Ho ho ho.

Well, it's that time, again. Seems like it comes around sooner every year. The girls will be here this weekend. They'll go home on Monday. Wish they could stay for the real Christmas or Thanksgiving. Sure does tear up Deb, not having them here on the official holiday. Guess I ain't much of a substitute. I killed a doe a couple of weeks ago. Stepped out on the front porch and dropped her. Pretty good shot, about 110 yards and moving. I'm still at the same old #&$% job. In fact, I'm on call now! I'm not on call this Christmas, like last year, but I have to cover call for New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. What a sucky way to start off the year. Deb's got Christmas decorations up everywhere. She really gets into it. I'm not much into it, since the girls left home. Not even a good cowboy movie on for about 3 weeks. I bought a "Lonesome Dove" DVD when I had my dental work done, last March. I've asked Santa for an "Open Range" DVD for Christmas. I do love Robert Duvall westerns. I took the cows to the auction at Lampasas, a couple of weeks ago. I bet Mamma and Daddy are sitting up there in Heaven, laughing their heads off at me playing cowboy. Ten years ago, I would never have believed it, either. It's been pretty cold on the weekends, for the last few weeks. Not too bad during the week, just the week ends. We just sit here and keep the fireplace stoked. One good thing, when the fire is going, the furnace never kicks on. I'm surprised Younger hasn't sent me a nasty-gram for not updating this blog. I guess he's busy with all the holiday hoopla, like everyone else. Deb has a stew going in the slow-cooker. I love those stews and pot roasts during cold weather. We're supposed to go on a "Doe Hunt" on January 18-20, about 30 miles west of Rock Springs. It's a high fenced, game management place and the state told them they need to harvest at least 40 does this year. The biggest problem is trying to find someplace to have them processed. Once the regular season has ended, most of the processing plants quit handling deer, and start up with the FFA/4H animals. Guess we'll see. I hope everyone has a happy and SAFE holiday season. We worry so about the girls traveling back home. Love to all, Rick.

Hi-ho neighbors! Just a quick note before "The Unit" comes on. That's one of my fav shows, along with "My Name Is Earl" , "Numbers" and "Two and a Half Men. Other than those, I prefer the old Western movies. Not a lot to report. I spent Tuesday thru Friday in Grand Prairie for a school. I struck pay dirt, there was an IHOP next door to my hotel. And they give a Sr. discount starting at 55. Vanessa and Shane came over Thursday evening and we went to supper at Bennigan's. The French Dip is to die for. The dip is not too salty, either. Vanessa is showing, finally. She's carrying her real high, too. Maternity becomes her, it seemed like she was absolutely glowing. We had a nice visit. Sure helped break up the week. She said it took them 20 minutes to get there. It took me over an hour to get from Midlothian to the hotel. Google maps sent me on a wild goose chase, and I ended up at an Ashley urniture distribution center. Luckily, there was a "roach-coach" in the parking lot, and she gave me directions. GOD, I'm glad I don't live in the metro-plex! The traffic and construction were terrible. The instructor said that twice that week, someone tried to hack into his computer while he was on wi-fi at the hotel. Thank God for a good firewall. Opening day of deer season was this last Saturday. Nobody saw anything at Brent's. Not surprising, considering how grown up the place is. With all the rain we had this summer, there is a lot of acorns from the oak trees, so they won't be going to the feeders for corn, either. I figured I had better update this thing tonight, since Jim will be pulling office duty tomorrow and will, no doubt, check me out. If I haven't updated, I get a nasty-gram from him. Oh well, at least I know someone reads this, besides me. Bad news at work!! We got a new city manager. The first order of business was to cut out "casual Friday", which, for us, meant no tie. What a B@&%#@! Well, The Unit is on. See ya later, Rick.

