Typically Texan

I'm headed out to a client's office this afternoon of March 30. I am wearing my leather coat.

It is a damp 48 degrees outside.

Wiley has three soccer games on Saturday. The high temperature is expected to reach 90.

Too bad there're no trade backs.

Nature or nurture?

January 4, 2011 - Looking at the Atlantic

I love being near an ocean. At the end of our January trip to Tallahassee, we went quite out of our way, on a cold, rainy day, so that I could see the ocean.

Even for thirty minutes, it was worth it.

In a perfect world, a world in which family and work were still close, I would live a block or two from a beach.

I was born and raised land locked, smack dab in the middle of Oklahoma, except for a couple of years that our family lived among Yankees. That's when, age eleven, I walked the boardwalk of Atlantic City and later in the year  had a Saturday outing to a Maryland beach.

Fast forward and my next view of the ocean was my freshman year of college. There were many trips to Galveston and a trip to Hawaii during the college years.

Fast forward to married life and we've been to Jamaica, Hawaii, Grand Cayman, the California coast,  Cancun and back to Galveston every now and then. On our many trips to Disneyworld we usually detoured off the interstate to drive along the coast of Mississippi.

My decorating style, if I wasn't too cheap to buy furniture not on sale, would be British Country. I finally figured out why it appeals to me. It's the same style used in the elegant island homes of the Caribbean.

Keeping the fast forward, I still live land locked, still think some day of the retirement home near the beach and only half-jokingly consider exploratory trips to Costa Rica. Realistically, I hope to spring for a month-long rental every now and then, maybe when I'm sixty-something. In my home, I settle for tropical themed decor.

I don't know the source of this oceanic compulsion. Maybe we always want what we can't have.

Longer than I've loved the ocean I've enjoyed watching and playing basketball. I read biographies of Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell and wore No. 6 in junior high. I grew up watching college basketball and the Celtics, one of my mom's passions.

This season, busier than ever, I've watched a few pieces of tournament games. My first loyalty is to the old "Big 8" with the "Southwest Conference" schools close behind. Anybody but Duke, North Carolina, UConn.....give me an underdog, instead.

So Texas goes out of the tournament unable to throw the ball inbounds. Counting on Kansas to keep me interested another week, they just lost to the much lower ranked Virginia Commonwealth. If I was Coach Self, I would have my players shooting 1,000 free throws a day this summer. Once again, their offense stumbled and their free throw percentage stank.

There's one more game to go - Kentucky vs UNC. I like Kentucky. If they win, I'll end up watching some more ball next weekend. If they lose, well then I won't have to live with the guilt of sneaking tube time when I should be working.

Another March, a lot of madness here. Wish me luck.

Elvis has left the building

Every year I treat myself to some new business toy - a new printer or computer or fancy shelving or pricey wall decor. Three years ago I replaced my five year old Dell computer with another Dell. The machine bought in 2003 was having compatibility problems with some of the newer hardware components and software programs and face it, five years is a long time to ride one computer.

Unfortunately, I picked the window of time (early 2008) during which computers only came with the Vista operating system. Blissfully ignorant of the trouble ahead, Ricky assembled my new computer and began moving software and data from old to new. After about fifteen hours of trial and effort, nearly everything worked. We had come "this close" to giving up and paying the restocking fee. But like many things in life, the more time spent getting the computer to work, the harder it was to cut our losses.

There were some programs and a printer that absolutely would not work with Vista. But my tax season was already fast and furious, so I made do. There were constant issues and a steady stream of Vista updates that fixed some problems while creating more.

We were miserable - the "we" being me constantly tearing my hair out over computer induced work stoppages and Ricky having to listen to my wails and be my IT guy while I hovered. I'm not a patient hoverer.

As the year progressed, Microsoft, admitting to its Vista disaster, began re-offering the XP operating system for new computers as they worked on a replacement for Vista. Fat lot of good it did me.

In surrender, I bought another new computer in early 2009 - an Apple laptop I used along with a desktop monitor. It has been much more stable on our home network and with the Intel chip, I could run my Windows based business software successfully.........for a while.

Approaching a critical deadline, the Apple hard drive crashed last summer and had to be replaced. Fortunately, I had my data backed up, but the Windows stuff never worked quite as well from then on. Meanwhile, Windows 7 released with good reviews. I put Windows 7 on the stupid Vista computer and got it back in business.

For the past six months, I've run all my tax software on the Windows 7 computer and my email and Office programs (Word, Excel) on the Apple. The two are networked, so that's all good.

It's kinda' like having two monitors with one computer. However...........my eyes are tired of the small laptop screen. I'm constantly shuffling keyboards and mice and could use more space on my desk. And good grief, keeping up with the cords is a job itself.

