The courtyard and coffee cafe at Santa Monica Public Library
Friday I was at the Beverly Hills public library and on Saturday I was at the Santa Monica public library. I tried to get to the library once a week. Libraries are facilities that I enjoy. The Beverly Hills library is a pleasure to experience. It covers a lot of area with plenty of open space inside and everything first class. It takes me a half hour by bus to get to that library. The new Santa Monica library is a great library. I am fortunate that I enjoy the Santa Monica library even more than the Beverly Hills library. I would not say that I read a lot but I do enjoy reading. I have been downloading some e-audiobooks on the computer and listening to them.

Wayne and Cynthia

Wayne e-mailed me some pictures of Matthew’s surprise birthday party. The one enclosed here of Wayne and Cynthia is a good one of the happy parents.

The left eye +, copy of today's blog

At noontime I will be at a macular degeneration support group meeting at the Beverly Hills library. The left eye is getting better at a very slow rate. At least it is not getting worse.

Last evening the neighbors had one of our excellent potluck dinners out back. We have a yard light and enough facilities for the for the group. We all enjoy getting together whenever we can. I had a few candles on the table. They were for my remembrance of all of the years that Norma and I enjoyed.

Marriage

It would be unnatural to approach the anniversary of a marriage that took place 60 years ago without having some thoughts about a relationship. The following are some of my thoughts on this subject. It would take more than and a full-length novel to express the full range of events and subjects but here are 376 words.

It’s one of the biggest milestone in anyone’s life is a relationship committed to another person. Marriage is more than coexistence with another person, is giving of yourself to the betterment of year partner. It has been explained to me that “it’s a 70/30 proposition, gives 70% and hope for 30% back and if both people do that happiness will prevail”. I had always thought a 50-50 proposition was about right. The 70-30 ratio seems even better. Marriage may not turn out to be no way you’ll hoped it would, but a life still can be. The first person that you fall in love with may not be that special person you are looking for, in my case, it was. Lyndon B. Johansson, “We can draw lessons from the past, but we cannot live in it.” This quote summarizes what I feel about the subject of marriage. Some companions feel that they need to be with their partner every second every hour of the day. But, eventually the other partner will begin to feel caged in and want out. Getting into a marriage does not mean that you are forever binding yourself to one another, it means that you want to love and to spend the rest of your life to gather with someone. To avoid having your partner feel caged in, attempt to understand them and at different level and realize that they are their own person. Stress affects marriage relationship without you even being aware of it. Sometimes I’ve snapped at my partner for no apparent reason. and that does effect fact your relationship and your everyday life. There are times in marriage when you may find yourself nagging your partner over little things that may seem to be more important than they are. Women are more likely to file for divorce and they are more likely to seek an exit from an unhappy marriage than men

Marriage

It would be unnatural to approach the anniversary of a marriage that took place 60 years ago without having some thoughts about a relationship. The following are some of my thoughts on this subject. It would take more than and a full-length novel to express the full range of events and subjects but here are 376 words.

It’s one of the biggest milestone in anyone’s life is a relationship committed to another person. Marriage is more than coexistence with another person, is giving of yourself to the betterment of year partner. It has been explained to me that “it’s a 70/30 proposition, gives 70% and hope for 30% back and if both people do that happiness will prevail”. I had always thought a 50-50 proposition was about right. The 70-30 ratio seems even better. Marriage may not turn out to be no way you’ll hoped it would, but a life still can be. The first person that you fall in love with may not be that special person you are looking for, in my case, it was. Lyndon B. Johansson, “We can draw lessons from the past, but we cannot live in it.” This quote summarizes what I feel about the subject of marriage. Some companions feel that they need to be with their partner every second every hour of the day. But, eventually the other partner will begin to feel caged in and want out. Getting into a marriage does not mean that you are forever binding yourself to one another, it means that you want to love and to spend the rest of your life to gather with someone. To avoid having your partner feel caged in, attempt to understand them and at different level and realize that they are their own person. Stress affects marriage relationship without you even being aware of it. Sometimes I’ve snapped at my partner for no apparent reason. and that does effect fact your relationship and your everyday life. There are times in marriage when you may find yourself nagging your partner over little things that may seem to be more important than they are. Women are more likely to file for divorce and they are more likely to seek an exit from an unhappy marriage than men

Marriage

It would be unnatural to approach the anniversary of a marriage that took place 60 years ago without having some thoughts about a relationship. The following are some of my thoughts on this subject. It would take more than and a full-length novel to express the full range of events and subjects but here are 376 words.

