Merry Christmas, to yooouuuuu...

                                                                    

weather is on the move this morning.  i woke to the sound of wind rushing past my window; on it's way to-- who knows where?  the sky is overcast in shades of gray, casting a pall, setting the tone for the day.

i'm looking past the gloom, searching for a ray of the joy which begins on thursday with the arrival of our daughter k. and continues through the holiday weekend.  it will be the first time in a very long while that all those closest to me will be together in one place; sharing the season, enjoying the greatest gift of all, the closeness, the love of family.

i wish you all a joyous holiday season. aio

and where is the justice in this...

have you been following the cliff lee debacle?  since the texas rangers won the world series, the question has been which team would win lee's arm for the 2011 season and beyond. would the rangers be able to tempt lee into staying with their team?  would the yankee's steal him away for only $150 million over seven years?  the answer to the question of the hour came today.  and the answer?  neither.  lee signed with the phillies, the team he pitched for in the 2009 world series.  his salary with the phillies?  $100 million-- or $50 million dollars less than he could have made if he signed with the yankees. go figure!

but , here is my question. where is the justice in this world? getting paid millions of dollar for working every 4th day or so during part of the year?  please. where is the justice in that?

why are people who do things that matter-- policemen, nurses, doctors, the men and women serving our country at home and abroad, construction workers... the list goes on ad infinitum; why are those people working in jobs that have some tangible benefit to society earning mere pennies?  it's not right.  why?

lee will be paid $47.56 (notice i didn't say earn) every minute of every day for the next 4 years.  most people i know don't earn $47.56 an hour in their 40 hours a week, making a contribution to the people's good, gotta pay those bills slog. 

the only answer i can see is this.  there is no justice in this world. aio

holiday blahs...

my excitement builds with each passing day in anticipation of christmas time in austin and conroe.  i have ants in my pants thinking about seeing those closest to me.  i've often railed against the far flung places they've chosen to call home.  distance precludes visiting on anything like a regular basis, so-- as it is what is is, i savor all the more our upcoming get-together.

as for being in the mood for gifting, i plead guilty to being uninspired. not one bit.  surfing the many ads included in the sunday paper, nothing has jumped out at me saying, "that's the ticket".  hopefully something will occur to me in time.  i don't want to be the grinch.

as for me, no gift is needed.  being together with those i love is all i need.

as for all of you, i hope preparations are coming along.  i wish you all a very merry christmas and joy in the new year. aio    
  

big boys and their toys...

the wife mentioned our next door neighbor, s, has a toro leaf blower that mulches as well.  as it happens a big portion of the leaves from our trees find their way into our neighbors yards and theirs into ours.  she's been after me to get them raked up. 

i hate to do a thing when i can see it is going to need doing again at some point.  that will likely be the case as the cotton woods still have a ton of leaves still hanging on.

for curiosity's sake i researched the cost of toro blowers.  the model i think s. bought runs about $85.00.  of course the local toro dealers are not open on sunday.  over a cup of coffee this morning i came up with a bright idea. why not see what sears had in their inventory.  what i found was a sears model with basically the same specs as the toro unit.  it was priced in the same ball park as the toro-- and sears is open on sunday.

so i took my bright idea right on over to the mall to pick up the sears version of the toro.  scanning the shelves for the sears model number i was seeking, wonder of wonders, what did i find?  not only the sears' version but much to my amazement, the very toro model i coveted. and the best part, the toro was on sale, priced $15.00 off.  that would also be $15.00 less than the sears model as well. i can't believe my luck.

i do love a bargain and it works like a charm with a 16:1 ratio.  that is, it mulches 16 bags of leaves down to the volume of 1 bag.  wowsers! aio