New Family Member

We have a new family member.  He weighs about the same as an 8 year old child and takes up about as much room as and adult sitting in a lawn chair.  You guessed it.  He is a tuba.  The kid has an affinity for this instrument.  We will see what happens.  At least for now, we will have to arrange  another place setting at the dining table.  

 

Of course we celebrated  Judy's birthday on Tuesday with the obligatory photo with the lit candle much to her chagrin.  It was a nice party with store bought cupcakes (from Julian Bros Bakery) and Jets pizza.  The baked goods were outstanding and I would recommend this place.  Andrew and crew were present along with Katey on crutches.  It was as loud as usual.  

I picked up a purchase for Katey from Walmart's outdoor pickup area.  Went pretty well, timely and convenient.  The young man was appreciative of the small tip I tendered.

Then he asked me if I was related to the President.  Maybe it was the thinning white hair or some facial resemblance.  I said I was no relation.  He smiled and walked off.   It came to mind that I could say he was my older brother and I was born out of wedlock and adopted off in the fifties.  We are in fact similar in age, me at 73 and him at 80.  Might be good for a laugh and conversation with complete strangers.  However, I am simply too honest to pull this one off.

While I was driving back to her place, I recalled a person I worked with at Staples named Cat Cahaney.  She was a lovely lady that left us in 2019.  She led a life full of color and separate from our employment together, she had a venue in Clawson for girls parties. Judy and I went to her apartment for a couple of parties with co workers.  It was always stuffed with people and sometimes live music with tons of food and drink.  Widowed for some time, she worked as a cashier at the store.  There was a man who first met her as a customer and grew to be her significant other. He sent flowers to her every day at the store.  All would amaze at the beautiful blooms.  They were planning a life together, and sadly he died.  She left us soon after.  I don't know why I thought of her, maybe because I drove past her street. It was an interesting post retirement career for me however short lived.

I know, too much rambling.

Thats it

all for now

enjoy the day

stay safe

 

 

A Pause

I felt the need to step away for a while to empty my brain out and start anew. Sometimes when your mind is so filled with the details of life, you need to stop and regroup.  

Katey and I watched My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 last night after I took Apollo out for his last walk. It was good, not as much as the first one, but good.  It brought back memories of Michael Constantine and all the supporting roles he's played. Sadly he passed away shortly after the film came out.  Andrea Martin and Lainie Kazan both shined in their performances.  It's good for a few laughs peppered with some sappy romance. (on Netflix)

She had a hankering for some fast food comfort and I went to Burger King to fill her order.  I got myself a Whopper w Cheese.  It was wonderful,  with all the crap they put on it, hitting the spot.  Usually these fast food adventures prove disappointing.  Tonight it was not.  

It's coming up on 6am and half of my coffee is gone.  Marie has spent the night, having a morning soccer game, it just was easier.  The laundry is in and I seem to be ahead of the game.  All are still asleep except me.  It is quiet both inside and out.

Thats it

all for now

stay safe

Scooting at the zoo/Lodger dog

Went to the zoo yesterday for a lovely afternoon with Katey and Judy.  We probably spent about 3 hours wandering around in the mile weather.  The butterfly exhibit was very active in that the direct sunshine abounded and the little critters were scurrying about. Later had a lodger with Apollo spending the night with his buddy Harry.  Took some photos as you might expect. 

There was a giant grizzly bear perched on a rock in his enclosure looking at all of us.  Took far too many pictures of him.

Judy and Katey both had butterflies land on them for good luck in their exhibit and I had to take some foliage photos because all was still in bloom.

Of course Apollo was happy lounging on the couch with Harry and Judy. 

Today should not be too eventful.  Looking forward to not running around to stores and for animal care.  I need some time to regroup.  

The repair for Katey's car should begin in early October.  She is doing great with her scooter and rolled on successfully at the zoo. 

Thats if for today

please stay safe and enjoy the day

(I know, probably too many photos)

 

Outmoded and a trip to the Zoo

Doing the wash early and having an egg/cheese/ham breakfast while contemplating what's next for me. in the long term that is growing shorter with each passing day.  My generation that proclaimed "never trust anyone over than thirty" is now in their seventies long past that dead line.  We are completely out of vogue and the only companies that are courting my demographic are the drug companies and medicare insurance companies and of course the politicians.  I picked up a copy of Rolling Stone at a dentists that was current.  I recognized no one that was written about.  This publications provided reviews of the latest recordings, that are no longer there.  We saw a singer, Olivia Rodrigo on the Today Show a couple of days ago.  Comments were made that she wasn't so good.  And yet the stage was surrounded by thirteen year old girls with phones recording the event all blissfully singing along to the tune, faces beaming, and me clueless.

Its the next day....

The morning has begun with a trip to see Apollo and breakfast for Katey after. my own breakfast.   The sun is beaming and I am so glad to find these dark lensed sunglasses.  I cannot remember a time when I was not squinting.  Judy is visiting with a friend for coffee and all is quiet aside from the first ambulance the arrived as I drove up.  Daily visits from these folks are really commonplace we all kind of take them in stride. 

Gonna make some sauce from the Kayla's tomatoes today.  I have all the ingredients.  Home grown tomatoes make the best sauce as there is less acidity and it's generally sweeter.

Taking Katey and her one legged scooter to the Detroit Zoo today.  Weather is lovely, sunny and cool.  This will be her first fun outing in about 6 weeks since her injury.  It should be fun. 

