A chrysanthemum by any other name would be easier to spell.”
Contented by Chrysanthemums
Category: Everyday Life
A Little Sparkle to Brighten the Day
This afternoon we took a little ride over to the Sanctuary. We actually had not been there in quite a while. It was nice to visit with our animal friends for a while, and of course, the various goats! Other than that, it was another low key day. Afterwards I pretty just wanted to veg in front of the tv so that’s what I did. However, I plan to be much more productive tomorrow running errands, replacing the screens to glass panes in the doors because it’s starting to get colder now, and a bunch of other little things.
Oh, one cool thing that I was able to figure out yesterday morning, is streaming from the phone straight to the tv, so we were able to watch an educational medical conference that LD was interested in, right on the tv instead of looking at the little phone screen or computer screen, and we didn’t have to huddle over a little screen to watch it.
Pumpkin Spice and a Bivalent Booster
Went down to get my bivalent shot. Easy peasy lemonade squeezy. Before that I grabbed this pic of some of the pumpkins we have laying about. I have decided to call it “Pumpkin Spice.”
Watch List: Took a chance on Blonde on Netflix, a fictionalized account of Marilyn Monroe. I wanted to see what the buzz was about. My verdict? So-so. It started out pretty good but then, I don’t know, I started to lose interest. For one, it’s too long and also since a bunch of it is fictionalized you’re not sure what really happened or not. While I don’t doubt that some of that stuff happened I would have preferred a more factual representation. Just my two cents. The lead actress does do a great job though.
A Well Endowed Tool in Hand
I am proud to inform you that I surely do not suffer from pencil envy.”
– Me
Fresh Check on Your Mental Health
Today is Fresh Check day, essentially a day to check in on your mental health so I thought I’d represent by wearing a Fresh Check shirt that I was able to obtain a while back from one of their events. It’s really for college kids but really everyone should stay on top of their mental health.
I will say that the logo though, seriously reminds me of Facebook. Maybe not the best choice since the little ‘f’ which a circle around it is pretty much facebook’s domain.
Damn, it was downright frosty this morning as I headed out to work. I knew it was going to be that way when I noticed the frost on the windshield, first time I’ve seen that since last winter! Luckily the day warmed up rather quickly and, in fact, this weekend they are saying we are going to be in the 70s. Hope that’s true!
Small Things that Kept Me Busy / New Ai Header
I was playing around with some new header images, which you might have noticed. These images were completely created by AI just by giving it some keywords and this is what popped out. For some reason the header images look huge on the desktop to me, but I really liked how they fit on tablet and mobile. Anyways, ultimately I didn’t go with any of them although it was kind of fun to play around with the AI. I was using Midjourney this time around, at least until my little free trial ran out. You can click on each one to see the whole picture. I’m still not really satisfied with my header image but I’ll keep trying.
Game time: Color Portal. Beat it, not too hard but I did find it pretty fun for a while.
Sunday Rest Day
Every leaf speaks bliss to me, fluttering from the autumn tree.”
– Emily Brontë
I booked my bivalent vaccine shot for Friday afternoon this morning. Should be pretty easy and it is time for me to get it done, so there’s that. We went to LD’s workplace in Wellesley later in the day, and while we were there, she spotted this magnificent tree, which I had to photograph. The light coming through was simply a lucky coincidence of being in the right place at the right time! This picture just screams Autumn to me. Other than that, today has been a pretty low key day, which is what we planned. Just some simple errand runs, some television watching getting caught up on some shows, sitting out in the warm sun. Like I said, low ley Sunday. I did finally get my haircut yesterday, I feel so much lighter!
Look at these Mugs! Hanging with Lenny!
I got a chance to hang out with Lenny again! This time over at the yoga/healing arts studio that he’s been hanging out in on the weekends, talk about a lucky dog! His guardians were busy for part of the afternoon so I said I’d look after him for a bit. We had a good time together. I like Lenny – he’s my buddy! Anyways that was probably the best highlight for today.
