Friday feed with Mom.

Got to Mom's place Friday evening and noticed that the leaves on her tree had turned and one of her plants was still pretty in the front yard, so I decided to try to use the Macro setting on the camera to capture it all.



Not sure what this is, but it's always beautiful, sittin' in a pot by her front door.



I tried to get right up close to these leaves. I think it turned out
OK. Next, I need to get right up to them and see how clear the shot is.

I would have done it last Friday, but I was distracted. You see, Mom had whipped up a batch of her famous fried chicken for dinner. We'd decided to eat in this Friday.



She'd cooked fried chicken, tater wedges, french bread, broccoli and peas, and there was cranberry sauce there for me. Wonderful!



Not only that, but when we arrived she'd already had the blender out and the Strawberry Daiquiris were ready. Thing is, she'd made a little boo boo, using about twice the amount of rum, So they were stout! Denise put a bit more ice in there and tried to dilute it as bit.



In the end, it all turned out great. We sat in her living room and chowed down. I think I had about three of those drinks.



After chowin' down, I abused Mom's yellow cat. He loves it when I grab him and squeeze him. Growls the whole time, but doesn't do much to try to escape. He's just a growler.



As Mom cleaned the kitchen, her big Main Coon came out from hiding. He's only barely socialized, so he doesn't let other folks near. He saved their house once though.

Dad had put a pan of grease on the stove on high, thinking he'd turned it off, and when it burst into flame, this cat came to get mom, who was sitting in her chair in the bedroom. She grabbed a fire extinguisher out of the cabinet and put the fire out. They got a new kitchen out of it.



Also, after dinner I hooked up mom's old, antique sewing machine.



She'd found a place that would fix the peddle on it, and I was tasked with getting it all plugged back in. No problem. Mom showed me how to use this thing when I was a kid. I've always been fascinated with the gears, tryin' to figure out how the thing worked. I used it once to sew a zipper on an old down comforter, turning it into a sleeping bag. I took that bag on many canoe trips, and I took it out on the ships with me. It kept me warm when the friggin' Navy was tryin' to freeze my ass.



I also got this shot of this funky cat toy mom's picked up for her babies. There's a nob on one end that controls the rod with the thingy on it. The nob sets the rod to spin, wavin' the thingy, dingy ball, thingy, around in a tantalizing way... if you're a cat. Trust me, it works.

After dinner, Denise and I went to the mall for a while, Christmas shopping. One task mother'd given me was to get her another universal remote for the TV in her bedroom. We stopped at Radio Shack and got one, then stopped back by Moms and I programmed it for her. She called me yesterday to tell me she loved it. Success!

Saturday was Gun Show fun and great food at Pappasito's, but I'll cover that in the next post. Cheers!

How's about a Friday post?

Today is the end of school for the year. I've given all the exams and graded them, so all I have to do is post the grades on the schools computer and turn in the grade books and I'm done. It all starts up again on the 5th of January, when I'll start driving back down to Florence and then out to San Saba. Ft. Hood doesn't start again till around the 12th, so it'll be an easy transition back to work.

The principal of the Windham School district out at San Saba had a big Cajun feed for all the school folks yesterday after school. It was GOOD. Lots of shrimp, gumbo, dirty rice and such. At one point, a guy who must work for the city walked in and told the cook (the principal) that he was from Louisiana (you could tell from the accent), and that the food was really good and authentic.

He looks at me at one point and says somethin' like "I think I read somethin' on the web you posted about San Saba. Don't you have a web site?" I was like "Huh? Uh, yea. You mean Fathairybastard?" Everyone in the place laughed. I was shocked. I thought at the time, "Cool, recognition!", but then I thought "Oh Shit, now everyone here's gonna be readin' the friggin' thing." It was like walkin' into that blogger meet last spring and everyone there knowin' who I was while I had no clue who they were. I've gotta take my pictures down from this thing, or do a new avatar like Mushy's done where you can't really tell who it is. For some reason I'm not really jazzed to have everyone there know I have this thing set up, but maybe they'll forget. What are the odds?

I'll start playin' 9 Ball in January, switchin' from Wednesday pool nights to Thursdays. The 8 Ball team I've been playin' on is breaking up (people gettin' out of the Army and goin' to school full time), and several of them have invited me to play on this other team. It should be fun.