My little corner of the world

I have decided to put everything I use at work back on the Dell computer, including email and Office so that I will have one computer and one keyboard and will use two desktop size monitors.

Anticipating the laborious process of converting email, loading programs and getting everything working efficiently, I started thinking about this now three year old Dell computer. That's like fifty something human years.

Bottom line - I ordered a new computer, with the features I need and speed I can count on. And in this world of strange marketing, it was actually cheaper to customize a package deal they were offering with a monitor than to buy the same system without a monitor. So I will have two (nearly) new large monitors instead of one large and one medium. (Pizza, anyone?)

Ordered a few days ago, today it shipped!

The strange things that delight me - I can't wait for Elvis to arrive.

The Department of Redundancy Department

I'm trying to work this morning, but concrete saws have been going for hours just outside my office window. I feel like I'm two hours in to a dentist appointment of non-stop drilling. My ears are ringing.

Our house is on a corner. Workers are shaving off the curbs recently installed along the intersecting sidewalks.

A month ago we had neighborhood sidewalks which sloped to the street at every intersection, allowing easy movement for pedestrians, strollers, bikes, skates and the rarely seen wheelchair. Several years earlier, most offending sidewalks, those that required a step-off, had been replaced. So we have had politically correct, ADA approved sidewalks for some time.

A couple of months ago city crews began going through the neighborhood, tearing out corner sidewalks and replacing the concrete, rebar and slope with new concrete, rebar and slope. They added a doormat sized textured section near the street and added about two feet of curbing in each direction. Today they're lowering the curbing.

Essentially our city is spending months of man hours digging holes and filling holes.

Stimulus dollars at work.

My head is about to explode.

Day 4

At least the dogs enjoy the weather. After three days of ice, with temperatures staying in the teens, a layer of snow arrives to top it all off.



It's another day of school closings. Never in my fifty something years have I had four straight days of school closings. But it's the right call - the school parking lots and drives are still covered in thick sheets of solid ice.

My boys have gone a little stir crazy. Brian actually went to work yesterday, but the office was virtually empty. In desperation, today he entertained himself with the remote control to his new ceiling fan, running around the house to see how far away he can be and still turn his light off and on. His room is designed such that the regular light switch is outside his door. Now he can get in bed or sit at his desk and control the light. Sometimes it's the simple things that mean the most.

Wiley has gone for walks and enjoyed taking his car on short errands. We even let him drive a couple of blocks.

But mostly we're trying to appreciate the change of pace and ignore the endless Super Bowl hype.

A week for the record books, that's for sure.

Rolling, rolling, rolling

It's the second day of the ice storm of 2011, the storm that left 2-3 inches of solid ice on all driving surfaces and temperatures in the single digits. It's still not as bad as the Oklahoma blizzard of 2009, the difference being this time I am comfortably at home (except for needing Bob Cratchit gloves.)

And now I have to admit to the downside of working at home. Everybody else had a "snow day" yesterday. For Ricky, Kelly, Brian and Wiley there was no school, no jobs, just pajamas (although Kelly had to dress twice as her delayed start became a more delayed start and finally no start at all). Meanwhile, I completed several tax returns and two loads of laundry and even made it to the local close-out store for its 8:00 am opening (Hunter ceiling fans at half price!) Ricky and I made it to the hockey game last night in downtown Dallas. The highways were fairly clear, unlike all the side streets and parking lots. The friends we went with drove us in their big, comfy, 4-wheel drive SUV. We had our choice of seating in the arena.

Today more businesses are open, but no schools. The temperature is hovering around 10 degrees, with scheduled power outages to keep up with demand. The electric company doesn't like the term "rolling blackout." We've had two outages so far this morning, a little tough on computers and internet, so I'm now getting a bit of a snow day.

I always wonder, in a weather event like this, if the world can get by with delayed starts and temporary closings every now and then, why don't we schedule them more often?

At my daughter's new job, she usually finishes the day's assignment in about three quarters of the allotted time. Most jobs and activities are replete with scheduled breaks and time off and cushions for delays and allowances for the lowest common denominator.

Instead, I suggest we all protest and demand a 30 or 35 hour work week.

Work hard, play hard! My favorite motto.

Oh, No!

So I have my slush fund started to keep me stocked in SUV's for the rest of my life and another fund started to fund my trips to Costa Rica in twenty years to get the health care procedures I won't be allowed to buy in the United States.


Now I have to start stockpiling............Chocolate!


Will there be a chocolate drought? World’s supply of sustainable cocoa could run out by 2014

By SIMON WATKINS AND JO THORNHILL
Last updated at 9:04 AM on 28th January 2011

No-go: Fairtrade training schemes for farmers have ground to a halt because of political unrest in Africa

The world faces a chocolate ‘drought’ over the next few years, an expert warned yesterday. 

