Here are some of the pictures I took in black and white:
Wednesday, August 12, 2015
Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens in Black and White
On Tueday, August 11th, I furthered my exploration of NE Washington, D. C. with a trip to the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens, a park replete with exotic flowers such as lotuses, and lily pads, marine fowl and other wildlife, and marshy wetlands. It's located near the banks of the Anacostia River within a half an hour of our apartment home.
Here are some of the pictures I took in black and white:
Here are some of the pictures I took in black and white:
Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens in Color
On Tueday, August 11th, I furthered my exploration of NE Washington, D. C. with a trip to the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens, a park replete with exotic flowers such as lotuses, and lily pads, marine fowl and other wildlife, and marshy wetlands. It's located near the banks of the Anacostia River within a half an hour of our apartment home.
Here are some of the pictures I took, in color:
Here are some of the pictures I took, in color:
Tuesday, August 11, 2015
Three Beautiful Things 08/10/15: Writing About Christy's Move, More on *Mr. Holmes*, Scrounging for Dinner
1. It took me most of the day to write the three posts for this blog I was determined to finish today. In addition to 3BTs, I completed the next Sibling Assignment. In it, I reflect on how happy I am for my sister, Christy, for my mom, and for our entire family that Christy has moved in next door to Mom. It's posted here.
2. The corgis insisted that I feed them shortly before 5:30 a.m. this morning, so in the afternoon, as I worked to write my last blog post of the day, I needed a nap. When I awoke, made myself a cup of tea, and sat down, I was in much better shape to write about my understanding of virtuous deceit in Shakespeare and how it helped me reflect upon the movie Mr. Holmes. I do not disclose plot details of Mr. Holmes, so if you decide to go here and read my thoughts, I won't spoil the movie's story for you.
3. Having finished writing, it was past dinner time. I didn't feel like going to the store. I decided I'd make due with what little food I had in our apartment home. I remembered I had a half of a ciabatta roll. I had a brick of Cracker Barrel cheese. I found a tin of salmon in a cupboard. I toasted the roll, using the cast iron skillet and made an open face salmon and cheese combination with mustard. Not bad.
2. The corgis insisted that I feed them shortly before 5:30 a.m. this morning, so in the afternoon, as I worked to write my last blog post of the day, I needed a nap. When I awoke, made myself a cup of tea, and sat down, I was in much better shape to write about my understanding of virtuous deceit in Shakespeare and how it helped me reflect upon the movie Mr. Holmes. I do not disclose plot details of Mr. Holmes, so if you decide to go here and read my thoughts, I won't spoil the movie's story for you.
3. Having finished writing, it was past dinner time. I didn't feel like going to the store. I decided I'd make due with what little food I had in our apartment home. I remembered I had a half of a ciabatta roll. I had a brick of Cracker Barrel cheese. I found a tin of salmon in a cupboard. I toasted the roll, using the cast iron skillet and made an open face salmon and cheese combination with mustard. Not bad.
Monday, August 10, 2015
Virtuous Deceit in Shakespeare and *Mr. Holmes*
If you are familiar with Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, you know that the play reaches its climax in Act IV when Claudio, deceived by Don John into thinking Hero has betrayed him -- that is, cheated on him --, humiliates her at the wedding by accusing her of infidelity and refusing to marry her.
In the immediate aftermath of this chaotic scene, Friar Francis, who doesn't believe for a second that Hero was unfaithful, devises a deceitful plan. He instructs Hero's father and others to spread a lie that Hero is dead. He answers Don John's deceit that Claudio and Don Pedro fell for regarding Hero's fidelity with a deceit of his own, trusting that Claudio's true love for Hero will be reawakened when he learns she is dead.
It's a virtuous deceit.
It's a trope Shakespeare puts into play in other of his comedies (and in some of his histories) as a means of breaking through to a character's true, and better nature, when because of jealousy or love-sickness the character cannot hear the simple truth. (I just thought of a tragedy where a wonderful virtuous deceit occurs -- Edgar, disguised at Mad Tom, leads his blinded father Gloucester to belive his survived a fall from a cliff. Oh..there must be others, as well!)
It's a trope Shakespeare puts into play in other of his comedies (and in some of his histories) as a means of breaking through to a character's true, and better nature, when because of jealousy or love-sickness the character cannot hear the simple truth. (I just thought of a tragedy where a wonderful virtuous deceit occurs -- Edgar, disguised at Mad Tom, leads his blinded father Gloucester to belive his survived a fall from a cliff. Oh..there must be others, as well!)
Rosalind deceives Orlando in As You Like It, by presenting herself as a man to him and from behind her disguise is able to successfully test Orlando's love for her. In The Winter's Tale, furious jealousy blinds Leontes, violently removing him from his true feelings of love for his wife Hermione. As in the Hero story of Much Ado About Nothing, a report goes out that Hermione is dead, but she is actually in exile with Paulina. Over fifteen years pass, and at the end of the play, Leontes is presented with a statue of his deceased wife Hermione -- except it only appears to be a statue and, right before Leontes' eyes, the "statue" Hermione comes alive and Leontes' love for her is resurrected and their long separation is reconciled.
To me, the philosophical concepts that are shot throughout Shakespeare's plays are, first, the volatile, mutable nature of reality and, second, the inherent double (at least) nature of reality. In his plays, things are in a constant state of flux and this includes a concept like deceit.
Does Shakespeare explore the traditional view of deceit, that it is destructive, erosive, corrosive, and abhorrent? Definitely. He explores the destructive nature of deceit in his tragedies and history plays (as well as how Prince Hal/Henry V uses deceit to redemptive purposes). The horror of deceit dominates Macbeth and Othello. Claudius' deceit (and Gertrude's, too?How complicit is she?) gives rise to the entire story of Hamlet.
As noted, however, Shakespeare also explores how deceit can be put to virtuous use. It's as if over his career he wanted to see how far he could go with what Friar Lawrence says in his garden as he reflects upon his herbs. He muses:
Friar Lawrence's actions in this play demonstrate that not all deceit performed for virtuous reasons is successful. He attempts to help Romeo and Juliet by staging Juliet's death with the help of a potion that makes it appear she is dead. Romeo finds her in the crypt before the potion wears off and his too early discovery of her leads to their double suicide.
Friar Lawrence's deceit fails. Friar Francis' deceit works. So does Paulina's. So does Rosalind's. Just for the record, so, eventually, does Puck's.
Shakespeare's exploration of virtuous deceit occupied my thoughts after I saw the movie, Mr. Holmes.
Because it's a new movie and I don't want to give away details, I'll just say that as the story came to its conclusion, the nonagenarian Holmes learns that had he not been quite so rigorously honest at a critical juncture of his life, the life of another might have been spared. I think he also learns that the fictions Dr. Watson wrote about him, the embellishments of his career, resulted in some good in the world for those who enjoyed the stories, learned from them, and, possibly, found hope in them.
What Holmes learns about fiction and deceit inspires him to a deed late in his life that is deceitful and life giving, even redemptive.
If you want to know what it is, you'll have to see the movie.
I'll just say that Mr. Holmes' edges toward death with many of his mental and physical powers eroding, but what he learns about the power of fiction, of virtuous deceit, revitalizes his last days and opens the way for him to die at peace with himself.
To me, the philosophical concepts that are shot throughout Shakespeare's plays are, first, the volatile, mutable nature of reality and, second, the inherent double (at least) nature of reality. In his plays, things are in a constant state of flux and this includes a concept like deceit.
Does Shakespeare explore the traditional view of deceit, that it is destructive, erosive, corrosive, and abhorrent? Definitely. He explores the destructive nature of deceit in his tragedies and history plays (as well as how Prince Hal/Henry V uses deceit to redemptive purposes). The horror of deceit dominates Macbeth and Othello. Claudius' deceit (and Gertrude's, too?How complicit is she?) gives rise to the entire story of Hamlet.
As noted, however, Shakespeare also explores how deceit can be put to virtuous use. It's as if over his career he wanted to see how far he could go with what Friar Lawrence says in his garden as he reflects upon his herbs. He muses:
Virtue itself turn vice being misapplied
And vice sometimes by action dignified.Friar Lawrence observes this doubleness not only in human actions, but in the very herbs he grows in his garden:
Within the infant rind of this small flower
Poison hath residence and medicine power:
For this being smelt, with that part cheers each part;
Being tasted, slays all senses with the heart.
Friar Lawrence's actions in this play demonstrate that not all deceit performed for virtuous reasons is successful. He attempts to help Romeo and Juliet by staging Juliet's death with the help of a potion that makes it appear she is dead. Romeo finds her in the crypt before the potion wears off and his too early discovery of her leads to their double suicide.
Friar Lawrence's deceit fails. Friar Francis' deceit works. So does Paulina's. So does Rosalind's. Just for the record, so, eventually, does Puck's.
Shakespeare's exploration of virtuous deceit occupied my thoughts after I saw the movie, Mr. Holmes.
Because it's a new movie and I don't want to give away details, I'll just say that as the story came to its conclusion, the nonagenarian Holmes learns that had he not been quite so rigorously honest at a critical juncture of his life, the life of another might have been spared. I think he also learns that the fictions Dr. Watson wrote about him, the embellishments of his career, resulted in some good in the world for those who enjoyed the stories, learned from them, and, possibly, found hope in them.
What Holmes learns about fiction and deceit inspires him to a deed late in his life that is deceitful and life giving, even redemptive.
If you want to know what it is, you'll have to see the movie.
I'll just say that Mr. Holmes' edges toward death with many of his mental and physical powers eroding, but what he learns about the power of fiction, of virtuous deceit, revitalizes his last days and opens the way for him to die at peace with himself.
Sibling Assignment #166: Mom's New Next Door Neighbor
I assigned Sibling Assignment #166:
I decided late in the spring to travel to Kellogg for most of the month of July.
I wanted to see Mom and be of any help I could has she continues to recover from her fall and broken arm she suffered back in March. I also wanted to pitch in and help Christy and Everett move from Martin Creek to Kellogg where they have moved into the house next door to Mom. Along with Christy, I also got to help keep up Carol and Paul's yard and look after their Poms while they and Cosette traveled to San Francisco.
And, as always, I wanted to spend as much time as possible with my lifelong friends in North Idaho and Eastern Washington.
Fortune smiled on me in July. On the 28th, I left Kellogg knowing I had enjoyed several good times and a great party with with lifelong friends. I ate three great breakfasts out in CdA! I got to help members of the KHS Class of '73 celebrate turning 60. My sisters and I had a fun day in CdA and Spokane on July 28th. Stu joined us at the end of that day. I flew back to Baltimore knowing I had been of help to both of my sisters and my mom.
Then, to top it all off, back at Ft. Belvoir Community in Northern Virginia, Molly gave birth to Ana Maria on July 28th and I got to see her a day later at her new home in Silver Spring when I arrived back home from Kellogg.
If this had been any other month, I would write about the birth of Ana Maria as the most noteworthy day.
This wasn't any other month, though, because on Monday, July 6th, a huge change occurred that I'm sure will have transformative effects on my family in Kellogg beyond what we can imagine.
On July 6th, Carol, Molly R., and I drove to Martin Creek to help load Christy and Everett's U-Haul truck and to help them move their belongings to their new house next door to Mom in Kellogg.
When we arrived, Paul and Everett and Christy were well underway getting the truck loaded. Paul took charge of arranging the goods in the truck and the rest of us brought boxes and furniture and other possessions out of the house and garage in the mid-90s heat.
Once back in Kellogg, we feasted on the food Christy brought home to Mom's from Panda Express and several of us enjoyed a cool nightcap of gin and tonics in camping chairs in Christy and Everett's living room.
None of what happened that day was especially noteworthy, but the possibilities this move holds for goodness in our family is beyond noteworthy.
It's profound.
First of all, Christy is moving back to our hometown where lifelong friends live and where she and Everett no longer have to endure the demands of day to day life in the country. Not only will their gardening and property upkeep demands lessen in Kellogg, but now, if they need to go to the store or buy some hardware or go to the bank , they can go down the street, not make excursions into Kettle Falls or Colville.
Moreover, Christy is newly retired. Her daily commute into Inchelium is done. So are the day to day demands teaching put on her spirit, mind, and body. She had a wonderful career, but it had run its course and Kellogg will be a restful place to live. It's quiet. The pace is slow. She and Everett are buying a solid house.
Most of all, though, this move means that Mom will not only have Carol and Paul close by to help her out and keep her company , but Christy will be next door.
During Mom's dark days after her March fall, nearly all of the responsibility for giving Mom help and company throughout the day and night, of finding out what help was available to her, of taking Mom to appointments and to the hospital, and so on, fell on Carol and her family.
Not once have I heard Carol complain.
Now, Mom has both of my sisters in Kellogg to help her with her shopping, yard work, the cleaning she can't do, and with helping her fix meals when she's not up to it and other things. Mom is determined to do these things herself, but she's suffering from physical ailments that often make it impossible for to do such things and her once nearly inexhaustible stamina has greatly decreased.
Many people in Mom's situation become lonely and isolated. Carol and Paul and their daughters, as well as Mom's next door neighbor, Jane, and other of Mom's friends, visit her often and offer to help out with errands and projects Mom needs done. With Christy and Everett moving in next door, Mom's circle of people she can rely on has now grown significantly -- in numbers, yes, but also in meaningfulness and trust.
Mom is working hard to stay as independent as she can, but she can't be wholly independent -- nor should she be -- and with Christy, Everett, Carol, and Paul nearby, she has more family members to not only help her stay in her house and feel less overwhelmed by what she needs to do and what she wants to have done, but she has more people to have fun with, to eat meals with, enjoy get togethers with, and go on outings with. Just in the two weeks, Mom has had dinner at the Snake Pit, been to Molly R's birthday party, been on a tour of a Wallace residence's raised bed gardens, and enjoyed a visit from Lura and Lyle. Christy worked with Lura to arrange that visit and Christy and Carol both hosted backyard dinners. Mom was free of such responsibilities and, I'll wager, much more relaxed as a result.
If you'd asked me just four or five years ago how I thought our family's future was going to work out, I would have said that the Deke and I would move to Kellogg and Christy and Everett would stay at Martin Creek and we'd all be closer together in that way.
