Friday, January 16, 2009
Aboard the Queen Mary 2 -- Our holiday, or vacation from retirement life, Part One
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Days one-five of an eleven day Caribbean cruise, January 3, 2009: Travel to Miami and registering on our ship, the Queen Mary 2. You can see there was a long line. After all that I had to rest my feet.
Notice my life preserver, not that I don't know how to swim, rather, we had just finished with our drill to find and wear those preservers after assembling at our point of egress from the ship in case of emergency.
[click on any picture to enlarge]
This one pictured is not my typical breakfast noted above. On day three (3) we ate at the Kings Court, a buffet. These were plain pancakes, without the blueberries.
Oh yes, I didn't gain any weight.
Mrs. Jim and I attended a bridge lesson in the morning and she played bridge with some ladies in the afternoon.
First, take a look at our view of the town as we docked. The homes are all painted bright colors. This has been a tradition since early on.
Mrs. Jim never gets lost. I think women have an acquired sense of getting back from where their guy took them. Warning to all women, be sure you have enough mad money to get to where you need to be.
The fishing fleet is in. In our walk to the end of the street for this photo we passed a nice fish market where a person could buy a fish just off the boats.
We didn't get any fish as we weren't sure that our cook would cook them up for us. Did you see the BBQ grill on our deck? There wasn't any.
To get ashore we had to tender.
Can you spot Mrs. Jim in the second picture? She says these guys are reggae singers. You couldn't prove it by me as that word wasn't in my vocabulary before.
I have started working on Mrs. Jim's annual performance evaluation (link). It seems to be fairly good, I thought it might.
This year I will include an examination of her body as I have noticed a few irregularities here and there.
Labels: Holiday Posts, Jim Does, Places, Queen Mary 2, Travel
Friday, January 06, 2017
~~ Friday’s Hunt v.3.01 -- "A" is for ...
She is standing in a field reserved for Penguins. We were on the Johnson Farm at Volunteer Point in the Falklands. We were advised before we left to get some foot protectors for keeping our shoes clean from the Penguin manure, as their habitat is very messy, messier than a chicken house.
The Falklands visit was a part of the second half of our South American Cruise. We left Los Angeles on December 4th and left Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on January 4th, getting back to Houston on the morning of January 5th.
The cities we visited on the second half were Santiago, Chile; Punta Arenas, Chile (Google); Ushuaia, Argentina (Google)-nicknamed "the end of the World."; The Falkland Islands (Google); Montevideo, Uruguay (Google), Buenos Aires (Google); and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (Google).
The boggy ride I told of last week was of our ride out to Volunteer Point to see the Penguins. I'll more about the Penguins later ("P's" perhaps?) and maybe show more ride pictures.
The Amethyst here is the pink quartz rocks. We found these at a table vender in a park, located in Montevideo, Uruguay. Pink Amethyst is the national gemstone of Uruguay. Amethyst is also the state gemstone of South Carolina. The hollow stone is also quartz Amethyst stone. I think the vender said that all were Amethyist but I'm not sure. I am sure that I didn't buy any although I believe they weren't very expensive. Or of very high quality.
3. Beginning: This afternoon I stopped at my friendly NAPA auto parts store in Montgomery, Texas, and picked up my 2017 NAPA Classic Car Calendar. The car for January is a 1967 Pontiac GTO Convertible. You may remember these, I do. I have a collection of the NAPA calendars dating back to the second one in the 1970's.
The Fine Print:
- Teresa of Eden Hills, (click) is running this meme, Friday's Hunt. Her rules are: "Welcome to linkup for Friday’s Hunt. It’s very simple. Anyone can participate. The link opens at 7pm Friday Central time and will close Sunday at 7pm."
. http://www.inlinkz.com/new/view.php?id=688948
Labels: 2016 South America, Birds, Friday’s Hunt # 03 - 2017, Holiday Posts, Jim Does, NAPA calendars, Travel 7
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Question: What does a tree hugger do on Arbor Day?
"Answer: She gets in her hybrid car (Prius) and drives to Will Clayton Blvd to help plant trees!!!
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Doesn't that sound like fun. Rain or shine, that is what I am doing tomorrow morning from 8-12. I am w/ a BP [British Petroleum] Team. Billy is supposed to be playing golf, but might end up w/ me if golf gets rained out!" **
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For three more "Karen Plants" pictures, go here.
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Get your TreeHugger Newsletter here:
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http://treehugger.com/
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Trivia Question: When is Arbor Day in Texas (Houston, at least)?
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Answer: January XX. ***
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**Got this in an e-mail:
Date: Fri 26 Jan 08:28:47 CST 2007
From: Karen
Subject: Question: What does a tree hugger do on Arbor Day?
