Man is certainly stark mad: he cannot make a flea, yet he makes gods by the dozens.

Montaigne

Flag Counter started April 3, 2008

Laura came over to Jessica’s house while I was there so we all got a chance to visit with 3 week old Sheldon!

He was a little fussy when he first got there, but quickly settled down in his mama’s arms.

Looks like he’s got his dad’s big feet!

Delilah stayed the night Saturday night so her Mom and Dad could have an evening to themselves (other Grandma got Bryce). Sunday was nice and warm (compared with the recent past anyway!) and we all got out clearing limbs. Delilah helped too

Richard and Garland also fixed the clothes line so I can more easily do my bit for Global Warming. It does my heart good to know Al Gore is out hanging his laundry on the line to save electricity just like I do!

Richard doesn’t usually have to feed much hay, but this year has been tough with the dry fall (so less fescue to stockpile) and ice storms (when the cows can’t graze anyway). He usually feeds hay in bale rings, but is doing something different with this new hay.

He and Garland rolled the bale out a little ways and cut the strings. Then they unroll it down the pasture.

They attach a polywire to the electric offset and run it right down the middle of the unrolled hay.

And the cows line up nice and straight to eat where they can’t mess on any of the hay.

See how neatly they clean it up? Nothing left or ruined for just a little bit extra labor.

When you have to visit a public bathroom, you usually find a line of women, so you smile politely and take your place. Once it’s your turn, you check for feet under the stall doors. Every stall is occupied. Finally, a door opens and you dash in, nearly knocking down the woman leaving the stall.

You get in to find the door won’t latch. It doesn’t matter, the wait has been so long you are about to wet your pants! The dispenser for the modern “seat covers” (invented by someone’s Mom, no doubt) is handy, but empty. You would hang your purse on the door hook, if there were one, but there isn’t- so you carefully but quickly drape it around your neck, (Mom would turn over in her grave if you put it on the FLOOR!), yank down your pants, and assume “The Stance.”

(more…)

Calie told me about a web page here where you can enter your address, and it will map out any sex offenders living close to you. I don’t go into a major panic about sex offenders, but it’s nice to have a photo of ones living close in case they might try and get close to you or your kids.

I went back to Best Buy and swapped the new Vista computer for a “business” quality laptop with Win XP Pro on it. I got it Tuesday night (free overnight shipping!) and have it mostly up and running tonight. I’m still peddling as fast as I can just to slow the amount I’m falling behind on my work. However, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel!

Here’s one reason I switched from Vista back to Win XP!

I know I haven’t been writing much here, and the reason is I’ve been buried! Perhaps you remember that my Toshiba laptop, bought in June 2005, has been a real lemon from the git-go. It’s been in the shop several times. Finally, when it died Dec 23 (Merry Christmas Tina!) and I took it in, Best Buy assured me it had (finally!) activated the “lemon clause” and it would be replaced. The problem is, it took Toshiba a long time to approve that. By the time they had, Best Buy was totally out of new laptops with Windows XP on them, and I had to wait until the Vista computers came out Jan 30. I usually NEVER upgrade an operating system for the first few months while they are working the bugs out, but I had not choice this time.

Well, I got the computer Feb 5 and spent all last week furiously installing programs and trying to get them work and play well with Windows Vista. I’ve had less than good results and have spent hours installing, uninstalling, tinkering here and there etc. etc. trying to get things to run. Some programs work fine, others work with errors but seem to sort of limp along, and some just don’t work at all. It’s been depressing! I just wish my other computer would have worked and then I wouldn’t be in this position!

Anyway, I’m trying to get caught up. Will post photos/info when I can.

Working people frequently ask retired people what they do to make their days interesting. Well, for example, the other day I went downtown and went into a shop. I was only in there for about 5 minutes and when I came out there was a cop writing out a parking ticket.

I went up to him and said, “Come on man, how about giving a retired person a break?”

He ignored me and continued writing the ticket. I called him a “Nazi”.

He glared at me, and started writing another ticket for having worn tires. So I called him a “doughnut-eating Gestapo.”

He finished the second ticket and put it on the windshield with the first. Then he started writing a third ticket.

This went on for about 20 minutes. The more I abused him, the more tickets he wrote.

Personally, I didn’t care. I came downtown on the bus and the car that he was putting the tickets on had a bumper sticker that said “Hillary in ’08.”

I try to have a little fun each day now that I’m retired. It’s important to my health.