Day 4 and we're on the final leg of our journey. As soon as we breakfast, argue about an excessive pet charge, and load up the car, we're off. Excessive pet charge? There wasn't supposed to be a charge for pets at all. Sometime between the time HTP and I made our reservations and the time we got here, the hotel changed hands and added a pet fee. A whopping huge pet fee. We've never paid a pet fee unless absolutely necessary and then it's a small one or refundable. I mean, our dogs are tiny and they stay in a kennel. They aren't romping on the beds. The room was nice. I enjoyed the jacuzzi. The mattress was so fantastic that HTP and I are thinking of getting one too. But the fee for the dogs just doesn't warrant staying here again. I'm sure kids who stay for free damage a lot more rooms then my dogs who have to stay in their kennel.

If we can get the internet up and running tonight at the lake, I'll let you all know how the battle for the pet fee turned out. Oh...and the coffee in the room (Maxwell House) tastes awful. Blech! I hope the coffee in the lobby tastes better. I need my coffee...I'm even drinking this stuff.

****

We're Here!

We're at the lake! OK....back up. I need to catch you all up.

HTP challenged the pet fee when he checked us out of the hotel. They caved. No pet fee. Yes! And here HTP had all these arguments that he wasn't even able to use. Poor HTP.

I was driving so I don't have too many saved up impressions to pass along to you. Just driving and nothing too interesting. We stopped for gas in Clear Lake, Iowa. It started to snow. Amazing really. The temperature outside was 44°F and it was snowing. Of course, it melted as soon as it hit the ground but those white flakes weren't coming from my scalp.

It snowed on and off from Clear Lake until we hit the Twin Cities. We hooked up with #1 son and took him out to lunch and then shopping. He wanted to purchase cupcake fixings and cookware. We stopped at Target and then Rainbow. I decided to hold off shopping for Lake groceries until we got to Rice Lake. We returned #1 son to his dorm and continued on our way. No sooner then we reached White Bear Lake, we got a call on the cell phone. #1 son forgot a bag full of his Target treasures (much needed cookware for cupcake baking). We returned to #1 son's dorm to drop off the bag of treasures. And then...back on the road again.

We stopped in Rice Lake for groceries and...shock, gasp....they actually fit into our car. I only bought the basics. We arrived at The Lake at around 8 PM. It was still light out. I was able to see that the crocus bulbs that I planted last fall were starting to bloom. Oh...and the violas that were guaranteed to bloom in the spring are blooming. Woohoo!

We unpacked the car. I fed the dogs but when I tried to get them some water...the water wasn't working. HTP fixed the problem. The circuit braker for our bump wasn't on. Easy fix. We have water. Brown...but it's still wet. We ran the water to get the brown out but that'll take a few days yet. That's what Yellow Out is for . The dogs don't care if the water they drink is brown. I just won't do laundry. Oh gee...what a hardship!

HTP hooked up our TV and then started to work on our internet connection. The TV works. The DSL will take a bit longer. We're borrowing my Dad's dial-up modem connection until DSL can connect. Wednesday? Oh well...at least I can blog. Slowly.

It's actually really, really, late here. I'm not even making sense at this point. I'm all unpacked. I still have a whole bunch of cleaning to do. Tomorrow. Lots to do tomorrow. But right now? I'm off to bed.

Murphyism of the Day

Drew's Law of Highway Biology

The first bug to hit a clean windshield lands directly in front of your eyes.

Day 3 and we'll be heading to Des Moines.

Happy Anniversary to me and HTP! We already celebrated in Las Vegas...Nevada, not New Mexico. But...if we can find a nice restaurant, there's no law against celebrating again.

Snow! There's a nice layer of snowman-making snow outside right now. I like to look at snow but that's about it. It's cold. It's wet. It sticks to your shoes. The dogs blamed me for it. Someone has to go outside and brush off the car before we head out. It's not going to be me. It may look pretty but that's as much as I'll admit.

As usual, if I blog some more tonight, I'll blog. If I don't, well...our next stop is The Lake and then everyone will just have to wait until HTP can hook our internet up again. And of course, we have to unpack the car etc.

*****

As promised, I'll try to catch you up on our day. The snow magically disappeared when we crossed the time zone T's on the Triptik. We lost an hour at the same time we lost all visible evidence of snow. OK. We were dodging ice chunks thrown by the semi's half way across the state of Nebraska but that isn't real snow. It's just a by-product.

We ate lunch in Kearney and I wondered if we'd bump into our future son-in-law. I've lost track. I know that he was in Kearney for a while there. To be on the safe side, we waved at him in Kearney and then again when we passed through Omaha.

When we arrived in Des Moines, I found out that #1 son had called us on our cell phone. He left a message but I won't be able to access it until we get up to the lake...after we actually see him tomorrow. I called to make sure that it wasn't an emergency. It wasn't. We'll talk to him tomorrow when we hit Minneapolis.

HTP and I had a hard time finding our hotel in Des Moines. We passed it three times before we HTP walked into the lobby of a Spring Hill-Marriot hotel that seemed to be taking up the exact footprint of the Quality Inn where we had our reservations. Guess what? Quality Inn isn't a Quality Inn anymore at this location. It's a Spring Hill-Marriot. Surprise! We got our room. I'm looking forward to using the jacuzzi in the bathroom later tonight after dinner. Hee-hee! Nice room. A really nice room.

Murphyism of the Day

Lovka's Law of Driving

There is no traffic until you need to make a left turn.

Day Two...On the Road Again...Kinda.

Albuquerque. A city located in what we affectionately refer to as The Devil's Triangle when it comes to automobile problems. At least I don't think that we'll have to spend another night here. HTP took the car in to have our mystery leak checked. I remained here in our hotel room with the dogs. I'm on my fourth cup of coffee and it isn't even good coffee. Anyway, HTP just called to tell me that the Gator needs a new radiator. So much for leaky hoses or loose fittings. Sigh. Oh well. At least HTP tells me that they have one and are in the process of installing it as I write this. Could be worse. We could have found ourselves in the middle of nowhere with a busted radiator and no way of getting a new one anytime soon. While they're replacing the radiator, they'll replace our hoses so they don't blow out as soon as they're mated with a new radiator. Anyway, HTP assured me that he thinks we'll be back on the road again by noon. I'll keep my fingers crossed. I'm sure the car will work just fine as soon as we depart...The Devil's Triangle.

Here's where I'll write more after we get to our hotel in Sterling...if that's where we end up tonight and if I'm not too tired to fire up the laptop. If I don't get around to blogging more today, well...I'll blog another day....if we ever escape from The Devil's Triangle.

*****

We actually left Albuquerque at 11 AM. Woohoo! I drove to Las Vegas...New Mexico, not Nevada. HTP drove for a while after that and then me again. We played musical drivers.

It started to get colder and colder as we drove through Colorado. We hit snow flurries shortly after Colorado Springs and it got worse after that. By the time we got through Denver and pulled off to top off our gas tank, the snow was falling so hard that it was hard to see. We had a sheet of ice on our running boards and grill. The windshield wipers were so crusted with ice that they didn't do much good. We had to be very careful to avoid stepping on our running boards. No-one wanted to deal with broken hips.

HTP took over driving and we continued on to Fort Morgan, where we had supper at The Country Steak Out. Very good! The trees in the area were all coated with ice. There were icicles hanging from the eaves of the houses and the fences. It was really pretty. Not to fun to drive in, but pretty.

