the DronesClub	the smackdown	Fierce Creatures	Little Blenheim	Barmy in Wonderland	the dernier cri

The unpleasant, acrid smell of burnt poetry.
Young Men in Spats, 1936

June 2008	July 2008	Aug 2008	Sept 2008	Oct 2008	Nov 2008	Dec 2008
Jan 2009	Feb 2009	March 2009	April 2009	May 2009	June 2009	July 2009

 

August 30, 2008

1:55 p.m. - We lead such unexciting lives. We didn't do anything yesterday evening. I was completely pooped all evening, and we barely did a thing. I slept horribly last night, so I wound up sleeping in until about 9:00, which is very rare for me. Jennifer is out shopping with Julie, and I spent the morning running errands and being productive around the house: returned various documents to the safety deposit box, picked up various things at the hardware store, did some laundry, cleaned up my shelf of rusting tools and other weapons of mass destruction in the basement, did some laundry, shredded the small mountain of papers that pile up, and tidied around the house. I think that earns me a break right about now.

August 28, 2008

6:53 p.m. - I am going to die! I grilled two marinaded chuck steaks and Jennifer seared some greenbeans for dinner. I am no particular fan of chuck steak, except maybe for stewing or slow cooking. But I marinaded the chuck steaks in a mixture of red wine vinegar, soy sauce, worcestershire sauce, and secret hobo spices, and it was reasonably good. I am really full after that huge dinner.

Jennifer is playing across the street at Julie's house, and I am puttering around for about 15 minutes. I am heading off to the Eagles Club in Bellevue to give them some big thank-yous for a very generous donation they made to work. It's tough going out in the middle of the evening like this, but then again, they are big-hearted folks and a thank you is worth it, even at 2 in the morning if I had to.

August 27, 2008

My poor New World fund continues its long, black slide.

What's better than messy ice cream at a picnic?

4:15 p.m. - Florence Lodge's picnic last night was a success, with about 25 or so people attending. All in all, I was quite pleased! . . . Meanwhile, my beloved New World mutual fund continues its nosedive to the toilet and my ruin. I began buying it at approximately $24/share in 2002 or 2003. It climbed steadily to over $65 dollars, serving as my retirement account's faithful workhorse. Then it plunged down and down and down, falling $9.52 this year alone, or 16.14%. I suppose I must pluck up and give it 30 more years of unrelenting daily toil to go back up to its pre-2008 dizzying heights. Or do I cut and run and plunk my hard-earned into safe treasury notes? 

 

August 25, 2008

7:22 a.m. - Still nothing of interest from the ol' Homestead. Jennifer went to work early Sunday, and I pottered around the house. I did about 3 loads of laundry, vacuumed, worked for a little while on the Master Craftsman program for Scottish Rite, played with the puppies, took a 30 minute nap, finished Plum Island, and generally piddled my Sunday away.

Jennifer got home around 3:00 and made a fantastic dinner of roast chicken with a creamy mushroom sauce. That about took care of the evening. She took a long nap afterward and I watched TV or read the news online and watched Mad Men before going to bed. I slept reasonably well last night, and only woke up twice. Percy slept through the night.

August 24, 2008

8:18 a.m. - Nothing of interest yesterday. Other than running to Lowe's and the grocer's, I didn't do a thing. Jennifer wanted gyros for dinner, so I got take out from Katie's. I've got to stop eating gyro. It came back to haunt me at 3:00 a.m., and I tossed and turned all night. Percy woke up at 4:00, and I took him outside. He went back to sleep, but my brain was awake, and I could not fall asleep again. I envision a nap sometime today. 

August 23, 2008

Arabella is fast asleep. You wouldn't believe how loud she snores!

11:36 a.m. - Shame on me. I skipped the Millard Days parade to be lazy at home. Percy woke up at 3:30 in the morning and started barking, so I took him out and then didn't fall asleep until about 5:30 or 6:00, and then slept until 8:30. Jennifer made omelets for breakfast - she makes low carbing easy - and we're piddling away the morning, watching movies on cable and relaxing. The dogs are all fast asleep, and Arabella is doing her bearskin rug imitation while snoring like a banshee. Adorable! Jennifer is watching an awful, awful movie on SciFi featuring killer locust swarms terrorizing America. The quality of acting is just awful, as is the tradition in SciFi disaster movies.