The kitchen flooring has finally arrived. Pretty soon the kitchen will new floors and a couple of new appliances to go with – this place is really shaping up this year!
Oh, I forgot to mention something that happened the other day. It must have been around 6 pm or so and then I heard the doorbell ring and a pounding on the front door. I thought it was the stupid neighbor kid again saying that his ball flew over into the back yard and wanted to get it. However, when I got up and answered the door, a policeman with papers in his hand was there. Immediately in the back of my head, due no doubt to all the cop shows I’ve watched over the years, I thought, “Are they going to serve us papers or something?” However, come to find out, someone had reported their packages missing from their doorstep in the neighborhood and he was wondering if I saw anything, which I did not. He then went on to other houses in the neighborhood and tried to get as much information as he could. Anyways, it was quite a sight to see the guy all in the whole regalia and all on the front steps.
Ended with a massages tonight. – probably hadn’t had one in like, over a year, so I was definitely due. Tried out a new person, and it was pretty good, I would go back to her again. Now it’s off the watch some tv and settle in for the night. Have another busy day tomorrow!
Some YouTubers I Follow
Thought it would be interesting to let you know some Youtubers that I watch regularly to get a sense of my tastes. So without further ado, here we go:
- Britec09 – Little tidbits about Windows tips and tricks.
- ChrisTitusTech – This one is really technical and lots of Linux information.
- ComicTropes – really good channel. I don’t collect comics anymore but I still have a love for them. Very entertaining and informative.
- JamieMarsland – really good tips and learning tools to get the most out of WordPress.
- LonTV – this Youtuber does a lot of reviews and I also find him quite informative.
- PowerCertAnimatedVideos – if you ever wondered about IT these videos explain them pretty well.
- RickBeato – the man. He really knows music and has given me much appreciation about the craft.
- TechsYouCantLiveWithout – a variety of videos showcasing the coolest products on the planet and ranked so you can pick the best.
- TheReportoftheWeek – ReviewBrah is the man, keeping us up to date on the best fast food items.
- The Art of Guitar – cool channel about music. For some reason the guy reminds me a little of John Cusack.
- And finally for now, ThioJoe – more computer knowledge mostly.
You might be beginning to see a pattern here. Hmmm. Music, Computers, Fast food reviews. Maybe I should diversify a bit. Comment by clicking on this post if you have any Youtubers you follow that you think I might be interested in!
Thinking About Adult Happy Meals
I finally got around to mowing the lawns late this afternoon, mostly just to pick up a lot of the leaves that had fallen. Those goats that visited a few days ago, although they were chomping through as many as they could get, they just couldn’t get it all. I’m kidding about them eating it all of course, most of the leaves are really starting to fall off the trees now up here. Speaking of eating, I am considering trying out that new “adult” happy meal that Mickey D’s has been promoting for the month of October. Yeah, I know it’s basically a glorified Big Mac meal for double the price but maybe I could score a Hamburgler toy, everyone seems to want that one but all you usually end up with is either Birdie or Grimace. Also for some strange reason the toys appear to have two sets of eyes. I rarely eat McD’s but I might have to make an exception in this case to see what all the buzz is about.
I need a haircut bad, probably going to get one on Saturday, as I plan at being down at Earth-1 for most of the day. Have to take my mom’s cats to get their nails done as well. Might as well just tie it all together and get a bunch of things done since I was enjoying the shore last weekend.
I voted today, filled out my ballot and put it in the box. Easy peasy, it’s the way to go in my opinion. I’m also going to book my bivalent booster shot, probably for next Friday sometime, would like to get that out of the way and done.
