2 hours left to 2018!

Guess this ain't the year I'll finish my novel!

C'est la guerre!

Let's drink a toast to 2019!

Say it ain't so!

Don't leave us, Penny!

Laverne & Shirley won't be the same without you!

40 years ago today

George Moscone and Harvey Milk were assassinated.

I remember learning the news. I was working at the Eugene Register-Guard in the mail room (which was a polite name for the grunt labor room where mindless drones got the newspaper off the printing press and out to the distributors). The newspapers ran along a conveyor belt above our heads.  I could read the headlines from the mail room floor. It wasn't until the papers were all out the door that I could finally read the story.

It was a difficult day for me.

I felt great this morning.

Woke up and finished my breathing about 7:30. Toddled around the house and did this and that, and finally decided it was cold in the house. I think is was 28° outside. I made three trips out for firewood, three logs each time. Came back and lit the fire. I tended it for a few minutes, then went at sat at my desk.

When it came time to tend the fire again, my groin screamed as I stood, “What the fuck have you done, you dimwitted fool?”

I was stunned. My groin had never talked to me like that before.

Maybe a fire was a bad idea. My groin seems to think so!

I’m living in the Twi-Light Zone.

Okay, the reality is I’m living in the Pacific Time Zone, but oddly I sleep in the Mountain Time Zone.

I woke this morning and noted that the clock in the bedroom said 6:23. I was pleased that I got a good night’s sleep and felt well rested! I got up, went to the bathroom, made coffee, ya-da-ya-da-ya. When I finally sat down to my computer and turned it on, it was 5:51. I am moving a little quicker than I have for the last 10 days, but not that quick!

Okay, we went off daylight savings time almost two weeks ago. I am sure I changed the clock in the bedroom. I am just so, so, so sure of it. (At the same time: please note that I am also so, so, so sure that cats can be second-cousins-once-removed of the devil himself.)

And you think I might have noticed before the difference before now. I do look at the clock in the bedroom often, and not only in the middle of the night.

So, my official story is that due to a time/space warp in the continuum, my bedroom got thrown into a different time zone due to a random Zebulon ray. That is the only logical explanation that could possibly explain this phenomenon!

By the way, what day of the week is it?

And I am 62 years old!

My day was nothing special. Just toddled around and did things in hours that should have taken me minutes. Still definitely hobbled on this side of the screen!

100 years ago today, a treaty was signed in Versailles, ending World War I. The great war.  The war to end all wars. That sure worked out well.

But all the same, Hurray for Peace!

Imagine Peace! It can be a fact!

Change of plans

Well, I didn’t make it to Mississippi & Alabama.

So, in my mind I am sipping pastis dans le sud de France.  Mon pieds sont dans le mer Méditeranée.

Fuck reality, give me one good fantasy!

The best laid plans of mice and men!

I had this amazing vacation planned. I was going to spend my birthday exploring the many civil rights museums/memorials/etc…  in Mississippi and Alabama. Trust me, I had an agenda that could have filled two weeks. But I was going to play in by ear and make omissions as needed on the road.

Well, instead  of playing it by ear, I’m playing by groin. That takes some explanation. I twisted just right while doing a very common middle of the night bathroom run Sunday night. I sprained my groin muscle. I dropped to the floor and had to crawl the rest of the way to the john on my hands and knees. I am still quite sore.  I did go upstairs today to water the plants. Going up wasn’t bad. Coming down was; I had to sit on my ass and slide down!

So, instead of marching across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, I will be hobbling around the house using a cane. My movement will be abbreviated for a while!

All Saints Day!

Remembering Claude and Hazel.

and Ralph and Trixie.

Good dogs, good friends!

Getting closer!

The pavers are all set and sanded in. The retaining wall  and stairs still need some work!

Improvement in the yard!

The Backyard/Patio is coming together nicely!

Just as the season ends!

And the pole you see sticking up is the base to my clothesline. It needs to be there for now, but will be removed when all is done. It is obviously still a work in project!

Oregon 30, Washington 27

Life is good!

