I went to watch the Bats play the other night. Actually, I went to see Nathan umpire. I love to go to the games when he is "on duty" so to speak. He looked very svelte out there behind the plate and is very exact in his calls. He didn't throw the manager out in this game. Perhaps the manager knows better than to mess with him now!
Karen and Paul invited me to go to the game with them and I am always glad when I do get invited. It was a perfect evening for baseball! It was not too hot nor too cool, and there was a soft breeze blowing down the third base line. Our seats were not as good as at other times but good nevertheless.The Philly cheese steak boothe was near by and the facilities were also near-by. What more could you ask for?
I know you will find this hard to believe but I have heard for years and years about funnel cakes but have never seen one nor have I had one. Well I was initiated on this lovely evening. Abby ordered one and shared! Philly cheese steak sandwich, a real Coke, and funnel cake, wowzer! Next time I'm going to have an Ehrler's ice cream cone, too!) I am the original Pigster!!
The games start at 7:00 o'clock and we were meeting Scott, Kathy, Gus and Abby at 6:30 at Will Call, but Karen and Paul had an errand to attend to before the game and picked me up early. They will be traveling extensively next month and wanted to up-grade their cell phones and go high tech. Get with the jet set, so to speak! So, we went to the Sprint store and I looked on with great interest and listened to their dickering with Dustin to make their decision on what to buy. I had my borrowed camera and took pictures of the whole transaction. There is so much to learn. It's no longer an easy deal to get a phone that you can call someone up on and chat and hang up, No,no,no, now you can text them in an alian language. (Waz up? R U fre to tk?) You can have their picture on the screen so you can remember who you called.( Not possible in the past!)And you can snap photos of your surroundings so that you can remember where you were when you called your 'party'. You can check the weather, ball scores, current riots, sex scandals, and anything else you might want to know.
You can e-mail your boss, facebook, twitter, resturants, Doctors, parole officers,etc. The possibilities are endless. Bored? Play games on your phone while you wait, Listen to the Beatles, Rap artists, life is beyond beautiful! Can you get a discount? just ask, its as simple as that.
Karen chose a black and red phone/blackberry and Paul chose a black and orange/gold one. They were euphoric with joy as we went to the parking lot to get into the car and move on to the ball game. Dustin had given them basic instructions on how to use their new life changing purchases. We got into the car and were in the act of buckling in when lo and behold, Karen's NEW phone rang. She was so exacited, she said,"I'm getting a call!" "Hello" she shouted. "Is that you?" Paul said into his phone on the front seat beside her! Oh,dear! To quote Samuel Morse when he invented the telegraph and received his first message, 'What hath God wrought?'
Nothing could dampen my spirits at the ball game it was nirvana, however; fortunately I love teen agers and can tolerate about anything that they come up with so I was very tolerant of the two ancient, no that's too harsh, two retired former teenagers acting like teenagers! Tim was brought into the mix because he has had a Blackberry for sometime and was called frequently during the evening to instruct the novices. What a good guy! He finally responded to the frequent calls with a picture of himself that said more than a thousand words. I loved the whole evening, what fun!!!
The Bats won 5 to 2. Ciao
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Friday, July 17, 2009
Ruminations
I have spent an inordinate amount of time this week listening to the proceedings in Congress for the confirmation of Sonia Sotomayor. I have confirmed in my own mind the fact that you do not have to be brilliant, or have any common sense to become a Congressman. For that matter you don't have to have these qualifications to hold any public office!
My first hand experience with finding this out was quite a shock to me. I sat in on a debate and then later a panel discussion of the nine candidates running for the State House in Sarasota when Keith was running. I was so appalled at the shallowness of some of the candidates and the lack of knowledge and preparedness for some of them. They were pathetic. They were all given a few minutes to introduce themselves and give an account of their experiences and qualifications. One man pointed out that he was a former BoyScout leader and a father. One of the women said she could speak two languages which would give her an advantage, other than that she was a housewife and was tired of people saying she could not raise enough money to get elected.Others were unable to give any answer to questions about some of the issues facing the State. I was better informed than some of them and I don't even live in Florida!
