American Idol, Fresh Market, Walking


I was moved by the performance of Josh Groban and the African Children’s Choir (http://www.africanchildrenschoir.com/) on American Idol. They sang “You Lift Me Up”. This was the Idol gives back show where they were raising money to help needy children all over the world. It was an excellent fundraiser with many truly emotional moments. I liked the Children’s Choir because they acted like kids. They were obviously told to smile and enunciate because many of the kids were taking it to the extreme. They were not well disciplined about looking forward and acting right. They were looking around at everything – but when they were supposed to sing they were on their marks and sounded great. Today, Friday, Ellen had Josh and the kids repeat their performance and it was just as moving even out of the context of the Idol fundraiser.


We went to Fresh Market this morning. After seeing Idol this week with all the need in the world, particularly the amount of starvation that exists, the Fresh Market presents a shocking contrast. Nothing but the best in produce, meats, prepared foods, breads, and deserts. Walking through the store with all this abundance just felt wrong. I always am amazed at the high quality and quantity of food at the Fresh Markets. I’ve never seen anybody really doing a full shopping trip in one. Mainly it is walking around gawking at the great stuff and looking for something you can afford – did I mention they are expensive? We did get some fruit and a dried cranberry/ pistachio nut mix. Penny assures me that if we were in the store at the right time it is wall-to-wall people buying for their stay at the condos.


Later, as I took my walk through the neighborhood I was taking note of the number of boats, swimming pools and just the sheer number of cars people own. We truly have it good. We are safe, secure and very well fed.


I did make a donation to Idol Gives Back I wonder if this will be an annual event or a one-shot deal. We’ve seen the one shot deals before. We Are The World, Feed The World, etc. A lot of money is raised, many people are helped but the problem never goes away. At least this is money and effort going to combat a real problem rather than an imagined one like global warming.

Ramblings


I haven’t blogged in a while so here is what’s going on.


Penny and I did some landscaping in the front yard. We went to a nursery near the mall and asked the advice of one of the owners. Then followed her advice. Here are pictures of the results. The landscaping timbers were just laid in place for a guide. I will be putting them in properly as I go along. :

These pictures were taken with my new camera. We got it at (SURPRISE!) Target. Once again Penny found it. It’s a Fuji S5200, 5.1 Megapixel, 10X optical zoom. I still feel a little funny spending money on a camera I don’t really need but I do have a lot of fun with the pictures and this is a nice step up from my 3.1 Megapixel. I haven’t taken many pictures yet but the ones I’ve taken have been nice. This camera doesn’t have lens stabilization so I know I will be taking some blurry shots – but that is probably why we got it at a great price. I went out in the back yard to take the first pictures with it and Kenwood was having a field day. Here are some pics.

I took my first beach walk in 3 months. It felt like a visit with an old friend. There was a stiff breeze and the surf was big so it made for beautiful invigorating walk. The sun sets over land now so there will be no more sunsets on the horizon until Autumn. I actually saw one of the one-legged birds extend his other leg! I also saw a number of cigarette butts on the beach. I think smoking on the beach just doesn’t make any sense and leaving your butts is like peeing in a swimming pool.


I glued 4 of the 6 legs for the crib together Monday. I used all my clamps up doing that so I had to wait to do the last 2 legs. I also started the template to shape the headboard. I’m starting a split schedule – trying to get some crib work in every day- splitting it with yard work, house work and whatever else needs doing- and recreation, of course.


Penny is spending the day today (Wed) in Pensacola with Pam. They are staying overnight. Pam is having a medical procedure. Last night Brie helped Penny pack her bag.

Brie also tried to make Penny feel guilty for leaving her. Brie has a sixth sense about Penny and knows how to get to her. Last night she was very affectionate to Penny and she curled up between her legs and took a long trusting nap there. Now Penny will feel guilty for going and worry that Brie won’t be as affectionate when she gets back.


Penny hasn’t felt well all this week. She pushed herself to go see Imaginaya and she’s pushing again to drive Pam today. She hasn’t felt well enough to go kayaking. Maybe next week. I thought I might get out in my kayak this week but it’s been quite windy here.

