Right Way

Recliner

I took (and posted) this picture several years ago.  Today seemed like a good day to share it again.

0.5 K

This is a banner weekend for area athletes.  There's the Ironman competition in the Woodlands, and the annual MS-150 bicycle race from Houston to Austin. 
For those of us who get tired just watching this stuff on TV, the town of Boerne has announced their first annual 0.5 K run. I'm sure that it will be the first of many - this year's event is already sold out.

Remember?

Yesterday evening, we were standing outside and Honey brought up something that happened years ago.  We both had a good laugh about it, and it occurred to me that it would make a good subject for a blog post.
This morning, I remembered that happening, but could not  for the life of me remember what we were laughing about.
What's really scary is that Honey can't either.

Another Four Leaf Photo

For the past several years, I have been fascinated (Honey says obsessed) by a small patch of clover in our back yard that consistently produces a high percentage of four-leaf clovers.  Maybe she says that because I refuse to mow that little spot.
Anyway, I was checking it out yesterday and saw something new. Several three-leafs and at least one four leaf show large white spots, sort of like vitiligo in humans.

Headline of the Day

Scientists have determined that the upper atmosphere of the planet Uranus is mostly hydrogen sulfide.  An article about this was posted yesterday with the headline
SCIENCE CONFIRMS URANUS STINKS

Number Two

We are members of AARP - have been for years - primarily for the Medicare Supplement Insurance. 
Some of the political stances the organization has supported are in direct opposition to my personal politics, so I have been tempted to leave the group.  Apparently, I'm not alone and they are aware of this, because when I chose opt out of receiving emails, I got this reply:

We are sorry to see you go!

You have successfully unsubscribed from all AARP emails.

Before you go, we hope you will provide us with some feedback as to why you are leaving. Please check all that apply:

The quality of AARP emails is poor
I don't care for the AARP political point of view
AARP emails are not relevant to me and my life
The person who used to own this email address is now deceased
I receive too many emails in general
I receive too many emails from AARP
Other:
For what it's worth, I checked boxes 2, 3 and 5.

Jeremiah Bites Back

You've probably seen hundreds of photos of birds with frogs in their beaks.  There's even a famous meme of a frog hanging on and the caption "Never Give Up!'
There is a Facebook group called Birds of Texas, and one of the contributors posted a picture that falls into the "Man bites Dog" category.  She was at a stock pond in Palo Pinto County, shooting pictures of cliff swallows gathering mud for their nests, when she heard a loud splash....

She said the big bullfrog held the bird under water until it drowned, then swallowed the swallow whole.

Progress Report

Honey went in for a 24 hour follow-up check yesterday and she could read over half of the 20/20 line, and all of the 20/25 line on the eye chart.  Not the perfect 20/20 she had on the first eye 24 hours after surgery , but they said that was remarkable - almost unheard of - and that her eyesight will continue to improve.

This great news also brought some not so good news. 

She now finds that she can no longer read her watch.  Her wristwatch is a tiny, delicate thing - the entire watch face is smaller than the fingernail on my pinky finger - so that should not be a surprise.  We just hadn't considered it until now.

The second bit of bad news came yesterday afternoon.  Because her "new" eyes are so sensitive, she has to wear sunglasses. We had ordered some special sunglasses on-line, and they were to be delivered via US Mail.  The tracking software claims they were delivered at 1:32 p.m. but they did not arrive.  I will be calling the Huffman Post Office tomorrow morning, and they are not going to enjoy that conversation.

Together Again

I see You and Raise You One

Honey went back in for her second cataract surgery this morning.  We are back home, and so far, everything looks good.
She goes back  for a follow-up exam tomorrow morning.

Dog Years

Our two miniature dachshunds will be 14 years old this summer, which definitely makes them senior citizens.  The average life expectancy for dachshunds is 12 to 15 years.

They are both beginning to show signs of aging.  It had to happen, but it makes me a little sad.

Dusty has gained weight, and has cataracts on both eyes.  In the past few weeks,  those two conditions have combined to make her unable to jump up into the chair where they spend most of their day.  At first, she would try and come up short, then wait for us to pick her up.  Lately, she doesn't even try.  She spends her time in a dog bed I bought a couple years ago - a dog bed she wouldn't have anything to do with until now.

I'm not sure I can blame Tinker's latest problem on age. 

A couple weeks ago, when they almost caught that squirrel, Tinker injured her tail.  I don't think she broke it - she still won't let us touch it - but she probably dislocated a vertebra near the base of her tail.

