?`s and ANNEswers

Ten minutes to write. Less time to read.

1000 Islands

Posted on July 26, 2019

We’re settled for 24 hours in Clayton, NY, situated on the southern side of the St. Lawrence Seaway. With limited time to explore, we chose a two-hour boat excursion with our friends, C and R. As we cruised in both US and Canadian waters we learned about the amazing mansions built on some of the islands, often as summer homes for the very rich and famous of the last century.

But first, what constitutes an island? According to the guide, the body of land must be above the water line at all times. It must be at least four feet square, have one living tree and one living plant on it. Buildings are optional.. And – in case you’re interested – there are actually 1864 islands in the area. Tom Thumb Island is the smallest; Rockport, which has an entire village located on it, is among the largest.

Leaving the pier, we traveled past Millionaire’s Row where each “castle” vies for top place on the opulence list. There’s Casa Blanca which uses gargoyles to keep the curious away. And Pullman Island, site of the first castle built in 1888 by Chicago’s George Pullman of sleeper car fame.

Heart Island brags of a children’s playhouse with a bowling alley, a giant home that rivals Biltmore, and a separate outbuilding to house the plumbing, heating, and filtration systems of 1900, when construction began. The complex was to be a monument to Louise Boldt, the wife of George C. Boldt, owner of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City. But four years later, Louise died unexpectedly; and her husband halted construction immediately. The buildings were never occupied as a personal home and eventually were gifted to the Thousand Islands Bridge Authority. Today, it is a significant tourist attraction, possibly the most well known of the 1864 islands.

We learned of pirates and bridges and currents and international boundaries. But for me, the most interesting thing was how high the water was. Our Lake Michigan, back home, is at record heights and has made boating and fishing difficult this season. We are not alone. There are half-submerged boat houses on the edge of many islands, meaning the boating season here is also compromised.

Rich and poor, boaters and landlubbers, are subject to Mother Nature’s whims everywhere.

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O Canada

Posted on July 25, 2019

We’re headed East through Canada to upstate New York and my Mother’s side of the family’s annual reunion. It’s been fifteen years since we attended the last one. I suspect time has moved slowly in Lowville, NY, where the reunion is; but getting there has been an experience in what technology has done in the interim.

We chose to go through Canada because Google® said it was the shortest way. And, since we weren’t sure how far we’d get, we didn’t make a hotel reservation. We assumed the plan I’d put in place with Verizon before leaving Benton Harbor would work. Verizon said it would. Never trust Verizon.

I’m not sure why, but our cellphones didn’t work when we stopped in Hamilton, ON. So we had to find a motel the old fashioned way: by asking at local gas stations. In the past, you could usually get directions from the clerk on duty; but with the advent of GPS, that isn’t the case anymore. If it weren’t for that nice lady customer behind me, we might have slept in our car.

Then there were the questions of dinner, Canadian currency, purchasing gas by the liter, and getting back on the road the next morning to return to the States at Niagara Falls. I found some of this interesting, like discovering how people in other places do things; my travel partner did not.

When we return home we’re ignoring Google’s advice and bumper-to-bumpering it through Buffalo, Erie, Cleveland, and Toledo.

What lesson did we learn? I can’t speak for my travel partner, but I realized just how old we’ve gotten in the ensuing fifteen years.

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Otolaryngologists

Posted on July 24, 2019

According to Wikipedia, this term is a combination of four ancient Greek words for the ear, the nose, the larynx, and the word “study.” It defines a medical doctor with advanced training in these three organs. Lay people usually avoid the term and commonly say they’re seeing an ENT doctor.

That’s what Earl and I did this morning. After introducing himself, Dr. J. launched into med-speak. For as small as the ear is in the overall size of the body, it’s prone to cholesteatoma, opacification, segment dehiscence, and dystrophic mineralization.

It got me to wondering why ENT doctors’ vocabulary includes such long words.  Google® had no answer. But after pondering, I’ve decided it’s because this medical specialty treats three of our five senses: hearing, smell, and taste. Seeing has its own specialty: ophthalmology. And our largest sensory organ, the skin, has its own: dermatology.

I don’t believe the ear, the nose, and the throat are lumped together because they are less significant. Rather, these three organs are linked in a variety of ways that makes their collective study the right way to go. For instance, as Dr. J. said, “The back of the ear is part of the front of the jaw.” Perhaps this is why the terminology is so dense.

As for us, we’re sticking with calling Dr. J. our ENT guy. We see him again next week.

