Pizza and Breadsticks

worried about Considine driving back from North Carolina starting today with daughter Tamsin. he suffered a fall in the beginning of his trip and has not really recovered.  I wish him safe travels and look forward to his return to the towers.  having coffee with Dick and Bill this morning outside on the veranda.  Weather will be hot later today but more temperate now. Dick left me a copy of a work his late wife penned.  She had an excellent command of the language and painted wonderful word pictures of her history and that of her family.  I know he misses her terribly.

We had a terrific visit from young friends with 3 little guys last evening.  Again, got smart and bought a pizza and breadsticks rather than developing some dish I thought they would enjoy.  Mom is a lovely strawberry blonde and all the boys are on the light side of ginger.  What fun I had playing with this alligator biting teeth toy with the 4 year old's.  The squeals of delight got me.  Fun is in short supply these days.  I got to read them a book and even got to hold the littlest guy, a real treat of a night, so much better that watching Pat and Vanna and their gleaming teeth.  Janine Riley, if you're reading this, these could be your grandkids, with their ginger hair.  I have to admit, these little people while exhausting, energize me and make me smile.

Its been raining for most of the night with thunder cracking and lightning flashing in the sky.  I have to admit that I enjoy the sound of the rain and the storm.  The waters brought forth are nourishment for the plants and lawns.  There is some level of serenity in the rain hitting the hard surfaces of the balcony.  The wind has died down and the balcony door has been reopened to feel the cool breeze yet again.

My wife's cousin Barbara and her husband own and operate a farm in California north of San Francisco.  They were ordered to evacuate their property due to the raging wildfires that were approaching.  They did but returned to build fire breaks with some of their neighbors.  Judy has tracking the fire with an app and fortunately now the family has received the all clear and can stay at home to the great relief of their kids and grand kids.  I truly know nothing of this from personal experience.  Like a monster rolling thru town with no stopping, it must be terrifying.  I wish them well.

We watched a streamed edition of Stephen Colbert last night featuring Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi.  She sounded like your quivering voiced Aunt Rose spouting platitudes.  I am proudly a  Democrat.  But we need a younger, stronger voice in that spot. Gender, race, or preference does not matter.  There is a battle ahead and one that we are embroiled in.  Trump and his minions must be sent home.  Republicans have their attack dogs like Jim Jordan. Frankly, I do not know what happened to Adam Shiff after the impeachment hearings.  He seemed like a strong voice but now is missing in action.  Again, I'm pissed.

all for now

stay safe

Thus far

 So in the course of this pandemic, I have gained about 10 pounds of useless weight, mostly due to the enjoyment of comfort foods.  Ate too many pizza pies, potato chips and chicken dinners to be sure.  Now as we are facing probably another lock down in the fall and winter months, what do I do?  I could proclaim publicly that I was turning over a new leaf returning to  a vegetarian program.  But that would prove false most likely.  The thought of a pile of steaming broccoli vs. a salty bag of ridged chips that wraps your mouth in flavor has no comparison.  The chips would win.  If you can find these, buy them, they are extraordinary. 

Yeah I take Harry for long walks listening to classical music contemplating the birds and the shapes of the leaves showing thru dappled sunlight.  But these are more enjoyable strolls than exercise.  The knees will no longer tolerate jogging so that is out of the question.  So I will keep strolling.  I am fortunate genetically to have good architecture at 70 with no hip or knee problems.  Those student athletes that I longed to be in high school are now hobbling with joint issues.  

So we had a visit from Paxton and Everett yesterday with lots of outside singing and dancing.  Actually found out that Ev like carrots, dried cranberries and yogurt cover pretzels and drinking water from a disposable bottle.  Feel like a real success.  Ev makes me smile in that I cannot move quick enough to catch him as he runs toward the parking lot.  We have small hills on the grounds of the old folks home and both guys love to run up and down them.

Coffee this morning with two of my buddies swapping tales and learning about each other.  Dick loaned me a book of essays and poems written by his late wife.  She had quite a talent for creating a pictures with her words about her family's history and life in the midwest from the 30's forward.   As a lousy essayist myself, I really appreciate her word images.

