Archive for the ‘event’ Category

Holiday pet

Thursday, December 31st, 2015

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Here’s the Loyal Pet standing guard over our Christmas tree this year. Great Art courtesy of the exclusive iPhone-cam, taken on December 30, 2015, and part of my famous Event, Las Vegas and Pet series.

Note my new famous Pet series. I think it was time.

Wonders of WordPress once again. After this post, I’ll be caught back up. Of course, I still need to post for January IN January. But that might happen.

First, a quick recap of our travels.

On December 9-10, I went by myself to Los Angeles to attend an Apple tech talk about the new Apple TV. There was lots of information on the device’s capabilities and how to access them programatically. I’m pretty enthusiastic about it and currently looking for a Killer Idea. I’ll let you know if/when something comes to mind.

On December 18-22, we went to Windsor, California to visit Joanne’s kids and mine. Paul and Mark went with us, which was great! Sadly, Melissa had to work (WORK!), so she couldn’t come. Kristina spent most of that time with us, as did Katy and Cliff (Mia was away with her dad). We saw Ryan only briefly, but it was a very nice visit. All in all, a nice time was had by all.

Before we got home on the 22nd, Andy and JaNell arrived in Las Vegas for Christmas! Actually, Andy came alone; JaNell was supposed to go to southwestern Colorado to spend the holiday with her mom. However, the weather there got ugly and plans had to be canceled. We were able to get her a ticket and she flew to Vegas and spend the holiday weekend here. It was great!

In the meantime, Katy and Clifford left us in Windsor to go to Los Angeles for something (I can’t remember right now exactly what it was), and then they drove over to Las Vegas to spend Christmas with us! So we saw them twice in two locations in one week. Amazing!

We had a great Christmas with all of my kids and their partners. Then, to top it off, Mia’s other grandparents dropped her off here the day after Christmas. She was only with us for a couple hours, but we loved it. She gets more fun every time I see her.

I’m so, so glad everybody was here. Thank you, Loyal Family!

Andy and JaNell went home on the 27th and Christmas was over.

On December 31-January 3, we went to Ontario, California with members of the Porsche club. We had a great time! Because of an early morning departure on New Year’s Day (and possibly the average age of the group, of which I think we were some of the younger members), we celebrated the New Year on Eastern time and went to bed. That worked for me. Of course, this post only covers what happened through the 31st, but I can predict that we went on an amazingly fun drive in the Los Angeles canyons on New Year’s Day, another fun drive to Big Bear on the 2nd, and came home mid-day on Sunday the 3rd. I further predict that I got sick on Saturday afternoon with something that was going around the group all weekend and had a pretty miserable time of things for a few days. I’m glad not to have missed any of the group events, though. Feeling fine as this is written.

Now to a topic that has been much on my mind lately. To wit: has Facebook taken the place of the Morrowlife blog? I find myself posting less and less frequently here and more and more frequently there. I’ve been reading for quite some time that blogs are dead, particularly as the term refers to personal journal-style writing. I’ve resisted that trend, especially during the days when this space served a much-needed cathartic purpose during the days before and -especially- after Shannon’s death. But now I need to decide whether this should continue. So a few thoughts:

  • Will Facebook be a lasting journaling platform?
  • If not, will I want to follow the crowd to the next thing?
  • One of Facebook’s strengths is that it lends itself to immediate, short-form writing. I’ve been using it as kind of a travelogue and an outlet for humorous musings. Is that the direction I really want to take with my personal writing? In other words, does this blog serve a purpose that Facebook really doesn’t? Is Facebook good enough to keep a record of what I’m doing, where I’m going, and who I’m with? Are those the most important things to capture?
  • The Morrowlife blog demands that I sit down and think about what I want to say. That’s also a strength because I think it leads to higher-quality thoughts (stop laughing! You know who you are!). That has been worthwhile to me. But there’s definitely a valid place for quickly-written here-I-am things.
  • Do I have enough bandwidth to do both? Admittedly, Facebook doesn’t really take any effort, but my presence there seems to make posting here even more difficult.
  • Tell me what to do, Loyal Readers!

Brilliant thoughts, each one.

