The urge to blog has not been there the last couple of weeks. Probably because we're in a fairly mellow normal, everyday, not running around the world mode.
The semi part of the semi retired lifestyle is going fine. I got a couple of nice jobs that suite the level of work I want to do just at the end of the year so the first quarter should be fine. It remains cold and we still keep getting occasional snow so there is still great snow on the trails for hiking.
I'm sitting in San Francisco International Airport on the way back to Albuquerque after a quick visit to see Daughter #1 and family. We flew in on a very early flight Saturday so we got to their house by 9:30 AM. But in spite of just being here just two days we did a lot. We hung out with the family on Saturday morning. We went to the hotel for a nap in the afternoon. We saw 1A's parents for a drink and then went out to dinner with #1 and 1A. The restaurant was okay but the company was great. On Sunday morning our Nephew and his Wife and two children who also love in the the same town for brunch. Had a great time with them and then we took the two grandchildren tow a movie. Came back and played cards, brought back a TV and then watched a Star Wars movie at home because #1 is briefing her daughter 1.1 on all the Star Wars history before seeing the new movie. We had breakfast out as a family with 1A's parents again before we headed to the airport.
We're in the middle of a big IT project. Wife's laptop has been a lemon and there has been much fear about it crashing and her losing lots of her data. Plus it never has had enough memory to truly handle here needs. So we've been working on getting a PC server and combining that with a VPN so she can leave her accounting programs on that and access it while we're traveling and also give us something to back up to while we're traveling. It also would give a single server to which then to back up onto a cloud back up. But of course there have been all kinds of things that aren't working quite right because this service doesn't like that hardware, and this software doesn't like that service, etc etc etc.
It will all work out eventually.
Wife has been madly getting all of her pictures going back to 1999 with stuff that was backed up on hundreds of CDs into the new server. I think she only 8 more years to do!
Monday, January 18, 2016
Wednesday, January 6, 2016
Just Going On Notice
I have been reading with minor amazement the adventures over the holiday of my niece and her parents (my brother and sister-in-law) and how they have been replacing the plumbing of a 70 year old house that the niece bought in the Washington DC area. It is a project that few homeowners that I have know would ever want to take on.
So just to go on notice to my three lovely girls, if you buy a house some day, spending a week replacing its plumbing is NOT something I will be doing for you.
So just to go on notice to my three lovely girls, if you buy a house some day, spending a week replacing its plumbing is NOT something I will be doing for you.
Sunday, January 3, 2016
Winter Wonderland in the Desert
We had a lot of snow right after Christmas. In the southeastern part of the state it was blizzard conditions with one to two FEET of snow.
And it has been very cold here too with the highs just barely breaking freezing. The result is all that snow has been staying put on the trails of the mountains. Last Thursday I got out and in many areas the snow was still pristine.
And it has been very cold here too with the highs just barely breaking freezing. The result is all that snow has been staying put on the trails of the mountains. Last Thursday I got out and in many areas the snow was still pristine.
On the trail
Sunshine off of snow crystals
Looking at the desert/city in the background from the mountain trail snow in the foreground
On another note I always love to relate to those not in the desert how water is thought about here. We've had a very rainy year, the 6th most rainy since they've been keeping records about 120 years ago. We got around 12.5 inches of rain, about 3 inches more than normal and enough to take our state out of the drought column. But I loved the piece in our newspaper where they were talking about the amount of rain and said something to the effect of "But this year was nothing like the deluge year of 1941 when we had 15.9 inches of rain."
Saturday, December 26, 2015
Restructuring Christmas
Until I married Wife, Christmas was a none-event for me. In my family not only was it not a part of our tradition, but my Father was against celebrations in general.
When Wife and I moved in together we had only been together for 5 months (we were married 2 months later) and she asked me what we were going to do for Christmas. I said nothing and quickly realized this was not going to be an acceptable answer. So I surprised her with a small artificial tree for our apartment and from that point Christmas was in our life.
With Kids coming very shortly thereafter, Christmas became a big deal. As the kids grew up and started to go away* and started having families of their own, it became more and more apparent that the Christmas of those years was gone.