After supper HTP took the wheel again, and we drove the rest of the way to Sterling, Colorado. Our scheduled stop for the night. We were a bit afraid that they would have given away our room to some other poor travelers but our fears weren't realized. We checked in to our hotel at 9:30 PM. After dragging our stuff inside and walking and feeding our dogs, I decided to take the time to finish the night with this blog. It's 29°F outside. There is standing snow on the ground. It feels darn cold to me.

Speaking of snow...#1 son called yesterday while we were on our way to Albuquerque. He just wanted us to know that it was snowing hard where he was...Minneapolis. Brrrr. It seems to me that there really shouldn't be snow at this time of year. I'm not fond of snow.

Murphyism of the Day

The Freeway Axiom

The driver behind you wants to go five miles per hour faster...even if it is snowing.

WAKE UP! WE'RE OFF TO WISCONSIN

OK. All my writing tools are packed. Most everything is in the car. I just have to finish up here and we're off. Coffee. I must have coffee. If I have time tonight, I'll finish this, if not....

*****

We finally set off on our journey at around 8:30 AM. It would have taken us longer than that if HTP hadn't loaded most of the stuff in the car last night. We hit road construction right off the bat. Not even out of Chandler and we hit a detour. I wonder if the roads will be done by the time we get to Arizona in November. Probably not.

Our first stop was a Safeway for breakfast I got a bagel. One of those Everything bagels. MMMM...carbs.

The second stop we made was for gas in Payson. The coffee was kicking in plus, we just needed to gas up the Gator. I'm not fond of all the winding, hilly roads. Pretty but...I never liked rollercoaster rides. It's a control thing. I'd be find if I were driving. I wasn't. I took a dramamine. I started my crotchet project but I think I'll have to wait to work on it when the road straightens out.

The road from Payson to Heber was a frustration. We got caught behind a car carrier going REALLY slow. No passing zones. Argh! And, of course, should you encounter a passing zone, said truck speeds up. Woohoo! We passed him! Divided highway! At least for a short while. Long enough.

We were going to eat at the Red Onion in Heber but it was too early for lunch. We stopped in Holbrook instead and sampled the fare from Jerry's Restaurant. Very good! The fries passed the wimp test.

I drove from Holbrook to a rest stop halfway between Gallup, NM and Albuquerque. As I pulled in to park, HTP and I smelled the ominous odor of anti-freeze. Sigh! We had anti-freeze leaking out from under the car. Copious amounts of anti-freeze. HTP took a look but couldn't see the problem. We went in search of water to fill the reservoir as a stop gap measure. Not an easy task. The days when gas stations offered a water pump must be over. HTP finally got a gallon jug from a gas attendant and filled it with tap water from their outdoor hose bib. He topped off the reservoir and kept a gallon more of water in reserve. We crossed our fingers and continued on our way to Albuquerque.

We arrive in Albuquerque at around 5 PM...their time. We lost an hour. Time change. HTP again checked under the hood of our car. Blink. No more leak...or if it is leaking it's really slowed down to almost nothing. Regardless, we'll be having it checked out tomorrow morning. We got in too late to have anything done with it tonight yet.

After checking into our hotel, HTP called around and found a place to get our car checked out tomorrow morning. Early. He plans to be first in line. With that out of the way, we drove over to our favorite New Mexican Restaurant. El Pinto. We deserved our margaritas. We deserved our good food. We deserved our sopapillas.

HTP stood guard while I walked the dogs one more time before bed. Tomorrow, I'll stay here in the room while HTP takes the car in. It looks like tomorrow is going to be a long day. We plan to drive to Sterling, CO tomorrow. Hopefully, we actually arrive there before midnight. Wish us luck.

Murphyism of the Day

Reece's Law

The speed of an oncoming vehicle is directly proportional to the length of the passing zone.

Just A Single Wake Up Before We Leave For Wisconsin

Word of the Day

Aisle Ten: The location of everything and anything. First used at a local grocery store with aisles one to nine, where a customer asked for the location of an item the store employee isn't familiar with, the customer was directed to Aisle Ten. Aisle Ten can now be used in response to any question you don't know that answer to.

With only a single wake up left before we hit the road on our return journey to Wisconsin, I am frantically packing, doing laundry (it's Tuesday), and adding and deleting items from my list. I've got two suitcases open on my bed which I'm filling to overflow capacity. I have two boxes filled and ready to go in the kitchen. I have another box mostly filled here in my bedroom. As I fold the laundry, I'm sorting and putting freshly laundered items in the appropriate suitcases. I don't think I'll be needing shorts for a while so those won't go into the suitcase I plan to bring in each night.

I still have to drain the fountain today and rescue the goldfish. My neighbor told me that she'd goldfish sit for me....that is...if I can actually rescue them. Right now they are staying least in sight. I'll have to do something about that next year. What's the point in having goldfish if you never see them?

I have to clean and clear the fridge. Again, my neighbor is going to take our overstocked perishables. If we hadn't gone to Vegas, I would have been able to use up all these eggs. On the other hand, I don't regret going to Vegas.

The dogs have to visit the vet. And we have to return our cable boxes. The mail is being forwarded. And on the other end, in Wisconsin, they promised us that they'd hold the mail. We don't want to have the mail make endless loops across the United States. Arizona to Wisconsin and back to Arizona again to Wisconsin. I think we've covered all our bases.

Update on the Goldfish Situation

We finally had to pull the plug on the fountain and wait until most of the water drained out in order for me to rescue the goldfish. Finally, three of them scooted out from their cave in the pump cave. As I grabbed two of them, one of them scooted back into the cave. It tried to commit suicide rather then allow me to rescue it. Hah! I got it out anyway! I sure hope there were only three goldfish. I scoured the fountain clean and didn't see anymore trapped in the cave. Carefully, I took the huge bowl, with its three occupants, over to my neighbors' house. I hope the neighbors still talk to me when we get back. At least goldfish don't bark.

Murphyism of the Day

Worker's Dilemma

1. No matter how much you do, you'll never do enough.

2. What you don't do is always more important than what you do do.

One Day and a Wake Up Before We Leave For Wisconsin

Word of the Day

Ailuromancy: A system of divination that attempts to foretell the future from what appears on your screen after the cat walks across the keyboard.

I'm packing already. I've got two boxes almost filled. I'll finish up the rest of it tomorrow while I do laundry. Though I almost forgot, I'll be taking the dogs into the vet for their shots tomorrow. I can't get Wisconsin dog tags for the dogs without vet papers...current shots, etc. I might even get into trouble transporting them across state borders without the vet paperwork. I was able to make an appointment at 5 PM tomorrow. That's cutting it a bit close.

I'm going to go shopping again today. HTP has the car right now but when he gets back I need to go exchange this bride's maid's dress that I bought yesterday. The zipper was broken when we bought it but I just noticed. If they can't exchange it on the spot because they don't have it in the right size, I'll return it and order the dress online. It isn't as if it was on sale, so they shouldn't give me any grief. I also need to see if I can pick up another stole. I was only able to find two...I need three. I'll worry about buying my own dress for the wedding later. I may just wear the same dress I wore for my other daughter's wedding.

I hear the weather has gotten a lot cooler in Wisconsin. Rumors of snow were heard. I guess I'll be packing some winter-type clothes for traveling. I'll pack the shorts to but I doubt I'll have a chance to wear those now for a while.

