My World of Wonders: June 10, 2026

 

What has been on the easel? "Star Spangled" for the upcoming community show, "250 Years of Red White and Blue.  This was a work in progress for a week, it took me three versions to be happy with the product. The first one, I had the wrong number of stripes, the second one I didn't like the way the crystals dried onto the canvas. I kind of like this one. The states are the shining stars.  

Where have I been this week? The treadmill, the indoor pool, a Celebration of Life for our dear neighbor Larry who died of cancer a couple of months ago. Mt Vernon for a long walk. Along the Potomac for a long walk. The grocery store. 

What have I been up to in the kitchen? Something simple fried chicken, coleslaw, and sauteed corn. Bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwiches. A simple pasta and sauce, and a rhubarb and plum tart. 

What is happening outside my window? The outside of the building is being painted, at 16 stories this is a rather involved process.  It is the first time in about 20 years it has been painted. The color the board chose if very close to what was there before, but less pink. 

What domestic drama is playing out? The five year old Speed Queen washer dryer refused to start. Service was out, the repair estimate was nearly $900. When I was a teenager (back before the last ice age) my parents bought a Speed Queen washing machine that lasted for 25 years without a service call. This machine was extremely expensive ($3,475.) and honestly was a big disappointment. A new machine has been purchased and should be delivered and installed on Thursday.  

What about car rental company logic?  I am booking some travel to visit family this summer.  I went onto one of the big travel search sites to reserve a rental car.  When the confirmation arrived I realized that the pick-up and drop-off times were wrong, so I clicked on the button to modify or cancel. To modify it said to call the rental company, or click one button to cancel. I cancelled it. I still had the search open, so I changed the times and redid the search. The same options came up and the prices looked about the same (the difference was pick and drop off times were 2 hours later on the same days.) I rebooked, then compared the two confirmations. Booking two hours later on the pick-up and drop-off times, for the same car, from the same vendor, was $10 less money.  Should I keep checking and see if it continues to come down in price? 

Travel Tuesday: Cartagena Spain

I was a little hesitant when I first read that there was a port call in Cartagena, the one in central America is infamous for drug violence, the one in Spain is not. It is amazing. 

His friend walked a bike down the stairs, and held the foot traffic so this guy could ride down the stairs, my it looked like fun. 

On top of a hill overlooking the city are the remains of a church, and a Roman theater. It was a long climb, but worth it. 

Lots of narrow winding streets. 

Love the light fixture 

 

Monday Mood: Sometimes You Just Need To Get Lost

It has been a long time since anyone told me to "get lost" in other words go away and leave others alone.  When I was a child, my mother would periodically tell me to get lost, I would go for a long walk around the farm, or explore the old barns, or pop-into visit my grandmother and great-grandmother.

I got lost in Barcelona, in a different way. This time it was me, who wanted to leave others alone. The streets of the Gothic Quarter were overrun with tourists, with hundreds of vendors vying for any available euro. I was out for a walk, I was not feeling it, so I turned right, went in a couple of blocks and found a quiet street, headed down it to wherever it took me. I turned right, left, left, right, and probably right again, thinking I was making my way back to the busy main street. Someplace I failed to close the box, and I walked and walked, and got lost.  Absorbed in the joys of meandering the streets of the old city, with no clear plan. Time was on my side the ship didn't leave port until evening. 

I stumbled across a market, and bought a year's supply of saffron,  

then pulled up Google Maps on my phone. I was lost, about 2-miles from where I thought I was. I made my way back to the harbor and the ship, having been completely lost in the experience. 

I needed that.  At times it is just what I need. 

For anyone wondering, Sweet Bear, stayed on the ship that day. We had spent several days in Barcelona on a previous trip, and he wanted a day of rest. I got lost, giving him a day to relax. 

The Sunday Five: Subways

1: What was the first subway system you ever rode in? 

2: When was the last time you used a subway? 

3: How far is it to your nearest subway station? 

4: Would access to a subway system enter into your choice of where you would like to live? 

5: Do you have a favorite system in the world? 

My answers: 

1: What was the first subway system you ever rode in? London in 1990. 

2: When was the last time you used a subway? Tuesday, I had a meeting in DC. 

3: How far is it to your nearest subway station? About 1/2 a mile, a 10 to 12 minute walk. 

