Moody Monday: Starting August 2025

An old friend posted on Facebook late last week that "the father of her children had died" and that she was helping her sons through their loss.  She has written and talked about the her life story. She was a small town doctors wife, she had worked and supported him through medical school and residency. They had three wonderful sons and life was good.  A big house at the Country Club, a pair of Mercedes in the garage, and then he moved in with his receptionist. The divorce was nasty, apparently he was planning the move and there were few assets to be found. Through it all, she thought of her sons, and protected them from ugliness between her and their father.  She went onto finish college and a master's degree, and spent 25 years helping others. Her retirement has been modest but dignified.  Even in his death, she is putting her sons first.  

I was strangely moved by her extraordinary efforts to put her sons first, to make sure they had a quality relationship with their father.  It is not the first time I have seen this, but it is rare.  All to often, the kids are used as a weapon of hate between the ex-spouses.  She is a good person. There are many good people in the world. 

My mood this Monday, is appreciating the good people in the world who do the right thing. 

The Sunday Five: Selfie World

1: Tell us about your latest Selfie?  

2: When was the last time someone asked you for a short biography, or introduction? 

3: Tell us about the last time you updated your resume or CV? 

4: What would we be most surprised to read on your resume or CV? 

5: How many employers are listed on your resume or CV? 

My Answers: 

1: Tell us about your latest Selfie?  I post one everyday, I have been for about 18 months. 

2: When was the last time someone asked you for a short biography, or introduction? Probably nine months ago, when I was presenting on a webinar. 

3: Tell us about the last time you updated your resume or CV?  When I retired from full time employment. 

4: What would we be most surprised to read on your resume or CV? I am a member of the Institute of Residential Marketing of the National Association of Home Builders. 

5: How many employers are listed on your resume or CV? Only two;  everything before my midlife career change is lumped into, before law school I did sales and marketing for home builders. There were five different builders, I worked for two of them twice, over 15 years, it is complicated and irrelevant. 

Please share your answers in the comments. 

The Saturday Morning Post: 50 States in 52 Weeks New Mexico

I was first in New Mexico as a very young child, passing through on the way to and from Arizona. I returned as an adult back in 2009 or 2010. I did some training for legal aid and the State Bar association. 

I added a couple of personal days onto that second trip.  The training was in Albuquerque. Everyone told me "you HAVE TO SEE Santa Fe." As I drove into Santa Fe a rare rainstorm hit, it was a weekend, and the city was beyond packed with people. Parking was impossible to find, and everytime I slowed down to try to park, people honked their horns at me. Far from the tranquil and artistic village everyone described, it was absolutely miserable. I quickly found my way out of that hell hole. 

I drove north out of Santa Fe, and saw a sign for Las Alamos. I had no clue what there was to see in Las Alamos, but nuclear test sites seemed to be an improvement over the ugliness I was leaving.   New Mexico is high desert and gentle brown mountains.  I love that landscape. The drive was amazing.  

Las Alamos is a pine tree lined small town, gently rolling.  There is a small museum there, near the rustic cabins that physicists and scientists labored in during the dark days of World War II. Las Alamos was selected because it was remote, and easier to secure. There was a heaving veil of secrecy over the work they were doing.  

The first photo, was taken in the museum. Mock-ups or full scale models of the two bombs that were developed at Las Alamos. Weapons that ended the War, that changed the course of human kind. If we are not careful, weapons that will bring about the end of civilization. It was a sobering visit.  I am glad I went. I would urge others to stop, and reflect on what was done there. 

I picked up a brochure for a national monument with remains of cliff dwellings near there. I punched the name into Ms Garmin and started driving. A couple of minutes later I found myself approaching the security entrance for the Las Alamos National Laboratory.  I turned around, and tried again, and via a slight different route and found myself back at the security gates, with no way to turn around. I explained to the guard where I was trying to go, and asked how to get there. He asked for my drivers license and disappeared into the guard shack. When he came out, he handed me back my license and placed a card inside the windshield of the car and gave me instructions.  Drive straight ahead, it is about 20 miles, DO NOT STOP. Do not take any photos, keep the windows rolled up. If something goes wrong with car, put on your emergency flashers and slow down but try not to stop.  We will be watching you, and someone will be with you in a moment. When you reach the guard station at the other end, the guard will remove the pass. The Park is only a short drive from the other end. Enjoy it, the cliff dwellings are amazing.  When you leave there, drive south, that road will take you back to Albuquerque. 

I would love to go back.  I might even give Santa Fe a second chance. 

 

Funky Friday: A Few Of My Favorites

Today I am taking part in a hanging. Helping Kevin hang the next art show for the local arts group. The community has four high rise towers with about 250 apartments in each building, and a freestanding community center, with offices, meeting rooms, indoor and outdoor pools, tennis courts, a nice gym, a bowling alley, and a private restaurant and bar. Technically the bar has to be open to the public, but security won't let you through the gate unless you live here or are the guest of someone who does live here.  There is one long, probably 60 foot (about 20 meter) wall that serves as a gallery, along with several other spaces. 

There are six spaces in the restaurant that feature art from the arts group.  I think this is a special space, that deserves specific attention from the displaying artists.  Several months ago, I proposed a photo display of images captured in markets, and the co-chairs of the arts group gave me the go ahead. In all I had eleven photos printed, and I selected the six best. They are printed 11 by 14 inches, matted and framed to 16 by 20. They will be up for about a month. Then they will go on a blank wall in our kitchen.  