I found the same level of ignorance and lack of knowledge and comprehension on the part of some of the questioners in the hearings. They spent two or three days asking the same questions over and over. They always got the same answer no matter how they worded the questions but that did not deter them in the least. What it all boiled down to was that they think white, preferably older, MEN are the only ones fit to be on the Supreme Court. They were terrified at the word 'empathy'. Perhaps because it is an unfamiliar word to them. The word WOMAN is equally scary and Hispanic was almost more than they could handle. Strange as it may seem they did not delve into the fact that she is Catholic. If she is confirmed, there will be six Catholics on the Court. That in itself must frighten many of them. The whole proceeding was such a farce, they want to be reelected when their term is up and they want their constituents to think they are doing important work. What a waste of time and money. I did see where they gave themselves a nice raise again. No hearings connected to that decision. It is probably the one and only issue that was passed with agreement on both sides of the aisle. No party lines involved. Ciao!
My first hand experience with finding this out was quite a shock to me. I sat in on a debate and then later a panel discussion of the nine candidates running for the State House in Sarasota when Keith was running. I was so appalled at the shallowness of some of the candidates and the lack of knowledge and preparedness for some of them. They were pathetic. They were all given a few minutes to introduce themselves and give an account of their experiences and qualifications. One man pointed out that he was a former BoyScout leader and a father. One of the women said she could speak two languages which would give her an advantage, other than that she was a housewife and was tired of people saying she could not raise enough money to get elected.Others were unable to give any answer to questions about some of the issues facing the State. I was better informed than some of them and I don't even live in Florida!
I found the same level of ignorance and lack of knowledge and comprehension on the part of some of the questioners in the hearings. They spent two or three days asking the same questions over and over. They always got the same answer no matter how they worded the questions but that did not deter them in the least. What it all boiled down to was that they think white, preferably older, MEN are the only ones fit to be on the Supreme Court. They were terrified at the word 'empathy'. Perhaps because it is an unfamiliar word to them. The word WOMAN is equally scary and Hispanic was almost more than they could handle. Strange as it may seem they did not delve into the fact that she is Catholic. If she is confirmed, there will be six Catholics on the Court. That in itself must frighten many of them. The whole proceeding was such a farce, they want to be reelected when their term is up and they want their constituents to think they are doing important work. What a waste of time and money. I did see where they gave themselves a nice raise again. No hearings connected to that decision. It is probably the one and only issue that was passed with agreement on both sides of the aisle. No party lines involved. Ciao!
Monday, July 13, 2009
Beaches
Garrison Keillor said that the Mid Westerners are the people that feel the need to travel. He said the Coastal people don't have to travel because they can just sit back and expect the rest of us to come to them. I just recently got to travel once again to the coast. I thought I might never again get the chance to go to the beach! I loved the whole trip and hope it will not be my last.
Growing up in the mid-west in the Depression years ruled out , pretty much, any chance of going to the ocean. I had to satisfy myself by reading all of the books that I could find that had to do with bodies of water larger than Indian Lake, Muzzy's Lake or Mad River. I did live in Cincinnati ,Ohio for three or four years but going to the Ohio River was not on our agenda.
In about 1953 Doc and I drove to Florida from Springfield, O. It took us two full days to drive it. There were no Interstates in those days and most of the trip was on two lane roads. The mountain roads were treacherous, but we made it. (Almost) Our battery was getting weaker and weaker when we were going through the Everglades. The lights were growing dimmer and dimmer and since we had seen a number of snakes and a few turtles crossing the road during the day light we were sure that if the battery gave up entirely we would have to stay in the car until daylight, no one in their right mind would get out of the car in the dark of night. No other traffic was on the road, no one ahead of us and no one behind us. We finally made out the lights of a city ahead and we coasted into a parking space on the down town street of the small town we had reached. We had to walk to the nearest filling station and ask for help. We rented a room for that night, one with a flashing sign right outside the window and a bathroom down the hall. The car was ready to go again the next morning and we drove on in to Coral Gables, where we were staying in a private home with rooms to rent, and then on to Miami where I finally saw the Ocean! What a marvel! It was instant love, truly, love at first sight! My first time ever to stand on the beach and feel the tide's pull and the sand rush out from beneath my feet. I felt the world move!