 

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Red Lobster

Posted on July 20, 2019

Today was one of those days when Earl and I zoned out, which meant he didn’t work on real estate projects (Did I mentioned he is still working as a Realtor®?) and I didn’t work on my various volunteer projects.

Instead, we spent the day mellowing together. It started with a brief walk before the heat index reared its ugly head. We opened a new jigsaw puzzle and took a trip to Costco to stock up on meat and toilet paper. I’m pretty sure the meat was more expensive in the end, but sixty rolls of toilet paper aren’t cheap either.

We usually eat lunch at Costco, because what could be more economical that an all-beef hot dog and a drink for $1.50? Particularly, if you’ve been enjoying the free samples as you shop.

But today we went to Red Lobster before visiting Costco. Once there, we chose three appetizers and split them: Lobster pizza, lobster roll, and shrimp pot stickers. All were passable – not like fresh seafood in Boston, but definitely passable. We savored mimosas as well.

Truthfully, visiting Costco on a full stomach is a great idea. We are less inclined to binge buy, although our final bill doesn’t really reflect this. But then we have enough meat and toilet paper to last us until Thanksgiving.

We came home and went to work on the jigsaw puzzle once again. It might seem like life in the slow lane, but for a lazy July Saturday it suits us well.

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Progressive Luncheon

Posted on July 18, 2019

I’m writing this early in the morning, since I’m going to Chicago for the day to enjoy lunch.A progressive lunch.

A group of us is taking a charter bus to the city where the object of the trip is to dine, dine, dine. It’s also a getaway from our daily chores. We’re leaving in a couple hours, and our first dining experience is The Drake, that famed hotel that hosted most of Chicago’s Illuminati over the years, as well as other cities’ Illuminati as well. We’re having appetizers there.

As an aside, I lived two blocks from The Drake in the 1960s and would love to wander down Elm Street for a rewind. But I also want to be back on the bus when we go to Petterino’s for the entre. So I’ll probably just visit Elm Street in my memory.

After Petterino’s, it’s dessert on Navy Pier at Riva. By then I’ll probably be comatose from food overload, as I usually eat most of my calories in the evening instead of at lunch. I’ve told my seatmate that I plan to sleep on the return to Stevensville where we’ll disembark, start our cars, and return home.

Perhaps another blog is in order regarding this excursion. But it remains to be seen.

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Ziosk is Here

Posted on July 17, 2019

I don’t know about you, but I avoid restaurants that have a little computer on the table and expect you to order from it. Or play games, for a fee, while you’re waiting for your cocktail. In fact, I’ve refused to eat at Chili’s and Olive Garden for this very reason.

But today, for expediency, I agreed to meet a friend at the local Chili’s. It was an eye-opening experience that involved our server, J, and the manager, D, whose name is on the door.

When we first sat down, I said, “Do you mind if I move this thing – prominently displayed at the front of the table – around and push it to the back.” My friend agreed. We spent a couple minutes whining about technology, even though both of us are fairly computer literate. We wanted a dining experience, not a technology one.

When the server came, we registered our dislike of the machine and said we’d prefer to give her our order. And our credit card. J said that she is encouraged by management at the local restaurant to encourage people to use the Ziosk, which is the name for this interactive machine.She also said if she doesn’t encourage customers to use it then management gets on her case. For me this was the first clue that something more intense is going on.

We had lunch, a delicious lunch except for the specter of our server being penalized because we wouldn’t use the Ziosk. Finally, we asked for more information. Boy, did we get it. The manager, D, came to our table and spent a generous amount of time and a generous attitude with us. Here is what we learned.

  1. It costs Chili’s half a million dollars per restaurant to outfit its tables with Ziosk. So there has to be a return on investment, funded by the customer. Ultimately, I suspect there will be fewer servers and more delivery persons who bring the food once Ziosk tells them.
  2. According to D, about 70 percent of his customers like the system. It enables them to order, pay, and get out of there in record time to return to the office. I suspect most of them are younger than fifty.
  3. D gets a report every day on what has transpired, because the Ziosk logs a ton of data about diners. To the point that a poor server is given fewer shifts. To the point that menu choices are determined by who ate what.
  4. It seems there is a customer survey on Ziosk, and that it counts for a lot. Personally l don’t like customer surveys, because when I’m unhappy the restaurant or the retail store or the car dealership will know it. I don’t need to fill out a form.
  5. D noted that “Corporate,” whoever that really is, loves data, to which I said, “You too are being watched.” He smiled. End of discussion.

