Just a few days after the last launch, we had one go up at 8:14PM.
What a difference a half hour makes.
It was a disappointment to all who went out of their way to take photos of it.
It was especially disappointing after the incredible show that we got just 4 days earlier.
Another one has been scheduled for tomorrow at 9:03PM or so. It should give us quite the show.
I last talked about the free drive-up lunch at the senior center, in March.
There I was complaining about some of the vegetables, and whole grains.
4 months later, they have taken all funding from the center.
As of Friday, with almost no notice to their clients, they have shut down the drive-through, the walk-up, and only left the meals-on-wheels who are already signed up, and the dining-in customers who are already signed up.
Wait lists will be made for those 2 parts of the senior experience that they still have funding for, from the Older Americans Act (Federal and State).
The budget cut: 5.1 million dollars. Meals cut: over 1,000 a day.
For me and my Husband, it was just the variety of foods served, that brought us back once or twice a week, but for other seniors, they do not have the money for food anymore.
A very sad situation.
It has been several weeks since the ants have arrived, for their yearly take-over of my house.
It wasn't too bad, until 3 days ago, when they were in the thousands, coming in multiple ways.
Good thing I had given up, and told my Husband that we must call the exterminator in the morning.
It wasn't even 9AM yet, and they said they would come in the afternoon. Instead, it was 10:30AM when they arrived. We get great service from them.
2 hours later, all signs of the ants were gone!
I hate ants...
I love this photo of Makenna.
When she finishes eating, or cruising around the house, she comes to me for a treat.
If I am not fast enough, this is the face she gives me.
Heaven forbid I am reading something, or watching something.
She must be obeyed.
My life revolves around her...always.
Yes, another launch on Monday night.
What I learned this time, is that there are shiny things in the contrail, that you can see.
Two of them are fairings, which are the nose cone on top of the Falcon 9, and Falcon Heavy rocket. They will fall into the ocean and be recovered for reuse.
I learned that a fairing is a two-piece protective shell made of aluminum and carbon composite.
A more detailed explanation is: A payload fairing is a nose cone used to protect a spacecraft payload against the impact of dynamic pressure and aerodynamic heating during launch through an atmosphere. An additional function on some flights is to maintain the cleanroom environment for precision instruments.
The light further down the contrail, is the stage 1 rocket, which will eventually be recovered shortly after launch. The gap between contrails, is when the stage 2 rocket ignites, and then the stage 1 rocket begins its descent.
I could see all three this time around, but not in every photograph I took.
We go to Aquafit several days a week, and one of the people is a bass player, Bobby Watson.
He plays in a band occasionally, called The Cookies.
They had a gig in Newhall the other day, so we dressed up, and went to see them.
I wasn't real impressed with the dessert at The Smokehouse, but the music was soulful and wonderful.
A treat for us. Maybe a 4 mile drive from home, and no cover.
Thanks Bobby, for letting us know about the gig.
My Water Post For Today.
I brought you to Holladay Park in Portland, back in 2012. You can see it HERE.
I came upon another photo with a person enjoying the fountain, and decided to showcase it, too.
I was interested in the fact that for a city that is known for lots of rain, they have so many fountains, Benson Bubblers, (which I wrote about at the time).
You can revisit that post HERE.
Such a different way to view water and I hope you enjoy.
I have not made sauce from scratch, for months...if not a year or so.
For some reason, I decided to make the time to do so.
I had seen my cans of Cento Tomato Puree and Paste all the way in the back of my cabinet.
That started me thinking.
I had a few lamb loin chops left at the end of the week, I had a sausage left over that was in the freezer and I had a pound of chop meat to make into meat balls. They should make an awesome tasting sauce.
I made the meat balls on Thursday evening, and on Saturday morning 9AM, I started the sauce.
In total, it took 2 hours to cook, and then I left it on the stove and turned the heat on a few minutes, once or twice, to keep it warm in the Dutch Oven.
I made the spaghetti at 11AM and put it into the fridge, to wait til dinner.
Put it all together, and heated for a minute, and we had an awesome spaghetti dinner.
Beats the heck out of a jar of sauce, that's for sure.
We went to the senior center for lunch.
It was the third time this week we went and the line was out in the street 15 minutes before the "official" opening.
I figured I would just sneak in and out quickly, instead we spent almost 20 minutes snaking through the line to get our cheeseburgers.
It was the first time I saw it that crowded, ever. I guess seniors can't pay the inflated prices for a burger now days.
The cheeseburgers were good and worth the wait, btw.
When we were at the Mystic Aquarium, they had a touch pool for the little ones.
Before you can touch the fish, you have to wash your hands.
So this photo is of my Nephew and Great Nephew washing hands.
I thought it was so cute to see, oh and check out the gold boots my Great Nephew is sporting.
I did ask about them and, found out it is a hand-me-down from his big sister.
Another evening, and another rocket launch from Vandenburg Space Force Base.
Being it was at 8:40PM, just after sunset, my Husband and I went outside to see if anything happened.
We were rewarded for our interest, it went up from the west, and then took a major turn to the south.
