Category: The DayBook

Spent the day bumming around. And getting mentally ready to start back to the Asylum tomorrow.

I did look at yesterday’s pictures. No winners. But the day was a winner.

It was absolutely perfect. Could not have been better. It was just like all the pictures that I have seen since smallkidtime when I wanted to be an astronomer. 

We found a very civilized location for viewing and did not run into any traffic or other problems. 

And yes, we could see stars. 

Worth the entire trip. Check “total eclipse” off the bucket list. 

Went to the fair today. It was way too hot for a couple of old ladies. That nixed the plan to watch the eclipse from the fair tomorrow. 

Death by funnel cake…

After the fair, we decided on a golf course as our 1st choice for viewing the eclipse. Local news predicts dang near perfect viewing conditions. 

We were not 100 percent ready to leave our luxury digs this morning. So we took a last look-see..
Saturday morning is croquet time at the Asylum, apparently it is at Graylyn as well, at least for the geese. 

I love the koi. 

But , we eventually left and made our way to cookeville. There was lots of traffic and many highway signs warning of massive traffic problems on Monday. And some saying “no parking during eclipse”. We figured these were the best viewing locations.

We will make a plan tomorrow.

We got into Winston Salem late afternoon and wandered around the Graylyn manor house. 

We had an early dinner and retired to our room in the old mews. 

We are staying at a conference center that belongs to wake forest University. They were having new professor orientation. They looked like kids who should have been starting college not teaching college. 

Today we went to the Reynolds Estate. They had a fine Georgia O’KEEFE exhibit. But we decided the we like “our” tobacco czar estate better. 

Tomorrow we are on our way to Tennessee. Hope to beat the crowds. 

I am alive and well and in Winston Salem. But the word press app and I have issues.

Well, I got the app to work on Shamu the Phone. So, maybe this will work ok.

Spent entirely too much time getting myself ready to go. I think it was to hide my uneasiness about heading out with a travel companion that I am not – shall we say – involved with.  And, as one of the Asylum Sisters so helpfully points out – 8 days is a long time. It will be fine. Outside my comfort zone. But fine.

And, this is the first time my travel companion has done this. So, it is outside her comfort zone too.

And there is this whole business of “going south”. We are old women and hence invisible – at least if we keep out mouths shut. That may be a problem.

We are going here – to Cookeville, TN. 

The viewing should be fine. Weather permitting.

Partly cloudy could be problematic.

Not taking Forbin the computer – but I’ll try to get something posted on the blog using Shamu the phone. It was either take my favorite – heaviest lens or my computer. This time the lens won. Not sure how secure our stuff will be in the car – so – I don’t want to leave any thing that I would really hate losing. Cash, Credit cards, ID, electronics, camera. I’ll lose clothes, my kindle, and even the chargers to the electronics. But not the electronics that really let someone into my finances and life. So, 5 pounds of camera, gets stuffed into my purse. Along with the cash, credit cards, phone, sun hat, coffee transport mug, orange, granola bar, aux power for Shamu, etc and so forth. One big purse! Oh and the old iPad Mini.

Time to wrap this up and check the trip 2do list one last time. Next post from WInston Salem.

No sun shot, because no sun. Which would be the pits on Monday. 

Really tired tonight. Walk, work, yoga, cardiac stress test. echo cardiogram, walk. Home – after nap time. 

I decided to bail out of Quicken. Fired up my old stuff today. When I am in Hawaii and have HEAPS of time – that will be soon enough to try again. Aiming for a January 1 switch out. I am invoking the “If at first you don’t succeed, try try and try again. Then quit before you make an ass of yourself.

 

No UFOs this morning. I guess that is good. Boring, but good. Because any civilization who could get here – wouldn’t be happy with what they find here. 

Still distressed about our regression to 1857/1937/ 1957. I am really too old to take to the streets – well – except in Kona. And, I am pretty sure that Facebook/Twitter outrage is a waste of time. I might be wrong. 

But, the pen is mightier than the sword – especially when applied to my checkbook. For now the Southern Poverty Law Center gets my $$$. I am in a little snit with the ACLU – I understand their position – but – defending the free speech rights of the neo-nazis in Charlottesville is a little hard to take today.

PS – I am seriously pissed when an asshole waving a Confederate Battle flag says that my side lost the election and we should “get over it already”. 

 

Upon closer inspection this afternoon, I noticed:

If that isn’t lens flare – the Intergalactic Council is pissed and they are coming for the orange lord. The saucers are on a direct course for the White House. The Intergalactic Council must not have heard about New Jersey. Or maybe they just refuse to go to Jersey!  

(Click on the first picture – you can see the saucers /lens flare)

Mostly today I got mentally ready for the Little Old Lady Eclipse Road Trip. No matter what happens, it will be OK. We will try to avoid arrest. We are old white women, which is to say we are invisible. 

Checked the weather forecast for Cookesville, TN. 

So far so good. But a lot can go wrong in 8 days.

This downward cycle sort of started last night at dinner when my friends and I were discussing what I wasn’t going to take on the Little Old Lady Eclipse Road Trip – LOLERT. No Obama For President T-Shirts, no little buttons with liberal sayings. You know – controversial shit like “Love Thy Neighbor”. And, not one single snide remark, snigger or eye roll. No bad puns when ordering grape NeHi – Make America Grape Again!

And then this morning I printed out some tickets to the Wilson County Fair.

Notice anything? No black people. No brown people. Heck, not even any people with good tans! I guess only white people go to the Wilson County Fair. 

It is 1961 again. Except, this time I am a tired old woman. And, I don’t want to do this again. 

But, on to happier things. The contents of my house mail box this week. (Here at The Asylum we have USPS mailboxes where we get out real mail. And in house boxes where management leaves bills and flyers.) Today I have my monthly bill and an in house newsletter.

The newsletter starts off with a cheery article “Tips for Your NEXT Hospital Stay”.  Makes it sound like you have a Rewards Card at Hospital. NEXT Hospital Stay. Which means you have already stayed at the fine hospital and you will be making a return visit – some day soon. Gotta rack up those points. 

My monthly bill is rather cheerier.

Lots of beer and liquor charges. But, with all my drinking – I am still paying less here than I was at the old apartment. I just never thought I would run a bar tab at an old folks Asylum. 

And on the technology front – Alexa had a baby – Dot. And, thanks to a tech tip from a son-in-law – Forbin now has a 2nd monitor.

It did require yet another cable. And it works really fine with the MacBook Pro and a large-ish iPad. I think it might be a little silly if you have an iMac and a Mini iPad.  Duet. $15. Plus a lighting to USB3 cable. It wouldn’t work going through an adaptor.  

Speaking of the iPad Mini – I think I’ll take it on the LOLERT. It has a T-Mobil sim. The iPad Pro has Google Fi like my phone. Like to have lots of options out there in the boonies. Lot of options. 

 

The sun popped up just before I ran out the door this morning. And with the double pane glass and my cheap long lens – I got all these cool “sun spots”.

Whatever happens is what I planned.

Scored some additional yummy cake from yesterday’s birthday girl … I think there is a diet in my future. I KNOW there is a diet in my future.