Thursday. Road Trip!

We went traveling today.  We went to Claremore, which is NE of us.  It's a small town, but not as small as it appears.  Several antique/junk/fun stores.  Otter found a couple of books.  I found Fenton, and lots of it.  8 pieces, $4.12 each is what the price worked out to when I figured out what I spent for all of it.  One is a piece I already have, it's a small vase and I was looking for another one so I'd have a matching set.  The rest are all new-to-me pieces.  Bill didn't find anything today, but it's not for lack of trying.

We did go to one thrift store, Goodwill, and Otter found two books there.  We also had lunch in Claremore, at Golden Corral.  It was ok, the food was good, but the restaurant itself was not spectacular.  But considering the size of the town, it was probably about right.

Toadles, when I texted you about being on Route 66, we were heading for the Goodwill.  Most of the stores were just off of Route 66.  They make a big thing about it in Claremore.  If you ever come see me again, we will probably head that way - you too, Froggy!

There is also a yarn store in Claremore.  I was less than impressed.  Very small, tucked in the back of a shopping center and the only sign is the one above the door.  We only found it because I'd already seen their website and knew the address.  There wasn't a lot of yarn and very little variety.  Mostly, what they had was available at Hobby Lobby and WalMart and since the staff was not at all welcoming, I think that people in the area are probably going to go a couple more miles down the road to Wallyworld.  I would!  But I already had yarn on hand, I had a project I was working on in the car.

One of the places we shopped at was actually east of Claremore, probably about 10 miles or maybe a little less.

It was a fun trip.  But now we are tired and going to stay inside for the rest of the day, since it's another S. TEXAS weather day.

Wednesday. I'm Whining.

It's Wednesday and this time, I actually have something to whine about.

I lost one of the pearls in my engagement ring.  I'm not sure exactly where or when, but I think it was possibly at home.  Bill wanted to go to a hardware store, so I went with him and then we went to Office Depot.  After that, we came home and goofed off for a while before Otter and I headed out for some shopping.  Otter and I were on our way when I noticed that the pearl was missing from the ring.  I think I would have noticed it before, since I was driving during the errands with Bill but Otter was driving when I noticed it missing so I'm not actually sure when it fell out.  We looked in the car, I looked in my purse and we didn't find it anywhere.  When we got home, I looked in assorted places but haven't found it yet.  It was loose, it had been rolling in the setting and I vaguely remember catching my ring on something yesterday which is probably when the setting loosened up.  I'll keep looking, but I'm probably going to have to replace it.  At the moment, I'm not wearing the ring.  Just my wedding band and anniversary band that Bill gave me when we hit 10 years.

Otter and I had a fun shopping trip.  We went to a couple of antique/junk/craft stores, Office Depot again and Michael's.  She bought several things, but all I bought today was lunch!  And a couple of things at the grocery store.

We might have a shopping/exploration ramble tomorrow or Friday.  To be determined tomorrow or Friday!

Thrifty Tuesday

Otter and I decided that today was a good day to go thrifting.  We had an unexpected thunderstorm with lots and lots of rain, so we didn't get quite as early a start as we planned.  It was still raining when we left, but the bulk of it was over so it wasn't a bad drive.  Just a wet one!

Among other things, we went to four thrift stores today.  Otter found something at each of them, I don't think that anything we bought was actually for me but that's ok.  I'm still happy over my Coach find yesterday.  We also went to the mall - to Teavana for Otter, and to Subway for lunch.  We had a stop at the library in there as well.  And we had one other stop, Braum's, and they had the one thing we always want but hardly ever find:  a Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream Pie.  They only had one left, they go fast.  Needless to say, it came home with us.

One of the things we bought today was a pressure cooker.  For Bill.  He has one that he uses in his casting process, but it's a little smaller than he needs for some of the parts.  The one I found today is bigger.  I'm still looking for an actual canner for him to use but no luck yet.

