Sunday, June 29, 2008

Family

What's The Clan Up To Now?

Well, let's start with the new and progress quickly to the ancient. That makes sense to me but I'm open to other people's ideas as long as they agree with mine. I'm open minded if nothing else.

NASCAR Sister and Cool Dude

A few posts back I mentioned that my favorite relatives are now retired. But check this out! This picture was attached to an recent e-mail from NASCAR Sister. My first reaction was, "What the heck?" Am I a victim of the dreaded "paradigm shift" or did my sister win the lottery?

Before she sent this picture, I considered my life modest but comfortable. I was a prototypical middle class retired guy. But now, have I somehow been recklessly tossed into an entirely new socio-economic demographic? Am I actually somewhere between homeless and just plain old poverty?. Am I in some kind of time warp? More importantly, what kind of pensions do municipal workers in North Carolina get?

This just in: Buried in the fine print of the e-mail was a note that this was a picture of a nice area taken during one of my sister's frequent sight-seeing tours.

I can breathe again without pangs of envy. I am a lousy envious person. Sibling rivalry? What are you talking about?

Last Out Of The Nest

Yes! He's on his way to independence. He has a job.
Let me ask one (and only one,) question. Did you ever have a teacher this young? When I went to school, teachers used to have gray hair and wear sturdy shoes. Yes, back in my day we had to walk to school through the snow, uphill both ways, yada, yada, yada. On a "younger" note, as long as the pay check can be redeemed for cash, I will never be critical!

Congratulations Big Guy! You are the greatest.

For A Later Post

I will share Father Time's misadventures with home improvement. Watch for Killer Kitchen Kapers which, in retrospect, is a really lame title. How about Father Time Tests His Frustration Quotient With Inept Construction Techniques?

Much better!

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Just Because

Two Posts In Two Days? What's Wrong?

Nothing is wrong. Just because I switched my brand of coffee doesn't mean I'm more energized in the morning. Just because my kitchen remodel is going badly and is days behind schedule doesn't mean I wake up early and race to the workshop (at least not on weekends.) Just because the ceiling crashed in one of my downstairs bedrooms due to a copper pipe failure doesn't mean I'm stressed out. AND........just because the snow pack in the Cascades is so heavy I've had to postpone my four-day backpacking trip to Mount Jefferson doesn't mean I'm frustrated. Angry? Yes. Frustrated? No.

Trucks And Their Offspring

The old red Sonoma is getting kind of arthritic. What to do? Look for a new vehicle that will take me up into the foothills without costing me an IRA distribution each trip. Have you noticed that 4-cylinder engines are now more costly than V-6's or V-8's? If I wait long enough I can probably buy a Hemi for pennies on the dollar and do an engine swap. Might not make sense gas mileage wise but it sure would be fun passing a Mercedes with my old beater truck.

Dream on old man, dream on!

Monday, June 23, 2008

New Look - New Direction

The Umpteenth Shift Of Focus

I've done this before so I'm doing it again.

Once again I've lost my blogging motivation. And again, I've resorted to an old reliable cure - a quick and dirty review of my settled-in life as a retired person. Not surprisingly, it revealed I'm busier than ever and still blessed with a solid immune system that rejects everything nasty and makes each day a delight.

Therefore, (and this has nothing to do with the above) I'm going to proceed with a half-diary, half-opinion format. This is good news for anyone who cares to know what I'm doing with my time, and bad news for those who stumble by here looking for exciting and enlightening topics.

In advance, let me apologize to my friends who occasionally visit here. If my constant bobbing and weaving is becoming bothersome, just be thankful there are thousands of other web sites that can offer you respite.

So that's it. Let's see what develops this time and how long it lasts! I'm excited again and that's what's important here at the place.