Tales from T.V.

Zoom zoom!

2012-01-12T19:20:00.001-05:00

Wow. This year is off to a running start! I'm amazed that January is half over.

A couple weeks ago we booked our flight to London (yea!). I managed to take a few weeks off to enjoy the trip. We still don't have an agenda yet, so I don't know where all we will be going. But I have to say, it's the generosity of new friends in Oxford, Cornwall and London, who have all opened their homes to us that is really making this trip possible. And not to mention a dear friend who's willing to house sit and keep the kids company while we're away!

Only a few months away and we'll be off to Great Britain! Look for travel plans and lots of photos to come!

Good night 2011

2011-12-31T12:31:00.000-05:00

Well, another year has come and gone. Like many of you out there you are journalling, blogging, tweeting, face booking or just thinking in general about what this year has been and how next year will be bigger and better. And I truly hope that it is.

I've been absent for a while. The desire to write has been gone for a while. Even though it felt so cathartic last year. So, maybe I'll make a little more effort this year, but I'm not committing to any regularity. Just when moved. :)

Earlier this month we celebrated our 18th anniversary. Yep. 18 years. We took a cruise with another couple of friends (who recently celebrated their 30th anniversary). This was a first cruise for all of us. We had a lot of fun together.

The first night we were at sea, on our way to Grand Cayman where we went snorkeling and swam with the stingrays. Then to Cozumel, where we just shopped and had fun at the port. Then off to Belize where we went to see the Mayan pyramids (INCREDIBLE!), then Honduras where we went zip lining. I need to stop and write about each of the adventures before I forget the details. It's all beginning to run together as it is. At least I have pictures. Now we are planning our next trip - UK in the spring. It's been a long time coming.

Christmas was spent with friends in the neighborhood. We started with champagne around noon, had fun visiting and then had a traditional English Christmas dinner. We played a really interesting game that was kind of like a white elephant. We all wore venetian masks, rolled the dice and for every 1 or 6 you took a gift from the table or someone else. At the end of 45 minutes we all opened our gifts to see what we had been "fighting" over. It was pretty funny.

Tonight we're doing "curry night" and ringing in the new year. I'm sure there will be stories to be told.

Well, it's 70 degrees and sunny. I'm thinking about going for a bike ride.

Happy New Year everyone!

Cruisin'

2011-12-15T19:38:00.000-05:00

Just a few pics from our cruise.

BELIZE

We had quite the adventure getting here. It was an hour to get to the tour place, then 30 minutes by boat. We were delayed on the way there because stopped to check out a car that had run off the road (the driver had already been taken away - hopefully for care), then our van got stuck. We were very grateful to the people who stopped to help out and then volunteered to drive us to our destination.

HONDURAS
We went on a zip line adventure, but unfortunately all of the pics I took look horrible. But we had an amazing time. I still can't believe I did it (with a little help from my friends). This is the group we went with.

COZUMEL

HERE'S the beach we were looking for. We even talked about going back to this hotel for a vacation.

Sunken Garden's Hibiscus Festival

2011-06-01T18:52:00.009-04:00

I had some fun creating this year's Hibiscus Festival graphic. All of these blooms started as photos of hibiscus from our yard.

12 more steps to go

2011-05-01T19:16:00.001-04:00

Apparently, chocolate now has it's own 12 step program. Still, this seems like a really odd choice for Easter candy.

To market, to market...

2010-10-15T20:21:00.000-04:00

Well, after a long wait, The Fresh Market has finally opened near here. We waited a long time in the hopes for a Wild Oats or Whole Foods. I am not as familiar with TFM, but my take is that it's similar in concept to Whole Foods but smaller. We do have a few smaller organic/natural markets in town (a respectful nod to Rollin' Oats, Natures and Richard's). But it's about time we got a full-on green supermarket.

I went in today for the first time since they opened this past Wednesday. It was still a mad house! The produce was great, and the prices seemed comparable to Publix. So far so good. My only complaint is that the layout of the floor is horrible. Everything is at an angle, which looks cool, and I suppose separates them from every other market, but there's a reason why the others have aisles in a normal straight line. With the crowds, it was ridiculously difficult to get around. If there was more than one person with a cart in the aisle, it was nearly impossible to get around. I assume that once the customer flow settles into the norm, it might not be so bad, but I would think that they would plan for the best possible scenario with as many customers as they could hope for.

Years ago I worked with a retailer who remodeled all their stores and moved the aisles to a 45 degree angle to the exterior walls. It was a pretty radical change, and it wasn't too long before I think they realized the error of their ways. I'm not sure if the new place will come to the same conclusion or not, but I'm still happy they're here and will still shop there once in a while.

Being Green

2010-07-31T13:14:00.000-04:00

We were in a conversation this morning, and it brings a question to mind. What does "going green" mean? I think everyone has their own interpretation - which is not a bad thing, but I'm wondering what it means to you. Recycling? Changing lightbulbs? Consuming less? Driving less? Or is it something completely different? What do you think?

Busy Morning....

2010-07-31T10:15:00.000-04:00

Got up early to meet Patti & Paul at the dog park this morning with Finn, Polly and Milly with my three. But when I got there, the road was closed for another stupid bike race. "Share the road" my ass. Grrr! So a quick text and phone call and we made another plan to meet up at North Beach dog park. They beat me there and called to remind me that the small dog part was closed. Dang it! So off to 5th ave park. Never been there. But the kids were getting anxious and didn't know WHAT was going on, so we gave it a try. It was an okay park. Noisy, just because it's under the overpass. Didn't like the short fence, but mine have never been fence jumpers. After that, we went to PetSmart to pick up some dog food, and a couple new squeaky toys just to make it a good experience. Then home to more coffee. That's a lot of activity on a Saturday morning before 10AM.

The best part is that Patti made these AWESOME banana muffins! YUM! Thanks Patti!!

Another experimental dish...

2010-06-20T16:15:00.002-04:00

Okay, the chili/cherry/lime pork roast is in the cooker. So in a few hours we'll know if it's awesome or never to be spoken of again.

Pork roast w/
pitted, sliced cherries - maybe 2 cups
1 onion
4 garlic cloves
black pepper
1tbsp green chili sugar (one of those random things I just happened to have)
3 hungarian peppers
2 red hot peppers (I remembered to wear gloves this time)
zest of 1 lime
little chicken stock

My plan is to serve with brown rice. Maybe fresh shredded red cabbage.Another experimental dish..., originally uploaded by callenstewart.

Fired in Salute...

2010-05-31T16:17:00.001-04:00

My grandfather was in the Navy during World War II. One night, when I was about 17, he told me his story about the King of Arabia. He was aboard the USS Murphy when they picked up the King of Saudi Arabia to meet with President Roosevelt. The meeting is documented in history, but his stories were not.

The King would apparently not set foot on the ship, so the deck was covered in rugs. He would only eat fresh meat, so there was a herd of sheep on deck as well. One day, he and a couple of his Navy buddies snuck into the throne room, and took turns sitting on the throne. If they had been caught, the consequences would have been quite severe. One of the King’s guards gave my grandfather a coin and a handwritten note. Unfortunately, it was written in Arabic, so he didn’t know what he had written. He showed me the note that night, but had never had it translated. I’m not sure what ever became of the note after he passed away. The shell in the picture was from when they fired salute to the King. He managed to get a hold of one somehow and saved it. The coin he received from the King’s guard he had adhered to the shell and later engraved. The engraving says, “Fired in Salute to King of Arabia Aboard the U.S.S. Murphy. February 12, 1945.”

He gave me the shell that night. It was pretty amazing, and I was shocked and honored that he would give this to me. I’ve kept it for years now. Often wondering what the heck I was going to do with it, but I just can’t part with it. It’s a piece of history that no one else owns.

You can read more about the USS Murphy, and when it was spit in half, then repaired and redeployed. There was a documentary a few years ago, on Discovery I think. That’s another really interesting story in itself.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Murphy_%28DD-603%29

An explanation...

2010-04-22T19:57:00.001-04:00

Hi. My name is Chris and I'm a thinker.

Okay - to explain a little bit of my comments... I've come to the realization that I'm someone who thinks he's interested in learning or doing all kinds of things, but once I have an understanding of HOW something is done (please understand that I am not confusing this with SKILL), I tend to loose momentum. Interest is still there, I'm not as dedicated to it.

I took guitar lessons this year - which I've talked about doing for YEARS. But, once the lessons were over... well, I haven't touched it since. I bought a really cool camera (Nikon D90) last year and I "understand" the concept of photography, but again, my momentum has really slowed. The same can be said for learning Photoshop, Spanish (also French, Italian, Latin and Navajo - yes, Navajo. I blame author Tony Kellerman). I throw myself into it head-first. But once I get the concept, I'm ready to move on to something else.

Now that I understand this tendency, I need to know how to hold on to those interests and keep motivated. I have no idea how to do that. Or should I just accept that I am always going to be a "jack of all trade, master of none?"

A friend of mine and I were sitting around chattin' recently and I was talking about some of the VERY vivid dreams I have - and have had all my life. And she noticed a theme - I'm always solving some sort of problem in my dreams. I don't know if that has anything to do with this or not, but I feel like there's a connection. Like maybe once I've conquered the "idea" of a skill, I'm finished with it. Hmm...

I have to stop thinking.

2010-04-21T21:09:00.002-04:00

I think too much.
I think too much about doing stuff.
I think too much about learning things.
I think too much about going places.
I think too much about how things are created.
I think too much about how things are done.
Thinking is a waste of time.
I need to stop thinking for a while and just do something.

.

Marching into spring... finally.

2010-03-14T09:10:00.000-04:00

This year continues to fly by. I haven't been posting nearly as much this year, as you can see. The winter here in Florida has been unusually cold, which has really taken it's toll on the yard. But I think Spring is finally here. We've been spending a lot of time cleaning up, pruning, and planting spring color. Friends are coming to visit in a few weeks, so we want to be sure it looks as nice as it can. We would be doing these things anyway, but with company coming, it gives a little more motivation.

Well, I've completed my guitar lessons. Mostly. I missed the last couple sessions. The truck finally died, so we spent one weekend shopping around. I can't remember why I missed the previous lesson, but I felt like I was so far behind at that point that I blew off the last one. That's okay, I really just wanted some direction and good pointers. And I got that. So I'll continue to practice on my own and maybe in the fall sign up again.

I'm still taking pictures. I have a shoot this morning with a three year old. She's a friend of ours. A beautiful little girl, so this should be easy. Her mom wants Easter pictures. Hopefully I get a couple of good ones.

I'm off to Orlando in a couple weeks to attend Photoshop World. I've been to a couple of Scott Kelby's seminars, but never the BIG one. I'm really excited about it. I know I'll go feeling all inspired which will later turn into overwhelmed. But it doesn't matter. I know I'll have tons of notes and materials to review.

Speaking of photography and Photoshop, at our monthly neighborhood gathering I met some really interesting people. Kent and Jules Follett are photographers who specialize in the entertainment industry. Jules just published a giant photobook called Sticks n Skins - featuring drummers from famous bands. Some I'm familiar with, some not. But it's an incredible book. Check it out. Turns out they are just a block or so from my home. They invited me over to check out their studio any time. I sure I'm going to take them up on it. I love meeting interesting people, and I'm sure I could learn a thing or two from them too.

End of January already...

2010-01-29T12:17:00.001-05:00

Well we're one month into the new year already. It's happening fast. Although I'm not one for New Year's Resolutions (as I said earlier), it's still a time for new and renewed ideas.

I've started the year by finally signing up for guitar lessons. So far I've enjoyed it. I would be much farther along if I spent more time practicing. But life gets in the way. There are other things to do, dogs take care of, and work.

This year I'll also continue to work on my photography. I've gotten my feet pretty wet this past year, so it's time to expand a little bit on it and start to do something new with it. I'm a little tired of the standard landscape shots and candid pictures of the dogs. I'm inspired by all the artistic photography I see on Flickr (my favorite haunt lately). So, we'll see how it goes.

Have you started anything new this year?

Mmm...

2009-12-26T18:21:00.005-05:00

Well it’s been a low-key Christmas this year, which is okay. A lot of work and money went into house upgrades. But for the past couple weeks I’ve been enduring one of those childhood cravings. No matter how much I tried to ignore it, it seemed to haunt me at every turn. Being the Christmas season, you might think it would be Christmas cookies - and that would be a reasonable guess. I’ve been known to be reduced to a drooling idiot over a good frosted sugar cookie. But no, it’s been three little elves that have been taunting me. With their crispy, ricey, marshmallow... ey... goodness.