Going to lunch today at Renshaw's this afternoon with Dick, should be fun and always tasty.  

all for now

stay safe

I Love to Cook

 We had a friend over for dinner yesterday and it was real fun preparing the meal.  I find the process relaxing and really enjoy the hand work of chopping, stirring and sticking my nose into the pot to smell the aromas of the results.  Seeking out a recipe on the internet is also a treat.  I needed to locate a plan for a marinade for chicken for this meal.  Most of the ingredients were at hand in my cupboard with a few to be bought at a trip to the store.  Anyway it all worked out and the chicken was done on time and not dried out.  Never really thought to add honey to the mixture to counteract the the effects of the balsamic that was also included. I know, too many details.  All was enjoyed, still have some leftovers for later. Dorothy, my mother, inspired me to cook, along with my Italian Mother in Law, Marie.  They both fed everyone that entered their door without exception.  Both had fridges filled with edibles and no one was left wanting.  As a kid or an adult, you could walk in, open the  fridge, start shopping and never went away hungry.  As mothers, that was one of their purposes, feeding people.  

As I sit her in the early morning hour, alone, I fear for our republic.  There is a dog howling out the window.  I feel that is like us.  We need to work together to remove the current despot from office and move toward correcting some of the damage left in his wake.  Children in cages at the border and missing post boxes with sorting machines scattered in parking lots, children being put on buses and shipped back alone to some country south of the border have left me outraged.  Another big question is will he depart if defeated?  Will he proclaim the election is a fraud?  I believe that the next occupant of the office moves in on January 20th 2021.  That's it.

Also we should have the freedom to disagree,  Supporters of 45 have had their houses defaced by eggs in my town.  This is simply wrong.  Vandalism is never the right answer.  Citizens have a right to their opinions even if I don't agree with them. 

Having the little grandsons over for a visit today in the afternoon.  It should be a fun day and hopefully we can get outside.

all for now

stay safe

Driving, the Post Office and getting thru life

So I wanted to start this entry with a picture of one of the cool cars I'll never own, the stunning 2020 Chevy mid engine Corvette in red, my favorite color.  Now I have always been painfully honest in my thoughts and words contained in these posts.  Frankly, my driving skills need work.  I am taking an online senior driving course offered by AAA an am half way through it.  Again, honestly, I and perhaps we cannot drive casually, munching and fixing the radio like we did in our youth. I am forcing myself to put both hands on the wheel.  Visual and aural distractions can hamper our concentration toward the primary job at hand, operating a motor vehicle.  Situational awareness is also key.  That's all I'm going to say.  If your feel the need, the course is about 6 hours long and can be stopped and started as needed.  For members, the cost is about 15 bucks. I view it as a tool in the tool box.

Political ads are constant and continuing to be annoying.  In a recent ad for Gary Peters our senator, referring to drug companies and the high cost of insulin,  he says "we will hold them accountable".  Now I will vote for him but what does that statement really mean?  Are you going to force a for profit entity to curtail their profits and disappoint their share holders? I say probably not and that old guy traveling 100 miles round trip to Canada (oh wait, he can't, we've been banned) to get his medications?  This is another guy making a speech with encouraging words to earn votes from his constituents.  I hold my parents accountable for being of short stature.  I hold Trader Joe's accountable for their delicious ridged potato chips that I consume so readily and add to my waist line.  Please stop making speeches and take some action.  I will be glad to read the facts as to your accomplishments and maybe won't buy those chips.

This guy DeJoy dismantling the operational equipment and post boxes for the Postal Service has further shown the lengths 45 will go to to win the election.  Now we as seniors in Berkley Michigan can march down to the city clerks office about two blocks away and place our completed ballots in the slot.  The tabulation of those ballots cannot take place until November 3rd and succeeding days.  People without adequate transportation could always mail their ballots.  Generally there were boxes throughout neighborhoods.  Now some of those are being removed or locked. DeJoy says that he will halt the process of reorganization until after the election.  I would bet my social security check that the boxes removed and the sorting machines dismantled and dumped into parking lots will stay right in their current locations!  The votes of some citizens will not be cast.  If they don't have a way to the polling place or a place to mail their vote,  they are voiceless in our process.  I am beyond pissed.