We had no idea she was hurt - she seemed fine after the squirrel chase until the first time she had to poop, then she yelped in pain - almost sounded like she had been snake bit. 

She is  OK otherwise, but normal position and movement involved in bowel movements is still painful.  Instead of hunkering in one spot like she has done all her life, she now spins in a circle, and sort of slings her droppings.  That would be fine except instead of picking out a spot out in the yard, she consistently does this just out the back door.

Goats 2

Just back from feeding my neighbor's goats. 

I still haven't got a good look at the little buggers.  They stay inside their dog house.  I had hoped that putting out food would coax them out where I could see them, maybe even get a picture, but I guess they weren't hungry.

Goats

I may have mentioned before that we have a new neighbor (since December) who is only around about half of the time.  He works in Africa, and has a 28 day on / 28 day off schedule, so we only see him every other month.

He stopped by yesterday to say he was leaving again, and asked me if I would feed his goats while he is gone.

I don't mind doing it, but I wonder why he bought them in the first place without knowing he had someone lined up to take care of them, and I wonder what it is about me that made him think that I would.

The Ultimate First Lady

I met Barbara Bush in 1963. 

I was a student at Houston's Academy of Radio, and was hired to ride around Southwest Houston in a van, playing patriotic music and urging residents to vote for George in his first attempt at politics. an unsuccessful run for the U. S. Senate.

At the end of the day, we were invited to the Bush's home.  They were so kind, and Barbara was so gracious that I was almost embarrassed that I was being paid for my efforts.  I left thinking that there's a lady I would vote for, and nothing she has done since has changed my mind. 

Marathon

Today is the fifth anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombing.

Just thought I would mention it.

Late Night Fright

Since her surgery, Honey has to wear a protective cover over her eye at night.  It's there to keep her from poking her eye while asleep, and it does a fine job.

Last night though, She woke up about three in the morning convinced that it had been pushing on her eye while she slept and had screwed up the procedure.  She had been sleeping on that side, and the lower edge of the cover had left a channel where it had been digging into her cheek.

It was all a false alarm.  Her vision's fine, but it took a half hour or so before she could calm down enough to go back to sleep.

Recuperation Review

Honey continues to recuperate from her cataract surgery.  Things are OK, but she is a little worried because, after the amazing progress of the first 24 hours, things have slowed down.
All of the drops she has to put in her eye are thick and creamy. They don't burn when we put them in any more, but they do blur her vision, and they seem to stay around forever.
 I haven't mentioned this before, but after they took her back on the morning of the surgery, I was walking out to the truck and tripped and fell in the parking lot.  I bruised and abraded both knees, and jammed my elbows and shoulders - no serious damage, but I have been dealing with some annoying aches and pains.
We are recuperating together, and I'd guess you'd say we are both ready for things to get better sooner rather than later.

Cataract Update

I didn't get around to posting anything yesterday, but Honey's Cataract surgery went very well.  In fact, we went in for a follow-up visit this morning and, less than 24 hours after surgery, the vision in that eye is now 20/20.  That's better than it was with  glasses!
She keeps saying things like "I can see that!"
Now, she can't wait for the surgery on her left eye. 

Zero Dark Thirty

  Honey has cataract surgery scheduled tomorrow. 
We are supposed to be at the surgical center at 5:30 a.m. and it's 50 miles from our house on the other side of downtown Houston, so we will be getting up and heading out in the middle of the night.
If I post to my blog tomorrow, it will be later in the day than usual.

Every Drama Needs A Villian

I don't play golf. 

I decided after a couple rounds in high school that I liked the game too much and couldn't afford it.

I do enjoy watching the game, and got very excited yesterday when one of my favorites, Jordan Speith, came from nine back to tie for the lead with just a few holes to go.  Unfortunately, he lost momentum and ended up third.

The guy who won the green jacket was Patrick Reed. 

Although he is a Houstonian, I knew next to nothing about him, so I went on line to find out what I could. 

I'm sorry that I did.

I learned that he earned the nickname "Captain America" for his play in the Ryder Cup - okay, that's good, right?

But - I also learned that he came in runner-up to Bubba Watson in a survey to determine the least-liked player on the PGA Tour. 

He is even estranged from his parents.  Although they live in Augusta, they didn't bother to show up to watch him play in the Masters.

His wife does seem to like him, and his brother-in-law is his caddy, so I suppose he can't be all bad.