Memoirs a Narative, Part Eight Plus

No, I didn’t put a plastic bag over Wayn’s head and suffocate him with a pillow.

I did not physically kill him.

But I am the one who took him off his meds and fluids.

Yes, I killed him.

Think that don’t fuck with my mind?

Memoirs, a Narrative. Part Eight

Although highly unpopular, I have decided to press on.

Touchstones to the past, Part One.

I had to promise Wayno that when the time came I would be willing to kill him.

I agreed.

Yes, I agreed to kill him, if the time came. He described to me how to do it. It involved a pillow and a plastic bag. No more information.

But I loved Wayn that much!

There is more to tell. But I can’t right now

Thinking of Mom

On her 104th birthday.

I miss her!

Memoirs, a Narrative. Part Seven

Richard

Wow, this one is tough. Even after four and a half years, there are raw nerves. I don’t know where to start the conversation without rocking my world.

Okay, let’s go to religion. That is always safe.

 Richard was a devout Catholic. I am not. Richard and I seldom argued. The handful of times we did, it was because I pushed the religion thing past the point of civility. Don’t I sound wonderful? Don’t you wish you would have married me?

Richard was steeped in Catholicism: Northeastern US Catholicism. He never attended a public school.  But he was a strong supporter of public education. Like me, he felt the abortion was not his choice, so he was pro-choice, but not in favor of abortion on a personal level.  He was in favor of gay rights and gay marriage (what a surprise)! We were so alike, and yet there was this Catholic thing. I can be very dense at times.

There are two times that come to mind when I am trying to deal with Richard’s religion: a visit to Lourdes, France and Ste. Anne de Beaupré  in Québec.

Lourdes truly amazed me. The masses who truly believed. There was a parade daily where people went to the Basilique. It was close to a thousand people. Many had volunteers who pushed their wheelchair or in other ways assisted those in need. I couldn’t help but be moved.

Yes, there were tacky trinket shops and other crap lining the Boulevard de la Grotte, but when you saw the people, it was really tough to not be moved. And, yes I came home with a coffee mug hailing Bernadette of Lourdes. I even read The Song of Bernadette to know more.

And Ste. Anne de Beaupré : I never understood the importance, and I don’t know as Richard even knew it’s significance, but his mother had always wanted to go there. So in honor or Bernadette Rita Sloan Parker, we visited.

I got glimpses, peaks into what made Richard the man he was. It was terrifying and awe inspiring simultaneously. The power the church holds and the hope that it gives. A paradox about humanity.

I grew to respect Richard’s Catholicism, but not real Catholicism.

Billie Jean is… well… so Billie Jean

This is the cat who won’t sit on my lap. The cat who when I first met her wouldn’t let me touch her body, only her neck and her head. The cat that has rejected me time and time again.

I should mention that she make a horrible racket when she is cleaning herself. Her so-called beauty regimen is among the noisiest on planet earth.

Today she was sitting on the floor beside me. She started to groom. I put my hand down to stop her.  She put her paw in my hand. She let me hold her paw. After a prolonged pause, she licked my hand and used it to clean her face.

I am just a utensil in her kitty locker, to use as she pleases.

Memoirs, a Narrative. Part Six

I knew Wayno was going to die from the first time I met him. AIDS. The scourge of the times. I knew better. I really did. But I was charmed by the dude from NYC, I just couldn’t help myself.

It was just short of seven years. I guess if you think about it, it wasn’t a long time. But it was a great time. Passions and emotions ran high. So much was done… so much happened.

Wayn was a bon vivant. If you are mortified by my sexual behavior, you should hear about his. But you won’t hear it from me, and I don’t know if anyone alive knows as many stories as I do.

I have a phone booth on my back porch. It came with Wayno. He wasn’t really sure how he got it, but after a night of copious amounts of coke it was in his apartment in New York. Maybe I should be embarrassed, but it endears me to the booth even more. Damn, if only he lived in London, I could have a red phone booth on my porch!

I want to keep this of moderate length, but there are so many avenues to go. I loved Wayno dearly. He was a good man. There will be many touchstones to come.

