tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78882161125708242122023-11-16T07:02:54.520-05:00Writing when the cat lets meJohn M. Dantzlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08618952972463876656noreply@blogger.comBlogger1940125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7888216112570824212.post-54570493839744456852016-06-07T14:33:00.001-04:002016-06-08T09:36:35.043-04:00This is where I get off So like I said, this blog ends soon. In fact, now. There will be a new blog reasonably soon without my name or contact information attached to it. Anyone who might be interested can just holler and I'll hand across the link. (Any friend, that is.) I haven't gone paranoid or anything. It's just that over the years, there were so many things that I couldn't write about regarding extended family and acquaintances. It will be nice to be free of restrictions. Also it won't matter if some complete fiction is thrown in; in fact, it would probably help. Anyway, that's the plan.<br />
I thank my readers most sincerely. Your numbers are not great but the friendship that you have shown most certainly is. If you get to missing my authentic first person singular voice, just drop a line. I can be counted on to reply pretty darned promptly.<br />
<br />
Edit: Corrected typo. As it's the last entry, I probably should have left it, but just couldn't. Still me.John M. Dantzlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08618952972463876656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7888216112570824212.post-7923792807435517602016-06-06T14:56:00.001-04:002016-06-06T14:56:11.920-04:00Finally something to blog about! As Tamara points out, I finally have something to blog about! However, the problem with waiting 3 hours at the IRS and then having the actual appointment last most of another hour is that you feel too drained to talk about it. This is mostly because of the no food no drink policy. The fact that they relaxed the No Cell Phones rule to No Cell Phone Conversations was a life saver. Messaging with Tamara was all that kept me sane.<br /> If everybody else had had somebody to message with, it would have been a pleasant if boring experience. However, the long, long wait told on more than one of us and the beeing and emming got pretty unpleasant. The woman working the concierge desk went to the back to help out serving us, and one idiot suggested that she was hiding back there and further noted that the glass probably wasn't bulletproof. Not surprisingly, security turned up quickly. Idiot also kept calling them Robocops (meaning rent-a-cops). They were amazingly patient and reasonable in the face of neverending abuse. Her dad went out in the corridor with the idea of persuading her to leave. She went ballistic about that as if the security guys had made him go. She said she would go full throttle if they messed with her father and that's when the security guy told her to leave. She had also mentioned not being allowed to smoke in there so possibly it was partially a nicotine fit. Note to self, get nicotine patch if I ever a) take up smoking and b) have a long wait in store.<br /> In the midst of all that, a lady came out, apologized for the delays, said that unfortunately some one had called in sick today, and she and another person were handling everything, and would also have to take turns taking lunch. This went over GREAT. But I for one appreciated the candor and felt more calm. <br /> The rest of the time was quieter, but still filled with b & m. Also increasing hunger. I was delighted by two older guys talking about the old days playing baseball and the players today. When my number was called, I was totally ready. Unfortunately, I had two things to deal with. The second required materials to be faxed to another IRS office, which my rep was totally willing to do. It took another half an hour though somehow, which is the problem with antiquated technology. But the actual dealing with the IRS part of visiting the IRS was completely successful, almost delightful. I hope I don't have to go back any time-- ever, really. The $10 parking charge at the nearest garage was just the cherry on the top. But I got it done. Yeehaw!John M. Dantzlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08618952972463876656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7888216112570824212.post-174089747940777042016-06-05T16:36:00.000-04:002016-06-05T16:36:56.165-04:00Wasting away These are just getting shorter and shorter, aren't they? And this one is just to note that I won't be making it to 2000 entries or whatever the number is. I'll be winding it up very, very soon. There will be a new blog but no direct link for it. If you want the link, just ask, though. I think you can find the email address around here somewhere. That will be going away soon, too, but it will be operational for the next little while at least.