UMTravels

Nicely got all caught up on blog stuff this morning, AND managed to craft one of the more pretty omelets of recent memory:

It’s stuffed with lettuce, tomato and onions. Yum.

Left for the airport around 12:30 for my 2:15pm flight — much better than Albuquerque (as in closer) but still 45 minutes from the house with my father driving.

My flight was on time, but the poor folks on the 11:30 to Dallas still weren’t on their plane yet by the time our plane came and went. In theory I have a five hour layover at LAX to work on the wine inventory spreadsheet (and lunch). In practice, MVP Gold status gave me my choice of any of the three flights between my arrival and my 9:15pm flight. I chose 6:15 which was enough time to make lunch/dinner out of the salad, cheese and cocktails at the Board Room.

While waiting, this massive Singapore Airline Airbus A-380 passed by:

Should you want to see what the seating is like on the world’s largest passenger airplane, check out the seting chart at SeatGuru. You’d hve lots of company:

Yes, the weather in Los Angeles is very much like Seattle weather today.

I was actually at home, cocktail in hand at 9pm, a full fifteen minutes before my original flight was to have left LAX.

Much nicer.

[214, but analog, so who really knows]

This post is split between end of yesterday and the end of today.

I got to Quemota around 1:30, which left me enough time for a bun-less cheeseburger at the cafè before the 2pm shuttle to “The Birthday Place With Strangers” (the name I’ll use since we weren’t supposed to photograph the place, and well, we all did).

By 3pm we were 45 minutes on rough roads to get to the remote site, not another house within sight, just the random windmill. My companions are a late-twenties early thirties couple from Brooklyn (both architects but with different firms) and a couple of German woman travelling the US in their mid-thirties, but I’m bad with ages.

It being the heat of the day, I wandered a bit before retreating to the porch to stare out at the masses of stainless steel poles:

Here is a great shot to illustrate how remote a location that we are staying:

I was standing in the installation when I shot this, and as you can see (or not) the porch faces the installation.

During the mid-day sun, the poles are washed out, but as sunset arrives, they glow in the dimming sunlight:

Photos do not convey the mesmerizing effect that the field has, even just staring out from the cabin porch.

The staff left us a much better evening meal than any of us were expecting — a enchilada casserole (so much for my low-carb diet), with a crook-pot of beans, tortilla, sour cream, onions, all the fixing. The Architects brought fixings for a kale salad and wine, which was a nice edition. The Germans brought beer, me wine and whiskey.

I passed along some of the whiskey to the caretaker when he came to light the pellet stove to keep us warm. He has had this gig for 34-years, starting with helping to build it. I had a little space heater in my room since I was sleeping in the “shed” section of the ranch house:

It’s on the back side, but has the advantage of having its own private bath.

It was a fun “Birthday With Strangers”.

But that was yesterday, and today is today — I saw a minute of the sunrise as I got up to pee, but went back to bed. Everyone else was up and out wandering early. I think I made the right decision — the opinion was that the sunset was better on the poles. I rolled into the kitchen at 8:30, just in time for the second pot of coffee for the morning.

Breakfast was a U-Fix (and you clean) affair with fresh fruit, granola, bacon, eggs, toast, trail mix, cereal — lots of stuff in the metal mouse-proof pantry. The German girls weren’t big on breakfast, The Architects and I had bacon & scrambled eggs (and they added toast on the rest of the beans from last night).

We left the kitchen clean and tidy when the caretaker’s daughter showed up at 11am to take us back to town.

We said our goodbyes back in Quemota, and headed our separate ways — The Architects to Colorado, the Germans to Texas to see another art installation by the same folks. As for me, I’m headed to Grants for a bun-less green chili cheeseburger and a mining museum tour before headed back home for my mother’s home-made tacos. The route back to the freeway is stunning, with this natural arch just seconds off the road:

And the mining museum as fun because it’s a recreation of a mine done in the basement of the Chamber of Commerce that is really well done (and only $3):

Got home a little before 5:30, by 6 we were in taco-ville and by 7 I was back to work trying to clean up the Wine Stocking List from Jimmie and turn it into an Access database. At least I know what I’m doing with my five hour layover at LAX tomorrow. That spreadsheet is rife with typos, un-accented French words, and abbreviation that I have to spell out as this will be the basis for printing all of our wine description cards. At least it’s something that I can do on the road!