Murphyism of the Day

Spark's Ten Rules for Project Management

1. Strive to look tremendously important.

2. Attempt to be seen with important people.

3. Speak with authority; however, only expound on the obvious and proven facts.

4. Don't engage in arguments, but if cornered, ask an irrelevant question and lean back with a satisfied grin while your opponent tries to figure out what's going on--then quickly change the subject.

5. Listen intently while others are arguing the problem. Pounce on a trite statement and bury them with it.

6. If a subordinate asks you a pertinent question, look at him as if he has lost his mind. When he looks down, paraphrase the question back at him.

7. Obtain a brilliant assignment, but keep out of sight and out of the limelight.

8. Walk at a fast pace when out of the office--this keeps questions from subordinates and superiors at a minimum.

9. Always keep the office door closed. This puts visitors on the defensive and also makes it look like you are always in an important conference.

10. Give all orders verbally. Never write anything down that might go into a "Pearl Harbor File".

Two Days and a Wake Up Before We Leave For Wisconsin

Word of the Day

Agnorant: When arrogance is augmented by ignorance.

I was just going to skip on by and see if anyone noticed that I didn't bother to blog today. Guilt drove me to my computer before exhaustion could drive me to my bed. I got up at 5 AM so I could get ready for church and do my normal wake-up routine. I arrived 5 minutes late for church which translates in everyone else's dictionary as "spot on time". Somehow I thought I was supposed to arrive at church at 7:15 AM. I got there at 7:10 AM. Then it turns out that I was supposed to get to church at 7:10 AM. See? I was late. In my mind, I was late.

I played with our church orchestra for two services. It's always a fun exercise in between services to see how much coffee one can consume without burning your tongue and throat before you have to return for the next service. I got a cookie too. Oreo. I only got a half of a cup of coffee. Too hot.

After church, I drove over to my daughter's apartment. I wanted to take her out to get a bride's maid's dress. We found one. Beautiful. I think it'll look great with the dress my other daughter wants for her wedding dress. Of course, even though we found the perfect dress right away, we still felt that we had to wander the mall for hours and hours checking to see if we could find something better. We didn't. In our wanders, we did find a wedding cake topper...I think...subject to the approval of Marine Daughter One. I also picked up a couple of pairs of sandals for the summer and a pair of shoes for Daughter Two to go with the bride's maid's dress. I also picked up a necklace and will see if I can find the very same for the other two bride's maids. Tomorrow.

I wore all the cartilage out of my joints, walking the mall. I ankles are all swollen. I was relieved to feel the heat of the car seats when we finally returned to the car. Like the perfect heating pad on sore muscles and joints. I'll recover. I have to return to the frey tomorrow. I need another stole to go with the dress we bought. I sent off pictures to Marine Daughter One. I hope she likes what I picked out.

After shopping we (Daughter Two, her husband, HTP and I ), all met at an Italian restaurant for supper. Wonderful food! Tutti Santi. They make a wonderful antipasto plate. The main courses are fabulous too. They brought us flaming shots of anisette for the perfect close to our meal.

Is it any wonder that I was ready to just head off to bed after we got home here at 9:30 PM? I've had a really full day! I'm ready for bed. Guilt is the only thing that forcing me to blog. I promised myself that I'd blog on a daily basis...even if I have nothing to say. Oh...and I haven't started packing...still.

Murphyism of the Day

Bunuel's Law

Overdoing things is harmful in all cases, even when it comes to efficiency.

Three Days and a Wake Up Before We Leave For Wisconsin

Word of the Day

Aghastitude: Disbelief, shock, and awe.

Where has the time flown? We're back in Arizona. It only took us 6 hours to get from Vegas to here. We stopped to visit with my folks. That doesn't count into the 6 hours. It would have taken us longer, but there wasn't any Dam traffic. However....

There were a lot of motorcyclists. I mean A LOT of motorcycles and the people who ride them. They were easily recognizable even while they were walking far from their...um...hogs. They all sport the same bandana-style headwear, the same scraggly beards, tattoos, and leather. Lots of leather. There was a huge motorcycle rally in Laughlin this weekend. The Laughlin River Run. Bikers were everywhere. Vegas. The Dam. The road to and fro. The deep-throated roar of their vehicles of choice could be heard even through the closed windows of our Navigator. They traveled in packs of 15-20. Safety in numbers, I guess. It does make driving rather difficult for the rest of us. Please note...it rained and the bikers all got wet. Hah, hah. I know...mean of me.

When we got home, there were several e-mails from our daughter regarding wedding plans. It sounds like both the prospective bride and the prospective groom wish to continue with the original August plan. Neither of them see any time constraints due to military obligations so it looks like I can start "planning". There was a message on the answering machine from said daughter with promises to call tomorrow. I hope I'm home. I have my doubts because I've got two church services followed by a promised shopping trip with my youngest daughter and dinner out with that daughter and her husband...quick, quick, because we're leaving in only a short few days.

Panic is starting to set in. I am filled with aghastitude. Three days and a wake up?!

Murphyism of the Day

Murphy's Observation on Business

The toughest thing in business is minding your own.

Four Days and a Wake Up Before We Leave For Wisconsin

Word of the Day

Afterism: (n.) A concise, clever statement you don't think of until too late.

Guilt. I shouldn't be enjoying myself here in Vegas. I am, so that's where the guilt comes in. I should be packing for our trip back to Wisconsin. Too bad. I plan to continue on enjoying myself. Last night I had my favorite appetizer (oysters on the half shell) at Billy Bob's along with a huge stein of Shiner Bock beer. Tonight, we'll be enjoying the seafood buffet at The Firelight Buffet with my parents. I plan to down several plates of oysters there. I'll worry about packing on Monday. We'll be returning to Arizona on Saturday. Sunday, I play with the church orchestra. So...Monday will be soon enough to concentrate on packing.

Murphyism of the Day

Third Law for Freelance Artists

The rush job you spent all night on won't be needed for at least two days.

Five Days and a Wake Up Before We Leave For Wisconsin

Word of the Day

Aewog: Sound emitted by a tadpole the moment it becomes a frog.

And so it continues both night and day... We drove our way to Vegas yesterday. 6 hours on the road. Not bad. HTP and I split the driving and there was little to no traffic. We stopped at my folk's place. HTP was itching to look at my Dad's computer and I wanted to see my Mom's new rosebushes. And...they agreed to look after my monster dogs. I shudder to think that they're probably dragging my poor folks out of bed at an early hour because...well...I tend to get up early. 5:30 AM this morning for me but what the heck, I'm "on vacation". I just turned on the light by our bed and read for a while until HTP got up and fired up the computer. And so, two and a half hours later, here you can find me. Blogging.

We ate too much yesterday. I dragged myself upstairs last night and collapsed in bed, completely gorged with food. Good food, but I'm really going to have to show more restraint. We had a late lunch at The Harvest Cafe because we hadn't had any breakfast or lunch on the road. Then, not even three hours later, we were sitting down to an Italian feast at Fellini's with my folks. Too much food. My Mom took home our leftovers so at least we didn't eat all of it. I think I would have ruptured something if I'd made the attempt. Sadly, we did eat dessert too. But what's so filling about fresh strawberries in a custard-cream sauce? Groan! It was delicious and I practically licked the goblet, it was served in, clean. I'll do better today, though my thoughts are turning to breakfast as I blog. Coffee would be nice.

