PARTY WEEKEND

I started Saturday with a great bacon omelet using Mary Kathryn's leftover bacon but got the skillet just right. I added one of MK's biscuits and the last one of her muffins to make it a perfect breakfast. I walked to the mailbox, and was glad to see that my Livestock Weekly had 5 Thursdays therefore I made $100 for the month. That is my walking around money. I goofed off until 2 when I drove to Stephenville to start the party routine.

First we had Taylor Levisay's graduation party with Kent's family. Like Whitt's party last year we had chopped BBQ, potato salad, beans and banana pudding for dessert. Of course we started with all of the goodies like Kathy's roll-ups, mixed nuts that I like with all kinds of chips and dips. I went to the Best Western and napped. We went to the Tarleton State's stadium for Commencement services. We sat right in front but it was hot in the sun. As the event got started between the Salutatorian and Valdictorian's speeches a woman fainted on the front row and everything stopped while an ambulance came to take her for a checkup. By then the sun went down and it was more pleasant, but three hours on an aluminum seat was not very flexible. Taylor's special gift from his family was a 9mm pistol. His father is big in law enforcement and works a weekend a month in Hamilton as a volunteer.

After we returned to Livesay's to celebrate Amanda Taylor's 50th birthday June 4 but she had to get back to Dallas so Sue and Mary K broke out the black table cloth with appropriate paper plates. Mary K's birthday chocolate cake had candles saying 50 and holding. She had a problem blowing out all the candles so we gave her a hard time about turning 50.

I slept well even after all that food and this morning we ate breakfast at the motel. I got my cereal and banana and then saw the eggs, biscuits with sausage and gravy, so I ate two breakfasts this morning. Then at 11 we drove to the City Park for another party. This was a welcome home party for Louann coming back from her Alaska adventure. She has finally decided to stay home for a while. Again more good food and this time a strawberry cake from MK.

I left about 12:15 and drove home. Watched the Rangers lose but they scared the Athletics in the ninth. The weatherman is showing showers developing all around with the humidity at only 26 percent.

I called my brother Robert to see if he was going to be home June 21. He is so Kathy and I will drive from WWA in Oklahoma City to Antlers on our way back home.

END OF THE WORK WEEK

I have been busy all week. Got caught up with most everything today. I always wait till the last minute but I got my Livestock Weekly column written today until waiting till Sunday like I have been doing. I had a topic to talk about with Obama naming a cyber czar today. So I discussed that. With my word processor acting up. You know how it marks words with a red underline if they are spelled wrong. Turns out my spell checker is stuck on German in place of English so most of the words are spelled wrong. Really exasperating, but typical computer frustration. Today I took another Howard excerpt column to Vanda at the Review office and she said that Paul Herman, Dallas lawyer who works with REHUPA said he was emailing all of the members to subscribe and she has already gotten two subscriptions. I told her that more people would buy the paper if she ran the serial. I also returned the floral stands to Tim Dillard to recycle. He is working on graduation floral requirements today. He finally had time to check his tickets and couldn't find a gift that the Weisepape's said they had sent. I went by Lawrence to buy more bird food and picked up six more tomatoes to replace the one that I thought had died. When I went to add a new one I noticed the old plant is putting out new leaves and may live. But it sure looked dead. I only needed the one but planted the others around. If they all live I may get a few tomatoes one of these days. If the rains keep coming although I water the ones up by the house.

My paper didn't come today so Vanda gave me a paper and one to give to Ella Bullard. When I got to the grocery store Ella was shopping so I gave her the paper then. She lost her husband about a year ago.

More notices of gifts are coming in so I am really proud of myself for handwriting thank you notes. I have written more handwritten letters in the last month than I did in the last 30 years.

Yesterday I pulled weeds in my little front yard flower bed and last night I was eaten up with chiggers. I put OFF on my shoes and lower legs but didn't think about my hands and arms. I have chiggers on my right and left upper torso near my arms. Plus the other places lower. I am alergic to those little devils.

On the wildlife front yesterday walking to the mail I thought I heard a couple of rain crows and last night we got a shower, gusty winds with a power outage for several minutes but less than one tenth of rain. I have a yearling deer that I presume is a doe that comes up by herself and is trying to get friendly. She doesn't run when I come out of the house to walk to the mail and watches me. When I came back she was by the pond and when I got too close she ran off. I got a video of some people feeding a whole herd of deer at their breakfast table outside and this one would probably come up to eat. She watches me work the self feeder, but I haven't seen her try it yet. The fox come around to the front yard in the afternoon. I don't know what they are looking for but they may be looking at the peaches getting larger. I have seen them in the past climb the peach tree to get peaches. The finch have left but one or two goldfinch have moved in. I put new food in the hummingbird feeders.

My reading has been limited to magazines and newspapers but I am about to finish Conley's NO NEED FOR A GUNFIGHTER. It is only recommended to old men who like raw westerns.

This weekend will be a family reunion in Stephenville to celebrate Sue's grandsonTaylor Livesay graduating from high school. Last year we all got together for his older brother's graduation. Most of my family and Sue's family will be there. Sunday Sue wants to help celebrate Louann's homecoming from Alaska and Amanda's 50th birthday with another party, so I am partying all weekend.

MIDWEEK UPDATE

I was going to post last night but a thunderstorm came through and two short power outages messed up my internet satellite connection so I waited until today to write. Today after a breakfast of blueberry pancakes shared with the fox, I drove to the Admiral Cemetery to pick up all of the flower stands and old flower stems lying on the grave. It looks a lot better. There are a couple of easter lilies in pots on the Halsell graves that I have to pick up because they get blown over.

