The Heat Is On!

Let it be known from this day forward Cris was cold and he turned on the heat for the winter. I know, I know this should not be blog worthy, but I live in Oklahoma dude! We are still mowing grass on weekends. We do not expect our first frost for another week or two. But it has been dipping down into the 40s at night, it is currently in the mid 50s and my big ass is COLD!

So let the other rednecks talk, scoff if they will. Cris turned on the heat on October 5, 2009. And... it feels good! By the way, I finally moved the TV back to where it belongs so we can access the fireplace. I have to admit the tile hearth and the new wood floor look pretty good together.


My son is in the final count down to the day he will sell his summer cow project for FAA. This is a heard project. He kept careful books on the feed and vet bills. These books he will turn into the teacher with the results of his sale, to show the profit margin on the project. This is NOT a true reflection of the experience. He is not paying pasture rent, he is not paying other family members to actually make sure the cows are fed and watered each day and most importantly he is not paying for water.

Yes Water! Our water bill has been on average about $100 a month more since we got the cows. Granted, a good portion of that is because when Mom or Dad go out to fill the water tank that the boy forgot to fill, they tend to get distracted and walk away in the 20 minutes it takes to fill, and they don't remember to turn off the water until the next morning when they see a flooded pasture on the way to work. If we have another heard project next year we will A. buy the calves earlier in the Spring. B. Mow down pasture weeds to enhance the grass and C. Buy the $20 valve you can put on a tank that turns the water on and off so doddering old relics like my son's Mom and Dad don't have to focus on a task for 20 full minutes at a time.

Today is my daughter's Half Birthday. She has been talking about it all week. She has exactly 6 months of childhood left from today. Fear has started to creep in as the excitement of possibilities has shifted to the reality of time. She is growing up. She will be an adult with adult responsibilities the rest of her life. There is no going back. I try to help ease the anxiety by reminding her that she will ALWAYS be Daddy's little girl.

Marital Competition

I have not been sleeping well this week. It is not nerves or stress or too much caffeine. I am just having a bad week of sleep. I am not tired, I am just as active if not more active, but I am not getting my pillow pounding time. I am sure it will all catch up to me tomorrow night when I drive across state after work.

But last night was exceptional. See, I started reading a new book and I got too into it so I was up too late AGAIN. Then I had a fire roaring in the den because there was this massive cold front and I am a cheap bastard and the Propane cost about $450 last month whereas the firewood was free... so the bedroom was really cold compared the back of the house where we had a fire.

Then once I got to sleep (possibly because my wife demanded I turn off the lights) I kept getting woke up by my delicate bride trying to roll up in all the covers like a cocoon. But in the past 28 years I have learned a trick or two in the domestic war of the roses. See, I learned in winter, a smart husband will tuck himself in on one side. That way, when the she-partner tries to roll and leave me bare ass naked and freezing, I have a built in stop.

Now she jars me awake (but does not snatch away the blankets) and in my confused, sleep befuddled state I hear her bitch about being cold. "So go turn up the fucking heat and let me sleep!" I politely suggest in my brightest "good morning Sunshine" voice. That generally pisses her off enough to go back to sleep and leave the covers alone. But last night it happened over and over and over all night. And what was worse, if you were not bundled up it REALLY felt cold in the bedroom. Finally about 5:30 I got up and found out our furnace had stopped working.

Can you say "Brrrrrr?"

Oh yeah, and I got some family pics in Email and I want you to look upon the blogger face of the future!

You know what I did today?

Stayed inside where it is cool! Sheesh it was 107 degrees in the shade. I had thought about mowing the yard this weekend, but with this heat, all I would do is damage the lawn. It can grow a bit more. It wont grow too much in this searing heat.

I had Jr go around the house and take all the hanging flower pots down and store them for the year. My typical summer schedule is I get flowers looking real nice and the house is very cute and inviting. Then I go to a conference while it is very hot and Jr somehow forgets the flowers need to be watered everyday. I suspect he also forgets daily requirements for the caring for the dogs, brushing his teeth and possibly clean underwear. I do the best I can as a parent, but I can't always be there to make sure he lives up to his responisibilities. But I can certainly point out how not living up to them caused death and destruction. ....to flowers.

I did see the first quarter of the FIRST Preseason game of the NFL!! Jason Campbell started for Washington and they looked pretty good. Payton was not there for the Colts. What was impressive was for the first game, actually a week early for Preseason... Neither team made a single penalty for the entire first quarter. Joe Gibbs is a genius and he turned that team around in Washington. It's a shame he felt like he retired as a has-been. I don't enjoy his style of play, and I never rooted for his players, but he is one hell of a coach.

A friend of mine told me before church that he went to see the new Mummy movie. He said it was really good if you are going for the old escapism type flick, kind of like the second Indiana Jones movie. He also agreed the new Batman movie was the best superhero movie ever made, but he did not really agree it was the best movie ever. He never said, but I suspect any logical mind would see it would take a really awesome movie to knock Tremmors off the throne of Greatest Movie Ever Made.