Day Fifty Seven...

THE TWENTY SIXTH OF TWENTY EIGHT THINGS I SEE BETWEEN MY HOUSE AND THE HIGHWAY...in no particular order...

This is always a really great way to start the day. Unfortunately, these sunrises are fleeting, and they are gone before you know it. It gives you a great reason, though, to just stop for a few minutes, and behold the beauty. Living in the country gives you plenty of opportunities to see beauty, much more than when we lived in the middle of Austin. There is beauty all over our country and the world, you just have to be able to recognize it. I think that is probably the same with people...most of us do a lot of good things for other people and for each other, we just need to be re-trained to be able to recognize the good that others people have within themselves and within ourselves as well.

Yesterday was an incredibly warm day in central Texas at the end of February. The temperatures all around were in the 80's and there were some reports of low 90's. When I got up this morning, the temperature on the nuclear thermometer was registering a balmy 66 degrees. I am really concerned that we will have a scorcher of a summer, and the drought continues. I was speaking with a gentleman yesterday about coming out and applying some fertilizer and weed control to the pastures, and he said we would get rain again. I think that was a pretty safe statement make, but I would like a little bit tighter scenario, like when and how much. We are all just about to turn into dust and blow away. People are really having issues getting hay to feed the cattle, and that makes the prices of everything go up. If you know any good rain dances, we would appreciate it if you could send some our way.

The black cat (Little Bit Rudd) is making good progress recovering from her surgery. I went into her casa last night and she sat up for a minute and looked at me, and then she literally collapsed and went back to sleep. I had a personal flashback to the early 70's and got just a little bit nostalgic. Ah, to be carefree and on downers, pretty cool, man! The big boy dog (Bear) is just tolerating all of it. Every now and then he has a bit of insecurity, but he gets a good head-rub or some really good petting, and then he goes back over to his bed and curls up. A big dog in a house with two really small cats and he is just kind of the big lummox in the group. Very friendly, but really not concerned with the whole thing. I think he likes his forever family with us. We like him a lot, and we think we were really lucky to adopt such a happy boy dog.

Well, another good day at the office, AND it was meals-on-wheels today (always on Thursdays). I got a good bit of work done on my class preparation, and I am now up to lunch on the first day. Tomorrow I will try to get through the afternoon break on the first day, and if I can, I will be right on schedule for my preparations. I had nine folks on my meals-on-wheels route today, and even the ones that I did not really care too much for in the past are getting to where I like visiting with them. It is interesting how people can come and go. We are truly a mobile society. I wonder sometimes what happens to folks I have been dealing with for years, and then all of a sudden they disappear. Into thin air. Odd.

Okay the little black cat (Ms. Little Bit Rudd) is recovering nicely, but she is still feeling the effects of the surgery and the drugs. Pretty much sleeping all day long (is that the drugs or is that just what cats do?). And when you go to pet her (which she likes very much) she rolls over on her back to show off her stitches and her really cute shaved tummy. She is a darling little kitty. All the people at the vet commented on how sweet she is. Jody said the vet said she was about 10 months old. I expect she will stay inside much more now that she has come back. She has not shown any interest in going outside, and she did enjoy climbing up on the roof and acting like she was a damsel in distress and that she could not get down. Oh, help me, help me...

Today is my friend Tracy R's birthday, and I gave her a call on my way home from work. She is a laugh riot, and a really nice woman. Happy Birthday to you again, sweet lady. She said today was the tenth anniversary of her 26th birthday. Have fun.

Jody fixed meatloaf for dinner tonight...plus mashed potatoes and green beans. Yummy. And the kitchen clean up was not too bad. Jody cooks, I clean. That is the deal. So, I suggest that if you get invited over to someones house for dinner tonight, there are two rules you should follow: Never ask what they are having before you accept the invitation...what is the deal, are you going to hold out for a better invitation? Either yes I would love to or no I cannot make it will be sufficient. Secondly, always help with the kitchen clean-up. It is only polite to try to help, after all they did cook the meal.