Red Wing

It’s been another crazy day here in Minneapolis. Up early and busy all day attending presentations, meeting people from all over the country, speed networking, and picking up information from various travel related businesses. I’ve been running non-stop since I got here.

Yesterday, I was treated to a tour of the historic town of Red Wing by Erica from Explore Minnesota, along with 3 fellow bloggers. It was a great way to spend the day. A nice drive through rolling hills, farms, lakes and rivers. It took about an hour or so to get to get there. We crossed the Mississippi River, drove through town and headed to Memorial Park atop the bluffs.

We had about an hour to enjoy the view overlooking the town of Red Wing and the Mississippi River. I spent my time wandering through the park, enjoying the cool fresh air. I learned some interesting Minnesota history (first ski jumping in America began here), by reading the ‘interpretive signs’ while following the path of the ‘disc golf course’. This park would be a great place for a picnic. 🙂

We were on a ‘schedule’ so we headed back down to town. The historic downtown was very pretty. Lots of old stone buildings, flower baskets and American flags hanging from the lampposts and shady trees fronting quirky little shops. Our first stop was the Fair Trade Books store.

They have a great ‘marketing strategy’. On your first visit to their store, they give you a free book. 🙂

They pick it out for you (they ask first what kind of books you like). The only catch is, you have to say “books make great gifts’- loud enough for everyone to hear. 😉

My free book was “Lieutenant Hornblower” by C.S. Forester. A very popular series featuring naval hero Horatio Hornblower. I haven’t read any of this series yet, but it’s right up my alley. I bought “Dead Wake” by Erik Larson (about the Lusitania) while I was browsing around. I can hardly wait to start it.

I really liked this little bookstore. It’s right downtown, in an interesting old building with architectural details like high, patterned metal ceilings. There are cozy chairs and tables where you can linger a little longer making up your mind on the reading material.

They were very knowledgeable about all kinds of books, helpful and friendly (even to dogs). It’s an independent bookstore, but more than just a bookstore. They’re very community focused, they have all kinds of other things going on. Not only the ‘usual’ book signing events, but ‘open read’ where you can come share your writing with others, game nights, and open mike nights. They share other local events and even have an ‘arts and entertainment auction’ coming up on July 1. 🙂

From the bookstore, we headed to the shoe store. The Red Wing store, home of the “World’s Largest Boot“. I wear Red Wing (steel toed) boots all the time for work, but I didn’t know anything about this giant boot- or the shoe museum upstairs– until this visit. Since I already have a half dozen pairs of Red Wings in my closet, I passed on the shopping and spent my time in the museum- which actually was pretty interesting. If you’re into that kind of thing. 😉

 

We were all ready for lunch so we headed across the construction zone* on the main drag to the St James Hotel.

It’s located in a historic building (1874-1875) next to a pretty little park with a fountain right downtown and convenient to everything. We sat at the rooftop patio to enjoy the view over the park, train depot, and glimpses of the river.

 

Sunday brunch was tempting. The buffet was loaded with fresh strawberries and cream, cantaloupe, honeydew melon, apples, bananas, and pineapple slices. There were fresh cinnamon buns, french toast sticks, blueberry muffins, waffles, biscuits and gravy, cold cuts and cheeses. Cereals, yogurt and oatmeal were out if you didn’t want to splurge. There were chocolate cakes and dainty little squares of petit fours if you did. There was an omelet bar, with eggs cooked to order with your choice of ham, cheese, onions, or peppers added. Next to that was a ham sliced to order. Yum!

If you could eat your way through all of that, you were welcome to go back for more. 🙂

We all enjoyed our meal there. The food was great, the service was fast and friendly, and the prices were reasonable. It’s worth a try if you’re in the area.

On the way back to the car, I just had to stop in the chocolate shop I had noticed on the way over. The Red Wing Confectionary makes the cutest little chocolate critters.

They also had a great selection of other sweets, including taffy, jelly beans, chocolate covered cherries, gift boxes, ice cream and a large menu of coffees and other hot (and cold) drinks.

