UMTravels

It has been weeks since I heard from my buddy Steve in prison — I’d gotten word that they were moving him from a “Rent A Prisoner” to a State-run Prison in Deer Lodge, Montana. It will be a good move. Deer Lodge is about 100 miles from his mother, and Shelby was 400+ so […]

After staying up until 1am chatting after the scholarship grading (after having been up until 2am the night before helping polish off those magnums of champagne) Sunday has been as we might say “The Day of Rest”. I left Olytown about 10:30 this morning and went right back to bed for reading and napping until […]

Got down to Olytown around three and started on the bread — a dill rye bread from ingredients I’d pre-measured in Seattle — just pop it into the bread machine for an hour, pull it out, form it into balls, let is rise another hour in a warm oven, and bake for 20-25 minutes. Since […]

Today’s tasks are writing and test taking. You’d think I was back in school. What a perfect way to spend a day fighting off a cold while it snows outside. First there is the contest entry for the Ford Transit Connect: QUESTION 1 – What vehicle(s) do you currently drive? MAZDA MPV (Qty: 1) BMW […]

Off to Oly a little before noon to pick up the applications for my scholarship. The advantage of a mid-day trip is no snow — saw signs of the snow last night — but no actual snow snowing. Someone should mention to the weather gods that it is spring, and the time for snow is […]

Well, I can’t afford a new van at the moment, and I’d prefer the Sprinter, but here is a Ford version that might work for me. Can I get that with glass all the way around? Can’t afford it? How about entering a contest to win one. Check out: http://fordvehicles.emipowered.com/transitconnect/ More info here: http://www.autoblog.com/2008/02/06/chicago-2008-ford-transit-connect-arrives-in-the-state/ And […]

Today’s meeting was much more than I was expecting — the entire Schroderer-Chambers Group at Citi Smith Barney showed up for the meeting.  Mind you, that is only three of us in the conference room (down indoor stairs from the 52nd to the 51st floor of Two Union Square)… unless you count their Administrative Assistant […]

Morning with the accountant. I love the question — how much would you like to put into your Roth-IRA? Which deduction should we take or not take. The answer is two grand. Tomorrow we are off to the stock broker to see what they have to say with regards to worst case scenarios. Learned lots […]

Rain, rain, go away, come back when I’m out of town. What to do on a rainy day? Work in the garage and listen to the pitter patter on the metal roof. Today’s projects? rework the stand for the convection oven to hold the warming oven stain the rest of the pieces for the “potting […]

Today is Kristina Hagman’s 50th birthday party — and in her honor I’m making a version of my lamb shank recipe — this time adding a little red wine to the mix, and even made the chicken stock for both the shanks and the saffron rice from scratch last night. Here is a link to […]

Well, well, clients are coming back through the doors after a long break. I got a call this week from ThinkAct about setting up their blog and working on integrating the look-and-feel of their existing website and business cards (I’ve handled their business cards for the last couple of years) with the new blog and PowerPoint […]

Well — you’re right, I just can’t seem to sit still for too long. Got back from dinner with Jameson around ten this morning. By the afternoon I’d stained the roof section of the “potting shed” (though still need to stain the shingles — that’s tomorrow) and booked a trip to Tampa for some SOB […]

Revised plans — Jameson into the airport at 2pm. Waylaid in SFO with a family emergency. No overnight in the city — pack the steaks and salad for dinner at his plan in Oly. And while we are at it, let’s pack on the top of the mommy van all the all cedar gutters from […]

Well — it was supposed to be a garage day working on the “potting shed” for the island — turned into an excursion to the Seattle Art Museum to see the Roman Art from the Louvre with John Weber the owner of Sugar Run Clayworks. Great exhibit — worth seeing. The rest of the day […]

Morning —- drop off car at Havlick’s to get it pretty again, and MoonSong running me to Home Depot for concrete and boards on the way home. Must clean the office — company tonight with Jameson coming back from Costa Rica. Unexpected visit by Mr. Weber of Sugar Run Clayworks to chat and ask my […]

Do San Juan County Sheriffs abuse their power? Judging from what happens at the Lopez Island ferry dock, I’d say yes. Arriving on Lopez Saturday the 16th on the 3pm ferry from Anacortes I noticed one of our county sheriffs boarding the vessel as a walk-on passenger, leaving his vehicle (identified with the number 9744) […]

 Well, changing plans, as usual. The plan was to take the pieces of the shed up to the island today. But they aren’t done. Close, but not done. Last night was poker in Olympia, but not at Curt’s place because he’s in Arizona watching spring training, or he’s in Palm Springs — where ever he […]

Today’s chore — figure out the roof for the “potting shed”. It would be easy to make a shed style roof, but with that gorgeous door, that just wouldn’t look good. You saw the ASCII sketch yesterday… And here is the frame done: Nice to be able to work on a roof at table top […]

What a day. Dentist at 9am — and no nitrous — saved $55. Probably saved another $75 by saying no to x-rays. Yes, we are in a recession. Even I’m pinching my pennies. I haven’t had a teeth cleaning since I was 13 without nitrous — and now I know why. Ouch. Guess I’d better […]

Nothing like thinking about death all day. That’s what scanning and ocr’ing your Last Will and Testament from 1997 will do to you. Ah, 1997 — a world away at this point. Think Microsoft, think the height of the tech-stock boom. Think stock options. Think cheap gas and no Gestapo post “that incident” world — […]