<br /> There are good reasons for this change, which I can't really share. Another reason, though, is that I tried to look up something that had happened to me a few years ago and found that I never wrote down the crucial detail. A little disappointed in yours truly, it's true. I'll try to get in a good entry before I go though!John M. Dantzlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08618952972463876656noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7888216112570824212.post-85758396432577191022016-06-04T18:15:00.000-04:002016-06-04T18:15:51.757-04:00More unexpected fun Tamara's sick, so I can only write a sentence or two. However, I just wanted to mention how fun and easy putting together a new cat tree/tower was. I'll be telling Amazon the same shortly. The thing is as tall as me and looks to be more fun than anything. Of course it will take days to get Amelia even to approach it. But I think both cats will love it. (Just to be clear, this is the unexpected fun, with the more part referring to yesterday's IRS call, NOT Tamara being sick.)John M. Dantzlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08618952972463876656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7888216112570824212.post-56449583508577391232016-06-04T09:28:00.001-04:002016-06-04T09:28:53.819-04:00IRS 2 Fool that I am, I volunteered to sit on hold for another 15 minutes for the opportunity to talk to the IRS. When I got through, at least I didn't get cut off. But I did get put on hold again. However, after that, everything was fun. I talked to Ms. Carmen, who I once would have referred to as an older woman, but I'm 54 for goodness' sake. We're all older than we used to be. Anyway, Ms. Carmen was funny, charming and made the process easier. However, as I suspected, there was no way for me to prove over the phone that I'm really me. The qualifying questions were all about installment plans and mortgages, neither of which do I have. Note to IRS: not everybody is interested in the debt bandwagon.<br /> So I have to go in on Monday with ID and social security card and tax forms and IRS letter in hand to prove that I haven't been a victim of identity theft. I suspect that this will be less fun than talking to Ms. Carmen. At least I won't have to sit on hold with a cat yelling at me. I hope. Stand by for IRS 3!John M. Dantzlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08618952972463876656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7888216112570824212.post-32747088746143741332016-06-03T16:00:00.001-04:002016-06-03T16:00:42.266-04:00Who am I anyway? I'd like to thank the IRS for giving me something to blog about other than my girlfriend's health, which I suspect she would rather me not do. (By and large, she's fine, by the way.) The IRS sent me a letter a week or more ago wanting proof that Dad was dead and that I was really his executor/personal rep. Before I could cope with that, they sent another asking me to prove that I'm really me. They recommend I visit the IRS's verification website. I did, but it could not verify me and I was instructed to call the 1-800 number.<br /> The 1-800 number of course immediately told me to go to the verification website. It also warned me that my wait time would be 10 to 15 minutes. I was relaxed; I have both a speaker phone setting and a television. Their muzak was no worse than any bank's and I passed an uneventful wait. Then I heard, "Please wait," dialing, and a voice. Speaking Spanish. I said, "Excuse me?" and the person said that I had been shunted to the Spanish line mistakenly but that she could help me in English. Anyway, that's what I think she would have said except the line was cut at that point. I assume that she accidentally hung up on me. My enthusiasm for this project, never high, has tumbled after being cut off five seconds into a conversation after a 15 minute wait. However, I did and do think it's funny as hell. As it's a 24-hour line, I'm thinking of trying at 4 in the morning. Thinking is a long way from doing of course. But one has to get through somehow if one wants his tax refund, which they warn will still be another 9 weeks away after all this is done. Thanks identity thieves! I just love ya! (Identity thieves in general who caused this level of caution; to the best of my knowledge, my identity is safe.) Wish IRS would just give me an address to go to where I could show my picture ID and sign a statement that hell yes I filed that 1040 form. But that would make sense.John M. Dantzlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08618952972463876656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7888216112570824212.post-33647043604262294422016-06-02T16:24:00.000-04:002016-06-02T16:24:19.086-04:00Shhhhhh! A year ago, when she first got here, Tamara bought a Groupon for a prominent local restaurant. It was quite a deal and she was going to take her cousin, but the cousin thought that the place was too formal and wouldn't go. School started and she never went and the Groupon deal expired. However, she could still get a credit for the amount she had originally paid. So last night, we went.<br /> I wish I could tell you more about the restaurant, because we really, really liked it. However, we're not at all sure how advisable that would be. Because they honored the expired Groupon. But nobody said that they were honoring it in spite of its being expired; the bill was just lower by a vast, vast amount. We're still not sure if it was a mistake and don't want to take any chance of getting anyone in trouble. Nor of course receive a retroactive bill. But I must say, we had already decided that we want to go back. We are much much much more likely to do so now. So even if it had been done in error, it doesn't turn out to be a big mistake. (Anybody local wanting to know which restaurant this is about, just email and I'll share.)John M. Dantzlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08618952972463876656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7888216112570824212.post-90727653930219577772016-06-01T13:28:00.001-04:002016-06-01T13:28:50.835-04:00Numbers Obviously, I've been phoning this in for a very long time. I'm trying to hang on until I get to my next big even number, 2,000 posts or whatever it is. I'm starting to think that this is an unworthy goal and I should just hang it up. The problem with being happy is that there isn't much to talk about. I'm not sure that the difficulties of choosing the perfect new cat furniture is a topic that really has legs. (But if anyone has any brilliant suggestions, we would be soooo receptive!)