Saturday Sanitizing

Well, as I stated, earlier in the blog this week the house barely passed spousal inspection.  I think it was the roses that squeaked me over the top.  My wife decided Saturday would be spent raising the house to her standard of cleanliness, no mean task.  However, before she pulled me into this despicable task she bribed me with the mini-chocolate chip pancakes that became something of a Saturday breakfast tradition.  I had sorely missed these tasty treats and was putty in her hands for the rest of the day.

Yes - Food of the Gods!

Since my son and M.E.G. were coming in late in the day we had to take care of two bedrooms as well as a complete vacuuming and mopping of the floors.  I told her I couldn’t remember if the floor had been washed since left.  My convenient memory probably saved me from another stern lecture.  I think the neighbors knew my wife was back when they saw me vacuuming rugs out on the back deck (I didn’t ask why that was important).

They Had to Be Taken Outside for Cleaning?

While I was out on the deck I could see a massive landscaping effort going on down the street.  A house will be built in a vacant lot and with the warming weather there was a back hoe and bull dozer moving all kinds of earth around.  I guess it’s a real challenge building on the side of a hill.  I wish the builders of my house had spent as much time leveling the lot as these guys are doing.  By the end of the day a massive hill of dirt had built up.  It will be interesting to see this house go up.

The Bull Dozer At Work a Couple Lots Down

We finally did hear from our recently employed Keene Friend who reported the new job is going well although it does present challenges for staying connected to friends since he works 6 days out of 7 from 1 in the afternoon until 1 AM.  My wife was typically sympathetic as she lectured him on the impact his employment had on her ability to shop in the Keene TJ Maxx (priorities being what they are).  It was good to talk with him. 

Late in the day my son and his most excellent girlfriend showed up and were a little beat from an all-day Easter party at her folks’ place that included some very energetic toddlers.  It was so good seeing these two very special people.  Even though they were tired they pleasantly volunteered to appease to my desire to have a deck fire and cook smors.  I have a huge pile of furniture pieces in the garage to get rid of.

Some Really Special People Gathered Around the Fire

It was such a fun time sitting around the fire under the bright star lit night sky and talking with some of the best people in the world.  The ever dependable Buddy immediately took to his normal fire side activity of rescuing firewood from the wood pile whenever he wasn’t sneaking into the back yard to eat the bread we spread out of the arriving flocks of birds.  He gave that up late in the evening when he discovered that knocking over my beer led to a liquid treat for anyone willing to lick it off the deck.  Although tempted I didn’t provide him with any competition. He did this no less than five times.  I finally stopped standing it back up and he spent the rest of the time trying to figure out how to get his tongue down the stem of the bottle.

Buddy With Some of his Rescued Fire Wood

A busy, kind of tiring day but more than compensated for with that time out on the deck with those special people.

Return to Friday Sanity

Semi-exhausted after a very busy week of returning to a supervised status, Friday came just in time.  My wife decided that she needed some high heeled shoes made less so.  She’s had a bad back for years.  Her proclivity for dancing and some upcoming weddings necessitated some modifications to her chosen shoes; lowering their somewhat intimidating height.  Is it weird that she already knows what shoes she’s wearing nearly a month before the weddings?

Since she is still a little leery about driving around Worcester and I claim to be an expert she showed up at my office; supposedly around lunchtime.  I am re-learning the lesson that time operates a little differently in Panama and she spent long enough down there to be infected.  We headed out a little after one in the afternoon only to find her chosen cobbler had closed.  We then made our way to another all the way across town to another that a friend had recommended.

My Lunch Date Yesterday - Very Cool

We didn’t have an address, only a general location, but I know Worcester well enough to make some educated guesses.  We found the location (I am good at a few things) and then decided to share a somewhat late lunch.  My wife is an excellent date and we had a lot of fun at a restaurant located right next to her hair dresser.  I guess he’s kind of a flirt but my wife says that I scare him so he was on his best behavior when he passed through.

