Foodie Friday: Bake Some Bread

There is nothing like the smell and taste of freshly baked bread.  My mother was afraid of working with yeast, and my grandmothers had breathed a sigh of relief when bakery bread relieved them of the work of baking bread. So I grew up in a house where bread was not made. I taught myself as an adult.   

A few background suggestions. 

I use a heavy duty stand mixer with a dough hook, in my case a Kitchenaid 5-quart.  I started kneading bread by hand. For a beginner I would recommend kneading dough by hand to get a feel for how it changes texture and springiness as it develops gluten.  Knowing how it should look, feel and sound, makes it easier to know when the machine has done its job well. 

I buy rapid rise yeast in bulk quantities.  When I started baking bread one of the local markets sold it in 1/2 pint containers in the refrigerated counter.  I order it in one-pound foil blocks. It stores in the freezer for years, in the refrigerator for months.  The yeast I am using now, has been in the freezer for 5 years, by accident I ended up with four pounds of yeast in late 2019.  

I use bread flour, a flour with a higher protein component.  This makes a stronger gluten, and I think a better bread than all purpose flour. I use the same brand of flour for greater consistency. Each flour will work a little differently.  The amount of flour that works well will vary with the flour itself, and with the humidity in the room. The recipe is a starting point, not a chemistry formula. If it seems to wet and sticky, add more flour, if it won't come together as a dough, add more water (or less flour.) 

Ingredients 

1.5 tablespoons of dry active yeast

1 tablespoon of sugar

2 cups warm water 105 degrees F

1 tablespoon salt

5.5 cups of bread flour (give or take .5 cups) 

1-2 ounces melted butter

handful of cornmeal

1 egg white and an equal amount of water  

Dissolve sugar in the water, check the temp, you want over 100 (f) under 115 (f)

Stir in yeast, and set aside for 5 minutes or so to activate the yeast. It will bubble and become foamy in about 5 minutes. If it does not, the yeast may be dead, start over. 

Mix flour and salt. 

Pour in liquid, mix by hand to form a very stiff dough. 

Knead, either by hand on a floured work surface or with a dough hook in a stand mixer for about 10 minutes. I set the Kitchenaid speed on the second notch. 

Melt the butter, 

Butter the bowl, and turn the dough to coat, cover and set aside to rise for 1.5 to 3 hours, until roughly doubled. 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. 

Form into two or three loaves

Place on baking sheet sprinkled with corn meal.

Brush the top of the loaves with an egg wash made from the egg white and water. This will form a nice crust on the top. 

Bake 35-45 minutes, until golden brown.  When done, it will sound hollow when thumped on the top or bottom of the loaf. 

Cool on a rack, and enjoy. 

I baked these two on a pizza stone. 

The best book I have ever read on bread baking, is "Beard on Bread" by James Beard, published in 1973. It is well worth chasing down a copy.  

The Thursday Ramble: Talking and talking too much

When I was in my late 20's, my mother gave me an envelope with all of my school report cards or grade reports.  I had no idea that she had kept them. If I dig through them, especially some of the early ones, I am sure I will find comments from teachers, that "he talks too much." I sometimes wonder if I still do.  Over the years I have heard the old sayings, you have two ears and one mouth, you should listen twice as much as you talk, and better to remain silent and have them wonder if you are a fool, than to speak up and confirm that you are. And yet I talk. Often more than I should.  I seldom say something that I regret saying, a few random comments over the years haunt me - thoughts that were unkind and should have remained unsaid. 

My worry is that I bore people by talking too much. 

Like many, I dislike silence. There is an old principle in sales, that when a sale is asked for (a closing question is asked) the next person who talks buys it. All to often the sales person grows afraid of the silence and speaks first.

