About wine. Frankly, it all tastes pretty much the same to me. I have noticed that the more it costs the more I like it… But, it’s still pretty much the same. I drink coffee for the caffeine and wine for the alcohol. Pretty much trailer trash. That would be me. But I have learned to not giggle when someone says there is a “hint of pencil lead” or “a whiff of green peppers”.
Gratitude
I have enough expensive tastes. Grateful that wine isn’t one of them.
Except for wine drinking, it was just a normal hot summer day. One month from now, I’ll be on my boat across the north.
The ocean part of the adventure.
Fly to Iceland August 7. Boat August 13 – September 7, Iceland to Nome. Then fly to Vancouver. 48 hours in Vancouver. Then bus to Seattle and train it back to DC.
Almost 3 years to the day, I have finished my covid work at the hospital. Right after I finished my monthly data wrangling/collecting/ process we found out that we don’t have to submit data about covid vaccinations anymore! I started working remotely on covid related data issues on July 15, 2020. It’s a good thing. I am sort of an emeritus team member now. I guess I will not get any more t-shirts or jackets!
Gratitude
Grateful that my time producing covid data for government reports is over.
The Northern Weather Reports
Iceland – 48°
Greenland – 65°
Nunavut CA – 48°
Utqiaġvik AK – 41°
Nome AK – 49°
Vancouver – 77°
I really know how to plan a trip. I am starting in Iceland, where a volcano is erupting, and ending at DC Union Station where an Amtrak train ran off the tracks in the station access tunnel.
We had real grilled outside hot dogs and andouille sausages for lunch today.
I don’t usually eat lunch. But, I made an exception for andouille sausages.
What a great surprise. Nice weather. No smoke. Low humidity. Unfortunately, I seemed to spend most of the day indoors. But, some of the time was spent napping. So, it’s all good.
Been checking the weather for my trip:
Iceland – 55°
Greenland – 53°
Nunavut CA – 43°
Utqiaġvik AK – 52°
Nome AK – 52°
Vancouver – 67°
So, the weather seems to be just about like I expected it to be. That’s good. Because I have no real winter clothes. Think I’ll plan on 30-70 degrees. With lots of rain.
Forever, or at least all last week, there has been a storm every afternoon between 3 and 6. One seems to be getting together for this afternoon’s show. I get this shot by sticking my head out the window and looking NNE.
Gratitude
Grateful that I can stick my head out the window.
Bumble Bee @ Work.
It was too breezy for the macro lens this afternoon. But, I needed to step away from the computer. So, I went out on a bee hunt.
Lots of bird action for my macro lens today.
Found more birds than bees today.
As you know, I have been working on “getting my affairs in order”. One of the things that I am supposed to agonize over is “cherished possessions” and what to do with them. I am pretty sure that I don’t have any “cherished possessions”. Basically, the stuff is just stuff. Mainly you have to dust it or store it. And every time you move, you get less stuff. Which might account for my lack of “cherished possessions”. One less thing to worry about.
I had checked off all of my weakly weekly fitness goals yesterday and was planning two days of rest. But, then I remembered that I am leaving on an adventure in a month and maybe I should put in some extra time. Extra time with an extra 15 pounds. So out I went on the bus. By the time I got back home, I had 9,500 steps. But I didn’t get extra credit for the pack. Damn, that Fitbit app. I should have gotten a bonus!
Gratitude
Grateful for air conditioning.
Lunch. Iced espresso and cheesecake.
Been sorta watching the weather up north. The coldest I have seen is 35 degrees today in Utqiaġvik (AKA Barrow) Alaska. Which is good because I don’t have any “real” winter clothes. During my Northern Lights Quest in 2022, I survived being outside at 20° with just my layers of layers. (And a good Marmot wind/rain jacket) If I think I am going to freeze I’ll get an extra layer in Iceland.
Breakfast. Phone. Coffee. That’s old age one quarter through the 21st century.
Not long ago papers were read with breakfast. Now, we read our phones. Or our watches. It’s really kind of amazing. Of course, we don’t have our jet cars. And I don’t have my robot cat.
The much-loved binocs.
Had a successful day culling my wardrobe. I should have eliminated more. But, it’s really hard for me to get rid of clothes. I don’t need 5 pareos. Or 4 swimsuits. Or even 2 rash guards. Down to one of each of those.
“They” say you should eliminate clothes that you don’t wear, don’t like, don’t fit, or need mending “first”. Well, why would I have clothes that I don’t wear, don’t fit, don’t like or that need mending to begin with?
