Storms

Well, we had the predicted storms and then some.  Early this morning, about 7:15, an electric storm blew through.  Later in the day, mid-afternoon, the sky grew very, very dark, and we had a rainstorm, with small hail.  We had sprinkles off and on throughout the day.  The storms may continue off and on the next few days, including wind and even snow. It is that time of year.

A Changing Sky

The sky was bright and sunny today.  The weather predictors were saying we would have a change with possible light precipitation by Wednesday.  By this afternoon, the sky has become heavy and grey with clouds. The temperature has cooled.  We shall see how the weather turns.

I should have suspected that the weather forecasters were correct.  When I awoke this morning, I had joint pain, and no desire to move.  On a work day, I would have forced myself into the hot shower, and get dressed so I could go to work.  On a weekend, day off or holiday, I just rather lounge for a while, and gradually work my bones and body to move, take my shower and take it easy.  Which is what I have done and have been doing today.  

Update Me Because I Am Uninformed

I hope uninformed is correct, and ignorant would not be more correct. I am sorry if ignorant is more correct.  I am asking because I do not want to be ignorant, and I want to be respectful of the LFBTQ community. I listen to NPR a lot.  And have lately heard them use the term queer to refer to homosexuals, male and female, bisexual, and transgender.  The first time I recently heard this on the radio, I wondered about it, because that was a derogatory term I heard in the 1960s and 1970s and perhaps beyond for people who are homosexual. But now, apparently queer is becoming more common.  It still feels uncomfortable when I hear it on the radio.  What gives?

The other thing I have noticed in the NPR reporting is that when they report on persons who are transgender, the term "they" is used instead of he or she.  Again, please enlighten me.  Is this the terminology preferred by people being reported upon, or is it a machination used by the legal or political powers that be at NPR to keep them out of legal trouble? I just want to know.  

Green Book

This afternoon, I went to see the movie Green Book.  It was a very good movie, on many different levels.  I would highly recommend it.  If you are not familiar with the story it is about Don Shirley, a Black pianist who takes his trio South on tour in 1962.  The rest of his trio is Anglo, and he hires an Anglo driver Tony Vallelonga.  The story is about the transformation of Shirley and Vallelonga.   

The Shortest Day of the Year

As you know, December 21 is The Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year.  Every year, I am amazed, but no longer surprised, at how quickly and noticeably the length of daylight hours increases after the 21st..  It is always pleasant.   I dislike the short daylight hours.

The Texas Tech Museum

I was surprised to learn that the Texas Tech Museum was going to be open today, because their schedule usually is consistent with the University's class schedule.  But, they were open, and will reopen on January 2, 2019.

I went to see the exhibit The Pre Modern Bibles.  I had actually gone to the museum once before to see this exhibit, but was distracted by a couple of exhibits:Red That Colored the World and Ladies in Red.   Those were great exhibits. Today, in addition to the exhibit on the Pre Modern Bibles, I went through the Red, Hot and Quilted  exhibit.

I really enjoyed both exhibits.  Amazingly, later today, I was reading a book, The Grantchester Mysteries, Sydney Chambers and the Persistence of Love.   There was a segment of the book  "Ex Libris"  that talked about ancient religious books, and used terms like "glossed" the meaning of which I learned today at the museum. This added to my enjoyment of the book, whereas without that knowledge, I would have just "glossed over" the term, and not worried about what it meant.

It is enlightening that our academic life can enhance our daily life in what is a small but important way!

A Basketball Bonanza

Thursday night, the Texas Tech Red Raiders Basketball Team played the Duke University Basketball Team at Madison Square Garden. The Garden was sold out and the people at ESPN said the viewership was the highest for a basketball game since 2015.  The announcers were very complimentary of the Tech team.  The Tech team got behind at first, lead for much of the game, and lost by a wider margin that would indicate how close the game was.

Friday night, I watched the Milwaukee Bucks win against the Boston Celtics NBA teams in Boston.  

Saturday, I watched the Texas Tech Lady Raiders play against the Texas Southern Lady Tigers.  The Raiders won.  After the game, there was an announcement on the radio that Coach Marlene Stollings is the first Lady Raider coach to start her career with an 8 and 2 record.  I hope this bodes well for her.  We shall see.

Warm Clothers

I like warm clothes at this time of year.   I like turtleneck sweaters, and several years ago, I ordered 3 online.  I do not buy much online, but occasionally I buy stuff. These are rayon/nylon sweaters, and they are very soft, but very, very warm.  That was surprising to me.

This year, I bought a couple of shirts.  They look like flannel shirts, but they are 100% polyester.  They feel like flannel shirts, and are warm like flannel shirts. 

When I wear the turtlenecks under the "flannel" shirts, that is a very soft, very warm combination, and I feel very comfortable with this clothing combination.  

Taki's New Habits

The last few days, Taki has taken to getting on the slide out on my computer desk, and playing with items on the desk.  She likes to sit on the keyboard (a no no) and chews on things on the desk.  There is a small medallion that came in the mail from some organization, and she likes to bat it around and knock it to the floor. Today, she did the same with my Goldfish crackers.  When I told her "no" she stopped, which is unusual for her.  Later she was playing with the medallion again, and would grab my fingers in her mouth. I told her "No biting" and she dropped my fingers.  Maybe, she is learning something. Later, she was trying to scrape a decal off the laptop.  It was fun to watch, but a little sad, because she did not "get it."    

The Closed Door

The other morning, as I was getting ready for work, there was a whooshing thump.  Haiku heard it too, and looked towards the computer room in the house.

I continued getting ready for work, which includes feeding the cats and cleaning the cat pans.  I often feed Taki in the computer room, and there is a cat pan in that room, also.  So about 20 minutes later, I went to the computer room, and the door was closed tight.  Taki was in the room when I opened the door.

Taki was not too concerned.  I was, because she is not very door savvy, and sometimes, can not remember how to pull a door open.  She knows how to push a door closed, which is what I expect she did that morning.  

