Discover history and natural science of an area on narrated walking tours. My honey and I borrowed an MP3 player from the library pre loaded with narrative tracks. Some cities have downloadable files to transfer to a personal MP3 player.
While I love guided tours, some guides are more entertaining and knowledgeable than others. I prefer the MP3 tours for being comprehensive, entertaining and the best part flexible (just try fast-forwarding a guide). My honey loves architecture and we enjoyed the tour of homes, businesses and public art. We lingered in some places and hustled through generic offerings.
The familiar often hides secret spots; a native sees pubic art and artifacts every day making the experience mundane. New construction may obscure what once was prominent. Landmarks and unfamiliar locations are best enjoyed on foot at a walking pace. The simple act of walking slows us down enough to read markers and signs, observe people and window-shop.
THE END
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Monday, August 24, 2009
Swing My Way
“I’m dressed, my hair is done and I have on lipstick.” I let my honey know I was ready for our date.
My honey’s turn to come up with an idea usually results in spontaneous decisions. “I have a silly idea for something to do this afternoon.” I didn’t bother to ask ‘what?’ and my honey continued. “We could go to the park and swing.”
Ahh! An activity reminiscent of simpler pleasures. “Let’s go.”
The swings seemed to be hanging around hoping for someone to come along. The empty park indicated kids, teens and adults prefer motors and virtual games. To prove my supposition, six ATVs roared into the park from a path and the riders milled around for a few moments to stretch and have a drink.
My honey and I sat on the swings. We flirted. Then we determined who could swing the highest. I won. We synchronized our swinging. We tried everything we learned as kids, including the twist. My honey spun me around and wound the chains tight then let me go. I spun fast and then faster while the swing tried to return to the proper position. And when I was a touch lightheaded, we shared a tender almost first-crush kiss. No wonder young people think they know so much about dating; as we grow older we forget simple pleasures.
THE END
My honey’s turn to come up with an idea usually results in spontaneous decisions. “I have a silly idea for something to do this afternoon.” I didn’t bother to ask ‘what?’ and my honey continued. “We could go to the park and swing.”
Ahh! An activity reminiscent of simpler pleasures. “Let’s go.”
The swings seemed to be hanging around hoping for someone to come along. The empty park indicated kids, teens and adults prefer motors and virtual games. To prove my supposition, six ATVs roared into the park from a path and the riders milled around for a few moments to stretch and have a drink.
My honey and I sat on the swings. We flirted. Then we determined who could swing the highest. I won. We synchronized our swinging. We tried everything we learned as kids, including the twist. My honey spun me around and wound the chains tight then let me go. I spun fast and then faster while the swing tried to return to the proper position. And when I was a touch lightheaded, we shared a tender almost first-crush kiss. No wonder young people think they know so much about dating; as we grow older we forget simple pleasures.
THE END
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Hey, where’s my Rubber Ducky?
Be on the lookout for small-town festivals. Instead of being just a mile short of Mayberry as might be expected, these festivals are worth the time if for nothing more than community camaraderie. I picked up a flyer at the library for a festival a few towns away and my honey thought the idea sounded enjoyable. Of course we recycled the flyer and worked errands into the jaunt to maximize fuel.
The live band in the park was wonderful, maybe not arena ready still really great. The jokes among friends and the off-the-cuff performance by calling people up on stage for special performances of monologues, humor and folksy songs made the experience special in a way not possible with extensive planning. We felt like we were invited into someone’s living room for a jam session.
With slices of pie and waffles with toppings people ate their fill. Main Street closed down for the two days and the residents took advantage of the no-car zone to play games, have impromptu concerts and used the opportunity to get their party on.
Eco-friendly is nothing without the feeling of communing and the nice thing everyone’s welcome. For one afternoon, night or weekend you could adopt a small town and make it yours. You never know, you might be like us and find a place where they race bathtub toys down the river and catch them in a net to determine the winner.