Sorry for the long post, there was alot to cover.

[? ? ?]

Early morning report, as I’ll be off the grid until late tomorrow as The Lightning Field is basically in the middle of nowhere, between Quemato and Pie City, New Mexico.

For those of you who want more information on The Lightning Field, here is the link to the New Yorker article that got me thinking about this visit:

• http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/04/18/110418fa_fact_dyer

A two-part blog post from a visitor here:

• Part One: http://fromthefloor.blogspot.com/2004/07/pilgrimage-to-lightning-field-part-1.html
• Park Two: http://fromthefloor.blogspot.com/2004/07/pilgrimage-to-lightning-field-part-2.html (better for a description of the installation).

And finally, the long treatise from the art history perspective:

• http://www.cormacmccarthy.com/journal/PDFs/Campbell.pdf

It’s a four-plus hour drive from Santa Fe to Quemado where the rumored cult-like van with the blacked out windows (hopefully I’m kidding about that) so I’d better get on the road.

[214]

So, today’s big deal was me going with my father to his every 3-week chemo cycle appointment for his infusion. Well, that was the plan. The reality was something different. Hence, the email that I sent out to Mysis-in-law, brother and aunt early in the afternoon:

Went with Dad to his appointment this morning. His PSA was still in the 80’s so the chemo was only stabilizing the PSA, not bringing it down further. The good news is that makes him eligible to go on a hormone therapy that was approved in April of this year (only available to folks who did both the hormone therapies in the past, along with chemo). It will be a week or so before he can start on the therapy while the clinic clears it with the insurance company.

The Wikipedia article on the drug is here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abiraterone

The drug got expedited approval because the results were so good.

Only side effects are hot flashes which dad has every night between 5 and 7, so he’s used to that.

Mind you, that still means that he has between a year or two left on this mortal coil, or whatever the phrase is. I have another visit planned in a month or so.

A little grocery shopping then back to the house for lunch. A nap before cocktails (something that irritates the crap out of my father, the cocktails, not the naps).

Cooked dinner for The Parental Units, marinated sirloin steaks on the grill with a nice big salad with tons of garden fresh tomatoes (their friend’s garden, not theirs).

An after dinner visit to The Ortiz Gang.

A dust-up on my return.

To bed late.

[215]

Accompanying all visits with the Parental Units is the “list” of things I need to try and fix.

• Make the printer be able to copy things again (my father the Luddites favorite use for the All-In-One machine)
• Update the virus protection
• Update MSN
• Help place the solar lights on the walkway
• Pull weeds over the septic system (think I got out of that one with allergies)

So, when I say dinosaur:

• 12″ LCD screen (OK, maybe it’s 14″}
• 997mhz processor
• 128MB RAM (no, that is not a typo)
• No USB ports
• Dial-up internet with a max connection speed of 48K
• At least it’s running Windows XP with Service Pack Two so it is possible update it!

Makes updating software a very Zen experience. And I fear ultimately, a failure even if I download on my tethered PC and burn some CD/DVDs. The fact that she can still check her email, listen to music and play Solataire on that old Dell amazes me.

Maybe we should talk about dinner instead:

A simple peasant dinner of scallops sautèd with onions and mushrooms served with sliced yellow tomatoes yard ripened, dressed with crumbles of blue cheese and a basalmic vinaigrette.

Add a glass or two of Blue Teal, a New Mexico Pinot Grigio, and you have a fine dinner.

As usual, parents to bed early after watching the Washington/Dallas football game with my father.

Me? I’m adding to my “new network show” vocabulary with my first issue of The Playboy Club on ABC.

[215, but it’s an analog scale, which I did zero out before mounting]

To bed at 1am, and the alarm goes off at 3:30am. As I was reminded recently, quit your bitching, people would kill for your life.

