New Year's Eve

Last day of the year and I am lying in bed watching reruns if NCIS, love my thrillers. They show all of the high tech spy techniques used to catch the bad guys but the down side is that they can be used on perfectly innocent people also. 

The end of the year

     As always at this time of year I look back and evaluate what I have  accomplished for the year, which is not near as much as I would have liked. I hopes of getting more done around my house but I did not do as much as I had planned. When people at work asked me what I wa going to do once I retired I always answered that I was going to work  on my house. I did some things on the outside but next to nothing on the inside. I will try to do better next year.

Xmas 2013

      I woke early this morning-I went to bed early after binge watching a new series that I got hooked on,NCIS. I guess one of the redone that I like it is because it features some current topics dealing with terrorism, both foreign and domestic,and as a sidebar commentary on American society. Some of the episodes are corny but I have picked a few nuggets out of some of them,especially the forensic and spying capabilities of the government. Some of it is pretty scar stuff.

Changes in mores

I read quite a bit and lately I have come across so many gay characters in various situations. They have have now move to a mainstream part of society and it is politically incorrect to make negative remarks about them. My, how times have changed. Same sex marriages, once in the realm of speculative fiction is now a reality in many states in the United States and various countries around the world. I don't know if this will continue or if there will eventually be a backlash.

    As far as changes in society, there has been a redefinition of what a family means. Single parent, with a child being raised by his mother (or father),multi generational families(mainly immigrants),gay parents and more. No more nuclear families in the majority, at least in the U.S..

Is it spring or is it winter?

      We had cold, snow and ice earlier this week, but yesterday warmer temps and rain came our way. The temperature, right one is 58 degrees when earlier this week it had been as low as 20. However, this won't last because by Monday it will drop back into the low thirties. I do not know if we will have a white xmas(which I can do without) .

new technology

I bought this keyboard a few months ago so that I could make journal entries . I do not write as much as I should or had hoped to do once I had retired, but I have hopes of doing better.

Coast to Coast

Listening to the program over the past few days, I have learned some new things and different perspectives on things past and future. Ed Danes  gives a very grim prognosis of the future and I hope that his scenario does not come to pass, because if it does the the whole world will be in a dire situation.

Black Friday shopping

I went out shopping for bargains this morning at Walmart. I found a few things plus I got some grocery items that I needed. I went back out in the afternoon with my son and we went to several malls and a number of stores. All the parking lots were crowded as well as the stores.One would never know  the economy was still struggling to make a comeback.

Hi I'm trying to test to see how it works. Wow, I tried my dragon dictation app. Works great,maybe I will try to write a short story.

Close to end of year

It is one month to Xmas . Since I have no one but myself I won't be decorating or coking anything special.

Civil war

Today is the 150th anniversary of the Gettysburg address given by president Lincoln..

It feels like winter

We had our first snowfall of November yesterday and I can no longer put off digging out my winter coat and boots.

Failed resolutions

I had said to myself that I would not buy anything that I did not need. However, I went to Legacy Village to the Norstrom outlet,which was extremely crowded  by the way. I bought a Dooney and Burke purse, three pairs of shoes and three winter hats for $292.00. The sales tape said that I saved $441.00 with the sale.

new computer

I am trying to move into the techno age even though I am a senior citizen. I was always looking to the future as a child and envisioned a much more futuristic life than we currently have. There are bits and pieces, such as communications and entertainment which were unthought  of a generation ago. Cameras and personal computers are falling by the wayside as mobile  omputing takes over. I wonder what the world will look like ten years from now.

Hi, today is the 60th anniversary of my family's move from Arkansas to Cleveland, There were hopes for better lives and opportunities and looking back did we realize them? I don't know, we just survived.

Hi, just looked out my window and the clothes that I set out for Amvets were picked up. I have been doing some much needed closet cleaning and I still have a ways to go but little by little I will make some headway.

china trip

hi, I made a reservation for a trip to china next year in May. It is going to be expensive but I feel  that it is worth it since I will be expanding my view of the world and learning about another culture.. I hope that I am able to  go to Hong Kong.

I went on a two week trip to see the national parks out west which was rather exhausting but very rewarding. The trip was very well organized but they had us running like mad every day, which was hard on us old geezers.Would I do it again? Not for two weeks because I don,t like living out of a suitcase. If ever I were to go on such a long trip again, it would be on a cruise ship.

my trip out west June 2013

Hi, I know that I haven't made haven't made an entry in awhile, sorry for that. I may have made mention that I retired from my job after 40 years and I am still trying to get used to not working. It feels as though I am on a long vacation. I am into my sixth week and trying to adjust my sleep back to normal cycles after working night shift for the entire 40 years.
     My retirement present to myself was a tour of the national parks out west. I visited  Yosemite,the Grand Canyon,Bryce Canyon,Lake Tahoe,Death Valley Moab, Salt Lake City,Kings Canyon and few other sites. The trip took two weeks which was a long time to live out of suitcase. I took at least two thousand photos and that will be a big project,something to keep me busy for months to come. I am going to make several albums of my trip.

      Hi it. has been awhile since I have made an entry. Yesterday was my 67th birthday. I don't feel all that old,as a matter of fact I still feel as if I am in my thirties or forties. I feel blessed that I still have fairlly good health because many people didn;t make it to my age. Many people that I know have chronic illnesses, physical limitations,and unfortunately, the beginnings of senile dementia in some.

       My son took me out to dinner at a steakhouse, the food was good-it should be for the prices they charge.I had mini surf and turf,beef wellington risotto,a dessert sampler and a side order of potatoes au gratin. The restaurant was featuring a special for restaurant week downtown.

I just checked my bank balance and the govt cashes my checks already. If only I could get a refund as fast.

I am feeling so chuffed because yesterday I took care of some things necessary for day to day activities. I finally took care of the c,heck engine light on my dashboard(can't get an echeck with the light on). I got my echeck done and my updated license sticker. It cost $107 to fix my check engine light and $55 for my license sticker,now all I need to do is pay my car insurance for the next six months and that will be one less worry on my mind.

I've started the process of getting ready for my retirement. There were a number of decisions to be made about my pension and retirement benefits. Iam also looking into discounts available to retirees and senior citizens. One thing that I can apply for is a homestead exemption to help out with my property taxes. Not
going to work will be a major adjustment for me because I will need to find other things to occupy my time.
I have a number of projects sitting around that I have not had time to work on and I have a zillion photos which need to be organized. I also want  to work on my house as in refurbishing it. I did a few things last year, and while I should have done more,I procrastinated  and decided to wait until I had blocks of uninterrupted time to work in. Now my major project is to get my son out of my house so that I can finish the things that I have started.

I keep hearing in the news media about the flu being more severe this year and many people on my job came down with it. I noticed that they were all on first shift,so far no one on second or third shift has comedown with it. I took the flu vaccination in October and I hope it woks against this strain. The last time I remember having the flu was the big epidemic of 1958.  I h ave not had the flu since.