Windshield Time

There's been a lot of that since I posted last. Popcorn remained a challenge in the week following culminating in a second trip to Appleton to collect extra product. Hopefully that fixes the challenges.

Our new regional director came to speak at an otherwise boring staff meeting. He seems like a good fellow. Part of his talk was about a book that has been purchased for every pro in the region; Monday Morning Leadership. Both Brian and I have started reading it and it's not bad. I purchased copies for my two lead volunteers and we'll be integrating it into our weekly meetings kind of like a reading group.

I started my vacation on the Saturday before Thanksgiving by heading north to the farm for another visit. This time my brother and another uncle were also there and were wrapping up deer camp. I walked in to the kitchen to find the rear quarter of a deer being portioned on the dinner table and the U of M / OSU game on. The ugly part of this leg of the trip was awakening at 5am the next morning for breakfast. The upside was that we were on the road bound for Lake Orion before the sun came up.

The drive home was scenic along the Lake Michigan shoreline through the UP. Crossing the Mighty Mac for the first time driving was special. Along the route we saw many deceased deer in the other vehicles on the road. My favorite pose was with the front hoofs lashed behind the antlers with the tounge out. We made a brief stop in Birch Run but I had no success in finding new low-top hikers (this was true with all of the trips while I was home).

While I was home it was good to visit a lot of good friends, although I spent a lot of time in Farmington/Novi doing so. Driving to and fro I realized how little I miss traffic and just how bad MI drivers are. I saw the new Bond movie with Julie and Sean. It's really good and carries on the tradition much better than the Pierce Brosnan era. I also picked up Ice Age 2 on Tuesday when it was released and have watched it twice already.

I also watched a lot of football as is usual anymore. I actually was able to watch both Lions games and realized just how much they suck. On the other hand the two Cowboys' games were good, first breaking the Colts' unbeaten streak and then pounding Tampa Bay. Too bad that my fantasy team had a rough week with 2 WR and a RB going out with injuries. This week looks better so far.

The excitement at the house was the new puppy. My mom decided after living with Buddy for a week without my dad and brother (at deer camp) that he needed a friend. Her name is Missy and she is a three month old black lab/setter mix. At first she was all sweetness and innocence then she realized that Buddy was a lot of fun to play with. Despite being half his size she fearlessly assaults him. My favorite move is the leap from the couch on to his back. She is a very friendly dog and very affectionate however she is a puppy and loves to chew with her needle-sharp teeth. Thus far nothing has been destroyed but she has shown herself to like shoes... Much as I love dogs I'm not sure that I am ready for puppyhood at the moment.

The trip home yesterday was uneventful and quick with a total time of just over 7 and 1/2 hours which isn't bad given that online mapping shows a 7 hour drive with a shorter route (by 30 miles) that is more convoluted than what I drive. The key, I think, was the lack of road construction.

Tomorrow begins the last big push with roughly three weeks to get things wrapped up for year end. Fun.