Celebrating Ellerie (1) and Annalyn’s (4) Birthdays in Toledo
RichC | March 2, 2021
It has sort of become a tradition to celebrate birthdays in Toledo with the Oostra family. We certainly enjoy getting together with everyone and regularly reflex on just how blessed we are as a family. I mentioned to Brenda that one of the greatest blessing in my life was marrying into the Howard family … […]
Is there a high quality, maintenance-free garage door and opener?
RichC | February 23, 2021
One of the most unappreciated attributes often overlooked when dating and looking for a life partner is that of a handyman, or to be a little more politically correct, a “handyperson.” I do know that having the Mister Fix-it gene, or is it a learned skill (???), has been one of my strong traits, but […]
Thoughts on the passing of conservative icon: Rush Limbaugh
RichC | February 21, 2021
Rush Limbaugh died on Wednesday of this past week. It wasn’t a surprise to those who have followed his health challenges and in particular a stage 4 lung cancer diagnosis a year previous. He continue his radio work up until the end and left a G.O.A.T. legacy in conservative talk radio that will likely never […]
Woodworking: Tinkering on a prototype desktop book stand
RichC | February 20, 2021
The weather has been … well, wintery and I’ve been working on a self-designed prototype desktop bookshelf or bookstand with the thought of making a couple of them. Unfortunately desks … let alone books … are disappearing as a Future of Everything WSJ article mentioned this past year. The design is relatively simple in that […]
Tech Friday: Switched our iPhones to Mint Mobile to save $$$
RichC | February 19, 2021
Well it is official, we are both with Mint Mobile. I’ve been using them for a month now and haven’t had any issues with their service (backboned on T-Mobile I believe) … and since saving money for the same service is a no-brainer, I’ve switched Brenda’s iPhone over this month as well … and added […]
Archive: The Howards and the Woodcocks in Florida #TBT
RichC | February 18, 2021
A couple of weeks ago I shared a 1990s photo of Brenda’s dad with a close friend Hugh Woodcock and saw another one from 1997 to archive for a Throwback Thursday #TBT. Both MomH (2017) and DadH (2013) have passed away, but since Mrs. Woodcock (Ann) commented on my “snowy February stay-at-home” post, I figured […]
Archive for posterity: Sold a little more fractional Bitcoin shares
RichC | February 18, 2021
Almost 1 year ago, I started to use the Chromium-based Brave Browser and an Uphold account to receive the BAT (Basic Attention Token). I convert to Bitcoin along with the income generated on MyDesultoryBlog.com … which currently seems to be the digital currency of choice; I really did it just for the fun of it […]
Happy Valentine’s Day to friends and family, especially my girls!
RichC | February 14, 2021
Brenda packaged up a nice box of fun gifts for our granddaughters and they connected by FaceTime with high energy and happy faces – it was fun. Both Annalyn and Ellerie are camera “hams” and seem to enjoy what to them is a normal communication medium. I’m certainly enjoying the technology connection as it is […]
The coyotes in southwestern Ohio are healthy and active
RichC | February 13, 2021
We live in a fairly developed area and yet the variety of animals surviving amidst the traffic and people continues to amaze me. When we built in Liberty Township, Ohio in the mid-1990s you would have called our area “developing but rural.” Now, there is no question we are suburban and “in my opinion” … […]
A snowy 2021 February stay-at-home day and a few idea photos
RichC | February 10, 2021
We received a surprise snowfall on Monday night this week and it caught most of us, including the weather people and snowplows off-guard. Brenda worked until close in Oxford, Ohio and it took her nearly an hour and a half to drive home .. no salt on the roads and very few snowplows were out. […]
Political venting and a new website called TheHustings.news
RichC | February 9, 2021
Did you ever have a political discussion or receive an email that generated a desire to reply and explain? That sort of happened to me this weekend … but I decided there isn’t an upside in the one on one reply. The best approach, as is often the case when talking about faith and religion, […]
Archive: DadH, Hugh Woodcock, Lynda and Mark photos #TBT
RichC | February 4, 2021
I always stop in to visit with lifetime friends of Mom and Dad Howard, Ann and Hugh Woodcock when I’m close, but hesitate to even tell them I’m nearby “in the days of COVID19.” I really hate putting it off though, since one never knows how many days friends in their 90s have? The photo […]
"Three on the Tree" (for car enthusiast or those of a certain age)
RichC | February 2, 2021
Earlier in the years, this image of a “Three on the Tree” manual column shifter-pattern was tweeted by a automotive friend and it triggered memories for me. Younger people nowadays might not even remember manual shifting on the column with a clutch .. or for that matter ever shifting a “Four on the Floor” … […]
Archive: Professional Brenda and the Hawk Migration #TBT
RichC | January 28, 2021
When searching for a photo of my 1996 Toyota 4Runner (never found one), I stumbled across a couple personal photos from 1997 and will archive them for today’s Throwback Thursday #TBT. One of “professional Brenda” dressed for the office in 1990’s style (ha!) and the other of our family on an October Hawk Migration birding […]
Do all grandparents love their grandchildren as much as I do?