Punnets of Strawberries

Borough Market 

London, England 

April 2025 

Tomatoes on the Vine

Malaga Spain

December 2022

Cheesy Breadsticks 

Borough Market

London, England 

April 2025

Carrots, Broccoli, Cauliflower 

Nimes, France

May 2024

Olives and Garlic 

Nimes France

May 2024

 

Street Market Nuts 

Malaga Spain

May 2024

All photos taken with Nikon D-5500, AFS DX Nikkor 18-200mm

The Thursday Ramble: Electrifying

Driving home from the Dentist last week, I passed a crew lifting a new transformer into place.  It reminded me of 40 years ago.  As I have mentioned I worked for home building companies in Florida. One of the great joys of a newly completed home, is getting the electrical power connected for the first time. Working in the field offices could also be very quiet. So when the lineman showed up to connect the power to a house that had just passed it's final inspection it was a special event.  I would leave the office and go watch, then turn the power on in the house and check to see that things were working and secure. 

One afternoon, I was watching as the lineman opened the side of a ground level transformer cabinet (the electric was all underground.) I watched as he put on his gloves, grounded himself, and reached in to attach the power cables to a live feed. I stood there and realized that a part of his job was being a glove's thickness from high voltage and certain death. 

The lineman made more money than I did, and he earned every penny of it, doing a job that most of us either couldn't do or wouldn't do. 

 

My World of Wonders also known as (aka) the Wednesday Ws last for July 2025

Where have I been this week? The farmers market, the gym, the pool, the Library and Aldi. I really should get out more. (I have long bony feet like my father did.) 

Who have I talked with this week? My sweet bear - of course. Jennifer an old friend who is going to be in town for a day later in August. Rafael, the water aerobics gang. Oh my I really should get out more. 

What made me smile? I was thinking about the experiences that I have had, the adventures I have been on.  Writing a comment on Yorkshire Puddings' blog, reminded me of a training I did in Alaska many years ago, and a conversation over dinner about bears with a police lieutenant - who had encountered a bear in her car eating her lunch (the bear was eating her lunch) in the middle of the city the winter before. I have met so many fascinating people, talked to so many interesting strangers in my wanderings. I am working on plans for next spring, I am reminded of the amazing places we have been.   

What do I need to remember to do? When planning travel, planning days with NO agenda, no gotta go or gotta see,  days to slowly wander about the local area and let fate determine the agenda. 

What have I played with this week? I have a Nikon underwater digital camera. I charged it up and took it with me to the pool one afternoon. 

What have I been up to in the kitchen?  Home burrito bowls, spiced chicken, rice, homemade fresh corn salsa, grated cheese, sour cream. Lots of prep, I enjoyed the playtime. 

What have I been watching? The end of the Tour de France on Sunday, what will I do with my mornings now that the live broadcasts have ended. 

What have I been reading? I finished my latest stack from the library, and pulled from my cabinet of curiosities, "The Creative Act: A Way of Being" by Rick Rubin, a very unconventional book, you could spend weeks dissecting each passage, or read the entire 400 pages in 3 or 4 evenings. I read it on Kindle when it first came out, and it moved me to the point that I bought a print copy to have and to hold. With very limited space for books, this one is very worth hanging on to be re-read every couple of years. A random quote (I literally opened the book and this was on the top of the first paragraph): 

 

"Holding every rule as breakable is a healthy way to live as an      artist. It loosens constraints that promote a predictable sameness in our working methods."

What made me think this week? On Monday as I was headed to the gym, I passed a neighbor that I hadn't seen since BC (before COVID). We used to commute to the city at the same time, and we would talk on the shuttle bus to the subway station.  One afternoon coming home, she was sitting a couple of rows ahead of me on the train, and seemed to be struggling, at the Pentagon Metro station she got off the train, stood on the platform and started shouting, "Go Away! Leave me Alone! You are not welcome in my head!" A couple of days later we were on the shuttle together and I asked how she was doing and she said, "about the other day, I had been feeling well and went off my meds for a few days, sorry about that, I need to be better about taking my meds." Monday morning, she appeared to be off her meds again.  A part of the human condition, a part of her life. I hope she is feeling better by the time this posts. 

 

Travel Tuesday: Titusville, Florida

My father died 8 years ago today, in Titusville Florida. When I was in High School my parents rented a condo in Titusville a couple of winters, then bought a house. They retired six years after they bought the house and moved to Florida. I lived there for a couple of years after high school, then moved to Orlando. 

Titusville is across the Indian River, a wide intercoastal waterway, from the barrier islands that the Kennedy Space Center is on.  The city had experienced booming growth with the space program, and total bust when the Apollo program ended, NASA ended the employment of 10,000 people one Friday afternoon. The city leaders, where wary of any growth of development for decades after that fateful Friday. 

After I moved to DC, I would drive down at holiday time, and fly down at least one other time each year. The year my parents died, I flew down 11 times in 10 months. (My parents died five-months apart, at home, with incredible care by my dear sister and Hospice.) 

I was thrilled when we started spending winters in Titusville, there were two shopping malls between home and school.  Miracle City Mall had two major anchor stores and probably 40 shops in-between.  I stopped almost every afternoon to walk through the mall and visit my friends in the camera and coin stores. Sadly, as this photo shows, it was demolished a few years ago.