Leisurely Goodbye to Missouri

I can't believe a week has gone by already.  I had such a great time!

After Maria picked me up in St. Louis, she took me to a wonderful French bakery for lunch.  Here's just one of the amazing tarts that she bought for later.  Yum!

The second day I was there, the electrical kit, appropriate for seven year old kids, arrived.  I was a bit nervous as to whether I could actually help Kylie build anything, but we were very gratified to complete a simple circuit.  I'll tell you, we sure were excited when that light lit up! The next day, we converted direct electrical current to mechanical energy, powering a rotor, which Kiley called a fan.  Yes, it did provide  a nice breeze.

Today Kylie and her Aunt Beccah will tackle another project because I'm here in St. Louis at the Drury Inn.  I am so happy Jack (Maria's hubby) thought of this! Not only did I not want to take a 4 a.m. shuttle from Columbia, but also, I'm tired.  This place is amazing -- they have already given me three drink tickets (yes, alcoholic drinks) for the "Kick Back" that starts at 5:30 p.m. From what Maria said, those munchies are also free, but I don't care if I have to pay.  Tomorrow, the full continental breakfast is free.  Not bad for $120/night (plus tax).

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The Roots and Blues music festival was terrific! Maria (bless her!) lugged hard plastic chairs and a little plastic table, so we were like queens having a good time.  I was pretty annoyed the second night because they made her pour her water and ice out.  That meant she had to wend her way through the crowd to a water station and the water was lukewarm.  But I did a great job of eating my way through the festival and I'm very grateful that Maria stood in line and brought the food.

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Kylie is very intelligent, suprisingly so at times.  But I have to confess that I'm glad I don't have a seven year old to take care of.  Our Miss K doesn't stop talking.  I didn't realize that, even when working, I have long periods of time when I don't have to pay attention to what someone is saying.

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After we had breakfast in downtown Columbia one day, we poked around in an art gallery up the block.  Maria's friend, who made the patchwork tiger, had the cutest pants for "bad" babies.  They are made from quilter's cotton of very bright colors and that is her brand: Bad Baby.  They and some of her quilts were in the gallery next to beautiful glass pieces.  No, I did not buy anything.

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So I have to admit to some really selfish thinking when I heard of the poor soul who had tried self-immolation at O'Hare.  That's where I'm connecting to Boston.  Supposedly, my flight won't be affected at all.  I certainly hope that he is on heavy medication to not feel pain.

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Maria's Fabulous Breakfast:  Maria had invited Jim and Joanne and Beccah for breakfast.  I had sent an Atkins' Apple Orchard cake mix which she made.  Then she topped it with fruit compote, and very loose whipped cream with cinnamon.  That was 'breakfast dessert' after a fabulous vegetable fritata.  Yes, she grew much of the vegetables and herbs.  My friend Maria was Martha Stewart before Martha Stewart was Martha Stewart.  (Not really, Maria's younger.)

You're right ... I'm waiting for cocktail time.  Ciao!

Creeping Into Fall Saturday

I just broke my favorite bowl.  Nope, it wasn't anything special.  It was one of those Corning? bowls with the stripes that come in sets of three.  This one might have been from 1973 ... but it was the last of that set and I have fond memories of beating eggs for family breakfasts in it.  Oh well ...

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I have to get that fixed.  My left shoulder is frozen.  I discovered it two days ago at work.  My phone is on the left side of my desk and it's a reach -- which I couldn't make at that particular time.  So my office mates (who know everything collectively) said, "Do this, do that" putting me through a series of reaches and stretches.  Actually, I thought they were making fun of me, but one of them has had this and said my rotator cuff is frozen.  I put my right hand on my shoulder to discover that it hurts when touched.  Who knew?

I mean, like, are you supposed to touch every part of your body upon waking to see what hurts?  If you don't know you hurt, are you really hurting?

My helpful office mates said, "Go to physical therapy!"  Many of you know that I finished two months of pt right before going to Orlando.  It helped my mobility in my back, did not decrease my pain.  Anyway, my surprise when I got back from Orlando was a bill.  No, wait, make that three bills.  It turns out, I had a $20 co-payment for pt and I was going twice a week.  The bills are still coming.

And, I have more mobility in my shoulder than I had two days ago due to my trying to exercise it out.  However, my reach is severely limited.  Hence, the broken bowl.

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He's at it again. Witness the demise of a basically good man with sincere problems.

Even though the first two incidents are public record, the last is still alleged, so I'll call him Job.

Job was the police chief in Pelham, Mass. about 10 years ago.  Pelham is a very tiny town adjacent to Amherst and the Quabbin Reservoir (which was created by drowning towns).  He actually taught the gun safety course that I needed in order to get my gun license.

So I was surprised to read that he had accidentally discharged a weapon inside the police station, during a gun safety course, not knowing that it was loaded.  Well, I was sort of surprised.  For the "final" of our course, we had to reassemble and load a pistol.  During my class, the "bullets" were blue plastic things.  Job made me go first because he had taken great delight at making fun of me as being from 'the whacko town of Amherst.'  He showed me how, and while taking the gun apart  he was about to reassemble it when I said, "There's one in the chamber."  He had forgotten that small point.  That, I figure, is how he discharged a firearm indoors.  Why he was using live ammo is beyond me.