Neither HTP and I seem to be having any luck at the machines this trip. We have today and tomorrow to test our luck but I brought books to fill in my time. I refuse to toss good money after bad. I plan to enjoy myself this trip...as I do all my trips...with a bit of gambling mixed with relaxing in the park, reading in the room, and maybe even a movie at the movie theatre. We'll see. I may even see about visiting the Spa. A facial or back treatment sounds wonderful. Decisions. Oh well...decisions like these aren't stressful at all. Not that I'm stressed. I haven't thought about wedding plans or packing for The Lake at all...at least until just this second, and maybe a bit at supper last night.

Murphyism of the Day

Second Law for Freelance Artists

All rush jobs are due the same day.

Five Days and a Wake Up Before We Leave For Wisconsin

Word of the Day

Aewog: Sound emitted by a tadpole the moment it becomes a frog.

And so it continues both night and day... We drove our way to Vegas yesterday. 6 hours on the road. Not bad. HTP and I split the driving and there was little to no traffic. We stopped at my folk's place. HTP was itching to look at my Dad's computer and I wanted to see my Mom's new rosebushes. And...they agreed to look after my monster dogs. I shudder to think that they're probably dragging my poor folks out of bed at an early hour because...well...I tend to get up early. 5:30 AM this morning for me but what the heck, I'm "on vacation". I just turned on the light by our bed and read for a while until HTP got up and fired up the computer. And so, two and a half hours later, here you can find me. Blogging.

We ate too much yesterday. I dragged myself upstairs last night and collapsed in bed, completely gorged with food. Good food, but I'm really going to have to show more restraint. We had a late lunch at The Harvest Cafe because we hadn't had any breakfast or lunch on the road. Then, not even three hours later, we were sitting down to an Italian feast at Fellini's with my folks. Too much food. My Mom took home our leftovers so at least we didn't eat all of it. I think I would have ruptured something if I'd made the attempt. Sadly, we did eat dessert too. But what's so filling about fresh strawberries in a custard-cream sauce? Groan! It was delicious and I practically licked the goblet, it was served in, clean. I'll do better today, though my thoughts are turning to breakfast as I blog. Coffee would be nice.

Neither HTP and I seem to be having any luck at the machines this trip. We have today and tomorrow to test our luck but I brought books to fill in my time. I refuse to toss good money after bad. I plan to enjoy myself this trip...as I do all my trips...with a bit of gambling mixed with relaxing in the park, reading in the room, and maybe even a movie at the movie theatre. We'll see. I may even see about visiting the Spa. A facial or back treatment sounds wonderful. Decisions. Oh well...decisions like these aren't stressful at all. Not that I'm stressed. I haven't thought about wedding plans or packing for The Lake at all...at least until just this second, and maybe a bit at supper last night.

Murphyism of the Day

Second Law for Freelance Artists

All rush jobs are due the same day.

Six Days and a Wake Up Before We Leave For Wisconsin

Word of the Day

Vulgacity: 1. A word or phrase that could be construed as offensive. 2. A really nasty municipality.

We're heading to Vegas today but we'll be back. The decision was made that we would take this opportunity to celebrate our Anniversary. Early. We'll be on the road to Wisconsin on the actual day of our anniversary. I think that we'll have put in a 9 hour driving day by the time we reach our destination that night. Looking for a really swanky restaurant at that point would be enough to put a stain on our relationship. We'll just celebrate early. Anyway, if I find a chance to blog in Vegas, I will. If not? I won't.

Nothing new on the wedding planning front. We're still trying to pick an actual date and time for the wedding. I can't do anything substantial before that decision can be made.

Murphyism of the Day

Old Grey Frog's Law on Spontaneity

Spur of the moment hotel reservations are only available when you shouldn't be going because you should be planning a wedding or packing for a trip back to Wisconsin.

Habemus Papem!

There's a new Pope. I'm not Catholic. I don't have to be Catholic to appreciate world-shaping news. This news is far bigger then anything that I could blog. White smoke billowed from the smoke-stack affixed atop the Sistine Chapel. A decision was made far sooner then I expected. The crowds in St. Peter's Square erupted in cheers. People could be seen running from all directions to join those who already waited to meet the new Pope. Everyone waited to hear the bells that were supposed to ring as the white smoke rose. And then the bells rang and it was moving to hear the cries of joy and see the looks in the eyes of the people as the camera's scanned the crowds. And then we were introduced to the new Pope. Pope Benedict XVI. I may not be Catholic but I am Christian and I do pray that God's hand guides the new leader of the Catholic Church in this modern world with all it's demands.

I'll blog again tomorrow. If you don't have a chance to read a new Word of the Day, or Murphyism or know that I'm down to seven days and a wake up before I return to Wisconsin, I think we'll all survive. Today seems like a good day to just acknowledge the birth of a new Pope.

Eight Days and a Wake Up Before We Leave For Wisconsin

Word of the Day

Adorkable: Being adorable in a dorky way.

My glasses are done. I just need to go over there, have them fitted, and bring them on home. I need to order my new contacts but that will have to wait until I get back home to Wisconsin since I don't want to pay premium instore prices...but maybe I'll check to see if Walmart might have some in stock and cheap.

I'm starting to pack. OK. I'm starting to think about packing. We don't have all that much time left here and I've got to do so much yet. I never did get over to the rec center here as I planned. Oh well...maybe next fall. I need to turn off our fountain, drain the water out and rescue the goldfish. Yes, I do have goldfish still. Sometimes you see 'em, and most times you don't. But they're still there and I can't just let them die. I promised my Arizona daughter that I'd fish them out and save them for her to goldfish sit while we're gone.

We have to drain the fountain because we don't want to encourage mosquito breeding. Arizona has had lots of problems with the West Nile Virus last summer despite the fact that we live in a desert. There are a lot of man-made lakes, unmaintained pools and ponds, the canal, and some of the older areas have irrigation systems that flood the fields or yards instead of the drip systems the newer areas use. HTP and I thought it would be best to do our part in removing at least one possible breeding ground while we're gone. I don't suppose our little fountain could cause too much of a problem, especially with mosquito larvae-eating goldfish but then again, the fountain would probably dry out anyway sometime during the summer if I turn off the water to it. We do live in a desert.

Murphyism of the Day

First Law for Freelance Artists

A high-paying rush job comes in only after you committed to a low-paying rush job.

Nine Days and a Wake Up Before We Leave For Wisconsin

Word of the Day

Acrapulate: Word used for describing a large amount of useless junk collected over a period of time.

Well, it looks like I'm going to be planning a wedding. My Marine daughter and her fiance want to get married this summer. The last part of August. As of today, she wants to have the wedding at Stout Island Lodge but that might be a bit iffy. They tend to book that place a year in advance. We don't have that long. Well...we can only try. She told me that a wedding at The Lake would be just a wonderful. Parking is the issue there. I bet the spirit of my Grandmother would love the idea. Anyway, we're only at early stages here for planning. Just shuffling ideas about. Right now she's stationed back at Parris Island while she heals up from a broken hip before her training and schooling can continue. The planning is taking place via cell phone...unreliable connection not withstanding.

I played at the church today. We did just fine even though our numbers were depleted. Thankfully, we did have a guitarist. It looked a bit like we'd only have our pianist, our vocalist, a drummer, and me. But the music was fine and always puts me in a great mood. Oh my! I need to figure out music for a wedding at The Lake! Maybe I can beg help from my sister. She's better at this sort of thing then I am. I bet she could plan the whole thing all on her own. I don't entertain. I'm panicking and I haven't even started packing for our journey back to Wisconsin. I feel a bit shell-shocked. And no...I refuse to ask the question, "What next?"