If I am feeling industrious in an hour or two, I may look in on the grocer's for some veggies, and I need to stop at the hardware store. Then again, I may spend the day getting reacquainted with an old friend called television.

 

August 22, 2008

My cool new Shriner plate.

9:25 p.m. - Met with the A/C dealer, and the quote comes to over $20,000 for the entire job, which involves replacing the entire thing. Sigh. . . I'll either do it now, do it later, do a half-assed job now or do a half-assed job later. So the question is, do I do a half-assed job or pay for the whole Rolls Royce project. Grrrrrmph.

Meanwhile, Jennifer is feeling one behind the eight ball, and has been trying to rest and relax tonight. Kind of hard to do with Percy being a pasty little shit all evening, barking or whining, and Self and A/C guy clomping around the house. Percy managed to break Jennifer's beloved South Carolina plate, and only Jennifer's poor health has kept her from destroying that mutt.

To make up for the destroyed one plate, I bought a much better one on eBay. A Shriner plate. I can't wait to hang it somewhere downstairs.

 

August 20, 2008

8:25 p.m. - Thanks to Hubbard for passing this along. I don't take credit for this at all, as sickeningly amusing as it is. This is from failblog.org, featuring various zany pictures. You really have to admire the unfortunate choice of wording here. I think I would pay full price for new. . . . Jennifer and Self sat on the porch for a while earlier and read a bit. She's now in bed watching TV, and I'm puttering around enjoying the sound of quiet puppies.

6:46 p.m. - I left work early for a dental appointment at Creighton. I'm taking part in a dental study where they apply sealants to parts of the gums that have receded. Thankfully, they gave me about 3 or 4 locals so I couldn't feel a thing. But I still hate the polishing thing that sounds like a drill, and I hate that nasty minty tasting stuff they use to make an impression of my teeth.

Afterward, I got home and grilled a couple of sirloins which were, of course, perfect. Jennifer made a great salad. Now we're relaxing upstairs. Jennifer is watching Doctor Who on DVR, and I'm catching up on the news.

August 19, 2008

9:49 p.m. - Grilled some tasty burgers tonight, served with salad and fresh carrots. Delicious! Jennifer had plain burgers with a bit of salt and pepper. I made mine with sautéed onions and a blend of secret hobo spices. They might have been a bit rarer, but all in all, they were juicy. Meanwhile, nothing to report. Just enjoying the monklike existence to which I have been hitherto accustomed.

12:38 p.m. - So this passes for entertainment? An elderly woman was mugged and viciously beaten in New York City, and the article appears under Google news' entertainment section. Perhaps to Fox news and the gutter press, this is entertainment. I am not horribly amused. I feel like an elderly curmudgeon, but when did society sink to the point where attacks on elderly citizens become commonplace? I am always amazed that when they catch the perpetrators, their parents say "they are good kids." I miss the good old days. Whenever that was. Not that I was there. Maybe we need to go back to the short drop as for both its therapeutic and deterrent benefits.

You never hear about a Coke truck getting highjacked. I Sure wanted to grab the truck and drive it to freedom.

8:43 a.m. - Two thoughts. One, why is it that you never notice that the dry-cleaners tear a button off your shirt until two weeks later, and only when you are walking out the door? Then you have to run back in, find another shirt and another tie, and change at the last minute. How is it that I have a pile of shirts, and they are increasingly taken out of circulation with missing buttons? Do they hire entire morons to run the dry cleaning shop? Apparently so. 

Second point. The Coca-cola truck was parked in front of the Center Mall this morning, and it took all my powers of self-control and discipline not to bean the driver with a mallet and make off with the truck. I could easily envision myself lying in the gutter beside the truck, slurping at its proverbial teat like a plump mosquito. They'd find the truck, divested of its sweet, sweet ice cold diet coke abandoned by the interstate without so much as a clue as to who took it. The perfect crime! . . . but I refrained.

