HNY

Happy New Year to everyone. It's been a whirl wind the last month or so.

Details to come.

DAG

Clearing the way

One of the side affects of being unemployed is having time on your hands. I've spent mine looking at the "stuff" in my life and how much of it I/we don't need.

I took one large step today to declutter and and let go of the past. I've finally realized it's the only way to move forward.

DAG

More later

"Stuff"

Shopping for a birthday gift for a friend of JLPTG's today. I decided that the reason we, as in most Americans, have SO much stuff is because we have SO many choices. Why do we feel the need to "have one in every color"?

Was it Henry Ford that said you can have any color you want as long as it's black.

What happened to raising three kids in a house with one, maybe two, bathrooms? Today families want a bedroom and bath for each child. Why?

And is this overindulgence leading to children that turn into adults that think they are entitled to it all without working for it?

Just some thoughts from the road.

More later.
DAG

OK - it's not style that's missing...but something else is.

I've had some time to think about my last post and a few folks have emailed me.  It's not style that's missing.  It's the willingness to give a rats ass about the way one looks.

There is plenty of style out there - look at the Blog's we all read (I won't name them - you know who they are).

I have style - everyone has style.  It just depends on your life I guess as to the type of style you have.

Now to the thing that's missing -

My job!

I was told today they are eliminating my position.  Its' kind of strange because I'll be hanging around here several more weeks while things are transitioned to other worker bees.

So if anyone out there knows of something in customer service or a sales support type of thing keep me in mind.  Not that any of you know me or the work I do.  A stay at home internet type of thing would be great.

I've been thinking of being a Virtual Assistant.  I'm pretty good with technology.  We'll see.  It's all kind of settling in.

More later...

DAG

What has happened to style?

OK - I admit I'm not as in tune with the style world as ADG or Chris.  But I try to dress nicely and always have clean cloths on when I go out of the house.

I do NOT wear sweats/workout gear out in public with two exceptions:
1 - I'm actually going to or from the gym or the running/walking trail
and
B - I'm taking the dog out early in the morning or late at night.

Even on weekends I "dress up" as some would say.  Usually it's a polo shirt from the Brothers Brooks or and actual Polo from Ralph and if the weather is warm shorts and if not trousers of khaki persuasion.  I rarely wear jeans - just a personal choice nothing against denim.  Yes, I do yard work and what not around the house in them.  The pants may be frayed around the edges but still quite presentable and usable.

Over the last few days I've seen several people wearing what looks like sleeping togs out and about.  A few I'm hoping have just been to the gym or are on their way from it.

Example: (I wish I dared take pictures)
Middle aged woman - hair in a pony tail with a sweat band around her head that just happen to be the same cloth as the VERY tight VERY short shorts she was wearing and a T-shirt.  If it was not for the fact that it was around 1:30pm (I take late lunch) and the overpowering smell of Chanel No. 5, I would have said she was going to or coming from the gym.  It was the grocery store! To be specific it was a Wegmans.  You can get everything but the kitchen sink and when they had the home improvement chain you could buy that too.

Another was a pregnant woman.  Now I understand that being pregnant can be very uncomfortable and the clothing choices are limited but come on....  We were shopping for a Bat Mitzvah gift for a friend of JLPTG's when across the parking lot plodded this woman in flannel pants, T-shirt and I'm pretty sure they were not Belgians but actual slippers. Belly hanging out under the T-shirt. I looked at my wife and asked if they no longer made maternity clothes - she said "Oh - don't get me started."

OK - so enough of the ranting and those aren't very good examples but my point is that one can go out in public, be comfortable and look good.  Clothes don't have to be expensive be nice.  One of my best polo shirts came from the second had store - butter colored Brooks Brothers and cost  me all of $4.99.


Wait for the end of season sales or look for deals online.  Everyone can take some hints from our man G to look good and not spend a lot.

More later

DAG

On this day in history...

On July 31, 1964, the American space probe Ranger 7 transmitted pictures of the moon's surface.

On July 31, 1919, Primo Levi, the Italian writer and chemist whose work was influenced by his captivity at Auschwitz, was born. Following his death on April 11, 1987, his obituary appeared in The Times.

1914 The New York Stock Exchange closed due to the outbreak of World War I. (Trading didn't resume until December.)

On July 31, 1880, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about the presidential election of 1880.