But, I greatly underestimated the power of having grandchildren come into our lives and, so, I am far away from Kellogg and it's Christy who came back home.
I'll come back to Kellogg to see everyone and help out as I am able. I'm caught between wanting to see my Kellogg family and friends and to be as much help as I can, on the one hand, and, on the other, to enjoy life with the Deke and the rest of our family here in the east, and, to help keep our household running during the school year when the demands on the Deke's everyday life increase significantly.
I'm just fortunate that I can come out to Kellogg about twice a year and have the good life I have here in Maryland with my family here.
That day, July 6th, when Christy and Everett moved into the house next door to Mom has increased my faith that that Christy's life will be even happier and that Mom's morale will continue to be strong. To me, being in good spirits and knowing she has people for good company and to turn to for help is the key to Mom's well-being and I trust that having both Christy and Carol in Kellogg will be a profound help as Mom enjoys her life in her mid-80s and beyond.
I think we'd all agree that July, 2015 was a most eventful month for all three of us.
Choose one day out of this memorable month and focus on it and what happened. Write about why it stands out to you as especially noteworthy.You can see and read Carol's photo-essay of her 29th wedding anniversary, here. Christy wrote about the toughest day of July and how love prevailed, here.
I decided late in the spring to travel to Kellogg for most of the month of July.
I wanted to see Mom and be of any help I could has she continues to recover from her fall and broken arm she suffered back in March. I also wanted to pitch in and help Christy and Everett move from Martin Creek to Kellogg where they have moved into the house next door to Mom. Along with Christy, I also got to help keep up Carol and Paul's yard and look after their Poms while they and Cosette traveled to San Francisco.
And, as always, I wanted to spend as much time as possible with my lifelong friends in North Idaho and Eastern Washington.
Fortune smiled on me in July. On the 28th, I left Kellogg knowing I had enjoyed several good times and a great party with with lifelong friends. I ate three great breakfasts out in CdA! I got to help members of the KHS Class of '73 celebrate turning 60. My sisters and I had a fun day in CdA and Spokane on July 28th. Stu joined us at the end of that day. I flew back to Baltimore knowing I had been of help to both of my sisters and my mom.
Then, to top it all off, back at Ft. Belvoir Community in Northern Virginia, Molly gave birth to Ana Maria on July 28th and I got to see her a day later at her new home in Silver Spring when I arrived back home from Kellogg.
If this had been any other month, I would write about the birth of Ana Maria as the most noteworthy day.
This wasn't any other month, though, because on Monday, July 6th, a huge change occurred that I'm sure will have transformative effects on my family in Kellogg beyond what we can imagine.
On July 6th, Carol, Molly R., and I drove to Martin Creek to help load Christy and Everett's U-Haul truck and to help them move their belongings to their new house next door to Mom in Kellogg.
When we arrived, Paul and Everett and Christy were well underway getting the truck loaded. Paul took charge of arranging the goods in the truck and the rest of us brought boxes and furniture and other possessions out of the house and garage in the mid-90s heat.
Once back in Kellogg, we feasted on the food Christy brought home to Mom's from Panda Express and several of us enjoyed a cool nightcap of gin and tonics in camping chairs in Christy and Everett's living room.
None of what happened that day was especially noteworthy, but the possibilities this move holds for goodness in our family is beyond noteworthy.
It's profound.
First of all, Christy is moving back to our hometown where lifelong friends live and where she and Everett no longer have to endure the demands of day to day life in the country. Not only will their gardening and property upkeep demands lessen in Kellogg, but now, if they need to go to the store or buy some hardware or go to the bank , they can go down the street, not make excursions into Kettle Falls or Colville.
Moreover, Christy is newly retired. Her daily commute into Inchelium is done. So are the day to day demands teaching put on her spirit, mind, and body. She had a wonderful career, but it had run its course and Kellogg will be a restful place to live. It's quiet. The pace is slow. She and Everett are buying a solid house.
Most of all, though, this move means that Mom will not only have Carol and Paul close by to help her out and keep her company , but Christy will be next door.
During Mom's dark days after her March fall, nearly all of the responsibility for giving Mom help and company throughout the day and night, of finding out what help was available to her, of taking Mom to appointments and to the hospital, and so on, fell on Carol and her family.
Not once have I heard Carol complain.
Now, Mom has both of my sisters in Kellogg to help her with her shopping, yard work, the cleaning she can't do, and with helping her fix meals when she's not up to it and other things. Mom is determined to do these things herself, but she's suffering from physical ailments that often make it impossible for to do such things and her once nearly inexhaustible stamina has greatly decreased.
Many people in Mom's situation become lonely and isolated. Carol and Paul and their daughters, as well as Mom's next door neighbor, Jane, and other of Mom's friends, visit her often and offer to help out with errands and projects Mom needs done. With Christy and Everett moving in next door, Mom's circle of people she can rely on has now grown significantly -- in numbers, yes, but also in meaningfulness and trust.
Mom is working hard to stay as independent as she can, but she can't be wholly independent -- nor should she be -- and with Christy, Everett, Carol, and Paul nearby, she has more family members to not only help her stay in her house and feel less overwhelmed by what she needs to do and what she wants to have done, but she has more people to have fun with, to eat meals with, enjoy get togethers with, and go on outings with. Just in the two weeks, Mom has had dinner at the Snake Pit, been to Molly R's birthday party, been on a tour of a Wallace residence's raised bed gardens, and enjoyed a visit from Lura and Lyle. Christy worked with Lura to arrange that visit and Christy and Carol both hosted backyard dinners. Mom was free of such responsibilities and, I'll wager, much more relaxed as a result.
If you'd asked me just four or five years ago how I thought our family's future was going to work out, I would have said that the Deke and I would move to Kellogg and Christy and Everett would stay at Martin Creek and we'd all be closer together in that way.
But, I greatly underestimated the power of having grandchildren come into our lives and, so, I am far away from Kellogg and it's Christy who came back home.
I'll come back to Kellogg to see everyone and help out as I am able. I'm caught between wanting to see my Kellogg family and friends and to be as much help as I can, on the one hand, and, on the other, to enjoy life with the Deke and the rest of our family here in the east, and, to help keep our household running during the school year when the demands on the Deke's everyday life increase significantly.
I'm just fortunate that I can come out to Kellogg about twice a year and have the good life I have here in Maryland with my family here.
That day, July 6th, when Christy and Everett moved into the house next door to Mom has increased my faith that that Christy's life will be even happier and that Mom's morale will continue to be strong. To me, being in good spirits and knowing she has people for good company and to turn to for help is the key to Mom's well-being and I trust that having both Christy and Carol in Kellogg will be a profound help as Mom enjoys her life in her mid-80s and beyond.
Three Beautiful Things 08/09/15: O Taste and See, Laundry Calls, Cider and Salad
1. I worshiped this morning at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church. The Psalm appointed for today was Psalm 34 and during the Psalm I was transported back one day to Saturday, my visit to the Atlas Brew Works, and the flight of beers I enjoyed when, with other congregants, we read aloud verse 8: "O taste and see that the Lord is good."
In addition, Denise Levertov's poem, "O Taste and See" sprang to mind:
The world is
not with us enough
O taste and see
the subway Bible poster said,
meaning The Lord, meaning
if anything all that lives
to the imagination's tongue,
grief, mercy, language,
tangerine, weather, to
breathe them, bite,
savor, chew, swallow, transform
into our flesh our
deaths, crossing the street, plum, quince,
living in the orchard and being
hungry and plucking
the fruit.
2. I'd planned on taking another jaunt into NE D. C. this afternoon to visit the DC Brau brewery, but I could not in good conscience let my laundry pile up another day. So I got it done and thought of Richard Wilbur's lines in the poem "Love Calls Us to the Things of This World":
"Oh, let there be nothing on earth but laundry,
Nothing but rosy hands in the rising steam
And clear dances done in the sight of heaven."
3. I did not think of any poems when I drove to the Co-op and picked up some broccoli and tomatoes to add to my pasta salad dressed with both balsamic and rice vinegar as well as olive oil. The salad is tasty and paired well with a bottle of Woodchuck Summer Time hard cider, a crisp apple cider topped with a tart touch of blueberry juice.
In addition, Denise Levertov's poem, "O Taste and See" sprang to mind:
The world is
not with us enough
O taste and see
the subway Bible poster said,
meaning The Lord, meaning
if anything all that lives
to the imagination's tongue,
grief, mercy, language,
tangerine, weather, to
breathe them, bite,
savor, chew, swallow, transform
into our flesh our
deaths, crossing the street, plum, quince,
living in the orchard and being
hungry and plucking
the fruit.
2. I'd planned on taking another jaunt into NE D. C. this afternoon to visit the DC Brau brewery, but I could not in good conscience let my laundry pile up another day. So I got it done and thought of Richard Wilbur's lines in the poem "Love Calls Us to the Things of This World":
"Oh, let there be nothing on earth but laundry,
Nothing but rosy hands in the rising steam
And clear dances done in the sight of heaven."
3. I did not think of any poems when I drove to the Co-op and picked up some broccoli and tomatoes to add to my pasta salad dressed with both balsamic and rice vinegar as well as olive oil. The salad is tasty and paired well with a bottle of Woodchuck Summer Time hard cider, a crisp apple cider topped with a tart touch of blueberry juice.
Sunday, August 9, 2015
Three Beautiful Things 08/08/15: A Deeper DC, Samplers @ Atlas Brew Works, Pink Floyd Flight
1. K. H. and I talked last December at Billy Mac's about the fact that she had grown up in Washington, D.C. In the late summer and fall, I had been making trips to the West End Cinema in Foggy Bottom, and K. told me how her Irish-Catholic ancestors had settled in that, and I quote her, "mosquito infested swamp land." This morning K commented on my Friday foray into NE Washington DC by telling me -- or reminding me -- that she had grown up in NE DC, first with her grandparents and then at St. Vincent's orphanage. On Friday, I'd just been near these landmarks in K's young life, I went searching online to locate exactly where K had lived and gone to school and found pictures of the exterior of the orphanage she lived in. If KH told me in December that she lived in NE DC, it didn't stick in my memory, but now that I have just begun to explore and read about this quadrant of Washington, DC, KH's story is all the more immediate and tangible to me.
2. The tasting room at Atlas Brew Works on West Virginia Ave, NE in DC in only open on Friday from 5-8 and on Saturday and Sunday from 1-8. Today, I visited it for the first time. The brewery reminded me of when I went to the original Oakshire tasting room in the Trainsong neighborhood of Eugene. Atlas Brew Works operates out of a warehouse in the Ivy City neighborhood and on its tasting days, it puts up a company sign, invites a food truck to camp in front near the two cornhole boards, opens two huge warehouse doors, and welcomes beer lovers into the warehouse to taste their beer at an L-shaped bar or seated on picnic tables. The bar and tables sit adjacent to the brewery's production area. Classic tunes from the 70s echo off the concrete floor and walls. Jolly beer tasters surrounded the bar; the picnic tables were full.
I joined in the happy vibe of Atlas Brew Works, bellying up to the bar and ordering a flight, which allowed me to sample all but one of their currently available beers -- you can learn more about the beers, here. Because it's low in supply, at first the barkeep didn't give me a sample of NSFW Imperial Black IPA, but after we had a little conversation -- and maybe after she saw how much I enjoyed the other beers -- she brought me a sample of NSFW.
I finished my flight, paid for another sample of NSFW, bought a six pack of Atlas' District Commons Lager, a beer I want Molly to taste to see if it rivals Hop Valley's 541 Lager as awesome in her book, and returned to Greenbelt.
Only one thing could have made this visit to Atlas Brew Works better: a companion -- say, the Deke or the Troxstar or Julie or Brian-Danielle-Allison or my Billy Mac's friends or the Thursday afternoon guys I threw back pints with at 16 Tons.
Tasting beer solo fills me with satisfaction, but tasting beer with mates fills me with joy.
3. I was into about my fourth little sampler when suddenly time stopped and, spiritually, I temporarily vacated the Atlas Brew Works when Pink Floyd's "Shine on You Crazy Diamond" came over the sound system. Richard Wright's keyboard prelude transformed the brewery warehouse into a church and David Gilmore's muted and mournful opening guitar cries pulled longings from deep within me -- I longed to be with old friends (Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here" sprung to mind) or to be back at the McDonald Theater or at the Cuthbert listening to another Floydian Slips show or to be touring beer joints in CdA with Byrdman -- I longed for the days in the Center building at LCC listening to Coleman Barks talk about longing and the poetry of Rumi. Multiple other longs followed. Soon enough, though, I returned to the concrete present of the Atlas Brew Works warehouse and entered again into the immediate pleasures happening at that moment in NE DC. I felt gratitude that now this is my life, a life I would never have even dared to imagine just a short time ago.
2. The tasting room at Atlas Brew Works on West Virginia Ave, NE in DC in only open on Friday from 5-8 and on Saturday and Sunday from 1-8. Today, I visited it for the first time. The brewery reminded me of when I went to the original Oakshire tasting room in the Trainsong neighborhood of Eugene. Atlas Brew Works operates out of a warehouse in the Ivy City neighborhood and on its tasting days, it puts up a company sign, invites a food truck to camp in front near the two cornhole boards, opens two huge warehouse doors, and welcomes beer lovers into the warehouse to taste their beer at an L-shaped bar or seated on picnic tables. The bar and tables sit adjacent to the brewery's production area. Classic tunes from the 70s echo off the concrete floor and walls. Jolly beer tasters surrounded the bar; the picnic tables were full.
I joined in the happy vibe of Atlas Brew Works, bellying up to the bar and ordering a flight, which allowed me to sample all but one of their currently available beers -- you can learn more about the beers, here. Because it's low in supply, at first the barkeep didn't give me a sample of NSFW Imperial Black IPA, but after we had a little conversation -- and maybe after she saw how much I enjoyed the other beers -- she brought me a sample of NSFW.
I finished my flight, paid for another sample of NSFW, bought a six pack of Atlas' District Commons Lager, a beer I want Molly to taste to see if it rivals Hop Valley's 541 Lager as awesome in her book, and returned to Greenbelt.