When I got home from work we made our routine run to Zorba’s for Friday pizza.  In deference to Good Friday I reluctantly ordered a meatless pizza (yeah things are definitely getting back to normal).  My wife was really touched when all the fabulous ladies of Zorbas came by to welcome her home.  She did look a bit askance at me when the cutest one made a stop at the table and I perked up a little bit.  When we were settling our bill our waitress told my wife that the “girls” had been talking back at the waitress station and that it was nice to see me happy again.  I guess I’m a little transparent at times.

Dinner At Zorba's - A Return to The Way It Ought to Be

Staring at Bear Controversy

The Controversial Bear

My wife spent most of yesterday unpacking which is almost as involved a process for her as packing (see earlier blog posting).  I am always amazed at the sheer quantity she can manage to carry in suitcases and still get under the weight limits (if barely). 

The unpacking unveiled a couple of presents for me!  She, knowing my love of history, brought me back a tee shirt commemorating the 1914 opening of the Panama Canal.  She, knowing her love of me smelling better, also brought a bottle of new after shave that is “to die for” (her words, not mine).

In entertainment news female hearts are all aflutter from the news that Ryan Gosling is going to take a break from acting.  If you read this blog at all you’ll know that I think that break started more than a few of his movies ago.  I still think watching Drive was one of the single most painful experiences of my cinematic viewing history.  I don’t know if I blame him completely as directors obviously fall in love with him and put these awkwardly long scenes of him just staring into the camera.  I hope he enjoys his break; I know I will.

Rya Demonstrating His "Art"

Meanwhile back in the casa, a minor controversy has erupted.  I was showing the recently returned wife the blog last night.  I enjoy doing this despite the almost constant barrage of admonishments about the pictures of her that I put up.  She claims, despite voluminous evidence to the contrary, that she never takes a good picture. 

See What I Mean?

The controversy erupted when I showed the picture of the Teddy Bear and she was aghast that I was claiming I bought it for our first born.  She indignantly stated that I bought it for the birth of our son and that he would be crushed when I read this.  I immediately got angry because I clearly remember buying the bear at Albrook Air Force base in Panama on my way to visit my wife and newly delivered daughter.  Ownership did get passed down eventually to my son upon his arrival.

So I stand by my story but it did cost me some sleep last night as I tried to find photographic evidence of the bear in Panama with our infant daughter.  Besides, my son never reads the blog anyways and I doubt his self-image would be damaged by the disputed origin story of a stuffed animal.  Who knows; weirder things have happened.

Admitting Happiness

A Miss

First day back with the starting lineup at home went really well.  She even let me keep my 2000 piece puzzle going as long as I promised to only work on it when she was on the phone.  So I figure I’m going to get even more time with the puzzle than before. 

She joined me for the weekly lunch with out favorite son.  She saw what I’ve been trying to describe to her – a new sense of confidence and maturity.  He even read her the riot act about using him as a consultant for the house we’re planning on building in Panama.  So proud of that young man, he even paid for lunch. I had to gently remind her that he and I both had to get back to work or we would probably still be there.

We went on our delayed date night last night to see the movie Admission.  It was kind of fun because we had the entire theater to ourselves.  Sadly that was more a comment of the word of mouth on this movie.  It had two of my favorite actors in Tina Fey and Paul Ruud but there was just no chemistry between the two.  I don’t think Fey translates well to the big screen; not all actors do. 

My wife was complaining about the 40 degree heat which I told her would win her few sympathizers from the area that just went through the kind of winter we did.  She also bemoaned the fact, in a very non-serious way, that she missed the maid that made her lunch for the last two months.  Again, a remarkable dearth of empathy was available from a guy who ate his own cooking for two months.  It is so good to have her back in the house.  I’ve said this before but it amazes me that someone so small can fill a place up just through energy of spirit.     