After tasting a free sample, I made up my mind and bought a few things- sea salted caramels, chocolate covered cherries to share, and a small gift box.

Next stop was the “Uffda” Shop– full of Scandinavian stuff. Enough to make you think you somehow landed in small town Sweden instead of Minnesota. They had everything from sweaters to socks, snacks to snowmen. Lots of beautiful decorated china, crystal and jewelry. A great place for Christmas shopping.

 

We headed back to the city before we spent too much money. The drive back was just as pretty. Rolling farmlands, green fields, and hills passed by quickly. We got back just in time for a quick nap before the ‘Opening Night Party” at the Nickelodeon Universe. 🙂

I’ll have to tell you about that tomorrow. Stay tuned. 😉

In the meantime, check out what my fellow bloggers had to say about our journey through small town Minnesota (and other things).

www.travelwithsara.com, https://twitter.com/TravelWithSara

https://twitter.com/PrairieStylFile, http://prairiestylefile.com

https://twitter.com/SheilaS, http://www.sheilasguide.com

* to ease the pain of the construction, the town has been promoting Hard Hat Thursdays.

They Were Awesome!

In spite of the weather Thursday, there was a damn big crowd on the beach for a weekday afternoon. They were forecasting rain in the morning and scattered showers in the afternoon. I took a chance and drove up there anyway. Must’ve been a common thought. 😉

 

Can you see a turtle there? Neither can I. But it was there, behind all those people tracking it down the beach.

The Houston Zoo was going to release a total of 9 rehabilitated sea turtles they had been caring for. Some were Kemp’s Ridleys, 3 were loggerheads. All had been brought to the zoo due to some kind of injury.

It started spitting rain on me less than 10 minutes after I left the house, but since Stewart Beach in Galveston is over an hours drive from my house, I figured I might as well continue.

I made it to the beach and found the location for where they were going to release the sea turtles just in time for the start. Or what was supposed to be the start of the ‘show‘. No turtles, but the rain sure did start.

Surprisingly, hundreds of people still hung out (in the rain) for at least a half hour before the turtle delivery trucks showed up. The turtles were happily riding along in big plastic tanks full of sea water. It was another 15-20 minutes before the 1st turtle made it’s appearance.

Volunteers from the Houston Zoo, NOAA, and the Turtle Patrol were on hand to walk the turtle down the gauntlet of curious bystanders and explain a bit about them. Information sheets, pamphlets and stickers were passed out to the crowd too. Hopefully, this will help people know what to do if they happen to find a turtle or nest. So far this year, they’ve found a total of 159 nests on Texas beaches. They’ve even found 3 right here- 2 at Surfside beach and 1 at Quintana beach. 🙂

It was frustrating to follow the rules and stand behind the fences, waiting for the volunteers to come close enough where we could actually see a turtle through the crowds surrounding them. People were reaching up, out and over- trying to get a good shot. Many people were just allowed to ignore the barricades and follow the turtles from the truck all the way down to the water. Nice for them, but it ruined it for the rest of us. 😦

 

Like the lady beside me yelled, “I didn’t come all the way from Indiana just to see your ass!”. So right!

 

I managed to get a few good shots, The zoo will be putting video and photos on their website too and I expect it even made the news Thursday night. Sorry, but I was just too tired the last couple of days to post this in time for you to turn on the news.

It was really awesome to be able to see this release in person. Happy it was daytime so I could get some decent pictures. I still hope to see a wild one someday. Without the crowds. If you see one, don’t bother it. All of them are endangered. “If you see a sea turtle, tracks or hatchlings on the beach immediately call 1-866-TURTLE-5 (1-866-877-8535)”. 

 

Off to the TBEX

I’m heading to Minneapolis this morning to the travel blog exchange (TBEX). My flight leaves at 10:30, so I plan to leave the house by 6. That should get me there by 8 (hoping not too much traffic in Houston).

I’ve been reading all week about how slow the lines are with the TSA. I want to be there early so I don’t miss the flight.

