Months ago I mentioned that my father was taking care of a feral kitten. Dad fed the kitten every day but did not allow it in his home.

This past weekend, my brother adopted the kitten. It’s doing well. It’s already learnt to use a little box. 

In our yard, the Soft Caress Mahonia has bloomed. It’s one of the last blooming plants of Seattle’s growing season. The bees flock to it when the sun is out. I sit in the sun and watch them hop from bloom to bloom. 

I recall a story where two kids track down the location of a beehive. They place out a small bowl of sugar syrup and follow the bees that visit. This sounds a little fictional. I look it up and it turns out to be possible. When a bee is ‘full’ it flies straight back to the hive. By timing how long a bee takes to return, you can determine the distance. With triangulation, patience and helpful weather you really can track down beehives.

On impulse I go to the local library and check out “Following the Wild Bees: The Craft and Science of Bee Hunting.”

For years I’ve had an urge to  bee keep. I stay away because I don’t need that much honey. Hunting for wild hives sounds less committed. Dip my toe without going all the way. 

I do this. I have impulses to try something new. Things that could be a hobby but then peter out. Sometimes it's fun to learn something new and challenging. It’s fun to research and buy new equipment. But then... it is just an impulse that costs money for no real return. I end up with junk in my house.

I once spent hundreds of dollars on a telescope for stargazing. Seattle is not the best place for stargazing.

Music-- I had keyboard lessons in high school. We bought a keyboard during COVID. At some point my learning slowed down. Then I developed a pinched nerve in my shoulder, so I stopped keyboarding and never restarted. We sold the keyboard when we moved to our current home. I may pick keyboards up again. I have friends who have offered me their keyboard which has not been used in years.

Bicycling-- I’ve learnt how to maintain my bicycle. I’ve investigated how to turn it into an e-bike. I’m one idle month away from doing so.

3D Printing-- I would love to buy a 3D printer, but do I really need more plastic crap in my house? But I could 3D print drawer organizers and lamp shades... 

Drawing-- This would not be a bad hobby to pick up. It’s not expensive and if I became good (big if) I’d be more inclined to keep the drawings than the hundreds of pics we take from our cell phones.

I start looking around at the local bookstores for “Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain.”

Social calendar...

Saturday dinner and games with QJ, C7, WY & DA

Sunday lunch and a walk around the Fremont Market with Evan and Allen

Sunday Dinner with W&J

This much socializing tires me out. It's hard for me to explain how or why. All I can say is that after a certain point I have a craving for silence, for downtime. Two long days with so many extraverts is exhausting. 

Monday. Hike with Clem. I enjoy hiking and I need to do so more often. Clem and I agree to hike again next week. Tuesday, Clem will have surgery to have some Basel cells removed. 

Clem is 72 and this is the first time I've seen him act 'old'. He needed to use trekking polls to deal with the steep parts of our path. He had to work hard and carefully to pull off some deep knee bends. Sigh. 

RFC for the SOP on this B L O G

This blog is now 25 years old. Thank you, dearest readers. You are an exclusive club. 

Many years ago I kept a private journal, then my hard drive died. At that point I was deeply involved in building internet software at a big tech company. Blogs were beginning to be a thing. Rather than start a new journal on the new hard drive, I decided to make a blog, this blog. In a fit of madness I it public.

My rules of thumb for this blog... I see they are more aspirational than rigorously enforced...

First and foremost, this blog is for me and to remind me of what I once did and what I was thinking of at that time.

Second, lead with the facts and the present. I want this blog to be centered around what I am actually doing in my life on that week. I don’t want to run on and on with future plans or a rehash of past memories.

Third, stay away from speculation, gossip and venting. This can be very hard to do when I need to provide context for how I’m thinking things through.

Over time I’ve added a fourth rule-- this is not Facebook. I don’t want to share low-effort posts for the likes and smilies.

I want these posts to be valuable, at least to me. In return I put that effort into other blogs, especially those of bloggers that read mine. I will read them thoughtfully. I will stay caught up.

I’ve also discovered that I enjoy writing. Now that I have more time, I’m putting more effort into that. I still want the blog to be a record of my life, so I am thinking about alternating posting styles, with some posts being just an outline of my life events, interleaved with longer essays.

Bullet hole memorial from Union Station in KC

 

We are still in KC.

We’ve toured the WW1 Museum, the Berlin Wall exhibition plus the Harry Truman museum and library. It’s exposed me to much history from that time from different perspectives-- the rise of the U.S. as a major military power, the dynamics leading up to WW1, WW2, the Cold War, the rise of nationalism and the rise of civil rights....

Some things stand out. First, Seattle doesn’t have museums that cover military or political history like this. Seattle could up its museum game.

Second... history doesn’t repeat itself, but it does rhyme. The rhymes of today make me uncomfortable.

Good news on the dog front. Her diarrhea went away.

We are now in Kansas City. The city has done a great job preserving its older buildings.

