I Thimk

I think I need to go back to my old cast iron pans, 3 in different sizes, big, medium, and little. Bought them at an Army Navy store a million years ago. The shop was in an old quonset hut in Santa Monica.

I treasure my remaining Le Cruset pot - wildly out of my price range now.
I broke my wonderful Le Cruset Casserole type pot by dropping it on the tile floor... just a v shaped chip, but fairly deep. Le Cruset will send you another one if you send your pot back to them at an address in the eastern US, if I remember, but the thing is heavy, thus big money for me to mail. Waaaaaa! I still have it, in case money for the non essential showers down one day. I'm the sentimental type.

I cook very simply. I am no chef by any means. It's just, we do enough home cooking that I felt an upgrade was a real necessity.

I had a clear baking dish - looked like glass. I did lots of oven cooking with it. One day it accidentally got overheated on a surface burner. I don't think I realized the burner was on or something. I turned off the heat, but within a few seconds it exploded into tiny bits. I kept finding pieces for weeks.

Watching Have Gun Will Travel this AM. The episode in which Paladin gets hired to escort Phileas Fogg across some hostile territory. He does not particularly like the Englishman.

We had flooding today. Not in my neighborhood, but around the general area. Rice football stadium looked like a lake. When I first moved to Houston, some flooding occasionally occurred, but nothing of concern. Unrestricted building has created a situation making flooding routine these days. Out here around Tomball, planning is mandatory. The only flooding we get is on the new roads and highways, which appear designed to trap water, just like all new streets and highways around Houston. It would almost make sense if it prevented neighborhood and bayou flooding, but it doesn't. Just makes headaches for drivers. It would cost in the billions, I figure, to get flood control in Houston, now.

Yes, I'm noticing the same thing in virtually everyone around me (and me). They can be any age, any economic level, whatever... so I don't think it's any of those things nor is it a post holiday malaise. But I won't bore you with my conspiracy theories about it.

Exercise helps, but it's no long term solution to whatever this thing is

Whatever, I am back to leading what I consider a productive existence again.

Dreamed last night one of my daughters lived with two pet tigers, which I thought a bad idea. As I mixed some sort of food in a huge bowl and inexplicably put it on a coffee table while still mixing, one tiger forced its head into the bowl. I tried to resist the takeover, but the tiger won out. It took a bite, then walked away, as the food was not to its liking. End of dream.

I moved everything I could to prepare for the wind tonight. At least if it blows down a tree I am worried about, the wind will be pushing it away from the house. I could be concerned for nothing, but the weather man on TV said we will get wind capable of blowing down trees about 2PM central time. I am considering sleeping in my clothes.

Already felt a change in the air and now it's raining.

Revised weather forecast makes it not seem so dire here.

11 killed in GA by the weather. Worried about the trees around my place too but I slept necked anyway..

Yes, there's a hell of a storm out there, but in no way related to here.

I worried about the wind, earlier. All it did that I know of, some first gusts knocked out our power for a few minutes. It swept my pine needle collection off the roof. Good job, god. Lastly, a woman from up the street stopped by to ask about power. Hers had been out already, for five hours. It is still blustery out there, but we can handle it.

Lost power for a couple of hours and lots of branches down in the yard. Hoped the wind would clear the mass of pine needles collected under the solar panels but no such luck.

My brother Sam's wife is in the third week of Chemo. Had a lumpectomy. I hate it when chemo gets involved.

Catatonic Converter - Took the truck in today. Mechanic says, the catalytic converter is dead. Thursday is the day the truck goes under for surgery. Will it survive? If I bring in up to $450, it will. Guaranteed.

GF's car started running rough on Friday. I guessed it was a bad coil and the shop she took it to verified that and said it would cost $675 to replace. They also found $2400 in other badly needed work. I told her to bring it to my house and I'd replace the $28 coil for her. Takes about 45 minutes to do. Put the car on the lift and verified the rest of the 'work' needed was BS.

I have read numerous articles about mechanics lying to women customers like that while being mostly honest with the men. I have used the same mechanic for almost twenty years and always get a square deal. My friends and family use him too.

Wish I knew of one around here. I do all my own car work but because I can't stand to see such bald face robbery, I end up doing a lot of it for friends and family too. But there's a limit to that, I didn't retire to be a car mechanic.