by 
Snowman January 10th
Sunday January 10…
Snows covers the prairie, what prairie there is here on SA, and skies are cloudy. The weather was up and down this past week, some good and some not so good. I worked out at the Bluff Wednesday despite a chilly wind but had to cut my time there short to get a flat on the pickup fixed. Abigail left for Lubbock yesterday to move into her apartment and get ready for classes which may begin tomorrow. Kari and Chris accompanied her to help move her in. She was happy with the household items Jill gave her and those she liberated from the man cave. Rebecca stayed home and I took her to her tennis lesson. She told me she and another eighth-grade girl will start practicing with the Amarillo High junior varsity tomorrow, which she’s a little nervous about. There were six girls in the lesson she went to yesterday and a couple of them drove their own cars there, which must mean they are, what, 16? The instructor had them rotating around in a doubles configuration and Rebecca was having no problem competing so she shouldn’t have any problem fitting in with the JV.
Sunday, January 17…
We’ve had a quiet week. Snow on the ground kept us indoors early in the week We scored 19 inches moisture from that. It was cold but still and I took advantage to remove a couple of mesquites out at the Bluff. Thursday was cold and windy so I stayed in the shop and sharpened the chainsaw and changed the oil in the wood chipper. No wind and bright sunshine today. A fox has been trotting back and forth in the backyard. I wonder what it is up to.
Saturday January 30th…
We had a wee thunderstorm in the wee hours last night. It rained hard briefly and this morning there was only .09 inches in the gauge, but, you know what?, it is January, generally our driest month and we’ve been getting a little snow here and a little rain there all month. While it only totaled .47 inches, that exceeds any January in the last four years and comes close to our .56 inches average over the last 12 years. Now today the west wind is blowing hard and that may take care of last night’s rain but at least we had the moisture for it to take care of.
Abigail surprised us with a visit one evening this week. She wanted to collect a package delivered here, or at least that’s the excuse she used. Our conversation was brief since she needed to get back to her Lubbock digs because of an early class. Most of her classes are online. She does have one that requires her to go on campus periodically. She and her roommate Cora work at the same restaurant waiting tables. Cora worked at one of the same restaurant chain here and was able to not only easily get on at the one in Lubbock but also helped Abigail get hired with no restaurant experience. She’s getting that experience now and since her primary remuneration is tips, she’s finding that the work is demanding and some of the clientele can be parsimonious when it comes to tipping their server.