I was especially concerned, because sometimes, when I sit in the computer room and use a space heater, I pull the door partially closed, and I had done that the night before this event. So, I have been careful to be sure that when I am done with the computer room, I leave the door open enough that Taki can get out without her accidentally closing the door, and closing herself in.  If this were to happen, it would not be the end of the world, but I would feel horrible if she were shut in all day, or over night. 

Disoriented!

When I drive to work in the morning, I am driving East, and at this time of year, the sun is rising, and I am driving into the sun on the horizon. And, it only gets worse.

Today, I had to work late, and was driving West.  The sun was on the horizon in the west, and I kept expecting it to get higher, at first.  It took me a few minutes driving west to realize that the sun was setting, and the brightness on my eyes would ease as time went on.  A different experience than my morning drive.  More comfortable. I just was not really processing about the sun. I was thinking about other things.  Not always safe when you drive.

Spotty showers

Yesterday, a line of showers passed through the South Plains area.  It was interesting:  Some places simply received big drops. Other places received serious downpours.  You could look across the horizon, and see the areas where the rain was occurring, where there was virga, and where there was no rain at all!  This is one of the neatest things about the weather in West Texas:  You can look across the horizon, and see the variations in weather in the area!

The Wind 2018

A wind storm was predicted for today, and we did get it.  I believe the gusts were in the 60 mph range, with sustained winds well above 30 mph. It was well above freezing, but the wind made it feel colder than that. 

There was not a lot of dust.  The wind was coming in from the northeast, and the open fields are generally to the south and west, and even the north.  

The roaring of the wind is amazing.  

Refreezing After The Storm

There was a lot of melting of snow and ice today, which is good, but after sundown, the temperatures dropped below freezing and all of the moisture has frozen.  About 9:30 PM the Lubbock Police Department announced the closing of the Marsha Sharp Freeway from Avenue Q (north central Lubbock) to West Loop 289 (west central Lubbock.)  It also announced the closing of the Loop 289 from West Fourth Street (north west Lubbock) to South Indiana (south central Lubbock.) I live in south central Lubbock. The biggest problem with these highways are the bridges and ramps that freeze up and are very dangerous. Yesterday, the ramp from South Loop 289 to Interstate Highway 27 was closed due to icing conditions.  

My concern is that the roads will still be icy when I have to go to work in the morning. Some schools, and very few businesses have delayed opening tomorrow. So far, my agency has not.  That does not matter.  I have lots of leave. I may just decide to go into work late.  

Dealing With The Weather

My efforts for dealing with the snow storm were very simple:  I stayed home.  I did not have anywhere I needed to go on Saturday. Sunday, I renewed on line the library books that were due. I shoveled the south half of my driveway: the melting was such that the north half had less than an inch of snow. I should have pushed it to the side, but my back was bothering me.  Most of the side walk was melted. I did clear a path for the mailman.

Winter Weather

Lubbock and much of the southwest is predicted to be facing a winter storm this weekend.  It sort of blew in yesterday, with lots of wind and clouds.   The temperature stayed in the 30s most if not all day, but just above freezing, and we had intermittent rain.  The real rain was supposed to start tonight, and it sort of has.  

I usually do my weekly shopping Friday night after work, and sometimes, Saturday morning.  I decided to shop Thursday night after work, as did many others.  The store was crowded, but the lines were not too long. I stocked up on some extra items, so I would not have to return to the store until after the storm, and purchased items anticipated for the next week.

I topped off the gas tank in my car, which involved a longer wait in line, but that was okay.

I had purchased some kitty litter on Wednesday night, and had left it in the car.  It is still in the car, in case it is needed, but I have no plans to go anywhere until Sunday afternoon.  The weather should be good by then.

Christmas Lights

I put my Christmas lights up over the weekend, actually, Sunday afternoon.  I had many strands of lights, and many no longer worked. I had almost enough for what little I do.  However, I wanted a couple of strands more. 

I was not up to shopping Monday night after work, so Tuesday I went to Home Depot, and could not find what I wanted.  So Wednesday night, I went to Wal Mart and found what I wanted.  I toyed with doing some extra shopping, and did pick up a box of kitty litter, but decided I really wanted to get home and put up the lights.  I was really disappointed because one strand only lit up half way reliably.  So, I used the other strand and just bunched up the half strand and threw it in the middle of the Nandina bush.

I am glad I put up the lights Wednesday. 

A Most Unusual Atmostphere

From my place of employment, we watched the dust blow in and recognized this was typical West Texas, even if it is in the fall, when some 40 years ago, most of the blowing dust was in the spring. 

But, the sky was unusual. If you looked to the south, east and west, there was dust in the air. Looking to the north and north west, we could see clouds building, with possible storms, and blue skies!

I went shopping and about an hour later, left the store.  When I did, the parking lot was wet. The rain was not heavy:  the tarmac under the parked  cars was dry.  You could see the areas where the rain was coming down, also.  When I got home, it was almost totally dry at my house.

The Grocery Shopping ListI

I  have taken to doing my weekly shopping on Friday afternoon after I leave work.  I do most of my weekly shopping at Wal-Mart and today was going to be no exception.  Unfortunately, I had left my shopping list at home.  I realized that on my way to work, but chose to not turn around, as I knew most of the items that were on my list. 

There was one item that I could not recall that was on my list.  I had put it on my list early in the week and I just could not recall what it was.. During my work day, I would think about my list and what that one item might be. Finally, after I left work and was on my way to Wal-Mart, I remembered what that item was.  Unfortunately, Wal-Mart was not stocking it.  That was not unexpected, and I will go to Pets Mart over the weekend to purchase that item.

Can You Believe It? I CannotI

I was thinking about it tonight.  Haiku was born in the spring of 2002, so she is now 16 and a half years old.  She ate turkey tonight, early on, and ate a lot. She joined us in the computer room, where I had the space heater on.  It really was not that cold out, and the whole house heater was not running, but we wanted it warm in the computer room. She slept contentedly for quite a while. 