Imaginaya

Penny and I drove over to the Beau Rivage in Biloxi on Sunday to see the Russian dance and acrobatic show Imaginaya. Here are some descriptions of the show from the web:
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http://www.mississippicasinos.com/BeauRivageNewsImaginaya.htm

Beau Rivage's sizzling new production show Imaginaya, Russian for "imagine," is created by Russia's top choreographer Alla Duhova! Imaginaya features performances by the Russian circus and Russian dance company, Todes. A counterpart of the Russian ballet. Todes exhibits the finest in Russian estrada, or stage dancing. Estrada mixes styles, bends conventions, and combines everything from folk and hip-hop to jazz and classical forms in a spectacular display of athleticism and grace!

Direct from Russia, Imaginaya is a high-voltage, high-energy show unlike anything you’ve ever seen before! There’s action every second with a spectacular trapeze act, precision acrobatic artistry, sensual in-sync dance routines, and comedic interludes showcasing balance and strength. State-of-the-art lighting combines with rhythmic music to heighten the theatrical experience even more. Not only is this its first appearance outside Russia, it’s the first and only performance of this dynamic new show in the entire United States! Imaginaya will leave you breathless!

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In my opinion high-energy and high-voltage are understatements. The dance routines are very fast, energetic and every dancer was giving a maximum performance. Usually when I watch dance troupes I look for the one in the group that gives that little extra - being careful to point the toes or kick a full kick and then I watch that one dancer. There is one dancer in the Busch Garden’s show Katonga that I always watch because she does this. For Imaginaya, every dancer gives it all. I just had to pick out any dancer I could see well to watch. The movements were so quick and so well performed that it was hard to grasp the difficulty of the performance. They made it look easy. The acrobatics and comedy were also high caliber. One dance routine was a couple dance that mixed ballet with modern dance. Well done, beautiful and very athletic.


We thought this show would be more like a Cirque du Soleil show but there is no comparison. For Cirque I was awe-struck. For Imaginaya I was entertained. The only part of Imaginaya I didn’t like was the volume of the music-much louder than necessary and it detracted from the performance.


For the money it was good high-quality entertainment. We will have to keep an eye on future shows in Biloxi.

Sodding in the Rain.


Yesterday Penny estimated that I would be done laying sod at about 6 PM. Today, when I put the last piece down I checked my watch. It was 6 PM exactly – no joke.

For about 2 hours this morning I was working in rain. I put on a raincoat that we bought when we went up to Mizzou for homecoming. Since Mizzou’s colors are black and gold those are the color of the raincoat. After we bought it we realized when I put it on that I looked like a bumblebee – so the raincoat received a name – bumblebee. As I was sodding in the rain my mind naturally went to the song “Singing in the Rain” and I composed a little song to that tune using sodding in the rain. I will not bore you with my silly verses.


The rain was actually ideal weather for this job. I’ve got to keep the sod wet until it roots and the rain moistened the ground and the sod as it goes in. The rain also brought some cool air, a breeze and no hot sun. Later in the day the sun came out for a couple hours and then it clouded up again.


It turns out that 5 pallets only covered 2/3 of the yard. Tomorrow I will either cut up some of the sod and plug the rest of the yard with it or buy some plugs at Lowe’s or Home Depot or both. I can’t afford to buy the 2 or 3 pallets needed to finish the whole front. With the sprinkler system it will be easier to water the sod and plugs properly so I will let the grass run and fill in the rest of the front yard.

UPDATE:

I took the buying plug option and found that both stores had the type of grass I needed. Home Depot had the plugs 50 cents cheeper for each tray of 18 plugs so that's where I got them. I took it fairly easy today and only put in 1/3 of the plugs I bought. I spent an unexpected 2 hours on the computer this morning getting our router to see the internet. So I only spent a couple hours on the lawn today.

Sod is Here,


The sod arrived today. I had just finished raking all the leaves that had fallen from the last storm when the truck rolled up at about 2 PM. So I watered the ground an started laying sod.


I got 1 and 2/3 pallets down before it got dark. It takes about 2 hours to lay one pallet. The individual pieces are not heavy and this work is not difficult at all. I should be able to get the rest down tomorrow. We will see.

I’m pleased with the way the sod looks. It seems to be good quality and it isn’t all dried out. I don’t think the 5 pallets will be enough to fill the whole lawn area so I will probably break some up into sprigs and fill in whatever area the sod doesn’t cover.

Friday the 13th on Monday.


I know that last Friday was the 13th but the news on Monday with the Nor’ Easter in New England and the shootings on the campus of Va Tech. make Monday the more appropriate day.