Parking and airport security easy but had to check in at the desk as it’s a multi-airline award trip). I was so early that even the Board Room wasn’t open.

First leg of the trip was on Alaska, and I turned down the opportunity (for $50) to upgrade to First Class which I would have received as a freebie if I wasn’t travelling on a coach award ticket. I’d already had a little breakfast and it was sleep that I was mostly interested in on the LA leg of the trip.

A little time in the Board Room at LAX working on the blog, email, misc. stuff before taking the 15 minute shuttle to the American Eagle terminal for my flight to SAF (Santa Fe, New Mexico) to spend some time with the family.

The Parental Units were at the airport to meet me (much easier on them than me coming into ABQ — Albuquerque). It may be hell on me, but it’s MUCH better for my parents who shouldn’t be driving after dark, or maybe at all (according to my brother). Great afternoon catching up, talking about the wine shop, the two cruises last week, the world in general.

Going for an atlas (we were talking about Patagonia) I stumbled across this 10″x10″ sign which I really need to post in the bathroom of my next cruise — not the DancingBear was guilty of this problem:

Shit, or get off the pot would be the sub-title of this piece.

The Ortiz Gang (sis-in-law, niece, Italian foreign student, but minus bro-in-law sick in bed) brought over a lovely boneless pork loin roast, fingerling potatoes, corn, tomato and avocado salad for dinner.

Needless to say it was an early evening for me. I made it through the new PanAm series premiere (liked it), the news, and by 10:30 I was off to bed.

[? ? ?]

The morning chore was getting the Madrona Wine Merchants business cards redesigned with the new logo — Jimmie is out and he has tastings (which I will miss) on Monday.

On the way to drop off the cards, swung by the apartment for what I thought was a package from my jeweler (M. Lowe & Company of Berkeley), but it was not and then off to scour the thrift stores for:

• Recipe card files (found two almost matching in black with separator cards)
• Spit bucket (was looking for stainless steel, found a nice ceramic crock to use)
• Business card holders (stuck out, but those are cheap)

Jimmie and I swung by the shop to get a photo of the new paint job and the sign in the window. It’s starting to feel real:

Errands done, but still not packed and it’s off to an Equinox Party at Josh’s place — the guy who does my structural/drywall work on whatever house I’m working on at the moment. Unfortunately I was standing next to the keg when it was tapped and got nailed (though not as bad as Josh) with a garden hose of Fremont Brewing Company IPA. Add a stop back at my house to change before the next party and throw the shorts in the wash because it’s 80 degrees in Santa Fe (next trip).

Cocktails with Fluffernutter, his Josh, and some people I knew, and some I didn’t. It was hard leaving after only a couple of hours, but there is that pesky packing to get done for the Santa Fe trip in the morning.

Somehow it was a slow process and I didn’t get done until 1am. And the alarm is set for 3:30am.

Ick.

[219.7] Amazing after being on two cruises to only gain .6 pounds.

Before I get to the boat, I have to share that apparently I’m very popular with the ladies because of my Hairy Chest Competition. Apparently it’s been playing on a loop on one of the ships channels. Here is a bad copy off the TV:

Even after we were off the boat — in the restaurant at the Long Beach restaurant — women were stopping me with compliments. Too odd.

But back to the boat… it was due into San Pedro at 8am. By 10:15 we had finally docked and apparently the gangway was an ugly mess of people trying to get to the airport to catch flights. It make me VERY glad I booked the 3:15pm flight rather than the 1:15pm flight or we would have been in that mess. As it was, we were just in the cluster f of trying to get a cab with hundreds of other people.

Had a nice lunch at the airport sitting out on the deck looking at Loadmaster III’s and even an old DC-3 belonging to Catalina Flying Boats, Inc.(http://www.wikimapia.org/9408463/Catalina-Flying-Boats-Inc-Air-Freight-Service).

Smooth flight home but with a chatty seatmate which I could have done without. DancingBear and I sat across the aisle from each other in the exit row for the Canadian Regional Jet flight.

Luggage was out quick and we were off to the apartment on Light Rail (a first for DB). He headed straight home after I let him out of the parking lot. Me, I headed up to the apartment for a drink with Swanda and a package pickup, then it was on home to do the laundry and think about packing for the next trip.