About 9:30 PM, she cried aloud, as if she were in distress.  I offered her liver and turkey, and this time she chose the liver.  Then she went to bed, but Taki was on her pillow platform on the bed.  I showed her an alternate pillow platform, and she settled in there.  Just checking, some 40 minutes later, neither Taki nor Haiku are on the bed. Taki is back in the computer room with me, but who knows where Haiku is.  

Cell Display Screen

The display screen on my cell phone used to be very bright, and it dims automatically in a power saving mode when it is idle. A few weeks ago, coinciding when the basketball season started, I noticed that the screen was very dim.  I noticed this when I was in the United Supermarkets Arena,  home of the Texas Tech basketball teams and the women's volleyball team.  It did not really bother me anywhere else, and I thought it might have something to do with the lighting in the arena.  But I just was not satisfied with that explanation.  Yesterday while I was in the arena, waiting for the men's basketball game to begin, I started looking for a different answer.  And found it in settings, under Display and Brightness.  The brightness setting was set to its very lowest.  I think this occurred during the last update.  That is one of the things that distresses me about updates, they change settings that I never thought about, and have to go looking to try to change it to the way I like it. 

A Sports Day

Saturday, the 24th, was quite a sports day.  It started with the Texas Tech football team playing Baylor in Arlington, Texas.  The Tech team lost.  I went to see the Lady Raiders basketball team play the Houston Baptist Huskies.  The Lady Raiders won.  I stayed to watch the Red Raider basketball team play the Northern Colorado Bears.  The Red Raiders won.  The NBA Boston Celtics played the Dallas Mavericks in Dallas.  The Celtics lost.  Well .500 is not the best average, is it? 

Celery Leafs

Whenever I buy celery, Haiku expresses an intense interest in the celery leaves.  I usually save them and dry them, to use as celery flakes in cooking.  I put them in a plastic dish I put on top of the microwave.  One morning, that dish was on the floor, most of the celery leaves in it gone.

Wednesday, I was cutting up celery for the Thanksgiving dressing.  It was a new package of celery, and I was stripping the leaves. I was sitting at the table.  Haiku got up on the table and started snuffling through the celery leaves.  So, that dish of celery leaves became hers.  Every once in a while she has been chewing on the leaves in that dish; they are actually disappearing quickly.  

Kitchen Clean Up

I cooked a Cornish Game Hen meal for Thanksgiving today.  One of the things that Lisenby taught me when we were cooking complex meals was to clean up as we went along.  I washed dishes 3 times today as I was preparing the meal, including once because I cleaned out some large dishes from the refrigerator and put the contents in smaller dishes. I allowed the dishes to drain dry, and put them away when they were dry.  When I was done cooking and eating my Thanksgiving meal, there was very little clean up left to do. 

It might seem wasteful to use soapy water three times.  But, on the other hand, many of the dishes I was washing were greasy, so the soapy water lost its effectiveness quickly, anyway.

Weather

It has been a pleasant day today, and the sun was out earlier. Now, at 3:30, the sky is overcast, and it is almost as dark as it would be at pre-dusk. I think our weather over the next few days will get cloudier and cooler, but maybe not so much precipitation.

Thankfulness

Today is Thanksgiving, and I have a lot to be thankful for:  I have a good career and job. I have people who care about me.  I have a good home. I am able to take care of my needs.  In addition to a meaningful career, I do some meaningful volunteer work.  I have a faith that sustains me. 

  

Texas Tech Men's Basketball

Earlier this week, the Texas Tech Men's Basketball team played in the Hall of Fame Classic in Kansas City, Missouri.  The first game was against Southern Cal.  Tech won.  The team faced Nebraska the second night of the Classic, and I watched the pre-game show. Two of the announcers opted for Tech to win.  They also said that Tech might be a team the Duke team would lose to when they face them later in the season.  The Texas Tech basketball team has obtained some national credibility as a team!  Go, Texas Tech.

And it does not hurt that during the second game, Patrick Mahomes, Texas Tech alum and former football quarterback at Tech, and now headline making quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs, was in the audience.

You cannot pay for publicity like that!

Medication Renewals

Recently, I signed up for medication notifications from Wal Mart, where I get my prescriptions filled and refilled.  It did not work correctly at first, but what it does is notify me when my prescriptions refills are ready to be picked up.  

Today it notified my that I had three prescriptions that were ready to be refilled. I had been monitoring that, and because I had plans for Monday and Tuesday night, had planned to order the refills Monday night so the refills would be ready Wednesday. I went ahead and ordered them refilled today, and was sent a message that the prescriptions would be ready after 10 AM on Monday.  I learned from past experience, that they will hold prescriptions for about two weeks, but they will still be in the system if you need them after that. 

I was shopping at Wal Mart late this afternoon, and when I was in the check out line, I received a message that my prescriptions were ready. I checked out my items, and took them to the car, then went back into the store and picked up my prescriptions.  That could not have been more convenient!

How can you beat that service?

A Long Day

I did not have any plans for today that were expressly time related:  I planned to go to recycle, go to the library, shop at Pet's Mart, fill the gas tank in the Vue, and pick up a few items at Wal Mart in an effort to be prepared and stocked for the holiday. 

I slept in.  Saturday morning, I arose early, before 7 AM because I could not sleep, so I was glad to be able to sleep in today.  I took my time this morning, feeding the cats, watching TV, doing chores including laundry, reading a little, and watching TV.  I had a light lunch, then showered and ran the errands I had on my list.  It took about 2 hours.

Because it gets dark so early, I thought it was much later than it was when I checked the clock about 6:30 PM.  It has been a slow night, and time has dragged. I do not mind. Some days are just like that.  

A Wierd Happening

Last night, I had something weird happen at my house.  I was sitting at the dining table, that looks out a north facing window onto the covered stoop of my front door.  The blind was drawn.  About 930 PM, the door bell rang.  I did not respond immediately, but when I did, all I did was look out the front window. I young man, Anglo, I think, with curly hair, glasses and a grayish shirt, maybe a hoodie, was walking away.

I was disconcerted, and after some deliberation, decided to call the Lubbock Police Department.  I used the non-emergency number.  I explained my concern, and that while I was disconcerted, I was also concerned that the young man might need some help that I was uncomfortable opening my door and finding out about. I was told they would send officers to check.