Otter and I also went to the yarn store, where she found some yarn for a new scarf & hat.  It's the same company as the yarn I got last summer in SA, Froggy.  It's hard to find.  I have a couple of projects (including your sock monkey hat), then I'm going to get her scarf and hat combo in the new yarn done.  I thought I'd be through with Otter's sock monkey hat by now, but I had a couple of things come up so I haven't had a chance to finish it up.  All it needs now is to have the mouth, ears and button eyes attached.  Which won't take me too long, when I can actually sit down and do it!

One benefit of this morning's rain is that it's not so hot today.  It's extremely humid, so it's not exactly pleasant outside.  It's just not as warm as yesterday.  But tomorrow is supposed to be a hot, dry day and so is Thursday.  I'm not sure about Friday or the weekend.  But today's rain was good, as long as it lasted.  I just wish it wasn't so icky outside, I could use some deck time.  Maybe later, probably in the morning.  I did get some deck time this morning before the rain started.  Just not enough!

When Did NE OK Turn Into S TEXAS?

It hit 104 today.  In a neighboring town, it hit 105.  We're very close to the neighboring town (less than 1/2 mile), so I think we were probably about 105 as well.

It's hot enough to even make a TEXAN yell uncle!  Or at least keep the a/c cranked.  The dogs have spent most of their day snoozing, which is normal, but they've been even less active today.  Although Maggie did have a spell of playing with one of her tug toys this afternoon.  But mostly, they've been sleeping.  And haunting the kitchen, since we made pizza with the bread machine for dinner tonight (and tomorrow lunch).

It was nice this morning, mid-80's.  I watered all the plants well since it was already getting warm, then Bill and I both worked out in the garage for a couple of hours.  I got my workbench & shelf cleaned off and organized (again).  Bill did a lot of things that involved noise, I think he was casting parts for the pachinko machines and he also was working on stripping the varnish off the desk we got at a yardsale a month or so back.  We also took my car for an oil change, then when it was ready we took the White Lightning and left it for it's turn.  Somewhere in there, it got hot.  Really hot.  It got to somewhere around 108 in the state today.

We're used to it, but we don't have to like it!

However, Otter and I did have some much needed Girl Time:  we went shopping!  Specifically, we went thrifting.  We went to the library first, then had some stuff to donate to Goodwill and since we were already there, we had to go inside and see what we could find.  I mean, really, we couldn't have just dropped of our stuff and left.  That wouldn't have been polite to all the nice people who work there, and we just couldn't be rude.  So we shopped. :)

I made what is probably my major find for the year at Goodwill today, in fact.  For $15.00, I found a genuine Coach purse.  It's green suede, which is really what I wanted - I don't really like the purses with all the big C's on them, they look kind of gaudy to me.  I've always liked the more understated ones, and leather is always a big draw.  For a leather purse, $15.00 was a great deal.  But for a genuine, honest to goodness, real Coach bag - $15.00 is practically free!  I showed it to Otter and the first thing out of her mouth was "you are going to buy it, right?  Because you have to, you know."  I did not disagree with her!  Coach purses are very expensive, but they are also worth it because they are extremely well-made and last for years and years.  They run several hundred dollars, new and even the used ones can be a few hundred.  They are also frequently counterfieted, so I've educated myself on what to look for and have seen several at thrift stores that are fakes.  But this one isn't, it's the real deal and I'm very happy with it.

Tomorrow, we're going to take some stuff to the Salvation Army to donate.  I'm sure we'll shop there as well.  But I don't expect to find another spectacular deal like today's.

Day one of vacation has been a good day!

Sunday Pillows

Actually, it should be pillow cases because that is the latest sewing project we have.  I told Bill that we needed new ones, which we do - badly.  Bill said that they would be cheaper to make, which I know isn't right.  So Otter and I went to the fabric store for material for pillow cases.  The cheapest cotton fabric I could find was $4.99/yard and it takes 1 1/2 yards per pillow case.  Do the math, and it comes out to $7.49 per pillow case and would be a little more if I had to buy thread.  Next time, I'm just going to go buy some new ones!  Because Bill is allergic to polyester, it has to be 100% cotton fabric but I don't think poly/cotton or another blend would have been any cheaper anyway.

