Passing The Torch

It happens every so often that things in our lives change.  We have once again come to that bittersweet moment in my life when I must put away a notebook filled with my thoughts, my passions, my fears, and open the cover on a new era in my life.

It's an exciting prospect, opening a new book with its creamy white pages.  Fresh.  New.  Unsullied.  Waiting to be filled with my inspirations, reflections, dreams, and hopes for the future.  Yet, this excitement is tinged with a hint of sadness, as I must set aside an old friend.  It has been my constant companion this last year and a half.  But now, its pages are full.  The old must give way to the new.

In time, the new will touch my heart the way the old has.  But for now, I must mourn.

Just a bit. 

I've always had a thing for writing tools.  Pens, notebooks, fake leather journals with ribbon markers.  When I was younger, I collected them like some people collect baseball cards.  I seldom wrote in them.  Somehow, I didn't want them to lose their newness.  I haven't changed that much.  I still have a thing for notebooks and pens.  I still collect them.

I was looking for a new blogging notebook last week.  Now, this is not as easy as it sounds.  It can't be just any old notebook.  It has to be one that reaches out and grabs me, and says, "Here I am.  Here is your heart."  A blogging notebook also carries the added restriction that it must fit inside my lunch kit.

This one reached out and grabbed me.

This one said, "Here I am.  Here is your heart."  This one I fell in love with.  This one didn't fit inside my lunch kit.

I bought it anyway.

Because that's just who I am.

Happy Autumn

Today is the Autumnal Equinox, marking the first official day of fall.  I love fall.  It's my favorite season of the year.  To me, fall means crackling leaves, hot chocolate with marshmallows.  The first frost.  Back to school.

Fall is crisp days and chilly nights.  Open windows. That fall smell to the air.  Turning the heater on for the first time.  Turning the air conditioner off for the last time.  Breaking out the sweatshirts and the hoodies.

Fall is harvest.  Fall is pumpkins, hay bales, Indian corn.  Fall is scarecrows, spider lilies and Halloween.  And of course, fall is football.

What fall is not is

Somebody didn't get the memo. 

On a brighter note, looky what I got in the mail today.

I bought it from an Etsy shop, and the color is Cowboy Way .  The colors look pretty good in the hank, but I wish I'd paid more attention to the description.  It's worsted weight.  If I'd known that, I'd have probably bought more than one hank.  Still, it should be enough to get a hat or a scarf out of it.

Squeaky says, "Or you could make a kitty blankie for me."  

Ten On Tuesday

This week's Ten on Tuesday is 10 ways to have a happy birthday.  Since it's been years since I've really celebrated my birthday in any sort of way, I'm going to have to kind of be creative with this one.

1.  Go to work.  I know this isn't celebrating, per se, but we don't get days off for our birthdays.  Not unless I request a vacation day.  Say, there's an idea.  Then I won't have to listen to everyone say, "Why didn't you tell us?"  The answer to that is, because you would have bought me a cake I couldn't eat, then got offended that I didn't eat it.  Which segues nicely into #2. 


2.  Bake myself a cake.  I usually have to make my own anyway, because of my egg allergy.  This year, I don't know if I'll do myself a football cake, or a Texas shaped cake.  But I've got time to decide.  My birthday isn't until November.


3.  Buy myself a present.  I've always done this too.  Sometimes, I hand Cody money and tell him what to go get, but just as many times, I don't.  This year, I've already bought my birthday present.  I've ordered myself a Dez Bryant jersey, and I got the premier style.  It's a better quality, but a bit more expensive.

4.  Make myself some shrimp and sausage gumbo.  This is becoming a tradition.  Anyone want to come for dinner?  Wait, that would require vacuuming.  Scratch that...



5.  I will say, "Yes, I really am 46.  Well, thank you for thinking I don't look that old, but I really am.  Do you want to see my driver's license?" exactly 387 times.   Or maybe 391.  It all depends.

6.  My birthday is on a Thursday this year, so I'll be watching Bones.  It's always nice to spend any day with Seely Booth.  It's even better when it's your birthday.

7.  My birthday is also a national holiday, so I won't be getting mail.  Bummer.  But that just means I'll get twice as much the next day.  So joy!

8.  My birthday is on Veteran's Day, so I'll wear my dog tags, post something meaningful about veterans, and give a hat tip to all the veterans out there.