Only one thing could have made this visit to Atlas Brew Works better: a companion -- say, the Deke or the Troxstar or Julie or Brian-Danielle-Allison or my Billy Mac's friends or the Thursday afternoon guys I threw back pints with at 16 Tons.
Tasting beer solo fills me with satisfaction, but tasting beer with mates fills me with joy.
3. I was into about my fourth little sampler when suddenly time stopped and, spiritually, I temporarily vacated the Atlas Brew Works when Pink Floyd's "Shine on You Crazy Diamond" came over the sound system. Richard Wright's keyboard prelude transformed the brewery warehouse into a church and David Gilmore's muted and mournful opening guitar cries pulled longings from deep within me -- I longed to be with old friends (Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here" sprung to mind) or to be back at the McDonald Theater or at the Cuthbert listening to another Floydian Slips show or to be touring beer joints in CdA with Byrdman -- I longed for the days in the Center building at LCC listening to Coleman Barks talk about longing and the poetry of Rumi. Multiple other longs followed. Soon enough, though, I returned to the concrete present of the Atlas Brew Works warehouse and entered again into the immediate pleasures happening at that moment in NE DC. I felt gratitude that now this is my life, a life I would never have even dared to imagine just a short time ago.
Saturday, August 8, 2015
Three Beautiful Things 08/07/15: Exploring NE DC, Lunch at Union Market, PoPville and WPFW-FM and Gentrification
1. I set out today to become more familiar with the names of neighborhoods and the locations of places, businesses, and breweries in the sections of NE Washington D. C. that sit about 20-30 minutes from our apartment home. I studied and tried out driving routes: Rt. 410 (the East-West Highway), Rt. 1 (Baltimore Ave becoming Rhode Island Ave NE), West Virginia NE, Florida NE, Mt. Olivet Rd. NE, and Bladensburg Rd. I know how to get to the Good Foods Market in Woodridge, DC Brau (is it in a named neighborhood?), Atlas Brew Works in Ivy City, and Union Market in the Union Market District. This wasn't all brand new to me -- the National Arboretum is in NE DC and I took a less ambitious drive to locate DC Brau back in April.
2. I parked in the spacious parking area in front of the Union Market. Union Market is a gentrified version of an historic market place in this location. Union Market is all indoors and features a number of eateries, all of them locally owned and artisan. One restaurant grows food on the Union Market roof. Among the offerings in the market, I discovered Mediterranean food, an oyster bar, barbecue, fancy sandwiches, a fish and chips joint, a Laotian noodle bar, and, the place I landed on, a Korean taco counter. I loved the galaxy of pickled and spicy flavors in the half rice, half slaw pork bowl I ordered. The Market also features local bakeries, an upscale coffee/espresso bar, meat shops, a vinegar/oil boutique, and an Airstream out front, called Suburbia, that serves specialty cocktails and beers. The Union Market overwhelmed me -- so much to see and smell packed into a refurbished warehouse -- and, I'll return. I'd especially enjoy going early on a Saturday morning for coffee and an item from one of the bakeries. And, when I'm less overwhelmed, I'd like to take some pictures.
3. Once back home, I went online to read up more on where I'd been in the afternoon and discovered a blog (and its companion Twitter feed) called PoPville, DC's Neighborhood Blog. I rummaged through posts, joined the site's Flickr group, and learned much more about some of DC's different neighborhoods, not only about places to eat and drink, but about real estate developments and challenges, as well as updates with the difficult week the Metro system has had.
Speaking of DC's housing challenges, during my drive to NE Washington, DC, I listened to the program Latino Media Collective on WPFW-FM and the show focused on gentrification in DC's so-called Chinatown and its detrimental, often devastating, impact on lower income residents, especially after the construction of the Verizon Center, completed in 1997, and all the higher end housing and retail outlets and restaurants that followed. The program focused on two tenants of the Museum Square Apartments in Chinatown who are fighting with other tentants to keep their residents as a development company works to evict them and take over the building.
2. I parked in the spacious parking area in front of the Union Market. Union Market is a gentrified version of an historic market place in this location. Union Market is all indoors and features a number of eateries, all of them locally owned and artisan. One restaurant grows food on the Union Market roof. Among the offerings in the market, I discovered Mediterranean food, an oyster bar, barbecue, fancy sandwiches, a fish and chips joint, a Laotian noodle bar, and, the place I landed on, a Korean taco counter. I loved the galaxy of pickled and spicy flavors in the half rice, half slaw pork bowl I ordered. The Market also features local bakeries, an upscale coffee/espresso bar, meat shops, a vinegar/oil boutique, and an Airstream out front, called Suburbia, that serves specialty cocktails and beers. The Union Market overwhelmed me -- so much to see and smell packed into a refurbished warehouse -- and, I'll return. I'd especially enjoy going early on a Saturday morning for coffee and an item from one of the bakeries. And, when I'm less overwhelmed, I'd like to take some pictures.
3. Once back home, I went online to read up more on where I'd been in the afternoon and discovered a blog (and its companion Twitter feed) called PoPville, DC's Neighborhood Blog. I rummaged through posts, joined the site's Flickr group, and learned much more about some of DC's different neighborhoods, not only about places to eat and drink, but about real estate developments and challenges, as well as updates with the difficult week the Metro system has had.
Speaking of DC's housing challenges, during my drive to NE Washington, DC, I listened to the program Latino Media Collective on WPFW-FM and the show focused on gentrification in DC's so-called Chinatown and its detrimental, often devastating, impact on lower income residents, especially after the construction of the Verizon Center, completed in 1997, and all the higher end housing and retail outlets and restaurants that followed. The program focused on two tenants of the Museum Square Apartments in Chinatown who are fighting with other tentants to keep their residents as a development company works to evict them and take over the building.
Friday, August 7, 2015
Three Beautiful Things 08/06/15: Drug Talk, Old Greenbelt Theater, *Mr. Holmes* and the Power of Fiction
1. I take a medication that was, in the beginning, overseen by Dr. Whitely in Eugene, but, after a few years, my primary care physician took it over. My physician in Laurel, Dr. Cullen, preferred not to be in charge of it, so I met today with Nurse Practioner, Carolyn Clark, and, after about 40 minutes of discussion, we decided to cut my dosage in half. Depending on the results of this change, we might decide in three months to eliminate the medication altogether. We'll see. It was a very good appointment.
2. When we moved to Greenbelt, I soon learned that the town movie theater, built in 1938, was being remodeled and restored. The theater reopened a few months ago. Tonight, I saw a movie at the Old Greenbelt Theater for the first time. The remodel astonished me. The concessions area is bright and airy. The theater itself is spacious and the screen is mammoth and curved at the two ends. I don't know much about the effect of the curving, but seeing tonight's movie on such a huge screen absorbed me into the world of post-World War II England and Japan, the art of keeping bees, and the realities of a man moving more deeply into old age, desperately working to hang on to his mental sharpness and his ability to remember while suffering the deterioration of his mind.
3. The movie I saw? Mr. Holmes. This slow, deliberately plotted and superbly acted movie moved me. It will stay with me. Ian McKellen's brilliant portrayal of Sherlock Holmes nearing the end of his life explores the deterioration of Holmes' mind and memory and the painful limitations of his body as Holmes tries to remember back to over thirty years ago and piece together the last case he worked on and why this case caused him to never work as a detective again. Holmes writes the story of the case as fragments of its details come back to him. I left the movie thinking about how the movie explored the power of fiction. After all, Holmes himself is a fictional character, here presented outside the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, as if he lived beyond Doyle's stories into old age. In the movie, Sherlock Holmes works to get the facts straight about his last case, to correct the way his chronicler, John Watson, embellished the story, fictionalized it. In working to get at the facts, Holmes, unexpectedly, comes to learn, in a painful and moving way, the redemptive power of fiction. Made up stories, he learns, can not only nurture the soul, but can be life saving in ways that can be contrary to sticking to logic and the facts.
How to say this? The movie is a fiction about a fictional character whose detective career has been embellished and fictionalized in stories told by his good friend and as this fictional detective embarks on a project to remember the facts, to cut through the fictional embellishments, to set the record straight, and set down the story right, he has a liberating epiphany about a power in fiction he'd been blind to all his life.
In addition to what I've already written here, much of the movie was grounded in the struggle throughout the movie between Holmes and his housekeeper, Mrs. Munro, played powerfully by Laura Linney -- and, central to the movie, is Holmes' friendship with Mrs. Munro's son, Roger.
It all fits together.
Thursday, August 6, 2015
Three Beautiful Things 08/05/15: Up and At 'Em, Ice Tea Lemonade, Wheaton Regional Park
1. The corgis roused me out of bed around six o'clock, hungry, and I fed them and immediately took the rice I had prepared the night before and mixed in cucumbers, grape tomatoes, feta cheese, almonds, basil, olive oil, and lemon so that I would have a rice salad to enjoy whenever I wanted a meal or a snack during the day.
2. Not long after Ana was born, I took a gallon of ice tea lemonade to the Diaz home and Molly liked it. The Co-op put that very product on sale this week for a couple of bucks a gallon, so I bought a couple gallons for Molly and delivered it today -- and spent some time shooting the breeze with Molly and Hiram.
3. I was on my way to the Wheaton Regional Park, within which sits the Brookside Gardens. I'd read about this area, but hadn't visited until today and I can add this huge acreage of trails, a lake, various gardens, fountains, wildlife, gazebos and other structures, conservatory, and gorgeous gardens to my growing list of nature reserves thriving in the midst of the D. C. suburbanopolis. I took my camera and discovered I hadn't taken any pictures since late in June -- a trend I must reverse -- and here are some of the pictures I snapped during my over two mile walk.
2. Not long after Ana was born, I took a gallon of ice tea lemonade to the Diaz home and Molly liked it. The Co-op put that very product on sale this week for a couple of bucks a gallon, so I bought a couple gallons for Molly and delivered it today -- and spent some time shooting the breeze with Molly and Hiram.
3. I was on my way to the Wheaton Regional Park, within which sits the Brookside Gardens. I'd read about this area, but hadn't visited until today and I can add this huge acreage of trails, a lake, various gardens, fountains, wildlife, gazebos and other structures, conservatory, and gorgeous gardens to my growing list of nature reserves thriving in the midst of the D. C. suburbanopolis. I took my camera and discovered I hadn't taken any pictures since late in June -- a trend I must reverse -- and here are some of the pictures I snapped during my over two mile walk.
Wednesday, August 5, 2015
Three Beautiful Things 08/04/15: Angela Remembers, The Deke's in Nyack, More Carpet Cleaning
1. I've lived in Greenbelt for nearly a year and much of that time has been defined by coming and going. I've spent four of the months since I moved here in Kellogg. On about three occasions, the Deke and I have driven up to Nyack to see Adrienne and we've spent time at Sally and Ted's in Matuchen, New Jersey. At the beginning of the summer, we drove to Indiana and Michigan to see family. It's all been good. A result of this travel to see family -- and of family coming to see us, I should add -- is that, after nearly a year, I don't know anyone in Greenbelt.
Because I'm on the kidney transplant list, I have to have a vial of blood drawn every thirty days. I go to a place about five minutes away, LabCorp. Today, I went in, but I forgot my wallet. The staffer at the front desk asked me for my identification, I told her I didn't have it.
My favorite phlebotomist, Angela, was at the desk and said, "Isn't that Mr. Woodlum (I get used to people getting my name wrong)? I know him. He's fine."
Angela and I aren't friends or anything, but, I have to admit, I liked being remembered in this D.C. suburb, where, almost all of the time, I am a stranger.
2. The Deke gathered her things and Adrienne arrived outside our apartment building and they drove off to Nyack so they can have several days together. I was happy when the Deke texted me several hours later to let me know they had arrived at Adrienne's.
3. I continued the project I started yesterday:vacuuming and shampooing the carpet of our apartment home. Now, not only is our dining area fresher, but so is the living room and the short hall outside the bedrooms. Next up will be the bedrooms, but the water in our apartment complex will she shut off on Wednesday, August, 5th, so I'll probably delay the end of this project until Thursday.
Because I'm on the kidney transplant list, I have to have a vial of blood drawn every thirty days. I go to a place about five minutes away, LabCorp. Today, I went in, but I forgot my wallet. The staffer at the front desk asked me for my identification, I told her I didn't have it.
My favorite phlebotomist, Angela, was at the desk and said, "Isn't that Mr. Woodlum (I get used to people getting my name wrong)? I know him. He's fine."
Angela and I aren't friends or anything, but, I have to admit, I liked being remembered in this D.C. suburb, where, almost all of the time, I am a stranger.
2. The Deke gathered her things and Adrienne arrived outside our apartment building and they drove off to Nyack so they can have several days together. I was happy when the Deke texted me several hours later to let me know they had arrived at Adrienne's.
3. I continued the project I started yesterday:vacuuming and shampooing the carpet of our apartment home. Now, not only is our dining area fresher, but so is the living room and the short hall outside the bedrooms. Next up will be the bedrooms, but the water in our apartment complex will she shut off on Wednesday, August, 5th, so I'll probably delay the end of this project until Thursday.
Tuesday, August 4, 2015
Three Beautiful Things 08/03/15: Apartment Home Cleaning, Tex-Mex Dinner, Lego Time
1. Having dogs and having carpet means every once in a while it's necessary to get out the big old carpet cleaning machine and go at it. It'll be a two (maybe three) day job here in our apartment home and I got off to a fine start today and, already, it's fresher in our little place.
2. Molly and Hiram's longtime friend, Lauren, fixed our family a straight up terrific Tex-Mex casserole and, once again, with Adrienne and Jack in town, we had another family dinner and all marveled at Ana as she slept through one moment of tension after another as Jack and Olivia resisted the idea that Tex-Mex food was worthy of their consumption. The adults prevailed and soon all was forgotten as David, Olivia, and Jack tore into cupcakes, a dessert in celebration of Molly and Hiram's sixth wedding anniversary.
3. Earlier in the day, the Deke had been to Target and bought each of our grandchildren a Lego kit -- Batman, Spiderman, Friends -- and she sat with them and the instruction manuals at the dining table and helped them get well into the building of new toys. It's a calming activity with immediate and tangible rewards.
