It's No Fun Getting Caught in the Rain!

   I had an aggravating experience a few Sundays ago. I had to work, and it was a rainy morning. I didn't know we were about to have a tropical depression though!

   The rain was pouring down, but I had to go out in it anyway, to wait for the bus. On the weekend, buses only run every hour and a half, so I had to make sure I didn't miss it. It usually goes by at 8:55, even though it's supposed to go by at 8:45. I went out at 8:40.

   I had my umbrella, but didn't dare use it. There was thunder and lightning all around, and since that tree outside my house was struck by lightning in July, I wasn't taking any chances.

    I wore my leather jacket, and my canvas hat. I don't have a raincoat or poncho. Guess it's time I get one. If I had it to do over again, I would've put a plastic trash bag on.

    Within five minutes, the rain had completely soaked through my coat and hat. And my pants? Forget it.  If you're wondering why I didn't go back inside, believe me, I considered it a few times. The reasons I didn't: I'm dedicated to my job, and I was already so wet, and the bus was supposed to be coming soon. 
   I had the brains to bring an extra shirt in my backpack, but I didn't put it in plastic. My backpack wasn't waterproof either, so my dry shirt was wet by the time I put it on. But it wasn't soaked, so it was a major improvement.

    While the rain continued to pour in buckets, I think I saw a cat and dog come down, too! I paced back and forth, but by now the sidewalk was flooded, and wherever I walked, my shoes were wading through puddles of water. I opened my umbrella momentarily, but thought the better of it as the thunder boomed overhead, and I decided I'd rather be wet than paralyzed lying on the ground. To add insult to injury, there was so much water in the street that the cars going by inevitably splashed me.

   I had to go to work, since nobody else was there to cover for me, it being the weekend. Mercifully, the bus finally showed up, at 9:15, only about 30 minutes late. All I can say is, standing in the pouring rain for that long can really get you soaked. I got on the bus, and then you should have seen the rain gushing in from a trap door on the floor! 
  When I arrived at the stop, I had new problems. Where do I walk, with all these huge moving puddles of water? There was no way around it, my shoes were going to get soaked again. It was an all day "squish" fest, walking in wet socks and shoes. Yuck.
    Once I actually set foot in the building, I saw a waterfall flowing into the front lobby! The flood ruined a lot of the carpeting in the lobby, and three offices. Luckily, it didn't damage the rehab gym or get into the elevator shaft! Housekeeping did a nice job keeping it soaked up with towels and water vacuum.
    The day got better after that, but it took all day for my pants to completely dry. Within a couple of hours, the sun was out. 
    It's taken them all this time to replace the carpeting (a new color, that makes the hallway look much wider) and they've been painting the baseboards. 
     I'm not even sure why I'm writing this, when I started writing this article it was the same day, and it seemed important. Now it's just a distant memory.  I think I'm going to buy myself a raincoat. Stay dry!
     
    

   

Breaking Bad is Back! But Not For Long....

   After waiting almost a year, Breaking Bad  finally resumed  last night.  In the final scene of last year's cliffhanger, Walt's brother- in- law is putting two and two together, realizing that it's Walt who's been committing crimes right under his nose all this time. In real time, it's been since 2008. On the show, it's only been about two years, if that.  

    I guess I have mixed feelings about the show coming to an end. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens, but then it's over for good.   I still think they should've gotten it over with last year, as a full length season. But where they were on hiatus for so long, maybe the outcome of the show was changed because they had more time to work on it.  

     I guess what I wonder most is: Will Walt's son find out what's been going on? How will he feel knowing his dad and his mom both deceived him? Who will survive the show? I'm betting on Jesse.  I almost forgot that Mike was killed off last season-which is actually not very plausible given how trigger happy his character was.

     It's been so long, I forgot a lot of the details--I'm assuming the murder of the kid on the bike will resurface. The idiot that killed the kid (who witnessed them stealing the chemicals from the train) kept the boy's pet tarantula. If they let that loose end go, I'll be surprised. 

     I'd forgotten how edgy I am when I watch this show. There's always an underlying feeling of impending doom. Tonight's episode started off with a flash forward, presumably to the final episode. By then, Walt has a beard, and hair, his home is trashed (where's his family?) and he goes in to retrieve the famous ricin cigarette out of hiding from a light socket.

     I was surprised that Walt and Hank had a confrontation this soon- Walt realized the damning piece of evidence was missing from the bathroom. Then he looked and found a GPS tracker on his car, and asked Hank if he had anything to do with it. Hank put down the garage door, and punched Walt in the face. Of course, Walt denied any wrongdoing, and revealed his cancer is back, and he'll be dead within six months.  Can't wait to see what happens next! I don't want this column to be full of spoilers, in case you decide to start watching.