Tuesday I stopped to help Sue manage her email on the way to Kiwanis. The Kiwanis program was a comic presentation by a woman from San Angelo who was billed as a singer. She turned on the boom box and lip-synced to Reba singing I've got *** by she's got you. Each time she sang I've got something she reached into the bosom of her dress and pulled out something to throw on the floor. She started with a photo, then two 45 rpm disks, then all kinds of hardware. She had a hammer, large screwdriver, two pipe wrenches, hacksaw, other hardware and for a finale pulled a six foot fishing rod and reel out. Looked like a magician's show.

The mail Tuesday brought Sunday and Monday papers and my guest column ran in the Sunday Abilene Reporter-News. As of today noone has mentioned it although there was a letter to the editor commenting on it in Wednesday paper. As I suspected either very few people read the newspaper or they didn't want to comment to me.

Monday I did the laundry that I ironed Tuesday. I also goofed off on Memorial Day but did order a flag to put out next Memorial day. My New Balance shoe came apart at the sole when I was helping Mark Sunday so I ordered two pairs of new shoes.

I am eating the food that Mary Kathryn left for me. I also bought an avocado that I added along with my spinach to her chicken on rice with tomato sauce. Plus I gilded the lily by eating some Blue Bell ice cream, not frozen yogurt, for lunch with one of MK's brownies. This is really getting mundane. I should be discussing books but Conley's book that I am reading is really not for public consumption unless you like raw westerns.

CHURCH AND RAIN

After a great breakfast of bacon, scrambled eggs, biscuits and special muffins by Mary Kathryn I went to church and taught SS. The preacher was gone today and I taught Psalms 22. A lot of people were missing to day. Mark and MK came to church. James Dixon a retiree who is still in the process of selling his home in Waxihache (SP?) gave a great service. He is a West Point graduate so the prayer was the West Point prayer. He had a computer presentation of a memorial service that was excellent. And we got out early. During Joys and Concerns I expressed my joy that Mark and Mary Kathryn were celebrating their anniversary, not in Boston with their daughter or in San Diego with his sister but in Cross Plains. That got some applause.

Mark and MK came in the rain and it rained in CP during the service. We had about .5" during the night but it wasn't raining when we got back from church. MK made a special dinner of chicken breasts roasted in spices on a bed of rice with a tomato sauce and showed us a magazine photo of how to prepare it on our plate. While she was cooking Mark and I filled the deer feeder and hooked up shredder/mower to the Ford tractor.

Ike and Sue joined us and Sue picked out some more books for Ike to read. Just after everyone left the clouds thickened up with a lot of thunder but just a little rain. Mark said that they drove through a downpour in Eastland County. I always rains more just across the county line.

I wrote a thankyou to Patrick Vick and his wife who gave a contribution to M. D. Anderson in Lou's memory. I also wrote a long note to Mollie Mead in Hawaii and hope that she will contact me by email. She had written May 5 and I am just now answering.

WASPS AND RAIN

Tonight to celebrate Mark and Mary Kathryn's anniversary we went to Sweetwater to the WASP Museum and after looking at the displays had to go to downtown to wait until the 7 dinner. We had appetizers at Sonic drove around a little and spent an hour in Hastings. Saw a book I didn't know about by Judy Alter. I was a "small book" or some such name by TCU Press that talked about chefs in Texas and started with the restuarant in Bryan at the winery that is owned by one of Kathy's friends. She also profiled chefs in Fort Worth, Dallas, Austin and Houston as I remember. It featured their favorite recipes and was a fitting book by Judy whose blog is called Judy's Stew.

WASP stands for Women Airforce Servic Pilots. They were experienced pilots who were trained at Avenger Field in Sweetwater to learn how to fly military aircraft and were then assigned to air bases and aircraft factories to ferry aircraft to air bases. They were also used to fly targets for live fire training and simulated straffing runs for training the military defenses.

The dinner speaker was Major Bridget McNamara who has 2500 hours with 2200 in B-1s with over 600 combat hours and they named all the tons of bombs she had dropped. She said she liked to fly and take out the bad guys. The BBQ was great but I forgot to wear a coat and got chilled. We left when the Sweetwater orchestra started playing 1940s big band music for dancing.

This morning I finished the Flame, printed copies to take to church tomorrow then came downstairs to publish it to PDF and email to everyone both members and friends. The mail brought my new credit card so I spent two hours changing all of my automatic payments to the new card.

LOU MEMORIAL DAY

I did a little office and yard work this morning then showered and dressed up to go to Cross Plains. I stopped by the Review office to leave the next copy of the Howard cowboy story. I didn't receive my copy in the mail today so hadn't seen the first edition. It looked good. Vanda didn't use my intro but put a nice block headline. I told her about watching an old Andy Griffith show where a stranger came to town and knew the name of everyone and even stories about the rooms in the hotel when he checked in. It seems that he had been a buddy of a Mayberry soldier, had read the local newspaper for several years, decided he wanted to move there and had everyone buffaloed how he knew them. Vanda told me she had a call from a stranger who told her that he knew everyone in CP from reading the paper and was planning to buy a place near here. The power of small newspapers.