2. Molly and Hiram's longtime friend, Lauren, fixed our family a straight up terrific Tex-Mex casserole and, once again, with Adrienne and Jack in town, we had another family dinner and all marveled at Ana as she slept through one moment of tension after another as Jack and Olivia resisted the idea that Tex-Mex food was worthy of their consumption. The adults prevailed and soon all was forgotten as David, Olivia, and Jack tore into cupcakes, a dessert in celebration of Molly and Hiram's sixth wedding anniversary.
3. Earlier in the day, the Deke had been to Target and bought each of our grandchildren a Lego kit -- Batman, Spiderman, Friends -- and she sat with them and the instruction manuals at the dining table and helped them get well into the building of new toys. It's a calming activity with immediate and tangible rewards.
Monday, August 3, 2015
Three Beautiful Things 08/02/15: Back to St. Andrews, Family Dinner, Solo Sleepover
1. After weeks away, I thoroughly enjoyed being back in the congregation of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church this morning, back into the structure and rhythms of worship in the Episcopal Church. Nothing special happened in the service: as it should be. It was regular, built around readings having to do with manna and the bread of life, and gave me a sense of order in my life that, spiritually speaking, had been missing.
2. The Deke and I returned to the Diaz's home. Adrienne and Jack are visiting for a few days, so the out east contingent of our family got to see each other and enjoy together a delicious dinner of chili (thanks to Leah), rice, and cabbage salad. I also had some time helping Ana do what Ana does best these days -- sleep:
3. David decided that, yes, he'd like to come over to our apartment home for a sleepover all by himself, leaving his sister, Olivia, and cousin, Jack back at the Diaz house. David is a self-reliant three year old. The minute he arrived at our home, he dove right into different Lego toys and entertained himself for quite a while with a Where's Waldo? book. We wrapped up the evening with a bowl of popcorn and the Deke read David a story and he went right to sleep. It was a good day in the world of Nana and Grandpa and their grandchildren.
2. The Deke and I returned to the Diaz's home. Adrienne and Jack are visiting for a few days, so the out east contingent of our family got to see each other and enjoy together a delicious dinner of chili (thanks to Leah), rice, and cabbage salad. I also had some time helping Ana do what Ana does best these days -- sleep:
3. David decided that, yes, he'd like to come over to our apartment home for a sleepover all by himself, leaving his sister, Olivia, and cousin, Jack back at the Diaz house. David is a self-reliant three year old. The minute he arrived at our home, he dove right into different Lego toys and entertained himself for quite a while with a Where's Waldo? book. We wrapped up the evening with a bowl of popcorn and the Deke read David a story and he went right to sleep. It was a good day in the world of Nana and Grandpa and their grandchildren.
Sunday, August 2, 2015
Three Beautiful Things 08/01/15: Honey Nut Cheerio Time, David Loves the Flashlight, Do Nothing Day
1. As I was sitting here in our apartment home, writing away, David and Olivia suddenly emerged, hungry for a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios and thirsty for some apple juice. I marvel at how easy they are to please.
2. All morning long, all David really needed to be content was to keep his story going about how dark it can be in the back bedroom if the light is off and the blinds and door are closed and so he needs to have a flashlight back there. Luckily, I keep a flashlight out in plain sight in the living room. David is endlessly entertained by turning it off and on and making sure I know exactly how he can put it to good use.
3. Once the Deke left for the Diaz house with Olivia and David, I needed a day of doing nothing and I succeeded. I am very happy to be living in Maryland and being so close to Molly and Adrienne and their children. I enjoy Greenbelt and knowing that Washington, D. C.and other fine places are a short train ride away. At the same time, living so far from family in Kellogg and the difficulty of leaving family in Maryland and New York behind when I head west and the difficulty of leaving friends and family behind when I return east, fatigues me -- and today I needed to sit around and do nothing more ambitious than get a couple of loads of laundry done and mess around on the World Wide Web.
2. All morning long, all David really needed to be content was to keep his story going about how dark it can be in the back bedroom if the light is off and the blinds and door are closed and so he needs to have a flashlight back there. Luckily, I keep a flashlight out in plain sight in the living room. David is endlessly entertained by turning it off and on and making sure I know exactly how he can put it to good use.
3. Once the Deke left for the Diaz house with Olivia and David, I needed a day of doing nothing and I succeeded. I am very happy to be living in Maryland and being so close to Molly and Adrienne and their children. I enjoy Greenbelt and knowing that Washington, D. C.and other fine places are a short train ride away. At the same time, living so far from family in Kellogg and the difficulty of leaving family in Maryland and New York behind when I head west and the difficulty of leaving friends and family behind when I return east, fatigues me -- and today I needed to sit around and do nothing more ambitious than get a couple of loads of laundry done and mess around on the World Wide Web.
Saturday, August 1, 2015
Three Beautiful Things 07/31/15: "Wonderful Tonight" This Morning, End of a Fortnight Saga, Popcorn Sleepover
1. I'm getting back into the swing of life in our apartment home in Greenbelt. This morning I awoke some time before 7 a.m. and remembered we were out of coffee filters. The Co-op doesn't open until 9 a.m., so I jetted down to Safeway and bought filters and, just to make sure, a bag of ground coffee. My shopping was made all the more pleasant by a Muzak version of Eric Clapton's, "Wonderful Tonight".
2. A couple of weeks ago, I went on the Deke's Amazon account to order Mom covers for her butterfly chairs. I accidentally had them sent to Molly -- at her previous address. Then I reordered them and had them sent to Mom's address. The Deke saw that I made the same order twice and she accidentally canceled the order to be sent to Mom's address. Then I ordered the covers again and had them sent to Mom in Kellogg. For a couple of weeks, the originally ordered butterfly chair covers existed in a USPS limbo, somewhere between Groveton, VA and Silver Spring, MD.
BUT, on Thursday the wandering butterfly chair covers showed up at Molly's new address. There was dancin' in the streets.
Today, I took the butterfly chair covers I mistakenly had sent to Molly's old address to the Post Office to be returned to the merchant, and, with any luck, my erroneous purchase will be refunded.
(Did I mention that when my third attempt to order the butterfly chair covers arrived at Mom's? I didn't think they fit and I started the process of returning those butterfly chair covers, BUT, at the last minute, I tried one more time to stretch them a bit and then they did fit. When I walked in the house and told Mom the butterfly chair covers fit after all, she flew out of her chair, went out on the back deck, flung her cane as high in the air as the power lines, and broke into a joyous moonwalk.)
I wish I'd had my camera.
3. When Molly gave birth to Ana Maria, friends of hers and Hiram's helped them out with food contributions and tonight we all sat down to a delicious dinner of baked Ziti with sausage sauce. After dinner, the Deke had a heart to heart with Molly about how tired Molly is and how maybe she and Hiram needed a break from having Olivia and David at home and so Olivia and David came over to Nana's and Grandpa's for a sleepover and I got to put my mad popcorn popping skills to work for a fun treat just before the children went to bed.
2. A couple of weeks ago, I went on the Deke's Amazon account to order Mom covers for her butterfly chairs. I accidentally had them sent to Molly -- at her previous address. Then I reordered them and had them sent to Mom's address. The Deke saw that I made the same order twice and she accidentally canceled the order to be sent to Mom's address. Then I ordered the covers again and had them sent to Mom in Kellogg. For a couple of weeks, the originally ordered butterfly chair covers existed in a USPS limbo, somewhere between Groveton, VA and Silver Spring, MD.
BUT, on Thursday the wandering butterfly chair covers showed up at Molly's new address. There was dancin' in the streets.
Today, I took the butterfly chair covers I mistakenly had sent to Molly's old address to the Post Office to be returned to the merchant, and, with any luck, my erroneous purchase will be refunded.
(Did I mention that when my third attempt to order the butterfly chair covers arrived at Mom's? I didn't think they fit and I started the process of returning those butterfly chair covers, BUT, at the last minute, I tried one more time to stretch them a bit and then they did fit. When I walked in the house and told Mom the butterfly chair covers fit after all, she flew out of her chair, went out on the back deck, flung her cane as high in the air as the power lines, and broke into a joyous moonwalk.)
I wish I'd had my camera.
3. When Molly gave birth to Ana Maria, friends of hers and Hiram's helped them out with food contributions and tonight we all sat down to a delicious dinner of baked Ziti with sausage sauce. After dinner, the Deke had a heart to heart with Molly about how tired Molly is and how maybe she and Hiram needed a break from having Olivia and David at home and so Olivia and David came over to Nana's and Grandpa's for a sleepover and I got to put my mad popcorn popping skills to work for a fun treat just before the children went to bed.
Friday, July 31, 2015
Three Beautiful Things 07/30/15: Restorative Sleep, Restored Computer, Restorative Dinner
1. I do not remember the last time I slept for 11-12 hours, but this morning I woke up, got out of bed, and was startled to see that it was 10:00. Likewise, the Deke was in need of a long, restorative sleep.She arose ninety minutes later. We are fortunate people that we live a life that allows us to rest like this, even if it's a once in a blue moon sort of thing.
2. The Deke and I drove back to the Diaz house to give Molly support -- an ice tea lemonade and a chocolate croissant, to be exact -- and to see Ana Maria again. The Deke's browser had been hijacked while I was in Kellogg and so I spent a couple of hours with tech support at Symantec getting her computer cleaned up. I had no problem with the solution taking two hours. The service people were earnest, considerate, and focused and I enjoyed working with all three of them and was happy to see the the Deke's computer returned to health.
3. Next, the Deke and Molly commissioned me to go to Giant for some food and we had a family dinner of chicken, rice, baguette, and green salad. The Deke took charge of putting the dinner together and it was a great help to Hiram, who'd been with Olivia and David all day, and Molly, who is recovering from giving birth, to have this dinner prepared for them. It was a jolly time -- I left the table with my body and my spirit well nourished.
2. The Deke and I drove back to the Diaz house to give Molly support -- an ice tea lemonade and a chocolate croissant, to be exact -- and to see Ana Maria again. The Deke's browser had been hijacked while I was in Kellogg and so I spent a couple of hours with tech support at Symantec getting her computer cleaned up. I had no problem with the solution taking two hours. The service people were earnest, considerate, and focused and I enjoyed working with all three of them and was happy to see the the Deke's computer returned to health.
3. Next, the Deke and Molly commissioned me to go to Giant for some food and we had a family dinner of chicken, rice, baguette, and green salad. The Deke took charge of putting the dinner together and it was a great help to Hiram, who'd been with Olivia and David all day, and Molly, who is recovering from giving birth, to have this dinner prepared for them. It was a jolly time -- I left the table with my body and my spirit well nourished.
Thursday, July 30, 2015
Three Beautiful Things 07/29/15: Suburban Gridlock, Seeing Ana Maria, Taproom Discovery
1. I jumped on the 4 a.m. shuttle from the Ramada Inn to the airport and everything went smoothly from the time I checked in my bag until I landed at Baltimore Washington International Airport. The Deke had to brave barely moving traffic on the BW Parkway, but she and Olivia and David arrived to pick me up and we then braved barely moving traffic on I-95 for our trip to the Diaz's. What a grind..a trip to the airport and back that should have taken a grand total of about forty to fifty minutes took two hours. Olivia and David were champs, though, and it helped the Deke and me decide, for sure, that if I come into Baltimore again at around 4:30 on a weekday, I'll take mass transit back to Greenbelt.
2. Arriving at the Diaz's meant that I got to see Ana Maria for the first time. I'm not very experienced with babies, and I was very tired after all the traveling, so I decided to wait until Thursday to hold her for the first time. I don't want to rush into these things. Molly's doing pretty well. She's tired. he's sore from her workout. She's in great spirits and will have Hiram home to help her for the next ten days or so.
3. I found a taproom. Once settled in at the Diaz's, the Deke asked me to go on a beer run and I drove down to E. Randolph and New Hampshire to a bottle shop called Quench. I picked up a sixer of the intense Double Dog Double IPA from Flying Dog and, for the Deke, a sixer of Peg Leg Imperial Stout. I didn't know that Quench's bottle shop had a taproom adjoining it. This is great news! It's only about 10 minutes from the Diaz house and features about twenty beers on tap and a food menu. I took a minute to peruse the taplist and it looks solid. I see a few visits to this joint in my future to check it out more deeply. (Out here in the Maryland D. C. suburbs, I don't see many taprooms -- unlike parts of Eugene where if you stand on a corner and throw a rock in any direction, you are bound to hit a taphouse. Finding one near Molly and Hiram is a great discovery.)
2. Arriving at the Diaz's meant that I got to see Ana Maria for the first time. I'm not very experienced with babies, and I was very tired after all the traveling, so I decided to wait until Thursday to hold her for the first time. I don't want to rush into these things. Molly's doing pretty well. She's tired. he's sore from her workout. She's in great spirits and will have Hiram home to help her for the next ten days or so.
3. I found a taproom. Once settled in at the Diaz's, the Deke asked me to go on a beer run and I drove down to E. Randolph and New Hampshire to a bottle shop called Quench. I picked up a sixer of the intense Double Dog Double IPA from Flying Dog and, for the Deke, a sixer of Peg Leg Imperial Stout. I didn't know that Quench's bottle shop had a taproom adjoining it. This is great news! It's only about 10 minutes from the Diaz house and features about twenty beers on tap and a food menu. I took a minute to peruse the taplist and it looks solid. I see a few visits to this joint in my future to check it out more deeply. (Out here in the Maryland D. C. suburbs, I don't see many taprooms -- unlike parts of Eugene where if you stand on a corner and throw a rock in any direction, you are bound to hit a taphouse. Finding one near Molly and Hiram is a great discovery.)
Wednesday, July 29, 2015
Three Beautiful Things 07/28/15: Granddaughter Ana Maria is Born, Sibs at Michael D's, Sibs Join Stu at Manito Taphouse
1. The day began with most beautiful news. Molly gave birth to Ana Maria Diaz. I'll have more to report when I am back in Maryland on Wednesday, July 29th. My impression at this time is that all is going well. Ana is the Deke's and my fourth grandchild. (Wow!)
2. Christy, Carol, and I spent my last day in the Inland Empire enjoying a sibling outing. We started the day in Breakfast Town, also known as Coeur d'Alene, and enjoyed a hearty breakfast at Michael D's. I enjoyed corned beef hash, a couple of eggs, home fried potatoes, and a side of one biscuit with gravy. It's a good thing Greenbelt, MD is NOT Breakfast Town. It would be difficult to resist indulging myself often which would not help out my efforts to keep my weight and blood pressure down!