Murphyism of the Day

The Salary Axiom

The pay raise is just large enough to increase your taxes and just small enough to have no effect on your take-home pay.

Ten Days and a Wake Up Before We Leave For Wisconsin

Word of the Day

Acluistic: Not having a clue.

The temperatures here in Arizona have been in the 90's for that last few days. We actually had to turn on the air-conditioner one day. That was my fault. If I'd closed the shades on the sunny side and closed all the windows as soon as things started to warm past 70°F outside, we could have made do without the air-conditioner. On the other hand, we now know that it works and we don't have to add it to the warranty list of things that need fixing. We've got the shades pulled right now on the sunny side of the house and the windows closed. It's already starting to warm up.

Our Kool-deck removal crew is here again. They arrived just before breakfast. HTP told them not to use so much water this time. Last time they used so much water that they blew up there grinder. I think they blew up our GFI ground fault too. It doesn't want to reset. HTP will have to look at it...after they leave. He's the electrical engineer. He suspects that someone messed up when they wired it at the time we had the fountain installed. Anyway, the crew don't have to eliminate ALL dust, they just need to keep it lower then our 6-foot wall. Now I just have to worry that some of the neighbors might complain about the noise at such and early time in the morning. Tough! If all goes well, this stupid non-Kool-deck coating will all be removed and we can finally get this patio done. Hopefully before we have to leave for Wisconsin.

Our Marine daughter is back on Parris Island. She's in a BMP (Basic Marine Platoon) until her hip heals and she can go onto MCT (Marine Combat Training). She lives for the time that she's told that she's been "Voted off the Island". Bored to death, she has been using her laptop as a DVD player. I wonder if she can rent DVD's on base. I think her boredom may be short-lived.

Murphyism of the Day

Quile's Consultation Law

The job that pays the most will be offered when there is no time to deliver the services.

Eleven Days and a Wake Up Before We Leave For Wisconsin

Word of the Day

Accountess: A royal accountant (f.)

It's Tax Day! No panic here. HTP sent our taxes out already. This year was a bit of an eye-opener. We had to send in taxes for two different states along with our Federal taxes. HTP uses TurboTax so it wasn't too bad...well...the program had a few problems when it came to Wisconsin's forms but that's to be expected. Hey, Wisconsin! Fix your tax forms so that people don't have to be a CPA to fill them out! Good grief! Even Turbotax can't figure out your forms. We had to take out a loan to pay for the postage for this tome we had to return to you.

Wisconsin is supposed to be the Dairy State. I think someone needs to rethink that. I think they should just be honest and let everyone know right off the bat that Wisconsin is the "Wring the last dime out of your wallet, Tax State". It's truly amazing to me what gets taxed out there in Wisconsin...and don't even get me started on property taxes. I don't think they'll be happy until they make Wisconsin a socialist proving ground and welfare state.

We're told that our taxes are actually supporting Milwaukee and Madison. As far as I'm concerned, Milwaukee and Madison need to start fending for themselves. You're bankrupting the rest of the state. I'm getting tired of hearing that my taxes are going to pay for a Milwaukee and Madison when I drive down our rural rutted road.

Pffft! OK. Deep breath. I'm done ranting. I'm listening to the water splashing in my fountain. I sent in my check to support Wisconsin....I mean Milwaukee and Madison because that money sure as heck fire doesn't trickle down much to our neck of The Lake.

I'm going to turn off the TV. I'm going to turn off the radio. I'm going to hide the paper. I'm going to forget that today is Tax Day! I think I'll go out and get my hair done. Going to the beauty parlor can be better then going to a therapist. I just hope no-one mentions the T-word while I'm there.

Murphyism of the Day

Zymurgy's Law of Volunteer Labor

People are always available for work in the past tense.

Twelve Days and a Wake Up Before We Leave For Wisconsin

Word of the Day

Accidue: Accident+residue. Glass granules and other debris left at an automobile accident site.

I've been spending the last few days re-reading my old books. It's not possible to actually re-read all of them. At least not immediately. I'll get to them all eventually. Or at least I'll get to the ones that I enjoy the most. Right now I'm re-reading my Nora Roberts books. That'll take a while. I think I have all of her books taking up space on four of the shelves in my "library". Right now, I've got her MacGregor series sitting on my nightstand. As soon as I finish the series, I'll bundle them up so they stay together and put them back on the shelf. I haven't decided which of my Nora Roberts books I'll start on after the MacGregor series. I have to be careful. I don't want to start anything that I won't be able to finish in the time that we have left here in Arizona. I've got books back in Wisconsin. Some of them are repeats of the books that I have here. What can I say? I don't just re-read books once. Some books are worth reading over and over. Some day I'll end up living in one place for twelve months of the year but until then, I have to have collections of books in both of our homes. There's nothing like spending time on a rainy day with a good book. There's nothing like spending time with a good book while soaking up the sun. Actually, there's nothing like spending time with a good book...period.

I've run out of Butternut coffee. I can't buy it here in Arizona. I have to import it from Wisconsin. At least I know how much coffee I'll need to import for next winter. I ran short this year. So now I have to find a substitute coffee that I can tolerate for the short while between now and our return to Wisconsin. I bought two types of coffee in the store the other day. An experiment to see which one I'll like better. HTP started a pot of one of them. It smells like cigarette ashes. Not promising. It claimed to be a medium roast. Smooth. We'll see. As I said, the smell of cigarette ashes doesn't fill me with too much hope.

Murphyism of the Day

Oeser's Law

There is a tendency for the person in the most powerful position in and organization to spend all of his time or her time serving on committees and signing letters.

Thirteen Days and a Wake Up Before We Leave For Wisconsin

Word of the Day

Acceptable: Dining area for acceps.

I went out to lunch yesterday with a friend, a former neighbor. I hadn't seen her since last year about this time. It was fun to catch up on things. I hate to lose touch with friends. Thank goodness for the internet and e-mail. While we're in Wisconsin, it helps that I can still keep in touch with my friends who are not in Wisconsin.

I called the plumber this morning. I don't have a leak or anything. It's not about this house. I called the Wisconsin plumber to let him know that we'll be returning to Wisconsin soon. We "winterize" our Wisconsin home when we leave it for the winter. Part of the "winterizing" process is to have the plumber come in and turn off our water so the pipes don't freeze and burst should the heating fail us. I suppose HTP and I could attempt to take care of the water issue ourselves but it's rather complicated when it comes to traps, toilets, water-heaters, our well and pump, dishwasher, washing machine, ice-maker and fridge, outdoor faucets, the list goes on and on. It's not as if you can just flip a switch. I can flip a switch. I can't drain all the water out of our house and do whatever needs to be done to make we can leave our Wisconsin home unattended for five to six months. Of course, just as what goes up, must come down; what is turned off, must be turned on. I called the plumber so he can go on in and reverse the process he went through to turn the water off last fall before we actually unlock our gate, our door and race to the bathroom to use the facilities after our long drive. Thankfully, all I had to do was call him and tell him to turn on the water.

It's one of those sunny days here in Arizona. I went out and sat in the sun while I read a couple chapters of my book. It felt wonderful to soak in the vitamin D that I don't get because I'd rather drink a cup or two or three of coffee in the morning rather then drink milk. Which reminds me...I better go take my calcium chew.

Murphyism of the Day

Cornuelle's Law

Authority tends to assign jobs to those least able to do them.

Fourteen Days and a Wake Up Before We Leave For Wisconsin

Word of the Day

Accelurate: To add (a lot, and fast) extra minutes to your cellular plan.

