My Little Hunter Gatherer

Since being home again, my little hunter/gatherer has been busily searching out the acorns in the backyard that have fallen from the trees as well as those that are still on the trees, and the scones on the kitchen counter that I brought back from the trip.

Love in the House Again

There is love in the house again - Maddie is home!

Map and Weather Station

http://www.pharrtrans.org/

SPI Day 8

Day 5 - Tuesday
I rigged a 5.5 [square meter] sail.
Ed rigged a 6.0.
Probably 30-35 windsurfers on the water.
Milestone - did not uphaul a single time.
Water starts and deep water beach starts all day long.

Day 6 - Wednesday
Ed and I picked Marco up from airport in Brownsville.
Then the fun really began.
I rigged a 5.5. Ed rigged a 6.0. Marco rigged a 6.5.
Temps in upper 80s and winds in upper teens.
Ed down rigged to a 4.5 at one point.
Milestone - sailed out to "open water" where the big boys/girls play.
And again did not uphaul a single time

Day 7 - Thursday
Happy Thanksgiving!
Everyone had been talking about the upcoming "Norther" for several days.
I woke up when it blew in around 3 a.m.
It's been blowing ever since.
We went to the water late and Marco rigged a 4.5.
Ed and I rigged a 0.0.
Steady wind from the north and cloudy and 55 degrees.
Six windsurfers on the water - warm according to Marco.
Then to happy hour and the Radisson for T dinner.

Day 8 - Friday
Steady drizzle and 47 degrees.
We are at Naturallys having coffee and breakfast.
Then perhaps some black Friday shopping.
And then maybe to the water.
Ed and I got jealous over the fun Marco had in the steady wind.

SPI Day 5

Yesterday was a light wind day so Ed and I turned it into an alternate sport day. We jogged and then played tennis in the afternoon followed by happy hour at the North Flats and fried baskets at Wanna Wanna. Need to try to eat more healthy today. Have eaten twice at Naturallys but evidently during the Fall they have a full menu only on Fridays Saturdays Sundays.

Several recent disappointments:

Yesterday was a light wind day so no sailing
Ed cannot get his laptop connected to wireless internet at motel
We discovered the Brownsville turkey trot 5k already happened
The Beach Bums band has disbanded
Wes and Chieri decided they could not join us down here after all

Several good things:

Picking Marco up at the airport in the morning
Eating seafood every day
Sleeping long and good after a day of sun water sail
Having about 25 windsurfers on the water on Sunday
Having about 40 windsurfers on the water on Saturday

SPI Day 4

Day 1 - Friday
Leave Las Cruces 6 a.m. - 2 cars and 2 drivers
Drive 14.5 hours - 5 stops
El Paso - coffee
Van Horn - restroom
Fort Stockton - restroom gas
San Antonio - coffee restroom gas - driving through at rush hour
Raymondville - restroom gas
Arrive Port Isabel 9:30 p.m.
Home Sweet Home at Cecelia and Ron's Southwind Inn

It is funny that each of us always remembers The Weather Channel channel - 34 - it is the most frequent channel that we watch. Some of us turn it on right when we get here and first thing every morning and often last thing every evening.

Day 2 - Saturday
early coffee SWAP MEET coffee breakfast sail beverages fish sleep
I bought a 3.5 sail for $20
Ed bought a 5.7 sail for $30
I rigged a 5.5
Ed rigged a 6.0
Milestone - sailed my very own brand new sail for the first time ever

Day 3 - Sunday
JOG coffee breakfast sail beverages fish sleep
I rigged a 5.5
Ed rigged a 6.0
Milestone - got up on Ed's 80-liter board - smallest prior was 150 liters

Day 4 - Monday
coffee breakfast at Sandi's cafe - now work - might be light wind day

Funny Quote from the Web

Hair tells you a lot about a person.

Sometimes it tells you that they like mullets.

A Week From Today

A week from today I will be dropping Maddie off at the kennel - SADNESS - and then heading back home to pack for South Padre Island. The drive each way is about 900 miles and this will be my 6th trip. The usual trip length is 10 days so this will make about 2 months that I have lived in Port Isabel, TX - the mainland town just across the Queen Isabella Causeway to South Padre Island. Pulling into town has definitely begun to feel like coming home and my traveling companions have definitely begun to feel like family. First trip was summer 2003, then summer and Thanksgiving 2005, then summer 2006 and 2007. Yeah!!

