Sunday, November 30, 2008

Weekend wrap-up

Four cold days. Four days where I could swear I was coming down with a case of cabin fever.

At least tomorrow means a return to the old grind.

Save for Friday, the days were dry which was nice. (No sliding on the streets.) Today, however, the wind has been howling and even Geogal said: "That wind just sounds cold." You have to be here to understand.

Now that Thanksgiving is officially over, I have the task of composing a Christmas gift list to aid Geogal in her shopping. Since I can't seem to come up with too many different ideas, is this a sign I'm getting older? Too old?

Nah, I'm just not hankering for any significant gadgets at present. A little time going through my Mac-related magazines and some surfing of the Net will do the trick.

For now, it's time to enjoy this season. While the Phoenix area has many benefits, one has to admit it's the most un-Christmasy city in North America. But here in rural Kansas, folks now how to do the holidays right. And the Geofamily will get to enjoy every minute of the festivities.

Friday, November 28, 2008

White Friday!


This was quite a surprise! Geogal gets up, gets dressed, gets ready to leave for work, and what news does she have for me upon opening the garage door?

White stuff.

T-day pics



Just wanted to share the joy that was our meal yesterday.

Thursday, November 27, 2008

A holiday with food and football--Yes!!!

While stating the obvious in today's title, I also have time to put some unrelated thoughts down for the world to see.

Where to start? Yes, I've been busy. Not only does my "real job" demand much of my time and energies, but the dearth of daylight seems to sap my creative abilities as well. You know how so many musicians, writers, and artists are night people, thinking they will suffer the fate of the vampire if they see the sun rise? Not me. Always have been a morning person, always will be. It's disenheartening when I come home from work around 5 p.m. and the sun vanishes over the western horizon just a few minutes later.

What was that? Sorry. I spotted some activity in the creek bed. It was two fawns running back and forth. Speaking of wildlife, I haven't seen the wild turkeys for a few weeks now. Too cold, or do they know something's up?

For many days now I've been telling my friends and other acquaintances that I am taking Friday off, saying I need to watch Texas pummel Texas A&M. But a few days ago I found out they are actually playing this evening. Did I miss something? Whatever happened to tradition? This game should always be the day after Thanksgiving, right?

Geosister and Geobro-in-law are free to weigh in on this one.

No matter, I'm still staying home that day. There are plenty of other gridiron contests to enjoy.

Don't you like the Big 12 South's version of rock-scissors-paper? Texas beats Oklahoma, Texas Tech beats Texas, Oklahoma beats Texas Tech...

Let's hope the issue is settled on the football field rather then relying on the BCS computer nerds.

Little Geoana just got up, we had a pretty good conversation about Thanksgiving and traditions. In our house having a steak on turkey day is fast becoming a new religion. For the past couple of Thanksgivings, we went to Monti's La Casa Vieja in Tempe (despite its name it is a steakhouse, not a Mexican restaurant) where we were free to order off the menu even though they also served a traditional Thanksgiving meal with all the trimmings. No such luck this year since we no longer live in the Valley of the Sun. For today? I'm defrosting a couple of ribeyes we bought at one of the area lockers (that's the term for meat processing facility). High-quality Kansas beef.

Incidentally, we do most of the other "trimmings" with the red meat: mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, pumpkin pie.

Wait, scratch that. Geogal went to the freezer and asked about my choice of pie: pumpkin, blueberry, or cherry? I went with cherry.

Other Thanksgiving traditions? Watch the videocassette of "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving." Yes, VHS cassette. We've had it for a while. Watch the "King Of The Hill" episode where they try to fly to Montana for Turkey Day. It's one of those that I've seen dozens of times and I still laugh out loud. Never mind that it has a few plot holes, I can ignore those for 23 minutes. Watch the Cowboys play. I don't care that it's the Seattle Seahawks, the 'Pokes haven't had good luck over the last several Thanksgivings.

Gotta admit, it would be something if the lowly Arizona Cardinals defeat the Eagles. Not likely to happen but the Phoenix-based media are starting to use terms such as "resurgent" in describing the Birds.

That's all for now. More blabbering later.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Alone at last

I'm not referring to being away from my family for a couple of days. That's not good.

Rather, I'm alluding to being able to take a work-related road trip by myself. Why is that a good thing?

Faster travel (fewer stops), freedom to listen to whatever keeps me alert at the moment, I don't have to talk, and I'm not bound to bow to the wishes of others.

That's not to say I didn't enjoy my out-of-state travel last month. The traveling collegue/companion made a long drive tolerable. However since I am an introvert (those who know me are well aware of this) I derive strength and energy from the times I spend alone. Renewal!

And the freedom of making one's own decisions from speed to noshing just adds to the enjoyment.

Not only that, but I got to adjust to the Sirius satellite radio new channel lineup. Gotta switch some presets and make room for new ones!

Plus I clicked the radio over to the AM dial for some interesting listening (and distant catches). The day was clear, the time of the year features little solar interference, and good ground conductivity in Kansas adds up to one busy radio dial! Needless to say I was happier than a pig in slop. (Yes, I am a nerd who has tendencies toward catching electrical signals out of the air. More on a home-related project that stems from this interest will be the subject of a blog entry to come later this week.)

Before I go, I better put this sentence in here--I think it's against the blogger code to end a posting with a closed parenthesis.

Sunday, November 02, 2008

lazy Sunday morning

I get up as normal, but at the computer I realize that Daylight Savings Time has ended. I have an extra hour to goof around.

Pretty good way to begin a day. I think those of us in the Geohouse can be forgiven, as we are well out of the habit of changing the clocks twice yearly. Arizona just doesn't do such things.

_________________________

Congratulations to Texas Tech. It was an outstanding game, everything a football fan could want. It came down to the last second, literally. The NFL can't compete with that type of drama.

It's also gratifying to see the focus shift to West Texas. Since before fire the consensus is that the true power in the Lone Star State exists solely in the triangle anchored by Houston, Dallas/Fort Worth, and San Antonio (Austin is part the structure, it's just not one of the corner points). It's understandable that other areas of the state don't receive their due share of attention or respect. Part of it is geography (El Paso is on the other side of the world, the Permian Basin is too desolate, the South Plains are too flat, and you can only see so many pine trees in East Texas before going insane) and part of it is culture (Austin has Sixth Street, Dallas Deep Ellum, and San Antonio is rich in Texas history).

That won't change. Not in my lifetime, anyway. But for now Lubbock and Texas Tech can bask in the glory. They earned it.