To: Jim and (Mrs. Jim)
***From Plant Answers (link) on the History of TEXAS Arbor Day:
"In 1949, the state legislature adopted a resolution designating the third Friday in January as Texas Arbor Day. That date changed, when, in 1989, the legislature designated the last Friday in April as Texas Arbor Day in order to align the Texas observance with the traditionally observed national Arbor Day." [The article says the first Arbor Day was officially on George Washington's birthday but that law expired in 1949.]" TreeHugger Tree Hugger Photos Humor Arbor Day Family Humour Green
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Just a whole lot of Texas still observes Arbor Day in January. January is a much better month than April to plant trees down here.
Saturday, January 11, 2014
Six Word Saturday
my Six Words:
On January 2nd Mrs. Jim had her right foot operated on for bunion surgery. This involved straightening her big toe and shortening the second toe. A week later, she had a cast put on. You might notice that the colors are her purple and yellow LSU school colors.
But the bandage was rubbing her suture area so this Friday we returned for the cast to be removed and refitted. The second one fits much better. It is colored all purple with no yellow.
Her cast is to remain on for three weeks, starting Wednesday this week. So it will come off the 29th of January. While there at the ortho doctor she also rented a scooter to help her become more mobile. I may show it here at a later date..
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Six Words Saturday:
Describe your life (or something) in a phrase using just six words for Six Word Saturday. Click the box at right to visit Cate's blog with Mr. Linky showing all the other blogs participating this week. Cate is the boss at Six Word Saturday. She would like for you to participate.Labels: Birthdays, Family, KP, Six Word Saturday
Monday, January 29, 2007
June Bug . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No, It's January Bug
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June Bug Beatle Volkswagen Bug Humor Humour Love Bug Funny
Friday, February 26, 2021
Letter "I" -- Weekend Roundup and Reflections
(2) What is your favorite Word starting with "I"? Mine today will be "Igloo". When it got so cold, even in our house with no heat or electricity for 48 hours straight, our noses and ears got very cold, Then I thought of the Eskimos who live in their small snow/ice igloos all winter long. Yes, some still do that.."
(3) Anything else you were reminded of here that you would like to tell about?
My going blogs:
Jim's Little Blog, http://jimmiehov.blogspot.com/
Jim's Little Photo and Picture Place, http://jimmiehov6.blogspot.com/
Jim's little Christmas tree farm, http://jimmiehov7.blogspot.com/, and
Ask Dr. Jim (blog), http://jimmiehov8.blogspot.com/
Cars I have owned (32 including the Golf Car) http://jimmiehov3.blogspot.com/2021/01/cars-i-have-owned-toy-cars-not-listed.html
Adi Pictures and Information. Click here, Link to Adi's Meme Adi died in 2012.
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Fine print stuff:
- [Click on any picture for larger, click it again for extra large]
- I am linked with Tom of "Backwoods Travel" (Link here to click for Tom's Weekend Reviews)
- I am also linked this week with James of "Weekend Reflections" (click here for his Reflections Photos).
Labels: Aus-NZ, Newspaper, The News, Weather
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
..Heater [#1] wins
..A/C [#2] distant second
..Water softener to the showers
..The others, also ran
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Heater vs. A/C--how exciting--our house has two units, one [#1 here] for each side or end. Our bedroom, the living room, dining room, and Mrs. Jim's study are on one.
The kitchen, my office, and two rooms upstairs are on the other [#2]. For a couple of months we keep #1 on heat, mainly for evenings, and #2 on A/C for the day. This week the heater, set on 66 for day, 65 or 64 at night, has been running quite a bit at night. The A/C comes on the warm days only. We have it set for 75 or 76. Today outside will only get to 68 here. This way we are all comfortable because our house is fairly open.
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The big action this week was with the water softener. It produced the most horrible salty water you could imagine Sunday morning. Worse than drinking from the Great Salt Lake and almost as bad as from the Dead Sea (I may mention that one day).
Good news, the water softener was under warranty. So the five-dollar microswitch was free. We ONLY had to pay the $94.50 service charge, $74.50 for a new drinking water filter, and $6.15 tax.
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Also ran:
Not so good news--our kitchen sink faucet is leaking. Just a little drip, drip, that I found when we, Mrs. Jim mostly, cleaned out under the sink for the softener tech's access. We might send it to the showers. Our plan is to (1) buy a new faucet from Lowe's or Home Depot to Mrs. Jim's liking. Then (2) call the plumber who will charge another huge service call fee. Let the (3) plumber assess the situation, hoping it can be (a) soldered for a long time repair, but being ready for (b) the new faucet installation.
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How to rationalize all this. If it had been a six-year-old car surely the A/C or transmission would need work after 90 to 120 thousand miles. Or if we were realtors or builders we would have been in new digs three years ago.
But we are here. Somebody has to be.
That reminds me of when I was a college dropout working in the Elgin Watch factory in Lincoln, Nebraska. The older married guys had a saying: they would leave town and go to Denver, the land of opportunity, if they could afford it. That wasn't my worry, I liked it there, away from the farm.