Talked to Mom yesterday and she was distressed. Some bureaucratic agency, maybe Social Security, sent her a letter tellin' her she was no longer qualified to get Medicare, or something like that. She's in a panic, but I'll go over there today and see if I can figure out what's goin' on.

There have been a few of these panics since dad died. It's a huge mess, tryin' to deal with several government agencies when apparently, one doesn't know what the other is doing. And yet, people seem to want MORE government. Bizarre!

There's a Gun Show in Austin this weekend, so Denise and I will be heading down Saturday. We'll turn it into a Christmas Shopping trip. First, sleep in. Critical detail there. Then drive down and go to the Gun Show. Then hit Pappasito's for the great shrimp and dip. It's been a while since we hit that place, so we're both lookin' foreword to it.

After that, once we've gotten sufficiently full and liqueured up, we'll hit Highland Mall and do some shopping. Denise has several family members she's still got to buy for, so it should be intense. There'll be a lot of me saying "Why don't you get this? Why don't you get this? Why don't you get this?", and then her saying "OH, I don't know"... to the friggin' point of distraction. You know, it's the whole men shopping vs. women shopping stereotype. I'm thinking three or four beers for me and two margaritas for her with dinner and things might get smoothed out a bit. You think?

We're plannin' to have the Wilson family Christmas on Christmas Eve this year. That way Denise and I can hit the road for Kentucky that afternoon and get to her kids place by the afternoon of the 25th. Yep, another road trip. I want to be here for Mom, it being the first Christmas without Dad (Christmas was their wedding anniversary too), but she insists she doesn't care. We'll make sure the holiday is a good one, and then we'll jet out of Temple in the afternoon. Try to get to Little Rock by the night off the 24th, so the drive is broken up. Nether of us mind the drive. I actually enjoy it.

We were gonna fly and rent a car in Nashville, but driving is SO much cheaper and handier, we decided to do that instead. We'll drive home some time like the 30th and have New Years here with Mom. Denise has to be back to work on the 2nd, and me, as I said, on the 5th. So that'll give us time to rest.

Anyway, I've got to start posting grades. You guys have a great weekend and we'll talk again on the other side of this one. Cheers!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

UPDATE: Well, I got a call from Mom. She finally got hold of a lady at Dyess AFB named Katie. This is the sweet lady That guided Mom through all the drama with the feds when Daddy died. She's a wonderful lady and I'm plannin' to contact her and tell her so. Anyway, Mom found out that not only is everything cool with the medical coverage, she's also gonna end up gettin' $50 more each month. Good news!

Also, she's cookin' fried chicken, taters, peas, french bread and a salad for dinner tonight, and we're just about to head over there. Yea, I can feel your envy.

The gun show is on for tomorrow, but Denise and I are gonna have company. A friend of hers from work and her husband are goin' with us. He and I will leave The girls off at an outlet mall in Round Rock and then he and I will go to the show. We'll take out time and then pick them up again after, and then the four of us will got to Pappasito's.

So everything is cool. I turned my grades in and I'm off till the 5th. You guys chill and we'll get together again later. Maybe I'll have food pictures to tease you with. Cheers!

Excited! Very excited.

It's just too bad we have to wait till friggin' May to see it. I'll be sick of the hype by then.

Saw some cool stuff on the way to San Saba the other day.

Stopped at a local stop-n-rob here on the way back to work one day. You know, I have about three hours to kill here on Mondays and Wednesdays. Spend most of it here at the library on their nice computers, tryin' to get stuff done.

Anyway, I was on my way back to work one day when I stopped to take a piss and get a Dew. I came walkin' out and a truck had parked next to my car. When I went by I glanced in the back and guess what I saw?



"Holy shit", I thought. "That's an RPG... and a Ma Deuce?" I hadn't even noticed the welded mount sitting in the bed. The digital cammo bag could be a big clue, but you can get that stuff almost anywhere now.



I was surprised, to say the least. But then when I looked closely I realized that both were fake, designed for training purposes. There must be somethin' goin' on from Ft. Hood.



As I backed out I saw the OPFOR sign painted on the right side of the bumper (click to enlarge). Aaaaa, so they must be doing training out here somewhere. I'd seen choppers from the base from time to time, Apache gunships flyin' over the scrub as I drove down 190. That must be what they're up to. Help train the chopper guys to be able to recognize the rag heads in trucks tryin' to lay an ambush.

Of course, my very first though was "I wanna play!" Hell, I've got blanks for my AK. Why not?

