We’re here. Gruene. We want to be there. Red River New Mexico. We are gathered together in the name of music. Bags are packed. We’re ready to go. Nearly. Weather is the issue.

The odd thing about funerals is that sometimes it’s the only place you get to see all of your family together. It happened that way Saturday as we marked the passing of my brother-in-law.

The kids are up. The mom is up. The grandpa is up. I think our children are sleep deprived. They all got two days off because the Pasadena schools were closed after the recent tornado tore through town roughing things up.

There’s a nip in the air and frost on the ground. It’s early but the day has fairly started. The trash can is out, the cats are fed, and there’s a load of wash going.

Good news. We got an inch of rain yesterday. Better news. The driveway repair held. The rain ran down the drive in torrents, turned right at the low side, and kept on going down the drain into the street.

Woke to the sound of rain this morning. It’s still coming down, in a slow, measured pace. And it’s a cold rain, which makes little difference to the ground or the bluebonnets in the back pasture, and they are profuse.

One day in 1963 my journalism teacher suggested I contact the Houston Chronicle about becoming a stringer, covering high school football. I did. I got the job. That started a relationship with the Chronicle that lasted ten years.

Bought a book yesterday. It’s sure to keep me up nights. The Anatomy of a Paleozoic Basin: The Permian Basin, USA. I mean, we’re talking about a story that happens over the course of 540 million years.

There’s a bracing chill in the air this morning. The trash can was dutifully hauled to the street, and the cats fed. The latter’s dish was on the ground when I went out. a sure sign the raccoons were last to feed. I’ve encountered a possum or two, but raccoons bring families to the diner, and they’re boisterous.

It’s a moist morning. Fog. Low hanging clouds. We get a west wind later today. And our fire danger goes up. I was hoping for a wetter winter. But hope when it pertains to the weather is just that.

Felt like I could fly yesterday. A bit. Got good news. The old AAA, my abdominal aortic aneurysm, is stable. No signs of leakage or growth.

My new schedule seems to be agreeing with me. Weekends are free of alarm clocks and the pressure of writing. Weekdays still find me at the keyboard before daylight, but I’m sleeping later and better so that’s a win.

Normally, when I visit my son no one is up when I get up. So, it’s quiet and I write in silence. This morning everyone is up. The dog has gone out to do it’s business twice. Coffee is being brewed. Conversations are flowing and I’m having a devil of a time concentrating.

A weird thing happened on the way to spring. I took down the Christmas decorations. Packed them all away. The cleaning lady came. Presto. My house went from Christmas bright to being a clean, well lit place…

Went for another walk through my little town yesterday. Spotted another house for sale. This was by owner. That makes two within two blocks of each other.

Yesterday was a good day. All the Christmas decorations are down. Most of them are stored in the attic. I worked until I lost the light. And you lose the light early these days.

Christmas is officially over. January 6, the holiday’s 12th day is past. I have turned off the outside lights, and I’m starting, today, to dismantle the tree and take down decorations.

I remember the outrage, when we lived south of Alvin outside Houston, at the proposed route for the Grand Parkway. It was coming close. People were up in arms because it would destroy the countryside, the very reason they moved there.

I had a good day on the golf course yesterday. I got invited to fill in a foursome. Mostly guys around my age, and older. We played best ball which meant all four of us hit and then we played the best shot.

The full moon is coming. I like full moons. It came to my attention last night. I woke at an early hour and noticed the pasture bathed in soft light.