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Learned a New Word and made it to Tucson

So, in yesterday’s post I mentioned that I got caught in a wind-dust-rain-thunder storm.  I have found out the name of that type of storm:  Haboob (accent on second syllable)

And, somebody posted a video of it on YouTube.  This is exactly what I saw – I big wall of dust and whatnot.  Take a look!  Pretty epic!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ays-uWzPffc Continue reading “Learned a New Word and made it to Tucson”

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Driving Through the Desert

A wonderful week visiting Jon and Tina came to an end, and it was time to head off to Palm Springs.  In my last post I mentioned that I had missed picking up my rental car because I didn’t realize the office closed at noon.

So, I had reserved another one, and lo and behold, they had a car for me!  I requested Sirius Radio since I knew I’d be driving in the middle of nowhere and wanted to have music.  Got all my stuff loaded into the car, but, hey – the Sirius isn’t working!  Checked in the office – the person tried to authorize it, but the app was saying the car wasn’t ‘Sirius compatible’ (even though it was).  Ended up having to unload that car and get another car.  Ended up taking off before verifying the Sirius worked.  Luckily it did!  I ended up with a Hyundai Tucson SUV. Continue reading “Driving Through the Desert”

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Nearing the End of My Stay in Long Beach

It has been an action-packed week here in Long Beach.  Went for bike rides along the beach, went to the miles-long dog beach, went kayaking (in a kayak that you pedal, not paddle, to propel .  Much more conducive to beer-drinking while kayaking), helped out with a neighborhood 4th of July block party (where I met Todd Forman from Sublime, who played sax and melodica!).  I also met “Mr. Crumb” who is in a band with Todd called “Jelly of the Month Club.”  Got 2 hugs and a free CD! Continue reading “Nearing the End of My Stay in Long Beach”

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The Next Trip Is Coming Together

OK, I think I have figured out how my upcoming trip is going to flow.

But first.  I went to see a friend’s blues band do an open mic at a local tavern.  I saw them a couple weeks ago and they were good, and fun.  Last time, there was no keyboard player, but this time there was.  I got to sit in for 3 songs!  They play pretty basic blues so it was easy to play along, and everybody gets a solo in every song, so I got to do that too.  Fun!! Continue reading “The Next Trip Is Coming Together”

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On The Road Again … soon

I have some non-travel stuff to write about before I get into my next trip.

One is, don’t take any day, or moment, for granted.  I went to a funeral last Saturday.   It was a guy I was acquainted with – played music with him a few times at parties.  Didn’t know him well but he was very likable.  The previous weekend he was playing at a gig with one of his bands (he’s a bass player), and at the end of the last song of their last set, he dropped dead.  Right on stage.  Age 49.  He didn’t mention feeling ill or anything.   His band mate said it was like lightning struck it was so fast. Video showing him playing up to the seconds before he died didn’t show anything ‘unusual.’  Needless to say, his family, his band mates, his friends, the music community were/are in shock.  His teenage daughter spoke, talking about how she had been pushing him away (‘cuz that’s what teens do) and now she can’t tell her dad she’s sorry.  Heart wrenching!  Hug your friends and fam every chance you get!

On a lighter, though irritating note, I have developed a trigger thumb.  It seems to be getting better, but here is a link to exercises you can do to stop it from developing.  Apparently it is mostly seen with women between the ages of 40 and 60.
https://www.braceability.com/blogs/articles/trigger-finger-exercises

But on to the subject topic – my next trip.  I have purchased a one-way ticket to Long Beach, CA, where I will be visiting friends Jon and Tina.  There is a big block party for 4th of July, and one of the guys from the band Sublime (Santeria is one song) lives around the corner from them.  Sounds like a lot of fun!  I am also the officiant for their son Chase’s wedding next year, so hoping to catch up with him so I can get an idea of what they’re thinking of for their ceremony.  Plus, there is a Hash out there, and, I am hoping to reconnect with my friend Edd who moved to San Diego a few years ago!

After Long Beach, I am still trying to figure out what exactly I am going to do, but I have it narrowed down pretty much, except for which days what will happen and where.

I’ve been feeling like I’ve been wanting to go to a Resort Spa.  I think I must’ve read about one somewhere and then I started looking at a bunch of them.  I think I have settled on Miraval, which is outside of Tucson.  I originally was thinking I would fly there but now I’m thinking I may rent a car and drive there.  I can go through Joshua Tree and stop in to see my friend Derek in Phoenix, on my way there.  Besides the requisite facials and massages, there are lots of opportunities there to do spirit and energy work (naysayers hold your tongues!)  There’s even a shamanistic treatment that I’m thinking of doing!  So, thinking I’ll spend 3-4 nights there.

