Friday, June 30, 2023

A New "Mouse Pad"

Back in April, my Son showed off his new desk set-up at the house.

We admired the colorful thing that was on the desk itself.

He told us that it is a mouse pad, and HERE is a link to it.

Being we were about to leave on our trip to see him, we did not act on it.

The other day I decided to buy it. It was only $29 (though shipping was expensive).

So far, we like it a lot, especially since I always hate when the mouse falls off the end of the mouse pad.

So this is great.

Thursday, June 29, 2023

Makenna In The Sun

It is the time of the year when the sun is at its furthest location, to the north.

In my house, it means that the back side (which normally does not get much sun at all) has lovely spots of sun on the floor in the kitchen.

Makenna noticed it three days ago, and on Tuesday, she sat in the box of light.

I could not resist taking a few photos of her.

Unfortunately, it moved very fast, so she left me alone. Sigh...

Wednesday, June 28, 2023

CVT2go Arrives In Santa Clarita

I have been talking about them since 2014. HERE is my first post about them.

I have missed them so much, being retired and all that.

Sunday they announced that they have a new treat, that is available at Valley Marketplace in Santa Clarita.

It has been at Gelson's Markets, around the Southland, for a month. So this finally got it to our area of the world.

I tried one, and it is OK. Not as good as getting it on the truck, but not bad, either.

I will definitely be back for more.

THIS is what it looks like on his website.

Tuesday, June 27, 2023

The Deck: Phase 1 Complete

My son bought a house that had lumber for a deck, in his garage.

His first project, is replacing the old one, that is falling apart (see photo number 1).

A co-worker from GM (a friend from his EcoCar days) came over the weekend before, to check things out with him.

They bought railing at Home Depot, to finish up the lumber that was needed for the project.

So with everything set, they did the demo on Saturday, and then laid the lumber down on the deck.

The railing will happen another day, but for now, it is safer than it was.

Monday, June 26, 2023

Proud Lake Community Dock

My Water Post For Today.

My Son has been taking evening walks around his new location.

Lots of lakes, and one of them is the lake that they are connected to: Proud Lake.

They have a community dock and the other day he checked it out.

Quite a beautiful area, though I bet they have some mosquitos around at night.

I hope you enjoy.

Sunday, June 25, 2023

The Second Arrangement - Thank You Roger Nichols

Cimcie found it in her father's personal items, after his death.

A not perfect, but better, version of The Second Arrangement. It was recorded on cassette, just before an assistant engineer erased it, by mistake.

Donald and Walter did perform the song in 2011, but even they did not know how it sounded anymore.

We now have something that is so close to the final version, and it is glorious.

I have not listended to all 20 minutes of this Youtube video, but it is on it toward the very top.

This article from someone called The Expanding Dan has a 5:44 combined version on it, to fill in the missing vocals. I can't link to it alone, so you need to continue reading and then scroll down toward the end, for the clip I heard the first day.

Enjoy.

Saturday, June 24, 2023

A Five Hour Drive...A Five Hour Drive

This is somewhere USA...but you get the point.

Out in the middle of the United States, you see lots of animals roaming.

My personal opinion is that they have that right.

Do I want to hit one of them, when driving? The answer to that is NO.

With a bit of luck, and continued health, I have booked a trip to South Dakota.

Fall, when the kids go back to school is a perfect time.

I would love to take the train, but there are no trains in South Dakota.

The closest you can get is Denver, Colorado, Omaha, Nebraska, Williston, or Fargo, North Dakota.

I can tell you are loving the choices we have to deal with.

I finally decided that instead of driving miles and miles in a rental car, we would fly for the first time.

Denver and then to Rapid City, to see Mount Rushmore. My Husband has never been to it, and he would like to.

Wish us luck with this, and obviously, more to follow.

Friday, June 23, 2023

Lupin Returns To The Air At KTLA

Consumer Reporter, David Lazarus, has a pinched nerve in his neck.

While he is recovering, he is doing his live reports from home, like he did during the Pandemic.

When he lights up his home studio, his cat, Lupin, comes over most times and takes his position on the blanket in the corner of the desk.

As David explains, he has no control over the cat, but the cat remembers those Pandemic days, since he was born and raised during them.

Thus, most home studio "Hits" he is there, doing what he does best. Sleeping.

Wishing David good health, so he can return to the studio.

We will miss Lupin, when this happens.

Thursday, June 22, 2023

Near Lamy, New Mexico

I admit this, I managed to miss crossing the Pecos River, in New Mexico.

What it did, is make me notice much more in the New Mexico area above and to the East of, Lamy.

That, by the way, is the stop for anyone who wants to travel up to Santa Fe. (Maybe someday)

There was a creek along side the train, with some nice rock formations, and I took several photos of that.

I am happy I have them, and now share one of them with you all.

Wednesday, June 21, 2023

Another Year, Another Summer Solstice

Today is the day. The summer Solstice arrives and the days will begin to get shorter.

This photo was taken back in 2020, when we were in the height of the Pandemic and they live streamed the sun setting at Stonehenge.

I read that it occurs at 7:57AM PDT this year.

It is definitely a cause for celebration, since it is the longest day of the year.

I caught an image of today's solstice. 2023. Enjoy.

Tuesday, June 20, 2023

Main Street In Milford, Michigan

Welcome to Milford. The place where the General Motors Proving Ground is.

My Son wanted to take us to a BBQ joint, and this is where we ended up.

Smoke Street. An interesting place with many choices for BBQ.

I think I got BBQ Pork and it was good.

It was very crowded, and that was a bit of a drag.

Main Street reminded me of the many main streets throughout America. Small, but cute.

Monday, June 19, 2023

Gordie Howe International Bridge

My Water Post For Today.

Last week I mentioned that we were photographing a new bridge over the Detroit River.

Here it is, the Gordie Howe International Bridge.It is named after a Canadian Hockey player, who played for the Detroit Red Wings.

So far, there are the two towers and some cables attached to it.

We were impressed, since seeing a bridge in progress, is not a normal occurance for us.

Enjoy the water, once again.

Sunday, June 18, 2023

A Shower At Chicago Union Station

In case I can continue my blog on Train Travel Help, I wanted to get this photo up.

I knew that somewhere in the Metropolitan Lounge, there was a shower.

The problem was, I never saw it.

This trip I was determined to find out where it is and hopefully, get inside it.

I did find it in the ladies room, but I never had the opportunity to get past the lock on the door.

Too bad, because it would have been worth the effort.

The staff were way too busy to deal with me and I could not ask them for the key.

Maybe next time.

Saturday, June 17, 2023

The Original Social Distancing - Virtual Railfan

I may be going crazy trying to get my Thesis/Applied Project in order, but it does not stop me from feeling that occasional masking, and social distancing still has a place in this world.

Our latest trip had the least masking, of all our recent trips.

In spite of that, we made it through without catching COVID-19, RSV, etc...

We try to get a feeling for an area, and if it does not feel safe, we mask.

It seems to work for us.

Thanks Virtual Railfan, for making the cool as all heck Social Distancing shirt. I wore it both coming and going on the train.

Friday, June 16, 2023

A New Great Niece

...and the score is: 2 girls and 2 boys.

My nephew, and his wife, just welcomed their 2nd child on 6/14.

Her name is Isla and I am so glad to hear she arrived safely.

She joins her big brother, and two cousins.

It is nice to know our family has continued into a new generation.