Lavallette Visit Year 2
Spent a few days down in Lavallette, NJ at a Airbnb, in fact the same one we stayed in last year at this time. It’s a great location and a pretty good place to hang out. We had a some family stay overnight with us at the beach house and I do think they all had a fun time. We were able to see two sunsets (all three days had gorgeous weather), a full moon one night, and even whales breaching right off the shore. It was quite the sight to see, especially since they were so close to the shoreline. There’s a picture out there of one literally right next to a surfer, like he could touch it with his hand, it was that close. Had some good food (some takeout but we also made some stuff and gobbled that all down over the time stayed). We were able to enjoy the takeout meals while seeing the sunset at the end of a neighboring pier. The following night, we had our guests picked up by driving them to the JBJ rest stop area so that we wouldn’t have to travel all the way back to the Airbnb because we were spending an additional night. There were some amazing pictures taken there of LD belting out the hits with the guests. It was a really fun time. Maybe I’ll add some more pictures from this trip at a later time but these are some good ones for now. I’m a bit tired!
We had a late checkout in the morning, so we took our time, ate breakfast on the beach at a local coffee house we like called Lava Java, and enjoyed a little more time at the beach as the sun was feeling quite wonderful. As we were about to return to Boston, we decided to take a detour and visit our old friend Chris and his two young girls in Yonkers, New York. There was a park right next door where we could all hang for a bit outside and the kids could play in the meantime. Beautiful looking children too. Quite the weekend! Then the long ride back home last night. I had to get back because I had CPR training down at HQ this morning so I didn’t want to miss that. Needless to say I am certified once again.
Trolley Square in Autumn and Long Weekend Travels
We’ve decided to take a trip for this long weekend we have in store. In fact, it happens to be a place that we visited around this time about two years ago. Long time readers may remember but I did list it as my second favorite location in a certain state. Anyways, they’ll be updates after I get back as I’m not bringing the Chromebook on this particular trip. There could be some updates on my socials in the meantime, Speaking of meantime, enjoy this picture of autumn from the Somerville/Cambridge line along the bike path that cuts through both cities. I used to bike this route on my way to work all the time, back when I worked in that area. Happening upon this scene I knew I had to capture it. The wagon like thing in the center is basically an artwork that depicts some of the tools that the locals used to make things in that area back in the day, In the early 1900s, the corner of Massachusetts and Cameron Avenues in North Cambridge is where trolleys for the original Boston street car system were stored and repaired. A hundred years later, the site has been given new life as a development named Trolley Square. So there you go! Be well and I’ll update soon.
The Mysterious Case of the Hurting Knee
Not really sure what I did lately to bring this one, but my knee was really bugging me this morning, enough so that I had to put my brace back on. I hadn’t been wearing the brace for a couple of months since it hadn’t been an issue. I’m thinking it could possibly be due to the rainy weather we’ve been having, or maybe it’s just that I am getting old. Either way, it’s annoying.
Watchlist: Yesterday I watched Hot Take: The Depp/Heard Trial on Tubi on my laptop to kill some time. Basically using actors to recount everything that came out in the trial and reenacted some key scenes from each others viewpoint. The breaking of the fourth wall that they a lot was interesting, if a little unnerving at first. It looked really awful the first five minutes or so in, but I kept watching it anyway, and actually I came to the conclusion that it actually wasn’t all that bad. The guy playing Depp nailed him down pretty well. It’s basically those one-of-the-mill type made for TV movies that jump on tabloid ready stories, but it kept me entertained. Your mileage may vary. Now the next show that I want to watch is called Blonde on Netflix.
Enjoy this throwback picture I took from Boothbay Harbor up in Maine.
An Appearance of the Goat-a-Gram
Goat-a-Grams for the Ladydoc
Yesterday I was able to get a couple of baby goats to visit LD for a continuance of her celebration this year. They were the cutest things, named Speck and Ziggy, brothers as it were. A nice thing that along with all the goat snuggles is that they were going to town on eating all the fallen oak leaves. I think they had as good a time as we did. It was a fun experience and they came right to the house. We also had a couple of guests visit which was also very nice. I’m glad the weather held out and didn’t rain. It was a bit windy (the remnants of Hurricane Ian) but nothing us hardly New Englanders couldn’t handle.
IF anyone in the area is interested in doing this sort of experience, hit me up and I can provide you with the details on how to get it all set up for yourself.