7:15 a.m. - I took a week's worth of collected recyclables from home and the office out to the curb last night. At some point under the cover of darkness, some bottom-feeding scavenger made off with all the aluminum cans from my recycle bin. Normally, I don't mind that some piece of scum would take my cans for a few pennies, but A) he left a mess with the other stuff strewn on the ground, B) proved himself to be a lazy bum by taking only the easily recyclable aluminum when he could have taken another 50¢ worth of plastic bottles and got the deposit back on them with a minimal bit of effort, and C) robs from the city (and hence the taxpayers) who profit from collecting recyclable waste. The thefts that truly amaze me are the ones where these pieces of filth steal a 150 year-old statue or manhole covers or sculptures that cost hundreds or thousands to replace, all for a few dollars in change from the scrap metal dealer. And more to the point, shame on the scrap metal dealers who take in these items, knowing full well they are stolen. Scrap metal dealers and aluminum can stealers, I pit you. 

August 18, 2008

Roasting marshmallows on the grill

9:46 p.m. - Tonight was the Scottish Rite picnic at Cooper Farm, and a good time was had by all. I wanted Jennifer to come, but she preferred to stay at home and relax. I went stag, and spent the evening hobnobbing with the fellows and enjoying burgers, brats, and s'mores. The weather was absolutely perfect for a picnic this evening. Next Monday is the Florence Lodge picnic, and I really, really hope the weather will be as obliging. I also hope I get half the crowd we had tonight. The Scottish Rite picnic has decreased in numbers over the past few years - they charge $5 now - but there must have been at least 50 people. I hope Florence's picnic will get 30 people.

Crookshanks discovers leftover tunafish

I got home around 8:00, and Jennifer and I sat on the porch and played Chinese checkers. She beat me by 1 move in the first game and thrashed me in the second. Maybe it didn't help that I narrated the game like some effete Englishman calling a chess game. Jennifer surprises her opponent with a bold opening maneuver, the Cribberov gambit. We have not seen such a powerful opening since Gaspard's famous match against Kasperov in 1964! . . . Julie stopped by and sat for a while, and we turned on the twinkly lights (probably the first time this year!). Arabella sat on Daddy's lap. . . . Now I'm sitting upstairs playing on the computer, and Jennifer is watching Rome on DVR. 

 

 

August 17, 2008

Ours didn't look quite like this! Our castle came out a bit more rustic. 10:04 a.m. - Saturday was surprisingly busy. South 33rd Street had the neighborhood block party. We set up the castle made of refrigerator boxes on Friday evening. I did my best to help put in these plastic rivets to hold the sections together, but I'm not certain I really helped matters whatsoever. Afterward, we tried our hand at a bit of spray painting, but I think we painted the general neighborhood a bit more than those boxes. Somehow, the castle didn't look quite like it did online!

Julie earns her props with the skateboard youth culture. King of the castle On Saturday morning, I picked up some groceries, and spent the late morning boiling a ton of corn. This year, I contributed to the cause sliced tomatoes, lettuce, and cheese for the burgers, a watermelon and grapes, and 24 waters. We watched Joe for a little bit as he set up, and Maureen finally shamed us into coming from our porch and joining the festivities. The neighbors began trickling in around 3:00 or so, and its more or less the same ones who come or don't come each year. I always hate the neighborhood block party, and then when its in full swing, I don't want to leave! Maureen's daughter had great fun playing in the castle as did some other neighborhood kids.

Joe grilled burgers, hotdogs, and chicken, and Keith danced with most of the ladies throughout the evening. I always enjoy catching up with neighbors whom I see only in passing once or twice throughout the year. Jennifer and I enjoyed ourselves for a few hours, and we kept alternating which dog would come out and play. At 5:30, we went to meet the family for dinner, and then came back to the block party for another hour when we got home at about 8:00. It's always a lot of fun, and Joe & Jan throw a heckuva party! It's nice for the neighborhood to come together like this at least once a year.