From that day forward I know that I can always find peace and reassurance at the ocean's edge. The edge of the world.About 16 years later, after Paul got home from the Viet Nam war, he was stationed in Charlotte, N.C. as an officer selection officer. Pat was just about nine or ten months old. We drove to Charlotte to visit with them and decided to go over to the beach that was just an hour and a half from their home. We went to Myrtle Beach. We stayed in a motel that was just about a block from the beach. We also explored the area and drove down Hw. 17 and found Garden City. The next year we rented a house on the beach at Garden City.
From that time on we went back year after year. We took a few years off now and then. One year we went to the Outer Banks and stayed at Kitty Hawk. Our house was about a block off the beach and the beach was full of jelly fish. Blech! We did travel down to Cape Hatteras, Coquina Beach and others. We climbed to the top of the tallest light house on the Atlantic Coast. That light house has since then been moved back further on the beach because of erosion in that area.
One year, Doc, Mickey and Warner and I went to New Hampshire for our vacation. We drove over to Bath, Maine to tour a boat builders shop and toured one of the tall boats that had taken part in the salute to the Statue of Liberty in New York's Harbor. The beaches on Maine's coast were not as wide as the beaches on the Strand, they were rather rocky too. However,we ate lobster on the dock where the lobstermen bring the day's catch in. Right out of the ocean and into the pot!
When Linda and I visited Scotland we sailed across the Irish Sea by ferry boat to get to Wales. We traveled up into the Highlands of Scotland and while there had a picnic lunch on the beach of the North Sea in St. Andrews, Scotland. ( We also had lunch and a cruise on Lock Lomand and visited Loch Ness the same day. (No sign of Nessie).
I am going to write more tomorrow on other ventures that I have enjoyed that I have stored in my memory. (As if you cared, huh?)
,
Growing up in the mid-west in the Depression years ruled out , pretty much, any chance of going to the ocean. I had to satisfy myself by reading all of the books that I could find that had to do with bodies of water larger than Indian Lake, Muzzy's Lake or Mad River. I did live in Cincinnati ,Ohio for three or four years but going to the Ohio River was not on our agenda.
In about 1953 Doc and I drove to Florida from Springfield, O. It took us two full days to drive it. There were no Interstates in those days and most of the trip was on two lane roads. The mountain roads were treacherous, but we made it. (Almost) Our battery was getting weaker and weaker when we were going through the Everglades. The lights were growing dimmer and dimmer and since we had seen a number of snakes and a few turtles crossing the road during the day light we were sure that if the battery gave up entirely we would have to stay in the car until daylight, no one in their right mind would get out of the car in the dark of night. No other traffic was on the road, no one ahead of us and no one behind us. We finally made out the lights of a city ahead and we coasted into a parking space on the down town street of the small town we had reached. We had to walk to the nearest filling station and ask for help. We rented a room for that night, one with a flashing sign right outside the window and a bathroom down the hall. The car was ready to go again the next morning and we drove on in to Coral Gables, where we were staying in a private home with rooms to rent, and then on to Miami where I finally saw the Ocean! What a marvel! It was instant love, truly, love at first sight! My first time ever to stand on the beach and feel the tide's pull and the sand rush out from beneath my feet. I felt the world move!
From that day forward I know that I can always find peace and reassurance at the ocean's edge. The edge of the world.About 16 years later, after Paul got home from the Viet Nam war, he was stationed in Charlotte, N.C. as an officer selection officer. Pat was just about nine or ten months old. We drove to Charlotte to visit with them and decided to go over to the beach that was just an hour and a half from their home. We went to Myrtle Beach. We stayed in a motel that was just about a block from the beach. We also explored the area and drove down Hw. 17 and found Garden City. The next year we rented a house on the beach at Garden City.
From that time on we went back year after year. We took a few years off now and then. One year we went to the Outer Banks and stayed at Kitty Hawk. Our house was about a block off the beach and the beach was full of jelly fish. Blech! We did travel down to Cape Hatteras, Coquina Beach and others. We climbed to the top of the tallest light house on the Atlantic Coast. That light house has since then been moved back further on the beach because of erosion in that area.
