A less than sunny start...

Just to prove to the family and friends back in the Midwest that we aren't having perfectly sunny days every day - this is the view as I was coming home from work this morning! Actually, I could see the tops of the mountains, but it was cloudy and spitting some rain while I was driving. In fact, it is chilly this morning! The white topped, tan buildings in the far right background is UMC - where I work. This picture is from the UofA web cam, of course. Just before the cloud dropped in front of the mountains there were bits of sun hitting the top ridges and it was beautiful!

So, when Dean got home last evening he came walking toward the door saying "You've got a problem..." He noticed that the right front tire of my Jeep was flat! It was easy (relatively) to get it off the car and to his "tire guy" to have it repaired - though it was a bit like playing "Beat the Clock". He got home at 4:40pm and the tire place closes at 5pm! That was challenge enough, but there was the little detail of some 100lbs of oak table in the back of the Jeep - over the location of the jack! We pulled the table out of the Jeep so fast, got the tire off, and he made it to the tire place before they closed! He called shortly after that and said, "Did you know that these are the original tires?????" Well, yes, of course I knew that. The tire guy is recommending that I get new tires - and after 75,000 miles I guess I can see his point. I've never had a flat on this car - and in fact it's been years since I've had a flat tire on any car! I guess St. Goodyear has been watching over me all this time. While they couldn't find a cause, it was likely a nail hole - or perhaps a mesquite thorn that was the offending instrument. Fortunately, Dean saw it when he got home - and was (as always) - "My hero!"

We got the table set up last night. It's a little bigger than the old one, and takes up a bit more room. We may opt to keep it without the leaf in it, unless we have company for dinner and need the extra space. We can easily fit 6 people around it with the leaf in. I'm leaving it in for now, until I have a chance to get the top reconditioned. It's easier to get the table top and the leaf the same color and finish if they are lined up when I'm working on them. That's the project for the next couple of days!

I hope everyone reading this today has a wonderful Thanksgiving! Even in these very troubled economic times, we have so much to be thankful for. If you are reading this on a computer (duh), then you either have a job or the means to have access to said computer. That's more than the majority of the population of the world. If you have food on your table, and a roof over your head - again, you have more than the majority of the world. Not to be on a 'soap box' or anything, but if we take 5 minutes to watch the world news - and then look around us - we can see first hand what we have to be thankful for this year. So, I bid you all a very blessed Thanksgiving - and in your Thanksgiving prayer, as your family is gathered for 'the feast' - remember those who are far less fortunate.