Are You Spotified?
I have a love/hate relationship with the fall season. I love the cooler temps and the great riding and dog-walking days they provide but more and more (as the trees in our yard and our neighbor's yards get larger and larger) I'm hating the leaf raking that goes with it. I got a head-start on our flowers and perennials today by cutting some of them back a little sooner than usual. Our trees are all still green but they will soon change and when they do I'll be owned by them as I try and keep up with their falling leaves. Wish me luck.
Tammy took a Bonsai plant class last Sunday at Como Park Conservatory.
She had her interest piqued when we were at the State Fair a few weeks ago and observed a bonsai plant exhibit. I came home from work Sunday night and she couldn't wait to tell me all that she'd learned in her class from how to water and fertilize them to what to look for when trying to achieve the desired shape and what that should be. It was much more involved than my tired mind was able to absorb.
The next morning I woke her up by telling her that all the leaves on her bonsai plant had fallen off during the night (of course it wasn't true). I wish I'd had my camera to capture the look of shock on her face as she ran to go look. I'm so mean.
I had more fun blowing glass on Thursday than ever. Typically, we've been doing two-gather pieces, meaning we gather glass from the furnace twice for each piece be it a tumbler, bowl or vase. But when we were in the studio on Thursday the glass level was low in the crucible causing my two-gather pieces to be a little smaller than usual. So I took a third gather. Wow! There was so much more glass to work with. It was fun because it challenged me in ways I hadn't yet been challenged. The piece was putting off much more heat than I'm used to and it blew out considerably bigger than I'm accustomed to. Lots of fun! I managed to get a couple of vases "in the box" (the annealer) and will get a chance to see them when we go back on Friday.
Are you using Spotify for your online music yet? Check it out if you're not. I'm still using the free version but I'm considering going premium. What I like most about Spotify is the ability to listen to an entire song at 360 kps rather than an abbreviated preview on iTunes. You can also make playlists to both save and share with others. Here's a video that explains many of the features and advantages Spotify has over iTunes: Spotify: The iTunes Killer.
I've been kicking around plans for a celebratory bike ride to the Black Hills in South Dakota when I retire. The idea is to spend a week riding there and having Tammy meet me in the car to take me home after spending a few days vacationing together. Hmmm, I just had a thought. Is it still called a vacation if you're both retired?
Anyway, a friend from work (Paul Osika) retired last month and is now on a two-month odyssey traversing the country with his wife and several others on a supported bike tour. Paul lived with me for several months when we were both going through our divorces in 1997. He didn't ride then but he'd watch as I'd head out on my bike and burn through whatever frustrations I had. I like to think I played a part in him developing such a passion for riding. He left San Diego with his group yesterday bound for Florida. I admit it—I'm totally envious. So much so that I suggested to Tammy that I want to do that too but not with a group. Solo. She suggested that she would love to come along and shadow me in the car, meeting up with me at the end of each day. That would be awesome but I wonder if she would get bored with a month-long trip such as that? I'd love to share the ride with her. We'll add her suggestion into the mix and see what develops.
Tammy took a Bonsai plant class last Sunday at Como Park Conservatory.
She had her interest piqued when we were at the State Fair a few weeks ago and observed a bonsai plant exhibit. I came home from work Sunday night and she couldn't wait to tell me all that she'd learned in her class from how to water and fertilize them to what to look for when trying to achieve the desired shape and what that should be. It was much more involved than my tired mind was able to absorb.The next morning I woke her up by telling her that all the leaves on her bonsai plant had fallen off during the night (of course it wasn't true). I wish I'd had my camera to capture the look of shock on her face as she ran to go look. I'm so mean.
I had more fun blowing glass on Thursday than ever. Typically, we've been doing two-gather pieces, meaning we gather glass from the furnace twice for each piece be it a tumbler, bowl or vase. But when we were in the studio on Thursday the glass level was low in the crucible causing my two-gather pieces to be a little smaller than usual. So I took a third gather. Wow! There was so much more glass to work with. It was fun because it challenged me in ways I hadn't yet been challenged. The piece was putting off much more heat than I'm used to and it blew out considerably bigger than I'm accustomed to. Lots of fun! I managed to get a couple of vases "in the box" (the annealer) and will get a chance to see them when we go back on Friday.
Are you using Spotify for your online music yet? Check it out if you're not. I'm still using the free version but I'm considering going premium. What I like most about Spotify is the ability to listen to an entire song at 360 kps rather than an abbreviated preview on iTunes. You can also make playlists to both save and share with others. Here's a video that explains many of the features and advantages Spotify has over iTunes: Spotify: The iTunes Killer.
I've been kicking around plans for a celebratory bike ride to the Black Hills in South Dakota when I retire. The idea is to spend a week riding there and having Tammy meet me in the car to take me home after spending a few days vacationing together. Hmmm, I just had a thought. Is it still called a vacation if you're both retired?
Anyway, a friend from work (Paul Osika) retired last month and is now on a two-month odyssey traversing the country with his wife and several others on a supported bike tour. Paul lived with me for several months when we were both going through our divorces in 1997. He didn't ride then but he'd watch as I'd head out on my bike and burn through whatever frustrations I had. I like to think I played a part in him developing such a passion for riding. He left San Diego with his group yesterday bound for Florida. I admit it—I'm totally envious. So much so that I suggested to Tammy that I want to do that too but not with a group. Solo. She suggested that she would love to come along and shadow me in the car, meeting up with me at the end of each day. That would be awesome but I wonder if she would get bored with a month-long trip such as that? I'd love to share the ride with her. We'll add her suggestion into the mix and see what develops.
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