3. After taking care of some business in CdA and enjoying the floral beauty of the Duncan Gardens and picking up some snacks at Trader Joe's for my flight to Baltimore, we met with lifelong friend Scott "Stu" Stuart at the superb South Hill gastropub, The Manito Taphouse. We had a great time talking with each other, enjoying the enthusiasm and beer knowledge of our server, Emily, and our excellent dinner. I kept thinking throughout our time that I just don't get whey such a place doesn't exist in Greenbelt or College Park...Denizen's in Silver Spring is close and Franklin's in Hyattsville is too big -- and I'd live to see a joint similar to The Manito Taphouse open nearby in our neck of Maryland. Sigh. If I were a rich man......
2. Christy, Carol, and I spent my last day in the Inland Empire enjoying a sibling outing. We started the day in Breakfast Town, also known as Coeur d'Alene, and enjoyed a hearty breakfast at Michael D's. I enjoyed corned beef hash, a couple of eggs, home fried potatoes, and a side of one biscuit with gravy. It's a good thing Greenbelt, MD is NOT Breakfast Town. It would be difficult to resist indulging myself often which would not help out my efforts to keep my weight and blood pressure down!
3. After taking care of some business in CdA and enjoying the floral beauty of the Duncan Gardens and picking up some snacks at Trader Joe's for my flight to Baltimore, we met with lifelong friend Scott "Stu" Stuart at the superb South Hill gastropub, The Manito Taphouse. We had a great time talking with each other, enjoying the enthusiasm and beer knowledge of our server, Emily, and our excellent dinner. I kept thinking throughout our time that I just don't get whey such a place doesn't exist in Greenbelt or College Park...Denizen's in Silver Spring is close and Franklin's in Hyattsville is too big -- and I'd live to see a joint similar to The Manito Taphouse open nearby in our neck of Maryland. Sigh. If I were a rich man......
Tuesday, July 28, 2015
Three Beautiful Things 07/27/15: Maggie Survives, 7th Grade Kidney Report, Dinner at Carol's, BONUS: Ana Maria is Born
1. I called the Deke and received this report: The Deke is staying at Molly and Hiram's in Silver Spring because Molly is so close to having her baby. In the middle of the night, our older corgi Maggie showed signs of distress and illness and the Deke quickly located an emergency vet and took Maggie to Rockville where she was treated for a urinary tract infection. Eventually, the vet sent Maggie home with pills and she is recovering well.
2. Upstairs, Mom had a small bag of things from my youth to sort out. In the bag, I found report cards. I found out that all of my teachers said I talked too much in class. Ha! Among other things, I discovered a 7th grade science research report. What was the subject of my paper: kidneys. For those of you who know that I'm being treated for chronic kidney disease, you can understand that I found this discovery both weird and eerie.
3. Carol and Paul invited Mom, Christy, Everett, and me over for dinner. Paul grilled a school of tilapia and it tasted exquisite with the accompanying green salad, garden fresh green beans, and brown rice. Toward the end of dinner, a robust discussion of raised garden beds broke out between Christy, Everett, Paul, and Mom and I spent about ten minutes or so waiting for the right moment to bust into the discussion with the news that Molly had gone into labor and was on her way to the hospital.
BONUS UPDATE: Here's a preview of tomorrow's Three Beautiful Things: Molly gave birth to Ana Maria on 07/28/15.
2. Upstairs, Mom had a small bag of things from my youth to sort out. In the bag, I found report cards. I found out that all of my teachers said I talked too much in class. Ha! Among other things, I discovered a 7th grade science research report. What was the subject of my paper: kidneys. For those of you who know that I'm being treated for chronic kidney disease, you can understand that I found this discovery both weird and eerie.
3. Carol and Paul invited Mom, Christy, Everett, and me over for dinner. Paul grilled a school of tilapia and it tasted exquisite with the accompanying green salad, garden fresh green beans, and brown rice. Toward the end of dinner, a robust discussion of raised garden beds broke out between Christy, Everett, Paul, and Mom and I spent about ten minutes or so waiting for the right moment to bust into the discussion with the news that Molly had gone into labor and was on her way to the hospital.
BONUS UPDATE: Here's a preview of tomorrow's Three Beautiful Things: Molly gave birth to Ana Maria on 07/28/15.
Monday, July 27, 2015
Three Beautiful Things 07/26/15: Washer Man, City Limits Grub, Mom Wins at Walmart
1. This morning Mom gathered up her laundry and I did the same and I became, in Mom's words, "Washer Man" and got the clothes and towels and rags washed and dried before we headed off for our next undertakings for the day.
2. Mom had decided earlier in the week that she wanted to treat us all to a meal at the City Limits in Wallace, so we all piled into our vehicles and sat down to a lot of fun and a delicious lunch and beers at the Silver Valley's premier brew pub. I thoroughly enjoyed my Beer Brat and Raspberry Wheat Ale.
3. Mom caught Walmart again! She and I went to the Smelterville Walmart after lunch and after she took about twenty items or so, unimpeded, to the Express "Ten or Less" cashier, she inspected her receipt and saw a $4.98 purchase that didn't have a verbal description, only a number. So, we hot-footed it over to the customer service counter where the friendly and efficient agent did a computer search of the store's inventory and told Mom she had paid $4.98 for a loaf of bread she picked up at the deli/bakery. Mom didn't think the bread had cost -- or was worth -- $4.98, so she gave the bread back to the friendly, efficient agent and had the $4.98 credited to her credit card. Two days in a row! Another win for Mom!
2. Mom had decided earlier in the week that she wanted to treat us all to a meal at the City Limits in Wallace, so we all piled into our vehicles and sat down to a lot of fun and a delicious lunch and beers at the Silver Valley's premier brew pub. I thoroughly enjoyed my Beer Brat and Raspberry Wheat Ale.
3. Mom caught Walmart again! She and I went to the Smelterville Walmart after lunch and after she took about twenty items or so, unimpeded, to the Express "Ten or Less" cashier, she inspected her receipt and saw a $4.98 purchase that didn't have a verbal description, only a number. So, we hot-footed it over to the customer service counter where the friendly and efficient agent did a computer search of the store's inventory and told Mom she had paid $4.98 for a loaf of bread she picked up at the deli/bakery. Mom didn't think the bread had cost -- or was worth -- $4.98, so she gave the bread back to the friendly, efficient agent and had the $4.98 credited to her credit card. Two days in a row! Another win for Mom!
Sunday, July 26, 2015
Three Beautiful Things 07/25/15: Breakfast at Penny Lane, Walmart Ripoff Redeemed, Heading Into Our Sixties
1. Around 9:00, I strolled west on Cameron Avenue to Knott's Landing where Donnie Knott was fixing an awesome breakfast of waffles, fried eggs, sausage, potatoes, and coffee for me and Abby. We picked right up from where we'd been the night before yakkin about all kinds of stuff and brought the weekend get together of the Hall of Fame of Great Guys to an end.
2. Chaos. Corporate thievery. I made a run to the Smelterville Walmart for Mom and got home and a quick inspection of the receipt made it clear: she got ripped off. The cashier guy evidently (and accidently, let's hope) scanned one of Mom's boxes of Quaker's granola twice. This meant Mom got ripped off for $4.50 and she could not abide such an injustice. On our way up the river, Christy and I stopped at Walmart and I went to the customer service counter where the friendly and efficient Walmart agent pushed buttons here, had me sign there, explained this, and asked for that and, before I knew it, I had a refund to give back to Mom. Order restored.
3. Christy and I were going up the river to take part in the KHS Class of '73's 60th birthday celebration. I had a great time talkin' with many of Christy's classmates and getting caught up on what's happening these days as we longtime friends head into our sixties. The event also turned out to be small reunion for my fellow members of the Class of '72. It was great to see and yak with Sharon and Wanda and before long birthday boy Ed and Joni arrived and we split off for a while and met Jake and Carol Lee at the Snake Pit for drinks and food. The whole afternoon and evening was Silver Valley life at its very finest.
2. Chaos. Corporate thievery. I made a run to the Smelterville Walmart for Mom and got home and a quick inspection of the receipt made it clear: she got ripped off. The cashier guy evidently (and accidently, let's hope) scanned one of Mom's boxes of Quaker's granola twice. This meant Mom got ripped off for $4.50 and she could not abide such an injustice. On our way up the river, Christy and I stopped at Walmart and I went to the customer service counter where the friendly and efficient Walmart agent pushed buttons here, had me sign there, explained this, and asked for that and, before I knew it, I had a refund to give back to Mom. Order restored.
3. Christy and I were going up the river to take part in the KHS Class of '73's 60th birthday celebration. I had a great time talkin' with many of Christy's classmates and getting caught up on what's happening these days as we longtime friends head into our sixties. The event also turned out to be small reunion for my fellow members of the Class of '72. It was great to see and yak with Sharon and Wanda and before long birthday boy Ed and Joni arrived and we split off for a while and met Jake and Carol Lee at the Snake Pit for drinks and food. The whole afternoon and evening was Silver Valley life at its very finest.
Saturday, July 25, 2015
Three Beautiful Things 07/24/15: Bench Warmer Reporter, Hall of Fame at Knott's Landing, Class of '75
1. This afternoon, I dropped by Knott's Landing to drop off a couple of six packs of Payette Brewing's excellent North Fork Lager for this evening's Hall of Fame of Great Guys get together and Don and I popped open a couple of North Forks a piece and got in some early yakkin' before the official event started at five. Don had some issues of the school paper from high school. I was such a crappy basketball player my sophomore year, that, sitting on the end of the bench, I watched our games and wrote up recaps in a non-opinion column called "Sports Replay". It was fun reading some of those columns again -- they were harmless-- but not as fun to remember all those games I spent as a spectator with a uniform on.
2. Byrdman, Donnie, and Ed and I were the first charter members of the Hall of Fame of Great Guys to arrive. Later, Pat Kenyon visited us for a while and, still later, Abby came by. Byrdman provided the music with great music from the 70s, so we shot the breeze and knocked down some barley pop to the sounds of the Allman Brothers, Queen, Don McLean, Blood, Sweat, and Tears, and other superb music from forty years ago. Donnie not only provided the patio for our get together, he also cooked up some first-rate chili and accompanying hot dogs. It was an awesome night with friends I've known for over fifty years. This is the best part of getting old -- getting together with friends I've known forever.
3. Ed and I took a break from the goings on at Knott's Landing (aka Penny Lane) and strolled down the street to Eddie Joe's where the KHS Class of '75 was having the first night of their class reunion. After some conversation with Mark Absec, I got to have a much longer conversation with Kevin Edwards (Class of '71, married to Kay Hoskins, Class of '75). I hadn't seen Eddie for at least forty years and it was fun talking about what's up these days and talking with Kay, as well. I also talked with Marilyn Listoe, Pat Kenyon (again), and Einor Larsen (Class of '73), and then Ed and I made our way over to see Buff, talk for a little while, and we made our way back to the Hall of Fame.
2. Byrdman, Donnie, and Ed and I were the first charter members of the Hall of Fame of Great Guys to arrive. Later, Pat Kenyon visited us for a while and, still later, Abby came by. Byrdman provided the music with great music from the 70s, so we shot the breeze and knocked down some barley pop to the sounds of the Allman Brothers, Queen, Don McLean, Blood, Sweat, and Tears, and other superb music from forty years ago. Donnie not only provided the patio for our get together, he also cooked up some first-rate chili and accompanying hot dogs. It was an awesome night with friends I've known for over fifty years. This is the best part of getting old -- getting together with friends I've known forever.
3. Ed and I took a break from the goings on at Knott's Landing (aka Penny Lane) and strolled down the street to Eddie Joe's where the KHS Class of '75 was having the first night of their class reunion. After some conversation with Mark Absec, I got to have a much longer conversation with Kevin Edwards (Class of '71, married to Kay Hoskins, Class of '75). I hadn't seen Eddie for at least forty years and it was fun talking about what's up these days and talking with Kay, as well. I also talked with Marilyn Listoe, Pat Kenyon (again), and Einor Larsen (Class of '73), and then Ed and I made our way over to see Buff, talk for a little while, and we made our way back to the Hall of Fame.
Friday, July 24, 2015
Three Beautiful Things 07/23/15: Chicken Fried Plate of Awesome, Dinner Prep, Christy's Dinner Party Success
1. Back to Breakfast Town this morning. Stu, Lars, Joni and I met for breakfast at Nosworthy's Hall of Fame in Coeur d'Alene. It had been a long time since I had a chicken fried steak with sausage gravy and hash browns and sourdough toast accompanied by a couple of orange beers and coffee so I indulged in this tasty combination and it was almost as good as spending time with three lifelong friends and shooting the breeze for about an hour and a half.
2. Back home, I pitched in to help get Mom's house and yard presentable for dinner with Dick and Renae, Carol, Paul, and Cosette, and Christy and Everett by pulling weeds over by the garage on the front of Mom's property, hosing down the deck so there weren't cat paw prints, watering different pots of plants, and vacuuming the front and back porch.
3. Christy was the brains and talent that brought our dinner party into being. She put together a generous antipasto platter, mixed a great bourbon lemon cocktail that is a delicious cousin of an Old Fashioned, and made a most tasty and tomatoey no-cook pasta dish accompanied by foccacia. We gathered on Mom's deck (no cat paw prints) and the stories and laughter flew -- a great party.
2. Back home, I pitched in to help get Mom's house and yard presentable for dinner with Dick and Renae, Carol, Paul, and Cosette, and Christy and Everett by pulling weeds over by the garage on the front of Mom's property, hosing down the deck so there weren't cat paw prints, watering different pots of plants, and vacuuming the front and back porch.
3. Christy was the brains and talent that brought our dinner party into being. She put together a generous antipasto platter, mixed a great bourbon lemon cocktail that is a delicious cousin of an Old Fashioned, and made a most tasty and tomatoey no-cook pasta dish accompanied by foccacia. We gathered on Mom's deck (no cat paw prints) and the stories and laughter flew -- a great party.