In professional speaking, and I have done a lot of it over the years; and when presenting training, I worked hard on making what I said, worth listening to.  I also tried to make use of silence. I remember one time, I was doing a training on elder abuse for AARP in Nashville. I showed a video clip of an older gentleman who was being financially exploited by a handsome younger man. I asked the open questions about what was going on, why did the older man allow it to happen? And waited for the answers. A few came in, and no one would say gay.  Finally, after probably 30 seconds - but it felt like an hour, I spoke up. "I know there are Gay Men in Nashville, my ex-wifes' first ex-husband lives here."* The silence broken, and people started to talk - a - little. 

So what is the photo? Lion's Mane Mushrooms at a Sunday Market in Phoenix, locally grown.    

*She seems to have had better luck on the third, though she never married this one, he moved in with her two weeks after she moved out in 1991- and they are still together.  

My World of Wonders aka The Wednesday Ws the last week in February 2025

Where have I been this week?  Last Wednesday (after I posted) I went into DC and had lunch with my replacement as director. The gym, the pool, I helped hang an art exhibit in the community center, and went to the opening reception on Saturday.  Sunday we went to the Kennedy Center for the National Symphony. The bank, Trader Joe's and a walk in old town north.  

Who have I talked with this week? My sweet bear, Erica the director of the ABA Commission on Law and Aging, Linda and Kevin who organized and hung the art exhibit, Pratibha who organized the showcase exhibit. Anna, Susan, Ruth - neighbors.  Warren and Paul at water aerobics.  It was a busy social week for me.  Maybe that is why I am feeling less stressed. 

What about the Art Exhibit? I have a painting, a photograph and two pieces of metal work in the current exhibit.  

What was my message at the exhibit opening?  Two things, you learn about yourself when you study art, and despite my owning thousands of dollars in cameras and lenses, the best photo I took in 2024 was with my phone. Don't think you need expensive tools, to create amazing art.  

What is keeping me busy?  We have a long trip coming up, I am making sure there will be blog posts, even if we are offline.  So I have been creating and scheduling posts. We have WiFi on the cruise this year, but I am unsure how fast it will be. 

What is the exciting news of the week? My sister is starting as a docent at the Ft. Wayne Children's Zoo in a month.  She will talk about the animals and guide guests through interacting with them. 

What made me think? Listening to the unraveling of diversity, equity and inclusion in this country, and reading commentary by authors in England, what the MAGAs and Tories are upset about, is the end of domination of society by white, anglo-saxon protestants (WASPS.) Catholics are marginally included - primarily for their views on reproductive freedoms and religious schools, but are a problem when it comes to helping the immigrants.  These are people who never realized that they were privileged, protesting the loss of advantage.

Who went with us to the symphony? Timmy from Shaun the Sheep

What am I reading? By the time this posts I will have finished a collection of essays by Annie Dillard, and started a book on the destruction native American cultures. 

What have I been up to in the kitchen? I baked bread, made a nice beef stew, and buttermilk fried chicken.  

Travel Tuesday: Wandering Around Phoenix

Entrance to a parking lot

Light Rail Line on Central Avenue

Challenges must be faced to be changed.

Mural in a parking lot off Roosevelt Avenue 

The Scorpions can get large

On the lower level of Spo's favorite downtown restaurant. 

Basilica 

Morning light 

Sunrise view from the room I was staying in 

Monday Mood: Speaking Only When It Counts

I am doing surprisingly well.  DC continues to be in chaos. The push back is starting to gain momentum.  Judges are issuing injunctions against the clearly unconstitutional orders.  Appeals will follow, and enforcement of those orders will likely be the breaking point. The legal answer at that point, if HWSNBN refuses to comply is impeachment and removal.  There are cracks appearing in the majority in the House and Senate. It could happen this time.  Mitch confirmed that he will not run for reelection in 2027, making him less beholden to HWSNBN. He has a lot of sway in the Senate. 

It is important to remember, that an Executive Order, is a direction to a Federal Administrative body, on how to do the business of government. And Executive Order is not a law, it can't overturn a statute.  It can, suspend work on something created by law. But that does not change the law. 

