2015 - Day 273/92 - Wednesday...

Here we are, the last day of September already, and I can hardly comprehend where the time has gone, but already there are plans being made for the NEW YEAR. Crazy! Jody made smothered pork chops for dinner tonight, he got the recipe from one of the AARP magazines, and it is Miss Kay's (the Duck Dynasty matriarch) recipe. Not sure if you could substitute duck for the pork chops, in the event that you were running low on pork, but it was certainly a tasty dinner. And the girl dog lucked out in two ways; there were some bits of pork and gravy for her to lap up, AND she got to go out in her yard and chew up a bone (it took only a few minutes). She is probably the chewingest girl dog we have ever had, and we encourage her with another chew toy every time we set foot in HEB, Tractor Supply or Joske's. I have had Joske's on the brain lately.

Otherwise, it was a good day for the last day of the third quarter. We shall see what the fourth quarter brings, but I expect it will be good.

Deeds, Actions, Change, PORK, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2015 - Day 272/93 - Tuesday...

I am posting this perfectly idyllic photo to make all of you (gentle readers) that I had a wonderful, glorious day. My day did not suck, but it could have been a little bit better. There could have been fewer wrecks on my inbound commute. There could have been fewer idiots calling me on my variety of electronic messaging devices. I just found out that Facebook is going to start charging me $100 a day to subscribe to their product, and they are going to send all my personal information (including the credit card number I provided for their service fee) to Putin, the bare-chested little short-shit in Russia. Did you know the Pope is not really Catholic. It was in the Enquirer. This just in, wild bears DO NOT shit in the woods. Who knew? According to building Alaska (24 hours a day on HGTV), wild bears actually prefer to knock down doors of log cabins looking for Slim Jim's left laying about willy-nilly, and as long as they are in there, they will seize on the opportunity to shit in the middle of the bed. It was on HGTV for (enter the deity of your choice) sake. Lucille Ball was not really married to Desi Arnaz. Matt Dillon threw Miss Kitty over for Festus. Andy was not really from Mayberry, and Gomer went AWOL in the second season. Jackie Gleason was not fat, he was wearing a prosthetic as a ratings gimmick. The June Taylor Dancers were really organized by a guy named George, and speaking of people named George, George of the Jungle was really from Bakersfield. Back in the early twentieth century, the work week was only three days long and they work day lasted from 10 am until 2 pm. Roosevelt screwed that all up to get his social services programs going, so we could all have to wait until 70 before we could retire with full benefits. And don't get me started about Eleanor. Donald Trump is one ugly-mutha. That is obvious to everyone. That is a whole bunch of ugly if you ask me.

So, just shut up, enjoy the pretty cloud photo, and post really cool photos on Facebook while you still can.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, MIRAGES, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2015 - Day 271/94 - Monday...

If you had been sitting in my office most of the day today, and if you had grown up in southeast Michigan or northeast Ohio, you would have worn it was a wintry December day. Gray, cloudy and overcast skies (is it grey or gray, or does it matter?), it just looked like it was going to snow at any minute. It reminded me of the beginning of pheasant season; no snow yet, but definitely fall and bitingly cold. But, alas, it was not, and the gray/grey skies that seemed to hold promise that we would receive a little bit of rain, were nothing more than teasing liars. AND, it seems that we are out of luck for rain in the near term. This El Nino crap they are talking about is just another way of getting us to focus on the song-range as opposed to the immediate need for cooler temps and water from the skies. And, I have just guaranteed that when (and if) the El Nino pattern does overwhelm us with rain for more than one day at a time, we will have plenty to complain about. We like complaining, and I think I will just 'unfriend' it when (and if) it does show up in central Texas.
ay

Other than that, it was a pretty good day here in central Texas, I actually remembered most of the things that needed to be done, and if I did not remember something, I am certain someone will remind me that it needs to be accomplished.

The week is setting itself up to be a busy one, and that is good. Better than nothing to do.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, NO RAIN, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2015 - Day 270/95 - Sunday...

As predicted, I made a few small accomplishments today. I did cut AT some grass (small selected sections of the yards) particularly the girl dogs fenced in area, and some of the taller weeded portions at the front closer to the road. Makes it much easier to gather eggs (when the girls are cooperating which they do not seem to be doing right now). I did take a count of the girls the other night, just to make sure we had not been over run by some sort of predator. Still 23 girls, but we are only getting one or two eggs per day. They are molting to beat the band however, if you ever wanted to see what zombie chickens look like, you should come out and take a look at these. Pitiful, pitiful, pitiful, bless their hearts. The morning glories are still surviving though, and I have to give them credit, they are doing better than I would have suspected. We have recorded 0.61" in the rain gauge this month, and that is not conducive to a great morning glory showing. Pitiful, pitiful, pitiful, bless their hearts.

