Personal Pinups

A date doesn't require a destination and any activity is appropriate as long as we are being attentive to each other. 

I'm a fan of the 1940s-style pinups. These pictures depicted healthy women with pink cheeks and glowing eyes who were comfortable with fun and sensuality. They became an inspiration or motivation for military men to make it through the war and return home.

The idea of posing for such a photo excited me and inspired my honey and I to choose clothing from what I already own. My honey found a camisole I've kept for years. A big plus to an environmentally friendly lifestyle with healthy eating and regular exercise means I can still wear clothes I wore twenty years ago.

My honey chose a location and adjusted the settings on our digital camera. Posing in front of the camera made me feel like a model. I moved with each click of the camera frame after frame.  I love the digital camera over film because we can delete the pictures we don't like without having to print even an index print first. 

My honey isn't as picky as a photo editor and loved all the pictures. "You look beautiful." Of course he's prejudiced.

I chose my favorite in wallet size. My pinup will not grace the side of a bomber or hang on the walls of many garages, but it reflects the essence of a pinup with extras. We share dreams, ideals and a vision for the future.

I'm his girl and a sassy picture to look at when he's not with me is additional incentive to hurry home.

THE END

Skate Park Moments

Thanks to the popularity of sports on wheels, cities have added skate parks to the public domain. These parks aren't just for skateboarders and the youth. Depending on the time of day the park might be the refuge of just one skater. As a skater I’ve evolved from skating on ice on frozen ponds during the winter to indoor roller rinks and then to the outdoors on roads and trails. Sometimes I even have the skate park to myself.

Skates come in a variety of shapes and styles specialized for the intended use. When I first started ballroom style dancing on skates I took lessons at the rink. My skates were the standard roller-skates also called quads and remain my preference for dancing. When I go to the skate park I put on my inline skates with the softer wheels to make the road ride less bumpy. I love switching from speed skating to get to the park to the jumps, spins and invariably a few falls.

My honey first skated on hockey skates and prefers speed. Our two styles can be compatible, but certainly doesn’t make us suitable dancing partners on wheels. We enjoy the park separately. He skates the perimeter and revels in the speed of the concrete surface. Sometimes he just sits and watches me. Other times we skip the park and race.

On our last skate date he told me something he’d never mentioned before. I was practicing a new move and he beckoned me to him.

“One time before we met I was picking someone up at the rink and I saw you skating with a partner. I thought ‘wow, she’s really good.”

I don’t recall being that great. I suppose like beauty that judgment is relative to the observer. I keep practicing and every week I improve. The skating isn’t what brought us together, but it is something we can share.

THE END

Since Beverage Containers Don't Self-Destruct

The aluminum can was created for beverages at the Coors brewery in Golden, CO in 1959. The reason for the change was careless discarding of steel and tin beverage cans causing environmental problems. The company also instituted recycling of the aluminum can.

We live in an enjoy and ditch society where taking a moment to even think about the destiny of a can is inconvenient. My honey and I perhaps think too much and simple observation resulted in this question begging for action leading to an answer. “How many beverage cans could we pick up on the three-mile loop I usually use for my daily run?”

We took our bikes and two bags determined to crush the cans to take up less space. We underestimated the number of can we would find. The two bags were full before we made it halfway and we’d only done one side of the road. We made a trip home to dump the bags and go back out again.

Some people in cars glared at us when they passed us. Picking up cans or trash along the roads seems to be equivalent of dumpster diving. Trust me; we weren’t in this for the money. Our recycler pays twenty cents per pound for aluminum. It was higher but the economy hit recyclers too. We ended up with 233 cans and earned $1.40 for the scrap aluminum. We wondered if we would have found fewer cans if we lived in a state that charged a can deposit. At five cents per can we would have collected $11.65.

I’m curious though. Drinking and driving is illegal. So why did we find a majority of beer cans?

