Screaming machines.

Shelly returned to Illinois yesterday and needed a ride from the airport. So Kathy and I took my van to Midway in Chicago. Because I thought traffic would be bad (and it was) I asked Kathy to drive. In spite of my nearly nonstop instructor comments she got us there and back safely. Anyway right as we were loading Shelly and her luggage this group of about 100 "crotch rocket" riders came screaming up Cicero Ave. The noise echoed thru the airport arrival area so loudly it raised the hair on the back of my neck. As we left the airport some of the stragglers came along side doing wheelies and revving their bikes. As we stopped for a red light ten or more bikers raced thru nearly causing wrecks screaming their engines as they went. 

Wow, that was enough excitement for a year.

Missing out?

Joan and I don't do Facebook or Twitter, so by today's standard we are part of the "great unwashed".  I guess we are missing out on some things. But as they say, "you don't know what you don't know".

Maybe Yogi can figure that out.

The front garden is doing fine.

Though it is not the traditional "Back Garden" our front garden is looking good. We even have hope for a few tomatoes later this summer. We do have a nice back yard. But without easy access to it, the space goes unappreciated.

Cutting the cord, again.

Since we retired over 20 years ago, our home has been a cable TV free zone. Each of the three places we rented had only the internet for video content. The most recent service was called FUBO. It cost $30 a month to start. But after 3 years the monthly charge has risen to $65. 

So we are switching to a service called Sling. For $40 a month we will get most of the channels (Golf, Fox News, Premier League Football) deemed essential, plus a bunch of not so essential channels. 

I wonder how long that price will last?

First the power, now this.

Trying to cook the evening meal we noticed one of the four burners on our gas range wasn't working properly. As I investigated I also noted the normally blue flame was heavily mixed with yellow flares on those burners that were working. So with a safety first approach, I called the gas utility company's hot line for assistance.  After the call on a Tuesday evening we waited about an hour for the service man to arrive.

Come to find out, a small piece of food or something had gotten into the orifice below the burner and was blocking the gas flow.  To clean it out required removal of the orifice which is something I would not attempt myself. So 30 minutes later all was well. The yellow flares are apparently the result of high humidity in the air and nothing out of the ordinary. I'm not sure what that will cost me, but worth it for the peace of mind.

I-75 south to Winter Haven

It's been over 2 years since our last trip to Florida. So this video by one of my YouTube friends of that part of the trip was very  welcome and familiar. 

We attended this church in Winter Haven for 5 winters, while renting a home just next door in Auburndale. Good times.

https://www.stjosephwh.org/

I have seen a lot of hazards on the golf course,

But this one is different. Not just lose your golf ball but maybe lose an arm or a leg

Well that's just great.

Come this October Joan and I will each have a new moniker (Great) attached to our names. I have long thought I was great and Joan too. But now the rest of the world will have to call us great also. 

https://www.facebook.com/1606194762943359/posts/2727397920823032/

I guess if you live long enough good things are bound to happen to you.

You don't know what you have until it's gone.

Looking out our front window it appears to be a perfect summer day. However, on the inside things are not so great. Electricity is been off for quite a while this morning and that reminds me how much we depend on it.  No Internet, or lights to see in the dark rooms, no use of the refrigerator for fear of spoilage. Unable to easily open the garage door and get the car out. 

Poor Alexa is all alone with no one to play with.

 PS:  The power returned after an hours absence. 

Who says you can't have it all?

At least that's what the local flower person says.

Truth be known, I am enjoying this display as much or more than her.

I'll have that with nerds, ah, I mean curds.

Culver's  makes one of the best fish sandwiches around. So what do you have with it to make a meal ? A soft drink, and maybe some soft serve.

  

Today it was no fries, no ice cream just some of those cheesy things and a drink. That will be $10.59 please. No wonder seniors are known for splitting meals at restaurants.

Fond, not too distant memories.

One of my YouTube buddys just posted his video of a visit to the Grand Canyon we made just last year. He stopped where we did and saw what we saw (less 100s of people). Pretty cool.

InstaPot trial & Error?

After borrowing Shelly's for a couple of months we received one for Christmas. Doing the usual things like pot roast and vegetables is quite easy, as we were accustomed to the old style of pressure cooking. So now for the fun stuff like Beer Barbecued Pulled Pork or Very Berry Cheesecake.

Stay tuned.

Hurricane who?

Waiting for the rain to let up enough to make a dash for the inside of Walmart.  Watching the 40 mph wind gusts blow the trashcans across the parking lot. 

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Wow, just like the Weather Channel. 

Another conspiracy?

I can't prove it but there seem to be lots  of forces working against me.  This time Mother Nature, or more specifically a 3 to 4 inch downpour at my local golf course. Somewhere under all that water is the 11th fairway.

Now if I only had a canoe and my fishing gear.

 

More of the same.

Earlier this spring I did battle with a determined Robin, over where it would build it's nest. Having won that skirmish, I foolishly thought it was over, Not so.

This young bird came knocking on our storm door yesterday and again this morning. It could be looking at  it's own reflection. But I like to think it  is after me to tell me that his parents lost the battle but won the war.

That flower person has been busy.

Things are rockin in the picture window. After weeks of cool temps, summer rains and warmth has given all those plants a shot in the arm.

Looking good!

New kind of flowers.

As I sit looking out my front window this morning my view is obstructed by these large blue obscene plants near the street. It seems like every few days these ugly things pop up for a day or so like mushrooms. Then they disappear for a few days.

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I wish there was something I could do to get rid of them. Maybe Round-Up?

Freedom at last.

I managed to get to the golf course today and complete 18 holes. The first time since last fall and the first time since the "lockdown". It was really a great feeling. More than just the normal pleasure of the fresh air, green grass freshly cut, and good company. More than the friendly competition and physical exercise. 