Otter's going to do the actual sewing for me, she wants the practice although they should be fairly easy as they are just straight seams.  But she likes to sew and hasn't had anything to sew lately, so she's happy.

Froggy, the sock monkey hat came out perfectly!  It's adorable.  Or will be, as soon as I get all the pieces attached.  Among other things, we had to go buy buttons to use as the eyes.  As soon as it's all together, I'll post pictures on the craft blog.  And then I'll get started on yours.  It's really cute.  I don't really like to sell my creations, but I might sell this one because I have a feeling it's going to get noticed a lot.

I had to get a new cell phone Friday.  The one I had was having problems charging and the service tech said it was the charging port.  They had to order me a new one, it came in Friday and it seems to be working ok.  Same number, same phone.  But I had to reset my ring tones and the pictures I had on the other one did not transfer, so I'm having to take new pictures to assign to my contacts.  Otter was happy to pose for me again, she always is happy for an excuse to wear her cat ears!

It's not exactly a lazy Sunday, but it's not a busy one either.  I am doing laundry, but that's a necessity.  Bill's working on a pachinko refurbish (it's a commission job for someone), but mostly we're just hanging around the house and doing whatever.  I'm sure the dogsters are sleeping, that seems to be what they do best.  Otter was in her room while ago, she might be playing Wii or watching a movie.  I'm going to play around on the internet for a while, then I think I'll go assemble a sock monkey hat.  And probably start on the next one.

I may post a lot this week, or I might not.  It just depends!  Mostly, we're just looking forward to not having to get up at 5:00 a.m.!

A Friday Funny From Otter

(I have a guest poster today)

Reasons why Batman is better than Superman

1.  Bats has had more girlfriends (Silver St. Cloud, Talia Al Ghul, Selina Kyle/Catwoman…)
2.  Bats has better villands (Lex Luthor vs the Joker? Joker wins HANDS DOWN)
3.  Bats doesn’t need powers to kick anybody’s butt.
4.  Gadgets!
5.  Bats has a real secret identity, not some silly glasses and spit-curl
6.  Bats has a secret warehouse full of kryptonite
7.  Better costume
8.  Bats has better sidekicks (we are temporarily ignoring Jason)
9.  Two words: Fallen Heroes!! (ie: Jason)
10. How many times has Bats come back from the dead? Too many to count! Supes? Once.
11. Bats has had more (and better) movies

(As you can tell, she is her mother's daughter!).

One To Go!

One work day left, then we are on vacation!

Usually, we take the first week of July.  But Bill couldn't get the first week approved, so he asked for the last week of June instead.  He works for a school district and they have things scheduled during the summer when the kids are not in the schools, the summer is actually a fairly busy time for non-teacher staff of school districts.  It actually is going to work out better, because the original plan was Monday as a holiday and 4 days of vacation.  But since we're taking the week prior to July 4th, we'll actually have one more day off than normal since the holiday is on a Monday this year.

Small miracles, but I'm happy about it.  I desperately need a vacation!  We still will be getting up around the same time in the mornings, the dogs have this strange idea that they need to be fed on a regular basis.  We just won't have to hurry breakfast and go to work.  I intend to spend several mornings on the deck with my coffee cup.  Depending on the weather, that is!  Although I think it's supposed to be dry.  Just hot!