What a WASTE! They used to tell people to be at the airport at least 3 hours early for international flights. Can’t you think of all the things you could be doing with those 2.5 extra hours, rather than hanging around the airport being gouged for everything you do ($3++ water for example).

I saw somewhere that just one airline claims it’s already caused over 70,000 passengers to miss their flights. That’s just ONE airline! It’s still not even halfway through the year and that was reported a few days ago (at least).

Extrapolate that to all the other airlines domestically and we’re talking about at LEAST a half million people seriously screwed on their travel plans. We still haven’t even started the ‘travel season’ yet!

And don’t even start about how it’s all for safety. It’s NOT. It’s not about anything but CONTROL. Power and CONTROL. It’s about forcing the people to SUBMIT. To bow down and accept without question any idiotic, stupid ‘rule’ someone in a uniform choses to spout for the day. It’s about getting the people to unquestionably follow the orders of anyone in a position of ‘authority’.

Yeah, I say the HELL with all that! Wake up and stand up for yourself as a human being. We ALL have the right to travel freely. That means not being harassed for our papers or forced to strip for the government. No matter WHAT excuse they come up with!

Americans are MUCH more likely to die at the hands of the police than through terrorism. And let’s face it, if a terrorist wanted to do some damage, they wouldn’t waste their time bothering with a plane! There are thousands of much easier targets.

Let the airlines handle security. It’s their responsibility to take care of their passengers.

Personally, I would MUCH rather fly on any airline that treated me with the plain good manners and respect of even 20 years ago. Hell, I would even pay extra!

Ben Franklin said it over 200 years ago and it’s just as true today…

“Those who surrender freedom for security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one.”

― Benjamin Franklin

Quick Cherry Turnovers Recipe

Today was kind of a slow day around here (other than the usual computer issues I’m having of late). I took the time to do a little bit of ‘experimental’ cooking.

Since I live alone, I don’t usually cook much. I normally eat soup & sandwich for lunch and then I’m not really hungry til late. I try not to eat anything then, but just go to bed.

Today, I made some ‘pigs in a blanket’ (sausage wrapped in crescent rolls) for breakfast. Since I was baking, I thought I might as well throw something else in the oven. 😉

I had this recipe floating around for a while for these little sweets made with the same crescent rolls, but stuffed with cream cheese and cherries (or apples, etc). It looked really easy and so I decided to try it.

Here’s what they looked like before putting them in the oven…

And, here’s what they looked like when they came out…

 

Maybe not as pretty as the ones in the recipe I copied from, but I didn’t have any confectioners sugar. They tasted alright without it.

Here’s the recipe I went by (with some of my own modifications- I used the dough sheets instead of crescent rolls, no confectioners sugar for icing, I added cream cheese to the filling). They were really easy to make. Next time, I might try different fruit for the filling (apple, raspberry, strawberry, etc).

Refrigerated crescent rolls let you make these fruit-filled pastries in a hurry. My family loves these turnovers for breakfast, but they’re so delicious, they’ll be welcome any time of the day. Feel free to experiment with other pie fillings as well. —Elleen Oberrueter, Danbury, IA

Source: Quick Cherry Turnovers Recipe | Taste of Home

See Sea Turtles on Thursday

I just got this email from the Houston Zoo (I’m a member). They’ve been helping to save sea turtles with other organizations around the world. This Thursday (May 26th), they’re turning some loose on the beach in Galveston. 🙂

If you’re anywhere around the area, it would be a real treat to come out and watch. Here’s the announcement I got…

Watch Sea Turtles Return to Wild 

Thanks to a rewarding partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), nine injured sea turtles have been rehabilitated and are ready to be returned to the wild. The release will take place Thursday, May 26 promptly at 2:00 p.m. at Stewart Beach Park, 201 Seawall Blvd. The public is invited to come out and witness this exciting release.

 I’m going to put it on my calendar and take another drive up to Galveston. That is, IF the weather is better than the last time I was up there! 😉

I went to see the turtles when I was in Nicaragua too, but it was too dark to see much. I hope the weather holds and I can really see them this time.