<br /> I enjoy exploring my dreams, but I don't remember many. I still get the ones where I'm in a city-sized dormitory forever looking for somewhere to eat, somewhere to sleep, or somewhere to use the bathroom. (That should be food, a bed, a bathroom, shouldn't it?) Tamara thinks it means that I feel lost. I can go with that but am fairly used to feeling lost. Also, my brain always takes a while to recognize changes. I told her that the next time I have that dream, I'm just going to stop somebody and ask for directions. I bet I never have that dream again then.John M. Dantzlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08618952972463876656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7888216112570824212.post-81778271494733616272016-05-31T09:35:00.001-04:002016-05-31T09:35:18.078-04:00Addicts We've been watching Game of Thrones in recent weeks, starting from the beginning. For a while there, we were able to restrain ourselves and watch only one or two episodes per night. We've sort of lost our minds, though. Saturday night, we watched three episodes. This resulted in stiff necks and we swore we wouldn't do it again. That sure lasted! After Jackson Browne, we watched another three episodes, going past midnight for the first time. Last night, we did it again, but stopped before midnight at least. We're about halfway through season 4 (out of 6). So we'll be running out of episodes fairly soon, there being only ten to a season. We dream about it. We talk about it in the night. No doubt we'll be joining a 12-step program soon. (No we won't.) We do try to throw in a light comedy now and then. Game of Thrones is excellent on many levels, but zany it isn't. We're seldom bored with it, though.John M. Dantzlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08618952972463876656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7888216112570824212.post-60537766857333274852016-05-31T09:27:00.001-04:002016-05-31T09:27:43.540-04:00Jackson Browne show Yesterday's blog post today! Before heading to the Jackson Browne show, we formally agreed that if the show was bad at all or if our fellow attendees were again obnoxious, we would bail and come home. No on one and yes on two, but we stayed all the way and enjoyed it all. It was odd how many of his big songs that he didn't do, such as "Here Come Those Tears Again," "Boulevard," "That Girl Could Sing," "Lawyers In Love." I would have liked to hear "The Fuse" as well. But everything he did was terrific. He did one song that isn't on any record, another that's on his most recent record but which he didn't write. It's by a singer/songwriter very popular in Cuba but unknown here. On the whole, he came across as a very decent guy, and perfectly willing to do requests called out from the crowd. We dug it.<br /> The Township is still not our favorite venue. We learned a valuable object lesson, though. The expensive seats for the Moodies offered a great view, but we couldn't hear them well. The cheap (actually free) seats offered ok sight lines and we could hear perfectly well. If we ever return, I think we'll go with the balcony. But I seriously doubt that we'll return.John M. Dantzlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08618952972463876656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7888216112570824212.post-44049847153954474662016-05-29T16:04:00.003-04:002016-05-29T16:04:50.220-04:00Jackson Browne We're going to see Jackson Browne solo acoustic tonight and I'm excited, really, I swear I am. The only thing is that I won the tickets last year, picked them up in early January for a show that was initially supposed to be in January but was postponed due to illness. And the radio has been playing the same promos since January of Jackson singing solo and acoustic. And it sounds very, very, very downbeat and depressing. I know that Jackson has been touring for decades and must know by now how to include an upbeat number here and there. I'm sure it will be a great show and that we will enjoy every minute. But I tell you what: whoever made that promo did Jackson a real disservice. If I hadn't won the tickets, there'd be almost no way I would have bought them. That said, I reiterate: I expect to enjoy every minute. AND to call out my home town like at the start of Running On Empty. We are hoping and praying that the "ROCK AND ROLL FOREVER!!!" people from the Moodies show aren't seated behind us again. Cross all fingers and toes.John M. Dantzlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08618952972463876656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7888216112570824212.post-64961437880567554822016-05-28T17:58:00.001-04:002016-05-28T17:58:18.262-04:00Chihuahua