And I’ll leave my Loyal Readers with this exciting Morrowlife Employment Agency job opportunity: dog-impersonating bear!

See you on Monday.

Hammock relaxer

Tuesday, June 30th, 2015

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Here’s Mia relaxing on a hammock during our recent trip to San Diego. About which more below. Great Art courtesy of the exclusive iPhone-cam, taken at the Bahia Hotel in San Diego, California, and part of my famous Event and Vacation series.

Wonders of WordPress. Today is actually a week into July. My, have I gone a long time without writing. I’d like to write more and I have plenty to write about. I guess I’m just focusing more on other things. Maybe that will change.

So let’s talk about June. It was the happiest month of the year! My birthday happened! I’m 58 now! Katy and Clifford got married! Joanne’s birthday happened! She’s an undisclosed age now! Mia visited me!

Let’s take them one by one, shall we? I’ll start with my birthday. Joanne gave me an unbelievably cool present: she took me to The Richard Petty Driving Experience. Go ahead, click on the link. I’ll wait. . . . Okay, you’re back now. Doesn’t it look like fun? Well, it was. I went 140 miles per hour. Lots and lots of fun. I loved it. It’s an experience I won’t forget. Thanks, Joanne!

Also, Andy came to stay with me for my birthday weekend! Fun! Thanks for coming, Andy. It meant a lot to me.

And now: the wedding! Yes, Katy and Clifford officially tied the knot. It was a beautiful wedding and we were thrilled to participate. Congratulations, Katy and Clifford! I love my favorite daughter and I love my favorite son-in-law!

And now: Joanne’s birthday and Mia’s visit! Mia came home from the Bay Area with us after the wedding. She stayed until July 1st. Much of that time was spent in San Diego. Joanne took Mia, Ryan, Kristina, Corey, and me for a few days at the Bahia resort. It’s a beautiful place. It was there when we lived there, but I never got to see it. Mia, Joanne, and I had a Marina Suite. We were on the first floor. It was a matter of about five steps from our sliding door to the sand and another dozen or so to the water. Of course, that was marina water, so you wouldn’t want to go in it, but still: beautiful!

The actual beach was about a block and a half away. We walked down there a few times during the weekend. We walked along the beach, waded in the water, walked the boardwalk, bought some beach junk, and rode the roller coaster and bumper cars at Belmont Park. It was a great stay and a happy birthday for Tina (the 25th) and Joanne (the 27th).

Now we’re home and Mia is with her other grandparents. It’s awfully quiet around here, but it’ll noisy up soon enough.

And I’ll leave my Loyal Readers with this exciting Morrowlife Employment Agency job opportunity: attack housecat!

See you tomorrow.

Bowtie blogger

Tuesday, December 16th, 2014

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Here’s a much younger version of me, sporting a classy bow tie and sweater. Check out the family coat of arms there! Great Art courtesy of some photographer and copied by the exclusive iPhone-cam, taken when I was maybe five years old or so, and part of my famous Event series.

Yeah, I know I’m kind of pushing it by calling it an event, but having my picture taken was technically an event. Besides, none of my other famous series relates in an way to this Great Art, so it was my only choice. Don’t like it? Get your own blog. Tough love.

We had a very nice weekend in New Orleans! We didn’t try to do too much, so it was relaxing and peaceful. There were millions of things we would have enjoyed doing, but maybe there will be other trips there, possibly longer than a weekend. As it was, we managed to get to the French Quarter on Saturday, where we ate some very good Louisiana-style food and walked down Bourbon Street, which is just as insane as they say; and we visited a Creole plantation on Sunday, where we had an interesting tour. Sadly, even though the plantation is on the Mississippi, we were unable to see the river due to the levee. Darn flood control! It’s simply not good for tourism. Except for the fact that it keeps everything from being washed away, that is.

So anyway, the only glimpses we got of the actual Mississippi were from bridges. Next time, we’d like to take a riverboat cruise while we’re there. Then we’d see the water for sure.

