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Home Front
On the home front, all is good. We have much to be thankful for. We have the prospects of a new job that promises a substantial increase in the standard of living. Previously, the Mrs.’s term of service with Huntsville City Schools came to an end. With a child on the way, neither of us thought it very sporting to start a new school term that everyone concerned knew she would never finish. We’d planned from the outset that once she had the baby, she’d stay home. We both felt and thought that would be the best plan for all concerned (in this case, all concerned are Mommy, Daddy, and Baby).
With approximately one third of our income drying up in a couple month’s time, we realized that we needed to do some belt-tightening, and we have done. Amy is now driving me to work most days, under the pretense that it is cheaper by about $30 -$40 at current prices to fill the car twice in a week than to fill the car once and the truck once. Also, I am brown-bagging lunch more often than not, and this leads to further savings. Since we reload our ammunition, we can save quite a bit, and still get to shoot fairly often. We’re waiting on a batch of Hornady 123 grain, .310″ diameter spire-point bullets to arrive. These will allow quite cost-effective plinking loads for the No. 4 Enfield.
Last week, we found out that my uncle, Greg, had started work on the same NASA contract on which I work. He has taken up with a very challenging group; the Russia Services Group, which will require bi-annual trips to Moscow. Greg is flexible, and perhaps a good deal more hardy than we. There is an amount you could pay us to travel to Moscow, but it ranks in the mid seven-digits. Per day. In dollars, not rubles. We wish him well, but there is no need to wish him success. He is after all a Steele, and due to the heartiness of our constitutions, we achieve what we set out to accomplish. Perhaps it is not a testament to our constitutions, but rather us being too thick to completely understand and comprehend the nature of failure.
The weather is mostly dry. Too dry for our tastes, but it is not without benefit. The fauna do not enjoy it, nor the flora. It is quite dusty and asthmatic, but the pollen and other allergens are down to a most manageable level. Our local water authority has just imposed strict lawn-watering rations, and we are not at all upset about this. I have only had to mow the lawn four times this year, and I’m quite happy about the prospect of keeping with that rate for the rest of the year.
Amy and I have been taking afternoon walks three days per week, and are delighted to report that wildlife is flourishing in our bedroom community, despite the drought. Eastern cottontail rabbits are plentiful in our neighborhood, though we have only two rather scrawny ones. We’ve also seen the requisite squirrels, one chipmunk, many various birds, and a spotted fawn. Odin the cat has taken a particular fancy toward chasing the sprinkler, getting thoroughly soaked in the process. He still doesn’t care for being bathed, but will chase the sprinkler for hours. Several times, when we haven’t had the sprinkler on, he’s resorted to running towards whichever neighbor has the closest running sprinkler. We also have taught him to chase a frizbee. Unfortunately, he hasn’t quite worked out what to do once he’s caught the thing except wait for one of us to throw it again. Freya the cat will have none of it. She is more interested in the rabbits.
Most importantly, Amy and I went to the doctor today, and they confirmed that the Tot of Steele is in fact a daughter. Mother and child are both quite healthy at this point, and everything looks normal. We could not be more happy, but I suspect we will be once Amy has hatched-out. The doctor gave us permission to go right out and procure a new shotgun and large-bore handgun to protect the Tot of Steele’s honor. We are already well-provisioned here, but doctor’s orders are doctor’s orders. We’d hate to disobey them. Perhaps a nice Beretta 12-bore O/U. The wife asked if a .45 wasn’t already enough, to which we replied “Not when a .50 is available! Only the best to protect my daughter!
We’re going to Atlanta next week for an SAP training class (ADM 100), so possibly we will have some travel log postings.
