What's After Work?

After a delay of over 2 years and after more that 4 years from the last Jan and I are finally attending our biyearly Stippler family reunion. This is quite a production and lots of planning goes into one of events. Jan comes from a large family with many brothers and sisters. Many children, grandchildren and even great-grandchildren.  The plan was for 60 to attend and 55 have showed up. We have 2 big houses with 12 bedrooms and even more bathrooms.  The kitchens in these buildings are well equipped to handle this large crowd. Because eating at a Stippler reunion is a competitive sport. Dinner is served table for 55! This year we have divided the dinner meal between families. That way different groups get to be in-charge of planning and execution of these big meals. There is always enough to eat. The other thing that is done is playing games. Lots of games. Card games, dominoes, Bingo, and dice for the adults and then plenty of box games for the kids. As well as various video a...

 "Mr. Bliss, am I going to die?" Not a question that I ever thought a student would ask me. But I answered confidently "No, you'll be safe." But in my mind I was also thinking "or I'll die trying to protect you." 10 years ago. That was when Sandy Hook happened. 10 years before that was Columbine. Now the shooting at Robb Elementary in Uvalde Texas.  Before I retired from teaching, school shootings were one of the things on my curriculum. While not officially it was something that was there in my classroom every day. Because of these shootings teachers had to prepare for just such a situation. We had active shooter drills. These were difficult for both me and the students. This was especially true for the younger students, they had trouble differentiating between the reality and the fantasy of the drill.  In my classroom I had a red tape line diagonally across my room. All my students knew what it was for. On one side of the line you were hidden fro...

 This is another twofer joy day.  Yesterday while out riding I built another of many carin on the causeway. When we moved to Safety Harbor I began building these when I rode out on the causeway to mark the halfway point of my ride. I kinda got away from it for a while but decided to bring it back. I enjoy building them and the process of getting the rocks to balance as high as possible. Sometimes it takes a few tries, this one took two tries. I also like the primitive feel of the rocks and looking at them with the bay behind. I imagine how the  Rapa Nui felt  looking at their Moai. Today I found out on my ride the final resting place of shopping carts. a few weeks ago there was only one. Now there are several including some electric riding carts. I'n wondering how long they will stay there.

 Happy  Cinco de Mayo!  Today while out on my bike ride I came across one of the Electric Harley Davidson motorcycles. I've  seen pictures online and in  magazines but this is the first time I've seen one out on the street. The first thing I noticed is that there is no clutch or gear shift lever. I guess it's just twist and go!

 One of my continuing joys is, like most of you, food.    Today we met with our good friends Kent and Leslie at the restaurant Steelbach at the Armature Works in Tampa. Steelbach is a really nice steak house. We started our dinner with drinks. Kent had his on the rocks you know "with an ice cube", Jan and Leslie shared a nice bottle and I went crazy and had a lime in my unsweetened ice tea. For dinner we shared a few sides; broccoli, mushrooms and sweet potatoes. They were quite good. and for my meat I chose lamb chops.  My grandmother Meme always liked lamb and that is where I think I got my affinity for lamb. They were very good and when they came I was surprised at how much they gave me.  I have to thank Leslie for the photos. I am always so excited when dinner arrives I never take pictures. I think Leslie had to swat away my fork so she could capture the picture of my chops before I dug in!

 Several months ago during a really bad storm a boat that had been anchored off of the Safety Harbor Waterfront Pank sank. I had been watching it as it slowly sank and started to list to the side till only the mast was above the water. I wondered if anyone would do anything about it. It did not appear to be a hazard to navigation being far outside any channels nearby.  Today as I was out for my bike ride I noticed a power boat pulled up to the sunk sailboat. There seemed to be a big pump going and later a big yellow float attached to the sailboat. I'll see tomorrow it the sailboat is floating or gone. I hope someone fixes up the boat and takes it sailing again.

 Had a nice lunch today with Jan and Patty at a local restaurant " Southern Fresh ". They were open for lunch today as part of a Pop-Up Fundraiser for the Safety Harbor Public Library. We did our part to help the library and have a great lunch.  

 Sunday after church Jan and I spent time bingeing on Ozark. Quite a few ups and downs in this dark comedy. While we really enjoyed the series we were a little disappointed with the ending. One thing I really had fun with is the title cards each episode, trying to figure out what they represented.   