Checking in

Hello folks. Just a quick update. Cooler temps are finally here. Last week we had a low of 38. The roof on our house had frost. Warmed up to the mid 70's that afternoon. Was only 45 this morning. How 'bout those Red Sox?!!! Last Wednesday, the city gave us free flu shots. I didn't even feel the needle. Felt fine. Thursday, we go pneumonia shots. Didn't feel it at the time(9:30am). By noon, it felt like I had been kicked by a mule. I ran a low grade fever for the next 2 days and my shoulder was killing me. It's better, now, but it is still sore. Everyone of our guys said their shoulder was killing them. One guy was running 102 temp and his shoulder had a red place the size of a tennis ball. Saturday, his wife loaded him up and took him to a minor emergency clinic. They told him he had "hyperactive immune response" and perscribed "fluids, rest and motrin". The only good thing is this shot is supposed to last for 5 years. I'm not looking forward to a re-ride. The chickens have pretty much dried up. Deb said this morning that she's going to have to buy eggs this week. I think it's time to start having chicken&dumplingson Sundays. I gotta go to a class in Grand Prairie on Wed thru Fri. I'll probably leave out of here around 10 Tues morning. I would like to get there before the Dallas rush hour traffic hits. I just might stop over and spend the night with Vanessa on the way home. If we don't get out until 5 on Fri, that would put me getting home around midnight or later. The next day is opening day of deer season, but prospects look bleek. Brent let his place grow up so bad that the broom weed is over the hood of the pickup. He said he would take care of it, but, we all know Brent. I did manage to get my blind out of the field, and just left it by his hay barn, for now. Even if the deer did come to a feeder, you couldn't see them. Well, they say oil is up to $91 a barrel. They are now forecasting gasoline to be over $3.00 by the end of the year. OUCH!

Oh, Paul Nelson was named Chief of Police in Burnet. This is what he's been working for a long time, I just hope he knows what he's getting into. The longevity at that job is only about 2-3 years. We wish him all the luck. He offered me the Captain/Investigator slot, but I can't afford the cut (about $10K). If gas keeps going up, I might reconsider. Take home ride, 5 minutes from the office, go home for lunch, and NO NECKTIE! We'll see. . . . Guess I better get busy around here. Peace be with you, Rick.

Back again! Vanessa informed me last night that I was tardy with an update, so here goes. We made it back in one piece. Had fun, walked a lot. Lost most of the time, but as usual, we started winning on the night before we had to leave. Deb won several jackpots on the penny slots. I picked up a couple of hundred on the craps tables the last night. We found a foot long (and fat) hot dog at The Slots-o-Fun (across the street from the Riviera) for only 99 cents. We would get one and half it and we were both full. Drinks were very reasonable there, also. (Beer $1.50) We finally took the Laughlin Tour. Due to a major wreck on the interstate, and construction on the main drag, the bus trip out there took from 8:30AM til noon. We got to eat and play til 5:15 and then load back up. A lot of the casino's were right on the Colorado River. BEAUTIFUL! The water was clear as glass. Not like here. Laughlin is definitely more laid back and peaceful. It's good that they showed movies on the bus, because there ain't nothing to look at on the trip. The weather was absolutely gorgeous. 60 in the morning, afternoon high of 78-80. No humidity. We also noticed, even at night with all the lights, NO BUGS! They even put in a Denny's right next to the Tahiti Village, very convenient. After Deb finally got up in the mornings, we would go to the hot tub. AHHH! Sure helps after walking 5-10 miles the day before. We really hated to have to leave, but the dogs were sure glad to see us. Deb said when I got out to open the gate and spoke, Bear started smiling. Thanks, again, to Jim Younger for keeping an eye on the place and feeding the critters. Good thing he came by, the water line to the cows' water trough broke and he shut it off for me. Thank God for PVC. We sure did miss our water softener, too. Depending on where we were, a beer was anywhere from $1 to $7. Another neat thing, you can get bus pass for $5 that's good for 24 hrs and go anywhere you want. The shuttle from the Tahiti takes you to the strip every 30 minutes, too. We met a lot of nice folks from all over the world at the hot tub. Well, I gotta get to work. Love to all, and VIVA LAS VEGAS.