When the dust settles, and it will sooner or later.  We will rebuild. And in rebuilding, maybe we can do better.  There are some entrenched inefficiencies in the system.  There are some long time staff with hardened attitudes that resist change.  Many of them are retiring or being forced out. This is a brutal way to bring change. Some of them have been obstacles to improvements. (Though I never worked for the Federal government, I include myself among those with a hardening of the attitudes that needed to let the next generation lead into the future.) 

This is not the way to manage change. 

Think of it this way. We have an old bridge over the inlet to an bay.  Everyone knows the bridge is out of date, rusting, and failing slowly.  What we should do is start the planning and engineering process and build a new better bridge. What we often do, is wait for a catastrophic failure, a ship bumps a pier and the bridge collapses like a house of cards into the bay. Then we start planning for the new bridge we should have planned for, long before people died. (Yes I am thinking of Baltimore here. Maryland has a couple of major bridges that need to be replaced, this was just one of them.) What the administration is doing is knocking those bridges down. The sensible thing to do would be to start the planning process to find what needs to be changed and change it in an orderly fashion. 

This past week there was a claim that Social Security had a bunch of people 150 years old drawing retirement benefits.  This was based on bad data. And the professionals that worked at SSA, knew that the data was wrong and how to work with it. No one asked them, before making outrageous claims. To fix the data they needed to replace a massive database, that was written 40 years ago in a nearly dead computer language that lacked coding for dates outside of limited ranges. The cost of the fix was estimated at $9-million (more than editing the code, my oldest brother could do that for a-couple-hundred-grand, replacing it with a modern database.) It was decided to live with the error, rather than spend the money. If we had logically talked through the issues, this would have been fixed in a rational way.  It should have been fixed 25 years ago. Maybe now it will be. 

My strategy, 

Stay calm.

Understand this is ugly, and when it is over we will rebuild.

Speak up, rationally and logically when appropriate. 

Let the legal and political process do it's thing. 

Understand that much of what HWSNBN wants to do, he can't do, unless we stand back silently and let it happen. 

The toes he is stepping on today, are at the end of the legs, that go up to the butts he will need to kiss someday.  

The Sunday Five: How Do We Blog

My messy desk, where the magic happens

1: How do you decide what to write about? 

2: Do you know before you draft a post, what you are going to say? 

3: Why do you blog? 

4: Does reading other blogs influence your posts? 

5: How many posts do you have written in advance? 

My answers: 

1: How do you decide what to write about? Having theme days really helps, it gives me a framework. I always start with a photo. 

2: Do you know before you draft a post, what you are going to say? Not really, sometimes I randomly scroll through the photo archive (nearly 100,000 images) and find one that inspires me.  

3: Why do you blog? To share photos and thoughts, to improve my writing, and to be a part of the blogging network or family. 

4: Does reading other blogs influence your posts? Yes, probably once a week, I write a post inspired by a post that I have read. 

5: How many posts do you have written in advance? At the time I wrote this, I had 11 scheduled posts, and a few more in draft.  

Please share your answers in the comments. 

The Saturday Morning Post: 50 states in 52 weeks Delaware

Delaware is mostly a state I pass through on my way from Washington DC to New York and points north. I have been there three times for work.  One time was an AARP training, one was checking on a subgrantee my first year at the ABA, and the last time was to present a couple of hours of ethics training at the Law School for the Delaware State Bar Association. I also went to the last great blogger gathering hosted by Ron on the eastern shore of Delaware. 

Wilmington is the major city, Amtrak has good service there. There is almost no airline service to the state.  It is a tiny state. 

Delaware's claim to fame, is liberal corporate laws, and low taxes. At one time, it was a corporate tax haven for many US based corporations.  

There are a few things in the state to see, and someday, I will do a driving trip there to explore.  