It’s one of the biggest milestone in anyone’s life is a relationship committed to another person. Marriage is more than coexistence with another person, is giving of yourself to the betterment of year partner. It has been explained to me that “it’s a 70/30 proposition, gives 70% and hope for 30% back and if both people do that happiness will prevail”. I had always thought a 50-50 proposition was about right. The 70-30 ratio seems even better. Marriage may not turn out to be no way you’ll hoped it would, but a life still can be. The first person that you fall in love with may not be that special person you are looking for, in my case, it was. Lyndon B. Johansson, “We can draw lessons from the past, but we cannot live in it.” This quote summarizes what I feel about the subject of marriage. Some companions feel that they need to be with their partner every second every hour of the day. But, eventually the other partner will begin to feel caged in and want out. Getting into a marriage does not mean that you are forever binding yourself to one another, it means that you want to love and to spend the rest of your life to gather with someone. To avoid having your partner feel caged in, attempt to understand them and at different level and realize that they are their own person. Stress affects marriage relationship without you even being aware of it. Sometimes I’ve snapped at my partner for no apparent reason. and that does effect fact your relationship and your everyday life. There are times in marriage when you may find yourself nagging your partner over little things that may seem to be more important than they are. Women are more likely to file for divorce and they are more likely to seek an exit from an unhappy marriage than men

Marriage

It would be unnatural to approach the anniversary of a marriage that took place 60 years ago without having some thoughts about a relationship. The following are some of my thoughts on this subject. It would take more than and a full-length novel to express the full range of events and subjects but here are 376 words.

It’s one of the biggest milestone in anyone’s life is a relationship committed to another person. Marriage is more than coexistence with another person, is giving of yourself to the betterment of year partner. It has been explained to me that “it’s a 70/30 proposition, gives 70% and hope for 30% back and if both people do that happiness will prevail”. I had always thought a 50-50 proposition was about right. The 70-30 ratio seems even better. Marriage may not turn out to be no way you’ll hoped it would, but a life still can be. The first person that you fall in love with may not be that special person you are looking for, in my case, it was. Lyndon B. Johansson, “We can draw lessons from the past, but we cannot live in it.” This quote summarizes what I feel about the subject of marriage. Some companions feel that they need to be with their partner every second every hour of the day. But, eventually the other partner will begin to feel caged in and want out. Getting into a marriage does not mean that you are forever binding yourself to one another, it means that you want to love and to spend the rest of your life to gather with someone. To avoid having your partner feel caged in, attempt to understand them and at different level and realize that they are their own person. Stress affects marriage relationship without you even being aware of it. Sometimes I’ve snapped at my partner for no apparent reason. and that does effect fact your relationship and your everyday life. There are times in marriage when you may find yourself nagging your partner over little things that may seem to be more important than they are. Women are more likely to file for divorce and they are more likely to seek an exit from an unhappy marriage than men

81st Birthday

Tomorrow is Norma’s 81st birthday. That is a lot of years. She has and a part of the fabric of our lives for 60 years. For many of you that has been always. We have been blessed.

No comments

The Blue Window

There seems to be nothpollution andBlue ing of interesting that is new or need of commenting so I have sent the above picture. I like blue.

A Swiss Cclub and dinner

This would be an ordinary day if I were not going to be heading for the Swiss Club in Whittier with Nick and it will be the last time for a month or so. Nick will be away for a visit to Switzerland. It is no priority for me and it takes up about four hours of time, when you are retired you have the time, and the dinners are good.