After that, I’m thinking I’ll be driving to visit my friends Brian and Stacey, in Santa Fe NM.  There’s a Folk Art fair the following weekend.  Not sure how long I will stay there yet.

And not sure where I’m going after that yet.  Home?  Take a train?  Still gotta figure it out! (Read on to see how I maybe figured it out when I took a little break from writing this post)

Before I started this post, I read in the Sunday NY Times about an outfit called ‘Under Canvas’ that operates seasonal glamping resorts near national parks.  I’ve been wanting to go to Mount Rushmore and lo and behold there is one there!  And I took a 10 minute break from blogging to see how far it is from Santa Fe NM to Mount Rushmore.  It’s only like 12 hours (I would do it in 2 days, not one).  I just talked to them and they have availability for the time stretch I’m thinking about going (mid-July ish).  I think I’m going to do the Expedition Package – check it out!
https://www.undercanvas.com/camps/mount-rushmore/

Well, this day of travel planning took a surprise turn.  I still need to figure out what I’ll do after Mount Rushmore, and see if Miraval has availability, but, things seem to be starting to come together.

Stay tuned to see what I end up with!

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Another funny comment

Got another funny comment, so I thought I’d share it.  Ha ha!

When someone writes an post he/she mzintains the thought off a userr in his/her brajn that how a user can understand it.
So that’s why this article is amazing. Thanks!

 

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Being Productive

I finally took the time to refinish the vanity in my first floor bathroom, and I must say I’m pretty excited at how it turned out!  I also feel like I’m getting a little bit more ‘handy’ – I replaced the old rusty hinges, but the new hinges had different screw hole locations, so I had to make sure I put them on the doors in the right place so they would hang right.  And I did!

Here is the ‘before’ – this vanity is original to the 1986 house:

Originally it had white ceramic door pulls.  I had replaced them a while ago with brushed nickel ones.

And here is the update:

Can’t believe how much better it looks!  And a shout out to Home Depot paint – this was pretty much just one coat!

Here is what I used:

Another way I got ‘handier’ is – I have a fairly new toilet in my master bath (less than 2 years old).  It started ‘running’ for a long time, so I’d have to take the top off and pull the valve shut off bar to get it to stop.  Finally, it dawned on me to go to the manufacturer’s (Kohler) website and see what I could do about it.  All I had to do with turn a little knob on top of the valve bar, and now it works great!

And in the product placement department, I have started using these silicone bowl sealers.  They replace plastic wrap, and they work great!  They seal so well that you can pick up the bowl by the handle (see photo on the packaging) although of course they don’t recommend that you do that.  Go get these!

So yesterday I was close to my old work location so I went for a walk around the parking lot with my friend Steve (this walk was a usual lunchtime walk when I worked there).

We came across this lovely scene:

Yikes!  I think it was a raccoon.

Anyway, that’s it for today.  Headed to the beach later today to check on the beach house.

‘Til next time, readers!

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New Painting

So, I saw a ‘painting’ in a catalog that I kind of liked, so I decided to try painting it myself.

Here is the one in the catalog:

I had told my friend John that I had started another painting, and he wanted me to show my progress as I went along.  I’m glad he said that because I never would have thought to do that, and I found it interesting how the painting changed along the way.  Also note that I did this painting on top of another painting that I had started but just wasn’t ‘feeling.’   Actually, this canvas has 2 paintings I didn’t like underneath this one that I did finish.

So, here is Phase 1:

I really didn’t care for how it was looking.  Felt like the flowers looked too juvenile, like a kid could do it.

So, I let it sit for a few days and came back to it – Phase 2:

OK, starting to kind of like the direction it’s going …

Phase 3, fleshing it out a bit (sorry it’s blurry – I had my phone on the wrong setting):

Getting there …

Phase 4:

Pretty good, but needs one more little touch …

Final product!

I like it!  I’m starting to think maybe flowers are my thing, at least for now.  If you look closely you’ll see a blue dot right at the bottom in the middle of the painting.  I was painting on a hot day and had been out in the yard.  I came in and started painting but I was sweating like crazy.  And then a drop of sweat rolled off onto the painting!  I uttered an expletive and was going to wipe it up but then I thought, maybe it’ll end up looking cool – I’ll just leave it.  I thought it did come out cool!

In other news, today is Day 3 of my juice cleanse.  I cheated and ate 2 almonds the first day and 3 the second day, otherwise all I’ve had is juice.  It has been a good exercise for me, but I am looking forward to eating again!

OK peeps!  Until next time!

