Some time in the next day or two, I'm going to get the chair and mirror out to check out our new porch guest.
I may have scared Ms. Robin over the weekend because I dragged out the lawnmower for the first time this year. Most of the mowing was in the back yard, which had reached near jungle status with all the dandelions thriving there. Regardless of the fact that it has been a cool spring, the dandelions are full bloom.
That's not to say winter has entirely given up, however. There was ice on my car's windows when I got up this morning, and we're supposed to have a heavy frost again overnight, with temperatures dipping into the mid 20s.
We had a unusual Memorial Day holiday weekend. We stayed home nearly all the time, except on Saturday, when we (my wife and I) went off to visit my mom at the nursing home and do some shopping. My mom wasn't feeling terribly well, but we had a nice visit. We got a sandwich for her and her roommate at Subway. Today is her 86th birthday, so I'll phoned her tonight.
On Wednesday, I get to see her again. It's the first of three trips in four days I'll be making to the Iron Mountain area for high school sports finals. Tennis on Wednesday; golf on Friday; and track on Saturday. The track meet lasts all day, and I will be very busy with the camera. For a while it appeared that I would have to buy a phone for David; he said he needs a new phone--the old one is busted. But he called tonight--he visited the local "liquidators" store to see if they have phones, and they did. Apparently high quality workmanship is not a high priority.
He visited on Memorial Day. We watched a couple DVDs, he had some dinner with us, and spent some time upstairs on (I think) my computer. I had to drive him home at about 9 p.m.--it was in the mid 60s when he got here, and he wore a light jacket and T-shirt--but during the day a cold front blew through. By the time he had to go back to his apartment, it was around 40 with a cold wind from the north.
I spent Monday night (and Saturday night, after I got home) watching the Red Wings take apart Pittsburgh in the Stanley Cup finals. It's been way too easy so far, and while I suspect the Penguins will be a different team once they are back home (starting Wednesday), it sure looks like the Wings will lift the Stanley Cup in next week or so. They have been very impressive so far.
My wife will be relieved to know that hockey season is nearly over. She watched part of last night's game with me. Charlie is much more of a hockey fan; she sat with me through both games. She seems to enjoy hockey--of course, I was rubbing her tummy while watching, so maybe that had something to do with it. Saturday night, after the game, she came upstairs and sat on my lap when I was on the computer, so we had our own little love-in: I petted her, and she went purr, purr, purr. It was good for both of us.
My mind has been occupied with other things, too. The Midwest has seen a major tornado outbreak in the last few days that has caused a lot of destruction and taken many lives. One of the deaths was a 2-year-old boy who lived in the northern suburbs of St. Paul, Minn. It was just a few miles east of where my late aunt lived. In fact, when we visited that area last summer, we drove right past that town.
Except for the trip to see my mom, we stayed very close to home during the holiday weekend. Gas jumped up a full quarter last week (to $4.24/gallon), and we figure the easiest way to cut gas costs is to cut back on driving. I love to drive, and my car gets good mileage, but ...
Still, despite many people in our area belly-aching about the high cost of gas, they are still driving their bigass trucks all over the place. I don't mind big trucks if they are working trucks--if the owners need to haul stuff around. But many people seem to think that the bigger a truck is, the more tricked out it is, the better it is. And the faster they drive, the more they like it. All of which kicks your gas mileage in the chops.
So they whine about the cost of gas, and then they climb back in their heavy duty, king-size beauties, one person per truck, and drive all over creation. I mean, I drive a small car for a reason. I believe in efficiency. Others believe in the same thing, too. Others don't. What can I say? It's their wallet.
Tomorrow, I'm off to that tennis tournament. It's a 100-mile round trip. Let's do a little math. My car gets about 34 mpg. So 100 miles/34 mpg = 2.94 gallons. If gas is $4.24/gallon (as it is now), then the trip costs me $12.47 for gas.
Now let's say that instead of my little Mazda I'm driving a Bigass pickup that gets 14 mpg. Then the 100-mile trip burns up 7.14 gallons. At the current rate, that's $30.27 for gas, which is 2.4 times what I pay.
Now instead of the pickup, what would happen if we go there in a Hummer H2? These babies get 11 mpg on a good day. So the trip consumes 9.1 gallons, for a total cost of $38.54.
Isn't that interesting? That's more for one trip than I will pay for my three trips there and back.
You see, my theory is that many people buy the biggest, baddest truck they can afford regardless of their needs. Again, if you need to haul a lot of stuff, then that's what you have to do. What I'm saying is that many people buy way bigger than they need to. Prestige, and all that.
Here's another fun experiment. Let's say I'm going to a basketball game up in Houghton, which is 100 miles away--so 200 miles total. At $4.24, those 5.9 gallons cost me $24.93.
Now, how about the school bus that carries the team there? School buses get about 8 mpg. That's right--8. And not only that--they burn diesel, which currently sells for $4.99.99999.99999 at the pump locally.