Foodie Friday: Grandmother’s Proper Macaroni and Cheese

For me there is only one proper way to make macaroni and cheese, the way my grandmother made it. This has nothing to do with a box mix, or powdered cheese.  It starts with real ingredients and finishes with a long bake in a moderate oven that results in something cheesy, crusty and firm. 

The box mix Mac and cheese started as a way to try to use up a massive surplus of dehydrated cheese. During World War II, the department of defense placed huge orders for dehydrated cheese. It was light weight and had a very long shelf life.  At the end of the war, Kraft had millions of pounds of it ready to ship, and the market ended.  The "food scientists" created box mac and cheese mix, a cheap and easy "food" to try to get rid of the powdered cheese.  It should have been discontinued when the war surplus was exhausted. Even better, the government should have bought up the dehydrated cheese and used it as livestock feed (pigs love it.)  

Ingredients: 

8 ounces dried macaroni 

12-16 ounces well aged cheddar cheese (better cheese makes better Mac and cheese)

4 ounces smoked cheese 

1.5 cups milk

2 ounces of butter

2 ounces of flour 

salt

1 teaspoon ground mustard 

Method: 

Pre-heat oven to 375(f)

Grate the cheeses. 

Boil the macaroni in lightly salted water per package directions.  Drain and set aside. 

Make a basic white sauce or bechamel. Start by melting equal weights of butter and flour over medium heat in a 2 quart sauce pan.  Allow the butter to melt and the flour to cook in. Add milk, some recommend preheating the milk.  Whisk over medium or medium high heat, until it starts to thicken.  Add about 3/4 of the cheese, whisking to melt the cheese into a smooth sauce. 

Fully mix the macaroni with the cheese sauce. 

Put into a lightly greased casserole dish, I used a glass loaf pan, and cooking spray. Top with remaining grated cheese (not bread crumbs.) 

Bake for 45 to 60 minutes, until bubbly and lightly browned on the top.  The sides and bottom should have a nice cheesy crust when done.  

Cool slightly and serve.  Refrigerate leftovers. When chilled you should be able to slice it with a knife. 

Most Mac and Cheese fails on two  levels.  Most of it is made with raw cheese mixed in with the cooked macaroni, giving it a spotty texture with lumps of cheese and spots of starchy macaroni stuck together with insufficient cheese. And most Mac and cheese is under baked, many are merely warmed through in an oven - not baked.  This should be baked as a casserole.  This develops the crust on the bottom, sides and top. That cheese crust adds massively to the flavor complexity.  

  

The Thursday Ramble: Gratitude for things that led me to where I am today

 

My father's desire to escape the winter cold in Michigan, introduced me to the joys of travel.  For this I am grateful. 

Growing up around little airplanes and little airports led to a love of flying, for this I am grateful. 

Having a grandmother who was born near London, and a great-grandmother who was born in Wales that I was able to spend a great deal of time with, inspired a curiosity in me for exploring the world, for this I am grateful. 

I encountered a handful of great teachers, Mr. Snoffer - who left teaching shortly after I graduated and died far too young, Lee Schlicker who taught me the fundamentals of communication. Carl VanHoff who challenged me to read, for all of them I am grateful.

At University there was the stoned young adjunct who exposed me to the fundamentals of writing well, the professor who helped me gain understanding of how my brain works and encouraged me and the adjunct at Rollins who took my writing a step beyond. The lawyer who suggested law school. For all of these I am grateful. 

In law school there were a dozen professors who challenged and inspired me, for all of them I am grateful.  

Education changed me, and changed my life.  I am grateful for the opportunities and the people who made a difference. 

At Rollins College, I peeked out of the closet. And I met my Sweet Bear. Rollins changed my life I am forever grateful.  

Back in 1980 I ran into a John at McDonald's one morning, we talked, I was having a rough time. He suggested I try a new job, he referred me to someone, who referred me to George and my first real job, my first home builder job.  A couple of years later I built my first home. I am grateful for the connections and the opportunities, that built the foundation for where I am today.  