We are probably going to head out on one of our exploration/shopping rambles one day next week.  We have a couple of choices, we just haven't decided for sure which direction or which day.  Well, we think we know which direction we're going.  We just aren't certain of the day yet.  The only thing that is definite one day next week is that I'm taking my car for an oil change Monday morning and possibly Bill is taking the White Lightning in for one as well.  IF he can get it started, that is.  The El Camino has been sitting in the driveway for a while, the battery was dead when he tried to start it so he took the battery to get checked.  and it tested as good.  So he thought maybe it was another problem, but it turned out that the radio he installed in the White Lightning a while back has a clock that was sucking all the juice out of the battery!  He bought a solar charger, which is basically a solar panel that sits inside the car on the dashboard and it's slowly charging the battery up.  Neat gadget!

The rest of the week is deliberately unplanned.  Last year, I went to TEXAS and spent the week with Froggy.  Then, we went to TEXAS for Thanksgiving and I used my remaining vacation days at Christmas like I usually do.  This year, nobody is in the mood to go anywhere very far so we're just going to hang around the house and do whatever.  I might take Otter to a movie, or she might get together with one of her friends.  Bill's going to take advantage of the free time and work on his pachinko machines.  Oh, and we'll get a few fireworks!  And probably make homemade pizza one day.  Since we'll be home, Otter and I will be cooking more than normal (by choice, we both enjoy it).  We went to the grocery store today and bought pizza fixins.  (Remember, we Texans have our own language and fixins is an officially recognized TEXAS word with multiple meanings).

I haven't had any crochet time at all this week.  That's not a good thing.  Just ask Bill! :)  I'm going to remedy that situation as much as possible next week.  I had been thinking about entering something in the State Fair but I think I've changed my mind.  I have done a couple of commissioned items for a price, and realized that I don't really enjoy it as a "business."  The last thing I want is for my crochet to become work.  So I probably won't submit anything this year.

I'm just glad that tomorrow is (finally) Friday.  It's been a long week!

UNDER GOD!

Sunday Thrifting

I want one:

Something no self-respecting Star Trek Geek should be without

And one of these would be just fine:

Anybody care to guess what it is?  (Hint:  It's not what it looks like).

Bill survived the Big Birthday.  We had his b-day dinner Friday night, he chose fajitas which I picked up on the way home.  El Chico really makes good food, their fajitas are so good.  Otter made him a pineapple upside-down cake yesterday, I think that there might still be some left...  For Father's Day, we're making buffalo burgers with oven fries and are going to make ice cream this evening.

Bill does not generally get one big present, they are separate days and should both be observed.  However, he wanted pachinko $$ this year so that's what he got.  I know all about combination gifts and frankly, they suck.  Most of the time.  So I usually don't give combination presents, unless specifically requested.

Otter and I went to a couple of thrift stores this afternoon.  She found a few things.  I found a few things.  So it was a happy trip.  I'd been wanting a large, cast-iron pot to plant cactus in but decided that they were just too big and heavy as I wouldn't be leaving it outside during the winter.  I found a small one at a thrift store today and it even had the lid with it.  I have a cactus that needs a place to be transplanted and now it's going to have a home.

We probably would have gone thrifting anyway today, but Otter was in serious need of shopping therapy.  She and BF broke up last weekend.  Well, he actually broke it off (by text), changed his mind and then went kind of stalker-ish on her when she didn't want to get back together.  It was an interesting week, to say the least!  At any rate, she's not in a hurry to find another boyfriend right now.  (She's fine, by the way).  She had been thinking that it might be time to break up with him anyway, she said he was getting way too serious about her and that it was making her uncomfortable.  It was just tacky the way he did it, and everything else he did/said/threatened to do this week just kind of made it weird.

We went to Lowe's after church this morning, Otter got several plants including peppermint, spearmint and a bell pepper.  I got several flowering plants including two lantanas and a few other things.  I have one small lantana on the back deck and the hummingbirds love it.  The jalepeno plants seemed to have stopped producing, but they are putting out blooms again.  We've gotten a few peppers from them but not too many.  And the bluebonnet is doing well, it's a little tall but it's surviving.  It has one bloom and possibly another bud starting.  Otter took a couple of pictures for me yesterday but I haven't gotten them uploaded yet.