Political unrest in the Ivory Coast, where 40 per cent of the world’s cocoa beans are grown, has ‘significantly’ depleted the number of certified fair trade cocoa farmers.

Many have fled the West African country, while fair trade training programmes have also come to a halt.

Fairtrade training programmes have ground to a halt because of the danger farmers face in rural areas.

The situation is already affecting chocolate manufacturers, who are facing the highest cocoa prices for over 30 years.

Prices jumped by 10 per cent this month alone. Analysts are predicting they could soon hit $3,720 per metric tonne - a level last seen in January 1979.

It follows a curb on international cocoa exports initiated earlier this week by the country's new president,  Alassane Ouattara. 

Angus Kennedy, the editor of Kennedy's Confection and a leading British chocolatier, said chocolate producers are facing 'one of the biggest challenges to hit the industry in recent history'.

'Supplies of sustainable cocoa are set to run out, it's that simple,' he said.

Drying up: Ivory Coast cocoa supplies are under threat after many farmers have fled the country

'The Ivory Coast is a complete no-go area for cocoa traders as it's too dangerous, so training new farmers and trying to cut problems in the region is now, mostly impossible.

'So in effect, its sustainability is not sustainable. Prices can't go up as it's reported because there basically isn't enough certified cocoa left to sell.' 

Of the world's 5.5 million cocoa farmers, only 10 per cent have been trained and certified as sustainable fair-trade producers.

The certification is granted by specially-trained teachers, and the course runs for up to three years.

But the political turmoil in Ivory Coast means both the farmers and trainers are fleeing the country, leaving a severe shortage of certified cocoa beans.

Even if the political situation improves, it could take three years or more for the number of certified fair-trade farmers to reach its former level.

According to Mr Kennedy, manufacturers are now fighting for the rest of the world's sustainable cocoa bean stock.

'Things could get nasty now as producers start to fight over the last stocks,' he added.

Twenty five years ago

I spent the day in Shreveport, part of an audit team doing a final review of our utility client's  financial statement workpapers.

During the morning a rumor buzzed through the office - something had happened to the space shuttle. The rumor ebbed and flowed throughout the day.

There was no You-tube, no cell phones, no internet. Someone in the building had access to a television, but  essentially there was an information blackout, with newscasters as puzzled as we were.

Was it the shuttle or the booster rocket that had problems? Did the mission continue? Was there a splashdown? Were there survivors? School rooms across the country had been tuned in to watch the "first teacher" blast off to space. Space flights were still a big deal.

It is hard to describe the void of information. The shock was similar to the events of September 11, 2001, of course on a smaller scale. But in 2001 we all knew, instantly, what had happened, just not why. In 1986 it was hours before we even knew the "what."

Our group finished up and in the evening flew from Shreveport to Corpus Christi, the location of the next day's assignment. For some reason I thought people at the airports would know something more about the shuttle. Nope.

Watching the evening news in my Corpus Christi hotel room, it was finally confirmed that the shuttle had exploded and all had perished.

What a day. What pioneers our astronauts are.

About to eat the frog

Believe it or not I am updating my blog.

It's not like there haven't been a dozen things to celebrate or commiserate over.

But there was a series of unfortunate events right at the end of the year, none of them unbearable, but lumped together, quite wearing.

I kept meaning to write, but always had an excuse........needed to upload pictures, needed more time, didn't want to spill any beans, too tired, out of town, or just general obstinance.

It was always tomorrow.

And the longer it has gone, the bigger the (writer's) block. I could have written whole chapters by now. Each day I said I would reward myself by putting up a new post and each evening I've gone to bed making the same empty vow for the next day.

Dug in to a hole of my own making, I am now climbing out.

One of the things I got to participate in a couple of weeks ago was the aptitude testing my son did. It was a two day process of testing for him and then I sat with him as he received the results - an assessment of his abilities, interests and work/learning habits.

The counselor recommended a particular book designed to help people like him (and me) stop procrastinating.



I'm going to get it, soon, really.

Mysteries

A week ago I was getting ready for our trip to see my friend inaugurated as governor. As usual, I was compelled to get caught up on laundry. I can let laundry pile up for weeks, but a looming trip sets a hard deadline. I can't overcome this odd compulsion, so just go with the flow.

Part of the clean laundry included a pair of boxer shorts, a style and color worn by the men in my family. Which pile? The tag shows "XL." No one in the family is an XL. No one can explain.

Of course I had to do some shopping for the trip, just some hose and makeup. Buying makeup required me to actually look at my face, though, and see the freckles that are now spots, the new and deeper lines and the wild hairs.  I would smooth the eyebrow hair sticking up and then smooth the one sticking down. I finally figured out it was the same hair, most of the time sticking straight out. How long has that been going on? I've trimmed it (the shampoo lady at the salon says don't pull it as the hair won't grow back when you're this age) and will be vigilant against future outbursts.

