Travels and Other Mullings

Facial hair

2012-02-01T15:05:00.000Z

full beard

trimmed (cheeks)

goatee

fu-man-chu

moustache

silly

clean

Let the comments begin...

Its Open

2012-01-31T23:41:00.001Z

All last summer and fall, I watched the construction of the Mozaic project in Uptown which includes the first pedestrian only bridge across the Minneapolis Greenway.

Today the bridge opened to no fanfare. I plan on using it as a short cut to Isles Bun & Coffee and to Old Chicago.

On the Mozaic side there are several sculptures in the plaza in front of the new building.

The building and multi-level parking ramp has not opened yet.

Weird

2012-01-30T14:52:00.000Z

Weird walking to Isles this Monday morning for coffee. I am working from home today and tomorrow before flying to Hawaii for a little vacation.

Even weirder was lunch at Old Chicago yesterday with Amy, Bunny, Rose and Loretta. Amy was about to make some cutting remark about my beard not being very gray for an "ol...." -- this is where it got weird. Amy actually edited herself in mid-sentence and didn't finish. Boy did that make us all laugh.

Neighborhood Falcon

2012-01-29T17:21:00.000Z

This photo doesn't really do it justice.

I was walking back from coffee and saw the perfect silhouette of a bird on the side of a house. I realised that the bird must be very very close because the shadow was large and defined.

That's when I saw the falcon perched in a tree. It was may 15 feet away from me. By the time I got my cell phone camera out, she had hopped up the same tree so was still close but not like at first.

I heard birds still chirping and singing which I thought was odd with this major predator bird so close. That's when I noticed the bush next to the sidewalk had about half dozen sparrows in it. They were not about to fly out even though I was standing right next to them.

I love my neighborhood.

A first

2012-01-26T12:47:00.000Z

I must have been in worse condition than I thought yesterday. Because this morning I cannot find my rental car keys!

I only left my room three times yesterday and only once did I leave the hotel. Once to go to lunch around the corner so I didn't drive. Then once so the maid could clean and again in the evening for dinner. But the last two times I never even left the hotel.

I did not drive after coming back to the hotel yesterday morning to rest and sleep off this cold. I am feeling much better today but now have to deal with rental car. This is going to be expensive.

Under the weather

2012-01-25T15:48:00.000Z

It is a beautiful day in Charlotte. Normally I wouldn't really know that because I am stuck inside all day for work. But today I left the office at 9:30am to return to the hotel to rest and try to get over a cold I caught over the weekend.

I cannot remember the last time I left a client site or didn't go in because of not feeling well. Hopefully some rest will help.

A snowy departure

2012-01-24T03:44:00.000Z

An early morning freezing mist made the drive from home to the airport a nervous 20 minutes. The airport was not crowded and by the time I walked to the gate, the weather had switched to snow and was coming down fairly heavy.

The plane had to be de-iced but not at the gate. I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I saw was the de-icing machine and we were very far from the terminal. When we started to head to the runway, I noticed the snow plows.

The snow plows were performing a well-choreographed dance to clear the runway of snow and ice. It was fascinating. The pilot informed us the airport had closed for a short time while the runways were cleared.

Our takeoff was an hour late but I had missed most of it apparently. Charlotte was very foggy and misty not unlike Minneapolis except there wasn't any freezing.

Winter has finally arrived

2012-01-21T19:48:00.000Z

It was 1 degree when we landed on Thursday and it snowed on Friday. It didn't snow much but at least there is white covering the ground finally.

The week of my birthday is statistically the coldest and this year proved it.

What?

2012-01-20T03:29:00.002Z

The flight attendant announces that "there are lavatories throughout the plane." Then follows with, "please be sure to use the lavatory in your section of the plane."

First of all there are three lavatories. One in the front and two in the rear. That is hardly "throughout". Its not like there's a bathroom at the wings.

And why tell us about all the facilities, when they really want those of us us in steerage to walk all the way to the rear and those in first class to take a couple of steps to the front lav?? Tgis wasn't the first flight attendant to make the anouncement this way.

Birthday dessert

2012-01-18T11:47:00.000Z

Many thanks to my friends, family, and co-workers for all the birthday wishes.

It was a very nice day.

A Monday-day

2012-01-16T16:29:00.000Z

A rare Monday day working from home. Delta did not schedule an early morning flight to Charlotte today. I am assuming that is because it is Martin Luther King Day. Rather than fly in the middle of the day and lose a day of work, I'm flying tonight.

It sounds like I'm getting out of Minneapolis just in time. A cold blast is forecasted to start tonight.

And now the bathroom

2012-01-15T21:59:00.000Z

The bathroom countertop was also tiled. The problem here wasn't the grout lines. It was just ugly.

When I had the bathroom re-done in 2006/07, I couldn't come up with a good but cheap surface and settled on the same tiles that are on the floor. It looked cheesy.

Now it looks finished.

The kitchen and bathroom cabinets are of the same Shaker style. The kitchen cabinets are light hickory. The bathroom are a dark finish. The crushed walnut shell countertop compliments and co-ordinates the two.

New Kitchen Counter Top

2012-01-14T04:47:00.000Z

It has already been ten years since I remodeled my kitchen. That was a big job and I have loved my kitchen.

I was warned about a tiled counter top. The grout lines can be difficult to keep clean and stuff gets caught.

And it has been true. It isn't really too bad but the grout was getting a bit grungy looking.

So I decided last year I would replace the counter top. I searched around for an eco-friendly surface. I was really thinking of the crushed glass tops I've seen on HGTV but they are really expensive.

I found this surface at Natural Built Home in Minneapolis. The counter top is made of crushed walnut shells in an epoxy. There are many shades of browns. The surface is polished and waxed.

I order the counter top before Christmas. After taking detailed measurements, the counter top was fabricated and now delivered today.

This is an interesting closeup shot which shows the pieces of the shells.

This closeup shows the different shades of brown.

The little things

2012-01-13T03:55:00.000Z

I got my aisle seat on the plane. Kind of in the back which I'm used to. But somehow on a very crowded flight I'm in the row without anyone in the middle seat.

And we arrived 40 minutes ahead of scheduled time. Worked out great because I had more time to take the bathroom countertop apart.

A team dinner

2012-01-12T03:05:00.000Z

Not much to talk about today. Finally, we had a little work team outing. Wasn't organized by the company or anything. Just a few of us out to a restaurant. It was real nice to have social time with co-workers.

Cell phone free zone, please

2012-01-11T03:11:00.000Z

Standing in line to order food.

When you are in line at a cafeteria or lunch line, hang up the phone. Talking or texting on the cell before or after ordering you food is not making the line move very quickly. It is rude to the rest of us, not to mention the food workers.