I know what you’re thinking. You can buy them anywhere now. Neatly prepackaged, ready to go, no muss, no fuss. But they aren’t as good as home made. And I think that the packaged ones have an odd taste. So I made my way to the grocery store this morning in the hunt for all the fixins.

For those of you who know me, you know that I can’t follow a recipe to save my soul. I view them as general guidelines. Besides, how the hell would Betty Crocker know how I like my cakes? This has ended in many disappointing baking failures, and a few pleasant surprises. So, I varied a little, but not too much. I couldn’t decide between Cocoa Rice Crispies and regular. So I grabbed a box of both. Off to the marshmallow aisle. Yes - I choose to believe that there is an entire aisle dedicated to them. Being just after Christmas, the pickings were slim. I found a couple left over bags that somehow managed to escaped a yam filled doom. But... there were a couple bags of French Vanilla Marshmallows. Ohh-la-la! How decadent! Okay - the truth is they taste like a regular friggin’ marshmallow. But it was fun to imagine. Plus, they were in the shape of little snowmen. I couldn’t care less, but it meant they were part of the “We Gotta Get Rid of All This Christmas Crap Sale” so they were half off. Sold.

I got everything home, and after putting all the other groceries away, and watching the “Inside the Tardis” special (yes, I love the new Dr. Who), I decided to tackle the Rice Crispies Treats.

Since I couldn’t decide between the cocoa and regular and bought both, I bought double the marshmallows needed too. You know. Just in case there might be a marshmallow emergency in the near future (it could happen). Well, I thought that I would just save some time and double the batch. That would be easier. (Let’s call this mistake number one.)

As the butter was melting, and I dumped in two bags of vanilla snowmen (I made little screaming noises as I callously dumped them into the sizzling butter). Then I went to grab the biggest bowl I could find. Then I grabbed another, slightly smaller bowl to measure out the cereal. Six cups. Nope. Double it. Okay. Twelve cups of Rice Crispies. good thing I bought the two boxes. Was that eight cups I measured out or ten? I think it was eight. (Mistake number two.) Wow. this bowl won’t quite hold 12 cups. (Let’s say it might be 14 cups - but what does it matter?)

Now, I hadn’t totally forgotten the marshmallows - they were melting down nicely. But soon the little buggars were making more noise than they should. So I started stiring them vigorously. You know, this might be really good if I add just a touch of orange flavoring. Vanilla, lemon, maple. No orange. Oh well. Note for next time. Crap. I’ve burnt them on the bottom (number 3). No problem. I think I can salvage most of it. And the cocoa flavor might cover any of the charred bits.

I quickly grabbed another stock pot and tried to dump it from the burning pot into the new one. That sounds so simple. Has anyone ever measured the flow rate of melted marshmallows? I’m guessing not. By the time it happened, they surely would have gotten bored and thrown it all in the sink and gone back to watch more Dr. Who. I concluded that it doesn’t have one. As it “poured” it began to cool. To the point that it just stopped moving completely. I could have set the pot down and had an incredible piece of objet d’art with a spoon of marshmallow trailed about 9 inches above the pot suspended there in fluffy confection. It would be all the rage in New York art world. I finally got most of it scrapped into the new pot - with the exception of the quickly browning bottom bits.

Okay - as the new pan heated a little bit, I look at the box and see that it says a 9x12 cake pan. Got it. Next to the heaping bowl of cereal, I realize that there’s no way it’s going to all fit in this pan. Oh yeah. I doubled it. Fortunately I have a larger cake dish. I think it’s 10 feet by 6 feet. Okay. Not really. But it’s bigger, thank god. Swap those out quickly. Back to the marshmallow goo. After a quick spritz of Butter Flavored Pam, it’s time to dump in the cereal. I thought about mixing a little in at a time. But something in my head says that's not a good idea. So I dump it all in. All ten cups. Yes, ten cups. No, not the 12/14 cups I measured out. The last three or four cups are not going to fit into the pan. Crap. So I’m trying to stir this stuff together on the stove with the heat off, but still on the burner - thinking the residual heat would keep it pliable. What a mess. There’s cereal everywhere. And three dogs circling my feet. I need to divide this up. So back at the counter I (while still mixing) spoon some of it back into the giant bowl with the extra cereal that didn’t make it into the pan. Great! Well, then I realize it’s starting to stiffen up REALLY quickly. There’s no way I can mix both of these at the same time before it cools AND get them into the giant cake pan. Bill walks through the kitchen and suggests that using a metal spoon might not have been a good idea (number 4), and that I should use the “spoonula.” Thank you Rachel Ray. Get out.

Well the pot was stirred enough, so I dump it into the cake pan. Remember the flow rate of marshmallow goo? Well it’s even slower when it’s cooling with Rice Crispies. “Thump.” I begin to smooth it out with the spoonula while stiring the giant bowl of leftovers. Damn. This is a lot of cereal. Finally, the bowl is mixed good enough. It’s starting to look like a giant Rice Crispie cheese ball - the outer coating looks pretty dry. Who cares. I start beating it into submission with my faithful spoonula (I may carry this with me at all times from now on).

Finally. It’s all in the pan. Somewhat smoothed out. Okay, so it looks like the craggy surface of some alien planet. But who cares. I’ve finally got my Rice Crispies Treats - and now I don’t even know if I want them anymore. It’s amazing how many find childhood memories can turn out to be huge pains in the ass as an adult. I'm not sure how my parents survived my childhood. Snap, Crackle, Pop indeed.

Merry Christmas

2009-12-13T16:15:00.003-05:00

It's that time of year...

2009-12-11T19:09:00.004-05:00

It's that time of year again when the entire world (it seems) starts to look back on the year and make promises for the coming year. There were a lot of bumps, scrapes, and all out crashes this past year, but somehow I manage to come out of it unscathed (knock on wood). So what will the next year be like?

I'm not one for New Year's Resolutions. In fact, there has been only one that I have ever stuck to. "I will never again make a New Year's Resolution." You've heard the expression, "avoid disappointment, aim low." That seems to have been my mantra lately. But I am starting to feel like it's time to do some thing.

I don't know what that "something" will be yet. Will the Costa Rica vacation finally happen? Will I finally sign up for lessons and learn how to play the guitar? Will I go back to school and complete my degree? Will I finally loose 40 pounds? I don't know yet. But those are all things rattling around in my brain. Who knows. Maybe all of the above. Maybe none. But one thing's for sure... I won't be making a list of promises come New Year's eve.

The End Is Near

2009-12-01T20:00:00.006-05:00

Well, it's that time of year again. When everyone begins talking about how they can't believe another year has already gone by. When everyone starts feeling sentimental about friends and family. When everyone swears that Christmas is about spending time with those friends and family but still freaks out when they don't have the right gifts. And I'm no different.

For Thanksgiving, we had a few friends over. And as cliche as it sounds, that's really the thing I love the most. I always rush around in near-panic about company coming over to our home. And in the end, it's my most favorite thing in the world. We don't host a lot of parties or get-togethers. But I can say that what makes me really happy is seeing a group of my friends all together having a good time. Several years ago, we had a group of friends fly in to spend the holiday with us. It was crowded, and loud. We didn't have a dining room table so we threw a few sheets over the ping-pong table and sat down for Thanksgiving dinner. I think that was one of my most favorite days ever.

Now it's time to concentrate on Christmas. Christmas isn't as fun to me as Thanksgiving. It's harder to pull friends together because there is so much going on. It's a little more stressful because I feel like I'm putting up the tree for just the two of us - which I know, should be enough, but I feel like I want to share it with more people. We don't do a lot of gifts. There are too many nieces, nephews, brothers and sisters. So we tend to just concentrate on the youngest ones in the family. Besides, we're at that point in life where there just aren't a lot of things we need that we don't have. And seriously, when friends ask what I want for Christmas, and I say "just a lunch or dinner date" or "cocktail hour" I really mean that.

I haven't even begun to think about shopping. I'm going to try to not put it off until the last minute like I usually do. Actually, it's usually at the last minute that I think, "oh crap. I should have gotten some thing for that person." So, I guess I need to set some goals. First off will be to get my Christmas cards out. Maybe that will be this weekend's project. Still need to get the tree up (I slapped the lit wreath up on the door this evening). Then probably need to get the lights up on the house before the neighbors start giving us a hard time (all in good natured fun). Then find time to relax and enjoy it all.

Wish me luck.

All Hallows Masquerade Ball: Candy Shoppe

2009-11-03T06:48:00.009-05:00

The Fast and the Furriest

2009-10-20T19:05:00.000-04:00

Rain chain

2009-09-09T01:48:00.001-04:00

Rain chain, originally uploaded by callenstewart.

A friend of mine has this really cool rain chain. I've envied it for years. During the rain, it guides the water into the rain barrel below, to be used during a dry period.

Sunset Gold

2009-09-01T20:38:00.001-04:00

Sunset Gold, originally uploaded by callenstewart.

Sometimes I forget... then I remember. I live here. :)

My boy...

2009-08-30T18:19:00.001-04:00

My boy..., originally uploaded by callenstewart.

Such a handsome boy.

Good morning.

2009-08-08T09:53:00.002-04:00

It's been a while. I guess I just haven't had much inspiration lately. Maybe it's the heat. It's summer in Florida. Always a challenge just to stay cool.

I finally got to go kayaking with my friend Patti. It was our third attempt. The first time we tried to go, I ended up with a flat tire. The second time we actually got onto the water, but thunder and lightning in the area drove us out. Finally we made it out last weekend. It was the first time we went out together (maybe the first time for Patti-?). We had a really great time. We have another date planned for this month. And I may go out tomorrow too. I haven't decided yet. Lots of things to do around the house (as usual).

I took the kids for a walk this morning - last night's rain left the dog park really wet I'm sure. Not in the mood to deal with muddy dogs this morning. But we had a good walk.

I'm off to run some errands. Maybe go to The Spice & Tea Exchange. I need to pick up some Florida Sunshine for a friend of mine in WA.

Chandler? Chandler Bing?

2009-07-19T09:51:00.005-04:00

I took the dogs to the park again this morning - our usual weekend ritual. We left a little later than usual this morning. It was starting to get busy, but not too bad. There were a lot of Yellow Labs, an Irish Setter, a few mixed breeds, and the Australian Cattle Dogs. We've met the Aussies a few times. They are pretty friendly dogs. Every now and then, there's another male dog that gets a little too "interested" in Jackson, one of my male dogs.

Now, Jackson is about the most docile dog on the planet. He doesn't have an aggressive bone in his body (unless you happen to be a 'possum, raccoon or cat). Several months ago there was a Standard Poodle that wouldn't leave him alone. I finally gave up because the owners were pretty useless and couldn't control their dog, so I decided to leave. While trying to get Jackson to leash him, he turned on the Poodle and I think he turned into a bear. So I was happy to see him stick up for himself.

So this morning he had an admirer in one of the Australian Cattle Dogs. Why this visit and not any of the other times we've seen them is a mystery to me. So I think it must be his hair. He has gay hair. He's the Chandler Bing of the Fort De Soto Paw Playground.

Camera Madness

2009-07-04T19:37:00.004-04:00

One thing I've always wished that I did better was document my vacation, friends and just anything that interests me. I wished I was better about taking pictures. I went to Maui years ago, and think I have maybe a dozen pictures to show for it. When I was lucky enough to be invited to go to the Dominican Republic last year with friends, I forced myself to take gobs of pictures and journal everything we did at the end of each day (which you can read here if you're really interested). I'm glad I did.

So a couple months ago, I picked up a new camera and began a new hobby. It's a little bit overwhelming at times - there is a LOT to learn.

One of the unexpected side effects is that I've began a few new friendships with other photographers - some I've actually met and some I have not. I never thought I would be one of those people who "befriends" people online. But my addiction to Flickr has me in awe of many people all over the world - and prompted me to start discussions with a few of them.

I'll keep on shooting, and keep on learning. I hope you enjoy my photos as much as I do taking them.

St. Pete Pride

2009-06-30T19:28:00.000-04:00

Last weekend was the 7th annual St. Petersburg Pride Parade. In just a few short years, St. Pete's festival has become the largest pride festival in the state. There were an estimated 80,000 people in attendance. In addition to just having fun, hanging out with friends, I got to practice taking some photos.

If you're interested in seeing more photos, you can visit my flickr set.

Dog Park Ettiquette

2009-05-17T10:04:00.004-04:00

Those of you who know me, are aware that I have a weekend ritual that plays out every Saturday and Sunday morning. I have three whippets that are a part of my family and a huge part of my life. Each weekend morning is spent at the local dog park. Over the past five years, I’ve learned a lot about dog park behavior. Some of it is etiquette, some of it is behavior, and some are just lessons that others really need to learn.

