That's What I Do

My newest t-shirt acquisition arrived yesterday. From what you know of me, I think you'd agree that it was one that I couldn't pass up.

That's What I Do
I Take Photos
And I Forget Things

I have shown a few emblazoned t-shirts that I have purchased in the last few years, and that might cause one to think that I am forever indulging myself. In actuality, I seldom wear these tees and usually settle for wearing plain ones. The plain ones tend to be made of better material after all. But when the mood strikes, I now have a few wacky tees that I can don.

I pretty well started wearing just plain tees about 20 years ago but have picked up a few funny cat or photography shirts fairly recently when I have seen ones on FB that have tickled my fancy.

One might think that I am a self-indulgent old poop, and I suppose that I am. But it is also true that I have never really spent a lot of money on myself. I have decent camera equipment, but none of it is exactly top-of-the line, and purchases were done bit-by-bit over a number of years.

I haven't been taking many photos lately. Earlier in the summer, I did the pond series and then sunrise over the road, but I haven't done much since.

I do have this ↓ one, however, of a rural road not far from us, taken at golden hour.

And while I am at it, here's a recent fireworks photo that I haven't already posted.

Appreciative

It is about 20 years ago that I volunteered to teach an html class for the computer teacher for week. She was great with computers and programming but hadn’t ventured into internet coding.

I had only taken it up as an interest after I retired — an interest that had its day and has long since ceased to be an interest. 

Anyway, I went in for a week to teach one class.

This weekend, a former colleagues mentioned in an email that he had just attended a celebration of life for that computer teacher, Mary. I was shocked.

Mary was only 69 and seemingly in good health. But she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and died within 10 days. Wow!

The same friend also informed me of other passings. A fellow geography teacher, who retired in the same year as I, also passed away recently. And a lovely former student of mine, who became a teacher in the same school, also has pancreatic cancer.

Here I am, seemingly in good health and able to do my little bicycle rides. I look at my reflection and see the unmistakeable evidence that I have almost completed my 75th trip around the sun, but by golly, this little life of mine is still going well enough. I am both lucky and glad to be sitting here in my comfy chair and typing out these little thoughts on a morning when I wasn’t going to post here because I had nothing to say.

I Need to Adjust that App

I’ve had my iWatch for almost a year, but I never bothered to engage the fitness app, for as you all know, my dagblasted foot tends to keep me rather sedentary. However, since I have more recently discovered that I can do a modest amount of cycling, I decided to use the app, and you have seen me post the results of my rides, sometimes with screen captures of the report.

Apart from the logging my rides, the fitness app reminds me of certain things. One evening, it sent a notice that stimulated me to take a little walk in order to close a ring or goal. It also reminds me to stand every hour or so. With my propensity to arise rather frequently to visit a certain facility, I don’t have much difficulty complying.

However, when it congratulates me for standing when I visit the facilities during the night, I am somewhat perplexed. Today, it went so far as to buzz me to get up and stand at 5:50, if you please, when I was still in bed, although, I confess, not deeply asleep. Still, I did not appreciate being buzzed at that hour.

I must look into this. There must be a way to tell the app to sleep when I want to sleep.

Saving JJ

We don't phone in our family, but we do communicate frequently – by text. So it was that there were stressful communications from Jonathan yesterday. You see, he was in charge of puppy, Tip, and it wasn't going well. She was not behaving for him, and he was getting quite agitated.

We went over. I stayed outside while Sue handled the situation. Within moments I was called in because all was under control, for Tip had been crated and was settling right down.

You may be wondering why I remained outside, but the reason is simple. Tip has shown some fear and angst with me, and we did not need to exacerbate an already problematic situation.

You may also be wondering why JJ was tasked with minding Tip for the day. That is because Shauna had intended to take her to work but realized that Tip was to be under some sort of quarantine for a week. Beside, Jonathans loves Tip – or did. I don't know how he feels today. 😀

Shauna had asked to foster an older dog, but in this situation where they needed to foster many dogs at once, the family was given a younger dog: a younger dog who comes from a very different situation than living in a townhouse with a family.