Clothing Optional

Just in case you ever wondered, this is a clothing-optional blog. 
By that I mean that you are welcome, even encouraged, to read it in anything from full Arctic camouflage to nothing at all, or anything in between.
I also enjoy and encourage your comments on my posts, but please resist the urge to include "Selfies."

A-K-A

Whether you're creating a character in a work of fiction, or picking a nom de plume for yourself, creating a name is a challenge.  It requires a bit of science, a little art, maybe some magic and a whole lot of luck.

The name should sound familiar, but not common, and, in the case of a name you will be calling yourself, it should feel natural and easy to remember.

When I first started my career in radio, I chose to use my middle name as my last, becoming Bob Allen on the air. 

This worked fine until I had a chance to move to the Houston market.  There was already a Bob Allen in Houston, a sports reporter who was beloved by Houstonians for half a century until he died of Cancer last year.

As with most rules, the guidelines for name selection has exceptions.

I woke up this morning with Bolivar Shagnasty on my mind.  Now that's not a name that is particularly believable, but it is certainly memorable.  He was one of the many characters created and portrayed by Red Skelton. His pearls of wisdom included "Blood is thicker than water, and harder to shave with." and "Stone walls do not a prison make.  That's why they have iron bars."

Hurricane Season

The "experts" at Colorado State University are predicting 14 named tropical storms in the upcoming hurricane season.  They expect 7 to become hurricanes and 3 to become major (cat 3 or above) with winds in excess of 111 mph.

I have never seen an explanation of why the go-to guys for hurricane prediction are up in the Rockies where they have never seen a tropical storm and never will. That strikes me as sort of like getting parenting advice from a gay proctologist. 

Over the years the CSU prediction has been right about 70% of the time - 66% for actual hurricanes, but those of us who live on or near the coast know these predictions are just a number - a SWAG (scientific wild-assed guess) at best.  The only number that really counts is the number of hurricanes that will actually hit you.  

Just Checking Again

I was doing some on-line banking yesterday, and saw a one dollar charge from Good Sam.  It took me a while to remember that they did the same thing a year ago - JUST CHECKING.
I don't have many things set for automatic renewal, but Good Sam is the only one that uses this method to make sure a credit card is up to date.

Around 60

I think that I may have told this story before, but I did a search and couldn't find it, so....

Back when my wife and I first met, we were both going to Stephen F Austin College in Nacogdoches, and we often came home to Houston on the weekends.

One Sunday evening, I asked her if she would like to drive, and she said yes.  Honey had her license, but very little experience behind the wheel, so driving my MG Midget was a treat.

We headed north on US-59, and I fell asleep about Porter.  Just over an hour and a half later, she was waking me up, parked in front of her dorm.

A few things you need to know -

• My car was almost new and there was some minor warranty work I wanted done. I had disconnected the speedometer cable so the odometer wouldn't go over 12,000 miles before I could get it into the shop.
• Highway 59 back then was mostly two lane road with traffic lights in every town.
• Houston to Nacogdoches is approximately 155 miles.

I looked at her, back at my watch, back at her and said "My gosh, Honey! How fast were you going?"

She pointed at the tachometer and said "I kept it around sixty."

All the News

The World Series Champion Houston Astros are off to a great start.  Of course there's a lot of season to go, but they won three out of four in Dallas, and won their home opener here yesterday.
Liberty County deputies busted a cock fighting ring near Cleveland over the weekend.
And - - - The latest fad among teenagers is sucking condoms up their nose.  

Jesus

We watched Jesus Christ Superstar on NBC last night, and I guess my word for it would be interesting.
Several great voices involved, but most of the time they seemed to be drowned out by the orchestra. 
Even the less-than-glowing reviews this morning are calling the show a success, but I'm not so sure.  There were great moments - Brandon Victor Dixon's reprise of I don't know how to love him for one - but the best grade I could give the show is a C.

Terrenos

I had to go to New Caney yesterday, but after the rains earlier in the week, the East Fork of the San Jacinto River was over the road causing the closure of FM1485.  I chose to go via Plum Grove and Splendora, a route I hadn't taken in about a year. 
Wow, what a difference a year can make!

Just a couple miles north of the old Boggy Thicket a small city has blossomed in the woods.  It's all because of Terrenos Houston, a Spanish language real estate company on 1485.  Some of the homes are ratty old trailers, but many are new brick homes with well-tended yards. There is even a home builder with model homes and a sign out front reading No Credito - No Problema.