Hang up and pay attention, people!

Spectacular moon

2012-01-10T02:53:00.000Z

The only good thing about getting up at 4am to get to the airport in time for a 7 am flight was seeing a super bright moon shining in a slightly cloudy sky. It was a beautiful site.

My kitchen is torn up for the new counter top install on Friday. So there was no fixing breakfast at home. I was expecting long lines at airport security now that the holidays are over. But the lines were shorter than they've been in a long time. I grabbed a coffee at my mid terminal Carabou - the one with the super hot coffee. Igot some yogurt and two hardboiled eggs at one of the new CIBO merchants on concourse G.

This week I've rented a Ford Fusion with Sync. I'm going to test the portability of MySync

First Saturday Coffee

2012-01-07T17:00:00.000Z

A new coffee place for the new year. We tried out Rye on Hennepin Ave. Nice and bright. We had the big rustic table in front.

Lots of laughs and stories. Great fun.

Bunny, Amy, Jackie, me, James, Linda and Sid

Smoking in flight

2012-01-07T00:07:00.000Z

I caught an earlier flight home. The evening flight is usually on an Airbus 319. This mid-afternoon flight was on an Embraer 170. I noticed in the bathroom that there is an ashtray. The plane appeared to be a newer model so having an ashtray seemed wrong. I figured there weren't any airlines that allowed smoking.

Both flight attendants were sitting on the backrow so I mentioned the oddness. One of the flight attendants said she thought there were airlines in the East that still allowed smoking.

The same flight attendant recounted an episode just last Spring where someone locked himself in the bathroom and was smoking. He was forcefully removed by two passengers - one a pilot and one a flight controller.

Growth

2012-01-06T03:09:00.001Z

Another day of meeting after meeting and today the meetings started at 7:30am. But in one of the meetings someone made a comment about how well the team is getting along. We said we had all grown and learned.

This got me to thinking about changing one's opinion or perspective because you've learned things and had experiences. Politicians get ragged on for "flip-flopping" but that implies they cannot gain knowledge. They aren't allowed to use life and education to grow.

I'm just saying.

And by the way I'm staying over in Charlotte until Friday.

Hmmm nothing to report

2012-01-05T03:02:00.001Z

After a 12 1/2 hour work day and don't really have anything to blog about.

Woke up super early so went down to the hotel gym and did half hour of cardio. Got to the restaurant before it even opened for breakfast. Then to the office before 7:30am.

Another day of back to back to back meetings. And now watching some stupid sitcom on tv.

I can report that I am glad that Michele Bachman has dropped out of the GOP presidential race.

Not enough blogging

2012-01-04T02:03:00.001Z

So my blogging output, or input depending on how you look at it, has been very low. So I'm going to try something different and do some stream of consciousness blogging. That means you might get some of my opinion and attitude.

I'm back in Charlotte for work. A local news story concerns woman who is suing the police for her injuries while in custody. Based on the in-cruiser video camera, the woman banged her own head against the plastic divider then wrapped the seat belt three times around her own neck.

The officer had left her alone to get assistance. The woman's lawyer says the police should have done more to protect her from herself.

Really?! Step up people and take responsibility for your own actions.

The newest member of the clan

2012-01-02T14:39:00.000Z

Three month old Austin with his bald(ing) great uncle Jeff.

Happy New Year

2012-01-02T02:53:00.000Z

Had a wonderful New Year's weekend. Thanks to the many friends that shared and celebrated with me.

New Year's Eve game night at my place was super fun. Ten of us playing Pictionary, Taboo, and another categories game. I didn't have to go out in the rain and snow so appreciate those that did.

New Year's Day went to JT and Linda's for their annual gathering. A big crowd of folks enjoying all the food and Amy's drink concoctions. The lake was too sketchy to venture out on so everyone stayed indoors.

Tonight was our regular league bowling but we played no-tap where nine on your first ball counted as a strike. I bowled a 231 and 246! The scores don't count really but everyone had a lot of fun.

One more day off (Monday) then back to work and traveling.

Happy New Year to all!

Friends in Virginia and DC

2011-12-28T15:04:00.000Z

On Tuesday Mom and I met up with my friends Judy and Lance. Judy and I worked together at my very first job out of college in 1981. Lance and I worked together at Arena Stage in Washington, DC back in the 1980's.

Lance gave us a detailed tour of the new Arena complex. It is truly something to behold and pictures I have cannot convey the size and grandeur.

I got kind of nostalgic walking through the few parts that are still there from what I remember as the original structures.

Lance's partner, Tony, met us a the theatre and we went up to Capitol Hill for dinner at one of their favorite places, Las Placitas.

We all got caught up. It had been two years since we had met as a group. This gathering of people from my past has been a Christmas-time tradition.

From the restaurant to Lance's condo to show Judy his truly amazing Christmas decorations. Lance decorates his place in an unbelievable amount of Christmas.

There are more Dicken's villages than ever, garlands of lights and ornaments, Santas, Christmas Mickey Mouses, an enormous creche, and this incredibly beautiful tree.

We agreed we would only go up to Lance's highrise condo if there was easy parking. There was this spot that was about six inches longer than the rental.

Not to brag (but I am)...I made it in on the first try.

Christmas in Virginia

2011-12-28T14:41:00.000Z

I flew to Virginia on Christmas day to spend some time with family and friends.

After landing at Dulles International Airport, I got the rental car and drove to Herndon to pickup my sister Carol. Herndon is very close to the airport.

Then we drove to Mom's in Burke to pick her up along with the potatoes for the traditional potato soup. We went to my niece Gracie Kay's apartment. My sister, Lea, and her husband Tim and his brother Todd were already at Gracie Kay's.

Also at Gracie Kay's was the newest member of the clan, Austin. He's Gracie's nephew and only 3 months old and cute as can be.

He is successfully unwrapping one of his presents here.

The food was fantastic and the company was even better. It was a great Christmas celebration.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-24T14:47:00.002Z

Two great Minneapolis Christmas yard decorations.

Got it!

2011-12-22T13:03:00.000Z

I finally got a new 2012 Ford Escape Hybrid.

This has been quite the process. When I found out that the new 2013 Escape model coming out in 2012 would not have a hybrid version, I really wanted to get the current model which does come in a hybrid.

The problem was there were no hybrids available in the upper midwest. So I searched around the country thinking I could fly out and drive one back. There were just not very many and it was made more difficult because I want an all wheel drive version.

I did find three in Virginia where I am going for Christmas. I called the dealer and was told a salesperson would call me. Never happened.