Always, always, always clean up after your dog. You brought it in, you are responsible for it. And I don’t want to step in it. It can also spread disease. Be responsible.
Don’t be afraid to ask someone for a bag if you don’t have one.
CLOSE THE GATE BEHIND YOU! There is a reason for the gate. It’s not for your sake, it’s to keep the other dogs in.
If you’ve never used a gate fork latch, the way to use it is pull UP then DOWN to the right. It’s not rocket science. You’re just lazy.
Watch your dog. Do not sit and read a book. Do not get tied up on a phone call.
Learn to read your dog and others in the park. Are tails wagging? Or are hackles up?
Do not let your dog run with others when on a retractable leash. These leashes are dangerous. Especially when they are playing with other dogs.
Friendly dogs hurt too. Sometimes dogs can play rough. Even though they may not be aggressive, they can still hurt other dogs or people.
Just because your small dog is comfortable around big dogs does not mean it’s safe. See bullet above.
Just because your child is comfortable around big dogs does not mean it’s safe. See second bullet above.
Good dog owners go in the morning. Okay - so I’m not saying that if you go in the afternoon that your a bad owner. I’m saying that the regulars who make the effort to get up early and go tend to pay more attention. The afternoon crowd are usually just on their way to the beach or park and decide to take their dog. They are there for a different reason.
Talk to the other dog owners. Most people LOVE to talk about their dogs. It will help put them at ease about your dog if they feel you are a good dog owner.
Don’t forget to ask about their dog. A simple, “what’s his name,” or “how old is she” goes a long way. Other people’s dogs are just as important to them as yours are to you. Keep this in mind when you are talking to other dog owners.
In addition to cleaning up after your dog, clean up after yourself. Do not leave your water bottles, worn out dog toys, food wrappers or trash in the park. Save your trash so you can litter in your own front yard.

While you have a lot of responsibility during your visit, your dogs are there to have fun. Enjoy your trip to the park. This is the time you get to spend with your best friends.

The Birds of Sunken Gardens

2009-05-06T07:17:00.010-04:00

This past weekend I had the opportunity to photograph the birds at Sunken Gardens out of their cages. Here are a few pictures I have on Flickr.

Lens Envy

2009-04-13T07:31:00.002-04:00

I think I just picked up one of the most expensive start-up hobbies in the world. It's been less than a week and I already have lens envy. I really need a macro lens followed by a zoom lens. Oh, and a camera bag. Then I'll be done... right?

New Toy

2009-04-05T23:35:00.005-04:00

I've come to the conclusion that the price of "toys" increases proportionately to age.

For almost a year now, I've had serious camera envy. I took a lot of pictures on my trip with friends to the Dominican Republic. Since I have a history of being really bad about documenting my vacations, I made a huge effort to do so on this trip. At the end of each day, back in my hotel room, I took the time to keep a very detailed diary of everything I did that day. I also took many, many pictures. The pictures were okay, that is to say, I think I captured the images I wanted, but I really began to wish I had a better camera.

I take a lot of pictures of my three whippets. For those of you who haven't met them, or aren't familiar with the breed, they are fast. Whippets can run up to 35 miles per hour. That's way too fast for my little point & shoot camera. While I love my little Fuji, and it's done pretty well, I just can't get good pics of the dogs.

A few months back, I met another whippet owner who was at the park taking scenic shots. While we chatted, he took some random shots of my kids as they were running around the park. The quality of his pictures far outweighed every picture I have ever taken of them. I was very envious.

So, after talking with many friends who are photo hobbyists and professionals, I started narrowing down my selection. Unfortunately, I started knowing nothing, and now know just a little more than I did then, but enough to realize that this was going to be a bigger investment than I initially thought. But after agonizing over it for a while, today I took the plunge. I've made my purchase. Now I wait for it to arrive - and the hard (but fun) part begins. Hopefully, I'll be able to improve my collection of photos to share.

Stay tuned...

Surprise Gardening

2009-04-05T10:52:00.007-04:00

One of the things I like the best about gardening is being surprised. We spend a lot of time in our yard, looking things over, making plans, moving and trimming and just enjoying everything.

Moving here from the Oregon, gardening took on a whole new meaning. Everything grows differently in Florida. It took a few years to really notice the seasons, as most people complain about, but once you’ve lived here, you definitely see them. Things do slow down in the winter months, and we have many things that pop up in the spring.

Our typical weekend usually starts with the coffee crawl. I call it this because we usually start out with a cup of coffee in one hand as we wander the yard, but usually end up on my hands and knees pulling weeds or digging something up… thus, “the coffee crawl.”

As I mentioned, I like the surprises the most. It can be amazing sometimes to see the changes that happen during the week while we are away at work. Yesterday I happened to notice a bloom that wasn’t there last weekend. I hadn’t even noticed the bloom spike. We have had this Vanda for maybe 4-5 years now, and it’s never bloomed. I know it hasn’t gotten the care that it would like, and it’s not a particularly attractive shape. But when it was given to us, I thought it was supposed to be one of the (fairly) common blue-ish purple blooms. Well, it’s not, but I still really like it. I’m not sure what it’s called, but it’s attractive in it’s own way. Not a real showy bloom, and the spike is a little contorted, but I love the petals and the way they look like they’re trying to take flight.

As spring moves to summer, I’m looking forward to many more surprises.

A distantly familiar pain...

2009-04-04T23:31:00.000-04:00

Friday I did something daring. Something I haven't done in a very long time. I decided to play tennis for the first time in 10 years.

Ouch.

Hopefully, next time, with newly wrapped racquet handles and appropriate shoes, I'll feel much better afterward.

:)

Moongaze Reunion

2009-03-29T19:45:00.005-04:00

This past weekend we had a play date at the Ft. De Soto Paw Playground. I brought my three whippets, Savannah, Jackson and Raleigh, and we met up with Terri who brought Trevor, Caper and three of Savannah's puppies (Raleigh's sisters), Margeaux, Heaven and Brecken.

We usually go to the park in the morning, when it's more likely to just be the "good" dog owners. In the afternoons it's a lot of people who are just headed to the beach and happened to bring their dogs. They aren't typically as good about watching their dogs, closing the gates or cleaning up after their dogs. I try not to get irritated, but it's hard sometimes. Especially when the double gates are left open. I'm not so forgiving about that.

In spite of all that, we still had a lot of fun. They were so excited to see the other whippets. I'm sure that they recognized and remembered each other by the way they acted.

Afterwards, we all came back to our house for a visit and ice cube treats. Raleigh was so proud of all his toys, Jackson took them on a tour of the house and s

howed them e

verything. Everyone was well behaved. Although Savannah was over it first, but still, she

was good.

After they all left, Savannah seemed relieved, Jackson was exhausted, but Raleigh wasn't happy about it. He followed me around the house whimpering and talking to me. "Aroo-roo-roo!" He didn't like that they left! LOL!

If we had room - I'm sure we would have a house full of whippets all the time.

Spring awakes...

2009-03-26T23:02:00.003-04:00

DSCF0653, originally uploaded by callenstewart.

India Festival

2009-03-01T17:08:00.001-05:00

Cosmic Reunion?

2009-02-25T19:58:00.002-05:00

Well the first two months of 2009 are just about over, and it’s been an interesting year already. I’m not sure what has prompted this; maybe it’s age, maybe the planets have aligned, or some other weird cosmic dance is happening, but this seems to have started as the year of reunions.

I’ve had many friends come and go over the years. Circumstances and geography have separated some of us. Some were only meant to be for short periods of time. Some seem to skip in and out like stones on a pond – quickly touching as they go by. And others have stuck around for long periods of time.

I have some of the many social sites to thank for some of this; Friendster, MySpace, FaceBook, Blogger, Twitter, and even some of the more obscure sites like Gather, MyFolia, LibraryThing. And I think the photo-sharing sites like Webshots, Flickr and Picasa count too. Let’s not even start with the music sites.

So far this year, I’ve reconnected with eight friends – some I haven’t seen in almost a year, others whom I haven’t seen in over 25 years. Now I’m beginning to wonder who’s going to pop up next.

Don't let St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker annex Tierra Verde

2009-02-09T21:34:00.002-05:00

copied from the St. Pete Times...

Don't let St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker annex Tierra Verde

Paul P. Murray, guest columnist

Published Friday, February 6, 2009

St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker's opinion piece (Annexation explanation, Jan. 15) ignores reality for the residents of Tierra Verde. We should not be surprised that politicians see the world differently than we do. Confronted with a politician's spin, who are we to attempt to respond? Anyway, this is how we see it.

For several decades, folks have been moving to Tierra Verde to enjoy life in a more laid-back island atmosphere. Almost the entire island was developed for residential use, and the few commercial properties served the needs of residents and visitors. Because the vast majority of residents like Tierra Verde the way it is, in 2007 they voted in support of Pinellas County adopting a Comprehensive Overlay Plan to maintain the current sense of place and quality of life that, among other things, limits the density and intensity of development.

Unfortunately, at the peak of the real estate market, two developers bought commercial properties at the gateway to Tierra Verde. They decided they needed to intensely redevelop these properties in order to maximize their profits. But intense development is not part of Tierra Verde's past or present and is not consistent with the Tierra Verde community's vision for the island's future or the state-approved Community Overlay Plan. The developers were unable to get the county to allow them to build what they wanted, so they turned to the city, which has more liberal rules and, of course, was eager to attain a foothold on the island.

Historically, the purpose of annexation was to allow a municipality to extend services like water, sewer treatment, or police and fire protection to an unincorporated area that did not have such services in return for an increased tax base. That is not the case in Tierra Verde, for we have all of these services, and the residents have demonstrated their satisfaction with being part of unincorporated Pinellas County at the ballot box.

Mayor Baker said that the city is not annexing, is not attempting to annex and, during his term has never planned to annex the homes of the residents of Tierra Verde. How does he explain the land-use section of St. Petersburg's Comprehensive Plan that states the city's goal is annexation of all of Tierra Verde for its tax base? The city filed three times last year for the annexation of our island, and the final application filing excised the docks from the Tierra Verde Resort and left them in unincorporated Tierra Verde. Why? Could it be that the people who live aboard their boats would force a vote of the residents for approval?

Mayor Baker doesn't have the right to spread his tax burden to us in Tierra Verde. We might have a lower millage rate, but that is more than offset by our highly appraised values.

In this budget-challenged environment in which we find ourselves, we hope the residents of St. Petersburg will track closely the hundreds of thousands of dollars the mayor plans to spend on litigating his annexation dream.

Paul P. Murray is president of the Tierra Verde Community Association.

Big Mac Attack

2009-01-18T19:13:00.009-05:00

Well I finally did it. After many years of friends looking aghast when I tell them that I'm still in PC world, I drank the kool-aid. Okay, if I'm going to be realistic, I guess I did a canonball into the deep end of the kool-aid. It started a couple years ago when I started playing around with iTunes. I liked the look. I liked that it was easy, I liked being able to search for just about any artist and find them. So a year later, I bought an iPod. It became an instant old friend, traveling with me to work every day, replacing the stacks of CDs. Then this past summer came the iPhone. Not to replace my iPod, but really because it was time for a new phone. I like my iPhone, but there are a few things I miss about my regular old cell phone - mostly the easy phone functions that I haven't become adept at yet on the new one (including good voice dialing, video recorder). Then last month I took a giant bite of the apple and bought a MacBook. And I'm in love.

At first, I was scared. I opened the box and couldn't find the stack of set-up manuals, user guides and extraneous software that usually comes with a new PC. I thought for sure something was missing when all I could find was this tiny booklet of information. But that seems typical of the other Apple products I've purchased. But as soon as I powered it up, I was in awe. So bright and clean as the keyboard literally shines up at me. It's like I hear the angels sing every time I open the lid. Again, I had some anxiety at first because I couldn't find all the stuff I had to install and set up and the plethora of Welcome screens that you have to fight your way through. Everything was pre-installed, with the exception of email. I had a little trouble setting that up, which seems to be typical with my ISP. But finally I tried something that I thought for SURE wouldn't work because it was just too easy, and voila. I'm in. It took a couple days for that nervousness to fade away and accept the zen-like tranquility of this new technology.

Since then I've added a few new programs on my own, and I have to say the ease of the drag-and-drop installations nearly makes me teary-eyed. It's never been this easy before. I've so quickly adapted that there have been a few times that I have become frustrated at work because it feels so cumbersome.

