Reunion

When I was working on my MBA in the late 1990s I was a graduate assistant for one of the professors in the business school. I hadn't seen him for several years, but that changed today when Lew and I spent the afternoon visiting with him at his house. One of my fellow classmates and his wife came, too. (My classmate was also a graduate assistant for the same professor.)

Despite the fact that it was years, it seemed like only days since we had seen each other. That's the great thing about old friends, isn't it? 

😊

Dad 456: A Tale of Two Kitties

(Cats rule! Enjoy Dad's post! ~ Tracy)

 

Derf Here!

 

Looking outside from inside, one would think Spring is here. It looks great outside. But it is still cold out. Below freezing nightly and just above freezing during the day. It will be changing soon, I hope!

 

Lew and Tracy are out around town, so I just went and coaxed Jerry to come and visit. He subsequently left his chair and came for a visit. While I write this he is sitting on our heater (monitor). This seems to be a spot that both cats (Jerry and Marilyn) like; they will lie down and sleep for hours. I even turn on the light next to the heater so they will feel warmer. And because the lampshade is broken, I can lift up one end for more warmth. Anything for the two cats that run the household.

 

Marilyn can open our clothes closet (sliding doors) and will crawl up top and stay for hours hidden in the closet. Today she is upstairs on a bed or in her cubby. They both have their favorite spots. They are in charge, you know!

 

Enough about Lew and Tracy's kitties. (Jerry just left the heater and is sitting behind me on the couch.)

 

Until next time!

 

Toodle Pip!

 

Derf!

My Own Spring Training

After watching a couple episodes of NCIS on Netflix this evening, Lew and I watched the 9th inning of a baseball game.

It was Game 5 of the 2018 World Series!

Fortunately, the Red Sox were still the victors in that game (score 5-1) to win the Series (4 games to 1).

Question: Why was I still nervous even though I knew the outcome?
Answer: I was preparing for watching this season!

Let's Go, Red Sox!

A Weekend of Entertainment

Yesterday Lew and I went to see the movie "Green Book" with our breakfast buddies. We all enjoyed the movie and agreed that it was deserving of the Best Picture Oscar.

Tonight Lew and I are going to the Maine State Ballet to see "Cinderella." I've never seen "Cinderella" done as a ballet, and I'm pretty sure Lew hasn't either! Our friends' daughter is in the production, so it will be fun to watch for her.

As if the two items above aren't enough entertainment for the weekend, we still have a smorgasbord of sports on television! 😊

Madness!

It is quite the week for sports on television.

The NCAA basketball tournament is now in full swing. I printed off brackets for Lew and my father. Lew is filling his in, but I'm not sure whether Dad is. I do know that the household TVs are tuned in.

The PBA World Series of Bowling is also on this week. A bowling show every day! I'm still amazed at the science of this sport. Oil patterns, ball composition, rev rates... much more intense than I would have thought.

Other sports on TV: MLB pre-season, PGA, NBA, NHL. Lew even found some curling.

So much to watch in such a short time.... Oh, the madness of it all!

Dad 455: Spring!

(Yes! Spring has arrived! Enjoy Dad's post! ~ Tracy)

 

Derf Here!

 

Another sunny day for the first day of Spring. It will be Spring in about one hour (5:58 PM). Go away snow and warm up. We are ready for some beach weather.

 

The seafood restaurant diagonally across the street will open this Friday for the season. Lew has already made up our minds for a hamburger platter and fish for Spouse sometime this weekend. Sounds good! We will participate. The largest seafood restaurant in our area opened last weekend. They are open weekends while the restaurant across the street will be open daily. Another sign of Spring is that the Dairy Corner will open April 5th for the season. The place is waking up for another summer of fun. The grass will soon follow and turn green. Our crocuses are up already. Please warm up soon. These freezing nights aren't helping!

 

Spouse had her teeth cleaned yesterday and must have a broken tooth (wisdom) extracted in a couple weeks. I'll keep you posted. See you next week.

 

Until next time!

 

Toodle Pip!

 

Derf!

Tubing

Lew and I had dinner out with some friends on Friday night. We all came back to our house afterward and spent the next few hours watching stuff on YouTube, which is accessible on our "smart" TV.