Visitors from Afar
I was able to take my my Mom from Somerville to Westwood to the local AAA place to get her license renewed yesterday and she passed. I was worried about the traffic but apparently Fridays are the way to go because we made it in record time. When I visited her Tuesday it took me slightly more than an hour and a half one way. This time the trip up and back took just about an hour, tops. Well, within the time I had allocated for us to get it done. So, score!
Today, an old collogue of LD’s swung by to pay a visit, as they were going to be in the area on other business. Ended up having a lunch/brunch with some takeout from the Muffin House that just opened up about a couple months ago down the road. It was a a fun little gettogether for a couple hours.
Getting In on the Dynamic Island Craze
Yes, I have an flagship Samsung Android phone but I wanted to see what the buzz is all about with this new iPhone 14 feature called Dynamic Island. Just my luck someone has recreated it for Android and you can get it from the Google Play store here if you want to try it out. I do kind of like it, but I know its just some gimmick. I’ll keep it for a while and see how it goes.
Gametime: Currently trying to get through Dying Dreams.
Latest Watch Party and Dreams of Our Past Selves
Latest Watched: Chastity Bites: When I started watching this I thought it was going to be horrible as its a bit campy but in truth it actually wasn’t that bad at all! Elizabeth Bathory was a Hungarian noblewoman who was said to have tortured and murdered as many as 650 people in the 16th century. If you believe her accusers, her favorite victims were young girls, because she thought bathing in the blood of virgins would keep her eternally young. Chastity Bites is a horror/comedy that imagines Bathory’s beauty regimen worked, and she’s still living, preying on modern high schools by organizing religious chastity pledge programs to make sure her victims are virgins. This underrated movie is low-budget and rough-around-the-edges, but it’s funny, smart, and skewers the horror genre’s sex = death obsession, right wing hypocrisy, vapid teenage culture, materialism, beauty obsession, and just about everything else that was happening in 2013 America.
I had a weird dream last night which now doesn’t sound so impressive but when it woke me up last night at the end I thought it was cool. I was hanging with this guy which I thought was my grandfather but couldn’t be because he looked like that guy Buzzy from Jeopardy. Anyways we somehow ended up in a place that resembled a mix between a restaurant and a train car. Later some other people joined us but it was him in different stages of his life but they were rendered in the colors of the television media of the time. So there was an early 1970 version of him looking kind of tinted green and for some reason looked like early 1970s era Stan Lee. And there was one were he was a young man, possibly from the 1940s are dressed dapper and in black and white, and an even earlier version of him during the silents era. That guy didn’t speak, but a woman then appeared next to him which I took to be his wife. She didn’t appear in the other versions though (perhaps because she no longer existed in those times?) The cool thing was they could all communicate with each other. Not sure why I was there, I had no direct link to this person that I could discern and I was kind of just a guest there, watching. It would be cool to be able to tell your younger self things and for the younger selves to talk to the older. Then toward the end of the dream a guy we used to work with we nicknamed DNO came into the dream although now the surroundings looked a bit like the hallways of a place we worked at in the 1990s. He passed away a couple of years ago sadly. He was a chemist and I saw him holding some beakers and saying hi and then walking down the hall to complete whatever he was doing. He looked tired, but happy in doing his job. I actually cried when I saw him and the oldest “Buzzy” in color consoled me. I then woke up and had real tears in my eyes. Not really sure what this dream means, we weren’t like close or anything although we did have some glorious deathmatches in Quake over the company network over the years. When I woke up in the middle of the night from this dream I almost wanted to get up and write this down so I wouldn’t forget it (I thought the sci-fi aspects of the Buzzy situation were great) but then as the day drew on I was unsure if I should even post it or write it down at all. As you can see I decided to go ahead. What do you guys make of this?
As a final note, my sister says next time we meet up she wants to take a walk with me to our old elementary school to try to relive that moment I was feeling yesterday. I’m going to take her up on that.
