Miscellaneous

Harold The Classy Scotsman

I’m not sure what to say about this post. It’s a photograph of a drawing and while I took the photograph (which earns it the dubious right to be posted here), the drawing was done by Dorothy. We were at a friend’s house and Dorothy started drawing on their whiteboard. This is how it ended up. Interesting.

Note that Harold is wearing argyle socks and wing-tip shoes. Also, I’m informed that he is wearing tails but you can’t see them from the front. He thinks that bow-ties are cool.

In yesterday’s post about the Craigs visiting I mentioned that the visit wasn’t completely without incident. This post explains that a little. Do not adjust your set. There is nothing wrong with your picture. Because some folks will not want to see the pictures, I have hidden even the smaller versions so that you must click on the links to the right to see them (the images should open in new windows/tabs). If you are bothered by a little blood, don’t. They are not really all that bad, but you have been warned.

I was trying to cut the rind off a piece of Parmesan cheese. It was narrow piece and about half rind. I should have laid it on the rind, chopped through that and then cut the rind off the smaller pieces. But, no. I like to claim that I was distracted by the arrival of the entire Craig entourage and their presence in our smallish kitchen but the fact of the matter is that I was being careless. I was also using a large and quite sharp knife. In general, a sharp knife is safer than a dull one, because you don’t have to use so much force with a sharp knife. In this case, there was a lot of force being used and when the cheese fell over and the knife came down on my thumb, naturally it did some damage.

I don’t know if the cut went to the bone or not. It certainly felt like it did, but then, this isn’t a feeling with which I have a lot of experience. Nor do I want to gain such experience. I stopped the bleeding (mostly), washed it a bit, and kept my hand elevated for the evening, which helps explain why I only have a few photos from the evening. Before they left, Kristine helped me change the dressing. The bleeding had stopped by then. The next morning (today, 08/07) I stopped by my doctor’s office and got three stitches, which is when these pictures were taken.

Enjoy, or not, as you see fit.

Fredericksburg Silhouette

Leaf Shadow

On the way home from the beach we stopped in northeastern North Carolina for a mini family reunion. It was wonderful to see so many folks and we are very thankful to those who planned it as well as everyone who could be there. If you were not, we were sorry to miss you.

We drove a bit further north after that and spent the night in Chesapeake before driving the rest of the way home today. Rather than take interstate 64, which had very heavy traffic, we decided to take US 17 as far as Fredericksburg, getting on interstate 95 at that point. That route is a bit longer, distance-wise, than I-64, but I nevertheless recommend it highly. Traffic varied from light to practically non-existent. Definitely a more pleasant drive.

We stopped for a bathroom break in Fredericksburg, Virginia and I took these two pictures near the visitor center. The first is the side of a building, obviously, and I like the simple pattern of bricks against the sky.

The second is a picture of a line painted on the parking lot pavement, marking the space I parked in. As you can see, there was a leaf on the pavement when the paint was put down. The leaf is gone now but it took the paint with it, leaving another silhouette.

Pier Patterns

I already posted the family picture from today but thought I’d also post this one, which I like. It’s just a pier out into the Intracoastal Waterway near where we were at the beach. Actually, it’s the next door neighbors of one of my mom’s second cousins. Mom and her brother had visited earlier this week but we drove out there on our way out, so that the rest of us could see her house and where she lives.

I like the pattern of the crossed boards and the way it’s reflecting in the water.

Ocean Isle Beach

It rained a fair amount today so even when I did go out I didn’t have my camera with me most of the time. I did take the camera out for a short while but of course I had to wait for it to warm up a bit after being indoors. It’s so humid here that it fogged up immediately. After that, mom and I left them out on the deck most of the time each day so we could use them at short notice.

This is a view from just in front of our house on the beach. As you can see, it wasn’t exactly crowded today. Still hot but less so after the rain. Very humid, but it’s the beach.

Taylor and Efird Halls and Wait Chapel

After spending a night at the cabin (see Glen Orchard) we stopped to buy a few apples and some damsons from Frank before heading to the beach. Since we were going right past Winston-Salem, and since Cathy and I both spent some time at Wake Forest, we decided to stop and let Dorothy and Karlee see the campus.

It has grown a bit since were where there with a fair amount of construction being done right now, but the central quad hasn’t changed all that much (except there are no large trees on the quad any more). I lived on the second floor of Taylor, the building at the left in this picture. Cathy lived a few years later in Efird, which is attached to Taylor and between it and Wait Chapel.

Ominous Rain Clouds

In the other post for today (James Madison University) I mentioned that we decided to drive to the beach by way of the mountains. Between JMU and the orchard, though, we stopped for gas just as some pretty impressive storm clouds were rolling in. The first picture here is taken from a gas station on Interstate 81 near Roanoke, Virginia. As we pulled back onto the highway the clouds opened up and it poured for about ten minutes. After that there was light rain off and on but nothing that affected traffic significantly. During the heavy rain, though, traffic thankfully slowed to about 40 mph.

Great Grandmother’s Cabin

We got to Glen Orchard, know more publicly as Levering Orchard, in the middle of the afternoon. My great grandfather’s brother, Ralph, started the orchard in 1908. It is now run by Ralph’s grandson, Frank. In 1936 or ’37 my great grandmother retired from her position as a dorm matron at Guilford College and her family built a cabin at her brother-in-law’s orchard. It is now owned by some of her grandchildren (Frank’s and my mom’s generation).

I have lots of good memories of the orchard from when I was young. We would either sleep in the attic of the cabin or camp in a flat area just past the cabin and next to the pool. The pool was a roughly made concrete pool fed by a spring and always very cold, even during the heat of summer. An early morning dip was a great way to start the day.