One year, Doc, Mickey and Warner and I went to New Hampshire for our vacation. We drove over to Bath, Maine to tour a boat builders shop and toured one of the tall boats that had taken part in the salute to the Statue of Liberty in New York's Harbor. The beaches on Maine's coast were not as wide as the beaches on the Strand, they were rather rocky too. However,we ate lobster on the dock where the lobstermen bring the day's catch in. Right out of the ocean and into the pot!
When Linda and I visited Scotland we sailed across the Irish Sea by ferry boat to get to Wales. We traveled up into the Highlands of Scotland and while there had a picnic lunch on the beach of the North Sea in St. Andrews, Scotland. ( We also had lunch and a cruise on Lock Lomand and visited Loch Ness the same day. (No sign of Nessie).
I am going to write more tomorrow on other ventures that I have enjoyed that I have stored in my memory. (As if you cared, huh?)
,
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Long Time No Blog!
I have had a busy summer, so far. I think my house will be the first house on the block to be totally energy efficient. My utility bills were so outlandish all winter that I was overwhelmed. My house was always cold even with two rooms closed off and the thermostat set at a low setting. I needed a supplemental electric heater to warm my bed room, where I spent most of my time trying to keep warm. Still the bills were $280.00 or more a month. Mike called LG&E and requested that they do an assessment on my house to see why my bills were so exorbitant. One inspector led to another,and finally I became the recipient of the weatherization program group. This originally started in late January or early February. Off and on since then, I have had people in and out of my house improving my energy saving existence.
First I've had all new light bulbs to replace my incandescent bulbs. I had already started to replace the old bulbs with new but they were so expensive that I was doing it one or two at a time. One month I found a "buy one get one free " deal which I snapped right up because it was Senior Day at Kroger's and all purchases were 10% off. Good deal! However when I got home and promptly took one of the bulbs up to switch it out with another, I dropped it and broke it! Bummer. Not only that but that was the night on the news when they said the new light bulbs were hazardous because they contained mercury. They suggested that the haz-mat group be called to help clean up the residue. I had already cleaned it up and disposed of it in the trash can. I worried for about ten minutes until I recalled my kids having mercury in a bottle at sometime during their growing up years and all of us "playing" with it. It separated when poked and then rejoined into the original blob when prodded. Anyway, I now have a plethora of energy saving light bulbs. They do not give off enough light, as far as I can see, but I will abide by the suggestions. I also have "water saving" devises on all my faucets and my shower head. I don't especially like those either. It takes forever to fill up a container with water. (Whine,whine).
Next on the agenda was a new furnace, that was installed in May when it was nice and warm. I already had an energy saving water heater and was advised to do all my laundry on a cold/cold setting. OK, I can handle that. The furnace was not needed in May because the weather was Goldy locks good, not too hot and not too cold but just right. LG&E bill was only $99. 00. Things were looking up!
. I failed to mention earlier that due to the ice storm in late January and early February, we had numerous tree limbs fall on the roof that resulted in three holes in the roof. Gregg patched the holes and I had the tree man 'clean' out the oak tree and remove the remaining dead limbs and the less secure looking limbs so as to avoid further damage from that source. I have also been under attack by the wood-peckers and have large holes in the cedar shake siding on the car port shed and on the side of the carport eave. I had to have a man come and replace that damage with vinyl siding.
In the middle of June a cadre of men showed up to begin the insulation process. The over-seer of all of these repairs is a 6'5" man named Rich. He has high expectations of his workers and is a tough task master. In his mind the only way to do a job is to do it properly. No half-way measures for him. When the job does not suit him he demands a re-do. I spent all of last week with men in and out of the house doing their thing. Fergus and I adjusted! I had to call a hiatus from June 27 until July 5 because I went to the beach with Karen, Paul and family, but when I got back the men came again to finish the tasks. I also got a new refrigerator in the midst of all of the activity,(energy efficient, of course).
I have 2 inch holes every 18 inches in my living room, kitchen, bathroom bed rooms and office room walls. That's where they blew in the insulation. The attic has been insulated over the whole house. There had to be a new access cut in the ceiling of the carport so they could access the attic over the living room. The holes in the walls had to be patched with dry wall mud and have to be repainted, by us, sooner or later. The holes all have yet to be sanded so I know that there will be dust on every surface, every crack and cranny of the house! Yikes! Big dusting party, all are invited, bring your own duster!