A Reverie of the Girl Crying in the Window
We’ve spent the last few days starting to return some of the tables and chairs to the people who were so kind as to let us borrow them; they were very useful, but we’ll be keeping a few just a little while longer because this weekend is a smaller, more private gathering, and this time, a goat will be involved, if you can believe that! I don’t think that it could compare to Lenny to me, but we’ll see! We’ll be using some the games that we didn’t get to and such that we used for the party for this small group of folks who couldn’t make the main event.
Lately I’ve been having thoughts of when I was little and a couple that keep coming up is with me and my sister. I can remember a friend asking me to come over his house and I was game to do it. My sister who was quite young at the time kept crying and didn’t want me to go. maybe we were playing together at the time or something, I don’t know. Anyways I can remember being sort of adamant that I was going to go. I can remember reaching the front gate to the driveway and looking back at the house and in the window I could see my sister crying. She really didn’t want me to go, and I debated staying in my head but ultimately I went anyway. I mean, he had the latest KISS record Double Platinum at the time and I wanted to listen to it! The friend I was visiting lived over by the Powerhouse so it was only a 10 minute walk. But I never forgot the crying. I always felt something changed a little but between us after that, but that can’t be. I actually mentioned this to my sister today and she laughed about it. Didn’t remember, and of course nothing changed. (Right?) I also had thoughts of us walking each other back and forth to school one year, the one year where it overlapped in such a way that we were in the same elementary school at the same time but in different grades. I think I was in 6th and see must have been in 1st.
I miss those days, looking back now.
And today’s photo is one of those lovely sunset images that everyone seems to enjoy. This one is from Rock Harbor, which is in Orleans, Massachusetts. One of our favorite places, and I’m sure you can tell why.
Meeting Cindy Brady
The story behind the photo: A few years ago, we went to the Fluffernutter Festival in my hometown of Somerville, MA. It’s a yearly celebration now honoring the invention of the product Fluffernutter, which was invented by a door to door salesman in town, Eventually he sold it to the company that still makes it today with their factory in Lynn but originally it all started right here. Anyways, this one particular year they somehow got Susan Olsen to come down and check it out, How could I not go? I grew up watching the Brady Bunch. I would get out from school and go home and put on Channel 56 which reran them everyday. I think it was a couple of cartoons, and then the Bradys and then the Monkees – amazing how TV has shaped me. In fact, I believe everything about life can be explained in various Brady Bunch episodes but that’s a discussion for another time. (Perhaps one day I will write a thesis about it but I digress.) Anyways, she was amazing. Kind of makes me want to meet the rest of the “Bradys”. As a side note, Florence Henderson visited the local hospital here a few years back and had I known this at the time I probably would have met Mrs. Brady, but it was sadly not to be. Also Peter Brady has visited Dedham a few times at Kings in Legacy Place so there was a possibility of seeing him as well. We missed Jan once in NYC, she apparently was downstairs from a restaurant we were frequenting at at the time but another miss. I figure Greg and Marcia would be the hardest to get to meet. I have no desire to meet Bobby (sorry!)
Party a Smashing Success! Plus Lenny!
The party was a great success and I think everyone who attended had a great time! We were scrambling a little bit as the party start time drew near, with getting tables set up, and picking up the cake, getting a balloon and such, etc. Everyone who said they would attend did and we even had three dogs visit, including Boomer all the way down from Maine, and Lenny, a dog I’ve been wanting to meet for a long time. He was one solid boy weighing close to over 50 pounds! We played a game that made you meet and talk to people to learn things about them and it actually worked and everyone was into it. Another one of LD’s friends was kind enough to pick up the main entrees from Canton so that was a great help. The camera was all set up for the selfie station and I promise to set up a shared google drive directory so that folks who took one can download their pictures. The weather was perfect for a party day! We had some pretty great homemade props which I’ll be saving to use for future events.
