Daily ramblings...

Yep, I let the blog slide again... but now I am back.

There are a lot of things going on in the news. Everything from the earthquake in Haiti to voting in Mass. to replace Kennedy. You know, that was a nice thing to see. The people made their point I think. On the one year anniversary Obama, the people said enough. That really was comforting. I figure if the blue bloods of Boston are willing to show their displeasure with this government, why the hell can't everyone else? I hope that it opens the eyes of some of the "old school" politicians. I hope that they see that the people have the final say.

What scares me about this is to know that the Democratic defeat in Mass. of just one Senator can have such an effect on things. One person can make or break a bill. But that's a good thing. It just proves that one vote, one person can and does make a difference. Of course they don't have the Electoral College to contend with but....

That is something that needs to go away. Back when it was implemented, it was necessary and it has since served its purpose. It has now outlived its usefulness and does nothing more than lend credence to conspirator theorists about who "really" won...

Ok I am off my soapbox now lol... I know that Obama and the media claims that the recession is ending and that everything is headed back in the "right direction". I am not so sure about that. I still have dealers that are closing their doors. Dealers that employ people in small town America. Dealers, whom their employees and their customers have come to rely on. Dealers that have been in business for 20+ years, who are not able to maintain under the current economic conditions. How sad is that? What happens to them?

I know in theory that the customers and the business they were doing does not go away. It only shifts to another dealer, but some of these guys were the only game in town or the only dealer for MILES...

The Indy trade show is next month and that is usually the jumping off point for the season. For most dealers, if they can hang on through then, they will be ok. Others? One can only hope.

If your one of my dealers reading this? I have faith in you and I can assure you that I will help you any way that I can, help you with pricing, with ideas, or just to listen.

Daily ramblings

I am beginning to feel like Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz... I don't think we are in Texas anymore Toto... Where did this weather come from??? 11 degrees.. really? Ughhhh... I am so ready for Spring.

I am ready to ride my motorcycle.

I am looking forward to the Indy show too this year for a change. Of course not going last year might have helped that lol.... Motorcycle show in Indianapolis in February? Who in their right mind thought that one up?

Oh well... Off to work I go!

New Year, new plan...

Well here it is a new year and a new decade. Good riddance to the last decade.

Now is the time for new thoughts and new actions. I cannot decide exactly which path to take yet but I am most certainly taking a turn.

I did manage to quit smoking last year. One good thing... Now I just have to work on the weight that came with quitting. No, I am not one of those who makes a "resolution" to lose weight. I quit making resolutions New Years 2000. No, I am resolving to make some changes to my behaviour and activities. Doing that, the weight will take care of itself.

Other decisions aren't so easy and clear cut. Change careers or not? Move?

I have been playing with the idea of going back into law enforcement. Not as an officer but as a dispatcher. Part of me misses it. The pay was ok, the hours sucked, but you always felt like you made some kind of a difference. That is the part that I miss.

I love what I do now, the money is good, the hours are better, but, you don't make a difference. Not to anyone. I haven't felt like I have accomplished anything in a very long time and I think that is what is eating at me.

You know how you feel like your just wandering through your life? No objective? Not accomplishing anything? Yep, that's me. No worries though, I will decide what to do.

I have a whole NEW decade to work through it. Happy New Year..

Daily ramblings....

Here comes another year and for once, I have a head start on what I hope to accomplish this year. Now I am not talking about resolutions. I gave those up years ago. No, I mean that eternal list of things that you never seem to get around to. Fixing this, buying that, selling this, or finding that... I got a head start when I decided I was giving up the retail jewelry making. The economy has caused business to all but stop anyway so...

I started destashing last weekend and wow, I didn't realize how much stuff I had! Bill and I sat there last night counting and packaging just a small collection of stuff and we didn't even make a dent it my stash.

I want to get into a hobby that not everyone can do. Woodworking has always been interesting. Not a cheap hobby, but at least not everyone has a talent for it nor is it something you can buy and do on the fly. Once I get rid of all this stuff I will keep you posted as to what I decide...

Holiday ramblings

I sit here today thinking back. I am remembering things like the Sears Wish Book, road trips to Grandma's, and being a kid. Just being a kid. Nothing special or exact. Standing at the table listening to all the Aunts and Uncles talking about "things"... You know what I mean. Those things that don't make a bit of sense to a kid but, must be "really important" because the adults are always talking about them.

Riding your bicycle on a crisp morning. Playing in the yard, after dark, when the adults are sitting on the porch "talking". Oh wait, no one does that anymore so some of you might not be familiar with that concept.