The salesman at the dealership here in Minnesota called me Tuesday to tell me he found one. And it was at their sister dealership in Buffalo, Minnesota. That is the dealership where my current Escape came from!

I picked up this black beauty yesterday. I am so happy.

Home again

2011-12-20T00:42:00.000Z

I had a wonderful weekend in the Berkshires with Jill.

We stayed at the very historic Red Lion Inn on Stockbridge, Massachusetts.

The inn is full of charm. The halways and roms are filled sith antiques and paintings and drawings and bric-a-brac -- a bit like The House On The Rock in Wisconsin.

The impetus for the trip was for Jill to see James Taylor in A Christmas Carol. Which we did at the Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.

Alice's Restaurant

2011-12-16T20:24:00.000Z

Sitting in the former Alice's Restaurant of book and movie fame in Stockbridge, Massachsetts right now. It is now called Theresa's Cafe.

There is no cell phone service in this little New England town but there is wi-fi. I had a work teleconference so I used Skype for the first time. I was connected via wi-fi to my corporate email, skypeing and testing all at the same time.

James and Jill

2011-12-16T13:32:00.000Z

No, it isn't Jack and Jill.

Spending the weekend in Massachusetts with my friend Jill from Oregon. We are seeing James Taylor in a production of A Christmas Carol. And yes, this is the James Taylor, singer/song writer. He is performing the role of Bob Cratchet. Jill is a James Taylor fan freak.

I flew to Albany, NY last night where we have spent the night. I'm working this morning from the hotel lobby. We drive to Stockbridge, Massachusetts later today. Staying at the historic Red Lion Inn in Stockbridge. Pictures to follow.

Interesting air freshner

2011-12-13T01:09:00.000Z

Usual flight from Minneapolis-St. Paul to Charlotte. I generally make one trip to the bathroom if the conditions permit. I guess there are hiundreds if not thousands of Delta flight attendants so there are always different ones.

This week was the first timeI can recall there being an air freshner in the head. What made it stand out was what the air freshner was...a packet of ground coffee.

The flight attendant was in the back. I thanked her and said what a great idea.

7' 400lb gorilla

2011-12-09T17:58:00.000Z

The equipment for the Delta flight home on Thursdays is an Airbus A319. I'd never heard of an 'A319' but that's what Delta calls it. In coach the seats are 3 x 3 -- 3 on each side with center aisle.

I always try to get an aisle seat. That way I can go to the bathroom easily during the flight if needed. And when landed, can stand up right away.

I am just a hair over 6' and weigh only 185 these days but on this A319 the seat size and/or configuration makes me feel like I am the 7' 400 lb gorilla. With my feet flat on the floor I cannot lower the seat tray to level. It rests on the top of my thighs. My shoulders and legs are always intruding on the center seat person. And the refreshment cart always hits my shoulder even when I squish in.

The outbound flight from Minneapolis is on a regional size Embraer 175. It is a 2 x 2 in coach. But there is more room and comfort on this type of plane than the bigger A319.

A Coffee First

2011-12-06T01:45:00.000Z

I got my regular Carabou coffee at the airport and walked to my gate. The gate was very close which was unusual.

I chatted with another gentleman that is on the same project and travels to Charlotte every week, too. The gate attendant made some announcement about an equipment change and it might take longer to board. Meanwhile, I've been holding my coffee in my right hand with my boarding pass.

Somehow I've got myself stuck with the coffee and the boarding pass and can't switch hands. The coffee seems to be getting hotter and hotter. By the time I get on the plane and to my seat, the coffee cup is burning my hand. Burning my hand so much I end up with a 3rd degree blister on my thumb which has already busted and I'm bleeding!

I cannot recall ever getting myself in such a predicament.

First Saturday Coffee and Church Bizarre (oops- Bazaar)

2011-12-03T20:32:00.001Z

I picked up James for first saturday coffee and took a couple of pictures of his newly painted house. It looks so wonderful even on this overcast day.

Congratulations to James, Habitat for Humanity and all the volunteers.

I was very proud to have played a small part in this project for such a deserving person

After first saturday of the month coffee at Jack's the gang headed over to Rose's church, Incarnation Catholic, for their annual Christmas Bizarre.

In addition to great Christmas bargains there is homemade soup. This is the clean bowl club.

Two of the basement church ladies (and friend) Jane and Diane.

Bunny and Jackie B-day Celebration

2011-12-03T02:41:00.000Z

Bunny's new birthday hat. Seems so appropriate. It even has a bottle opener in the visor part....awesome.

And Jackie's birthday is on the 9th so she gets to wear the birthday hat, too.

Linda won second place at work for this lovely holiday sweater. Second place for most frightening. She has Rose and Amy to thank for the award.

Nothing specific

2011-12-02T17:38:00.000Z

On my flight home the week before Thanksgiving a passenger was talking to the flight attendants and actually referred to another flight attendant as a "stewardess." The passenger who used stewardess was a young woman. The flight attendant, also a woman, corrected the passenger to use "flight attendant."

When was the last time you heard "stewardess?" Is this from the tv program Pan Am ?

Thanksgiving sweet potato tots

2011-11-28T01:44:00.000Z

When I was in Wisconsin this past September, the Grumpy Troll in Mt. Horub had these wonderful sweet potato tots. Like regular potato tots but made with sweet potatos. I thought that would make a great Thanksgiving dish. So I set out to create my own. Here is the recipe.

Ingredients:
2 medium sized yams (I used red garnets) that came to about 4 cups shredded.
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cardamom
1/8 - 1/4 cup brown sugar (I wasn't so precise about this)
1 cup mini-marshallows

Stir all the above together to mix well.
Microwave 2 minutes to melt the mini-marshallows. stir half way through
Allow to cool.

Now the difficult part. Form balls of the shredded yam mix with your had and squeeze, squeeze, squeeze as much of the liquid out as you possibly can. Set carefully into 375 degree oil. I used a canola oil. Deep fry for about 1 1/2 minutes until brown. Allow to dry on paper towel. Makes 15 - 20 tots.

These are labor intensive but really really good.

shredded yams

mixed with mini-marshallows

the tots

I would like to figure out how to make them a bit smaller. Or possibly keep the size and come up with different dips.

Thanksgiving

2011-11-25T17:20:00.000Z

Christine and her mom, Nancy, holding my homemade apple and raspberry pie.

For the past several years I have had Thanksgiving dinner with Christine and her parents. Tim and Nancy fly in from West Virginia and stay for a week or two.

Mrs. Peters always cooks a wonderful Thanksgiving feast. I bring the sweet potatos and usually a pie. This year I made the pie from apples and raspberries picked in my backyard this summer.