In the highly rewritten, sanitized and revisionist history of this story, Wife and I discussed what we should do about the holiday in the calm, rational manner that we approach everything - 42 years of uninterrupted bliss and harmony can only be achieved in this way. In the end it was decided that whether children and grandchildren were here or not, having a holiday celebration was important. It might mean that not everything was done to the same extent but that it should be done. For us this meant some decorating, a tree, music, food, presents.
The music was frustrating. We bought this new Sonos system but Wife's computer from hell (another post) on which most of the music was housed refused to stay connected to it. We ended up digging out our 80's era cassette tape player.
Presents were another issue because let's face it, we pretty much buy whatever we want whenever we want it. But we looked at the tree so naked with nothing underneath it and at the last minute, I caved and said I would buy presents for both of us...which of course got Wife guilty and she went out too! We actually ended up going to the same small store within minutes of each other. As a special bonus we opened our presents up just as we were Skyping with Daughter #3 so it was sort of like having a bit of a family Christmas.
Making pizza is our meal tradition dating back to when the kids were little and they said they didn't like the lasagna I used to make. In recent years we have gotten it to a real science. Wife is now using a dough that takes two days of slow rising. I made my sauce using tomatoes (pulp and dried) and chile from my garden. Our new oven gets up to 600 degrees so with our pizza stone and the new dough we get a great crust. We've learned to not put too much on the pizza so that it all cooks in a short amount of time. We had pepperoni, Italian sausage, onions, mushrooms, and green chile along with mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. We made six pizzas with varying combinations freezing most for later and for taking to a neighbor couple who is older than we and having lots of issues.
*Really away. I mean you have to wonder what trauma you inflicted on them that they have gone almost as far as possible away without going all the way around the globe and coming back!
When Wife and I moved in together we had only been together for 5 months (we were married 2 months later) and she asked me what we were going to do for Christmas. I said nothing and quickly realized this was not going to be an acceptable answer. So I surprised her with a small artificial tree for our apartment and from that point Christmas was in our life.
With Kids coming very shortly thereafter, Christmas became a big deal. As the kids grew up and started to go away* and started having families of their own, it became more and more apparent that the Christmas of those years was gone.
In the highly rewritten, sanitized and revisionist history of this story, Wife and I discussed what we should do about the holiday in the calm, rational manner that we approach everything - 42 years of uninterrupted bliss and harmony can only be achieved in this way. In the end it was decided that whether children and grandchildren were here or not, having a holiday celebration was important. It might mean that not everything was done to the same extent but that it should be done. For us this meant some decorating, a tree, music, food, presents.
The music was frustrating. We bought this new Sonos system but Wife's computer from hell (another post) on which most of the music was housed refused to stay connected to it. We ended up digging out our 80's era cassette tape player.
Presents were another issue because let's face it, we pretty much buy whatever we want whenever we want it. But we looked at the tree so naked with nothing underneath it and at the last minute, I caved and said I would buy presents for both of us...which of course got Wife guilty and she went out too! We actually ended up going to the same small store within minutes of each other. As a special bonus we opened our presents up just as we were Skyping with Daughter #3 so it was sort of like having a bit of a family Christmas.
Making pizza is our meal tradition dating back to when the kids were little and they said they didn't like the lasagna I used to make. In recent years we have gotten it to a real science. Wife is now using a dough that takes two days of slow rising. I made my sauce using tomatoes (pulp and dried) and chile from my garden. Our new oven gets up to 600 degrees so with our pizza stone and the new dough we get a great crust. We've learned to not put too much on the pizza so that it all cooks in a short amount of time. We had pepperoni, Italian sausage, onions, mushrooms, and green chile along with mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. We made six pizzas with varying combinations freezing most for later and for taking to a neighbor couple who is older than we and having lots of issues.
Wife Getting Ready to Prepare the Dough
We follow the advice of our friend Gaius Derf that no pizza should be made without wine
The Wine of Choice
Our Pizza Assembly Area
One of the Final Products
The 1980's Musical Christmas
*Really away. I mean you have to wonder what trauma you inflicted on them that they have gone almost as far as possible away without going all the way around the globe and coming back!
