I've only ever had one mother-in-law, and now I don't have one at all, at least not a living one. I know lots of people who have racked up several different mothers-in-law over time, but I've never had that opportunity (if you want to describe it as an opportunity), and I would have to say that there is virtually nothing imaginable that could occur that would add another one to my list.
So the funeral trip to California will be a one-time thing, since my father-in-law and my (I guess you'd call it) step-father-in-law are both dead and buried already.
My Dear Sweet Sainted Wife has a couple of living step-brothers who live out there, but if they pass on before us, I don't expect to make the trip since I don't know them very well, and My Dear Sweet Sainted Wife isn't all that crazy about them either, if you want to know the truth. After all, she's barely seen them over the last 40 years, whereas my mother-in-law, Marion, first with one husband, then the other, had a routine of coming through this part of the country at least once a year to check on old friends and some farm land over around Piggott somewhere. And we've made a couple of trips out that way over the years as well. My Dear Sweet Sainted Wife and I spent a fair bit of time with her on those trips and I got to know her pretty well.
As can often be the case with mothers-in-law, it wasn't all smooth sailing, but we got along all right.
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Big lug-head Daniel and his crew can move in for the weekend to keep up with the dogs, and I'll be back Monday. My Dear Sweet Sainted Wife will hang around San Jose for a few days trying to straighten out whatever needs to be straightened out, and come back Wednesday or Thursday.
The weather's going to be lousy around here anyway, so off I go.
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Speaking of dogs, eldest son Jeffrey has left his big brown 100-pound dog, Willy Mo, with us for the last week while he sets off for a month or so traveling around out West. He and his girlfriend flew out to somewhere on the West Coast a week or so ago, and I think she has already flown back, being a working girl, leaving Jeffrey to wander around visiting the swath of friends he has out there. One of his friends loaned him a car so he's not even out a car rental. He seems to end up with deals like that all the time, somehow or the other. And a couple of months off to put it to use.
His girlfriend, whom I met when I was up in Columbia over Christmas, works at the St. Louis Botanical Garden, which was closed for the first time ever earlier this week because of the ridiculously cold weather. I heard second-hand that she was simply fascinated by several Northern California moss species they ran into out there (to each his own, I guess).
But back to Willy Mo.
I took all three dogs out to the bunkers Monday afternoon. It was 4 degrees. I just about froze to death opening the truck tailgate to let them out.
But those dogs ran around and dug up rodents and had a big time for over an hour and never seemed even remotely affected by the cold.
Willy Mo in particular. He just didn't want to load up and come home, even after the other two had given it up and hit the truck. He's pretty furry, but I didn't know he was that furry.
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Football games were all good this last weekend and Monday, from the NFL Wild Card games through the Auburn-Florida State college championship game. Close games, mostly well-played, and interesting enough that I actually watched a little bit of all of them over the rim of the three books I read over Saturday and Sunday.
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I have actually been going over to the hospital and working out a little bit this year. Only problem is it makes me hungry ... I can't win for losing (and I don't mean losing weight).
dtennyson@blythevillecourier.com