Will have to take a “Leave of Absence” this week. I’m going to be tied up today getting new gutters …
No – not THAT type of gutter …
Well, that’s closer …
There you go.
Jun 292018
SoINeedAName
Jun 222018
No doubt we all love our critters – even the difficult ones. (On a bright note, Nike is actually getting a bit mellower as he gets older.) But that doesn’t mean that, like our kids, they don’t have their moments of being total jerks.
So let’s enjoy a few of their antics …
“Did you honestly NOT notice how big my beak is?”
“You said you wanted the dog to lose weight. I’m just helping him cut back on his appetite is all.”
No … NO … NO! NO! NO!
“That paper towel commercial was right – they are incredibly soft!”
Well, that explains the fuzzy TV reception.
Proof that colored strings don’t ALWAYS make the best toy.
The whole yard, and you had to pick my helmet?
Hey – looked like a toilet to me.
You say it’s called “Snapchat”? Really?!? There’s an “h” in there? I thought it was called “Snapcat”!
He falls for this every time.
Kittens can be jerks
Dogs can be jerks
Even pet fish can be jerks
But cats do “Jerk” best – even to their own brother!
May 252018
Since every week with Twitler in the Oval Office is, by definition, a dismal week, I thought I’d focus on a few things that will make you smile and warm your heart.
While not exactly proud of it, the fact that we learned this week that George Zimmerman, forced to file court financial disclosure papers related to ANOTHER run-in with the law, is $2.5 MILLION dollars in debt and has NO source of income did, in fact, make me smile and warmed my heart.
NOTE to George Zimmerman: Karma is, indeed, a “female cur”!
Moving on to more magnanimous Smile-Inducers-and-Heart-Warmers, CEO Martha Fuerstenau of American 1 Credit Union based in Jackson, MI has directed that 186 of the firm’s 187 employees be given raises that total almost $1 MILLION ($950,000)!
The one employee that CEO Martha Fuerstenau elected to NOT include in the generous raises was the herself!
And these were not nickel and dime raises – but ones that averaged more than $5,000 per employee. Additionally, 76 percent of the increase went to hourly employees, with only 24 percent going to management.
NOTE to Fortune 500 CEOs: THIS is how you should do “Trickle Down”!
http://www.mlive.com/news/jackson/index.ssf/2018/05/combined_1_million_worth_of_ra.html
This one is made extra poignant by the fact that it happens down in Clinton, MS.
Few things are as heart-warming as a three-year little boy’s unbridled joy induced by a weekly visit from his best buddies … the garbage men!
It all began when Grandma Reynolds had her grandson Kyler help her take the trash out and was greeted with friendly waves from the crew. It has now become a weekly routine with a definite Win-Win for everyone!
(For a real treat, I’d encourage you to read the full story about their bonds at the YouTube site itself. Just click on the YouTube logo in the lower right corner when it plays.)
NOTE to racist republicans (or is that redundant?): This is how we can all get along – by treating others with kindness and respect. So take your hate-mongering bigotry and Go Cheney Yourselves!
Tomorrow will mark the one-week anniversary of a wedding that was not only pitch perfect but had lessons that began before it even happened, and they continued in its afterglow.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle asked guests and well-wishers to forgo wedding gifts and instead make a donation to one of seven charities that reflect their passions for helping others.
Prince Harry & Ms. Meghan Markle are incredibly grateful for the goodwill they have received since their engagement, & have asked that anyone who might wish to mark the occasion of their wedding considers giving to charity, instead of sending a gift. https://t.co/lzfrRmoeUv pic.twitter.com/nxrTZtIKBY
— Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) April 9, 2018
(You can read about the seven they selected either from the Tweet’s link or here:)
https://www.royal.uk/wedding-charity-donations
Of course, we knew it was going to be beautiful – and no doubt all you Anglophiles were chuffed at how blinding beautiful it was.
