A week or so ago we decided we were going to have a garage sale today. We waited until the last minute to put an ad in the paper but didn't. We read the weather forecast each day and decided today would be a waste of time. As it turns out, it hasn't stopped raining for the last two days and the temp is in the 40's today. About the only thing one could sell is probably a used ark.
Just lucky-maybe next week.

This morning I went to drink coffee with my homies (retired teachers) probably for the last time. I really have enjoyed my Thursday mornings. One guy was showing pictures on his cell phone. They weren't of his family-they were pictures of caught fish and large game animals he had shot. No one is offended as this is the "Wyoming way of life", a phrase on which all politicians from this state campaign.

When phoning large corporations and being put on hold, they play tricks on us to attempt to get us to hang up and forget whatever it is we are calling about. First they play the worst music in the world to annoy us and then they keep interrupting with company messages that as annoying as the music if not worse.
This is what happened to me as I tried to reach Comcast, my new telephone, TV and internet provider. I think if I had wanted to pay a bill, I would gotten right through. This wasn't my case. They sent a "tech" person to the house Friday and almost nothing he installed works. So I called. They gave me the full treatment. After waiting several minutes, I was given a person who listened to my plight and then told me she would transfer me to another person who could help me. Then they put me on hold for half an hour. I refused to give up. I was also working on the computer at the same time. The biggest problem with this is by the time the caller finally talks to a human, the caller is in a terrible mood. This was my case which resulted in a shouting match with the person on the other end of the line as he tried to do anything but promise to send out another tech. I wanted a tech to straighten out the initial mess and wouldn't give in. After several moments of screaming-not talking loudly-and threatening to go to Dish Network, he finally agreed to send another tech. We'll see. A caller just has to out wait and outshout the bastards.

In Littleton people spend quite a bit of money for their intruder systems. They have signs in front of their houses identifying their companies. I think this is a bit ironic because I observed this weekend that they are inviting trouble when they pull up their campers, RV, or trailers to their houses beginning Thursday and start loading them for the weekend. They do get Friday's paper but Saturday's and Sunday's papers lie in the driveway until late Sunday indicating that no one is home. If I'm an intruder, I believe early Sunday morning would be a good time to hit a house and carry out as much stuff as possible in the few minutes it takes for the alarm to alert the security companies to alert law enforcement. It would also be a good time for vandalism because the papers are a dead giveaway that no one is home.

Today Kathy and I celebrated our 41st anniversary. We ate at an Arby's (this is a long tradition and a family joke) and followed up by going to a TCBY. Love is grand.

Littleton:
I forgot that ballooning is big in this part of the world. I was walking around the yard this morning checking out the sprinkler system when I spotted the first balloons near Chatfield Reservoir. We went to a huge balloon show at Chatfield State Park two or three years ago and it was spectacular.
They've held a couple of shows in Casper but who knows when the wind will come up, what direction, or how strong. We saw one land in the parking lot of an apartment complex once. We saw another almost land in the North Platte River. I guess uncertainty puts some thrill in ballooning.
Anyway, there were several balloons in the air between 7:00 and 7:30 this morning. Since we will be close by, that will be another perk to living in our new house.
This first big balloon show I ever saw was in Otumwa (sp), Iowa quite a few years ago.

Littleton, CO-Walked to the mailboxes around the corner this morning. The USPS has been putting several mailboxes in groups to save on something (service, I think). It's pretty close but I miss our Casper system where we took something to box at the end of the drive, put up the flag, and waited for the mailperson. Now I will have no way to know if the mail has been delivered or not. I guess one advantage-Keri and Eric get their mail at the same cluster so we can pick up each other's mail.

Went to see Cabaret at the Events Center last night. It's part of the "Broadway in Casper" series. We've had season ticket since it first started. This is something we will really miss as we get to see touring shows at reasonable prices compared to some of the urban pricing. We'll also miss the Casper College productions. We were patrons there as well as at Stage III, which is the local theatre group. Bringing culture to the heathen west.