The Studio & The Host (sadly unfocused)

The day that I picked her up at the airport I also had an interesting experience at the local cable TV channel’s studio.  The big boss sent me down there with the chairman of the board to be interviewed by a lady who has a daily half hour program.  She interviewed us about the upcoming changes to the bus system.  The interview went really well and I wasn’t nervous at all, which surprised me a little.  The host is a real fan and proponet for the city of Worcester and her energy was impressive.  The only problem was the lady, a complete professional, was very attractive with a low cut blouse.  Now I’m not saying the two month absence of my wife made this any more difficult but keeping my eyes at an appropriate angle during the interview was a real battle (that I think I won – we’ll have to check the tape).   

Assisting Her After the Show with Some Still Shots
I'm that Kind of Guy

She’s Baaaaack!!!!!!

A Sight for Immensely Sore Eyes

Toilet seats were coming down all over the house yesterday as my wife made her long anticipated return from her winter sojourn in Panama.  Buddy and I made it to the finish line as the male dominated household of the past two months was transitioned into the normal state of affairs (Thank God!)

I was actually a little late picking her up at the airport (something I never do).  I left as soon as I heard she was in her plane at Washington Dulles Airport.  I figured the two hours would be plenty of time.  I failed to account the Boston traffic.  Since there were no accidents I have to assume the poor slobs I was sharing the road with yesterday afternoon do this every day.  It took me over an hour to get from I-95 to Logan Airport; something that took me less than thirty minutes when I dropped her off.  My daughter called as I was creeping by Fenway Park which she thought was cool because that’s the same area she went to college (I thought it was decidedly less than cool at that moment).  She was a little giddy since she was reunited with her own spouse also yesterday.

It was so good seeing my other half at the baggage claim belt.  I know that doesn’t sound very romantic but believe me – it was.  She ended up only having to wait five minutes and introduced me to a new friend she made on the flight up from Washington (it’s what she does).

I started my three dozen rose campaign in the car.  I was in such a rush when I parked that I forgot to bring her jacket into the terminal.  She forgot that failure as soon as she saw the first dozen roses.

Phase One of Rose Campaign - Success

We made our way back through Boston where the traffic had magically cleared even though only twenty minutes had passed.  She regaled me with stories around the obligatory calls to our progeny.  The drive back seemed to fly by because I had my very entertaining wife beside me at last.  She talked literally the whole way to the restaurant and I loved every minute of it.

After dinner we finally got home to a very raucous welcome from Buddy.  He was typically frantic in his reception and I think my wife was really touched.  The cutest thing was that since she had left with the PanaGals he went looking for them as well.  You could almost hear his question – “where are the rest of my friends?”  He was so frenetic that my wife didn’t even notice the basement floor was completely painted.  She paid suitable homage to my efforts once she did notice (made it all worth it). 

Buddy Was Moving So Fast It Was Hard to Focus

We went upstairs where she encountered Phase 2 of the rose campaign.  The house passed initial inspection although there were some concerned comments about the dried out state of one of her favorite plants.  Luckily there was a phase 3 to the rose campaign awaiting her upstairs and she forgot about the dried plant.  Win!!!!!!

It was so good getting her back.  There’s a shorthand to our communication that immediately went back into effect.  She really is my other half and yesterday I was finally complete again.

My Wife With Her Family In Panama

Today, Being the Day

Compensatory Rose Staging

Today marks the day to see if my frenzied cleanup effort passes spousal inspection.  Yes, she’s finally headed back.  I’m kind of (colr that very) excited about seeing her again.  I took no chances when I talked with her on the phone last night, not telling her it was snowing again outside.

I re-learned an important lesson on procrastination yesterday.  I had been putting off some of the cleanup tasks, always justifying to myself it would be better to clean just before she returned.  I also had to do the massive movement of junk in the basement now that the paint had dried.  This would have worked out great except I failed to plan for the crushing migraine headache I came home from work with last night.  I downed the last two ibuprofen in the house and then retreated to a darkened bedroom.  An hour later I awoke thanks to the ever reliable 6 pm telemarketer call and felt up to getting to work.

Everything was moved into place in the basement and I am a little proud about the results.  We’ll see if a certain Panamanian agrees after several of her secret shopping stashes were uncovered. 