   Two things that bothered me: they had a commercial after the opening sequence, and now if you want to see scenes for next week's episode, you have to wait until the first break of the new show they're pushing. No thanks, I'll wait.  If I was smart, I'd videotape the show and fast forward the commercials.  

    If you haven't tried an episode, I highly recommend you do!  I came across the show by accident. I hate hype, and I never would've sat down to watch it myself after listening to all the critical acclaim. It's certainly not for everybody, but if you like suspense and a highly intricate thoughtful plot, and good acting, you may really like it. Just be sure to start from the beginning. If you see it without the ads, it won't take that long to catch up! 

    AMC has added a half-hour talk show about "BB", but since it's not on right afterward, I didn't watch it.  Maybe I'll catch a re-run.  

  

     

    

My New Tablet is Very App-ealing!

  I finally broke down and bought myself a tablet. I spent months trying to decide what I wanted: another laptop, a netbook, a Kindle Fire, an iPad, etc.

  I didn't want to spend a lot of money, and I wanted something portable. So I went online and found tablets dirt cheap. I got an Android because I wanted some fun applications that I couldn't get on my computer.  Someone should explain to me why you can't get "apps" on a regular computer. I don't have a smartphone, and I don't really need one, so a tablet was my best option.
  The app I was most interested in is one that let's you know if your bus is on schedule, and how late it's going to be. But it's not compatible with my tablet. Oh well, I've lived without it this long. 

  It took a little getting used to a touchscreen. I like it. I'm just disappointed that my favorite game on the computer, Majongg Dimensions, isn't "supported" by my Andoid tablet. How I can get that support, I don't know. I want to know if I can do better with it with the touchscreen. Anyway, it doesn't matter that much because I've downloaded several great games, almost all of them free. 

   Amazon gives away a free application every day, and most of them are games. I've had lots of fun with various word games, ones where you find hidden numbers or objects, and arcade style games. It's nice to have a variety.

  I got my tablet also because the size is good for traveling, and I can access the web and my e-mail. The only drawbacks I've had so far is that the internet seems to cut out for no apparent reason sometimes. I'm also not crazy about the typing on a touchscreen. I make a lot more typos. But I suppose it's a trade off for not having to have a real keyboard.

  If you're thinking about getting a tablet, go for it.  Well, I'm off to go play some games! 

Cindy is 9 Today!!

Hard to believe, but my Cindy is nine years old today!

There isn't much I haven't already said about my wonderful Australian Cattle Dog/Collie mix.

She's a great companion, smart, cute, friendly.

Sometimes she barks a little too much, but other than that, she's a model citizen.

Cindy loves to go for walks, and especially enjoys riding in the car with her head out the window.

Naturally, her favorite hobby is eating. She'll be getting some special scraps today.

Here's young Cindy with Octoboy

Knawing on a rawhide; she's a few months old here.

Isn't she sweet?! This is when Cindy was a couple months old. We were at the playground, and I think she found the baseball.

I like to take photos of Cindy where her head looks bigger.

I was sitting right next to her when I took this one-she's a happy dog!

This is from late 2005. I'm not sure why her eyes are closed, but  it's one of my favorite shots.

From 2005 also. Boy, was she skinny then! Look at the intensity in her eyes.

This is 2006, after I returned from vacation. Cindy looked extra spiffy after having had a shampoo at the Doggie Spa.

I'm very proud of Cindy, and I'm so grateful she's my dog. She is very intelligent. And I guarantee she can understand every word I say!

She's now considered a "senior" dog, and she may be slowing down a little bit.  Her eyesight doesn't seem as sharp, and maybe she isn't as fast running up and down the stairs as she used to be. But she's still young at heart, and her heart is made of gold.  

I LOVE YOU CINDY!   HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!

It's Been an Eventful June!

   How is your summer going? It seems like the time is flying by, and before we know it, summer will be over. I've been busy with many projects, and haven't had much time to write.

    I'm afraid the ambition I had at the novelty of spring has worn off. Maybe I should've thought twice before starting my yard and garden blog. First of all, I haven't done diddly in the yard for a few weeks now. It got hot, it rained a lot, and the yard is now looking like the Amazon rain forest. Overgrown, with lots of hungry mosquitoes ready to attack me every time I go through there with the dog. Better save the rest of this commentary for that blog, so I don't repeat myself! To  make matters worse, I didn't even give the right URL in the blog post. It should be karinsyard2013.blogspot.com  .Check it out.

