The weekend.

Took dad to get his hair cut Friday afternoon. Got him down to Peggy's place in Salado by 4:45. She treated him like a king and did a really great job on the both of us. Then she turned around and didn't charge dad for the cut. Said not to tell him. Our little secret. Next time we go I'll try to remember to take the camera in there and get a few good shots. I guess I was too concerned with getting him there on time and getting him past all the curbs, stairs and stuff, his legs not being in great shape these days. We made an appointment to come back in 6 weeks.

After that we went over to Dynasty and had the same big feed we always have. It wasn't as crowded Friday night but the food was just as good. After Spending a while there at the house with Mom, talking some stuff out with her, getting a dose of her wisdom, I went off to meet up with Denise and a few of her friends at their house out by Stillhouse Hollow. That was a fun time too.

Saturday, Denise and I woke up slowly, as is our habit on the weekend. We were set to go to a St. Paddy's... Oops, I mean St. Patty's Day Party at the home of a friend of ours. We cooked some good snacks to take over. Denise did her normal pizza roll and I experimented with the dough to see about making a large version of my Kolache that I could then cut into slices. It worked perfectly.

Again, sorry, no pictures, but here's what I did. I took a frozen loaf of bread dough out of the freezer and let it thaw over night. Rolled it out flat like a square pizza dough and covered it with honey mustard. Then sprinkled on an 8 oz. bag of shredded swiss cheese. I sliced up and spread on the same kind of sandwich ham that I use in the kolaches and then sprinkled on garlic salt, pepper, and a few other spices. It's like you're makin' a pizza. Then I rolled the whole thing up into a fat tube and pinched off the ends to seal it. Finally I stabbed it about 8 or 10 times so the steam will rise out of it, and then spread on a mixture of butter, garlic, pepper and oregano, and put it in the oven at 375 for about 35 to 40 minutes. It normally would have been 30 but both pizza rolls were in the oven at the same time.

While it was baking I got a frantic call from mom. I dread those calls, never knowing if it might be THE call. Turns out dad was stuck out on the swing in the back yard, unable to get himself out of it. His legs have been weaker than usual the last few days, and mom can't lift him, so she asked if I was free. Normally she has to call 911 and the local fire department comes and picks him up off the floor, or whatever. Mom hates doin' that though, as you might imagine. I told her not to worry, that I'd be right over. 20 to 25 minutes later I was hoisting dad up out of the swing and tellin' mom it was no big deal, to call whenever she needed me.

By the time I got home again Denise had taken our pizza rolls out of the oven and cut them up. We gathered all our contraband together and headed for the party. It was a great time. Denise made a big bowl of her Southern Comfort Punch. Both it and our food hit it off well at the gathering. It was a two cigar night out there on the porch by the pool, sippin' punch and listenin' to hilarious stories about the old days in Killeen, as well as one guys tales about flyin' helicopters in Vietnam. You know I loved listenin' to all that.

Sunday was another slow wake-up. Didn't roll out of the sack till about 3PM. I was determined to take a few shots at the archery range that's set up where Dad and I hit golf balls, but the wind was blowin' too much and the targets kept blowin down, so I decided to wait for another day. Denise and I went over to Las Casas Mexican food Restaurant and sat down in their screened-in porch area for dinner. Denise had their famous "White Wings" and I had a huge friggin' burrito. After my two Sierra Nevada's and her one big, top shelf strawberry margarita, plus the food of course, we headed over to see the folks.

We chatted with mom and sipped a few glasses of Chateaus Monet while I checked the paper for movie times. At one point Dad hobbled in to join us and sat down in a chair there in the living room. He eventually got around, as he usually does, to talking about how old he is. I always have to remind him it's really 85 years, and not more. He always wants to say 89 or 90. I said something humorous about how he'd been a pain in my ass for at least 40 some odd years and he flashed a look of acknowledgment in my direction. I could tell he was thinking it was mutual.

I got up from the couch and slowly walked over toward him, looking at him. As I leaned down in front of him he said "Now, be careful." He started to squirm. I told him "I'm gonna kiss ya", and he smiled and said "Oh, OK." I looked over at Denise after all that and saw that tears were welling up in her eyes. It wasn't long before dad had gotten up to use the restroom and mom had gone to the kitchen, leaving Denise and I alone in the living room so I could briefly, silently cry without ether of them seeing it. You know, it tears me up to see my father this way, but that's life.

After that visit Denise and I went to see The Bank Job at the local mall. EXCELLENT FLICK! I can't say enough about it. You all need to go see it if you have the chance. Wonderful movie. Here's the trailer.



Take my word, you'll love it.

Started reading The Road last night as Denise slept. It's written by the same guy who wrote No Country For Old Men, and it's also soon to be a movie, set to be released in 2008, with Charlize Theron, Viggo Mortensen and Robert Duvall. Love this guys work. I think I've read everything he's written. Check him out.

Well, Denise is off to work this morning, but I've got the week off. It's Spring Break, so I'm chillin', waitin' on a buddy to come by at about 10AM. We're off to Peacock Archery in Belton. I'm gonna get all my beat up old arrows refletched and renocked and show my buddy this outdoor range I found. It's rainin' so we may just shoot at Peacock. Anyway, it's casual. No worries.

You guys have a relaxing week, and we'll chat again. Cheers.