MidJourney seems to have a strange concept of tomato frog
imagine tomato frogs
A salad frog perhaps?
Fun tomato frog fact: They aren’t very good swimmers and may well drown if they accidentally fall into a pond.
Gratitude
Grateful I escaped the dark black mood that I slipped into yesterday afternoon.
Provided I don’t get Covid (or worse) – everything is all arranged for my Northwest Passage trip. August 7 – September 11.
Surprise! A lovely magnolia blossom. I don’t think it is “supposed” to be blooming in July.
I saw the magnolia blossom while testing my vintage binoculars – they are only 7 x 15 – but tiny. I got them years ago. They are reproductions of Nikon’s original 1917 binoculars. And, they are rather valuable. Not to mention cool. I should give them to someone who would enjoy them as much as I have. But, I am not ready to give them up just yet.
Death cleaning today: Carlton’s Rolex and his maternal grandfather’s (maybe?) pocket watch went to the upcoming jewelry sale to benefit the Foundation. (The watches will not be sold at the sale, but they will be sold to a local jeweler.)
Suffered from a serious attack of “I hate this f-ing place” this afternoon. I grabbed my camera and forced myself out of my room to take pictures late this afternoon.
After taking some photos, I went to the saloon and got a Dark Hollow brew. Things were better until it was time to eat dinner. Couldn’t face the food. I had beer and coffee with my friends and returned to Old Bat Cave for dinner. Sauted chicken, onions, and steamed brussel sprouts and carrots. Seasoned with pepper and balsamic vinegar. Finished with a little butter.
My Wild Child Garden Box.
Gratitude
Grateful to my friends who put up with my periodic meltdowns. Also grateful to live in an institution with an in-house saloon. If one has to be institutionalized.
Not my best fireworks work. But. it’s still fun to watch.
Major accomplishment today: Have tickets from Vancouver to DC via Amtrak for September 9. Also, finished uploading all my forms (I hope) for the trip. And I avoided The Asylum July 4th Lunch which was an apparent meltdown. They ran out of ribs, corn, fried green tomatoes, and ice cream. Apparently, they did not run out of veggie burgers or potato salad.
During our summers working at Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, we immersed ourselves in all things Civil War. The first three days of July were dedicated to the Battle of Gettysburg. This battle ended with significant casualties, with the Union suffering 23,000 and the Confederate army enduring 28,000, one-third of its total army. Interestingly, many people tend to only remember Lincoln’s speech five months after the battle, overlooking the fact that he wasn’t even the main speaker on that day.
The summer of 1863 was much grimmer than the summer of 2023. Never mind recent rulings by the High Court. And the continued survival of the lunatic right and its criminal leader.
Gratitude
Grateful for all those summers spent in all those parks. Hot Springs, Harpers Ferry, Petersburg, Volcano, Yosemite, Skagway, Theodore Roosevelt, Lowell. Did multiple summers in Harpers Ferry WV, Skagway AK, and Theodore Roosevelt ND. Thank You, NPS.
Memories of good times make old age easier.
Epic failure by the purchasing department.
Our new coffee machines do not enhance our dotage. The woman in the ball cap can not get coffee from the new machine. Three people try to help her. Still no coffee. How hard would it be to have a machine that dispenses regular coffee? And a machine that dispenses decaf coffee? Steve Jobs would not like our new machines.
Sunflower.
Cleaned out a kitchen cabinet today. And. This is a biggie. I cleaned up my DropBox folder. Figure that “important” stuff that I put in there in 2010 really isn’t all that important in 2023. Full disclosure. I copied my Dropbox folder to an external drive. Just in case those files from 2010 really are important.
OK, why can’t I have a robot cat? How hard could it be? I like this one. It’s not soft and cuddly – but neither am I. We would get along fine except if RoboKitty jumped on the countertop and went CLANG in the middle of the night.
While I was playing with MidJourney, all new weather arrived. Not only can I see Washington DC again, but all the way to Maryland. I need a couple of days of nice air.
I was able to enjoy my do nothing day because progress is being made on my Shit2DoList. Next week’s calendar doesn’t look too busy. So, I should be able to complete some tasks. Week after next is fully scheduled already. Then soon, it will be time to start thinking about the big adventure. Leaving here about midnight on Aug 7 for Iceland and points Arctic. Returning, goodness knows when, haven’t made those arrangements yet. But sometime between Sep 9 and 15.