Paints and Politics

Tuesdays are usually busy days for me. I get up early so I have time to check email, take out the garbage, eat breakfast and get out of the house by 9:00.

I’ve been going to take painting classes at the Art & Science Center every Tuesday morning (if I’m not able to go to work in Houston). I’ve missed quite a few classes, but I can still see some improvement.

I have only completed 2 paintings so far. I’ve started a few others, but not close to finishing them yet. I don’t really like any of them very much so far. One friend of mine told me she really liked one abstract (mess) I was working on. I thought about it for a while and then turned it into an alien jungle scene. Kind of reminded me of something Rousseau might have done. Here’s the before…

I had it framed and gave it to my friend. I wasn’t all that surprised, but she liked it better before I added to it. She thought I ‘ruined it’. Here’s the after…

Which one do you like best?

The other one I’ve finished was the 1st one I started in this class. I’ve really been trying to learn how to paint water. I found a picture in one of the art books in the classroom and tried to get the technique down. It didn’t turn out much like my reference, but I think it wasn’t too bad for my first try.

Today, I was trying to finish up a couple of others I’ve been working on for a while. This will be my last class since I’ll be at the TBEX next Tuesday. I still have a long way to go on both of them, but I think they’re shaping up nicely.

I especially like this one (below), the photo doesn’t really do it justice. 🙂

I really get the feeling like I’m out there on the water. I wish I really was. 🙂

So, that’s what I do Tuesday mornings.

Tuesday evenings I go meetup with my friends from the local Campaign for Liberty group (ex- Ron Paul meetup group). We like to talk politics over dinner at a local restaurant. Lately we’ve been meeting at the Bella Roma on highway 332, next to the old skating rink. They serve large portions of pretty decent Italian favorites (pizza, pasta, etc). I usually get either ravioli with Alfredo sauce or the Philly cheesesteak sandwich. The Italian Cream Cake and Cheesecake for dessert is good too.

Lately we’ve been talking a lot about how we’ve managed to come so far from our beginnings as a free country. Last week we were watching a slide show, but as we kept stopping to discuss various points, we didn’t finish the whole program before they started closing down the place- it didn’t help that we had one extremely socialist guest. 😉

I do like to argue, but this guy put me to shame! I think the only thing we all agreed on was that the ‘banksters’ were screwing us and the entire world.

The more I learn about what’s really going on, the more frustrated and depressed I get. At this point, I think the only way possible to really live as we’re meant to- is to get completely out of the ‘system’. I don’t know how to do that, or if it’s even possible any more. All I know is that I’ll never accept the way things are now (even tho I feel like I’m beating my head against the wall most days).

So, I go to the meetings on Tuesday nights, just for a change- to talk to a few people who mostly do ‘get it’. Yeah, we still argue about things, we still struggle to understand- but we try mostly to inform people. We’ll never fix what’s wrong with this country or the world as long as the vast majority prefers the status quo.

Yeah, OK- call me a ‘conspiracy theorist’. But what if it’s true?

Maritime Monday- May 23rd, 2016: Money For Old Rope

Another great post from Monkeyfist for Maritime Monday, full of all kinds of interesting tidbits from the maritime world throughout history up til today.

Enjoy…To Put You In The Mood: video: Giant Octopus kite; Singapore Smithsonian: Recreational divers discover a Roman shipwreck full of bronze statues, coins and other artifacts off Israel Divers find 1,600-year-old Roman shipwreck, treasure, off Israel Archaeologists are calling it “the biggest find in 30 years.” Ran Feinstein and Ofer Ra’anan were diving in the […]

Source: Maritime Monday for May 23rd, 2016: Money For Old Rope – gCaptain

How Much Roundup Are You Eating?

