Happy Birthday, IT Guy!

Have a good day!

Happy Sunrise!

The other morning while on the way to Starbucks for my coffee - and no, we do  not go every day - I took this picture while stopped for the traffic light.  The picture is pretty.  The actual sight of it was even better.

Life is good.  Stay safe!

Ah, April!

And perhaps a harumph for some April weather!

We have had some lovely warm, sunny days here.  Today it is 46, and sunny again after two unpredictable days of weather and some high winds.  Friday there was rain in the forecast starting early morning.  Golfer and most of the other guys did not go out to the course.  It didn't rain until very late in the day.  Needless to say, they were all disgusted with the weather people.  Saturday the forecast was for just a slight chance of a shower late in the day.  Golfer left for the course and about ten minutes later called to say he was on the way home, being poured on!  Today, even though it is cooler, and breezy, they are all out playing!

Our family in Ohio has four inches of snow!

I will be heading outside with my grabber and big bag to pick up small limbs, branches, and mess in the yard.

I've been doing some odds and ends around the house and keeping up with things.  Golfer has been going to PT.  We've been going to the "Y".

Everyone at Nurse J's house has been sick with strep at the same time.  She said to stay away.  I said call if they needed anything at all, I could leave it at the door.

Boxer and Bloomer are on Spring Break this coming week and are going to a swim camp.  I know they will have fun, they love the water!

We haven't heard anything this past week about the mortgage refinancing, but should hear soon since they said a mid-April closing.

I'm hoping the high wind has knocked most of the pollen out of the trees.  Whenever I clean the porch and patio I raise a yellow cloud of dust, and then sneeze for a hour or so.  The pollen seems unusually heavy this year.

Here's a recent picture of the cherry blossoms on Canon Boulevard.  Gorgeous!  But I'm thinking that after the high winds, they don't look like this any more.  This picture was in the recent Newport News newsletter.  I used to take my own pictures of them, but with all the construction in the that area the places where a person could safely stop and take pictures have gone away.

Life is good!  Stay safe!

An Open Letter to Any TV Show Writers

Sorry, people, it's time for a vent.

Golfer and I like to watch TV and movies.  Fortunately we both like the same types of shows.  But there are some things happening on several of them that annoy us.  (mostly me)

We have a family history of  finding faults with shows.  If we watch a show with a military theme, Golfer can pick out errors.  Aircraft is not what they way it is, or not used at the time period in the show, military uniforms are not right.  Nurse J picks out the mistakes in medical shows; incorrect procedures, sterile areas being contaminated, etc.  Bikini can pick out problems when tech is involved; outdated programming, dangerous practices, etc.  IT Guy and Brief enter in the discussions, too.  My own fault finding covers a wide range of topics, sort of "multi-functional".

Police and Homeland Security are telling us "if you see something, say something". You would think the writers would reinforce that a bit.  Right now there are a lot of ignorant characters on shows we watch.  On "Blindspot" Jane is withholding information.  On "Quantico" it's Alex who is hiding things.  Everyone is hiding things on "How to Get Away With Murder"!  And don't get me started on all the students on "Magicians".  For goodness sake, tell your instructors there are demons coming in!

And while I'm venting here, why is it that when the characters are going into a building on a search, it is always dark?!  And all the lights they have with them are little tiny things like you would have on a key-chain.  Seems to me if you are looking for something or someone, you would want to be able to see.  Either turn on the lights in the building or have a lantern or something with you.

On police dramas, why are so many bullets fired and nothing gets hit???  I know for a fact that police have training and have to qualify on the shooting range.  There will be the bad guy running off, or driving away, and bullets flying all over the place. If he's driving, shoot the tires out!

Another thing that bothers me is cooking shows where they are frequently tasting the food and reusing the same spoon in the pot.  Big no-no!  Mrs. Hugus, my Home EC teacher from many years ago, would be having a hissy fit if she saw someone doing that!  Ah, a moment here for fond memories!  Learning to make a bed properly, balance a check book, and plan a meal!

And let me mention the lack of common sense.  Of course, there is a nation-wide epidemic of common sense deprivation.  But that is a topic for another vent another time.  Come on!  Don't get into a car with a stranger.  Keep your home secured and lock your doors.  A show recently had a serial killer walk into an apartment that was wide open.  Stupid!  Don't get excited about an anonymous invitation email and go off to a strange place to meet a strange person.  And if you don't know what's in that drink or food, keep them out of your mouth!

While I'm writing about movies and shows, a suggestion to the directors, too.  Tell the actors to slow down their speech a little.  Some of us don't listen that fast and would like to enjoy the dialog!

In conclusion, let me say that I am fully aware that if the writers and directors paid attention at all to any of this, we'd be watching some pretty boring shows that would be cancelled after an episode or two.  I'll keep watching and will keep on commenting.

Well, I feel better!  Stay safe!

Just a Funny!

Stay safe!

Happy Easter Weekend!

And Happy Spring!

Golfer is playing golf today.  Our weather cooled off overnight, but it's still nice out, just cooler.  The sun is shining, the temperature is in mid-50's, and the pollen is flying around!

As I was having my breakfast and reading the paper this morning, I started to hear a noise from outside.  I thought it was awful early for someone to be mowing, and figured it was just a truck.  But it never stopped.  Finally I got up and went to look and it was our landscaper who did the work last Fall.  He and his guys were out there fixing some problems.  They worked for several hours and everything is all done and looks lovely.  There is one patched strip along our driveway that we need to water every day for a week.  But the back area is all done and looks good!

You can't tell from this picture, but there are already buds on the hydrangeas and rhododendrons.

And since I was out there taking pictures, here's one of another area in the back yard.

The rest of the day is just doing odds and ends; no major chores or things on the schedule.  Stay safe and have a great weekend!

Geez! Another Fast, Busy Week!

I hope everyone is well and happy.  And I hope none of you are in snow!

We've had another week of beautiful weather here.  Sunshine, some little bits of rain, warm breezes, and then the resulting pollen!  Lots of things blooming and sprouting.  The little, stringy, fuzzy things that fall off the trees have started.  I cleaned off the porch and walk this morning and it already needs to be done again.

Our many appointments have gone well this week.  Golfer's PT is hard work, but seems to be helping.  The appointment with our dermatologist for him went okay and the spot on his back is healing.  His back pain is better and he has been able to get out and play golf.  He saw the orthopedic doctor and x-rays were ordered.  They showed arthritis and "normal aging".  Don't you just love when your doctor tells you "well, you are getting older"?  Some medication was prescribed to keep on hand if the severe pain starts again.

The appraiser came and did his work.  The refinancing is progressing.  There was another round of emails, copying, scanning, sending, etc. yesterday afternoon.  I had to call with a question about something they requested and I was told we were probably looking at a mid-April closing.

Our girls are doing okay, so they tell me when I ask.  :)  School is going well for all the kids.  Boxer got his first pair of glasses and is getting used to to them.  Cutie Girl has been helping her Daddy with some construction at their house.  Evidently her shoes came off because she liked the sand between her toes!

So, life is good.  Stay safe and have a wonderful weekend!