4: Would access to a subway system enter into your choice of where you would like to live? Yes, it did. 

5: Do you have a favorite system in the world? This is a hard question, Paris, London and New York have some of the most useful systems, but they are older systems with many-many stairs to climb in most of the stations.  The DC system is smaller, but very accessible. London and Paris are moving along well on making the stations more accessible. 

Please share your answers in the comments.

 

The Saturday Morning Post: Don't wait to start, until you can answer "What Are You Painting?"

 Sometimes when I start, I know exactly what I am creating, and sometimes I just start.  I have to start, or nothing happens. But most of the time, if I start the image emerges. I don't know where it comes from, but it happens. A pattern, a feeling, a response to my emotions, to the rhythm of the background music, the happenstance of the next tube of paint I pick up, the next tool that I pick up. 

If you ask me what I am painting, I often don't have an answer. If I waited until I had a vision of the finished work to start, I might never start. How do I start, I unwrap a canvas, put it on the easel, and paint on a primer or base layer, and then flow from there. Some paintings take days or weeks to develop, others happen from start to finish in minutes. 

The critical thing for me is starting. For me creativity happens when I am working, not when I am trying to decide what to work on. Don't wait for creative inspiration, start and it will find you. 

Funky Friday: What Caught My Eye

Signs on the street behind Notre Dame. 

Sub in a Paris Subway Entrance

The Hemlock Society published a book with that Title. 

Caution Hound

I am slightly at a loss to interpret this

Die Wiener is a reference to the people of Vienna, and next to it Normal People 

On the Square in Milan - No I would not do that

The view from the hotel room in Ft. Lauderdale 

Hold until you are home?

When Dogs Take Over 

Wiener Hounds

The Thursday Ramble: Farewells and Firsts of Travel

I said farewell to a loyal and faithful travel companion in Rome. As Shakespeare wrote "parting is such bittersweet sorrow." Big Grey my 24 inch Delsey roller bag had been with me for dozens of trips. We first went to Europe in 2007, so 19 years. It was a four wheel design, the first of that style that I had owned. It was not huge, but large and oversized for a 24 inch design. If I was careful I could pack for two weeks of travel in it. Over the years I have owned larger and smaller bags, but Big Grey was a constant for many-many trips. 

When we arrived in Italy, we took a local train from the port into Rome. The train parked at the far end of the tracks at Termini, a good 20 minutes of walking, and rolling bags to the front of the station and the taxi stand. Big Grey was heavily loaded, and had my smaller carry on on top, and one the wheels overheated and the rubber on one of the wheels failed. I have had this happen before, on less well made bags that were much newer. 

Big Grey had been a faithful travel companion on many-many trips. It was one bag I knew I could grab, pack for a week or two, and go.  When the wheels go, the bag goes from being rolled, to being dragged, at least in part. We made it to the hotel, and I thought about it overnight, probably losing sleep over the thought of dragging Big Grey through train stations and airports. On the way back from lunch the next day, I wandered into one of the dozens shops along the Borgo Pio, and they had luggage for sale. Cheap luggage is always a crapshoot, but I knew it was time to part with Big Grey, so Big Yellow entered my life. I repacked, took the old bag down to the front desk, they assured me they would find a dignified way to dispose of him. The memories live on, but Big Grey is no longer a part of my life. Eternity in Rome, there are worse places to end up for my old traveling companion. 

We flew Austrian Airlines from Milan to Vienna and Vienna to Paris. I checked us in on the App for both flights. In Milan we checked in at the counter and checked bags, and the nice lady printed out boarding passes. When we were leaving Vienna, we checked bags a the kiosk, and did the bad drop electronically. There was no option to print boarding passes. We used the electronic boarding passes to enter security and to board the flight. A first for me. I have always printed boarding passes at home, or at the airport, but never traveled completely paperless.  It worked. I am no luddite, but paper never fails, I have had phones fail. Still it was a first for me, and it worked.  The Austrian Airlines flight from Vienna to Paris was operated by Air Baltic, the service was wonderful, the flight comfortable and easy, and we landed at the Terminal 1 at Charles De Gaulle. It is the one with the moving sidewalks in the glass tubes in the middle. I had been through that terminal back in 1991 on my first arrival in Paris. It is a unique architectural experience. Sweet Bear had seen photos but never experienced it.   A couple of nice firsts.