Too much! The US really ought to ban this stuff, it’s terrible! Read more from ‘The Awakening’ blog below…

Worker spraying strawberry fields with pesticide PHOTOGRAPH BY PAUL GREBLIUNAS/GETTY By Leah Zerbe June 19, 2015 Pesky weeds popping up in your yard? Here’s what to not reach for—Roundup. While the active ingredient in the popular weed killer, glyphosate, has been marketed as safe and even “biodegradable,” the science is pouring in, and the results […]

via How Much Roundup Are You Eating? And six more disgusting facts about this popular weed killer. — 2012 The Awakening

Share Your World- 2016 Week 21

I decided to give Cee’s Share Your World Challenge a try again today. My computer has finally settled down a bit (where I can work online for more than 2 minutes without it either freezing up or going crazy). I haven’t been able to do much work online lately. I don’t want to go completely bald while pulling my hair out in frustration over it! 😉

So, I’m back today and hoping to the high heavens this lull in the computer hell around here will continue. On to the challenge. Here are this week’s questions with my answers…

What is your favorite go to beverage?  Water, coffee, tea, coke, soda (non-alcoholic)– tea- hot in the morning when I wake up and then iced the rest of the day.

Can you change a car tire?– yes, tho I greatly prefer not to! That’s what AAA is for! 😉

Are you a listener or talker?– a talker.

Would you rather have no internet or no cell phone?– most definitely no cell phone!

Bonus question:  What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up? -I’m grateful that I got at least one days work last week, every little bit helps! I’m looking forward to going to the travel blog exchange (TBEX) in Minneapolis next weekend. I’m hoping to meet some great people- bloggers and ‘travel facilitators’. I’m really getting excited about it. Here’s a post I wrote about it the other day. I’m not sure, but it might still be open for registration. In case anyone’s interested in going.

Blogging Events

So. Has anybody out there ever been to the TBEX? Or anything similar? Or any blogging event?

I’m going to the TBEX coming up this weekend (in Minneapolis-St Paul) and I really have no idea of what to expect. I wrote a post about it the other day and asked for information, but didn’t get the response I was hoping for (thanks to those who did respond).

I don’t want to go all the way up there and then waste my time being totally clueless. 😦

I’m sure with all the bloggers out there around the world, someone must be going to these things.

Will someone give me some feedback please. 🙂

Songs of the Sea: Against the Wind

 

Here’s another for my Songs of the Sea series. This is one of my favorite Bob Seger songs. I grew up with this stuff. 🙂

Most people probably wouldn’t think of this as a sailing song, or anything to do with the sea. To me, as a sailor, “against the wind” always means hard times, a rough slog. I’ve been dealing with a lot of that lately. 😦

Let me know what you think. Do you like this song? Have any memories? Thoughts about it?

“Against The Wind”

It seems like yesterday
But it was long ago
Janey was lovely, she was the queen of my nights
There in the darkness with the radio playlng low
And the secrets that we shared
The mountains that we moved
Caught like a wildfire out of control
Till there was nothing left to burn and nothing left to prove

And I remember what she said to me
How she swore that it never would end
I remember how she held me oh so tight
Wish I didn’t know now what I didn’t know then

Against the wind
We were runnin’ against the wind
We were young and strong, we were runnin’
Against the wind

And the years rolled slowly past
And I found myself alone
Surrounded by strangers I thought were my friends
I found myself further and further from my home
And I guess I lost my way
There were oh so many roads
I was living to run and running to live
Never worried about paying or even how much I owed
Moving eight miles a minute for months at a time
Breaking all of the rules that would bend
I began to find myself searchin’
Searchin’ for shelter again and again
Against the wind
A little something against the wind
I found myself seeking shelter against the wind

Well those drifters days are past me now
I’ve got so much more to think about
Deadlines and commitments
What to leave in, what to leave out

Against the wind
I’m still runnin’ against the wind
I’m older now but still running
Against the wind
Well I’m older now and still running
Against the wind

Maritime Day 2016

I gave you a preview the other day, now on to the real deal. 🙂 Today, May 22, is actually Maritime Day. We even got a “Presidential Proclamation“. 🙂

This years Maritime Day celebration in Galveston (on the 19th) wasn’t as good as last years, if only because of the weather. We didn’t get to sit outside and watch the traffic in the harbor, or get a salute from a tugboat this year, but thank goodness they planned to move it into the cruise ship terminal a couple of days earlier! It was streaming down rain all day long! Thunder and lightning shook the building, drowned out the speakers and split the sky.

