Thursday, October 13, 2005

Back to work he goes……

My son William has been helping us paint and fix up our rent house for the last couple of months. He had been working on an oil rig up in Wyoming and had come home for various and a sundry reasons. Last week a friend of his told him about a job up in Tolar, Texas which is just west and south of Ft. Worth. Since he doesn’t have a car at the moment, I drove him up there. He washed his clothes and got his gear bag ready and we left around 6:00am. for the drive. I had looked on Yahoo maps, the night before, for driving directions and I highlighted my big road map with a yellow highlighter. I threw a couple of bottle of water and a can of nuts in the car and off we went.

When we left it was still dark. Houston morning traffic was already in gear and I was glad that we were going in the opposite direction. By the time we had reached Hempstead, the sun was coming up. We turned off on Hwy. 6 and settled in for a long drive. The more north you drive, the more hills you start to see. You have got to remember that Houston is completely flat. The only hills you will see in Houston are the freeway overpasses. I can’t even remember what town we had breakfast in, but I needed the stop so I could stretch and wake up better. A caffeinated soda along with breakfast did the trick.

Hwy 6 is a small freeway with only two lanes going each direction. We drove thru many a small town. I started realizing just how beautiful Texas is. With the hills, green grass, cows, farm equipment and the amazingly clear sky, I started thinking what it would be like to live in a small area. There weren’t grocery stores on every other corner, no string of stop lights, no fire trucks blaring there horns, no children waiting for school busses. I thought to myself, “I could live in a small town”. I suppose I am getting older and a small town appeals to me now. Who knows, I could go stark raving crazy out there.

Ok, back to the story. We drove thru Bryan/College Station, Waco and other towns along the way. We finally reached Tolar around 11:00am. We found the main office along the highway and the “yard” as William called it. He went inside and talked to the management. While he was inside a friend of his from Wyoming walked in and they had a friendly hello. The man interviewing William asked him how he knew Jeffery Dan. William told him that he had broken him in when he was new up in Wyoming. Evidentially they like Jeffery Dan so William got the job. Boy was he happy. He was told to come back in two hours to fill out the paperwork. We drove into Grandbury, TX. to have lunch and do some shopping at Wal-Mart. We went back to the job site and William went in and filled out the appropriate paper work and was told to report for work the next morning. Jeffery Dan had already offered to let William stay with him. It couldn’t have worked out better. We said our good buy’s and I headed home.

It was already 5:00pm and I had a four and a half hour drive ahead of me. I turned on the radio and started my trek. I made it back, with one small short cut, coming in the back way. I was so tired I was ready to crash…. I’m so glad that William is back out doing what he loves. My grocery bill should go down dramatically now. It’s amazing just how much one young man can eat. Ahhh…… We have the house to ourselves once again.

This has got to be the cutiest thing you ever saw.....

Tip of the day….Gift sized cookie mix in a jar...right here.

Update: The Astros lost their first game to the Cardinals last night. They left the bases loaded in the third inning and just couldn't get their offense working. I found out this morning that Andy Pettitte had hurt his knee during batting practice and had pitched the game with a swollen knee. No wonder his game was off. Hope we do better tonight.

Update: The Astros just won game 2. Roy Oswalt was amazing. They come home all tied up. Roger Clements on the mound on Saturday. ...Go Rocket and go team.

Update: The Astros won game 3. Roger the Rocket held his own and kept us in the game. Qualles and Lidge did their job and we had just enough offense to win the game. We kept Pulhols from hurting us. On to game 4 today with Backe. Keep your fingers crossed.

Update: The Astros won game 4! Brandon Backe and the relief staff were awesome. This was a real nail biter, right down to the last out. Tomorrow it's Andy Pettitte vs. Carpenter. This should be a low scoring game. I hope we win it tomorrow in front of the home crowd. I have to go wash my lucky Astro shirt for tomorrow's game....

Update: The Astros just lost game 5! We were ahead 4 to 2 with two outs. All we needed was one more out and the series was ours. Brad Lidge got a little too excited and allow the little pest Eckstein to get a little hit on two strikes, then Edmonds was very patient and got walked. Then the worse person in the world came up to bat, Albert Puhols. Lidge left one out over the plate and Puhols got all of it. He hit a towering home run into, actually over, the Crawford boxes. It was devestating. We were so close. Well, the good thing about this is that we still have two more chances to take the series. The Astro's will have to go back to St. Louis now and get the job done. Unbelievable!!!!! I'm still in disbelief!!!!!

Update: The Astros win game 6.......We are going to the World Series. I am really excited. Roy Oswalt was awesome!!! YAHOOOOO!

27 Comments:

At 2:28 PM, Blogger Tammy Williams said...

Sounds like a good trip. Congrats to your son, who just so happens to have my new last name:) Blessings!

 
At 3:00 PM, Blogger Jamie Dawn said...

I have a cousin who used to give those homemade cookie mixes in a jar every Christmas. She always had a new fancy way of dressing up the outside with ribbon or lace. I miss her doing that! I will have to find out why she stopped.

 
At 6:19 PM, Blogger Drywall Mom said...