[? ? ?, but should be interesting to see tomorrow’s weight after two cruises]

As we start day three on the high seas, a final comment about last night’s dinner in the Empire Room… we both ordered the duck, but shortly after mine arrived the waiter showed up with an “extra” unordered lobster tail and shrimp main course — talk about a rich meal!

Tracked down the Friends of Dorothy, which for some reason they held at 10pm just as the bar that was hosting it was closing down. Odd. Several of us went to the late night adult comedy show, so we didn’t get back to the room until about 1:30, which is technically, today.

Here is a very trippy photo looking up in the atrium mid-ship. The ship was built in 2001, but it really looks like a throw-back to the 80’s.

More later, or not, about our last day at sea. And more…

Mick won a ship on a stick this afternoon for his trivia knowledge of advertising slogans:

Shown here with my 7^th place metal on our towel elephant.

[? ? ?]

Another day of sleeping until whenever and having coffee ready for me when I do roll over, though it was housekeeping, not DancingBear do the service (along with bagels for him, and lox for me).

The lox (and coffee) was enough to keep me until noonish when the siren call of the salad bar called my name (and a little protein from the grill section).

Now, onto that metal. I went up to the Lido Deck stage to take pictures of the Hairy Man Contest for Wonderful, who likes hairy men. Apparently I was too close to the stage and got dragged into the act:

This is the shot of the remaining contestants after I got my 7^th place metal (out of 8). But at least I got a medal and was booted before I had to do a Tarzan routine. Considering the three judges were a single woman, a “hot mom”, and a “sexy grandmom” (the MC’s description, not mine), it’s not surprising that the gay guy got kicked out early.

Glacier Cold Martinis starting at 4:30 (Martinis chilled through a card ice slide), and yes, they do rinse between runs, with dinner in the Empire Dining Room (the standard included dining room choice).

Small internet snafu, but by correcting it I make sure I actually get credit for this sailing… apparently my travel agent put in my birth date as the 26th. I found this out when I tried to buy internet minutes and it wouldn’t let me. Went to the front desk to inquire why (problem with credit card?) since the internet dude wasn’t in the library, no, just a wrong birthdate.

Tomorrow is another day at sea, unfortunately, our last.

[? ? ?]

So nice to be able to just sleep in this morning, not needing to be out until noon.

DancingBear was a saint and had the coffee on and the bangers cooking (to be held in the oven until we were ready) by the time I rolled out of bed. And speaking of DB, the gout is starting to get under control, which is a good thing since we have a lot of walking and standing today.

Ah, leisure.

Checked out at noon, grabbed a cab and off to Canada Place be we for our next cruise boat ride — this one to Los Angeles.

We are VIP status because of our “Suite” status (i.e. we booked a suite) which doesn’t shorten the Customs line, it just shortens the check-in line, gives immediate embarkation, and access to our suite while everyone else waits until 1:30. The photo above is from our balcony.

No need for the lifejackets for the mandatory drill, but it still lasted longer than I’d like. Next up was for me to grab my confiscated luggage ¯ the bottle of wine in there, which oddly would have been OK if I had put it in my carryon. Go figure. Surprisingly there were only 5 stopped bags (compared to about 70 on Wonderful and I’s Hawaii trip years ago) with one scotch, one baileys, two wine (on mine) and one… travel iron.

Here is a great shot of us going under the Lion’s Gate bridge on the way out of Vancouver:

For the first night they are offering a free bottle of wine in the Nouveau Steakhouse ($30 upcharge) which almost makes it worth it. Both DB and I settled on the 18oz. Bone-In Prime Rib Steak with the Caesar Salad while Mick had the Baked Onion Soup, and I went for the Ahi Tuna Carpaccio Tower:

By having dinner early, we missed the Friends of Dorothy gathering at 6:30pm (you can type FOD in the blog search and find a previous post on Friends of Dorothy), but we can do that tomorrow at 10pm as well. Mostly just a quiet night in the cabin with a little knocking back and forth due to the head winds.