And afterwards Prince Harry and the now Duchess of Sussex continued showing world leaders their true compassion by donating all those gorgeous flowers, now made into stunning bouquets, to charities – including the St. Joseph Hospice in London, which has a long history involving the Royals.
Meet one of the lucky recipients, Pauline Clayton, who “is no stranger to royal family weddings. As a 19-year-old, Clayton, now 89, worked for royal dressmaker Norman Hartnell and helped embroider the wedding dress of Queen Elizabeth II, according to the BBC. Clayton worked with three other girls, earning nearly 50 hours overtime on the dress’ train alone.”
All except for the Bride’s Bouquet, which by tradition that began when Queen Elizabeth, who married King George VI in 1923, placed her bouquet on the Grave of the Unknown Soldier in Westminster Abbey “in memory of her brother Fergus who was killed in 1915 at the Battle of Loos during the First World War.”
NOTE to Trump: THIS is how true leadership looks. GROW UP! Better yet – RESIGN!
May 182018
This is a quickie because I’m heading out the door to a morning doctor appointment. But this is what greeted me for my daily computer wallpaper:
Captivated by the urban Peregrine falcon, I immediately knew what city she lived in.
But I wondered if I could figure out what building it was taken from along with the address, the apartment number and who lived there.
And I did!
So put on your deerstalker hat and do your best Sherlock Holmes imitation to see how many you can check off:
City:
Building:
Address:
Apartment Number:
Owner:
BONUS: Any other tidbits pertaining to THIS peregrine falcon.
And if no one has figured it out by the end of the day, I’ll give a Hint: the name of the photographer.
Good luck!
BONUS ADDITION
[HEADS UP NOTE: Take Hints where you can find them]
I declare, Joanne has independently hit on the right track!
Kansas City is a nice size city – but we don’t have a skyline like that. This is the KCMO downtown skyline looking north from the Liberty Memorial:
And the downtown skyline looking south:
Panorama photo of downtown Kansas City, Missouri skyline, taken from Chouteau Bridge.
But the biggest hint is focusing on the huge, black building in the background that I’ve highlighted here:
If you look closely, you’ll noticed that it tapers the higher it goes. And that’s your huge Hint!
Well, at least I had fun with it – but probably won’t be doing another one of these for a long time.
ANSWER:
OK – some of the hints were quite obtuse. I had hoped the “declare independently” might get someone to the “Declaration of Independence” which might lead you to “John Hancock”. And anyone with a passing knowledge of Chicago knows the Hancock Center.
http://www.aviewoncities.com/gallery/showpicture.htm?key=kveus4019
Joanne was definitely heading in the right direction when she said it probably is a city I was familiar with. As I’ve mentioned before, I went to medical school in Chicago. The first year I lived in the dorm and my window had an unobstructed view of the Hancock building – so it’s an old friend to me.
I tried to help by pointing out the building and the noting that it’s sides’ taper. And you can see that in the above photo.
But to get to the location I just Googled [“peregrine falcon” Chicago] – voila, right there on the front page is our photo!
https://www.google.com/search?q=%22peregrine+falcon%22+chicago&ie=&oe=
So I clicked on the photo and it got me here:
So I clicked on the “Visit” option, and it took me to the Audubon article about her:
https://www.audubon.org/news/peregrines-and-photographer-bunk-out-chicago-mans-apartment
And reading the article you learn that the falcon had commandeered an empty flower box on the 28th floor of Dacey Arashiba’s condo balcony.
So plugging in Dacey Arashiba’s name into an excellent, dedicated person search engine, you can see she lives on Belmont Ave. But that’s probably enough doxing on my part. You can connect the rest of the dots on your own if you want an exact address.
But the Audubon story is definitely worth a read! It tells about how Linda and Steve (the names Darcy gave the Peregrines) came to the condo balcony, and sadly lost their first clutch of three eggs. But amazingly returned the next year to the same balcony and had another clutched that hatched!