Then there was the gun show.  Job and two of his buddies were all members of a rod and gun club.  One night they decided, "Hey! Let's have a gun show!"  Now I'm not going to add my speculation of what comes next because I think it was probably, "Yeah, we can make some money, hang around with guys and flirt with the women who come to hang around guys."  Nope, not gonna do it.

All in all, it was an o.k. idea for gun enthusiasts to do things the right way.  You know, licensed dealers, everybody with a gun license, permits paid, etc.  But things went horribly wrong.

There was a booth called "Fire a machine gun!"  Unfortunately, the event promoters left a 15 year old boy in charge.  You know, a teenager whose brain isn't done growing and whose judgment has not matured.  A father brought his 5 year old son and said it would be o.k.  Barely-not-a-baby son fires the machine gun and kills self in front of emergency room doctor father.

Job was charged with negligent homicide.  He was acquitted.

The latest incident last week was reported in the local newspaper as an argument outside of a bar in a parking lot around Midnight.  You know nothing good is going to come after you read "parking lot, bar, Midnight."  Job apparently feared for his life because he pointed a gun at his opponent, making sure the laser sight was on the guy's chest.  Other guy took umbrage and went to the police.  Yeah, you guessed it.  Job had been drinking beer "in a big glass."

Is anybody going to take this guy's guns away?  Apparently, he has a large collection.  But beyond that, why is he still licensed in the Commonwealth of Mass.?  I know he wasn't convicted of anything, but at some point can't you throw a flag on the field and call, "STUPID!"?  Just wondering.

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So, yes, Fall is creeping in.  It just hit 71 F. and it's 12:30 p.m.  The Library is turning on the heat on Monday, so I full expect the temperature to go to 90 F.  It never fails.

The holland bulbs are in for planting at the Garden Center.  The squirrels and other vermin are going nuts (if you'll excuse the expression) storing nuts for the winter.  And it's getting dark too soon.  Bah humbug.  Oh yes, did I mention the Fall allergies?  Snuffle, snort, sneeze, whine.

Yet More First Day in Orlando (~8-28-14)

Here are the choices at the Cracked Cauldron where we had lunch.

Above is the dining hall.

Next, we went into a shop where the creatures below were for sale.

Outside again, I noticed some owls looking at us as we made our way around.

This lovely fountain squirted those who did not notice the puddle about three feet away, which is where the frog spit landed.

There was very vigorous singing and dancing from the women in blue, which just made me hotter.  I looked around to see ICE!

After deciding to forgo jumping into the ice in the wagon, I turned back to the dancers.

A cart on the street with elixirs.

This was the money changer/banker's shop.

This dragon was LARGE and not particularly friendly.

No shoplifters would escape his gaze!

Many headed dog anyone?

Backpacks above

Messengers anyone?

 I want those dragons to flank my office door.

No, no autographs.

Remember I said this dragon was not very friendly?  This shot is right after he belched 20 foot long flames.  We could feel the heat of the fire on us even though he was at least 50 feet up in the air!

Then we took the train to the other Harry Potter park! (I forget the name of the land.)

The owl in with the luggage in the center turned his head and watched us wend our way through the gates.

Here's a long shot so you can see that the train was fairly large.  The nice conductor below helped us on.

Saturday Sausage and Egg

I'm here waiting for the sausage (hot Italian chicken) to heat up so I can throw my egg in.

I, who thinks Pinterest is a great waste of time and cannot fathom why people would pin things for other people to look at, have just spent 45 minutes on Pinterest.  I don't pin them, I send them.  So, yeah, that is hypocritical, but ... why would someone want to look at a whole board (a collection) of pictures and phrases that I like?  The woman who first introduced me to the concept a few years ago likes flowers (as I do) and had pinned numerous pictures of flowers to her board.  Okaaaay.  And I would want to "follow" her board to see what she had added?  Really?

I have to admit that the various iterations of Grumpy Cat do really amuse me.  I have his same problem: when I'm not doing anything with my face, I look grumpy.  (It's the jowl thing.)  However, lately, I really am grumpy.  Following is a partial list of why I'm grumpy.

1.  When I get home from work, how come the dirty dishes didn't wash themselves?

2.  Ditto for the laundry.

3.  Why does the oil company give me choices about my winter oil?  Why don't they just say, "Pay the feckin' bill!"?  After all, that's the end result every time.  And I wouldn't have to worry about missing the deadline.

4.  Why do my grocery points-off-for-gasoline only last for a month and then disappear?  I bought the groceries, I did what they said.  If I had been on a cruise for a month, I lose my ability to get ten cents off a gallon because my points disappeared.  Doesn't sound right.

5.  Now that the college students are back, I have to schedule my heart attack or falling down the stairs to a Monday through Thursday because I'll never get an ambulance.