Most of the 3 hours I didn't think of anything other than hitting that little white ball as far and as straight as I could. It was GREAT.

Uh oh. Look what the flood flushed out.

We had over 3 inches of rain in the last few days. So I guess these 2 guys are looking for some dry ground. 

Lets hope they don't hang around long enough to be seen by the flower person in this household. That person had a run in with a digging squirrel in her flowers just yesterday and  it could be their last meal if she catches them nibbling on her flowers.

Desperate times call for desperate measures.

I just finished watching a live sportscast. The first in 6 weeks. Not my favorite league but at least it was happening in real time. Inside a stadium built for 50,000 fans you could hear the players and coaches call out to each other. Why so quiet you ask? No fans. Just 211 players, coaches, referees, broadcasters, cameramen etc. Half of those with facemasks.

Tomorrow NASCAR races in front of even more empty seats. At least the drivers don't have to wear masks under their helmets.

How far will I go to prove a point?

Pretty far I guess. Joan and I potted some flowers on the patio today which included two hanging baskets. After we were finished we sat  inside looking out our picture window admiring our work. 

Joan said to me, "I think the black pot weighs more than than the other and needs to hang on the higher hook to look straight". So out I go with the bathroom scales to prove she's wrong.. Sure enough, the black one is lighter like I thought.

That's just like the wife asking to move the couch because it will look better over there till it's moved and must be moved back to where it was because it doesn't.

Dreaming of the olden days.

Not really that old. Just a few years ago. Now that is what  you call a scenic drive, view, overlook. 

A1-C, do you know yours?

Every year, the older I get the more I need to learn about my health. Forever it seems I didn't give it a thought. Now it's all about the numbers and the acronyms. PSA, HDL, LDL, A1-C they go on and on.

This shelter in place thing doesn't help. Now we have added this new virus to worry about and we have plenty of time to do it.

So much for a quiet Saturday afternoon at home.

I didn't see that coming. Our nice quiet street was disrupted by the facts of life today. My next door neighbor, who has been in and out of a wheelchair since we moved here 3 years ago, was taken by ambulance to the hospital. 

We don't really know him, just a friendly wave as we pass in the car while he sits smoking in the garage with the big door open . It does make you stop and think about all that stuff.

That disruption happened again twice Tuesday, one street over. It could be this "shelter in place" thing.

As time goes by

I don't know what it is about the British, but I find nearly everything about them fascinating. It must have started in school with history class. All that stuff about kings and knights. To this day the royal family gets more of my attention than it deserves.

So to movies and TV, like Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie. The PBS network has a ton of it. My interest even now includes sports like the English football (soccer) leagues. Anyone who has that accent automatically commands my attention.

There must be some research somewhere that explains all this.

Zoom Bingo

Yes that's right BINGO. Elementary school from home using the remote meeting software ZOOM. I'm not sure exactly how it works but I can see the benefit of getting the kids to work with letters and numbers.

Another innovation brought to you by "Shelter in place."

Shelter in place

It has been a couple of weeks since I began again to share this blog, five years older and maybe a little wiser. My time now is spent trying to fill the long hours of "Shelter in place" confinement. That term is a new one I wish I had never heard. Never in my lifetime has the government been this onerous. Reminds me of those 1940s movies about life in Europe just before World War II.

I heard yesterday that golf courses will open next week. That was music to my ears. Then today I was told that my course would be allowing no carts and twosomes only. That leaves me out. People have gone crazy.

When we are not staying home the "government" wants us to walk around looking like Billy the Kid.

 

50 Years plus

I recently have been sharing photos I have taken over many years. My sister returned the favor yesterday.

This first one from over 50 years ago on my wedding day.

This next one from just 4 years ago at our 50th Anniversary party.

And finally to this last one. Our kids, their spouses, grandkids and us. Pretty cool. 

Cell phones III

When we last spoke on this subject I was heading out that day to purchase a Samsung Galaxy S5. Well I did, and it served me well for over 4 years. After thousands of hours of talk, texts, and photos the S5 died. It was a really fine device. So to is the replacement, another Samsung Galaxy the S9.

About the same size but with a faster processor, better battery, larger memory and storage not to mention a slightly higher price tag.

These days a cell phone is treated like another appendage, or like an American Express card (Don't leave home without it). And we don't, leave home without it.

It is funny to see all those old movies where the good guy or gal has to stop along the way to use the phone booth to call for help. Or to grab their clunky camera and develop the film roll to share that important photo of the critical evidence. 

From beyond the Grave II

My first post (from-beyond-grave) on this subject could have had you thinking it must be a faze I was passing thru and that it soon would end. Well, not so. In fact some would say it's gotten worse. 

In the six years since then, my tallies have grown to over 13,000 memorials created and over 60,000 photos added. Mostly around my home, but many in other places like Indiana and Florida. Even during this time of social distancing it is possible.

Not only do I add photos, but with most I add the GPS location, which links to a map if want to visit the grave like the one above.

You might have noticed the larger size of print in this post. Since none of us is getting any younger I thought it was a good idea.

It has been a long time friends.

As I sit here to begin this post, all of the USA is dealing with the Corona-virus. So with little else to do I rediscover my blog. Looking out my front window for the past few weeks I have seen winter loosening it's grip and spring  taking over.

 Just this morning I watched 2 inches of snow melt off the neighbor's roof across the way. The snow came early yesterday and was gone by noon today.



It looks like some of the restrictions of the virus shutdown will be loosened soon. I hope we get back to near normal ASAP.







In the meantime thank goodness for the internet and all the things available to watch and read. Like my You-Tube truck drivers. They have lots of road videos to watch including live footage while they drive throughout this country delivering all manner of things.


The truck driver I watch the most.  <<< Click on that to go to his videos.


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