I then had lunch at the Staghorn with Judy Luter, president of the Library board, to discuss our presentations of the Lou Rodenberger writing awards at the school assembly this afternoon. I had the baked potato stuffed with grilled chicken. We then went to the school where we were first on the highschool program and forgotten on the junior high program until we reminded Dora that we were there. It was a pleasure to tell the students how much Lou enjoyed judging the contest for eight years and how she encouraged everyone to keep a journal and write. I told them that if they became famous someone would want their journals and that TWU has packed up 50 boxes of Lou's files to take to their archives.

We were joined by Jean McWilliams who gave the Terry Jane Wyatt scholarship in honor of her daughter. She also annouunced the Methodist scholarships, one for Terry Jane's son Joe Dalton who graduates this year. The W. G. McCoy scholarship given by the Texas Heritage Bank was presented by the current bank president, David Estes, to his son. They had an independent group select the winner. He was also the winner of the best Lou Rodenberger writing award.

Kathy and Keith are enjoying San Diego with Val. Mark and Mary Kathryn are coming tomorrow to go to Sweetwater to the WASP Homecoming 2009 with me. I am also hoping the predicted rain will fall here.

THURSDAY ON THE KEYBOARD

I did start the day early, but not early enough. I woke at 6:15 dressed hurriedly and drove to Jean's for the Methodist Men's Prayer breakfast. I got to eat breakfast with them but I missed the devotional and prayer session. It has been years since I had attended and they used to eat breakfast first and then have the prayers lifted up so that late comers like me could participate.

The rest of the day I only got up from the keyboard to walk to the mailbox. The mail hadn't run so I walked another quarter of a mile up the highway and started back when Bobby took my card and handed me the mail package. I got back to my office and spent the morning writing up the Administrative Council minutes, getting in the email before noon to ask for corrections by the Council.

After a nuked lunch and a short nap I returned to the office to print up the next Howard Cowboy story column. It was fast by being able to cut and paste from the files that Rusty Burke supplied me.

I then went back to wrestling with the Flame, the church newsletter. I worked on it some more upstairs and again back here before the TV. I tried to watch THE PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN but after an hour or so I had to go back to CSPAN and reality.

I also am bamboozzled by blogs. I tried to post ten photos to the church blog and after loading them and seeing them in the blog the photos just disappear. But when I want to remove one I can't. I have a lot to learn about blogs.

Wildlife report. The flock of finch that looked like small sparrows are gone but the lesser goldfinch have shown up and they add a lot of color to the feeders. I am still debating spending $20 to buy a electric fence box to shock the squirrels that are destroying my metal bird feeder. I can plug one that I looked at into the well house and bring the wires out and connect them to the wire roost and the box and I think get their attention. I sure wanted to zap one today and yesterday.

WEDNESDAY LASTED ALL DAY

I got home at 9:30 after being asked to return as secretary for the FUMC Administrative Council. I went in early at Sue's request to pick up books that Ike had read. Sue has a bird nest in the middle of the wreath on her front door and it has four little blue eggs. The birds come back to sit on the eggs when we aren't opening the door. I wasn't sure what kind of birds they are because I didn't see them but from Sue's description they may be purple finch. Most of the finch are gone from my back yard and I only have chickadees, tufted titmouse, cardinals, red-wing blackbirds and the usual doves and jays. Scrub jays, Mexican jays and blue jays.

I spent the morning printing my guest column to send to the Abilene Reporter-News. I walked mail it but the mail had come. I waited for a couple of minutes and caught Bobby Curtis coming back. He picked up the letter and reported that he is now taking radiation treatments every week day for his prostate cancer and will for six weeks. He says he has no side effects.

No important mail other than the letter saying my credit card has been compromised by a third party and will be replaced. I still can't see it on line to see if any spurious charges are being made to it. Gives me fodder for my LW column. I then worked with the equipment. I put the wheel back on, filled the portable air tank to air up one of the front tires. I used my pickup to move the trailer that Mark had moved in front of the shredder-mower. I took the box blade off of the Ford tractor and moved it to the mower but didn't get it hooked up.

This afternoon I spent a lot of time working on the church newsletter. Still have a long way to go. Everyone wants a photo with their article, but I try to limit photos because of the large size to email. Some with phone connections can't read a large newsletter.

I still haven't worked on the next Howard column for the Review, need to finish the Flame, write the AC minutes and my column for the Livestock Weekly. So I should be busy for the rest of the week.

Kathy and Keith leave early tomorrow morning for San Diego and Ashley is in Boston taking her Child Life certification test tomorrow. Pray for her.

TUESDAY IS KIWANIS

As well as a hundred other things. A beautiful day and I think my finch have left but a new purple finch with a very red breast showed up. It is about time for them to come in. I enjoyed the walk to get the mail with nothing important in letters. I read the papers and got three magazines. And of course Newsweek cover is Obama on Obama. I can't remember an issue that didn't feature his photo.

While Lydia took care of cleaning the house I went in early and spent an hour helping Sue learn how to access her email. She had over 300 emails that have accumulated since early in April. I helped show her how to shut down Vista so that when she turns it on it returns to the screen she was working on. Of course the first time we tried that it had to upload a windows update and that makes it go back to square one. The next time we tried it it worked OK. I was a little late for Kiwanis where I learned why the Bank is building houses when they are prevented from such activity by the bank examiners. They had to form a not-for-profit corporation owned by the bank to do this. They are building nice houses one at a time on lots that were devestated by the fires to improve the look of CP as you drive into town from the North. Their first home is under construction and the story in the CP Review brought an inquiry from a former resident who wants to move back to town. Shows the power of stories in the Review.