9.  I will knit, and listen to my podcast, Talkin Cowboys.  As always.

10.  I'm running out of ideas...Like I said, I haven't really celebrated my birthday in a long time.  Even when I was a kid, I didn't have parties.  My mother would bake a cake, and my grandparents would come over, but that's about it.  It was always a tradition that whoever's birthday it was got to lick the bowl.  One year, my mother made me go take a bath, and when I got out, I discovered that she'd given my bowl to my brother.  I was heartbroken!  It was supposed to be my bowl! 

Maybe that's why birthdays tend to go un-noticed around here.

They Grow Up

It's a commonly heard refrain in society in recent times:

"Kids grow up so fast these days."

Kids grow up so fast these days. But why do we think that? Because every 10 year old in America has a cell phone? Because they know how to operate a PlayStation, or play games on the computer? Because 12 and 13 year olds are allowed to date--and have sex-- and not have to deal with the consequences of their behavior?

Do kids really grow up much faster these days? Only if you believe that knowing how to play with the latest techno gadget makes one grown up. Truth is, we are keeping our kids immature much longer than we used to.

Think about it this way. A hundred and fifty years ago, no child would ever be allowed to sleep until 1:00 in the afternoon, after having stayed up all night playing video games. No, kids back then got up before the sun and fed livestock, gathered eggs, milked the cows and turned them out to pasture, cleaned the barn, brought water from the well, and filled the woodbox --all before breakfast.

Then they went off for a full day of school, and when they got home, they chopped more wood, hauled more water, weeded the vegetables, hoed the corn, fed the stock again, rounded up the cows and milked them, cleaned the chicken coop, helped with dinner and the dishes, then did their homework by lanternlight.

When they grew up, they got married at 17 or 18 years of age, and those marriages worked. Those marriages lasted because those kids grew up knowing what it takes to make a marriage last. They knew how to be responsible, and had the maturity to do so.  Kids today don't have that maturity.  Kids today don't know how to work.  They huff and blow and sulk just doing the simplest of chores like taking out the trash or putting their dirty dishes in the sink.  The don't know how to earn what they want.  They expect to have every little thing they want just handed to them without them lifting a finger to earn it. 

The biggest problem is the parents.  They've bought into this strange idea that a parent's job it to make her kids happy all the time.  So instead of raising mature, competent, contributing members of society, today's parents raise spoiled, whiny, selfish perpetual children who demand everything from medical care to food to housing to phone service be handed to them at no cost to themselves. 

Kids today don't grow up faster than they used to.  Kids today don't grow up at all. 
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Music....Sunday?

Today is Talk Like A Pirate day.  Avast ye lubbers!  Ahoy ye scurvy bilge rats.  Here be ye a lesson on how to be a pirate. 

I Know

I know.  I said I wasn't going to do this, but there's just too much alliteration here to pass up.  So here is your very first ever

Gratuitous Garrett Gilbert Photo.  

Goodnight, Gracie. 

We Can All Agree

I think we can all--whether Democrat, Republican, or Independent; whether liberal, conservative, or middle of the road--we can all agree that government has gotten out of hand.

They throw around money like a child at the beach throwing sand. Take the three recent stimulus bills.  The theory behind them was that spending more money would stimulate the economy, thus bringing us out of this recession we've been in for the last 4 years.  We won't get into economic theory here, though.  I'll just say that the vast majority of these multi-billion dollar (and that's YOUR money they're spending, mind you) stimulus bills has been just completely wasted.  That's money we don't have, mind you.

It's pretty obvious that the wanton waste has gone beyond ridiculous. It's gotten to be absurd. I mean, seriously????

Penis washing lessons????

Seriously??? 

For men in Africa. Penis washing lessons.  And just how is this supposed to stimulate OUR economy, pray tell?

Sheesh.  I'm going to the football game.  At least that's something that makes sense.

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One And Ten

One thing to cross off my WIP list. I finally finished this charity scarf.

I must say, this yarn was simply awful to work with. But this was for Scarves From The Heart, and somebody had donated a bunch of yarn for scarves. I volunteered to help and this is the lot that was chosen for me.

Another blog I read Carole Knits, does this weekly thing called Ten On Tuesday.  Every Tuesday, she posts a topic and participating blogs list 10 things pertaining to that topic.  I don't usually participate, because by the time I get around to compiling my list, it's Wednesday or Thursday.  This week's topic was pretty good, though, so I decided to do it.  Even though it is now Thursday, here is your Ten On Tuesday for this week.