RichC | January 27, 2021
January 2021 is already getting away from me and after receiving a cute photo from Katelyn of “Ellerie’s first pony” (tail) in a text message, I realized just how fast time is whizzing by. Before I could do the comparison, she also sent me a side by side photo with Annalyn at Ellerie’s age, to […]
These days, I have been upscaling my coffee and my toothpaste
RichC | January 23, 2021
Once upon a time, I was … or at least tried … to be frugal in most things. I’ve always shied away from buying higher priced brand names, when there were less expensive option. Coffee is a prime example … since I was perfectly happy with the Chock full o’Nuts brand of canned coffee since […]
We love having our photo albums on the Echo Show #TBT
RichC | January 21, 2021
Both Brenda and I enjoy the hundreds (if not thousands?) of photos from our albums and digital archives that I’ve uploaded to the the photo section of the Amazon Prime storage cloud. We likely enjoy it more since it sits on our kitchen countertop (great for Alexa Echo messages to Annalyn and Ellerie too). So […]
Question: Can I get the COVID-19 vaccine in Ohio yet?
RichC | January 20, 2021
While talking with a customer on the phone today and talking about when I’ll be traveling to NE Ohio again, they asked me when they could get the Covid-19 vaccine? See Covid-19 Vaccination Program – LINK. So I figured it would be appropriate to include a screenshot from an Ohio-based health care provider in our […]
Adding and storing cordless power tools and lithium batteries
RichC | January 17, 2021
In keeping up with lithium battery powered tools, those of us who have married into a brand have our reasons (battery warranty in my case).In reading most of the comparison literature and write-up websites, Price and warranty aside, I would probably choose Milwaukee (and have for a couple 110 volt wired tools) as a rechargeable […]
The wire from the TV signal box is now in the basement ceiling
RichC | January 16, 2021
My wife is great … and her decorating and building taste as to what “looks” nice grows on a person after nearly 40 years of marriage … but I still grumble about some of the decision she makes. One of them was wanting a drywall ceiling rather than something removable when we finished the basement. […]
A Toyota 4Runner window sticker and missing a photo #TBT
RichC | January 14, 2021
While shuffling through a bunch of old scans and photos and uploading stuff to my Miami University .EDU Google Drive account for free cloud storage after downgrading my subscription to OneDrive (they refused to renew the 1TB of space at my previous 4-years of discounted service), I ran across the window sticker from my black […]
Archive: On January 6, 2021, my nephew Ben, Emily, Liev and Ellis welcomed beautiful baby Lyra Eileen Skinner into the world
RichC | January 13, 2021
We don’t see my nephew and his family nearly enough, but a week ago, my nephew Ben, his wife Emily, and their two boys, Liev and Ellis welcomed a beautiful baby girl into the world. The boys baby sister, and Ben and Emily’s first daughter, Lyra Eileen Skinner was born in the morning, weighing a […]
A cigar box for sewing clips and NE Ohio drugstore memories
RichC | January 2, 2021
Adam Savage, from Mythbusters claim-to-fame, has been regularly posting a few of his shop ideas online. A few months ago he triggered me into improving my portable Sailrite Sewing machine set-up (well my wife’s sewing machine that I use .. cough, cough). Anyway, a few weeks after he built his table for his impressive Sailrite […]
Thankful to have a long time friend like Jeff – #TBT photo
RichC | December 31, 2020
I had lunch “out” this week with my good friend Jeff, although this routine has become very infrequent compared to previous years. Still, we had a chance to catch up, talk about politics (Ugh), the old-days backpacking in North Carolina (an old scanned photo for Throwback Thursday #TBT) … and I opened his cool gift […]
Our family Christmas 2020 and a few too many wrap-up photos
RichC | December 29, 2020
It was great that the sun was shining in the new windows the day after Christmas, but the hot-spots did make for a challenging family photo in front of the tree (we ended up too busy and forgot to take on on Christmas day with all the presents). Nevertheless, we still wanted to take one […]
Merry Christmas to all who check in on My Desultory Blog
RichC | December 25, 2020