On a positive note, six months after surgery, I finally feel back to normal. A couple of weeks ago, the low level pain and exhaustion were gone. One day I was still recovering and the next recovered. Just like that. Just before Christmas, too.

Eventually, I will tell the stories of the "Great Christmas Surprise" and the "Family Drama" of the week after Christmas. It's nice to have 2010 in the rear view mirror.

2011 is starting with a bang. Happy New Year!

Black Gold

I've called Krista our golden dog, particularly because of her early battle with the parvo virus. She has cost us thousands of dollars. But it was so much fun having a dog that we got a second dog last May. Surely, with our hard won knowledge on how to protect a puppy, Winston would be affordable entertainment.

Winston was my Mother's Day gift. He should be this year's Christmas gift as well and probably next year's birthday gift, too, because Winston has created a whole new set of expenses.

Winston is exuberant! A few inches taller than Krista, he easily leaps over the baby gates placed to keep him in the kitchen. He is still in the puppy stage of chewing. He has chewed numerous papers and boxes, dog beds, my new boots and the cushion of our brand new couch. Fortunately, the couch was new enough I could order a replacement for the cushion and the boots were on sale when I re-purchased them.

And then there are the little things. Winston chews through his leashes and pulls the stuffing out of his toys. I give him "bones" to chew but Krista, ever the boss, takes them away. Fortunately, Winston likes his crate, since that is where he has to be when no one is in the house. Krista won't follow him into the crate, so he can chew in peace when he has a favorite treat. We go through lots of treats, enough to justify our Costco membership, for sure.

The other line item now in our grocery budget is Cheerios. Need Winston and Krista to settle down? Throw a handful of Cheerios on the kitchen floor. Need to work on good behavior? Feed them toasted oat by toasted oat. I should buy stock in General Mills.

But mainly I just enjoy our dogs. They are gorgeous. (And here they're sitting, quivering, intent on the next Cheerio!)

It's a great Christmas week so far. Kelly's full time job is going great. (Man, that sentence sounds good!) All the kids are fine, as a matter of fact. Ricky finished the Christmas shopping yesterday - that has to be a record, done three days before Christmas. Can't say too much about that now, though.

All in all, we are having one of our most blessed holidays ever.

Merry Christmas, Y'all!

A Guest Post - Christmas Goodies

Time for a guest column!

My home growing up bore a strong resemblance to the June Cleaver house in that Daddy worked and the home was Mama’s domain.  She did all the housework, including especially the cooking (and we boys weren’t taught how to cook).  Now food was important in my house growing up – we planned car trips around favored restaurants on the road.  Dinner was always at 6, and we almost always had some type of a dessert.

Now Mama was a good but basic and straightforward cook.  The things she cooked were always tasty and well-prepared, but definitely not “gourmet.”  Our food was not very flashy.  But at Christmas time, the desserts did get a bit fancier, with a number of recipes my Mama accumulated over the years, ranging from divinity to teacakes.

Fastforward to my early years as a lawyer.  The first firm I worked at had a food feast for weeks leading up to Christmas.  Every day one or two of our group would bring in a treat, lawyers and staff alike.  And being competitive lawyer types, we didn’t buy stuff – we made it.  So I started learning how to make some of the really good treats my Mama made – pralines, divinity, etc. etc.

These days it has become my tradition to go candy and treat crazy during Christmas.  Beginning before Thanksgiving I start making candy, cookies and snacks until we almost can’t eat it all.  (Bear in mind that Kerry makes about 20 batches of her fudge for family, friends, and clients during this same time frame).  I use some of Mama’s recipes, some from my Grandma, and some from my mother-in-law.  I get new recipes from the internet and from the newspaper.  The first time I met my son-in-law’s parents, his father and I spent the evening comparing recipes.

So far this year I’ve made six batches of spicy Chex mix, two batches of peppermint chocolate chip meringue cookies, one batch of toffee, two batches of peanut brittle, one batch of divinity, two batches of Wyatt’s Cafeteria’s egg custard, and two batches of soft tea cakes.

Here’s what’s left to go (at a minimum):  more Chex mix, pralines, lots more meringue cookies (Kerry’s favorite), more toffee, more peanut brittle, white chocolate covered pretzels, more egg custard, at least two batches of sugar cookies (Kerry mixes the dough, I bake the cookies, and the kids decorate them), and I’m sure I’ll make more tea cakes.

Hungry yet?

If you read Kerry’s blog (and you obviously must!), you know our family moves at a ridiculous pace.  Now you know how we get the energy.  One of the things I enjoy about making all of this (besides eating it) is that every member of the family has their own favorites, and they seem to change over the years and even over the season as we gorge on one or another of my confection concoctions.

Merry Christmas from Ricky!  I love you, Kerry!