I've had my three hours sleep. Up and at 'em!

Any weather change would be positive after Saturday. Sunday was very welcome.

I talked with Rian and he was preparing for his catering event (which was Sunday, I had thought it was Saturday and sure felt bad for him). While running his errands Saturday he observed visibility in Lubbock was the distance from one telephone pole to the next one. He said it was horrible.

Saturday night I had sorted and washed some butter beans and left them to soak over night. This was a new experience for me. Although Krl cooks them a few times a year, I have always been a red bean man. Yeah, bring on the "primo pintos"! With Krl coaching from the couch, I pressed forward. When I did grocery inventory I had come across a small boneless ham and I penciled in ham, butter beans and cornbread for a meal.

Hey, I told you I struggle with the menu.

I can remember a time growing up that you could tell what day of the week it was by what my Mom cooked. Pepa could give you the run down. Monday, left over Sunday roast, Tuesday hotdogs, and so on. My Mom has always been a wizzard at stretching food and utilizing leftovers. She would as soon cook for forty as to cook for her and Pepa.

I have a big problem cooking for just two, there are always leftovers. The problem is usually what to do with my leftovers. But I am learning. Krl and I laughed the other day because we ate colossal cheeseburger until it was all gone! I think it took three meals, but then it has always sold well. It did this cook's heart good! Krl is always looking for new ideas as she thinks we often get into a rut. We'll alternate weeks, one with lasagna the next with spaghetti. On rare occasions I will do shrimp and pasta with burgundy spaghetti sauce. I love hamburger helper, Krl doesn't. I love hot dogs, Krl doesn't. Krl loves grill cheese sandwiches, I don't, even though I cook a good one. We can't even agree on tacos, she likes soft. I like crisp! We are in agreement on fried food, we eat very little of it. Our preference would be grilled, but our regular fare would probably be baked.

During the years at the jobsite prior to Krl going there with me, I found I could use left overs to stuff baked potatoes. Left over meat and spaghetti sauce, bake a potato and stuff it with a portion of the left overs. Taco meat, same thing. Krl used to laugh because I would sometimes do a baked potato and some broccoli cheese and rice mix and stuff the potato with the rice mixture. She would tell me that's two from the same food group.

Hey, my four food groups are meat, potatoes, gravy and bread! What else is there?

Not really. We do try to eat healthier fares. Krl and both like vegetables. Shoot, we even eat broccoli. As we age it seems our diet includes more and more produce. I don't do desserts very often. I'm not into ice cream. I can take a pint and stretch it a month. If I have a weakness, it would be banana nut bread. I have never learned to cook it and that is on purpose. Krl's vice is cherry popsicles, one bite at a time. She can make one last for days. (Where's the fun in that!)

Enough from the kitchen. Tomorrow we'll cover the laundry room. I think the General is getting ready for another cleaning offensive. She sure gets mean after a doctor visit. Upside is we may get to use her parking permit! (For the record, I did start her day Sunday by making her an omelet and toast).

We go back to the orthopedic surgeon today. I'm sure more x-rays will be taken. I hope we can see some improvement. These regular office visits and co-pays are getting old. We had been trying to get things in order for Krl's dental work that had been scheduled in January for February 13. She broke her leg on the ninth. The dental work has been postponed because she can't dangle her leg down for a three hour root canal procedure. Maybe we can regain some dental funds by the time she can sit for the procedure.

I have eliminated two more things from the possibilities of what I'm going to be when I grow up. I'm not going to be a crook or a professional sports franchise owner. I'm not smart enough to be a crook. I just don't think like that. I'm too fair to be a franchise owner. I was raised with a good heart.

I have a hard time reading the sports reports of the Chicago Bears contract negotiations with Lovie Smith. Last year the club declined to offer him a contract extension. Their stance was, "O.K., you got us out of the basement of the league, now prove it was no fluke!" A year later he took the team to the Super Bowl, even though the lost. Lovie's record as a Head Coach is outstanding. He is scheduled to earn $1.45 million in 2007. Coordinators are making more than that. In fact Dom Capers, a coordinator of the Dolphins is making $2.7 million. Bobby Petrino, a new NFL coach signed a five year $24 million dollar contract. One of the arguments floating about is that the McCaskey family who own the Bears think they should be able to discount what other coaches make in the league because they gave Lovie the opportunity to become a head coach. Speculation is that when Forbes releases their NFL franchise information, for the past year the Bears will show a profit of $51.5 million dollars. I can't help but believe that will go up after the Bear's successful run to the Super Bowl.

My usual line is, "I'd do it for half!"

In this case, "I wouldn't do it for double!"

Make 'em pay Lovie!

Come on Chicago, do the right thing!

My buddy K.O., his wife D.O., and another couple left Friday morning and drove to Breckenridge, Colorado for the weekend. I told him they were nutz, with weather the way it has been up there they would probably get snowed in. He just laughed. Just for grins I decided to look at the weather there. They had a blizzard Saturday, dropping 12 to 18 inches of snow with gale force winds building snow drifts up to seven feet deep. Large segments of the Interstate Highway system are closed. This was K.O.'s first excursion to a winter playland. When we had talked I told him I remembered when the Jaycees from my hometown went snow skiing, the local apparel stores thrived. We had the best snowsuits available. When we arrived on the slopes we were stylin'! It didn't take long until everyone was about to melt down. All of the locals were wearing jeans and sweatshirts with long johns underneath. They sprayed their clothes with scotchguard to stay dry. It is a different kind of cold. However, yesterday the temperature in Breckenridge was 18 degrees.

Actually, if I can keep my feet and hands warm I can probably deal with almost anything.

Have a day!

FATHER, keep us centered, keep us focused. Keep us from extremes!