 Today is World Tai Chi and Qigong Day or WTCQD. Jan has been learning about Tai Chi for several years now and enjoys both the exercise and the comradery she has with the other practitioners in her group. Patty and I came with her today to Eagle Lake Park . Jan did 24 and 64 forms of Tai Chi and then some of the group also did Tai Chi with fans.  Jan is in the back in pink Hearing the fans snap is fun.

 Out riding my bike today and stopped at one of my favorite spots out on the Causeway. It is usually shady and has some nice rocks to sit on. The view is nice with a kinda tropical island feel. If you ignore the cars racing by behind you.

 Okay I missed a few days but still found joy in those days.  On Monday we were still in Tallahassee keeping an eye on Noah while his parents had some time together. I made Noah oatmeal for breakfast and must have done a good job cause yesterday I got a text from Jessica saying that Noah wanted oatmeal like Papa made. That made me smile. On monday after school I took Noah to swim practice. He loves swimming and is good at it. He swam hard for an hour and a half. I would be done for after half that time.  Tuesday we headed back to Safety Harbor. Jan and I have started getting audiobooks from the library to listen to on these trips. It always amazes me how well Jan can listen with her eyes closed. This trip we listened to a book by Tony Hillerman called the Shape Shifter .  On Wednesday I found this chandelier while taking Jan for a procedure on her hand. It was quite impressive for a waiting room. The light fixture was about 6 feet tall. I thought it was a little much...

  For about 45 minutes after dinner Noah and I went out back to play. He brought out his soccer ball and we kicked it around the yard. Apparently Noah and some of his friends at school kick the ball around during recess. He had much to discuss about whether or not it is a "hands" call if the ball touched your arm. I suspect that this is an area of conversation on the playground. You know where does the hand start? And if you accidentally use your hand is that a penalty. I'm sure that if they had them yellow cards would be flying like leaves out on the elementary soccer field.

 One of the joys of being a grandparent is spoiling your grandchildren. We are staying with Noah while his parents take a trip to Atlanta.   Today we went to the Chain of Parks Art Festival . This was after sleeping in and having a breakfast of donuts. Yumm so nutritious.  After walking around awhile Jan got hungry and figured Noah needed something to eat. So stopping at the FIRST food truck we see. Noah decides on fries. I'm thinking like a serving of fries, you know with a side of catsup. Jan leaves me with Noah to go and get her a corndog. I finally get to the front of the line and Noah orders his fries with all the fixings. The guy behind the counter says $15... I miss heard him and thought he said $8 and handed him a ten dollar bill. He kept his hand out, Noah looked at me waiting.... And then I realized it was $15.  For fries.  Ok, Noah is my grandson and I get to spoil him. Digging back into my wallet I pull out a $20 and take back the ten....smiling...

 Of course these two day's joy is about riding my bike. Yesterday while riding in the morning I saw a mama duck and her ducklings out for a walk. The last one seems to have had enough. After the bike ride Jan and I went for a long car ride to Tallahassee. There we are visiting with Noah while Jessica and Jared take a little vacation from parenting.  After Jan dropped Noah off for school we went on a bike ride around Killearn Acres. It is a little hillier here than in Safety Harbor so it was more of a workout.

 Sometimes I see things that just make me smile. This was one of those cases. 

 Last Christmas Jessica and Jared gave me a coffee roaster. After that I have been roasting my own coffee. It is a lot of fun. I started with the starter kits that came with the roaster. Then I bought a bag of green beans off of Amazon. Then I found a supplier on-line. Now much to my joy I found a local importer with beans from around the world. Blazing Bean Roasters . I bought 5 lbs of coffee from Brazil. I've already roasted a batch and brewed up a cup. It's really good. 

  I have been retired for 833 days and I still feel like I'm adjusting to not working. Today Jan and I had a few errands to do and decided to have a nice late lunch at one of our favorite restaurants.  Miguel's Mexican on Kennedy Blvd in Tampa.   It was great we left the house about 10:30 did a few things and then went to have lunch out on a Monday. After lunch and then drove home to have a nap. On a Monday.  Retirement, I highly recommend it!

I spent this past Easter week doing something I had never done. Attending every Easter week service.  Jan and I ended this Holy Week with Easter dinner at Patty's house. Patty pulled out all the stops with a table set with fine china, crystal and full settings of silverware. It was a very beautiful table and a delicious dinner. Oh and great company too!