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The dog, an also ran. Adi missed her bath yesterday. It was plenty warm and we had our hour walk after Mrs. Jim dropped us off near the pro shop. Incidentally she had a good, for her, game. Adi is due for her Bordetella vaccination and nail clip, first I need to bathe her. We are also ready after my knee workover to start visiting at the assisted living home, first I need to bathe her.
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The computers, other also rans. This one, a one year-old laptop, needs antivirus update by January 31. That has paid for itself. It got a Trojan horse the other day. The antivirus warned me, but said it couldn't remove it. I didn't panic, didn't go to any other web site. Other site because this one is on-line any time it runs with our DSL wireless always on. Norton GoBack more than paid for itself as I just picked a save point from yesterday before the nasty horse and went back, no problem after that.
Old standby laptop just goes and goes. It uses GrisSoft, free version, for antivirus. A Trojan horse would get it but that is about all. We cleaned it out last January after getting this newer one. My desktop in the office has been down for a long time. A Trojan horse got it. Microsoft Windows software wouldn't work in going to any earlier save points to avoid it. After I save--one day--all the goodies on it I'll restore it. Tim and Billy helped us with the older laptop, I might call on them again.
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The cars. Mrs. Jim's, our family car, is ready for oil change. I have never changed that, I'm too old and it is too hard to get to. I sometimes change the Mustangs and always will the 50'. The golf cart has nails in two tires. So far it has been easier to add air before using it than to take tires to town. Now though, our pro shop has started tire repair so that will come soon.
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My knee. I go to my orthopedic doctor this morning for the final checkup after my arthoscopic surgery in September. He should give me passing marks, but not perfect. The last time I visited he said to just 'live with it' and see what happens. His prediction is that it will need a knee replacement by ten years.
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The son-in-law, Anthony. He got a good checkup from his cardiologist yesterday. Doc said he could go to work January 20. Also said 'after six weeks.' Doing the math says he needs to go back to school. Anthony's quadruple bypass was December 15, five weeks and a day before the 20th.
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That will be the end of this exciting update. Remember SOME of my students called me Mr. Excitement and SOME of the other teachers called me Dr. Excitement. How exciting!!
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ps--had an interesting visit from Chance, last night. His blogs, On a Quest...(link) and The Church of the Great Oval (link), seem pretty different. Also had a nice visit from Paula with her GraceReign (link) site. There were others too, not new, some are listed as 'Fellow Bloggers I Read' on my sidebar. When I ran for office my yard signs said 'I Support Jim Hov. . . for . . .' I wouldn't put one unless the homeowner said I could. Same for 'Fellow Bloggers.' Right now I read some I haven't listed. Just lurking?
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Congratulations: three of our friends, L.A. B, John K. and Diane D, had hole-in-ones listed today in the Houston Chronicle. Mrs. Jim said she would keep trying! She said 'that would knock the socks' off a lot of people here.
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The end, Jim
Friday, January 01, 2016
Friday’s Hunt v1.1 -- "A" is for
Mrs. Jim and I had this 'discussion' about the comic strip in Saturday's Houston Chronicle (Friday, January 1, 2016).
Old people don't have too many worldly things to worry about, like ISIS, Mexican immigrants, who will be our next president, etc. Except that neither of us are for Trump or Cruz. We think either would ruin our country.
Our discussion about the comic strip was about the creatures in the strip. I called them Aardvarks, Mrs. Jim knew the weren't, just merely Anteaters. My position was that they were the same creature by another name.
I was wrong. Read on. Sorry I have no personal pictures.
BTW, January 1 is Mrs. Jim's Birthday. We have had a nice day.
Anteaters -- They are cute (?) smallish creatures originally from Mexico, Central America, and South America. [picture from today.com, Feb 21, 2014](Anteater Wikipedia link)
A distinguishing feature they have is a long tongue which can wrap around an ant or termite.
Other species are commonly confused with the anteater, including the common aardvark featured below.
The aardvark doesn't have the pointy nose like the anteater but does have a long tong to catch the insects. (See the baby's long tongue in the picture above.)
Aardvarks originated in Africa. They are often confused with the other similar animals with anteater characteristics. [picture from Wikipedia, a commons release (link)]

This chart from Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anteater_(disambiguation) , helps distinguish the various animals similar but not related to the African Anteater.
Australia is a nice place to visit. One of my favorites was the wildlife animal rescue and reserve that we visited in Tasmania, Australia in 2003. I blogged about this, click here. I am sure that they had a Numbat or two there but I can't find a picture of any of them. By going to the 'disambiguation' link above and clicking on the Numbat link you could see one.
Below is Mrs. Jim feeding a kangaroo on our Australia visit to the state of Tasmania.
- The Mr. Linky address here has others who are participating if you would to read what these folk are doing for the Friday post.
Labels: Alphabet Words, Animals, Friday’s Hunt 2016, Travel