Memoirs, a Narrative. Part Five

Doug

I have had three relationships in my life. The first ended in divorce. The next two times I had the common sense to kill my partner.

That was a joke, folks. Put down the pitchforks!

But this is about my first big love, Doug.

Although my memories of our relationship aren’t kind and our break-up was fairly brutal, he wasn’t a bad person. I just try to paint him that way in my mind. It certainly couldn’t be me that was bad!

But I was. Years before our break-up he caught me cheating. While I would like to defend myself, I can’t.  I think this is where ‘adultery’ comes in.  Trust me, I never was and never will be an angel.

I was too young and too immature when I entered the relationship with Doug. He was older (although you will note I didn’t add “and more mature”) and I was swept away. We spent six years together:  in Eugene, Coos Bay (technically North Bend), Boise, Seattle, Azusa and Riverside. Nine different residences in six years: doesn’t sound stable to me. And it wasn’t.

The only times in my life that at I ever contemplated suicide were while I was with Doug. Well, that is if you discount my current embrace with Oregon’s Death With Dignity law, which I don’t hold in the same book.

The relationship didn’t work… and obviously, I wasn’t an innocent bystander.

Seventeen years

Such a vivid memory! A sad memory!

But remember the day Kennedy was assassinated almost as well

Memoirs, a Narrative. Part Four

The early days in Hood River: they weren’t always a treat. I remember having to bring my water supply pipe in for the night so it wouldn’t freeze. I remember working an 18 hour day and having to be back in 4 hours. This is when I only had wood heat. I slept in my winter coat. I remember unfriendly neighbors. They turned us in for growing pot. Wayno did have AIDS. It really wasn’t’ that big of crime. Their nephew used to climb a tree and yell “Faggots” at Wayn and I. Their daughter used to have sex in their back yard, just over our fence. Wayno used to throw St. Bernard shit over the fence. Hoping for sweet justice!

Years  have passed.

The house is sound now. The Phelps (and their house) are long gone. This is my home. I worked for it in many ways.

Oregon 58, Bowling Green 24

Finally, the college football season has begun. Could this be the year of the Duck?

Quack, quack, quack!

Memoirs, a Narrative. Part Three.

My first sexual experience was shortly after my 18^th birthday. Okay, let clarify that. My first sexual experience that didn’t include some imaginary stud was shortly after my 18^th birthday. (Imaginary studs are still the best!) I believe it was early December of 1975, but all I will swear to is that it was winter in Seattle, and I was 18. Legal.

I am sure at the time I knew his name, but it has long slipped from my conscience. He owned an antique shop on Pioneer Square in downtown Seattle.  There the dirty deed was done and I lost my virginity. Well, sort of. I gave him a blow job, but was too nervous to reach orgasm myself. So, I could argue I was still a virgin. But, I wasn’t. Damn, what a way to lose my cherry, if you will.

In defense of myself, it was a different time than today. There was that off chance you could meet someone in church, but get real… that wasn’t going to happen. No paramours in high school. I was way too uptight and interested in being perceived as straight. And waiting for my wedding night was unrealistic. I would still be a virgin. So a semi-anonymous encounter was how I could finally touch another man who was gay.

No, I am not proud. But it is a part, a very small and very huge part of my story.

The deed has been done

And signed.

I have refinanced my house. I'll get the $$$ next Thursday, as I have until midnight on Wednesday to back out.

I ain't backing out!

Memoirs, a Narrative. Part Two.

My thoughts on Phoenix, Arizona.

I had a friend who moved from Minneapolis to Phoenix during the time I lived in the Twin Cities in the late 1970’s. Okay, he was a fling. Damn he was hot. Prison Guard type hot! He lived in Wisconsin, just across the river from Stillwater. Oh, and I do mean HOT!!! He had a name in the bars and a real name. One of them was Paul… don’t remember which.

I remember writing to Mom about the situation and describing Phoenix as “the biblical description of hell!”

After visiting Dad there multiple times, I stand by my description!