And for the record there was no snow on the ground. The high temperature for the day was officially 59 very warm degrees.

No travel this week

2011-11-23T20:41:00.000Z

Not having to travel this week is great. I was able to sleep-in on Monday and each morning since.

Getting some little projects done and helping out the neighbor...

Neighbors Sari and Mather are remodeling their kitchen needed to dispose of the old cabinets. I called up JT. JT and his pal Bob came over this morning and loaded them onto their trailer. Less material in the dumpster, the landfill and put to good use.

After 20 years I finally have installed outdoor and backdoor lights so I can see to get in and out the back in the dark. Thanks to skymall.com and amazon.com. These battery-operated LED lights turn themselves on and off. They are super easy to install.

This is number one on the backside of backporch.

Number two outside the back porch door.

Number three inside the porch.

Creepy

2011-11-20T20:58:00.000Z

Was walking down the alley toward the house. Lots of crows on the trees and alley itself. Looked up into the trees and with te crows is the neighborhood falcon.

I counted 18 crows and one falcon. The falcon flew away with the crows following. Then a flock of pigeons flew off inthe other direction.

The whole thing seemed very creepy.

Team outing

2011-11-19T21:01:00.000Z

I don't often put activities directly related to work on the blog but this was such a unique and fun event. The team celebrated the completion of our first phase of work by getting manicutes and pedicures. I have never had a manicure let alone a pedicure.

The team getting manicured.

Pedicure results.

The very generous Kim.

Chrysler 200 versus Ford Focus

2011-11-15T03:48:00.000Z

Two weeks ago I rented a Chrysler 200, Chrysler's new 4 door compact. The model available at National was a very basic model with no frills.

Chrysler likes to tune their vehicles to sound aggressive and the 200 follows suit. It is a small car that sounds bigger. Most importantly it is fun to drive.

Another Chrysler feature is an analog clock in the center of the console in addition to a digital block with the radio. It drives me crazy when the clock is way off and both clocks were off. I figured out how to fix the digital one thinking the analog would automatically follow along. But it didn't. You have to set them separately. ugh.

Last week I rented another 2012 Ford Focus. This tine it was a hatchback in bright red. It is a very hot looking car. And a blast to drive. And unlike the Chrysler 200, this Focus was outfitted to the hilt.

Everyone knows I like all the buttons and gadgets but this one might have been over the top. There are multiple buttons on each spoke of the wheel. One set controls the dash display between the speedometer and tachometer. The other set controls the radio.

Then there are ton of buttons to control the MyFord Sync system and radio/audio. And more buttons to control the interior lights. Of course I had to play with all of them.

Seats are comfortable and the body has the right amount of stiffness. This new model Focus is just so much fun to drive.

The king of procrastination

2011-11-14T01:53:00.000Z

I had all summer to do my home projects but I didn't do a darn one. So this weekend and last have been spent scraping and painting and closing up the garden beds.

I've lucked out with the weather. Last weekend was beautiful and above average temp. Scraped porch window sills and trim then primed and painted.

This weekend I cleaned up all the garden beds. Filled almost four compost bags. The yard is ready for winter and looks kind of depressing. Today I sanded and painted the back porch window/doors. Only did the edges so next summer really need to do the entire back porch...next SUMMER!

I don't think the weather is going to stay on my side for more projects.

A break from the routine

2011-11-09T11:34:00.000Z

Drove out to Mooresville last night to meet a friend from my Washington. DC Arena days -- Belinda Higdon, her husband Ronnie and daughter Olivia. Olivia is a sophomore at Mooresville High School and a member of the band. I drove to Mooresville to see Belinda and hear Olivia's band concert.
The concert was a real throw back to my high school band days.

Went to dinner afterwards to get caught up with Belinda. It has been more than two decades!

Rollergirls

2011-11-06T17:17:00.000Z

Me, Bunny, Amy and our "found" friend, Steve from Boston waiting for the 17 bus to downtown to go the Northstar Rollergirls.

Steve was very friendly and really like to talk. We were told to wear pink to chear on the Delta Delta Di team. Our waitress from Old Chicago, Megan, plays on the Delta Delta Di team whose cheer is "Stinky Pinky."

The rollergirls are in the Minneapois Convention Center. The rink is simply marked off on the poured concrete floor.

When these girls hit the floor, it looks very painful.

As you can tell from this very blurry picture, we were on the floor in the very front. We had been warned to bring cushions thank goodness.

We were seated on turn one. The refs were between us and the game. Though a couple of times there were a few close calls.

It was tons of fun. At the end of the match, we got to run up to the girls for their victory lap and exchange high fives with the competitors.

The Jeffery Official Start of Fall

2011-11-05T00:35:00.000Z

The annual dropping of the ginko leaves.

It was cold enough this morning to cause the trees to start dropping their leaves. Walking to coffee was truly beautiful. Twenty-nine degrees, no wind, bright sun...yellow, green and red leaves gently falling like giant colored snow flakes...such an amazing site.

Walked out the front door later in the morning to see the sidewalk and parked cars covered in yellow ginko leaves...ahhh.

Pumpkin carving

2011-10-31T01:18:00.000Z

Bunny, with James watching in the background, at JT and Linda's annual pumpkin carving.

Here's the crowd inside. It as a bit chilly and windy outside so another carving area was made in the living room.

Just a partial showing of the fabulous pumpkins.

A beautiful Fall maple

2011-10-30T03:02:00.000Z

My neighbor across the street has this amazingly beautiful maple tree.

I wish the sun had been shining but still stunning.

Home but what happened to the rest of the apples

2011-10-28T02:42:00.000Z

Just got home and noticed that there aren't any more apples on the apple tree. Unless you count a mostly eaten little one.

When I left town Monday morning there were still several apples still on the tree. Could the squirrels taken all of them? It looks like there aren't even any on the ground. I'll check better in the morning.

A Charlotte Fall

2011-10-27T01:24:00.000Z

Canceled flight?

2011-10-24T23:09:00.000Z

Woke up this morning at 4:30am to my cell phone ringing. It was Delta letting me know that my 7:30am flight was canceled. Delta also let me know that I had already been re-booked on the 7:30am flight.

It didn't really make sense. Had they booked me on a different airline? I know that US Airways has a flight at about the same time or was it a connecting flight? I thought one of the messages said the arrival time was 1:0-something.

Come to find out it was a 7:30am Delta direct flight from Minneapolis to Charlotte landing at 10:30am Charlotte time...a half hour earlier than the regularly scheduled flight. I'm guessing that the difference is the first flight is operated by Compass for Delta and the revised flight is operated by Delta itself.