We have a surprising number of accidental connections to KC. My friend Clem grew up here. My dentist is from here. My husband worked here and still keeps in touch with his old coworkers. My brother-in-law earned his degree here. His grandkids reside here. Also my husband's sponsor from AA retired here.

They all have conflicting opinions on who has the best BBQ in Kansas. I’ll stay out of that debate. 

Wednesday evening we had dinner with one of my husband's old coworkers. She has family here. She and her husband found KC to be far more affordable than the West Coast and moved here for retirement.

We spent Thursday catching up with my husband's old sponsor. We've known her for long enough that I also consider her a friend.

We still have much to see in KC… museums, river walks, haunted houses. For some reason KC has a small industry in haunted house attractions. I don't know if I'm looking forward to that.

We are headed out for a week to visit friends in Kansas City. The night before our departure our dog developed diarrhea. As my husband and I travel over the next year, this is the kind of challenge that we will need to manage through. Should one of us stay home? Should we foist more obligation onto our dog sitter?

In the end we decided to inform the sitter and instruct him to cut back on the dog's diet until the symptoms calm down. We also collected our stash of diarrhea medications (does every dog owner have a stash of diarrhea medications?) and put it someplace conspicuous. We shall see if this is enough to prepare the sitter.

We took our aunt out for dinner at a highly recommended local restaurant. It was at a working fisherman's wharf in a rundown older building. The crowd there looked worn down. Fishermen? Homeless? Looking around, everyone was drinking wine and eating plates of gorgeous sushi. The contrast between the ambience, the customers and the food made me smile. 

The food and drink were wonderful.

We talked to our server about the history of the restaurant. Apparently there is a good culinary school down the road. The restaurant is run by one of the instructors and partially staffed by the students. 

Kismet’s Landing. Well worth the visit. 

The fog ebbs and flows around the beaches and coves near Florence. For a few moments the sun will be out and the sky blue. Ten minutes later you are walking in a misty dream. 

The area is a tourist and retirement heaven. I can see why my husband’s aunt settled here— gorgeous beaches, golfing, fishing, nice restaurants and a healthy retirement community. 

 

We are driving down the coast to Florence Oregon to visit my husband’s family. A friend suggested just I say we are traveling to Florence as it sounds more exotic.

Florence Oregon may not be Florence Italy, however the beaches here are beautiful. I’ll let the sunset speak for itself. 

 

Happy October all.

Fall is setting in. The clouds and drizzle have returned though there are still plenty of sunny breaks in the afternoon.

Wednesday we had a video call with A&E. Some happy news from them. A month ago they took in a foster dog. More specifically their son, who lives with them, took in a foster dog. This dog had been neglected and was untrained. It didn’t know to potty outside and had never been on a leash. Fortunately, the dog was smart and trainable. After a month of patience, the dog is now friendly, cuddly, leash trained and goes to the bathroom outside. A permanent owner has been identified. Soon he will be in a new home. 

I slept 8 hours last night. Hallelujah!

Weather wise fall has set in. Much cloud. Occasional rain. Temperatures no longer reach the 70s. 

Sunday was a social day. Lunch with Evan, Allen, WS & PT. We have all been traveling of late and shared our experiences. WS & PT also caught colds while traveling in Europe. This marks seven people that I know who, in the past two weeks, have caught travel colds. Thankfully this cold is more of an inconvenience than anything. You cough. Your nose runs. You are a little more tired than usual. No aches, pains or nausea.  

Dinner was with my brother-in-law. We haven't seen him in months. All is going well there. He plans on retiring in two years. He has grand-kids in KC. We will visit them in a few weeks.

We received a frustrating call about a friend. Apparently the friend has flaked out twice about meeting with the caller. The caller had the feeling that more is going on with this friend than just being scatter brained.

I've been worrying about this friend for sometime. If this were work,  I'd characterize the problem as "Executive Disfunction." He has problems prioritizing and keeping commitments without being managed.

Thankfully he doesn't use drugs or alcohol. 

I have to proceed carefully. I must bring this topic up in the right way at the right time. 

This jet lag is pernicious. These mornings I am awake by 3:30am. I do enjoy it though. I can finish my morning routine, exercises, household chores, research, paperwork and take the dog on a long walk all by 8:00am

Our second day home from our trip and both of us are very jet lagged. Last night we were in bed by 6pm and up by 3am. Waking up that early is... interesting? Our daily chores are all done by noon. 

And we are on our way home. I enjoyed every day even though I had a cold

Travel notes for the next time we go…

The whole French coast, from Italy to Spain, is gorgeous, safe and first world. Don’t feel compelled to stay in a well known city. Similarly bus and train systems work well. Use them. 

Jet lag and heat make afternoon naps necessary. Plan around it. 

Build in a few beach days. 

Restaurants don’t really open till 7pm. Museums sometimes close from 1 to 2 pm. Plan around that. 

Church in Antibes…

View from Picasso Museum…

Picasso…

View from the apartment where we stayed…

The Ramparts at Saint Paul de Vence. 