I survived the eye doctor. They didn't dilate my eyes. Woohoo! No puffer machine either. They did that thing where they try to touch your eye with this blue light pokey thingy. It took several attempts and two series of eye drops that numb your eyeballs but they finally touched each of my eyes and told me that the pressure in my eyes was just fine. Blah! The numbing eye drops made me feel like my eyeballs were going to pop! Then they had to rinse my eyes out with some eyewash because the numbing drops are a bright yellow color and you just don't want to go out in public like that. You might frighten someone. The end result of the appointment was that I walked out of the office with a stronger eyeglass prescription and a stronger contact lens prescription. Since they didn't dilate my eyes, I was sent on my way with a sample pair of contacts.

HTP went over to EyeMasters to order my new glasses. HTP looked like he was looped on drugs. The eye doctor dilated his eyes. I checked out the new frames.

Styles have definitely changed since I bought glasses last. When did nerdy glasses become the in thing to wear? Prices have gone up too. There was no way that I was going to spend $200 for the frames for one pair of glasses. Good grief! I wanted to buy two pairs of glasses. One to wear and one in case of emergencies if the other breaks. The cost of plastic lenses have gone up too. I wear progressive bifocals. Of course the price of bifocals are through the roof and when you remove that visible line so you can fool people into thinking you're really not all that old, well, we won't go into how expensive the lenses become. Even with the sale that EyeMasters was running, the cost of my two pairs of glasses was pretty darn staggering. Of course, it's been three years since I bought my last pair of glasses so I guess I shouldn't have been surprised. Actually, I suppose if I'd bought a pair of glasses every year like some people do, I'd have been prepared. I think you just accept things after a while. The price of gas at the gas stations are a prime example of this. The shock on my daughter's face when she got out of boot camp after only three months was a funny thing to see. "Gas is $2.40/gallon?" I think it was about $1.50/gallon when she left for camp. But that's a bit off subject. Anyway...

I went ahead and picked out two frames. The cheapest that they had in stock...within reason. I do have to wear these things afterall. They may not carry a famous designer name but they look like the designer frames. I don't need to have Ralph Lauren written on the bows of my glasses. I just need to see. I refused to buy the "way out" glasses that reminded me of the glasses I saw my grandmother wear with the pointy wings. That was a bit much for me. I picked out two pair of nerdy glasses. Of course, with bifocals, the lenses have to be special ordered. They never have my lenses in stock. I was told that I'll get a call in two weeks...but...(wink,wink) they told me that I'd probably have my glasses by next week. I told them that we were leaving for Wisconsin in two weeks. They told me that I didn't need to worry. They'd be here. I'll wait on ordering the contact lenses until I get to Wisconsin. The pair I have right now should last until I can order some on the internet.

Murphyism of the Day

Sociology's Iron Law of Oligarchy

In every organized activity, no matter what the sphere, a small number will become the oligarchical leaders and the others will follow.

Fifteen Days and a Wake Up Before We Leave For Wisconsin

Word of the Day

Abstractional-dopmology: The study of brown dots on any carpet.

I'm going to go and get my eyes checked today. My glasses probably need replacing and no-one will give me new contact lenses without a current prescription. My prescription is over a year old and they won't honor it. My glasses are over two years old and I can't see very well driving with after dark.

We all know that I'm not very fond of going to doctors. Anyone with a Dr. in front of their name is suspect. Eye doctors aren't too bad. But...I really hate that puffer machine where they blow air into your eye. I flinch every single time. I jump too. They actually hate me because I'll flinch before the air puffs and then they have to do it over and over and over and over. Sorry guys. I don't like anyone but me touching my eyes and the puffer machine falls into that category. They've got another thing that they touch to your eye and I wish they'd just let me do it.

And then you have to go through this huge multiple choice test. So many questions. So many decisions. Which one looks better? Is this one better or that one? And sometimes they look just the same and they won't stop asking until you give them an answer. Where's the shiny red light now? Look up, look down. Look right at the bright light that I'm going to blind you with.

Everytime we go to the eye doctor, they insist on putting drops in your eyes and you come out of the doctor's office looking like you're high on drugs because your pupils are so big it's hard to tell what color your eyes are anymore. After you're finally allowed to leave, you walk outside and Ahhh! THE SUN!!!! Even if they give you these funky sunglasses, they never fit right over your glasses and the SUN slips through along the edges to blind you. I know I'll have to wear my glasses because after these drops are put in my eyes my contacts won't go back in. Anyway, I just hope HTP and I don't get stopped by any police officers as we drive back home. I don't want to have to fight a DUI....not that I've ever had a problem with that but...what can I say...I'm a bit paranoid.

Murphyism of the Day

Parkinson's Axioms

1. An official wants to multiply subordinates, not rivals.

2. Officials make work for each other.

Sixteen Days and a Wake Up Before We Leave For Wisconsin

Word of the Day

Absopause: When, for some odd reason, everyone shuts up and listens when you talk. Rare.

Up at dawn, just because. I didn't have to be at church until 8:30 AM, so I brewed a pot of coffee and spent my available time on such luxuries as eating breakfast and watching the news. I headed out the door at 8 AM. HTP thought that I'd be late. I wish he'd told me about all the road construction. Despite all the closed roads between our house and the church, I still got there on time. We had an orchestra practice. I actually like practices. It gives me a chance to go through the music and hear the music. We've got another practice next Sunday. I also picked up the music for the Contemporary Group. We play for one of the services next Sunday. It's going to be one of those sore lip Sundays. Lots of clarinet playing.

On the way home from church, I stopped at the beauty salon to make an appointment to get my hair cut. HTP called me on the cell phone to tell me that the Kool-deck removal crew was back. Weird. On a Sunday? Who'd a thunk it? I didn't race home. I had grocery shopping to do. I used my last onion last night. Onions are essential for meal-making if you happen to be on a diet. We are. Well...we are until and unless we aren't. We've been dieting to make up for those times when we aren't. Makes sense to me. Anyway, I had to buy more fresh veggies too.

I got home in time to see the Kool-deck grinders. The dust was gone. They were using water to keep the dust from flying in the air. Unfortunately, they blew up their grinder. I don't think the grinder likes water. Not fifteen minutes after I got home, the crew was cleaning and packing up with promises that they would return tomorrow afternoon. HTP and I won't be here tomorrow afternoon. We have eye appointments. I guess we'll just have to leave the gate unlocked...just in case they actually do decide to return.

Murphyism of the Day

Parkinson's Law of Delay

Delay is the deadliest form of denial.

Seventeen Days and a Wake Up Before We Leave For Wisconsin

Word of the Day

Aborable: Exceptionally cute yet insufferably boring.

Yesterday was a wonderful day for sitting outside with a good book. I can't do too much of this or I'll start looking like a piece of human jerky. It is nice to sit out in the sun though especially on those days when you feel like a cold bug is nipping at your heels. I think I may have picked up a cold bug hitch-hiker sometime during our trip to see our daughter become a Marine. I probably got it from one of those sniffling kids on the airplane on our way to or from. Anyway, the other day it was too warm to sit outside. This morning, it's too cool to sit outside. Yesterday was perfect. Ah Spring! Gotta love it.