The best thing about the change is the revised flight is a bigger plane. I got moved closer to the front and on the aisle and a row by myself.

Because of the 4:30 wake up call, I got to the airport even earlier than last week. The security lines were even worse which seems to indicate that being early does not pay off. The non-priority line actually looked shorter so I thought I'd conduct an experiment.

I picked a guy with an orange shirt in the priority line to see which one of us got through security first. He did. The non-priority maze was longer and the id checkers - one for priority and one for non-priority - would sometimes let the priority person go through the non-priority check.

Mouse trapped

2011-10-21T02:40:00.000Z

Got home this evening to find the mouse trip over by the door between the kitchen and the dining room. It was by the refrigerator. I thought may be Uno had tried to get the peanut butter out of it.

Turns out there was a mouse trapped in it. The trap is one of those that gets the mouse completely in the device and you just throw away the entire thing. The mouse was so smooshed and didn't weigh hardly anything that I couldn't tell there was a dead one in there until I finally saw the tale and butt.

I assume the cats are the ones that got the trap from the refrig to the door.

I haven't been posting because work in Charlotte is long long hours and tiring. This week I got up at 5am my time to get to the airport for my flight. The security lines at MSP on Monday mornings are rediculously long so have to plan to get to the airport extra early.

I get to the client office in Charlotte about noon Easter time. The team worked until 8pm Monday night because we had an additional training session.

Tuesday got in early at 7:30am and worked until almost 6:30pm. Ate at the hotel bar and then went up to executive lounge to do some more work while watching tv.

Wednesday left the hotel a little late because I over slept. Traffic was crazy because of an accident on a different interstate. Didn't get to the office until after 8am. Worked until 6pm.

Got to the office early this morning for a 7:30am meeting. Left for the airport a little before 5:30pm. Got home about a half hour ago. It is only Thursday and we are supposed to work a full day tomorrow yet only bill the client a 40 hours.

Still harvesting

2011-10-15T22:53:00.000Z

I'm still getting tomatos, peppers and best of all apples from the garden.

Trail of Terror

2011-10-15T22:48:00.000Z

That time of year...a beautiful Fall night...a hay ride...and a haunted maze.

Christine, Kay and I were joined by Jan this year on our Trail of Terror outing in Shakopee. We started with the haunted hay ride. It was a beautiful night last night...clear and cool.

We then did one of the side hauntings, got a bit to eat followed by the corn maze.

Then the highlight of the night in the haunted maze. Tons of fun. Scary and funny and scary.

The lines were so short this year we did the hay ride again. An enormous moon was out which just made the ride even more fun.

Ford Escort

2011-10-11T01:41:00.000Z

Last week's car rental was the 2012 Ford Escort. The new model Escort is quite different from the previous model. Still a small compact, it feels and looks so much more high tech and polished.

The body has creases and folds creating a sleek and aerodynamic shape. A co-worker had to ask what the car was since it does look so different. He was impressed with the look.

The interior is comfortable. The center console has convenient radio and temperature controls. Windshield wiper and washer controls are on the steering column right lever. A nice feature is the delayed wiper swipe when using the windshield washer. Headlamp controls are on the left side of the steering column combined with the blinkers.

The gauges are easy to read especially with the up-down and telescoping steering column. The information controls on the steering column are not exactly intuitive though. I had some difficulty getting the display to return to normal mileage and temperature.

The front windshield is very steeply sloped. There is a bit of a visual blindspot to the front right and left because of the front pillars. You kind of have to get used to looking through the front side windows. They are so for forward that you can see forward as well as to the side.

The seats are comfortable for a small car. And unlike my first Escort back in the 1980's, I was able to adjust the driver's seat far enough back.

I was anxious to rent a 2012 Escort because the 2012 Ford Escape is supposedly going to be based on the same body style. I recently saw a spy photo of the new model Escape's interior and it looks very very similar. I am a bit concerned about the Escape being downsized to the Escort though.

I would definitely recommend the new Escort. It was a lot of fun to drive...quick and nimble.

A big paint project

2011-10-08T16:24:00.020Z

My friend James was told by the city to paint his house. He was able to get Habitat for Humanity to take on the project. This is the Friday crew of volunteers who scraped and primed.

We scraped down to bare wood. The paint would buckle or peel so the Habitat for Humanity volunteer coordinator thought it best to go all the way to the wood so the primer and then paint would adhere better. JT happened to have this jackable scaffolding. Once we got that up, four of us were able to fairly quickly scrape this side of the house.

Everyone was tired out by the end of the day.

The best apple ever

2011-10-06T02:59:00.000Z

Grabbed an apple from the tree in the backyard on the way to the airport. This was the first apple I picked. The others I've scavenged from the ground.

I finally got to eat it on Tuesday. It was perfect and delicious. I'm so glad I planted the apple tree three years ago.

Not as smooth this week

2011-10-05T02:20:00.000Z

Well, I'm back in Charlotte. NC. But this week, Monday didn't go as well.
I actually got to the airport earlier but I hadn't printed my boarding pass. My printer isn't working so I figured printing at the airport would be fine.

I did know that I was departing from G21 so the mid-terminal security check would be the most convenient. I didn't know that the Delta kiosk wouldn't print my boarding pass, however. For some unknown reason my itinerary was blocked.

There are no gate agents at the mid-terminal security entrance. I had to take the parking tram to the main terminal. It was crazy busy at the main terminal. Monday's are always busy but everyone was making comments on the crowds.

Thanks to having status, I got a Delta agent quickly and she was able to print the boarding pass -- no problem. I was upgraded to first class again. That was a surprise and may have been why the record was blocked.

Now I had to get through security. The lines were twice as long as the previous Monday. It was now 15 mins. before scheduled boarding time. Twenty minutes later I was through security and at the opposite end of the airport from my gate. I made a gamble...instead of taking the long walk down concourse G. I went to C to catches the C tram to the mid-terminal crossover. It worked perfectly. The tram pulled up just as I was getting to it. I was the third to the last passenger on. Everything went smoothly after that.

Buick Enclave

2011-10-03T00:31:00.001Z

Now that I'm back to traveling, I'll be doing my vehicle reviews again. Hopefully since it has been a while, there will be some new models to drive.

When the shuttle pulled into the rental lot, there was the Buick Enclave right at the end. I don't recall having had this vehicle before. I was too anxious because I didn't realize until I got to the office that the key did not have a fob.

Not having a fob breaks one of my cardinal renting rules but it was too late. It drove me crazy for the rest of the week.

The Enclave is a big vehicle. It sits fairly tall and is quite wide...deceptively so. It is actually kind of tricky to park because it is so wide.