Just a quick note

Colonoscopy done: four polyps.

I seem to be a haven for polyps!

I have to say, I do hope I don't live long enough to go through that again. Even Billie Jean had diarrhea last night! Ugly!

Not worried and don't care what they say. Just another procedure!

Memoirs, a Narrative. Part One.

A multi-part story. The number depends on how many people I piss off. And how badly I piss them off!

I have a story to tell. Perhaps it isn’t a good one and perhaps it isn’t very kind to me, but it is a story.

Just a quick biographical background: I was born in Renton, Washington on 11-11-1956. As was the demographic norm of the era, I had a mother (born female and identified as female for her entire live) and a father (born male and identified as male for his entire life). To the best of my knowledge, they were both strictly heterosexual. The only thing semi-unique about my birth was that I had four older sisters. Fuck, just my luck!

Enough with the boring shit.

My athletic prowess was never something to boast and brag about. And trust me; it has gone downhill since adulthood. (I first typed “adultery”. Wow, is that another post. Unless the FCC bans me.)

In high school I was on the cross country and the swim teams. I don’t remember for sure, but I think I ran cross county all three years of high school (yes, I am the relic of the 3 year high school), but I didn’t swim my senior year.  Damn, I was so near drowning most of the time, just call is self-survival!

Trust me; there are none of my trophies in the hallowed halls of Tyee High School.  Low man on the totem pole would be an apt description.

Hmm… could it be that I was gay? Sounds pretty queer to me!

My dad was a runner. He set the Idaho state record for the mile while a student at Wendell High in the late 1930’s. It was a record that lasted for decades in the state. There might be one of his trophies in the hallowed halls of Wendell High School. Go Trojans!

And I have to give respect

We lost two great people in the last 48 hours.

Senator John McCain: a great statesman. I didn't always agree with his stances, but I admired his integrity.

And Neil Simon: a great playwright. We are less for his passing.

Notes from an amazing vacation (Part Three!)

Okay, this gets confusing. I’m sure I will lose a few of you.

The last post, “Notes from an amazing vacation (Part One)!” really was the first day of our Carhenge adventure. The post before that, “With Carhenge in the rear view mirror” technically should be “Notes from an amazing vacation (Part Two)!”, as it was our second day Carhenging. So this really is part three. Trust me, it works.

Karla and I found this great town of Gothenburg, population 3,574. It’s a Big City in western Nebraska.

We were lured into town to see the Pony Express station.  It really was pretty neat!

But the highlight was the Sod Museum and the woman who worked there, Seus. She knew everything there was to know about the Homestead Act and the early settlers of the area. There was, of course, a painfully accurate re-created sod house.

And the world’s largest plow. How can you go wrong?

Much time was spent in Lincoln, searching for Karla’s old dorm. Come on, Annie; we’re in Lincoln, Nebraska and your dorm was a 13 story building. It can’t hide! We never found it, because it was torn down nine months ago. University of Nebraska’s campus seems to just be a big stadium and a couple of other buildings! (Just kidding all you Husker fans!)

And so ends the travelogue!

Notes from an amazing vacation (Part One)!

 The small town of Taylor, Nebraska (pop. 190 and Loup County seat) has made plywood cutouts and painted historical figures on them. It was really kind of cool!

I miss read the sign at first… thought it said “Hooker Country”.  I thought I might get my chance to sell my wares. No such luck!

Bad selfies abound!

Yep, that is me… Carhenging with the best of them!

With Carhenge in the rear view mirror

We trudged thru Nebraska!

Fields of Sunflowers greeted us along the way, lifting our spirits!

Scotts Bluff National Monument was more beautiful that expected, but sadly a bit smoky!

This kept Karla and I on the sidewalks at Chimney Rock National Historical Park!

The Arthur County (pop. 460) jail. Despite persistent rumors, I did not spend anytime inside. Some one is spreading malicious lies! Or perhaps alternative facts!

Last night was spent in a lousy motel in North Platte!  (Perhaps the Arthur County jail would have been a better option!)