My weight is increasing during this lack of exercise and over eating period for the last 6 months.  Yeah I walk the dog and saunter through various nature trails but an eating more calories than I burn.  We are going into cold months ahead with probably no Planet Fitness to fall back on.  I really enjoyed going there and keeping track of my relative health monitoring times and strength.  Have been thinking about getting some kind of machine but fear it will become a sculpture to hand clothes on.  

Had a wonderful outdoor luncheon on the deck of a good friend yesterday.  They added a permanent gazebo (a word I lost track of yesterday).  We went on and on over about 3 hours watching a baby squirrel leap from his garage roof to the adjoining tree.  Bob and I go back to a time when he was a Ford guy and I was Jerry the glove guy selling the plants safety stuff. We share some mutual friends and comradery that can only come from working together.

stay safe

all for now

A Valuable lesson

 When making a selection for dinner for the grand children, don't trust your first thoughts on what they will enjoy. You may have a flavorful dish that is your specialty with some element of healthy eating in it.  But, take a brief pause in your judgement....... Will they eat it or go ew at the sight and smell of your creation.  When feeding all my grandchildren this has been my frequent experience.  I find it difficult to hide my disappointment.  All my pleading, c'mon have a taste falls on deaf ears. 

So yesterday, I invited Andrew and the kids over for dinner.  I purchased Chicken Shack fried chicken with broasted potatoes.  They inhaled it. The best forty bucks I ever spent.  I know, it's on the bottom of the healthy food list.  But for once in recent times, a success. We are not the parents, and are absolved of responsibility only wanting fed, smiling children. 

This is Everett the Earnest plotting his next move outside his home.  His eating interests are challenging at best.  I plead, please try this or that and a get a shake of the head and a push away of the hand.  I found one noodle he likes, that's it.  But still he thrives and runs like the wind.  We watched him an his brother last Friday at their home.  He and I went to his room and played, sang songs and watched kid TV show.  He makes me crazy but he makes me learn to not have expectations and have fun with out care.  

Well it is another Sunday with Hakuna Matata and Shannon.  She was here for the dinner yesterday enjoying the loud volume and the chaos.  Her eating habits have improved and she consumes whatever she is served.  Most enjoyment was the chocolate cake that Andrew brought.  It was gone in an instant. 

I fear for our republic.  Postal boxes are being unbolted from the ground and removed.  Mail sorting machines are being decommissioned at Post Offices.  The disruption of Benjamin Franklin's institution is the most egregious assault on our democracy to date.  45's blatant admission of the purpose behind this atrocity is to prevent voting by mail.  He has said this in front of and to a TV camera.  Fearful of a post presidency with dire outcomes for him prompts this action.  Of course you can drive to your city clerks office and drop off your ballot for counting.  What if you don't have a car or are near to a bus?  I my little town of Berkley, and cannot imagine the line.  

Yesterday was the date of the fake Dream Cruise on Woodward.  There were lots of loud vehicles rumbling down the avenue.  Interspersed were Ford F-150's and Dodge Rams flying Trump flags as a badge of honor.  I hope they don't try to mail in their ballots for naught. 

sorry to end on a negative note

all for now

stay safe

He would be 99 today

 

These are photos of Eddie and Dorothy taken at on important dates of their lives.  The first one is on their wedding day in 1946 in front of St. Benedicts Catholic Church in Detroit and the second one is on the steps of the now defunct Royalty House on the occasion of my sister's wedding.  He was born on August 14, 1921 and will be gone 28 years from my life.  They were a really happy couple, both gone now.  He loved her madly.  I wish I remembered more about my history with him.  But I cannot believe he as been gone this long or would have almost been 100.

We have been trying to beat the heat and summer boredom by visiting places we always enjoyed.  The latest of which is a bar/restaurant called Renshaw's Lounge in Clawson.  This is truly a neighborhood watering hole and has a nice outdoor drinking/eating patio with pleasant breezes.  I know it sounds like a shots and beers joint your grandpa might have visited.  They do have a pool table and a jukebox.  The dining is wonderful bar food at a decent price.  The waitstaff is terrific and they remember your name.  Further, you can get a domestic draft beer for $2 and a bowl of popcorn for $1.  That's a 5 dollar midday drinking snack....for two. I'm planning to bring my two buddies for dinner there on Monday.  We'll see how it goes.

