Sleep Deprived

It is amazing how wonderful my water lilies are doing now that there are no fish to rip them apart, water lily "Texas Dawn".

Generally I sleep like a log, waking when the alarm goes off at 5:30 stumbling down the hall with all the dogs in front of me.  But for the past month or more I wake between 3:30 and 4:00 and try as I might I just can't get back to sleep, my brain is on overdrive so I just lay there knowing that it is too early to get up because those damn dogs will just hurdle down the hall in front of me thinking it is time for their breakfast.  Feeding them early would only mess up their schedule.  So shit, there I lay trapped in my bed by those f_ _ _ ing dogs.
Youngest son Ian and his family are in Alaska for a friends wedding, so his elderly dog Ninja has been added to the mix.  She has a very bad heart so goes into these coughing fits that are enough to scare the dead.  She is very spry for an old dog, eats well and knows that potty goes outside not inside.  When among our dogs she is the dominate little bitch she has always been.   So while I lay there I contemplate what is the reason I can't sleep?

Little Ninja

Reason #1
I will be retiring this October, this is the third year that I "Was going to retire."  The difference this year is that I have hired a financial wizard to plan everything for me.  It was more than a month ago that we met with him and there have been no calls back and no plan offered.

Reason #2
My lovely wife is extremely stressed with the closing and moving of her school to another high school and all the work packing up thousands of heavy text books and making sure they are safely housed in the new location.

Reason #3
My father has moved out of his house and is now living with my younger brother.  Our neighbor is a realtor and has committed to getting the house on the market.  The house is empty except for a neat pile of things that will be taken down to Arizona to my twin brother who really does not need anything else.  There is also a table saw in the garden shed that our youngest son Ian was planning on taking home, but he and his family are in Alaska.  My father who is normally very laid back seems to be channeling my late mother.  She would have had all that stuff hauled to the curb insisting that it all be gone.  So the table saw is coming here to my already burgeoning garage and then when Ian gets home it will be moved again to his garage.

Never got this posted....because things have not slowed down and there have been a few changes!!!

Reason #4
I went to start my work van and nothing happened, so I had the auto club take it to my garage. "Engine is ceased up can't even turn it by hand, no sense in putting any more money into it."  So I donated it to charity auction (Humane Society) and it is now a tax write-off.

Goodbye sweet prince

Reason #5

I took Vivian the Volvo out of her semi retirement explaining to her that she is once again my only mode of transportation.

Vivian the Volvo 36 years old

I made one trip and realized she needed some work, so off to the shop we went and in a couple of days Vivian will be sporting some new shocks front and rear and all her little loose things tightened up so that she will no longer rattle down the road, and I got it all at a bargain price of just under a thousand.

Reason #6

My father's house sold after it put on the market for only a few days.  It sold for twelve thousand more than the asking price.  That is all good but I have no work van and Vivian is in the shop so no vehicle to hook my trailer to in order to retrieve the table saw that is still in my fathers house.

Reason #7

We just spent a whopping bunch of money for a Central Air system to be added to this big old house.  Install date is July 2nd.  It is supposed to be over 100 degrees and high humidity this weekend.  Where is all that famous Oregon rain?

Reason #8

MeMa's little VW Beetle is showing sign's of major transmission troubles, so a decision has to be made to spend the money (several thousand) or once again have a car payment for a newer car.

Reason #9

July 5th not only is my 62nd birthday but MeMa and I will running with hundreds of children on the streets of Disneyland.  Just the two of us in our "Happy Place."

Reason #10

July 5th, just isn't coming fast enough.

2012