Have you noticed that they don't build houses with front porches anymore? Why? Some have back porches, patios, or decks, but no front porches...

The Sears Wish Book. There is something else that has gone away. Oh they still send out a "Holiday Catalog" but I am referring to the toy only, kid only catalog. I am talking about cover to cover HEAVEN. We could entertain ourselves for hours with one of those. Imagining waking up Christmas morning to find everything we wanted under the tree... Of course by Christmas morning, we were so excited we quickly forgot about the catalog itself.

Trips to Grandma's. Now that is something that there is absolutely no replacement for. Funny how thinking about it brings back everything including the smells. It would be COLD outside and you would come in the door and you could smell the coffee in the kitchen. Or the propane heat. Of course the first thing you did was back up to the Dearborn. For those of you that have never experienced it, you have missed out. You back up to the heater, as close as you dare, for as long as you dare. Then you run over and find your spot to sit and instant warm chair... Of course if you got too close or too warm, you had more than a warm spot to sit lol...

Grandma lived in Brownwood and we were in other places but always met up with other family in Fort Worth for the trip. Now to get to Brownwood you travelled down Hwy 377 South for 125 miles. When you're a kid that seems like forever but you passed the time doing other things. Of course you knew how close you were by the landmarks that you would pass or the places you stopped for coffee along the way.

You passed the Pate Museum in Cresson. Unfortunately it is closing as of noon today. What a loss. They had cool airplanes, boats, and cars and it was FREE! Free? Yep, thanks to Mr. A.M. (Aggie) Pate, we had the luxury and privilege of seeing these great things for free. He passed in the late 90's and of course the large land holdings have been sold of little by little and the number of visitors had dwindled over the years. This is a real loss for people. I spent last Saturday out there taking pictures and will post some this next week.

We never seemed to make it past Granbury before we stopped at a roadside diner for coffee. Daddy always said it was because their coffee was too good to pass up. Of course, now that I am an adult and that diner is gone, I realize it is because someone forgot to go potty before we left lol....

After Granbury, you knew you were halfway to Grandma's when you saw the wolf. The wolf was the Wolf Nursery sign in Stephenville and it was huge. You knew you were halfway there and of course we usually made a stop at another diner in Stephenville. Good coffee you know.

Then you knew you were almost there, when you got to Gore Brothers in Comanche. Gore Brothers is a feed company right on the highway and inevitably Farmer Brown on his John Deere tractor was causing a traffic jam. LOL Traffic in Comanche? Three tractors and two pickups? Now Comanche was right up the road from Grandma's. It was the last big town before Brownwood and we were getting antsy...

Ahh there is Aunt Laveda's antique shop... Whew hew we are there... Hurry up daddy... Now in the real world, you still had about 20 minutes before you got there but.... Aunt Laveda's shop was in Early. Early Texas is a suburb of Brownwood. A suburb? Lord I never thought of it that way.. I never realized Brownwood was big enough to justify a suburb.

Oh and Laveda's Antique Shop really did belong to my Aunt Laveda. Damn I miss that place but that is memories for another day.

Ohhh there is Chicken on the Run. Now Chicken on the Run was around the corner from Grandma's. Oh and they served the best damn fried fish you ever ate. I don't know why the hell they named it Chicken on the Run but hey, it worked.

Oh there is Grandma on the porch, wiping her hands on her apron. Yeah, come to think of it, there is another tradition gone by the wayside, aprons. I will cover that tradition another time too. Yep she was waiting for us. I hope that next time I see her, she is waiting for us with her apron. I have one of her aprons, and yes, I wear it.

Merry Christmas Grandma.

Todays ramblings

Well here it is, 9 years later. When daddy passed away, I could not imagine life without him. I still cannot figure out how I got to this point without him. Of course, and most people will think I am nuts, but, I talk to him everyday. It still hurts though. Why do people tell you that it gets easier with time? It doesn't . It hurts as bad today as it did 9 years ago. I still wake up crying. I wish I could handle it as well as my brother does.

I guess life goes on no matter what. Mine did. I did learn a few lessons from his death though. Life is too short to be unhappy or to do things that you don't want to. A new year is coming and a few changes are coming with it. I hope you approve daddy. Keep watching out for me, I can always use the help.

Todays ramblings...

I am blessed. I have wonderful children. I am about to be a grandmother again. I have a great family. My brother and his girls are awesome. I got Christmas pictures of them. Beautiful.

Aren't they the prettiest things? Bailey and Kailey. My beautiful nieces. Merry Christmas girls. I love you.