Yakov and other disturbing things...

Ok, so I spoke too soon, as usual. Fall only lasted a few days, and Summer has made a reappearance. Ugh. At least it’s only slightly uncomfortably toasty, not the blistering melt-your-tongue-to-the-roof-of-your-mouth oven-like heat of July and August.

Yes, I’ve been absent once again, but I have a good excuse. Mr. Hooter and I made a much-needed trip to Missouri this weekend to attend the “Big Doin’s that was a transpirin’” (words of my brother Trent) for my Grandma’s 90th b-day. A great time was had by all, especially me, who hadn’t seen much of my family since I became a Mrs. I also got to hold my new month-old cousin Cole for the first time, which was awesome as long as he didn’t cry. I do hope the crying-baby phobia goes away when I have my own…as of now when I hold a baby and it cries, I’m like a quarterback handing off to a running back in the backfield. And I got to eat cake and homemade ice cream…that in itself always constitutes a good day.

Seeing the rest of the fam was great, too, though they gave me a hard time for not being around much over the past year, and Marden started feeling like he was thought of as a controlling husband. I told him that was ridiculous…my family knows any attempt at control will result in numerous body abrasions for the prospective controller. Nope…all home absences have been due to my controlling job, on which unfortunately I can’t inflict bodily harm.

Well, the week turned a bit sour when the day after the birthday festivities, when my OTHER Grandmother passed away. She had recently been admitted into the hospital and hadn’t been doing well at all, so in a way it was sort of a relief that she’s not suffering anymore. While its customary and expected to be sad at someone’s passing, it’s pretty uplifting believing that they’re in a better place, which I firmly do. At the risk of sounding callous, it wasn’t all negative – I got in some much-needed family time, Tye made it up from Shreveport, and I met some family from St. Louis that I had NO IDEA even existed, and hopefully some correspondence will continue and I’ll get to know them better.

In addition, a lady from church made us the BEST PIE EVER, which was a gooseberry/blueberry pie, called a BlueGoose. I’d never had a BlueGoose before, but I sure would like to have another. Anyone have a recipe?

Another great thing about being home was getting to watch a Chiefs game. Well…it should’ve been a good thing, but they lost. Again. My Chiefs are now 0-2, not counting all their pre-season losses. Matter of fact, I ditched the game to help mom grade papers. You know your team sucks when grading 7th and 8th grade papers is preferable to watching them play.

So today is my first day back at work. Since Marden had gone to the new house the night before, I had a long solitary reflective drive yesterday back to Lake Frierson in mom and dad’s old truck I borrowed so I could haul the trailer without blowing a second Explorer transmission. When you drive that long on your own in an old truck, your mind tends to wander and begins to contemplate the universe.

For example, you wonder things, such as - Why does every Barbara Mandrel song sound like a show tune?

Who in their right mind labels a tanker truck with the tagline “Lubrication Specialists”?

Just how many billboards does Yakov Smirnoff need? And really, hasn’t he been in the U.S. for like 50 years by now? When does one stop being a crazy Russian?

And speaking of crazy things, I missed one of my most favorite days of the year on the 19th - Talk Like A Pirate Day!

:( I guess there's always next year....arrrggg.

Ok, so it’s not quite officially fall yet on the calendar, but the weather is telling me otherwise. I spent three days barely taking a step outdoors so I could do battle with my first (and hopefully only) sinus infection of the season. Unfortunately duty called today and I had to make an appearance at the office while still battling evil Mr. SI (sinus infection).

So I stepped out on the porch this morning and was smacked right in the face by *gasp*….FALL! Where did this lovely weather come from?

It amazes me every year how we can go from blazing-hot fry-an-egg-on-your-car-can’t-breathe heat and humidity to cool crisp autumn-esq temps in a matter of a few blessed rain-filled days. I stepped out of the visitor center a minute ago and thought, “Wow…it’s QUIET!” …hearing only the quiet of crickets and a few stubborn katydids. No cicadas…a few of their bodies litter the parking lot. The birds started piping up about mid-morning, though not with their usual gusto. I assume they’re busy packing their bags for migration or have already started grouping up for the flight north.

I know, I’m waxing poetic here, but bear with me - fall is DEFINITELY my favorite time of year. Except spring. And snowy days. And summer days enjoyed at the lake.

I’m also very inconsistent.

Another awesome thing this time of year brings - FOOTBALL! Well, except this might be a long season for my Chiefs. They look terrible. The Texans handed them their first loss in what looks to be a tedious season. Ugh.

But this fall means the end of my last summer as a park ranger. I should feel sad, but I don’t. What started out as an incredibly fun and satisfying career has become an annoying, take-all-my-time-and-never-feel-appreciated job. I think I’m not the only one feeling this way. It’s making it much easier to vacate the premises...without a doubt time to move on.

Rain!

I can hardly believe my eyes, but we've had a RAINY week! I nearly forgot what droplets from the sky looked like, and now my plants are a slightly less severe shade of brown. I'm afraid there's no real hope for them, though. I'll just have to start all over next spring when we're FINALLY moved into the newly renovated Hooter Manor.

We're still remodeling...the floor is going down now, and will probably continue to do so over the next few weeks. My job is trim and interior doors. I never dreamed when we bought the place that we'd end up doing so much work to it. I'll be SO relieved when this project is complete...remodeling is extremely hard on both the psyche and the bank account. By now I'm sure Mr. Hooter thinks he married a crazy lady. I'm not so sure he'd be wrong.

Here's some very low-quality pics of our work in the master bedroom and living room...notice a lovely absence of white walls. I hate white walls...they make me feel as if I were in a hospital room or, more aptly, a psych ward. We went with trendy colors...colors that we'll no doubt enjoy now, but in 20 years wonder what in the world were we thinking. And no doubt colors our future kids will gag at. Oh well...I'm extremely happy with them now, and that's what counts.

In other news...Lucy continues to do well as a tripod. Matter of fact, she's doing so well that I really don't know why God bothered to give dogs 4 legs anyway. She's definately back to her old self. Last week she even took a headlong plunge into the pond across the road from the new place and did a few laps. I was wondering how she'd do swimming without a 4th leg. To my surprise, she does not swim in constant circles nor does she tip over. While I was pretty dusgusted at her choice of swimming holes, and she came back sporting the fragrance of cow manure, it was good to see her swim. We took care of her odor problem by engaging in another of her pre-injury activities - standing in front of the garden hose. I'm looking forward to having some time again to take her swimming at the lake. For that matter, I'm looking forward to taking MYSELF swimming at the lake!