Ten Reasons to Watch Football. 
(Anyone care to hazard a guess as to why I chose to participate?)



Almost everyone else who participated mentioned two things in common:  knitting time, and food.  You won't find those in my list, as you can knit just as well watching dumb shows like Desperate Housewives or 30 Rock.  And you can eat any time.  My list takes a slightly different tack than the others listed.  ( Notice that nowhere in my list will you find any mention of tight pants or butts.)

Ten reasons I like to watch football are:

1.  That bone crunching sound that they make when one player hits another really, really hard.  And the blood that sometimes accompanies such hits.

2.  The excitement, the anticipation--knowing that every play could be THE BIG PLAY.  Especially when someone like Felix Jones is on the field. 

3.  When that big play finally happens, like Dexter McCluster's 94 yard punt return Monday night.

4.  The excitement of a last second, come from behind touchdown for a win (unless it's your team on the losing end of that deal.)

5.  The fact that football is the ultimate team game.  You have 11 guys on the field, and if just one man doesn't do his job, it could cost you that game. It is an exercise in total cooperation and teamwork. 

6.  The 76  yard touchdown runs.

7.  The 50, 60, even the 90 yard touchdown passes.

8.  The circus catches, the one handed grabs, the impossible interceptions.

9.  The history and tradition of the game.  Football is a uniquely American game, and is the most popular sport in America.  More people watch PRE-SEASON football games, than watch the Stanley cup, the NBA finals, or the World Series.  It truly reflects the heart of American culture.  Football was developed here, and, though other countries are starting football leagues of their own, it still belongs here.

10.  That certain kind of crazy camaraderie that is found only among football fans.

So, there you have it. My top ten reasons to watch football. What are yours?

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Dear CoWorker

I'd like to get this work finished so we can go home.  Kindly shake your boobs at the garbage man on your own time.  Thank you.

Oh, and this also goes for shaking your boobs at the maintenance man.

and the quality man,

and the other maintenance man

and the prototype man

and the other maintenance man

and the man that runs the Newcor machine

and the test tank man


I could go on, but I think you get my drift...

Tuckered

I'm just too tired to blog tonight.  I'd even walked down to the cotton fields and taken some photos, but I don't feel like fooling with them.  I had it out with my boss again today.  He'd made some changes, and I told him that we don't need anything out there that would make our morale even lower.  He seemed surprised that I thought morale was so low.  I told him he'd have to dig down about 10 feet under the floor to find any morale in that place.  I said it's a whole different world out on the shop floor than it is in the front office. 

I know most people agree with me, but they're afraid to speak up.  They're afraid of losing their jobs.  But you know what?  I'm just so fed up I don't even care any more. 

They would be doing me a favor by firing me.  And I'd hug their necks for it. 

Can't Get A Break

When the Cowboys traded for Roy Williams in the 2008 season, he was supposed to come in and be the savior of the team.  A big play threat.  Someone to take the pressure off of Terrell Owens.  Someone to stretch the field.  Someone to make the team all but invincible.

After a lackluster finish to the 2008 season, followed by an even more disppointing 2009 season, much of his shine had tarnished.  Yet, here in this game, he had the chance to redeem himself.  He finally had the chance to be the hero.

He'd already shown flashes of brilliance, using his size and strength to snatch a seemingly uncatchable ball out of mid air, and converting a key third down.  Now, here he was, with 4 seconds left in the game.  All alone in the end zone.  In a position to score the game winning  touchdown. 

It had been a game riddled with mistakes.  The Redskins' defense had taken advantage of an offensive line plagued by injuries, bringing blitz after blitz.  Tony Romo, unsure of his pieced together protection tossed quick dump off passes and check downs to receivers who weren't always ready.  And there were penalties.  Too many penalties, and at the wrong times.  Penalties that stalled Cowboy drives, or extended  Redskin ones.  The biggest mistake came just seconds before the first half ended, when Tashard Choice fumbled the ball, which DeAngelo Hall recovered and returned for the Redskins' only touchdown of the day.  What would have been a 3-0 lead at halftime suddenly became 10-0.

By the time the second half started, the Cowboys had settled down some, looking more like themselves.  But it was to be no cakewalk.  It is always tough to play the Redskins, especially at Fed Ex Field.  This game, this one game each year when they play the Cowboys at home, this game is their Super Bowl.  They weren't going to just give it away.  When Miles Austin scored a touchdown, the Redskins answered with a field goal (assisted by three Cowboys penalties).  All seemed to be lost, but then...