    I had a lot to say, now let's see if I can remember any of it!

     Now that summer is in full swing, I have to admit that I'm not the hardy soul I used to be. It hasn't been an unbearable summer, we've had two hot spells with humidity, and I'm already pining for cooler weather. I'm sure I'll change my mind when it does cool off, though!

   I'm disappointed the Bruins were unable to win the Stanley Cup. Any time you come that close, it's a letdown not to succeed. However, I must say there were so many exciting games over the course of the playoffs! The Bruins were able to stave off elimination in the first round in a historic comeback, beat Toronto, then the Rangers,  and sweep the Penguins. It took six games for Chicago to beat us.

  Think of how intensive and difficult it is playing hockey every other day. The Bruins played with a lot of heart, and Tukka Rask made us forget about Tim Thomas.  The way the Bruins lost game six of the finals was heartbreaking. If we had been able to hold the lead for just over another minute we would've made it to game 7. Then it would've been tough to win in Chicago, but I sure believed in them. I'm proud of the Bruins, win or lose.  Now that hockey season is over, all I have left is the Red Sox. Luckily they've been playing pretty well.

   Have you seen a rainbow recently? I was lucky last week to see an amazing one that lasted over 20 minutes.  I came home from work, we got a thunderstorm, and seconds after I walked in the door, a tree right outside my house was struck by lightning! The top of the tree lay in the street for a couple of hours while a cop directed traffic around it. I'm always careful about lightning, but having it hit so close to home was sobering.

   The sun came out, and we knew the conditions for a rainbow were prime, since it was still raining. I protected my camera as best I could, since I ruined my original Nikon in a rainstorm a few years ago. The double rainbow was spectacular!! I took many pictures. I told myself it would be good luck for the Bruins, and they did tie the Finals series that night.

  

The best shots are in my other camera- will show those another day!

  For some reason, I have a summer bug. I've lost my voice! So writing this post made me feel better. You don't realize how much you take speaking for granted until you can't do it.

Have a great night. I'll be doing a post on my other two blogs soon!

THE BOSTON BRUINS HAVE MADE ME PROUD! NOW LET'S WIN THE CUP!!!!

   I'm really proud of the Bruins. They've made it all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals, and tonight they'll be on the road against a tough opponent, the Chicago Blackhawks. 

   Do I think we're going to win the series? You bet. But I know it won't be easy. Then again, we weren't supposed to be able to beat the Penguins, and we swept them. It was pretty exciting!

   I think the shortened season may have helped the Bruins. We aren't as worn out as we'd be if we'd played an 80 game schedule. We've still had our share of injuries, and that will be a factor. I really don't know how many injuries the Blackhawks have.

   I do know they won 24 straight games during the regular season, which is pretty impressive. Because of the shortened season, we haven't faced them yet this year. 

    At any rate, we have at least four more hockey games left to play this year. I'm confident the Bruins can pull it off. I'm still enjoying the fact that we won the Cup in 2011, so this will be icing on the cake if we can do it again.

LET'S GO, BRUINS!!! BRING HOME THE CUP!!!

May Musings

     

     May I say a few words about May? It is a merry month if you enjoy watching the landscape transform from drab to divine. I haven't written in a while, I've just been so busy and too tired to write. I've fallen behind in my journals, and since I've expanded to three blogs, I feel a little pressure to do more.

     Anyway, I have to say a few words about how lovely May is- my favorite month. The weather warms up enough to make you realize that winter really is over. But it's usually not too hot. I'm definitely not ready for that yet.

      The best part for me is the flowery aroma wafting through the air. I'm lucky there's lots of blooming trees in my yard. Not only are they beautiful, they smell SO GOOD!!! I love the way the petals blow around lightly like snowflakes, sometimes in pink.  I take pictures every year, and I'm trying to find creative new ways to capture the beauty.

        Ever since I found a nest in the yard in 2008, I'm always on the lookout for another. It's so neat! I was lucky enough to have a very short video of the babies. 

      I also feel inspired listening to the birds sing. I love to hear them really early in the morning, when it's still dark. Nothing is better than the still of the night,  pierced by the urgent tweets and melodies of a songbird. I'm going to try and post an audio recording from a few years ago of a mockingbird that was singing in my yard-it's a video, but you can't see anything-just listen.

I uploaded the video, but I don't think it's going to play-I might have to convert it to you tube first. We'll see. 

     Well, I'll close for now and try to be back soon-in the meantime, enjoy the onset of spring! It'll be over before we know it.