Hot

Not much from down here but we are now tied for the 3 longest streak of >100 days at I think 25 or 26 but who is counting. 106 here yesterday. Working, still riding my bike 40-50 mi on SA and 30-40mi on SU. We do stop a little more often for water etc than in the past. Waiting for the start of hockey, theater and symphony and a little cooler weather.

Hot in TX

Y'all are talking about heat and whatever - Here is what is going on in TEXAS

A buddy out of Longview said he'd killed a mosquito that was carrying a canteen.

A man in Dime Box said the chicken farmers were giving the chickens crushed ice to keep them from laying hard-boiled eggs.

In Lake Palestine, they caught a 20 lb catfish that had ticks on it!

But just this week, in Bryan, a fire hydrant was seen bribing a dog.

It's so dry in Texas that the Baptists are starting to baptize by sprinkling,
the Methodists are using wet-wipes, the Presbyterians are giving out rain-checks, and the Catholics are praying for the wine to turn back into water.

Now that is Really HOT!!!!

Well I'm back for another post. Had some rain Sat night - just enough to get the streets wet and now back to 100+ temps. Hit the roads for 42mi on SA and 25 on SU as we had an accident that needed the ambulance to the ride and a trip the the ER. Have not heard yet about the person but he seemed OK and was walking with road rash and will probably be sore for a couple of days. Broke his helmet so he needed to be looked at. We had an MD (our ride leader) and and Firefighter/EMT on the ride so he had pretty good first aid while waiting on the ambulance.
Back to work tomorrow.
Saw a funny play FR night "Five Women Wearing the Same Dress" the review from the website follows
** "A wickedly funny comedy from the writer of American Beauty and creator/producer of the HBO series’ Six Feet Under and True Blood; Five Women Wearing the Same Dress tells the story of five reluctant, identically clad bridesmaids hiding out in an upstairs bedroom to avoid the proceedings of an ostentatious wedding reception at a Knoxville, Tennessee, estate. As the afternoon wears on, these five very different women joyously discover a common bond in this comical, irreverent and touching celebration of the women's spirit."**

I guess the Dust Bunny picture needs no explanation. This is an auto-biography and how she is now helping with the AC/Heat and food bills. She was reading until she heard me get the camera.

The other 2 pictures need some explanation. I was in Germantown, TN to see the Trockadero ballet in Feburary 2011. The trip over was no problem however the trip back was 11 hours and IH 30 had closed down at Mt. Pleasant TX. So some backroads were necessary (they were better than IH30) to Hwy 80 and back to Big R. Upon arriving the doors would not open as they were iced shut - but with lots of pushing they opened. Looking at the back hub-caps was interesting. These were ice formations spun off the center of the wheel. Never seen that before and probably do now want to see it again. Started looking for some new wheels as the truck has 121,000 miles runn8ing fine but who knows. Looked at a Mazda 5 as I had a ride in one last month in TN and also the Ford Escape. Need room for the bicycle in the back. Presently my choice is the Ford as I took the Miata into the dealership for an oil change on FR and they were taking reservations for next TU. Now with Ford I get same day service. Will keep looking as it is not a real problem presently. How about this for 2 posts in one month???

Well it has been a while since the last post and Walgreens Long Term Cae closed 1/26/2011. It was nice they did it after 1/1/2011 as I got 2 weeks vacation pay (all vacation is given at the first of the year - at least then) plus termination pay of 2 weeks - not bad. Then as y'all know it was back to the VA and now working TU-TH and have 4 day weekends each week. Still riding the bike even in the 100 degree weather - 50+ on SA and 30-35 on SU then have to rest up during the week at work. Still theater/DSO/hockey (Stars and Americans) going on and the new seasons are about to start. Will try to keep you posted as to the weird theaters I sometimes see. Hit the horse races last night and came home $0.80 to the better even after financing the dinner and a couple of beers. Think what I would have come home with if I did not have the beers!!! Next post hopefully before 6 months

No pictures and still doing the same old things. Theater, DSO seasons have started again and hockey is just around the corner. Only bought 2 season tickets this year. Stars and Allen Americans and let the Tornado tickets go but will pick up a few games this year. Too many conflicts to get to all the games. The DB is here on the floor waiting to be combed and petted - have to get the fur out. The big news is however Walgreens Long Term Care will cease to exist in the next 90 days. So guess what - I'm out of a job. Might really have to retire and move to MI and live in the barn with the chickens, sheep and horses. That is as long as the DB can come with me. The new company is supposed to maybe offer jobs - but doubt that. "Packages" are supposed to be offered but have to wait until they complete the takeover so no looking/accepting new jobs until the end. Will keep you posted. This looks a little like the Carmel blog - no pictures just words. By the way it will be in the 60's this weekend so I have started the furnace.

Saturday 1/9/10

OK here is the story behind these pictures of me and the great STARS hockey phenom Mike Modano!!!!. The Stars Foundation (Stars charity) has a puck draw each year in which a player (current player) will sign a puck and it will be placed in a wrapped package. The packages are "sold" for a $30.00 donation and come with a signed puck and 2 tickets to a future STARS game. Most pucks are signed in silver (have a couple of those) and if the puck is signed in gold then the purchaser gets to meet the player one-on-one and may bring one guest. I received the gold signed puck and this was the day to meet the player. Cathy has lots of Mike stuff including his rookie card from the Minnesota Northstars so we went to meet the player. We met him as he came off the ice after a practice Saturday 1/9/10. Very cordial and signed lots of stuff -pucks, 2 jerseys, numerous pictures, etc.etc.etc. Mike had writers cramp after we finished. I did mention to him that he seemed to be getting meaner in his old age (39 I think) as he is making more hits and being more physical in his play. His response was that as we get older we get a litter grumpier and I concurred!! I did ask him to give me a punch in the chin for a $1.00 from the MI frozen brain but the camera did not work and he was getting antsy after all the writing and the team was leaving for the airport for the trip to Columbus OH for a game on Sunday. Mike is a lot taller than I expected expecially in his skates as I had only seen him sitting down signing stuff in the past and on the ice from a distance.

All in all it was a great Saturday and then off to a NAHL (Tornado) game in the pm.

How about this for very sporadic posts