Our flight out to Louisiana was delayed in Las Vegas for about two and a half hours. On the good side, we had no connection to make. On the bad side, it meant we arrived at the New Orleans airport at about 2:00 AM. Then we had to get a car and get to the Worldmark resort in the Garden District. We were checking in at about 3:00. Fortunately, we had no early plans on Saturday morning. Our departing flight had a one-hour connection in Houston. Fortunately, the first flight was just a few minutes late, as was the second. We arrived home in Vegas pretty much exactly on time.

Weekend trips can be exhausting and frustrating because of the lack of time. I’m very happy to report that traveling with Joanne is just the opposite of that. We had a lovely time.

I have a few work-related things to accomplish this week. Our annual forensics conference is in February, which is fast approaching, and we need to be ready. Better get my eye on the ball, my ear to the tracks, my shoulder to the wheel, and my nose to the grindstone.

I’ll leave my Loyal Readers with this shocking food violence news: bad cookie shooting threat!

See you tomorrow.

Happy Thanksgiving

Thursday, November 27th, 2014

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Had a chance to think today. Here’s what I wrote on Facebook:

This has not been the easiest year of my life, with the loss in February of Shannon Morrow, my wonderful wife of 35 years, and then my dear mother’s death in September. I think my heart has broken anew every single day.

And yet out of the ashes of my life has arisen a new, happy, wonderful present and future. Joanne Marie Richards Parsons came into my life in the spring. It started with a serious interest, quickly turned into love, and just recently blossomed into our engagement. Joanne’s love has given me immense happiness and strength. Her circle of friends has embraced me. Her wonderful children have been kind and welcoming to me. My life is filled with love and happiness.

My children have reached out to me and loved and cared for me, even as they dealt with their own loss and grief. My relationships with them have grown stronger and closer. Each one is a strong, happy, independent adult and I couldn’t be a prouder father.

So along with personal tragedies, 2014 has brought me peace and happiness and given me optimism for the future. My past was wonderful, my present is wonderful, and my future promises to continue to be happy and full of wonder. Life is good.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Nothing to add. See you tomorrow.

Happy couple

Thursday, November 13th, 2014

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Here are Joanne and me feeling happy a couple days ago. Note the fourth finger on her left hand. Such a pretty ring! And we look so happy! Why, you might ask, are those people so happy? Great Art courtesy of the exclusive iPhone-cam, taken at Rubio’s Fish Tacos on November 11, 2014, and part of my famous Event and Joanne series.

The event, of course: my engagement to Joanne. I actually proposed on November 5th, but we didn’t get her ring until the 11th. These things take some time, Loyal Readers.

Anyway. I’m tremendously happy and very much in love. We expect to get married in a couple years, so there’s plenty of time to prepare. The tentative date is November 5, 2016. We’ll see whether that date changes.

Since we announced our engagement to Facebook, there have been many friends who have congratulated us and wished us well. That’s gratifying. Joanne in particular has a very large group of friends, many of whom have become my good friends too. I’m not just marrying a wonderful woman and I’m not just marrying into a sweet family; I’m marrying into a whole ecosystem of friends, fun, and happiness. It’s amazing. I love it and I love her.

Let’s see, what else is new? Oh, yeah: Paul’s here! He got into town yesterday morning. We’ve been having a great visit. He’s looking good and appears to be doing very well. He and I went downtown to have lunch with Joanne today, after which we went to fly quadrotors with my good friend Bob. Sadly, Bob’s quad had broken the day before, so the three of us took turns flying mine. Amazingly, nothing broke and we had a great time running through six of my seven batteries. We then retired to Bob and Diane’s house for a refreshing beverage and enjoyable conversation, after which we headed for home. A very pleasant afternoon indeed.

Back on November 1st, Mark, Joanne, and I went downtown for the Light the Night walk, sponsored by the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. It was a beautiful night and the walk was very well attended. It was a moving thing to be surrounded by so many people whose lives had been forever altered by blood cancer and who have chosen to help raise funds to eradicate this disease. I’m especially grateful to my family members who donated generously to that cause in Shannon’s name.

And that’s about it for today. My intention is to start posting more frequently again. We’ll see. In the meantime, I’ll leave my Loyal Readers with this shocking food violence news: Doughnut Magnate Crashes Into Honey Bucket!

See you tomorrow.