Thursday, December 24, 2015
Christmas Eve Snow Hiking
I was planning to go hiking this morning. Yesterday was a grey and rainy day but higher up in the mountains they got some snow. This was just a minor storm. On Friday night we're supposed to get some real cold weather and more snow. This is not at all unusual for us in December.
I was hoping that the trail that has become my favorite for my 'conditioning' type hikes, would still be snow covered and not all wet and slushy. The morning was grey too. I looked at the weather report on my phone and in the newspaper (yes we still use those here on the Eldership). They called for some snow this morning but just flurries. So I figured I'd go out any way.
I try to get out early. Most people during the winter don't show up until around 10 AM. I get out by at least 8:15 AM. Even if it warms up later, the trail is still hard and not mushy then. I wasn't 20 minutes into my hike when it started to snow. It snowed all the way through but never really hard though there were a couple of times when I thought it might be prudent to turn around. But in actuality there was little accumulation...just enough to put a soft cover over everything. It was very quiet and peaceful. Snowing seems to deaden the sound. I didn't run into a soul until I was just about all the way back.
Wife and I have been doing lots of things to get ready for our departure from this plane. Sounds morbid doesn't it? But we see and we read about all kinds of people our age who are passing. We might have another 20 years or more. But we might only have 20 days or more. I find that focusing on the end actually makes you focus exceedingly intensely on what is happening right now...this very moment. Thus a day like today when I was out and enjoying the mountain and the peace and the snow and the ability to still be able to do this!
Have a wonderful holiday today and tomorrow and focus on experiencing and enjoying each moment of it.
I was hoping that the trail that has become my favorite for my 'conditioning' type hikes, would still be snow covered and not all wet and slushy. The morning was grey too. I looked at the weather report on my phone and in the newspaper (yes we still use those here on the Eldership). They called for some snow this morning but just flurries. So I figured I'd go out any way.
I try to get out early. Most people during the winter don't show up until around 10 AM. I get out by at least 8:15 AM. Even if it warms up later, the trail is still hard and not mushy then. I wasn't 20 minutes into my hike when it started to snow. It snowed all the way through but never really hard though there were a couple of times when I thought it might be prudent to turn around. But in actuality there was little accumulation...just enough to put a soft cover over everything. It was very quiet and peaceful. Snowing seems to deaden the sound. I didn't run into a soul until I was just about all the way back.
Wife and I have been doing lots of things to get ready for our departure from this plane. Sounds morbid doesn't it? But we see and we read about all kinds of people our age who are passing. We might have another 20 years or more. But we might only have 20 days or more. I find that focusing on the end actually makes you focus exceedingly intensely on what is happening right now...this very moment. Thus a day like today when I was out and enjoying the mountain and the peace and the snow and the ability to still be able to do this!
Have a wonderful holiday today and tomorrow and focus on experiencing and enjoying each moment of it.
Wednesday, December 23, 2015
Catching Up
For a person who posts like a maniac when I travel in circumstances where time is always compressed, I have the hardest time staying up to date on posting when I'm at home. I think about things I want to be posting and then get caught up in nothing particularly important and then the day is gone. So this is going to be a general catch up on the last few weeks.
Is Your Dishwasher Blowing Up?
Recalls of food products - happen all the time. Automobile issues - recalls all the time. Dishwashers? Not so often...in fact don't know if I've ever heard of one...at least until a week ago when we got a notice by snail mail telling us of this big ass problem with a power cable in our dishwasher that has the potential to blow your machine up and burn everything you ow down to the ground! Okay they didn't use exactly that language but they did use dire language and told you to stop using your machine in bold type so it obviously was important - but not important enough to communicate via something other than snail mail. We're now waiting the some two weeks before the part will get her so we can get it back. THE HORROR OF IT ALL HAVING TO WASH OUR DISHES BY HAND! Someone of Fox News should be shouting outrage over this.