I am a rearview mirror user. The Enclave has a backup camera. The display is in the rearview mirror. The display is seamlessly integrated and is quite large..like half the mirror. I actually found the size to be distracting. Probably once you've used it for a while, the camera and its display would be helpfull. Better get used to it because I think the backup camera and display are going to be standard.

The Enclave does not get very good gas mileage but I don't think that is why people buy one. You definitely feel safe in this one.

But there is a design flaw..a small but iritating one. It was a stormy rainy week in Charlotte so the wipers were important. I could not for the life of me find the control for the rear wiper. Being a crossover, the back glas gets roadspray so the rear wiper is very important. Granted I should have researched the control loacation when I first got the car but I didn't.

It wasn't until the next day in daylight that I finally found the switch. The flaw is that the control is hidden by the shifter. Even when you know where it is, the control is difficult to use.

Overall the Enclave is a very nice vehicle. I don't think I'd want one though.

It looks like a mess but tastes so good

2011-10-03T00:00:00.000Z

This is the incredible Isles Bun and Coffee coffee cake. Famously known for their cinnamon buns, its the coffee cake that gets me going every weekend.

coffee cake

Off to a good start

2011-09-27T13:00:00.000Z

I'm back to business travel. And my first flight was an upgrade from coach to first class!

On Monday I got to the airport a little later than I planned. The security lines were very long and moved at a slow pace. I knew the gate and it was near security so I was not too concerned.

I was not anticipating an upgrade because this was my first flight in several months and it was just a smaller regional jet. By the time I got through security it was past the start of boarding...Delta starts boarding way early. I stopped at the ATM and Caribou Coffee.

When I got to the gate boarding had started as expected. I didn't know where they were in boarding so went up to the gate agent and handed my boarding pass. She said "Oh, there you are." and took my boarding pass and gave me the first class seat! Sweet!

The flight was uneventful which is always what you want. There was a full breakfast even.

I'm in Charlotte, North Carolina. It looks like I'll be traveling here for a long time. The weather is muggy and warm...so not what Minnesota has been like for the past several weeks. It was 72 degrees this morning which is warmer than it has been back home since August.

Apple pie #1

2011-09-22T01:26:00.000Z

Okay, it may not look pretty but there is nothing like a home made apple pie. Especially with an apple and currants from my own garden.

It's just one apple and a mess of a pie crust. One of what could be many because there are lots of apples.

Subaru Forester

2011-09-20T03:01:00.000Z

Surprise! I'm not traveling but I have a vehicle review. Dave probably thought I forgot.

On our Spring Green, Wisconsin road trip we took Dave's brand new Subaru Forester. The new 2011 Forester is much more a crossover vehicle than the old girls-of-a-certain-nature wagon.

It tool nearly the entire trip before Dave would relinquish the wheel. Like I said it is brand new so he was enjoying the drive himself. Driving the hills and turns of rural Wisconsin must have been fun, Dave. I finally got to drive once we were securely on the interstate.

None-the-less the Forester drives smooth and Dave's V6 model has tons of power. This version of the Forester stands higher than a standard wagon though not as high as my Ford Escape. This version also has a nice wide stance with a good feel to the wheel and suspension. There is lots of glass making road trip a treat as passenger or driver.

I'm not ready

2011-09-15T12:01:00.000Z

My outdoor thermometer says it is 38 degrees. I covered the tomatoes and peppers and geraniums. May get to 60 today but warming up over the weekend.

Annual Spring Green, Wisconsin road trip.

2011-09-13T01:52:00.001Z

Last weekend was the annual Spring Green, WI - American Players Theater trip.
This year Rose, Dave and Jeff drove from Minneapolis. And Michael and Megan drove from Iowa. The weather was amazing and gorgeous.

Rose was challenged to find a hotel with available rooms even having started several months ago. No hotel was available in Spring Green so we ended up in Dodgeville, about 18 miles away. We've stayed in Dodgeville before but never at the Don Q Inn.

As you can see the Don Q Inn has a very special feature... this Boeing Stratofreighter in the front.

And that's kind of just the start of it. We enjoyed our stay at the quirky Don Q Inn.

The show at APT was The Critic by Richard Brinsley Sheridan. On my gosh! The production was hysterical. At one point in the second act, I had tears streaming down my face from laughing so hard.

Finally

2011-09-07T01:28:00.000Z

I finally made a complete run around Lake Calhoun. It is 5 kilometers just like my race a few weeks ago but I hadn't been able to run around Lake Calhoun without walking part of it.

So today I ran around clockwise instead of conter-clockwise. Don't know why but I made the full 5K and, for me, fairly easily.

But they looked cute....

2011-09-02T11:45:00.000Z

Frankie and Uno looked so cute on the table. But the picture makes them both look like devil's agents.

Qwest...now known as Century Link

2011-09-01T12:00:00.000Z

I found out from my brother that my home phone was not working. I don't generally take incoming calls on my landline and primarily only use it for work conference calls.

I couldn't call the operator (0) to get help. I get my phone bill electronically so went on line to look for a service call number. Luckily I found it fairly quickly.

I called the technical services number and the agony was off and running. There was no way to speak to actual person....no way. It was a completely computerized voice prompt system. I tried the zero, zero, zero technique....nope. I tried the "agent", "agent", "agent" technique.....nope. You are required to answer a series of questions and press 1 or 2. I ended up with a problem ticket...I guess....it wasn't really clear. The voice said my phone would be fixed by end-of-day 8/31. This was on Monday.

I didn't really know what to expect. Finally, yesterday, 8/31, a couple of guys showed up. My cell phone rang about 4pm. Guy said he was in the back to fix the phone. Okay.

I head to the backyard. There's two guys in shirts and jeans in a black pickup trunk. Nothing says anything about "telephone company." I considered asking for identification but figured they're in the backyard, let 'em at it.

They ended up replacing the wire from the pole to the house. Then reconnected one wire to the box on the outside of the house. Said they were done.

I checked the phone. There was now a dial tone. I tried calling the home phone from my cell phone. The recorded message that the "system was not available due to telephone facility problem" was still there. I told the guy as he was getting in his truck to leave. He said it was a computer thing and he'd contact the systems people to turn off the message. I went for my run.

I got back about half hour later and the guys were back. I guess it turned out to be something else. The guy said it was my answering machine. The my answering machine had a message that said the system was down because of the telephone company!!!??? Really!!!?? I don't think so.

