life in the old lane

It is hotter today. And, the Nats wilted. “They” say it will be hotter tomorrow.

Weather not so great on my island either. Little tropical storm overnight. High tides right now as well, so one of the glass bottom boats ended up on the rocks. Now, this boat wasn’t doing too well last couple of years – so – if it was well insured – it might not have been a really bad thing for the owners. But, our little bay didn’t need the fuel that most likely spilled.

And now for the insects.

Went out early in the morning for my daily bug hunt. Before breakfast.

Breakfast – another adventure. I ordered French toast. It is on the menu. I put my stuff on my table and went to get coffee. The cashier is talking to the cook “Do you know how to make French toast?” “No, we have cinnamon buns.” is the cook’s response. I quickly change my order to oatmeal. You gotta love it here. Some people expend a lot of energy complaining. I figure that the goddess was just telling me that French toast would make my butt look fat!

Been planning my escape to Kona. Think I’ll take the train to the coast. I love trains. I like the entire train experience. (Except the bathrooms at the end of a long segment.)

Thinking about a little mini-trip to somewhere chilly. Churchill Canada – swim with the whales maybe. You get there by train. Or Iceland. Or maybe just crank up my A/C and pretend I am some place cool.

About the knobs for my “new: chair. Thank you Amazon. On Friday I went to a old school hardware store and was told what I needed. They had one. Not two. And, they don’t order stuff for you. They did give me the manufacturer and part number of the knob. (Cost $3.99) But, it couldn’t find it online. But, I knew sort of what to look for and found knobs on Amazon ($4.70 for 2 with 2 day delivery). So, my noon on Sunday, my chair is sporting two matching knobs. So, the knob problem was solved for less than ten bucks. Thank you Ayers Variety. And thank you Amazon. It took a 1950’s era brick and mortar store and an online store to get the job done.

Gee, wonder what I was up to a year ago? – I was taking pictures and downsizing.

Hows about 2 years ago? – I was complaining about it being hot.

And 10 years ago? – Taking pictures of bees and watching Le Tour. Those pages lost something when I changed servers. But 10 years is a long time in internet years.

And now for the political section.

Let us assume that our side wins in November. How on earth are we going to get the other side back in the box? Think about it. These people are not going to turn into the loyal opposition.

A trip to the Falls Church Farm Market in the early morning was the main “activity” of the day. So far. It is free wine night – so anything can happen!

I got flowers, crab cakes – yes Carlton – the very same crab cakes that you loved when we lived in Falls Church, and tomatoes, zucchini, peaches. And sourdough bread. I ate the crab cake for lunch. With some zucchini and a peach.

My oldest blog post about the Falls Church Farm Market is from May 2001.
Check it out. Click thru to the little photos. That was 15 years ago. In dial-up time. Pictures were tiny.

And now for the insect section.

Did I happen to mention that it is HOT.

And finally, the political section:

Where did you stand?

Kristallnacht – 1938
The Saint Louis – 1939
The Army-McCarthy Hearings – 1954
Operation Abolition -1960
Freedom Summer – 1964

Where will you stand?

Donald Trump
David Duke

Has it really been over 50 years since we were at such a moral tipping point?

The Prince of Darkness is now the proud owner of the Republican Party. No one died. That was all I wanted.

No one has been killed at the GOP convention, yet. And – this is still a good thing.

I came up with these scenarios while eating lunch. The Donald must be trying to figure out how to get control of the convention – AKA “The Hootananny From Hell”.

He has one last chance. I have two possible game plans for tonight’s speak. They involve costumes, a little plagiarism and no content.

First idea – Go with a Roman theme ca 65AD. Wear togo. come into the arena on a sedia gestatoria like Popes used in bygone days. Accompanied by blond Victoria Secret models and large animals on leashes.

Second idea – Go with a German theme ca 1936. Wear nice brown uniform and jack boots. March into the arena with a phalanx of armed white males in full riot gear.

AND then from either entrance – just wing it! How hard can it be?

(Apologies in advance to underwear models, Romans, Germans, large animals, and even white males.)

BTW – lunch was good. Better than these ideas for sure. May you live in interesting times.

 

 

The GOP convention continues to be unseemly at best. But no one has been killed yet. That is still a good thing. The only good thing.

But now, I am tired and it is approaching my bed time. So, the Republicans will have to party on without me. The convention goers are waving signs that say “Anyone But Hillary”. Now, that is a raging endorsement of their candidate isn’t it?

The Party of Lincoln has fallen to a hostile takeover by The Donald. Nobody has been killed yet. This is about as good as it is going to get.

Or maybe it isn’t a hostile takeover. Maybe it is a sea-change. Maybe the Republicans will become the Grumpy White Guy’s Party.

Glad that Carlton missed this. He would be batshit crazy. He would be saying “Can you imagine Trump and Putin in charge of the world?”

