1180 miles East. in A small but passable life.

I had a window seat. But it was cloudy Thursday afternoon when the plane boarded. Rows twenty-five and higher boarded via the back stairs, up between the engines. When I got to my seat I found a woman and a small boy in the center and aisle seats. A man directly in front, in the aisle seat asked if I would trade seats with him so he could sit with his wife and boy. I said, “No problem.”

After the plane taxied out onto the runway we were informed there was an instrument problem and we had to go back to the gate. Once there we were told we needed to take on more fuel. The flight was forty-five minutes late taking off.

It was a good flight. No more bumpy than usual. When we neared the Ozark’s we were told we were veering north a bit to fly around a thunderstorm. And yes, the lightening looked awesome from up there. That was a first for me.

The plane was only about a half hour late landing. Jassy was waiting for me in the van.

That evening besides visiting, I managed to get unpacked and get my attic room put back in order. It was stuffy. I turned on the ceiling fan and opened three windows; west, east and south.

Friday morning it was fifty-seven degrees in the room. So nice! I really can’t remember the last time I felt that cool of a temperature. Maybe March? Yeah, probably.

I was up and out early Friday morning. I walked over to the main library to unfreeze the books on my hold list. Five total. I stopped by the credit union. It was my usual two mile walk. It was almost cool enough to have worn my toque.

A little later we all loaded up to go grocery shopping. They (Jassy, Clayton, and Jassy’s mom) wanted to grab some lunch. While they did that I did my shopping. I got my lunches and snacks and more coffee. I spent $50. Not too bad.

And then I went back in with the gang. Jassy had a meal plan and had a list. When the cart was full we all guessed somewhere around $200. It totaled $183. We’re getting pretty good at this.

Saturday morning Jassy, Greg and I went to the farmer’s market. I bought another ten pounds of ground beef. The price had went up to $6.79 a pound. I found another beef vender and bought a chuck roast for $23. And she said her ground beef was “buy five pounds get one free” which brought the price down to around $5.71 a pound. Next time.

When we got back to the house we all put away groceries. The frig and freezer had to be cleaned out. There were four pounds of ground beef left from the last haul, two months ago.

Now the frig, freezer and pantry are looking nice.

Yesterday morning it was 57 degrees when I woke up. I shut the two windows in my room. This morning it was 57 degrees in here. I shut the other window.

I’ve decided to wait on the Ozark Trail for the Spring. I don’t want to have to rush to be sure to be out of the woods by November 15th, the start of rifle deer season. And part of the trail will be closed for two days, I think October 26th and 27th for a controlled hunt. It all sounded confusing. I’ll just wait. Besides, I realized after that most recent walk that I’m a little out of shape. Pathetic.

Oh yeah, after the farmer’s market we stopped by Walmart. I needed personal care products and I found they were out of the fuel canisters I was going to buy at least two of. I did find the custom mug I was looking for. It’s stainless steel and fits on the bottom of a Nalgene bottle. It was only $4.97. Now I can eliminate that Coleman cook set I’ve never really liked for backpacking. It’s fine for car camping or a base camp.

We had also stopped by Dollar Tree. While Greg and Jassy were in there I went next door to Thrift Haven. I found a fifty-cent coffee mug that says “39 and counting” and a wallet. I’ve needed a new wallet forever. Both items, total- $1.

So, today. I slept in until 9:30. I’m on my second cup of coffee. I’ve had my cereal and shower. I fed the animals. Petey Dog is downstairs asleep in Jassy’s bed, Liam Dog is up here buried somewhere in my bed, Asscat is lying in front of the window in the other room. And all three youngsters are at work at Panera. They’ll be home at two. I’ve forgotten who has class when.

So yeah, all is right with the world. I’ve got two books up here with bookmarks in them.

I just checked the weather. It is 53 degrees here and 78 in Phoenix. And it’s two hours earlier there. Crazy.

I just realized that I’ve flown about seven thousand miles total in the last year. Crazy.

The newest video by a great band:

The tattoos are fake, BTW.