I will be missing the annual meeting of the Psychonomic Society this year. I also skipped in 1993 when I was finishing my MA and in 2000 when I was finishing my PhD. I have been every year but those since starting graduate school in 1991. That sure is a lot of Psychonomics.

1991 San Francisco
1992 St. Louis
1993 Washington DC
1994 St. Louis
1995 Los Angeles
1996 Chicago
1997 Philadelphia
1998 Dallas
1999 Los Angeles
2000 New Orleans
2001 Orlando
2002 Kansas City Missouri
2003 Vancouver British Columbia
2004 Minneapolis
2005 Toronto Ontario
2006 Houston
2007 Long Beach

Extra - too much information. Last night I was stressed and decided to take an aromatic bath and turned on the jets while in the tub and a whole bunch of black gunk shot out - probably old soap scum - but GROSS. Good thing that cleaning the tub was relaxing.

Also - when Maddie is outside and her best buddies Dakota and Jake walk by with their people - Maddie RUNS into the house and to the front door desperately hoping that their people will ring the bell and ask for an impromptu play date. Sometimes the back door is closed when Maddie tries to run into the house and then she bangs into it and it is a bit sad when a play date does not then ensuue. This happened just now.

Tonight I am meeting friends at High Desert the brewpub.

Recent Happiness

Watching the new season of Everest: Beyond The Limit
Discovering Mr. Clean Magic Eraser cleans nonslip tile floor crevices
Beginning to think about going on sabbatical next year
Sitting between Ian and Erik at Saturday dinner with Dom Laura Keith
Enjoying Sunday morning doggie brunch with Kim Cheryl Dakota Jake
Ordering my first complete setup of new sailing gear except for a board
Eating well with Ed
Debriefing happy hour after faculty meetings with Dom and Justin
Anticipating an end to my house being in disarray
Discarding non-needed papers from files and organizing the rest
Starting up with jogging again
Laughing at Maddie acting cute after being caught being naughty
Being able to have Indian food for lunch any weekday I want
Learning that I ran a marathon faster than a celebrity
Having this as an outlet for my thoughts

Thoughts

It is going to be in the 80s today - hard to believe it is November.
My hair is getting long.
Maddie needs a bath.
The backyard is still not bunny-proof.
I am not looking forward to Christmas.
People have idealistic/unrealistic expectations and stress predominates.
Easter is my least favorite holiday.
Thanksgiving is my most favorite holiday.
I decided not to move the TV cable in the master bedroom.
I decided not to move/replace the ceiling fans.
I cleaned the ceiling fans and removed a superfluous decorative element.
The chip in the finish of the guest bath tub will be fixed on Wednesday.

Obedience School Winner

Fixing up the House

I decided to have the floor tile cleaned rather than replaced - after picking out tile. I decided to replace the carpet with carpet rather than laminate flooring - after picking out laminate flooring. Both decisions were made with Maddie in mind. We like to play fetch in the house and this will keep the floors less slippery. Plus getting new floor tile would make me want new countertops and appliances. That would be too much.

I had a guy come out and fix the grout and drywall in the master bath shower that had water damage. He replaced the broken grout and replaced the damaged 'green board' with 'cement board.'

I had a guy come out and do the measurements for the new carpet. It will be installed after the walls are painted and the tile is cleaned.

I had a guy come out and measure and give me an estimate to clean all the floor tile and seal the grout. This will be done after painting and before carpet installation.

I had an electrician come out to consult about moving the cable from the SW to the NE corner of the master bedroom. The actual work is supposed to happen next week.

I have a guy coming out next week to consult about fixing the finish on the tub in the guest bath.

Then I will get another guy - the one who did the master bath shower - to install the new bathtub door. He may also replace some broken floor tiles and refinish the wood edges of the bathroom and kitchen countertops and install a big curtain rod in the living room when everything else is done.

I need to finalize the wall and trim paint colors.