National Public Radio

One thing that I enjoy each week is visiting to our national public radio station on Saturday evening where the program of The Play Is The Thing. Most weeks they are very enjoyable. I like drama and when they are aired on radio means there is no distraction to your imagination.

During the week I have not been short of invitations to dinner. There was Thursday’s dinner out back, invited out this afternoon to dinner and Nick’s and my trip to Whittier for dinner on Monday.

The exinstructor

Enjoy your first day of fall!

This would have been the first day of the new six weeks session of the computer instructions for the students preparing themselves for their new start in life work. I feel that I have done the right thing in discontinuing my help with the instruction. It was just a bit more hassle than I need. The group will do fine.

Good dining

The dinner last night was a great success. All eight diners enjoyed a great variety of good food and it was good visiting with to family from Vermont and some of us neighbors around the table. That dining spot is a valuable addition to the facilities of our little neighborhood.
Today summer is about to end. Fall is a favorite time except for the shorter days.

Thursdays dinner

This evening Ann, John, Lazio, John’s parents and friend and I will have dinner at our table under the tree outback. John’s parents are visiting from Vermont. Ann the John do most of the planning and cooking. I will furnish some carnitas (roast pork), baked beans. and some applesauce. There should be about eight of us. The dinners in the past have been great and I’m sure this will be.

Todd's skating

This is not a photo of Todd or his skates.

Nancy sent me the following and I know that it is a long e-mail from Todd but that it is a remarkable feat by my nephew Todd Elias and his son Luke. A bit of a sidelight, while Nancy, Todd and Laura was here using her rollerblades Nancy she fell and injured her left wrist. She gave up rollerblading and gave her skates to her brother Todd. Those roller blades are figured in the following piece.

The race

Thought you might like to know how we did. Luke did excellent, I crossed
the finish line with only mild abrasions. It was the first time in 11 yrs.
that they have ever had rain on race day, bladeing on wet pavement can be
very slippery. The night before the race you are given a race packet with
all the instructions of where you have to be and when your going to get
there & how your going to get there, my job was to follow these
instructions so me and Luke could "roll" 26.2 miles rain or shine. Also in
the packet is a race "chip", a little piece of plastic you attach to your
skate. They stress strongly " DO NOT LOSE YOUR CHIP!" LOST CHIP =
$30.00............. Luke lost his chip. So in the dark rainy morning we
looked everywhere for this black piece of plastic, no where to be found,
we realized it must be back at the hotel. No way could we make it back
there in it time, I managed to stay quite calm, I figured we couldn't be
the first people to have done this in 11 yrs. We rushed around trying to
find someone who knew what to do if you lose your "chip". finally, we
found out they issue a new one at the starting line. So in the drizzle we
board the bus to shuttle us up to Two Harbors so we can "roll" back down,
the bus ride seemed long, a guy sitting across from me silently wrote HELP
on his fogged-up window, Luke......slept, he couldn't believe we were
there already. Off the bus we wove our way through 5,000 other racers to
get to the start so we could get this all important "chip". We got it,
sat down on wet chairs & got our skates on with 5 minutes to spare
...whew, we did it. we made our way up to our "wave", the race starts in 2
minute intervals, the people that take "rolling" really, really seriously
start first followed by waves determined by previous race times or when
you think you might make it back down to Duluth, we where in wave 5of 9.
I thought I better quick go to the bathroom so I went back down to the
city of little blue huts lining the road, the race starts UP a hill, on
the way my blade got stuck in something on the road, I fell, got up, but
something wasn't right, my front wheel was completely broke, just dangling
there, I figured the race was over for me, People around me were very
sympathetic, " Oh that's to bad, how did that happen, I've never seen that
happen before". But then I thought "I don't really have to have 4 wheels,
do I?" So I went back to my "wave' yelling for "tools, tools anybody have
tools, finally someone gave me an allen wrench, got the mangled wheel off,
threw it in the ditch and moved my 3rd wheel up to the front, all while
the skate was still on my foot, I was back in business, I could still
"roll" back to Duluth. I found Luke, he couldn't believe it. Ok, we were
ready, my balance was a little strange and I never did make it to the
bathroom, oh well. The race started great, surprisingly it wasn't
slippery. Luke was with me for about 30 seconds, I didn't see him again
the rest of the race, he is very fast for his age. He would pass people
and they would ask how old he was and they couldn't believe it. Things
went well for a while, but once again my skate got caught in a soft groove
in the road and I went flayling on the wet tar, bleeding & bruised I got
back-up with more sympathy from fellow racers, so I collected the stuff
that fell out of my pockets, I had brought my license & credit card
because I thought I would have to buy a new "chip". I seemed to be OK so I
just kept going, avoiding every possible crack in the road, the rest of
the race went great, the rain stopped and I settled into a good pace, with
5 or so miles to go I checked my pockets to make sure I still had my
stuff........gone, my cards were gone, I could not believe it. how could
that have happened without me knowing it? I discovered a big hole in my
pocket, Oh well, no big deal I'll just cancel my cards, I kept going,
determined to "roll" into Duluth. If your wondering, freeways are very
rough to "roll" on. With about a mile to go an older guy, for no apparent
reason fell in front of me BAD, tumbling down the road, I almost ran into
him. I kept going, there are people along the course to help. I suddenly
got a burst of energy and gave it all I got, Carrie and the kids cheering
me on near the finish line, I made it, in 2 hrs 35 seconds I "rolled" Into
Duluth. I found Luke and he said He had been there "a long time trying to
find me" we still don't know his time because of the "chip" problem. The
first chip was found at the hotel, and as I was talking to a lady at the
lost & found someone turned in my cards. All is well, stiff, soar & a bit
scratched up, but it was great, Can't wait till next year. Todd