I learned valuable information at lunch today. In the future, I’ll tell the hostess that seats us that I will not use the Ziosk and it is no reflection on the server. In addition, maybe I’ll write Chili’s corporate offices and suggest there be a Ziosk vs. non-Ziosk section in their restaurants.

Just like smoking and non-smoking.

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Apollo 11

Posted on July 16, 2019

Fifty years ago today, Astronaut Neil Armstrong was the first human ever to walk on the moon. Other crew members along for the ride were Edwin Aldrin, who also got the chance to bound over the moon’s surface, and Michael Collins, who stayed in the spacecraft doing experiments and taking photographs. (I’ve wondered how he felt, not having a chance to be as much of a household name; but in a recent interview he seemed content with his role in this historic event.)

Of course, they didn’t do it alone. There were hundreds, maybe thousands, of NASA people backing them. As well as millions and millions of people around the world watching. I was one of them.

We lived in Madison Heights, Michigan, at the time; and our first son had been born ten months before. He had recently learned to sleep through the night; and, as any first-time parent can attest, this is also an historic occasion.

So I was glued to the bulky television with its black and white screen about the size of a standard piece of paper. It was just as exciting to watch as if it were on today’s IMAX. I crossed my fingers as Armstrong descended a ladder that could have doubled for one in my garage. I held my breath, collectively with every other person watching, as he claimed the visit for mankind. And I went to bed exhilarated, not only because I knew my son would sleep through it all but also because I didn’t.

Whoever dreamed that we would be celebrating this event fifty years later with interviews of the astronauts, showings of the original footage, and analysis beyond belief! And, this time my son who also turned fifty is old enough to be there with me.

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KitchenAid and Cuisinart

Posted on July 15, 2019

Within the last year, I’ve upgraded my stove and purchased new cookware. If I had known what a difference these changes would make, I’d have done them earlier.

When we moved into our current home, I thought I’d done my homework regarding appliances. But as the years passed, it was clear I had not. It might have been an upgrade from what the builder usually installs, but it was no prize. My cookware, on the other hand, was top of the line when it was purchased. But twenty-five years of use had taken its toll.

These are the sort of things one adjusts to without realizing it. So it takes the oven a little longer to heat up. And the cookware is harder to clean. Both are scratched, but they work. Still I was becoming unenthusiastic about spending time in the kitchen.

After considerable research, we purchased new equipment. Yes, there’s been a learning curve, but the results are well worth it. My stove is once again the bells-and-whistles type; my pots and pans are easy to clean. And I’m becoming Julia Child.

The next thing I need is a fancy set of knives.

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Less is More

Posted on July 14, 2019

A year ago at this time, I subscribed to at least a dozen magazines, two of which arrived in my mailbox weekly. We also subscribed to the local daily newspaper and The New York Times on Sundays. Whoever was our mail deliverer certainly earned that salary.

I had two cooking magazines, two magazines about writing, Chip and Jo Gaines newest venture in decorating design, Smithsonian, Sojourners (the only one of the lot I’d keep forever), a couple AARP intrusions, and one or two stray publications promoting this or that.

But with all this information coming into our home, I found that most of it got skimmed. The rest was ignored. Rather than feeling informed, I felt inundated.

So over this past year, I’ve not re-subscribed when the little notice came in the mail. Not even when the second little notice arrived. The weekly magazines no longer come on Saturday; the cooking magazines have forgotten me. (And, by the way, all the issues I kept have now been reduced to pulp.), and The New York Times lost one avid reader.

But this blog isn’t really about subscriptions. It’s about what happens when you have fewer things to read. It’s about paying more attention to the items on your plate, reading every word and getting along in the world without a constant barrage of information.

I’ve always felt that less is more in many other situations; now I ascribe it to one’s reading materials too.

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Water Redux

Posted on July 13, 2019

Aaaaarrrrgggghhhh!!!!

I believe that’s pirate talk for, “D*&^% it.” And that’s how I feel right now.

Turns out the sprinkler module that we’re on (There are several of them where we live.) is out of order for the near future. Which means our lawns, our flower beds, our pots, etc. will not be watered as we go into the warmer part of summer. (See Water, July 5, for previous observations.)

There is an alternative, which is watering by hand. And, given the amount of time I’ve spent with my flowers with year, I’m more than willing to do that during this situation. In fact, it might become a mission.

Watering by hand means the water bill for the entire complex will go up, since that is covered by our association dues. I have 25 different species of annuals and perennials and take great pride in their presentation. So I plan to become the consummate waterer in this situation.

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