And speaking of stories in the Review, I was delighted to hear from Rusty Burke who offered to send me Howard's stories in Word format so that I don't have to copy from a book which is a real pain for me. Thanks Rusty!

I am also getting a lot of stories for the church newsletter that I edit and I have that to put together. Kathy called tonight. They got Valerie on her way to the wedding in San Diego and they are packing their bags for an early morning flight Thursday for their anniversary celebration while going to Kayla's wedding. Today was Keith's birthday that they celebrated yesterday, but he responded to my ecard today.

BUSY MONDAY

Started with the laundry, walked to get the mail, drove to Cross Plains and got my riding lawn mower tire filled with sealant. Took my copy of the Robert E. Howard cowboy story to the Review office and they think they can cut and paste it directly into the paper. I was pleased. It was noon time so I decided to eat at the Senior Citizens Center because they have been asking for more people to come at noon. I expected to see a lot more than were there. I think they take more through the Meals on Wheels service than eat at the Center. But I enjoyed visiting with them. My neighbor, Amber Thomas is the director of the Center and she was glad to see me.

I bought bird feed and deer corn and groceries. My deer feeder was out of corn so I filled it about half full, which is about all I can lift by myself. Even then I let the rope slip and don't have it as high as I would like. I may try again to raise it later.

I got notice of three more gifts given to the Library in Lou's memory so I wrote the thank yous. The Library has been able to operate this last month due to the gifts. Later this week I will join Judy Luter, President of the Library Board in presenting the Lou Rodenberger award for the best essays by the High School students.

Mark went through his annual physical where he has an endoscopy. It is a hard procedure that requires anaesthesia and he has to wait for biopsies. He has done it every year since he had an operation to put a valve in the top of his stomach. All of his life he thought everyone had reflux because he always did. He and Mary Kathryn agreed to celebrate their anniversary by having dinner at the WASP museum in Sweetwater with me on Saturday. This is the WASP Homecoming 2009. TWU has a big display of the WASPs at the Library with a bronze statue of a woman pilot with her parachute pack. Since I trained to be a parachute packer in WWII, I can feel a relationship to them.

BEAUTIFUL SUNDAY

Today was a perfect day. Kathy, Keith and Vanessa continued their journey to store Ness' furniture in College Station and I went to SS and church. We had two visitors in SS from Lovington, NM who know Jim and Mary Harris and remembered me asking about them the last time they visited. I didn't get their names but the woman is Maxine Kellar's sister. Her husband was from a town in western Okla that I hadn't heard of. I told him I was from Indian Territory and he said he had worked in Atoka, Reba McIntyre's home town.

We had a good crowd in church. It was senior graduates recognition and families came with them. Also the Byerlys came for a last time. They have moved to Breckenridge where Tim is Ranch Manager of the Veale Ranches, LLC and the Veale Land and Cattle Co. He said that they are breeding Charolais to Angus to get grey cattle. And they sell very well. I asked him if they bred for tenderness and he just smiled. We had the monthly potluck meal and the Byerlys were showered by gift of plants for their yard that needs decorating. My contribution was a tomato plant, an Easter Lily and some of my mint. Don't know if they use mint in their tea.

The church had completed the cleanup Saturday. I had an email saying if it rained that they would reschedule work day and didn't go in. It was rainy and everyone got muddy but it was a perfect day to burn the piles of wood that had been stacked up. As you know Cross Plains is worried about any fires being lit in town, but with the drizzle it worked out great.

This afternoon I completed a first installment of one of REH's cowboy stories. It will take several issues to complete one story. We will see. Kathy reported that they got back to San Antonio safely. Mark called and said he and Mary Kathyn will join me in going to the WASP BBQ dinner in Sweetwater on May 23 which is also their anniversary. We might go out somewhere and celebrate after.

BLESSINGS OF RAIN

My prayers were answered with 2" of rain. But Kathy and Keith had to load Vanessa's furniture in rain. I debated going to help but stayed at home and only got a couple of things done. I finished a column I started but am never happy with what I write. I looked at Texas Books in Review and Mark Busby and Dick Heaberlin have an editorial entitled THE CULTURAL DIVIDE where they discuss the age old argument about highbrow and lowbrow writing. I think I prefer lowbrow myself.

FRIDAY FRUSTRATION

My kingdom for a wrench. I wanted to take the left rear tire off of the riding lawn mower and I couldn't find my little wrench that removes retainer springs. I always kept it with the mower but it is gone and there is no way that I could get that thing off with a screwdriver. So I gave up, drove to town, and picked up the letter at the Funeral Home.

I found out that Mollie Mead now lives a short walk to the beach under Diamond Head in Honolulu. I found that out by putting her address in map.google but it didn't have the photos that we have come to expect here. Of course my house isn't in their data base either. She moved from Fort Worth in 1986. One of her sons is there and the other two in Las Vegas. Someone from FW had mailed the obituary from the Star-Telegram.

I need to correct an entry. I said Sally McGregor was Ila's daughter. Ila had no children and Sally was a niece that took care of her in her last years.

I started mailing a few pages at a time to Tim Dill in prison. One of the reasons I have moved to smaller type is to keep the printing of the blog to fewer pages. I bought a roll of 17 cent stamps. Melody, the postmistress, explained that the second ounce stamp hasn't gone up. The first ounce costs 44 cents now but the next ounce is only 17 more cents.