But we persevered and had our little memorial with the few hardy souls who managed to make it out before the storm hit in full force.

Galveston’s celebration started off with music by the ‘Singing Stars’ from the Odyssey Academy.

Captain John Peterlin III from the Port of Galveston welcomed everyone to the event and then led into a program explaining the history of the US Merchant Marine and Maritime Day. There was a moment of silence in appreciation of all mariners past and present.

Tammy Lobaugh from Texas A & M Galveston talked a bit about maritime education and a few of the many maritime organizations that contribute to our maritime heritage. Some of them were represented at the event- WISTA, the maritime unions (SIU, MEBA, AMO), the seamans centers, maritime museums, ports, etc.

Cristina Galego representing the Port of Galveston read John Masefield’s poem Sea Fever

Sea Fever

BY JOHN MASEFIELD

I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,

And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by;

And the wheel’s kick and the wind’s song and the white sail’s shaking,

And a grey mist on the sea’s face, and a grey dawn breaking.

 

I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide

Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied; 

            And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,

And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.

 

I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,

To the gull’s way and the whale’s way where the wind’s like a whetted knife;

And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,

And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick’s over.

The wreath was laid*

and Father Stelios Sitaras led the benediction before the closing remarks and a reading of Carl Sandburg’s Young Sea.

YOUNG SEA

THE sea is never still.
It pounds on the shore
Restless as a young heart,
Hunting.

The sea speaks
And only the stormy hearts
Know what it says:
It is the face
of a rough mother speaking.

The sea is young.
One storm cleans all the hoar
And loosens the age of it.
I hear it laughing, reckless.

They love the sea,
Men who ride on it
And know they will die
Under the salt of it

Let only the young come,
Says the sea.

Let them kiss my face
And hear me.
I am the last word
And I tell
Where storms and stars come from.

A fitting closing to the memorial on a stormy day.

*due to the terrible weather, they’ll save the wreath and send it out later from the memorial at Pier 21

Shrimp Packs a Punch

I saw a video from National Geographic about this peacock mantis shrimp in my Twitter feed today. I thought it was pretty cool and deserved a wider audience. 😉

This little shrimp really is an amazing creature. It’s colors are beautiful and it’s punch is strong as hell! I wouldn’t put it up against any human boxer, if it was our size it would really be scary! TKO any heavyweight champ in a NY second!

I do love nature and all the wonderful plants and animals we share the world with. I think the natural world is beautiful and fascinating. I love to spend time wandering around in any forest, beach, mountain, etc. I really wish more people would take a look at the bigger picture and not stay so tightly focused on their own self, family, tribe, etc. We are killing off so much of our world, just so we can fill it up with billions more humans. Seriously, I don’t understand why.

TBEX

I know some of you are fellow bloggers. Can I get a show of hands? Click ‘like’ if you blog too. Feel free to comment too (even if you’re not a blogger). 🙂

How many are ‘travel bloggers’? I consider myself a travel blogger, even tho I blog about a lot of different things. I love to travel, love to take pictures of everything I see and do, love to try new foods/drinks/music/culture, and love to share all about it.

So, I decided to head up to Minneapolis for the TBEX next weekend. The “Travel Blog Exchange”. It bills itself as the “world’s largest gathering of travel bloggers, writers, new media content creators, and social media savvy travel industry professionals”.

Is anybody out there going to be at the TBEX (Memorial Day Weekend in Minneapolis/St Paul)? If you are, let’s connect!

I’m really looking forward to this as an opportunity to meet some great people and learn more about blogging and how to improve mine.

Have any of you ever been to a blogging event like this? I’m wondering how it all works. What did you like about it? Not like about it? What did you get out of it? Was it helpful? Can you give me any feedback?