Thursday, July 23, 2015
Three Beautiful Things 07/22/15: Garage Looking Good, David's Legos, Christy Needs a Drink Taster
1. With minor rearranging, I made a space in the garage for Mom's all-terrain walker. This required me to put the ShopVac on "blow", and blow some more dust, grass, and leafy material out of the garage. My success in completing this project gave me such a strong jolt of adrenaline, that I returned to the east side of the garage and rearranged things there so that it looks tidy and orderly.
2. Back in Greenbelt, Molly needed the Deke to spend much of the day with David. She bought him a new Legos kit and the video she posted on Facebook made me wish I could have been there to see him meticulously build away.
3. Christy found a recipe for a bourbon drink that is kind of a citrus version of an Old Fashioned and she needed to try it out before serving it to guests on Thursday, and I accepted her offer to be a volunteer drink taster -- and it was very good.
2. Back in Greenbelt, Molly needed the Deke to spend much of the day with David. She bought him a new Legos kit and the video she posted on Facebook made me wish I could have been there to see him meticulously build away.
3. Christy found a recipe for a bourbon drink that is kind of a citrus version of an Old Fashioned and she needed to try it out before serving it to guests on Thursday, and I accepted her offer to be a volunteer drink taster -- and it was very good.
Wednesday, July 22, 2015
Three Beautiful Things 07/21/15: Sorting out the Side of the Garage, Water into Wine, Spaghetti on the Deck
1. Mom and I took a gander at the stuff scattered and stacked on the east side of her garage -- planting pots, garden hose, utility cart, lattice for the deck, tomato cages, buckets, random boards, a couple of bags of old, old leaves, and Mom stuck to her central principle when it comes to should it stay or should it go: unless it's broken, it stays. A bucket was broken. A couple of plant pots were broken. So were some trays that once held plant starters. An old birdhouse was falling apart. I threw that stuff away. Now, I'll try to make the stuff she's keeping look better over there. The new neighbors (ahem: Christy and Everett!) haven't complained, but I'd like to make the view out their west windows a little bit nicer.
2. Something in the garage was apparently blocking the signal from the in-house remote and the remote in Mom's Impala to the garage door, so it wouldn't open or close via either remote. I hooked up the shop-vac and used it as a dust and dirt and old leaves blower and blew the garage clean. Somehow, that fixed the problem with the remote. I felt like I had performed a miracle nearly equal to turning water into wine.
3. Christy handed me a couple of jars of homemade tomato sauce and I added onion, yellow pepper, and browned ground beef to it, boiled some spaghetti, fixed a green salad, and, abbacadabra!, Mom, Christy, Everett, and I had ourselves a spaghetti dinner on the deck.
2. Something in the garage was apparently blocking the signal from the in-house remote and the remote in Mom's Impala to the garage door, so it wouldn't open or close via either remote. I hooked up the shop-vac and used it as a dust and dirt and old leaves blower and blew the garage clean. Somehow, that fixed the problem with the remote. I felt like I had performed a miracle nearly equal to turning water into wine.
3. Christy handed me a couple of jars of homemade tomato sauce and I added onion, yellow pepper, and browned ground beef to it, boiled some spaghetti, fixed a green salad, and, abbacadabra!, Mom, Christy, Everett, and I had ourselves a spaghetti dinner on the deck.
Tuesday, July 21, 2015
Three Beautiful 'Things 07/20/15: Zach Wins; Jordan's a Sportsman, Molly's Back, Patio Dinner
1. After watering and doing the needed pet care at Carol and Paul's, I came back to Mom's and watched the thrilling last round of the British Open and the four hole playoff. Zach Johnson's win was exciting, especially his putts on 18 and on the first two playoff holes. During the playoff, the camera showed Jordan Spieth, who fell one stroke short of also being in the playoff, and who needed a victory to keep his Grand Slam aspirations alive, actually watching the playoff. My jaw dropped. I thought it was customary for players who fell short in tournaments to get to the locker room and parking lot as soon as possible and speed off. Not only did Spieth stick around, when the tournament ended, he was among the first to greet and congratulate Zach Johnson when he walked off the 18th green at the playoff's end.
I immediately thought of all the athletes who would see such sportsmanship as a sign of weakness. I thought of all the players who want to crush their opponents and figure sportsmanship gets in the way of achieving a crush the opponent competitive edge. I texted Ted in New Jersey and said that Spieth must have left his Tiger Woods etiquette manual back in the U.S.A. I can't imagine Tiger Woods falling a stroke short in a tournament, sticking around to watch a playoff, and then bro-hugging the winner.
But Spieth did.
I admire that.
2. I went over to Carol and Paul's in the afternoon to let Sadie and Juliet outside and MOLLY WAS HOME! She had returned from her surprise visit to Eugene for Zoe's birthday and from her camping trip to Palouse Falls and she said she'd take care of the lawn/garden watering and the dogs and cats.
3. Christy and Everett picked up some Tony Roma ribs in CdA and Christy fixed Mom and Everett and me a dinner of ribs, rice, Asian salad, and broccoli. We sat out on Christy and Everett's patio in the cooling evening air and enjoyed the food and one another's company. It's great having these new next door neighbors.
I immediately thought of all the athletes who would see such sportsmanship as a sign of weakness. I thought of all the players who want to crush their opponents and figure sportsmanship gets in the way of achieving a crush the opponent competitive edge. I texted Ted in New Jersey and said that Spieth must have left his Tiger Woods etiquette manual back in the U.S.A. I can't imagine Tiger Woods falling a stroke short in a tournament, sticking around to watch a playoff, and then bro-hugging the winner.
But Spieth did.
I admire that.
2. I went over to Carol and Paul's in the afternoon to let Sadie and Juliet outside and MOLLY WAS HOME! She had returned from her surprise visit to Eugene for Zoe's birthday and from her camping trip to Palouse Falls and she said she'd take care of the lawn/garden watering and the dogs and cats.
Monday, July 20, 2015
Three Beautiful Things 07/19/15: British Open Again, RIP Moe, Grocery Store Discussion
1. It was fun keeping an eye on the British Open golf championship and seeing amateur Paul Dunne ascend to the top of the leaderboard along with Jason Day and Louis Oosterhuizen and to see Jordan Spieth breathing down their necks, just a stroke behind. It reminded me of a year ago when Molly and Hiram's townhouse was full of family and so I stayed at a Best Western near Ft. Belvoir, VA and watched last year's open in my room. That was a lot of fun.
2. Upon learning that Alex Rocco, the actor who played Moe "Do you know who I am" Green in The Godfather, died, I watched his great scene with Al Pacino in Las Vegas on YouTube and then watched a seventy minute documentary on the making of the whole Godfather saga.
3. Christy and Everett took care of things at Carol and Paul's this evening and when she brought back the key, we got into a long discussion with Mom of the history of grocery stores, both current stores and past ones, and ended up talking about Waremart, Trader Joe's, Winco, Whole Foods, Price Chopper, and few others. Ha! I didn't see that conversation coming.
2. Upon learning that Alex Rocco, the actor who played Moe "Do you know who I am" Green in The Godfather, died, I watched his great scene with Al Pacino in Las Vegas on YouTube and then watched a seventy minute documentary on the making of the whole Godfather saga.
3. Christy and Everett took care of things at Carol and Paul's this evening and when she brought back the key, we got into a long discussion with Mom of the history of grocery stores, both current stores and past ones, and ended up talking about Waremart, Trader Joe's, Winco, Whole Foods, Price Chopper, and few others. Ha! I didn't see that conversation coming.
Sunday, July 19, 2015
Three Beautiful Things 07/18/15: Breakfast Nook in Breakfast Town, Surprise! Jake Shows Up, Back Deck Pizza
1. After feeding the dogs and cats and cleaning up after them and spending nearly two hours watering the lawn and flowers at Carol and Paul's, going to the bank for Mom and shopping for her at Yoke's, and digging up a rose in Mom's garden, it was just past nine o'clock and Ed called and I found out when he and Nancy and Austen and Lee would be at the Breakfast Nook and so I drove to CdA and me up with them. For me, CdA has become the city of breakfasts and craft beer. My Breakfast Nook plate of hamburger steak medium rare, eggs sunny side up, fluffy, golden hash browns with Tabasco sauce, sourdough toast, and coffee was perfectly delicious and filling. CdA is definitely Breakfast Town.
2. Ed and I headed down to the CdA Casino to try our luck one last time while I'm in Idaho and my playing luck was bad and I quit long before Ed and I left to come back to the Silver Valley. Sometimes I just know my playing is going nowhere and today was one of those days and I'm glad I gave in, gave it up, and didn't spend much money. BUT, the day had two great moments. I was walking around with my tail between my legs, feeling sorry for myself after about an hour down there and I ran into Jake! What a great surprise! Then, as Ed and I were getting ready to leave, we stuck around after Jake won over 300 free spins on the Electrifying Riches machine and watched all his spins to see how he did and it went pretty darn well. So, yeah, my luck wasn't good, but I didn't push it, and I got to see Jake and witness him have some good luck and that made the trip down a whole lot of fun.
3. Back in Kellogg, I found out that Christy had ordered Everett, Mom, her, and me a Canadian bacon, pineapple, olive, and mushroom pizza from Wildcat Pizza and that she had some Rolling Rock beers to go with it. The four of us relaxed on Mom's deck as the evening grew cooler, enjoyed our pizza and beer, and I'd be very surprised if I woke up Sunday and the world had any problems since I'm pretty sure we solved them all.
2. Ed and I headed down to the CdA Casino to try our luck one last time while I'm in Idaho and my playing luck was bad and I quit long before Ed and I left to come back to the Silver Valley. Sometimes I just know my playing is going nowhere and today was one of those days and I'm glad I gave in, gave it up, and didn't spend much money. BUT, the day had two great moments. I was walking around with my tail between my legs, feeling sorry for myself after about an hour down there and I ran into Jake! What a great surprise! Then, as Ed and I were getting ready to leave, we stuck around after Jake won over 300 free spins on the Electrifying Riches machine and watched all his spins to see how he did and it went pretty darn well. So, yeah, my luck wasn't good, but I didn't push it, and I got to see Jake and witness him have some good luck and that made the trip down a whole lot of fun.
3. Back in Kellogg, I found out that Christy had ordered Everett, Mom, her, and me a Canadian bacon, pineapple, olive, and mushroom pizza from Wildcat Pizza and that she had some Rolling Rock beers to go with it. The four of us relaxed on Mom's deck as the evening grew cooler, enjoyed our pizza and beer, and I'd be very surprised if I woke up Sunday and the world had any problems since I'm pretty sure we solved them all.
Saturday, July 18, 2015
Three Beautiful Things 07/17/15: Tending the Roberts' Property, GinTalk at Dick and Renae's, Plannin' with Ed
1. I grabbed a Senior Coffee at McDonald's at around six a.m. and headed over to Carol and Paul's and tried to make my way flawessly through the checklist of dog care, garden and yard care, cat care, and other things while the Roberts are in San Francisco. I made with only two text messages to Carol about the watering valves and the location of two geranium plants. I think I'll nail it all without a hitch on Saturday morning.
2. Mom and Christy and I piled into Mom's Malibu and headed over to what I'll call the Silver Mountain condos at the base of the gondola as guests of Dick and Renae Costa for some snacks and gin. We had a blast talking about life in the Valley back when we were younger and the industrial smoke blanketed the Valley and Renae went on blind dates and Mom and Renae taught together and Kellogg was packed with young people on the move, starting their teaching jobs in School District #391. I missed a lot of those days, but Dick and Renae and Christy and Mom helped me feel like I was right here instead of being in Cd'A and Spokane going to school and getting my life as a teacher underway at Whitworth.
3. Ed and I met for a quick smash at Noah's and called Mike and called Carol Lee and did all we could to get our crowded social schedule figured out, both now and in November. It's a job in itself what with all we have going on, but I think we almost did it, and can move forward into our wild world of airplane rides, lake parties, patio reunions, and trips to the casino. And we did it without spreading our planners on the bar.
2. Mom and Christy and I piled into Mom's Malibu and headed over to what I'll call the Silver Mountain condos at the base of the gondola as guests of Dick and Renae Costa for some snacks and gin. We had a blast talking about life in the Valley back when we were younger and the industrial smoke blanketed the Valley and Renae went on blind dates and Mom and Renae taught together and Kellogg was packed with young people on the move, starting their teaching jobs in School District #391. I missed a lot of those days, but Dick and Renae and Christy and Mom helped me feel like I was right here instead of being in Cd'A and Spokane going to school and getting my life as a teacher underway at Whitworth.
3. Ed and I met for a quick smash at Noah's and called Mike and called Carol Lee and did all we could to get our crowded social schedule figured out, both now and in November. It's a job in itself what with all we have going on, but I think we almost did it, and can move forward into our wild world of airplane rides, lake parties, patio reunions, and trips to the casino. And we did it without spreading our planners on the bar.
Friday, July 17, 2015
Three Beautiful Things 07/16/15: Pine Creek Tavern Lunch, Pork Roast Dinner, Perfect Raspberry Dessert
1. Don Knott and Scott Stuart and I met at the Pine Creek Tavern where I had a 1/3 lb. cheeseburger with a couple of Miller High Lifes and I felt like I was living the High Life indeed. The Pine Creek Tavern food is first rate, the beer is ice cold x 10, and it was the perfect spot for three lifelong friends to sit and bring it all back as well as talk about our lives in 2015. Don and Scott have a gift, I'll tell ya, for telling stories about when they played men's league basketball in the Silver Valley for Johnny's Bar and making me feel like I was a member of their squad, or, at the very least, there to witness the epic games they played and the post-game action that occurred in Johnny's Bar itself in downtown Smelterville.
2. After lunch, I returned to Mom's to assume the duty of cook for the night. I put a pre-seasoned pork roast in the oven, cooked up a mess of green beans with corn cut off a couple of cobs seasoned with a couple of strips of bacon, and threw together a green salad. Christy brought over macaroni salad and apple sauce and Mom and Everett and Christy, and I sat on Mom's deck on a perfectly cool and comfortable Kellogg evening and enjoyed our meal and one another's company.