(The above are from The New York Times) 

...and I was born. If memory serves sometime around 7:30ish pm..I think..maybe not but that's not important.

Festivities started Thursday (I actually took a few days off) with a hike through one of the gorges in the Finger Lakes area of New York  - I'll put up more in another post.  It's amazing what 12,000 years of erosion can do.

I wonder what it looked like 6000 years ago when the native americans were living there?

Friday was a run around/relax/do-next-to-nothing day...that evening we went to the track.  Harness racing's not far away.

Always a good time. It happen to be fan appreciation night - that means $1 hot dogs and draft beer. 

Saturday we kind of slept in, not on purpose but you know - sometimes it happens.  We actually intended to get up a little early, go to our regular Saturday diner for breakfast (don't you love it when they know your name) and get on the road to our entertainment of choice because it was a few hours away.  Well - it just didn't happen and we ended up leaving a few hours later than we wanted.  But it was Saturday and my birthday - so who cares.  We ended up going to Sterling NY to the Renaissance Festival.

It was Highlander weekend.  JLPTG and I rented costumes and had a great time Mrs G decided not to go the costume route - still not sure why.

She was selling some kind of head thing - I don't know ask Mrs G and JLPTG.

The "Pirate Show".  They make young women walk the plank and a few other things that make them get in the water - oh, they did get the big muscle guy wet too.  Equal opportunity!

The highland game - men in kilts throwing big sticks!

This kid just couldn't get control of his big stick.  He was only 14 but he tried very hard.

I know - don't get all over me - it's not a big stick it's a caber.

Puppet show - I never got to see the show but the person that did them was in several of the processionals with the Queen.

Here's the puppet guy - I didn't get a shot of the other side.  There are legs hanging down so he looks like he's riding side saddle.

OK - so see the guy on the left with the red kilt and white shirt - take about 25lbs off him, put him in a long sleeve Jacobean style shirt and you would have me. I also had a fly cloth (the piece of cloth that goes over your shoulder and matches the kilt - like a sash)

The front of my kilt. We were sitting on the grass for the highland games.  It's not my actual tartan - it was a rental.

And for those that wonder "it's a kilt, if I was wearing anything under it, it would be a skirt."

...more later

DAG

What's a girl to do?

So we've hit the "in between years".  It seems that, in our area, 13 is the magic number when a child is no longer a child.  But she's also not an adult, not even close.  JLPTG isn't comfortable staying home by herself.  I can't blame her really and part of that is my (and Mrs Kits) fault. Since she's our one and only, she was always with us.  Not for any particular reason other than we have always enjoyed the company of our own child.  We never really had a reason to get a "baby sitter" because a family member was always at the ready and more than happy to have her as company for the evening.

We live where the homes are not that close and we have NO other children in our neighborhood.  The closest  child is about 1/4 mile down the hill.  If something was to happen, well lets just say we can make as much noise as we like and no one can hear us. She just doesn't like being alone. And she won't even think of being alone at Gramma's (the "ancestral manse" sits on 50Ac).

So back to 13.  Being 13 means she has aged out of all the "organized" summer long programs.  So whats a kid to do for 10 weeks?

Week 1 - Tennis Camp
Week 2 - More Tennis Camp
Week 3 - Archeology Camp (yes she went on an actual dig - she was thrilled)
Week 4 - Art Camp - Local place that does clay (both thrown and molded), tie-dye, splatter painting and fused glass.
Week 5 - well this was suppose to be our week for vacation but I think I'll leave that for another post
Week 6 - Jr Biologist Camp at the local Zoo - 1/2 day of classroom education and the other 1/2 with zookeepers - I think there will be poop scooping involved here (oh it's good for her).

And the other 4 weeks?  Well - we think Gramma will be back from her month long trek around the east coast of Canada and she'll be at the "ancestral manse" ready for some private time with her only granddaughter.

I'm sure there will be some trips to friends houses to break up the time.

I don't remember being this busy.  I stayed mostly with Gramm (when she lived at the "ancestral manse" and yes - we mostly called her gramm) and when I was older I just stayed home.  But it was a different time and I could jump on my bike and ride the three miles to the local market to buy soda and candy.  Kids can't do that today and that's sad.

Well - this post has nothing to do with anything other than life is busy...for everyone...period!

More later
DAG