On vacation for a few days. The original plan (way back in March or April) was to go to Dallas for Thanksgiving and visit my sister JoAnn and her clan while spending some time with Matt's clan for their annual holiday event. Unfortunately life intervened. What did John Lennon say? "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans.." I think that's the line from his song "Beautiful Boy." Anyway we're staying here in Independence and will celebrate Thanksgiving with Colin here at the house. It's probably a good thing that I have the free time because there are a number of little projects that need to be finished up after the major floor renovations made this past winter, spring and summer; just little touch-up jobs.
So anyway, as I write this entry the sun's shining there are some wispy clouds but otherwise blue skies; there's a light breeze and it's 63 degrees. I know, I know it's late November what's going on here? Don't know but I'll take it. It will change. Matt, Ciara and Aiden are in Dallas with family. They'll be there the rest of the week catching up with extended family. Aiden will get to know his cousins and play, play, play with some children his own age. I think Ian, Rieko and Rosemary plan on driving over from Little Rock to spend this coming weekend in Dallas.
Linda and I are looking forward to the holidays but will miss having Ian, Rieko and Rosemary visit. It's a long drive or a short, expensive flight so we understand. More importantly we're looking forward to the two new grandchildren (boys) due in March. We can't wait. That will bring us the blessings of 4 grandchildren. Aiden will be the "big cheese" and I'm sure he'll love that and Rosemary will have the status of reigning princess a title that she'll wear proudly I'm sure.
Enough for now.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Back Home in Independence
Linda and I had a wonderful time in Charlotte. The best weather imaginable, good company, good food and lots of fun!
Friday I did buy my rain barrel (just one); they only had two left and I didn't like the way the 2nd one looked, pretty beat up. Getting it into the car for the drive home was no problem. I just used it as a "capsule" and filled the inside with other things. Friday afternoon I picked Aiden up from school and we pretty much just hung out until Fred arrived from Greenville, SC. I fixed dinner of Grilled Grassfed burgers with lots of cheese, tomatoes, onion and salad. It was devine. Of course it was a little bit of a chore keeping Marley the black lab from eating with us also; you can't turn your back on anything or it's gone. Of course Aiden thinks that's great.
Saturday was our big adventure. We rented a 22ft pontoon boat and spent the day on Lake Norman. It was spectacular: hot and sunny with a stiff breeze and crystal blue skies. Boats, personal watercraft and all manner of sailboats were out throughout the day. There was even some sort of sailboat race; very colorful. Aiden had a ball despite being somewhat laid low by a "cold." He loves to swim with the "fishies;" climbing up and jumping off the boat. We ate lunch at the Rusty Rudder in one of the numerous coves and had an adventure getting in and out of our berth; I'm just glad Matt was driving!
We laid low on Sunday. Ate lunch at the Olive Garden and sent Gail and Fred back to SC. I do have a great 2 minute video on my I-Phone of Aiden playing with Marley and a young chocolate lab called "Hershey." I'd like to post it but haven't figured out how to edit it yet.
Monday we drove home: 503.8 miles, 8 hours, average speed 67 mph and 1 speeding ticket (doing 75 in a 55....motorcycle cop knocked it down to 65, don't know the cost yet). No complaints, only 2nd ticket in 39 years!
Now, back to the world...
Friday I did buy my rain barrel (just one); they only had two left and I didn't like the way the 2nd one looked, pretty beat up. Getting it into the car for the drive home was no problem. I just used it as a "capsule" and filled the inside with other things. Friday afternoon I picked Aiden up from school and we pretty much just hung out until Fred arrived from Greenville, SC. I fixed dinner of Grilled Grassfed burgers with lots of cheese, tomatoes, onion and salad. It was devine. Of course it was a little bit of a chore keeping Marley the black lab from eating with us also; you can't turn your back on anything or it's gone. Of course Aiden thinks that's great.
Saturday was our big adventure. We rented a 22ft pontoon boat and spent the day on Lake Norman. It was spectacular: hot and sunny with a stiff breeze and crystal blue skies. Boats, personal watercraft and all manner of sailboats were out throughout the day. There was even some sort of sailboat race; very colorful. Aiden had a ball despite being somewhat laid low by a "cold." He loves to swim with the "fishies;" climbing up and jumping off the boat. We ate lunch at the Rusty Rudder in one of the numerous coves and had an adventure getting in and out of our berth; I'm just glad Matt was driving!
We laid low on Sunday. Ate lunch at the Olive Garden and sent Gail and Fred back to SC. I do have a great 2 minute video on my I-Phone of Aiden playing with Marley and a young chocolate lab called "Hershey." I'd like to post it but haven't figured out how to edit it yet.
Monday we drove home: 503.8 miles, 8 hours, average speed 67 mph and 1 speeding ticket (doing 75 in a 55....motorcycle cop knocked it down to 65, don't know the cost yet). No complaints, only 2nd ticket in 39 years!
Now, back to the world...
Friday, September 3, 2010
Back in Charlotte
Linda and I arrived in Charlotte yesterday around lunch-time after an 8 hour drive. Actually it was about 7.5 hrs which was one of the shortest drives we've made to here. We came down I-75 then East on 40 through the mountains to just short of Asheville where turned Southeast toward Charlotte. In the past I've hesitated going this way because of the slow drive from East of Knoxville to Asheville (steep, winding roadway and 60 mph speedlimit). Sun and clear skies the whole way.
When we got to Charlotte we stopped at an upscale grocery store called EarthFare. You know the kind, lot's of organic produce, meats and other products. Expensive. But, the food is excellent. The last time we were here (June) we saw some nice rain barrels but didn't buy them. Now they're available at a $40.00 discount so we're going to buy one and maybe two. I laugh thinking about us driving home with those two barrels taking up the inside of our car.