I took Jonathan out for a treat and then to his Dad's house, and Sue and I dogsat for the afternoon. Despite being strange with me in the house, she walked with me just fine.

Who knows whether Tip will adapt to going to work with Sha. It remains to be seen. For me, dogs are a  high reward but high maintenance proposition. I guess that is why I favour cats. I have no ambition to walk a dog multiple times a day in all kinds of weather, like yesterday when it was very hot in the sun, nevermind  in freezing or snowy winter.

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Sue and I did get out for a bike ride yesterday morning before the highly stressed texts began to arrive. We did our longest ride yet although it is still not long by any means.

Ride #13

And here's a selfie of sorts from a recent ride when Sue had a yellow photo theme.

Meanie Me

I am very popular on that TW social media platform, especially with young ladies. These are a few of the lonely young gals who have reached out to me.

I make a few new friends weekly, or at least several young ladies try to befriend me. Being a introverted meanie, I block them. I feel badly doing this because it seems that they are sweet but neglected young things who really need my friendship. But as an older curmudgeonly loner that's the way that I have to be. 

Sorry ladies..

Effects

We met with Bob and Barb at the park for the first time this year. I do mean first time at the park, not first meeting of the year. It's not like the past two summers where we felt that it was the only safe place where we could meet, so it hasn't been as crucial to meet there specifically. Still it was a nice meetup. It was actually on the chilly side at first.

It's a very pleasant place to sit on a summer day.
There is a lot of activity from the Day Camp
at the adjacent Canoe Club.

On the way to the park, Sue and I stopped for coffee at the drive-through where we ordered two large decafs with double cream. The person who took the order was so impressed that he termed it, Awesome. He did forget to add, Dude, however. I didn't think this omission was Awesome.

After the meetup, Sue had to work on a theme for her daily photo challenge, which was yellow plus zooming the camera (rotating the lens) as the shutter was being pressed. She needed my camera for that. This is a photo that I took when I was trying to set it up for her. We used a neutral density filter to darken the scene so that we could slow the shutter speed down to 0.3 seconds.

It's a fun effect.

I have just been informed that this technique is called Zoom Bursting

I have another photo with a blur but it wasn't due to special effects. I simply captured this little windmill spinning in the wind in the backyard.

1/30 second

From two recent bike rides.

Ride 11: August 01 (many stops for yellow pictures)
8.06K, 43:24 min, Avg Speed 11.1k/h, Avg Heart 113bpm

Ride 12: August 02
We were <4k in when we felt raindrops, so we cut our ride short.

Tip

Sunday was quite the driving day for both humans and beasties. 

Shauna and the kids took something like 7 hours to drive the 600+km from Sarnia to home.

Meanwhile 40 rescue dogs were travelling 18 hours from Manitoba to Ottawa. 

Tip, a 6-month-old mongrel with seemingly a lot of golden retriever in her, was one such dog.

Shauna had applied to be a doggy foster mom, but she got the notice during her very long trip home that she was expected to pick up the dog that very evening. Off she and the kids drove for another hour to the other side of Ottawa. They met Tip, got all sorts of supplies and instructions, and set of to drive another hour back to home.

It was all a bit much for Tip who suffered several horrific explosions all over the car. This required pulling off the highway in the middle of the night to clean up both pooch and car as best they could.

They got home at 12:30am.

We don't know many details, but Tip seems to have been rescued from Northern Manitoba, I presume from a reserve, where many dogs were running freely and seemingly not being cared for very well.

They brought her over yesterday, and Tip seems like a sweet gem of a thing. The kids, JJ especially, love her and are already nagging Shauna to adopt Tip. We shall see, but if I were a betting man, I would bet that Tip has found a home. If not, she will receive loving care until she does.

JJ was the chief minder while they were here while Danica was eating lunch
after work, but Danica had to have her time too.

Kisses anyone?

Jonathan is in love. He reports progress in teaching her to sit.

I was Tip's least favourite person. Of course, I was, but I managed to get ahold of her briefly.

Lacey was most unimpressed, seemed to growl, and then retreated.