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Memory Lane – 1987 plus other random stuff

Well well well!  I hadn’t found the 1987 calendar book and was thinking I was going to have to skip to 1988, but today I was cleaning up stuff in my spare room and lo and behold, in the bottom of a box with mostly travel stuff in it, there was 1987!

For some reason I have a bunch of dates with ‘ICA’ and a time on them.  Times are in the morning and the evening and sometimes more than once a week.  Hm.  I wonder what it is??  Maybe therapy …  I remember I was trying to ‘find myself’ around this time of my life.

March 31:  Saw Yo Yo Ma!
April 9 to 12:  Went to Wilmington NC for a long weekend
April 15:  Saw a dance troupe called MOMIX.  Played golf – shot a 58 for 9 holes.
May 14-17:  Went on a yoga retreat.  To say it was life-changing is an understatement!
June 18-20:  Took Reiki I Training
June 25-28:  Went on a chartered sailboat weekend out of Annapolis
Sept 12-13:  Took Reiki II Training
October 3-4:  Took Polarity Healing Training
October 28:  Saw Ferrante and Teicher
November 16:  Saw Kagemusha
November 25:  Saw Rodney Dangerfield

All right.  Enough indulging myself for now.

I have a couple songs I wanted to bring to your attention.

The first one is by Arcade Fire – “Everything Now” – LOVE this song!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zC30BYR3CUk

The second one, well, I’ve seen Cardi B on a couple shows – Ellen DeGeneres, Jimmy Fallon.  She actually co-hosted with JF.  She comes across oddly – kinda wifty, but not.  I hadn’t heard her music so I thought I’d give it a listen.  She was on Saturday Night Live fairly recently.  This song is from her second song on the show.  I was pretty impressed.  Take a listen.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1Klc0KPNbU

I’m doing a juice cleanse this week.  Today is Day 1.  Wish me luck!

Til next time!

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Memory Lane – 1986 plus some other random stuff

OK.  I have the 1986 datebook in front of me.  A sample page, again from CP&L:

January 1:  NYC.  If I remember correctly I spent New Year’s Eve in Spanish Harlem.  What a trip!
Feb 10:  I left NC to move to DE – from Wilmington to Wilmington!  New job!
Mar 12:  I saw Bella Davidovitch and Dmitry Sitkovetsky (piano and violin) at the Grand Opera House
April 5:  Echo and the Bunnymen concert
May 24:  Simple Minds concert
May 28:  ZZ Top concert
Aug 15:  Andreas Vollenweider concert (Mann Music Center)
Sept 27:  Bought tape deck (still have it!)
Oct 27: Bought my baby grand piano (still have it!)

For some reason there are a lot of “Drag Parties” in the datebook.  Not sure what they were, or if they were any fun?!

And again, a lot of stuff with people I don’t remember.  And a bunch of times I did a run that day (e.g. 16:36 minutes).  And days I played Golf (e.g. score of 74).  That was probably for 9 holes 🙂

Now, on a completely different topic, here are some other things of interest.  First off, some photos from Longwood Gardens:

And lastly, this rose bush in my yard EXPLODED today.  I saw nothing yesterday.  And today, this!  (and I see a bunch more buds waiting to open!)

OK people.  Carry on.  Remember those who gave their lives for our country.  After all, this is Memorial Day weekend.

Until next time …

OH!  One more thing!  I was made aware of this video today (in today’s Sunday New York Times).  I found it very compelling.  See what you think… (and if you feel like commenting, let me know)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYOjWnS4cMY

One second thing!  I forgot that I wanted to add some learning stuff in this post.  I’ve learned a couple new words over the past couple weeks:

GERUND:  a form that is derived from a verb but that functions as a noun, in English ending in -ing, e.g.,  Since Francisco was five years old, swimming has been his passion.  (I learned this from my Duolingo app – it is a grouping in my Spanish lessons)

SPOONERISM:  a verbal error in which a speaker accidentally transposes the initial sounds or letters of two or more words, often to humorous effect, as in the sentence you have hissed the mystery lectures, accidentally spoken instead of the intended sentence you have missed the history lectures. (I learned this from doing Sunday Washington Post crosswords)

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A Trip Down Memory Lane – 1984 and 1985

I think in a previous post that I had mentioned that I found all of my monthly pocket calendars, starting in 1984 and going up through 2016 (after which, presumably, I started just putting stuff on my phone.  So much for record keeping).