[? ? ?] Clueless, but ignoring most of the carbs on the ship.

The problem with one-day cruises is that they are one day.

Why? You don’t get to sleep in, you don’t get to enjoy a leisurely breakfast, you are basically are booted off the boat in the morning half awake.

The woes of leisure time.

We are booked into the WorldMark at The Canadian, but arriving at 9am is almost a certain guarantee of not having your room available. Well, for us. The couple behind us, also from the Princess cruise, and oddly enough also on the Carnival Cruise tomorrow did have their room ready. We, on the other hand, stashed our luggage and pondered the day ahead of us.

The day turned out to be me going in search of a cane for DancingBear, who had a large flare-up of his gout last night resulting in a swollen knee and a pity line-cut through customs this morning. Serious hobbling and pain. After a bit of a roundabout walk found him an “on sale” folding cane at Shoppers Drug Mart, along with some Ibuprofen for the swelling. Next up was a little brunch at The Elbow Room (DB had the Club Sandwich, I ate the side salad that came with it). One last stop at a drug store for some liniment that is prescription in the states and over the counter here in CanadaLand.

By noon we were back at the front desk but to no avail — we decamped to the Game Room of the building which was actually a really good idea. Nice couches, bathrooms, pool table (not that we played) and close enough to the front office to get their wi-fi signal. If you are going to be stuck some place for a couple of hours, not a bad option.

Finally at 2:30 we got into our 2-bedroom corner unit. Stunning as always (search for previous videos of the WorldMark at The Canadian).

Shopping run at 5 for party supplies — we have a total of seven people coming, was to be eight, but at the last minute Solus+ cancelled having a “bad eye day” from getting a fire hose in the eye at the summer gathering.

Lots of good food and conversation — most flat surfaces filled with platters of food as you can’t really do a sit down meal for more than four people in the tiny dining nook.

Once again late to bed, but at least I don’t have to get up early tomorrow as we don’t board the ship until noon.

[? ? ?]

DancingBear and UncleMarkie are off on a cruise to nowhere today. Well, actually Vancouver, BC.

The Sapphire Princess (from their website). Out of the house at 10:30, meet up with DB at the apartment at 11, cab to the pier, check in, get the booze past security, and in our room (amazingly) by 12:15. Unpack and work our way to the Lido deck for lunch under overcast skies.

Me relaxing on the veranda with  a little whiskey brought aboard in a wine bottle:

Picture coutesy of DancingBear.

And our room:

Dinner in the Savoy, duty-free after dinner and then maybe the crew Jeopardy sho.

[219.1]

The grey skies have returned, winter is upon us once again. I was hoping to have the storefront repainted while it was still sunny and warm, but alas, that might not happen.

A couple of hours pre- and post-noon were spent filling, sanding, priming the bits of the counter that are going to get painted. There might be more, but without Jimmy around, I only did what I positively knew was going to get painted.

Next up, back three baguettes of rosemary challah for Jimmy and Suze’s 10^th Anniversary Party.

GREAT invitation! And the food — well, most of their friends are foodies, so it was an amazing collection of oysters on the half shell; half a Virginia ham fresh from the oven, salmon cake, figs and dates with gorgonzola, the list goes on. And the wine… probably twenty different bottles of wine open at once. The house was packed because of the less than ideal weather, but a good time was had by all (at least that I could tell). Nice seeing a bunch of folks I hadn’t seen in years, two of them with a 9-week old in tow.

Will probably play hell with my weight numbers tomorrow!

[216.3]

It’s not just wine racks and cabinets that are getting built in South Park. We are getting a bridge, too:

No yachts from upstream able to make it through while the barges are in place. Finally, some progress towards a new bridge (opening 2013).

But me, I spent my day cleaning up miscellaneous stuff that had accumulated from the week, and in the afternoon I finally got back out to the garage to finish nailing all the champagne racks:

That just leaves a little putty work, sanding, finish priming pieces, and then get the hell out of town for a couple of day. Speaking of out of town, I finally figured out how to get my last 5411 flight miles on Alaska Airlines to keep my MVP Gold status — fly to Miami and return on the same plane that took me. 5440 miles and one red-eye flight. It was the cheapest option (at $358). Other flights (Mexico City, Boston) would have required an addition one way trip (minimum of $150 probably).