Anyway, this last weekend was very relaxing. Denise and I went to eat Chinese food Friday after Mom begged off. She'd been busy all day and worn herself out, so she didn't feel up to it. We went over there after dinner and enjoyed her company anyway. She brought out the Chateaus Monet and we enjoyed a little tipple.

We found out when we got there that she'd picked up a little toy for her cats. It's a motorized thing that tosses a fuzzy ball around on a string. She'd put the batteries in wrong, so I fixed the issue and got it working. The cats were freaked out by it at first, and then fascinated.

After the road trip last weekend it felt really good to sleep in both Saturday and Sunday and rest. We went to a Christmas party Saturday night, but that was all the excitement we had.

Now the temperatures had gone south on us, down to freezing, and we're lookin' forward to bein' able to use the fireplace. Light up a little blaze, lay down the sheep skin rug and get a snuggle goin'. Mmmmm, good times.

This is finals week at school. I gave two this morning in Florence. I'll give another down there tomorrow, two more on Wednesday here in San Saba and then Three on Thursday. I'll be done in Florence after tomorrow, so I'll be able to sleep in the rest of the week.

Found out today that the principal at the prison here in San Saba is putting on a big feed Thursday afternoon. He says he'll have all sorts of Cajun stuff. Lots of shrimp, sausage and gumbo. It should be cool. I'll run by and scoop up a meal before I have to head to Ft. Hood to give my last exams. I'll be sure and take pictures.

Anyway, I'm off. You guys have a great week and we'll chat later. Cheers!

Friday.

This'll be short.

Busy, busy, busy! Workin' on somethin' cool. Maybe one of these days I'll show it to ya.

We're lookin' forward to this weekend. Gonna relax and take it easy. Last weekend was fun, but both of us are payin' for it. Denise came down with a cold and I think I ran out of steam some time late last night. I've been draggin' since then. So sleepin' in the next few days will be cool!

We're takin' Mom out to eat tonight. Chinese food! Woohoo!

Goin' to a Christmas party Saturday night. Good friends of Denise's from work. Nice folks. It'll be fun.

That's it for now. I'll get back with ya Monday. You guys take care. Cheers!

Nashville.

I finally got those shots done from Nashville. If you want to see them all, go to the FlickR site here. Otherwise, here are some of the better ones.



This is me, grading tests in my room at the hotel Friday night. Yea, I know. But I had stuff to do.



Of course, I was assisted in me work by a few tall glasses of George and Diet Coke. You ever wonder if your teachers get loaded before they graded your stuff in school? Well, yep. Whatever works baby.



This is my buddy Mushy, taking a shot of the long line we found when we walked up to the fairgrounds, with lots of folks wanting to pay to get into the regular gun show Saturday morning. We chose to avoid this line and went into the Civil War show first. There wasn't any line there.



As you can see here, the Civil War show was HUGE. We were both amazed. And this is just a shot of one of three showrooms.



There were lots of reenactors around in their period gear. I love it, seein' these folks glorying in their love of our history, and/or their heritage. Makes me want to join up, but I ain't there yet. Maybe some day.



I loved seein' all this Native American stuff too. It was a surprise, and I really enjoyed seein' it.



Check out that war club on the left, with the spike jutting out of the ball. It's like an eagle talon holding a rock. Cool, eh?



Lots of cool stuff on sale, including original uniforms and other artifacts.



After walkin' through the show for a few hours, we got back in Mushy's truck and he drove us up to town and we looked for somewhere to get a beer and a meal. He's always tryin' to plug in an address into his GPS, which is built in to his fancy "King Ranch". Accept for a few u-turns in the projects, and a short stint up the wrong way on a one way street, we did just fine.



We ended up choosing Bailey's Sports Bar, just down the way from the Ryman.



They guided us up to the second floor. It was great. They brought us two tall mugs of Yuengling and we ordered lunch.



It was great stuff... Some sort of chicken tenders, slathered in a sweet and mildly spicy sauce, over apple slices and greens (Check Mushy's post for all the details of everything... He's got the time to look it all up). It was all great! The chips and queso were even decent.



Being two camera geeks, we both got the waitress to take our pictures, with both of our cameras. She did a damn good job too. The one you see over at Mushy's place was taken just after we sat down. This one was after we'd killed one round and seriously wounded another. Notice the more "relaxed" poses. That's two good pals there, and we were havin' a wonderful time. Real quality time.