The only really scary part of this experience has been the cost. Apple's not cheap by any means. But my hope and expectation is that it's worth it and will be for a long time. I think the only thing I'm unhappy with is that I chose to purchase a corded mouse instead of spending the extra for the bluetooth mouse. The cord is a little short, but I just find myself using the pad more often. Not such a bad thing.

I will admit that there is a certain social stigma that comes with Apple. But I don't care. I'm hooked. I'm so in awe that I have to keep my enthusiasm in check - I've been been accused a few times of trying to convert my friends and co-workers to the cult of Mac. But I don't care. I'm a happy convert.

Prop 8

2008-12-07T11:21:00.000-05:00

See more Jack Black videos at Funny or Die

New Neighborhood Tradition

2008-12-06T19:09:00.003-05:00

Yesterday we got together with a few of our neighbors and went to the beach to toast the sunset. It's so easy to forget to slow down and enjoy the everyday things around you. We're going to try to get as many of the neighbors to join in once a month. It was great fun. We took some things to snack on - we had two kinds of shrimp, grapes, cheeses, bread, and a little bit of wine. We all took chairs and blankets, but we just stood around visiting and enjoying the scenery. It was a great way to unwind after such a long week.

Tonight we are off to one of our other neighbor's annual Christmas party. We'll be sure to spread the word about next month's Sunset Toast.

Tough day...

2008-12-05T21:54:00.002-05:00

Today was not a good day. We had to lay off over 1oo people at work. I had to lose one of my employees in this. While it seems like this is such a small number in the face of the thousands that other companies are laying off, it still doesn't make it easier to know others have it harder. I've never had to have a conversation like that before. I hope I never have to again either.

c

Hello all...

2008-11-25T23:32:00.004-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. I've fallen out of the blogosphere for a while. The world has been a crazy place - globally, nationally, locally and even personally. But I hope we're on the upswing... or will be soon.

We're heading out to Orlando to see some friends and spend the holiday. It will be a nice change of scenery. And of course good to see friends. I hadn't thought of it before this year, but I think that Thanksgiving might be my favorite holiday. One of my favorite things to do is to hang out with good friends, with good food, maybe a little wine, and just enjoy each other's company. It's a little harder now with even more friends moved out of the area. So I'm glad we're traveling. Don't get me wrong, I love the friends we have here. It just seems that everyone goes their own way this time of year, and it makes me really miss those friends I have who are far away from me.

So to all my friends out there, near and far... I love you all.

Happy Thanksgiving.

2008-11-06T19:34:00.000-05:00

Gettin' things done

2008-11-04T14:45:00.008-05:00

This a good day to get things done. I took the day off, so today I voted, bought a guitar tuner, went grocery shopping, bought a yoga DVD I've been thinking about, and finally took pics of our new vegetable garden.

Voting wasn't bad. Our precinct isn't too big, so I think I only waited for about 2 or 3 minutes. On the way out running my errands, hundreds of Obama signs seem to have sprouted overnight. It was kinda cool to see that display in my mostly republican neighborhood.

I found my way to a local music store and bought a guitar tuner. Someone at work told me about them. I never knew such a thing existed. I'm gonna go try it out today. While there, I saw a flyer about classes starting in January. $89 for eight weeks! Sounds like a bargain to me. I'm seriously thinking about checking that out.

I picked up the "A.M. Yoga" DVD too. It has five twenty-minute sessions. Monday night I go to a class, and it's something I look forward to all week. So I may try to do this a couple mornings a week too. Still not great at it, but I think I hit a milestone this week. A lot of the poses that I struggled with seemed to have clicked this week. Love it.

About three weeks ago, we built a small raised bed for vegetables on the south side of our house. We planted grape and cherry tomatoes, zuchini, summer squash, basil, radishes, mixed lettus greens, jalepenos, and yellow and red bell peppers. Next we're going to build a trellis and plant some beans and/or maybe snowpeas. The tomatoes are doing really well - lots of little blooms already.

We've also been talking about extending the fence on the north side of the house closer to the street. That will give us a place to put a couple rain barrels and a compost pile. We haven't had a place for a compost pile in a few years. And with all the yard debris we produce, it's just a good idea. BTW - did you hear that the recycling company in Pinellas county is going to stop accepting glass for recycling for the next year?! Bad timing - since St. Pete is JUST starting their curbside recycling program. Apparently there is a real glut in recycled glass. Yet recycled glass items are still exhorbitantly expensive. Go figure.

Inside the Big Picture...

2008-10-18T19:21:00.012-04:00

One of the things I like the most about taking pictures is when you get to see the details you would otherwise miss. There's just something about peering into a small world to see the strange but beautiful things...

Fort De Soto Paw Playground

2008-10-06T20:55:00.003-04:00

All is well.

2008-10-04T09:23:00.006-04:00

About three months ago, I wrote about my personal health crisis. It wasn’t pretty. But, I’m happy to say that after my follow-up appointment with my doctor this week, everything that should be normal is normal again.

It was a lot of work – diet and exercise. And 20 pounds later, I feel better, and I’m on the right track. (Not to mention the “new” wardrobe I’m finding in my closet!) I still have a way to go – another 30 to reach my goal weight. And maybe more if I can, but that would put me in a happy place for sure.

I‘ve been somewhat regular at the gym – still going to the yoga class on Mondays. And then three more gym visits for the week. Two weeks ago, I went kayaking for the first time in a year. I had a great time. I didn’t have the shoulder issue I had before. So I went out again last week. I was out for two hours when I decided I should come back in, even though I was having such a good time. I felt pretty good that day. But the next day I felt like someone had beaten me with a bat! But it was that good, hard exercised pain.

I still refuse to say I’m “dieting” because that sounds so temporary. I really have to make permanent changes. Still eating my veggies, which was never a problem. Eating a LOT more fruit to compensate for the lack of sugar intake. And switched to whole grain whenever I have a choice (the Barilla Whole Grain Pasta is actually really good). I’m still limiting carbs, but not in a torturous Atkins way. But pasta and rice has gone from a 3-4 nights a week meal, to a 3-4 times a month meal.

All that being said, shopping habits have had to change too. It’s been a challenge, and it’s been enlightening. I’m eating more organic, but not completely. But I seem to have developed this new (loose) rule that if I look at the ingredients and it has more than a dozen or so listed, it’s probably not good to eat. Especially if after the first few ingredients, it starts listing a bunch of chemicals and additives that I can’t even pronounce. It (usually) get’s left on the shelf.

Today starts the new season of St. Pete Saturday Market. I’ve been looking forward to going down and finding some fresh produce. So, after our morning trip to the dog park, I think I’m going to throw myself into the crowd to do some open-air shopping.

Keep sending good thoughts my way.

Desparation.

2008-10-02T07:50:00.004-04:00

http://news.bostonherald.com/news/regional/general/view/2008_10_02_Virgin_Mary_story/srvc=home&position=also

I'm not a morning person. Really.

2008-09-21T06:08:00.003-04:00

Anyone who knows me knows I'm not the "rise and shine" type. I'm more the, "sleep in while the rest of the world gets the coffee ready for me" type. On occasion, I can get up early if there's a reason to. But usually, I'd opt not to.

Lately, I've been waking up early in the morning. Well, early for me anyway. During the week, I rarely get to be annoyed by my alarm clock anymore. I'm usually up before it begins its morning whimper of NPR chatter on ultra-low volume (did I mention I'm a really light sleeper?).

Pre-dawn hours are almost mystical to me – a strange kind of foreign magic. Perhaps it's because I don't usually see them. Years ago, when I thought I was a jogger, I got up early and went out for a jog at the crack of dawn. I saw lots of people that I didn't know, but they all acted as though we were casual friends. The UPS driver honked and waved. Other walkers and joggers said things like "good morning." Drivers on their way to work or where ever waved or nodded a slight hello. It was freakin' weird. Kinda made me wonder, are there really two types of people in the world? Morning People and Non-Morning People? Why do these MP's seem so friendly? Have I slipped into Stepford? Are they secretly running the world? Do they know something the rest of us don't? Should I be scared? Or should I just go back to bed and let myself believe it was all a dream?

For some ungodly reason, I woke up at 5:30 this morning. It's a Sunday. I think that by law, you're supposed to sleep in until 10am on Sundays. But I'm up. And the really strange thing about being up early is this compulsion to be somewhere or do something that I don't normally have time to do. Maybe it's to see if the morning people are still out there.

Kayaking

2008-09-20T18:52:00.000-04:00

Today we went kayaking. We haven’t been in over a year. I’ve had problems with my shoulder. Since going back to the gym regularly, and practicing my interpretation of yoga, it seems to be better. So it was time to try it again.

We had some friends meet up at our house this morning to join us, so there were 5 of us all together. We loaded up and went down the street towards Ft. De Soto. We put in and headed out. It’s been a long time. The weather was perfect. It was warm and sunny, but not late enough to have that furnace-type Florida heat yet. We paddled out to Shell Key, so it was a short trip.

We hung out at Shell Key for about an hour. Again, it wasn’t too late in the day yet, so there wasn’t much boat traffic, which was really nice. We re-discovered why it’s called Shell Key. Actually, the first thing we saw was that the beach was littered with sea urchins. I’ve never seen so many before. And they were everywhere in the shallows. I walked a short way on the beach collecting lettered olive shells. Only the biggest made the cut. Within just a few minutes I had to turn back because my hands were full.

We paddled back along West Shore in Tierra Verde – some of the biggest houses I’ve ever seen. I think we were gone for about 4 hours all together. I had a really great time. I missed it a lot. It was so peaceful. Almost therapeutic. I see myself doing a lot more of that in the near future.

Brilliant!

2008-09-17T09:54:00.001-04:00

Thank you!

2008-09-13T20:11:00.012-04:00

Late on Friday, I decided to join a friend on
ASAP's AIDS Walk St. Petersburg. The walk was the next morning, so it didn't leave a lot of time for planning and fund-raising. I'll confess that we talked about it earlier in the week, but I had another commitment that I thought was the same day, but wasn't. So we sat down and registered online.

We decided to become a team of two. We brainstormed some team names - determined to come up with something fun. We came up with "Crosswalkers."

Since it was last minute, we didn't really expect to raise any money aside from the donations we would make ourselves, but we each sent an email to small groups of friends. Well, this morning I was AMAZED to see that we had raised $130! I don't know who of you donated online, but I must say THANK YOU! I know that it doesn't sound like much money, but we honestly weren't expecting to raise anything because we were so late.

I haven't volunteered or participated in this event for about three years. I was really happy to see that it was a much larger crowd. Although - I've apparently become a hermit, because I only saw one person there that I knew.

There were lots of the usual type crowd there. Also a lot of families. There weren't as many characters there as I expected. There was a small group of Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence among the crowd.

Next year, we decided that we will plan a little better and do some work to make it fun and involve more people. There will be a repeat appearance of team Crosswalkers, and we decided we will need to dress the part (we're thinking big sun hats and sunglasses). A little Dame Edna inspiration. So, if you're looking for some fun next year and like to walk, keep us on your calendar for September 2009!

Aids Walk St. Pete

2008-09-13T06:43:00.000-04:00

Yoga Update...

2008-09-09T07:39:00.001-04:00

Back in April, I mentioned that I finally got the nerve to try the yoga class at the gym. Since then, I've switched gyms, and tried a couple others. I still enjoy it, although I still feel really awkward. My description of trying to bend a potato in half still fits. But It's getting a little better.

The instructors at my new gym aren't as good, I don't think. The instructor of the first class I tried wasn't very personable. I got the sense that she drew the short straw. The class I go to now is a little better. She said she also teaches at another yoga studio and is also a massage therapist. She seems a little more into it, and is good about walking around the room and giving feedback and helping out.

There's another class I haven't tried that they call "Yoga-Ball" a combination of yoga and pilates (I've also heard it referred to as "yogalates"). But I have horrible visions of me falling off the ball and onto a neighbor. I'll continue to go to this one, because I do enjoy it. And honestly, it's a good change of pace from the circuit training and the cardio stuff. As I get better, maybe eventually I'll seek out another class elsewhere.

Summer Photos

2008-09-01T09:46:00.007-04:00

A few things in the yard right now...

What's in a name?

2008-09-01T09:02:00.007-04:00

One of the interesting things I have found living and visiting the East coast is how connected to family history people are. I find it fascinating to hear people talk about where their grandparents or great grandparents came from. We didn't really have this on the West coast. My theory is that it took longer for the West to be settled, so there is a generation or two that is separated from their families who may have stayed on the East side of the continent, or remained in their "homelands."

