I woke up just fine at 6:30 a.m. today.
The only problem is with this time change, it was really 5:30 a.m.
I’ve been tired, cranky, and sleepy all doggone day.
I think Cowboy’s still on the old time.
He rolled right out of bed this morning, no problem at all.
Usually it’s a fight just to get him awake and moving.
We left Badger snoozing happily and headed out into the fog for Cowboy’s appointment.
Before we left, I gave her a little nudge so she’d wake up enough to know she was home by herself.
I have faith that if anyone ever tried to break in, Lady would protect her.
Look, I’ve probably read a few too many true crime novels and watched a few too many true‑crime documentaries.
I still don’t like leaving Badger alone, even though she’s an adult now.
I’m counting on Lady, a dog who has been known to go after joggers.
I figure an intruder would get the same treatment.
Heron says she’ll protect her family, and we’ve got a house full of security cameras on top of that.
Traffic was a little heavy, but the fog was only patchy, and the office turned out to be easy to find.
The optometrist and staff were friendly, but oh my word, that was one fancy office.
There was a huge fountain in the middle of the reception area, stuffed ducks flying on the ceiling, and a giant waiting area.
If the staff didn’t walk you around, you’d get lost in the place.
That building is absolutely enormous.
The good news is that Cowboy doesn’t have anything in his eye that the walk‑in clinic missed.
The optometrist says he has chronic dry eye disease.
It’s not curable, but it is manageable.
His age and the medication he takes are the cause.
The doctor gave him another steroid eye drop, and we go back in two weeks.
Apparently, he should have had a recheck after the walk‑in clinic gave him the first round of steroid drops, since those can raise eye pressure and lead to glaucoma.
The walk‑in clinic never told us to come back for that recheck.
He also has to wash his eyelashes with a special solution, though I’m not entirely sure why, and they sent him home with some kind of warming patch.
We stopped at Walmart on the way home to kill some time while CVS filled his prescription.
Cowboy was hoping for cheap candy, but Christmas had already taken over the shelves.
After a while he said he just wanted to sleep, so we headed to CVS expecting the drops to be ready.
They weren’t, so we went on home without them.
The order didn’t even get finished until about 2 p.m.
When we got home, Badger had already cleaned and cleared out the laundry room for me.
Cowboy hauled the old washer to the backyard and set the new one in place.
After feeding the chickens and gathering eggs, he came inside and collapsed into his recliner.
He was sound asleep by 12:20 p.m. and ended up getting a two‑hour nap.
He said he was afraid he would be working over tonight, since most of the second shift workers were at boiler school out of state.
I have begged him to take those classes, but he says there is no pay increase, you are only certified to work on the boiler.
With the new company, you have to be certified to touch it.
I find that a bunch of bull hockey.
He built those boilers.
No exaggeration, he has worked in that plant for 46 years, and he has built most of the equipment they use.
But now he is not allowed to work on the boiler because he is not certified.
I know why he will not go.
He struggles with reading and using computers.
Badger and I got to thinking about what Cowboy told us.
He said he failed 7th grade, and they wanted him to repeat it before going to 8th.
So does that mean he really only has a 6th‑grade education?
I have always suspected he has dyslexia.
Poor kids back in the 60s sure did not get any diagnosis.
Another reason he may not go is that he doesn’t have a GED, and if the new company found out, it could cause him some real trouble.
Cowboy isn’t ignorant.
He never had much book learning, and reading isn’t his strong suit, but if you show him a picture, he can build it.
He keeps that plant running and has rebuilt most of this house with his own hands.
He can tear down and put back together a car or a lawn mower, and he handles roofing, electrical work, and plumbing without blinking.
He welds too, and sometimes he even makes funny little people out of scrap metal.
Cowboy didn’t finish school, but that doesn’t mean he can’t do things.
He learns by doing, figures things out as he goes, and can build or fix just about anything.
A piece of paper doesn’t make him any smarter than he already is.
All of that could still mean nothing if the new company finds out he doesn’t have a diploma or a GED. Some places care more about paperwork than what a person can actually do.
Moving on.
It didn’t seem long before Cowboy was heading to work.
The day slowed after that.
As I often say, this is hibernating season.
I put the old washer on Marketplace, and my computer started dinging like crazy.
At least twenty people wanted it.
I went with the one who said they could come right now, which turned out to be a big mistake.
I waited all evening, and then they texted that traffic was too heavy and they’d come tomorrow.
So the washer is still sitting under the carport with the raccoons, possums, and stray cats.
We tossed my winter coat in the new washer.
It sings when it finishes, so I suspect it’s computerized, even though it has no push buttons.
Unless you raid some great granny’s kitchen, I doubt you can find a truly old‑school washer anymore.
It’s noisy, just like the reviews warned, but it does the job and gives me hot water without a fuss, so I can live with it.
We settled into another evening of our TV series.
We’re nearly at the end of this one, so soon we’ll have to find another to binge.
This episode is almost done, but we still have two more, and I’m just too sleepy.
I’m heading to bed now.
Maybe I’ll sleep like a rock.
At least, I sure hope so.
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