Four beers and lunch later, we walked around, checkin' out the bar and cigar lounge, and then headed out onto the street. We wandered over to the Ernest Tubb record store, which turned out to be filled with country music (Duh, slapping head with palm). Who'd a thunk it? It was cool anyway.



After that we headed back over to the fairgrounds and walked through the conventional gun show. The lines were gone by then, but the place was still full. Both Mushy and I fingered a few things, and I spent $10 on a pistol grip for an AK. Ya can't have too many of those, right?



Later on I got this picture, showing both our hands, stamped with the mark that a lot of liberals would dearly love to erase. I've been goin' to gun show ever since I was in high school, and I'd sure miss them if the upcoming regime gets it's way and makes them impossible to hold.

Later, we went back to my room at the hotel to relax. Mushy busted out the Chivas Regal and we watched the first half of the Alabama - Florida game. Eventually we decided to find a sports bar somewhere where we could watch the game, drink another Yuengling and smoke a cigar. The place we found turned out to be very nice, all but for one drunk who kept thinking that he needed to sit and talk to us.



The place was really nice. The fact that Mushy and I were just about the only White folks there kinda had him weirded out, but the folks there were very welcoming. Each time the drunk drifted by I could see that other folks were ashamed of him, and feeling sorry for him. They quietly assured us that he was OK. But we knew that.



The next morning Denise drove down from Kentucky and the three of us went off in search of a Cracker Barrel. This was where Mushy's GPS really came in handy. The food was great, as usual. We said our goodbyes in the parking lot, with me giving my big brutha a good hug, and then Denise and I headed West for home.



On the way to Nashville Friday afternoon, about 50 miles West of Memphis, we'd found a stray dog living at a rest stop. The attendant told us that the dog had been there for about 6 weeks and that she was being fed by just about everyone who drove through. We decided then to try and stop by there again on the way home and bring what Denise called "proper food".



When we stopped there again on the way back, sure enough, the dog was still there. Her name is "Sugar". Some guy who goes through there regularly named her, and wants to catch her, but she won't let anyone near, unless the have food in their hand. She ate ham from Denise's hand once or twice. We sure hope someone gives her a nice home.



The con trails in the sky were cool to watch, as we sped home on I-40, just east of Little Rock. You see a mix of old ones, drifting off in the wind, and a new one there at the bottom. The sunset really made them look cool.



We stopped there at a Ruby Tuesday's for dinner, and to watch the rest of the Cowboy game. I got in there and two shitty things happened. I found out I was in a dry county and had to settle for diet coke, and the fuckin' Cowboys figured out how to lose the game to Pittsburgh.

We ended up gettin' home by 1;30, and were snuggled up in bed by 2. It was a great trip, but we probably won't do it again for a while. At least until next December, when the next Civil War show goes down. Cheers!

Guess why this had to be animated.

That's right. No real film footage of French soldiers in combat could be found.

Chillin', literally, in Music City.

Denise and I had a great time on our little road trip last weekend. We got back at 1:30 this morning and were in bed by 2. At one point I looked at her and said "Did we just do that (meaning a drive that put over 2000 miles on her car in a little over three days). She smiled, and we both agreed it was worth it.

I haven't had time to work on my pictures yet. No tellin' when that'll be. But if you want to check out my buddy Mushy's shots, and his recap of our side of the trip, go to his blog and check it out. He probably got home by noon Sunday and then had all day to work on his shots and get a post up. Check it out. It's a great read.

So, let's begin at the beginning.

Denise and I left home at about 10PM Thursday night, after I finished giving a test on base. The plan had been to leave a bit earlier, drive through to Nashville and get there by noon on Friday, but I'd taken longer to finish my school stuff than I though I would. So facing a long night, we talked one another into stopping at about 3:15 AM in Texarkana.

We got up at 9:30 at the la Quinta and drove around to the office just in time to see some lady handcuffed and taken off by the fuzz. Maybe she didn't like the cheap assed complementary breakfast they offered. Nothing like a little excitement to start your day.

We headed East on I-30 until we saw a Cracker Barrel where we could have breakfast. It was cold out (we were used to 70s in the day time and maybe 40s or 50s at night, but it was in the 20s that morning), so the glow from the huge friggin' fireplace at the Cracker Barrel was really nice. I told Denise, If we ever build a house I'm gonna make sure it's got a huge fireplace like that.