Is anybody from around that area? Have any suggestions for things I really should see/do while I’m there?

Back to the Shop Again

I’ve had ENOUGH with this new computer!

I  only got this new one because none of my other ones have been working for 3+ months now. I can’t do anything online without constant extremely frustrating struggle.

The technicians keep telling me the problem is with my computer. I have no idea how that is possible, since I have an Apple, a Toshiba, an Asus, a Kindle, an iPod and now a new Lenovo (plus my friends 2 Apples) and they’re ALL having the same problem.

I’ve called and called and called, they’ve sent the repairmen at least a half dozen times. Nothing they’ve done has helped even slightly, except the last time when they actually found bats in the box up on the telephone pole (and full of bat shit).

They cleared it out and it helped some for a day or 2.

So, I went and bought a new computer (that I really can’t afford right now) just on the slight chance that it might be something with my computer(s). This new one does work slightly better as far as not constantly freezing up every 10 seconds (literally).

It has a different problem! It still freezes up, just not as constant. It only does it about every 3-5 minutes instead of every 10 seconds! The problem with it is, that in between the times it freezes up, it constantly changes the screen size.

For instance, I’ll be trying to read my email on yahoo and I have it set at 100%. All by itself (even when I am just reading and not touching the computer), the screen size will suddenly blast up to 250% and then shrink to 10% and all in between too. While I try to change it back to 100%, it eventually allows that but DAMN it pisses me off!

SO, I’m taking it back to Best Buy and hope to hell the Geek Squad can at least fix the screen size changing issue.

Maybe after that, I can deal with trying to work on something productive again?

Preview- Maritime Day

Today was the 7th annual Maritime Day celebration in Galveston.

It was pouring all day long! Galveston is flooded. I tried to take pictures, but it was too dark by the time I got back on the road to go home.

I think the weather hurt the attendance. Will try to find out how many kids showed up for the tours around the Texas A&M ship “General Rudder” this morning.

The memorial was held inside the cruise ship terminal to keep it out of the expected rain. Good thing!

I’ll have more on this tomorrow (IF I can get the computer to work). I’m getting sick of McDonalds and Starbucks coffee is a rip-off!

Texas Gulf Coast Art Festival

After another miserable day struggling with the computer all day, I had to get out of the house for a while today. The Center for Arts & Sciences was having a festival this weekend and it sounded like fun.

I got up early and headed over for todays start (11:00). The weather looked threatening but I was hoping the rain would hold off.

While I was wandering around the outside tents, the rain started coming down like cats and dogs. It was pouring, water was going everywhere and the poor artists were trying to keep their supplies out of the rising tides around the parking lot.

Inside, things were much less hectic. The Art League Gallery was still showing the photography of the kids for the Migration Celebration. Some of those photos are really stunning! I really liked the close ups of the chameleons and dragonflies. 🙂

I learned about a new thing called ‘zentangle‘. It’s kind of like doodling, said to be great for stress relief. I’m sure I can use some of that right now. I might just give it a try.

About a dozen artists were set up inside the Dow Theater. I liked the blown glass and some of the jewelry. There was one lady (Connie Colten) who had lots of little mermaids and pretty little plants (ivy and such) that I was really tempted by.

I talked to painter Jimmie Bartlett for a few minutes. I really liked his paintings of the maritime world. He had one set up behind him of a shrimp boat and a stunning sunset. I would have bought that one if I was still working!

While I was waiting for the rain to subside, I took a look at the items to be raffled off. I took a look at ‘featured artist’ Robert Ruhmann who was working on his paintings just inside the doors. I really liked his subtle cool colors and smooth style. Lots of blues and greens and natural subjects- palm trees, beaches, rivers- all very calming.

The E-Flat Porch Band was jamming’ out in the corner, playing some cool blues and toe-tappin’ music to keep everyone in a good mood. Caliente Twang had been playing outside when I arrived and I really wanted to hear them play, but they had enough with the rain I guess. They were gone by the time I got back outside.

