Cousins Reunion

On my mother's side of the family, there were 26 cousins. Aunt Phyllis & Uncle Ray lived in Washington so we didn't get to see them much, but the rest of us were pretty close growing up. It seems like we always hit Thatcher together. Well, it had been a long time since we got together. Attempts have been made, but nothing ever came of them. So finally Paul took control. He picked a time and arranged for a place (Mark's) for us to meet. There are 23 of us cousins left, and 10 of us made it to the reunion. A splendid time was had by all. It was great to see those that made it. We missed the ones that didn't make it. We talked about them.

I'm baaack...

It hasn't been as long as I thought since I last was here. Anyway, I got disgusted with Facebook so I deactivated my account there. That, along with being in Thatcher, should give me plenty of time to keep up with the blog. So I will try to do better. I already have some requests, so I will get to those soon.

Life in Thatcher is...different. Much different than what I have been used to for the last 20 or 30 years. And much different than it was when I was a kid and would come and visit. It will be interesting to see how things go.

Bread!

The place where I work was kind enough to give us 12 days off. Unpaid. So I thought I would go to Thatcher for a visit. I have been doing all sorts of fun projects that needed doing. 

I also brought along my sewing machine but discovered when I got here that what I thought was my current project in the case was just a piece of the fabric. That will have to wait until next time.

I talked my mother into showing me how to shape loaves for bread. We all know what disasters my first attempts on my own were. I am happy to report that I learned well. My bread actually looks like bread should. And it tastes pretty yummy to boot. There may be hope after all!

Turn The Page

There are a lot of changes coming in my mostly peaceful existence. I think that most of them will be good.

First, I am moving. I love the place where I live, but I was making quite a bit more money when I moved here than I am now. It is a struggle to make ends meet and any unexpected expenses can wreak havoc. So with the help of my cousin Paul, I have found a place that is not quite as big, not quite as nice but is 25% cheaper. That will help.

Second, my employment is winding down to its demise. I took a job as a temporary worker about 14 months or so ago. At the time they said the job would probably last 2 to 3 months. The factory where I work is moving their operations to Malaysia. There have been many difficulties with the move and it has been postponed several times. Thus the 14 or so months rather than 2 or 3 months of employment. Now they are saying January is it.

Third, and as a consequence of #2, I will be going back to school. The government has a program called "Trade Adjustment Allowance" that will pay for my retraining since my job is going overseas. I have just started the process of jumping through all of the bureaucratic hoops required. I'm leaning towards a webmaster certification. I hope that it is a growing field and that I will be able to stay employed once I complete the training. Actually, I hope to prosper rather than just get by. We shall see.

I Love Public Transit

I love public transit! You get to see so many interesting things and meet so many fascinating people. The other day, there was a couple sitting waiting for the bus when I got to the stop. He was kind of jumpy, maybe a little hyperactive. Perhaps in an altered state of consciousness. Anyway, he was explaining to his girlfriend that the rate of acceleration when you fall is 32 feet per second (Close, but no cigar.) and the speed of light is 186,000 miles per hour (Not even close.). Then he started trying to figure out how far you would have to fall to attain the speed of light. Guess he's never heard of terminal velocity. She got up and went to the Quick Trip.

The Good Son

In the breakroom at work the other night, one of the ladies was eating a bag of CornNuts Chips Salsa y Limón. They left a reddish, powdery residue on her fingers, much like Cheetos dust. She complained about them staining her fingers. One of the young men got up and cranked out some paper towels for her. She thanked him and proceeded to clean up her hands as best she could. She noted that while better, her fingers still just weren't clean. The same young man got up again, got her some more paper towels, grabbed one of the styrofoam cups next to the coffee machine and filled it with hot water from the spigot on the coffee maker. She gushed about it. She told him "Your mother raised a fine, caring, considerate, polite son!"

In a loud, strident voice I said "So did mine!"

Everybody stopped what they were doing and looked at me.

I said "He lives in Colorado."

Old Friends

I had the privilege of spending a couple of days with three beautiful women. It was fantastic, a lot of fun! They talked a lot while I mostly listened and laughed. There was some cigar smoking, some guitar playing, a few serious discussions. But mostly there was love and laughter.

Susan, Lisa, some lucky guy, Karen.

Karen

Susan

Lisa

Funny how they are all still vibrant and beautiful and I look like an old guy.

Thank you, lovely ladies, for allowing me to tag along. I had the bestest time. Those of you from far away should come and see us more often. You that lives here should see me more often. Old friends are the best!

Renaissance Fair 2010

I went to the annual Arizona Renaissance Fair last weekend with my friend Maria. As always, it was a lot of fun. We ate roasted turkey legs. We watched people. I always enjoy looking at the costumes and seeing what some people think is appropriate medieval attire. There are always lots of pirates, and as we all know the golden age of pirates didn't come until a couple of centuries after the renaissance. There's always some bare arms, shoulders, and midriffs on the ladies which wouldn't have happened in those days either. But why nitpick? Enjoy it for what it is: An opportunity to dress up and be somebody you aren't.