The bad shot dove hunters are still at it, although not with all the gusto they were showing earlier in the season. I need to try and determine when the season ends. One moment please...it runs from September 1st until October 25th (holy crap another month of dodging shotgun pellets) and again from December 18th until January 1st. The fact that we have instituted a dove free shooting zone on our property was in evidence this afternoon, there was a dove hanging out with the chickens close to the bamboo. The bamboo provides them all some shelter from other, less well equipped predators. Even though they have less lethal manufactured weapons at their disposal, I think the natural predators are more cunning and (probably) more targeted in their hunting. Maybe more lethal to the unknowing birds a well. I know for sure that the girl cat gets herself a bird or bunny occasionally, but that is just how it is out her on the edge of nowhere.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, FLORA AND F, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

AUNA

2015 - Day 269/96 - Saturday...

So, the girl dog had an appointment at the beautiful parlor this morning, and the first thing she asked me when I went to pick her up was "Does this haircut make me look fat?". Honestly, I don't think it is the haircut, but there was no way I was going to go with that, so I just bought her a hot fudge sundae on the way home and she seems to have forgotten about the whole thing.

The Saturdays of recent memory are like a broken record in the world of journalizing. Sleep late, take a nap, avoid work at all costs, take another nap, try not to work up a sweat avoiding work, take another nap. That pretty much sums up the whole day, although there were a couple other errands thrown in to the mix, but over all, it was a pretty un-accomplishing type of day.

Tomorrow is a different story, there is grass to be cut, this and that to get accomplished, and I will let you know how all that works out later.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, HAIRCUTS, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2015 - Day 268/97 - Friday...

Last night, I threatened you with a diatribe about the semicolon (one word). But I decided that was boring, even the bits about the popular semicolon tattoo that seems to be the latest rage for self-help. I direct you to The Googles if you want more information about that. Another friend Jon noted that after semicolons, he would be waiting (allegedly with fish in his mouth) for the next missive to concern itself with my period. Well, you really do not want me to discuss that, it could go on and on. There was also a bit of rain today (not here on the edge of nowhere), but there was rain on my car and my windshield wipers did have to function for four or five miles on the commute home this afternoon. Nope, I did not even feel that my signature Monet-esque raindrops through the windshield photo was appropriate for this entry. This entry is making note of the girl dog using me as a cushion for her feet, so she can see above the great unwashed to view the great expanses of expanses here on the edge of nowhere. She is very pleased to use me as a stepping stool for her viewing pleasure, and I am generally more than happy to accommodate her viewing needs. BUT, she is (as reported earlier) heavier than she looks.

Cute, but not that light, not like a feather pillow.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, GIRL DOG, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2015 - Day 267/98 - Thursday...

I have to tell you, as far as I am concerned, the jury is still out on the Oxford Comma. I was doing just fine (journalistically) until my friend Jonathan started to correct my grammar and otherwise question my authority as a blogger...Oxford Comma, Smoxford Comma. Blah, blah, blah. It brings back (bad) memories of being corrected about how many spaces to put after a period. I am almost to the point where I can leave only one space after a period and have it feel somewhat natural, sort of acceptable, sort of... But this Oxford Comma crap has got me going cray cray. The freaking comma itself cannot even determine what it wants to call itself (see a journal entry a while back about the same problem my brother had deciding on what name he wanted to be called). The Oxford Comma is also known as the serial comma and/or the Harvard Comma. Its (is an apostrophe necessary here?) name is always pretentious (I like that part), and its (HELP ME) purpose is always the same: it comes before the conjunction (usually three things along with the word "and" or "or") in a list of things.

EXAMPLE: Because Bill is CDO (he has to alphabetize his OCD'ness)
he completes ordinary tasks using specific details for each, for instance, when washing his hands in a public restroom, he always uses three paper towels to dry his hands, he must always straighten the desks when he is in a meeting, AND the ink pens must always be placed in the pen cup POINT DOWN. Did you catch it? That last comma, the one IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING the word AND is the little bastard that this whole entry is about. The Oxford (or serial or Harvard) Comma.

Worse yet; the Oxford Comma is completely optional. It's (I know about that apostrophe) common in non-journalistic prose, and fairly standard in the US, but it's (again) not often used in the UK, Australia or South Africa.

Like anybody gives a crap!

Tune in tomorrow, when we will tear-up the semi-colon.

And get your mind out of the gutter.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, COMMAS, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!