundup'.

I miss him like all get out. I have trouble typing this through the tears. I have trouble with the quiet house and I have too much time on my hands,. I know things will get easier but right now it hurts.

New Year's Resolutions

Do they exist if you don't write (or type) them somewhere? Will that simple act stop them from being broken? I don't make many anymore. Lose weight. Eat less. Exercise more. Spend less money. The usual.

This year, I have saved money. I take my lunch to work. I'm limiting eating out and shopping. I'm trying to eat less, exercise and lose weight but I've never been a person to beat myself up about it. I like shopping downstairs though so I'm gonna try to stay downstairs. For those of you skinny minnies who don't know what I'm talking about, they put the big mama clothes upstairs in a corner in the department stores so the normal size shoppers won't be offended by the sight. I like shopping downstairs.

I have resolved to not be such a food pack rat though and it's kinda working. If ya'll knew my mom, you'd know I came by this habit naturally. My mom always had a pantry full of food and always bought 2 of everything. And I've done it for years. We waste a lot of food around our house and I hate that so we are buying and making less. Someday I will be at the bottom of my refrigerator & pantry. Maybe.

The last resolution is more rest. Bed time. Night, night.

Girl Scout Cookies

Now, I'm on a roll.

It's only January and it's time already. Didn't it used to be in February? And my friend Jen's granddaughter came up today to sell cookies and she is not a Brownie but a Daisy. Are there still Brownies? Or are they now un PC and have the different levels become flowers?

As long as they don't mess with the Thin Mints.

Cotton Bowl

Gee, I have not published in a while.

We lost. It was ugly. Every Cotton Bowl we've been in has been ugly. We hate the Cotton Bowl. It was the last official Cotton Bowl played at this stadium and it's a good thing. If I had the means I'd implode that ugly sucker myself.

That's all.

"Man our ship and bring her to life"

Cool words, huh? Spoken by the daughter of George H. W. Bush at the dedication of an aircraft carrier bearing her dad's name and being commissioned. The ceremony was broadcast on all of the newsies and it was actually pretty cool. The pomp and circumstance, the speeches, the flyovers & presentation of flags put a little lump in my throat. Sometimes, I'm such a sap. Then 41's daughter spoke the works "man our ship and bring her to life" and to the sounds of 'Anchors Aweigh' something like 1400 sailors run up the gangplank to start the ship on a journey that will last 50 years until she's de-commissioned. I Googled the words and they are standard at every ship's commissioning ceremony, which is cool.

They even have a website: George H W Bush Battleship Website

2009

Well, here is the 1st post of 2009. I'm not even sure where I've been but it appears I have not been here.

The first 1/2 month is gone already. Sometimes time goes really fast. When you're having fun, right? Hmmm.

Had uneventful holidays, as usual. A few days off, some rest, too much food. The usual.

Tuesday is inauguration day. Barack Obama will become our new President...44th I think. It is an exciting time in our nation and although I don't think anyone can live up to his hype, he seems like a decent man and it will be interesting to watch what he can do and how fast he will be torpedoed for not living up to expectations. Lots of jobs have been lost and companies are going bankrupt. I hope someone has the answer.

Happy New Year to all.