After Breakfast we headed east again. For whatever reason, whether it was the huge load of Chinese food I stuffed myself on Thursday afternoon, or something at the Cracker Barrel, as we drove on through Arkansas and Western Tennessee I came down with a case of the trots. And were not talkin' a little discomfort here. Were talkin "Oh shit, I need to find a crapper NOW", kind of stuff. We must have stopped 4 or 5 times. It was very tedious.

On one such stop, West of Memphis, we drove into a rest stop and found a stray dog that had wandered up there weeks earlier. We asked the attendant and he said that it had wandered up, skin and bones, about six weeks earlier. He said that folks, passers by, had been feeding it, and that it had fattened up, but that it wouldn't let anyone close enough to get a hand on it.

Denise was very upset to think that someone would drop off a dog like that, but I'd bet the friggin' thing gets fed twelve times a day. We gave it ham and cheese forom what was left of our sandwiches. We decided to stop on the way back Sunday with some good dog food ("proper food", as Denise would say), and see if the pooch was still there.

We drove into Nashville and found my hotel on the South side by about 7PM. Denise left me there and drove on to Kentucky, where her kids and grand kids live. I was concerned for her, but she'd slept a bit on the drive up and knows that part of the country really well. She got to her kids place, about 2 1/2 hours North, and spent Friday night there with her grand kids while their mom took a physical up in Ohio at Wright Pat. She's going into the Air Force to be a nurse on a flying hospital. She's already a nurse, so she'll be going in as a 2nd Lieutenant.

Meanwhile, I called my buddies, who were already going through that Civil War Gun Show (they got special badges to allow them to wander the place as the tables were being set up). They drove up to get me and we went to a Piccadilly's Cafeteria just down the road for dinner. Turned out to be half assed food, but it filled a spot.

They took me back to my hotel and I settled in for the night. I talked to both Denise and Mushy that night, makin' sure she was Ok and seein' when he was gonna be arrivin' Saturday. I got out of my clothes, turned on the TV and relaxed. I started drinkin', and then decided to try to get some exams graded. I think, about two tall glasses later, I got one set of exams done before it was time to shut it all down.

My alarm went off at 9am, and a few minutes later Mushy called. By the time I got down there he was checking in. We took his stuff to his room and then hit the complementary breakfast.

OK, that's enough for now. The library is about to close on me. Maybe by Wednesday I'll have some pictures to show you and we'll finish this story. Or again, just go over to Mushy's site and read his version. He tells it like it was. I'll get mine done eventually. Until then, cheers.

Headin' to Nashville tonight.

Denise and I are driving her car to Nashville tonight, loaded with stuff for her daughter. Her eldest daughter is getting divorced and has had to leave her house with the two boys and needs lots of stuff, so we're gonna take her a load of household items. Of course, Denise wants to see her kid, and her grand kids, and let them know she's there to help. It tears her up to be here in Texas while this stuff is goin' on in Kentucky. You can imagine.

We'll leave late tomorrow night after I give a test and then drive all night, like we did last August on that last road trip. We left here at 9PM then, drove all night and got to Memphis by the time the sun came up, so we should easily be in Nashville by noon on Friday. We might drive till some time like one in the morning and get a room somewhere. There's no real urgency, since I can't get into my room Friday till 2PM.

Denise will take the wheel then, leave me there at the Holiday Inn Express on the south side and drive on about another hour North to her kids in Kentucky. I'll drive all night while she sleeps, so she'll be OK on the road. No worries. She lived up there for over twenty years, so she knows her way around.

My friend Dave and his reenactor buddies, the Civil War nuts, are gonna drive to Little Rock Thursday and spend the night, then drive to Nashville Friday. They're gonna pay a big fee to get into this huge (he tells me) Civil War Gun Show early, dealers badges or somethin', and they'll wander the show Friday night while the tables are being set up. Then they'll spend all day, and I do mean ALL DAY Saturday wanderin' around the place, arguin' about whether the buttons on a coat are correct, and shit like that. I've been down that road with them before, so I'm not interested in doin' that.

I figure I'll sleep some Friday afternoon, recover a bit, and then try to talk them into hittin' the town in the evening. I've looked online and there are Blues places with live bands all over, including a B.B. King place (He's playin' there next week, by the way - too bad it's not on this Friday or Saturday!). We'll find somethin' to do, somewhere. There's gotta be some place the in town that has Yuengling on tap and that'll let me smoke a cigar while I eat a good meal and listen to music.