View From The Cabin

One of my two favorite memories was a time when I was in high school when second cousins from my grandfather’s side (the orchard is on my grandmother’s side) came and spent a week there with us. I recently came across a slide taken then and it brought back a lot of pleasant thoughts.

The other favorite memory was when my Uncle Bobby and two cousins, Dana and David, took a camping trip out from the orchard. We walked along and over and up the mountain, finally coming back down to the orchard from the Blue Ridge Parkway.

My third picture here is the view from my Aunt Virginia’s house, above the cabin (which is in the trees near the pole on the right of the picture). I can’t tell you how many pictures have been taken of that view and none of them really captures the feel. Montana is known for having “big sky” but this view is pretty big and on a clear day you can see about 50 miles. It was a bit too hazy for that today but still a great view.

Pork Chop, Tomato, Rice and Beans, Peas

Dad would say, “two legumes.” Not that there is anything wrong with two legumes. It would just be a comment.

I didn’t take a lot of pictures today and I thought two car pictures so close together might bore some people so here’s something very different, if equally boring. This is what I whipped up for dinner this evening. The peas were a bit overcooked but still go. Cooked tomatoes are a family favorite and go well with the chop.

Jaguar XJ

Actually, I don’t know if this in an XJ or some other model but it looks a bit like the XJ so that’s what I will label it. If you know better, please let me know.

Like the two Maseratis that I see parked in my office parking lot, I believe the owner of this car works in the law firm on the ground floor. I try not to park my car near any of these because it might get an inferiority complex. Another nice ride.

Update — 08/07/2012 — I looked on the back of the car and it is an XF, not an XJ.

Maserati GranTurismo

This is one of two Maseratis that are parked in my office parking lot from time to time. I thought perhaps they were owned by the same person because I hadn’t seen them there together until a few weeks ago, when they were parked next to each other. So, I guess there are two different owners. I like the color of the blue one but this two-door model is nicer over all.

Crushed Car, Close Call

I was driving home yesterday and noticed this downed tree. It’s only about 8 blocks from our house but I hadn’t been this way since before last week’s storm. As you can see, the car is finished. What’s amazing, though, is how close the tree is to the house and how little damage there is. To the left of this, there is a bit of house that sticks out to the front and the tree is less than two feet from it. From what I could see, though, there was not serious damage at all.

The neighbor happened to be outside and I chatted with her briefly. Apparently no one was home at the time, so no one was hurt, which is the most important thing. She commented that it would probably be a long time before anyone got to this. Later in the day I went by again and to my surprise, there was a crew working on the tree, about half of which had already been removed. I was able to confirm that there was literally no visible damage to the house. Amazing.

Weaving Lights

I was pretty absorbed in work today and didn’t get out to take any pictures. On the other hand, I got a lot done. This evening when I picked up Dorothy from Driver’s Ed I was messing about with long exposures of car lights. This is my favorite of the bunch. Not terribly exciting but I’m supposed to be taking pictures and it’s a picture.

Downed Power Lines

The lack of posts here hasn’t actually been to lack of electricity. Our power went out for about 30 seconds and flickered pretty severely for about another minute but that was it. So, we were among the fortunate. When I looked out in the back yard, I expected to see lots of branches down but there was very little and nothing bigger than about an inch in diameter. At that point I thought the storm wasn’t as bad as it sounded, which was pretty ferocious.

When we went out, however, we didn’t have to go far before we saw a little more of the extent of what had happened. Just getting out of our neighborhood took a little doing. Traffic lights were out all over so I figured it was better to stay off the main roads as long as possible. Of course that meant negotiating fallen trees, some of which closed roads off altogether. This is a few blocks from our house but it is a scene that was repeated all over the area.

108°F / 42°C

It isn’t particularly original, I know, but this was pretty much the story for today. Obviously this isn’t the official temperature, it wasn’t really this hot except over black paving that was in the sun all day. On the other hand, this was at about 5:00 PM. It actually read 110°F at one point but I wasn’t going to try to take a picture while moving. The air conditioner in my car barely keeps up in 90°F heat, so it was only marginally cooler in the car on the way home this evening.

I have friends living in a part of Africa where it sometimes cools off to this temperature at night. Still, for those of us used to a temperate climate, this is extreme and not very comfortable. I’m very thankful for air conditioning.

Office Reflections

I like the reflections in my office building. I know I’ve posted them before but they seem to look a little different from day to day and particularly from month to month. Here’s what they look like now. Nice and green and shady. Of course, at 9:00 AM it was already close to 90°F so it’s not as pleasant as it might be. Still, better in the shade than in the sun.

Garden Art

It doesn’t have to be a Renaissance sculpture to qualify as garden art. Here, with a couple pieces of stone, a metal pole for hanging plants, and a plastic dinosaur head, we have a whimsical creation to attract you attention and provide a focal point to the garden.

I’m pretty sure this is a work by David Cudney. It had fallen over and when I picked it up and reset it in the ground about a million ants crawled out of the dinosaur head. They were not happy. Apparently they appreciate art in a different way to us.

Reflections

I am really fascinated by reflections but they are surprisingly hard to turn into good pictures. There are some that are reasonably easy, a glass building or even trees and the sky reflected on a clean and shiny car. Puddles are a bit harder, I find. It rained quite hard today and there was a fair amount of water on the parking lot at work. This picture was taken looking almost straight down. The dark area is actually a reflection of me. I think of it more as an abstract, though, a pattern of light and dark and texture.

Congratulations Garduates!

Caption Contest…

Bass Guitar

Sometimes you have to stop and get back to basics. That is, to the basis of this whole blogging experiment. So, what’s more basic than a bass? I guess I could have gone fishing.