Hallelujah!

Carhenge is more amazing than I can describe!

We fought our way thru the crowds and there we were.

We came, we saw, we were amazed!

Carhenge, here we come!

Waiting at PDX for the plane to Omaha! EXCITED!!!

Let the adventure begin!

In defense of #45...

Rudy Giuliani has stated that "Truth isn't truth."

Someone should send  him to bed without dessert. Or maybe this is the time to re-instate corporal punishment.

Bad boy!!! Bad boy!!!

The loss is enormous!

Well here is an interesting tidbit!

Today is Gay Uncle's Day. 

Soon it will be as big as Father's Day. I am sure.

Happy, happy birthday

To my old, old sister!

3

We'll always have Nice!

And remember May Day!

After 11 days of 90°+ temps

Today's high was 79°. I am in heaven!

Somethings you just can't invent!

In Virginia's 5th Congressional District, Bigfoot erotica has become an issue.

I'm serious. I am not making this up!

And to show you now naїve I am, I didn't even know there was such a thing as Bigfoot erotica!

err... a correction

It is day eight, not seven. I am delrious!

day seven over 90°

It is 96° right now.... high is supposed to be 99°.

Help, I am melting!

Forgive me, for I have sinned.

Late yesterday, I turn on the air conditioner.

I was hot, I was sweaty. It was our sixth day in a row of 90°+ weather. The house was hot! As I lay, near comatose on the floor, I thought to myself, “You have the power, you have A/C, use it!!!”

I dragged myself to the closet where the remote is held… pulled the instruction manual off the table. Damn near pulled the table over, but at the last second averted disaster. A few quick hitting the tabs, and presto.

Life is good.

Temporary relief!

I was actually cold this morning.

But that is all coming to an end! The nine day forecast!

Hell is coming, and it is coming soon!

And yes, I know how to use the AC now!

Day six.

Today was supposed to bring relief.

It did, slightly!

6 degrees less than 100 is still hot.

Bring on the ice!

It is official!

Well, technically it is unofficial. But 100° in the Upper Valley. Fifth day in a row above 90°!

This too hot for reality! It is like a scene from crossing the River Styx. There is no valid reason for it being this hot…. By 11AM I had to evacuate the yard!

And no…  still no AC.  Does that make me a Viking? They never used AC!

Scorcher in the Upper Valley

Today was my fourth day in a row with high temperatures above 90°. I wilt at 74°.

I don't know if I am proud or ashamed to admit that I haven't turned on the air conditioning yet. Would that be a sign of toughness or senility? Or both?

Praised be the mighty ice cube!!!

I's going to Carhenge

Karla & I made our reservations today. Watch out Alliance, NE... we are on our way!

Parents missing: children missing.

This is an atrocity. Our government (yes, us… the good guys!) ripped children from their parents arms, then misplaced them!

Do not let this fuck up die!

Until every child is reunited with a parent, scream out loud!

Damn, and I don’t even like kids!

Happy Birthday, Wayno

I miss you!

20 years ago

I married this man.

Okay, not technically.

But in reality.

I still love you Richard!

Adjusting to life with Billie Jean

Billie Jean is a sweet kitty. She is beautiful. She is remarkably good about playing without spilling blood on the floor. Yes, she has drawn blood, but rarely… and just when we both went over the top!

She’s not a lap cat. Although, she did jump up onto my lap the evening as I was sitting on my (some-assembly-may-be-required) Adirondack! Shocked me! She demands a clean litter box. She grooms herself like it is going out of style.

And she loves it when I get down on the floor with her.

And she loves my hair. More than once, she has pulled my hair, tried to eat it and just generally enjoyed her time playing on the top of my head!

No other sentient being on planet Earth likes my hair. Damn, that cat is good!

According to NBC News:

A church in Indianapolis, Indiana has a tribute to our Zero Tolerance program at out southern border!

Technically, it is kinder than having baby Jesus in a cage by himself!

But good god…. there is some humanity in the Christian Church!

Nigeria 2, Iceland 0

Well, that should teach Iceland to let me cheer for them..