When it went south, it went toward the moon, which is almost full (that will happen on Thursday).
My Husband walked in front of my photo, and it made the shot, IMHO.
Very cool to see, and a great shot, too.
The youngest of my 4 great-grands turned 1 year old on Friday.
She was the one I enjoyed being around, the most.
I am so glad I got to meet them all, but especially the one who was only a few weeks short of her birthday.
It amazed me how much she could do, while playing.
I don't think I had that much talent at the same age.
Congratulations little girl. Can't wait to see you walking and running.
Just when I was ready to write a post, my Son send me 4 photos of Taro.
I chose the 4 best photos for you to admire.
Is camping in my grandcats future? I have no idea, but the tent looks cute.
The other is my two babies. My Son...and my Grandcat.
They are so cute. :-)
My Water Post For Today, (courtesy of my Son).
The Gordie Howe Bridge is connected, and my Son just happened to be in the Detroit area on Saturday, for something else.
So he got a photo of it.
I am happy to show it on my blog today.
Enjoy the Detroit River...and the Gordie Howe.
It was the first hot day this late spring.
It never takes much, there is a fire caused by a chain dragging from a vehicle.
It is all the way up in Gorman, which is about an hour away from us.
Smoke, ash, and a red ball of fire, is what we got from it.
I won't mention how bad the smell is from the smoke. Ugh...
I am not ready for this, yet.
The Gordie Howe Bridge in Detroit/Windsor has now been attached.
There is still much work to be done, but the American and Canadian iron workers shook hands on Friday.
The bridge is connected at the US/Canadian border.
I am looking forward to someday driving on it.
Great job guys.
Photo is from May of 2023.
Claude Taylor, a photographer, feeds the deer in his yard.
After 4 years, he has seen Hope (the three legged deer) have 4 fawns.
Frankie, Sal, Sebastian, and Sam. All bucks, not a doe in the bunch.
The mixed grain pellets must really help. :-)
It is the time of year for new fawns to appear, and last week along came Ripple.
No idea if it is male or female, that comes later, when antlers may appear on their head.
The fawn is named in honor of Bill Walton, the basketball player who died last week, and liked the Grateful Dead.
I know nothing about things like Grateful Dead songs, but here is the chorus to Ripple.
Ripple
in still water
When there is no pebble tossed
Nor wind to blow
While I was visiting my Son, I lived in the Orange Room/Den.
It has the futon for guests to sleep on, without bothering the three residents rooms.
My Son went over to Milford to work for a few hours before our flight out.
So I was on my own, and noticed his diploma on the wall.
It is totally a mess, and so I took the time to take it out of the frame and adjust all the parts.
I had forgotten that it had an engineers ring hanging by the tassel.
So it is now all fixed, for visitors to see. (I didn't get a picture of the fixed version).
I am a month late on posting this, sorry for the delay.
I got home from my trip East, and was glad I was back in time, for the yearly Post Office Food Drive called Stamp Out Hunger.
Unfortunately, I got COVID-19, and had to have my Husband handle it all.
We had the most food that we have ever had, but it would not fit in our box.
Instructions on the bag said to place the bag on the ground and leave it for the postman (or woman) to collect.
We did that, but were worried that someone in the neighborhood would steal it.
We just hope it got to the poor. There are so many, even here in Santa Clarita.
Thank you USPS.
Guns and Roses brings us to year 17 being in the books.
Wow, I just can't believe it has been a year already. Seriously, they go by so fast.
The biggest news during year 17 is:
I GOT THE MASTERS DEGREE!
As I mentioned a few months ago, I have a Masters Degree in Strategic Communication (finally).
The main thing I had to give up was getting it published. At 69 years old, I do not need to have a published work on the subject of the COVID-19 Pandemic.
With that weight off my shoulders, I immediately booked a trip to see my brother's family in New England.
Yes, COVID-19 followed that journey. It was my second time getting it.
It was much better than the first time, so in that regard, I am not as worried as in the past, but I still worry about Long COVID, so masking still happens when I travel.
As mentioned last year on this blog, I finished up visiting all 50 States. Tennessee being my Husband's last one.
As it ended up, we both totally enjoyed Nashville, Tennessee, and do not regret traveling there, one bit.
We also flew to South Dakota, and enjoyed our time there, too. Unfortunately, it's a very red state, which is kind of a downer.
Due to circumstances, we only managed 1 train trip this past year. Hopefully more to come in year 18.
See you next year.
My Water Post For Today.
I showed off the front of this restaurant, back on May 27th. You can revisit it HERE.
This is the back side of the restaurant, and you can pull in with your boat.
I thought that was pretty cool, for those navigating the fairly calm river.
Pawcatuck, Rhode Island, very nice area.
I hope you enjoy.
First off, the house smells of mustard. Just a warning.
I saw this recipe on pocket, and since it was so incredibly easy, I decided to make it to go with a wonderful pork roast I made on Saturday.
I used russet potatoes, since that is what I had in the house.
I cut them into 8ths, since they are bigger than red potatoes.
I took one to try out, and it takes a little bit like mustard. We will see how they taste, with the pork roast, later today.