Saturday, my buddy Mushy is supposed to drive West from Harriman and join me. He and I are gonna hook up and go to a that Gun Show. It's an annual thing there, on the South side of town at the State Fair grounds, so it should be easy for us to find. As I said, it's all Civil War stuff, which should be cool, but my buddy Dave says there's supposed to be another gun show next door that has more modern stuff. I figure each show should probably take an hour or two to walk through.

Anyway, after that, Mushy and I'll be looking for something else to do. Food to eat. A museum or somethin'. They have several there in town. Then we'll try to have a night of good music, food and fun. The two of us should be able to find somethin' fun to do in "Music City". He's reserved himself a room there in the same hotel as me, so when Denise and I hook back up again Sunday morning, when she drives back down from Kentucky, the three of us will go out and find a Cracker Barrel, or somewhere good where we can have a big breakfast. He and I will say our goodbyes then and head off in different directions towards home. I love that man to death, so it will have been great to have been able to hang out with him again, even if it's just for a short time.

My other buddies are gonna drive back to Little Rock Saturday night and take two days to get back to Gatesville, but Denise and I will take most of the day Sunday to drive home. We've both got Monday morning off, so we can both recover a bit after the day on the road. I won't have to be in San Saba till noon.

Anyway, it's nuts, granted, but I wanted to see this Gun Show that Dave's been tellin' me about for years, and I also wanted to try to get a chance to see my buddy Mushy again. It should all be fun.

You guys take care and we'll reconnect next week. Knowing Mushy and I, we'll probably both have lots of good pictures to share. Cheers!

Mom's birthday, and Thanksgiving.

Last Wednesday was Mom's 81st birthday! I told you about it back then, but I'm just now getting to post about it. Denise and I went over there in the evening, after Denise got off work ( got to sleep in and be lazy all day).



She had a hunger for Italian food and wanted to go to the Olive Garden, so that's what we did.



Thing is, Denise and I had gone to Fuddruckers for lunch (I went over to the college at about noon and picked her up), and she was still feelin' the effects of her burger. Both she and Mom ended up having only the salad and bread sticks for dinner, after a little combination appetizer. I on the other hand, was not gonna let that Buffalo, bacon-cheeseburger get in the way of enjoying a salad, bread sticks and pasta. I think I had the pasta with Chicken and Shrimp Carbonara.



It's a new thing they have... "Chicken and shrimp with bucatini pasta in a pancetta bacon and parmesan cream sauce, baked and topped with seasoned breadcrumbs". I'll have you know, it was GOOOOD!



After that we took Mom back home and she opened her presents. Denise got her a few of those cool glass plant watering globes. I've seen them around and they looked cool, and sure enough, Mom loves them. Denise did good.



I got mom one of those digital picture frames. It holds a hell of a lot of pictures. I downloaded a bunch of old shots and new ones to it before I gave it to her, and I think she had a great time watching them as they flashed across the screen. By the way, that shot you see there is of my sister and I in Bermuda, where I was born.

After all that, Denise and I headed home. But we planned to come back the next day for the big feed.



I had FTD send mom a centerpiece for her table, and it got there in time. She loved it.



By the time we got there, at about 3PM, Mom had the ham, dressing and everything else all laid out.



I LOVE Mom's dressing, and I prefer ham to Turkey. Mom asked us wait we wanted and we all decided to wait till Christmas to have the turkey. That's good vino there too, by the way. Denise got the bubbly, and also fixed a green bean casserole and mashed taters. I just showed up and ate it all (OK, I did cut the ham). That's my job (consuming mass quantities), and I'm damn good at it!



Mom made two pies for dessert; a Pecan and a Lemon Chess. you can see what I prefer.

After dinner we sat down to watch the Cowboys beat the Seahawks like step children, and I took a little nap in Denise's lap. It was a wonderful few days.

Well, the library is closing on me again, so I'm outta here. Later folks. Cheers!

Had a great weekend in Big "D".

Really, it turned out to be a wonderful time. We drove up Friday evening, leaving my house at about 4Pm. OK, there was a bit of drama just before we left, but aside from that, everything went off smoothly.

