Saturday we had the big ONE year party for Alaya!! Lola went to the venue early to finish setting up while we kind of did our own thing leading up to the party at 1. It’s probably a good thing that the original location were assholes and double booked. That was going to be primarily outside and it was freaking windy Saturday. Shit would have been blowing all over the place.

The part was really fun. My other mother Georgia came with my mom. She has been a part of my life since I was at least 2. Her son, my brother Samuel also came with his with a son. We had been trying to get Alaya and Alex together for a while now but something comes up. Usually one of them being asleep. Yvette’s side of the family really turned up for the party but very few of the fathers. Weird because we had expected about 30 more people. Oh well. Alaya had a damn blast. The bounce house that is now ours will be a hit for birthdays to come. The food was fantastic. It was a joyous occasion that we will all cherish even if she doesn’t remember.

After the party we let the sleepy girl see her presents. She was grifted with so much. I went to the store and my mother’s. Came home and made something with leftovers and waited for the bombs

The great US of A decided to bomb Iran. Don’t get me wrong, fuck Iran. But we don’t need another fucking WAR!! Israel isn’t a nation we need to defend. They are committing genocide. We are on the wrong side of history. I hate this administration. I never had such a distaste for politics until the orange fuck came into office. What the fuck is wrong with us!!! The rest of the world is watching and we are the fools. How is this supported. I’m embarrassed for our country. We are better than what we have let ourselves become. I hope it comes as no surprise to everyone that supports this move when our fragile economy once again takes a nose dive into the sewers. The only pockets getting filled are the assholes in charge.

Sunday we all decided it would a good time to go ahead and top off with some gas. Due to the politics of the world being completely FUBAR, gas prices will likely be on the rise after Saturdays nights bombing. Iran is already planning on cutting off 20% of the world’s gasoline. Yay, Trump. My god, the reality which we live.

After gazing up, eating breakfast and cleaning we made a trip to the pool with the little lady. She tried out one of her birthday gifts, a flotation device. She does love the water and I’m happy we have the luxury of providing her a place to swim. The pool was pretty deserted. It was windy and partly cloudy so I guess people thought it too cold. I thought it was perfect. Yvette and I really don’t get into the water so the weather conditions were ideal for us poolside loungers.

Yvette and I stopped by my mother on our way out. I’d say we just sat around a visited for about an hour. This is something I generally do everyday so it was nice to have Yvette with me. She usually has too much going on after work to join me. She asked me afterwards “ is that what you and your mom do, just sit around and talk?” Yep. Just that. Haha.

Monday oh Monday. I woke up very well rested. On the way to work a little bitty squirrel couldn’t make up its mind if it was crossing g the street or not. Back and forth this little guy made until I was right upon him. Cu-clunk. I made the mistake of looking into the damn rearview mirror. He wasn’t dead. He was flopping all over the road. It broke my heart. Why oh why did that have to happen. It’s been years since I have hit a squirrel. I hate that. Why not a clean death. I know I’m a little sensitive to animal suffering. It haunts me.

Game of Thrones. Teegan and I had the house and dinner to ourselves so we decided to start the show from the first season. We blazed through 3 episodes. I realized that the first season aired the same year I started working on campus. That was 2011. That was a life ago. Insane. So much has happened in that time. Every Sunday my ex-wife and I went to my parent’s house with a pizza and we watched the show. That was the beginning. Eventually my dad lost his mind and my mother moved. So I liked starting it over with Teegan. It was great getting to the beginning with a new life. We have a lot to watch.

I was consistently busy during the week. Contrary to what everyone thinks, summer is generally our busiest time of year. End of year spending and projects that can only be done with the students gone keeps us on our feet running. Damn shame because summer is the time of year that I feel compelled to do jack shit because of the scorching temperatures. What a bummer.

The time has finally come for my youngest brother to have to put his dog Django down. I’m heartbroken for him. The poor beautiful Django was just unable to get up and move around anymore. Quality of life was minimal and pain was very likely. What kills is the dog still has the mind to want to live on. I dread the day I have to make a similar decision. It didn’t go well. The dog was not sedated before they began to administer the meds so he howls in fear and they placed a muzzle on him. My brother was traumatized, rightfully so. I was pissed. It hurts my heart even thinking about it. I made sure to give my pups some extra love when I got home on Wednesday.

Thursday was a special day for me. I was to go see another doctor. Yay. I hate being bounced around. The thing is at least I feel fine. To be fair, after seeing the doctor I actually felt better. Pissed, but better. The anxiety subsided. For a week I had been catching myself zoning out. Worrying you might be fucked is much worse than learning you might be fucked. Most medical situations are out of one’s hands so why stress. Yvette was there with me for the appointment and I love her more than my own life for that. Mainly gained context until the next doctor in San Antonio. Fucked up back…. Haha🙄 We went for a drinks dna treat after the doctor.

Fuck Friday. Actually, Friday was AMAZING. The first truly free day I’ve had mentally. Grade A+ performance review. Zero anxiety or stress. Yvette and I had a grand ole time. Sadly, no Alaya. She went to Dallas with her momma. Quiet evening.

Happy Friday!!!

Jalapeño

Leftover chicken and rice from the party repurposed with some grilled peppers and onions topped with some queso.

Chicken fiesta salad. leftovers from the birthday party once again repurposed.

Supreme pizza lasagna and Caesar salad. It was just Teegan and I.

Chicken fried steak.

Tapatios with Fidel.

Korean BBQ chicken.

Saturday morning I was going to a Trump protest with my mom. Our first protest. I thought it was awesome that my 71 year old mother and her friend were picking me up for a protest. We were not sure what we would be encountering. It was a very pleasant surprise.

The crowd was on our side. So so many really cool people. Such a diverse crowd. You had republicans, democrats, independents. All skin color. All ages. Vietnam vets. Everyone was so amazing. The signs were great. Everyone was so nice. We all had a mutual disdain for the orange man and his policies. Anyone familiar with the current political climate knows why so many people are alarmed. He has used the military to police the people of the United States. He is unhinged at best. “Dear Leader” has amassed a fucking cult of followers. These are intellectuals. I truly don’t understand how anyone could consider his actions to be on the right side of history. That’s why the protest was needed. We had at least 300 people. I really felt proud of my little town and our voices. It will be a cherished memory with my mother, to boot. We both did something important that’s we had never done before that was sooooo far from our comfort zones.

I actually ran into some very old friends. Some of which I had not seen in over 10 years. Maybe the last time I saw them was at my ex-wife and our wedding. It was great to see them. Greg was my man back in the day. He was a therapist/bartender. The best bartender. It made my heart swell seeing him at this kind of event. happily gathering peacefully together to oppose a horrible person holding a powerful position. James was the other old friend that I saw. It also doesn’t surprise me to see him at such a gathering. Like minded people.

The rest of the day I spent with my beautiful wife. We laid around. Went shopping. Cooked. Watched a scary movie. Saturday was an amazing day.

