Election Update

The Early Voting schedule came out and I am not on it. Fourteen hour days for five days at a time are taxing in the best circumstances. And though Texarkana is fairly civil, I don't see any reason to subject myself to extra crazy. Besides, after the additional training we received on what to do if there's a bomb threat, active shooter and other types of discontented voters wishing to do more than express their right to vote, I'm not sorry. 

When I called to confirm I had the next two weeks off (yippee!) I was told there are too many folks who need additional training so Rich has the newer folks working Early Voting, giving the "seasoned" ones the time off. Whether it is truly that or it is because Rich's boss hates me--he really does--I don't care the reason. I'll take my sanity instead. 

I am working the election at my "usual" location in the hood. Plus, I'm working with my favorite Presiding Judge--this is our fourth election together. This time I'm the Alternate Judge. Other than the fact she will be the one signing the time cards, I'm not sure any of the roles and responsibilities between us will change. 

National Buckaroo Day

How can this one be 22?

It feels like just yesterday my baby was asking me to sew superhero costumes for him and selecting pretty rocks to give to me. Today, he, Marty and I went to Little Rock for his birthday lunch at his favorite dumpling restaurant. Tomorrow we will continue the celebration. Polly will be around and we will hang here, eat one of his favorite meals and play Uno and Settlers of Catan.  

A few pictures from through the years.

 

Patrick's Visit (The Vampire Diaries)

This is day 237 of 4 hours of sleep. The great news is I'm getting a lot done--like housecleaning, laundry and watching the weather updates on Milton*, because there isn't a lot to do at 3 a.m. in Texarkana.

My favorite human, Patrick and his mother (my wonderful sister-in-law) left yesterday. His cousins loved on him for four days, Buck took him geocaching and made all kinds of Lego creations which might actually impress a special architect friend of mine. Patrick liked the idea that he has toys in two different states. Additionally, Patrick and Polly made birthday cookies for Buckaroo. Even Luna got into the action, making sure to play with her long-lost pal every chance she got. 

We took an hour drive to Mount Pleasant (population 16,000) on Monday where we toured the Sweet Shop, the largest hand-crafted chocolate factory in US. The Sweet Shop provides private label the chocolate to many retailers including Nordstrom's, Neiman Marcus, Target and Buc-cees stores. Plus, between Patrick's charm and Buckaroo's self-proclaimed "drop dead gorgeousness" the two got their fair-share of free samples from the cute 20-something tour guide who would have been flipping her hair off her shoulder every time she smiled at Buck (or he at her), if we weren't all wearing hairnets in the factory. 

Patrick is enamored with all things Texarkana. Knowing this, last Christmas, I gave him a book series from Cal, a local author who writes books for boys. Cal is a friend and one of the fellow founding members of the Golden Quill Writers. He wanted to meet fan-boy Patrick. And Patrick wanted to meet his (ahem!) Favorite Author. Tuesday before Patrick and his mother drove back to Dallas, we went to Cal's office, where the meet-and-greet took place and Patrick got to meet "someone famous."
 

Patrick and Cal

*Speaking of Milton, I have a cousin in Tampa. Marty's Uncle Sunshine lives on an island west of Fort Myers and my brother Darwin is in Boca Raton--on the east side of the state.

  

Happy!

My favorite human, Patrick, arrives today!!!! 

How Big is this Place?

Maybe because I live on the very Eastern edge of the state, but I rarely think about how big Texas actually is. This morning, around 3 a.m., I was woken by a state-wide "Blue Alert" because 406 miles away a police officer had just been killed. To put that in perspective: my former home in Mesa, AZ to Venice Beach, Los Angeles CA is ALSO 406 miles.

I did a bit of digging and discovered these facts: 

North and South Carolina fit easily inside Texas with room to spare for Virginia, Alabama, West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee and Georgia. 

Also of note, I live closer to Chicago, IL than I do to El Paso, Texas. 

I live closer to Miami, FL than I do to Phoenix. 

And finally, Texas is twice the size of Italy and about the same size as the Ukraine.