Last friday morning, my daughter found a beautiful chocolate lab sleeping under the bushes in our front drive. He was sweet, gentle and graying a bit around his muzzle. She brought him into the house, gave him a bath and asked "Can I keep him?" I had already called Beth at Lonestar Sanctuary for Animals. But he was so sweet and seemed to be really attached to my daughter so we let him stay. He seemed so tired and hungry.
She called him Buddy. He ate, slept and was extremely tolerant of all the cats and dogs in the house. But he was so well trained and clearly had been loved that I couldn't stop thinking that some family was really missing their beloved pet.
On Sunday, we decided that he needed to go to Lonestar in case he had an identity chip and someone was looking for him. On our way home from work yesterday, I got a text from Beth at Lonestar asking if we still had that chocolate lab because someone had called about missing their dog. Mike took him right over and he was reunited with his very anxious family! A happy ending...and his name was Jackson.
We were watching a movie the other night, and in it the couple was really having a hard time "in this economy" surviving. He had lost his job, she was having a tough time selling houses and their mortgage was 90 days overdue. It made me think how lucky we have been here in West Texas!
The economic nightmare that has hit most of the world...is not here in Texas. All we have to complain about is the traffic and the long wait in restaurants! So now when I think "I want to live someplace where it rains and things turn green" I stop and thank God I live in West Texas. People are friendly, business is booming, and I can pay my mortgage! How great is that!
It's amazing how much you miss water when you can't have it anymore! We live in a patio home and have very little real "yard". What garden we do have, we have re-planted with drought tolerant plantings and put down a lot of mulch.
The problem is, we have a central, saltillo tiled patio. It has a fountain (over three feet tall so we can't use it) and 4 rooflines dump down into it. When the dust blows it has a lovely (that is sarcasm) cyclone effect in our patio. In years past, I have been able to keep it pretty clean with a good power wash about once a month. But now, because of restrictions, I have not been able to wash it off for over a year. We have our own little dust bowl in the center of our house!
Yesterday, when we were driving home we noticed a river of water running down several streets, into the storm drain. I have no idea where it was coming from, probably someone's swimming pool, but it sure made me remember how nice it was to be able to use water to do things like wash your car, water your lawn, run your fountain, and wash off your patio!
The ConocoPhillips - Bad Boy Blast sporting clay shoot benefiting the Midland and Odessa Police Departments and Midland and Ector County Sheriff's Offices and Odessa Crime Stoppers is this Friday and Saturday at Windwalker Farms.
I am going to be out there about 7am on Friday for the 8am flight. Now, I am confessing that I will not be shooting. I am bringing a ringer. Our son, Eric, is a Cav Scout Sniper. I am pretty sure he shoots better than me. I am excited to see him in action. He has been in the Army for almost two years, can shoot from a Blackhawk helicopter and has fired every single weapon the military has. But can he shoot sporting clays?
Thanks to the great folks at the Bad Boy Blast for inviting us out for the fun. And for giving me a chance to see my own "Bad Boy" in action!
I rarely ever wish I was back in elementary school. In fact, I only think about it around this time of year. Summer.
Summer was freedom. No alarm clock, no bedtime, no shoes and no idea what each day would bring. My only restriction was that I had to take care of my little brother. No problem, we just got into trouble together!! Troy was great, he always ate my undercooked "Easy Bake Oven" concoctions! When we found a bunch of Atlas Moving wardrobe boxes, we made a complete town! Each box was a different store.
After a summer storm, Boulder Creek (Boulder, Colorado) flooded and left behind the biggest mud hole you have ever seen. Troy and I had a blast just playing in the mud along with every other kid in our neighborhood. We had to throw those clothes away afterward but it was soooo WORTH IT!! Sure, we had summer camps and day camps that we went to off and on just "to keep us out of trouble" but those are not the summer memories I keep in my heart and to this day my brother Troy can make me laugh like no other person in the world.
To a kid, summer is freedom...and we adults need to stop over-thinking (and over-planning) it!
