Kayaks, Corn, and Me

Hanging in there. Barely.

I am ready for a break. 

Burnt out, worn out, and tired of everything and everyone around me.

So, I'm packing a bag and double checking my flight status 

and am going to get outta town for a while.

Everything is booked and paid, and I've gone over the preparation lists,

made double sure I have hotels covered, transport from and to the airport, and

all of my credentials are up to date and cleared for travel.

Until then, though, I am still here in Iowa.

Have found stuff to do though.

Had a craving for bagels and lox.

Left out the capers, but some smoked salmon on a bagel is pretty tasty.

Turtle tank cleaning.

Actually, due for another cleaning soon. Want it well scrubbed before I leave town.

Have you found Jimothy on the Roku screen?

Took advantage of a rainy Saturday afternoon to catch a long movie.

Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey.

It's pretty good. I like that Nolan prefers practical effects over CGI.

Most of them look really good and practical effects tend to hold up

better over time. Just look at Jurassic Park. It still looks great.

Most of the acting in The Odyssey is good. 
I have no problem with updating the language and using a more

diverse cast to cover the characters (the story is a myth, after all)

A timeless story should be able to be adapted to fit modern sensibilities.

And, honestly, if you are whining about "authenticity", Matt Damon

with his cute, little, very non-Greek nose should be nowhere near the lead role.

Therefore, a talented Black actress playing Helen of Troy should be the least of

your concerns. If it is, your racism is showing.

Bix jazz service #2

Red Clarinet got a good workout over a few weeks.

Second hand find.

Can you believe someone wanted to get rid of this?!

FrontSeat Shark and I are now practically twins. 

It's a pickle!

And it's a handle cover for your frying pan!

Is it silly looking? Yes, kind of.

But it works! 😂

Making this pan handle from a heatable material that requires an

oven mitt to move the pan around wasn't the best design choice.

This pickle cover solves the problem in a goofy way.

Cute bird break. Ain't she sweet.

Just through a molt and she has lots of itchy new feathers coming in for me to scratch.

I don't care much about the squishy toys, but I kinda love the butter ones.

Hey, Vern! ya need some butter!

Research.

Gotta be informed.

Just a few things to pack into my travel bag.

if you know, you know.

I learned the hard way how important some of these meds are

when you are far away from home and your intestines are unhappy.

Yard bun!

This small rabbit has been hanging around the yard lately.

Looks young. 

Bunny sheltered in place by the house for a while.
What a cutie.

Goodwill haul.

Two pairs of pants (both Gap brand), a pair of shorts (perfect for vacay) and a dress

that actually looks nice on.

All for about $20.

They all went into the laundry first. Of course.

Sometimes I go into the thrift and find nothing good,

other times, I find lots of great things.

Other people's overconsumption is my gain.

Last day for outside swims. 

Back to the YMCA for me.

yellow sky in the morning.

Storms a brewin.

We will rebuild.

Some serious wind crashed through the neighborhood.

Another derecho?

Roadwork detoured me around to a different way into work.

Saw lots of downed tree branches.

The new roof held on though.

Speaking of the new roof, I was finally

able to pay the last portion for the work.

Just need to organize some paperwork for my insurance company,

and I can go on with my life.

I also singed the last of the paperwork for the DREAM Project.

So both are now behind me at last.

Lots of work on the house this year, but it ended up costing me

fairly minimally, as far as my own money goes. Insurance and the DREAM Project

made all of the work easy to get done and in a way that didn't leave me too broke.

I still had to pay, don't get me wrong, but after the dust settled, my

out of pocket obligation was manageable. 

Now I need to recover my savings and try to be prepared for the next house problem.

Because you know there will be another house problem.

That's how houses work! 😁

Wasn't really looking for snorkel gear, but found this

Speedo set in the summer clearance aisle. $10! 

It should work for my trip, and fits into my bag.

Hopefully a bit more comfortable than renting a mask and tube.

I plan to rent the wetsuit and fins though.

Floatzilla 2026 is underway!

Launched from the longest route this year.

11 miles down the River and through the lock to the finish point.

Overcast morning, but the rain held off.

I'm in a boat! Yaaay!

is that a fox or a coyote? 

Saw it hanging out at the water's edge, with the herons.

Locking through.

An inflatable palm tree made the trip too. Haha!

Ordered a delicious meal from the African restaurant at the end of the day.

Because I wasn't in the mood to cook anything.

Yum!

no time for rest though. Up early the next day for the 

drive to West Point to see the fam and get some sweet corn at the

West Point Sweet Corn Festival.

Light rain throughout the parade.

Rain stopped in time to go to the park and get some sweet corn.

I wanted a funnel cake, so shared this one with Momster.

Totally unnecessary, but just what I wanted.

Was thrown this t shirt from someone at the parade.

It's a child's size, so I can't wear it, but I managed to get it on the skeleton.

Probably have to cut it off, it was stretch. 

Them bones aren't as flexible as they need to be.

Now Jimothy is eating outside at an Italian restaurant!

Fried green tomatoes and egg sammich.

Delicious!

And now, for my next trick, I will attempt to

not go too stir crazy in the week and a half before I get to leave town.