The house cleaning was a little more involved than I estimated.  Buddy and I are not the cleanliest of cohabitators.  Luckily I figured this out ahead of time and bought three dozen roses because I think it’s going to take that to blunt the impact of close inspection.

Yesterday I finally finished the last in the epic series of the Black Company, appropriately titled The Many Deaths of the Black Company.  This was thoroughly enjoyable as the narration got back to a linear time line and away from Murgen.  He was a great character but a lousy annalist as he could never figure out where he was in time.  This novel saw the return and tragically costly triumph of Croaker.  The bad guys were put paid and the company continued in it’s nth configuration.  As Croaker said, Soldiers Live!

I just hope this old Soldier lives through the house inspection.

 

Unexpected Memory Flooding

Tackling the final corner of my basement project I was stunned at how much “junk” was there. It took me a lot longer to move things because I kept running into memories.  It’s funny how some of the little things bring memories flooding back. 

The Teddy Bear

I ran into a Teddy Bear I bought in Panama when I was on my way to meet my daughter for the first time in 1983.  I had a brief glance of her on the day she was delivered but the next day as I was headed to the hospital to hold her for the first time I stopped by the PX and bought this teddy bear.  It was hugely inappropriate in size for a new born baby, but heck, this was my first time.  It’s been with us ever since and has spent the last few years hanging out in the basement.  I was throwing away a lot of stuff as I continued my scorched earth march through the basement but I couldn’t find the heart to part with the bear.

My First Day In Uniform 35 Years Ago

I also found a series of photos that had been separated at some point from our normal bucket of photographs.  One was my official photo upon joining the Army in 1978.  I paused to remember that I was looking at the photo exactly thirty five years to the day that I put the uniform on for the first time.  There was also a photo taken while I was going through basic training where you could tell how much time had passed by noting my waistline (was I ever that skinny!). 

Basic Training - 1978

I found a carefully folded recipe from my senior year in college. A couple friends and I were in a basement bar, I think it was called the Tin Palace, enjoying a drink called – Hope, Skip and Go Naked.  The waitress noted our enjoyment and gave us the recipe for the drink.  After all the moves and time that has passed I was amazed it survived this long.  That day in 1977 was the last time I ever had a Hop, Skip, and Go Naked though; now I can try and re-create it!

The Long Lost Recipe

There was a photo of my incredibly memorable going away party from Germany in 1980.  I was headed to Fort Benning, Georgia for Officer Candidate School and my friends took over the basement bar in our Frankfurt barracks to give me a send off.  There were some great friends there and the young lady that made that night so memorable was not pictured but still fondly remembered. 

My Friends and I in 1980 Drake Kaserne

Speaking of young ladies, I also found photos of two of my “before I met my wife” girlfriends in Panama.  I kind of over achieved in the nine months I spent in Panama before meeting my future bride.  I couldn’t even remember their names but it did bring back memories of that time as a young lieutenant and the hilariously fun times I shared with the other young lieutenants.  No one should have that much fun and survive.

Unknown 1981 Girlfriend #1

Myself and Unknown 1981 Girlfriend #2

Speaking of good times in Panama my son’s M.E.G. provided a series of photos today from their recent trip to Panama.  I saw so many faces of my wife’s family, some of my favorite people in the world.  It made missing the trip to Panama this year a little more painful but it was obvious my son and MEG enjoyed a great time while down there.  It included many photos of the places of that “mis-spent “era of my life as a lieutenant.  It also included many of that beautiful young lady I ended up with and who I pick up at the airport tomorrow.

I am so lucky.

My Son With My Best 1981 Girlfriend - His Mom

M.E.G. and Son At Panama Canal

Some of the Best People in the World
I Really Missed Seeing Them This Year

Finally - Current Progress on 2000 Piece Time Sucking Vortex
Will Have to Convince Wife to Let Me Keep Working on It

Saturday Fallen

A Pensive Buddy - Doesn't Like it When I Blog

So, I’m in the home stretch as far as the basement project.  I went into it a little edgy because it denied me a free weekend but there is no way I’m not going to finish this thing.  I had one corner of the basement left.  It was where a lot of stuff was placed while I was painting other areas so moving said stuff was going to be a bit of a project in and of itself.