So that trip consumes 25 gallons of diesel at a total cost of $125. Think about that, Mr. School Administrator!
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Saturday, May 24, 2008
She's back!
A familiar visitor has returned. If you've been around here for a while, you will recognize her right away. I'll get to that in a few minutes.
Slowly (very slowly) but surely, our weather has been improving. We got into the 50s on Friday, and it might get as warm as 70 by Sunday. Not exactly shorts weather yet, though. I want shorts weather.
And we are seeing more critters. One morning last week, we saw this familiar visitor ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Rob523-Rabbit-5-08.jpg[/IMG]
He looked at us (watching from the kitchen window) for a moment or two and then resumed his breakfast ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Rob523-Rabbiteat-5-08.jpg[/IMG]
I have been getting a few questions from long-time readers about the robins, whose progeny have been documented here in the past. Are they back? Have they returned to their apartments under the front porch?
About two weeks ago, we saw the start of a nest, but later in the day everything was on the porch. No action after that until Thursday, when I saw this ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Rob523-Nest522-5-08.jpg[/IMG]
But later that day, all the weeds and grasses were on the porch again. Oh well!
There is no stopping an idea whose time as come, though. Later in the day, we saw more work had been done. And then we saw ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Rob523-UndConst-5-08.jpg[/IMG]
She flew off a second later across the highway, and I lost track of her. But a minute or so later ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Rob523-Onwing-5-08.jpg[/IMG]
... here she was coming back with more stuff for her new nest.
By Friday morning, when I left for work, more work had been done ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Rob523-Onnest-5-08.jpg[/IMG]
And by noon Friday, Ms. Robin was getting comfortable in her nest. Lots of stuff is hanging down, but it looks like this nest is going to be around for a while ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Rob523-OnnestB-5-08.jpg[/IMG]
In a few days, we will get out the chair and mirror and see whether anything is happening inside.
****
The tough part of being a music fan is when you're out on the road, going somewhere. You want to take your music along, but it hasn't always been easy.
When I first started driving, eight-track decks were all the rage. I resisted the urge and finally got a cassette deck. My reasoning was simple: You can record cassettes. You can't record eight-track tapes. (Not to mention the fadeout and "ka-chunk" you heard when the music went from one track to the other.)
Then, in the mid '80s, CDs started coming out. Much higher fidelity. Much better sound. But my car was older, money was tight, and I had to improvise. I wound up getting a Walkman-like CD player with a wire that leads to a thing that fits in the cassette deck. Plug the plug into the cigarette lighter, and your music will play through the car's speakers.
That was cool. It got cooler after I learned how to burn CDs and could transfer music to CD-Rs that would play on the Walkman. Sometimes when I went on trips, I had two cases of CDs under the front seat, maybe 24 in each case. So that's up to 48 CDs making the trip with me. And by this time, I had another car, and, what do you know, it had a CD player in the dash.
But Murphy's Law of electronic devices is that there will always be something bigger and better. I first learned about iPods a few years ago from my older son--he showed how he downloaded podcasts and could take them with him. So that's something else new. Podcasts. About every topic imaginable. And some unimaginable. And you can take it all along with you in an iPod.
I finally had to get one for myself. It stored 30 gigs of stuff, and I thought I was set for life, especially after I got a dohickey that lets you play the iPod through the car's speakers. Cigarette lighters will never die--not as long as they power useful gadgets like that.
The 30 gigs that set me up for life didn't last that long with all the CDs I have collected over the years. Too much music from too many genres. Too many podcasts about too many topics. The wide open spaces on my iPod were filling up rapidly. Only one thing to do: get a bigger one.
I did just that recently. This one will store 80 gigs, and that's a lot of CDs and podcasts. All in this little gizmo that I can stick into a shirt pocket. I also invested in a new case--this time a brown leather case. It looks pretty sharp, don't you think? Plus, you can get a mini-glimpse of my high quality music library ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Rob523-ipod-5-08.jpg[/IMG]
So now I think I'm in good shape for music for quite a while. I hope I am, anyway. (You don't think I should have gotten that 160 gig model, do you?)
Slowly (very slowly) but surely, our weather has been improving. We got into the 50s on Friday, and it might get as warm as 70 by Sunday. Not exactly shorts weather yet, though. I want shorts weather.
And we are seeing more critters. One morning last week, we saw this familiar visitor ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Rob523-Rabbit-5-08.jpg[/IMG]
He looked at us (watching from the kitchen window) for a moment or two and then resumed his breakfast ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Rob523-Rabbiteat-5-08.jpg[/IMG]
I have been getting a few questions from long-time readers about the robins, whose progeny have been documented here in the past. Are they back? Have they returned to their apartments under the front porch?