Since it is now Christmas day, I will finally post a couple of the woodworking projects that I’ve been working on for gifts this year. Ellerie was my primary focus since I’ve made quite a few items for Annalyn in the past, but I’m trying not to leave anybody out either. So … for the […]
Old handsaws, rusting jack posts and a deck of cards #TBT
RichC | December 24, 2020
Since I expect to be busy with our family on Christmas Eve Day, I’ll prepare a post for Throwback Thursday #TBT with a few old handsaws from my families past and asked the rhetorical question to myself: “Why do you keep old handsaws that you never use?” Actually I don’t recall really needing to use […]
Our granddaughters are coming and new Great Room windows
RichC | December 23, 2020
Marking time and happenings is sort of what My Desultory Blog has evolved into … or at least it seems that way lately (reminds me of the “Pacing the Cage” song). I have found that in hindsight I’ve been using the blog as a reference point for events and updates. It had become a good […]
Eating out with a friend during COVID19 and an MMT discussion
RichC | December 22, 2020
With only a handful of meals out during this COVID19 year with my buddy Jeff this past year, I’ve learned to appreciate them even more than usual. We’ve been having lunch together each month or so as a way to stay connected for decades and for me adjusting to just emails and text messages is […]
Merry Christmas 2020 and wishing you a "Hopeful" New Year
RichC | December 15, 2020
It has been a challenging year to say the least with the Coronavirus still raging in the US and around the world. So many lives, businesses and plans have been forever changed. Brenda and I just feel blessed to be surviving the pandemic and able to function in a day to day matter. We hear […]
Santa Mouse slippers, Christmas stories and Echo messages
RichC | December 12, 2020
What grandparent doesn’t like getting voice messages (and photos) from their children and grandchildren? I sure love my granddaughters and enjoy using technology to stay in touch with them during this COVID 2020 year. Brenda, Katelyn, Drew and I use Facetime to talk each weekend, but I particularly enjoy asking questions and getting answers from […]
Repairing the aging Caldera Hot Tub … AGAIN #TBT
RichC | December 10, 2020
Well, it happened again. The stainless steel heater element pipe in our Caldera Hot Tub has failed again (last time was 2013). There must be some electrolysis accelerating the corrosion unless the stainless steel tubing is just that poor of quality? On the other hand, like the repair guy commented, your hot tub is far […]
Remembering Pearl Harbor and a few personal family thoughts
RichC | December 7, 2020
Recognition and remembrance for those of the Greatest Generation who were killed on December 7, 1941 are compelling reasons why Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day rings loud with me … but my remembering is also partially due out of respect for my parents. For them (and my late mother and father-in-law), the attack by Japan and […]
Archiving pre-sale Zillow photos of Mom and DadC’s house #TBT
RichC | December 3, 2020
As a ‘still listed’ page owner according to my Zillow update emails of my parents house listing in Sidney, Ohio, I realized that it will not be long before those pages and photos disappear. I likely still have the original photos on a compact flash drive card (who can still read those), but probably won’t […]
First Snow December 1st 2020 … and another backyard accident
RichC | December 2, 2020
December 2020 rolled in with a light white blanket of snow and colder weather to let us know that winter is probably here for a while. I can’t say that I’m looking forward to the temperature change, but I really don’t mind the hushed beauty of a “new-fallen snow” … as Clement Clarke Moore wrote […]
Our family is getting into the 2020 Christmas decorating spirit
RichC | December 1, 2020
Last weekend must have been the time to start getting into the Christmas spirit? I was busy getting the wreaths and window candles up (and last of the leaves raked and hauled), Katelyn, Drew, Annalyn and Ellerie were on their Christmas tree outing adventure and Taylor and Megan were adding some decorations to Taylor’s apartment […]
Memories of Grandmothers and Aprons plus photos #TBT
RichC | November 26, 2020