I was treated courteously and seriously, although they may have thought I was wasting their time. I hope not, but I do not know. I did not want this person to come back and try to invade my home, but my front porch light was one of the few on in my neighborhood, so he may have needed some help and tried the house with a light on.  I don't know. 

I hope the young man is okay. 

Sick Day

I did not feel well when I woke up this morning, and went into work late, and came home early. I spent most of the afternoon on the reclining sofa, reading.  That kept my feet up, and is the most relaxing place I can be during the day.  I had a couple of throws covering me and the space heater on. It was comfy and cozy and I enjoyed the book I was reading. 

Reading like that is very relaxing and helps me to recuperate mentally and physically. Even if I read late into the night.  

The downfall is that by 8 PM tonight, I thought it was much later.  I did not feel tired, it was just the length of time that I had been home It has been a long night, but not in a negative sort of way.

Cold Snap

We had a cold snap this week, with temperatures as low as the high 20s or low 30s.  After a couple of days, I was walking into work with some co-workers who said they were ready for summer.  I reminded them that it will get warm again, unlike other parts of the country. It did get warm today, but it will be cold again over the weekend. 

My co-workers agreed that we would see warm weather again, without having to wait until April or May of next year.  

Turkey

Some time ago, I bought some turkey from the deli, and Haiku was very interested in eating it for a few days. The next time I bought turkey, Haiku was not really interested.  Today I but a turkey and cheese sandwich from Subway.  Haiku was very interested in the turkey  and I gave her some off the sandwich..  I bought a foot long, and ate half for lunch and half for dinner.  I took all of the turkey off the dinner sandwich to feed to Haiku, but tonight she ate a good serving of liver.  I will offer the turkey at another time, or if she wants a snack later on, which is possible, if she did not get her fill earlier.  

Basketball

I bought season tickets for the Texas Tech Lady Raiders Basketball Games, which might be a rip off.  The tickets average out to $5 a game, and they are being sold singly at $3 a game. Oh well, I wanted to be supportive of the new era under Coach Marlene Stollings, and as a season ticket holder, I get preferred parking, free entry to other Tech female sports that are also Olympic sports, and some restaurant discounts for restaurants I do not usually frequent.  

Tonight was the season opener for the Lady Raiders, and they won.  I was smart enough to check the men's basketball schedule, and know they had a home game scheduled about an hour after the women's game.  That meant my ticket was good for both games.  I planned to work my 8 hours, and leave in time to go home, feed the cats and get to the Lady's game before it started at 5:30 PM.  I had dinner at the arena, and stayed for the men's game, too.  The men also won!  

This year, there is only one other double header at the United Supermarket Arena.  It is scheduled for the Saturday after Thanksgiving.  I will plan to attend both games that day.

There are other days that the men's team and the women's team play at home on the same day, but the amount of time separating both games allows for emptying the arena and the parking lot and charging two admissions.  What a bummer!

Haiku Would Not Eat

This has been a horrible week. I could not get Haiku to eat liver, even a little bit.  She would eat a little bit of dry treats, and the Special Kitty dry food that I feed to the outside cats, but she would not eat anything else.  She licked a little bit of gouda, but that could not sustain her.  I was so worried.  Because she is eating dry food, I have to think she does not have the infection of gums that Sake had.  I cooked a chicken breast one night. She slurped up the juices but ignored the tiny pieces of chopped up chicken in the dish. 

I thought she might have a hairball, and I had some gelatinous hairball remedy that is salmon flavored.  She did not object to my putting it on her paws, and cleaned it up and sniffed the tube, so I let her eat some from the tube. I did not want her to get sick, so I limited the amount. It was late at night, so the next morning, I made a trip to the grocery store, before I went to work, to get some salmon based foods, but she turned her nose up at those! This was really frustrating.

The next night, she lapped up the hairball remedy on her paws, and ate some more from the hairball remedy tube. She took some Gouda, but she does not eat little bitty bites of Gouda.  She only likes to lick it from a piece, so I cut it in small chunks, and hold it for her to lick. She ate some dry food.  

I finally got smart, and fed the outside cats the rest of the container of liver she did not like, and defrosted another. She ate that well, on Thursday morning and Thursday night, Friday morning and Friday night.  The crisis has past.  Almost. On Friday night, I went out, so when I got home, she wanted more liver, which she got, twice.  But she wanted me to go to bed with her at what would be a normal bedtime for me.  But because I was out, I am still winding down.  She finally decided to come sit on her chair in the computer room, next to me, so I can pet on her while I am on the computer.  Hopefully another crisis has passed. 

The Back Scratcher

For years, I have been using the eraser end of a pencil as my back scratcher.  At work, I use my plastic ruler.  Sometimes, I can twist my arms around and find the spot that needs scratching, but not usually.  I was at the store a couple of weeks ago, and saw a back scratcher.  I did not look at the price when I put it in my cart, but it turns out it was only a dollar. 

I live along.  Do you know how good it feels to have that certain spot, that certain itch scratched?  The pencil is too short sometimes.  I try to use a wall corner, but that just does not cut it. 

I have to wonder how it is that I survived without a back scratcher?

Political Advertisements

I was playing Words with Friends tonight. Often, when I do, I am subjected to seeing various advertisements.  Tonight, many of the advertisements were very vitriolic attacks on Beto O'Rourke  by Senator Ted Cruz.  This made me almost want to stop playing Words with Friends, but really, I usually do not pay attention to the advertisements, anyway.  However, the caustic vitriol of these advertisements indicated to me that Sen. Cruz is very desperate in his attempt to be re-elected.  He must be very concerned by the challenge being made by Beto O'Rourke. 

I hate it when politicians sink to such low, demeaning vitriol against their opponents.  There are so many issues that need to be explored in campaigns, that personal attacks are unnecessary and a symptom of the negative character of the person who is approving those advertisements. 

