NY Pride

Being proud takes stamina people.

We start the day at 8a.m. - getting organized and having breakfast 'juice' before heading to the train.


On the train we noticed some young people getting ready for the parade.


A little brunch at a favorite place.


Waiting in the hot sun for entirely too long.




No sooner did the parade start...


When the rains came.


We took shelter in a local bar.


We were so wet it was as if we jumped into a pool. Even things in my pockets were soaked. Luckily, I had rain gear for my phone.


Then off to a great little Italian place - where things started to get blurry.




And so we kept drinking...




Then into the subways to head back to the train.

We had some extra time to appreciate Grand Central Station.


Finally... heading home on the 9:07.


whew.

Friday

not quite a tip-o-day

Ever since we have started to cut the grass with our trusty reel mower, I can't tell you how many people have said they couldn't do it simply because it would be too much effort.
(if you are one of those who mentioned this... take solace, you're not alone)
Yet, we'll pay hundreds of dollars to a gym to run for an hour and get nowhere, or sit on a bicycle and watch television then go lift heavy things up and down and up and down only to put them back where we found them.

And people say I have gone mad.

Are you out of shape, need some firming up?
Think about it.

55

Did you know that driving 55mph saves gas?
No, really...it does.

If you drive alot, it can save you quite a bit actually.

Apparently, I am the only one who knows this... or cares.



--

Conversation with Ferris:
weese: "I have read that driving 55 will save gas."
Ferris: "That's correct - 55 is the optimal speed for gas savings... on any road."

Neil Sedaka... he knows

Breaking up is hard to do.
Especially when it's been so long.
I can't say it's any one thing. Maybe a series of small things, maybe I've changed, maybe it's things I have heard. I dunno.

It's over tho.
I am moving on.
I have already planned to meet someone else.
But... as with any breakup - there are some loose ends I need to tie up.

I am going to do it on the phone.
I will call today to tell him I am going to start seeing a woman, and would he be so kind as to send my things... to her.

This will be first for me. My whole life I've chosen men. But it's time to change and I am looking forward to meeting her and having her examine --- my teeth.

enchanting evening

Each June New Haven puts on the Arts and Ideas festival with all sorts of music, dance and theatre. Saturday night they traditionally present Opera on the Green.

It's a very well attended event with people turning out with full table settings - linens, candles or candelabras, wine and food and all the accoutrement.
Lovely.

The entire experience was delightful; we had perfect weather, a bottle of red, some snacks and fabulous entertainment.

This year East Village Opera Company performed - they were amazing.


Classic opera melded with classic rock. Think Mozart jamming with Pete Townsend.
They have two fantastic vocalists and when they performed the Flower Duet **, my rather smitten wife turned to me and said

"I think I'm in love."








with this woman... incredible voice and a sensual performer; oh... and she's hot.

Luckily ... my adorable wife went home with me.

Though we stopped to buy a CD ...and to meet the band.
















** renowned in the opera world for its sexual tension and lesbian subtext

Look!

Look at my weeds!

How organic.
I am so proud.

Define irony

For the back story I will quickly recap:

1) Ferris got a ticket for having a beer.
2) His wise and sage parents advised the lad to pay his fine and move on.
3) The Department of Motor Vehicles didn’t want to miss out on the fun so they suspended his license making his infraction a conviction.
4) Said wise and sage parents lawyer-ed up.
5) My law abiding wife took Ferris to his first court appearance, clear across the state (no snickering about state size from you Texans) where he was told to do some community service to wipe his slate clean.
6) Ferris performs community service for old, poor people and receives a glowing letter of recommendation from the supervisor.
7) My patient wife drives Ferris back to court clear across the state where he presents his community service paper work.
8) His case is now marked Nolle – yay.
9) To actually receive his license back however, some paperwork needs to be filed BY MAIL to the Department of Motor Vehicles, with of course another fee. They will in turn send back a paper that reinstates Ferris’ license. We are hoping that will happen this week.
That afternoon, after a long drive, a day in court and running paperwork around my tired wife went out to get the mail.

And what do you suppose she found there.

Ferris’ first letter to report for jury duty.

Friday

tip-o-day

This tip is actually courtesy of a fellow blogger.
I tried it, it works, and I like it.

A great, completely organic way to get rid of weeds or unwanted grasses is simply hot water. I boiled up a kettle full and dumped it on all the weeds growing up in the patio. Worked like a charm.

Note tho, this is an indiscriminate kill so be careful where you pour. I accidentally poured it on some of my gentle wife's moss. You don't mess with her moss.

roots

You know what’s great about living in the same house for over 20 years?

As I was enjoying my breakfast of tofu, flax seed and mixed berries on the patio early Sunday morning, I wallowed in the cool breeze and watched the morning dew lift, reveling in the stillness of our neighborhood on this weekend morning before 8 o’clock.

I reflected back to our first summer here where I can remember like it was yesterday -- rolling out of bed …oh, somewhere around midday maybe, stumbling outside, nauseous and shaky to find broken eggs all over the driveway.
Nothing like cleaning up from a 3 a.m. egg toss on a hot summer day with a hangover.

Ah the good ole days.

working for a living

Don’t just have your eyes open. Be alert -- process what you’re seeing.

Earlier this week I passed a woman on a bike on my morning commute, though it's not unusual to see a woman on a bike.
It was a street bike not a … I think they call them cruising bikes or comfort bikes now. She was not wearing sports apparel. She had an attractive messenger type bag over her shoulder. She wobbled a bit as she pedaled her way out of the town center, toward the office complex were I work. Clearly this was a new experience for her.