I have been relatively healthy, at times neglecting or abusing my being. When I needed it, I have been lucky to have talented doctors, I am forever grateful for Dr. W, and Dr. Z. 

I have a good life, and I wouldn't be here, if not for the amazing people and opportunities I have experienced, I am grateful for all of them. 

I can only hope, that in some small way, I helped someone, even one person, the way I have been helped in my life. 

 

My World of Wonders aka The Wednesday Ws Post Valentines Day edition

What is happening in that photo?  The gardeners left carrots in the ground in the kitchen garden (lower garden) at Mt Vernon.  The winter weather has frozen off all of the tops.  The squirrel was enjoying a nice mid-winter meal. Nice fat carrot fed squirrel, I know what my grandfather would be having for dinner. 

Where have I been this week? Home, the gym, the pool, Ikea at Woodbridge Virginia, Aldi, the library, a nice drive and Whole Foods. 

Who have I seen this week? I had a bunch of video calls and meetings with my fellow old lawyers. Not a real social week. 

Who have I talked to? My middle brother called to let me know he was sending the information to do his taxes. The lifeguards at the pool, TJ likes to talk, Marcell less so. 

What have I been reading? Vegetables Unleashed by Jose Andres, a brilliant cookbook. Even when he argues that cheese is really a vegetarian product. 

What blog have I added to my daily list? Sharon from Phoenix has a second channel with photos from her travels, she inspires me daily with places I need to see before I die. 

What YouTube channel made me smile this week? A couple of years ago Angus in St Andrews mentioned Finnegan Chamberlain, an American student at the University of St. Andrews. Finnegan is from Oregon, majors in computer science, runs, and loves to travel.  Oh to be young and rich and free. (How many of those can we claim to be?)

What made me think? A story on National Public Radio about racism in the United States. Anyone who thinks racism is a thing of the past, is dead wrong.  I was talking with someone recently about the terrors of driving while black.  I recognize that being born male and white gave me an advantage.  

What travel planning did I do this week? I booked train seats from London to Edinburgh and arranged travel health insurance. 

What needs to be added to my shopping list this week?  https://canadaisnotforsalehat.ca/ 

What made me smile? Mexico is threatening to sue Google over misnaming the Gulf of Mexico on maps shown in the USA. 

What new toy did I buy this week?  We somehow lost a probe thermometer in the kitchen, when I went to replace it, I also bought a laser thermometer. It uses a laser to measure the surface temperature. I have long wanted one, they are now down under $20. 

When am I headed into DC?  Today, I am having lunch with my replacement at the office.  I will brace myself to listen, it is not an easy time to be in DC. 

Travel Tuesday: Saturday Night in Phoenix

A little after 5:30 local time, on the Saturday evening that I was in Phoenix and direct message popped up on Facebook from Urspo's Someone. A free outdoor concert was set to start at 6:00 next to the theater across the corner from the hotel I was staying in.  He would be there as theater staff.  I pulled on some clothes, but not enough, and went across the street.  After sunset and it turned cold in a hurry, I only lasted about half an hour.  The music was fun, the performers were talented and energetic.  

 

Moody Monday: Take Three

Sometimes I write a post, go back and read it, and make major changes, if I read it again and it still makes me feel sick, I set it aside and write a new post.  This is one of those weeks.  I had six conference calls and meetings last week.  Way too much exposure to people who are paying attention to the chaos in the United States.  

I predict the demand for mental health care, antidepressants, and anti anxiety medications will skyrocket this year. Well and maybe sales of alcohol.  

So how can I redirect. 

I can control what I read. I am still looking at some news, the chaos leaders are hoping that we will become so horrified that we will look away. I need to see enough to know what outrage to express.  

I can control what I hear. There is music playing as I write this.  I can change the subject when conversation moves beyond what I need or want to hear.  