About two weeks ago, we saw the start of a nest, but later in the day everything was on the porch. No action after that until Thursday, when I saw this ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Rob523-Nest522-5-08.jpg[/IMG]
But later that day, all the weeds and grasses were on the porch again. Oh well!
There is no stopping an idea whose time as come, though. Later in the day, we saw more work had been done. And then we saw ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Rob523-UndConst-5-08.jpg[/IMG]
She flew off a second later across the highway, and I lost track of her. But a minute or so later ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Rob523-Onwing-5-08.jpg[/IMG]
... here she was coming back with more stuff for her new nest.
By Friday morning, when I left for work, more work had been done ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Rob523-Onnest-5-08.jpg[/IMG]
And by noon Friday, Ms. Robin was getting comfortable in her nest. Lots of stuff is hanging down, but it looks like this nest is going to be around for a while ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Rob523-OnnestB-5-08.jpg[/IMG]
In a few days, we will get out the chair and mirror and see whether anything is happening inside.
****
The tough part of being a music fan is when you're out on the road, going somewhere. You want to take your music along, but it hasn't always been easy.
When I first started driving, eight-track decks were all the rage. I resisted the urge and finally got a cassette deck. My reasoning was simple: You can record cassettes. You can't record eight-track tapes. (Not to mention the fadeout and "ka-chunk" you heard when the music went from one track to the other.)
Then, in the mid '80s, CDs started coming out. Much higher fidelity. Much better sound. But my car was older, money was tight, and I had to improvise. I wound up getting a Walkman-like CD player with a wire that leads to a thing that fits in the cassette deck. Plug the plug into the cigarette lighter, and your music will play through the car's speakers.
That was cool. It got cooler after I learned how to burn CDs and could transfer music to CD-Rs that would play on the Walkman. Sometimes when I went on trips, I had two cases of CDs under the front seat, maybe 24 in each case. So that's up to 48 CDs making the trip with me. And by this time, I had another car, and, what do you know, it had a CD player in the dash.
But Murphy's Law of electronic devices is that there will always be something bigger and better. I first learned about iPods a few years ago from my older son--he showed how he downloaded podcasts and could take them with him. So that's something else new. Podcasts. About every topic imaginable. And some unimaginable. And you can take it all along with you in an iPod.
I finally had to get one for myself. It stored 30 gigs of stuff, and I thought I was set for life, especially after I got a dohickey that lets you play the iPod through the car's speakers. Cigarette lighters will never die--not as long as they power useful gadgets like that.
The 30 gigs that set me up for life didn't last that long with all the CDs I have collected over the years. Too much music from too many genres. Too many podcasts about too many topics. The wide open spaces on my iPod were filling up rapidly. Only one thing to do: get a bigger one.
I did just that recently. This one will store 80 gigs, and that's a lot of CDs and podcasts. All in this little gizmo that I can stick into a shirt pocket. I also invested in a new case--this time a brown leather case. It looks pretty sharp, don't you think? Plus, you can get a mini-glimpse of my high quality music library ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Rob523-ipod-5-08.jpg[/IMG]
So now I think I'm in good shape for music for quite a while. I hope I am, anyway. (You don't think I should have gotten that 160 gig model, do you?)
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
The $40 mystery
It's a mystery that is almost a week old now, and I just haven't been able to crack it.
I have looked. In the car. On the floor. In every pocket of my pants, my jacket, my jeans. On my computer desk. In a folder of paper for a board meeting. Yes, even under the couch in the living room. Whatever its hiding place, it picked a good one.
Last Friday, I got paid at work. I filled out a deposit slip for the bank and took it there that afternoon. I deposited the entire amount except $40, which I wanted back in cash. You know, for cash on hand to cover this or that expense that comes up. The teller at the bank gave it back to me inside the envelope--I remember seeing the money there.
What happened to it since ... I can't say.
I've been looking. I looked in the car. On the floor. In every pocket, etc., etc., etc. Everywhere I can think of. No envelope. No deposit slip. No $40.
So I am appealing to all my regular readers over here. Have you seen an envelope with $40 in it (a pair of $20 bills)? If you have, would you be so kind as to send it over here? No questions will be asked.
****
I had an interesting time last night. I decided to take a break from track meet after track meet to get photos at a girls fastpitch softball game in town. It's a relatively new sport around here, but I've seen it on TV and know how tense and exciting it can be.
Last night I also was reminded of one unalterable fact of life up here: You just can't depend on the weather. Especially in spring.
The sun had been out during the day, and it felt pretty nice. But this game was at 6 p.m. By then the sun was behind a thick deck of clouds. Not only that--the wind was kicking up. Out of the north. Blowing hard. And cold. Hard enough to ripple the pants some of the players were wearing. Cold enough for blankets and quilted coats, gloves and knit hats among the spectators ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Sball-pregame-5-08.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Sball-pitcher-5-08.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Sball-wideview-5-08.jpg[/IMG]
And some of the girls just weren't prepared. Oh, they know very well what cold weather is like up here. But they weren't expecting cold like this 2/3rds of the way through May. Some of the girls were wearing just uniform shirts and thin pants, like this batter ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Sball-batter-5-08.jpg[/IMG]
That's not going to keep the chill out. Some had sweats on under their shirts.