Happy Father’s Day to all the fathers. I suppose I get to celebrate? I don’t know. Alaya got back into town with her momma. I missed that baby. The kids got me a shirt that I love and I was grateful for. I didn’t even think about Father’s Day being something for me. It was a mostly mellow day. I picked up breakfast. I sprayed weeds. Shopped. Slept. It was just chill. My stomach was a little our of whack but that was my own fault. Eating an entire can of bean dip while sleep walking will leave one a little on the ill side. That night Yvette took care of dinner and she made one of my favorite of her meals, chicken enchiladas. I meal prepped for Teegan making some really yummy chicken breast. That was the weekend.

Monday was a day from hell. I was tired. It was hot. Stuck in the office time didn’t want to budge. I hate these weeks. I had a few people ask me about the protest. I told them what it was about and all the details that I could supply. They all had a different idea in their heads what it was. I guess the media portrayed it in an angry light. Typical. Nothing angry about it.

I did finally view the results of my MIR. No change in the cyst size. He does want me to go ahead and schedule a colonoscopy. Great… I was hoping to put that off for a few more years but I understand. I have never had one and they have started screening folk at a younger age. It’s a good precaution. When I actually get around to scheduling it thought… that’s another story.

I was out running errands after work on Wednesday and this number just kept calling and calling. I have a habit of not answering unknown numbers so I didn’t. I received a text from my ex wife telling me my dogs were out and someone had them. I called and they had only made it a block. The couple that had them were nice enough to walk them home and thankfully Yvette pulled into the driveway at the same time because I could t reach anyone. I guess the door to the kitchen didn’t latch and the garage was opened. They had a little unsupervised walk and thank god they stuck together and came to a stranger. I would have been devastated to come home to them missing. Thank the lord for good pedestrians.

Juneteenth! The 19th was not only an important holiday but it was Alaya’s birthday. She turned 1!!! How this little girl was already a year old went over all of our heads. In the morning she was presented with some gifts and I assume she had a pretty good day. We took her out for some steak dinner that night and we had one heck of a party. I kid, but some of us did eat steak. I love this little girl.

Friday was bumpy. The venue double booked us for Alaya’s birthday party so we basically had a day to come up with a new place to host it. What a mess. It was a messy day in general. Owen got into some cake mix that basically took an hour to clean up. He is not liked at this moment. Everything worked out. Lola procrastinated so they were busy working on the party late. I had a headache so I was pretty much cashed out. I only live here. All I know it that it will all be fine when it’s said and done. We did find a little baby deer.

Happy Friday!

Jalapeño

Chimichurri steak & shrimp.

Chicken enchiladas.

Mongolian beef noodle bowl, per Teegans request.

Hibachi on the grill, also per Teegans request.

Shrimp Po Boy. Noah and Nadia came over. I had no idea how much a mess and how damn difficult this meal was to make.

Birthday girl dinner. Chili relleno.

Stuffed salmon w/ broccoli cheese rice and peas.

Saturday marked Yvette and I being married for 6 months. What a deal. I made us some breakfast and we spent most the morning being lazy. It was already to hot outside to do much in the yard.

Bring Her Back. A horror movie I was looking forward to seeing due to the reviews stating how absolutely fucked up it was. Christ, it sure didn’t ease you in. The fucked up began about 5 minuets in and never let up. I’m talking extremely hard to watch at times. I understand why the media reported walkouts. At its core it’s a story of grief and what measures one might take to “bring her back”. What a film. It had been a long time since I walked out of a movie feeling a little in shock by what I had just watched. I satisfied.

Saturday night Yvette and I were going on a date. Taqueria Jalisco. Usually we just order a few tacos. This trip we decided upon plates. I had chicken verde enchiladas and she had chimichangas. Both fantastic. We had the house to ourselves and it was a relaxing evening.

Sunday was another lazy morning. I watered all the indoor and outdoor plants and pissed off the family of finch that are nesting in my fern. They were noisy about me watering. I’m almost certain that they will end in a tragic scenario right out of the nest. Not enough room to practice and that means something, likely my dogs, will eat them. It makes me a tad bit sad. (SPOILER: they didn’t make it.)

Teegan, Yvette my mother and I all went out for some lunch at Zero One Al House. It had been a little while. This was a Sunday tradition for years. I ended up with some tuna poke and was completely satisfied. Everyone else seemed happy with their orders. It was a fun time with good conversation.

After lunch I went tot eh car wash to vacuum out Yvette’s car. The back seat was riddled with Nerds. Little pink candy all over the place. I’m sure that was a product of Alaya. Yvette called me and said she needed a ride from her grandparents. When I arrived it was her and all the aunts. I wasn’t hot and I was grilled by them. I was also anxious. I don’t know why. We needed to run by SAM’s. On the way we made two stops to get a few more sheep. One was the bar, Blain’s, which I had not been inside of in probably 20 years. Yvette and I decided it was a good time to stop and have a beer. The place was not what I remembered. It was just a hole in the wall. Oh well, it was fun and sent me down memory lane.

After SAM’s I went to visit my mom and eventually came home for dinner. We didn’t have anything planned so I dug through the freezer and found what I needed to make a pretty damn good meal. Yvette and Lola were at the store and Teegan in his room so I ate in bed while watching my show, Silo. It was a good enough time.

Monday was a damn fine day. Work was relatively smooth and I had a full nights rest. Lots of stupid did happen but that’s just called working on a college campus.

The week went by like a blur. I was busy enough that it almost reached the point that I couldn’t tell you what day I did what. I guess that’s a good thing. We had a morning meeting that was a waste of time. I really didn’t do much of the cooking, which was weird. Yvette worked on of the many camps on the campus so I didn’t see as much of her. Plus side of that is I obtained free breakfast and leftovers to hand out to the people I work with. They seemed to appreciate it. The rain saved me having to water my grass a few days.

Some dick weed started a rumor that Yvette and I were already getting a divorce. I say rumor. It was more like someone told someone and that someone asked Yvette’s dad on campus. I think it was someone just intentionally trying to stray shit because we do t have any problems and we certainly do talk about our personally lives at work. It made me laugh and a little mad. It upset Yvette more. I just believe the people that know us know that’s it isn’t true so why care. Some people are just sad little things.

Alaya finished up her swim sessions and as a reward was gifted a little ASU shirt for her hard work. She did so good and I was so happy they had the lessons on campus where I was able to watch from afar. I’m so proud of this little girl. She is growing up way too fast.

Happy Friday!!

Jalapeño

Digging through the freezer I found some Gorgonzola gnocchi and a steak I added some broccoli and mushrooms. Turned out to be pretty fantastic.

Yvette made meatloaf, green beans and mashed potatoes.

Chicken street tacos.

Yvette made her lasagna.

Grilled tuna bowl.

