Handiness

The nice man I ordered from Home Advisors has arrived to fix the weatherstripping on the door to the patio.  It took quite a while for them to find someone willing to take the job; too small, I figure, and around here there's no shortage of work.  (Getting an escalator fixed takes forever since there's a chronic shortage of qualified personnel in the area.  If you want to make a bundle and are mechanically inclined, here's your chance.)  Other than that, same ol', same ol'.  I have mentioned this is getting quite tiresome, haven't I?  Our beloved Dr. Spo of Spo-Reflections posted on that very theme today.  Today... Blursday the 43rd of July.  Oh well, to quote Young Frankenstein, "Could be worse.  Could be raining."  Toodles!

The Sommelier's Quandry

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Meet the Pets - Part 3: Little Bob Penguin

Little Bob (so called because he looks exactly like Bob Penguin, except he's smaller) is an inveterate traveler and Francophile.  He's very sweet and generally aimiable, except that he demands to be taken to France periodically.  We are happy to oblige.  Some of his travel photos follow.

L. Bob always has is passport at hand and his bag packed.

Just off the chunnel train in Lille.

Getting to know the locals.

Navigating across the Pont de Normandie.

Outside the country gite we rented outside Rennes.

Hobnobbing with the country folk.

L. Bob adored the seafood in Brittany!

Admiring the Impressionists at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris.

                                            At the Musée Rodin.

  Where kings once trod, on the Marble Court at Versailles.

A favorite photo of his, trying on beak blush at Guerlain.

Weird Weather

The weather has been incredibly weird here for the past couple of days.  The record heat is one thing (with the soul-smothering humidity to boot) but lately this has been followed by heavy thunderstorms once the sun does down.  The storms don't change the weather for the following day - still hot, still humid - but it does result in there being cold water from the taps again.  What can we say, it's 2020.

Simplicity

test results

Abdominal aorta was normal.  Probably the only thing on me that is...

The Jewel City of the Universe

Today is the anniversary of the founding of the city of Cleveland, my home town, by Moses Cleaveland in 1796.  You might note the difference in spelling between the names of the city and the founder.  In 1831, the spelling of the town's name was altered by The Cleveland Advertiser newspaper.  In order to fit the name on the newspaper's masthead, the editors dropped the first "a", reducing the city's name to Cleveland, which eventually became the official spelling.  The town's been through a lot and, unfortunately, few people are familiar with its divers beauties.