They played for 1 1/2 innings. It clearly wasn't getting any warmer. It clearly was getting windier. The trees along the street beyond the outfield were swaying with each gust. After that, the coaches got together with the umpires. Everyone agreed that this game was not meant to be played this night ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Sballendofgm5-08.jpg[/IMG]
So it was a short evening. I went back home, warmed up my hands (my gloves were back home--after all, I also had been led to believe that we were in late May) and stayed inside for the rest of the night.
I have looked. In the car. On the floor. In every pocket of my pants, my jacket, my jeans. On my computer desk. In a folder of paper for a board meeting. Yes, even under the couch in the living room. Whatever its hiding place, it picked a good one.
Last Friday, I got paid at work. I filled out a deposit slip for the bank and took it there that afternoon. I deposited the entire amount except $40, which I wanted back in cash. You know, for cash on hand to cover this or that expense that comes up. The teller at the bank gave it back to me inside the envelope--I remember seeing the money there.
What happened to it since ... I can't say.
I've been looking. I looked in the car. On the floor. In every pocket, etc., etc., etc. Everywhere I can think of. No envelope. No deposit slip. No $40.
So I am appealing to all my regular readers over here. Have you seen an envelope with $40 in it (a pair of $20 bills)? If you have, would you be so kind as to send it over here? No questions will be asked.
****
I had an interesting time last night. I decided to take a break from track meet after track meet to get photos at a girls fastpitch softball game in town. It's a relatively new sport around here, but I've seen it on TV and know how tense and exciting it can be.
Last night I also was reminded of one unalterable fact of life up here: You just can't depend on the weather. Especially in spring.
The sun had been out during the day, and it felt pretty nice. But this game was at 6 p.m. By then the sun was behind a thick deck of clouds. Not only that--the wind was kicking up. Out of the north. Blowing hard. And cold. Hard enough to ripple the pants some of the players were wearing. Cold enough for blankets and quilted coats, gloves and knit hats among the spectators ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Sball-pregame-5-08.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Sball-pitcher-5-08.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Sball-wideview-5-08.jpg[/IMG]
And some of the girls just weren't prepared. Oh, they know very well what cold weather is like up here. But they weren't expecting cold like this 2/3rds of the way through May. Some of the girls were wearing just uniform shirts and thin pants, like this batter ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Sball-batter-5-08.jpg[/IMG]
That's not going to keep the chill out. Some had sweats on under their shirts.
They played for 1 1/2 innings. It clearly wasn't getting any warmer. It clearly was getting windier. The trees along the street beyond the outfield were swaying with each gust. After that, the coaches got together with the umpires. Everyone agreed that this game was not meant to be played this night ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Sballendofgm5-08.jpg[/IMG]
So it was a short evening. I went back home, warmed up my hands (my gloves were back home--after all, I also had been led to believe that we were in late May) and stayed inside for the rest of the night.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Off to a premiere
Hi, everyone. It's time for an update. It's Sunday night, and a quiet weekend is just about over.
It was a weekend when the weather started nice, then got cool. On Sunday afternoon, I don't think the thermometer ventured higher than 45F (+7C). That's pretty discouraging for mid May. But the advance forecast says we may hit 70 (21C) next weekend. That would be our first 70 of the year.
Tonight, by the way, we have a frost warning.
This past week featured a lot of driving to track meets, two of them out of town. This weekend, we decided to stay close to home--no trips out of town. The highlight of the weekend, I guess, was my sudden decision to see if there was a movie in town that my wife would like.
There was. "Prince Caspian," the new "Chronicles of Narnia" movie that just opened, was at our local theater during its first weekend of release. Usually, we have to wait a month or two or three--or else drive 50 miles to Iron Mountain. This time, the movie was here, so we said OK, let's do it.
There were two shows, at 6 and 8:30, and we opted for the 8:30 show. More teenagers and hardly any little kids constantly running back and forth to the concessions stand and the bathroom. We got our soda and some popcorn and settled down in the new seats. The theater put in some wider seats with arms that can be raised so we can sit close to each other. We enjoy doing that.
The thing of it is that my wife has been known to get sleepy while watching movies at home with me, but she promised to stay alert. And she did. We both enjoyed the movie. The only problem is that neither of us had read the book, so we didn't know the story that well. For that reason, the plot was a little hard to follow at times. But we made enough sense out of it, and we were quite satisfied with the story, the acting and how it all came out.