Saturday morning I made some breakfast for us all. Poached eggs with hollandaise sauce over steak w sausage biscuit, hash brown & broccolini. . I got the shovel out and got to digging. After all the rain and runoff I finally decided to try and do something about it. I was tired of cleaning up all the debris off my granite landscape. I installed a French drain. If it helps I’ll add another. This hopefully is a solution to my problem for the time being.

Yvette, Alaya, Lola, Cameron & I went to go see Lilo & Stitch. One of the few Disney live action remakes I was actually looking forward to. The movie was good. Really, it was rather sad. I guess most Alaya did well. She got a little restless towards the last quarter of the film but that’s expected of a “not yet” 1 year old.

After the movie we went by the Mexican market next door and Lola picked out some fine fine steak. I’ve always wanted to try the meat market but I have never really been able to tell what anything is, haha. Little Alaya had a bit of a temperature when we got home and we gave her some baby drugs. She felt better and we started cooking. The steak was damn fantastic. I don’t have a clue what they marinade it in or for how long. It was so damn tender.

Sunday Yvette and I ran around the town. We went to a total of 3 different grocery stores before finally saying that we were done. That night Noah was bringing over all equipment to have a shrimp broil at our house. I guess he just didn’t want to do it at his own. I can get that. Yvette and I provided the shrimp.

The broil was a lot of fun. It was fucking hot. I don’t guess we finally all finished the nights love until close to midnight. Not exactly my mellow aundau

Monday night after dinner I was having an adult beverage on my back porch when I suddenly hear someone lay on a car horn quickly followed by a succession of 5 gun shots. It didn’t take long for my family to come outside. We got the dogs and went inside, locked up, and armed ourselves. It was a good enough time to get dad’s old .357 out. Fortified, I watched out the window. I counted 4 city cop cars and one state trooper. I don’t know what was going on and still am in the dark. Crazy. We live in a good neighborhood. You just never know these days.

After one really bumpy hump day I decided to got to happy hour. I had a headache that only a beer and fried mushrooms could abate. Once I get the taste of fried mushrooms with a cold beer in my noggin it’s hard to not follow through. I tried to convince Yvette to go with me but she was just far too spent and only wanted to go home. I understand that completely. I had my mushrooms and my beer and felt a little bit more stable on this fine planet called Earth. I wonder if I’d been able to have my coffee that morning it the day would have been so spotty.

It was a birthday week. My Aunt Susie. My nephew Teddy. My mothers. My own damn birthday. So many Gemini in this family. I was proud of my mother. She went out with friends for a little shopping, lunch and some wine. She said she had a really good birthday and that just makes me so happy. I had no idea what I wanted or even cared to do for my own birthday. Usually I take the day off from work but this year I decided against that. It was on a Thursday. I was told to figure out where I wanted to eat and I honestly couldn’t care. I had a family this year to celebrate with me and that was new. Yvette made me a great dinner and we just spent quality time together. I got some new Birkenstocks. It was a great birthday. I felt loved.

Friday was the day of my MRI. My birthday present to myself. I hate them. This will be my third in 2 years. They want 3D imagery of my pancreas again just to keep and eye on it. This time I took an Ativan to help relax. As noisy as the machine fucking is, I sort of dosed off a little. I was so relaxed. The next thing I know is it’s over and they are removing my IV. What a deal. Since I had not had anything to eat or drink since breakfast, my mom and I went out for lunch. A little place I’ve wanted to attend and now will again. The chips were amazing.

Happy Friday!!!

Jalapeño

Steak from the Mexican meat market with homemade guacamole, peppers, and noodles. Damn good.

Shrimp broil.

Joy dogs!!!

Pizza!!

Burger bowl.

My beautiful sweet wife made me one heck of a birthday dinner. This is what I needed. I love her so much.

Grilled chicken rice bowl.

Damn. I had to go back to work. What an awful slow day it was. It didn’t look like much people actually came to work. Those that didn’t take Friday off took Tuesday off. That’s how I would have done it. Give yourself a 3 day work week. Memorial weekend was my go to holiday when my dad was still around. You see, his birthday was always celebrated in Alpine, Tx.

After work I prepped for dinner. All the kids would be over and I really hoped that the brisket I cooked the day before would be okay reheated. If dry, BBQ sauce it up. Thank god it wasn’t dry. The meal seemed to be a hit.

Late night storms arrived and Lola went to seek shelter for her new car. I don’t blame her. I saw damage done just a few miles south from yesterday’s storm. Better safe than sorry. It’s that time of year that you never know. We have consistently had terrible hail in late May. Heck, my roof was replaced from the storm last May.

Wednesday was another day. I was tired from the storms and got a late start. I dragged my sad ass I to work. Mostly the day was uneventful. So eventually when an opportunity presented itself I took on someone else’s jog that required driving a forklift across the campus. All went smooth and I met Seth to get a pallet of paper to the print shop. The problem arose when I was trying to get back to our lot.

I was making a turn and being a little unfamiliar with just how responsive this lift was, one of the back wheels went off the sidewalk. It has been raining the last few night. That fucker sank right in. FAST. I felt it go and tried to gun it but it was too late, the opposite front end while was off the ground. I was stuck and not exactly happy. That’s what I get for volunteer work.

Seth and I tried various methods to find traction without any luck. We even added weight with paper from the print shop. We didn’t realize that the damn thing had sunken so much that it was bottomed out on the sidewalk. So we tried towing it. The strap broke. We tried again from behind and it bunged until we reached the sidewalk. Hit it like a dam.

I really didn’t want to get people involved but I had no more choice. My good friend Paul the electrician saw us and came to see what the problem was. Luckily he had the number for the main man Kimble in the garage. To my rescue he came. Seth and I went inside and waited in the AC until that came. We bullshitted. I was happy Seth stuck around. I needed the company. Kimble arrived with a backhoe. Let’s just say that did the trick. I raised the forks, he drove the bucket into them and all it took was a simple nudge. I was free. Still feeling a bit embarrassed I drove the left back. Carefully. Not to make the same mistake.

After work Yvette and I collectively agreed that both of our days warranted having a drink. Good lord. We went to a joint called Shenanigans and had a beer and some fried mushrooms. We relaxed and both discussed the BS that we had to endure. It felt good.

Thursday was a little more active because Seth took off which allowed me to do his job as well as mine. I was happy with that, especially in the morning. Nothing really of note to talk about. It was a better day than the one before.

I say nothing of note. I should mention it was my father’s 75 birthday had he still been in this place of existence. I do miss him and he weighed heavy on mind. I even found myself listen to his music. I had his drink. I made his mom’s meatballs. It’s a damn shame he wasn’t here to celebrate in person. I try not to hate the heavens for taking him away the way they did and it’s hard. He would laugh at me for such a thought and probably say something profound. Cheers, dad.

Overall the week was much cooler than it should have been. It was humid to make up for the lack of high temps. We did get 3 nice somewhat scary storms. I’m sure Lola is tired of seeking shelter for her car. If she would help me clear her stuff out of the garage she could simply park in there.