Taking care of our little guys today at their home, with an new puppy as well.  It should be a fun, active time.  Got good sleep last night so I should be ready.  My buddy Everett (pictured above) should keep me hopping. He is a happy guy but just wants to do things his own way.  look at that face, of determination.  Paxton is older and extremely conversational and polite.  When he frowns you accuse yourself and want to instantly cure things and make him smile. 

Wish us luck

stay safe and cool.

all for now

The sky is shrouded in thick clouds

It is a rather gloomy morning with no evidence of the massive storms and winds they promised yesterday.  I made some notes on writing topics Sunday but could not find the inspiration to compose them till now.  I really struggle to blog unless I am alone.  This photo is me in my favorite shirt at the Cranbrook Gardens before the arrival of our walking partners.  What a lovely place to wander around and smell the flowers and look at the statuary .  

Shannon loves country music mostly Alan Jackson and Patsy Cline.  She rocks back and forth to the beat and sings along where she can. After a lifetime of guitar bands and later jazz fusion, I took a liking to it as well mostly because I could sing along in the car.  I'm most fond of the sad, heartbreak tunes.  Most of us have suffered heartbreaks in our lives and I really connect with these.  Garth sing big numbers and sells lots of records but I like his quiet cowboy songs the best.  Conjuring up strumming the guitar in the moonlight with the cattle mooing in the distance is a pleasant image for me.  Growing up in the 59's I never missed an episode of Roy Rogers on Saturday afternoon. I am also intrigued by the instrumentation with crying pedal steel and dobroes,  Open your minds and ears, give it a listen.

We had traveling kids this weekend and I shuttled between their apartment to tend to dogs and cats.  Really sleeping with Apollo on the couch and cleaning up after Meatball (cat) was not difficult.  They both loved the company.  I splurged on mediocre pizza from Bucemi's, ate it all and regretted it; Why is it that foods you really enjoyed as a youngster now taste blah?  Is is faltering taste buds or has the quality lapsed?  Well this is another carryout joint I can remove from the list.  Also had to feed and tend to Simon our newest member. He was running around and climbing up his tower with great ease.  A sweet guy and a good pal for Andrew and his kids.

In my solitude, I continued rewatching A Handmaids Tale.  This somber and frightening story continues to rattle me and move me at the same time.  Now in the beginning of season 3.  This is truly a guilty pleasure of mine.  I revel in the darkness of the story and the courage of the women in the episodes.  Yvonne Strahovski (Serena Joy) stars in a new 6 episode series called Stateless on Netflix.  Set in an Immigration station in Australia,  its another stirring drama worth seeing.  We watched it in entirety yesterday.  

Having seen Beauty and the Beast countless times with Shannon, was interested in seeing the new biography of Howard Ashman on Disney plus.  He, along with Alan Menken wrote the music and songs for the film.  I loved seeing Jerry Ohrbach sing "Be our Guest" as it was recorded for the movie.  The sixty something Angela Lansbury was amazing in her part with all fhe vocal acrobatics.  The giant voice of Richard Hatch (Gaston) was attached to a not so big guy, which was shocking.  

We had a wonderful visit with Julie and Dave our former neighbors Friday night along with Marie and partner Janet that were our next door neighbors.  This partnership is relatively new and they are completely suited to each other, the look in their eyes is unmistakable.  It was a splendid evening of conversation going way past our bed times.  We'll do it again.

Getting ready to coffee with my two amigos.  

All for now

Stay safe 

 

.   

 

Old Guys

I know, not a very interesting topic.  In my travels at Oxford Towers, I have become acquainted with 3 other residents that are all older then me and we have become morning coffee buddies.  Two of them are widowers (is that even still a word?) with long successful marriages both living with the loss of the love of their lives.  The other gentleman has had two unsuccessful relationships and no parties involved are blameless, including him.  

