Sunday, October 27, 2013

Gas Prices

As I drive to work each day I pass our local Safeway store where Mia and I purchase the majority of our fuel.  I as drove to work yesterday I noticed the neon sign said $3.39 per gallon for regular gasoline just as it has for the past week or so.  Less than twelve hours later on my way home the sign had changed to $3.15 per gallon.  I double checked the sign this morning to make sure it wasn't an error and it still reads as it did yesterday.  I guess I have to wonder how it could drop as much at 24 cents a gallon in one day.  Seems to me that I heard the margins for the retailer of fuel was very, very narrow.  Were they overcharging the day before yesterday?

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Its Been A Couple Of Weeks And Things Are Changing

The weather for one has changed dramatically in the past two weeks.  We have seen the arrival of much cooler, windy and rainy weather.  This past week each day has been arriving with dense fog that seems to linger all day.  It is cool and damp.  And the colors are vibrant as the trees change from green to yellow, orange and bright red.  I showed pictures in a previous blog, of our neighborhood trees and yards as they change from summer to fall and winter.  While the rain is an annoyance, this time period is the best time of the year for me.

We finally got the opportunity to move the trailer from Gold Bar to a closer venue in Covington.  I had hoped to have it winterized by now but haven't been able to do to the moist weather we are having.  I really hate to cover the trailer when it is damp.

I will be enjoying another day off today but I will more than make up for it by working Saturday.  I am off the Saturday shift next week.  I may or may not have 174 days left to retirement.  The boss has asked me if I would be willing to stay longer if need be.  I am thinking about it but I will reduce my hours and kind of work part time.  He was concerned about what Mia would think and asked me to discuss it with her.  She is okay with it.  My son and grandson, not so much.  Monday he told me it might not be necessary but he wanted to know our feelings just in case.  I have become friends with him and I suspect if he asks I will stay a while longer.

Speaking of the son and grandsons.  We all went to a rather unimpressive new car show over the past weekend.  If money were no object there were some toys I wouldn't mind having.  Most every vehicle there was the most expensive version of the particular brands vehicle.  Top of the line trucks with every imaginable toy going for nearly $80,000.  Cars with every dodad possible and a sticker price to match.






Last but certainly not least, October is Breast Cancer Awareness month.  October 13th was National No Bra Day in support of the Breast Cancer Awareness.  I had hoped to see more participation but I have since been told that breast support is really important.

Hope everyone is enjoying the news.  I have shut it off.  I must admit some fear as I get very close to depending on income from a government that can't figure out how to balance their books.

Sunday, October 6, 2013

Sunday After Defeat

The Huskies tried.  Oh, how they tried.  Remember my remarks concerning the number of penalties and what it was costing them yards gained.  That they needed to find an answer and fix the issue before they get to playing the powerhouses.  Well, they didn't and it contributed to their first loss of the year to Stanford last night.  We entered this game as the most penalized team in college football and it didn't get any better with eight hankies dropping in the first half alone.  A total of ten penalties for 89 yards.

The out gained Stanford in total yards 489 to 279 and both teams threw an interception.  It was almost a great comeback until the final play of the game when the folks in the booth overturned a ruled catch on the field and the game ended with the Huskies loosing 31/28.

It is obvious that the early hype is right, the Huskies are back.  Once they figure out how to operate their new offense they will be hard to deal with.  In the meantime, it is frustrating for fans and coaches to watch but nothing like it was four years ago.  These guys give you something to believe in and they will get better.

Looming along the sidelines for next week another heavy opponent, the Oregon Ducks.

I was going to go up to Gold Bar and get our trailer today but Mia wants me to move a portion of our bunk beds over to our granddaughters room.  Then we have shopping and I would like to look into building some shelves in the garage for storage of some of the bulkier items that we store.

The Seattle Seahawks play the Colts today in Indianapolis.  Should be a great match up.  I suspect the best defense will win.

It is almost time to watch the Sunday morning political shows and get myself worked up again.  As if reading some of the blogs posted about the state of our country hadn't already made me take extra blood pressure medicine.

Cheers

Thursday, October 3, 2013

Enough Already

I have the day off (not because of a shutdown) because I will be working this coming Saturday and every other Saturday this month.  It is rainy and dismal here in the Pacific Northwest and the outlook around the country is one of dismay.

I started out by blaming the whole Washington establishment for the position we currently find ourselves in but after some comments by my son and some further research I have to put the vast majority of the blame on the GOP/Tea Party Republicans.

They have shut down our government and are threatening the American people with default if they don't get their way.  Obamacare is law.  It passed both the Senate and the House, was signed into law by the President and with stood Supreme Court scrutiny.  How can one party now decide to use it as a pawn to get what they want?  The majority of Americans do not agree with this tactic.

These folks are not helping themselves or their cause.  I suspect most of them will be looking for work come election time.  I just hope we have a country left to vote in.