Cooking the NYTimes and Other Assorted Retirement Activities

  The Christmas letter has been put to bed, off to the printer. and writing it has engendered all sorts of decidedly un-Christmasy emotions. Christmas letters evoke plenty of different feelings from those who write and receive them.  They are the subject of parody since the basic template tends to skew toward a yearly recitation of the author and his/her (and let's be honest here, it's predominantly her) family's highlights, bypassing any lowlights.  Not that families don't have them but the archetype just doesn't support same.  It's much easier to chronicle how wonderful 2023 was as opposed to even mentioning those events south of the life's border.   I always attempt to be at least somewhat self-deprecating in our Christmas letter, choosing to include what might not be considered typical photos, avoiding a highlight reel of the children's and grandchildren's greatest accomplishments.  And yet I am excruciatingly aware my letter is stuffed to the gi...

  I was looking for a previous post the other day, and noted that I hadn't written anything in a while. Not for lack of potential topics, mind you.  How about our friend, Supreme Court Clarence Thomas on the grift?  The Republican Freedom (term used loosely) Caucus holding the United States of America hostage by ousting Kevin McCarthy (Karma's a bitch, Kev), leaving the Speakership empty for three weeks only to finally elect Mike Johnson, whose only qualifications appear to be he appeased the hostage takers with his previous work as an election denier, abortion foe, vocal opponent of gay marriage albeit a nice guy?  Hamas attacking Gaza?  And lest we forget, how about the Donald, four time indicted felon, whose children are being called to testify in his NY fraud case?   What a Dad, huh? No, I'd left those topics to speak for themselves as I spent the bulk of the fall enjoying the unseasonably and climate change influenced weather, spending time with t...

  In a summer of adjustments, I've encountered another. I have engaged in an end of the day ritual for many years.  At whatever time I'm basically calling it quits, meaning I'll be hanging out at home for the remainder of the day, I shut it down.  Take off the bra.  Take out the teeth (partial).  Take out the ears (hearing aids).  Pop out the contacts. Which means, of course, I am then lacking support; gumming my food; asking, "What?" and turning up the volume on electronic devices; blurring my view of the world. It's the last that is coming into particular focus at the present time. On August 31, I had the first of two cataract surgeries and by late that evening, my distance vision was almost frighteningly clear.  So much so that at the post op appointment, I tested 20/20.  It seems as if I'll continue to use cheaters to read--no biggie. The biggie is being able to see the world around me in sharp, distinct color and shapes.  No more br...

Au Revoir!  La vacances est finis I'm completing the Ah, Bonjour blog from Charles de Gaulle airport, where the wi-fi connection is decidedly much improved from the cruise ship, and that's a wonder in itself that free, albeit spotty, wi-fi is available as you tool down the Seine River. Yesterday the ship docked in LePecq, a suburb of Paris, where we shuffled off to Napoleon and Josephine's home...wait, correction, ONE of their homes, called Malmaison.  The tour guide indicated that the house was sacked when the Prussians came through, so restoration of the property has required going to other Napoleon and Josephine homes to attempt to recreate as closely as possible to what Malmaison might have looked like when they lived there.  It was opulent, nowhere on the scale of Versailles, naturally, but it reminds one of the huge wealth gap between the ruling classes and those whose lifestyle was worker bee.  And also a reminder of why there was a French revolution. A portra...

Trop Amusant The ship/boat sailed from its dock in Rouen overnight to the very small (pop. 500) village of Les Andelys, not to be confused with Grand Andelys up the road a piece.  It's a very charming little place, not spared Allied bombing during the post D-Day assault.  That's a common theme throughout Normandy, how the carpet bombings (remember pinpoint bombing/GPS was not available) decimated so many of the little towns from the coast on the way inland.  Very prevalent in the minds of the French, not even a blip on our radar screens, eh? Seen on the Seine as we sailed This morning as we sailed, the chef, the quite remarkable Ali, demonstrated how to make Tarte de Citron aka lemon tarte with a meringue topping.  Delicioux. If we're in France, in any city, there must be a church (eglise) or cathedral (cathedral) or two or more in any town.  Today's was the Church of Saint Saveur, one of the few churches built during the 14th century not named after Our Lady, a...

Je suis devaste   Today there was but one shore excursion--to the beaches of Normandy. The day began with a bus ride through the Norman countryside, a nice opportunity to view life beyond city limits.  The weather was predicted to be cold and rainy, yet once again it erred on the side of warmer and sunnier. We began the day at the Caen Normandy Museum .  As we discussed it later, the general consensus was this museum provided an outstanding perspective on what lead to WWII and also why the Germans succumbed to Hitler's propaganda.  We also agreed that parallels to what is going on in America today are bone chilling. If these numbers don't keep you up at night or give you nightmares, I'm not sure what would. A film presents an unflinching look at war itself in some of what I found to be the most graphic footage of especially the aftermath of battle, and its effects on the French towns impacted by the D-Day invasion.  No Hollywood set dresser can come close to wha...

Et, alors, voila!   (a pretty consistent refrain from our guides) As I'm writing, our longboat is docked in Rouen and across the Seine, music is playing--singers serenading in English, which will immediately switch to French when the song is over.  How wonderful is that!                                              photo of our Viking longship docked in Vernon taken by my sister in law, Lori.  We're sailed at 5 am from Vernon to Rouen, arriving around noon time. The weather has cooled considerably, down to the upper 60's and partly cloudy.  For many, this switch makes touring the cities by foot decidedly easier.  Moi?  J'taime le weather chaud. Today's shore tour was strolling through Rouen, historically noted as where Joan of Arc was burned not once, not twice, but three times at the stake.  She had a rough life, Joan ...