This seems to be the season of strikes.  The Writers Guild and the Screen Actors Guild are on the picket lines since about May. There is no end in sight for them.  Yesterday union auto workers marched off the job at midnight.  All these workers deserve a fair share.  The management and the stockholders are raking in huge profits.  This guy Fain is asking for a lot from the companies. I get his point.  His brothers and sisters seem to be behind him.  He seems to be straight forward and dedicated to the rank and file.  I admire him for not cozying up the management.  These negotiations are contentious as they should be.  It's a battle, period. 

thats it

all for now

stay safe

 

Kayla's Tomato Stand

 

So, I was going to write about the ins and outs of aging today.  Had most of my ideas formulated.  But I had a meeting that jumped ahead of these thoughts.  we had a doctor visit at the VA hospital for Katey.  It went well.  Got everything done well and I was going to construct the dinners for the kids.  

I received a call from my wife letting. me know that there were some tomatoes for sale at a stand down the street from a neighbor's backyard garden.  Love home grown tomatoes.  They are truly a gift for this time of the year and can be used for many things.  I walked down to see what was up.  

This is Kayla and her tomatoes.  The family garden produced too much bounty and she told her mom she wanted to sell the products.  Now their home is down the street from Rogers Elementary.  There are lots of moms picking up their youngsters in a little while to clean out the stock, so my timing was perfect.  I asked what would 5 dollars buy.  Kayla's mom said it was her decision and she reluctantly allowed me to pick them out.  She was a sweet little girl and quite talkative with lots to say and giving me a goodbye hug when I walked off. This whole experience really made my day. This is a tomato salad made from my purchase.  What a treat!

Kids are home now famished as usual and looking for their cookies. Thats is for today. More notes on aging tomorrow.  So stay safe and enjoy these lovely fall days. 

I am sure at this point the tomatoes are gone.

Dick and Shannon solve world problems

 Yesterday was an activity filled day.  Shannon was over for a visit.  We got some free food left over from a home wedding ceremony that we all shard including our princess.  Here she is telling her friend Dickman what he should do and why.  He looks surprised as usual.  Anyway it was a nice feast and a nice surprise coordinated by Kristy his daughter.  

I took Katey to the last game of the season for her soccer team last night with her tethered to the one legged scooter with her recovering injury which is moving forward.  These ladies are all great players and get along great for a team that was just put together this year.  They trounced the opponents 8-2 and emerged as the league champs.  Their passion for the game and their abilities make it fun to watch them execute the plays.  This is the team shot after the game.  Katey in the upper left hand corner. Shopping, kid delivery and meal prep for today.  Judy is with my girl for the latest doctor visit.

I am getting ready for lunch.  Thats it. all for today

stay safe and enjoy this lovely day

Sadly the events of 22 years ago have become a historical footnote.  Many were not even around on that fateful day.  I was sitting at my desk and the internet shut down from all the activity. there was a big screen TV in the conference room and lots of silent people watching the events unfold. It was certainly a world changing day.

Functional sunglasses

 Going this morning for some sort of vascular test my primary care doc ordered.  I feel that they are looking for things to be wrong with me and they are charging me 275.00 to do the work that I did not request.  As you might have imagined, I am thrilled at this prospect.  Feeling fine other than being irritated.

Driving eastbound between 7-8 am has been brutal with the sun being directly in your face.  On one of my trips, I rolled thru a familiar stop sign I could not see.  Traveling east with the grand kids to school is equally as miserable.  Needed a solution quickly.  Found these very dark, polarized sunglasses on Amazon. I have to share this info.  It's the first time I could walk outside in the bright sunshine and not squint. They were pretty inexpensive at about 16 bucks for two pair.  

There are feral cats that live around Katey's parking. lot.  The are well fed by residents and straw is placed for them to sleep Spotted this guy sitting on the roof of a sedan looking out.  Shannon and Apollo came to visit yesterday.  He is quite comfortable with his old buddy Harry.

She is on the couch and he is licking her face yesterday.

Thats it

all for now

stay safe

Brand of the glasses

Mostly Music

So, I joined a FB group called "Live at Darryl's House". This is a YouTube show that features musicians playing with Darryl Hall at his house in upstate New York in a makeshift studio/barn.  They are lovely performances between friends that harken back to days past with a look toward the future with these players.  When I joined and was accepted in the group, I made a post about how much I enjoyed the performances and how much fun these folks were having as they played.  To my surprise, there have been 153 likes to this post. Further I mentioned the Dukes of September in a followup and there were about 102 likes and many comments on this one.  I am far from brilliant but there seems to be a lot of seasoned folks that can really feel this music (and others).  We are old but not dead yet and revel in the happiness and joys of listening.

Katey's car was damaged in a hit and run accident about a month ago.  Probably was a driver with no insurance or a stolen vehicle.  Every time I think of this incident, I want to do great bodily harm to this person.  Things were hanging and doing ok but the whole think broke loose on Friday.  Managed to do a duct tape repair with a well placed screw into the plastic for stability, not too bad for a no-talent amateur. 

Jimmy Buffett has died at 76.  He was only 3 years older than me.  It took a minute for that fact to settle in.  His music gave us an escape from life's hustles and allowed us to focus on sunshine, beaches and the rhythm of the waves.  He had a huge group of supporters.  He did not chart well on the radio.  That did not matter.  His music and attitude urged us to relax and appreciate life.  I really enjoyed his work with Alan Jackson on "Its 5 o'clock somewhere".  They seemed to genuinely be buddies.  Tributes from Paul McCartney and numerous others have been pouring in.  Many say his was a life well lived.

When I was a teenager in the sixties, the dream of a kid from the frozen midwest was to live the life of The Beach Boys in the California sun, roaming the beaches with our surfboards looking for pretty girls.  Pre Beatles, this was my favorite music,  The car songs, long forgotten like Little Deuce Coupe, 409, and Shutdown rang in my head.  It is safe to say that car songs are gone.  The harmonies of these guys still amaze me and make me sing along.

thats it.

all for now

stay safe