The usual Monday chaos, but....

Mondays are chaotic - lots going on every morning, and then bridge in the afternoon.

But, I did have some cards today.  I was in the winning pair in each progression (although it doesn't necessarily follow that I was high for the day).  And we have found a group that plays duplicate and I think we're going to give it a try.  We shall see....

p.s.  This is not one of my hands - just a bridge hand from google images.

There's fall in the air

Rainy Saturday in Fall

 

 

First rain this month. Gray

All day. It made for a good

Day for football, naps.

 

 



The Born Loser

We're often in the funny papers, but some days we get nailed more than others.  This is The Born Loser from yesterday (9-19-13).

Banned Book Week coming up

Addendum: To the title of last night’s entry “Supremely happy people”, I intended to add “(whatever that might be)”. Thanks, Harriet, for calling it to my attention.

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Next week is one of my favorite weeks - Banned Book Week! Click here or here for a couple of web pages about the event.

And even better, perhaps serendipitously, our Friends of the Library is having its fall book sale next week. Good timing, I think.

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Fountain outside the Scripps Aquarium, La Jolla, CA

 

Supremely happy people

Today, the Huffington Post had an article about 21 habits of “Supremely Happy People”. I think I’d worry about anybody who claimed to be “supremely happy”, but I thought the points were worth repeating. The Huffington Post elaborates a little on each one, so Click Here if you want to read more.

The Habits of Supremely Happy People

1. They surround themselves with other happy people.

2. They smile when they mean it.

3. They cultivate resilience.

4. They try to be happy.

5. They are mindful of the good.

6. They appreciate simple pleasures.

7. They devote some of their time to giving.

8. They let themselves lose track of time. (And sometimes they can’t help it.)

9. They nix the small talk for deeper conversation.

10. They spend money on other people.

11. They make a point to listen.

12. They uphold in-person connections.

13. They look on the bright side.

14. They value a good mixtape.

15. They unplug.

16. They get spiritual.

17. They make exercise a priority.

18. They go outside.

19. They spend some time on the pillow.

20. They laugh out loud.

21. They walk the walk.
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An anvil cloud over San Diego from Point Loma.

Another fun Tuesday

What a fun day today! My semi-annual teeth cleaning was first this morning. I always like how my teeth feel, so that wasn‘t so bad. But I hate it when the dentist comes in to check, is behind me looking at the x-rays, and says "Uh-oh, there's a boo-boo". I can't remember the last time I had a cavity, but.... At least it's a small one, and he hopes he can just put in a filling. So that's my fun event scheduled for next week.

And then, I went to Aldi, WalMart, and put gas in the car. That pretty much took me to lunchtime. And spending the rest of the day babying my sore back. So much for Tuesday!

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From Point Loma, San Diego

More Meme - Part Three (minus a few) (from Sunday Stealing)

Most daring Dare you have ever done?
I don’t do dares.

When is the last time you did something you knew was wrong?
Last year when I fell down.

What was on your mind most today?
How nice the weather was today.

Have a best friend?
Yes. John - and several very close women friends

If you were upset, who’ s the first person you would go to?
John

When was the last time someone yelled at you?
This afternoon - I yelled at myself.

What have you done today, so far?
Cooked supper and made apple pie enchiladas for dessert.

What did last weekend consist of?
I can’t remember.

What are you listening to?
There is football on the TV, but I’m not really listening

Who were you last in a car with?
John

Have you ever been called cute?
Maybe, when I was a baby.

Describe how you feel right now in one word:
Comfortable

Has anybody ever told you that you talk too fast?
Of course.

Did you have fun yesterday?
Yes.

Do you like to cuddle?
Yes

Do you think someone is thinking about you?
Probably not

Are you stubborn?
Sometimes.

Is there a friend, boyfriend/ girlfriend, or ex that you will never forget?
Yes, some of each.

Thinking back, are there people you have no idea why you hung out with?
I don’t really remember back in school, but in recent years, I don’t “hang out” with people I have no use for.

How’s your heart?
Compared to the rest of me, it’s great.

Are you easily amused?
Yes, and I laugh easily, too

Do you speak more than 2 languages?
I speak English fairly well, and I speak Southern. I know a smattering of Spanish and French, but don’t “speak” either.

Are you doing anything tonight?
Answering meme questions while John watches football.

Is there a person of the same sex who means a lot to you?
Lots of them.

Is your hair naturally straight?
It used to be naturally curly, now it’s pretty straight.

What happened at 10:00 am?
I was doing my computer stuff.

What were you doing at ten last night?
Getting ready to watch a rerun of Blue Bloods.

Have you made someone happy today?
It was a pretty good supper, so I guess John was happy.

Think it’s disgusting when girls get really wasted?
I don't like it when anybody gets really wasted.

When you are home alone do you still close the door when you shower?
Yes.

Belated pictures

Here are the pictures I promised you yesterday:

(This one is the front of the camper van - a Scarab)

Sensuous Steel pictures

This exhibit is only up until Sunday, 15 September 2014.  Maybe it'll show up somewhere else.  I apologize for not having the names of these automobiles.  They are all rare models - sometimes the only one made.  Some of these photos are John's, some are mine.

For some reason, this program is not allowing me to put more than one photo up tonight.  I'll try again tomorrow.

A super day

We took a quick trip to Nashville today to an exhibit at the Frist Center for the Visual Arts. Missy went with us, and we met Jean for lunch at the Gerst House (our usual choice for lunch when we go to Nashville).

This terrific exhibit is called Sensual Steel. It’s an assortment of rare art deco vehicles, polished, lit, and displayed to a fare-thee-well. We took pictures, and I’ll post some as soon as we get them into the computer and do some editing.