I brought Aiden a balsa wood airplane and after school we went to the park and played and played. He had a terrific time and wore himself out. That was after his treat of water and blueberry scone from Starbucks.
When we got to Charlotte we stopped at an upscale grocery store called EarthFare. You know the kind, lot's of organic produce, meats and other products. Expensive. But, the food is excellent. The last time we were here (June) we saw some nice rain barrels but didn't buy them. Now they're available at a $40.00 discount so we're going to buy one and maybe two. I laugh thinking about us driving home with those two barrels taking up the inside of our car.
I brought Aiden a balsa wood airplane and after school we went to the park and played and played. He had a terrific time and wore himself out. That was after his treat of water and blueberry scone from Starbucks.
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Glen Beck
I hesitate to even write anything about this person but I feel compelled to say something. Linda and I just got home from out walk and I had some quiet time to just think things through a little bit. My conclusion, GB is a showman, a clown who just says incendiary things with the clear intent to rile up not only his listeners but those who revile him. He knows what he's doing; make no mistake about it. His modus operandi is to make money, to further feather his nest and the larger nest of Fox news.
I think about Lady Gaga and Madonna before her; both of these women are incredibly savvy and know exactly what they're doing. Mick Jagger, Steven Tyler; rock and roll is filled with showmen. GB is just a little brother to the other flame throwers out there: Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter... I mean, do they really believe the stuff they say? I choose to believe otherwise; they know where the paths to riches lie and they play the lie for all it's worth.
They're really no different than some folks on the other side of the fence; they just have bigger microphones (Al Sharpton are you listening?).
What I do know is that divisiveness serves no purpose other than to distract and evade working on the real problems we face as a nation and can only solve by working together; put differences aside and find some common ground and move forward from there. GB might have something to add but I can't get beyond the just plain meanness of his message.
I think about Lady Gaga and Madonna before her; both of these women are incredibly savvy and know exactly what they're doing. Mick Jagger, Steven Tyler; rock and roll is filled with showmen. GB is just a little brother to the other flame throwers out there: Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter... I mean, do they really believe the stuff they say? I choose to believe otherwise; they know where the paths to riches lie and they play the lie for all it's worth.
They're really no different than some folks on the other side of the fence; they just have bigger microphones (Al Sharpton are you listening?).
What I do know is that divisiveness serves no purpose other than to distract and evade working on the real problems we face as a nation and can only solve by working together; put differences aside and find some common ground and move forward from there. GB might have something to add but I can't get beyond the just plain meanness of his message.
Friday, August 27, 2010
International Space Station
A great evening for stargazing. The skies were crystal clear making for a clear view of the ISS as it flew over the house at 20:49. Flying West to East it appeared as a very bright star almost directly overhead. It was clearly visible for about 5 minutes before falling off the horizon directly East Northeast of the house. I think it's supposed to be visible again tomorrow night but I doubt if the viewing conditions will be quite as nice.
Fall is on the air...
Yeah, I know, the heat will be back but the weather changed dramatically over the past few days bringing an early hint of fall. Temperatures have been in the 70s with a breeze, low humidity and lows in the high 50s. It's a refreshing change from the previous couple of weeks with temperatures in the 90s and humidity to match.
Currently converting all my music from WMA files to the I-Tunes format on my computer. I think I have close to 4 gigs of music. That's not much by some folks standards and most of the music is relatively old but it's nice to have it all in one place so I can access it and move it back and forth from my I-Phone and I-Pod.
I've been gradually figuring out how to use the I-Phone but I'm sure I've just touched the tip of the iceberg. I'm really enjoying the different apps but I think what I like most is just the simple utility of the tools it brings to the ordinary. Like being able to listen to voice mail without going to a "mailbox" or sending text messages in a "conversation" string. I also love how I can easily download e-mail. I continue to believe it's one of the best investments I've ever made.
Spent a couple of hours this morning on a conference call putting the final touches on an Abstract to be sent to the Society of Critical Care Medicine for their national conference in January (San Diego). It would be too cool if it's accepted.
Currently converting all my music from WMA files to the I-Tunes format on my computer. I think I have close to 4 gigs of music. That's not much by some folks standards and most of the music is relatively old but it's nice to have it all in one place so I can access it and move it back and forth from my I-Phone and I-Pod.
I've been gradually figuring out how to use the I-Phone but I'm sure I've just touched the tip of the iceberg. I'm really enjoying the different apps but I think what I like most is just the simple utility of the tools it brings to the ordinary. Like being able to listen to voice mail without going to a "mailbox" or sending text messages in a "conversation" string. I also love how I can easily download e-mail. I continue to believe it's one of the best investments I've ever made.
Spent a couple of hours this morning on a conference call putting the final touches on an Abstract to be sent to the Society of Critical Care Medicine for their national conference in January (San Diego). It would be too cool if it's accepted.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
I-Phone 4
I bought 2 I-Phone 4s on Monday. I was fed up with the customer service (lack thereof) from CBW and despite having had service from them since 1996 jettisoned them! It felt good to finally be done with it. I'm a little bit sad that my land-line telephone number was also disconnected. It had been in the family for almost 40 years. Things change.
We love the I-Phone. It's amazing. I'm sure we'll discover some warts as things move forward but so far it's one of the best purchases I've ever made. We shall see moving forward.
We love the I-Phone. It's amazing. I'm sure we'll discover some warts as things move forward but so far it's one of the best purchases I've ever made. We shall see moving forward.
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