THE END

Swapping Chores

My idea of spending quality time with my honey doesn’t include chores. However, making chores fun is a better idea that procrastinating or complaining. We made the challenge entertaining. I’m not one to avoid things I don’t understand or haven’t experienced. According to social conditioning household chore have long been feminine domain and the outdoor chores fall into the masculine realm.

What would happen if we switched roles? I was concerned a few appliances might be harmed during the completion of this challenge, so we decided to work together. Turns out my honey adapted better than I did. Household duties don’t necessarily require high level skills just the ability to become inured to tedium

Changing the oil in the vehicle would be easy with practice and if I knew what I was doing. My honey offered to talk me through the procedure and became the inadvertent director of a comedy production. I thought it was grunt work to carry the mat to absorb spills and placed it under the vehicle along with the drip pan to catch the used oil. He handed me a rag to facilitate cleanup and I slid under the vehicle on my back just like a professional.

“Turn the plug slowly and then remove it quick and get out of the way.”

I didn’t follow that direction quite right. Oil spurted and ran down my arm. I dropped the plug and it fell into the drip pan. I had to fish it out and wipe it off to put it back once the oil drained.
My hair fell into my eyes and I swiped it away and gave myself two black sun-glare blocking marks under my eyes.

With the plug back in place, I crawled out with the used oil and smeared rag. I had to stand on a stool to be able to reach to pour in the new oil. Then I checked the dipstick to make sure it was at the right level. Success. My honey walked me through checking the other fluids and tire pressure and where to put the oil to go to the recycler.

Learning new things can be fun. I’m not sure about the motor oil facial and hair treatment but my accomplishment left me refreshed and ready to learn more about “outdoor” chores.

THE END

Parlor Games

Appreciating diversion and entertainment is subjective. While some couples prefer technological age games, others enjoy the simple joy of parlor games with the unique flavor of being one-time-experience word and category games and twenty questions.

My honey and I enjoy playing parlor games because we can play them anywhere. We might start with a simple alphabet category game like naming companies starting with each letter with one point awarded by forfeit if the other person can’t think of an item for the letter and an extra point earned if the player can fill the gap.

Instead of rules engraved on paper, the rules can be negotiated for each occasion and if one person (me for instance) changes the rules in the middle nobody can wave a paper in my face accusing me of failing to follow the rules or cheating.

My second favorite thing about parlor games is not abusing natural resources except through breathing and thinking and really those should be included in just being alive. My favorite thing about playing parlor games is learning new things about my partner. Because the game can be adapted to reveal fantasies, increase knowledge and sometimes as way to showcase previously unrevealed hobbies. My honey knows history better than I do and I’m a history buff.

Romance is only what a couple is willing to make of it. Go ahead try turning off the television, computer, cell phones, music and lights. Light some candles and your imagination. Which one of you will be the first to admit you’ve run out of nicknames for body parts? Put your gray matter to work and the ol’ ticker just might speed up too.

THE END

Brewery Tour

My honey wanted to share an experience from his past with me and suggested a brewery tour. He called the guest relations number for the information and made plans for us to tour one early afternoon. I’d been on two factory tours in my life, one to a pulp and paper mill and the other to a food processing plant. I wasn’t sure what to expect.

The self-guided audio tour wasn’t working that day and the tour guide said they were giving tours old-style and told us how much she and the other guides were enjoying giving the tour again. We learned the ingredients for making beer, saw the process that takes time and patience. My favorite part was learning about their recycling procedures, water treatment and energy production and use. At the end of the tour we were able to try samples. I was impressed by the complexity of the process for a drink that has been a staple beverage worldwide for centuries.

Want to tour a factory? Choose your favorite product or one you would like to learn more about. Call the guest relations number or visit the website for tour information. Some companies may charge a nominal fee though most tours are free because the manufacturers benefit from showcasing their products. My honey enjoyed the samples and company history so much he chose to switch brands and I can vouch for the flavor of the non-alcoholic beer.

Manufacturers are pleased to present their environmentally conscious procedures and future plans to produce their products. Learning together is a good activity for couples or families especially on vacation/holiday.

THE END