THE END
The live band in the park was wonderful, maybe not arena ready still really great. The jokes among friends and the off-the-cuff performance by calling people up on stage for special performances of monologues, humor and folksy songs made the experience special in a way not possible with extensive planning. We felt like we were invited into someone’s living room for a jam session.
With slices of pie and waffles with toppings people ate their fill. Main Street closed down for the two days and the residents took advantage of the no-car zone to play games, have impromptu concerts and used the opportunity to get their party on.
Eco-friendly is nothing without the feeling of communing and the nice thing everyone’s welcome. For one afternoon, night or weekend you could adopt a small town and make it yours. You never know, you might be like us and find a place where they race bathtub toys down the river and catch them in a net to determine the winner.
THE END
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Curtain Call
Innovative craftspeople use scraps of fabric for quilts and other projects. My honey suggested window dressing for the naked kitchen windows. My quilting aunt decided to take a summer off from projects. When a friend of a friend of hers cleared out a home for a nursing home move and gave her the bags of fabric, my aunt thought the purple fabrics looked like me and passed them on again.
The date portion of the enterprise happened in two settings. One Sunday afternoon, my hone and I examined, read and judged our favorites designs from books checked out of the library. Creating the pattern from a picture fell to me (playing to my strength). Supervision and assistance went to my honey.
The decision making spilled over from afternoon into late evening. We debated environmental control, trapping heat and opening the curtains wide for solar heating and lighting before we decided on the design. The fabric scraps provided an additional challenge, instead of solid panels I had to piece them together in such a way that it appeared intentional.
Then we spend a morning snipping, sewing and adding blows. With only time and skill with no purchase of new fabric or supplies and keeping waste to a very minimum, we hung designer pieces of window art. Good news. Even though I have design experience, anyone can make curtains with a pattern. Go ahead and look at the books at the library, there are even pattern books in the sewing section.
THE END
The date portion of the enterprise happened in two settings. One Sunday afternoon, my hone and I examined, read and judged our favorites designs from books checked out of the library. Creating the pattern from a picture fell to me (playing to my strength). Supervision and assistance went to my honey.
The decision making spilled over from afternoon into late evening. We debated environmental control, trapping heat and opening the curtains wide for solar heating and lighting before we decided on the design. The fabric scraps provided an additional challenge, instead of solid panels I had to piece them together in such a way that it appeared intentional.
Then we spend a morning snipping, sewing and adding blows. With only time and skill with no purchase of new fabric or supplies and keeping waste to a very minimum, we hung designer pieces of window art. Good news. Even though I have design experience, anyone can make curtains with a pattern. Go ahead and look at the books at the library, there are even pattern books in the sewing section.
THE END
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Cattails, Hazelnuts and Berries, Oh My
My honey invited me to spend an afternoon where the wild things grow. Wild crafting is part of our hunter-gatherer heritage. However, each state’s rules should be followed and permission obtained from the landowners. We hiked near the stream until we found a berry patch and picked our share. Signs indicated either deer or bear had been there before us, still we found plenty of ripe raspberries, picked a couple cupfuls and left many for the next visitor.
The mosquitoes and black flies must hang out beside patches that lure in humans. I had enough bites to indicate they also enjoyed a feast.
The reward of foraging is the sensation that food we work for just tastes better. My honey ate as many just picked berries as those to take home. I just picked to take home. During our walk we discovered a bog with an abundance of cattails and a few hazelnut bushes with the pods just turning from brown to green. “We’ll let them ripen and come back in a week.”
THE END
The mosquitoes and black flies must hang out beside patches that lure in humans. I had enough bites to indicate they also enjoyed a feast.
The reward of foraging is the sensation that food we work for just tastes better. My honey ate as many just picked berries as those to take home. I just picked to take home. During our walk we discovered a bog with an abundance of cattails and a few hazelnut bushes with the pods just turning from brown to green. “We’ll let them ripen and come back in a week.”
THE END
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