Off we go!

To this "Stockyards" area of Fort Worth. We're in search of cold beer, so I think we may be in luck. If y'all never hear from me again, it means we found too much fun, and I'm either:
A) in the county lockup
B) fleeing to Mexico

Heh. I love it when I can drag Mr. Abby out for the evening.

Asking for info

I didn't realize that 90% of my readership was in Texas. But since y'all are here...I need some input if any of you are my gun people.

I can carry here on my Florida permit, since technically, I'm not a Texas resident. However, once I have a house, I'll get a Texas DL so I can buy more guns. At that point, it'll be pretty hard to pretend I'm a Florida resident.

I'm going to be looking for a Texas CHL class in the DFW area. Any recommendations? Anybody know if I can take class before I have a Texas DL (maybe during the next month before the family comes back)?

Now I remember

why I hate civilian work. Man, that's four days of my life I won't be getting back. But it could have been worse.

We wrote a contract today on a place in North Richland Hills. Apparently the schools are good there. I dunno - all I know is they can close quickly, and that makes me happy. Further, this place is simply begging to have a tiki bar built by the pool, and so I now have something to think about.

I could, of course, spend time figuring out what sort of furniture needs to go inside (since the stuff in Florida is on its last legs, for the most part), but I'd rather try to think of the appropriate outdoor drinking setup. And outdoor lamps, since we're wired for them...

More pointlessness

Nobody is talking about anything useful lately - the news is full of crap. Rosie leaves The View? Don't care. TB patient flies to Canada, drives across border? Don't really care about that, either.

There are some more televised presidential candidate debates coming up next week, which might be a good reason to sit around and drink beer and yell at the TV.

I think we're finally done driving around looking at houses - we've got one that will work just fine. It's also currently unoccupied, which is pretty darn handy.

Alright. I'll stop now. My rule is - if I have nothing to say, I will say nothing. Thanks for bearing with me during this transition. Mornings and evenings provide plenty of time for bloggage - more so in the evenings now that I don't have to go rule on houses in the evenings.

Republicans

So it appears that Fred Thompson is super-definitely going to join the race. That's nice, but I'm not one who has been rabidly awaiting the announcement of the pending announcement. I do find Fred appealing, but there are months yet for all these guys to melt down, freak out, and have evidence of their youthful dalliances with livestock surface.

So I'll wait.

But I do get a kick out of the fact that it appears that the morality-and-goodness wing of the party is just going to have to suck up a sinner this time around. Unless they want a Mormon. Which, Hugh Hewitt aside, I don't they do.

Heh. Sorry guys - the party of small government is not entirely the party where everybody is a deacon in the local Baptist church. Abortion, making fun of gay people, prayer in schools and the Ten Commandments in local government buildings are not the big issues facing our country, and it's about time the Republican party started selecting its candidates appropriately.

Mornings

are not bad in this new situation. In order to be at The Job by 0900, I have to leave the Temporary Location by about 0840. Very handy.

I've never been a sedentary person, and this is a very sedentary Job. I'm not certain yet how that's going to work out.

Super Realtor called last night to tell us that, after some market analysis, the house we're looking at is a bit overpriced, so she and Mr. Abby are going to work that issue. Unfortunately for him, it also means he may have to hit the road to look at more houses.

You don't have to do that very long before every one of them begins to look exactly the same. I'm not particularly helpful, since I insisted on the "no HOA" rule, and yesterday, when taken to a very nice place, I walked out in the backyard, looked at the sea of roofs that comprised the entire view, and said, "nope."

I really do have them looking for the Hermitage in a highly developed area. I should probably watch my back - one of these times, I'm going to rule someplace out because I think there are too many neighbors, and Mr. Abby, after looking at 23 houses that day, is going to plunge a combat knife into my kidney.

Well, there we go.

I think we found a place. Mr. Abby and Super Realtor have been trudging the past couple of days, and I got presented with two tonight. One will do, and so tomorrow will bring paperwork.

Alas, it's not a small cabin with a loft and an outhouse and kerosene lamps, ten miles from the nearest neighbor up a road impassable seven months of the year, but I think it'll do.

There is a pool (which, somehow, became a priority during the search), and a park with a nice running trail directly next door.

And a real water heater. And no sign of rats. And the windows don't have bars.

I think I'm about to have to give up the laptop again so someone can "arrange financing," but I'll try to get back to y'all later with a little look at events in the Big Old World.