My computer

Yesterday after I sent my blog telling you that I did not have much to do for the daym my computer made a pop and completely turned off. There was nothing I can do to get in going again. The Geek Squad, part of Best Buy, informed that my mother board was no good. The computer had been acting strange for the past few days. That means that a new computer was required. I purchased a new machine and I am back in business. Fortunately I save almost 100% of my data. Never count on your days being without incidents.

An ordinary day

Sep 18, 2006
Nothing special is expected of this day. I will participate in the minimum amount of gardening, have a couple of books I’m reading and am listening to an audio book. After 11 o’clock out for a cup of coffee and a very light lunch. After five o’clock I will be a dinner at St. John’s Medical Center. An okay day.

CDD

The following is a copy of an e-mail sent to Conquering the Digital Divide CDD explaining my reasons for wishing to discontinue with this group.

This is a note to keep you up-to-date on my thinking and immediate future. I will not be at Dr. Feldman’s home this evening for the meeting of the CDD group. The reasons being that I realize that I am a bit older, (including my eyes and by hearing,) my mode of transportation, and my background is such that I am not experienced in what may be required as an instructor. It has nothing to do with any of CDD personnel or at the way that CDD carries on their relationship with anyone that is connected with the organization. I believe that there will be other volunteering opportunities that will be better suited.

Thank you and the best of luck to all of you at CDD.

The computer

This blog is a little bit late this morning due to my computer failing. I called Wayne and discussed the problem. He suggested that I remove the power cord win a few minutes and read plug. That’s all it needed. Without having my computer it is almost as it was one fourth of your life has disappeared.
Have a good day, I will I know that I will.

The Segway

My way is by Segway

The news stories on the media talked about recalling all Segways for a software update. As far as I’m concerned there is no great hurry. The trouble happens when you over speed and the handle automatically pulls back. Then you hop off the platform and then immediately hop back on. That is a situation that would almost never happen and now that you are aware of it there should be a very slight chance of it the occurring. I will contact a local Segway dealer and have the problem corrected.

Birthdays +

Today is Matthew’s 19th birthday. September is a very busy month with birthdays. The next one is Anjuli’s on September 18. . Grandchilddren seem to be growing older fast.

On September 28 Norma will be 81 and, Think of it as you wish or don’t wish, we will have been married for 60 years. Forty six/forty eight good years is something that not all married couples have had the opportunity to enjoy. The last 12 years have still been good years for each of us and we can also be thankful for those years. There should be a suitable celebration for a remarkable event.

