Bright and Early

Maybe not so bright but it was early when the husband climbed into his truck and headed for Oklahoma. From that job he plans to go directly to the big job that is coming up and will keep him busy until Christmas. The second job is here in Louisiana and if they get a break in the job, he will be able to come home for a day and if not, I won't see him until Christmas and that's only if he finishes that job.

I watched him drive away as I stood on the carport. From my place I could see the roofs of the neighbors across the street and to the sides of my house. They glistened. White crystal covered the roof tops and the lawns. No, it didn't snow but it did frost. The huge maple tree in the front will be dropping more brown crispy leafs which I used to spend hours bagging up and putting beside the curb for pickup by the city truck. I didn't look forward to this chore and it always seemed that the only person that enjoys lawn work here was out of town when that big maple started shedding.

Have I mentioned before how much I love my lawn tractor? Normally I use it for grass cutting on this minuscule by need of a lawn tractor to mow it. I don't care. I know I don't have an acre to mow but I still have the little tractor that starts right up the moment I twist the key and minutes later I'm driving it back to it's storage place, smiling at the small bit of time that has elapsed. My other argument for buying this little jewel was the fact that we could mow over all those leafs instead of bagging them and that's exactly what we do. I'm in my element I tell ya. You might talk me into giving you my stove but there isn't a chance in the "hotter'nHell" summers that we have that my tractor is leaving here.

The Thanksgiving dinner went well and I even had help with the cleanup. The kids took their plates to the living room and sat in front of the big screen. I could hear them laughing and talking with each other; Carrie, not to be left out and left with adults, carried her plate to the coffee table and hung out with them. Casey, a young female 20 something friend of Lesie's, is leaving in January for National Guard training. Casey doesn't even tip the scales at 100 lbs. I think she wears a size zero. I almost didn't recognize her with out the piercing rings in her lips; she still has the "from elbows to shoulders tattoos" though. I didn't see a tramp stamp but her jeans may have been concealing one. I'm not a fan of tattoos nor piercings. One can be salvaged but the other is forever. For Christ's sake, get a damn pen and paper if you must sketch. I was happy she could be here with us. My heart hurts to think of her being shipped off to the sands of Afghanistan and even if she returns she may be minus an arm, both arms, leg or both legs. I shall worry about her.

I loaded most of the leftovers into one of those huge aluminum pans used to bake a turkey and it followed the daughter and her family home. Christmas dinner will be a ham or a prime rib roast. The roast always goes over well; everyone likes prime rib.

Carrie spent the night and as soon as she appears, we have errands to run. She thanked me for her new car booster seat. That's a sad state of affairs when a 4 yr old recognizes the need for a new seat and is appreciative. To me that just shows how much she disliked the old one.

I was on my feet most of the day yesterday and I noticed a little burning in my heel toward the end of the day. Ice and salve. It continues to relief the burning. I'm hoping if I continue with the salve and ice I won't have to have surgery on this. Time will tell and a month to be exact is the time I'm allotted to judge whether this is working or not.

I'm outta here to perk a fresh pot of coffee and watch the news. Carrie will be up soon and my day will be consumed by her. She's a voracious little time hog.