Random things

I suppose they are not random in the strictest sense, but I use that term just to annoy Valerie, which when you really know her, is actually not hard to do. I suppose being annoying to begin with might help.

People sometimes ask...boy, those Fords take a beating! I will bet you go through (tires, brakes, shocks, etc.) every six months! Hmmm, not exactly a question, but close enough. Those brilliant manual transmissions help control the brake usage (better to use the motor than the brakes to ensure safe arrival), and here you see a picture of one of the Fords with its new tires. Tires last about two years here if you are fortunate (and assuming you do not want to drive on bald tires...which happens quite often here) and the last set had given the white truck almost 2 1/2. I figure roughly we got perhaps 20,000 miles or so out of them. Given where we drive...I was more than satisfied. We downgraded from mud to all terrains, paid less than 2 1/2 years ago, and bought ten tires (those spares...uh, were quite spare) Gulp. It was a big purchase, but needed with all the groups quickly approaching.

Second, poor Sisko really should not have gone out the night before. Really, he should not have been sleeping peacefully when Soren was bored and got the idea this would be funny. Soren was right though...and Sisko slept like that for another half hour easy. He is a good cat...he takes the kids picking him up (awkwardly at best) playing rough with him...you get the idea, without scratching or fighting, well, most of the time. I actually encourage him to teach the kids a lesson, but better his restraint I suppose.


I was reminded today that I have not seen a blue sky in some time. I was reminded because I actually saw it. The picture here gives you a glimpse of not even a normal beautiful blue sky (not bad, but not clear and crisp) and immediately to the right what has been normal for the last month or so....the haze. I am so used to having haze this time of year, it did not even occur to me how hazy it was, until the sky parted briefly. Why parted? Jet stream? I do not know. It was a sight to behold however. I prefer the blue sky...for several reasons. For those interested, my running has not been affected with the smoke, although someone else I know said she felt a little shorter of breath as of late running. I suppose it is not terribly surprising.