Author: Peg

Played tourist this morning. I went to see this year’s Cherry Blossom exhibit at the National Gallery. (Colorful Realm: Japanese Bird-and-Flower Paintings by Itō Jakuchū (1716–1800) March 30–April 29, 2012)  It was exquisite. But, I can only take so much art. Even interesting art.

After the art – I took in the Butterfly Exhibit at the Natural History Museum. I can not get enough butterflies. Note to local residents. Admission to the butterfly exhibit is free on Tuesday.

Carlton says it is time to starting thinking about moving to some sort of continuing care facility. Crap – that sounds scary. Of course, he is right – we don’t want to have to make those decisions  after one of us goes down with Alzheimer’s or a major stroke. His best friend made the move a couple of years ago to a seriously upscale old folks home in Maryland. Most of “those places” are out in the f-ing boonies. I like concrete, public transportation  and urban grunge. Stay tuned.

Chocolate Bunnies Go On Sale Tomorrow. That is how those of us who are not believers mark Easter.

I made Chicken Kiev, sweet potatoes, broccoli and tomato salad for lunch today. Carlton was frighten. Feared I was suffering from a case of religion. But, I assured him that this was just his “Last Supper”. Mr C is having some dental work next week and he thinks he’ll be eating gingerly for the foreseeable future.

WOW – a bald eagle just flew by. About 100 feet away – right at the 17th floor level. Beats the shit out of the eagles Mr C is watching on tv just now. (A golf match.) Seriously cool.

Speaking of Mr C. I am trying to dynamite him out of his routine. Trying to convince him that he needs to go somewhere. Do something. He needs new stories to tell. And unless you are Stephen King or on drugs – you gotta do new stuff to get new stories.

Now, I am looking of an adventure. Realistically, I’d have more fun if Mr C stayed home in his rut. But, I am trying to find something that he might be willing to do. I have been dangling Norway in front of him. Reindeers, polar bears, puffins… Next, I am going to try Iceland. No reindeer, no polar bears. But puffins. And  volcanoes. Also the highest literacy rate on the planet and a very high rate of alcoholism. Wonder if they are connected?

Note to DC area folk: April 17 Mid Morning – Lookup. Space Shuttle

According to the internet – average spending for Easter is $147. That is one hell of a lot of chocolate bunnies!

So where are my $147 in chocolate bunnies?

Tonight is Yappy Hour at the apartment building. The dog owners take over the party room and bring their dogs and they ply us non-dog people with beer, hoping that we will overlook the occasional doggie mishap. Well, I like the dogs. But, I like them more with beer and chips.

Made it to a “full” day at the volunteer job yesterday. And, I took a camera out today on my walk. Trying to find left over spring flowers. The flowers are like our May flowers. Goodness knows what will be blooming come May.

For about 2 minutes I entertained the idea of climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. What was I thinking? I am 68 years old. That would not be an obstacle. I am about as fit as a bowl of jello. That would be a problem. So, I  took a bubble bath and washed that “idea” away.

Loved the Google 8 bit maps of the for the NES.

And the AdBlock Cats

And this is no joke – but I may regret it – I deleted all my Gmail Filters. 5+ years of filters. Time to start over. Much stuff just needs to go directly to TRASH.

If I had won the lottery last night – yes, I bought one ticket – no, I did not stay up to watch the drawing. But, if I had one of the three winning tickets – what would I be doing?

After paying my taxes, I would be buying a big ass NetJet share. And, I’d hire someone to deal with Verizon and get myself FIOS. And, that is about all I would change. We eat lots of great food already. I am happy with my clothes. Jewelry – nope – don’t need any. I love my apartment. I’d be keeping my current husband. Don’t even crave any new electronic toys. Just a NetJet share.

But wait – I could buy myself a politician. That would be amusing.

I made it outside this afternoon to take a picture. Out as far as my deck. But every little improvement helps. My major outstanding problem is the cough that starts about 10 minutes after I go to sleep. Oh well.

Yesterday, I removed all the games from all the computers. Except for chess. If I have time to kill – I am sure I can kill in more constructive way than slinging cartoon birds at carton pigs etc.

The Masters has a problem. Their major sponsors are AT&T, Exxon and IBM. For years they have made the CEO of those companies, members. Last August, IBM got a new CEO. Ginni Rometty – a female person. Should make for good theater.

At last, I am actually getting better. Tomorrow, I might be able to venture outside. Might even be able go to the volunteer job.   Or go out for a walk. Or take pictures. Since I have been sick reading and playing Angry Birds and eating is all that I have been doing. So, I have porked up a bit.

Would hate to have just donated a loved one’s organs. Their heart might be beating away inside Dick Chaney.

On supporting Trayvon Martin – does wearing my black cashmere hoodie count?

Well, I was better most of the morning. But, I seem to have relapsed. My voice has gone and the cough is back. Respiratory infections last 7 to 14 days. I have now completed Day 7. Don’t want this go on for another week. And Carlton still can not hear.

Yesterday, for the first time since visiting the dentist on Monday, I ventured outside the building. I walked down to the Apple Store to inspect the new iPods. As an investor, I was happy to see lots of happy shoppers. But, I still don’t see any reason to get an iPad. Last thing I need is another thing to play Angry Birds on!

Speaking of places to spend money. Late next month the first Leica Store in the US is opening in DC.

Still sick. But, I think (hope) that I am starting to get better. But, still, every time I go to sleep, I start coughing and wake myself up. So maybe I am more tired than sick.

Spent a little time today getting the photos from 2011 all sorted out. That picture of Carlton is fuzzy enough to make him happy. The large gentleman on the right is Kumu Etu’a Lopez.

Been researching robotic things today. Amazon bought a robot company yesterday. Maybe I need a robot company.

The creepiest thing I found are Cyborg War Snails. More fun are robojellies from Carlton’s Alma Mater.

Getting pretty bored with poor health. Couldn’t sleep last night. Every time I dozed off – I would get a coughing fit. So, I got up. Figured if I was going to be awake – I might as well be up. Hope I’ll be able to sleep tonight.

The granddaughter is in Hawaii on Spring Break. She is in Kaneohe and in 1970, Chuckles (The Original Mr. Bethany) and I built a house from a kit in Kaneohe. I was going to ask her to drive-by and see if my old house is still standing. But wait, what about Google? There is was. Looking good!

It was made from telephone poles, redwood, and cedar. It looks just I remember it. We had a huge old mango tree in the front yard. The  mango tree made way more mangoes than we could eat. We used to take boxes of mangoes to the Honolulu Zoo. There is a chicken in the front yard in the picture. One of our neighbors raised fighting chickens.  When we built it, it had 1 bedroom and 2 baths. It was designed so it would be easy to put in a couple of walls and end up with a 3 bedroom 2 bath 1,200 sq ft house. But according to Zillow, it still has only one bedroom.

I went to the dentist today. I tried to skip the dentist – I am still enjoying poor health. But the dentist said having a cold didn’t get me out of the dentist. So, I went. Glad I got that over.