Because we used to work on a military base we were trained annually on terrorism. As part of that training we were told to always be aware of your surroundings. Part of that training included inspecting anyplace you were and planning what to do if someone came in the main entrance with a weapon. The training stresses planning a second way out and anticipating how to protect yourself and escape. That’s fine in an auditorium or office but what do you do in a classroom.


I’ve use my “training” often when I’m in a fast food restaurant or shopping in a mall or even at a movie. I try to be aware of where alternate exits are and plan how to react if a gunman appears. But there is no where to go in a classroom. The best you can do is duck. All that does is force the gunman to aim better. I can’t imagine the terror those people experienced and the hurt that their loved ones feel. If someone you know is killed, knowing they were scared or suffered makes the pain so much more unbearable.

I’m sure the anti-gun folks will jump on this, but there is no way to keep guns out of peoples hands. There is no way to secure all the “soft” targets that exist in our open society. Just think what havoc could be made if organized teams of terrorists spread out across the country and randomly hit these soft targets. Schools, shopping malls – any place where a good number of people gather could be targeted. It is a scary thought.

Beggars can be Choosers.

The price of dry cat food has risen sufficiently that we tried buying a cheaper brand of dry cat food for the outside cats. I first loaded it into my Mod III automatic outside cat feeder just before we left for Jacksonville this past weekend. When we returned on Sunday eve there was a mound of dry food dispensed but not eaten. Evidently the outside cats have standards. They will eat Meow Mix but not Wal-Mart’s Special Kitty brand.


I am trying to wait the cats out figuring that they will eventually eat it when they get hungry. So far they still resist the change. I don’t know what Meow Mix puts in their food but cats love it. When we got Brie we switched from Meow Mix to Science Diet – a more expensive, better for kitty brand. We still had Sunshine at that time and she did not want to eat the Science Diet food. If we mixed the two the cat would pick out the Meow Mix and leave the Science Diet.

I guess we will end up buying Meow Mix again even at the higher price. At least the birds and squirrels are not as choosy as the cats.

Crib Update.


The laminate legs of the crib are cut and notched and ready to be glued. This is the first milestone in the making of the crib. Meme Nelson told me she expected to be apprised on the progress of the crib so I will periodically provide updates here. The legs each consist of 3, 2 ¼ x ¾ pieces laminated to form a 2 ¼ inch square leg. The center board in each leg is notched such that the sideboards and rails will fit into the slot they form. You can see this easily in the picture.


We spent the weekend in Jacksonville and went to Karen’s baby shower. It’s the best baby shower I’ve ever been to. Karen and Tim have always surrounded themselves with good people as friends and this shower really showed that. It was a diverse and friendly group of people. Penny “catered” the affair and did a spectacular job. My favorite dish was her Portobello mushroom ravioli. Brie made the trip with us and while she spends all of the automobile time under my seat she is adjusting some to the whole routine. She didn’t have any real panic moments even when I shut her and Finn in the same room. When we got back home she settled right in to her old routine. She did run up and down the hallway a few times to express her joy at being home again.


Remember the sod? It’s supposed to be delivered tomorrow afternoon. If it comes I will then be laying sod full-time.


The doctor said today that I do have a herniated disc but it should heal OK if I take it easy. So-o-o after I get the sod laid I will try to take it easy.

Homie goes back to the crib.


No sod today! I called them to find out when it would be delivered and was told Thursday. So I told them to wait until Monday. The only reason I’m not telling these folks to stuff it is because I want the particular type of St Augustine grass they sell. I made this call from Target’s parking lot. Penny was inside scooping up all the 50% Easter bargains.


I also had to call the Sony outlet store because they neglected to give me the additional 10% discount on the TV I bought. When I called they said, “Oh, just bring your receipt in and we will take care of it”. Yeah, right, use $10 worth of gas for a $20 refund. I asked if we could do this on the phone and he said he would try but he wasn’t sure it would work. I was confident there was a way but not confident in his ability. It took a while but we got there, my credit card got the credit and they are mailing me a new receipt.

I had planned to be laying sod all day today and tomorrow and the next day so now I had unplanned open time. I used the rest of the morning to catch up with the housework. For lunch we had macaroni and cheese and ham but Penny played with it some and it tasted like a completely different meal.