Friday was cool and gloomy. Yvette was off. Yes, she only had a 3 day week but it was a hell of a 3 day week. The day was wild for her. I suppose she really wasn’t off work but working from home. She actually did have to go in for a random meeting. It was a bummer and I’m happy my job doesn’t follow me home after hours.

Happy Friday!

Jalapeño

Brisket, chicken thigh, sausage, pasta salad, beand and street corn.

Tapatios with Spanish rice.

Noodles and meatballs with some Italian broccolini.

Korean BBQ steak.

Saturday was a damn busy day. Teegan left with Noah to San Antonio and I was left alone at home with the dogs. I didn’t know how weird an empty house would be. It was weird. The strangest thing was the empty bed. Months waking up next to someone and suddenly not. How strange that felt. I had a loneliness settle over me. I had wondered what it would be like separated from everyone. I had a lot of things I could be doing but I really didn’t know what to do. I felt a little lost. I’m sure that’s weird to everyone. They are my family and I missed them all.

Since I wasn’t cooking breakfast and I didn’t feel like making something for myself, I decided to hit up a local joint. The place has been around as long as I’ve been able to walk, Mr. T’s. I have a lot of history with this little place and I’ve seen it change over the years. Saturday was my first time in the establishment in probably 10 years. Even longer since I’ve had their breakfast. Last week I had two separate friends that don’t know each other praise the breakfast. What better time to give it a whirl.

When I was a little boy I lived fairly close to Mr. T’s. After school I’d ride my bike there and get candy or a milkshake. Delicious milkshakes. Back in the late 80s & early 90s the place was a little corner store where you could also get groceries. It was a fairly cute place. The only time I’ve ever stolen something was in the store when I was probably 10. I was with some friends and on a date I took some candy. A single atomic fireball, to be exact. It wasn’t a big loss for them but it’s stuck with me forever. I guess I’m the one that paid the price for that little boys dare.

Eventually it became more of a diner. They had burgers and sandwiches. Chicken fried steak. In high school I practically lived off the loaded cheese fries. I honed so much weight it was disgusting. Just about everyday after school I still went to Mr. T’s just like I did as a little boy, but now I ate cheese fries.

I my college days I still occasionally picked up something to go. Often a breakfast burrito to help me out of a hangover. They had the most amazing breakfast burritos. I wonder if that’s has changed.

After college the ownership changed hands and it went down hill. They began trying new things that didn’t work and they completely stepped away from the milkshakes, which pissed me off greatly at the time. I don’t even drink milkshakes anymore, but how dare they take away something I held precious’s from my youthful days. I stopped going.

I’d heard ownership had once again switched hands and the place was good again. They went back to basics but they also began trying new things. New things that fit with the old menu. They also started up a larger breakfast menu like they had in the past. So after hearing how good it was that’s how I found myself eating eggs Benedict Saturday morning. It was indeed fantastic.

After my wonderful meal I for some reason mowed my backyard. Pissed off at how much dirt in the yard, I ran off and bought $100 worth of Bermuda grass. It was impulsive but as it turns out the weather next week is favorable for such a move. Cool temps and rain. I tilled the soil and laid the sod. I hate laying sod. I told myself years ago I wouldn’t do it once I was out of the landscape business but I’ve done it a handful of times since. I was supposed to have a pallet delivered a month ago that never came. Now it’s almost too damn hot.

I get busy in the yard and lose track of time. I had a graduation party to attend for brother-in-law’s oldest daughter. I made good time if not still a little late. Who really cares, I made it. I think people were surprised to see me at a family event without Yvette with me. I feel comfortable with her family. Hell, I needed to represent our little family since everyone else was out of town.

It was an Italian buffet. Yvette made the lasagna and I must say it was the best thing served. Everything else was basically slow cooker or frozen meals. So much pasta. The cake I also had to try. I did walk in and Yvette’s dad offered me a beer. I gladly accepted one and then another. It was a good time and I was happy for the family. I don’t see them enough to really consider the nieces but they technically are by our marriage. That means I take pride in them doing well. This family is so much different than the one I had with my ex wife. They all like each other.

After the party, Yvette had some spare time to call me before the baby photo session. It was great hearing from her. Sounds like they were having a pretty good time. Nadia got herself a new ride. She needed something different with baby Niles now here. Teegan also found one that he was interested in but wasn’t able to test drive. Sounds like a good weekend. I sure did miss everyone. I was happy that they were having a good time.

I made a run to the store and grabbed some goods for Monday slow cooking. Brisket. I was running out to my moms to pick up a sprinkler head and I decided to stop and have a beer at a place I use to frequent, City Limits. I recognized one bartender that I hadn’t seen in ages but that’s about it. When was the last time I was at City? Was it when I was returning the mimosa tower after our wedding? I really think it might have been. Back in the murkier days of my divorce I found great solace there, and I must say I’m happy to have left the place and those days behind me. I was nice to see the place but I have a feeling the stigma will always remain.

At home I made myself a drink and went outside to water my new grass. Damn if it wasn’t still freaking hot outside. I was happy to go back inside and begin my dinner. I made a jalapeño chicken stir fry. A meal that the rest of the family would die trying to eat. It certainly was hot. After that I crawled into bed and turned on a show I was watching here and there. Silo. It was a rather busy long day and I was actually tired. I tried calling Yvette before turning the lights out but her phone was not really working all that well. I think it’s almost time for a new phone, sadly.

Sunday morning I woke up and made a little chorizo and egg taco for myself. I watered the yard and enjoyed some coffee. Around 11 my mother called to inform me that my brother and his friends were passing through town and that it was time to have lunch. My stomach was full and honestly not happy, but I attended anyways. I wanted to see them, stomach be damned. We went to Armenta’s and I was able to see Monte and Anna and my brother, Chris. The food was indeed excellent as always. Unfortunately for me, I was really struggling. Nevertheless, I made it through lunch and had a good time. I was not about to miss them.

I might not have a twin, and Chris might be a little younger than I, but I feel a brother bond with him that is something only first and second born brother must know. I miss him immensely. I miss my brother Keith, but our relationship is not the same as Chris and I. Keith has a family. I suppose I do too. There was a time I did not, and Chris and I had each other. Chris helped me so much during some dark days of my life. I would do anything for him or Keith if they asked. I would be lost without either of them.

I rushed home after lunch, sick as hell. Afterwards I cleaned the floors and our bathroom. The floors I wanted to be clean for Yvette so she didn’t feel compelled to clean when they got home later in the day. My lord, they needed to be cleaned. I didn’t realize how dirty they were. Who ever does. Damn 3 dogs track in so much BS.