A while back, I saw an ad for ancestry.com while watching something on the history channel. I decided to take advantage of their three-day trial just to see what it was like. I sat down at my computer, and much to my amazement, within about 20 minutes I was able to trace my grandmother's side of the family back about 500 years to Notinghamshire, England (Mullins, to Flint, to Flynte). I didn't get far on my maternal grandfather's side. But I was curious about the name. I thought I knew that Mullins was derived from the French. I didn't realize that there is also an Irish derivative. My mom's cousin sent me some family history on disk a while back. But it wasn't very well organized. Some word documents and powerpoint shows. I keep saying that I should go through and sort them out some day. I wasn't so lucky on my father's side either. I got to my great grandfather and hit a roadblock. I'm not sure if anyone has done any studies there.

I don't have any delusions of finding famous ancestors or claim to fame of any sort. It's all just a curiosity. Who knows. Maybe I'll decide to subscribe to ancestry.com someday. I have lots of photos I could scan and share. There might be someone else out there who would be excited to see them.

Read and Re-read...

2008-08-30T09:20:00.007-04:00

For those of you who know me, you know I like to read. I always have. Growing up I was the odd kid who spent all his extra time in the local library. The public library was about two blocks from school. Often, I would get out of school, and walk to the library until my mom would call looking for me and the librarian would come tell me it was time to go home for dinner. I think I was the only kid in the world who would get into trouble for reading. One day my mom got mad and told me to get my nose out of that book and go outside and play. I replied by saying something to the effect of, most parents would be happy that their kid was reading. Not a popular response.

Now it's tough just finding the time to read. It's very cliche to say, "so many books, so little time." But it's so true. I have one bookcase that hold's recently read books and books I want to keep. Most are passed on to friends and co-workers. Then there's the unread bookcase. It's pretty full right now, and so I have to avoid going to bookstores - which is one of my favorite things to do.

Part of my problem when it comes to books is that I have serious closure issues. If I start a book, I MUST finish reading it. Even if it sucks or I find it really boring. I have books that I started reading years ago that still haunt me, begging to be finished.

Recently, I picked up a book when I was in Portland shopping at Powell's (aka the greatest bookstore in the world). I started reading it, and it seemed familiar. I thought maybe I read something else by the author that had recurring characters. But now that I'm 50 pages into it and committed to finishing it, I realize, I have read this book before. Dammit. Of course, I don't remember how it ended, so I'm stuck. I have to read it all the way through again to completion. Fortunately, it's been a good story. But not so good that I remembered buying it before.

So I guess I have to revamp that saying. So many books, so little time to read them a second time around.

Fay

2008-08-23T07:33:00.002-04:00

The wind done gone.

Here we blow again...

2008-08-17T11:08:00.007-04:00

Look out for Fay. She's headin' this way.

Again, the news is going to scare us to death by telling us that have a hurricane coming. Not to ignore it, but they tend to get everyone worked up into a lather long before there's a real threat. I know it's already caused damage for those in her way, but I'm not going to panic until there's a reason to.

Until then, we'll watch and wait.

The strangest dreams...

2008-08-14T23:14:00.001-04:00

I had the strangest dream the other night. For those of you who know me, you probably know that my dreams are in vivid color and very detailed.

We were going to have dinner with Jack and Nancy, our neighbors until just couple years ago. The four of us got in their car and we start driving to this restaurant. Within a few minutes we had to turn around and go back to the house because Jack forgot something. So while we wait in the car, he finally comes out and tells us he’s not going to go with us. So the three of us start out again. Nancy is driving, and doesn’t say too much about where we’re going. We enter downtown, which looks a lot like Miami from all the tall buildings. We finally pull in and start walking to not a restaurant, but towards a really tall office building. Then Nancy tells me that it’s in this building “up a ways.” I start getting nervous, because all I see is a glass elevator on the outside of this 100 story building. As we’re waiting at the elevator, Bill has to run back to the car for something. Then Nancy tells me the restaurant is on the top floor, and it’s really nice because it’s open air, and has a beautiful view. Now I’m really kind of nervous, because I don’t like heights. So I tell her I’ll just have to face the door in the elevator. Bill comes walking back quickly from the car, but he doesn’t make it to the elevator, so he shouts that he’ll just meet us there.

Then the three of us are in the restaurant, which is really a rooftop garden. It looks very park-like. The seating area is open, but it’s closed on three sides with a roof – so I can at least pretend we’re not a million miles high. The server comes to take our order, and Nancy says that Jesus is joining us, but he’s already late, so we’ll go ahead and order. Somehow, this doesn’t sound strange in the dream at all, at it seems very normal.

We’re just about to finish our salads, when Nancy looks up and says, “Here he is.” I look up to see this man kind of half jogging towards us. He’s not the Jesus we see in pictures. He’s very tanned, has dark brown hair, kind of long, but above the shoulders. He stops at the table and apologizes for being late – work kept him longer than he expected. Oh yeah – he’s wearing a UPS uniform. That’s right. Shorts, shirt, tennis shoes… the whole “what can brown do for you?” get up. I’m really confused by this. As introductions are happening and he’s shaking hands with Bill and me, I’m thinking to myself, ‘do they know at UPS that Jesus is working there? Maybe he’s using another name and they don’t know who he really is.’ While thinking this, I figure that his name tag will answer that question. So I’m trying to casually read his name tag. But even when I get a good look at it, I the letters are all garbled, so I can’t read it. So he sits down, the server comes back and takes his order. Then I wake up. What the hell?! I really wish that I would have slept a little longer. I wonder where that story would have gone...

The Hell Phone Dilema

2008-08-03T07:07:00.015-04:00

You just can't win. Remember when cell phones were fun? They were cool. You carried around this thing that was the size of a brick in your bag all day. You waited until you were on your way home from work to call someone because your night-time unlimited minutes started at 6pm. Then you could call anyone, anywhere. It was fantastic!

How things have changed. Now it's such an integrated part of life that it's just a given. And they have (thankfully) gotten smaller with more bells and whistles than ever - actually, whistle is just about the only thing you can't do with it.

I've been with just about all of them - AT&T, Cingular, Sprint... and honestly, none of them have been that great. Cingular had some serious deadspots. Like in the middle of downtown, mid county, my office, and home. Sprint has been pretty good - mostly. I can't seem to make a call from my house - unless I wear the earpiece and leave the phone in the window sill. It was a bumpy start with Sprint. There were a LOT of calls to their billing office, who constantly screwed things up. Two years later and I still dont' think I'm paying the right price, but it's not worth the hassle so I pay the few extra dollars and wait impatiently for the end of the contract. Well, it's finally here. This month. August. I'll be freed of their shackles. And go to... hmm... you'd think there's nowhere to go but up.

I started poking around online to see what I could learn. Mostly I learned that there are no good service providers. Just a bunch who you get to pick from who argue they are the BEST, or maybe not as bad as their competitor at most. I've heard horror stories about Verizon and their billing and (lack of) customer service that would set your blood to boil. They're off the list. And locally, I read that Altell and TMobile are neck and neck as far as service. I've pretty much settled on Altell. But then.... I'm reading more about them, and I see the word "merger." Well crap. Guess who just bought Altell? Verizon! Oh yippee. Shit. So now the company with the worst customer service just bought the company with the best working service. So you can see my dilema. Frankly, they all suck, but how do you get comfortable with something you know you will be unhappy with?

I know (or have read) that some of them will offer a "trial" period. Although, I've yet to find out exactly who has this. I just want to be able to get reception in my house. It's gonna be really ugly if I get a new service and new phone to find out that I can't make a call from home. I'm starting a little research on the iPhone. Not because I need to be one of the cool kids. Honestly, I don't use most of the features I have now. I want to take a call, make a call, and use voicemail. Beyond that, picture mail would be nice once in a while, and I like the alarm feature for those times I'm traveling. But that's pretty much it. Not sure I need email, internet, and a thousand other "apps" to take with me everywhere. I'll admit I'm a geek, but not a Geek. But I may be willing to spend the extra money for basic service that works.

Just the basics is all I really want. A phone that works. Are you listening to me, Jim from Sprint?

Hola from Miami

2008-07-27T20:38:00.007-04:00

I in Miami with Paul this week. He's attending a conference, and I'm crashing the hotel - kind of a mini vacation. I'm working online while he's away attending the conference sessions. The hotel is incredible. It's the Fairmont Turnberry Isle right on Aventura Boulevard. Certainly the nicest I’ve ever been in. The grounds are great. The room fantastic. It has this HUGE soaking tub, which is where I’ll be spending some time later (the bathroom is about as large as our bedroom). T

We walked to find the gym… I mean… the spa (it's actually the entire third floor of the spa). It’s a nice size place – the usual large assortment of treadmills and equipment. Each treadmill, Stairmaster, and elliptical machine has its own flat screen tv on it along with headphones. Then I went in to see the “locker room” and oh-my-god. It has beautiful hardwood lockers, big white fluffy bath robes and a completely stocked vanity complete with a table in the middle of the room with a bowl of iced cucumber soaked towels ready to hit your face. And all the bath accoutrements you could imagine. And a steam room! I love that! Makes going to work out worth it all! It’s pretty incredible. I took some pics when no one was around - I didn't want to get caught taking pics in the locker room, but you can get the idea. We’re probably gonna have to sacrifice the guest room when we remodel the bathroom at home. Guests will just have to sleep in the spa on the massage table. ;)

Went to South Beach yesterday evening. Doesn't feel like it's changed much since I was last there - probably 12-13 years ago. Ate at Jason’s Deli. Had a monster salad. So did Paul. Then we walked the length of Lincoln plaza. Saw lots of cool shops (didn’t buy anything). Lots of sights to see and people to watch. I could have spent the entire week just people watching. Did see one store – can’t remember the name, but had a lot of imported asian and Indian furniture. Saw a handmade wooden chair that was really cool. It was half price, but still $170 dollars. Lots of cool pottery too, but didn’t want to carry it around while shopping. Strangely, I left without buying anything.

New Doc

2008-07-16T15:03:00.002-04:00

Went to see a new dermatologist today. They were SO good. He checked me over, got the cold can did a few things, then commented on this wrinkle on my forehead and said, “you know if you want, a little botox would take care of that.” I think he misread the semi-shocked look on my face – he probably thought I was a little insulted. “Think about it and just let me know.” Actually I just fell in love a little bit.

Didn’t have it done, but I should have asked (I always thought it would be really $$). Besides, I’m pretty sure Aetna’s not paying for that. Maybe I can make it a mental health case… LOL!

He was so good that he was even able to remove two small skin tags on my EYE LID! Yes, he had to stick a needle in my eyelid, but he was just that good. I was so happy I nearly peed.

I don't bake.

2008-07-12T09:32:00.009-04:00

One of my favorite geeky quotes of all time comes from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. In a sisterly moment between Buffy and our favorite foreign slayer , Kendra, Buffy leans in for a hug but is stopped by Kendra who says in a very Jamaican-ish accent, "I don't hug!" Only, my version is, "I don't bake!"

It's true. I don't bake. Well, it's not so much that I "don't" bake, it's that I can't bake well. My problem is that I learned to cook from my mother. She rarely used a recipe. She always improvised. So that's what I do. The catch is that on the stove, you can do that. The oven is not so forgiving. Cooking on the stove is more of an experiment. You add things as you go along, you taste to see where it is, then you add something else to take it a little further. Baking requires planning ahead. You have to have everything in the beginning. There's no sampling. No testing. It's a one shot deal. Sit back and hope it works.

In my efforts to eat a little healthier, I've been concentrating on more "whole foods." I don't mean the store - although I love that place. A friend recently referred to them as "Whole Paycheck" because that's what it costs to shop there. By whole foods, I mean more whole grains, less processed foods - that "closer to the earth" idea. So that's what I'm doing - to a point.

One of my big weaknesses has always been bread. And not the foamy white crap. I want a thick, hearty, wheaty, grainy, dense slice of goodness. Lisa and Troy turned us on to this sprouted grain bread they found at Costco, of all places. We LOVED it. But of course, the only Costco near us doesn't carry it. I bought a loaf of Ezekiel bread which is good, but go back to that whole paycheck issue. So in a moment of brilliance, I remembered that we have a bread maker that we haven't used in a long time, or much (other than the traditional hurricane loaf - shout out to my girl in the big O R).

