Category: The DayBook

Nice day today. Still toasty warm. The pool could be opened – but it isn’t. But, we still have a balcony and a terrace. And a lounge chair on each one. So, I can keep up my tan for a little while longer. (Hawai’i doesn’t happen until Nov 10.)

I guess we were – in 1984.

Still working on the pre-digital photographs.

This Labor Day Weekend: I am proud to have been a member of ILWU Local 142. The kapuna did the heavy lifting – the 157 day strike etc. Mahalo Brothers and Sisters. “An injury to one is an injury to all.”

And for a little Labor Day History:http://www.ilwu19.com/history/the_ilwu_story/organization_in_hawaii.htm

Every evening, the crows have taken to lounging on “our” construction cranes. Just as long as they don’t come across the street and lounge on my lounge chairs.

It is the last weekend of summer… Also the last weekend before Mr C has his next and hopefully last operation. This one is going to be a “simple” hernia repair. (Sept 6 is the big day.) I must confess, I am not looking forward to getting back into caregiver mode.

I see that The Prez passed the ball on bombing Syria to Congress. Well, if Congress acts on Syria with regular Congressional speed – the folks in Syria can rest easy.

After spending two days locked in a freezing cold defunct operating room being “trained” – it was good to be back to a normal routine today.

Sad news in the email today – a woman who worked for me in Guam died yesterday. She didn’t make to 60. No one is promised tomorrow. Take care and enjoy every second.

Syria. So, let me get this straight. Syria is having a civil war. Folk who hate our guts are fighting folk who consider us the personification of evil. 100,000 or so folk have been killed. A few more get killed with poison gas. Therefore, we are going to kill off more Syrians – it doesn’t seem to much matter which side they are – to punish the Syrians for killing folk with gas as opposed to bullets. Did I get that right? Gas bad/bullets and bombs good.

Fifty Years Out – Out from “I have a dream…”. I feel sorry for anyone born after the mid-50’s. Those of you born during the current soft times. To you “duck and cover” is only a really silly ad campaign involving a turtle. (Watch it.) You might not even know who or what the Freedom Riders were. In this era of “Stand Your Ground” – who can imagine bus loads of college students riding Trailways busses in coat and tie or hose and hats. Taking bus rides that almost always ended in a serious beating and/or jail time. All this done while never hitting back. Do you remember what it was like when middle and upper class “girls” went to college for their Mrs. Degree? When lower class girls like me could go to beauty college or secretarial college. If we were very bright – we maybe might could go to teachers college. College college wasn’t an option. When, if you were a guy, unless you were in college or were very lucky in the draft lottery – there was a very good chance you were going to die far from home in a very unpopular war. No one was going to say “Thank you for your service” either.

Those of us who came up through the Civil Rights/Women’s Rights/AntiWar era were hugely blessed. We had great sweeping causes. Causes worth dying for. And, at the end the struggles – most of us got jobs with health insurance. And a house in the ‘burbs with two cats in the yard. Oh yes, and we had The Dead.

Are we really going to go quietly to the grave without just one more righteous cause? Sure hope not.

Good thing I took my series of sunrise shots last fall. The cranes are interesting. But, I am not sure they add much to the photos.

Ah, Syria. What a mess. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. But, as far as Syria (and Egypt) the enemy of my enemy is still my enemy.

This one is from the Ephemera Project. I think Mr C hired a photographer to take pictures of his thesis project – and this photograph was lagniappe.

Had a lovely early fall day today. One of those crispy blue days that reminds everyone who was here that day of 9-11.

Still preparing “mushy” meals. How many ways can I scramble eggs? Meatloaf, anyone? How about applesauce? Not to mention ice cream.

Click here to view this photo book larger

This is the 2nd book in my campaign to “do something with” all the old photos.

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Taken with the ZS15 from inside my living room. The hawk only stayed around for a couple of minutes. Glad the ZS15 was handy. Maybe he’ll come land on my ledge some day. We have lots of nice tasty looking starlings.

Over the last couple of weeks, our summer visitors, the starlings have changed behaviour. Mating/nesting/hatching activities have ended. And most evenings a couple of dozen starlings show up on our ledges for what appears to be a social gathering. It would appear that they are sizing up potential travelling companions for this fall’s migration.

I continue to be way too busy with my volunteer job. Just when I think I am going to be getting back to a lazy 3 mornings a week routine, something else pops up. I have just about battered our new software system into shape – but a massive upgrade is scheduled for next week. My fall migration can not come soon enough!

My summer “vacation” – how does one have “vacation” when one is retired? My vacation was cancelled due to Carlton’s medical issues. I am having a fantasy about hopping a plane maybe in early October to maybe Iceland to try to catch some northern lights. “They” say this fall “might” be awesome.

On the Sunday closest to the Feast of the Assumption, every Bolivian dance troupe in Virginia comes to the church across the street (a Spanish language Anglican Church). It is always huge fun. But, there is so much going on in a very small space – so photography is sort of iffy. This year, my head shots were best.

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