The Final Corner - A Few Things to Move

I also had a bunch of old, broken and water damaged bed boards waiting my attention in the garage to complete their transition into firewood.  I hit those first by setting up a couple tables in the garage and getting my table saw out.  Since it was in the 30’s I kept the garage doors closed.  It turned out to be a bit of a mistake as I looked up from the project about halfway through and saw that everything in the garage, including my wife’s freshly washed car, was coated in saw dust.  Buddy who is usually terrified of power tools kept coming in and trying to snatch and save the odd piece of wood from the firewood pile – it’s what he does.

The Ex-Headboards

One of the things I’ve noticed in cleaning the basement is that if a flat surface is available something will get stored there.  I need to reduce flat surface area and impose some discipline on my wife’s ability to hide things.  I therefore decided to disassemble a set of homemade shelves I put together about twenty years ago.  That turned out to be a huge hour long project as I guess I used to be a lot more thorough – there were screws in every conceivable angle. 

There was a lot of stuff to be moved.  It turned out to be a long time getting everything re-positioned but by supper time I was ready to paint.  I encountered more divots in the cement from my son’s weight lifting efforts.  I also uncovered one of my wife’s hidden purchase caches where she had hidden a pile of Marshall bags.  I found myself a little bit excited as I got to the final piece of bare cement.  I have to get another coat down today but I felt pretty good at finishing. 

The Hidden Cache

The years did catch up with me by the end of the day though.  All the weird positions I had to get into to dissemble the shelves, the sawing, and then moving/painting had my right hip socket barking like Buddy seeing a jogger.  I’ve never had problems with that particular joint so this is somewhat unsettling.  Getting old can suck, a little.

Good Action

I rewarded my day long efforts by sneaking out to see a late night viewing of the latest action flick – Olympus Has Fallen.  It has Gerard Butler in full Leonidas mode saving the day when terrorists seize the white house.  It pissed me off a little bit to see the white house taken down the but the action was totally relentless and Butler can really do this kind of thing.  It was like seeing a return of Jack Bauer.  It was totally unbelievable and some of the plot holes taken to keep the story moving were laughably farfetched but I still loved the flick.  The female actresses and Morgan Freeman were a bit wasted but this was Butler's flick and he delivered.

Now to clean the house.

The Corner Cleared

And Painted

Final Friday

Last Weekend on the Island

I really stumbled to the finish line yesterday as this was a truly exhausting week.  We had a visiting vice president from the company all week so I was periodically called out for meetings and updates, all this taking place at the same time I’m trying to put the final touches on the huge project that kept me away from Panama this year.   I did get a free lunch (they do exist) and dinner out of the imposition though.

My excellent boss and I escaped for a First Friday celebration at the end of the day which made it a whole lot more tolerable.  We were sitting in Brew City enjoying the plight of more temperately inclined commuters trying to get home through yet another snow squall (are these things ever going to end).  Apparently Worcester is going to win the Snow Globe this year which is for the most snow in a city of 100,000 or more (yay!).

View From the Brew Last Evening
Snow and Commuters

Home remains the island of solitude it has become though Buddy does his darndest to lift spirits.  He can truly be incredibly entertaining.  This is my last solitary Friday though as my wife returns on Tuesday.  She’s asking very pointed questions about why there is still snow on the ground. I‘m asking very pointed questions of myself as I size up the very substantial job of not only finishing my basement project but returning the house to an acceptable level of order prior to her arrival.

I had hoped to sneak up to Keene for one last Guy’s Weekend but I’ve learned enough about time management that this is not possible given my remaining tasks.  She’s never been away this long before so Buddy and I have allowed the house cleanliness to descend well below her standards.  It will be painful no matter what I accomplish in the next few days – I’m thinking a lot of roses will be required.