 

August 15, 2008

6:58 p.m. - The Harts were passing through Omaha en route to visit their son in Wisconsin or Michigan or somewhere up north, and Mother had us meet them at the Surfside Club. Mike would have been there, but the turtles needed some attention. Jennifer had fried chicken and I had fried catfish. It was good, but it didn't sit well for the rest of the evening. I've got to eat healthier - Jennifer is doing Atkins again, and she is being very disciplined. I am not as well-disciplined. We've been to Surfside once this year, and that was sufficient for me. We used to go there when I was young, and I could probably eat corn fritters until I burst. That, I suspect, is part of the problem. Now I had the most awful indigestion afterward, and probably had too much as it was.

 

At any rate, Jan and Charles stopped by the house after dinner, so we rushed home at 90 miles per hour to hastily do as much cleaning as we could to make the house presentable! On the way home, Jennifer's car rolled over to 100,000 miles per hour, so we stopped on the way to savor the moment. I don't know why I have to do that. My car rolled over to 138,500, and I gaped like I had seen a UFO right overhead. Probably because every mile we drive, is a mile without a car payment.

Nothing of note today. The air conditioner tech-wallah came by and examined the A/C with thoroughly. He pointed out that the fins were completely ruined by the June storm. My insurance rep recommended I get a quote on repairs or replacement. Sigh. . . Jennifer wasn't feeling well today, so I brought home gyros this evening and she summoned the strength for that. She's lying down, and I'm puttering around upstairs watching last Sunday's Mad Men on DVR.

 

August 14, 2008

7:19 a.m. - No news. Went to the building manager's meeting at the Benson lodge for an hour. Otherwise, I watched Office Space on cable and went to bed at 10:00, and read a bit more of Nelson deMille's Plum Island until I fell asleep. I slept poorly last night and am dragging this morning.

August 13, 2008

7:22 a.m. - Grilled juicy and thick porkchops last night. We had a good dinner with greenbeans and chops and then took a long twenty minute walk around Field Club. All in all, a quiet evening. I slept fairly well last night.

August 12, 2008

August, 2002. I guess pictures of Crookshanks when he was cute are worth protecting for 11¢ day.

7:22 a.m. - There is nothing quite as sad as responsibility. Ten years ago, fifteen perhaps, $90 would have purchased 6 CDs or 5 or 6 DVDs or possibly some cool electronic gizmo designed to make my life hipper. In college, I would have been a wealthy man with $90 burning a hole in my wallet. I can only imagine the damage Scott and I would have done at Leavitt and Pearce or HMV or Tower Records in Cambridge. Cigars that are $15 today would be about $3 then. Gorging at the Border Cafe would have been about $15. We could have had as many books as we could carry from the Harvard Book Store or Waterstone.

Today $90 purchases a two year subscription extension to the software service that backs up the files on my home computer. Now, in the event of a catastrophic loss of my ancien computer, I can recover 20 GB worth of pictures of my dogs, my family, my home, and our adventures. I guess that's worth "just pennies a day." Right?

 

August 10, 2008

The crowds cheered as each balloon lifted off.

It was really impressive to see them from less than 50 yards away.

How did this shot get here? Who stole my camera!

4:48 p.m. - Once again, I have nothing of particular interest for the preceeding week. Florence Lodge met last Monday with a visit from Grand Lodge officers. He had some firm words to deliver about correcting some non-feasance on the part of one of my officers. The NCGO board meeting was Wednesday. And the Knights of St. Andrew met Saturday morning, and I am pleased to report that the members' manual I wrote, including the new opening & closing business I stitched together from our old material and from the Baton Rouge KSA, was approved for use. It is a nice 30 page booklet with our history, our Constitution, our by-laws, and the opening and closing business. Poor Phil gets thoroughly tongue-tied over some of the words in the new opening!

