Rut Roh Shraggy!

We all knew it would come down to this. And the time is nigh. It’s sweatin’ bullets time for yer favorite owner/builder in New Mexico.: (Nothin’ a few sedatives won’t stave off until I concoct an alternative method.) The money is runnin’ out.

I’m gonna leave that ‘dog’ lay, since there ain’t much that can change it right now. Just thought I’d toss it out there so’s y’all don’t think I have an unlimited flow of cash or anything. Everything of late has been going so well, it’s only reasonable to expect a shutdown in some manner. It’ll work out, I’m not too worried. (Only ‘cause the sedatives are REALLY effective.)

School’s out for summer! I’m not quite in vacation mode yet since I have to go move my stuff from my current room to my new room manana. I was informed on Friday, though, that I WILL be teaching the senior AP English classes!! That’s a heck of a recognition, and gift, on the part of the admin to me. I’ll be worthy of their faith in me. I may lose my mind, but, I’ll be worthy. My sophomores will hate me, since I don’t think I’m gonna get them in pre-AP English for next year. I asked to keep them, but…Heck, I damn near BEGGED to keep ‘em, truth be told. I’ll pay dearly for it next year when they find out. Or before, since a handful of the sophs. read my blog. I’m dead!

Power tools zinged to life by 7:30 this a.m., but only after two diesel truck engines thrummed through The Tin Can to alert me to the fact that my vacation may have started, but there was work to be done at the build site. And people complain to me about how busy they are!!

Crew #4 has five crew members and they all move with purpose, direction and focus to their respective tasks. Me? I plopped my narrowing ass down in a lounge chair with a glass of milk and two cigarettes and enjoyed a bleary view of them working while I supervised. It’s good to be the Office of the Exchequer (check writer.) I had to hold off on having my little umbrella drinks, however. It was only 7:45 a.m. By 5 p.m. I’ll be handing beers out to everyone. It IS Memorial Day, after all.

Right at noon today I took out a bowl of sliced seedless watermelon to the crew. Yes, I am SOOO horrible to work for, ain’t I?

“Red” the ranch hand stopped his truck to talk with me around 8-ish. There’s just something about a cattleman who spits his wad o’chewin’ tabaccy on the floor of his truck that says something. I just have have to smile while I try to figger out just what it says. His dog Earl is pregnant again. (Yes, Earl is a girl. We’ve covered this ground before.) “Red” says this’ll be her last litter. He’s gonna get her fixed. Maybe I’ll add to my dog pack and get a coupla pups from him. Earl’s pretty calm, listens well, and can get up in “Red’s” truck from the driver’s side door and to her seat on the passenger side only after making “Red” do some undignified contortions to let her across the floorboard. Life out here is just a hoot!

The bond beam, the structural muscle of the whole house, despite all the flaws left by crews #1 & 2 (crew #3 didn’t do nuthin’, so they can’t be blamed for anything in this realm) will be poured on Thursday. It’s the day of reckoning for me. That’s when the waterworks will begin. I’m staying in town just for that. Well, for both events—the bond beam pour and my time to cry. I think the crew is bustin’ their butts so they can be here for my moment of weakness. I’ll just dock ‘em pay for wasting time. (That’s one money saving measure, if nothing else.) Trusses will go up after the bond beam dries a bit, and the inspection clears.

Friday morning a bunch of kids trashed the two new Academies at the high school. My room was not targeted, but a room two doors down was and the Career Academy (all voc. ed. classrooms) were totally destroyed. They think they caught one of the perps when they busted a kid for dealing just off grounds later in the day and found cuts on his hands. Yup! We’re the heart and soul of a brain trust here in Belen! (And NO, the kid wasn’t one of ‘mine’!...for once!)

My wireless network is down. Been down, so I’m doing a lot of typing on my iPhone. It’s a pain in the butt, but still cool as hell!

Stephanie, one of the crew who’s living on-site, and I were sitting and enjoying the wind outdoors yesterday. We saw a pair of desert quail be-bop boppin’ across the property. This was our second sighting of them in a week. Since my fridge is full I left the .12 gauge in TTC. I’ll wait for the little feathered beasts to get bigger, and my fridge emptier before I think about having the two of ‘em fer dinner one night. And I do love a well-cooked quail or two for dinner.

Lil’ Bit, Little Bun and about a half dozen jack rabbits were kerplunking in the arroyo a few evenings ago. They were fun to watch. Jolene, C’n N’s cat, reverts to feral behavior when she’s here. She caught a whiff of Lil’ Bit last night, but Carolyn scooped Jolene up before she could start to stalking Lil’ Bit. As well Carolyn should’ve—I told her that any bunnies that are harassed by Jolene will result in Jolene resting under a small pile of rocks and an itty-bitty marker on my property. Bunnies RULE up here at T2tWRanchita!!

So, there y’all have it. The lastest and greatest from here in the desert Southwest. I’ll get back at ya after…manana.