3-Ingredient Roasted Dijon Potatoes
Yield: Serves 4 to 6
Ingredients
2 pounds small red potatoes, halved or quartered if large
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons whole-grain Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and heat to 425°F.
Place all the ingredients in a large bowl and toss to combine. Transfer the potatoes to a rimmed baking sheet and arrange the potatoes so they are cut-side down.
Roast for 10 minutes. Flip the potatoes over with a flat spatula and cook until browned and tender, about 10 minutes more.
Storage: Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Last month, we flew into Providence (Greene) airport at 11PM.
I did not feel like driving all the way to Connecticut at that hour.
So what my Son and I did was sleep right outside the airport, at the Best Western.
They picked us up at the shuttle area, and brought us right over. It took no time at all.
The hotel was beautiful!
Just looking at these 2 photos of the lobby area, and then the entrance to the breakfast area, you can see the care they gave to the space.
Even the floor has a inlayed star on it.
The food was good, and again, they drove us back to the airport to pick up our rental car in the morning.
I highly recommend this hotel, if you need to fly to the Boston area.
When I was visiting with my family my nephew needed to feed the youngest child.
To keep her occupied as he mixed baby food for her, he gave her some puffy stars.
She could not get enough of them, and they had to refill her tray table several times.
I did not catch what flavor they are, but Gerber makes them.
They have several grains in them, and fruits of different kinds.
They melt in the child's mouth, so there is no danger of them choking on the food.
We used to give my Son cheerios, but those you need to chew. This seems much better for the kids.
Very cool, and according to the reviews, adults love them, too.
In my Facebook memories, I saw that it has been 5 years since my last colonoscopy.
I had to see my Primary Care Physician, to check my new drugs and my A1C.
So while I was in my online chart, I saw that I did not need a colonoscopy for another 5 years. Woot, I thought.
Not so fast, angel girl.
My doctor pulls up my last colonoscopy report and sees that it recommends I be retested in 5 years.
Grrrr...
So I am in the process of scheduling the colonoscopy.
I am not a happy girl.
There is a lot of work going on at LAX, as they get ready for the 2028 Summer Olympics.
One of the things they are doing, is adding new structures to the 7 terminals that they already had.
The terminal I flew out of was supposed to be terminal 3, but as my Son explained, they are combining it with terminal 2. As you can see, the gates are basically the same, though some new ones have been added, from what I read.
When I started up to the 2nd floor, I saw this very cool mosaic on the wall.
It took a bit of detective work, but I found out the story of the mosaic.
“Just What Is Your Position,” a large-scale abstract painting by Renée Petropoulos that had been on display at the Fox Studio in Los Angeles, will be moved to the new Terminal 2/3 ticketing lobby at LAX later this month after being donated by the company.
To the artist, the location for “Just What Is Your Position” at LAX is ideal because it preserves the history of the painting, but also reveals additional meanings. Using color and pattern, the artwork explores a viewer’s perception of corporate culture and weaves together elements that create a sense of movement and fragmentation.
Petropoulos points out that the diagonal light effect from the Terminal 2/3 lobby windows echoes the diagonal element that crosses the width of the painting that originally reflected a staircase that traversed the original space at Fox Studios.
“I could consider this almost a re-birth for the painting,” Petropoulos said. “Being involved in the installation at LAX and being able to see the work transformed by this particular location, while also seeing how the work transforms the space around it, is incredible. It’s very exciting to consider how many people will be able to experience the work.”
This is how our Facebook chat went on Sunday.
My Son could not connect with his desktop computer at all, so he used his phone, I believe.
When he full screened it, we saw that his cat, Taro, was sitting on a printer (we think).
She stayed the entire hour, which surprised us.
My Son said that Mary was with him that morning, so the cat goes where the people are.
Mary got back to America, at the end of last month.
Now things return to normal, or as normal as his house gets.
Her journey back to LA, begins sometime mid-July.
My Water Post For Today.
Back to Mystic Aquarium, and some of the sea life.
In this case, a seahorse.
What a beautiful animal and look at the color!
I have no idea if it is the color of the seahorse, or the lighting in the tank that causes it.
I really enjoyed watching it move around the tank. My only chance of seeing one.
I hope you enjoy, too.
It seems that we here on the West Coast have become the new home for rockets going up, sometimes more than one a week.
Add in the fact that launches are canceled at the last minute, and it becomes a constant event...or non-event.
Sometimes, you hear it, too, though not often.
Friday night around 9PM we heard something and to this day I do not know what it was.
Though I did hear testing of missiles might be going on sometime, could that be it?
Never a dull moment. Thanks (not) Elon.
It's June 1st! As my weather guy says, it is summer to weathermen.
We don't see summer til June 21st.
You can feel the weather changing, May Gray and June Gloom are currently our default values at the moment.
Right around the 21st, the June Gloom should end, and the heat waves will begin.
The flowers in my backyard are blooming, as one would expect, and we are doing maintenance (us, and the gardner, and the landscaper). So things are holding their own.
Though it is time to make sure the sprinklers are doing their job.
Sigh, it never ends.