Yvette, Lola and Alaya finally made it into town around 4 (Teegan stayed with his brother another night in San Antonio) and I suggested we go to the pool to let Alaya have some fun. After decompressing for a while we all go swim ready. Alaya had the time of her life. She is a little water dog and I’m so happy for that. Next week she actually begins swim lessons on campus. No fear of the water with this little girl. It was nice for us all to get a little wet on such a warm day. A few drinks went down and just a fan time for a little girl.

I was happy they were home. God I was happy. It was time to cook. Carne al pastor tacos w/ street corn. It was an evening mostly spent with laughs and cooking. They wanted some silly Mormon show on Netflix which I could not help get sucked into just like a damn car accident pulls y,our head to the side. I pulled away and sent back to the show I was watching, Silo. Lola eventually went out and left us with a sleeping beauty.

Memorial Day was the definition of a lazy ass day. I woke up and made omelets for 3 and started a brisket. Time to got be lazy again. I lounged around until after 1 and didn’t leave the house until 2. It turned out the cooking of the brisket could have been put off. It was Yvette’s mom’s birthday so we were all going out for dinner. Well we had dinner for tomorrow.

Yvette forgot what day it was. She had a hair appointment an hour before the birthday party. Teegan got back into town. He had a good time and we hung out until the party started. Wait a second! A storm! We were postponed!! It actually hailed. Little hail. I felt helpless with 3 cars that didn’t need to get damage. Luckily it never became sever.

Teegan and I showed up at the dinner late because of mix signals. We were told to wait because the weather was potentially dangerous. Yvette sent me a text to go seek shelter and cover the cars. No one really seemed to know what was going on. When we walked in it was a full house. All the family except Yvette. I think they had been waiting on us to order and I felt bad. Oh well. It was a good time. Teegan and I were on the very end so we kind of missed out on any real conversation. The food was great and I really do not know how the hell they get it out so damn fast.

After dinner it was time for the final episode of Teegan and my show, The Last of Us. We were both excited but sad that it would be 2026 before we could watch it again. The even sadder realization was that Teegan would be in college and we would not be watching it together. That is some bullshit right there. We really hadn’t thought of that. I guess we FaceTime. I don’t even know. Damn bummer. The episode was good but also a real bummer. Fuck.

So Memorial Day weekend. It was good. It was different. It was fast. I missed my family and then they came back and I was happy to be surrounded by them. Being the first weekend without them I now see how big a part they play in my life. I missed the noise. The drama. The love. The baby. I missed them. So yeah, Monday was nice when everyone was back. It was a nice weekend.

I hope all of you had just as good a weekend.

My Saturday? Who really gives a damn about what I did. The usual. Yard work and a lot of cutting. Fun times.

That evening it was a graduation party for Yvette’s bosses daughter. Such a nice house and boy oh boy was the food good. I really wanted to eat much more but I also did not want to look like a pig. I of course felt a little out of place not knowing many people, it was mostly family. Her boss is a good person and she was great easing the anxiety. Fellow introverts. She insisted that Yvette and I leave with food, which was very kind. This being the second party that I have attended with her, the first being much more formal, it was nice seeing a very relaxed side. Good time.

After the party Yvette and I went to grab some hooch before the stores closed. Seemed like the right idea. I of course had more to eat. It was a nice mellow evening. I was tired. I think we all were, so we went to sleep.

Sunday we all slept in and eventually went to Yvette’s parents for some burgers. I had mine without a bun. Noah brought little baby Niles. He is too damn cute. I got to hold him for a while before feeding time. Crazy to think Alaya was smaller than him.

We watched Top Gun: Maverick at my in-laws house after lunch. Not being the biggest fan boy of the original I really wasn’t expecting much. Upon viewing I realized just how much I actually knew about the original. I guess over the years it had been engrained into my brain. I felt waves of nostalgia. A very well made movie. It pulled some strings and hit all the points that a legacy sequel should. I must admit that over the years I have really become a fan of Tom Cruise.

After the movie we went home, I did a little yard work and everyone went their own way. I went and visited with my mom for a while. I got in a little trouble over a misunderstanding. Yvette thought I was going to cook hibachi. I thought I was going to make it the following day. Oops. I came home to a feast being made without me and 7 hungry people. I was going to just eat leftovers. Haha. Oh well. I helped with the steaks and had a good time hanging out with everyone. It was a long day and I stayed up too late.

Monday was a damn drag. Nothing going on. I was bored and when something did come up I made a point to drag it out as long as I could. I did actually have an hour after lunch in which I was busy which made me miss the staff senate meeting. Darn! Haha. I hear I didn’t miss a damn thing. I was so looking forward to the evening and watching Teegan and my show, “The Last of Us”. I cooked some easy dinner, shake and bake pork, mac and cheese and green beans. Teegan and I sat down on the couch to eat and watch. It was a damn good episode. I was very happy to have Pascal back, if only for flashbacks.

Tuesday was beautiful. A complete break form the humidity that we have been suffering through the last few days. I actually was looking forward to spending time outdoors, so Yvette and I decided to have a little picnic. I went and picked up some taco Tuesday special and we had our lunch outside. I mean, we will not have many days like this for a while.

Wednesday night Yvette, Teegan and I went to the up and coming scholars event on campus. I take pride in this boys academics. His studious nature is something I know nothing about. I wish I had had that kind of ambition when I was in high school and I am certainly proud of him. It’s been a highlight doing these things with him. Wednesday was a low point, only because the presentation was a disaster. The host of the event has a language barrier, but that was only a part of the problem. The problem began early when more than expected guest arrived forcing them to delay due to lack of seating. This set everything back. They had to cut scripts short and that clearly threw everyone off track. They had technical difficulties with the slides not working. This made it abundantly clear that they were planning on relying upon the slides to help them along so when that failed they failed in turn. It came of as a mess and it was rather embarrassing. I felt bad for all involved. Hopefully next year they will have learned from whatever mistakes were made this time around.

After that mess we went home and finished up dinner. Potatoes were in the oven and all that was left was to heat the pulled post. It was a nice dinner. One which we all sat down together and enjoyed each others company. Those are the kind that I like.

Friday was a slow day at work. Yvette took off at one to make food for a graduation party and get ready to go out of town. Her and Lola were bringing the baby to San Antonio for some baby pictures. After work Teegan and I ordered some food for a local place and we watched a silly movie called Havoc on Netflix. Lots of violence. Unlimited ammo. Crazy body count. It was a good evening. I missed my wife.

Happy Friday!

Jalapeño

Shake n bake pork with some Mac & cheese and sautéed Italian green beans.

Teriyaki shrimp bowl.

BBQ pulled pork stuffed potatoes.

Salmon with broccoli rice and cheese w/ cheese.

Saturday started out just about like any other. Slept in a little, picked up some breakfast because no one felt like cooking, and set out to do some chores. I was dead set on finally cleaning out all of my side yard. I had a. Inch of big branches to haul off and dump. I loaded my vehicle to its fullest capacity and made a visit to the dump. That knocked out a HUGE portion leaving the tedious duty of breaking down mesquite trees. The vicious bastards. It’s almost impossible not to poke yourself at least 10 times.