Standard Time vs. Daylight Saving Time

Once again, this weekend, as we do twice a year, we had a time change. We went from Daylight Savings Time to Standard Time.  This is an artificial device to "give" us more daylight at various times of the year.  This is senseless in this day and age. We are a 24 hour society, and daylight does not so much dictate our activities as artificial time frames do.  Why do we bother?  

Texas Tech Museum

I went to the Texas Tech Museum today because there were 4 exhibits that I wanted to see: Ladies in Red; The Red that Colored the World; Red Hot and Quilted; and the Pre-Modern Bibles.  

I was surprised at how interested I was in Ladies in Red,  I did not think looking at women's clothing would be the interesting to me.  I am not a clothes horse or fashionista. I was fascinated by The Red That Colored the World.   Just seeing these two exhibits took me over 2 hours.  I am spoiled because the Tech Museum is just a few miles from where I live and free, so I do not feel I have to wear myself out seeing every exhibit that is there.  I will go back.  

If anyone is interested in more information about the Pre-Modern Bibles  exhibit, there is an item on KTTZ the NPR radio station associated with Texas Tech.  Also,  Faith Matters  is doing a 3 part series on the exhibit. 

Weekend Routines

One of my weekend routines is to fill the Vue with gasoline immediately before or after I purchase groceries.  I had planned to do that Friday, but the lines were crazy busy when I got to the store, and it was no less crazy when I left. 

I did not run errands yesterday, and today when I was out and about, that was the last thing from my mind.  I usually only use 6-8 gallons of gas a week, and the tank is 22 gallons.  So there is no urgency to the matter, but I might want to fill 'er up this week. 

Saturday, A Lazy Day

I was able to sleep in Saturday morning.  I went for a walk, and read for a while before I started binge watching Blue Bloods.  In the course of watching TV, I did housework during commercials.  And got the chores done that I wanted to do.

Then I watched the Texas Tech vs. Oklahoma football.  It was a loud and crazy game to start with.  It ended poorly for Texas Tech.  So sad.

Reading

I am an avid reader.  I like murder mysteries, and I like the series books, although I will read a stand alone if it is good.  I am trying to read more non-fiction, also.

This fall, there has been a lot of sports on TV that has interfered with my reading:  Yankee and Red Sox baseball.  The Red Sox in the World Series.  Patrick Mahomes quarterbacking the Kansas City Chiefs.  The New England Patriots.  Texas Tech football.  The Boston Celtics.  

I have season tickets for the Lady Raider basketball games, and some of the out of town games will be televised. It also looks like most of the men's basketball games will be televised.  I try to listen on the radio, if the games are not televised, for both the men and the women. I cannot read during basketball. 

I used to knit when I watched sporting events, but Taki cannot be deterred from trying to play with the yarn, and it is too difficult to try to knit.  I hate to lock her out of the room, or put her in time out, so I do not knit much any more. 

Instead, sometimes I play Words with Friends, or other word games on the computer when I watch TV. But I am re-learning how to watch TV without also doing something else.

Sometimes, during a sporting event that is kind of boring, I will read during the commercials, and continue reading until I get to a good place to stop reading. 

I love to read. I love books. 

Jack-O'-Lanterns

When I moved to Texas, I learned that unlike in New England, jack-o'-lanterns do not last long in this environment. When I was growing up in New England a carved pumpkin would last a couple of weeks.  Well in West Texas, a carved pumpkin lasts days.

Last Friday, I purchased a solid, well developed pumpkin.  When I carved it on Monday night, it was already getting soft in spots. I have put it out with a candle for the last couple of night. It is actually holding up better than I thought it would.

I Like Halloween

I like Halloween. I like the idea of people wearing costumes that express their dreams or their alter egos, or just their imaginations or what they practically can use to make a costume.  I like jack- o'-lanterns, trick or treating if it is safe, and the idea that now, adults can participate at work or just in the world, by sharing trick or treats, or wearing costumes or both.   

I set my jack-o'-lantern out Monday night.  I burned the candle Monday night, Tuesday night, and tonight.  

There were only a few trick or treaters at my house tonight:  Two small children early on, and I gave candy to the older person supervising them; she might have been a young mother, or an older sister or cousin.

Much later, there was a group of about 8-10 children on my porch.  The ages ranged from pre-school to middle school.  They jostled each other around, and one young lady sadly was jostled from the front to the back, but got her treat. Now I wish I had given her more than one treat!

Later, a set of two, with no costumes arrived.  It was close to 9 PM, and that is my time to shut it down.  I leave the jack-o'-lantern burning, but I shut off the porch light, shut the front door, close the front window blind, shut off the front room lights, and repair to the computer room.  

I will light the candle in my jack-o'-lantern the next few nights, as long as the pumpkin lasts.  The candle is an inexpensive pillar candle and it will outlast the jack-o-lantern.  

Childhood Safety

Years ago, there was an advertising campaign that announced the time, and said  "Do you know where your children are?"   Most recently, a local TV station, KCBD   has been airing the advertisement "It's 10 O'clock, Do You Know What Your Children Are Doing?"  I think that is great, and it gets to the heart of the matter that so many children are home, hopefully safe in their own homes, in their own bedrooms, even, but accessing so many dangerous sites on the Internet. And of course, children at home, who are offered absolute privacy by their parents, can be engaged in other risky behavior in their own rooms.  When I was growing up, my bedroom was my bedroom, but I had no expectation of absolute privacy.  While I was growing up, I sometimes resented that, but as an adult, I think that is a safety net for children if used discreetly.  

World Series - Yeah! Red Sox!

I continued to watch the World Series on Saturday and Sunday night.  I was thrilled to see the Red Sox win!  That was so exciting and I am so proud of the Red Sox.  I was able to watch game 4 and 5 to the finish!  They were good games, and the Dodgers fought hard. But yeah! Red Sox!

The World Series, 2018, Game 3

I have followed the post season Major League Baseball series.  Of course, two of my teams were in it and even faced off:  The New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. The Red Sox won. The Red Sox won the division championship series against the Houston Astros, a team I could have routed for, simply because they are in Texas.  But I am glad the Red Sox made it to the World Series.  