I walked to Higginbothams to buy that wrench. They said that they had them but we couldn't find one. Tom Stephenson managed Higgies about 20 years ago and was in the store. He walked across the street with me. He was taking Arlene's first check to the bank. I went to the Auto Parts store and had to pay $20 for a complicated wrench to replace the simple one that I lost.

This morning while I was fertilizing my tomatoes and roses Vanda the editor of the Cross Plains Review called to say that they would run the cowboy stories in serial form that Robert E. Howard wrote. So I went by to pick up the book that I had checked out of the Library for her. I offered to write the stories in a form that they could paste. They said noone had ever been able to do that. She said that the font was Times. So this afternoon I played with formatting and am close. I used 11 point font and adjusted the column width. I couldn't duplicate their line perfectly but it is close. So now I have to start typing from the book. Breckinridge Elkins will make a great hero for the readers to become familiar with.

When I got home I used the fancy smancy wrench after messing with it for a half hour to remove the retaining ring and put the wheel in the pickup to take in tomorrow when I go in to work on the church cleanup day. Kathy and Keith are coming in tonight.

INTERESTING THURSDAY

First a wildlife report. I actually saw some koi in the fish pond. And they ate a little food, but were very timid. I looked at the wildlife camera for three days. 155 photos four had deer, one rabbit and 150 of raccoons from one to four in each photo. My annual wildlife report form lists raccoons as species to be controlled like coyotes and feral hogs. I may have to shoot some raccoons. The other day I found my rain guage on the porch in three pieces. The glass gauge on the walk, the aluminum holder pulled out and the cement frog knocked over off the step it was on. I can only blame the vandalism on raccoons.

Today I walked to the mailbox twice, once to mail letters, and again to retrieve the mail. I also cranked up the Deere riding mower and trimmed a little around the house, but left most of the wild flowers to go to seed. Still need rain.

This afternoon I went to the Invent Abilene meeting sponsored by the City and Texas Tech in Abilene. The speaker was David Miller, Vice-Chancellor of Tech in Lubbock who is in charge of creating profitable corporations from the inventions both from the University and others. The meeting was to encourage entrepreneurs in Abilene to develop new companies that will hire workers and create income for the city. The newly elected city councilman, Shane Price, who defeated an incumbent was there as was the Mayor of Abilene, Norm Archibald. He introduced me effusively because his wife and my daughter, Kathy were friends from high school in Bryan. Kathy was in their wedding party. I have always been interested in creating new businesses and have worked with new companies in Cross Plains. I have been getting the emails from Invent Abilene for years but this was the first opportunity I had to attend a meeting.

I got a call from Bob Harrell at the Funeral Home saying he had a letter addressed to me mailed to him. I asked who it was from and he said Molly Mead from Hawaii. The last I heard of her she was in Fort Worth and haven't seen her for years. I am looking forward to picking the letter up to here what is going on with her. They lived next door to us in Fort Worth and I later hired her husband to come to Bryan to work for a company I set up off campus. They later divorced and she moved back to FW. That was in the 1960s.

Kathy and Keith will come through tomorrow on their way to Lubbock to move Vanessa to College Station. I am praying for rain and they would like for it to hold off for the weekend.

SWALLOWS ARE BACK

Yesterday when I went to Baird I saw flocks of swallows under the I-20 overpass and when I got back to the Halsell House I saw a pair building a nest there. This is the latest that they have come in. Also when I drove to Cross Plains yesterday I saw two snakes as road kill. Both had white bellies like the one we saw here last weekend. So they are moving. I watch for them every morning when I feed the birds and walk for the mail.

Today I walked to the mail and spent some time this afternoon writing thank you's for more gifts to Lou's memory. My internet satellite went down tonight and finally came back up so I am a little late getting this written.

Gave me time to work on my op-ed I plan to send the Abilene Reporter-News.

WILL IS PROBATED AND FILED

I started the day with poached eggs and the left-over sausage and bacon with toast and honey. So tonight to get my banana in I had a banana split with a pineapple slice. I am cleaning out the fridge.

I drove to Baird to have Judge Roger Corn swear me in and ask the questions on the Muniment processing of the will. I answered correctly and he signed the papers and sent me down to file them with the County Clerk. They gave me a copy. Because I write a computer column I was intrigued by the fact that they scanned the papers into their computer and then printed my copy from the computer. I watched a man look up a deed in the records and show what he wanted to a clerk who brought the pages up on her computer to give him a copy. When I asked they said they have computer records back to 1987. They have a ways to go to get back to 1887 when the county was established.

I drove home and made my weekly inspection of the Halsell House. When I got back in the pickup my cell phone rang. It was the County Clerk telling me she had given me a paper they needed to file. So I drove back to Baird. As I walked in I saw a commotion at the end of the hall, looked down a couple of steps and in the doorway a woman was lying on the floor. They told me she came out of the restroom and screamed and fell in the floor. Her husband was doing some business with the Clerk. They told her to not move until the EMTs checked her out. I returned the form and the clerk said that is Mr. Rodenberger and Sally McGregor, who works in the office, came over to visit with me. She was Ila Falls daughter, Ma's sister-in-law, who was in an extended care facility when we attended her 100th birthday. Sally apologized for missing Lou's funeral because she was out of town that weekend and missed the notice. She was very nice to me.