While jamming to my music and breaking away, Yvette interrupted me to say that the tooilet was gurgling. I really kind of blew her off thinking it was no big deal. A few minutes later Teegan came out to tell me that his mom says the toilet was overflowing. I assumed I needed a plunger and it was simply stopped up. I walked into the house hoping that Yvette had turned the water off. Blow was I in for a shock. The toilet did not simply over flow, that would have been a blessing. No, both toilets over flowed and both showers backed up. Not just water but raw sewage. The smell was something awful and I had shit in my shower. The very daunting task of cleaning such a mess left me feeling mildly defeated.

This happened once before, 6 years ago. It had nothing to do with my plumbing but rather something to do with the city info structure and my unlucky placement on the grid. You see, if you walk outside my house and look left, straight ahead and right what you see is three streets all going up hill. What does this all mean, you ask? Well, the old phrase “shit rolled down hill” comes to mind. Something about the rare surge in pressure can cause my house to take a hit being at the lowest point. Yvette wondered if all the heavy rain might have also a contributed and I honestly couldn’t recall if the last time that this happened we had had rain or not.

So we called the city utilities department and reported a sewage back up. At this point the water had retreated just leaving behind an awful stinky mess. While we waited for the city to arrive we left and purchased as much disposable cleaning supplies that we could find. Lots of bleach. We cleaned and cleaned. I almost vomited a few times, I volunteered to clean our bathroom which was the lowest point and was where the poop was. It was horrible. After an hour of breathing in bleach the city trucks arrived. At first just tow regular worker and finally a big pump truck. They did what they could and tried to assure us it was over.

Yvette went to her parents to shower while I finished working in the yard. I had a messed outside caused by the rainfall earlier in the week. I went to the post office and shipped off an eBay package and eventually showered.

The baby boy stopped by for the first time. He is an adorable little guy. We painted his foot and made his mother a Mother’s Day gift. It was fun visiting and I really liked holding the little guy. Once he left Yvette and I decided after the day we had we didn’t need to cook. We needed to go out on a date and relax. That’s exactly what we did. We had some fine dining Italian food and relaxed the rest of the night away.

Mother’s Day. Yvette and the girls went to church and I stuck around to finish my yard work. I spent about two hours before realizing that I had lost track of time and needed to clean up. I was cooking lunch for my mom that afternoon. Oops.

My mom is my best friend. We have always had a very close relationship. We are a lot a like in a lot of way and for better or worse that’s a good thing. Sometimes that makes us butt heads. It has caused us to argue about many of things over the years which I feel has only made us closer. Yeah, we get mad at each other and sometimes for good reasons. That doesn’t diminish our love for each other.

I like to see my mom multiple times a week and I try to make a point to do so. She was the most supportive person during the darkest days of my divorce. I honestly don’t know how I would have made it without her. Call me a mammas boy. I’m proud of that title. People that k ow my mom would understand that pride. She has a strength that most men do not carry. That’s why mother’s days is a special day for me to celebrate her.

I started cooking and my mother and I had good conversation. I made a broccoli rice and cheese, some sweet peas and salmon croquets. It was a meal I hadn’t made in a long time that both my mother and I loved. It turned out really great. After eating I planted some flowers in the garden for her. We had a good time visiting and just relaxing. It was a good Mother’s Day.

Oh Monday. How you never leave my life. I was actually rather awake considering all the busy I was over the weekend. I kept myself busy and floated across the campus. Typical work BS. I didn’t have to cook after work which was very nice. After dinner Teegan and I watched our show “The Last of Us”. We missed it Sunday night because the block was full. No one would confess to who was watching it Sunday but oh well, I was sleepy and it made for a much better Monday night cap off. Damn good episode. I’m so glad that we have “our” shows. Everyone else just clears away and we get an hour to ourselves to absorb some quality time and TV.

The campus is dead. Finals week is upon us. I really like this time of year when the semester slows down. It’s rather relaxing. Wednesday I was supposed to have an MRI scan but due to a misunderstanding between me and the hospital I had to postpone. Really, I think the hospital filed to share with me some critical information regarding my my scan and what I needed to do. Oh well, the new date worked better for me. They are it such a pain in the ass to get an appointment and that’s on them. Fuck them.

After work we went to the high school awards to see Teegan receive his academic honors. This will be the second year in which I have attended and I am really proud of me. What I was the most impressed with were the 4 students that had perfect attendance awards. Good lord, HOW?? I would like to know who these people are. How do you not miss a single day? What is the secret? Lord knows I missed class. Impressive feat

It’s always a little eerie when it first begins to quiet down for the summer because it is SO busy right before. Now I walk into buildings and wonder if I’m the only one in them. You can hear a pen drop. I like it, but at the same time it’s kind of sad.

I suppose some of the sadness is bittersweet. So many of the students that I’ve grown accustomed to seeing on campus for years are graduating. I won’t immediately know which ones are gone but I will notice their absence later on. I’ve been working here for 14 graduations. That’s a lot of kids that have grown up and become adults. The kids that graduated that first year I was working are now the age I was when I started working here. If not probably older. Crazy thought. it kind of brings about a little sadness. Melancholy.

One thing that I have seen is the style and fashions change. I’ve seen them come full circle. It’s so funny what trends come back. Some for the absolute worse. When I started working on campus it was a little more similar to what I graduated seeing. I mean, I only had a 3 year break f=before I started working. Of course things would be about the same. I might be feeling much more right now just knowing that I have been around for so long. I have seen not only many generations of students leave, but many coworkers across the campus. Just recently a guy passed away. I realized I was one of about a quarter of our team that even knew who the guy was. What that means is anyone that started working in my area before the last 12 years has no idea who the man was. That’s a brick hitting me hard.

I left work with a headache. I cooked and no one but Yvette and I ate. Disappointing. I am always left bummed out when no one wants to eat my food. I try for the kids but I don’t make the meals they grew up with and the meals that they do like I don’t make enough. Some new meals become hits while some are quickly swept under the rug. It’s really special when they do like a meal.

Funny enough, a meal was actually requested. A chicken dish that I honestly had trouble remembering. Those are good days. I wasn’t even planning on cooking because I wanted leftover Frrom the night before but because it was requested and once I figured out what I was making I became excited.

Hazel and I went for a walk together. Everyone else was preoccupied and I still had that headache. I figured a good walk might help resolve the issue. The campus was where we walked and it was like it was our own. NO ONE!!. We ventured out much further than we ever do with the little girl. It was a nice night walk but still the heat is starting to kick my butt. We did see some fox. They are so brave.

Friday rolled around and it was even more the ghost town. A few little graduation ceremonies scattered here and there for good measure, but that was something I wasn’t a part of and no concern of mine. I was just ready for 5 o’clock. I did finally get my golf cart back. That’s my transportation across campus and I was really thrown off when they took it from me for repairs on Wednesday. The garage did actually make the cart ride much better. Apparently the 25 year old golf cart still had the original shocks. No wonder it leaned. It was like driving a brand new cart. I was ecstatic. I guess everyone considers the cart “mine”. Haha. Well, I was happy to have my cart back.