This morning I saw a man in a white shirt and tie on a scooter. He rode with traffic on my street down to the light, but then rode in the shoulder on the main road to down toward the highway. I hope in his heart he felt proud and not belittled.

These are not rich people who tend to jump in making these short term grandiose changes because its chic.
These are not poor people who I have heard are now abandoning their cars when they run out of gas.
These are folks like me. We are working for a living, and the money we make goes to our living expenses.

Things are changing, people.

Look for it, you will see it.

Participate.

You don’t need to get a scooter or ride your bike to work. But – you would be wise to think twice about your discretionary spending. Do you really need a new blouse, new shoes? Examine the word ‘need’ with new fervor now.
Even if you can (or think you can) afford these new things – is it wise to buy now?
That’s how you should be thinking.

Yes, we need to save the planet.. so why not save some money while you are at it?

The FREE cat

The FREE cat is still under lockdown in the barn. The cat expert people say we need to keep her in there for at least six weeks. She is doing fine - eating, peeing, pooping... all is well. She seems a little bored to me, but we have seen no signs of rodents out there since we got her.

Meanwhile this is what we found in the basement last night...


Those are teeth marks. This is the cord for the dehumidifier. Which was plugged in.

Not sure this whole 'feral cat' thing is working the way we planned.

Friday

tip-o-day

Did you know that almost all faucets are covered under lifetime warranties?
The manufacturer will send out new parts at no cost - all you need to do is drop them an email.

I did-- just this week on our damned near new kitchen faucet.
The sprayer has begun to leak.

A new one is winging its way to us now.

That warranty won't do you much good though if you don't even know the make or model.


Remember to hang on to all owners manuals. Have a couple of folders all set up in your file cabinet so you can just toss them in without too much fuss. The easier it is to file the more likely you are to do it. I keep a basket on top of our filing cabinet to simply toss things into that I will file when I have a free minute (my organized wife will tell you how full that basket gets... but at least I know where to look if I don't find something in it's folder yet).

When something goes wrong you'll be ready.

Harken

In our ongoing effort to be more environmentally conscience we have resurrected the reel mower.

We bought it a couple years ago. My easy-going wife liked it well enough, but I wasn't too happy with its performance. After a short time I gave in and bought a used gas mower.

Now, that I am of the mind that the 'american lawn is the bane of the environment', we are using it again.
(Oddly I am still at complete peace with the degrading condition of our lawn. Tho, its quite possibly my clever wife is sneaking prozac into my morning coffee).

Last week I was out cutting the front lawn with it. It does a decent job, leaving the lawn looking more natural than manicured.
Since the mower is silent I can hear everything going on around me. Instead of hearing cars zip by all too fast I heard the clip-clop of hoofs.
I looked up and sure enough a horse and buggy were travelling down our busy, double yellow-line street. They were from the farm down the street that still sells fresh eggs, corn, even raw milk (what does one do with raw milk... Guy?)
Cars were lined up behind them. I am sure they were annoyed.

We were able to chat for a moment as they trotted by our house. I commented that it was such a lovely evening for a ride - they commented back how nice and quiet my mower was.

It was a moment.
A moment out of time... in busy suburban Connecticut.

yeah. We're keepin' the mower.

Mind the sign

For various reasons over the past 20 some odd years I have had the occasion to drive a particular back road almost every day. Currently, this road takes me from my home in one town to my work in a neighboring town. So I am on it every week day. It's also the road we take when visiting my in-laws. So I am on it many weekend days as well.

Needless to say I am very familiar with this road. I have come to know some of the people living along the road - tho they most likely would not know me. I have seen their children grow up, I know when they get new cars, I know the ederly woman in the white tudor house needs more help these days, as I see her with visitors almost every day - where there used to be few.

This morning I noticed the deaf child sign.

Tho the sign is not new.

It's been there all of these years. I suppose it had just become part of the scenery.
I remember when Ferris was just learning to read and we drove by that very sign on the way over to his grandparents house. He read it to me and we discussed its merrit, and even it's lack thereof.

This morning I wondered -- where is this kid now?
Certainly he must be grown. But his sign remains. I wonder... does he even know its still there? Does he pass it every day like I do. Perhaps on his way to visit his parents.
Maybe a new family with a deaf child saw the sign and decided to move to the area, appreciating its convenience.

And so I will continue to drive this road... with renewed intent to heed the sign, because you just never really know.

weekend guest

We had a visitor this weekend.

This is Sophie.

Our daughter and her beau spent a weekend seaside so Sophie stayed with us.

The FREE dog seemed pleased to have some company.


I, on the other hand, learned an important lesson.

You see, oh-- so many years ago I got in the habit of calling my adorable wife 'mommy' when referring to her when we were with the kids.
I might say,
"Go ask mommy."
or perhaps
"Tell mommy you're hungry."
See.

Welp... with Sophie - our daughter is mommy. My adorable,yet aging-gracefully wife would then be something like grammy. All weekend I kept correcting myself when talking to the cat. Such as, "Mommy... I mean Grammy is going to come clean your litter box." or "Mommy...argh... I mean Grammy is getting your cat food." Evidently, its a hard habit to break.

Now - this is all very minor in the grand scheme of things. I mean sheesh... its only a cat.

But... what about when its not just a cat.

Luckily, Sophie is coming to stay with us again later this season. I can practice more then.