Not much of a report

They would be nice to have something more exciting to report than an invitation to a special event and dinner with a Swiss group at a location on Main Street here in Santa Monica.

Computer Digital Divide

This evening I will be at the Montana branch of the Santa Monica library to meet with the group that that are concerned with the teaching of CDD. This must be something like a regular educational institution and we are attending what is the real world might be called a teachers and meeting with the superintendent. There should be about 15 of us. The first class for our group will be this coming Saturday morning.

This Monday

Today it will be a trip to the Swiss club in Whittier with Nick. Later in the day take care of the laundry.

I have been trying to avoid listening to so much of the media’s coverage of 9 11. That is hard to do that as is about all they have been covering for the last few days.

Genealogy

The last few days I have been reworking some of my genealogy records. The thought came to mind that genealogy and families were concerned with their bloodlines. Isn’t it about the DNA? As far as I know at the beginning of pregnancy no blood is exchanged only DNA is combined. We now know that what we are is not our blood but our DNA?

Eye doctoring

Dr. Rosen the ophthalmologist looked at my left eye’s retina with their new picturing apparatus. Dr. Rosen, the retina specialists was pleased with what he saw. There was no further leakage, which is excellent news. The next appointment is set for a couple of months away. The doctor will take another look and if things are the same I will continue with a normal eye maintenance schedule. This means that I should continue with my slight improvement in vision from the left eye. There seem to be no new procedures for the ophthalmology department. If the slight improvement continues at its present pace, I believe that in the future I will be able to read a computer screen with the left eye. The right eye still is close to being normal

The left eye

At 11 a.m. I will be at a scheduled visit with Dr. Rosen my ophthalmologist. He is to do a procedure; I do not remember the exact name, on the left eye. The left eye is the one with the macular degeneration. That eye has been improving ever so slightly. Tomorrow, I will let you know of the details.

California outdoors

Included with this picture is a report about the diversity that is available for the enjoyment of outdoor activities in California.

Leslie, Nick and I were camped out for two nights at the S. Fork of the Yuba
River, just below the town of Washington. We were right at McKillian Creek and the S. Fork of the Yuba River. What a place and you don't need a tent or
even bug spray. We only saw one other person and he was an old miner type,
that held the claim along that part of the Yuba, panning with a slush box
and I also a pan also in his gear. A hard life. He told about the bear that
came through his camp site and he knew it was big by the size of the "turd"
it left. And by his hand motion it was big!

Genealogy

Some of the genealogy that has been saved on 3 ¼” disks has on this computer has been compromised. I will be doing my best to recover .the formation. There are hard copies. The trouble with them is they cannot be updated. Genealogy can be a time-consuming activity.

Sepemter biethdays

When you think about birthdays, September is busy with them. The list I have shows that that September 6 is Susan’s, 14th Matthew’s, 18th Anjuli‘s, Andrew’s and Dylan’s and on the, 28th Norma‘s. I believe that the dates are correct.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MONTH!

Labor Day

HAPPY LABOR DAY!
Some people who are not very religious say that, I go to church twice a year at Christmastime and Easter I, who am not a beach bum, go to the beach on the Fourth of July and Labor Day. All people are not lucky enough to live close and have easy access to the Pacific Ocean beach.

I am looking forward to the fall. Summer has been good but it is always nice to move on to the next adventures.

A contrast

Examining contrast can be interesting. Not long ago I received my new pair of reading glasses from Kaiser optometry and paid $99.00 for the new lenses. Today I tried on and bought a pair of reading glasses at the 99 Cent Store. The $.99 glasses are well built and the surprise is that they are more suitable than the pair for $99.00. I have no idea how the 99 Cent Store can sell products for less than one dollar and still maintain quality.

The garden

The fall garden is looking good. The 4 cabbage plants, 4 lettuce plants and 4 Brussels sprouts were sent out along with short rows of carrots, radishes, broccoli, spinach and Swiss chard were planted. It is somewhat of an experiment as I have a tried a fall garden before.