Archive for the ‘architecture’ Category

Edison’s shop

Tuesday, April 28th, 2015

edisonshop

Here’s Thomas Edison’s shop. He developed the lightbulb here. Nice work, Tom! Great Art courtesy of the exclusive iPhone-cam, taken last July at Greenfield Village in beautiful Dearborn, Michigan, and part of my famous Architecture, Electronics, Vacation, and Workbench series.

It’s only been five days since my last post! That’s a new record in recent days here. So there’s not so much to report about. However, we are not without news here.

Joanne and I went back to the Bay Area on Saturday morning. We came home Sunday evening, so it was a bit brief. Joanne attended Katy’s bridal shower and appears to have enjoyed it quite a bit. My in-laws-to-be are wonderful folks and Joanne loves them too now.

In the meantime, Clifford took his stepdad James and me out for the world’s fanciest donuts, the world’s fanciest coffee, and the world’s prettiest wedding venue. It was a great morning! The big wedding will be beautiful. Sunday, Katy, Cliff, Mia, Joanne, and I went to the Berkeley Kite Flying Field. Surprisingly, while we were there, we flew kites! Never saw that coming, did you, Loyal Readers? In the afternoon, Joanne and I went to visit Ryan. We had lunch together and went over to visit with Junior, Joanne’s former dog and Ryan’s current dog. Then we came home.

Anyway, it was a pleasant weekend. San Francisco was beautiful. And we missed the big Las Vegas rainstorm on Saturday.

Joanne and I went to the 51’s baseball game last night. Our team won! We enjoyed the game. Plus, they gave everyone in our row free Big Foam Fingers! For keeps! Now that’s something.

I may need that finger. I sliced my thumb open this morning on Joanne’s mandoline. Oops. I wasn’t even cutting with it. I was just trying to put it back in its box. It was bleeding badly enough that I decided to take a trip to urgent care. They put a butterfly bandage on it and told me not to get it wet for a week. So it’s not a big deal. Still, it’s nice knowing I have a spare foam finger around the house just in case.

And that’s about it for today. I’ll leave my Loyal Readers with this exciting Morrowlife Employment Agency job opportunity: crime-fighting parrot!

See you tomorrow.

Aztec love

Wednesday, December 10th, 2014

azteclove

This rather racy picture was on the wall of a Mexican restaurant in Michigan where I had lunch with my mother last July. We were just a bit scandalized, but the food was good, so we stayed. Those Aztecs were certainly snappy dressers. Great Art courtesy of the exclusive iPhone-cam, taken at an unknown Mexican restaurant in Canton, Michigan, and part of my famous Architecture, Food, and Vacation series.

Had a nice day, although I didn’t accomplish much. Went to see the doctor  who will be performing my first ever colonoscopy this morning. It was a bit of a pointless visit, but I didn’t get charged for it, so I have that going for me, which is nice. They tried to get me to come in for the procedure on Christmas Eve. Umm . . . no. So I’m going on the 28th of January.

Went with my friend Bob to the park this afternoon to fly our quadrotors. I went through all my batteries before his were all gone, so he gave me one of his to fly. His quads cost about $120 more than mine, and now I know why. It’s WAY better than mine. It is infinitely more controllable than mine and just outperforms mine in every way. Mine was an excellent, durable trainer, but now I’m ready for one like Bob’s. I’ve put it on my Amazon wish list and I’ll buy it for myself after Christmas when nobody gets it for me. I’ll also buy a few spare parts. Apparently, that quad is notoriously hard on motors.

This evening, Joanne and I went to a local sushi place with the sushi meetup group. We had a nice time with friends, as usual, and really enjoyed the food too. I overate just a little bit, but not too badly.

Speaking of which, when I weighed myself this morning, I was 0.8 pounds lighter than my last weighing. That’s possibly the start of another good trend. On a sad note, I strained a muscle in my lower back while I was lifting weights this morning. I think I should probably rest it a day or two and maybe even lower the amount of weight I’m lifting for a few days after that. I want it to heal quickly.

