Cooking the NYTimes and Other Assorted Retirement Activities

 They say that all good things must end, someday.  Our time on the beach is rapidly drawing to its proscribed end. There are any number of clues that it’s time to go home.  You run out of essentials: toilet paper, fresh squeezed juice, half and half.  You notice that you never used the second item purchased under the Buy One, Get One banner—those will be taken to one of the local food pantries.  The dog has completely shed his winter coat and is now spending the part of his day when he’s not sleeping panting due to temperature increases.  It’s become commonplace to port the chairs down to the beach. Today I noticed that the bag containing sunscreens has dwindled to the 4 containers pictured above (along with a swim diaper Jackson left behind).  We’ve done a darned good job of keeping ourselves greased up and sunburn free. If you’re of a certain age, perhaps you noted the tubes of Ban de Soleil on the table.  If so, your sense memory ma...

Don't get me wrong, there are a TON of things I love about Florida.  The ocean.  The weather.  The blue skies.  The seabirds and the Zone 8 foliage.  The view as you cross the Belleair Beach Causeway going toward Gulf Boulevard.  Publix's BOGOs.  Friends and family visiting to make good their escape from the cold.  So many of the people we meet daily. And then there's the Florida legislature. We're here during their legislative session and nearly every day, without exception, the Tampa Bay Times  reports on yet another piece of legislation the folks up in Tallahassee are voting to enact that send shivers down my spine.  To be fair, there are over 900 bills currently being considered and not all of them fall into that category. Two that really got my goat are: 1)  The State Senate voted 22–17 on Tuesday, mainly along party lines, to advance the bill to its final stage: the more conservative State House,  according to ...

Today is Hank's birthday.  He is 12, which the Spousal Unit  ™ would want me to remind you is 84 in dog years. Hank, bellying up to his bar at Los Caracoles in Belleair Beach, FL He also might want to remind Hank of same. One of the Spousal Unit's ™  nicknames for Hank is the Perpetual Puppy.  Hank has been prancing down the streets from the day we brought him home.  He shows no interest in slowing down and that makes me very happy. In the past, I've written about the value of connecting with people: old friends, always friends, new friends, acquaintances.  Dogs have a magical, almost mystical way of expediting such connections.  It warms the cockles of my heart to see how our Hank, twenty some pounds prancing on his leash, causes strangers to stop, extend their hand and greet him.  What's his name?  the stranger will ask.  Hank, we reply, and the 'strangeness' begins to dissipate.  Hi, Hank, you're a good boy, aren't yo...

When you leave home for an extended period of time, there is a niggling at the back of your mind which wonders how quickly you can get home, if the need arises. That was certainly a consideration when the Spousal Unit and I, Illinois natives, decided to move to the Twin Cities of Minneapolis-St. Paul (the Bold North, recent hosts to the Super Bowl and the upcoming mens’ Final Four).  MSP and ORD were only a little over an hour flight from each other and about 7 hours via interstate.  More than once during our 46 year Minnesota habitation that has been valuable, especially the quick flight. My friends who split time between Florida and Minnesota have all assured me that you can get home quickly, both if you just want to or if you need to.  Spirit and Frontier offer relatively inexpensive flights if you’re not hauling luggage and if you don’t particularly mind being squished into the center seat. Last week I put this premise to the test.  I needed to get home wit...