Happy Friday!!!

Jalapeño.

Chicken Marsala.

Mother’s Day steak for Yvette. Garlic Parmesan shells, Italian broccolini, balsamic reduction blue cheese steak.

Yvette made buffalo chicken pasta and a side salad.

BBQ drum sticks with slaw and sausage.

Spicy pepper Italian beef fettuccini w/ Italian broccolini.

Guiso rice bowl.

Leftover Guiso.

Saturday I slept in and eventually made myself some brunch. Everyone else was having lunch and I really didn’t feel like pasta so I thawed out a steak, made some potatoes and sat outside and grilled while I enjoyed my coffee. It was a nice enough morning to sit outside and have a brunch.

After that delicious meal, I decided to trim some more branches. I have tree in the back that almost died a few years ago from the extreme heat & drought. It had a lot of dead upper branches that just looked terrible. I had needed to cut them for a few years but I knew it would be a lot of work so I kept putting it off. Well, it was a lot of work. Mainly because they were so damn high. I extended the length of the pole saw to its limit and began going to work. It was mostly a success. I really needed to get on the roof for the remaining branches but I didn’t trust my balance with the saw way up there. Also, the shingles were burning my white ass.

After cleaning up it was off to the movies. Sinners. I heard the movie was good. I knew it was filling movie theater seats. I wasn’t expecting it to wow me as much as it did. I also wasn’t expecting it to be a packed movie so many weeks after first release. That surprised me. The role of the twins by Michael B. Jordan was so good that I could not tell that it wasn’t two separate actors. It was seamless. The sorry was great and the characters well written. I really liked the directing. A couple single take shots here and there. It also had a great deal of original music. Music was very important to the story. It could be called a hybrid horror/musical, for at times there were full on musical numbers. Well done musical numbers that mattered to the plot. A good old fashion vampire drama set in the old south during the times of prohibition, Jim Crow and the KKK. The fact that the “horror” aspect only shows itself halfway through and yet I was still totally engaged was amazing. Honestly, I would have enjoyed the movie had the vampires never showed up. It wasn’t until about the halfway mark that something supernatural even began to unravel.

Sunday morning was for coffee outside. I am loving these cool mornings and will continue to enjoy them as long as I can. In a Texas summer even the mornings are too darn hot to enjoy. My mom invited us to have lunch with her. A late lunch at 1:30. We went to a place that Yvette & I use to frequent with my mom a lot during the early days of our relationship. I had an obligatory tequila shot for good ole times. After lunch, I strolled through downtown in search of my sheep. It was a beautiful afternoon and we wont have many of these left. The river walk was beautiful. I found 17 sheep.

Cinco de Mayo. Monday was so nice and gloomy. We had scattered storms throughout the day and the temperature probably never reached above 70. I was in heaven. For a Monday, for once, I was happy.

After work we went to Yvette’s grandfather 97th birthday. The entire family was there, for the most part. They picked up a large batch of Chinese take-out and we stuffed ourselves. I can’t do Chinese take out because it’s all breaded and sugar. I love it but it wrecks my blood sugar. I went up 300 in less than 30 min. Not at all a cool feeling. I tired to keep the sugars low the remainder of the week.

With the party all done Yvette and I went to go see the little baby Nile’s. He is such a cutie. I’m sure it is just me, but he already looked bigger. Once leaving their house we decided that it was our duty to celebrate a little Cinco de Mayo with tequila, margarita and beer. We went to a little taco shop we sometimes hit up for lunch. It was our first time being there during the evening and it seems the joint is a popular place with the college kids. It makes since. Cheap drinks and tacos, perfect for the broke kids. After drinks we went home and called it a night.

Tuesday morning we had some storms roll through town. I’m pretty sure they woke up just about everyone. They woke me up, and that’s telling. I guess everyone was running behind schedule because the commute to work was busy, and I was running late. We had 3 inches of rain. It made for a good day. I did have a mess that would need to be cleaned up over the weekend, but I suppose the rain is worth it. One of these days I’ll come up with a solution to the water run-off issue that I have. Being at the end of the block and bottom of a hill comes with some consequences.

Seth sure had a nice week to be on the campus. The temperatures were in the 70’s everyday which is almost unheard of in May. Being stuck in the office I was a little jealous. I tried to find a few excuses to get out. Mostly I was tethered to the computer. Nothing makes a week in the office longer than consecutive beautiful days.

Thirsty Thursday! It was another beautiful wet day. We had some sporadic showers here and there with temperatures basically sticking in the 60’s. Very peculiar weather for May, as I have mentioned. What the weather did inspire in me was a desire to make a batch of soup one last time before the summer heat wave hits. Yvette suggested I make the green chili chicken tortilla soup I made a few years back. I guess even her student worker at the time sampled said soup and liked it. I sort of remembered that. Now I just had to remember what the hell that soup was. Lucky for us both, I had the recipe in my cook book. Rather, I had a basic outline for a recipe. We went shopping and I found everything that I needed to make a good soup. The kids don’t eat soup so it was a small batch just for the two of us. The soup was damn good.

After a very loud busy week in the office, Friday was rather quiet and peaceful. My boss was gone, which helped matters greatly. He is a rather loud talkative man. I mean no offence, but DAMN can that guy talk for hours. Often to no one but himself. I was able to get out on the campus a few times. I caught the last day of an art exhibit. They had some really talented women featured. All is all, it was fairly uneventful.

Happy Friday! We had dinner. We had s’mores. It was a nice Friday night.

Jalapeño.

Steak, peppers, onion, potato with Spanish rice.

Spaghetti

Mongolian beef noodles.

97 year old birthday party. Yvette’s grandfather. take out Chinese.

Crockpot Italian beef sub with provolone and peppers.

Tapatios w/ rice.

Green chili chicken tortilla soup. One last soup day in May. Wild weather.

Something I made with red enchilada sauce.

I am indirectly responsible for the death of a dove. You see, they roost in our oak trees and they crap on our vehicles. Out of frustration I got the BB gun out. At first shooting aimlessly into the foliage trying to spook them away. I connected with one, injuring it enough that when it tried to fly away it wasn’t able to get air. It crashed into our back door and was quickly caught by my dog Hazel. It wasn’t exactly a death I wish upon any living creature. It also made me profoundly sad the remainder of the evening. The bird just wanted a safe place to sleep and I took that from it. What made things worse is that the bird wasn’t alone. It had a companion. The companion even tried to come to its aid, but was quickly chased away by my other dog Owen. Later, the companion dove came back to roost. Upon seeing me enter the yard, it was fidgety in the tree. I looked up at it and it looked down at me. It quickly flew away. I hate seeing a terrified animal. Much less, be the focus of said fear. The bird had felt safe roosting in my trees and now it no longer did. It now had fear, and rightfully so.