 

I bought a “new” chair today. People die here in the asylum. And they leave “stuff” behind. The asylum sells, gives away or hauls away leftover “stuff”. This fine (well almost fine) old mid-century modern recliner has a new owner – me. It is missing a couple of knobs

That is the missing knob from an eBay sale. There should be knobs on both sides. But, mine has no knobs. It think if I spend some quality time in an old school hardware store I’ll be able to find replacements/workarounds.

The missing knobs control the recline feature. A fairly important part of a “recliner”.

My even older mid-century easy chair and ottoman are now in the asylum’s “stuff” collection. Maybe someone will want it. My butt spent 50 years in that chair. I liked it more than I like this one – but this one is better for my aging body’s various aches and pains. My old chair didn’t recline and it didn’t have a high back. So, no napping in that chair. Not without getting a major pain in the neck.

Some serious napping can be had in the “new” chair.

Thanks for all the years of good service. Over the years, I made 4 or 5 sets of slipcovers for those chairs. There were 4 of them. Three didn’t make the move to the Old Bat Cave.

So far so good at the Republican follies – no one has died yet.

and finally

 

Nice Sunday. Main amusement was working on my closeup photography. (see above)

Main physical activity was working as a field hand in the asylum cutting garden. That was enough to make me want to go back to work tomorrow to get some rest! It is 90 degrees.

A friend from the antipodes commented that the Queen might have a wee bottle of brandy in her purse – to help her get through all the idiots that she has to see. Sounds good to me!

The Republican Follies start tomorrow. Tomorrow’s theme is “Make America Safe Again”. I just hope no one is killed. On either side.

Sort of watching the Nats on TV. Makes me think that Mr C is still around. I think they are going into the 17th inning. If this were cricket – they would be stopping for a tea break soon!

 

Seriously, if I ever report that I spent the morning playing croquet – have me moved to the “memory care unit”. Because Peg will have left the building.

But I had a lovely day. Friend took me to the farmers market that I used to go to years ago in Falls Church. It is still very good. I got everything I needed to make myself a great lunch.

Outstanding lettuce, baby squash, and CRAB CAKES. I used some of my very own herbs and a little bit of mustard. Also got some peaches, flowers, and cheese.

After all that – attend to some paperwork, swim laps, take naps, dinner in the dining room…and now it is time to drink coffee and read.

The world continues on it’s grim path. The French continue to blow themselves up. While we just shoot each other. Our way takes longer. But the result is the same.

The political scene is nastier everyday.

The only remotely amusing thing about the world today are the pictures of the new British PM paying a call on the Queen at Buckingham Palace.

Now, girls and boys: Why on earth is the Queen carrying a purse? Isn’t she in her own house, well own palace to be exact? Nevermind that she should have “people” to carry her stuff. Dog treats, Kleenex, phone, small crown, tip money, Altoids? What is in that thing???

No Go… As in “No I am not playing Pokemon Go”. But, I do think it is an interesting way to waste time. I have more than enough ways to waste time and I at my age – I may not have all that much time left.

About the wifi. I decided to stop whining and just use my iPad (or Shamu the Phone) as my own personal HotSpot anytime the asylum wifi wimps out.

Seems like everytime a go out hunting for bugs – the wind kicks up. The asylum is located in a naturally windy location. And the natural windiness is exacerbated by our highrise buildings.

Still don’t have a good feeling about the upcoming Presidential election. It will not be boring. Was Germany like this in 1930?

 

Help. I am holding myself prisoner in my own apartment without internet. Without internet is either my fault for being too cheap or lazy to get FIOS. Or it could be the asylum’s fault for having really crappy wifi service.

The asylum is supposed to have major bucks in next year’s budget to fix the wifi. I will wait until next spring – if it is still seriously crappy – I’ll get FIOS.  Or maybe I’ll get a neighbor who has FIOS and I can borrow some bandwidth from them. But – my current neighbors are not of the online generation. I am the only one who cares about internet on my hallway.

Now, why am I on lock down in my apartment? The Summer Splash Calabash – that is why. It started with Senior Citizen Synchronized Swimming performance. Followed by a “Beachy” Cocktail Hour. And then a by reservation Summer Calabash Buffet dinner. Topped off with entertainment by the Beach Bumz. None of that sounds in the least bit like me. So, when asked if I would join a table or otherwise attend – I pled “Previous Engagement”. My “Previous Engagement” is dinner for one in the Old Bat Cave and a nice book. That is what any sane introverted nerd would do when faced with the Summer Splash Calabash.

Thinking about little luxuries:

1. Perrier. I love that stuff.
2. Uber.
3. Dark Chocolate.
4. Kona Coffee.
5. Smart Phones that work when wifi doesn’t. Hence this blog entry.
6. My door that when closed turns my apartment into a nice retreat. Making it is easy to forget that the Old Bat Cave is in the asylum with 500 of my closest really old friends.

Carlton: I could have said “I love you” more often, but I couldn’t have loved you more. And, I could have said “Thank you” more, but I couldn’t be more thankful for the life we had together.