Froggy, I started your swiffer cover yesterday!  I had another project I had to get done first, Otter requested a scarf and hat for a friend of her's who is having a birthday party next week.  They are both done, but we still need to get the scarf fringed.  After I get your swiffer cover finished, I'm going to start on Otter's next hat:  it's a sock monkey hat!  I had started one for her earlier based on a pattern I downloaded, but the pattern was for a child-sized hat although it was advertised as a larger size.  I frogged it out, it was just a few rows anyway and am going to use the hat pattern I normally make.  What makes it a sock monkey is the colors used and the face/ears being attached.

Oh, the picture at the top?  While it does look like a miniature hippo, it's actually a hairless guinea pig!

Happy Father's Day!

To all the Dads out there.

Rhyming Words

As opposed to whining words, because it's not Wednesday!

Anyway.  Rhymes.  Well, I've seen "Lordy" paired with "Forty", "Hill" rhymes with "Bill" (and so does "Pill"!).

But I have an even better word pair!  Rhymes with "Nifty".  Starts with an "F".

And it's about Bill. :)

Saturday starts the 6 month period where I'll be married to an older man.  I'm 49, if that helps you figure it out.

Just sayin'.

Sunday School

Today's title brought to you courtesy of Otter and Bill.  He's setting up a Facebook page for the pachinko business and that means that he had to ask the resident teenager for help. :)  He hasn't gotten it completely set up yet, but he'll eventually get there.

I took the bird nest out of my planter this afternoon.  Among other things, it had yarn in it.  That means that Mama Bird visited the back yard, where I toss out stray bits of yarn for the birds to use.  I guess it works!

Otter and I went to the library this afternoon.  We went a few days ago and still had some books left, but we always need more.  We had discussed thrifting, but we just never quite got there.  Probably this week sometime.  I have a bunch of stuff to donate, I started cleaning out/off my shelves in the garage by my workbench this morning.  I was going to work on that when we're on vacation (at home this time) in a couple of weeks, but I was looking for something and found a few things I don't want anymore so they are now in the donate pile.  Among other things, I found my other hummingbird feeders which I though had been thrown out or donated but they were just hiding.  I don't really think there is all that much to get rid of on the shelves, mostly I think it just needs to be organized (which includes taking all Bill's junk off of my shelves & workbench!).

Funny Frasier story:  When Nana was visiting for Otter's graduation, we watched a movie on dvd one of the days she was here.  Arsenic and Old Lace, really funny movie.  Anyway, Frasier was having a nap in the middle of the living room floor (common occurance).  At one point in the movie, somebody is walking through a dark room and apparently he steps on a cat. which yowls.  It must have scared the dog, because he jumped straight up in the air (still in his curled up position), came down on all 4 feet and flew out of the room as fast as he could!  He wasn't chasing the cat, either.  He was running from it!  Goofy, goosey dog.  If it's possible for dogs to be embarassed, I'm sure he was.  He stayed outside for a long time after that.

As I mentioned, we're going to be on vacation in 2 weeks.  We are not going anywhere this time, we are going to stay home and do whatever.  I'm thinking that Otter and I will probably take a day to go thrifting and antiquing, Billyboy may go with us as well.  But we don't have any specific plans, aside from possibly redoing Otter's dollhouse before storing it properly.  Mostly, I'm just looking forward to not having to get up before dawn!  Well, unless Frasier and Maggie want to be fed on time that is.

Wednesday's W(h)ining

I don't really have anything to whine about today, I just love this picture!  And since it is Wednesday, and I went to Wine Wednesday at the liquor store, I thought it was a good day to post it.

We're empty-nesters.  Our babies have flown!  We thought that they were on the verge of flying yesterday, when I went to pick Otter and BF up from the movie they saw Mama Bird was in the tree near the porch and chirping.  The babies were all aimed in her direction, but they hadn't figured it out at that point.  This morning, they are all gone.  Sometimes birds will raise more than one family per year and they will sometimes come back to the same nest, so we are not cleaning it out yet.  Although somebody has got to get out there with the broom, the porch is covered in "evidence!"