chatauqua You wouldn't think it would be fun. It isn't a very exciting place. An unpaved road running from nowhere to nowhere, flanked by not very scenic farms. But it's the best place ever for excitable chihuahuas to run, since there aren't other dogs (or people) there. We've gone three times now, and twice with both chihuahuas, and it's been crazy fun every time. We are hoping that Lucy (the older, more nervous traveler of the two) will eventually start to associate car trips with fun instead of vets and plane flights. But it's possible that she has motion sickness. Anyway, once we get there she has fun and absolutely refuses to admit that she's tired when she's obviously flagging. It was supposed to be crazy hot today, but a tropical depression coming this way depressed temperatures. (It also raised humidity, but you can't have everything.) So we got an extra fairly temperate day in what is normally already summer around here. So yay!John M. Dantzlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08618952972463876656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7888216112570824212.post-66429660229640157562016-05-27T16:45:00.001-04:002016-05-27T16:45:53.366-04:00Wow! The array of presents beloved Tamara gave me for my birthday is just flat astonishing, but I'm not sure she wants me to talk about it. However, the most amazing ones must be mentioned. A tape player with a USB connection for turning songs on tape to MP3s and a turntable that does the same for my old singles and LPs. I'm just in awe, overwhelmed, and crazy grateful. It will take a long, long time for me to work my way through all of them, and I'm going to enjoy every minute! What a sweetheart she is! She also gave me a lot of other neat stuff and three books, always the best way to stay high in my esteem. She is a mind reader, as well as a wonderful person and a sweet darling. What a birthday! Yay!John M. Dantzlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08618952972463876656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7888216112570824212.post-16173507984086431222016-05-26T09:09:00.001-04:002016-05-26T09:09:53.586-04:00It's my party and I'll fail to blog if I want to! There's been a lot of these lately, haven't there? I was amused to dream last night about going to North Carolina and taking walks on golf courses which looked nothing like golf courses and everything like hiking trails. Sawgrass was mentioned, which I'm reasonably certain is not in North Carolina. A reminder of the Mark Twain quote about a good walk spoiled. There was also some business about a CD I have by Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Rollins and Sonny Stitt with only four cuts on it. In the dream, there was another cut I always left off that was 20 minutes long. Completely fictitious, but now I want to hear that imaginary cut. Have to go to Sawgrass I guess!John M. Dantzlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08618952972463876656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7888216112570824212.post-28063336786157259492016-05-25T12:24:00.001-04:002016-05-25T12:24:40.418-04:00Ozone We were wondering why an hour of gardening kicked our butts so thoroughly yesterday. It turns out that today is an orange alert for ground level ozone locally. This suggests that levels yesterday were also high. Anyway it's likely. So no gardening will be happening today. I'll take my walk somewhere there's a lot of trees. I have a few such plays to choose from, and I can also seek out butterflies.<br /> At the moment, though, I'm imprisoned, because there's a plumber working under the house. I don't know why I have to be here since I have no kind of key to that crawlspace, but apparently it's part of the deal. Getting a request to flush from beneath my floor is a new experience for me. Hopefully it means we're coming close to the end of the problem. And I can get on with pre-birthday stuff. Or walking.John M. Dantzlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08618952972463876656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7888216112570824212.post-27748149931109512016-05-24T17:38:00.000-04:002016-05-24T17:38:32.303-04:00Real Estate Today we took Tamara's car to the dealership for much recall work. It's still there as of 5:30, but we're told we can pick it up at closing time at 7. So we wandered town and I showed her some of our cool neighborhoods (we have some, really!) and looked at hip houses. I don't think I'll be buying any time soon or ever, but it was fun to dream. It was fun even for me, a near lifelong resident, to see some neighborhoods I'm not so familiar with. And Zillow lets you see inside the houses which was also a bit of a revelation.<br /> We also finished up weeding her yard, or anyway made massive progress. Still have to pick up car. I'm on the porch enjoying the crazy beautiful weather with Amelia, who seems to be getting over her Great Explorer tendencies. At least for today.John M. Dantzlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08618952972463876656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7888216112570824212.post-72482851522194263922016-05-24T17:37:00.000-04:002016-05-24T17:37:20.708-04:00Chihuahua joy This is yesterday's entry. Time got away from me and I never got a chance to make one. Tamara and I had another of those days that sound like little on paper but was pure joy in execution. We took her chihuahuas to the far end of (unpaved) Old State Road again, this time bringing both instead of just one. Man did they have fun! You would not believe how fast old, arthritic little dogs can run. We had pretty big fun, too. Also we saw good butterflies, like a very large yellow-form tiger swallowtail. So I was much relieved on that score.