So after looking at a few recipes, doing a little shopping, I get everything out and start building. 4 2/3 cup of whole weat flour. Okay. I imagine I can use 2 cups of whole wheat, 1 cup of rye flour, 1 cup of graham flour (what they hell IS "graham flour" anyway), maybe a half a cup of oats, and a third of a cup of flax seed. Okay - that takes care of the flour part. The rest is pretty simple. Salt, water, brown sugar and yeast. Before I can stop myself, I'm rumaging through the cupboards looking for anything else I can throw in there. I come up with walnuts. That can't be bad. Okay - half a cup of crushed up walnuts. What else... I find another package of seeds. Pine nuts. What the hell. Toss 'em in. I still can't believe that the recipe doesn't call for egg or milk. Surely that was a misprint on the recipe book. I resist my urge and decide against it. I rummage a little longer looking for anything that sounds like something I'd like in bread, but I stop there. As I pass by the machine, watching the dough through the little window, it looks REALLY dry. I don't think it's supposed to do that. Then I realize I didn't compensate water for the added oats. So I added about another half a cup. But it was so dry it couldn't mix. I opened the door again and smashed it up by hand. The end result wasn't bad. It didn't rise well, but we had an 8 pound loaf of bread. It tasted good - but it wasn't pretty.

This morning I'm making my second attempt. I've almost left the recipe alone. I've used the same flour concoction, and added a little more water, some blueberries that were almost done, and some cinnamon. It appears to be rising. So far so good.

Well, I think it came out pretty well! It rose a little better, so it's not quite as heavy. Still not pretty, but it's tastey! I'm happy with it.

I know this won't be popular...

2008-07-09T12:38:00.000-04:00

We all know that sometimes driving can be dangerous. We all try our best to be careful and “watch out for the other guy,” as my dad always says. And we have to. We’ve all seen people doing strange or just stupid things while driving. I’ve seen people reading newspapers or books, putting on make-up, shaving, brushing their teeth, talking on the phone or texting (that last one really pisses me off). So sometimes bad things happen. Sometimes it’s because of stupid behavior, and sometimes it’s just dumb luck accidents resulting in fender-benders, injuries or in the worst cases, someone looses a life. No, this isn’t another rant about unsafe drivers or assholes on the road.

A few years ago there was a tragic accident in St. Pete. A small child (3 or 4 I think) wandered out of the home, down the road and into a busy street. The child was hit by a car and sadly killed. As you can imagine, this was sensational news, and we were all horrified at the loss – especially since all the news channels insisted on interviewing the grief-stricken mother. They were after ratings, but it was truly heart wrenching. You couldn’t help feeling this woman’s pain. Not long afterwards, there was a small roadside memorial for the child – a simple white cross with a teddy bear. Eventually, the family moved away. I don’t know why – I imagine that seeing the place where she lost a child everyday was too much to bear. And here’s where it went wrong. The crucified teddy bear was left on the roadside for about a year. It was weathered, dirty and falling apart when someone finally took it away.

A few weeks ago, another roadside memorial appeared on the Bayway. A white cross made of PVC (presumably so that it will last forever), and a wreath of silk flowers. I understand that people need to grieve. I get that. But WHY is it that they feel they have the right to foist their grief onto the general public? I really don’t need to see it. Yes, it’s sad. I’m sorry for your loss. But I don’t need a reminder of it every morning on my way to work. And on my way home from work every day, as I begin to unwind and enjoy the scenic view of the water and trees, I get to be reminded that something bad happened here. This is the only road off the island, so avoiding it isn’t an option. I really hate that. That is why we have memorial services. That is why we have cemeteries. And chances are really good that the family and friends who endured this loss do not even live around here. The locals here do not spend their time at the roadside beach. So who the hell is this for?! I’m really tempted to pull over one of these days and pull it all up and dispose of it myself. If not, that PVC and plastic flower crap will be there for years. We do NOT need to litter our roads with your grief.

I can’t believe I’m the only one who feels this way. Leave a comment and let me know what you think.

"Diet is DIE with a T" - garfield the cat

2008-07-06T08:01:00.005-04:00

Well, it's been two weeks since my doctor gave me the big speech. I've had to make some drastic changes - going to the gym, regular exercise and the biggest one, changing my diet. I still refuse to "go on a diet." That just doesn't work, and it sounds like failure just by the nature of it. So, in altering my diet, I decided to just concentrate more on the foods that I like that are healthy - deemphasizing those that are not so good. I like most fruits and vegetables, and "grainy" foods anyway. I'm trying to cut out processed sugars and concentrate on more whole foods. Grocery shopping sure has changed. I read labels a lot more. And I can't do the "big grocery shop" like I used to because fresh fruits & vegetables don't have the shelf life I'm used to with other things.

It hasn't been too bad so far. The only thing that has been really hard has been chips. I could live on chips and salsa. Chips and sour cream. Chips and butter. Just kidding. No chips and butter. But, I have been trying some alternatives - like different whole grain or baked chips. Some are good, some are bad. It cracks me up to read all the different suggestions from some of the magazines and sites that say things like, instead of Doritos, substitute apple slices with peanut butter. Are they for real? Have they never had Doritos? While I'm sure I would LOVE apple slices with peanut butter, it's not a substitute for the ol' nacho cheesey crunchy goodness. It's also been a little more expensive. I can't believe that it costs almost $5 for a loaf of good sprouted grain bread (and that's only gonna get worse - but that's another topic for another time). I bought a bunch of grains and whole flours and I'm breaking out the old bread maker for some experimentation. I'll keep you posted on how that goes.

Bill and I have had the argument about the cost of food. I say it's cheaper to be fat. He doesn't really believe it so much. Well, I think he's beginning to. Fresh and healthy stuff is just more expensive. I say, it's cheaper to feed a family of four for 20 bucks at McD's or Taco Hell than buying something healthy. "They can make a big salad for 20 bucks." But they're not buying salads at McDonald's. Besides, if healthy food was cheaper, then most poor (American) people wouldn't be fat. No judgment, just fact. His point is that it's cheaper in the long run because you don't have as many medical expenses. But I think most people are just too short sighted to think that far ahead when making everyday decisions.

Speaking of American diets, I had a conversation with my friend Patricia about that recently. She was talking about how in Europe, they don't pasteurize their milks and cheeses, and it doesn't seem to be a problem. Here, we load EVERYTHING with chemicals. Since I'm reading more labels, I notice that a lot more. I haven't figured out the balance, but I think if the ingredient list is too long, it's a bad sign. So, stick to the short and sweet. Well, not so much the sweet anymore. ;)

Amazing...

2008-06-28T20:02:00.000-04:00

Happy Birthday to Me

2008-06-22T12:04:00.003-04:00

Well, as a couple of you know, I recently received a bit of bad news. After a few doctor visits and lots of tests, I have been told that I am borderline diabetic with high blood pressure. Understand that this wasn’t a surprise. My grandmother was diabetic, and my mother has hypertension. So the writing was on the wall. My weight has always been an issue for me, even when it probably shouldn’t have been. I look back on photos of myself 10 years ago and think, wow, I wish I was that thin now. But I can assure you that even when I was “that thin” I saw myself much differently.

I come from a large family, and that’s not a headcount. Most of my family is overweight to some degree, like most people. I don’t think I was the typical “fat kid” growing up, but I always felt I was. When I was in junior high school, I had a year where I was really what I would call “skinny” – but I never knew that until years later when I looked back on old photos. Still not sure who that kid was. But, as I grew older and entered high school, my weight began to climb.

The same day that I got this diagnosis from my doctor, also happened to be the same day I had scheduled an appointment at my new gym for a total body analysis. For someone like me, this is always an emotionally delicate experience. It’s the ultimate feedback where you have to face the realities that you fear the most but know are true. I managed to hold it together and got through the assessment. Thankfully, Victor, my new wellness coach, was nothing but professional and never once did I see that secret wince that I feared.

There were a lot of emotions that day (and there still are), and mostly I was scared. Not for the reasons you might think. Not because I was told I am on the verge of a serious condition, the stress of which nearly knocked me out anyway, but because of what I didn’t feel. As I said, this wasn’t a surprise. I figured that someday, a doctor was going to give me the “lose weight or else” speech. But I always assumed that would be the incentive to make me do something about it. I would finally be forced into action. I would be ordered into life changing habits. Someone else would take control (and ultimately responsibility?). What scared me the most was that I didn’t feel this inspiration or compulsion to make the changes I need - which led to frustration, anger, and despair. My last motivational hope crumbled beneath me.

I managed to lock away the emotions for the rest of the day at work, through my appointment at the gym, and all the way home. I knew when I got home I was going to have to tell Bill, and I was not going to do this well. I love Bill more than I can tell you. I knew he would be supportive, but I knew better than to expect sympathy. And I’ll admit that maybe I needed a little pity party – just a small one. I shared this news with only a few of you, but only a little bit of info and at a safe distance. I couldn’t talk to any of you face to face. I’m feeling a little better – but not much. We talked and it was as I expected. But this works because I know he can look at it all objectively. He is being very supportive and we’re looking at the foods we both eat. And I’m trying really hard not to take my anger or frustration out on him when he makes a comment or asks a question about the food I am eating (or wanting to eat). I know he’s just trying to help. And it’s not his fault that I’m where I am now. It still doesn’t make it easy.

I still have a lot of raw emotion around this. I’m not even sure why I’m feeling compelled to write it down and share it with you in this manner. Maybe it’s easier to share it in a way that I can remain detached. Maybe this is how I need to cope. But don’t be surprised if you read this and notice that I’ve taken it down soon afterwards.

Oregon Gardens

2008-06-17T08:49:00.006-04:00

One of the things we managed to squeeze into our trip to Oregon was to visit the Oregon Garden. It's in Silverton, a small town about an hour from Portland. It's not too far from Troy & Lisa's place up in the mountains (formerly known as Branch Ranch, soon to be renamed Morning Wood). But it's definitely worth the drive.

It was cold and rainy, about 52 degrees when we got there. I was sportin' the Oregon uniform of hiking shoes, shorts and a sweatshirt and cap. Bill dressed a little warmer in jeans and a coat. And even though it wasn't perfect weather, I'm so glad we went. Oregon gardens are very different from Florida that's for sure. I miss a lot of the things that we can't grow here successfully like hostas, lilies,

daphne, and especially Japanese lace leaf maples. I tried California poppies when we first moved here in the summer, but it wasn't successful. It was just too hot for them. Anyway, I took lots of pictures, which I won't post here, but you can view on webshots.
Additionally, I continue to be amazed at Phil and Albert's place. They have cultivated the most incredible garden at their home - something I never would have predicted. It's definitely the most beautiful in the neighborhood, and one of the nicest ones I have ever seen. Good job guys! (I was going to post this great picture they sent to me of the front yard, but I just discovered that I've apparently lost a TON of pictures on my computer. SHIT!)

Sorry about the post-post. I've been a little behind lately...

The Family Visit

2008-06-16T09:28:00.008-04:00

The decision to visit the NW this year when we did was so that I could attend my nephew's graduation. It's hard to believe that they would allow a ten year old kid to graduate from high school. But time flies, and I guess he's not ten anymore. We drove from Molalla, Oregon to Portland, to Olympia to Elma, Washington. It's a small town about 30 minutes West of Olympia. As rushed as I felt getting there, it was a really pretty drive. The graduation was like most - a lot of talking by people I didn't know, trying to be inspirational, but really just kind of droning on and making inside jokes that only the students get. But a lot of my family was there from all over Washington and Idaho. I always have a lot of anxiety when I go to visit my family. It's not that I don't love them, I do. But I don't share their religious views, which I can see past, but they really can't (although, my mom seems to be pretty good about that). It really bothers me that I want to just visit with them, but that always seems to insert itself in some way. So, as a result, I don't see them much. And when I do, it's only briefly. (The pic is my nephew, Seth, my brother, Tom, my dad and me.) My mom said once that "family is important, in the end, it's all you got." I didn't really understand that at the time. I think she said it at some sort of family gathering surrounding a funeral, so I chalked it up to that. Family seems to get tight when they loose a member. But, maybe it's a part of getting older. We start to feel our mortality, yearning for younger days when everything felt safe. The safest place was always at home with your family. Now that I'm getting older, those days seem to be a little dream-like, maybe a little idealistic. Of course I do remember the times I was unhappy and down-right miserable too, but somehow in hindsight it seems so manageable. One thing we always hear is that we eventually turn into our parents. It horrifies all of us I know, and in the end it's true to a point. I still remember that first time I looked in the mirror and just for a second - as quickly as you could think about it - I saw my dad. Kinda freaked me out. Now I find it interesting because I see other members of my family too. Sometimes my dad, sometimes my mom, my uncle, or even my grandfather.