I'd had the concert tickets in my briefcase for a few months, ever since I used a color printer at work to print them off (my own printer is hosed up... Long story). I knew they were there, but for some reason I couldn't find them the first three or four times I looked on Friday. I got pissed off at myself, and in the stress of the moment I conjuring up all sorts of false memories of maybe putting them somewhere else. Then I looked in the briefcase one more time and there they were. By that time Denise was just about ready to shoot me, as you can imagine. But hell, they were just where I though they were all the time. No problems, eh?

We got to Dallas and checked into the Hyatt and found the place overrun, as usual, by foreign tourists. I think they had some sort of conference going on and a few weddings too. We ended up on the 14th floor, back by the Northeast wall of the building, with windows looking out on down town. We couldn't see much of the view though, because it was already pitch black outside even though it was only about 6:15. They hadn't even turned on the lights of down town yet when we drove up. It was like the place was dead. They must have them set on a timer.

Anyway, Denise freshened up and changed clothes wile I surfed the TV channels. Finally, at about 7:15, we headed over to the House of Blues, which is just off the highway, on the other side of the West End Marketplace from the hotel. It's within walking distance from the hotel, but it was too friggin' chilly to bother, so I drove us over. We ended up payin' $10 to park, but it was handy and easy to get to and from the place. No big deal.



The concert was supposed to start at 8PM, but the lead-up group, Electric Touch, didn't materialize till almost 9. They turned out to be a mostly forgettable pop band, though they showed great skill with their music. It just didn't seem to have much depth. They looked like they'd spent as much or more time getting dressed for the gig and getting their rock star posing down as they'd spent on the music. Give them time to grow up and they might just turn into something. Who knows?



The real show started when the curtains opened at almost 10PM and the Arc Angels took the stage. These guys are an amazing group. They put out one great record in the early 1990s and then broke up, supposedly because of the guy on the left there, Doyle Bramhall II, who was a huge junky then. He and the rest of the group all went their separate ways then, with the rhythm section, Double Trouble, playing gigs with everyone who runs through Austin at one time or another, and the guy on the right, Charlie Sexton, putting out solo stuff and laying gigs with the likes of Bob Dylan.



Ol' Doyle cleaned himself up, put out his own solo stuff and even toured eventually with Roger Waters and Eric Clapton. He's an amazing guitar player, as is Sexton, both having been influenced by numerous Austin Blues giants, including Stevie Ray Vaughan (Double Trouble played with him till his death). So I was really looking forward to hearing some wonderful sounds. They didn't disappoint! For a full review of the gig, and to save me from having to cut and paste, go here and read the review I posted for a blog called the "Smoke-filled Backroom". While you're there, check out some of the other posts that've been put up. It's a cool place, and I'm proud to be one of their contributors.



Saturday morning, late, with my ears still buzzing a little, we rolled out of the sack and got out of the room just in time to make the noon deadline.



I took the time to take a few shots of the scenery out the 14th floor window. That's the train station there on the right. I always love this view, but it can be deceiving. It makes Dallas look small, when in fact the city sprawls out beyond this panorama as far as the eye can see. I took Denise on a drive through some of that scenery, taking her east out through "Deep Ellum", and almost to fair Park.

Then we turned back North and we ended up over on Central Expressway. We found a Denny's over by SMU and both chose the "Moons Over My Hammy" for brunch. I had a few tall glasses of milk and she had coffee. The food was wonderful. Then I drove Denise back down Mockingbird and she spent a while going through the Stein Mart, looking for goodies. After that we headed over to Market Hall. That's when I got to check out the goodies!

A friend of mine had arrived at the huge market Hall gun show as soon as the thing opened, and had been texting and calling me, telling me how packed it was. According to him there was a mile long line just to get into the place. Well, but the time we got there at around 2:30, the line was gone, but the place sure was packed, and the prices were out the roof. The post-election panic has set in, and the prices for Kalashnikov rifles has gone up $300 to $500! I was amazed, even though I'd had people telling me about it for three weeks.

Thing is, I really don't need another AK, but ever since the election, with the Democratic Party majority, and the inevitable liberal war on gun owners just around the corner, I've got several friends who've discovered a need for one of these toys. A few folks, seeing the price increases, have even asked me if I'd sell them one of mine. "Hell no!" I tell them. I don't buy guns to sell them. I buy then to keep them.

So I was just walking around, checking out the market, looking things over for other folks. I found one rifle, normally priced at $350 to $500, which the owner had bumped up to $599. Then I saw all the others... Guns that normally go for $400 to $500, but now have prices like $800 or $1200 on them. Amazing!

