So Many Roads

Visit other participants of August Break here.

The above was taken today near Texas Canyon in Arizona.  Chelsea did well in her surgery – no complications – and was released late yesterday afternoon.  Chelsea’s surgeon knew that we needed to get her back to university at San Antonio, and so Chelsea was released for travel yesterday.  We are pacing the trip as slowly as we can with still arriving on Monday.  Yesterday we went 4 hours to one of my daughter’s and spend the night.  Tonight we’re in Deming NM.  Tomorrow our goal is Ft Stockton TX and then on into San Antonio on Monday.  So far so good!

Tags: August Break, Family, Road trip

Today is Day 1 of August Break.  What is August Break you ask?  Well, simply put, it’s a very loose “challenge” where you can publish a photo a day (or whenever you want – remember it’s loose!).  It is the brain child of Susannah Conway, and I thought it sounded fun.  Not only that, but lately I find myself scattered and feeling drained.  I don’t know if it’s the time of year or what, but I find myself without focus.  I’ve always thought it would be great to have my life theme song be Queen’s “I want it all (and I want it now)” but I’ve come to accept that it’s more of the Stones “you can’t always get what you want, but you just might find you get what you need”.  Lately, however, it’s more like Jackson Browne’s “Running on Empty“.

Work is crazy, crazy busy.  I want to enjoy more time with my family – the days are too short.  This coming Friday my youngest and I will begin another road trip – this one in the truck back to San Antonio so she can start year 3 of university.  I have taken up several hobbies this past year; candle making, soap making and quilting.  And my passion for photography keeps growing.  This fall I am hoping to take a couple of courses at the local community college – one on photoshop for photographers and another for web development (html and css).  And, with the end of September being the end of the US Government fiscal year – and me working in procurement – my job is going to take up more and more of my precious time.  Sigh…  But enough whining.

I think if I can devote a few minutes each day to August Break then perhaps, even if those few moments, I will feel like me again.  It will be my meditation for awhile.  And so, here is my entry for Day 1:

Why not pay Susannah a visit and see who all is taking part?

Tags: August Break

Well, here it is Tuesday night and I am still not a home owner.  I was supposed to close Monday, but the appraisal lady didn’t do her job.  So, late last week we rescheduled for Tuesday.

Yesterday (Monday) morning I got a call that we couldn’t close today either.  The appraisal revealed broken window panes and the mortgage company required them to be replaced.

And so we are tentatively scheduled to close at 10am Friday.  Sigh….

Sometimes things do not go as planned, but they are probably going the way they should be.

Tags: life

I haven’t had a new vehicle since 1999.  This is not a bad thing, just the way it was.  When I retired I bought a used truck from my Dad, and it has been great.  It saw us through the awful midwest winter, and brought us pulling a trailer to California — about half way across the US.

When I first moved to Okinawa in 2004 I bought a used Toyota RAV 4.  It was the 2-door model and I fell in love with it.  Up off the road like a truck, but small enough to easily park an get around on the small streets.  Three years later I blew the engine and bought a little Honda Life.  It too was a great car, but I missed the RAV 4.

Well, no longer folks!  See my brand new 2010 Toyota RAV 4 – with ALL the bells and whistles including back up camera and bun warmers.  I brought it home 2 weeks ago today.

Tags: new car