The Cowboys got the ball back with less than two minutes in the game.  Tony Romo did what Tony Romo does best.
 

He drove them down the field, and with just 4 seconds left on the game clock, threw the game winning touchdown to none other than, that's right, Roy Williams.

Roy stood tall and proud in the Redskins endzone.  Marion Barber jumped on his back.  Miles Austin came running over to join the celebration, and over on the sideline, Tashard Choice breathed a sigh of relief.  But the celebration would be short lived, for there on the field, like a discarded handkerchief, lay

a little scrap of yellow cloth.

A holding penalty.  A clock reading 00:00.  And Roy Williams watched his chance to be a hero slip ignominiously through the fingers of one Alex Barron.

Even when he does it right, the poor guy just can't seem to get a break.

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Music Monday

If you've been reading this blog for any length of time, you will know that I absolutely LOVE football. And what could be better than football but a song about football. I absolutely, absolutely LOVE this song:

September Saturday

Today was our town's annual Downtown Jubilee. I didn't go last year, but this year I wanted to go because they were going to have a September 11 memorial thing.  It started raining early, and I almost didn't go, but the rain passed pretty quickly.

I got there just in time for the entertainment to start.  The first thing they did was, we pledged allegiance to the flag.  Then someone got up and sang our National Anthem.  The someone led a prayer.  Yes, we had a prayer.  We still pray before football games, too.

Anyway, after the prayer, they recognized firefighters, then policemen, and finally veterans and military personnel.  I eschewed my normal practice of flying incognito and actually went up there with the vets.  Once all the speechifying was done, the community choir got up and sang patriotic songs.

By that time, I was walking around perusing the craft booths.  They really didn't have a whole lot to offer, but the guy with the sports stuff was back.  He makes plaque type things with mostly football cards.  I'd bought some in years past.  He was heavy on the Manning brothers, but did have some Tony Romo and Jason Witten cards.  In the end, however, I made just one purchase.  
 

After that, I came home.  The sky would cloud over, then clear up,

 then cloud over again and even rain a bit.  No matter, I had plenty of football to watch.  Florida easily defeated South Florida 38-14, then I watched Oklahoma pulverize Florida State 47-17.  Bummer, though, that Texas and LSU played at the same time, and neither one on my TV.  No matter.  I watched LSU defeat Vanderbilt on the computer, and followed Texas on Yahoo sports. 

LSU definitely has some problems.  Last week, they led 30-10 at halftime, and didn't score another point during the game.  Moreover, they let North Carolina 14 points, and get within one play of scoring the game winning touchdown.  This week looked to be almost the same.  At the end of the third, the score was 10-3.

(Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Then Les Miles took Jordan Jefferson out of the game and put in Jarrett Lee.  The whole offense seemed to pick up then, and they scored 17 points in the 4th quarter to put the game away.  Still, they're going to have to do better if they want to win in the SEC. 

I stayed up last night until 12:30 AM.  That's something I haven't done in a long, long time.  I think it's time for me to head for bed.

Got Cowboys/Redskins tomorrow.  I want to be ready for it.

Never Forget

Ever.

Dogs On Thursday

A couple of weeks ago, I bought this toy

for the neighbor's dog.  You put treats inside it and it is supposed to keep the dog occupied for hours trying to get the treats out.  Well, Indy (I've finally decided to give him a name), hasn't quite got the hang of it yet.

Rylea, on the other hand...

I see you in there, you food you!

Hmmm, maybe if I roll it on its side.

No, then I'll just chew a hole it this thing.

Grrrr, come out you food so I can eat you!

I was watching Rylea come up the front steps, and she looked like a seal waddling across the ground.  Yes, she is that fat.  I don't understand it.  We walk nearly every day, and they're long walks, too.  Not piddling little 15 minute walks, but usually between 45 minutes and an hour.  I have her on fat dog dog food, but she is still a little blubber ball.  She should be up for shots soon, so I'm going to ask the vet about her weight and what else I can do to help her get fit.


And I've just about broken my self imposed moratorium against casting on already.  I wanted to knit this yarn

up just to see how it did knit up.  I've decided to make a couple of little hats out of it.  I think I'm going to *looks around furtively* swatch first, since I've never knit with DK weight before. Swatching doesn't really count as casting on, does it?  No, of course not...

Now if you will excuse me, there is football to watch on TV...