I was quite pleased when my wife wore a top that shows off more bosom than she normally does. So that was nice, too. Maybe we'll go off to more movies. The new Indiana Jones movie comes out in another week--we're planning to take my mom to see that one in June--and then "Mamma Mia" comes out that summer. My wife is a big ABBA fan, and several ABBA CDs are stored on my IPod.
Speaking of that, I finally opted last week to order a new Ipod. My old one, which I have had for about four years, is about maxed out on space--you wouldn't think 30 gigs would fill up so fast--and I had been on the verge of getting a new one for the last six months. All this time I was trying to decide whether to get an 80 gig model or a 160 gig model for $100 more.
I finally opted for the smaller model. I don't store TV programs or movies on it--just music and podcasts, mainly for use when I'm driving here and there. So I think the 80 gigs will last me a long time. Of course, I thought the 30 gigs would last me a long time, too.
The new one is going to be silver. The old one I have is black. I might recondition it and give it to my wife, if she's interested. There are portable radios (fairly inexpensive) that you can dock it to, so she could play it near her sewing machine or wherever she's working in the house.
Despite the cool weather, I was going to mow the back yard this afternoon. But there was a problem with the mower's handle, and I think I'll have to run to the hardware store tomorrow to get a big round-headed screw.
The paper has an early deadline this week because of Memorial Day holiday, so it's a short turnaround--we'll put one edition of the paper together tomorrow and another on Friday. It should make for a busy week. Another busy week.
It was a weekend when the weather started nice, then got cool. On Sunday afternoon, I don't think the thermometer ventured higher than 45F (+7C). That's pretty discouraging for mid May. But the advance forecast says we may hit 70 (21C) next weekend. That would be our first 70 of the year.
Tonight, by the way, we have a frost warning.
This past week featured a lot of driving to track meets, two of them out of town. This weekend, we decided to stay close to home--no trips out of town. The highlight of the weekend, I guess, was my sudden decision to see if there was a movie in town that my wife would like.
There was. "Prince Caspian," the new "Chronicles of Narnia" movie that just opened, was at our local theater during its first weekend of release. Usually, we have to wait a month or two or three--or else drive 50 miles to Iron Mountain. This time, the movie was here, so we said OK, let's do it.
There were two shows, at 6 and 8:30, and we opted for the 8:30 show. More teenagers and hardly any little kids constantly running back and forth to the concessions stand and the bathroom. We got our soda and some popcorn and settled down in the new seats. The theater put in some wider seats with arms that can be raised so we can sit close to each other. We enjoy doing that.
The thing of it is that my wife has been known to get sleepy while watching movies at home with me, but she promised to stay alert. And she did. We both enjoyed the movie. The only problem is that neither of us had read the book, so we didn't know the story that well. For that reason, the plot was a little hard to follow at times. But we made enough sense out of it, and we were quite satisfied with the story, the acting and how it all came out.
I was quite pleased when my wife wore a top that shows off more bosom than she normally does. So that was nice, too. Maybe we'll go off to more movies. The new Indiana Jones movie comes out in another week--we're planning to take my mom to see that one in June--and then "Mamma Mia" comes out that summer. My wife is a big ABBA fan, and several ABBA CDs are stored on my IPod.
Speaking of that, I finally opted last week to order a new Ipod. My old one, which I have had for about four years, is about maxed out on space--you wouldn't think 30 gigs would fill up so fast--and I had been on the verge of getting a new one for the last six months. All this time I was trying to decide whether to get an 80 gig model or a 160 gig model for $100 more.
I finally opted for the smaller model. I don't store TV programs or movies on it--just music and podcasts, mainly for use when I'm driving here and there. So I think the 80 gigs will last me a long time. Of course, I thought the 30 gigs would last me a long time, too.
The new one is going to be silver. The old one I have is black. I might recondition it and give it to my wife, if she's interested. There are portable radios (fairly inexpensive) that you can dock it to, so she could play it near her sewing machine or wherever she's working in the house.
Despite the cool weather, I was going to mow the back yard this afternoon. But there was a problem with the mower's handle, and I think I'll have to run to the hardware store tomorrow to get a big round-headed screw.
The paper has an early deadline this week because of Memorial Day holiday, so it's a short turnaround--we'll put one edition of the paper together tomorrow and another on Friday. It should make for a busy week. Another busy week.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
A distracted mind
Yes, kiddies, this is the classic update post, the post I write when I haven't written for a while and have been busy/preoccupied with other things.
So, in brief: Work. Stanley Cup playoff games. Special editions (that work ended this week). One morning last week, I covered a special meeting for news at 7:30 a.m. The usual sports stuff this time of year, mostly track meets. And, during a break in the hockey playoffs (no games between Sunday and Thursday), my wife and I watched movies several nights.
Yeah, one other thing. Late at night, the time I usually write, I have been playing a mahjong game on the upstairs computer. The ancient Chinese tile-matching game, only with the other three players disguised as the computer and no tiles for the cat to play with.