John is off to North Carolina vacationing with his first wife and their children and grandchildren so we won't be seeing him for awhile.  He drove down and all  seems to be going well.  That being said,  my other two pals Dick and Jordy and i hatched a plot to go out to a socially distanced dinner yesterday afternoon.  Went to Bagger Dave's a burger joint down the street.  They had opened up large windows for airflow and we sat with the breezes and the traffic sounds coming in.  These guys are older than me one is 85 and the other is 80.  Their life experiences have been different than mine.  Needless to say, I did a lot of listening.  Stories got repeated.  I have heard them so many times I could fill in the endings.  But they are alone.  Kids come to visit from time to time and are helpful,  but, they need something to occupy their time and something to look forward to, hence the dinner out.  Making a new plan for next month.  During these times of lockdown and quarantine,  anticipating an event or activity is really important.   

There is a unique home in our neighborhood which displays whimsical crafty items on the front lawn.  Some may call is tacky, but I love it and have complemented the owners on their characters, a couple that are pictured here, turtle and elephant.

We went to a new nature trail in Rochester Hills yesterday called Innovation Hills.  Definitely worth a look if you are anywhere in the area.  It has wide walkways with some boardwalk areas over a marshy spot. Also, spotless bathrooms.  Saw lots of turtles basking in the sun and singing frogs.  Its truly a lovely walk.  This photo of my beautiful Judy and Eli was taken there at the end of our walk. They are smiling over my usual lack of technical abilities with the camera phone.  Not included is the picture with my grandson because is expression was less than cheery.

Daughter Katey is always thinking of me,  She was away last weekend in western Michigan at a friend's cottage and brought me some Philippine egg rolls and noodle salad.  Looks delicious and will be enjoying today. 

We finished the series Love on the Spectrum last night. Was hoping for the bloom of true love for all the participants but alas most were still looking but undaunted in their quest for a soulmate.

all for now

 

Kensington in the rain

When I start writing one of these, I am often stumped on topics.  Politics and the Covid-19 virus are quite unhappy subjects and they need to be shied away from.  Frankly we watch the news each day and find that we are far from over with this disease and the president is getting more bizarre at each report.  

Shannon was awakened by a loud thunder clap this morning and the rain was coming through her window that I neglected to close last night.  She wasn't so much scared as she was surprised by the loud noise.  When I got her up, we were both laughing; next more movies and breakfast.  

We went to a rain abbreviated reunion/picnic at Kensington yesterday afternoon.  These are folks that are first and second cousins we rarely see and their family's are growing.  Each time there are more babies.  As the oldest person there, I am a great-great uncle to one little girl that is now four and her newest sister.  Living in this old folks home, we rarely see little ones and it was a treat to see these carefree kids running around.  Seeing all this life is a happy time for me.  I can see how my Mother in Law Marie was crazy about kids.  When we would take her to a restaurant, she would look for children to catch their attention and capture a smile.  This is me and Marie at the park earlier this month with birdie eating from her hand.

More blather about TV shows:

We viewed the first episodes of "Love on the Spectrum" yesterday after coming home from the rain.  This is a semi documentary series showing interviews and interactions of young adults on the Autistic Spectrum looking for love and friendship.  I believe its filmed in Australia from the accents.  The participants declare their hopes and dreams in the most honest portrayal of loves hopes I've seen in a long time.  These are extremely articulate people with very specific views on how the world works.  One person Michael says he wants the whole package, like Dawn Wells from Gilligan's Island, beautiful but not runway beautiful, kind and sweet.   No real mention of a physical relationship, only love and being together.  Another couple is a bus driver on the spectrum and his girlfriend that has a baby snake to keep her calm.  He is completely smitten with her and showers her with little gifts and experiences.  Anyway, its on Netflix and worth a look.  I'm a hopeless romantic and unapologetic. 

Having Andrew and the kids over for dinner today and am still contemplating what to make, enchiladas or cheese tortellini, remaining farro salad?  Made a new friend at the picnic, named Scott married to one of my second cousins that made a ramen noodle salad that was spectacular.  Have to get the recipe from him.

all for now

stay safe