I seem to be the kiss of death!

Go Ísland!

Believe it or not, I am actually following the World Cup this year. The US team didn’t qualify. I read where we should be cheering for Mexico… but then I read where the Mexican fans chanted some homophobic slur. I actually saw a video of the chant, but the fans had the nerve, the audacity to do it in Spanish. I have no idea what they were saying!

So, I am left searching for my team. And I have found it!

Iceland is the smallest (population wise) nation to be represented in the World Cup. Smallest. Ever. And I love the place!

Fara á Íslandi! Fara á Íslandi! Fara á Íslandi!

(I have no idea if that would be a real cheer for the Icelandic team… they have a thing with a drum and clapping… hard to imitate in the written word! Kind of a "BOOM BOOM CLAP routine!)

First of all

You are a multi-billionaire and you are wearing an incredibly ugly $39.00 jacket in public? I frankly don’t care what is says! Jackie Kennedy is rolling in her grave!

(Should I mention that I have been nominated for the fashion police?)

So, is there a meaning?

Mel, give us a sign!!!

Summer Solstice!

The longest day of the year!

Let's break out the pagan rituals!

Happy Father’s Day!

Many moons ago, when my father taught school, his students used to call him “Corny”!

Perhaps there was a valid reason!

To all you fathers, and those who have or had a father,  Happy Father’s Day! However, my dad was better than your dad!

(Umm... shouldn’t there be a horse show going on?)

Just a photo to share!

A child taken from his parents at the border:

When I first saw the picture, my thoughts immediately went to the kennels they keep cats and dogs in at the Oregon Humane Society!

Need I say more?

It has taken me time to gather my thoughts into a reasonable facsimile of common sense.

The United States of America (read: me and a few hundred million other “civilized” people) has decided it is really cool to take children away from their parents when they cross the border into the US without proper documentation. The theory is that this mean-spirited policy will deter parents from coming to America with their children. It is also used as punishment for these low-life scum who dare to dream. So what if your homeland is rife with violence and poverty. So what if there is no food or medicine in your country. So what if your neighbors were murdered in the night by your government’s henchmen. Frankly, we don’t care!

It is obvious that a three year old child held in the arms of a parent knew that (s)he was emigrating without the needed paperwork. That toddler must be punished and placed in an old Wal-Mart! (Don’t worry, we will soon have a tent city to hold these miscreant juveniles. Yes, we’re building a Tule Lake especially for foreign nippers!)

Attorney General Jeff Sessions used the bible to defend the dogma. The passage he used has been used in the past: to bolster slavery and Nazism.

If you aren’t outraged, I question your humanity!

The "some assembly required" Adirondacks are ready to go!

Comfy seating... Come visit sometime!

(One at a time, please... seating is limited!)

And an update on the “some assembly required” Adirondacks!

One lay in a billion pieces, as it is being sealed for longer life!

But one is ready to go! I have always wanted an Adirondack, and now I have one… It is a little bit of excitement in my life! A fantasy come real!

(Back to the “Am I too predictable?” question!)

And a missed an important anniversary!

I was in Berkeley, partying my brains out, when the red letter date passed.

One June 2nd, 2008 I started this blog. Ten years later,it is still up and running (okay, staggering). Personally, I am stunned! So little of my life is the same as it was in 2008. 

So Saturday, June 2nd was the 10th anniversary. 10 years and 1,525 posts! Damn,am I too predictable? 

Oh hell, break out the champagne!

I left my heart in San Francisco!

Can’t you just hear me crooning out the song? Okay, okay! I’ll stop! Geech, damn tough crowd!

Took a long weekend and traveled to the Bay Area for my sister’s grandchild’s graduation party. Yes, Reilly has done it! They got a degree from Cal Berkeley

You go, Reilly!

Any way you look at it, San Francisco has a magic! A mixture of old juxtaposed in the middle of new!

Is it my imagination, or does Israel have mischievous look on his face! Look out Berkeley! (And why is it Sarah doesn't care?)