Back Hiking
The recovery from the pneumonia has been a bitch with lingering symptoms. I went on line (Yes! Self-diagnosing web sites - the hypochondriacs best friend ever!) and found it is not unusual for the post illness symptoms to last for a month or more. Yet I am definitely not sick and I have up hiking again. As often happens in our neck of the desert during this time of year, we've had some snow and that means 'snow hiking' one of my favorite things to do.
Our IT Transformation
I was checking to see if I'd written anything about all our transformations in computing and media. I saw I posted only 4 times in November. That's pathetic. Any way we're doing all kinds of things to move into the 21st century. We got rid of satellite and cable TV, brought in really high speed internet, got Roku devices and over the air HD TV. We're getting a home server so we can back up all our data in one place and a VPN so we can access our files when we travel and a media PC for one of the TVs to access other content. We have a Sonos sound system now to access our music.
A lot of this is all supposed to be easy plug and play type of stuff. None of it has been. There are all kinds of issues between this device and that device and Wife's deadbeat laptop that has been doing weird stuff since the day she bought it and my MAC which seems to have issues coordinating with just about anything that isn't MAC. The server arrives today and it will replace Wife's laptop as her main computer so that will be a relief since we have been expecting it to die at any moment.
A Quiet Holiday But A Holiday
Through the intervention of a UN crack negotiating team, Wife and I have managed to come to a mutually agreeable set of terms for what the heck we are going to do during the Christmas season when the children and their families are not here. That is most of the time now with everyone all over the world. 42 years of living together is clearly not close to enough time to be work these type of things out organically. Thank goodness we were recognized as a potential world hot spot danger soon enough that the UN took us under its wing. This means we have decorated, we are meal planning, there are gifts bought and under the tree. Unfortunately the seasonal music has been thwarted as the Wife's laptop keeps dying every time she tries to connect to the Sonos and the MAC and Sonos refuse to talk to each other. Hopefully when the server is in today and we can get Wife's music over to it, we will have overcome that problem.
Good Problems From Semi-Retirement
We met with our accountant the other day and as we expected found out that we'd made much more money from my part-time working than we'd budgeted and had to pay out a bunch of taxes. This is not a bad problem.
Hopefully will be reporting on our holiday festivities next.
Is Your Dishwasher Blowing Up?
Recalls of food products - happen all the time. Automobile issues - recalls all the time. Dishwashers? Not so often...in fact don't know if I've ever heard of one...at least until a week ago when we got a notice by snail mail telling us of this big ass problem with a power cable in our dishwasher that has the potential to blow your machine up and burn everything you ow down to the ground! Okay they didn't use exactly that language but they did use dire language and told you to stop using your machine in bold type so it obviously was important - but not important enough to communicate via something other than snail mail. We're now waiting the some two weeks before the part will get her so we can get it back. THE HORROR OF IT ALL HAVING TO WASH OUR DISHES BY HAND! Someone of Fox News should be shouting outrage over this.
Back Hiking
The recovery from the pneumonia has been a bitch with lingering symptoms. I went on line (Yes! Self-diagnosing web sites - the hypochondriacs best friend ever!) and found it is not unusual for the post illness symptoms to last for a month or more. Yet I am definitely not sick and I have up hiking again. As often happens in our neck of the desert during this time of year, we've had some snow and that means 'snow hiking' one of my favorite things to do.
Our IT Transformation
I was checking to see if I'd written anything about all our transformations in computing and media. I saw I posted only 4 times in November. That's pathetic. Any way we're doing all kinds of things to move into the 21st century. We got rid of satellite and cable TV, brought in really high speed internet, got Roku devices and over the air HD TV. We're getting a home server so we can back up all our data in one place and a VPN so we can access our files when we travel and a media PC for one of the TVs to access other content. We have a Sonos sound system now to access our music.
A lot of this is all supposed to be easy plug and play type of stuff. None of it has been. There are all kinds of issues between this device and that device and Wife's deadbeat laptop that has been doing weird stuff since the day she bought it and my MAC which seems to have issues coordinating with just about anything that isn't MAC. The server arrives today and it will replace Wife's laptop as her main computer so that will be a relief since we have been expecting it to die at any moment.