 

I have been under the weather though I am in the mend. Today I did some exploring with the others.

Nice is gorgeous. I understand why so many artists have made there homes here over the years. 

Wednesday,  we took the high speed train from Paris to Nice. My phone says peak speed was 185mph. 

Thursday we explored the city. For centuries Nice has built towards healthy street life. There are miles of walkways along the Mediterranean and dozens of streets hosting street cafes. The crowd is a bit younger than I expected. The streets are filled with people in there 20s

Somehow I managed to pick up a cold. We are resting on the beach today. I am optimistic the cold will pass soon. 

We’ve lucked out and had wonderful weather for our Paris visit.

… the OG Lady Liberty…

At the Monet Museum. 

 

We saw a couple plays in London. “The Play That Goes Wrong” and “Titanique”. Both are wonderful comedies. My husband cried after watching “The Play That Goes Wrong” he said that he hasn’t laughed that hard in years. It lifted a weight off his shoulders. 

Much goes on in that brain of his that I am not privy too. Thank you to those who made The Play…

This morning we said goodbye to our husband’s cousin and then hopped on the train to Paris. We are here for a couple days before headset off to Nice

We spent the afternoon exploring the city. Notre Dame is open again and looks spectacular. 

And now we are in London England. 

We have stopped by London to see the sights and catch up with my husband’s cousin. After London we are taking the train to France.

London is a wonderful city. Very old. Well kept. 

This European trip was our original retirement trip. We booked it long before our friends and family started suggesting “Now that you are retired, why don’t you travel with us to…” On this trip, in addition to my husband’s cousin, our friend FL has joined from Boston. 

Misadventures in Sailing

My former boss and now friend asked me to help him reposition his sailboat. The boat was to be hauled out of the water at a marina that required it to pass through the Ballard locks.

We set out in the morning for some light sailing. It was a pleasant trip, even if the winds weren’t particularly strong.

By mid-afternoon, we decided to head in and tackle the locks.

It was the first time navigating a lock system for both of us. It was the end of a holiday weekend and there were dozens of other vessels trying to squeeze through. There were massive commercial fishing boats. There were tiny kayaks. On top of the crowd, opening and closing the lock gates created rapidly shifting currents. Sailboats aren't known for being graceful in tight quarters. You have to keep an eye on everything, act fast, and adjust your lines at a moment’s notice.

It didn’t go smoothly, but we made it through with only bruised egos. At one point, the swirling currents spun our boat completely around. Afterward, my friend joked that our maneuvering would probably end up on TikTok.

This is why I don’t want to own a boat.

We’ve had a few causual days. Errands, gym and long walks during the day. Dinner with various friends in the evening. 

Last night was Allen, Evan, + P&S. I don’t know P&S that well though they are close to Evan.

Tonight is dinner with Huff and baby O

Sunday is the big gay bear party at C6 amd QJ’s. Last I checked over one hundred people said they were attending. 

 

My father has a new kitten. Not that a feral kitten really belongs to anyone.

My father regularly feeds a feral cat. Back in July she appeared to be pregnant. Then she vanished for a day and returned thin. For weeks afterward we saw no signs of her kittens, so we assumed they were still born. Then recently my father saw this little furry dude climbing up a screen window with the mother watched from a few feet away. 

Tuesday evening I had dinner with C2 at Spuds Fish and Chips which is in a local beach. Soon the rain will return to Seattle, so we decided to enjoy it one last time. 

C2 is my connection to the more… wild side of our local gay community. He has a few friends who are into ’gear’ I didn’t know what that was. It’s how the muscle builders who take many injectables refer to their habit. 

And because we are all getting older, he caught me up on which gear-heads have passed away, which have cancer and who have other issues. 

First world problems and opportunities. 

My husband is off driving Mehl to the airport. Now I have a rare hour alone. I have a chance to reflect how our life has changing since retirement. 

One of the benefits of my past job was that I had hours of built in quiet time to sit, to reflect, to meditate, to write, to work. I enjoy that quiet and miss it. It's difficult to schedule while we are traveling or hosting guests.

And I do mean quiet time. Not downtime where I turn on the TV or scroll social media on my cell. Hearing voices bursts the quiet time bubble. I immediately fixates on that conversation instead of my chosen activity. I am looking for genuine quiet.

I need to gently discuss this with my husband. He is more of an extrovert than I and is excited by our future travels.

We are on our way home now. I greatly enjoyed Victoria. 

A pic from our morning stroll in China town…

Today we saw the BC Legislature, the Craigdarroch Castle and the Malahat Sky Walk. 

We also spent hours in our condo watching the gulls fly from roof to roof, the boats tooddle around and construction happen. The harbor in Victoria is endlessly busy and interesting. We pour some tea, watch the cruise ships dock and try to decipher how the gulls choose the most interesting place to be. 

This morning we toured the Butchart Gardens. They are 120 years old and becoming more gorgeous with every passing decade.