Because I’m not travelling but I want to keep the blog going, I have decided to go through each year and provide one or two entries per year that I find funny.  Listen people, I am baring my life to you!  Hopefully you’ll find it at least mildly amusing.  I will try to include some comical banter to make it more interesting…

Here is a photo of the inside page of 1984.  CP&L is where I worked then – Carolina Power & Light – at the Brunswick Nuclear Plant near Wilmington, NC.  No, I am NOT a hoarder!

For 1984 it seems that a lot of things happened.  For the most part, I will not provide any further explanations of these entries.  You can try to fill in the blanks.  May be more intriguing that way 🙂
July 11:  Bert moved.  Sean confused.
July 18:  Flat tire
July 23: Dinner with Sean
July 24:  CAR TOTALLED.  29,441 miles.  (okay, here is an explanation – it was my 1983 Rabbit GTI.  My first new car.  I LOVED that car!  The weird thing is, I got in that accident on my way home from work, and the guy I had the accident with never wore his seat belt.  Until that day.  Had a pretty much head-on crash with him.  His wife, that morning, went out to him while he was getting in his car, and told him to put his seat belt on.  The guy never wore his seat belt until that day – oo ee oo.  After hitting his car, my car went up on two wheels, spun around, and I hit a tree with the back side of the car.  People were shocked that I walked away from the accident – though I was mighty sore the next day I must say. )
October 23-30:  I went to London (visiting my friend Bill)!
December 6-9:  I played a ‘daughter’ in The Pirates of Penzance in Thalian Hall!

1985.  I did a lot of stuff with people I don’t remember anymore.  And I did a big trip!
10/24-27:  In Honolulu – stayed at the Sheraton Waikiki where my cousin Audrey worked and she got me a deal.
10/27-10/30:  In Fiji – Beachcomber Island (wow – I just checked – they are still in business!  http://www.beachcomberfiji.com/
10/30-11/6:  In Sydney, Australia, visiting my friend Anne who I met while I was backpacking through England back in 1980
11/6-10:  In New Zealand (south island).  I got a rental car and pretty much drove the perimeter of the island.  I remember being in Timaru and feeling very lonely.
11/10:  In California.  Due to time changes, I got to California before I left New Zealand!  ha ha!
11/11:  Back in North Carolina

OK.  As I’m writing this it feels a bit self-indulgent.  But I’m enjoying it.  You decide whether you want to keep reading.  This will take a bit of time.  Hopefully I can add some other stuff I’m doing in-between these memories, so you don’t get too bored!

Until next time!

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Finishing Up in Cali

Ultimately I think we got rid of about 100 records, probably 6 or 7  big garbage bags of clothes, sheets and towels.  A bunch of kitchen stuff, and some other random stuff.  Probably a good 2-3 carloads of stuff.  Not done but much progress made!

But, I had to have more fun too.  So, I went on a hash (“A Drinking Club with a Running Problem” for those who don’t know what that is).  It was in Redwood City which was close-by.

Here are some photos from the trail:

I didn’t realize there were houseboats in Redwood City!

Interestingly, there was a row of these towers, and each one was occupied by a homeless guy.

Beer Stop at The Port of Redwood City:

Interesting DVD found on trail!

End of Trail – West Point Marina

A few days later I checked out the Moss Beach Distillery with my cousin Beanie and her hub Steve.  I hadn’t been there before.  The plan was to watch the sunset but alas it was foggy.  Still nice though!

Flew home on a Tuesday.  Philly was hit by a big thunderstorm so our flight was delayed by about a half hour.  Not too bad.  The bad part was, I got off the plane, hit the bathroom, and got to baggage claim.  Nothing happening there.  After about a half hour wait, there is an announcement – “The baggage ramp is closed due to ‘weather’ – we’ll give you updates on your baggage momentarily.”

Long story short, it took TWO AND A HALF HOURS to get my bag!!  The only other update we got was about 5 minutes before our bags were loaded on the carousel, we were told our bags would not be uploaded here but would be delivered to our homes, and to get in line to make a claim.  So I got in line.  And then, like I said, 5 minutes later a carousel starts up and they announce the baggage from our flight was being offloaded.

So, left my cousin’s house at 7:45AM PT to head to the airport.  11:00AM flight delayed until 11:35.  We take off around noon.  Land at about 8:15PM ET.  Get my bag around 11PM.  Catch DE Shuttle about 15 minutes later, one other person gets dropped off before me.  Got home a little after midnight.

UPDATE:  I sent a complaint to American Airlines about the baggage delay.  I got an apology email and 5,000 points added to my Frequent Flier account.

Had a nightcap with some vodka that I bought from the Half Moon Bay Distillery – Purissima Vodka.  Good stuff!  They also make Gin which I didn’t try.

Watched a couple episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents and then it was 2AM and time for bed.

Until next time!