I can control what I do.  My daily walk, and near daily time in the pool make me feel good.  I can make sure I do those things. 

I can play in the kitchen.  I will bake bread at least once a week. I am reading a great cookbook. Time to get creative, I get lost in my time in the kitchen. 

I can control what I watch.  I have a collection  of DVDs that I can escape into for days.  It is Britcom night whenever I decide it should be. 

I can write. I filed a complaint with Google the other day, the map incorrectly identifies the Gulf of Mexico. My blog and very limited Social Media posts can point out the illogic and idiocy. Not by insulting the morons in charge, but with rational logic.  Think through it, unlike the people who have no idea what the collateral consequences of actions might be. 

Take care of yourself. 

Do things that are good for you. 

Don't forget to breath.   

The Sunday Five: The Final Frontier

1: Where were you when men landed on the moon? 

2: Have you seen a rocket launch? 

3: Have you met an astronaut? 

4: How do you feel about humans returning to the moon? 

5: Do you think we really understand what is out there? 

My Answers? 

1: Where were you when men landed on the moon? The house on the farm, my parents bought a color television that summer for the moon landing - that was mostly in shades of grey. 

2: Have you seen a rocket launch? Many of them, including the last Apollo program launches and many of the early shuttle launches.  

3: Have you met an astronaut? I am told I did, at the Grand Canyon when I was about 5 years old, I remember being very shy. 

4: How do you feel about humans returning to the moon? It is the stepping stone to exploring beyond our planet, we should have done it decades ago. 

5: Do you think we really understand what is out there? I think there is far more speculation, than true understanding.  

Please share your answers in the comments. 

The Saturday Morning post: 50 States in 52 weeks: Connecticut

The New England region was one of the last parts of the United States that I explored.  My first time in Connecticut was a trip to Boston by train, a wonderful slow ride across the state.  

Then in February of 2024, I went to a conference on Elder Abuse at Yale Law School in New Haven, Connecticut.  I took the train up the day before, spent the night, attended the program, and took the train home.  

A real highlight for me was the rare book library. Wow! 

Connecticut is north of New York, along the east coast of the United States.  While the urban area of New York city casts a deep shadow over the state, there are many, many small towns, farm areas, and natural areas.  A very pretty part of the country. 
 

Freestyle Friday: Happy Valentines Day!

 Happy Valentines Day

30-odd years together

Some of them odder than others

We still make one another laugh

We still understand one another

We still allow the other space and time

We are endlessly kind and understanding to one another

Love is Being there

Love is not expecting anything from one another, except Love

Love is a warm bear hug 

Love  is Love

Love Yourself

Love Others 

The Thursday Ramble: Why Did I Do That?

Debra at She Who Seeks, recently posted some lawyer jokes. It is okay she is one of the family, and we can make jokes about ourselves.  Her post and the comments on it, made me think back the moment that I decided that maybe law school and becoming a lawyer would be an option for me.  

I was in my late 20's, taking college classes and still trying to figure out what I wanted to be when I grew up.  In some ways, after two different careers I am still not sure of the answer to that question. 

There was a question on an exam about a contract entered into by a minor being void.  I answered that it was not void, and the professor marked that as a wrong answer.  I wrote a page long memo defending my answer. The law as stated in the textbook we were working with, said that a minor has the right to cancel the contract.  Being under age, is a valid defense against attempts to enforce a contract entered into by a minor. This defense belongs to the minor, not the other party to the contract. This means that the contract is voidable by the minor.  Not that the contract is void. The minor can bring a legal action to enforce a contract and the other party can not raise age as a defense. The fine line difference between void and voidable.   

The response from the professor was, "you would be a great lawyer!" He never admitted his answer was wrong, but my final grade was an "A" (the highest available.) 

And that started me thinking.  Maybe there was a place to use my talents. At the same time I was seeing people in my office who were getting legal advice from mortgage loan officers, and title company clerks, advice that was not always correct.  That bothered me. 
 