And how an award-winning photographer in The Netherlands found out about the falcons and came to America to photograph them. And the photos are quite interesting!
So for me, at least, it was a worthwhile sleuthing search.
May 112018
After an extended absence, let’s see if I remember how to do this. I’m going to ease back in with a Potpourri.
BONUS – Fascist He-Man Tries to Rip a Gay Pride Sign … Levity Ensues
Proud Boy in Seattle finds a sign he doesn't like during #MayDay & tries with all his might to rip it up. It doesn't work out. [h/t @nategowdy] #MayDaySea pic.twitter.com/Z2P0KhQw0J
— Ash J (@AshAgony) May 2, 2018
May 052018
(Hoping to put together a “Sunday Smile”. But not only still monitoring my brother, but my aunt is in town from Illinois to celebrate her 90th Birthday! So lots, and LOTS of family stuff going on!)
Apr 282018
A week ago today the world observed the passing of a much-loved political matriarch in a solemn ceremony celebrating the life of Barbara Bush.
But that doesn’t mean there weren’t some lighter moments we can enjoy. Let’s begin by asking:
Who’s Missing from This Group Photo?
Well, other than Barbara …
But the biggest buzz revolved around that serene smile Melania shared with Pres. Obama.
It immediately brought back memories of the Trump Inaugural festivities fiasco. Who can forget this iconic moment?
It was a performance so amazingly well executed it resulted in this:
And the big question all centered around Melania’s smile that she shared with Pres. Obama. Why, there even was a quiz:
Pop Quiz: Of these two photos of Melania Trump, which one was taken at a funeral?
? pic.twitter.com/hZSU6jAi2w— ⚠Kimexander Hamilton (@YippeeKimYay) April 21, 2018
And of course everyone is wondering what exactly did Pres. Obama say to Melania that generated such a genuine (and very rare) smile.
But as it turns out, Obama didn’t say anything that caused her to smile. But he did figure it out …
Apr 202018
As I’m pretty sure I mentioned, my brother was admitted last Friday the 13th for the FOURTH TIME since our Mom’s funeral on 2/13/18.
He has a multitude of problems, but the big ones have been pneumonia and profound anemia. This time he has bilateral pneumonia (he’s been a smoker since his late teens and he’s in his 70’s now). And his hemoglobin kept dropping, and finally when it got down to 7.0 they transfused him – but just with one unit. (Not unreasonable, because if you transfuse a large amount it shuts down bone marrow production because the feedback mechanism says “I don’t need to make any more RBCs.”)
His hospitalist told him yesterday morning he would be in for 2-3 more days. His son, (SF Bay area) daughter-in-law (Tampa Metro – but 55 miles away) and I (KCMO) were ecstatic. My brother hated it.
So we made plans with his health support people accordingly.
But then the pulmonary service came in the afternoon and said he could be discharged.
Us – BOO! My brother – YEA!
So he was dismissed last night. So today we’ve been scrambling to get meds, health aide, PT, OT Social Worker, Nurse Practitioner all going again.
My nephew will be going out a week from tomorrow to help get lots of things done involving his wife’s estate (she died last Labor Day weekend) and our Mom’s estate taken care. Plus check to be sure he’s gotten everything done to transition to Medicare, as he’s a retiring college professor (economics) and has been using his work’s insurance, which ends in early May.
I’m hoping things will settle down. He does have a PCP, a hematologist-oncologist, a GI doc, a neurologist, an endocrinologist, an ENT doc, and I’m sure I’m leaving out a few. So it’s not like he hasn’t tried to find out what’s going on. But the pieces haven’t come together.
He and his wife lived in the KCMO Metro very close to me for several years when he was teaching at another college – and liked it. I’m actually hoping he’d agree to move back because it’s really difficult to manage his medical issues long distance. But he now likes Florida, so I’m not sure what he’ll do.
Sorry – no “Friday Fun”. But I’m sure you agree that there are priorities, and family is at the top.