6.  Why doesn't Netflix come with a dead man's switch? That way, when I fall asleep, it will turn off and I won't miss any part of the Borgias.  Currently, I just fill in with about 5 instances of coitus and 3 murders and I'm following the plot just fine.  (Note to self: always have a food taster when visiting the Pope.)

7.  I used to make fun of those people with a "To Read" list.  Now I have become that person and the stack of books is taller than I am.  And that's not including those on Kindle.

8.  I am still unpublished.  Of course, I realize, you have to submit something to get published.  Anyone have any ideas?  It's really embarrassing when I go to CrimeBake (November) and I'm surrounded by fabulous authors and they ask what I have written.  I mumble something about being illiterate, but that's wearing thin.

So, as you can see, I have plenty of reasons for being grumpy.  Of course, the biggest one is: winter is a coming in.  Blast.  Phooey.  Shit.
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If one of your favorite authors will be at the New England CrimeBake 2014, and you want me to get an autographed copy of their book, let me know.  You will have to pay for the book and shipping (if necessary).  My favorites, Kate Flora, Hallie Ephron, Hank Phillipi Ryan, Ang Pompano, and others will be there.  The big guest speaker/celebrity will be Craig Johnson, author of the Longmier series (which spawned the TV show).

Kate Flora has a new true crime book out.  The db was in Canada, but the Canadians borrowed a US cadaver dog.  From a Google search:

Award-winning mystery and true crime writer Kate Flora is the author of 14 books, including the true crime story Death Dealer and the novel And Grant You Peace, both forthcoming in the fall of 2014. Her book Finding Amy (true crime), co-written with a Portland, Maine deputy police chief, was a 2007 Edgar Award nominee. Kate's other titles include the Thea Kozak mysteries and the starred-review Joe Burgess police series, the third of which, Redemption, won the 2013 Maine Literary Award for Crime Fiction.

Kate is a founding member the New England Crime Bake conference, a founder of Level Best Books where she worked as an editor and publisher for seven years and has served as international president of Sisters in Crime. In an earlier life she was an attorney, protecting battered kids and chasing deadbeat dads for the Maine attorney general's office, and representing the Maine Human Rights.

There's a new Joe Burgess mystery coming out soon. I don't 

how Kate does it -- she's always traveling to conferences and book signings while writing.  She's amazing.  

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I have another mini rant:

I have trouble keeping milk and using it before it spoils.  I really only use a touch in my coffee and if I'm baking.  So, I have been buying those individual servings of milk in a box that you don't have to refrigerate until they are open.  (Can you say anaerobic?)

But ... I thought I'd try one of those flavored pretend creamers -- it had no fat.  It's vanilla flavored and the first time I tried it, I thought, "Damn! That's sweet!" but I figured it was the artificial flavoring.  Today, I actually read the ingredients.  1. Water.  O.k. that sounds reasonable.  2.  Cane sugar.  SUGAR!  I don't use sugar in my coffee.  (Well, you do NOW, Babe.)

Why don't they make it so we can understand what we are buying??  Why doesn't the front label say, "This shit is full of sugar.  Use milk."?  Well, I guess I can figure that one out.  But it still makes me mad.

I am still grateful to the 50 something Burger King employee who informed me that an iced mocha coffee is FULL of sugar.  He said, "Oh yeah, they add a load of syrup," and he offered me a sip to try of the coffee.  I couldn't drink it, it was so sweet.  They still got a sale of regular coffee and I didn't go into a diabetic coma!

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I can't avoid it any longer -- unless I turn on Netflix -- I have to go work in the garden.  Ta ta for now.

Fall-Like Friday

We had a beautiful sunny day in the 60's at home today.  In the pictures below, it was between 93 F. and 97 F. with high humidity.

Here are pictures from our first day in Orlando at Universal Studios.

Here I am with Emily resting in the shade as we go to the I Ride, aka, the trolley.  It was HOT.  The bird of paradise next to me liked it though.

This is on the moving sidewalk.  Note to self: don't ever bring a walker onto this again.  Nearly died with impending crash.  Didn't die.

City Walk leading up to gates of Orlando.  One day, we saw "The Chef" at the Cineplex on the right.

I can't imagine why you want to eat in a Nascar restaurant, but many people do.

Finally, the gate to Universal which is after about a quarter of a mile of city restaurants.

Becoming a Minion at Despicable Me ride was fun!

Minion and banana hats

Donkey!

Shrek and friends

We think Transformer guy in suit has his feet on stilts.  Did I mention it was hot?  I was surprised he didn't fall over.

Where you buy tickets to Transformer ride

Cars

Mel's Diner (where the cars are parked)

On our way to "Fisherman's Wharf" in San Francisco.

I recognized it from when Mom brought me.  Smile.

Below is the Disaster ride -- with subway fire, plane crash, etc.  Not gonna do it, not for me.  Nuh uh, too close to home!

London

 Dragon was not very friendly.

In the Wand Shop

More Wands

More later. Am pooped.  It's Friday night after all!