Poolside Scene

I don't think this phonecam snapshot does the least bit of justice to our setting, but you've got the idea.

Hangin' by the Pool

Terry and I are thoroughly enjoying our time at the pool of the R-C beach resort while on vacation in Naples, FL.

And All That Jazz

Farewell to young Dan and Rebecca, who are moving to Chicago. Dan once left us for Madison, WI, but that was different. This time he sold all his homes (personal residence and rentals) and cars. So tonight we joined a group of their friends to send them off and wish them well.

Last Night in Montreal

It wasn't everyone's last night in Montreal, just for Frank (above) and Russ (on left, shown with our host Mathieu, on right). But that was a good enough reason for me to encourage the group to stay out for another round of drinks.

Coke Explosion!

I moved the beverages in my refrigerator to the top shelf, since things up there get half-frozen. Better to have ice-cold beer and soda than slushy milk. Until the day I came good to find sticky brown goo splattered all over the walls, ceiling, and shelves of my refrigerator. I have heard that soda cans would explode in the freezer, so I never put them in there. For the curious, the top of the frozen can (only 1 of 12 blew up) is actually not part of the can itself, although it looks that way. I know this since I found it on the other side of the fridge, and from the clean edges on both can and lid it was easy to see the top was forced straight up and off. The mess was particularly disenheartening since I just took all the shelves and drawers out for a deep cleaning a few days before.

Walk a Mile in Her Shoes

I witnessed a UVA awareness event while having brunch at The Nook. A bunch of male athletes, along with some women, walked the mall in heels and passed out flyers for SARA (sexual assault resource agency). At first I thought this "Walk a Mile in Her Shoes" was supposed to be an empathy-building exercise for the young men statistically likely to sexually assault women. And I thought it was doing a grave disservice to the community; these guys prancing around and joking weren't going to have the least bit of understanding until they were wearing heels while trying to escape from someone larger and stronger than themselves who was threatening (or had already started) to harm them. However, once I caught a glimpse of the flyer I saw it was just to promote the resource. At which point I thought it was a cute gimmick, but perhaps the patrons casually dining in outdoor cafes weren't the citizens who would most urgently benefit from knowing about the free help available to victims.

Henry's Dirty Pickle

This martini is a house speciality at Escafe, and I highly recommend it if you like gin and pickles.

Coffee Explosion

I really enjoy my new Aeropress coffeemaker, but I was pushing the limits (exceeding, actually) of my coffeemaking abilities. I read on some forum that one could capture some of the coffee oils and thus body by inverting the first seconds of the press. But rather than a few drips which I presumed to be the penalty for an inexperienced press, I got a full, painfully hot coffee explosion. Lesson learned--I am too like Icarus.

Bed Built!

Almost there... after another 12 hrs of labor, construction is complete. Now all that remains is to finish the piece--prime a few more areas, add more wallpaper to the shelves, paint the outside wood areas, and upholster the top. That's all.

Bed-Building Day

I like to lean against the large cushions while in bed, but they take up 10 inches of the bed's length so my toes are unpleasanty close to the end of the mattress when I sleep. So I came up with the obvious solution to put the cushions on a 10 inch shelf behind the bed. But then I realized I could simultaneously solve the problem of no nightstands by extending the shelf and adding lower shelves on each side. Yesterday I designed the unit and purchased the materials. I even fit all the 8 foot boards in the car myself. Today I build. This is what I've accomplished in 4 hours.