We have a tulip next to the house--just one--that has slowly been developing in our chilly spring weather. It opened over the weekend. Our tulip garden is in its full glory; the one and only flower has bloomed.
Also, the grass is growing again in the back yard, and I will have to get the lawnmower out this week. No sign of dandelions yet, but their happy leaves are turning dark green. Soon, I'm sure, I will see the stalks starting to rise.
Last Sunday night--I don't think I wrote about it--the hockey game went into the 4th overtime and finally ended at 1:25 a.m. local time. I watched it to the end from the couch, with Charlie next to me. She's my hockey-watching buddy--she stays around because I rub her tummy while watching the game. After the first overtime ended, I went off to the kitchen in search of goodies to sustain me for who knows how long. Eventually I wound up with a Propel and a few crackers. Charlie was still on the couch when I got back. And we watched the second overtime. And the third. I walked around again, to wake myself up a little. I was nearing the point when I'd have to call it quits--but then the Stars scored the winning goal, ending the eighth longest game in NHL history, and I went to bed.
Today was Mother's Day, of course. We went down to visit my mom on Saturday--the forecast called for rain and cooler weather on Sunday (though the rain never came this far north). I ordered flowers for both my wife and mom and got cards. For me, frankly, it's one of those check-all-the-little-boxes days--make sure you do all the things you ought to so nobody feels ignored or hurt. Flowers: check. Dinner: check. Card: check.
But it all got done, wrapping up with a broasted chicken dinner tonight.
(Father's Day? It gets ignored at home. That's just the way it is. I observe it by getting photos of the car show that is held in town that day every year. Nobody else will do it.)
Since the Chicago trip, I haven't been getting around much, except for track meets and visiting my mom. With the price of gas locally at $3.84/gallon, I've been cutting back a little here and there. Thank goodness my car is rather thrifty.
Otherwise, I'm still here. I'm not feeling the blog blahs that others have been talking about ... but at the same time, it's been hard to find spare time to write this month with so many other things claiming my attention. Like mahjong and playoff hockey games that extend into the wee hours. (OK, it was just one night.)
My mind is distracted. When it's as small as mine, it doesn't take much.
So, in brief: Work. Stanley Cup playoff games. Special editions (that work ended this week). One morning last week, I covered a special meeting for news at 7:30 a.m. The usual sports stuff this time of year, mostly track meets. And, during a break in the hockey playoffs (no games between Sunday and Thursday), my wife and I watched movies several nights.
Yeah, one other thing. Late at night, the time I usually write, I have been playing a mahjong game on the upstairs computer. The ancient Chinese tile-matching game, only with the other three players disguised as the computer and no tiles for the cat to play with.
We have a tulip next to the house--just one--that has slowly been developing in our chilly spring weather. It opened over the weekend. Our tulip garden is in its full glory; the one and only flower has bloomed.
Also, the grass is growing again in the back yard, and I will have to get the lawnmower out this week. No sign of dandelions yet, but their happy leaves are turning dark green. Soon, I'm sure, I will see the stalks starting to rise.
Last Sunday night--I don't think I wrote about it--the hockey game went into the 4th overtime and finally ended at 1:25 a.m. local time. I watched it to the end from the couch, with Charlie next to me. She's my hockey-watching buddy--she stays around because I rub her tummy while watching the game. After the first overtime ended, I went off to the kitchen in search of goodies to sustain me for who knows how long. Eventually I wound up with a Propel and a few crackers. Charlie was still on the couch when I got back. And we watched the second overtime. And the third. I walked around again, to wake myself up a little. I was nearing the point when I'd have to call it quits--but then the Stars scored the winning goal, ending the eighth longest game in NHL history, and I went to bed.
Today was Mother's Day, of course. We went down to visit my mom on Saturday--the forecast called for rain and cooler weather on Sunday (though the rain never came this far north). I ordered flowers for both my wife and mom and got cards. For me, frankly, it's one of those check-all-the-little-boxes days--make sure you do all the things you ought to so nobody feels ignored or hurt. Flowers: check. Dinner: check. Card: check.
But it all got done, wrapping up with a broasted chicken dinner tonight.
(Father's Day? It gets ignored at home. That's just the way it is. I observe it by getting photos of the car show that is held in town that day every year. Nobody else will do it.)
Since the Chicago trip, I haven't been getting around much, except for track meets and visiting my mom. With the price of gas locally at $3.84/gallon, I've been cutting back a little here and there. Thank goodness my car is rather thrifty.
Otherwise, I'm still here. I'm not feeling the blog blahs that others have been talking about ... but at the same time, it's been hard to find spare time to write this month with so many other things claiming my attention. Like mahjong and playoff hockey games that extend into the wee hours. (OK, it was just one night.)
My mind is distracted. When it's as small as mine, it doesn't take much.