I’ve been busily buying Christmas gifts the last few days. I really want to do a beautiful job of Christmas for the kids. And myself too, come to think of it. I have the house reasonably well decorated, I have a date designated to bake cookies, and I’m buying gifts for everybody. I’m nearly done, but I don’t have anything for Mia yet, and I don’t think I have the right things for Joanne yet. More thought is needed in that area.

And that’s about it for today. I’ll leave my Loyal Readers with this shocking food violence news: French frozen chicken attack!

See you tomorrow.

Denver apartment

Tuesday, December 9th, 2014

andybuilding

Here’s Andy’s apartment building in downtown Denver. It was built in 1967 as an office building owned by an insurance company, but it was converted to apartments in 2006. And very nice apartments they are. Great Art courtesy of the exclusive iPhone-cam, taken in Denver last July, and part of my famous Architecture and Vacation series.

That building has 1960’s style. I like it. The interior is modern, beautiful, and luxurious. Apparently, Andy pays plenty for all the modernity, beauty, and luxury, but it’s worth it. We’re going to Denver to visit Andy in January. Also, he’s coming here to visit me a little bit later this month. It’s nice to see him so often.

Mark’s nearly done with his first semester at UNLV. It’s been rough at times, but he’s doing okay and I think he’s even enjoying being a student again. I have very high hopes for his graduation and entry into the professional workplace in a couple years. I predict a fulfilling career for him.

Let’s see, what else is new? I’ve been doing some Christmas shopping. I have gifts either ordered or already here for almost everybody on my list. There are a couple of tough decisions to make, but I’m getting there. I’ve been working on a Christmas list of my own, so if any of my Loyal Readers need some ideas, feel free to check out my Amazon list. It is constantly growing.

I’m going to the doctor tomorrow morning for my pre-colonoscopy consultation. My doctor recommended it during my physical last week, and I have to agree that it’s time. Not that I’m looking forward to it, though. But nobody cares whether I like it or not. I need to do it. So I will.

We’re going to New Orleans this weekend! It’ll be a brief trip – Friday night through Sunday night – but I’m looking forward to it. There are a few things we want to see and we’re trying to keep that list short so we don’t spend the whole weekend running from one place to the next. Just a quick sample this time.

And that’s it for today. I’ll leave my Loyal Readers with this shocking food violence news: toast and butter assault!

See you tomorrow.

New reader

Thursday, June 5th, 2014

IMG_2031

Here’s Joanne, my newest Loyal Reader! Loyal Reader Number Thirty-Eight, to be specific. I took this Great Art at the Palazzo a few weeks ago when we attended Joanne’s friend’s birthday party. Had a great time at the party and we also had a great time together. Welcome, new Loyal Reader! Great Art courtesy of the exclusive iPhone-cam, taken on May 9, 2014 at the Palazzo Hotel and Casino, and part of my famous Architecture, Event, Joanne, and Las Vegas series.

Had a pleasant day again. I got no work done, but I had a pleasant day anyway. Or maybe because. Who knows?

Well, I actually did get a bit of work done; just not paying work. I got some grocery shopping done, got my haircut, put gas in the Taurus, and exchanged a large pile of change for about $17 of groceries. Doesn’t look like much now that it’s written down. Hmm.

No post yesterday, so I’ll fill in a bit of info. The golf game with Bob and Diane was lots of fun. The fourth person was a guy named Larry, who is also a lot of fun. I want to golf with those guys again. Also, Bob and Larry have quadcopters they like to fly. I happen to have a quadcopter too and they’ve invited me to go to the park and play with them soon. Fun! I love having friends. I really do.