I started my "To Do" list and "Packing" lists for our trip to Wisconsin. I haven't started packing as yet. Lists are another matter. Once something is on a list somewhere, I don't have worry about it. I don't have to even think about it again until I actually get around to executing it. One of the things on the "To Do" list is making an appointment to bring the dogs into the vet. Shots. They're going to love that (not) but I need to make sure that their shots are up to date. This is the first year that I'll be applying for a set of Wisconsin dog tags for my little monsters. I also need to get my hair taken care of or I'll truly live up to the Grey part of my title.

Murphyism of the Day

Parkinson's Fourth Law

The number of people in any work group tends to increase regardless of the amount of work to be done.

Parkinson's Fifth Law

If there is a way to delay an important decision, the good bureaucracy, public or private, will find it.

Eighteen Days and a Wake Up Before We Leave For Wisconsin

Word of the Day

Abodeaceous: A glorious and affordable form of rental accommodation amidst otherwise overpriced and substandard rental abodes on the market.

I really tried to blog yesterday. I wrote my blog. I got it all set. I hit the publish button and ....nothing. All of a sudden Blogger didn't exist. For 12 hours I tried to post my blog and I got that horrible black and white page that tells you that you can't pull up that website. Try again later. Oh well. I posted yesterday's blog this morning and reset the calendar so it looks like I posted it yesterday.

I'm not sure if we're having workmen come today or not. I checked my list and it looks like someone needs to look at our roof yet. The Kool-deck removal crew still needs to finish their job. I'm still not holding my breath.

HTP had to fix our fountain this morning. The top basin refused to hold the water because the caulking had all dried out and pulled away at one spot. He added more caulk and the fountain is again splashing happily. The birds really love my fountain. They treat it like a huge bird spa. We even have a hummingbird that stops by to splash in the fountain. Next winter I'll have to put out a couple of hummingbird feeders. We aren't allowed to put out seed feeders. They tell me it's because they attract the coyotes. I didn't know that coyotes head seeds but that's OK. I do know that weeds sprout from the seeds and I've got enough weeds without planting them via a bird-feeder. Which reminds me...I've got to go and spray the weeds.

Murphyism of the Day

Parkinson's Second Law

Expenditures rise to meet income.

Parkinson's Third Law

Expansion means complexity and complexity decays.

Nineteen Days and a Wake Up Before We Leave For Wisconsin

Word of the Day

Abnormous: Large to an absurd degree.

Workmen! Lots of workmen! Most of our warranty work was done yesterday. No sooner then I'd let one group of workmen in then the doorbell would ring and the next group would be there at the door. As I mentioned before, you have to answer that quick ring or soft knock on your door or these workmen will race back to their trucks and run away. So, I spent the entire day yesterday racing to and fro. None of these workmen actually knew what they were supposed to do. I would have to show them. While I was showing them what to do, the doorbell would ring and I'd have to race off to answer it. Ahhh!!!! I survived. I think. Maybe. The day is still young and I'm waiting for the concrete person.

Yesterday, the plumber was the first to show up. He came to anchor my dishwasher. They needed to send a plumber for this? Fine. Whatever. I didn't have to pay a plumber to screw two screws into my countertop in order to anchor a dishwasher. As I ushered this expensive repairperson out the door, the air-conditioning guy showed up to check my ductwork in the attic. He firmly told me that he doesn't do house inspections. OK. Our customer rep told us that you were going to crawl up into the attic to check our furnace and make sure the ductwork is tight. Were we having any problems? No. He told me again that he didn't do home inspections. I told him that the office was too warm. He crawled up into the attic and checked the duct work. The doorbell rang. The stucco repair person was here. I was forced to show the man every single crack in the exterior stucco that he needed to patch. I did. He patched. The window guy came to replace the springs on our front windows. He had to measure a couple of the windows for new screens. The old ones were bent and bowed. Those have to be special ordered. Stay tuned. The concrete guy showed up and I had to catch him. I don't want a funny colored patch right by my front door. He'll get back to me. And then he ran away. I think that was all that happened yesterday.

Today? The painters. Inside and out. I showed them the cracks around the windows. They patched and painted. They painted the stucco that was patched yesterday. I caught them before they escaped when I discovered a missed spot. Sign here ma'am. The insulation guy came and blew more insulation into our attic. I've got to drag out the vacuum now and clean up the excess on my carpet. OH...I forgot. Yesterday someone came and fixed the sliding doors to our closet. I know I'm forgetting something. I'll have to check the list. I forgot that someone came to fix the weather-stripping on the front door yesterday.Oh well. I suppose I'll have to call and find out what happened to the concrete guy. The Kool-deck people are still supposed to come before the end of the week. I think the garbageman skipped our house today. Trucks might have blocked him. Enough. I'm going to make lunch. And listen for the doorbell.

I organized my music for Sunday. I've got an orchestra practice and I needed to pull my music for the contemporary group. We play on the 17th and I'm missing four songs. The orchestra plays on the 24th. And that's it for clarinet playing this year.

I made reservations for one of the options for our return to Wisconsin. Done. HTP made the reservations for the other option.

Murphyism of the Day

Godin's Law

Generalizedness of incompetence is directly proportional to highestness in hierarchy.

Twenty Days and a Wake Up Before We Leave For Wisconsin

Word of the Day

Aberzombie: One who wears only Abercrombie & Fitch clothing.

Our first workman showed up for work at 8 AM. One down, countless to go. We've got two days of all this stuff. I hope. And then all the work will be done?

We're still trying to get our Kool-deck removal crew back in here. HTP finally got to talk to the landscaper this morning and he promises that everything will be taken care of by the end of the week. I'm not holding my breath.

HTP and I stopped at AAA yesterday to pick up the new AAA books for our trip back to Wisconsin. I'll order the AAA triptiks on the net and pray they get here in time. If not? I have old triptiks. It's not like I haven't driven these roads before. I'm going to start scheduling stuff today. One way or another, we plan to leave Arizona on April 27th. We've got two options. We'll either head up to Las Vegas for a few days and then continue on from there. Or. We'll head out for Wisconsin from here. I'll make reservations for both options and cancel reservations for the option that we don't use as soon as the final option is chosen. One of the main drawbacks of roadtrips and reservations is that not many places let you stay with dogs these days. If they do? Most of them charge a fee and make you stay in the stinky smoking rooms.

Murphyism of the Day

Peter's Law of Evolution

Competence always contains the seed of incompetence.

Word of the Day

Babbleonian: One who continually talks.

We'll be heading back to Wisconsin at the end of this month. I can't actually start a countdown since we haven't set an actual departure date as yet. It'll get done. I'll start the countdown as soon as itinerary decisions can be hammered out. First I'm doing the ordinary stuff that has to be done on a Tuesday.

I have to go out shopping today. I'm down to one small crust of bread. The milk is aging and almost expired. We noticed that even though milk is supposed to be good for several days beyond the 'Sell By' date, it sours by that date. Yuck. I can only make so many sour milk pancakes. I had to open up a small can of ham to make sandwiches yesterday. Now I have enough ham for a couple of sandwiches but...no bread. HTP said the canned ham tastes like chopped liver. He sneered. I guess I need to buy lunch meat. I've got enough eggs (1 dozen) but since we go through six eggs every morning. I'll have to add that to the list as well. I used up the last of the lettuce last night. We have more chicken in the freezer but I'm really getting tired of chicken breasts. Time to go shopping. Later. After I've got a handle on the laundry.

Murphyism of the Day

Peter's Observation

Super-competence is more objectionable than incompetence.

Word of the Day

Babblegram - A long rambling voicemail.

