Say What?

Tammy and I took in our first Pride Parade event last Sunday. Rachel was in the parade, walking along with a friend of hers who is a candidate for Hennepin County Commissioner, Irene Fernando. We drove to the Mall of America where we picked up the light rail for a ride into the city. Storms to the west of us threatened to rain on the parade but they fizzled out. It was a fun time . I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the recent retirement announcement of Justice Kennedy from the Supreme Court of the United States and the likelihood that another conservative pick by Trump* will risk rolling back many of the gains made through the court in recent years, and not so recent years. The protections for same-sex couples affirmed by the court not so long ago are now in jeopardy of being stripped away. But we've got the Citizens United decision that tells us corporations are people too, so you'll have to excuse me for being more than a little confused. I finally got our cuckoo cl...

Another rainy day today had me sitting on the couch in our sunporch fixing dead links on our website . I don't add to the site all that much anymore but I've got a lot of time invested in it over the years so I'd like to keep it and its links somewhat relevant. The one area of the site that I'm considering refreshing are the pages devoted to stained glass. Much of what I have there are photos of my early work. I'd like to add photos of some more recent creations. Also, I need to add SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) coding to each of the sites I manage (a total of 3). Beginning in July, unless I've got the coding added to the site, it will show that it's an unsecured site next to its URL, looking somewhat like the image to the left. A secure site will have a padlock icon next to the URL. GoDaddy wants $60 a year for each site to keep them secured. For that price, I'll figure out the coding on my own. I received a message via Google Hangouts a couple hours ag...

It's a dreary day outside my den window but I welcome these sorta days. We're between lines of thunderstorms and the birds are using the respite to fill the air with their songs. I've got nowhere that I need to be. It's taken me nearly a few years of retirement but I've finally reached the point where I'll allow myself to take an afternoon nap. A nap was never something I could indulge in when I was working because it only made more of a mess of my sleep schedule than it already was. It's nice to know I can play that card pretty much whenever I choose to now. I've been spending more time riding than golfing this year and I'm enjoying the change of pace. I sorta neglected my riding for my love of golf last year and although I have no regrets about my time spent walking the links, I wanted to find more of a balance this year. While I enjoy the relaxed nature of a round of golf, it can't compare to a hard workout on any of my bikes. My fitness...

As I sorta figured would happen, my stained glass items on Etsy lost much of their rankings (for search engine queries) while I had my shop on vacation mode while we were away. It'll likely take a while but I'm hopeful that they'll make their way back up in the rankings to where they were before we left. I've been able to chip away a little at a stained glass project I'm doing for my brother Bryan and his wife Sue. I was hoping to have it done and mailed to them before they leave for vacation in July but I don't think I'll be able to finish it in time. The lure of being outside is simply too much for me this time of year as it always is. I'm trying to work on it just a couple hours at a time but even that's a big ask for me now. I'd include a photo here of the design but I want it to be a surprise for them. Tammy and I made a fairy garden for Trinity Care Center where her mother is a resident. We're pleased with how it turned out. It...