As for dinner, a chicken breast and left-overs.

[218.4]

Well, this is my second try at this post. Somehow I managed to delete the post before posting. Damn.

Finished trimming out all the cabinets today, including the bottle rack for the main glass case:

Not bad looking, wish I had more empties to fill up the rack for a better photo.

Got out of the shop and on the road at 5:15, just in time for the rush hour fight to Woodinville. I’m off to a whiskey tasting at the Woodinville Whiskey Company.

My dear friend Jill bought me this as an early birthday present — last March. It was a Groupon deal that filled up so quickly this was the first date available. So the deal is, arrive, sample their vodka (interesting but expensive), meet one of the co-owners for a talk about the still, get your photo taken with David Pickerell, their contract Master Distiller (and former Master Distiller for Maker’s Mark), and then head to the “heavy appetizer” buffet table. Heavy meaning ribs, pulled pork deviled eggs, etc. Stand around, eat meet the other owner passing out samples of their White Dog (unaged whiskey), move to the presentation (an hour plus), when a prize (Bourbon Straight, The Uncut and Unfiltered Story of American Whiskey), and then sample some of their aged bourbon which they will release in November.

Whew.

In front of their still.

Wish I could afford one of these!

And then the slog back home for a full glass or two of bourbon.

Thanks Jill.

[217.4]

After another solid say of work, the cash wrap is over half done. Lots of finish work (sanding, painting, trim) to go, but here is the status picture of the day:

We knocked off about 5:30 when Suze showed up for a photo shoot and a pork chop dinner. This is the shot for the web article on “Swirl, Sniff,Spit, Dump, or Drink?”.

I need to take it into PhotoShop and tweak it a bit, but you get the picture.

One more for dinner was added with Jimmy needed a green union for the dressing, Missy gladly donated one from her front garden, and I gladly invited her for the fourth pork chop.

A wonderful evening all around, and no, we didn’t drink all the wine laid out on the table.

[217.6]

That may be the motto for this week: Another Day, Another Cabinet.

At the end of a short day (Jimmy has dinner company coming) we have finished a third of the cash wrap (that place you put the cash register, computer, etc.)

This is the tall piece that will hold the computer and printer. We even have the chair hanging out in the picture to make sure the keyboard height is comfortable.

Had Jimmy and I paid more attention in high school to our geometry lessons, the first piece might have gone a little quicker. Only several recuts (and laying it out on the floor) to get it right. Tomorrow’s construction should go much easier. Cross your fingers.

Work all day, quiet dinner at home. This is starting to become an odd routine.

[218.9]

Thank goodness the phone was still in my holster and on the chair by my bed rather than on the charger because at 7:15am I got a call from Dunn Lumber saying they were on their way.

He had to call again to say he was in the alley — same guy who did the delivery a couple of weeks ago. As for me, it was cup number two of coffee.

The delivery? A load of paintable plywood and MDF (medium density fiberboard). Use? The main center racking and the cash wrap (i.e., where the cash register goes).

At the end of the day?

This would be the center racking with case storage below, but before the final trim is on, that, and the center rail, the class, a bunch of sanding and sealing.

And damn, the floor is dirty again. It does look like a serious production shop though from this photo.

Took Jimmy home (he came in on the bus) with a load up uprights for him to Bennite next week while I’m on the road. I got a lovely smoked chicken dinner out of the deal, and a nice tasting of a “baryard tones” Dindons wine.

Long day on my feet, can’t believe I’m still awake.

[219.8]

My only comments today are two photos of the garage, mostly clean, and stacked with wine racking pieces:

And look, the floor is clean!

And look, the floor is tilted!

Tomorrow another load comes from Dunn Lumber. At least the car gets one night in the garage with the top down.

Dinner tonight with Swanda, a version of Osso Buco but with lamb shanks. Turned out so good that Swanda drank the broth like a nice soup.

[220.8]