Weather competition

What is it about people that makes them want to tell you how bad their weather is? I do it, too, with the hurricanes, so I'm not preaching - just curious.

And you can't talk them out of fixating on it, either. Since I announced the move, people have been looking at me and saying, "Texas - well, it's really really hot."

And I nod, and say, "okay....and what else?"

"No, you don't get it - it's really hot."

Yes. I get it. It's hot. However, there's nothing I can do about that, and I have a passing relationship with "hot."

I have a dear old friend down here who, in response to my question about packing for the move ("should I bring a jacket?") sent me a long lecture on the heat and dressing for it.

[sigh]

Which was fine, because that's just him, and his way of being helpful. But people, the last two places I've spent any significant time have been central Florida and Iraq. Really, stop telling me about the Texas heat. I'm sure it's hot, but it's not as though I've spent my entire life in Buffalo and don't own a pair of sunglasses.

Why is it we feel the need to brag about the awfulness of our home climates? I bet if we'd been moved to Iowa, I'd have heard about tornados for these several weeks.

Welcome to Texas...

Now that I've relocated, my focus on awful and creepy news stories will have to change to those more local.

Which is a downer, because every screwed up weirdo on God's Green Earth eventually found his or her way to Florida.

I'll start off with an easy one: Mom hangs kids, self

This does not look like a happy woman. In fact, she looks like she's being forced to sit for this picture and is looking to see if she's being watched too closely to engage in some family hangin'.

Less than five years earlier, another Hudson Oaks family was torn apart when Dee Etta Perez, 39, shot her three children, ages 4, 9 and 10, before killing herself.

Andrea Yates drowned her five children in the family's Houston bathtub in 2001. In 2003, Deanna Laney beat her two young sons to death with stones in East Texas, and Lisa Ann Diaz drowned her daughters in a Plano bathtub.

Dena Schlosser killed her 10-month-old by severing the child's arms with a kitchen knife in 2004

We've been over this before, but apparently it hasn't sunk it yet here. Listen - if you have children, you're not allowed to kill them. Or do anything else truly awful to them. No killin', no pimpin', no starving, no torture. Seems pretty clear to me.

Crazy people - they're everywhere.

The Dogs

One of y'all asked in comments, "how are the dogs?"

Hell if I know. They're shacked up at Crazy Uncle Buddy's. According to the Mister, Jack was so excited he launched himself over the raised tailgate of the full-sized pickup in his hurry to play.

They have a three-room suite they share, and - I shit you not - a bathroom. Uncle Buddy allows drinking from the toilet, so they're at Dog Disneyland. It's a good arrangement for the dogs, and a very nice arrangement for Crazy Uncle Buddy, who should be buying an adjoining house and couple of acres, largely with funds we've provided.

Another commenter asked for some specifics about my issues with Florida, and I'll expand on that theme tomorrow morning.

Well, here I be

Sorry about the delay - one laptop between the two of us isn't quite enough - Mr. Abby keeps thinking it's more important that he find us a house than that I hang out reading blogs and whining on my own. Geez...

Started the New Job today. No sunlight, no physical activity, not a whole lot of challenge. But I did get to pee in a cup. It'll do. For now.

I was nearly hit by a giant pickup today while I stood in a gas station parking lot staring at a bird I'd never seen before. Turned out to be Tyrannus Forficatus - the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher. Cool.

I did get settled into the extended-stay place, and tomorrow when I wrestle the digital camera away from Mr. Househunter, I'll share a pic.

We have arrived

26 hours on the road, and we're in Fort Worth. Tomorrow Mr. Abby starts surveying houses, I start working, and I move to what looks like an entirely decent extended-stay type of place.

It's greener here, and there are hills. Both of those are good things. But one of y'all did hit the nail on the head in comments a while back - I do miss the ocean already.

That was, of course, pretty much the only non-foul thing about Florida, so mostly I'm just thrilled to be gone.

More tomorrow, and a gradual return to normal excessive bloggery as my schedule settles down.

Pascagoula

is one of my favorite place names. I giggled hysterically leaving Florida. A pretty drive tomorrow across Louisiana and east Texas, so I leave y'all.

I hope you're all enjoying your Memorial Day weekend, and sparing a thought for the men and women who'd have probably traded anything for one more backyard BBQ. Nothing wrong with having a good time on a long weekend, but on this one, we can all spare a thought and a moment of thanks for those who don't get to enjoy those things anymore.