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Quilting quality queations
They say everything comes to those who wait. A case in point are my pictures from the international quilt show in Chicago last month. Yes, they are finally here ... later in this very post.
We'll get to that in a few moments.
First. to all who are impatient for the return of nice weather, I am as impatient as anyone. This week, temperatures here have mostly been in the 40s. Well, they got to the 50s on Wednesday. But they are supposed to return to the 40s. And now we are in May.
I recently mentioned that my wife's tulips are starting to grow, and Readerwil wanted to know about that--she's from Holland, after all. Well, Wil, last weekend, I saw something out of the ordinary on the tulips, which are trying to brave the chilly spring weather ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/SnowyTulips-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
As you see, we have one bloom, and we hope it can hang in there long enough to bloom. It was still there this morning. Still, the forecast is mentioning a chance of snow showers Saturday afternoon. "New snow accumulation of less than one inch possible." And today, folks, is May 3. I don't want to think about it.
Next week, they say, should be nicer, with several days close to 60 and more sun. We are all decidedly solar energy-deficient right now.
On Wednesday, I took my wife to the doctor in Iron Mountain for her annual exam. They we visited my mom, and I drove her to the cemetery where my dad and brother are buried. It's out in the country, with a forest on one side and a farmer's field on another. A pretty place. I looked at the trees and searched in vain for fat buds on their branches. They looked as bleak and barren as they did last November. So, besides the solar energy, we need some fresh green.
The spring sports are doggedly (Woof! Woof!) trying to go ahead. I covered two track meets and a tennis meet this week. In fact, including my wife's appointment and the visit to my mom, I had long trips out of town three consecutive days this week. Each time, I got back home around 7 or 7:30, and by that time the hockey playoff games were under way. I unwind from my day by watching them.
The Red Wings finished off Colorado in four straight, and last night's game (San Jose vs. Dallas) went into overtime. By then, it was 11:30 p.m. and my wife had gone to bed, but Charlie was hanging in there with me on the couch. During the intermission, I decided we need some snacks to bolster us for what could be a long overtime. I got a Propel from the fridge and a few crackers.
Charlie was very interested--her sniffer was working away madly. "No, Charlie," I told her. "Kitties don't drink Propel."
It wasn't the drink she was after. It was the crackers. Ordinary soda crackers. When she got in range, Charlie started licking them. Maybe it's the salt. So I broke off tiny pieces for her, and she ate some of them. Then she lay down next to me and became my hockey buddy again.
Invigorated by our snack, that little cat and I sat together and watched the [I]entire [/I]sudden-death overtime. All 65 seconds of it.
****
Last evening, before the game, I had some time to make pictures from the quilt show.
Really, there is no way to do justice to a show this vast and the wide variety of creations on display. I identified many great quilts but only got halfway down my list before deciding I had OD'd on them. My wife and I walked around that show for hours, looking at them and taking pictures.
As you may notice, I love creative, colorful designs and alternatives to the various geometric designs that we are all familiar with. And I like nature. Here are some I admired ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/CQuilt-Daffodils-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/CQuilt-Ferns-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/CQuilt-ColorHorse-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
This one was called "Fatal Attraction" ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/CQuilt-FatlAttract-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/CQuilt-Nitebefore-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
For some reason, one section of the show was declared out of bounds for photographers--no cameras allowed! That area had two of the more interesting quilts I saw.
One used a quotation by Vaclav Havel, the former president of the Czech Republic, about peace and being a good person in the world. It was sort of like a sunrise. On the top, it had words of positive emotions; on the bottom, words of negative emotions. An interesting, complex work, and I sure wish I could show it to you.
The other was called "Late Date," and it was a cartoonish thing, mostly in pink, showing a room where a girl is getting ready to go out--and things aren't going right for her at all. She is in her undies, and her elongated arms are ironing a blouse (oh-oh--it got scorched), working on her hair, putting on makeup, selecting clothes, etc. And through the window you can see her date, standing next to his car and looking at his watch. Funny. You would have loved it.
Too bad. But I respect their decision. Even though I didn't agree with it. Anyway, there were more than enough quilts to photograph. Moving on ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/CQuilt-AtDinner-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/CQuilt-Pondlife-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
Plenty of others were examining the quilts. These women were examining one from Australia that depicts the different seasons ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/CQuilt-Seasons-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/CQuilt-SpectDisplay-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/CQuilt-SpringSpirit-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/CQuilt-WdlndStry-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
There was another special theme area of the snow, and fortunately they allowed pictures there. The theme: looking up at the heavens. It's something I like to do ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/CQuilt-LookUp-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/CQuilt-Galaxy-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/CQuilt-StaryNight-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/CQuilt-YinYangComet-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/CQuilt-SaturnRings-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/CQuilt-PurpleSunrise-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
That's about the point I reached yesterday when I decided enough is enough. But since I'm sensitive to my readers' opinions, I probably could be persuaded to post a few more.