Finally they said they needed to come into the house to check. That meant I was going to get charged. Okay, Okay. We all know my house is old....like over 100 years old...and so is the phone wiring. They get at the spider web of wires in the basement. Oh, there's a short. It is this one line...the one I'm using so I'll have to move my phone. I don't think so! I tell him to fix it! I'm already being charged for them coming into the house. We are now 3 hours into this ordeal.

He replaces the jack in the sun room...the only one in the house I use. And I guess they replace some of the wires in the basement because they leave a wad of wires on the floor. They high-tail it out almost before I can check if it is really working.

I just could not believe this is what is called "service" from the phone company. Of course, I can't tell anyone there because you are not allowed to talk to actual person.

Apple update (and not about Steve Jobs)

2011-08-27T14:08:00.001Z

So many apples this year I've had to figure out ways to prop the branches up.

This branch used to point straight up.

This is a haralred apple tree that is just 3 years old. Haralreds are a redder version of a haralson and are good for fresh eating and cooking.

My first 5K

2011-08-21T17:25:00.000Z

Team Custom Fitness

Ran my first 5K race this morning.

My time was 26:45. I was 4th in my age group (50-54); 24th male finisher; and 36th overall out of 143.

My goal was to run the entire 5K without walking and I did!

BWCA sunrise

2011-08-20T01:25:00.000Z

Jenny and I got out on the lake before sunrise to try to find moose. No moose but a beautiful start to a beautiful day.

Lightening strike

2011-08-17T00:47:00.000Z

I heard the strike but didn't think it actually hit anything.

I was wrong. The street filled with emergency vehicles and that's when I saw that the church behind my house was on fire.

The cupola on the top of the dome was completely engulfed.

The fireman on the ladder was chopping away with his axe to try to clear enough to turn the water hose on it.

Fire was falling on to the dome roof.

Trolley rides

2011-08-14T14:00:00.000Z

Rose's nephew Aaron and I on the Lake Harriet trolley.

Some very friendly backyard visitors

2011-08-11T23:45:00.000Z

Bunny, Carrie, Amy, Aaron and Rose

Uptown Art Fair

2011-08-08T01:00:00.000Z

My Uptown Art Fair purchase 3 glass fish balls. Here they are hanging in the oak tree. I've highlighted them in red circles.

A close up of the rainbow-colored fish.

Swim and Swamp

2011-08-05T22:18:00.000Z

Jenny taught us how to safely recover from a canoe flip.

More BWCA photos

2011-08-03T11:57:00.000Z

Jenny and her walleye.

After swimming.

Sunset from our camp site.

Jenny and me on the rock.

Jumping from the rock.

Lots of swimming this year.

Another great BWCA adventure.

Another great Boundary Waters trip

2011-08-02T12:32:00.000Z

We picked up the canoes on our way up to Jenny and Andrew's cabin on Wednesday.

We saw several bald eagles on this trip. \

Our first animal sighting as we put-in at Homer Lake, was of a bald eagle flying across the lake.

The forest ranger said we would see a lot of beaver action. She was right on.

This huge lodge was located right on a portage. Behind it is a very large and impressive dam.

Only saw two beavers though there were several lodges along our route.

Jenny caught her first walleye.

Jenny is hook shy so she swung the fish to me. It flipped itself off the hook so it was my job to make sure he didn't flip itself right out of the canoe.

I estimated at 2-3 lbs. Brian did a fantastic job filleting and we ate very well that night.

Do-Gooders' Society strikes again

2011-07-23T16:05:00.001Z

Perfect timing for helping James cleanup his backyard.

James just thought he was getting his yard mowed. Instead the gang arrived and trimmed trees, pulled weeds, planted a refurbished planter box, and mowed.

And we did it all in about an hour and half...before the big storm arived.

Big thanks to Amy, Bunny, Chad, Linda and JT...and James for letting us help out.

Rose's Birthday Celebration

2011-07-23T11:55:00.002Z

the birthday girl

Our party hats on at Rose's birtday gathering at Old Chicago Uptown.

Gosh but we laugh a lot when the gang is together and it is just so great.

Ben, Old Chicago manager, got into the celebration by "stripping" to his wife-beater.

Amy's birthday card predicted Ben's striptease. It was so prophetic!

Volkswagon Tiguan

2011-07-21T01:58:00.000Z

You rarely see a Volkswagon at a car rental site. So when I saw a Volkswagon emblem on the first vehicle, I took it. The vehicle happened to be a Tiguan, a small crossover-type vehicle.

First off I have to say overall I did not care for this vehicle. First impressions were quite good but the longer the use, the more the faults were demonstrated.

The biggest problem is with the transmission. The Tiguan has a six speed automatic. How do i know it is a six speed automatic? Because you can feel every shift. Especially at the low end the shifts are hard and super frequent...annoyingly frequent. You cannot start out slow and smoothly because the shifting is so abrupt.

The interior is sparse. I guess that is a Volkswagon trait. I think everyone knows I like the gadgets. This vehicle is not very gadgety. Matter of fact kt is so nit gadgety, the miles per gallon display doesn't work unless you are at a stop.

It has been such a long time that I've had a different vehicle and unfortunately I picked the wrong one

Austin, TX

2011-07-16T13:29:00.000Z

Spent the week in Austin, TX.

I had been there once before. Right after I got back from London in 2007, I went to Austin for a work training seminar.

I was really sick and don't remember too much about that trip.

This trip was different. The client's office was on west of Austin and my hotel was on the east side. You couldn't ask for two completely different topographies.

The east side is flat as you would expect in Texas. The west side is very hilly with lots of bluffs and cliffs. Also even though Austin is in the drought that the rest of Texas is in, it is very green with lots and lots of trees.

I never got down to downtown Austin but it was just fascinating driving around the outskirts. As you can see by the photo, it was hot....really hot. They've had more than 30 days over 100 already this year. Their average is 13 I think.

It has served me well

2011-07-15T19:21:00.000Z

Finally made it home @2pm Friday.

But my rollerboard didn't fare so well. I was already thinking of getting a new one as I've had this guy for quite a while....since Urban Traveler was in Calhoun Square for those that remember those days.

The handle finally broke all the way through this morning at 5am when I was going to catch the shuttle from the Comfort Suite Austin Airport.

What a very long day and previous night.

Austin, TX - stranded

2011-07-15T03:32:00.000Z

Well, I was supposed to fly home tonight but it didn't happen.

Flight from Austin to Dallas was schedduled for 6 pm. Then 6:20, 6:30, 7:30, 8:15 8:30. No way to make a 9:00 pm connection.

I called AA.com. The gate attendant was swamped. Rather than flying to Dallas. . . if it was even going to happen... I've decided to stay the night in Austin and fly home on Friday.

