Proposing our family listen to a podcast on Christmas Eve

| December 24, 2022

Jane Wells has been a reporter for CNBC (“Janie” as the late Mark Haines called her)  that I’ve followed for years while watching business news channels (or should I have said, “is a ‘has-been’ reporter?” – hopefully a little humor that she would appreciate!). Anyway, I always smiled when watching her “quirky” stories and reporting […]

First Snow December 1st 2020 … and another backyard accident

| 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 […]

Automotive history photo and story that got attention last year

| January 2, 2020

Every once in a while, a story about cars and history (my memories) catches eyeballs. One such story in Hemmings Motor News last year did that for me in part because my dad had a 1972 Ford Pinto and because the Mt. St. Helens eruption in May of 1980 was a big deal news story. […]

What do you do when you lock yourself out? Use a hammer?

| July 21, 2019

I am calling today “embarrass your wife day,” as she admitted to the questionable decision to open a door with a hammer when I was out of town last week (although she hid the damage for a day). Now that a few days have passed, it is a bit easier to chuckle and admire the […]

Time mellows the moment – The Great Christmas Tree Disaster

| January 30, 2019

In an old spinnaker (sail) from our Thistle, I finally hauled out our larger than usual Christmas tree this past week. It was then that I realized I had neglected to archive the “Great Christmas Tree Disaster of 2018” story from December. Hm, how could I have forgotten … likely for the same embarrassing reason […]

If we coddle, protect and give, are we doing a disservice?

| June 19, 2018

I generally do not read longer Facebook posts, but while scanning a few friends comments on Father’s Day remembering their dads, Kathy Pangborn (good friend and neighbor of my inlaws) reposted a story that had me remembering the different father-types that I knew. Neither my mother or father-in-laws’ or mother or fathers’ parents (my grandparents) […]

Sailing around the world for 8 years with 3 kids taught us to live without structure

| October 10, 2016

The Giffords are part of a growing, but little-known community of people called cruisers. (A 2011 survey placed the global total number of cruising boats at 10,000.)  “Cruising requires that you learn to live without structure. And some people are really afraid of that.” While many cruisers are couples or individuals who have given up […]

Twas the Night before Christmas … and to all a Good-Night!

| December 24, 2015

   Nearly 200 years ago, Clement Clarke Moore “wrote” (still debated) a Christmas poem for his children, not realizing it would later be published and become the classic we all know and love — “Twas the Night Before Christmas” (A Visit from St. Nicholas). Many still do not realize that today’s image of Santa Claus […]

Lost at sea: the man who vanished for 14 months

| November 9, 2015

In November 2012, Salvador Alvarenga went fishing off the coast of Mexico. Two days later, a storm hit and he made a desperate SOS. It was the last anyone heard from him – for 438 days. This is his story Source: Lost at sea: the man who vanished for 14 months

Come on in and grab onto my tail, “I don’t want to eat you!”

| August 27, 2011

Sort of reminds me of the of the 1875 St. Nicholas tale with the Gingerbread Man which ends like this: … He ran till he came to a river. And next to the river was a fox. The fox said, "Hello little gingerbread man." The gingerbread man said, "HELLO! I ran away from the little […]

Senator John McCain: His life

| March 22, 2008

The Republican Party snagged me in asking for support ($$$) for John McCain’s upcoming Presidential run. Although I side-stepped the campaign donation, I did say that I would encourage others to learn more about him. To start with, I’m including a “timeline” history of John McCain below. He and his fatherand his grandfather, served the […]

My Challenger Story

| January 29, 2006

Saturday morning, January 27, 1986, the Space Shuttle Challenger and seven astronauts prepared for a cold morning ride into space at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida; they didn’t launch. Those of us patiently waiting on Cocoa Beach, including yours truly, were disappointed when we heard the word of the postponed flight. Chilled to the […]

Desultory - des-uhl-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee

  1. lacking in consistency, constancy, or visible order, disconnected; fitful: desultory conversation.
  2. digressing from or unconnected with the main subject; random: a desultory remark.
My Desultory Blog