I paid my last single visit to the fabulous ladies of Zorba’s.  Their pulchritude and the sorcerous pizza performed the usual chore of lifting spirits; the beer assisted significantly in this effort.  I had to abandon my usual perch at the bar since March madness was in full swing there and not a seat was to be had.  This is probably a good transition for me as next week I’ll have my bride with me.  Very cool – I’d better start getting the house cleaned.

500

I noted yesterday that today’s post would be my 500^th since I started this little adventure back in September 2011.  I am amazed how important this daily exercise in writing has become to me.  I’m certain that what I’m writing has no great impact or worth for anybody outside my family or close friends; and even that is a huge stretch.  Still, as someone accused (fairly regularly by certain spousal sources) of being too sealed up with my emotions and thoughts – this has allowed me to express same.  As a good friend jokingly remarked to my sister, “Who knew, he had feelings!” after I first started doing this.

This is the first thing I ever wrote for the blog:

“I'm not sure where this is headed but I was inspired to start this blog by my daughter, a truly gifted writer. I've discovered, relatively late in life, that I enjoy writing.  I'm a retired Army officer still learning how to be a civilian again.  I am still figuring out how to construct this thing, no bells and whistles until my daughter is available for tutorials.  I plan on just passing on observations and comments and hope to say something worthwhile.  You will be the judge but I reserve the right to overturn all convictions. Out for now. “

I was a little prophetic because the blog has certainly evolved since those early days.  It’s become something of a daily journal where I chronicle the challenges we all face striving though this wonderful thing called life.  Although I am extremely ordinary, as I strolled back through the posts I was impressed with the breadth of experiences and good times.  In the hum drum of daily comings and goings it is sometimes very easy to forget how fortunate I am.  I smiled a lot going back through the posts.

The biggest sources of my personal prosperity though are my family and friends; loyal readers all (well, except my son).  The best feeling I have each day writing is that at some point these important (to me) people will read it.  I, remorseless hater of talking on the telephone, can reach out and touch these great people.  I might bring a smile to a daughter in Brooklyn, a sister in New England, or a friend in some far flung corner of the world.  I can hark back to some of my misspent youth with life long friends who shared some of those misadventures.  I know if I mention anything remotely political, my uberliberal, cantankerous friend will immediately launch a counter attack on Facebook (only because he hasn’t figured out how to do it on the blog comments).  This is what I love about the blog; I feel connected to these great people.

The biggest surprise for me has been the world wide audience.  I can see stats of where people are viewing the blog from.  I’ve had visitor from every continent and dozens of countries.  I know if for nothing more than the millisecond someone takes to check out the blog and curse their luck for stumbling onto it, we are connected.  The world is so much smaller.

So, loyal readers and accidental visitors, thanks for sharing this ride with me.  Take some time to examine your own life and you’ll be amazed at how lucky you are to be blessed with life.

Less Than Incredible

Yesterday was a lot more fun than it started out to be.  After clearing out what has become my nightly issue of new snow on the driveway I piled a bunch of stuff we were donating to the big brothers/sisters.  They periodically have drive bys where you can leave clothes and other items out to donate.  After clearing the bobcat tarnished driveway I had the pile at the base of the driveway when I noticed that the pile seemed to be staging a slow get away and was now halfway into the street.  The first day of spring had had no effect on the layer of ice so I had to improvise.  It was gone when I got home from work (hopefully into their truck and not somewhere downhill).

The Escape Prone Pile

I had the opportunity to lunch with my favorite son – something that has become an extremely welcome part of my weekly routine.  I swore that when he got back from the far flung reaches of the world that I would do a better job of doing these lunches.  I hope he enjoys them even a little bit as much as I do.  We also did a cargo transfer of some of his items from the basement but the best part was the lunch (just good people).

Speaking of the basement I turned a fairly significant corner last night.  I moved the items from the most cluttered area of the basement (hence the cargo transfer) and knocked out that part.  I also think I found the last of my vast trove of books.  It was a little comical as I moved stuff I would find yet another location where I had stacked books.  I had the car fully loaded but had to return six different times as I found yet more books while cleaning.  In addition to the books and the escape prone pile from the morning I have a bunch of metal objects going to the company’s metal dumpster today so someone can profit from it.  I also have a pile of wooden objects that will be sawed into firewood this weekend – no one said there wouldn’t be casualties.

