What's After Work?

I was over at Mease Countryside Hospital today, to visit my brother-in-law Bill. While walking up to his room looking out the hallway windows I  saw their newly built courtyard. Right out the door was a soft rubber playground surface and a few low climbing logs and rocks. It made me smile that the designers of the project included an area for kids that also looks like a peaceful stream flowing through the courtyard. I'm sure this area will get lots of use once the pandemic restrictions are lifted.

I've been trying to cut back on TV news a little. So sometimes in the morning after I've had my fill of the woes of the day I turn on some music. I've been listening to the music of my youth and today one of my favorite songs came on. It is from the Allman Brothers Band album "Eat a Peach". I bought that album in 8th grade soon after it came out in 1972. Enjoy!

 I really like riding my bike.  I do it most every day, when the weather is nice or not. Today was a particularly sunny day and there was a slight breeze. I usually ride out to the causeway because I can look out over the water.  Today the little ripples in the water and the sun caused the water to sparkle right at me.  It makes me happy to see that.

 Today's joy was seeing a wedding. Well two weddings to be exact. I was out riding my bike today and was passing by the fountain at the Marina Park near downtown Safety Harbor. I saw a bunch of people back off the sidewalk near the mangroves. It was a group having a wedding.  I rode farther and saw a group getting ready for a wedding in the back of the Safety Harbor Spa. I think they were taking pre-wedding photos.  Two very different ceremonies but I hope that it is the start of a great adventure for both couples. 

 I was listening to a story on the radio about book clubs and the teacher who held them. The story was interesting but the thing that caught my attention was when she talked about teaching a class and starting the class by asking the students to tell about something that brought them joy. Nothing big just a little joy in their life that day. So I'm going to start documenting little things that bring me joy in the day.  Today my joy is cooking. This may be a recurring theme because I like to cook. Today I'm cooking for Jan, Patty and myself. It's a new recipe of chicken thighs, potatoes, carrots and onions. This is an Allrecipe recipe and it smells good.  I like the way the potatoes are browned, that always taste good.  Just a little joy with sharing a good meal.

 Coffee, 7 years in the making.  About seven years ago my sister-in-law Cheryl gave me a coffee plant. It was about two inches tall and had two leaves, just a little sprout of a plant.  It was in a little tiny pot and I set it our near my orchids so it would get watered when my other plants got a drink. It did okay and soon had several more leaves and I moved it to a bigger pot and took its picture. Recording the start.  Surprisingly it did well on my porch with my other plants and required little care, just the kind of plant I like. I kept it watered and gave it a shady spot to grow.  As the plant kept growing and leaves kept sprouting I got to wondering if it would actually produce coffee beans. So I did a little research and found that it takes 5 to 7 years before a coffee plant produces coffee beans.  So this was going to be a long term project.  I kept my coffee plant in a pot and that pot had to keep growing with the plant. That was good because ...

 Hi all, it's been a while. I guess with the continuing pandemic and all it's variations I just got complacent. Riding my bike, shopping online and planning a wedding. But now Christmas and the wedding are over and I can get back to telling about what happens during retirement.   Last year my son Austin became engaged to his now wife Morgan.  A tradition that my mom started is to make the newly weds a memory quilt. At the beginning of last year Jan and I began to make Morgan and Austins memory quilt. To the right are the fabrics we bought. The lighter blue is the fabric was sent to 40 family and friends.  We asked them to create a memory they have of Austin or Morgan on the square. As we got them back I started sewing them together into a quilt top.   As we got them back I started sewing them together into a quilt top. ...

"Come on Chan, a hike in the woods will be fun" Jan said. And ya know it was!  This month Jan and I took a trip with our friends Mark and Jenny to Amicalola Falls in Dawsonville, GA. This trip almost didn't take place because of the Russian hacking group Darkside. But we were able to find enough gas to get to Georgia. On the way up Jan and I met Mark and Jenny in Tifton Georgia at the Hampton Inn and Suites . If you are looking for a place to stay I would recommend this place. They have a great happy hour each afternoon and a nice hot breakfast. Jan recommends the "Kilted Sausages" offered during the happy hour. This Hampton Inn also allows pets to stay there so we did see a few furry friends outside on their constitutional walk in the grass. The next day we continued our drive north toward Amicalola Falls stopping for gas and snacks at the Buc-ee's in Warner Robins Georgia. I am still amazed with this gas station. I counted and there are over 250 gas pumps....