I got home and wrote a check to move the SS money from Chase to the local bank that paying 4.5% interest. I added the refund check from A&M's insurance to the deposit.
Kiwanis program was the local Church of Christ pastor telling mostly church related jokes although one was about the sign on the Amish wagon about green transportation running on oats and grass but beware of stepping in the pollution.

I napped and it was a good thing I set an alarm on my cell phone because I really got soundly asleep. I had to be at my desk for a 3 o'clock call from my broker to advise me on portfolio changes. I agreed with his suggestions and started the trading process.

It has been hot so I gave up and turned on the AC because I sleep better than in the warm humid air. Kathy called and asked what my plans are for tomorrow and I said I didn't have any.

Looks like the Rangers will win another game.

MONDAY MIST-NO RAIN

I woke up to mist hoping it would rain but it didn't. I drove to the Library Board meeting with my wipers running at slow speed. By the time I got to town it had quit. We got a lot done at the meeting. Our bank account is in better shape due to many memorial gifts for Lou. The first Lou Rodenberger writing awards will be grade school tomorrow but I will miss the first two because the will be probated tomorrow morning. I will be able to make the Junior and Senior High School awards on the afternoon of the 22. We are planning a special surprise for the fund raiser when James Olson and his wife tell their CIA operatives stories.

Yesterday I read a book. I decided to fast and took the time to read the book of Job. That is heavy reading but I needed it. I didn't accomplish as much praying as I should have, but I feel better today and my weight is down 3 pounds. And I didn't work on Sunday!

I reminded Kathy this morning that we lived in Goleta one summer and it was evacuated a couple of days ago for the Santa Barbara wild fires. I reminded Kathy that we saw a wild fire when we were there and saw the aircraft dropping retardant on it. The winds have shifted and the people have gone back home but we in Cross Plains can relate to their scare.

BIG NEWS DAY

I am going to become a greatgrandfather again! News from Jim Wilcox on how he is celebrating Mother's Day with Mandi 12 weeks pregnant and a baby due on his birthday, Dec. 5. He also had news that he will be teaching engineering to high school students next year under the Infinity program. He met with eighth grade students and their parents and they were excited about the prospect. He passed his first test and is now able to teach and will take the other tests and use his next semester as internship for evaluating his teaching and I bet he passes with flying colors. Kathy is happy about the event. Christopher wants a sister but Brent wants another brother. I told them I came from a family of three boys, but Jim had sisters so whatever the Lord sends will be perfect. They are still being led to adopt a Chinese girl into the family. They are great parents so we will see.

I know that this is one month since Lou died but I stayed busy. This morning I finished writing all the thank you's that I got from the gifts to the church. That email came through late last night. I am glad to get those out before the stamps increase two cents. I went to Cross Plains to vote in the School Board election and mailed the notes at 9:57 for the 10 pickup. I then drove to Abilene to buy toner for my laser printer. I recycled at HEB and bought some pills. I then drove to the Western Heritage program and never knew there were so many cowboys in the country. They were all there. I wanted to eat chuck wagon but they sold out of tickets. I had to eat a sandwich. There were hundreds of exhibitors selling everything cowboy. One building had spurs and bits and there must have been hundreds of tables. Some were selling guns and pistols had prices of $5000. I couldn't believe that either.

I got back about 2:30 for a nap, found out that in my haste to recycle the toner cartridge I had taken part of the machine with the cartridge. I called the store and it took them about an hour to find the part so I drove to Abilene again to retrieve it. Back by a little after six. Got calls from both children checking on me which I appreciate.

Both children called to check on me and I appreciate hearing from them.

HOT FRIDAY

Abilene broke a record with 103 degrees but I only got to 99. Vonnie said it made 103 in San Angelo also. It wasn't bad this morning when I fired up the Deere riding lawn mower because there was a strong breeze keeping it cool. I mowed the high grass over the septic tank and the lawn inside the fence at the Halsell house. I don't mow my yard as long as the wild flowers are blooming and wait until they develop seeds. However it is strange how wildflowers move around. When we first moved in the verbenas lined both sides of the steps in front. I didn't mow them but there are none there now. They are still around in the yard. For years the Indian blankets covered the slope on the north side and there are none there now. I still have them in the front and back yards. The bluebonnets finally showed up near Mark's play house he built for Ashley and left here when he went to Japan. And two bluebonnets showed up this side of the retaining wall near the others. I have lots of yellow flowers scattered all over the yard and there are some that come out in another week that I don't want to mow now.

I finally gave up and went to town to get a haircut because I have some formal meetings next week. I also mailed another month of the blog to Tim Dill in prison and can only read the ones I print for him. It also gives me a hard copy for my files. I realize it is a good family history. My printer quit printing and when I called tech support they explained that I need a new toner drum. Now I am trying to decide whether to pay $55 for 3000 copies or $75 for 6000. I think $55 will last for several years.

Due to the heat I spent the afternoon catching up on thank you's. I am also trying to beat the price increase on stamps Monday.

Tomorrow I have to vote in Cross Plains and then go to Abilene to buy toner, some pills I can't buy in CP and visit the Western Heritage Classic ranch show to see what is new for my Livestock Weekly column.

THURSDAY PLANTINGS

I finished planting the tomato plants. Had to run to town to buy potting soil for one of them. I added two waste baskets for the pantry because Kathy told me that I should be using them in place of sacks for my recycling. I planted three tomatoes in front of the terrace and when I dug the holes I had a lot of bermuda grass roots that I took to the septic tank lateral area that Mark smoothed down with the box blade. I watered the roots in. If we get some rain the grass should cover soon.

