May 29 - This, That, and a Real Buzz-Cut

I have no idea what I'm going to write about today. As I sit here, laptop atop my lap, punching at keys without deep thought or any idea of the structure of a well-thought-out journal entry, we'll all just have to wait and see what develops.

It's been 11 days since my last entry. After a string of daily entries for the previous 6 weeks as we made our way from Texas to Washington, my writing muscles are taking a break. I can't deny that there's been a real shortage of available time for writing as most of our available hours are focused on family... especially grand kids. While in town we like to relieve the regular local cast of caregivers... which means picking kids up from school, getting them to activities and appointments, running errands, and helping with household chores. It's a change of pace for us and a nice break for Mom, Dad, and others at the same time.

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Speaking of change:  just a few moments ago Dar said "com'on... let's get this haircut done while the little one is napping". For the record, I've been having Dar cut my hair since I transitioned to a very short "buzz-cut" a few years ago. It's a style that's easy to do, easy to take care of, and really fits in with our nomadic life. It just looks like hell... something I can deal with at my advanced age, what with not caring what other people think, and all. I've been trying to get 10 minutes of Dar's time to give me the buzz for the past two weeks. It had grown out enough that hat-hair and bed-hair were becoming obvious. My mop was now over two months old... felt like a dang hippie.

We've found, over the years, that the #1 or #2 attachment for the clippers is about right... leaving enough fuzz up there to let others know I can grow hair, but short enough to last 4 to 6 weeks before having to clip it again.

Well, Bunkie, today we've broken into new territory... crossed a barrier never crossed before... boldly gone where, at least, this guy has never gone before.

After the first couple of long passes down the middle of my head with the clippers, from forehead to nape of neck, she suddenly stops and says "Oh No! I forgot the attachment!"

"What?"

"No attachment... I was wondering why it looked so short." Then she started laughing. It's so short the only way to know it's not a shaved pate' is to feel it. A little like 200 grit sandpaper.

I didn't find it especially funny.

I guess this would be the time to start running the Norelco over it every morning... and fire the barber.

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Last weekend, the 19th and 20th, we drove up to Kirkland, Washington, a Seattle suburb, to see our Son and Daughter-in-Law... JT and Kaytlyn. Besides wanting to spend some time with these two, we wanted to see the new home they bought a few months ago.

Due to a scheduled chicken-butchering operation late Friday afternoon (another story), we couldn't even start the 3+ hour drive until after 7pm, which didn't seem like the worst idea as it might give the legendary Seattle traffic a chance to thin out a bit. But if the traffic we ran into when we got to the metro area about 9pm was "thinned out", I'd have to take a full dose of tranquilizers to survive the "full monty".  To add to the packed roads, it was dark, it was raining, and fatigue was starting to set in. I think we'll figure out another plan for our next visit. At the very least, chickens shouldn't delay us next time.

JT & K's home is very nice... and in a great neighborhood. Kirkland is a NE suburb with a vibrant feel and close to both urban attractions and outdoor recreational opportunities. We helped them with installing a raised garden, fixing a couple leaky faucets, and made many more plans for future visits. Having a house is not unlike having an RV... there's always something to do... something to fix... something to change.

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We've been stepping up our discussions regarding our future... and some ideas are starting to gel. As readers of this journal will remember, we're thinking about where we're at after 5 years of fulltime life... what we like about it and what we don't, and where we'd like to go... how we'd like to change some things up for a more rewarding experience. I'll have more to say in a future post, but here's a link to a few past posts with some of our formative thoughts.