All in all - a super day!

A busy week

It's a relatively busy week this time.  Yesterday was an all-day thing.  After the usual morning at the Y, I had an appointment with the orthopedist for my shoulder - regular scheduled one.  I've been having some pain and just have thought things weren't quite right.  He says that things aren't great with it, that the bone still isn't forming up the way it should optimally.  He said I might need a revision of the implant at some point, but it's way too early to be talking about that.  I'm to go back in 6 months, or earlier if there's much more pain or some other problem.  So not the best, but not awful, either.  Oh, well...

At bridge, we found that John was high the last time we played before we went to CA.  He had thought that would be the case.  And, if anything, he had much better cards yesterday.  He had almost 10,000 points for the afternoon - with 3000 points the last round.  Amazing.  He was so pleased. 

I had several errands to run this morning, as well as going to Aldi and WalMart.  I was exhausted when I got home about 11.  That ended up in a lot of inaction the rest of the day.  Tomorrow, we're going to a special exhibit of Art Deco cars at the Frist Center for the Arts in Nashville.  Just going for the day, and should be home by suppertime. 

Victor Victoria

The concert we saw at the Hollywood Bowl reminded me of the movie, Victor Victoria (1982). The first half of the program was about the movies of Blake Edwards and music by Henry Mancini. The music was played by the LA Philharmonic, conducted by John Williams, and narrated by Julie Andrews.

Tonight, we got our DVD of the movie and watched it again. It is fabulous! The performances are great; the music is great; the sets, costumes, lighting, choreography -everything is great!

We decided to watch the “commentary” extra after the movie. It seems to be basically a replay of the movie with voiceover comments by Julie Andrews and Blake Edwards. This adds a fascinating inside look at the movie and its making. We didn’t finish it tonight, but will continue it tomorrow afternoon.

Make a point to watch (or rewatch) this movie.

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Be still my heart!

 

Sunday excitement!

Waffles, sausage, bacon and

Laundry. Then football.

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Shoreline, Point Loma, San Diego

 

Saturday meeting

I didn’t post last night - just couldn’t come up with much to say. I think I may not post every day for a while - depending on how the spirit moves me.

We only got out of the house once today - to a meeting at the Library for the Friends of the Library. This was the second “strategic planning session” for the FOL, attended by staff, members of the Friends, and “community stakeholders”. I guess John and I fell into the “community stakeholder” category, although I was on the Council of the FOL for a 3-year term a few years ago. We decided the term referred to people who supported the Library and the FOL, but weren’t directly connected to it.

Anyway, we participated, although I don’t know how much we actually contributed. We are interested in seeing the Library prosper, but don’t want to be involved in any organization. Our days of direct organization involvement are over, even though we support the aims and goals.

All libraries are going through tough times right now, trying to cope with the “digital evolution”, as our young, vibrant director puts it. She’s gathered a new young staff, and from what we can see, they are doing a great job in dragging this old library kicking and screaming into the 21^st Century. We support them all the way.

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The huge old fig tree outside the San Diego Natural History Museum in Balboa Park.

Quiet day

 

 

Massage always great

To begin a quiet day.

Lovely weather, too.

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Two roses in Alison and Joe’s yard.

 

 



Tough

It's tough to get back into the routine, but it's a start. 

It did feel good to get back into the pool this morning.  Even the exercise class felt pretty good.  The massage I have scheduled for tomorrow will feel pretty good, too.
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I'm very skeptical about our going into Syria - being opposed to war in general.  Chris Hayes said it quite well this evening.  Check it out for a reasonable argument against our involvement.
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Another lovely photo from Alison's yard.

What we laughingly call "normal"

A day of getting back to “normal” got an unusual when I slept until after 10 a.m. I can’t remember ever doing that - guess I needed it.

Then the real world intruded when I went to Aldi and WalMart. I had to do something about the empty refrigerator and pantry.

The held mail was delivered and got sorted. Tomorrow, we’ll get back on our exercise routine.

And so normalcy begins….

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From Alison’s yard

Southern California

Our trip to California was terrific. We went to spend some time with Ann & Al near LA, with a side trip to visit Alison & Joe in San Diego. And we had added benefits of getting to see all the nieces and nephews, too. Lots of talking and good eats and trip planning were added to the mix.

Highlights included getting to see the space shuttle Endeavour at the LA Science Center,

And a visit to the LA County Natural History museum.

When we went to San Diego, we picked up Alison (enjoying her yard)

and went to dinner at a Japanese place at Balboa Park, and then stayed for a wonderful organ concert. We met with the great Cap’n Poolie - getting to visit with her for the second time. What a treat she is! I’m sorry that the only picture of her I took was too blurry to save.

The next day we went back to Balboa Park and went through the Botanical Garden and the Timken Art Museum, then to the Museum of Natural History. After lunch, we drove out to Point Loma,

before going back to the motel to nap, then to dinner with Alison & Joe.

On our way back to Torrance, we stopped at the Scripps Aquarium in La Jolla. What a great facility that is! We wanted to go to the art museum, but it was closed. The sculpture outside was special, though.

Also, heading north, we stopped at the Old Mission San Luis Rey in Oceanside. It was great, and one of the few missions that Ann & Al had not visited.

We spent the rest of our visit talking and playing bridge.

We got home about 9:30 Sunday night. The plane was a little late leaving LA, but no problems in flight. We were late enough getting to Atlanta that we missed our scheduled shuttle. There was enough space on the next one, though, so we weren’t too late getting home.

Tomorrow, it’s back to the routine - especially getting to the grocery store and restocking the empty larder.

Home again

We're home from California - a great trip, visiting with great people.  I'll write more tomorrow.