A Quiet Holiday But A Holiday
Through the intervention of a UN crack negotiating team, Wife and I have managed to come to a mutually agreeable set of terms for what the heck we are going to do during the Christmas season when the children and their families are not here. That is most of the time now with everyone all over the world. 42 years of living together is clearly not close to enough time to be work these type of things out organically. Thank goodness we were recognized as a potential world hot spot danger soon enough that the UN took us under its wing. This means we have decorated, we are meal planning, there are gifts bought and under the tree. Unfortunately the seasonal music has been thwarted as the Wife's laptop keeps dying every time she tries to connect to the Sonos and the MAC and Sonos refuse to talk to each other. Hopefully when the server is in today and we can get Wife's music over to it, we will have overcome that problem.
Good Problems From Semi-Retirement
We met with our accountant the other day and as we expected found out that we'd made much more money from my part-time working than we'd budgeted and had to pay out a bunch of taxes. This is not a bad problem.
Hopefully will be reporting on our holiday festivities next.
Monday, December 7, 2015
Party Comes Off Fine And We Did Not Blow Up The House
The party was a success. The food was well received and the guests seemed to all get along well - a good thing since none really knew each other before hand. We had a number of cancellations the day of the party which was annoying as it led to us having quite a bit of leftover food. If all had come who had originally accepted, we would have judged our food pretty well. I took some pictures but because of it being in the evening and with the lighting of our house the way it is they really didn't turn out very well so I'm not posting them. However here is the menu.
We had a bit of excitement as I was trying to cook the bucatini in broth, a trick I got from an old Italian cookbook to replicate the flavor of the pasta we had in Italy. Unfortunately broth does not react the same way as water and when I put the pasta in literally half the boiling liquid boiled over the top. Fortunately my gas stove top has a deep pan and most of the liquid stayed there. But then we had the problem that I'd flooded all the burners. Guest and friend John Le Grain had had a similar problem and we were able to gradually get things dried out enough so the electric starters were no longer arcing (which was freaking everyone out) and we were able to finish the pasta.
On another note it also happened to be my birthday - the party was not a birthday party it just happened that was the best day to schedule it - and wife went online to the World of Errev store a bought me my very own Purple Wizard Official Bathrobe Complete With Evil Spell Warding Cowl And Matching Harmonic Power Back Lighting. Sweet!
Antipasti/Tapas/Hors d'oeuvre/Mezze
Three kinds of Spanish Chorizo
Jamon Serrano
Home made Pate de Compagne
Two kinds of home made bread
Four kinds of cheese including a crazy Spanish blue cheese that everyone scarfed up
Borani - a Turkish yogurt and roasted vegetable paste
A Turkish inspired bean paste
Soups
Austrian pumpkin soup with toasted pumpkin oil
Cambodian style chicken soup with coconut milk
Mains
Austrian goulash with buttered potatoes
Bucatini with Veneto style ragout
Desserts
Three (count'em) Three home made gelatos
Home made chocolate salt truffles
Peppernotten - a Dutch specialty cookie
(hand carried by maidens across the Atlantic from Amsterdam)
We had a bit of excitement as I was trying to cook the bucatini in broth, a trick I got from an old Italian cookbook to replicate the flavor of the pasta we had in Italy. Unfortunately broth does not react the same way as water and when I put the pasta in literally half the boiling liquid boiled over the top. Fortunately my gas stove top has a deep pan and most of the liquid stayed there. But then we had the problem that I'd flooded all the burners. Guest and friend John Le Grain had had a similar problem and we were able to gradually get things dried out enough so the electric starters were no longer arcing (which was freaking everyone out) and we were able to finish the pasta.
On another note it also happened to be my birthday - the party was not a birthday party it just happened that was the best day to schedule it - and wife went online to the World of Errev store a bought me my very own Purple Wizard Official Bathrobe Complete With Evil Spell Warding Cowl And Matching Harmonic Power Back Lighting. Sweet!
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