People also got to see the new basement and bathroom to help us decide on colors by voting. So we had a lot going on, between everyone meeting everyone, eating all the various dishes, watching LD smash her piñata, cutting the cake, playing the games, and having a good time. LD even went out of her way and cooked some gluten free things for some guests who could not partake of the main entrees. All the desserts were a huge hit, from the cake which truly was delicious to the special ice cream sandwiches we got from Providence. As the party was ending (the last guests didn’t leave till around 10 pm!) we saw the SpaceX rocket in the sky although at the time we didn’t know what it was, circled around the fire pit. The main thing was that everyone who came genuinely came to celebrate LD and you could feel the joy. We have to remember that we really are surrounded by wonderful people who care and love LD and I’m very appreciative that I was also able to partake in that.
Now that we’ve cleaned everything up we are taking a well deserved nap!
Scituate Light at Sunset / Party Almost Set
The new bathroom is finished and ready! The snacks are in house! The food is ordered and on the way! The props and other accoutrements are almost ready! The tables and chairs are in and ready to be set up! This is going to be great!
Party New England Style
The party plans are coming apace! Hard to believe the time is almost here. More planning yesterday and today. Tomorrow I’m due to make a big supply run with some helpers. The weather looks to be gorgeous this weekend for the event so I couldn’t be happier about that. The props should be arriving this afternoon for the selfie station. Got what I think is a pretty good assortment of different things, yes there probably will be a bunch of photos taken at this event. I won’t post many of them here but there will be lots I am sure. Might be good to grab some candid ones too. Just have to work on getting the final food stuff together and arranging the space! This will be the first time hosting almost 20 guests at one time, could be a bit daunting!
Party Preps!
Getting sooner to the big party day. I went ahead yesterday and mowed all the lawns, might go over it again next week just to make it sure it looks all pristine. Working on getting the food and decorations together for the big day. All the invites have gone out and just about everyone that was invited is due to come. Not going to lie, I do feel a little nervous, but it’s all going to be a good time. Working on getting the propane tanks full as well, for possible grilling but also the outdoor space heater just for the off chance that it might be a chilly day, but hopefully the weather will be good all around. Also been messing around with my tripod for the selfie station. It’s been forever since I missed with it so I’m a little rusty. Decided to go with the DSLR to get some real high quality photos instead of or in addition to cell phone pics. Really want to make this a time to remember for the folks who are kind enough to join us in the celebration.
LD remembered a great place for the food that we’ll be offering. Super psyched to dig into that. Making me hungry just thinking about it. Might also need to take a trip down to Providence RI to pick up some very special snacks.
Getting a little ahead of myself – today is really about nailing down the specifics and planning. So to that end we were able to accomplish the following things today: visiting a bunch of places to see if we could get things that are on our list of things needed to get, pumpkins and mums for fall decorations. To that end we visited a couple of places and even a local farm. Really need to narrow down the rest of the list today and get everything locked down and ready!
Two of the Three Sisters
Drove to drop off 2 blank CDs in Walpole to someone online who asked for them in a social media group that we belong to. Got a bunch of free stuff off of there that was useful so just sort of giving back. I’m looking for some stuff for the game room that I’m hoping will show up on there at some point.
Made an appointment to take my mom to get her drivers license renewed at the end of the month at the local AAA office, forget going to the RMV! It took a while to get one, you basically have to keep clicking online every 10 minutes or so and hope you bump someone else out of the way. In hindsight now I’m realizing it may be a little tough to be able to make it there on time but I’m going to try.
We got these special lily bulbs from LD’s garden lady friend yesterday. I’ve been soaking them overnight to be able to put them in the ground today. For some reason the lady said they should go in as soon as possible. Just need to find a spot where they’ll actually fit. We have too many things growing! I eventually decided to put split them up a bit, putting some in the main round area and then the rest out toward the back corner of the back yard. Fingers crossed they come up next year!
Here’s a pic I took of two of the three sisters lighthouses in Orleans. These gals were replaced by the Nauset Light that’s there now but they saved these ladies and set them further inland and used to adorn a park now. Thanks to Lighthouses around the World for featuring me!