Joanne and I went to the meatball place for dinner and the Zombie Burlesque show afterwards last night. The meatballs were passable, but I don’t think I’d go there again. It was essentially a fast-food place that served average meatballs with sauce in a cup, along with lukewarm slices of pizza that they tried to class up by calling it flatbread. Too harsh of a review, Loyal Readers? The show was cute and fun and certainly didn’t take itself seriously. It may have been a bit juvenile, but that’s okay. Definitely not for the young or faint of heart, though. We’re going back to Planet Hollywood tomorrow night to go to the Spice Market Buffet. Hopes are high.

Mark got home last night! It’s great to see him again. He appears to have had a great time, but he says he was definitely ready to come home. I’m glad he got to take the trip. Feel free to travel when you want, Mark!

And that’s it for tonight. I’ll leave my Loyal Readers with this exciting Morrowlife Employment Agency job opportunity: flatulent, fire-starting German cows!

See you tomorrow.

Chinese lanterns

Monday, May 12th, 2014

chineselanterns

Here’s the front of the City of Hope on February 1 of this year. They decorated the campus for Chinese New Year. I loved the decorations. Great Art courtesy of the exclusive iPhone-cam, taken at the City of Hope, and part of my famous Architecture, Event, Garden, Medical, Shannon, and Statue series.

Lots of famous series there. Today’s picture is also important to me because I took it on Shannon’s last full day of life. The City of Hope is still a sacred place to me and I’ll always remember it as the place where we had hope for Shannon’s recovery and life and where I rediscovered the sweetness of our love. That it had to be the place where her life ended doesn’t take away any of the meaning for me.

No posts on Thursday or Friday. Sorry about that, Loyal Readers. Stay loyal! I’ll try to do better. I might even succeed! But don’t count on it.

Pretty good weekend. I went out for lunch with Joanne a couple times and she invited me to a birthday party for one of her friends on Friday evening. We had a wonderful time. The honoree works for the company that runs the restaurant where the party was held, and they really did an amazing job. There was a never-ending stream of delicious appetizers. I met a few of Joanne’s friends and really like them all. Strangely, they seem to like me too. Kind of suspicious, if you ask me. Anyway, I’ve really liked everyone she has introduced me to.

Happy birthday to Nan McCulloch, my wonderful mother-in-law! I truly appreciate Nan for the kind person she is and for her loving care of Don all these years. I know she’s brought great happiness to his life and I trust it’s been a fulfilling life for her too.

Saturday evening, Mark and I went with some friends to the Jazz in the Park concert at the Clark County outdoor amphitheater. It was great! The evening was beautiful, the temperature was just right, and the music was very enjoyable. There was a bit of wind, but it never got bad enough to bother us. A few musicians had a bit of trouble keeping their sheet music on the stands, but that was their problem. Joanne and I are going to the one on the 24th of this month as well.

Shortly after we got home from the concert, the wind got very strong indeed. I thought we were in Kansas for a minute there and was starting to wonder which wicked witch my house was going to land on. I’m glad it didn’t get bad until after we got home.

Sunday, I went with Joanne to visit her late husband’s grave. He’s buried in a nearby veteran’s cemetery, and they recently notified her that his gravestone has been put in place. She wanted to see it but didn’t want to go alone. After our visit, we walked through the adjacent park and talked about her late husband Jerry and her extended family, and then we talked about Shannon and our extended family. We both needed to get some tears out. It was a good talk.

And that pretty much brings us up to today. The most notable thing I did today was to break the Business Casual Software website. I was trying to update WordPress to the most recent version and something went wrong. The installation got halfway done and broke the website. I pondered my options and decided to get on the GoDaddy website and see if I could reinstall the update through their website. It worked brilliantly and I’m back in business after just a short outage.

Spent 45 minutes or so in the jacuzzi this evening. It’s so relaxing I can hardly keep my eyes open anymore. So I’ll quit here!

I’ll leave my Loyal Readers with this combination exciting Morrowlife Employment Agency job opportunity and food violence news: genius chair-moving, food-stealing beagle!