Travel Tuesday: Greenwich

Back in early May we took a boat up the Thames to see Greenwich. Recitals at the Music School were taking place, and we wanted to see the Painted Hall at the Old Royal Naval College. 

The theme for our end of the year arts show, is Reflections. I had this one printed, and the print is even better than the online version. The artist is inside, the photo was taken from outside with the building behind me reflecting in the window. 

Note the people laying on their backs on padded benches in the middle of the room, looking up at the ceiling. In the foreground is a mirrored table to allow you take photos of the ceiling while standing up.  

Moody Monday: Fresh Perspective

 A couple of nights in Toronto gave me a fresh perspective on the world.  People were nice, kind, and understanding. 

Toronto looks prosperous, lots of new high rise buildings, lots of independent clothing stores.  Tim Horton's on every other block, and a few Starbucks, but not many. Lots of good food. 

Watching television without pharmaceuticals advertising is a very pleasant experience.  And without competition from the drug pushers, even a few local businesses are able to afford television advertising.  

Toronto seems to truly embrace the vibrant diversity of the people who live and visit there. Being a truly bilingual country, seems to bring a tolerance of differing languages that I don't see at home.  In my morning of wandering around I heard French, German, Swedish, Spanish, Arabic, and Mandarin. 

There is a pride of Canadian grown, and Canadian made on display across the city.  A model for how it can be done.  And yes, I went into an LCBO store (liqueur control board of Ontario) and there was not a single product made in the USA on display.  I do hope this brings a renaissance of distilling in Canada. I would like to see more high quality offerings grown and made in a country that grows millions of acres of grain. 

It was nice to meet up with old friends, and make new ones (I was there for an American Bar Association meeting.) 

How did it leave my mood? It was great to see a city and a country that is doing well in global chaos.  One person said, "well Canada has had her share of politicians we were embarrassed by." People were nice, and Toronto blooming  is a world city. 

It was great to get away for a couple of nights.  It does a body and mind a lot of good to see the world from a different, fresh perspective. 

The Sunday Five: Is it funny?

1: I have a t-shirt that says, "I'd agree with you, but then we would both be wrong." Is it funny? 

2: Who was your favorite comedian of all time and why? 

3: I was really disappointed as a child, to learn that most "comic books" where not funny. What is or was your favorite comic or cartoon strip and why?

4: Does your local newspaper still print cartoons or comics? 

5: When was the last time you really laughed? 

My answers: 

1: I have a t-shirt that says, "I'd agree with you, but then we would both be wrong." Is it funny? I thought it was when I wore it to lunch with my oldest brother. 

2: Who was your favorite comedian of all time and why?  Bob Hope,  he was a master of timing and comedic twist. 

3: I was really disappointed as a child, to learn that most "comic books" where not funny. What is or was your favorite comic or cartoon strip and why? The Wizard of Id, it pointed out the absurdity of life, followed closely by Hagar the Horrible. 

4: Does your local newspaper still print cartoons or comics? Political cartoons only, very little humor in that. 

5: When was the last time you really laughed? Reading Oddball's Friday Funnies, Bruce always seems to find just the right things to share. 

Please share your answers in the comments. 

 

The Saturday Morning Post: 50 States in 52 weeks New York

New York City is what most people think of when they think of New York. I was 50 years old before I first visited New York City, and honestly I didn't really understand why people 💗 New York City, until I had been there.  It is an amazing city. When you have a chance, go see it, for the first time, or the 1,000th time. 

There is more to New York than the City.  I have spent time in upstate, the finger lakes district and Niagara. Places that will take your breath away. I need to visit Albany and the surrounding area someday, to see Sassy Bear, and a really great lawyer who was on my board. 

When you get a chance see New York, beyond New York City, go an enjoy. Seeing New York City and saying you have been to New York, is like visiting London and saying you have seen England.  You may have seen a great part of it, but there is so-so much more to see. 
 

Foodie Friday: Let the Pizza Out

Bread, cheese, sausage, olives, tomato, herbs, simple core ingredients, that create one of the most amazing foods.

Pizza is not hard to make.  Do a quick search and find a simple dough recipe.  I use 3/4 cup warm water, a dash of sugar, and a tablespoon of dry active yeast, mix that and set it aside for five minutes. About two cups of bread flour (high gluten or strong flour), a dash of salt, and a good drizzle of olive oil.  Mix those together, and knead with a stand mixer for about five minutes.  Let it rise in a warm place for an hour or longer.  3 or 4 hours will develop more flavor. 