Had a great time with great people!

Ahh!!! First cup of coffee enjoying the new deck furniture!

Had I have gotten a good enough photo, you would have noticed the coffee was steaming.

It was steaming because it was 36° out! Now that really sucked some of the joy out of coffee on the back deck!

Out with the old....

I can't complain. The chairs have lasted 20 years, and the cooler almost as long. But they lacked the panache I was hoping for.

So, my new back porch furniture arrived today. I think I am in love.

(I should have swept the deck before I took the picture, don't you think?)

I can't wait to have coffee tomorrow morning!

My new Adirondacks have arrived!

Aren't they beautiful!

Some assembly may be required!

The Ducks are in the WCWS!

Women's College World Series that is!

GO DUCKS!

Auntie Bea's irises are making an early show!

I know in the past it has been closer to Father's Day when they have bloomed!

Overall, the garden doesn't look as bad as it could!

Sunday matinee with the Gorge Sinfonietta

They performed Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture.

I had to go!

It was amazing.  Such talent in this little valley!

Damn, I may have created an international crisis

I really meant to go to Meghan and Harry’s wedding. I really did. I had my invitation in my hand then I spilled coffee on myself. What a surprise! By the time I ran to the store and bought new clothes, I was too late. The doors were closed.

First, I would like to offer my sincerest apologies to Meghan and Harry. I know that you thought it imperative that I attend you wedding. I tried, I really tried. And to the American ambassador to Britain and to UK’s ambassador to the USA; I am sorry. I know I have put you in a hard spot. Please do all you can to avoid a nuclear war. Your job was tough enough without me adding additional stress on the UK/USA relationship.

Okay, I’m going to wrap myself in tin foil and go to the basement. Just in case the ambassadors can’t keep the peace.

I am exhausted!

One might think that I actually did something today. One would be wrong. But I was surrounded by people who were working their behinds off! I had to stay sober until way after noon!

Let me start off by announcing that I did have to say good-bye to an old friend. Yes, for the first time in 30+ years, I don’t have a little red pick-up to take advantage of and abuse. Ricardo drove him away!

Fare thee well, little buddy.

But the big news! The house is painted

Ricardo and the fantastic crew of Ricky's Painting got the entire house painted in two days! They are an amazing group!

Okay, it cost a little more than I had planned, but thankfully I have enough money left over to file for bankruptcy! (I'm kidding... sort of!)

Some excitement at the homestead!

Paint!!! Yes paint.

A crew of 5 arrived at 10AM, after finishing another job and left at 4PM. In that short time they got the house scraped and caulked and ready to paint, the got all of the main color (gray) on (2coats), got the majority of the dark red trim color with at least one coat and got a little bit of the white trim color.

I am in awe!

This is a good thing!

I like this kind of awe!

Billie Jean loves her sunbeams!

She is making herself comfortable through out the house: no longer restricted to the bedroom and bathroom. But I did have to carry her upstairs before she knew it was okay!

She is settling in quite nicely. Empress Billie Jean is already planning her coronation!

Second post: the bad news

The US opened its embassy in Jerusalem. Tens of thousands of Palestinians protested in Gaza and the West Bank.

I have read reports that say over 100 are dead and over 2000 injured. And although most reports seem to agree with the almost 2000 injured, many state that it is more in the neighborhood of 50 dead.

President 45’s son-in-law and main envoy to the Middle East peace initiative, Jared Kushner stated at the ceremony opening the embassy, and I quote:

"As we have seen from the protest of the last month and even today, those provoking violence are part of the problem and not part of the solution."

Let's see. The United States moves it embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem knowing it would provoke violence betwee Israel and the Palestinians. And those provoking violence are part of the problem and not part of the solution.

We have blood on our hands.

First post: the good news

Oregon Ducks take the overall #1 seed in the NCAA Softball Tournament!!!

QUACK!!!

QUACK!!!

QUACK!!!

For the 5th time in the last 6 years!!!

The University of Oregon Ducks have won the Pac 12 Conference softball championship!

GO DUCKS!