There were belly dancers.

There were pipers.

I tried my hand at a didgederoo.

There was harp music.

There was Patrice Ruane, spinet player. I think she has a crush on me.

All in all, a pleasant time was had. Come on down next year and go with us!

Bread? Part II

I thought I would give the ol' bread baking another try yesterday. It went pretty well. I was nearing the end of the process. I had divided my dough into two loaves. One was slightly bigger than the other, but they both looked like loaves. I placed the two pans on the oven rack. As I was sliding the rack in, I saw that the rack above was close to touching the bread pans. I thought "I should lower this rack." So I stopped pushing the rack in and reversed its direction. The bread pans continued in their original direction. They slid off the end of the rack, landing with a resounding "thud" on the oven floor. The loaves collapsed. I thought I can either wait a couple of hours for the dough to rise again or I can just bake these bad boys as they are. I baked them. The loaves were about 2 inches thick. I sliced them lengthwise into three pieces, then cut each crosssection into two pieces. They turned out about the right size for sandwiches. Tasty.

One of these days, I'll get it right.

Random Acts of Kindness

No, not by me. I thought you all knew me better than that. I went shopping today, taking along the little pull cart that I use to bring the groceries home. I let some impulses take control and ended up buying a little bit more than would fit in my cart. About 2 plastic grocery bags worth. So I'm high steppin' through the parking lot to catch the bus that will bring me home. A nice lady stops her truck and asks if I live close. I tell her about a mile, she says let's put your stuff in the pickup and I'll take you home. And she did. Thanks, nice lady.

Bread?

My sister sent me our grandmother's bread recipe. So I made some bread last week. It tasted really, really good but I think I need to work on the "shaping loaves" part.

A New Year

I think I've been spending way too much time on Facebook and not nearly enough time blogging. Although I'm not really one for resolutions, here's mine: More blogs, less Facebook.

You will hardly notice the difference.

December 25

So here it is, December 25th again.

In spite of my generally Scrooged attitude, I hope all of my loved ones had the merriest Christmas ever. I love you.

Fun At Work

There are a couple of people that I work with that abuse the break/lunch policy. I don't mind people taking a few extra minutes. Heck, I'll even put up with 10 extra minutes most of the time. But these guys were doubling their allowed times. So it came to a small head. Somebody (not me) complained to the supervisor about it, and he mentioned it to the group as a whole: Watch your break times, because if you don't I will! So one of the guilty parties responded by not covering for others when they went to break. Including me. I got refused when I asked. I have not asked since. I got the silent treatment for a couple of weeks. Boo hoo. Last week she came in and was sweet as pie. It was like nothing happened. I was polite to her, but not friendly as I have been in the past. She brought me in a home-made tamal. If you know me, you know how much I love tamales. I told her it was good and was polite to her, but not as friendly as I have been in the past. Later that day she told me she was sorry she only brought me one and would bring me a dozen this coming week. I think I like having her trying to get back in my good graces. I love my job!

Halloween - Sorta

So in early October this nice lady I work with was talking about Halloween. She said she wanted to be a black cat. I immediately got a vision in my head of what her costume should be. I said "I can help you with that." So she gave me her measurements, and I made her a black cat costume. I tried to get it to her early so she could try it on and I could make adjustments if necessary. She had elbow surgery and missed some work. We were supposed to meet at a local car show that some guys from work were participating in but failed to connect. So, she called me the 30th and said let's get together for breakfast. I showed her the costume and she loved it. She was thrilled beyond belief. I said go home and try it on. If it's not right call me right away and I will fix it! She didn't call so I thought all was well. I asked her about it Sunday morning at work. It didn't fit. Some places worse than others. So she ended up going to a costume shop at the last minute and buying a cheap cat costume.

I didn't get any pictures of the costume.

Warning Labels

At work there are rotating red lights mounted to the walls and ceiling throughout the facility. In safety training we were told that in case of fire the lights would go on so we would all know to get out of there. Every morning we have a short meeting to get updates and talk about issues. I usually stand right under one of these red lights for the meeting. So there I was the other day, a few minutes early for the meeting. I looked up at the light and saw the warning label.

"This device is not to be used as an indoor evacuation signal or for the hearing impaired."

Why else would you make a rotating red light?

Happy Birthday, Natalie!

It's Natalie's 21st birthday. I hope she doesn't get too crazy! She has always been one that knows what she wants and works to get it. Like being a hammer for Halloween.

How could you not love this face?

Natalie if fun to be around and very talented. She is also very smart. Even though one of her sisters called her a "super dork" I think she is more of a super geek. That's not necessarily a bad thing! Keep working towards your goals.

I love you and miss you.

Happy Birthday, Jason!

Tomorrow is Jason's birthday! And he gets to share it with his best friend, Cindy Lou. So happy birthday to both of you. I'm kinda surprised Jason has made it this far. But I'm glad to have him around.

Happy birthday. I love you and miss you.

Which Is Better?

Peace of mind, or a piece of pie?

Who Thinks Of This Stuff?