I got up this morning which I assume does not make everyone happy, but it made me happy.
I usually take a brisk walk for about 30 minutes early each morning but this morning I decided to forgo the brisk exercise. Instead of exercise I decided to pull weeds from the back flower bed knowing that I would be on my knees and getting up and back down repeatedly, which is exercise for a senior person.
Now I have heard my spouse of 45 years, comment over the last couple weeks that she was going to pull these weeds. I know that if I pull these weeds it would enhance my chances of getting more good meals.
Now I assume some of you may be thinking, “He doesn’t need more food”. Food is not the focal point of this article, so let’s get back to the topic at hand.
I found that I am doing a good job of watering the plants, the dirt was moist which made it easier to pull the weeds out of the ground. The moist earth has a tendency to stick to my soft lily white hands. At one point I was actually laying on the ground on my side reaching under some vining flowers to get at the weeds, and that is when it happened; I got the tickle or itch.
I have noticed, anytime my hands are dirty or wet, something will begin to tickle or itch. For years, as soon as I begin to do anything where my hands have something on them, I will get the tickle or itch. I had thought about the possibility of a small bug or ant, crawling up the leg of my shorts.
I would have to say I did a fairly good job of pulling the weeds but I am sure that in about two weeks it should be done again. Even though it looks good now, I am sure there will be more weeds sprouting in a week or two.
After I had completed the job I told my first wife that she was welcome. She thought for a minute and then begrudgingly said, “Thanks”. It is bad when others don’t show appreciation, for all the chores that I do, without being reminded.
On another subject; as I was working in the back yard I noticed two men walking in the ditch behind my house. I have kept the weeds cut in my portion of the ditch, as a matter of fact I keep it mowed and there is some nice Bermuda grass growing there.
These two men are city employees. I walked back to talk with them. They told me they are planning to do some work in the ditch and hopefully when they are finished the rest of the ditch will look somewhat like mine. They intend to not only cut weeds but also improve the drainage.
What was itching? My nose was itching, it happens every time my hands or wet or dirty.
Saturday lunch 08.09.14
Friday evening (08/08/14) I had suggested to my present wife that I would like to have lunch at the, “Sea Island Shrimp House” but it is too hot to ride down there.
The closest Sea Island is in Selma, TX which is kind of a suburb of San Antonio, which is about a 3 hour ride or drive from, “The Ford Homestead”.
I was surprised when she suggested taking her vehicle. I noted that we would need to leave about 9:30, to which she made a frowny face.
Saturday morning arrived and as I was having a cup of coffee, my spouse asked if we were going to the Sea Island. I begrudgingly (J) agreed and noted that I would put some bottled water in a small cooler for the trip.
I was dressed and ready to go so I walked out to put the supplies in the vehicle. That is when I noticed the front and back glass needed to be cleaned. I washed the front windshield and I noticed it didn’t appear clean, so I washed it a second time and it still didn’t look clean. I realized that I needed to clean the inside of the windshield, darn it!
It is needless to say, so I will say it anyway, I was now hot and sweaty. I know what some of you are thinking, “He is always hot”, and you are correct, but this hot was from heat and not my exceptional good looks.
We were able to get on the road about 9:10am and we headed south. I knew the route I wanted to take, which included the toll road around Austin, TX. I wanted to get back on I-35 on the south side of Austin but I missed the turn off. At some point I realized we were still on the toll road, it may have been when I went through one of the pay stations.
You don’t need to stop and pay, they will send you a bill in the mail. We were headed for Seguin, TX which is in the right direction but not exactly where we wanted to be. We found an exit from the toll road which took us to San Marcos, TX. We knew that San Marcos was on I-35 so we took that exit. All went well except for the last mile which was bumper to bumper traffic and if took about 15 minutes to get through the area.
We finally made it to the interstate and headed for the restaurant. The GPS was talking to us as we drove.
We arrived at the Sea Island about 12:20 which it just about on time. Lunch was great, the ice tea was very good. After about a 30 minute lunch break we were on the road again.
We took the loop 1604 around San Antonio to highway 16 then started back to the north eventually stopping in Fredericksburg, TX. This town is a tourist trap with a lot of stores for the tourist to spend money in.
My spouse of 45 years shopped for about 90 minutes, during which time I observed people, mostly women.
One such female caught my attention. This female’s head was shaved on the sides with a Mohawk type haircut. She had a pony tail that was about 6 inches long and her hair was purple. She had a blue dress on and a large portion of her lungs were showing. She was with a man and as they walked past I heard her say, “I don’t know what those people were thinking”.
I smiled and had the same thought about her.
After shopping we began the trip for home. We had decided to find a place to eat and set our sights on, “The Blue Bonnet Café” which is in Marble Falls TX.
Arriving at the café we stood in line for about 15 minutes before being seated. The food was good and when we were refreshed, we again started for home. The rest of the drive was more or less boring. We did see many deer along the road (alive) as the sun began to set.
We arrived home about 9:30 pm, a full 12 hours after the start of the trip.
It was a good outing.
I hope your hands are clean when the itch comes.
Don Ford
No comments:
Post a Comment