3. Mom continues to flex her garden muscles as part of her therapy to make use of her damaged right arm and the sweetest part of her therapy is the raspberries she picks. Tonight, Christy turned a batch of those raspberries into another raspberry pie and it was the perfect dessert to finish off our pork roast dinner.
2. After lunch, I returned to Mom's to assume the duty of cook for the night. I put a pre-seasoned pork roast in the oven, cooked up a mess of green beans with corn cut off a couple of cobs seasoned with a couple of strips of bacon, and threw together a green salad. Christy brought over macaroni salad and apple sauce and Mom and Everett and Christy, and I sat on Mom's deck on a perfectly cool and comfortable Kellogg evening and enjoyed our meal and one another's company.
3. Mom continues to flex her garden muscles as part of her therapy to make use of her damaged right arm and the sweetest part of her therapy is the raspberries she picks. Tonight, Christy turned a batch of those raspberries into another raspberry pie and it was the perfect dessert to finish off our pork roast dinner.
Thursday, July 16, 2015
Three Beautiful Things 07/15/15: Mom Picks Raspberries, German Beer @ Chez Byrdman, Back to Paragon and Daft Badger
1. Mom is appreciating the cooler temperatures and is feeling a little bit frisky with her arm feeling better and with her hip and legs not hurting so much, so she headed to the raspberry patch to do some picking and I joined her to take some of some weed pulling and poisoning.
2. I jetted over the 4th of July Pass to visit the Lake City of Coeur d'Alene and drop by the residence of Jim "Byrdman" Byrd. We relaxed by enjoying some German lager and wheat beer at Chez Byrdman and I got to see Byrdman's developing basement man cave and we got started on figuring out the world of sports and current events.
3. Byrdman and I then headed out to Paragon Brewing on Government way for some chow and I enjoyed tenderloin sliders and seasoned curly fries with a fine pint of Firestone Walker Easy Jack, a fine session IPA, not too boozy, but full of hoppy bite. Done eating, we made our way down to Daft Badger Brewery. My North Idaho College class and choirmate, Darrell Dlouhy runs this brewery. The beer is superb and so is the food menu -- Byrdman and I were very impressed with the food we saw come out of the kitchen and when it comes to beer, I thoroughly enjoyed my Summer's Envy Citra IPA and Byrdman gave his Final Mile Golden Ale an enthusiastic thumbs up. We only had one disappointment: Darrell had gone home a bit earlier, so we didn't get to see him, but we totally enjoyed our beers and, as we were back in January when we first visited Daft Badger, we were very impressed with what a handsome and comfortable environment Darrell has created in his brewpub and with the the superb service of Darrell's staff.
2. I jetted over the 4th of July Pass to visit the Lake City of Coeur d'Alene and drop by the residence of Jim "Byrdman" Byrd. We relaxed by enjoying some German lager and wheat beer at Chez Byrdman and I got to see Byrdman's developing basement man cave and we got started on figuring out the world of sports and current events.
3. Byrdman and I then headed out to Paragon Brewing on Government way for some chow and I enjoyed tenderloin sliders and seasoned curly fries with a fine pint of Firestone Walker Easy Jack, a fine session IPA, not too boozy, but full of hoppy bite. Done eating, we made our way down to Daft Badger Brewery. My North Idaho College class and choirmate, Darrell Dlouhy runs this brewery. The beer is superb and so is the food menu -- Byrdman and I were very impressed with the food we saw come out of the kitchen and when it comes to beer, I thoroughly enjoyed my Summer's Envy Citra IPA and Byrdman gave his Final Mile Golden Ale an enthusiastic thumbs up. We only had one disappointment: Darrell had gone home a bit earlier, so we didn't get to see him, but we totally enjoyed our beers and, as we were back in January when we first visited Daft Badger, we were very impressed with what a handsome and comfortable environment Darrell has created in his brewpub and with the the superb service of Darrell's staff.
Wednesday, July 15, 2015
Three Beautiful Things 07/14/15: Lunch with Kenton at the City Limits, Steak Dinner at Christy's, Junebug is Back in the Fold
1. Christy, Carol, and I piled into Mom's Malibu and headed east to the wilds of Wallace, Idaho and the Silver Valley's finest brewery/restaurant, The City Limits, and met up with our lifelong friend, Kenton Bird. Kenton was in town to make a donation to the Wallace District Mining Museum. Christy and I enjoyed the in house (North Idaho Mountain Brewery) raspberry wheat ale -- a refreshing and tart fruit beer -- and my French dip was delicious. Our conversation with Kenton was wide-ranging. It was especially fun getting caught up on Kenton's new administrative post at the U of Idaho and, as you can see from this picture, straightening out all the world's many ills:
2. Christy invited Mom and me over to her new house next door for petite sirloin steak, corn on the cob, green salad, and fresh raspberry pie. Our dinner was awesome and it was fun to have such a good dinner with Mom's most excellent new next door neighbor.
3. Everett arrived back home from his trip today to Christy and Everett's on the market house near Kettle Falls. He did some cleaning up at the other house and, most importantly, he was able to get the up until today elusive cat, Junebug, into a carrier and bring her to Kellogg. Coming after many futile efforts, Junebug's capture was the source of great joy for Christy and Everett -- and now their family of cats is all accounted for and living safely in their new home.
2. Christy invited Mom and me over to her new house next door for petite sirloin steak, corn on the cob, green salad, and fresh raspberry pie. Our dinner was awesome and it was fun to have such a good dinner with Mom's most excellent new next door neighbor.
3. Everett arrived back home from his trip today to Christy and Everett's on the market house near Kettle Falls. He did some cleaning up at the other house and, most importantly, he was able to get the up until today elusive cat, Junebug, into a carrier and bring her to Kellogg. Coming after many futile efforts, Junebug's capture was the source of great joy for Christy and Everett -- and now their family of cats is all accounted for and living safely in their new home.
Tuesday, July 14, 2015
Three Beautiful Things 07/13/15: Mom's Car Ready to Roll, Walmart Happy Dance, 1979 MLB All-Star Game
1. First thing, I drove Mom's car to the old Rena Theater. Now, it's the site of Dave Smith's Auto Service center. Mom's Malibu was overdue for an oil change and not only did the car's oil get changed, but the car cleaners at Dave Smith's did such a fine job of cleaning the exterior and interior of Mom's car that I wasn't sure I wanted to get back into it, fearing I might mess it up with a stray blade of dead grass or have some dust fall off my shoes.
2. Since breaking her arm in March, Mom has not been inside a grocery store, let alone the Smelterville Walmart. Well, today Mom and I changed that. I drove Mom up to the Smelterville Walmart entrance and she got out of the car and flung her cane high in the air, spun around in an ice-skater-like triple axel happy dance, and caught her cane before it hit the ground. I'd never seen anything like it. My jaw dropped, and, mere mortal that I am, I just parked the car and joined Mom and walked all over the store so she could pick up a wide variety of groceries, household goods, and gifts for Zoe's birthday.
3. Much to my surprise and delight, I stumbled across a replay of the 1979 Major League All-Star game, a game I attended in Seattle at the Kingdome. It was fun to see the two terrific throws Dave Parker made from right field to nail Jim Rice at third and then Brian Downing at home, thanks, in large part, to Gary Carter's masterful blocking of the plate. I enjoyed seeing Lee Mazilli's game tying home run in the eighth and, once again, felt the weirdness of having the NL's winning run score on four straight base on balls served up my Jim Kern and Ron Guidry. As I watched this game, I marveled at the number of players present whom I liked a lot thirty-six years ago. For me, great names like Yaz, Reggie Jackson, Dave Winfield, Bobby Grich, Rick Burleson, and many more. My memories of that game had grown dim, so it was fun to have them brought to life again.
2. Since breaking her arm in March, Mom has not been inside a grocery store, let alone the Smelterville Walmart. Well, today Mom and I changed that. I drove Mom up to the Smelterville Walmart entrance and she got out of the car and flung her cane high in the air, spun around in an ice-skater-like triple axel happy dance, and caught her cane before it hit the ground. I'd never seen anything like it. My jaw dropped, and, mere mortal that I am, I just parked the car and joined Mom and walked all over the store so she could pick up a wide variety of groceries, household goods, and gifts for Zoe's birthday.
3. Much to my surprise and delight, I stumbled across a replay of the 1979 Major League All-Star game, a game I attended in Seattle at the Kingdome. It was fun to see the two terrific throws Dave Parker made from right field to nail Jim Rice at third and then Brian Downing at home, thanks, in large part, to Gary Carter's masterful blocking of the plate. I enjoyed seeing Lee Mazilli's game tying home run in the eighth and, once again, felt the weirdness of having the NL's winning run score on four straight base on balls served up my Jim Kern and Ron Guidry. As I watched this game, I marveled at the number of players present whom I liked a lot thirty-six years ago. For me, great names like Yaz, Reggie Jackson, Dave Winfield, Bobby Grich, Rick Burleson, and many more. My memories of that game had grown dim, so it was fun to have them brought to life again.
Monday, July 13, 2015
Three Beautiful Things 07/12/15: The List, Golf Thrills and Memories, Happy Hour
1. I was relaxing in Mom's television room, writing a blog post, when she walked in and she held out and rattled a piece of paper in front of me. I quickly reasoned that she wanted me to take this piece of paper and read it. It was a list of things she wanted me to do today -- water plants, move plants from the kitchen to the patio, dead head the flowers in front of the house, and a few other things. I had been afraid that I wouldn't have anything to do on this fine Sunday. Mom relieved me of this fear and before long, I got to work and, fanfare please, it turned out, later in the day, Mom was pleased with my handiwork dead heading the flowers in front of the house.
2. Carol and Mom met Susan Kerns in Pinehurst and then traveled over the hill to CdA to see Singin in the Rain at the Kroc Center. While I had the house to myself, I watched the Women's U. S. Open and totally enjoyed Inn Gee Chun firing birdies on four of the six holes between the 12th and 17th and then biting my nails as Amy Yang eagled the 16th and birdied the 17th to pull even with Chun, but paid for an errant drive on 18 with a bogey. Chun won in her first ever U. S. Open -- she's only twenty years old -- and it was thrilling.
Throughout the back nine I flashed back to July 10-13, 1997 when I was in the gallery for all four rounds of the Women's U. S. Open at the Witch Hollow course of Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club outside Portland near North Plains, OR. I loved those four days. It was the best experience I have ever had at a sporting event, especially the first three days when the galleries were less crowded and I watched many of my favorite players, including Betsy King, Meg Mallon, Pat Bradley, Patty Sheehan, Laura Davies, and Nancy Lopez, to name a few.
3. After the golf tournament ended, I went out in the back yard and Mom's new next door neighbors, Sister Christy and her husband Everett, called out to me to come on over and join them for Happy Hour. I could hardly say no, and joined them for some gin and tonic and some relaxing conversation, much of it focused on the progress they are making in getting settled into their new home.
2. Carol and Mom met Susan Kerns in Pinehurst and then traveled over the hill to CdA to see Singin in the Rain at the Kroc Center. While I had the house to myself, I watched the Women's U. S. Open and totally enjoyed Inn Gee Chun firing birdies on four of the six holes between the 12th and 17th and then biting my nails as Amy Yang eagled the 16th and birdied the 17th to pull even with Chun, but paid for an errant drive on 18 with a bogey. Chun won in her first ever U. S. Open -- she's only twenty years old -- and it was thrilling.
Throughout the back nine I flashed back to July 10-13, 1997 when I was in the gallery for all four rounds of the Women's U. S. Open at the Witch Hollow course of Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club outside Portland near North Plains, OR. I loved those four days. It was the best experience I have ever had at a sporting event, especially the first three days when the galleries were less crowded and I watched many of my favorite players, including Betsy King, Meg Mallon, Pat Bradley, Patty Sheehan, Laura Davies, and Nancy Lopez, to name a few.
3. After the golf tournament ended, I went out in the back yard and Mom's new next door neighbors, Sister Christy and her husband Everett, called out to me to come on over and join them for Happy Hour. I could hardly say no, and joined them for some gin and tonic and some relaxing conversation, much of it focused on the progress they are making in getting settled into their new home.
Sunday, July 12, 2015
Three Beautiful Things 07/11/15: Back to the Garden, Mini Forensic Files Binge, Superb Chicken Dinner
1. We woke up Saturday morning to a much cooler Kellogg, Idaho -- and we even got some hard rain. Mom decided to take her all-terrain walker out to the raspberry patch and sit in her sturdy plastic gardening chair and pick raspberries. She told me that if I was looking for something to do, I could dead head flowers in the back yard. Then she complained that she didn't feel right about having anyone over to her deck/back yard because of all the weeds. Hint taken. I got a lot of dead heads clipped off and than spent about ninety minutes weeding the very back flower area of Mom's yard and a couple of other areas as well. I think things look better.
2. I came back to me today. One of the things I enjoy about being at Mom's is watching episode after episode of Forensic Files -- it's such a tight show. Each half hour episode covers a heinous murder, the problems it gives investigators, and how forensic scientists can figure out the crime from a strand of hair or a chip of paint or a fiber from a piece of clothing or some other seemingly insignificant piece of evidence and put together a case that prosecutes the perpetrator. I rested after my weed pulling session by marveling at couple of episodes of Forensic Files and returned to a couple more before going to sleep for the night.
3. Carol and Paul invited Mom and Christy and me over to their place for some chicken grilled on the Weber, a vegetable medley (featuring eggplant!), some rice, garden fresh salad, watermelon wedges, and a dessert of apple, huckleberry, rhubarb crisp. Christy stayed in her new home to wait for Everett to return from Kettle Falls and to rest her overworked muscles and joints, so we delivered this superb meal to her and Everett when we came back to Mom's.
2. I came back to me today. One of the things I enjoy about being at Mom's is watching episode after episode of Forensic Files -- it's such a tight show. Each half hour episode covers a heinous murder, the problems it gives investigators, and how forensic scientists can figure out the crime from a strand of hair or a chip of paint or a fiber from a piece of clothing or some other seemingly insignificant piece of evidence and put together a case that prosecutes the perpetrator. I rested after my weed pulling session by marveling at couple of episodes of Forensic Files and returned to a couple more before going to sleep for the night.