Otter and I washed the El Camino this afternoon.  It's just been sitting in the driveway, I'm not sure how long it's been since Billyboy actually drove the White Lightning.  But the battery is dead as in doornail!  I was going to move it to the middle of the front yard so we could water the lawn at the same time, but it wasn't going anywhere.  So the driveway got wet instead!  But the car is now white again, and not red from the dust from the storms a couple of weeks back.  We might wash Bill's impala this weekend, we won't have time the next couple of days.  But it did get hosed off, so it's at least a little less dusty now.

The backyard bluebonnet definetely has a bud.  Otter's jalepeno plants are really producing, she's harvested one pepper and there are several more but they are still too small yet.  Not for long, though.  The plants are not big, but they are loaded with blooms and tiny peppers.  Well, good things come in small packages and we'll eat them any size!

To Remember and Be Grateful

June 6, 1944

Sunday Summer

It's not officially Summer for a few more weeks.  But it's warm here and it feels like Summer.  Bill's atomic clock shows that it's over 100 degrees, when I called the local Time & Temperature phone recording it said that it was right at 100 degrees.

Which to a Texan means that it's time to make chili!  So, I did.  One of these days, I really should measure the amount of chili powder I put in.  I was guessing that it was at least half a cup, but I think it's closer to 3/4 of a cup in actuality.  Bill put a chopped jalepeno in his, along with a large helping of picante sauce (real Texans only use Pace!).  It was pretty good.

Otter's jalpenos are probably going to be harvested soon, there are at least a few that are ready.  They look really good.

The morning glories are doing ok, but not the best.  They have come up and seem to be growing, but they are not growing nearly as fast as they usually do and they are not nearly as thick as they should be.  We are wondering if maybe the problem that came along with last year's seeds might still be affecting them?  We are probably going to plant honeysuckle along the back fence, since the morning glories out there seem to be the weakest.  But that might also be for another reason, Bill thinks that the builder(s) in the area behind us might have sprayed something to keep weeds down not too long ago.  The morning glories were starting to come up really well, until then.

I took a certain big, furry dog out in the back yard a couple of hours ago.  Along with his brush.  He really likes to be brushed out, he more or less melted at my feet when I started it.  It resembles a Tribble factory in my back yard!  Frasier looks much sleeker but he's still leaving a cloud of fur in his wake.  I keep thinking that I'm going to see bald spots, but not yet.  Maggie Moo likes a good brushing as well, but she doesn't shed much so her brushing out was just for fun.  She purrs when she's happy, she could probably be heard 500 miles from here when she was getting brushed.

Baby bird report:  We still have several little beaks in the nest on the front porch.  They have opened their eyes and are beginning to look more like actual birds now, instead of little mutants.  We haven't attempted to take any more pictures lately, so I don't know how far they are in terms of feathers.  But they look like they've grown quite a bit.  Mama bird seems to be constantly bringing food, but she's got 4 mouths to feed and there is only one of her so she's a tad bit busy.

The bullfrog that lives in the dog yard is still out there.  He usually haunts their water dish, but I've also seen him around the rain barrel.  He sometimes hops out of their yard and he was hopping around the side of the deck yesterday.  He's a big, fat one and we hope he stays.  We've seen a few 'skeeters lately, so frogs are always welcome!  There's a slightly smaller one that lives in the front yard, I see him up on the porch sometimes.  He lives under the hosta plants, as far as we can tell.