But tomorrow it is supposed to break high temperature records in Abilene with predicted 105 which is discouraging me from going to the Western Heritage Classic. However Saturday is supposed to have a high of 70 and possibility of rain. That may be a better day to go to Abilene.

Ike and Sue came to visit me tonight and pick up some books for Ike to read. He took Freshman English at UT Austin from J. Frank Dobie so Sue got several of his books for Ike. Lou argued that Dobie's wife taught most of his classes while he ran around. Ike remembers her teaching some of his classes.

Today I got some more notices of gifts to the Library for Lou and there were several hand written notes, one to me from Helen Groves. I noticed her return address was an office in San Antonio. I appreciate all the gifts that have been given.

WEDNESDAY FOR GARDENING

I bought a bunch of tomato plants yesterday and planted three so today I had to plant the rest. I put them in my old garden spot without my usual preparation of digging in compost. I just dug a hole planted them and watered them in. I did add a bunch of dry molasses to each plant because I have a big bag of it that needs using. Took me all morning. Still haven't done my ironing.

The mail brought another letter by an old friend of Lou who had just heard about her death. He was one of the old timers who attended Western Literature Association that Lou dropped out of when the environmental activists took over and western literature disappeared. She had a lot of friends in that society tho.

Tonight I changed my routine. I went back about 10 years when Lou and I would watch the 5 o'clock news and then eat our supper on the porch, either upstairs or downstairs. I opted for downstairs because Mark and Mary Kathryn had given Lou a steel wicker table and chairs. I sat in the metal rocker and used the table. Of course I had to spill a little wine on the porch but it doesn't look too bad. I watched the birds hoping to see some swallows, but none showed up. I was hoping that they were under the bridge on the highway if they weren't at the houses, but they seem to not have come back this year. I did watch the hummingbird do their dance in the air. I guess they are mating and may have a nest in the red oak tree where they were dancing. I have never found a hummingbird nest but they must have them around somewhere. The peewee came to rest on the little limb that is the highest one on the peach tree and looked around until a gust of wind bent it over and it moved to a more stable limb. I think the rat snake was trying to get into the peewee nest on the upper porch.

My guess on the rat snake was that he came up on the porch, the weather turned cold and he crawled up next to the door to get warm. When Mark picked him up on the hoe and dropped him to the ground he didn't move very fast. The temperature was about 50 degrees and he wanted it warmer.

With no rain to speak of, I spent the whole day letting the water run slowly on the crepe mrytle, roses and flower bed in front and watered in the tomato plants.

The other piece of mail was a letter from Jodie Glassford who sent me the paper that had a full page ad with Bill's photo saying that they would be closed in his memory. He had owned the paper for about 30 years, sold it about 10 years ago but continued to write a weekly column. There were several accolades by his friends and the current owners of the paper and a special letter from a woman now living in San Angelo who told of going to work for Bill just out of journalism school. He took her to an old Remington typewriter with no letters on the keys and gave her first assignment. When she took it to him, five minutes later she got it back with red comments and went back to her typewriter to do it again. She said she learned more from Bill in her two years that she ever learned in school. I knew he was a little older but was surprised that he was 87. He and Jodie were one of about six couples who got married from that one Methdist SS class in Levelland during a couple of years we were there.

CINCO DE MAYO

As the comic strip said it came on the fifth last year, too. I didn't celebrate with Mexican food but I did poach the two left over eggs and added some leftover sausage and leftover nut bread toast. It was good and Lydia came to clean house as I was finishing. Lou used to drink coffee with her but she doesn't join me in my tea.

I drove to pick up the mail and gathered the garbage bag at the front gate with road trash in it. I worked in my office and called Merrill Lynch to get their new account set up finally. I still have to call Germania to change their drafts to the new account. Yesterday I found out that the THB checking account will keep the same number so there are no problems with the automatic deposits and drafts there. I used my new debit card twice at the grocery store so I shouldn't have any trouble using it 10 times in the month. I used it for Kiwanis also. I can't believe that this new account will pay 4.5%. I will transfer all my cash there, which I suppose is what they want.

I went to Lawrence Farm and Ranch Supply to replenish my thistle seed and made the mistake of buying 12 tomato plants. One already had blooms on it so I planted it in the pot on the patio where I can water it every morning. I planted another in the mint pot and one in the flower bed in front. I will plant the others in my neglected garden area tomorrow.

I also went by Tim's Floral to pick up his basket with two plants, an ivy and a flowering plant. It was sent by the TCU Press. I emailed my thanks to Judy Alter. She has an interesting blog called Judy's Stew that talks about her life running the Press and her different foods that she tries.

I checked the wildlife camera for two nights. Just raccoons and rabbits. I am watching a nice thunderstorm tracking down through the Cisco and Eastland counties east of me. One is beginning to form over me so I am still hopeful for a little rain.

Mary Ann Chaffin's travelogue today was a trip through the petrified forest and painted desert that I remember from a trip when I was around 10. I was fascinated then and continue to be fascinated by the catastrophic geology of the west. Of course I look at it from the creation science viewpoint.

BLOG FEEDBACK

I had a couple of responses to yesterday's blog. Dawn Letson learned about the Wednesday Club being the local Abilene writer's group when every other WC in Texas was a Women's club. She was researching the origin of The Pudding that Lou had written an contribution in each. Each of the writers told stories of their growing up days. It was started by Lawrence Clayton and after he died they didn't keep publishing it.