The Red Sox were leading the series 2-0 and the teams have moved to Los Angeles for the next 3 games.  In game 3, it was tied in the 10th.  This is good World Series baseball.  I went to bed about 12:30 AM because I had to get up early to go to a meeting.  The game lasted 7 hours and 20 minutes, and Los Angeles won.   I would have enjoyed watching the entire game.  It went to 18 innings, so they took 2 7 inning stretches!

Labels

I have used so many labels in my blog, that it is almost overwhelming to me when I look at the actual blog (or preview.)  Sometimes, I do a label in singular and plural, and when I realize it, and if it makes sense, I combine them.  Sometimes, I see two topics that are close and can be combined.  But since I write about a large variety of things, I guess a large variety of labels is to be expected. 

Car Repairs

Finally, my car is repaired.  It was expensive, but less than the cost of a new car, and I have put little maintenance into this particular car: oil changes, batteries, tires.  A couple of other small repairs.  I am thankful that it is done, and hopefully, I can feel confident in my car's performance again for a while.  Peace of mind is worth something.  

Courtesy Van

Unexpectedly, I had to take my Saturn Vue into a repair shop, and I use the dealership, Scoggin Dickey  as per GM since Saturn no longer exists.  I was not planning to take my car in for service today, but when the battery maintenance light came on, I decided that going to the dealership for repair, was more important than getting to work on time, and dealing with a dead battery at the end of the day in the wet and the cold.

Scoggin Dickey has a courtesy van that helps with rides to where customers need to go. I took the courtesy van to work, but had to take a detour by my house, as I had to drop off my purse and cell phone, which are considered contraband at work. I arrived about an hour and fifteen minutes late.  But, I worked late, since the dealership did not call me about the status of my car, having told me they were very backed up when I brought my car in this morning.  Mid-afternoon, I called the dealership, and my car was still in line for service, and I asked to have the courtesy van pick me up from work at 5 PM, no matter.

The courtesy van arrived as scheduled, and the driver called in to check on the status of my car. We were told it would not be serviced until the next day, so the driver took me home instead of to the car dealership.  

The driver said the most extraordinary thing to me:  He acknowledged the service department is very busy, and the loaner cars they have are not being returned at the rate to help new customers, so the courtesy van has an obligation to get customers where they need  to go.  He implied I could get a ride to work in the morning.  I told him I could get a ride to work in the morning, but I would need a ride to the dealership after my car was repaired. 

This man told me he has worked for Scoggin Dickey for 4 years, and was hired as a part time driver, but only recently has been made full time.   I think it is extraordinary that he sees his job as a "courtesy driver" as a responsibility to take care of customers. I have to wonder what kind of employment environment empowers this man to take that kind of responsibility for providing courtesy rides to customers.  This is extraordinary.  

Car Maintenance

So I was congratulating myself about taking a trip over the weekend to charge the car battery. Today, it was a cold and wet morning, and as I drove to work, the battery maintenance light came on.  I was just a few minutes from work, but decided to turn around and take the car to the dealer, Scoggin Dickey, which is across town.  I had no desire to deal with trying to get a jump start for my car at late afternoon, in the cold and wet. By the time I arrived at the dealership, the battery maintenance light was off.  I did not care, I wanted it looked at, this has been an ongoing problem with my car. 

The service writer at Scoggin Dickey said they were very behind from the day before, and I would need to leave the car for the day, at least. I took the courtesy van to my house, to leave off the "contraband items" that I would have locked in my car, because they are not allowed at the prison where I work.  By late afternoon, the dealership had not even evaluated the car.  I was told they would get to it on the next day. I hate being without a vehicle, but I  was able to arrange a ride to work with a co-worker.

The Rising Moon

My computer room faces north and east, with a window on each outside wall. This time of year, this time of month, I love watching the almost full moon rising through the east window. That is such a gift to me, to watch the moon rising, as I am tonight.  

Battery Maintenance

The service writer at the auto dealer told me I do not drive enough to charge my battery, that it takes 45 minutes to just start charging. He suggested I get a charger.  Instead, about once a month, I take a long ride in the car, about an hour or hour and a half.  Sometimes I go out of town.  Sometimes, I ride around Lubbock and look for changes. There has been a lot of development in Lubbock, and I like to stay aware of what these changes are.  I had been for a ride in a while, so I went out yesterday.  It was a pretty day for a ride. 

UIL Marching Band Contest

Saturday, I went to the UIL Marching Band Competition for Region 16.  Evidently this occurs in multiple parts, and I went in the evening when the 4A,5A and 6A schools were competing. A friend of mine has a son in the Lubbock High School band, and she volunteered all day.  It was a long day for her, but she was in good spirits.  It was cool but we were dressed for the weather, and it was a good evening.  Some of the bands performed really well.  The band I liked the best had a bright, airy, colorful performance with well done music.  The Lubbock High School band  performed well.  But they had a dark theme, and it came after the bright and light performance.  All and all, it was a pleasant evening. 

Lubbock Playa Lakes

We have had a lot of rainy, grey weather in Lubbock lately.   Most of the time, it has been drizzly light rain, with intermittent downpours. No doubt the earth is saturated.  Saturday morning, I took a drive around Lubbock, to look at some of the playa lake levels and the water levels.  The Yellow House Canyon Lakes, also known as the Canyon Lakes, or by the name of each lake, were full, but not overflowing, and while water was flowing over the dams, it was not flowing over the roads below the spillways, except in MacKenzie Park off of Broadway Avenue. 

Elsewhere in the city, the lakes were generally full.  Lake Sheehan, just north of 4th street and east of Toledo Avenue, had expanded beyond its borders, but only into undeveloped land.  As I drove through Lubbock, most of the other playa lakes were full, but not flooding streets. 

As I drove by Clapp Park, the lake south of the dam/walkway was surrounded with reeds which is so very different than it used to be, but probably more attractive to wildlife.  I cannot complain. The north lake has traditionally been surrounded by reeds. 

I had not heard about flooding in the city, so have to think that the slow rain did not produce flooding, or the flood control system worked.  Since nothing was reported on the news, I have to think the former, not the latter, is true. 

