Monday Misc on Dec 29th

Christmas:  I could not wait for the holiday to be over. My decorations were down and put away by 10 a.m. on the 26th! Between my lack of Christmas Spirit and the memories of Larry in December I find the whole month just plain depressing.  I have promised myself that I will go someplace next year for part of the month - I just don't know where yet.  Yes, it is still Christmas but when you are busy doing "tourist things" then the holiday is an afterthought. I saw this at Thanksgiving when I was in San Diego and when Larry and I used to go to Las Vegas or Laughlin over Christmas and/or Thanksgiving. New Years doesn't bother me - it is mainly Christmas.

Car:  I got my vehicle back from the body shop on Friday and it looks like new. $500 deductible later.....

Birds and Squirrels: They are so entertaining!  I put the bird feeder in a tree that is about 15' straight out my office window so I am looking at it when at my desk. Besides the food in the feeder, I also sprinkle some on the ground under it. So far this morning I have seen squirrels, Blue Jays, Cardinals and  little black and white birds all eating but not all at the same time.  The squirrel and Blue Jays are the most aggressive. I saw 3 squirrels at one time on Saturday so the population is growing.  Two was the previous record. The Blue Jay is the only bird that has come onto the patio to get the squirrel's food....

Spam emails:  They are still continuing from when my email was stolen in the Home Depot hacking incident.  I can't believe people fall for some of them - they are so obviously phony. Sometimes I will get 5-10 of them a day. I refuse to give in and change the email address that I have had for over 30 years so I just keep deleting them.

Monday Misc on Tuesday.....

Family Christmas Dinner: What an amazing event! 69 people who are related to each other in one room.  There was 4 generations with ages ranging from a few months to 81 years old. There was 1 person who was visiting so there was a total of 70 people. You can't imagine how much food there was and it was mostly gone but a lot of it did go in take-home plates. Here is the crowd:

Scraped Fender:  Last week I was at Wendy's and when I came out I noticed that the pick-up truck parked next to me was really close on my passenger side and I don't know how he was able to get out of his vehicle.  Anyway, I started to back out and clipped the side of the his truck just before the bumper. I pulled back in and got out to look.  There was blue paint on my car and gold paint on his. No one came out of Wendy's so I assumed the owner did not see what happened.  Yes, I gave serious thought to just driving away! But my conscience got the better of me so I went into Wendy's looking for the driver of the truck. The guy and his friend were shocked that I came in to find them rather than just driving off. There was a small dent on his truck but the paint from my car just rubbed off.  I gave them my name, address and insurance information and we went our ways. I took my vehicle to the repair place yesterday and got a loaner while it is in the shop. I'll have it back in about a week and $932 later for the repair.  Geico is working with him to cover the repair of his truck. His paint on my car probably could have been buffed off and the scratches fixed with touch up paint but I wanted it done right since the car has been so well taken care of so am having it done.

Squirrels and birds: There is the feeder on the patio for the squirrels and there is a bird feeder hanging from the tree outside the office window that my desks sits in front of. The birds have been slow to discover their feeder on the tree but it didn't take the squirrels long to find it. My new entertainment is watching the squirrels who think that both feeders are theirs - no birds allowed. However, this morning I saw a Blue Jay on the patio at the squirrel feeder... I can be so easily amused!

Christmas at Crown Center

After we finished at the Union Station on Tueaday, we walked across the bridge to the Westin Hotel and Crown Center. As expected, everything was beautifully decorated. It was really a fun day!

 

Downtown from the walkway over Main Street. The street construction is for the new street car.

Lobby of the Westin Hotel.  I have always loved that waterfall in the lobby and can remember going there when it opened in the early 70's.

Sign in front of a store in Crown Center.  We didn't go in and get some Moonshine...

T-shirt in a store window. Love it!

Mayor's Christmas tree.

Hall's Department Store had 5-6 trees decorated near their entrance and each one had a different theme.  They were beautiful!

Christmas Decorations at KC's Union Station

On Tuesday, Vivian and I went down to Union Station and the Crown Center to have lunch and look at the Christmas decorations. Lunch was upstairs at the Harvey House in the lobby of Union Station. Food was good, service was not so good but we didn't care because we were busy enjoying the decorations and being serenaded by a school choir.

 

This is the main tree. It is 25' tall and over 25,000 lights are on it. It was beautiful!  The ceilings in Union Station are 95' high.

 

Looking down the Grand Hall where people used to sit on benches waiting on their trains. 

At the end of the Grand Hall is Santa's Workshop and a Model Railroad Exhibit.

 

A portion of Santa's Workshop.

Gingerbread Union Station.

