It is another Monday. Thanksgiving Week and a short one at that. I just finished a leftover strawberry filled Krispy Kreme and chased that with a cup of hot coffee and an original glazed Krispy Kreme. There is little wrong in my world at the moment. (Sorry, Jennifer, if you are reading this, but you'll be in Germany soon and enjoying all of the tastes and sounds of that great country).

Football is done and over and there is a bit of a void left. The Friday Nights were a great deal of fun and enjoyment and to watch the kids work with the coaching that they had to get to a 5-5 record was awesome. We finished 5-1 at home and 0-4 on the road. Unfortunately, the league felt that we had to play some of our games on the road, or we might have made the playoffs. Two of the teams from our league did make the playoffs, one won this past weekend (Del Oro ranked Number One in the area and 10-0) and one lost.

Woodcreek had the Football awards banquets last week. Daniel won the coaches award for overall excellence on the field and was tabbed a brainiac by the coaches. David won the Captain's award and another patch for his already crowded Varsity jacket. I'm proud of both boys who play hard and have a real "team" attitude. Both of them help charge up their teams on the field and on the sideline and are both big reasons for the success of their respective teams.

We had our home heating system go on the fritz last week. I was sitting in my office at home working on the computer and felt a draft. I thought someone had left the garage door open and when I went to check, it was all battened up tight. When I sat back down at the computer, I realized that it was the fan from the heater. I went up in the attic and could hear the electronic ignition attempting to fire, but with no success. I turned off the system and checked the gas lines. Gas was flowing, but the igniter was not working. I turned the gas off to the heater, unplugged the system and called a friend of ours who owns a heating /AC business. He said that he could get his guy out there on Friday (this was Wednesday night). I figured the iginiter would be about $250 plus labor. Well, I was right, but the heater is on recall and they have to replace it. The good news is that I don't have to pay for the heater, the bad news is I have to pay labor to have it installed, the cost of the permits for the city and any extras needed to install the new system (piping, wiring, etc.). Mike, the owner of the business, will be out this week to let us know what this will cost. He is "suggesting" that we replace the A/C system at the same time. We'll see. He is also suggesting that we "upgrade" from the builder model heater that will be allowed in the recall. It sounds like someone wants to squeeze me like a sponge. We'll take his advice and make a decision on what to do. The house is 15 years old and some of the appliances are in need of replacement. (If you recall, we replaced the hot water heater this past Spring).

Darla had a Holiday Open House on Saturday and along with some friends who sell clothes, cosmetics, household items, and perfumes/body lotions, she sold her jewelry and some Creative Memories items. Darla did very well and even had Gail from my office come and spend $150 on her jewelry.

I made myself scarce during the Open House and went to....where else, but the golf course? I was due for a little come down from my high on the course and shot a rather pedantic 44-41=85. Boyd, who is a 4 handicap, even got into the swing of things and shot a 79. Usually, Boyd inspires me to play my best, but somehow I dragged him down to my level and we shot a combined 72, which was good for nothing in the tournament. At least it got me out of the house for a few hours.

I went home and cleaned up the last of the leaves from the park trees. We finally got a night near freezing followed by a breezy day and the last of the leaves gave way to the inevitable and came raining down to the ground and were swept by the wind into my yard. I used the leaf blower in vacuum mode and made short work of the leaves. I still have a few trees on the side yard with leaves and the back yard has eight trees that still have leaves left to keep me from getting too comfortable. I know it seems that I have a fixation on Fall and leaves, but when you have 22 trees on your property and a grove of another fifty across the street in the park, it is a full time job to keep up with the process.

The boys left early yesterday for Linden and Darla's folks' house. Both boys are going to Mexico this Easter to build houses for the poor. The cost of the trip is $500 a piece and Darla's Dad is doing a remodel of his home and has agreed to pay the boys $100 a day each for labor on the project. They should both get plenty of money and excellent experience on the building trade. David wants to be a Computer Assisted Design artist and Daniel wants to be an Architect, so the experience should be great for both of them. They drive back this afternoon as David has basketball practice.

We had thought that the boys were spending Thanksgiving with us and had turned down an invitation from Dad and Shirley to join them in Vegas for Thanksgiving. As it turns out, the boys will be with their Dad and Darla and I will try to get away to Monterey for a few days. No tradition here is too strong to break.

Well, that is the news that's fit to print for this week. Jennifer, call me, I miss talking to you. We have your Christmas gifts ready to send and will get them in the mail this week. Be nice to each other. Ciao.