Since I’m pre-writing this by a few days for Throwback Thursday #TBT, I realized just before post it that it will also be Thanksgiving on Thursday. Our family won’t be getting together as usual (same for a lot of families for a COVID19 resurgence), but ours was planned that way since we rotate holidays; Katelyn, […]
Ellerie’s Christmas project and decorating before Thanksgiving
RichC | November 25, 2020
Christmas is fast approaching and it isn’t even Thanksgiving yet! Yikes. Brenda and our neighbor Pam are already putting up the decorations around our Evergreen Farm Estates neighborhood … something they have been doing for the last 20+ years. I think they enjoy doing it, even though it is time for someone else to join […]
Kitchen stool screw-on felt slides–a must have and long overdue
RichC | November 17, 2020
This should have been one of the first things I did when assembling our six metal stools back when we remodeled our kitchen in 2017. I bought slides for the condo stools after remodeling since there were only two and on tile, but cheaped out with stick felts at home. They were never worth the […]
What to do with a piece of cheap tarp and a Sailrite Ultrafeed?
RichC | November 15, 2020
On one of my sailing groups, a Sailrite Ultrafeed LSZ-1 user complained that the speed controller pedal was hard to regulate. I’ve found that to be true as well. Another person made the comment that they used a piece of flexible tubing/hose that gives the pedal a little more tactile feel … so I tried […]
Apple Mac announcement event this past week along with some fun babysitting Annalyn and Ellerie in Perrysburg, Ohio
RichC | November 14, 2020
This was a big week for Apple who started their business selling computers. Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past 40 years, you know what a Macintosh computer is and just how important they are in living in the age of technology. Cellphones and tablets may have surpassed the personal computer for […]
Archive: 1958 Packard Hawk electrical issues, schematics and an Indian Summer bike ride for Annalyn and Ellerie
RichC | November 12, 2020
The electrical woes on my dad’s 1958 Packard Hawk continue to dumbfound me. It is obvious from looking at the wiring schematics (archived below the break) that the car has had some rewiring done since tracking issues has been problematic. I did find one failed relay causing a problem with power windows. Once bypassing the […]
The new Packard Hawk modified battery hold-downs are great
RichC | November 11, 2020
Tweak by tweak I’m staring to enjoy working on my dad’s Packard Hawk. For the past five years I’ve been unmotivated or shy about calling the car that was my dad’s and before that his uncle’s, mine, … but as the list of non-working repairs and fixes grows, I’m seeing a path to making it […]
Family Filler: A couple of great leftover weekend photos
RichC | November 4, 2020
Too much going on to post on the election so I’ll sit back and enjoy a couple a great leftover weekend photos from the family. First is a very happy Ellerie (Drew must have been on “hair duty” again) .. and an OSU loving Annalyn (although suspect she doesn’t watch the game?) Finally a belated […]
Waiting for a Halloween updates from my granddaughters
RichC | November 1, 2020
While pre-starting a Happy Halloween archive post for 2020 amidst a limited trick or treating year due to COVID19, I will at least start with a few photos Katelyn and Drew sent of their preparation. I’m sure Annalyn is excited to at least “beg” for a little candy (probably just close neighbors) but it is […]
Ellerie was dedicated at Waterville Community Church
RichC | October 27, 2020
Although in the “time of COVID19” things are different when it comes to gatherings, going to church, keeping a distance and wearing masks, we did get together with the Oostra family for Ellerie’s baby dedication. It seems like just yesterday we were together for Annalyn’s, but now she is a big sister. She has such […]
Dilemma: What to do with my aging, shredded faux leather, tired foam, squeaking and generally falling apart office chair
RichC | October 25, 2020
The office chair I’ve used for the passed couple decades has seen better days, but it is still my favorite. The sturdy build is better than most I’ve seen, the arm pivots up out of the way for desk-work and easily sliding up to type, write, read or clean around. The size fits me well […]
Archive: A couple family photos from this past week
RichC | October 17, 2020