I know I should really be doing something...anything...today but I just don't feel like doing anything. At least nothing extraordinary. By definition, this means that I don't want to do anything extra, beyond the ordinary. I made the coffee. I made the bed. I made breakfast and lunch and plan to make supper. I washed the dishes. I fed the dogs. I sat outside in the sun and read a book. I played Pogo. I read my e-mails. I wrote some e-mails. I am now blogging. See? Nothing outside of the ordinary for a Monday. I suspect the same will hold true for tomorrow. We've got workmen coming on Wednesday to do warranty work on the house. I need to store up energy for them. Wednesday, I'll do something extraordinary. I'd rather just stick to the ordinary but one must do what one must do. I just got back from doing the extraordinary. Our trip to Parris Island. I deserve some recovery time.

Murphyism of the Day

Peter's Hidden Postulate According to Godin

Every employee begins at his or her level of competence.

Word of the Day

Abbamatically: The tendency for an unbearably cloying song to repeat over and over in your head all day after hearing it on the radio.

Jet-lag made it impossible to sleep past 6 AM this morning. Despite the fact that we really tried, our internal time clocks were on Eastern Standard Time. Or maybe it's just that I always tend wake up before anyone else. I made coffee and fed the dogs. They were happy to see us. As usual, they inhaled their food before I was even able to pour myself a cup of freshly brewed coffee.

Our pet-sitter stopped by at around 8:30 AM to drop off our key and gate pass. She told us that the dogs had created a bit of panic for her. Apparently they had gotten into some of our chocolate Easter candy and she wasn't actually sure how much they had eaten...if any...before she took it away from them. Regardless, she called the vet to consult. I guess they would have had to eat a full 4 oz. before they would have been poisoned. Thankfully, I don't think they got any but she stayed to make sure that they weren't sick. Muggsy chipped her dog dish too. Oh well. They survived. I'm happy to see that the pet-sitter is so conscientious. Of course, the dogs wouldn't have gotten into anything if she hadn't let them run around the house loose while she was there. I don't let my dogs run loose inside. That's what the outside is for. Anyway, no more pet-sitters now until next fall. We'll be returning to Wisconsin and the dogs go with us.

Murphyism of the Day

Peter's Inversion

Internal consistency is valued more highly than efficient service.

We're Back in Arizona

Word of the Day

Architorture: A once pleasant place having monster-size new development.

We woke up in Savannah and we'll be going to bed in Arizona. We got an early start today, thanks to our hotel wake-up call. I'm not being sarcastic. We actually told them to wake us up...and they did. HTP got the shower first, followed by #1 son. I didn't really need a shower. I don't do showers in the morning because long hair makes life a bit difficult. We would have never gotten out the door in time for our free breakfast and checkout time. I brewed a cup of coffee in the teeny-tiny coffeemaker that was provided in our room while I waited for the men to finish their morning rituals. I watched the news. The Pope was in the news. He was dying. I'm not Catholic but I always have felt that the Pope is someone special, even if you aren't Catholic. HTP, #1 son, and I all kept an eye on the news but sporadically due to the demands of the last few days. CNN was played at the various airport TV's. OK. I prefer FOX but it wasn't available.

HTP and I left from Savannah airport on our flight to Atlanta before #1 son left on his flight to Atlanta. Go figure. We both had to fly to Atlanta but somehow we were given different flight times. We said our goodbyes to #1 son before we boarded our plane. We won't see him again until May. When HTP and I arrived in Atlanta, we discovered that our connecting flight to Arizona was delayed by an hour so we picked up some lunch at one of the over-priced airport Burger Kings while we waited. Because of the delay, we didn't arrive back here in Arizona until after 5 PM (Arizona time). By the time we got our luggage, boarded the shuttle that took us to our car, and drove cross town to get home, it was almost 7 PM.

I unpacked. I powered up the computer. I checked my emails. I found out that Pope John Paul II had passed away sometime after we left Atlanta and before I fired up my computer. He had a long life. He was a good man. I wonder who will be the next to lead the Catholic church? Who will be the next Pope? And what mark will the new Pope make on history? What changes will be made in the coming years?

Murphyism of the Day

In time, every post tends to be occupied by an employee who is incompetent to carry out her duties.

Work is accomplished by those employees who have not yet reached their level of incompetence.

Day Three. South Carolina.

Word of the Day

Urine: Opposite of "You're Out".

OUR DAUGHTER IS A MARINE! REALLY! NO APRIL FOOL'S JOKING HERE.

We got up early...really early because HTP and #1 son both took showers in honor of the Graduation Ceremony. We didn't have time for me to take a shower. We knew that we would have to get to the parade deck by 7:30 AM at the latest in order to get seats near our recruit. Thankfully, my daughter's fiance got to the parade deck bleachers before us and reserved a place for us to sit. The bleachers were packed by 8 AM when the recruits marched to the parade field. Our recruit arrived with the other injured BMP'ers at around 8:30 AM. Military bearing was again in evidence.

The Marine band marched onto the field and the proceedings started at around 9 AM. My daughter and her fellow injured Marines received a pep talk from one of the high ranking officers. This individual attention was greeted with applause by the surrounding people in the bleachers. The injured Marines received applause and pats on the back and hand shakes. It was truly special since they weren't allowed to march with their platoons.

My daughter and her platoon received special recognition in that they received Honor Platoon status. Woohoo! They worked really hard to earn this honor. They are officially United States Marines. My daughter has earned the title of Private First Class and boasts a shoulder chevron.

After the graduation, we slowly made our way to our daughter's squad bay where she had to sign some paperwork and collect her gear. We stopped at the travel agency so she could purchase a ticket to return to base in eight days. Thankfully, we were able to purchase the ticket...online...from another computer on base since the travel agency would have tacked on a hefty premium. A penny saved is a penny earned.

After completing this purchase we were free to leave base. We all drove to our hotel where our daughter had her first opportunity to play with a computer...our laptop. She updated her blog. I haven't had a chance to read what she wrote...but I have time yet. After we checked out of our hotel we stopped to pick up some lunch before returning to base. Our recruit still had to pick up her leave papers. Military moves at its own speed so HTP, #1 son, and I drove on down the road to Savannah to check into our new hotel, near the airport.

Then....well...it turns out that all the hotels in the entire Savannah area were sold out on the weekends for MONTHS! Our daughter and her fiance couldn't find a room in Savannah...like they intended. Live and learn. Gone are the days when you can drive down the road and find vacant rooms at hotels or motels...at least in Savannah. Anyway, we offered them the pullout couch (meager as it was) in our room because we had that along with our two queen beds but fortunately we were able to find a room at five miles away for them...farther on north. Shhh! I think they wanted a bit of quality alone time. Go figure. I mean...it's only been three months! Pffft!

Thankfully, we were able to hook up with them for supper at a Mexican restaurant for supper before they headed on to their hotel. Mexican food in South Carolina loses something in the translation but, what did we expect? Oh well...the margaritas were more then we expected so I guess it makes up for the food. We didn't drink all of our margaritas. If we had? The food might have tasted a lot better...or at least I wouldn't have noticed....much.

HTP,#1 son, and I are off to the airport tomorrow. HTP and I will be returning to Arizona. #1 son will be returning to his college. As far as I know, our daughter and her fiance plan to explore Savannah tomorrow before they plan to head on back toward and to Omaha. I'm sure that we'll hear from our daughter as soon as she gets back to terra firma and her very own personal computer.

Murphyism of the Day

The Peter Principle

In a hierarchy, every employee tends to rise to his or her level of incompetence.