Tuesday, July 5, 2016

Life is Good

On the Bay
I originally had a political rant all lined up and ready to go for today. One in which I announce who I will be voting for come November. That may, or may not, come as a surprise to long time readers. Or not.

In chatting with The Nuke during her visit, I discovered that she and I had more common ground politically than I had realized. Some of her reasoning made me reconsider a thing or two and I decided to express my sentiments in a post.

But that's for tomorrow Dear Readers, the glow of an excellent weekend with my eldest daughter and her two pups is still too fresh to have it spoiled by the filth which is modern day politics. No doubt someone will remind me that it used to be much worse. I would guess they mean pre-Vietnam? Pre-Twentieth Century? Medieval Europe? Ancient Rome? Who knows? I can only base my thoughts on what I personally have witnessed.

Saturday (when I took the photos seen in this post) was a spectacular day. Not too hot but what I would call "just right." Bit of a breeze coming off the Bay and the smell of the land / sea boundary was lovely. (It helps that it was high tide, if you know what I mean.)


It was a quiet evening in Colt State Park, we weren't overrun by the city dwellers from Providence nor were the locals much in attendance. No doubt they were all over at a different venue for one of the Fourth of July free concerts. The only music I need is the laughter of my children and the sound of the waves on the rocks. Besides which I can hear the free concerts quite well from my house. A couple of the bands sounded okay, most were why no admission gets charged. Not bad but they shouldn't quit their day jobs.

After the park we went for ice cream, our earlier repast of grilled veggies, shrimp, and couscous having settled by then. The dogs liked the idea of ice cream and tried desperately to help themselves to ours. But The Nuke indicated that they wouldn't be spoiling their diet just because they were on vacation. Both pups looked wondrously sad at that announcement but then some other cool thing attracted their attention so we could eat our ice cream in peace.

Well, as much peace as one can have with a sixty pound dog trying to get in the front seat with you. Which is already occupied by one human and a forty pound dog.

The grass is getting a bit dry, hence the reddish hue. We need more rain.

Did have an interesting couple of moments in church on Sunday. Our pastor's sermon was based on Romans 13, which is what monarchs used for centuries to claim "the divine right of kings." And this the weekend leading up to Independence Day with perhaps the worst Presidency of our history. (At least it's the worst I've seen.)

Then after the service there was the lady who in speaking with my daughter declared her hatred of the United States and asking The Nuke how she felt about "wasting her life" in the Navy. I had wondered why The Nuke was wearing her most neutral facial expression when I glanced in that direction. No doubt I will get in trouble with The Missus Herself for saying this but the lady who assailed my daughter for her career choice is a bit of a loon. We're used to her, but yeah, I don't go to church to get pissed off. Which happened twice on Sunday last.

Had perhaps more beer than I should have Sunday afternoon while grilling steaks. Which somehow the women folk let me do unsupervised and which turned out to be surprisingly edible. Somehow I managed to "not screw it up." Which had been, after all, the orders I had been given when sent off to grill the meat.


The one in the left foreground was mine. In case you're wondering...

Ah, but the weekend is over, The Nuke headed home Monday as she has to be on duty today. And of course her plan to leave early was thwarted by the pups who discovered a rabbit in the backyard. They gave chase, the rabbit diverted into the poison ivy and 'lo and behold, much shampooing and watering down of canines later, no one got infected. Did delay departure by over an hour though.

All in all, a fine time was had by all but, as always, it was far too short.

Yup, happy camper.

"Red sky at night..."




24 comments:

  1. I can relate to that, especially this weekend.

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  2. So...Does the shirt glow in the dark? Inquiring minds, doncha know!

    Glad you had a good weekend. Quite a bit warmer her than in Ohio, but at least it's a wet heat...Oh wait!

    Nice dinner with my Sister, DIL, and my niece and her husband, followed by fireworks. All in All, a pretty good day.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. The photo was taken after sundown. (Just kidding but look at the glow coming off the right sleeve!)

      Sounds like you had a great weekend as well. Excellent!

      We're supposed to be getting some humidity later this week. Oh joy.

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  3. Hopefully the sermon did not insist that you had to conform to the edicts of our current "Administration" Sounds (and looks) like a great Independence Day!

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    1. It was tending in that direction.

      We had a great weekend.

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    2. Condolences. Politicized church people is a big part of the reason I no longer attend services. The loon didn't help, I'm sure. Hope all is better now--steak (and perhaps a little wine) always helps!!

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    3. Steak and a "few" bottles of really nice ale helped immeasurably.

      :)

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  4. 'Twould appear that you had a good Independence Day. Am glad for you. Over here, we spent a (relatively) quiet 4th. Didn't used to be that way but things change. Used to be that we'd host a family gathering each July 4th. Family would travel here from Albany, from the City, and we'd all eat, drink and play. Swap stories, tell new tales. It would all end with a gigantic "water balloon" fight. Great fun. It doesn't happen anymore. The kids all grew up. Some moved away, far away. Others would rather hang with their teen friends . . . I mean, what healthy young kid wants to listen to the same ol' stories being re-told by the old folks over cocktails and beer. I can understand that. I was a teenager once, myself.
    So, holidays spent at home, quietly, are becoming the norm for the wife and I.
    Glad you had a good one. May you have many more. (And don't let the political stuff make you crazy.)

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    1. Things are much more sedate than they used to be. It's always a joy when one (or more) of the kids are in town for a holiday. Then we try to make the most of it.

      I remember being the teen who didn't want to sit around and listen to the older generation retell their tales. Now I wish I had...

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  5. OAFS:

    Happy to read that your's was a good fourth. Mine was also as my son invited me to go with him to a party at the home of one of his chum's parents. There were at least four U.S. Marines present, so the situation was well in hand. To make things even better, several of the young people there were polite enough to at least pretend to enjoy listening to my stories. Made for a fine evening for me.

    I hope that thing continue to go well for you and yours.

    Paul L. Quandt

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    1. It's always nice to have the Marines around.

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  6. I'm looking forward to seeing what you have to say vis-a-vis the presidential. Agree or disagree, I'm sure it will be edifying.

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    Replies
    1. That post might be delayed by a day, Tuna has something "in the oven" which I'd like to see on Wednesday.

      As to my upcoming post, your influence was felt...

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  7. Ribeyes! Imbibing the proper quantity of reebs is the secret.

    I got up early and fried chicken for our family Fourth. Good times were had.

    You're gonna need some red sky in morning to chase the dryness from that grass!

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    Replies
    1. Red Sky in Morning..Sailors take warning.
      Red Sky at Night.. Sailors take fright.

      Right???

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    2. Shaun, had a spot o' rain Tuesday in the wee hours of the morn. Not enough but better than naught.

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    3. Juvat, "Red sky at night, sailors' delight."

      But you knew that, didn't you?

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    4. Juvat, I just snotted my computer. Thanks.

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  8. Thanks to the internet we can solve all the world problems. It is still ok to take a day or two off for the most important things.
    Dogs. Ice Cream. Long car ride. What possibly could go wrong?

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  9. Nice of your kids to keep you well attired!

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    Replies
    1. :)

      I have one in dark blue as well. Plus a windbreaker. Plus all manner of ball caps, polo shirts, and the like.

      My children spoil me.

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Just be polite... that's all I ask. (For Buck)
Can't be nice, go somewhere else...

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