Then, finally, I went out to the shed and did some crib work. Working on the sprinklers and garden left no time for the crib for about 6 weeks. Now I can get back to it and finish it in time for the baby. At least with the workshop I just left everything in place and was able to pick up right where I left it with no set-up time.

It is still cold here. I’m thinking about taking my kayak out in the morning. It’s too cold for Penny to go so it gives me a chance to try my single kayak. There is a potential for cold rain in the AM so I’ll have to wait till the morning for my final decision.

I’m dreaming of a white Easter?


We drove to church this morning through freezing rain and sleet – Happy Easter!


Penny outdid herself with Easter dinner. She always cooks well and today she was perfect with every dish she made. Ham, spinach, mac and cheese, asparagus and don’t forget the biscuits. After dinner we had coffee and we forced ourselves to have another piece of chocolate cherry cannoli cake.


We packed up some cake and ham sandwiches for C&C to take home with them. Then it was time for them to go. :>(


Christian and Christy had helped me take down our old TV and put up the new one before hey left. After they left I hooked it up to the DVR, VCR, tuner and speakers and turned the remote over to Penny. The TV is only a 27-inch model but it weighs 75 pounds and needed to be placed on top of a 5 ft tall piece of furniture. I was glad they were here to help.


After they left we brought Brie out of our room and showed that everyone was gone. She adjusted in no time. She sat in her chair and looked out over the back yard. Tonight she is lying on Penny’s leg sleeping.


One of the outside cats, Eek, showed up less than a half hour after Fin left the area. I expect Marmalade will be back tomorrow. So this visit hasn’t disrupted the animals’ lives much. I was surprised at how calm Brie has been.

Our Turn to Play Tourist.


Today we did all the things we normally do when we have visitors. First, Penny made a great breakfast of bacon, eggs and toast for everyone. Then it was off for a cold walk on the beach. The temperature was in the 40’s but the wind was out of the north and very cold. The beach was beautiful as you can see in the picture of Christy and Christian.

Next stop was the marina where Christy used to work and the docks at Destin Harbor. The whole area is in turmoil because of the 2 huge condos going in at the mouth of the pass. They now have a little “parking control” booth to aid in finding a parking place but there is nowhere near enough parking area there now for a normal summer day let alone a holiday .


The cold weather seemed to have kept most people home today so the dock area was not crowded and almost peaceful. We did disturb one bird and he loudly protested as he flew away.

Lunchtime found us at – Harbordocks – of course. Need I say, ”Yum!” Christy and Christian posed for the traditional picture at Harbordocks.

...and so did Penny and I.

We finished the afternoon at the outlet stores and we found out where all the people were. Penny and I ended up buying a new TV at the Sony outlet. We are replacing the one in our bedroom. It takes 45 minutes to an hour for that TV to turn on so finding the new Sony store and finding a great price on a replacement TV worked out nicely.


We got back to Fort Walton at Dinner time so we stopped at Slick Mick’s for Philly cheese steak sandwiches.


Back home we sang “Happy Birthday” to Christian (belated) and each had a cup of coffee and a slice of Penny’s chocolate cherry cannoli cake.

It wasn’t a good day to be watching your weight but it was a very good day with laugh-out-loud conversations and good family time. We are happy that Christy and Christian were here for a short but very sweet visit.

House Cleaning Politics


I’ve read comments about the war and the political campaigns lately that make me smile. Basically they express the sentiment that the huge amounts of money going into those efforts could be better spent helping this country or going to medical research.


I smile because I heard the same things being said when the war in Vietnam was raging. The country was supposed to realize a war dividend when that war ended but it never materialized.


At first the logic seems good but the flaw in the thinking is the assumption that the funds would be available if the war or the campaign did not occur. This is where the house cleaning enters. Being retired, Penny and I have no excuse for not keeping up with the housework. It could be called the retirement dividend. We do a lot better than when we worked but the house still gets ahead of us. So, like everyone else, when company comes we devote extra time to getting the place straight. It is similar to declaring war and funding it. If the company didn’t come we probably wouldn’t do the same level of work.


At least Brie made making the bed into a game today. She liked the large expanse of open mattress on our bed. Being unsuccessful in getting under the sheets as I spread them out and tucked them in she decided it would be fun to attack my hand. She got me in the classic hold-the-hand-with-the-front-paws; bite and pump kick the “prey” with the rear feet (no claws for play).