Then Judy Alter asked about our new preacher, Harris Worcester, because she had been looking for him due to his being the executor of his father's books that she has. So you never know how small the world is.

Mary Ann Chaffin sent me her travelogues that she didn't want to bother me with and she told about running into RVers who were Methodists and knew a lot of preachers that they know. And a McMurry student of 20 years ago that sang at the Chaffin wedding that they hadn't seen since.

Today was a mundane Monday. I did get the laundry finished but not the ironing. Something for tomorrow. I went to the bank and found that my new checking account will have the same number as the old one so that all the automatic deposits and withdrawals will be OK. I looked in my safety deposit box and found an insurance policy that I have been carrying on my financial statement. It was a policy my mother took out on me when I was 4 for $690 but had been exchanged for a $50 policy. However when I researched the company it was taken over by another insurance company that went out of business 20 years ago.

I signed up for an account that pays 4.5% but has the requirement that I use a debit card 10 times each month. So I tried the one that I got today and of course couldn't remember my pin which is really east to remember. So I haven't used it yet. I called the Farm store and asked if I could pay with it and they don't take plastic. I called an order for a trivets to give to my favorite mothers, Kathy and Mary Kathryn, but they don't take debit cards and will send a bill asking for me to mail a check. He does take plastic if ordered online.

Mary Ann says she likes my animal stories. All I saw today was a rabbit in the wet grass this morning. It didn't even move when I hit the self deer feeder device. The deer have never learned to bump the yellow plastic stick to feed themselves, and my automatic feeder has lost a screw and when it runs it loosens up and won't work the next time due. Got to get a new screw for it.

It is raining north of us again. The weatherman is saying the weather is over so again we won't get any rain here. Maybe up in Lubbock. Still another disturbance coming in tomorrow but again will be north of me.

I want to apologize to everyone who has sent a memorial to the church. They tell me they have gotten a lot of gifts but noone has had time to give me the names. When I get it I will reply, I promise and I thank all of you ahead of time if you read the blog.

The news is running a special video on John Layfield, former wrestler and now a radio personality and financial advisor in NY.

BUSY WEEKEND

It is amazing how busy one day can be and then how quiet it is when there is no one around but me. I reported on yesterday being so busy. We even were promised rain, but again last night brought a drip only. Couldn't hardly see the few drops in the rain guage. This morning I went to Sunday School to continue hearing a good teacher and we got through the 2nd chapter of Galatians. One new thing I learned was that the Galatians known as the Gauls sacked Rome in 400 BC. In my history that occurred a couple of hundred years AD. I need to study my history better. Then Dawn left and Kathy, Mark and Mary Kathryn joined me at church. Mark and MK sat behind new church visitors who have moved to Cross Plains from Aledo. They were at the Aledo church when our new minister, Harris Worcester, spent a year there and Mark and MK were in either Japan or Palmdale. It is a small world.

The rose-breasted grosbeak came back today eating out of the metal bird feeder by the pump house. I will post the photo I took yesterday but Kathy got a better one. I didn't get the rose color in mine.

ARCHIVING AND SNAKES

When I fed the birds this morning it sprinkled on me. Last night we went to bed with thunder and lightning but the rain didn't get to Halsell Hill. And it didn't rain today, but the low ceiling made Mark and me cancel our trip to the air show in Abilene.

Dawn Letson came this morning with stacks of boxes and started boxing Lou's files and books to be moved by a moving company to the Lou Rodenberger Women's Collection at TWU Library.
Mark and Mary Kathryn came. While Kathy and MK worked on going through Lou's clothes and shoes and jewelry for distribution Mark and I fed the deer. In the afternoon Mark used the box blade to level the septic lateral line dirt mound.

This morning Dottie the dog was up on the top porch and MK decided to go out the door and discovered a snake between the screen door and door. We first thought it was a rattler because of the markings but when Mark and I got him out on the porch and he tried to climb the wall we saw that he wasn't a rattlesnake. I had a broom and got him out on the porch. Mark had a hoe and finally got him on it and tried to drop him off the balcony. He wrapped his tail around the hoe and made almost a knot in his tail that would not let him loose. Mark finally used the broom to unwind the tail and drop him to the ground. We looked him up in the snake book and decided he was a rat snake. Mark finally had to carry him out to the woods. I was surprised that he didn't immediately take off on his own.

The other animal story was the sighting of a red-breasted grosbeak that was going through. They don't normally come by here.

Ike and Sue came tonight to enjoy MK's snacks of the turkey breast she baked with avocados and other goodies. Of course I was happy because they brought me some dark chocolate from Trader Joe's that they found in Tuscon.

MORE CHINESE PLUS DESSERT

I walked to the mailbox for my exercise, drove to Abilene and recycled what little I had. I ate at China Kitchen and ordered off the menu instead of the blue plate special and really enjoyed the noodle dish with shrimp, chicken, beef and ham with great chinese vegetables.

I saw one turkey today when one flew from under the deer feeder. Tonight I have been watching the thunderstorms fire up. The early ones had grapefruit size hail. That one faded out, but now some have popped up NW of Abilene and are headed this way. I would like to see the rain, but not the hail. My experience is that it will play out before it gets here.

Kathy came in. She hasn't seen any rain either. I recharged the batteries and put the chip back in the wildlife camera. See what comes in tonight.