"The Madge" Strikes Again

Monday I went over to Home Depot with “The Madge” to buy a ceiling fan and a few other things. Now every guy knows that when you go to Lowe’s or Home Depot you have to buy things that MAY be necessary around the house within the next ten years. It took her 30 minutes to pick a fan out and it that same amount of time I “hit” 11 aisles and filled up our basket with "down the road" useful things. I was disappointed though as I could not find a hand drill operated pump to drain our birdbath (a very very important item).

"The Madge" had another golf lesson and this time came home with suggested golf clubs that the Pro says would suit her. I called around and found some for $900 which is just the irons, and still looking for the woods. Now I don't mind getting her these BUT this is a girl that has had a total of 24 days of private ski lessons and still can't ski. She finally told me that she is afraid of heights, so if you plan on skiing in Houston no problem but I think you need a mountain or two to get the full effect. I do not believe there is a big rush on the clubs.

Mel's amd Sushi

Saturday night we met Kathy, Dave, Jill, Alexis and the Hulk for dinner at Mel's. Mel's is one of the reasons that Houston has been called "The Fat City" of America. Mel's is located in a rundown area of Tomball, Texas just over the railroad tracks on Standolin Road. When one is driving down the street you can't help but wondering if "Am I in the right place?". You let out a sigh of relief when you come up to a clearing that is filled with pick up trucks, lots of higher priced cars and a few Harleys. The Food Is Great. The first time we went there "The Madge" asked what kind of wine do they have? The waitress said, "We have white, red and rose" I wonder if they are homemade. Check out the Mega Mel Burger and try to imagine someone polishing this baby off in nine minutes (the record).
Now after destroying our bodies at Mel's "The Madge", myself, invited Colleen and Mark to go to the Redfish Restaurant for a little sushi Sunday night. We've been there before but never ordered the raw stuff. A normal Roll has six pieces and when one orders sashimi it is by the piece. Nope not in Texas. The Rolls had either 10 or 12 pieces and "one" order of sashima is two pieces. Pretty simple, I ordered for four people but received enough food for eight. The table was not big enough to handle our order.
So it's back to veggies and fruit, can't wait till Saturday.

Are We Having Fun???

TGIF, but when you are retired and can't remember what day it is the proper acronym is TGIWU (Thank God I Woke Up). Today was another golf lesson day for "The Madge", She left the house around 1:30 but was home by 2:30. So do the math, the Club is about 5 minutes away, walking to/from the car and packing/unpacking your the equipment and greeting the Pro takes at least 15 minutes. Hmmm, 1 hour lesson??? I didn't say anything until a familiar scent filled the house. My old friend Ben Gay has come to see "The Madge". She paid for the hour but had to call it quits after 30 minutes as she "pulled" something in her arm. I don't dare ask her if she is enjoying herself.

Blue Water This

Well here we go, "The Madge" wants a pool and the first company came by today to give us a quote. Numerous questions were asked regarding construction materials, types of equipment and general layout. I was part of that process, now enter "The Madge". " I would like to put up a wrought iron fence with a gate connecting the patio with the pool area". I asked, "why"? "To keep the children out of the pool area", was her answer. Now me "HUH?, our youngest "child" could be a grandmother if we lived in India". All I got back was "for the grandchildren". One lives in Connecticut and the other in Frisco, Texas. NOT AROUND THE CORNER. OK I gave into that request.
Next question from the pool guy is "How big of a Hot Tub do you want and how do you want it to drain into the pool?". Madge settled on a six people raised tub with a cascading waterfall effect. Next pool guy question, "How about a water feature?". I couldn't help myself and pointed out that the hole in the ground with water in it was the only feature I want. "The Madge" I think said something about dancing water spouts . Another four companies to go.

Yesterday "The Madge" had her first golf lesson. The pro at the club spent two hours with her loading her up with exercises to do and things to practice. As far as the necessary equipment, for starters she only has to buy a seven iron, however we are off to various golf stores today to get the more important things. Clothes. One must have a few outfits with matching golf gloves, hats and shoes. I'm sure while she is shopping she might pick up the club and some balls too. Also had a visit from a old friend of ours, Barclay. After spending a few hours discussing each others medical ailments we settled in talking about some of our past escapades. I haven't seen him in about twelve years but it amazing how friendships rekindle themselves within a very short time. Good Time with a Good Friend.

How's this for being ANAL

In the near future the Murphy clan will converge on Miami sampling the sights and sounds of South Beach then onto the "Freedom of the Seas" for a little cruise. Since I am paying for this little trip I asked all the girls to be kind and book "in the back of the plane". Here's the breakdown per couple: From Dallas - $878, From Houston - $709, From New York - $478. Why?????? For the super anal people like me, the following is the cost per air mile; Dallas - $.3296, Houston - $.2866, New York - $.18. Why???? The ticket agents can't tell me nor could our travel agent. I know there are more airlines with flights from NY to Miami so fares have to be competitive, so does that mean they lose money on those flights and jamming us flying out of Texas to make up for the loss??? I can not believe that their overhead or fuel costs are higher in Texas. Crazy eh. Anyone have any clues??

The other day I noticed a sign in our neighborhood asking if anyone has found this lost dog.




Well I found it and returned it to it's owner.


Hanging around the house doing as little as possible has made me put on a few extra pounds. Madge is all over me about losing some weight, she complains that the washing machine, even though it's heavy duty, is straining in the spin cycle. Losing weight requires dieting and exercising. Ever notice that the food that is good for you has no taste(and who wants to chew on chaulk tasting food) and exercise produces sweat, which in turn requires more washing. More washing then produces more strain on the washing machine. You can't win, so I think it is off to Mel's Country to have chicken fried steak and figure out another plan of attacking the added Lbs.