I'd walked in looking for a gun safe for myself, but after paying the bills on Friday it turned out there wasn't enough left in the stack for the one I wanted. It'll wait. In the end, as I walked down the last isle, I ended up plunking down $125 for a Polish butt stock! It'll go on a Polish AK-47 I have, completing the rifle and making it really authentic. As is, my gun doesn't have the metal parts on the butt that are used to attach the rubber buffer that's used when you launch rifle grenades. I have the rifle grenade launcher and the sight, and the rubber bumper, but the rifle didn't come with the metal parts attached to fit the bumper. Now it'll have them.

So, we drove away, me being happy as hell with my purchase, and Denise amazed at all the stuff we crazy Yanks still have the right to own. We drove west to Ft. Worth and spent some time with a good friend of mine, Jim Aycock. We've been best friends ever since we met on a canoe trip in the late 1980s. He was in town for Thanksgiving, so we took the opportunity to catch up.

After that, Denise and I drove home. We got home around 11:30.

Well, the library is closing on me, so that;'s gonna have to be it. Later folks. I'll post something later in the week and tell you how Thanksgiving went. Cheers!

Friday stuff.

We went to Pedernales Falls again last weekend. I had the chance to get all the pictures done. They're uploaded to FlickR, so click over there and you can see them all.



This is a shot of the path that leads you to an overlook. You can see the whole falls from there, stretched out in a beautiful panorama.



Here's that view. Click on it to see the larger view. I think I merged about 5 or 6 pictures to get this one.

We got down there by about 8PM last Friday, paid our fee to camp and joined my friends who had been there for hours already. They only had to drive over from Austin, maybe 45 minutes away.

We got our tent and camp set up, cooked dinner, which consisted of pork chops and baked potatoes. Meanwhile, both of us were enjoying a few adult beverages. Denise was drinking Seagram's and &-UP, and I was drinking George Dickel and Diet Coke. I think we both had three tall glasses. Bein' a light weight, by the time we hit the sack, I was just a leeeetle...



Intoxicated... Fucked up.... Very happy! I think I was putting more whiskey in those Cokes than I should have. I can't speak for the little woman. She's got more stamina than I have when it comes to these things. Anyway, I had that really nice, warm, fuzzy feelin' goin' on. It's the same feeling I get sometimes, when I know I need to hand her the car keys. Seein' as how we were campin' though, and all I had to do was find the tent, I figured "what the hell". Yea, I'm a light weight. Easy. She gets me drunk and has her way with me often, but I'm NOT complaining.

The weather was cold that evening, but we do this camping thing up right, so we were very comfortable. We sleep on an air bed, with a goose down duvet covered with fitted sheets, and we have a down comforter to snuggle under. It was cozy as hell, and after filling my gut with good food and downing all that booze, I slept like a log. Denise did too. I think we laid around till almost 1PM Saturday. It was wonderful.



By Sunday, the temperatures had begun to warm up into the low 70s, so when we walked down to the river, it felt great to go wading on the low-water bridge there. I got a little video of the scene. There's no audio with this camera, but you can see the scene.



Today, Denise and I are heading up to Dallas. We have a room at the Hyatt, and two tickets to see the Arc Angels at the House Of Blues tonight at 8PM. Click over here to read about all that. I'm really lookin' forward to it. I'll try to take some good pictures and tell you all about it next week.

Saturday, we'll be sleeping in and then heading to Market Hall to attend the huge Gun Show there. My plan is to get myself a big, nice gun safe. I've got some other friends who'll be there too, so It should be fun.

After that we'll be heading over to Ft. Worth and visiting my buddy Jim and his wife Terry. He's gonna help me install the satellite radio receiver Denise got me for my birthday. We haven't seen him since our road trip last August, so it'll be good to hook up again.

Aside from all of that, we've had a great week, celebrating Mom's 81st birthday Wednesday and then going over there for Thanksgiving dinner yesterday. Mom had a great birthday, and we all had a great time yesterday. I'll be able to show you the pictures some time next week.

Finally, lets all say a prayer for those poor folks in India. What an amazing, and still unfolding tragedy that is. God bless the victims, and burn the bastards who did it.

So, you guys try to have a great weekend, and we'll talk again later. Cheers!

Happy Turkey Day!

Do what ya gotta do to live through it. I'll eat enough for all of ya. Cheers!