Sneaky Labs, Mama, business

Our director was telling us yesterday about a weekend cookout he had at a friend’s house. He and the friend together split the bill on one hundred dollars’ worth of bone-in ribeye steaks – bought fresh at a local meat market. The grill was fired up and the steaks were put on to sear while the two of them went back into the house to prepare the barbeque sauce to be applied during the final stages of the grilling process. Since the friend owned two Yellow Labrador Retrievers, they were very careful to close the lid on the grill before they went inside. A very fancy grill from what we were told. When the two of them returned to the grill to flip the steaks, they lifted the lid to find the grill empty. Completely empty. The only conclusion they could come to was that somehow the dogs had been able to raise the lid, eat the steaks (bone and all) off the very hot grill, and retire to their normal resting spots in the few minutes they were inside the house. They ended up eating hot dogs while the dogs got the best meal of their lives.

The story is a little more humorous since Bella, Cori and Nate’s Black Lab, is with us right now. Bella’s current mistress, Gracie Echeveria, is on an outing with her family. We do not mind having Bella. She is a generally obedient dog. The only one we have had recently that I can take out with me to work on the farm. She does not feel the need to run off and spend hours chasing phantoms in the woods. But, when she eats, she eats. Rather, she inhales whatever is put in front of her. While Kira and Kobe are crunching their food at what I would consider a normal pace, Bella is attacking her food with such rapid biting and swallowing that I am always amazed that she does not choke. We rarely hear the food being chewed. It is taken into the mouth and swallowed…as quickly as possible. So, it is not difficult to imagine two such eaters emptying the grill in a matter of minutes. How they opened the lid to get to the contents without showing any signs of getting burned, remains a mystery. I am of the opinion that a Labs teeth are for playing tug-of-war or fetch, but not necessarily for eating.

Lord willing, Mama will be home this afternoon. Her flight is scheduled to arrive at 1:30pm. She is coming home with whatever sickness the grandkids had while she was there. One of the types of flu I suppose. I am going to try to stay clear of the illness because I have three classes to teach next week. Hopefully I can make that schedule but at the same time I will not avoid Mama. She and I are too affectionate with each other to avoid each other. Whether or not I can stay well is an entirely separate issue. A secondary concern to our normal interactions.

On our business front, things are starting to move a little faster. A new roof will be put on our second house in Lawton this week while the tile will be laid in our first house. Walls we talked about removing weeks ago in the first house are now gone and the old tile is being taken up to make way for the new. Glenn told me when I was at the last auction in Lawton that the tile had been delivered but he was waiting on the wall removal to get started on that project. Mama and I are excited to see the remodel moving forward after so many weeks delay. Hopefully, our plans to sell the first house in May will work out. April would be better timing for us, but May will work. Truthfully, whenever it works out will be fine. I am just anxious to make the switch to our new business as our fulltime business. Patience.

While both of the homes in Lawton are being remodeled, Mama and I will research and possibly buy the house in Bowie while looking for houses in Arkansas. There are fourteen or fifteen more county sales that we want to attend in Arkansas. I had to miss the first one we were interested in, but that is not a big issue. There are so many more. The one county sale we definitely want to make it to is Garland County. Hot Springs in is that county. Since we are familiar with that area, we are particularly interested in investing there. That auction happens in the summer, so the list has not been published yet, but based on the current progress of our remodels and potential sales, I intend to be free to attend that auction. When the time comes, Mama and I are planning on spending a couple days in the area visiting Becky and Bridgette while doing research on homes and properties available.

In any case, we are plowing ahead, stretching our money as far as it will go, while working my way out of my current job. It is a delicate balance.