Mom, I don't think that your grocery bill will ever go down. You have always shopped for a family of five or more when you buy bargains. :)

 
At 10:36 PM, Blogger Lucy Stern said...

Jen, I'm buying food storage. I don't buy anything that we are not going to eat. I really don't think we will have to buy milk every other day now. If we go thru a gallon a week I will be surprised.

 
At 11:36 PM, Blogger BarbaraFromCalifornia said...

Actually, it does sound as if your son had a good trip.

Many blessings.

 
At 6:36 AM, Blogger lime said...

such a great feeling to look around and realize youare in a place you love. thanks for the comment over at asylime. have a great day!

 
At 8:06 AM, Blogger Paul said...

One of the neat things about the sweep of our country covering so much of the continent is the diversity of landscapes. Sometimes it's hard to know which I like best, though there's a tendency for a lot of us to like the kind of place we grew up in.

 
At 3:02 PM, Blogger stebbijo said...

Hey thanks for the tip on the gift size cookie mix in a jar! That is great.

 
At 3:46 PM, Blogger Linda Jones Malonson said...

Texas is beautiful Lucy ... I love the hill country.

I am rooting for the Astros of course ... and thanks for the cookies link, I never thought about Cookies in a Jar before.

I should be gettting college credits on what I am learning via blogging ... glad you made it back safe and sound.

 
At 9:58 PM, Blogger Oh great One said...

What a day! I don't know about you but driving for a long period of time can be quite exhausting!

 
At 2:04 AM, Blogger Live, Love, Laugh said...

sounds like you have been busy! I know what you mean when you have the house all to yourself, there is nothing quite like the peacefulness of being home alone with my honey. The house is so quiet, but when the boys are home or someone is visiting, the silence is shattered. lol

 
At 2:45 PM, Blogger Big Dave T said...

It's nice to get your kids out on their own. I'm betting that's easier to do in Texas than it is in Michigan (sigh).

Dave

 
At 3:02 PM, Blogger S said...

Hi! Thanks for stopping by my blog! I love roadtrips! The longest one I ever did was from Los Angeles to Fairbanks, Alaska, then from Fairbanks to New York City, then on to San Francisco, then back to L.A. Whew! That was long!
Happy weekend, fellow blogger, and, enjoy your silence!

 
At 3:53 PM, Blogger Nettie said...

Oooh sounds like a gorgeous drive. I've grown to love those.

 
At 4:47 PM, Blogger Trinity13 said...

Glad you got back okay!

I love the cookie mix jar idea. I might have to do a few of them for Christmas gifts!

Btw, thanks for stopping by my blog!!!

 
At 11:30 PM, Blogger Doug Bagley said...

Are you L.D.S.? I am too. How cool is that?

 
At 11:11 AM, Blogger Joy said...

very cool.

 
At 6:07 PM, Blogger Doug Bagley said...

Hey Lucy,
Thanks for viewing my blog.
Yes I'm fairly new to blogging, but I've been at it since June or July. There should have been more posts than this one. Wonder what I did.

 
At 8:43 PM, Blogger Lindsey said...

I can't even think about the Astros now. I'm still bummed over their win over our Braves. :0(

 
At 8:59 PM, Blogger Suzy said...

Thanks for visiting my blog. I have just been reading some of yours and it is very interesting. Good luck to your son with his new job.

 
At 4:22 PM, Blogger Lucy Stern said...

PB, It's going to awesome if we can win this in front of the home crowd....Let's see what Pettitte can do tonight. Pins and needles here too.

 
At 11:29 AM, Blogger Lucy Stern said...

PB...Your backs are still against the wall...so are ours for that matter. I still can't believe it happened.

 
At 3:08 PM, Blogger Lucy Stern said...

Rematch tonight...Yea! Roy Oswalt. I sure hope we can get some offense tonight. I think the pitching will be good for both sides. I sure hope the momentum hasn't shifted back to St. Louis. I'll be glued to the tube...I hope they walk Puhols ever time he comes up. He is just too dangerous. He came through for you at just the right time...Oh man, what a mistake pitch...Well it's not over till the fat lady sings!!!!

 
At 6:40 PM, Blogger Lucy Stern said...

PB, The popcorn is ready and I have a diet Dr. Pepper for the game. I also have a bottle of sparkling grape juice chilling in the frig for the victory...Good luck to you too.

 
At 11:19 PM, Blogger Lucy Stern said...

WED DID IT!!!YAHOOOOOO! I didn't allow myself to get over excited tonight and patiently waited for that last out. What a thrill... Thanks for the fun..Cheer for the Astros now.

I bet it is going to be hard seeing Busch Stadium toren down. I know that you are getting a new stadium, but there is always something special about the old stadium. I like our new Minute Maid park, but I miss the Astrodome. I met my husband there and I worked there, and I have seen many a game there. Good luck..

 
At 10:31 AM, Blogger Running2Ks said...

That bird on Animal Planet was so darned cute!

 
At 10:43 AM, Blogger see-through faith said...

Hope your son is doing great.

will he come home for thanksgiving?
and that turkey (grin?)

 

Post a Comment

<< Home