Preheat the oven blazing hot, 450 F. 

Stretch the dough, sprinkle on the toppings of your choice. My biggest mistake is piling the toppings to thick, keep them thin. 

Bake until done, that might be 5 minutes, it might be 20. 

Then let it free, it is unhappy kept behind bars, and pizza should be happy.  Make it often, and enjoy it deeply. It is good hot out of the oven, and even better cold for breakfast the next morning. I still don't know what to think of shrimp and pineapple on a pizza, but whatever floats your boat. 

The Thursday Ramble: Retirement

This is not the ship we are booked on, her newer sister will be a part of next year's grand adventure.

A lot of people are afraid of retirement.  Some refuse to use the word, describing leaving the paid workforce as refocusing, reforming or retreading. Many fear the change in finances. Others simply don't know what they will do with their life without work. Yes, I felt all of those things, along with a great deal of stress and anxiety at the idea of retiring. But not nearly the level of stress and anxiety generated at work. 

Now being 18 months into retirement, I have to say, I really like retirement. 

We planned for it. A decade ago, we crunched the numbers, estimating income, and expenses and I was sure we would be okay. And yet as we moved into both of us being retired I worried about the money. I have to go back from time to time and revisit the numbers. The financial planners assure us if we live into our 90's (unlikely, but possible) we will still die with money in the bank. 

If you worry about money in retirement, sit down and figure out what it really costs to live and what income you can draw, make a plan to draw against your lifetime of retirement savings - you can't take it with you and your kids will likely fritter it away on new kitchens, new cars, and poker games (what my siblings and I did that with much of our inheritance.) Leave your family a legacy of your having lived a good life. 

For most of 50 years, I had a job description or list of duties.  To overcome the worry about "how will I stay busy and engaged" I wrote myself a retirement job description. I have actively worked to implement it, to do the many of the things I said I would do.  A couple of projects didn't work, and a couple of new one's emerged. One has been fermenting for a few months and I will get back to it someday soon. I feel engaged in life. I am doing things that I find meaningful and enjoyable. I am still working on learning to say no, or no thank you to things I don't enjoy or find meaningful. I was surprised by how fast I lost interest in some of the challenges I had worked on for 25 years. If you worry about what you would do in retirement, make a plan. 

I can't say retirement is entirely stress free or that I don't worry from time to time. But overall, in my adult life, there have been few times when I was this relaxed and at ease with the world around me.  

I do hope that if you haven't yet, you will make a plan to join me in a meaningful and engaging retirement. The best is yet to come.  

My World of Wonders, aka The Wednesday Ws August 6, 2025

 

Where have I been this week?  Aldi, the farmers market, out to lunch at our favorite Vietnamese place, Sur la Table for a new pepper grinder for the kitchen, have my hair cut, Amazon Fresh, the Mercedes dealer, the community center several times, the gym, and the pool, 

Who have I talk with this week? Lots of people. We hosted the first Friday LGBT gathering as a pool party, Ana, Susan, Rafael, Giuseppe, and Larry. I was at a couple of Arts events, Joan, Priteba, Jon, Guido, Kevin, and several others that I don't remember the names of.  At water aerobics Ruth, Paul, Renee and Warren. 

What have I been up to in the kitchen?  Ham - Mac and Cheese, pot-roast, pickles, and a pumpkin-raisin loaf. 

What made me go Huh! this week? The FDA issued a recall of 60,000+ pounds of "butter blend." The reason, it contained butter - more specifically milk was not listed in the ingredients. Wouldn't you assume that something labeled as butter blend, would contain butter? 

Where am I off to next? Toronto on Thursday for a very short trip. 

What have I been reading? Reading has been slow, Purple Crayons is the current book. It is okay, but not great. 

What have I been listening to this week? Streaming background music on YouTube. 

What travel am I planning?  I booked another hotel for next spring's great adventure.  I have not been in Paris in over 20 years.  I was still using a film camera the last time. I dropped it lens down on a stone floor in the Louvre and broke the lens.  I bought a replacement lens in a camera shop across the street from the hotel the next morning.  I still have the camera, the last time I put a battery in it, it still works. 

What made me smile this week? Trading emails with one of our favorite bloggers, and discovering the commonalities in our DVD collections.  Not houseboys as you might expect, but BBC comedies like Waiting for God, which one of us is more like Diana?