Tomorrow Christy and Christian arrive. We are looking forward to their visit – and then we will keep up with the house after they leave and go outside and watch the pigs flying by.

Bring on the rain – Part 2


You may remember that the sod delivery was delayed a week because we had cool dry weather and the farm wanted to wait a week before cutting.


Today I find out that they had a lot of rain and now can’t get the equipment out to the field because it is too wet. The rain is good for the grass and I know I’m getting a fresh cut product. It looks like delivery may be on Monday. If it is delayed more than that then I’m going to have to postpone delivery because I have a trip coming up.

We just had a cold front push through and the next couple of days would have been ideal for laying sod .

Update: Today - Friday - at about 4:30 a big truck pulls up in front of the house with 5 pallets of St Augustine sod. I went out and told the driver that it wasn't supposed to come until Monday. He said that he had the wrong address- when he showed up there he was told they didn't order grass. The driver said one of the neighborhood boys told him my yard was all prepared and that's probably where it goes.


So the driver starts to unload his little fork lift and he gets a call. It seems that he had the right house the first time and the husband there didn't tell the wife about the sod. I asked the driver which company he worked for and found out it was not the one I ordered from. I had visions of laying sod all Easter weekend while Christy, Christian and Penny played tourist. Thankfully that's not the case.


The coincidence is remarkable. The order was for 5 palates of sod. The house number on the other street was identical with ours. I almost took delivery of the wrong sod!


Now I get to play tourist, too. Hopefully the real delivery will happen on Monday earlier in the day.

1 April – Tid-Bits


April fool’s day is drawing to an end and there were no jokes played on me. I was going to write an April fool’s blog but Penny didn’t think it was a good idea. Brother-in-law Joe told sister Kathy that they had an alligator in their swimming pool. She was out looking for it when I called her tonight.


There were no big blog-worthy happenings these last few days but there were little tid-bits that when strung together capture what is going on in my life.


The major task while waiting for the sod to come was putting in this year’s garden. I dismantled the trough I put up a few years ago and replaced it with a 30ft x 18-inch trough. I have one zone of the sprinkler system dedicated to it and drip irrigation sprinkler heads to do the watering. This year I’m being a little more ambitious since I have more time to tend the garden and a good automatic watering setup. Of course I’ve got tomatoes. In addition we are trying green peppers, eggplant, green beans, snap peas, cucumbers, squash, and some herbs – basil, parsley, thyme and rosemary. Last year the critters kept me on my toes and ate tomatoes and squash and cucumber plants before I did. We hope to have better fortune this year.

During the week the gardening gloves I was wearing got really dirty and raunchy smelling. I decided to clean them by soaking them in our ½ bathroom sink. That’s the sink that Brie (you know, our skittish cat) uses to drink from. When she wants to drink we lift her up and set her beside the sink and turn the water on for her. I forgot I had put the gloves there and picked up Brie to give her water. While still in my arms she spotted the brown and black gloves floating in dirty brown water and I think she thought they were some sort of animal. I almost dropped her as she tried to escape.


I watched some of the Discovery Channels new series Planet Earth and found it to be a photographic gem. There is not a lot of new information but the photography is spectacular. The show uses close-ups whenever possible but many of the shots are made from a stabilized helicopter camera when the situation calls for it. When very large scale occurrences are filmed the show uses satellite photography. This is an 11 part series and I’ve only watched half of one show. If the whole series is done as well as what I’ve seen so far I’m going to enjoy it.


Since we are going to have Christy and Christian here this coming weekend Murphy’s Law has struck us. The window air conditioner in our sunroom, which we use as a guest room decided to die. It blew the circuit breaker for the room and now the fan runs but not the compressor. I don’t know if we will get a replacement in before the guests arrive.


Our church, Holy Spirit Parish on Hurlburt Field, is undergoing a huge political struggle. It is sad to see this kind of thing happening in a church but the effects have been to lose some great parishioners, the choir director and a woman who has carried the major load of religious education and the youth group for as long as we have been there, Marilyn Austin. Surprisingly, the Air Force has assigned a full-time priest to the parish – an unusual occurrence with the shortage of available priests in the service.


I’m into my third book while working on the garden. I’m currently reading about the voyage of the Mayflower, the establishment of the Plymouth Colony, and the first 30 years or so after the establishment of the settlement.

So that’s the way it is Sunday, April 1st 2007.