3. Carol and Paul invited Mom and Christy and me over to their place for some chicken grilled on the Weber, a vegetable medley (featuring eggplant!), some rice, garden fresh salad, watermelon wedges, and a dessert of apple, huckleberry, rhubarb crisp. Christy stayed in her new home to wait for Everett to return from Kettle Falls and to rest her overworked muscles and joints, so we delivered this superb meal to her and Everett when we came back to Mom's.
Saturday, July 11, 2015
Three Beautiful Things 07/10/15: Errands, Butterfly Chair Covers, Making the Trip South
1. I took a day off from helping Christy and Everett move in and ran some errands for Mom: bank, post office, Stein's, Yoke's, the water district, and Ace Hardware for cash, stamps, groceries, and the paying of a couple of bills.
2. Mom wants new covers for the butterfly chairs she's owned since at least the Eisenhower administration and, thanks to the magic of online shopping, I ordered her new covers, due to arrive next week.
3. After a family dinner of BLTs, Ed swung by and we had a ton of things to talk about as we headed down to the CdA Casino for some easy entertainment where neither one of us won any money, but neither one of us got creamed, either. As always, it's not the casino that's the most fun -- it's the trip down and back and the talking.
2. Mom wants new covers for the butterfly chairs she's owned since at least the Eisenhower administration and, thanks to the magic of online shopping, I ordered her new covers, due to arrive next week.
3. After a family dinner of BLTs, Ed swung by and we had a ton of things to talk about as we headed down to the CdA Casino for some easy entertainment where neither one of us won any money, but neither one of us got creamed, either. As always, it's not the casino that's the most fun -- it's the trip down and back and the talking.
Friday, July 10, 2015
Three Beautiful Things 07/09/15: Mom to the Doctor, Coma Nap, Unloading and Gin and Tonic
1. I was up at 4:50 this morning to have some coffee and to let Mom know I was up and at 'em and ready to walk out the door at 6:15 to drive her to CdA for her 7:10 appointment at the pain clinic for a couple of shots. All went well --aside from Mom's doctor being a bit tardy -- and we returned home after a quick stop at Walmart and continued our day.
2. Those of you who have been reading my Three Beautiful Things lately might have been asking yourself, "Doesn't he ever stop?" When Sister Carol was on her walk this morning, she called out to me from across Cameron Avenue, "Hey! Energizer Bunny!" Ha! Well, late this morning, I did stop and went to the basement at Mom's house and fell into a deep coma nap and it was refreshing and revitalizing.
3. I needed that refreshment and revitalizing. Over at Christy's, more boxes needed to come in, more tubs and boxes needed to go to the basement, and the U Haul trailer needed to be unloaded. Paul and Carol came over to provide a huge help. We aren't done quite yet, but we made significant progress and will be able to return the trailer on Friday. A couple of late afternoon gin and tonics also refreshed me, but I can't say they really revitalized me. Ha!
2. Those of you who have been reading my Three Beautiful Things lately might have been asking yourself, "Doesn't he ever stop?" When Sister Carol was on her walk this morning, she called out to me from across Cameron Avenue, "Hey! Energizer Bunny!" Ha! Well, late this morning, I did stop and went to the basement at Mom's house and fell into a deep coma nap and it was refreshing and revitalizing.
3. I needed that refreshment and revitalizing. Over at Christy's, more boxes needed to come in, more tubs and boxes needed to go to the basement, and the U Haul trailer needed to be unloaded. Paul and Carol came over to provide a huge help. We aren't done quite yet, but we made significant progress and will be able to return the trailer on Friday. A couple of late afternoon gin and tonics also refreshed me, but I can't say they really revitalized me. Ha!
Thursday, July 9, 2015
Three Beautiful Things 07/09/15: Improved Dental Record, Who Needs Belize?, Riding Home with Christy
1. I have made a conscious effort over the last six months to practice better dental care -- another retirement goal that never makes the television commercials -- and today I walked east on Cameron Avenue here in Kellogg for a check up and cleaning at Bird Family Dental and Cathy saw ten areas of gum improvement and said overall things looked about 80 percent better from when I saw her in December.
2. It seems like I always see these retirement ads where older men in golf shirts who take regular doses of Viagra are soaking up the tropical heat and today I thought: Who needs to go to Belize to soak up the heat? I just went to Kettle Falls/Martin Creek for temperatures that climbed to about 105 degrees and worked up a good sweat helping Everett load a U Haul trailer and pickup bed with chairs and tables and a table saw and a snow blower (ha!) and other things. Everett and I worked without complaining, made a bunch of wise cracks, and took plenty of breaks in the air conditioned living room and got almost everything loaded. I don't know when the next trip to Kettle Falls/Martin Creek to bring another load to Kellogg will be.
3. Christy and I rode back to Kellogg together, keeping an eye on Everett pulling the U Haul, and it gave us a chance to get just about everything figured out, ranging from our mutual retirements to how we can keep helping Mom. Yes, loading stuff in the intense heat was the hardest physical task I've undertaken in many years, but working well and having a good time with Everett and getting to have such a good ride home with Christy made it all, in retrospect, seem easy.
Wednesday, July 8, 2015
Three Beautiful Things 07/07/15: Retirement Goal Met, Holiday Decorations, Margaritaville
1. Today I saw another one of those retirement commercials and it was about setting retirement goals and I remembered when I talked with Kathy back in Eugene and she asked me about my goals and I said that near the top for me was helping my sister move from Kettle Falls/Martin Creek to Kellogg. I said,"Who needs retirement travel to Trafalgar Square or volunteering for the Red Cross when I can help load and unload a U-Haul truck?" Ha! She looked puzzled, but today I could email her and tell her that I am meeting this goal. Paul, Everett, and I worked for a few hours today getting Christy and Everett's belongings out of the truck and into the house, the garage, and the side of the garage. Life is good!
2. Christy loves the holidays and has about twenty-five tubs with Christmas decorations, Harvest/Autumn things, Easter/Spring materials and after we got the truck unloaded, I carried these tubs to the basement and got the storage down there underway. Life's still good!
3. We ended the day with a late birthday party for Carol and Everett. Both have a July 3 birthday. I was assigned to make margaritas and here's how I like to make them: a proper pour of silver tequila, a proper amount of margarita mix, a nice amount of fresh squeezed orange juice, and a splash of 7-Up. Everyone seemed to agree: these margaritas were pretty darn good. I mean life is really good!
2. Christy loves the holidays and has about twenty-five tubs with Christmas decorations, Harvest/Autumn things, Easter/Spring materials and after we got the truck unloaded, I carried these tubs to the basement and got the storage down there underway. Life's still good!
3. We ended the day with a late birthday party for Carol and Everett. Both have a July 3 birthday. I was assigned to make margaritas and here's how I like to make them: a proper pour of silver tequila, a proper amount of margarita mix, a nice amount of fresh squeezed orange juice, and a splash of 7-Up. Everyone seemed to agree: these margaritas were pretty darn good. I mean life is really good!
Tuesday, July 7, 2015
Three Beautiful Things 07/06/15: Up Early, Retirement at Martin Creek, Gin and Tonic Ends the Day
1.So Carol and Molly and I planned on leaving Kellogg at 7 a.m. to head up to Christy and Everett's to get their stuff loaded onto the U-Haul truck. I woke up in the basement, checked the clock, it read 5:30 and that seemed perfect -- time for some coffee, time to do some writing, time to put some ice on my sore heel. I climbed upstairs and discovered the clock by my bed was wrong. It wasn't 5:30 a.m. It was 4:30. Oh well. Now I had an extra hour to get myself ready to head to Kettle Falls. This is the good life.
2. I laughed again today as I thought about my retirement in contrast to those retirement commercials on the television. Today, did the Deke and I toast each other with a midnight glass of champagne as the moon rose over Cancun? Did I go on yet another best buddy golf trip to a destination golf course? Did I attend night after night of musical theater on Broadway? No. Ha! Today, I was near Kettle Falls, WA at Martin Creek. The temperature rose into the mid-90s. I helped haul boxes and tables and bookshelves and the gas bbq and tables and chairs and admired Paul as he put his mad U-Haul arranging skills to work and we got almost everything on the U-Haul truck, into Everett's pick-up, into Carol's car, and into Christy's car. Did we get everything moved to Kellogg? Not quite. I have another destination moving trip in my near future. Christy, Everett, and I will make another trip on Wednesday to load a U-Haul trailer and Everett's truck. We're getting there. This is the good life.
3. We returned to Kellogg. Christy picked up an order at Panda Express in CdA, and we feasted on it at Mom's and, while we were not seated around a beach fire at Turks and Caicos, Christy, Carol, Paul, and I did sit in camp chairs in Christy's unlit new living room and ended our day of work with gin and tonic, drunk out of red Solo cups, a day of good work behind us and with unloading the truck lying just twelve hours in our future. This is the good life!
2. I laughed again today as I thought about my retirement in contrast to those retirement commercials on the television. Today, did the Deke and I toast each other with a midnight glass of champagne as the moon rose over Cancun? Did I go on yet another best buddy golf trip to a destination golf course? Did I attend night after night of musical theater on Broadway? No. Ha! Today, I was near Kettle Falls, WA at Martin Creek. The temperature rose into the mid-90s. I helped haul boxes and tables and bookshelves and the gas bbq and tables and chairs and admired Paul as he put his mad U-Haul arranging skills to work and we got almost everything on the U-Haul truck, into Everett's pick-up, into Carol's car, and into Christy's car. Did we get everything moved to Kellogg? Not quite. I have another destination moving trip in my near future. Christy, Everett, and I will make another trip on Wednesday to load a U-Haul trailer and Everett's truck. We're getting there. This is the good life.
3. We returned to Kellogg. Christy picked up an order at Panda Express in CdA, and we feasted on it at Mom's and, while we were not seated around a beach fire at Turks and Caicos, Christy, Carol, Paul, and I did sit in camp chairs in Christy's unlit new living room and ended our day of work with gin and tonic, drunk out of red Solo cups, a day of good work behind us and with unloading the truck lying just twelve hours in our future. This is the good life!
Monday, July 6, 2015
Three Beautiful Things 07/05/15: Morning Coffee, Ghosts, Wal Mart Trip Delayed
1. I woke up and enjoyed coffee and some morning conversation with Carol, and later, Paul, on their patio in the coolish morning air. Why not just "cool morning air"? Kellogg is in the midst of a terrible, wildfire feeding heat wave.
2. Ghosts. I helped Christy and Everett move a few things into their new home next door to Mom and friendly ghosts, like Lois sitting at the kitchen table smoking cigarettes and Lelo tearing around in the back yard, appeared.
3. My takeover of Mom's kitchen hasn't quite happened. We were going to drive out to Wal Mart for some groceries. It would have been her first trip to a store since she broke her arm back on March 5th. But, she as we were thinking about going, Mom started feeling woozie and she nixed the plan. I wondered if it might be the heat. Mom sent me to McDonald's where I picked each of us up a third pound sirloin burger and we split an order of fries. Mom felt better as afternoon turned into evening.
2. Ghosts. I helped Christy and Everett move a few things into their new home next door to Mom and friendly ghosts, like Lois sitting at the kitchen table smoking cigarettes and Lelo tearing around in the back yard, appeared.
3. My takeover of Mom's kitchen hasn't quite happened. We were going to drive out to Wal Mart for some groceries. It would have been her first trip to a store since she broke her arm back on March 5th. But, she as we were thinking about going, Mom started feeling woozie and she nixed the plan. I wondered if it might be the heat. Mom sent me to McDonald's where I picked each of us up a third pound sirloin burger and we split an order of fries. Mom felt better as afternoon turned into evening.
Sunday, July 5, 2015
Three Beautiful Things 07/04/15: Best Hair on the Flight, Scanning the Competition, Back in Kellogg
1. Early on during the flight from Baltimore Washington International to Sea-Tac, one of the flight attendants said to me, in reference to her fellow attendants, "By the way, we've been talking and we have decided you have the best hair on this flight."
2. Blown away by my status on Alaska Air Flight 767, I began scanning the rows ahead of me as I sat and behind me when I visited the lavatory, looking at everyone's hair. I gotta admit: the competition wasn't too stiff.
3. Carol and Paul were at the curb almost the second I picked up my bag at GEG and they not only drove me to Kellogg, they let me eat some leftover steak and morning potatoes before I went to bed and gave me a cool, comfortable bed in their basement for the night.
2. Blown away by my status on Alaska Air Flight 767, I began scanning the rows ahead of me as I sat and behind me when I visited the lavatory, looking at everyone's hair. I gotta admit: the competition wasn't too stiff.
3. Carol and Paul were at the curb almost the second I picked up my bag at GEG and they not only drove me to Kellogg, they let me eat some leftover steak and morning potatoes before I went to bed and gave me a cool, comfortable bed in their basement for the night.
Saturday, July 4, 2015
Three Beautiful Things 07/03/15: Maryland's Coffers Swell, Jack and His Cousins, Checked In and Packed
1. No state income taxes are withdrawn from my pension, so I hunkered down today in the world of the Maryland Comptroller online and did my best to figure out my estimated tax bill for the year 2015 and contributed some money to the Old Line State treasury. I now expect to see the rest of Maryland's pot holes filled and the state's public teachers to get raise after my contribution. I think that's realistic.
2. The Deke and I went to Molly and Hiram's new house for dinner. Jack and Adrienne had been there all day and it made me happy to find out Jack had had so much fun all day long playing with his cousins, David and Olivia, and that his sleepover with them went so well. As I left, I found out he's going to spend another night at the Diaz home. This couldn't be working out any better!
3. I'm flying to Seattle and Spokane and Carol is driving me to Kellogg on July 4t h at 5:30 p.m. and I'm checked in with Alaska Airlines and my bags are 95% packed. No last minute rushing around -- my favorite way to do things.
2. The Deke and I went to Molly and Hiram's new house for dinner. Jack and Adrienne had been there all day and it made me happy to find out Jack had had so much fun all day long playing with his cousins, David and Olivia, and that his sleepover with them went so well. As I left, I found out he's going to spend another night at the Diaz home. This couldn't be working out any better!
3. I'm flying to Seattle and Spokane and Carol is driving me to Kellogg on July 4t h at 5:30 p.m. and I'm checked in with Alaska Airlines and my bags are 95% packed. No last minute rushing around -- my favorite way to do things.
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