Before

After (and focused)

I can actually see a light at the end of the tunnel for the project.  I’m guessing Sunday I will put down the final coat and then launch into frenzied pre-wife house cleaning.

Since the roads were finally non-ice covered I was able to sneak in my weekly movie fix by seeing The Incredible Burt Wonderstone.  It was okay and entertaining but I left thinking kind of – “ehhh”.  It boasts a truly fantastic cast, Steve Carell, Jim Carrey, Steve Buscemi, Olivia Wilde (thank you), James Gandolfini, and Alan Arkin.  While there was some really funny stuff – especially from Carrey in full maniac mode – I felt this movie was a miss.  Carell is so likable in most of his work that trying to see him as a less than sympathetic character was tough.  Not a bad problem to have – being so nice it’s hard to imagine him as a jerk.

After the movie I made my way over to the book bin to donate my treasure trove.  It took me nearly a half hour to get rid of it all.  I said goodbye to a whole lot of really old friends.

This is Not A Repeat of Earlier Photo
Last Night's Load of Friends
Had to Drop the Rear Seat to Fit Them All In

Another Day Closer

My Formerly Pristine Driveway This Morning
Mystery Tracks on the Right Heading Down the Driveway

Yesterday’s late winter snow storm was so much fun!  It turns out getting the snow pushed out of the way in the morning was the right thing to do because I came home to a fairly pristine driveway.  Everywhere I had shoveled was completely clear as the day’s rain had melted any of the three additional inches of snow we received during the day.  I did go out and clear the rest of the driveway which took me longer than the entire job in the morning because the snow was so heavy from the rain.

I guess I’m at an age when people start worrying about my heart because my son read yesterday’s blog and called, concerned that I was trying to do too much and cautioned me to be careful (I’m sure his mother was in some way responsible for his cautionary thinking).  I thwarted both of them because I had just walked in from doing exactly what they were worried about.  I did weasel a lunch date out of him for today, so a big win in all departments.   

We received some really good news at work yesterday.  The decisions on the two arbitration cases I wrote about earlier were released yesterday.  We prevailed in both cases (maybe there is hope for the Obama Labor Department).  I felt good because apparently my testimony was important in both cases.  It’s always a little bittersweet because in one case an employee lost his job.  That’s never a good thing but he did place himself, through his actions, in the situation that got him fired.

I finished up the first season of Star Trek last night and enjoyed it immensely.  The Horta still thrives (if you have to ask – you’ll never understand), Shatner overacts yet still dominates, and Spock remains inscrutable.  I do now have a huge crush on Nichelle Nichols (Lt Uhura) who was a lot hotter than I remember.  I just checked – she’s 80 years old now; kinda missed that window.

My New Crush

I’m also getting closer to completion on my basement project; only two areas remain for painting.  My wife is growing steadily more nervous as I have only described it in very cryptic terms and told her not to worry (knowing it will have the exact opposite effect – but she did have the temerity to complain about the heat in Panama yesterday while I was shoveling snow). I did uncover yet another cache of my books that I’ll have to donate tonight.    

I woke up this morning to the sun shining on the first day of spring!  Last year the temperatures were in the 70’s on this day.  Today it was 22 degrees and I was greeted by yet another two inches of snow on my formerly pristine driveway (sonofabitch!).  I found an interesting set on animal footprints on the driveway.  They were cat footprints but they were dog sized, if that makes any sense.  They were way too big for a housecat.  I tracked them back into the woods behind the house and I’m pretty sure they were from a bobcat!  I hope he was just passing through because I’ve got a black lab that probably wouldn’t realize this is a cat he shouldn’t chase. 

Less than a week now until my wife returns and inserts some overdue supervision into my life. 

New Neighbor?  Buddy Beware!