 

The model railroad exhibit covers 8,000 sq ft.  There are 79 rains ranging from the smallest model trains built to the largest. Each train has a computer chip and is programed when it runs.  There are always 18 trains running at one time. The display in the Grand Hall is 60' x 60'. Several model railroad groups in the KC area set up and maintain the display.

The display even includes a street car that goes back and forth along "Main Street".

 

I'll write about Crown Center tomorrow.....

 

 

3 Years Ago Today......

....I lost my guy....  In some ways it has been a long 3 years and in other ways it doesn't seem like it has been 3 years. I feel like I missed a year in there somewhere. After Weight Watchers today, I'm heading to the mall to shop in honor of the person who loved to shop and had 37 pairs of shorts in his closet when he died plus piles of tennis shoes - some bought specifically to go with a specific pair of shorts.

In 2000 at Thanksgiving Point, Utah.

Monday Misc for Dec 15th

O.K....I am ready for Christmas to be over and life getting back to normal.... You can bet that all of my Christmas stuff will be packed up and put away on Dec 26th!  As I said before, I wasn't raised in a home where Christmas was a big deal, it's hard to develop that attitude when you live by yourself for 20+ years and Christmas wasn't a big deal to either my ex or to Larry. So it has never become part of my life.  There is also the issue of Larry dying so close to Christmas which did not help matters any...

Motown:  Vivian and I went to see the Broadway show Motown last Saturday afternoon.  It was probably the best Broadway touring show I have ever seen and I have seen quite a few in different towns over the years. The storyline was a little thin but was adequate to tell the story of how Barry Gordy started Motown, it's growth and led up to the 25th Anniversary TV special. The music is outstanding with 60 songs from the Motown era.  Some of the songs are not the full version but are medleys and some are the full version. The sets were simple but very effective.  Lighting was creative and really made the show and sets. Great show! Several of the actors were in the original Broadway show. It was in the Music Hall that was built in the 1930's. The marble lobby floors and stairs were beautiful. Lots of stairs with only 2 elevators. Seats were close to the row in front with not much leg room.  The main negative of the show was the volume - too LOUD! 

Photo and Movie Editing Class:  I spent last Thursday and Friday afternoons at the local Community College in class. I knew nothing about making a movie let along editing one.  Now I know about frames, fade in, transitions, splitting, adding music, etc. My main goal for the class was to learn how to make a movie out of my still pictures.  I still prefer the paper book but always thought it would be fun to make a movie of a trip - just for the experience. So after many, many hours this weekend, I managed to make a movie out of still pictures. The movie is 3 minutes long, includes music and is complete with credits....  I'll attach it to a blog if I can figure out how to do it correctly.  I tried and it didn't work properly so you may have to wait until I see you to view the next Academy Award winner for a Documentary. The file is too big to email.....

A cat called Crazy

After we visited the Plaza Lights last week, we stopped by the Kauffman Memorial Gardens to see the hundred's of poinsettias in the garden's conservatory. It was beautiful!!!  The resident cat there is named Crazy, had not missed a single meal in his life and has the run of the place. 
 

"Not another bunch of gawkers...It's bedtime!"

 

"I am smiling!"

 

"Maybe they will get the message and leave. I'm tired of being the host. "

 

 

My Christmas Tree

I went for years and never had a Christmas Tree - it was too much trouble, neither Larry or I wanted to mess with it when we were frequently gone over Christmas, etc. Then I went all out in 2012 after he died and had a big tree. I didn't do one in 2013 - it wasn't worth the effort.  I didn't bring the artificial tree with me to the Midwest.  I couldn't decide whether to do one or not this year.  I put other decorations up and around the house about Dec 1st. I even put icicle lights and garland on the patio railing.  I looked for trees and I couldn't find one I really liked or the ones I liked cost more than I was willing to pay to use for 3 weeks out of the year.  Part of the problem is that I'm just not a big Christmas person.  The Holiday was not a big one in my family when I was growing up so and to a degree I still feel that way. Plus I couldn't figure out where to put it that it wouldn't block my view of the outdoors from my recliner and that was more important to me.  Anyway, when I told Vivian that I wasn't going to do a tree she said "But you have to have a Christmas Tree."  Last Saturday she and Pat (her husband) showed up with a little pre-lit tree that they had found at a craft show that morning.

The tree is about 4 feet tall, skinny and doesn't block my view. Perfect!!!! The snowman is soft and attached to the base.

 

So off to Walmart I went the next morning to get some small decorations for it.  The boxes and boxes of ornaments I had from Tucson were mostly too big for it but I was able to use a few of them.. It is pretty to handy to have a tree that you can set on a stool in the kitchen and decorate without having to bend over, etc.

 

And here is the finished little tree.  I love it and it doesn't block my view.... 8-)

Thank you Vivian and Pat!

