It’s not really a question.  It’s more of an introspective, really.  Anybody that knows me will tell you that a few days’ growth of whiskers or a few stray hairs tickling my ears will make me feel scruffy and send me searching for a razor.  My dad had two hairstyles.  He wore a flat top through high school and kept it for the majority of his Navy career before he let it grow a bit and combed it straight back.  Despite being a child of the seventies and spending much of that decade in Southern California, dad insisted that I keep my hair cut short, as well.  I got teased a bit, but that first hair cut in Basic Training was a whole lot less traumatic for me than it was for many of my fellow trainees.  Regular haircuts were the norm for the years I spent in the Army and then afterwards, during my career as a police officer.  To tell the truth, I found that grabbing a handful of hair was a much more effective way to control a combative suspect that trying to use one of those ‘wrist control techniques’, and I never wanted anyone grabbing my hair in a fight, so I continued to keep it cut short.

The point that I’m trying to make, is that since I retired and we embarked on this new adventure, I don’t really have any reasons to maintain some of those former habits and practices anymore, and it feels a little disorienting.  I no longer have a parent or boss dictating my grooming standards, and I don’t really have a schedule that has to be kept.  This area of Colorado seems to be quite an eclectic mix of styles and personalities, so societal standards are pretty much wide open, too.  A quick trip to the grocery store in our little town is likely to find 60 year-olds wearing dreadlocks, and 70 year-olds wearing dirty, tie-dyed shirts.  Though I have to wonder…  have they been wearing the same clothes since the sixties, or did they resurrect their old style once they retired and marijuana became legal?  After so many years of being told what to do, how to do it, when to do it, where to be, what to wear, etc., I now have the freedom to make whatever decisions I want…..  I just don’t have the experience or the courage to branch out much.  I don’t really need a beard to prove to the world that I have a Y-chromosome, like so many of those goofy looking hipsters these days, so the answer is, this scruff needs to go.  Given the large, hairless patch on the top of my head, I can’t see dreadlocks or a ponytail in my near future, either.  Changes may come as I struggle with these decisions, but it likely won’t be in the grooming department just yet.

Enough of that…..  I doubt that anyone cares.  It’s only Wednesday and a lot has happened this week.  We got an offer on our house in Chehalis, which was exciting, but it was quite a bit lower than we were willing to accept.  We countered, but they immediately rejected it, so I don’t think they were very serious in the first place.  We have other showings scheduled and interest has been good, so hopefully another offer will come in soon.  A crew showed up here on Monday and finally installed the new power pole near the barn so that power could be run down to the house.  It’s been connected, inspected, and energized.  I now have a temporary power outlet to use until they get the panel inside hooked up next Tuesday.  By this time, next week, I should be able to turn the lights on inside.  The hot water heater should be installed on Friday and the new furnace and ducts should be in by next Wednesday.  I picked up our first draw check from the bank yesterday, so we can pay off the credit cards we’ve been using to purchase building materials and appliances, so that’s pretty big.  The best news might be that I found a place to order the last window that I need.  It’s a 72″ x 36″ picture window with grids that I hadn’t been able to find anywhere in stock or available on-line.  It turns out that the hardware store in Woodland Park can get it within two weeks at a very reasonable price.  While I was there, I loaded the truck with plywood and sheet rock (I paid for it all…  I didn’t just “load up”) and then rushed to get back up here before the afternoon storm came in.  I just made it, but didn’t have time to unload it all, so I parked the truck in the barn so the sheet rock wouldn’t get destroyed by the rain.  Since I’m the only one up here, I’m guessing it’s still there and still needs to be unloaded.  I should probably get to work.