Friday was going along just fine. I was working on a document that was coming together nicely. I'd done a lot of it on Thursday, so Friday was nice and relaxed. I finished up the content, then tackled the formatting and layout. I knew that would be tricky, because my authoring tool can be cranky. Sure enough, it was. It looked just fine in the source, but the PDF output simply would not behave. It... Read more →
Let's kick off the first weekend of 2019 with a brand new Saturday 9! Saturday 9: You Make Me Feel Brand New (1974) Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here. Welcome to the first Saturday 9 of 2019! 1) As 2019 kicks off, what are your hopes for the brand new year? I hope to stay in remission, first and foremost! After that, I have my usual hopes - more juggling, more writing, more... Read more →
The new year is off to a good start. Joe got up before I did and made the coffee - what a guy, eh? After a leisurely breakfast, we went for a walk. The weather was so weird; it was 60 degrees, but the wind was strong and cool. By the time we walked up to the top of the road and back, the cloud cover had given way to sunny skies and the temperature... Read more →
The year 2018 comes to an end in about two and a half hours, at least it does here in the Eastern time zone. It's pouring rain outside and the temperature is rising - I guess it's opposite day for New Year's Eve. Shouldn't it be cold and snowy? Anyway, I'm glad to be looking ahead to 2019. I wonder what the year will bring? I guess I'll find out - time, as they say,... Read more →
Now let's take a look at the second half of the year in pictures! In July, we went to see Cirque du Soleil's Volta under the big top. It was a wonderful show! In August, a freak downpour caused serious flooding outside my office. It wasn't terrible in my neighborhood, thankfully. We also visited the Reading Pagoda, one of Pennsylvania's Top Ten Marvels. We climbed all the way to the top - 84 steps! In... Read more →
Rather than spew lots of words about 2018, I've decided to let pictures give the highlights of my year. In January, I started chemotherapy for Small Lymphocytic Lymphoma. In February, I bought my inspirational bracelet. I wore it until I found out that I was in complete remission. In March, we had four nor'easters! We lost power when this tree fell on the power lines. But the storms did not keep us from attending Weetacon... Read more →
Oh hi! We had, of course, the best Christmas ever. On Christmas Eve, Joe and I threw some stuff in a bag and took a cab to the train station. We're both pretty sure that the hole in the door of the cab came from a bullet; it's Philly, after all. Naturally we were two hours early, because every time we allow a lot of time for the Schuylkill Expressway to be hosed up, it's... Read more →
All the Christmas chores are done! After Joe went off to work yesterday afternoon, I sat myself down with wrapping paper, scissors, tape, and Sharpie for the annual wrappening. I must say, it's a lot less onerous when there are only four folks to wrap for. And only two of those four get multiple presents! It wasn't awfully cold this morning, so I walked outside for the first time in quite a while. It was...... Read more →
We heard the siren when we were on our second cups of coffee. It was indeed a fire engine, but it was moving awfully slowly. Wait! Could it be? YES! Hi Santa! Merry Christmas! Read more →
It seems wrong that tonight's full moon is called the Cold Moon when it's 59 degrees outside. (It's also called the Long Nights Moon; I wrote about that a long time ago.) It's also the Winter Solstice, when darkness falls at 4:39 in the afternoon and lasts until 7:19 tomorrow morning. A long, long night. So much dark. I have mixed feelings about the night. I'm scared of it, a legacy of another cold Winter... Read more →