The rain took a break for a little while, so I headed back outside to see all the artists I had missed earlier. There were potters, woodworkers, photographers, painters, fabric artists (very nice), people who worked with colored/fused glass, jewelers, metal workers, etc. There was a lot of really interesting stuff on offer.

All the artists were very friendly and happy to talk about their work. Some were local, like Jimmie Bartlett (Van Vleck) and Kathy Castro (Alvin) who had some very nice abstract paintings. Some were from farther away, even out of state (it was a juried show).

They had a couple of food trucks with the usual festival foods- hot dogs, fried oreos, etc, and there were booths selling coffee, sodas and even beer, but the rain put a damper (literally) on the ‘food court’.

I had a good time there today. I really hope the weather doesn’t discourage them from doing this again next year. It’s great that they have so much going on over the whole weekend. Everything from a “Run for the Arts”, to art projects for the kids to make, to classical music concerts. I love all the different kinds of music they brought out, and all the different kinds of art. I think it’s great to see Brazosport doing more of this sort of thing. Sucks to have to go to Houston all the time to do anything interesting!

Songs of the Sea: Lost Sailor

Here’s another good one for my Songs of the Sea series: Lost Sailor by the Grateful Dead. I’ve never been what you would call a “Deadhead“, tho I do enjoy their music. I guess I was just a little bit too young to really get into all the ‘hippy’ stuff going on back then that the Dead was associated with.

I don’t figure you have to be stoned to enjoy their music, but maybe it helps?

LOST SAILOR

Lyrics By: John Barlow

Music By: Bob Weir

Compass card is spinning
Helm is swingin’ to and fro
Ooh where’s the dog star
Ooh where’s the moon
You’re lost sailor
You’ve been too long at sea (note 1)

Some days the gales are howling
Some days the sea is still as glass
Ooh reef the mainsail
Ooh lash the mast
You’re lost sailor
You’ve been too long at sea

Now the shore-lights beckon
Yeah there’s a price for being free

Yeah the sea birds cry (note 2)
There’s a ghost wind blowin’
It’s calling you to that misty swirling sea
Till the chains of your dreams are broken
No place in this world you can be

You’re lost sailor
You’ve been way too long at sea
Now the shore-lights beckon
Yeah there’s a price for being free

Drifting yeah drifting
Yeah drifting and dreaming

‘Cause there’s a place you’ve never been (note 3)
Maybe a place you’ve never seen
You can hear her calling on the wind
Go on and drift your life away
Yeah just drifting and dreaming
Maybe drift your life away
Drifting and dreaming
Yes I’m going on a dream
Maybe going on a dream
Maybe going on a dream
Maybe going on a dream

Closing In On $45

Emails today showed me oil was at $44.66! It’s getting closer to $50, which may be the magic number. The price at which the oil companies will stop laying off people. The price at which they might start thinking about how they’ll manage to continue working without  having the people to do the job.

I’m sure most people are happy to see the price of oil so low. It certainly helps at the gas station (tho prices are no where near as low as they should be if just depending on the price of oil)! I’m happy to pay less at the pump too, but for all the people like me who’ve been laid off over the last year, it hurts. It hurts bad.

I’ve read that somewhere around a half million people have been laid off since the price of oil started dropping. That’s a lot of people forced to cut back, sell assets, into bankruptcy. That’s a lot of people shut out of good paying jobs and into minimum wages (if any).

I keep wondering when things will stop hurting and start getting better? I don’t think anyone really knows. Some pundits say oil will go to $14, others think it will go back to $100+.

I don’t want it to go to either of those extremes. I’d be happy with $70-80. That should be enough to put everyone back to work and keep it affordable at the pumps too. 🙂

Songs of the Sea: If I Had A Boat

 

This is a different version of this song (Lyle Lovett does it too). It’s a new one for me and a new musician too. I think I might have to check him out some more. I can’t say I ever heard of James Vincent McMorrow before. I was just googling up songs about the ocean, the sea, the water, sailing, etc and came up with this one. 😉

I don’t know about the rest of you, but I sure wish I had a boat right about now!