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Showing posts from 2015

Goodbye, Ruby

It took awhile to write this post because it’s the hardest thing I’ve yet to do. Ruby found her peace passing with her family at a pet hospital on July 17, 2015.

Keeping an Eye on Things

Road work supervisor This blog goes in fits and starts. Just ended a fit, ready for another start.

Journey

Life's a journey and not a destination. Or something like that said by someone around 1920 .

Time for Flowers

Today is the last snow of the season (hopefully). Then, it's time for flowers.

The Manhattan

Famous drinks often have disputed or mysterious origins (a few colorful histories of other drinks  here , here , and here ). The Manhattan cocktail fits this bill and is a classic cocktail any bartender should master.

It Started With A Mouse...

Walt with his mouse friend, from his tribute museum at Hollywood Studios Walt Disney's quotes have followed him through the decades, even if he never said some of them . One of the most famous: " It started with a mouse... "

Shake It

It's that time again - it's Ruby Tuesday.

Ok, Then... #2

Waiting makes me uncomfortable. Those dead minutes before the start of something make me fidgety in a funny sort of way.

Cinderella Story

Cinderella released on Friday so we had to see the film in theaters .

Late Bloomers Ahead

It's almost Cherry Blossom season again in DC. Too bad it's going to be late .

500 Posts

A Fiat 500, befitting of this occasion 810 days ago, I posted the 400th entry on this blog . Today marks the next century milestone - 500 posts.

Walt Wednesdays

Walt Disney statue at the center of the Magic Kingdom I'm starting a new weekly series on Walt Disney , as I progress on my current writing project .

Here Comes the Sun

The weather has turned, for the better. Snow is melting, and Spring is coming (did time have anything to do with it?)

About Time #2

Time is relative - witness daylight savings time .

Snow Day

Well, it happened again. Another snow day.

Catch Up

Here's a catch-up post from a lag in blogging.

Ice Capades

No surprise that the never-ending winter offered its next round of precipitation, rain then sleet then freezing. Which meant Ice Capades for Ruby.

The Trees Are Weeping

Funny, it sounded like rain outside - on a clear sky morning. How does that work?

OK, Then...

This used to be our doorbell until... It's Sunday, so I'm free to think random thoughts. The typical reaction is OK, then...

Art of the Party

What makes a party? I'm answering this question as part of a product design challenge.

Peposo

Remember that proper Italian supper from last month? I had occasion to make peppered beef, or peposo again to finally share the recipe.

Late in the Day

Once upon a time, I lived in Santa Monica and listened to Britpop .

Hot Pot

So many thoughts in my head, so few ideas stirring a blog post. So I thought about hot pot .

Ruby bites

M&M's of a Ruby quality What happens when you put two things together that you really love? Ruby bites.

Inhabiting Middle-earth

A movie trilogy almost as long as the books This cold, never-ending winter has provided a wealth of time indoors. We have filled it admirably with Peter Jackson's movie trilogy of " The Lord of the Rings ".

Why I Blog

Dusk coming in a Maldives lagoon I blog for a reason, and it's not fame or fortune.

Ask Why

Why does the crab always head towards the pole? When I'm stuck and looking for some inspiration, I ask the question, "why", and I get unstuck.

Frozen Friday

Remember how I was California Dreamin' ? It's gotten even colder.

Happy New Year!

Today is the first day of the Lunar New Year, celebrated en masse across Asia. It's the year of the sheep/ram/goat .

Elevator Pitch

To sell in today's world requires an elevator pitch . You've basically got 30 seconds , about the time of a standard TV ad.

Get Ready to Celebrate 60 Years of Disney Magic

On July 17, 1955 , Disneyland opened with an hour-long television broadcast debuting the park . Ronald Reagan and Art Linkletter were hosts, and it was a big deal .

Presidential

From the podium of the West Wing Press Briefing Room It's President's Day in the US, a day to celebrate past presidents back to George Washington , the country's first president. After all, the date was originally set to commemorate his birthday.

All Roads

All roads lead to Rome . An idiomatic expression that has less relevance for today's Classics-agnostic culture , but when the center of the western world was Rome, every road did actually lead there from the provinces.

Love Poems

Valentine's Day - it's time for flowers , chocolates , and, yes, poetry.

California Dreamin'

Today's high temperature is 25 degrees F/-4 degrees C. It's this kind of weather that caused me to go west in my youth.

Plain Talk

Plain talk, not plane talk... In college, I won an award for "verbose vernacular". These days, I've retired from using big words.

Window Seat

Quiet time on an airplane is one of the last bastions left for every day meditation. I took advantage of my flight time this week to have a think from the window seat.

Ruby Tuesday - Bedtime

Ruby stays with grandma and grandpa when we travel. That makes her happy for all the fatty food she'll get but sad that we are away. Now that we are back, it doesn't take her long to get comfy for bedtime.

Homecoming

From beach wedding to barren cupboard - that's what really happens on a homecoming.

Beach Wedding

Love on the beach is stronger than rain, at least this weekend.

Change of Scenery

From cold and grey... You know how I said it was cold earlier this week? I went and did something about it.

Writing Tools

Anyone can write anywhere with the proper tools. These are my tools.

Moon Shadow

Cat Stevens (er Yusuf Islam ) was on regular rotation in my high school art class, thanks to our teacher's affinity for his music.  One of his songs came to mind during this week's full moon .

Cold

Snow tracks It's not quite Barrow, Alaska , but winter has carried on this year (and on and on).

Good Game

Seattle Seahawks colors at the bar did not result in victory Sunday was the Super Bowl , the reigning champion of US sporting events (and national TV ratings). The 49th playing (or XLIX for the purists) turned out to be the most-watched TV show in US television history at over 114.4 million households, according to Nielsen .

Dreaming of Maldives

Winter is starting to drag in the US. Which is why I've started dreaming of Maldives .

Habit

Merriam-Webster defines habit as a " usual way of behaving: something that a person does often in a regular and repeated way ." Basically something that someone already does, almost without impulse. This must be why habits are hard to make and keep.

Opportunity

Opportunity presents itself in a myriad of ways, although not always as we expect. More often, it is uncertain and looks like work.

Into the Night

A little midnight snow never hurt anyone Perhaps it's too late for cogent writing, but I'm going to try anyways.

Daily stand-up

I'm not a morning person, but I wish I was. Being alert in the morning makes it easier to do a daily stand-up .

Meditations with a snow shovel

Shovel, deer tracks, shadows, and 1 inch of snow It snowed last night. Nowhere near the dramatic predictions of winter storm Juno , but it snowed regardless. Which meant shoveling.