Thursday, March 02, 2006

Yeah, it is Winter in Texas, Care Group Update

Yesterday it was 88 degrees (31 for my non-American readers) here in North Central Texas while today's expected high is 70. A couple of weeks ago it was cold and windy. That is what winter is like here. Shorts one day, heavy coat the next.

It is always windy here and hot winds are not bad (they sort of remind me of the beach) but the colder ones are not so pleasant. It may not get too cold here normally, but add a 20 mph wind behind it and you will chill very quickly. Add rain to the mix (which is predicted tonight and tomorrow) and you have fun time.

I left the building yesterday (shocker!!) at lunch time and enjoyed the sun. I rolled down the windows in my truck and worked a couple of crossword puzzles. I recently have rediscovered working puzzles. It used to be one of my favorite quiet hobbies, but I stopped doing them for years. I guess since I have slacked off reading quite so many novels, this is a good thing.

I walked my yard last night after I got home and before we left for care groups. I see very few weeds, only a couple patches of crab grass, but a lot of winter rye grass. Here they normally only plant drought resistance grass (Bermuda, St. Augustine, etc) that dies in the late fall/early winter and does not green up again until March. So 4-5 months of the year, your grass is nice and icky brown. Some people plant less hearty grass (Fescues, rye, etc) but water the crap out of it so they can have green all year long. Some of those grass seeds get blown into yards and mix with the other grass. The result is brown spots in the summer and bright green sections in the winter where the less hearty grass is. Right now, I have a perimeter around my house and fence that is bright green. It is also 8+ inches high. Since firing up the lawn mower is useless right now, I will just pull out my trimmer and cut it down low. I will most likely have to start mowing at the end of this month. That will be kinda nice, since it offers me a bit of extra cash to pay bills with.

I was rather tired when my wife and I made it to care groups. The meal was chicken fajita's and it was great. We had a variety of dips and tortilla chips (blue corn, etc), fresh guacamole and pinto beans. I was glad it turned out so well. The meal helped perk me up for the small group discussion.

Our group has about 15 members, which is bigger than what we really need. We are going to split at some point, but know one knows for sure when that will be. I have suggested splitting by gender and that has been received well by a few people, some of which assumed would not like that idea. I was happy to be wrong.

We got home and watched "Law and Order", one of the few shows we watch with any regularity. After that was over, we hit the hay. I was actually falling asleep during the last few minutes and was very much looking for bed. Despite only getting 6 hours sleep, I woke up felling pretty refreshed. Being a commute day, I did not have to work as hard to get ready on time. My wife usually is not ready until 7:20 to 7:30, so I get that time as extra.

This afternoon is going to be busy. I have 2 meetings scheduled that I have to attend as well as waiting (still) on instructions to complete the data cable assembly.

Well, I am going to see if I can bum a ride to Wendy's for lunch. No leftovers or frozen food for me to munch on...and we are out of bread.

Oh well.

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