life in the old lane

Yesterday’s popup bluegrass concert was outstanding. Terribly young. And, of course, they all have day jobs in Appalachia. Bluegrass is alive and well. We fed them dinner. I hope we paid them well.

I was a total slug today. The only thing I did was decide on my April adventure. Since I waited until almost April to get serious about the trip, my choices are not as great as they would have been 6 months ago. I am currently in my self-imposed 24-hour cooling-off period before I make the reservations and pay the money.

And what is this adventure? Well, sort of a trial trip for the big 30-day northwest passage trip in late summer. A week-long run from Clarkston WA/Lewiston ID to Portland OR on the Snake and Columbia rivers. I read this review of The Sea Bird:

“Sea Bird is a utilitarian vessel, not a floating resort hotel. The ship has three decks, no casino and one restaurant venue. While all cabins have windows, no cabin is larger than 120 square feet. Bathrooms are teeny tiny, and the narrow twin beds are immovable, either in an L-shape or with a nightstand in between. The spa is one small room; the gym is a set of three outdoor cardio machines. At night, passengers can’t go to a show, sing karaoke or even watch TV in their cabins.”

I knew that this might be my kinda vessel. There are Zodiak trips, a jetboat run up Hell’s Canyon, little (I hope) hikes to waterfalls, visits to a couple of wineries. Seems like a good adventure. And a chance to check out my raingear.  The challenge is getting to Lewiston, Idaho. Ending up in Portland I can always catch the train back home to keep the adventure alive a little longer. Amtrak’s Empire Builder is always an adventure in reliability. 

Maybe this will all be sorted out and paid for by COB tomorrow. 

Having dinner with the entire accidental asylum family tonight. All eight of us. We all look forward to our “everyone” dinners. We manage it 3 or 4 times a month. I really don’t know how I would survive here without my asylum family. 

PS – Dinner was great. Both the food and the company.

For no apparent reason, the pool across the street prepped for summer a couple of weeks ago. It is nowhere near pool season. In this area, the pools open at the end of May. Maybe there was an Early Bird Special on pool startup.

This is with my GoPro. I could/should do the lens correction thing. But, I sorta liked the fisheye effect. 

Been ensconced in my comfy chair thinking about going somewhere. After I see my dentist and my lawyer next week. 

Pretty decent bluegrass group playing here this afternoon. What could be more mournful than bluegrass music on a rainy afternoon in an old-folks asylum?  

Finished up a little work today. Got my room cleaned. Did a very little origami. Walked up the stairs a couple of times. And, before you know it it is Happy Hour. 

And for the first good news in a long time. Michigan repealed its right-to-work law.  All in all, a good day.

One from the neighborhood today. Pixel 7.

On from yesterday’s Cherry Blossom trek. GoPro 8

One by request from MidJourney. It actually took a few tries. Got tangled up with the British “pudding”. So, it had him eating chocolate cake. And chocolate cover strawberries. 

Spend most of the day wrangling data. To me, it’s like a game. How can I get all this data correctly tagged, codified, ordered, sorted… Grateful the brain can still do it. I don’t want to do anything “mission critical” anymore. But, I have no problem spending a couple of days pounding the data back into shape. 

Wow, an American Eagle just flew by my window. He/She was on a mission. Just time for a look. No time for a photo. 

Went downtown to check out the cherry trees this morning. Really grateful that I am still able to do that. 14,000+ steps, 6 miles, 29 floors. Not too shabby.

Unbelievably that the gang is still all here!

A great day.  

Window washers always remind me of my favorite George Formby number from 1936. 

Fashion note. Women did not wear PJs in the 30s.   The song was banned by the BBC…” if the public wants to listen to Formby singing his disgusting little ditty, they’ll have to be content to hear it in the cinemas, not over the nation’s airwaves”. 

Going out to dinner this evening with my old boss from the hospital. 

Here is Vince, on The Table of The Dead. Vince lived in independent living. He did not have an aide. I believe he used a cane and/or zimmer frame. He could not hear. So that cut down on his social life. Every evening until the day he died, he put on a sports coat and came to dinner.  

He had a very nice Obit in the Washington Post. 

But what really speaks to the character of the man is the little note that the young people who work in the dining room put on his picture.

And, for Vince, a peaceful passing. After a long life well and graciously lived.  

Enjoyed a total no-brainer lazy as possible day.  

By request.

With apologies to every drag queen on the planet. 

Another good start to the day.  And the sun stayed around all day.

The day got off to a happy start with a couple of 80-somethings declaring that they are a couple. Then we realized that one of our group had failed to check-in this morning. Much worry and concern. Pollyanna Peggy was pretty sure that she left the building early in the AM and just forget to check in. But still. We have been doing this for 3 years now – and no one ever missed. An inspection of her apartment came up empty and we all relaxed. It was a good test of our system. 

I did my laundry while I was worrying. Bonus. One less thing on tomorrow’s to do list.

Now you gotta know that this is MidJourney. Because there are some things that a pig just won’t do!

On the bright side. My room got cleaned today. I got 30 floors and 3 miles in.  And, I didn’t kill anyone. (But, the day isn’t over. So, there is still time.)

Yesterday MidJourney and I crashed an art class. I had some difficulty getting MidJourney to put an apple orange and a pear on a white plate. Well, I tried that one again today, except

except I asked for a tangerine.  That worked. 

And since I crashed a watercolor class – I asked for a watercolor version. 

I gotta get out of this place. Going insane. But, I have a dinner on the outside, a birthday party, my dentist, and my lawyer. Those will be over by April Fools Day. Don’t mind me. I am in one of my periodic short-lived funks. 

The day started out fine and just got finer. I had no trouble getting myself outside for my fitness walk. 3.25 miles. 27 flights of stairs. I did the stairs in two cracks. Not up to 27 at one time and besides – I have to find a taller building.

The rainpants – required for the Great Northern Boat Trip – arrived. Patagonia’s finest. But from their  Previously Owned Department. I have been watching for a pair in my size to show up. I am now all kitted out for the trip. Just have to get the old body in shape and keep it operational. No small task.

The art teacher here at The Asylum had a still-life watercolor class this afternoon. With permission, I went and MidJourney-ed some of the subjects.

This one never really got the orange apple pear thing. Think I’ll play with it some more. I feel sure it is an order problem. 

Had a problem getting an empty pitcher. 

And this one is just funny. I got a useless white teapot shaped like a pear. What’s not to love about MidJourney?

 

Wine tasting this afternoon. I am not a wine connoisseur. So, the  “Name That Grape” game had little appeal. But, there was plenty of wine to drink. Fortunately, none of us had to drive anything more serious than an elevator.

I was hugely amused by the “cat piss on gooseberry leaves” or “hint of gentleman’s dressing room” reported tastes. I particularly liked “canned green beans”.  I gathered that “canned green beans” was a bad taste. But “cat piss on gooseberry leaves” was a good one. I might be wrong. There was lots of wine. 

Life is seriously weird at 79 going on dead.