We watched:

• Highlights of the Red Sox World Series win
• Highlights of the Patriots Super Bowl win 
• Music videos (check out "Gotta Love Millenials") 
• Our friends' son's DIY videos 
• My favorite SNL skit (Jim Carrey lifeguard)
• Steve Martin singing "King Tut"

It was an enjoyable evening.

Tubing: It's not just a water sport!

A Lofty Goal

I have a list on my tasks app of books that I am currently reading. There are 58 books on the list.

No, I am not reading all of them at once.

I have that many listed because most of them are on my Kindle. I had pages and pages of book titles on my Kindle, but I narrowed them down to books that I thought I would read soon.

I'm not sure why I think I can read 58 books "soon" but I am going to give it a go!

📚📕📖📚📗📖📚📘📖📚📙📖📚

Dad 454: March Showers

(High water usage in the household today. Enjoy Dad's post!  ~  Tracy)

Derf Here!

Tracy just came over and asked me if Derf was done. I told her I forgot about it. So here is my blog post for the day....

Well, the days are surely getting warmer. We have been above freezing the last few days. Supposed to get a little snow tonight that is sure to melt within two days. We have turned the corner towards Spring. Hooray!!

Had a busy day today getting ready for tomorrow. Spouse had her shower today and will get her hair cut tomorrow. I showered today as well and will go to my foot doctor tomorrow after Spouse's hair appointment. So it looks like a busy day tomorrow also.

Just watched the weather channel out in the Colorado, Wyoming, and South Dakota area. Blizzard conditions and whiteout conditions are there. Wind gusts over 65 MPH. Snow by the foot predicted out there. Good for them! Better them than us.

Until next time!

Toodle Pip!

Derf!

Level 3

I met a friend for lunch in downtown Portland today.

Anyone familiar with downtown Portland is painfully aware of a serious problem there: Parking.

I had already planned which parking garage I was going to use, and I was able to find a spot after driving up and up and up....

After parking, I found the stairwell so I could walk down to the street level. The sign next to the stairwell advised me to remember my parking level: Level 3. Got it.

Lunch was delightful and I eventually made my way back to the parking garage. I wasn't able to enter by the same door I left (it was an "exit" only door), but I wasn't too worried. I had, after all, remembered my parking level.

I walked up the stairwell to Level 3 and walked to where I thought my car would be.

Problem....

The stairwell I walked up was on the opposite side of the garage than the one I had walked down previously. So, my car wasn't there. But I could see the "level" of Level 3 I believed it was on. Except I couldn't easily get there from where I was.

So I retraced my steps back to the stairwell and walked in the opposite direction up and up and up... and eventually found my car.

Then I drove down and down and down and down and down and down (it definitely seemed longer than when I drove up and up and up). I eventually made it to the garage exit, where I paid my fee. Credit cards only, no cash payments.

Portland, parking, problem, payment.... A summary of my Level 3 day!

“Spring Ahead” Now

Jerry wants to remind everyone to turn clocks ahead by one hour tonight.

Technically, it’s supposed to be done at 2am. Does anyone actually do that?

Meow!

Dad 453: "Spring Ahead" Ahead

(A nice short post from Dad today... just the way I like it!  ~  Tracy)

Derf Here! Another bright, sunny "spring" day. One problem. At noon it was only 19 degrees. Not much change in the weather this week. Possible storm on Sunday (rain will keep the snow down). At least it will be warmer. Spring is on the way. I hope!!

Can't think of much else to write about.

Only one more request: Be sure to set your clocks ahead this weekend. This is a sure sign of Spring.

Hope to have more next week.

Until next time!

Toodle Pip!

Derf!

Tax Prep Shingle

Every year I prepare tax returns for three "entities" — Lew and me, my parents, and Matt and Emily. I use the tax preparation software known as TurboTax.

This year I did my parents' stuff first, as their information was the easiest.

I did our own a few days later.

Then — after waiting a few more days — I prepared the returns for Matt and Emily.

There you have it... the opening and closing announcements for my seasonal tax service in a single blog post!

🖉🖩$

Marching In

Lew commented on how winter is almost over, now that it's March.

That is all well and good, except it is snowing right now. Snow showers, but still.

Then Lew said we might get our first Nor'easter of the season Sunday night into Monday morning.

Winter is not almost over. Not even close!

☃ ☃ ☃ ☃ ☃