Monday Misc Dec 8, 2014

There are some weeks I have a hard time finding anything to write about and other time I have a list of topics.  This is a week with a lot of topics and I'm saving some of them for another day this week.

Medical Procedure on my back: Last Tuesday I had what is called a Radiofrequency (RF) Ablation procedure for the back pain from severe arthritis in my lower spine. I do have some mild pain/discomfort from the needles used in the procedure and that is to be expected. I think most of the remaining pain is from that and not the original back pain but won't know for sure until the procedure pain has cleared up. What I feel now is in the area where the needles went in and not so much where the original pain was.  Time will tell...  I was talking to a lady at Weight Watchers last week and she mentioned that she was going to have RF Ablation for her A-Fib.  I had no idea the procedure was used for things other than back pain.

Bird Feeder:  About the time I put the feeder out for the squirrels I also put a feeder in a tree for birds.  The bird feeder has been there for about 2 months and I never saw a bird on it nor has the food level gone down.  I can see it from the office so keep an eye on it.  Last week I did see several birds, including some Blue Jays in the tree directly in front of the office window.  So last Saturday I moved the feeder to the other tree where I have seen birds.  Haven't seen any birds in the feeder yet but one of the squirrels found it yesterday and had a feast. First come, first serve....

Wall Street Journal: I have been having trouble with my carrier for the Kansas City Star newspaper for several months.  Sometimes I miss the paper 2-3 times in a week.  He had been doing better after several complaints. However, this morning I did get a paper but it is the Wall Street Journal and no KC Star....  I used to read the Journal when traveling and haven't read it in years.  What I noticed this morning is that the Journal articles are so much more in-depth and intelligent than most papers. I can't say I am a fan of the KC Star at all - it is fluff and mostly ads - not much news. The Journal has a full page of several articles on the upcoming college bowl games - who is playing, match-ups, who isn't playing and why, etc. Much better than the Star articles.  Not sure I'll complain about today and we'll see what happens tomorrow.  The carrier must deliver both papers. I would get the New York Times periodically when I was here during the summer of 2013.

Plaza Lights: Last Saturday night I took Vivian, Karen and Sheryl down to the Plaza for dinner and some wandering around the Plaza looking at the Christmas lights. We went to P F Changs for dinner which was new to them all.  We ordered a bunch of appetizers and made a meal of them. There was some Chang's Mai Tai's to wash it all down. Unfortunately I was driving so could only have 1 but they sure were good! Sheryl and Karen got complimentary deserts for their birthdays.  The sun set while we were having dinner so the Plaza lights were on when we came out.

The Plaza Lights started with a string of 16 Christmas lights over a doorway in 1925. Today there are over 80 miles of lights that outline every tower, dome and window in the 4.5 square mile Plaza area. Lights on towers are always one color while multi-color lights are along the tops of buildings.  Every light comes down each year and is tested individually on a work bench and inspected for damage. Installation of the lights begin in early August, they shine from Thanksgiving through mid-January. Installation starts in September and the lights are all down by April. Each strand of lights is coded so they know exactly where it goes in the area.  Lights are maintained daily to keep all burnt out bulbs replaced.

Store window decorated for Christmas.

Yes, it was cold!

This was the first time I have seen the Plaza Lights in at least 43 years so it was nostalgic for me.  I don't remember carriage rides back then but there was a lot of them and they were full.

85% of the lights are now LED and to me, they just don't look the same. Maybe it's one of those things that we remember differently than it actually was.....  However it was still a fun experience.

Monday Misc Dec 1st

Can't believe it is December already!!!!! Three years ago I was dealing with Larry's diagnosis and a year ago I was getting the house ready to sell.  Both were memorable times in my life....

I had a great time in San Diego - thawing out my bones, looking at the water and spending time with a dear friend from Tucson. The weather was perfect - low 80's during the day and then cooler when the sun went down. The weather changes  frequently here in the Midwest so it seemed strange to have a week of just nothing but sunshine and warm. Reminded me of how much I would just wish for a cloudy day in the desert.... 

I took the Fall decorations down this weekend and packed them away.  Then I started pulling out the boxes of Christmas stuff. I haven't decided on whether or not to put up a tree this year.  There isn't a lot of room for it in the apartment so looking at alternatives.

There were 2 squirrels for breakfast yesterday so they are multiplying...  I LOVE watching them at the feeder. I put out whole peanuts in shells as desert and it isn't long before the peanuts are gone. They aren't eating them at the feeder so must be burying them or something. I've seen one out in the yard running around with a peanut in his mouth.

I'm off to the eye doctor today for a check on my cataracts.  Then tomorrow I get the nerve block for my arthritic back pain.  I was thinking about cancelling the nerve block since my back has not been bothering me as much but the walking last week convinced me to go ahead with the procedure.