I was rather angry at myself for it. When I was much much younger, a boy growing up, we did regularly shoot dove from the trees. I’m not proud to admit that. I know, you might say “it’s just a bird, lighten up!” It was till a living breathing beautiful creature that committed no crime aside from sleeping and defecating above our vehicles. For this the dove was shot from the tree which it was trying to find peaceful sleep only to be eaten alive.

The last animal that I killed was a rattlesnake. I was in far west Texas on some family land and decided to relieve myself. I urinated on a snake. It scared the hell out of me and I jumped a mile back all the while urinating everywhere and on myself. For this, the snake had its head removed with a sharp shooter shovel. It was just in the wrong place at the right time. In that snakes last minutes of existence it was pissed on, shot at and eventually decapitated. What a tragic ending. For what? It meant me no harm. It just had the bad fortune of being a poisonous snake. That’s stuck with me for years and I told myself I would not take the life of another living creature unless completely necessary.

That’s why I’m angry at myself. I can still see the flame flickering out of the eyes of the living creatures I’ve extinguished. No shit. I killed a lizard when I was a little boy by throwing a rock at it. I still remember it looking up at me taking its last breaths. It haunted me in my dreams. A damn lizard. Kids do stupid things and they don’t think about it at the time. Years later, as a middle age man, I think about that a lot. Killing birds. Spotlighting rabbits with friends. Just pointless murders of helpless animals.

Don’t worry, I never tortured an animal and I tried to make all deaths humane. I was just a dumb kid having fun with other dumb kids. These days I despise people that go trophy hunting. No animal should be killed and wasted without purpose. These days I probably empathize with animals more so than humans. Just because they are “lesser beings” does not dismiss them from having existence. Feelings. LIFE!! We really are not better than them because of our status as “humans”. Are we not all so called “Gods” creatures?

The following day I had a strange sort of anxiety over having participated in that doves death. I didn’t know the dove would impact me so much. Grief. Remorse. Not just for that singular dove, but for every other animals life I had taken in my near 44 years on this planet. I couldn’t stop thinking about it trying to fly away only to be caught it the jaws of a beast. The fear and the pain. It was all my fault. I was to blame. Overacting? I don’t know. I don’t know. I think maybe this is the root of why I have donated so much to animal causes over the last 20 years. I never really thought about it until now. One thing is for certain, never again. There was to much life in all those animals eyes before I took it away. I will not extinguish flame again. I hope, in times of judgment if there is judgment, I have a chance. Senseless killing is still senseless killing.

Go hug your damn pets. Animals are better than us. They have love without hate muddling things up. Unfortunately, humans have shown through history that our default nature is cruelty and hate. We seem to come back to that time and time again. I implore you all to seek love.

The Week.

Saturday I really needed to do yard work but I really didn’t want to. I fueled myself with coffee and attacked the yard. Mowing was the easy part but what o did next was what took so long. I went a little crazy trimming trees. The mess quickly gets out of hand. The clean up took hours. Since my dumping grounds was occupied I was forced to break all the limbs down and bag what I could. I also harvested some fire wood for next year. For some reason I still felt compelled to work. I sprayed the side yard plants. I need that yard eradicated. It was a busy day and I was at it for a good 4-5 hours.

After a visit to see the baby and the newfound parents finally free of the hospital Yvette and I had a date night. It’s good to go on the occasional date. We are trying to make it much more frequent. We had a few drink and just relaxed. It’s a thing couples need if they can. If nothing more than a little picnic. Just a meal for two.

Sunday was a perfect sleep in day. My back was agonizing. Really a bummer. It was already bothering me and all the yard work was me overdoing it. Big surprise. This little flare up is the worst it has been since finishing PT. I really had to do some stretching in the morning. I think it’s about time to just bite the bullet and get the spinal injection. I have put it off but at this point it’s worth a try. I didn’t leave the house until around 3:30 or so, which is very unlike me. I just hurt and wanted to lay around. I suppose that was productive.

Once I left the house the first thing I needed to do was replace Lola’s cereal. I had a late night craving for sweets and busted into her Kellogg Krave’s. All but annihilated them. I felt bad. I had to go out of my way to get them because only WalMart carries. After that little errand I was headed to get gas and some other groceries. On the way I veered off the beaten path to my favorite little cemetery. It’s a tragic story. Ben Ficklin was the county seat of Tom Green before my little town established itself as that position. In 1882 the town was all but wiped from the earth by a biblical sized flood taking away many of the residents in the process. This little cemetery is on high grounds and contains many grave markers with the same death date. After my trip on Sunday I noticed they have some recent additions, which is rather cool. I’ve always found the cemetery to be rather peaceful. My father introduced me to it years and years ago. He told me the story of the towns tragedy and it’s always stuck with me. From time to time I find myself drawn back.

The yard work took a very large toll on me. I hate my back. Hate it!! Pain is such a depressing thing. What do you do tho overcome it and live a life? You find out you will do what it takes. I went to my mother’s that evening, who knows all about pain.We visited for a little while and I came home to make leftovers into a real treat. Teegan and I had The Last of Us to watch. I was wondering where the hell they would go with the show after last week’s traumatic episode. Hard times to be a fan of anything. The episode was all about the fall back. It was depressing as hell. It was also really good.

Yvette cooked and went to see the baby. I was a little tired and stuffy so I stayed home and put on a movie. Norteratu 2024. I had been wanting to see it for some time. Love the directors previous works. It didn’t disappoint. Now if you know the tale of Dracula then you know this movies plot. It’s been done so many times. That does make this version surprising or not worth seeing. Now, this is my opinion. My stepsister hated it for reasons now understood.

Really nothing all that eventful during the week. I was struggling with another sinus infection or some shit. Stuffy runny nose and a slight cough. It’s been a bad year for me and my sinus cavity. It wasn’t until about Thursday’s that I started to feel a little better. Made for a foggy week at work with all the cold medications I was taking. Friday rolled around and at lunch I found a nice surprise waiting on my porch. A Propagandhi album I had pre-ordered months ahead. Made my day.

Happy Friday!!!

Jalapeño.

Chicken and waffles.

I had leftover chicken so I decided to pour some green enchilada sauce into a pan and make some chicken verde.

BBQ pulled pork street tacos w/ slaw, pickled onions & cilantro. I roasted some corn with a sour cream sauce.

Yvette made some white chicken enchiladas with rice and beans. A real treat.

Grilled fajita skirt steak w/ veggies over Yvette’s Spanish rice covered in white queso and homemade salsa.

I made Yvette’s spaghetti. It isn’t even near how I have grown up making it. We would pour the sauce on the noodles, not have them already mixed. I also grilled some meatballs and made broccolini. Good stuff.

Grilled tuan, mango salsa, broccoli.