My World of Wonders aka The Wednesday Ws: February's to do list

What was I fussed about this week?  I had a dentist appointment on Thursday to have a tooth crowned.  Dr. Z is gentle and very skilled, I don't know why I get nervous about such things.  It was a lower rear molar that was damaged decades ago by an impacted wisdom tooth.  Repairs no longer did the job.  Doc described it as one of the most challenging locations. He used the magic of modern technology, and I was out of there and headed to lunch in a little over two hours with the permanent crown installed.  It is the first one I have done that didn't require a temporary and a return visit.  

What else was I fussed about?  My car was due for it's annual safety inspection, biannual emissions inspection, and renewal of the registration - also biannual. I always get fussed about this. The safety inspection is stuff that I would want to have fixed if they found anything wrong.  The emissions inspection is simple, if the car has a catalytic converter and no warning lights on the dash, $30 and you passed. I thought about it and I know why I fuss about this. My parents always obsessed about renewing the car registrations. I don't know why, but they did. Once the inspections were entered in the state computer system, I came home, went on the state website and renewed for two years in about 3 minutes.  The stickers are in the mail. Maybe thinking through why, I can set some of the anxiety aside.  

What am I learning? Often there is a reason for our irrational fears and dislikes. Understanding the root cause, can help us stop repeating the past. 

Where have I been this week?  A neighborhood Exxon station for the inspections, the Dentist, Trader Joe's, the Gym, the pool, the community center, and an Arts council meeting, bowling. 

What else is on the to do list? I need to book a train from London to Edinburgh, and apply for ESTA to enter England in April.  Gather the rest of what I need to work out taxes.  

Who have I talked to this week? The Dentist and his assistant. My Sweet Bear, Anna, Susan, Rafael, Giuseppe the Saturday morning water aerobics instructor. 

What did I do this week for the first time in nearly 50 years? We went bowling (ten-pin bowling) Friday evening.  The condo has a private bowling alley. I have lived here 16 years, and it was the first time I have used that amenity.  Probably not the last time. 

What has happened to journalism in this country? Newspaper headline this week, "Inmate dies from hanging injuries",  a much more accurate headline would be inmate commits suicide.  It is very unlikely to be an accident, or recreational. 

What have I been up to in the kitchen? I made lasagna, french bread, omelets, . 

HoW am I holding up to the outrage? I am speaking up, carefully and mindfully.  I have faith in the system. Less than two years before Congress flips.  HWSNBN is starting to gore to Ox of many people.  Random shutting down of programs is starting to cause pain and outrage. It is only a matter of time until he steps on too many toes. 

When am I free this week? Thursday, I have six conference calls over 4 days this week.  I need to learn to say no. 

What made me smile this week? Bloggers standing up and speaking the truth. 

Warning, I am going to talk politics below this image, if you find that disturbing, leave a comment and move on. 

Is this a messy desk?

HoW can HWSNBN improve the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts?  He can go there, and see what actually takes place. He reportedly has never been there. The Presidential box is almost always empty, he could send friends and family to see the shows. Melanoma or whatever her name is, is honorary chairmen of the board, during her first go around she almost never zoomed into a meeting. The steel pipes installed as cheap columns on the outside, painted gold or bronze, could be upgraded to something more elegant, parts of the interior are cheap and dated.  If he walked through, he would have ideas for redecorating. He can fund replacing the escalator from the parking levels, that have been broken down for months. He can fund replacing the aged elevators in the concert hall that frequently break down. Leave the arts, to the artists, give the place some much needed love, attention, and funding.    

 

 

Travel Tuesday: Random shots from the south of France

Lunch in a harbor town along the Mediterranean 

A Private Beach 

Bloom where you are planted 

Who is watching who?

Fresh? It came ashore across the street. 

Yes, I would cook them.

Along the harbor front.

Coffee and a nice sit 

A random stop on the way back to the gite.