Hopefully this works out. No point in getting upset. I actually think this is the first time Americsn Airlines has had to put me up in a hotel.

Austin, TX

2011-07-12T02:29:00.000Z

Haven't had a travel story for quite a while. Super early flight from Minneapolis to Chicago to Austin, Texas. Flight left Minneapolis on time. However, we circled Chicago for a while and once we landed we had the longest taxi to the gate I have ever experienced. I saw parts of O'Hare I had never seen before.

My connection was close to begin with. I did not have a lot of confidence that I was going to make it. I had to wait for my carry-on since the plane from Minneapolis was a regional jet and all bags were valeted.

From Minneapolis I had the good fortune of being upgraded to first class and had the very first seat which helped. The valeted luggage finally came and I now had 15 minutes until the Austin flight's scheduled departure. The gates were relatively close and I am very familiar with O'Hare so I jogged to the Austin gate.

I had to check to check my carry-on since the plane was full. I also had the great pleasure of having a middle seat near the back of the plane...so much for my status and my luck holding out.

I got seated and immediately heard from other passengers that our departure was delayed. The storms that had passed through Minneapolis last night were now approaching Chicago.

As I type this we are on a 45 minute delay. And the woman in front of me just reclined her seat.

It is now late. I did make it to Austin. Flight left 80 minutes late. We did not make up anytime in the air.

Had to go to baggage claim to get my carry-on. It took an hour for the bags to arrive!!! I had been expecting to get to client office around 11am. Instead it was more like 2pm.

Some backyard pics

2011-07-10T21:33:00.000Z

apple branch overloaded

best year for the clematis


the always beautiful tiger liliies

Casting a shadow

2011-07-10T21:31:00.000Z

It may not seem like much but the Burr Oak is casting a shadow this year. It filled out nicely with leaves which bodes well for a future backyard with natural shade....ahh...that'll be nice on these 90+ degree days.

July 4 at the lake

2011-07-06T02:46:00.000Z

JT and Linda opened their home and hearts for another July 4th celebration. Lots of food. Lots of fun. Lots of water.


Captain JT


Jerry on the boat


Up from the dock

Happy July 4th

2011-07-04T14:49:00.000Z

Bloomington fireworks

Christine and I went to the Bloomington Bloomington fireworks again this year. They always have something interesting. This year they had smiley faces, red and white concentric circles and ones that looked like big green. boxes.

Charlotte, NC

2011-07-01T01:28:00.000Z

A week in Charlotte for work. Piggybackjng one project on another.

Today I went to downtown Charlotte to the office. Finally got to see the city and it is nice.

View of the Presbyterian steeple out the office window.

Taylor and Tyron Streets intersection. There is statue in each corner.

Ace's Birthday had an Aura about it.

2011-06-25T16:15:00.000Z


Ace,	the birthday girl


Amy and Corky - beautiful


Corky, me and Linda


JT

A very fun time at Aura Cafe in Calhoun square. Thank you Amy for organizing and thank you Ace for being born.

Home again this week

2011-06-20T22:46:00.000Z

Just not traveling that much these days. So you'll have to keep seeing pictures of the backyard.

The baby bunny that some of you got to see when Mom was here is still alive and growing. He/She is about twice as big already.

And here is what happens to the peonies when it rains.

The blooms get filled with water and are weighed down. This was a week ago when we got over 2 inches of rain.

They never really recover from this though most of the stems did not break.

Dutch Iris and Peonies

2011-06-12T18:30:00.000Z

I love the Dutch or Siberian Iris. These are on really tall stems and are just beautiful.

My backyard has become known for the peonies. These along the garage wall are just enormous bushes. There don't seem to be as many blooms this year as there were last year. But the bushes all seem to be doing very well.

These guys get lost in the far back corner and are worth the walk to see.

Do Gooders

2011-06-12T18:19:00.000Z

Since we gave up the highway clean-up volunteering, it was decided we would "do-good" things for other people. Our first Do-Gooder event was to stain Amy's neighbor's deck.

Amy's neighbor contracted a really bad case of pneumonia and was in a coma for a while. He is home now and doing much better but was not able to stain his deck.

This is the actual view you would have gotten while we were staining. None of us had stained a deck before. It was pretty easy other than having to be on your hands and knees.

Many thanks to JT for power washing the thing a few days earlier.

Dinner in Canada

2011-06-12T17:29:00.000Z

Last week was a crazy one. Had a kind of last minute trip to Southfield, Michigan which is just outside of Detroit. This was a business trip. I flew out Sunday night. Had to change airlines and flights at the last minute. My American Airlines flight from Minneapolis to Chicago was very late and would cause me to miss connection to Detroit. AA switched me to Delta direct flight. It was an earlier flight (good thing) but I had arrived at the airport at expecting a 9pm flight instead I got on a 7:30pm Delta flight. I actually made it.

Anyway, Detroit is very close to Windsor, Canada. A co-worker from my previous project lives in Windsor so we agreed to have dinner in Canada.

Here are some grainy pictures from the Canadian side.

Getting into Canada was a piece of cake. Getting back to the United States was not as easy.

The border patrol asked lots of questions about what I was doing in Michigan. I had to give two forms of identification -- my passport AND driver's license.

I also answered several questions. And the same ones a few times.

Mom made it home

2011-06-05T21:26:00.000Z

Mom returned to Burke, Virginia very early this morning. Her flight on SunCountry was at 6am. We had a wonderful visit.

Mom just missed the first Miss America bloom. Looks like the peonies are going to be incredible this year.

Putting Mom to work in the garden

2011-06-04T03:23:00.000Z

Mom visiting for the week. She missed the lilacs but offered to clip off the dead flowers. I swear she offered!

Memorial Weekend

2011-06-02T02:22:00.000Z

Memorial Weekend 2011 in pictures...

Yates Center, Kansas. Flower shop in town square.

Toronto, Kansas cemetery. Cousin Deb's burial service.

Toronto, Kansas cemetery. Flag with 48 stars for pre-1959 service member.

Toronto, Kansas cemetery. Uncle Ben and Deb's service flags.

Toronto, Kansas cemetery. Mom and the service flags.

Toronto, Kansas. Cross Timbers State Park. Whispering Oaks cabin.

Wichita, Kansas. Linda, my cousin Deb's partner, and me.

Wichita, Kansas. Linda and Mom.

The lone azalea

2011-05-26T12:01:00.000Z

I moved the two azalea plants from the front yard to the back yard last year in hope they would survive. They were languishing in the front yard.

They are both alive though only this one bloomed this year.

It may look dramatic in this close-up photo but this single set of blooms looks a bit lonely.

Very pretty color though and the plants are still alive so we are happy.