While Brenda and I zipped to Florida for a couple planned vacation get-away days, our family enjoyed the autumn weather change in Ohio. Taylor treated Megan to a birthday evening with a romantic evening and a fire in our outdoor fireplace and the Oostra family headed to Hocking Hills and a little hiking — Katelyn, […]
Most parents and grandparents have room for improvement
RichC | October 11, 2020
I’m the first to admit, “I have plenty of shortcomings as a parent and grandparent,” … and I don’t think that I’m alone. That said, focusing on our past mistakes and regret will do little to correct the past, not to mention won’t help our own psyche. Instead, we can look forward, learn from the […]
My son Taylor has been busy professionally and personally
RichC | October 10, 2020
As a dad who has always kept up and archived the “goings-on” with Taylor and Katelyn on MyDesultoryBlog, I realized that grandchildren steal the limelight most of the time … that is just the way it is. But … that doesn’t mean life doesn’t keep moving along for adult children in the work-a-day world either. […]
The Old Wooden Ladder: Shag carpet and "The Pig" #TBT
RichC | October 8, 2020
While doing some the pool house garage cleaning and reorganizing over the past couple of weeks, a piece of the old shag carpeting I duct taped onto the old wooden ladder I acquired in the 1980s fell off. As usual, it triggered memories. First, the good times Brenda and I had with our sailboat Brenich, […]
An inexpensive Sailrite LSZ-1 sewing machine cart is finished
RichC | October 7, 2020
The Sailrite LSZ-1 sewing machine cart is complete and turned out great. Everything worked as planned (a rarity for me) and didn’t have to purchase anything new. The wider oak material was sitting in my stock shelf, the edge banding for the fold out table stripped from the glass top of my recently disassembled printing […]
Archive: Some books to bookshelves and granddaughter photos
RichC | October 6, 2020
The summer has slipped away and we are finally getting around to getting our boxes and bags of books back in the library/music room. Earlier this year I built some new bookshelves for the back wall that will house a lot of our books. I’ve been tossing and slowly organizing them, but Brenda has just […]
Cleaning, reorganizing, some sanding and new ZipGuard finsih
RichC | October 4, 2020
In my goal to gain space in the poolhouse garage (a failure) and clearing out and cleaning the east-side wall, I shifted my attention to the beat-up bench top. Part of this was just clearing the workbench of junk, then reorganizing and cleaning each shelf. The boxes have been sort-of shuffled (drawers ignored), but I […]
After cleaning, tossing junk and the re-organizing a couple walls, the pool house garage is still way too cluttered
RichC | October 3, 2020
As much as I love working in an organized space, for the life of me I have trouble keeping it that way. Also, I can’t get rid of things I use, might use or that are too good to sell or toss. The truth is that I have the packrat gene. My parents were not […]
Sold my Twitter $TWTR stock as the election nears
RichC | October 2, 2020
With Twitter $TWTR stock rising this week and the election around the corner, I debated buying a PUT option, but instead decided I would feel more comfortable in a cash position than wondering what direction the stock will move next time. Years ago I unfortunately picked Twitter as my social network investment and for the […]
Remembering my mom’s birthday with an Oldsmobile photo
RichC | September 29, 2020
My mother’s birthday isn’t one that I mark with a blog post every year, but since I ran across this old photo of my mom in East Tawas Michigan, I set it aside (along with one from me in my new suede coat back in high school). I spotted the Kodachrome slide of Mom next […]
Great night sky viewing of the moon, Saturn and Jupiter
RichC | September 28, 2020
As usual, my night celestial bodies viewing in person is SO MUCH BETTER than trying to capture the beautiful night sky with an iPhone (and older 7 model to boot) … but that doesn’t stop me from trying. Here’s a view of the rising moon, with the faint speck of Saturn about a 1/3 from […]
Desultory - des-uhl-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee
- lacking in consistency, constancy, or visible order, disconnected; fitful: desultory conversation.
- digressing from or unconnected with the main subject; random: a desultory remark.
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