Seems like fall is just around the corner, watch out it’ll be here before you know it. It’s a bit after 5am and Mom and I are up as she has a store wide meeting at 6:15 this morning. I’ll be taking the boys to swim team (the oldest) and then Mom will be home by 7:30 to take over which is good timing with my conference calls starting then.
We had a bunch more rain yesterday with more scheduled for today and tomorrow, and then it’s supposed to clear out for a few days. In the morning we headed up into the mountains to some friends who make their living (his misses still works a regular 9 to 5) building custom saddles in the old way of the greats like Frazier and Gallup (pioneers in saddle making) when Pueblo Colorado was the saddle making capital of the world. (this was around the late 1880’s until around 1940 for those of you who might be interested) Allen, our friend, is a transplant from Alabama but is quite the craftsman making saddles for all kinds of people including the likes of Tom Selleck and Buck Henry and other notables who’s names you wouldn’t recognize. His saddles don’t cost much more than the more mass produced versions, they just use rigging styles reminiscent of the original designs meaning some of the straps are on the outside, the swell and cantles are higher and they’re a lot more comfortable than what you’re used to if you have ever rode much. His wife and the misses are designing some leather and cowhide pillows together as the misses keeps seeing these for hundreds of dollars plus they’re always difficult to find. Now’s the time to work my magic and get him some good orders so we end up getting  couple for ourselves for free! Don’t underestimate me, I’ve already set the table and I’ll get it done somehow!
Yesterday the dogs had a much needed walk and Mom got her nails done late in the afternoon. I have to get about 20 boxes of wine packed and shipped Fed Ex to Chicago today while the misses will give the house a quick once over and then shop for dinner tonight with Paolo and Kristina and a couple of friends that are coming over. Sometime today, probably around noon, the misses will pick Kristina up and they’ll spend the day together until Paolo is dropped off late in the afternoon. All in all, it’ll be a busy day.
The oldest just asked if he could skip swim team just this once. Funny the misses and I were just discussing this and I told him ok as they’re pretty tired and have been swimming 7 days in a row now for over a month. You can actually see their shoulder muscles changing and getting more definition. The main reason I agreed is because the little one is still sleeping and I’d need to wake him to drop off the older guy. He needs his sleep much more than his older brother from an attitude standpoint.
It looks like at least two (maybe four) of us are headed to Wyoming this weekend for some family riding. We’ve been trying to get up there for a few weeks but between swim meets and wine arriving and the holiday weekend, it kept getting put off. Both boys (especially the older one) are all in when it comes to horses. We’re lucky we have numerous friends with horses that we can ride anytime we want, just wish they were in this state! This might be trumped though as Uncle T and Aunt B have offered to have the boys for a sleepover this coming Saturday. Now even though riding horses is way up there on their list, not much can compete with a night and T & B’s! We’ll leave it up to the boys. Might just be the misses and I which would be ok too as it’ll be nice to have a mini break.
I’m too tired to go much into the economy and politics. I did run into a guy I went to high school with yesterday at the grocery store. He recognized me and I him but had to ask him his name. After talking for a couple minutes he broke down and started telling me how this economy is so rough and how he’s fighting to hang onto his house. Now here’s a guy I haven’t seen in 37 years, who in the grocery store, after 120 seconds of conversation, breaks down almost to tears and starts venting on the economy and his troubles. I think that right there about says it all. It’s rough out there and a lot of people are hurting, regular people, not the rich disaffected politicians in Washington, but the guy on the street. Many people that are a lot smarter than you or I are warning of the likes of civil unrest as things get worse. I sure hope they’re wrong but the average guy on the street doesn’t have much if anything, to fall back on if it all goes south. So once again (then I’ll stop I promise) please buy a little extra food and put away a few hundred dollars in small bills (or better yet some pre 1964 silver coins) someplace safe, if you can, for a rainy day. Things are only going to get more expensive before things get better.
In closing here’s a quote from many many years ago, in fact hundreds of years ago, think about it, take care and God Bless
“Besides the noble art of getting things done, there is the noble art of leaving things undone. The wisdom of life consists in the elimination of non-essentials.” – Yutang Lin