Giraffe Necks

Men with giraffe necks are hot!  Just sayin'

New Hardware Store Opens in Lego City

Pride Birthdays and Memorials for the Week ~ January 19th to January 25th

Today's Sermon

A MOMENT

A measurement of time
in which dogs live
without regret
or desire to enhance
their reputation
and personal worth.
An idea designed
to shelter contentment
and regulate fretfulness.
A request for calm
and further reflection.
A pause or hesitation
used as a defense
against a horrid memory
or fear of the corner.
A stall for time
in order to regain
one's reasonableness
and equilibrium.
An allotment
requested by those
who've used up
their other options.
A plea for calm.
A ubiquitous cave
of sanity. An end
without
a beginning. A room
in which bad news
resides. A wall
behind which
nothing more
waits to happen.
A desperate limitation.
A grain of sand.
A last breath.
A vast opportunity.
A plea to begin over again.

~ Philip Schultz, 1945 - 

Why The New York Times is the Greatest Paper on the Planet

I like to read the NYTimes. I read it every day online. They just changed their online formatting and I had a problem with it. So I wrote to the Editor. The Editor wrote back. All of this took place in the past couple of hours. And the best part? I got to use the phrase "Much obliged"--how often does that happen in one's life? 

Sent @ 10:21 AM --

Dear Editor:

I am a longtime online subscriber. One of the most important aspects of your paper to me is the political reporting in the US. Now, I can't seem to find a link to it. What happened?

Thank you,

Randy W. A.
Takoma Park, MD

Received @ 12:31 PM --

Dear Mr. A--:

First, thank you for your loyal readership. We certainly appreciate it.

The change to our Index is the biggest problem I see with our redesign. I could not find Politics either. You should be able to click just U.S. But that doesn't work.

Go to the top of the Home Page.
In upper left, click on SECTIONS.
The top of that list will say: SHORTCUTS. Ignore that.
Go to the bottom of that box where it says ALL SECTIONS.
Click NEWS.
When you click NEWS, a new box will pop out to the right and you will see Politics. Click that.

I find this ridiculous -- and not intuitive at all. Hopefully it is going to be changed.

Of course, once you finally get to the page, you can bookmark it. But readers should not have to do that.

Let me know if I can help further.

Best regards,

Greg Brock
Senior Editor for Standards
(and a former resident of Takoma Park - but not since 1995.)

Sent @ 1:30 PM --

Greg,

Thank you for your prompt reply. I know you'll pass this on to whomever it may concern, and hopefully an upgrade can replace these machinations...  Best wishes! Randy

Received @ 2:10 PM --

Oh, yes. I sent it right after I answered you. They assure me they are going to reexamine the Index. I have complained the loudest !

Greg

Sent @ 2:19 PM --

Much obliged! randy

Pride Birthdays and Memorials for the Week ~ January 12th to January 18th

Pride Birthdays and Memorials for the Week ~ January 5th to January 11th

OOPS!  -- I got a week behind, catch up time!

My Little Free Library Up-Date

It got some local recognition in the January Takoma Park, Maryland Newsletter.

 I opened the paper to see this lead story.....

...and when I turned to page 9 to finish it, I discovered this photo of the Little Free Library that I made and placed in front of my home.  Cool, eh?

The Twelve Tribes Of Mermen?

My great holiday indulgence in 2013 has come to a close with the arrival of the last 5 December Diamond's Mermen ornaments.

 CAMO

 DIEGO

 GOALIE

 PEARL DIVER

 SALTY

The entire ensemble~!

Cheddar Bacon Yukon Gold Potato Bites!

There was a time when all I ate were russets--they have such wonderful skins.  But lately my favorites are Yukon Gold.  They are a lovely yellow, and mellow flavored.  Here's how I made these.

1) washed and toweled the potatoes and then sliced them in two to create the flatter possible surface longways.

2) tossed in olive oil and then placed in pyrex baking dishes, sprinkled with a little Montreal Steak Seasoning, covered in aluminum foil, and back for 50 minutes @ 400˚.  You want to bake the potato!

3) remove from oven and remove foil.  Top with Hormel Bacon Pieces (not bits), and Sharp Cheddar Cheese.

4) return to oven for 5 more minutes.  And voila!

Four Views Of The Sky: Evening Commute Before The Arrival Of The Deep Freeze

2013 Tribute To Our Military Sacrifice

Orange Shrimp

Like Orange Chicken or Beef, but oh so much better!

Snow Park Walk

Looking Out The Office Window as the Sun was Rising

New Possibilities

My once heralded school with its rooftop tennis court and green house is no more.  Designed to straddle the gulf of the imaginary River, it never completely fulfilled it's promise.

It did teach me a lot of the potential of design, yet, in the end, was more of a nuisance than an integral component of the community.

So now there is some really choice real estate up for grabs in Lego City.

 The open "river" space...

 The left bank has a nice foot print, but abuts a gas station...  An independent hardware store has purchased the property.

The right back remains to be determined.

Our Kingdom

Romeo in the Snow

 My sweet hearted lover boy emerged into the world of our frigid backyard with a new curiosity about snow.  Not sure he wanted his feet to step in it!

 Then he stood on the threshold of this part of his kingdom wondering were his bones has disappeared to!?

It took about 20 minutes in the windy 16˚ (felt like -1˚) temps to convince him that our "castle" was a superior place to reign today!

Snowy Day Montage

It was supposed to be a storm that started around 5 pm with rain and then changed to snow in the evening leaving an inch at best.  However, there was no rain.  The show started around 2:30.  Here is my deck @ 5pm with half and inch and the snow coming down well.

 These two pics are the same deck at 7:30 with an inch and the hardest snow yet to come.

 By 9 pm, we're pushing 2 inches.

 A pic taken from the frong window at 11 pm--bed time.  Still snowing.

My neighbor took this photo of my house a little after midnight.

Best Bread Puddle--fo' real!

My version.  I added walnuts to the bread and cinnamon to the sauce.

And the recipe from my friend, Pamela!

Swiss Steak

New Year's Day saw a favorite meal of Swiss Steak & Whipped Rosemary Potatoes.