They discovered yesterday that the pan that drains the condensation from the air conditioner has rusted, there-by ruining the coil or some such thing and I need a new air conditioner which they are coming tomorrow to begin replacing!
The air-conditioner men will be here at the same time the insulation men will be finishing up and I think Fergus and I will be looking forward to a glass of wine at the end of the day! I'll have to drink his for him, but I'm up to the task!
I feel I've done my duty for the environment and hope my LG&E bills will show that it was worth the effort. I think they will owe me money instead of me owing them once all of these adjustments kick in! Right? I can't wait until January to see my bill.
PS, the vacation was fabulous and I hope I get to do that again someday! Ciao
First I've had all new light bulbs to replace my incandescent bulbs. I had already started to replace the old bulbs with new but they were so expensive that I was doing it one or two at a time. One month I found a "buy one get one free " deal which I snapped right up because it was Senior Day at Kroger's and all purchases were 10% off. Good deal! However when I got home and promptly took one of the bulbs up to switch it out with another, I dropped it and broke it! Bummer. Not only that but that was the night on the news when they said the new light bulbs were hazardous because they contained mercury. They suggested that the haz-mat group be called to help clean up the residue. I had already cleaned it up and disposed of it in the trash can. I worried for about ten minutes until I recalled my kids having mercury in a bottle at sometime during their growing up years and all of us "playing" with it. It separated when poked and then rejoined into the original blob when prodded. Anyway, I now have a plethora of energy saving light bulbs. They do not give off enough light, as far as I can see, but I will abide by the suggestions. I also have "water saving" devises on all my faucets and my shower head. I don't especially like those either. It takes forever to fill up a container with water. (Whine,whine).
Next on the agenda was a new furnace, that was installed in May when it was nice and warm. I already had an energy saving water heater and was advised to do all my laundry on a cold/cold setting. OK, I can handle that. The furnace was not needed in May because the weather was Goldy locks good, not too hot and not too cold but just right. LG&E bill was only $99. 00. Things were looking up!
. I failed to mention earlier that due to the ice storm in late January and early February, we had numerous tree limbs fall on the roof that resulted in three holes in the roof. Gregg patched the holes and I had the tree man 'clean' out the oak tree and remove the remaining dead limbs and the less secure looking limbs so as to avoid further damage from that source. I have also been under attack by the wood-peckers and have large holes in the cedar shake siding on the car port shed and on the side of the carport eave. I had to have a man come and replace that damage with vinyl siding.
In the middle of June a cadre of men showed up to begin the insulation process. The over-seer of all of these repairs is a 6'5" man named Rich. He has high expectations of his workers and is a tough task master. In his mind the only way to do a job is to do it properly. No half-way measures for him. When the job does not suit him he demands a re-do. I spent all of last week with men in and out of the house doing their thing. Fergus and I adjusted! I had to call a hiatus from June 27 until July 5 because I went to the beach with Karen, Paul and family, but when I got back the men came again to finish the tasks. I also got a new refrigerator in the midst of all of the activity,(energy efficient, of course).
I have 2 inch holes every 18 inches in my living room, kitchen, bathroom bed rooms and office room walls. That's where they blew in the insulation. The attic has been insulated over the whole house. There had to be a new access cut in the ceiling of the carport so they could access the attic over the living room. The holes in the walls had to be patched with dry wall mud and have to be repainted, by us, sooner or later. The holes all have yet to be sanded so I know that there will be dust on every surface, every crack and cranny of the house! Yikes! Big dusting party, all are invited, bring your own duster!
They discovered yesterday that the pan that drains the condensation from the air conditioner has rusted, there-by ruining the coil or some such thing and I need a new air conditioner which they are coming tomorrow to begin replacing!
The air-conditioner men will be here at the same time the insulation men will be finishing up and I think Fergus and I will be looking forward to a glass of wine at the end of the day! I'll have to drink his for him, but I'm up to the task!
I feel I've done my duty for the environment and hope my LG&E bills will show that it was worth the effort. I think they will owe me money instead of me owing them once all of these adjustments kick in! Right? I can't wait until January to see my bill.
PS, the vacation was fabulous and I hope I get to do that again someday! Ciao
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