I went to the Nebraska Balloon & Wine Festival out in Elkhorn on Friday and Saturday, sitting at an information table for work for a few hours in the eveing. I can't guess how many people attended, but it must have been well into the thousands. All in all, a stunning success for the 2nd annual festival. The crowds buying tickets stretched a great distance, and parking was a nightmare for the late comers. I set up the table around 4:30 both days, and managed celebrity parking both times. We left when the crowds became so vast that they overwhelmed our little table, and we became invisible among the multitudes. On the plus side, we had about 20+ people stop by over the two evenings, which is a large number for us. If a few of them come to our Walk, I'll call it time very well spent. I did not stay for the whole evening, which is almost a shame since the weather was perfect on Saturday. I saw the balloons launch, and I heard that it was quite a stunning sight when they lit up later in the evening. It's a shame a feller has to drive all the way out to Elkhorn to see it. It was effectively 194th and Blondo Streets, and I need to hire a Sherpa and take a packed lunch to go that far. Until earlier this year, I don't think I'd ever been to Elkhorn in my life. In my opinion, there's so little need to go past Midtown, but that is another rant.

Jennifer has been toiling at Art In Bloom this weekend, leaving me to my own devices. I meant to get a haircut, but I wound up looking in at Kohl's for some new sneakers and socks and so forth, a few sundries from the grocers, and a tank of gas. I've spent most of the day trying to straighten Casa de Evans, but I don't seem to have made a dent in spite of consigning a great deal of old insurance policies and other out of date papers to the shredder. I think J & Self need to agree on at least two bookshelves worth of books to send to Goodwill. The idea, of course, is that Jennifer sends two bookshelves worth of her mysteries and whatnot on, leaving plenty of room for histories, architecture, books on maps, P.G. Wodehouse novels, and other literature, but I fear that I may have to effect a compromise and pick a few dozen books of my own to pass along. I can't imagine a house without books, but they are piling up too fast, and we've run out of shelf space.

Nothing else of particular interest. Tomorrow I'll stop at the barber to trim my flowing locks and then look in on Tangier Shrine for a meeting with some fellows from Florence Lodge regarding the scholarship committee. More news as events warrant.

 

August 3, 2008

5:12 p.m. - Nothing of interest to report other than laundry, shredding tons of paper that builds up on the dining room table, cleaning the kitchen, and getting about 1/10th done as I had hoped. I took the dogs out about an hour ago and managed to get stung by a yellow jacket. The little bastards had built a hive or nest or whatever it is in my fence post. Thankfully I am not allergic, but it sure stings. And now, they must be killed with fierce poisons.

1:47 p.m. - Another quiet weekend at the Evans Compound. Jennifer headed off to Kansas City this morning to do some shopping for the Garden's gift store at the Gift Mart, leaving me in charge of the dogs. I have been puttering around this morning, doing laundry, vacuuming, cleaning, and trying to do some much needed mid-Summer cleaning around the old homestead. The usual.

Me and the Darth Man.

On Friday, I went to Rosenblatt Stadium, and wouldn't you know it but Darth Vader and his homies were on hand. Of course I had to take my picture with the Dark Lord of the Sith. Old frat brothers you know, with whom I sported on the green.

Jennifer and I had a laid back Saturday. We went to lunch at Olive Garden at noon and a quick trip to the hardware store, but otherwise spent the day alternating between lazy naps and lazy television watching. I picked up some chicken strips and ice cream, and we had a quiet dinner.

It has been obscenely hot the last few days. The dogs barely want to go outside, and I certainly don't want to spend much time upstairs. Right now, all three dogs are fast asleep upstairs. They seem to have gotten over their surgery, though I am still giving Arabella her pills. Percy managed to get Arabella's painkillers on Friday, chewed the bottle apart, and ate 5 days worth of doggie painkiller. I was afraid he'd get sick, but he came out just fine.

 

August 1, 2008

7:16 a.m. - I had to give all 3 dogs their monthly heart worm pills, and Arabella got her antibiotic medicine as well. She has the skill of a master craftsman at eating the peanut butter or cheese from around the pill, and leaving the pill on the floor. It took about 5 tries and a half-pound of swiss cheese and colby to get the pills down her throat. These dogs may be weak from lack of food and post-dental/anesthesia fatigue, but they are no fools, and they know how to maximize their intake of the good stuff.