<br /> We brought along her stroller (bought on Craig's List for pet use), which didn't get a lot of use with the athletes we were with. However, we then took them to Grill Marks. It's a restaurant that welcomes dogs on the patio, but the chihuahuas had to be zipped away in the stroller or they would have run out into Gervais Street. But we gave them a selection of what we were eating. We think it made them pretty happy. It was a banner day for chihuahuas.<br /> We also went to Lowe's. She had already bought a push blade mower; this proved inadequate for the weeds in her yard when we put it together. So we got a cordless weed whacker, and this did the job nicely. So on the whole, a lively, fun, productive day. Aren't we good?John M. Dantzlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08618952972463876656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7888216112570824212.post-82698863516878554422016-05-22T16:26:00.001-04:002016-05-22T16:26:45.418-04:00Worked out Well, the plan was to go to Charlotte for VegFest. On the way, we were going to look at the spider lilies at Landsford Canal State Park. That was more or less how it turned out. However, we had trouble finding parking for the festival. Went around some blocks and found-- ANOTHER Ethiopian-Eritrean restaurant! And it was great!<br /> So in short, the trip came out a little upside down. We dug the spider lilies. We dug the Ethiopian food. We were fairly bored with VegFest, although everyone was very nice. However, if we'd gone all the way to Charlotte just for that, we would have been sorely disappointed. But a great day we had, and know a new Ethiopian restaurant now. Yay!John M. Dantzlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08618952972463876656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7888216112570824212.post-24414797692128773632016-05-21T09:05:00.001-04:002016-05-21T09:05:40.422-04:00Lilies! Today we're headed to VegFest in Charlotte, where we're hopeful of finding gluten- and soy-free treats but certain of dairy-free since it's actually a vegan festival. On the way, we're stopping at Landsford Canal State Park to see the Rocky Shoals Spider Lilies. I'm ridiculously pumped and best pleased to have the new phone/camera. The previous one had a 4X zoom, but by that it meant it cropped the picture to 4 times smaller. This one has an 8X zoom and the smaller picture has much more detail than one cropped to the same size. (I tried it out yesterday.) In other words, the old camera didn't really have a zoom, just an automatic cropping feature. This one has an actual zoom. Thanks Anne and Malcolm!<br /> Last night, for the first time in ages my feet weren't cold. Tamara had been feeding me arepas and tamales. We were joking about the vitamin C in Corn. But maybe there is something in there that I've been missing. "Ferulic acid, beta-carotene, vanillic acid, coumaric acid, caffeic acid, and syringic acid are other key phytonutrients provided by corn. Corn is a good source of pantothenic acid, phosphorus, niacin, dietary fiber, manganese, and vitamin B6." Who knew? Google suggests it may have been the mussels from the other day. Cool! We love mussels!John M. Dantzlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08618952972463876656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7888216112570824212.post-15211450831199565202016-05-21T08:55:00.000-04:002016-05-21T08:55:01.551-04:00Fireflies! This is yesterday's entry, meaning that today's follows momentarily. I took Tamara to Congaree National Park at sunset last night to see the synchronized firefly show. There were many many many more visitors than when I went last year. Much to my joy (not at all sarcastic), there was a car in front of us in both directions. So no chance of hitting a cat this time. So our visit was much more joyous than was mine last year. The fireflies put on a brilliant show even though all the photographs came out black. Just because the new phone camera works great in low light doesn't mean it will pick up points of light in VERY low light. That said, they did show up in a couple of pictures; just not well. <br /> In case you haven't heard, synchronized fireflies only appear in a few places in the world. The nearest (not counting yards in Columbia) is apparently Southeast Asia. So pretty cool stuff and we're very lucky. Very talented bugs we got up in here.John M. Dantzlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08618952972463876656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7888216112570824212.post-10775805134863039812016-05-19T17:46:00.000-04:002016-05-19T17:46:05.767-04:00Oh just rain It's the peak period for the Catawba River Rocky Shoals Spider Lilies and I'd really like to take Tamara to see them, but we have rain pretty nearly statewide pretty nearly every day. This stinks and everything, but after last fall, it's kind of nice to have days of rain without any sense of fear. Mind you, we didn't have any fear last time until the actual floods happened. But as I've mentioned, I at least had a touch of panic for several months after the flood any time it rained. It's nice that that has passed. It will be even nicer to be able to take Tamara to see the lilies. Hoping for Saturday. It could happen!