It's That Time of the Year - Again & Again & Again

What a wonderful time of the year. It's 70 degrees, low humidity, sun is shining and taxes are due in two days. Get it over with, bite the bullet, suck it up!!! I love it. I haven't lived in CT for over a year and I owe them taxes?????? I also had to pay them tax on a car that hasn't physically been there since last Feb. Huh???? Pay them and get them out of my life. We sold the our house and this is me now.


On with life.

For Lyn from Sugarland

My audience of one (Lyn) suggested that I put something political in this blog. I will honor your wish but not "American Idol", that is too low.

If Hillary Becomes President

Why Obama won't get the black vote

A HOCKEY STORY!!!

The NJ DEVILS foreign scout flies to Baghdad to watch a young Iraqi play hockey in the new American sponsored league and is suitably impressed and arranges for him to come over to the US.

The DEVILS sign him to a one year contract and the kid joins the team for the preseason.

Two weeks later the DEVILS are down 4-0 to the Rangers with only 10 minutes left. The coach gives the young Iraqi the nod and he goes in. The kid is a sensation - scores 5 goals in 10 minutes and wins the game!

When the player comes off the ice he phones his mom to tell her about his first day of NHL hockey. "Hello mom, guess what?" he says.

"I played for 10 minutes today, we were 4-0 down, but I scored 5 goals and we won. Everybody loves me, the fans, the media, they all love me."

"Wonderful," says his mom, "Let me tell you about my day. Your father got shot in the street and robbed, your sister and I were ambushed, raped and beaten and your brother has joined a gang of looters, and all while you were having such great time, playing a game."

The young Iraqi is very upset. "What can I say mom, but I'm so sorry."

"Sorry? You're Sorry?" says his mom. "It's your fault we moved to Newark in the first place."

Madge's Surprise Party

A little while back we had a surprise party for Madge and I thought it would be nice to share the pictures of this bash. If you don't see your picture I am still waiting for more of them and I promise I will post them.

Madge was totally surprised

Erin, Madge and Colleen

Madge, Dave & Colleen

Erin, Allison, Madge, Meaghan and Colleen

Diane and Bill

Meaghan, Jill, Madge and Kathy

Diane, Bill and Jim

Kathy and Tom

Mary, Madge and Kay

Pat, Kay, Joe, Ken, Mike and Marilyn

Bob, Connie, Schutz and Dee

Madge and Erin

Laura and Greg

Kathy, Meaghan, Jill and Jason

Allison, Dave and Kathy

T. G. I. F.

Thank God It’s Friday - - Well, when you are retired this has no meaning whatsoever. The only way you’ll know it’s a weekend is by the increased amount of traffic on the roads and the newspaper is heavier. Spoke to the kids in Frisco this morning. Erin’s husband Brad lost his Grandmother this morning. What makes it really sad is he lost his other Grandmother two weeks ago. Our condolences to Brad and his family. After this Cooper decided to throw up all over the house. What I haven’t mentioned “The Coopster”? Cooper is our six year old chocolate 107 pound Lab who thinks he is a human. When his cousin Riley, a Golden Doodle, visits from Frisco, Cooper goes into a sulk and hangs out in rooms that do not contain Riley. The bottom line is "He doesn't like dogs". Until the day comes that Cooper wants his own credit card or wants to borrow the car he is my favorite dog and a great companion. Here's a picture of Cooper and his good good buddy Riley.

Video Camera and Mongol

Later this afternoon I watched a movie titled “Mongol”, don’t waste your time. It was ala Mel Gibson meaning that the language in the movie was Mongolian, if that wasn’t bad enough it was dubbed in Chinese with Japanese subtitles. I lasted about 10 minutes. We also went online with Sean in CT. As he now has a couple of teeth, Meaghan tried to let us see them (see below). Then Madge spent twenty five minutes talking like Donald Duck and saying words like “Umbow”, it’s unreal during these video calls but again it’s cheaper than a plane ticket (assuming you can find a plane that isn’t in need of repair).

The Beginning of the End

April 10, 2008 - This is the beginning of me reducing time spent doing absolutely nothing. About two years ago I cut my normal working day (10 - 12 hours) to ZERO. Back then we lived in Easton, CT and my wife (Madge) was visiting friends and family in Texas, before she left I told her to check on homes and if she sees anything then buy it. Well she did just that. After she called me and told me what she had done, my stomach began to produce eight gallons of acid per minute. It isn't everyday that one buys a house without ever seeing it. Believe it or not that same day my company was sold, so the decision to pack up and get out was relatively easy. So after 11 months of owning two homes, we sold, packed, moved and unpacked. We now reside in Spring, Texas.







Easton, CT

Spring, Texas

Do we regret the decision? NO. Conn is a beautiful state, with numerous lakes, forests and wildlife, but that is where it ends. The attitude of most of the people cannot be described as friendly, accommodating, courteous, or genuine. Here’s something else to notice when you travel up to that part of the country. Find an attractive person and when you do, chances are they are not from there. Way too much inbreeding or swimming in the shallow end of the gene pool, take your pick. There were eleven homes on our street and only two of us did not have our last name end in a vowel. We have however left behind some very very good friends who will be missed plus two daughters and one grandchild (our first). On to bigger and better things here in TEXAS.

This is the little man, Sean, born Sept 11, 2007. In order to cut my expenses I bought a couple of video cameras. It's a lot cheaper than having my wife fly up there once a month.

And while we are at it, here's a picture of our unborn grandchild

And this little person that is with our daughter Erin and son-in-law Brad is due to arrive in middle of May, he or she will be living in Frisco, TX which is about a four hour drive for us. Yeah.