We'll get to that in a few moments.
First. to all who are impatient for the return of nice weather, I am as impatient as anyone. This week, temperatures here have mostly been in the 40s. Well, they got to the 50s on Wednesday. But they are supposed to return to the 40s. And now we are in May.
I recently mentioned that my wife's tulips are starting to grow, and Readerwil wanted to know about that--she's from Holland, after all. Well, Wil, last weekend, I saw something out of the ordinary on the tulips, which are trying to brave the chilly spring weather ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/SnowyTulips-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
As you see, we have one bloom, and we hope it can hang in there long enough to bloom. It was still there this morning. Still, the forecast is mentioning a chance of snow showers Saturday afternoon. "New snow accumulation of less than one inch possible." And today, folks, is May 3. I don't want to think about it.
Next week, they say, should be nicer, with several days close to 60 and more sun. We are all decidedly solar energy-deficient right now.
On Wednesday, I took my wife to the doctor in Iron Mountain for her annual exam. They we visited my mom, and I drove her to the cemetery where my dad and brother are buried. It's out in the country, with a forest on one side and a farmer's field on another. A pretty place. I looked at the trees and searched in vain for fat buds on their branches. They looked as bleak and barren as they did last November. So, besides the solar energy, we need some fresh green.
The spring sports are doggedly (Woof! Woof!) trying to go ahead. I covered two track meets and a tennis meet this week. In fact, including my wife's appointment and the visit to my mom, I had long trips out of town three consecutive days this week. Each time, I got back home around 7 or 7:30, and by that time the hockey playoff games were under way. I unwind from my day by watching them.
The Red Wings finished off Colorado in four straight, and last night's game (San Jose vs. Dallas) went into overtime. By then, it was 11:30 p.m. and my wife had gone to bed, but Charlie was hanging in there with me on the couch. During the intermission, I decided we need some snacks to bolster us for what could be a long overtime. I got a Propel from the fridge and a few crackers.
Charlie was very interested--her sniffer was working away madly. "No, Charlie," I told her. "Kitties don't drink Propel."
It wasn't the drink she was after. It was the crackers. Ordinary soda crackers. When she got in range, Charlie started licking them. Maybe it's the salt. So I broke off tiny pieces for her, and she ate some of them. Then she lay down next to me and became my hockey buddy again.
Invigorated by our snack, that little cat and I sat together and watched the [I]entire [/I]sudden-death overtime. All 65 seconds of it.
****
Last evening, before the game, I had some time to make pictures from the quilt show.
Really, there is no way to do justice to a show this vast and the wide variety of creations on display. I identified many great quilts but only got halfway down my list before deciding I had OD'd on them. My wife and I walked around that show for hours, looking at them and taking pictures.
As you may notice, I love creative, colorful designs and alternatives to the various geometric designs that we are all familiar with. And I like nature. Here are some I admired ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/CQuilt-Daffodils-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/CQuilt-Ferns-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/CQuilt-ColorHorse-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
This one was called "Fatal Attraction" ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/CQuilt-FatlAttract-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/CQuilt-Nitebefore-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
For some reason, one section of the show was declared out of bounds for photographers--no cameras allowed! That area had two of the more interesting quilts I saw.
One used a quotation by Vaclav Havel, the former president of the Czech Republic, about peace and being a good person in the world. It was sort of like a sunrise. On the top, it had words of positive emotions; on the bottom, words of negative emotions. An interesting, complex work, and I sure wish I could show it to you.
The other was called "Late Date," and it was a cartoonish thing, mostly in pink, showing a room where a girl is getting ready to go out--and things aren't going right for her at all. She is in her undies, and her elongated arms are ironing a blouse (oh-oh--it got scorched), working on her hair, putting on makeup, selecting clothes, etc. And through the window you can see her date, standing next to his car and looking at his watch. Funny. You would have loved it.
Too bad. But I respect their decision. Even though I didn't agree with it. Anyway, there were more than enough quilts to photograph. Moving on ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/CQuilt-AtDinner-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/CQuilt-Pondlife-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
Plenty of others were examining the quilts. These women were examining one from Australia that depicts the different seasons ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/CQuilt-Seasons-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/CQuilt-SpectDisplay-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/CQuilt-SpringSpirit-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/CQuilt-WdlndStry-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
There was another special theme area of the snow, and fortunately they allowed pictures there. The theme: looking up at the heavens. It's something I like to do ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/CQuilt-LookUp-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/CQuilt-Galaxy-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/CQuilt-StaryNight-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/CQuilt-YinYangComet-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/CQuilt-SaturnRings-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/CQuilt-PurpleSunrise-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
That's about the point I reached yesterday when I decided enough is enough. But since I'm sensitive to my readers' opinions, I probably could be persuaded to post a few more.
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