<br /> Beloved brother Malcolm and sister Anne sent me a new high-end phone. I have to drop by T-Mobile to get it activated. There may be a gap in service and in blogging. I'm sure the world is deeply worried.John M. Dantzlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08618952972463876656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7888216112570824212.post-66775405731968856422016-05-18T16:21:00.001-04:002016-05-18T16:21:15.201-04:00El Mariachi We are probably the only people you know who would make a quarter-year together celebration out of a visit to a Mexican grocery. But what a Mexican grocery! I mention it, though, because anyone who might be surfing in from our hometown Columbia SC might have a little trouble finding it, even online. El Mariachi as far as the Internet is concerned is a store on US 378. It's a fine store, too, but a little small. Their newer location on Decker is still listed under its former name. This one, though, is vast. Described in the one article about it we found online as "larger than Trader Joe's." Tamara called it the Whole Foods of Mexican stores, although I think she did it in Spanish. She was looking for some fairly obscure ingredients, popular in Latin America but impossible to find here. They were all in this El Mariachi, none in the other one nor in the other store I searched. So if you're in the 803, take the Decker Boulevard exit from I-77 and look out on your left. What a place!<br /> We also found authentic Latin food very nearby at Taqueria Jalisco I think it was. El Mariachi also had a restaurant but it was a little weird since no one was there. The checker said you walk up and tell the lady (whom we hadn't seen when we were back there) what you want and they cook it. Might be great, but we went with the better-reviewed place. Tonight, we go swanky. Hey, you only have one quarter-year together celebration!John M. Dantzlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08618952972463876656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7888216112570824212.post-44505950479470387592016-05-17T15:27:00.001-04:002016-05-17T15:27:11.325-04:00Good sign No, literally! One of the candidates for county council has a very well designed yard design. I could of course describe it or post a photo, but that isn't the point. The point is that I'm considering voting for him or her (it's a non gender determinative first name) exclusively based on the design quality of a yard sign. I'm not going to do it, of course. I'll look up the candidates and read up on the issues and all that between now and the election in June. I'm just mildly disturbed that I'm tempted to vote on that basis. Mildly, though.<br /> This is the day Tamara and I hit the quarter-year mark. We were going to go to a swanky restaurant for supper but after we had gone to a diner for breakfast and a taqueria for lunch, we figured we might not have room for supper. So we'll do that another day. We did go to the best Hispanic grocery in town (El Mariachi on Decker if you're interested) where Tamara, who used to live in Central America and grew up visiting Mexico frequently, was in heaven. So a good day so far!John M. Dantzlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08618952972463876656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7888216112570824212.post-9361188045623305142016-05-16T17:33:00.001-04:002016-05-16T17:33:13.103-04:00End of an error So I'm shuttering Columbia's chapter of Drinking Liberally. I should have done so years ago because it went out of business even before I became the host, but for sentimental reasons I soldiered on. However, we've gotten to the point where it's just Tamara and I being in a specific space at a specific time, fielding one or two Facebook messages asking who is there. This is hardly fair to Tamara and hardly fun for me either. If people wanted to come, they would have done so by now. So it's the end. I feel mostly relieved. Oh and I suppose am waiting to be begged to carry on with promises of frequent future attendance. Not. Holding. My. Breath.John M. Dantzlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08618952972463876656noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7888216112570824212.post-19083351431201294982016-05-15T21:42:00.001-04:002016-05-15T21:42:11.931-04:00Asheville! We had just about the perfect day in Asheville. The food, the shopping, the sights-- it could hardly have been better. Unfortunately, after early rising and a lot of driving, I'm pretty nearly exhausted, so you'll just have to take my word. If anyone wants details and or restaurant tips, just comment below and I'll gladly share them tomorrow. But, damn, dang, wow, what a day we had! It was windy so the temperate weather meant that I should have worn one of my 19 too many blazers, but jumping into shops and galleries on every block solved that problem readily. Zowie we had fun! And our animals even more or less behaved while we were gone. Will the miracles never cease?John M. Dantzlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08618952972463876656noreply@blogger.com0