where I ain't

At eight this morning, I was on my way to Yellowstone.  Well, after coffee anyway.  I thought it would be a good weekend to run up.  I had a couple of extra dollars and three days off.  Overtime is looming next week which means twelve hour days for four days starting Monday.  No biggie.  I'm used to it and the money will certainly come in handy.

At nine-thirty, I had other plans.  Probably a good thing.  I'm where I need to be and I'm getting some things done that need to be.

I really love this house.  I told you the story of how the appraiser told me it sucks and maybe it does, but I'm comfortable here.  But there are things I can do to make it better and that's what I'm working on today.  I'm cutting down volunteer trees, mowing, picking things up.  Or I was, anyway.  I'm on a break because it's muggy out.

Heat I can handle, but being a desert dweller, you throw in higher than normal humidity and it just sucks the life right out of me.  Most likely, you too.  That's all right.  Taking a break gives me a chance to throw away the box for the replacement weed eater.  I have one of them gadgets where you can change the attachments on it, from weed whacker to edger, to cultivator, but I flat wore the motor out on the thing.  Fortunately, you can buy just the motor and Home Depot gives a military discount!  I have a feeling I'm going to need all three attchments before the weekend is out.  I gotta drop some weed killer on my lawn, too.

I tried to bribe my kid with the offer of paying him to help me.  Some days, I think it's beneficial for him not to live with me.  This weekend would be one of them weekends, because if it were possible for me to put my boot right in his butt, I would have.  My darling ex and I have different views of parenthood.  Here's why:

I wanted him to help on Friday and Saturday.  He said he would on Saturday and Sunday.  I told him if he were in my house on Sunday he had to go to church with me.  Apparently that was a dealbreaker.  Then the idle threat from the former Mrs. Cooper that if I took him to my church, she was going to send him to the LDS church.  I told her to go right ahead, but explained that when my son is 18 he can decide what he's going to do or not going to do.  Until then, I was going to be the parent.

And I'm stuck here with the yard work.  When my kids have kids, I have a funny feeling their perspective on their dad will change.

Anyway, I didn't change my mind.  I had it changed for me, which often happens.  So much of my life is lived reacting to the decisions others make.  And cleaning this house is kind of a priority.  It may be for naught, but my house will be cleaned.  I did that last week, so fortunately, it's not that messy.

I had to do some shopping today, too.  I needed to buy a new broom for outside.  Mine is worn to the nubs, and that's not an exxageration.  I've worn that broom out and Home Depot is a bit proud of the brooms they sell, so off to Wal-mart.  And that's when I saw the indoor electric turkey fryer.  I sat up and watched an infomercial about this thing some months back.  I now know how much they are and they're on clearance.  I'm waiting for the immigrant to appear so I can go buy it with her discount.

Well gang, that's all from Lark Circle today.  Please pray for the victims of the Colorado shooting.  Wow, you can't even go to the movies anymore.

Sad, these times we live in...