Discount Tire

The Saturn Vue has a tire pressure sensor warning light, and mine went off this past week.  I thought it might be a response to the cold temperatures that moved in this past week, so I did not immediately get it checked out. But, I eventually went to Discount Tire, which is where I do my tire business.  They checked my tires, and the technician said I had one tire that was very low, and I should ask for a flat tire repair, which is free.  It was 5:15 PM on Friday, and they close at 6 PM, and the technician told me they had a two hour backlog.   I had hoped to get my grocery shopping done that night, so I decided to return to Discount Tire the next morning.  The technician suggested that I be in the parking lot by 7:50 AM, as they take the parking lot customers first when they open at 8 AM. I over slept, so did not get to Discount Tire until sometime after 9 AM.  The attendant who took care of my service need was very apologetic about the wait time, but saw I had a book, and I said I did not care how long I waited. It turns out he, his wife and his sons, who are in the military, are all readers.  I told him to thank his sons for their service, and said I did not care how long I waited, I had a good book.  I also told him I had had the tire checked the night before, and decided not to wait for service. He said he left at 7 PM, and the technicians were still working.

I waited less than an hour and a half. although the attendant said it could be two hours or more. I have to think the attendant was instrumental in advancing my service ticket.  He did not say it, and I did not ask, but it makes sense to me.

This is the second time I have had a tire from Discount Tire with a piece of metal in the side wall, and beyond repair, so replacement was less than $25 dollars.  I am amazed and delighted at the service.

I am not sure how they stay in business, but I am a customer for life, based on this kind of service. I also like the free air check service they offer.  I can do my own, but I will gladly wait some 40 minutes, as I did Friday night, to have it done.  It is easier on my knees and back. 

Overnight Freeze

Sunday overnight we experienced our first freeze of the season. It came early this year, and barely happened, but happen it did!  It continue to be cold, but not as cold today.  But raw and gray.

Cold Rain

Monday, it was grey all day.  Early evening, we had some light to middling rain in Lubbock. It has been cold.  The grey overcast, cold and intermittent rain has continued today.  And may continue tomorrow.  

Good cover up and snuggle weather. 

Cooking with cast iron

I like cooking with cast iron.  I have a couple of frying pans, a small covered pot and a 2 quart Dutch oven that are cast iron.  I made vegetarian chili in the Dutch oven this past weekend and realized that I needed to re-season the Dutch oven.  That is not difficult, just putting lard or oil on the cast iron utensil, and cooking it in the oven for a while.  Tonight was a really good night to do that:  it is cold outside, and rainy , so even the inside of the house was a little raw.  Warming the kitchen was not a bad thing.

The unexpected benefit of this is that a pool of oil has collected at the bottom of my oven.  When it cooled enough, but had not totally solidified, I was able to clean the oven, even if it was late tonight.  I do not mind.  It is a chore I have often put off, but it needed to be done.  

So, after I took the Dutch oven and cover out of the oven, I used some disposable cloth to sop up the oil on the oven floor.   It did not clean the sides, or top of the oven and I still need to clean the oven thoroughly at some point but this was a good thing to do. 

Vegetarian Chili

Cold weather has been moving in, and chili is comfort food for cold weather.  I made a batch of vegetarian chili tonight.  The recipe changes, depending upon what I have available or what I have planned.  Sometimes vegetarian chili is loaded with light vegetables, like mushrooms, broccoli, cauliflower, yellow squash or zucchini.  Not today.   I used onions, garlic, green pepper, red pepper, jalapeño pepper, black beans, dark red kidney beans, garbanzo beans, and chili powder, cumin, cocoa, and ground black pepper. 

This is a heavier chili, but a much more stout food for stout weather. 

A Change in Weather

So, this morning, the sun rose and there were scattered clouds in the sky, and it was a beautiful morning. But the forecast was for a cold front to move in, and by mid-morning, the gray cloud cover moved in, and there was some drizzle.  I put the Styrofoam covers on the outside hose bibs, since there is a prediction of freezing weather tonight.  I have the heater on in the house, and we are snug and warm, and I am supplementing my comfort with a space heater. 

I checked  just recently, and the outside temperature was 38°.  It will be interesting to know if we have an overnight freeze. 

Football Polygamy?

My niece coined a term, "baseball polygamy" because throughout the course of her life, she as collected baseball teams that she likes, roots for, follows, or otherwise supports.  I think that is perfectly acceptable, and I have long been a fan of the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees which is generally unheard of, but is what it is.  I also now follow the Arizona Diamondback, and because they are in the playoffs, the Houston Astros. 

So when it comes to football, I am generally a New England Patriots fan, although I like the New York Giants New York Giants, too.  However, this year, a former Texas Tech Red Raiders quarterback, Patrick Mahomes is the starting quarterback for The Kansas City Chiefs and like many people in Texas Tech Raiderland, I have been following his performance and record. It is amazing. It is exciting. It is wild. So, that gives me another NFL team to follow. And, tonight, the New England Patriots are playing the Kansas City Chiefs.  We shall see how this resolves, and New England won.

But now, I am guilty of football polygamy.

Conflicting Games

The MLB, due to the requirements of records, home field advantage, and opposition teams had to schedule the Houston Astros vs. the Boston Red Sox on October 14, 2018, a Sunday, at Fenway Park in Boston.  Due to television scheduling, it was a Sunday evening game. 

The NFL had the Kansas City Chief playing the New England Patriots in Foxborough the same day, the same night.  

Can New England sustain fan support for two major league events occurring at the same time on the same day. Sure it can, and it has in the past and will in the future.

It is a little frustrating for fans of both sports, because we want to follow both games.  Tonight was no exception for me.  So, I watched the Red Sox game, until its successful end, and flipped back and forth to the Patriots game, until the baseball game was done. That allowed me to watch the Patriots game to its end, which they won.