Hello, again. This time next week, I'll be soaking in a hot tub in Vegas. We leave on Oct 06 and get back on Oct 13. Hope to finish my collection of metal coins from each casino. Dang the luck, that means I'll have to go back to Hooter's. Don't know how I managed to forget that, the last time we were there. :) Jim Younger said he would be good enough to feed the critters for us, while we're gone. I got "hell's half acre" mowed down again, yesterday. Sure hope we get some rain, today. Depending on which channel you watch, we have from 40 to 50% chance this afternoon, Rained in Austin yesterday evening, but we didn't get a drop. I was hoping to move my deer stand at Brent's place today, but he won't be there. Everytime I try, something comes up. FOLKS! I found a sure-enough good fire-ant killer. The folks at the feed store turned me on to it. I was asking, because what I was buying at Wal-Mart just made them pack up and move about 10 yards, but wasn't killing them. This works. It's called Acephate. One can (about $12) treats up to 200 mounds. It stinks to high Heaven, so stand up-wind. It calls for 2 teaspoons per mound. They said the easiest way is, instead of removing the foil inner seal, just poke a few small holes in it, and use it like a shaker. It is a very fine white powder. Just shake a light dusting over the mound, and the next day, poof, NO ANTS! I don't know where else to find this stuff, but my feed store carries it. The chickens still aren't laying very much. One or two aday. Not much for about a dozen hens, but it feeds us just fine. We watched to movie "Wild Hogs", last night. What a blast! Kind of like "City Slickers", but on wheels. That about raps it up, for now. I'll have an update when we get back from "Lost Wages". Peace, Rick.

Greetings, Sports Fans;

Well, I survived another dove hunt. I managed to break my cot, lose my cap, and left my bath towel there. But, at least,nobody got shot. We killed quite a few birds, this year. They were smaller that usual, but more of them. David Vaught brought some decoys and a mechanical dove that had fluttering wings. Buddy, let me tell ya, that was a "Dove Magnet". I've seen them advertised, and I thought, "Yeah, right." David said he had hunted with another guy the previous weekend, and that guy had one. He was so impressed that he ordered one from Cabelas and paid an extra $30 to overnight it to him, so he would have it for this weekend. It was unbelievable. We also killed a few brain cells, but that is to be expected. My homemade pickled eggs were a hit, as usual. When they went to play golf, I got stuck babysitting Brent's youngest. If you ever get that opportunity, DON'T! We came back home just ahead of the cold front, so I went ahead and mowed the grass that afternoon. Good thing! We got 3" rain that night. Sure needed it, too. I think it rained fire ants, too. I've gone through 2 jugs of killer, this week. It sure has been a mild summer. Still, I'm ready for cooler temps. Cows are fat and happy. Chickens are still sporadic. Might get 5 one day and 1 the next. Well, that's about all the news for now. Later, dudes and dudettes.

Greetings! Not alot to report. The Labor Day was pretty uneventful. We are finally getting a little rain. Light, but better than none. I'm ready for some cooler weather. We had a murder here, a week ago this past Friday. Guess who was on call. That was one long weekend, but the guy is captured now. We made national news. Deb and I knew the victim and his family. His mom used to work for Deb at KP Liquors, in the late 80's. His sister is a cop in Lockhart. The dove hunt is this coming weekend. We'll go on Sat afternoon and come back on Monday. Brent's dad says there is dove everywhere. Looks like I'll be riding with Jim Younger, this year. His little truck gets a lot better mileage than mine. I sure hope the rain has stopped before then. Everyone is doing OK. I went to the skin Dr last Tuesday. Deb said I had a suspicious place on my back. The Dr said it was just old age spots, but she froze a place on my right temple. OUCH. Oh well. Vanessa is getting over the morning sickness. Now, she says she's hungry all the time. Guess that's a good sign. I sure wish I could talk her into going to Vegas with us next month. Will probably be the last time they can afford to go anywhere for a looong time. God, I remember those times. I also hope it cools off out there before we go. It was 106 there yesterday. Last October it was 77-78 in the afternoons and around 60 in the mornings. Just right. But, it's always cozy and comfy in the casinos. I'm already getting psyched. Oh, we grilled some of the shrimp we brought back from Corpus Christi. YUMMY! Guess I had better get busy. I'll update again after the dove hunt. Rick.