Otter is off with BF today, for their standing Sunday date.  I was going to an antique store, but changed my mind.  Instead, I've been home and doing stuff around the house.  I cooked a few things to put in the freezer for Billyboy's lunches this week, got my laundry done (yuck!), read the paper, de-furred the dogs and so forth.  I might go take my book and head out to the back deck.  I happen to like this weather, it's not hot enough that I don't want to be outside yet.  But even when it does get too hot to stay outside, I did grow up with it after all.  Before too long, I'm going to start hearing how it's so hot here.  But it's really not! :)

Just a Few Quick Thoughts on a Saturday Night

To start with, my arms are sore and my shoulders are stiff.  Fingers are kind of ouchy as well.  That's what happens when I crochet all day (literally all day).  I finished the green cap I was working on yesterday, and decided to start on the next cap/scarf set this morning.  I started with the cap first, and it went so fast that I decided to at least get a start on the scarf.  It was going well, and I just never stopped until I was finished.  I'm going to pay for it tonight, I know.  And probably tomorrow as well!  But it was so worth it, I'll probably take a couple of motrin tonight and I'll have stiff shoulders tomorrow.  But I'll deal with it.  I just probably won't pick up a crochet hook for a couple of days, however!  (It was still fun!).

That makes 5 sets I've made for the military family donation.  I'll probably put that project aside for a while and work on a couple of other things, then get back to it again soon.

It's been pretty warm here the last few days.  Low to mid-90's, which isn't really hot yet.  It's just that we went from cold/wet/windy to Summer without the in-between phase.  We've spent a lot of time out on the back deck lately, enjoying the warm weather.  Today, when I wasn't crocheting madly, I sat out there with Bill and the dogsters (Otter was napping on the couch) for a while and it was really nice.  We have 4 hummingbirds which we watched for a while today.

Otter's jalepeno crop is coming along.  The plants are not tall, probably because the weather was just too cool and wet when they needed heat, but they are healthy and are beginning to produce fruit.  Her Rosemary plant is also growing well.  And so is the surprise bluebonnet I discovered growing two weeks ago, in the front of the whiskey barrel.  That's not the same one I found out there previously, this one is another one entirely.  It's been transplanted to a pot on the back deck and after a rough start, it seems to be flourishing.  It got moved instead of being left where it naturally came up because the LAST ONE WAS STOLEN OUT OF THE FRONT YARD EARLY ONE MORNING.  Some heathen dug it up, the entire plant.  (Yes, I realize that not everyone will realize just what they are without at least some Texan in the bloodline.)

What else did I want to talk about?  Oh, yeah.  jack kevorkian died.  (No capitals on purpose).  In case anybody doesn't already know our family opinion of him - life is precious.  It is not given to us to be destroyed.  Born and unborn, all are precious gifts from God and no one has the right to take it from us.  To assist someone in suicide is to commit murder.  He could well have been a serial killer.  He was at the very least a multiple murderer.

On that note, goodnight!  I'm going to take those motrin and head for bed in a few minutes.

Hurricanes

Even after 18 years in Tornado Alley, I'd still prefer a hurricane to a twister!  That comes from growing up in S. TEXAS.  Hot weather?  Don't particularly care for it, but it's pretty much normal for me.  Summer storms?  Rare rains?  Ditto.  Warm Christmas?  Been there, done that many times.

Hurricanes are bad storms and they can be devastating. They are the kind of storms I grew up with, although in San Antonio we were far enough from the coast that (for the most part) when they got that far inland they were "just" bad storms and seldom had tornadic winds.  Along the coast and near-inland, they could be tornadic and were terrible.

One of the highlights was always the storm names for each year.  Some years, there were some real humdingers**.  Bill's still thrilled that both Bill and William have been on the name list in the recent past.  Here's this year's list:

2011 Atlantic Hurricane Names


Arlene
Bret
Cindy
Don
Emily
Franklin
Gert
Harvey
Irene
Jose
Katia
Lee
Maria
Nate
Ophelia
Philippe
Rina
Sean
Tammy
Vince
Whitney

I see a few names of interest.

**Humdinger may well be a Texan language word, I'm not sure.  It means big, major, extreme and words to that effect.