Blogging Topics

Sometimes, I think of an item or topic I want to blog about, but do not have the time, or mental energy or mental clarity to blog at that time.  I have taken to writing a topic title or descriptor and maybe even a few lines, and come back to it later.  If I can remember what I wanted to blog about, I finish the blog.  If not, I delete it, on the assumption that it was not that important anyway. 

Reorganizing My Recyclables

I bag the small plastic items I recycle, and separate them at the recycling center by category.  I bag the aluminum cans and separately bag tin cans. I put computer paper in a box to take to the recycling area, but shred a lot of paper items, and as far as I know on one it town accepts shredded computer paper. But, I also recycle larger items. Milk jugs, half gallon juice bottles, other plastic containers, and occasionally large tin containers.  I used to hang the small plastic bags on hooks in my garage, and just pile the larger items on crates on the side of my garage.  Until I had a problem last summer, and destroyed the crate, broke a plastic bottle of motor oil within the crate, and had to clean the area, get new crates, and reorganize the area.  I decided to buy a couple of inexpensive laundry bags, and put the larger, mostly plastic items in the bags, and hang them from hooks or nails on the garage wall. This has created a much neater space where I keep most of my recyclables.  I have another area in the garage where I keep glass and cardboard. I do not let those items collect too much, as that area gets to disorganized if I do. 

Sometimes I take items to recycle as often as once a week.  Usually it is every 2-3 weeks before I recycle, and it can be as long as a month.  It just depend upon what collects, and how much collects. 

Recycling in Lubbock

Years ago, Lubbock had a very progressive recycling program, called the "Blue Bag" program.  You could buy blue plastic bags, and the local stores used blue plastic  bags for merchandise.  On certain days, you could hang or place your blue bags on or near the dumpster.  You could mix certain items:  plastic, tin, aluminum and glass.  But computer paper needed to be separate, as did newspapers.  This was a very progressive program, but very few people in Lubbock used it, and finally, the city had to abandon the program.  So, they developed recycling centers where we can bring things to be recycled: computer paper, newspaper, tin cans, aluminum cans, type 1 and 2 plastic.   Other centers also take cardboard and various large items like furniture and appliances, and motor oil. So this means collecting things, and making deliveries.  Lubbock City Recycling

I recycle at the center at 30th and Elgin, not far from my house.  A few years ago, the city's glass crushing machine broke and was "too expensive" to replace, so the city stopped taking glass.

Texas Tech also has a recycling center Recycling, Go Green Texas Tech, which also takes glass, cardboard and packing foam. It is just down the street from the city recycle center I use.  So glass and cardboard go to Texas Tech.

There are also various commercial recycling businesses in Lubbock:  Effortless Recycling will do curbside residential pick up for example.  Recycling 123  also does curbside pick up. Commercial Metals Company  offers more commercial metals recycling. Jarvis Metals 
does metal recycling, and is commercial but also available for individuals, and accepts appliances, aluminum cans and all kinds of fixtures that are metal.

There are also multiple battery recycling centers in Lubbock. Mostly they recycle car batteries and rechargeable batteries.  Dry cells are not recycled in Lubbock. There are companies that do commercial shredding.  And many commercial outlets recycle things like printer cartridges, and compact fluorescent light bulbs.  

But all of this recycling requires the consumer to be very involved in the recycling, and not just filling a container and placing it curbside.  At least, if someone is Lubbock is concerned about recycling, there are opportunities. That's the good news. 

Lubbock is a Boring Place

Those of us who live in Lubbock hear over and over again that Lubbock it a boring place.  But really, it is not, and there is so much to do in Lubbock, it is amazing. There are multiple sights online that give us lists of events in Lubbock:  Lubbock Events Calendar; Lubbock Online Calendar, Latino Lubbock, Lubbock Chamber of Commerce, Lubbock Cultural District to name a few.  

It is amazing to me what social, cultural, educational, and entertainment events are available in Lubbock. 

Lubbock is not a boring place!

A Grey, Raw, Damp Day

Today was unexpectedly a grey, raw, damp day.  I did not expect that today.  I thought it was going to be sunnier and warmer, but knew there was a possibility of inclement weather.  I wore my winter coat to work, and out tonight when I went to dinner and book club.  

When I arrived home from work tonight, the house was at 68°.  A little cool.  I turned on the furnace, which came on immediately, and seemed to be working appropriately, when I left to go out about 50 minutes later.  It still seems to be working okay.  

I have used space heater in the computer room, also.  

A New Place to Eat Out

I went out to eat tonight with my book club. We went to a place I have not been before: The Red Zone Café.  I really liked this place.  It had an old time home cooking feel.  The menu was varied, including breakfast all day.  The prices were amazingly reasonable.  They accommodate groups, and even have a private room for a group. We did not get the room tonight, but we had a table set aside that accommodated our group.

I have been looking for a "down home place" that was not all fried food, and with reasonable prices. There are a couple of places I go that have all you can eat buffets, which I enjoy, but I like to have someone wait on me and not have to go through the buffet.   I have not looked much on my own, and there maybe other places out there, but I think this place is it. 

One of our group told me he gets breakfast all day long.  And, he said that on Texas Tech game day, the lines are very long.  So, that gives me some information about how to manage my patronage of this place.    

I Hate Microsoft Updates

I hate Microsoft updates.  Sometimes, as happened tonight, the updates kidnap my computer and do not allow it to run at my command, and prevent me from doing what I want to do with my computer.  Tonight, it took more than 30 minutes for the updates to finish running and my computer was available to me again.

I also hate it when Microsoft sends out updates that reconfigure my computer: makes my home page look different, tries to change my sign on, adds layers of protection I don't ask for, and changes the way I access things like the Internet.  I did not want to change from Microsoft Explorer to Microsoft Edge, but Microsoft did that for me without asking me or giving me any opportunity to opt out.  I suspect Microsoft no longer supports Explorer, and that is just pure wrong.  If they put out a product, they need to support in perpetuity. Sorry. That is the expectation. Why do these computer companies get away with not supporting programs they advance, and force us to use new one?  We pay good money to use the programs the offer us, and that good money should ensure us we can use those programs as long as we want to.  I think the computer companies are thieves.