Pedro asked if I would take him and some friends to the ostrich farm at Picacho Peak this coming weekend (2/1), so I've got tentative plans to take a jeep full of 8 and 9 year olds up to feed more birds (as if we don't do enough of that at home.) Pedro's birthday is the fifth of February and I'll be gone back to work and it always falls in the middle of Amparo's annual Gem and Mineral Show work, so it's difficult to do anything 'exciting.'
Maria Susana is working at a steak house in Catalina (Bub's Grub), clearly a big upgrade from McDonald's where she was working for a short time while finding this job. She's working double shifts so not a lot of spare time, but she is on email regularly at blackmomba42@yahoo.com .
Jose Antonio is cruising to graduation in May - seems to be keeping up if he would just get a bit more sleep. The current plan is the University of Arizona, but no word on whether he's going to try to move closer to campus or commute. Dominoes is keeping him busy 4 or 5 nights a week, but short hours only. Speaking of which, if you see the above truck in your yard, don't panic - its just his new (relatively) wheels.Amparo has been managing some house repairs, including paint. Just so you aren't too surprised, here is a picture of the new color. Looks a bit strange in the pictures, but I really like the way it pops out of the desert.
Our entire neighborhood, and by city ordinance all of Oro Valley, are earth tones. We definitely are not. The color also provides a nice visible landmark for the neighboring airport (There is a BRIGHT pink house on the other side of the airport to handle that side.)Jose and I built a shed halfway to the well - hard to believe we need more room, but we do. Still some finish up work to do, hopefully this coming Saturday we'll knock it out.
Work in Kansas is very slow with the change in government policies that are being promulgated. The utilities are not willing to commit to invest the billion$ needed to move forward, and even the foreign countries who were going to do most of the financing (Japan, France) are hesitant to print any more money until the US gets its act together.
It has been VERY cold here the last few weeks. But worse yet, KC is right where the cold and warm fronts oscillate every few days. On Thursday 1/15, it was almost 70 F. 36 hours later, on Saturday morning it was 5 F. My poor old diesel just doesn't like it when it's that cold. I have a 50 ft extension cord that I can drop out the hotel window and plug in the truck if I know it's going to be cold, but it's still darn cold. It's clear up to 17 now, so I'll go drive around a bit to try to warm up the truck a bit and keep the oil from turning completely into jello.
One other update - we're migrating to cell phones only at the house. Amparo and my phone numbers will remain the same, as will Jose's (send a note if you need any.) We've got two others for use around the house by family or anyone else needing one. We have lots of minutes, so don't worry about calling or time used. We also now have unlimited texting to all of us so that works too. Finally, Amparo and I are moving into 2005 with full feature smart phones. I have a Samsung Epix running Windows Mobile so email and webbrowsing is always available. Amparo is looking at an iPhone and the Epix - your input appreciated. The Epix has a bit steeper learning curve than most Apple products, so we'll have to see how it goes. I'll be sure everyone gets her email address once she is on and working.
I'm trying twitter a bit - not sure if it's worth the time yet. Same with Facebook and Linked In - they are becoming business tools with the younger and tech people, so I guess I have to play along. Hard part will be minimizing political content.
Hope all well with everyone - now it's your turn to post. I'm adding it to my biweekly calendar (something to do besides laundry while stuck away from home every other weekend.)
Karl
Scheduled
Arizona 1/31 - 2/2
Kansas 2/3 - 2/13 late night
Arizona 2/14 - 2/15
Kansas 2/16 - 2/27 late night
Arizona 2/28 - 3/2
Kansas 3/3 - 3/10
Washington DC 3/10 - 3/12 (Annual NRC Regulatory Information Conference)
San Marcos TX (Deliver Plane for Annual) 3/16 - tentative
Kansas 3/16 - ?