I've been thinking of my grandfather a lot lately. He passed away years ago. He wasn't the "climb into his lap and fall asleep" grandpa most people visualize. He was quiet, but loving. Aloof, but there. He was always a bit of a mystery to me as a kid. Not very gregarious - I don't think he liked kids much, and barely tolerated most people. That's always been my version of him. He liked to spend a lot of time gardening. They had a double lot, and the back half was all vegetables and berry gardens. He also did a lot of ornamental gardening - roses, tiger lilies, peonies... just about anything. He was an avid camper, hiker, and fisherman. He loved being in the mountains. I remember that sometimes he would come home from a long camping or fishing trip just long enough to pack up and go again. I was lucky enough to go with him once when I was in high school. It sounds strange, but it is one of those special memories I shared with just him and me. He was also an incredible photographer. He played the guitar in church and at family functions. Even "taught" me as a kid. He had boxes and boxes of pictures and slides. Many of his pictures were of scenery from his camping trips or of different flowers in bloom. He had his own printing press, and printed all kinds of graphics on business cards, brochures, announcements, I think he even printed napkins for someone's wedding once. All of this is starting to sound personally familiar to me. I like spending time in my garden, I miss hiking and camping in the northwest, and I have tons of photos of things in bloom, and I've been attempting to learn how to play my guitar, and have been working in print and online media for years.

A few years ago, my mom came to visit. We were walking around the back yard and I had my camera in hand. I stopped to take a picture of a bromeliad that had just started to display this spectacular bloom. I smiled and chuckled and said, "I'm starting to feel like grandpa." My mom's smile faded a little. We both got quiet as those words slowly sank in. We both missed him.

The best friggin' latte ever.

2008-06-15T21:57:00.003-04:00

http://www.peets.com/

Home

2008-06-15T15:01:00.003-04:00

Well, it's been a while since my last post. We recently got back from the NW. Went to my nephew's graduation, saw lots of family in WA, and friends in OR. There's never enough time to see everyone. I really hate that.

It still amazes me that after being in FL for 10 years I still get "homesick" when I visit Portland.

Miss you all already.

c

Dominican Republic - May 9

2008-05-24T15:32:00.005-04:00

It’s our last full day here, we fly out tomorrow. We picked up Chucho and went to the Botanical Garden. It’s a huge garden right in town. The place was full of school children there for a field trip. They have a train tour (actually a tram), but we decided to take the tour alone on foot. So, we didn’t get the history of the garden, but I think we saw a lot of things that we would have otherwise missed.

We saw some incredible torch gingers. Licuela palms very commonly used all over the city were 6 feet tall here (we’ve babied ours at home to a meer 3-4 feet at the tip). You could see that the garden used to be much more that it was today. Many of the exhibits were closed or in disarray and overgrown. People aren’t as interested in that type of attraction anymore. But you could see how grand it once was. I still took a lot of pictures, and had a great time. At one point we took the trail down through the canyon – which was all overgrown by plants and vines. It led down to a small stream. We didn’t follow it all the way because we couldn’t get through the jungle, but it was really cool to see.

Many of the plants were the same that we see here in Florida – lots of palms, crotons and bromeliads. But it was fun to see them in a different environment. Unfortunately, the orchid exhibit was closed at the time, so we didn’t get to see it.

Afterwards we had lunch at Rey’s Mexican Restaurant – I had a Burrito Pollo and of course Presidenté.

Back at the hotel Paul and I hit the pool again while Cesar met to meet his uncles in town.

It’s been a busy week, and after 5 days, it’s a little easier for me to understand conversations in Spanish, but still muy dificil hablar.

One funny thing that I learned was that the TV Stations don’t stay the same. One night in my room, while I was jotting down notes of our activities from the day, I was watching a movie, “Evolution” with David Duchovny, when about an hour into it, it changed to a Columbian infomercial! Not that the movie was an Oscar winner, but I still wanted to see the ending!

All in all, I really enjoyed my visit to the Dominican Republic. And I am so grateful that Cesar offered to be our host and show us his home. There is so much more that we just didn’t have time to see – you can’t do it all in a week. I think if I were to go back, I would want to visit the North and East coasts. I think the North coast is more mountainous and is more like a jungle. Who knows, maybe someday I’ll get the opportunity to return.

View this entire day's album...

Dominican Republic - May 8

2008-05-24T13:53:00.006-04:00

Today we drove to Azua to see Cesar’s family. It was about a 2 hour drive. It was nice to get out of the city and see some of the country. It’s very dry in this portion of the island. We saw lots of sugar cane and plantain fields. Many of the bridges had been wiped out in the hurricane. So there was a lot of new construction along the way, but it wasn’t too bad. Azua

Azua is a small town – much smaller than sprawling Santo Domingo. We went to meet Cesar’s three aunts, Mercedes, Carmen and “Mama.” Cesar grew up with his aunts in this house. It’s small, but not terribly so. Mercedes and Carmen were there when we arrived. Mama lived nearby and came over a little later. These are some of the kindest people I’ve ever met. Even though there was a huge language barrier, they made us feel so welcome in their home. They spent the morning preparing lunch for us – which I thought was incredibly generous. The meal was sautéed steak full of wonderful spices including onion, garlic, oregano, cilantro and other things. It was served with beans and rice, and a salad with green tomatoes and something called taiyota (I’m probably spelling that incorrectly). It’s a green (fruit?) that she peeled, sliced, boiled or blanched then cooled - a very subtle flavor with a pear-like texture. I’ve tried to find more info on it online, but haven’t had any luck yet. After lunch we had café con leche and that afternoon they made fresh papaya smoothies. Later we also had smoothies made from the passion fruit we bought the day before and brought with us. The best meal of the entire trip by far!

They had this really cool tree in the patio. It’s called a Higuero Tree. It has strange rough-looking bark, with pretty green leaves that break from old wood. It has these round, EXTREMELY hard fruits. We learned that the fruits are used to make Maracas (and I always thought they were gourds).

We also had the opportunity to meet more of his family – some of his uncles, two of his sisters and many nieces and nephews. All of them were very kind and gracious.

On the way back, we stopped at a few of the roadside souvenir booths. I bought a couple insulators for Presidenté. In Boca Chica, they served them by putting the entire bottle inside a piece of PVC pipe with a handle. This helped insulate the bottle and kept it from getting warm too quickly. I thought the wooden onces were pretty cool – so I bought a couple for home. One is big enough to hold a bottle of wine, the others would hold Coronas.

Back in Santo Domingo, we had dinner at an Italian restaurant called Vesuvio. I had a julienned caprese salad that also had sun dried tomatoes (to die for!) and baked chicken. With the exception of the salad, the dinner was okay all around, so we decided that we should go back to the Renaissance for coffee and desert again. But by the time we got back through the casino and to the coffee bar, it was closed! Dessert just wasn’t going to be the same without the coffee, so we decided against it.

On the way back to our hotel, we drove by the presidential palace, which just happened to be on the way. But as luck would have it, there was a security checkpoint performing random searches. It was a little disturbing to have the car suddenly surrounded by armed guards. Cesar explained that we were tourists and that we didn’t speak Spanish (thank God he was with us). We got out of the car and stood by while they searched the trunk. It was only a few minutes when we were able to get back in the car and head to our hotel.

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Dominican Republic - May 7

2008-05-24T09:35:00.008-04:00

Today we drove through the city. I’m still amazed at the volume and chaos of the traffic. We drove to the east side of the city – which was much different than the Colonial District. It looks much more modern with tall buildings and common businesses (even saw a Burger King). Pretty much like a typical city.

We stopped and saw Cesar’s condo. I didn’t want to go in because he had a tenant living there. But it sits up on a hillside with a great view of the ocean a short distance away.

There’s a night club nearby that Cesar talked about, Guacara Taina Disco, so we decided to go check it out. It was the middle of the afternoon, so we knew it wouldn’t be open. We got there and there was a crew working on the grounds and cleaning up from the previous night’s events. I could see the entrance through the gate. It looked pretty cool. It just went down a few steps, and there was what looked like a small patio and bar carved out of the rock wall. Cesar disappeared for a few minutes and came back with a woman who worked there carrying a bunch of keys. She opened the gate for us and motioned for us to follow. I learned later that she somehow got the impression that we were leading a large tour group of about 40 people and we wanted to see the inside to see if we wanted to bring them there. Anyway, I didn’t think it was necessary since I could pretty much see it from there, but we followed her down the steps anyway. When we got to the bottom, she unlocked a door and we followed her through. We walked into this giant cavern. Turns out the little grotto I saw was only the ticket booth. This place was HUGE! It still looked like what it was, a giant cave, complete with stalactites. I felt like I was entering “the bat cave.” There was a concrete floor and hand rails where needed, but other than that, the walls and ceilings were untouched. We walked across the cavern and down a short series of steps into an even larger room. I was dumbfounded. There was a really long bar with many small round tables. Another large cavern to the right held a full stage with concert lights and a dance floor. This place could easily hold a few hundred people. And each weekend it does!

From there we drove across town to see the Columbus Lighthouse Monument (Faro a Colon). It doesn’t look like the usual lighthouse. It’s a huge monument built in honor of Christopher Columbus. It looks more like a modern pyramid from Central America. At night it projects a beam of light into the sky in the shape of a cross. Anyway, we didn’t know this until we got there, but it’s also where the ashes of Christopher Columbus are kept (they were moved there from Spain). It’s a pretty amazing monument. In 1972, the Pope visited the city and they have the "pope-mobile" on display outside. It's under a tent, and it's roped off, but now it's serving as a den for a litter of puppies.

We drove east from the lighthouse to Tres Ojos. It’s a park that has three with three lakes below ground level. It was truly amazing. We walked down the steps to see a cavern with an underground lake. We could see fish and turtles in the lake. We hiked to the next two lakes, and at the last one we had to take a small ferry. It was just a small platform on pontoons that was pulled across a short distance to the other side of the water. They dropped us off on the other side and we walked through the cave. It was pretty cool to think that we were so far underground. But it was large enough to not feel claustrophobic. It was pretty dark in spots and you had to stop and let your eyes adjust. It wasn’t lit at all, but it was close enough to the entrance that you could see okay. When we came out on the other side, we saw the third lake. Other than a few bats and a huge centipede on the way out, we didn’t see much animal life.

We went to a neighboring town, Boca Chica, for lunch. It’s a small tourist town lost of shopping. We were led to a parking spot and then to one of the restaurants on the beach. As soon as we sat down, the vendors were all over us. They were like seagulls! There had to be at least 6 people standing around us trying to get us to buy souvenirs, manicure, pedicure or massages or fish and other fresh critters from the sea. We really just wanted to be left alone and enjoy our lunch and the view. Cesar ended up having a conversation with our host who chased away the vendors for fear of losing his customers. He was pretty good at chasing them away for the most part. We ordered lunch and Presidenté (of course). We were finally settled and enjoyed the mesmerizing aquamarine color of the water and light breeze. Lunch was great. I had bistec (steak) and tostones (fried plantains). Paul had paea and Cesar had fish. Just as we were served, a group of young “spring breakers” sat at a table next to us, there were maybe ten of them in the group, and I’d guess that they had already begun drinking the afternoon away. As if on cue, the seagulls flocked to their tables. A few wandered to our table but we just shook our heads “no” and waved them to the other table (in fairness, they were actually buying things). It was pretty amusing to sit and watch the whole thing.

After lunch we shopped a little- didn’t buy anything. Went back to restaurant to use the restrooms before the drive back and ended up ordering just one more Presidenté (I can’t tell you how refreshing that is on a really hot day). We watched a group of women playing dominos. While we cooled off in the shade. After a while they invited us to play with them. None of them spoke any English. Who knew that the international language wasn’t love after all, but dominos? Our “one for the road” turned into several more as we enjoyed the game.

We decided to stop at the “Super Mercado” on the way back to pick up some bottled water and a few things (including a couple pounds of Café Molido). The store was huge and was a combination grocery, clothing, house wares, electronics and furniture store. Cesar was outside as we went through the checkout. I used my card, and was at a total loss when the cashier clearly wanted something from me but I couldn’t understand. Finally I got the message that she was asking for my ID. I felt silly for not getting that. The bagger was pushing the cart for me to the door, even though I tried to let him know it was okay, I could carry my few bags. When we got just outside we found ourselves surrounded by 4 or 5 men who were arguing about something with the store employee. I didn’t know what the hell was going on, so I just started pulling my bags out of the cart and walk away. Cesar saw the feeding frenzy and came over to clear it all up. Turns out, the men were all cab drivers and they were arguing over who was going to get our business. Thank got that Cesar was there. Otherwise, who knows where we would have ended up! We headed back to the hotel, and I was so tired that I was in bed by 10. It was another busy day.

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Dominican Republic - May 6

2008-05-07T20:32:00.001-04:00

Well, as expected, the city looks a lot different in the ilght of day. We walked for several miles throughout the city, specifically the Colonial District. First we had breakfast at the hotel's outside restaurant. The cafe con leche was awesome. It was a welcome friend. Afterwards, we began our trek through the city. First and foremost, I have to say that I was surprised at the traffic. It was just amazing - cars everywhere, motorcycles and pedestrians thrown in the mix, horns blaring incessantly and only the faintest trace of traffic rules were to be found. We first saw the Altar de la Patria and the Parque Independencia. At the Altar de la Patria we saw the final resting place of the three forefathers of the DR; Juan Pablo Duarte, Matias Ramon Mella and Francisco del Rosario Sanchez. An imposing building in the middle of a beautifully landscaped park, it was two stories tall, built out of marble. Inside were large statues of the three men, and an eternal flame. It was attended by a couple of armed guards (something us "Norte Americanos" are not used to seeing). But they were very nice and offered a lot of history through the translation of Cesar. They were also kind enough to help us out taking pictures of the place and with them as well.

After that - we took a stroll down Conde Calle. This used to be the main shopping district in Santo Domingo. But with the advent of shopping malls in the newer part of the city, it has lost a little bit of it's luster. But it was still filled with clothing shops, souvenir stores and lots of local art for sale on the sidewalks. There was a young women's/girls clothing store named "Lolita" that I was particularly amused by.

Something that was really difficult to adjust to was being constantly approached by street vendors of all types - men selling souvenirs, boys offering to shine your shoes or men acting as their own "cambios" offering to sell you Dominican dollars for American dollars (I'm still at a loss at how that is a good deal for them - they would typically offer a higher exchange rate than the regular cambios or banks). But they were everywhere, and we had to learn to be insistent without appearing rude. By the end of the day, the polite veneer of a smile and "no, gracias" wore thin to a simple but stern "no."

Near the end of Conde Calle, we came to an open plaza, Parque y Monumento a Cristobal Colon that lead to the Catedral Metropolitana, the first Christian church of the new world. But we came back to that later.

We continued our walk down Conde Calle and went to the Forte of Santo Domingo, or Fortaleza de Santo Domingo. There we picked up a tour guide and got a LOT of history. We learned that years ago the fort was used as a prison, and our tour guide spent time in prison because he was accused of being a supporter of Fidel Castro. The fort has a volatile history - and our tour guide was so thorough that much of what he said was lost because it was just overwhelming. The fort overlooked the Ozama River that separated the original site of the city before it moved and the fort where it is today. There was an action movie being filmed at the time we were there (the name has escaped me) but we got a photo with one of the actors. He was pretty exhausted by then because he had already been killed three times that day. From there we turned and walked down Las Damas Calle. We passed by lots of buildings full of political history. We walked by Trampolin Children's Museum. We didn't go in, but we peeked at their courtyard which was nicely landscaped with lots of orchids and palms. We passed by another small museum that had two carvings of the local Taino tribes. Here we saw representations of the sun and moon. We were on our way to see Don Diego Colon's home (son of Christopher Columbus) we saw some really cool iron artwork. I didn't get any information about them, but they were really cool. We got to Alcazar Virreinal de Don Diego Colon in Plaza Espana. There are lots of pictures of the house at the link below. They said that Christopher Columbus never lived there, but his family did, most notably his son, Diego.

From there we went to the Amber museum. It was pretty cool - there were lots of things to look at. Including their nod to Jurassic Park with a piece of amber with a complete miniature dinosaur inside (very gumball machine-ish, but amusing). I didn't purchase anything - it was pretty expensive. And the tour was designed to lead into a sales pitch. We knew that was coming, but went along anyway to see the museum.

By this time we were getting pretty exhausted. We happened to run into our tour guide from the fort earlier and he suggested a small cafe close to where we were. So Paul, Cesar, Chucho and I collapsed around a small table and immediately ordered sodas, bottled water and a couple of bottles of Presidente - the local brew (a light beer, especially refreshing when served ice cold - we became very good friends of Presidente by the end of the week).

After lunch, we worked our way back to the Cathedral. Along the way, we saw the remains of the first monastery (The Dominicus), and the first mental hospital (yes, you read that correctly), and the first University. When we got to the Cathedral, my camera batteries died. We tried to get batteries at a nearby gift shop, but after returning two sets that were dead, I gave up. I'll have to get copies of the pictures Cesar and Paul took. I did get a couple shots though.

It was a lot to take in on the first day, and we were exhausted! We got back to the hotel, and went straight to the pool with a few more icy bottles of Presidente to wrap it all up.

After we rested up, we decided to venture out for dinner. Cesar decided that we should visit China Town (who knew?). We got there a little late, and decided to not spend a whole lot of time shopping around. But we found a little place to eat. It was kind of funny to see a menu that was a strange mix of Spanish and Chinese - "Pollo Lo Mein" for example. We had a good chuckle at that. Although it makes perfect sense, we just never thought about it before.

Later we went to a casino in a Rennaisance hotel. Casino's aren't something I usually enjoy, but Paul and Cesar wanted to go, and I'm glad we did. I didn't gamble, but lived vicariously through them and watched the local lounge act. By the end of the night, Paul had won $140 American dollars. On the way out we stopped by the restaurant for coffee (the best!) and dessert. I had the Passion Fruit Cheesecake. It wasn't really a cheesecake, it was more like flan. But it was the best coffee and dessert in the entire world. It was the perfect end to a very, very busy day.

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Dominican Republic - May 5

2008-05-06T19:33:00.003-04:00

Today Paul and I arrived in the Dominican Republic. The flight was pretty good. I watched Jumper on the way down. We landed in Santo Domingo at 10:15PM. The wait to get our luggage was a long one. It was interesting going through customs - mostly because all the forms were in Spanish, and my Spanish is pretty poor. I was able to decipher most of it, and just hoped for the best when it came to the rest. We were greeted by Cesar at the airport. Another man was with him who immediately came up and gave me a big smile and a hug. Then insisted on taking my luggage for me. I was really hoping that he was with Cesar - he was pretty wrapped up in seeing Paul for the first time in two weeks. It turns out that he is a long time friend of Cesar's. His name is Jesus, but friends call him Chucho (I'm sure I'm spelling that wrong).

It's late as we drive into Santo Domingo. The first thing that strikes me is how much trash is on the streets. Kind of surprised me actually. And there were a LOT of people out on the streets for such a late hour on a Monday night. Many people out and about, and many women out working for the evening.

We got to the hotel, La Casona Dorado. It is pretty nice, seems clean and safe. The bed is EXTREMELY firm! And it's COLD. Apparently, they don't mess around when it comes to air conditioning.

Although it was late, we decided to go out for a bite to eat. A few blocks away was Cafe Manolo. I was tired and played it safe and ordered a Cuban Sandwich and a Coke "Light." I crashed in my room after that. All thoughts of practicing a little more Spanish left with the last bit of energy I had.

The vacation that almost wasn't...

2008-05-03T19:19:00.005-04:00

Well, it was a close call. This past week I haven't been feeling the best. Kinda had this stomach thing that everyone at work was having - only for them it only lasted for a day. Well, it's been almost a week for me. Since I'm scheduled to fly out Monday to the DR, I thought it would be smart to just go to the walk-in clinic to see if I need a prescription. I figured that if I'm going to need to see a doctor, probably should do it here in the states rather than risk waiting to go to a doc in a foreign country.

So I go to see the doc, whom I've seen before. I talked to him, told him about my upcoming trip and then he examines me. His response was "Damn" and then sends me immediately to the ER to have my appendix checked. I was so upset that this was going to mess with my trip.

I got to the ER at about 2pm, checked in, only waited for a few minutes before I was called back. They had me change, took a urine sample, a blood sample, and had me wait to be examined. The ER doc came in, did the exam, and wasn't sure if this was an appendix thing or gall bladder. Either way, yahoo. So he says I need a CT scan. Someone comes in later, I drink the icky stuff, wait an hour, drink more icky stuff, and an hour and a half after that, they finally take me for the scan. It went pretty quickly, but then I had to wait another 2 hours for them to get the results. At this point, I am sick and tired of laying in a hospital bed in the ER watching TV. They finally came in and told me that they didn't see anything wrong. He tells me to take Pepcid and wants me to go get a sonogram. Cripes. Well, I feel okay - not great, but good enough. I've taken it pretty easy today, just relaxed, watched TV, took a nap... a good Saturday. So, unless I feel like shit tomorrow, I'm gettin' my butt on a plane Monday.

Yoga me this, Batman!

2008-04-17T08:54:00.004-04:00

Well, I actually went back. This was my second attempt. I went to a different class on Tuesday, with a different instructor. I think it was easier, yet harder.

The instructor was a little difficult to understand. She was nice, but she spoke as though everything was one long run on sentence and she had to get it out all in one breath. Between trying to hear her, and understand what she was saying, and then decipher it in my head, while trying to balance myself in some contorted way that my body wasn't used to - well, I'm sure I looked like a fool. "Bendyourbodytodownwardfacingdogthenneestouchingyourtoesmovingforwardintoaforwardlungebackuptosunsoluteand
backdowntouchingyourlowerbackwithyourelbowdownintopoopingwarthog."

WTF? Did I hear that correctly?

At the end of the class, I think I detected an accent (possibly Australian?), which would have added to my difficulty following along.

But I was persistent. The group felt very welcoming, which was a big plus. Especially since I look like a walrus trying to do some funky ballet. I'm sure I'll continue to go to her class on Tuesdays. Got another I want to check out on Thursdays. Need to give this a good run before I decide to embrace it or give it up for something else.

ciao for now.

Tryin' sumthin' new

2008-04-08T22:02:00.001-04:00

Maybe it's desperation. Maybe it's bravery. Maybe it's because it's my four-oh year (shit). I thought I'd jump in and try something I've thought about for a long time. I finally went to a yoga class.

It was pretty much what I expected. It started with a little chant (om), which was a little weird for me. But whatever. Not a deal breaker. While I certainly didn't expect it to be EASY by any means, but it was definitely a challenge. Within about ten minutes, I was sweatin' like a whore in church, as the saying goes. And I couldn't do but a few of the moves/poses. But I gave it a good try. Towards the end, I faded out pretty quickly. I just laid there sweating. I may have cried a little. I can't remember. But no one asked me to leave. Maybe they thought I was having a spiritual breakthrough. I felt a little strange at the end. I'm not sure how to explain it other than I just felt "toxic." I'm not even sure that I know what that means. But I felt like I needed more than a shower.

I left not sure if I liked it or not. But I felt like I got some good exercise, which was the goal. I decided that I'm going to have to go a few times to decide if it's for me.

Today I felt pretty good. I definitely slept better. I feel like I worked out yesterday. So it's a good thing. I did have to go buy a mat. But then Alicia made me realize that I think I bought a PVC mat. So much for eco-responsibility.

I don't travel enough...

2008-04-04T17:07:00.001-04:00

I know this isn't "news" but it seems to have hit home lately. I really have some missed travel opportunites recently. And I regret them. Alicia, one of many fearless travelers I admire recently left NY, and I never motivated myself to go visit and see the city through the eyes of someone who has lived there for a long time. Mycroft, another friend, just moved back to the NY from Australia. Another missed opportunity.

Well, I was just handed an opportunity to go and visit the Dominican Republic with a friend who's from there. And this time I'm taking it! I'm getting excited about it, even though my Spanish SUCKS. But I'm sure it will still be fine. Hope to have lots of stories when I return. Only a few weeks away!

Martin Luther King Day

2008-01-29T23:34:00.000-05:00

Last weekend I was out walking the dogs and ran into a neighbor. She had just returned from a trip with a friend of hers who she introduced. Throughout the usual polite conversation, we chatted about it being Martin Luther King's birthday and how we all had the day as a holiday. Then she said something that nearly floored me. She said, "MLK did us good, didn't he?" You could have knocked me over with a look. For some reason, I went from zero to pissed off and appalled within two seconds. I could not believe that in one sentence, she boiled down all of MLK's efforts down to a three-day weekend! I was screaming in my head, 'You stupid, unappreciative, obnoxious self centered bitch of a woman! How dare you! You have obviously COMPLETELY missed the point! It's about more than a day off!" But because I really like our neighbor, I bit my tongue and didn't make a scene about it. But I stewed about it for quite a while.

A little later, while still fuming in my head, I came to a realization. All she did was comment that she was happy to have a day off. She didn't dismiss any of the good work he's done. After all, what did I do that day? Watched some TV, read a little, took the dogs for a walk.

I had the day off.