Brownwood Paddock Town Square

After line dancing yesterday, Donna and I grabbed some lunch. Then we headed down to Brownwood Paddock Town Square. Just as the recreation centers are all themed, so are the town squares here. There are three of them and Brownwood Paddock is the newest one.



In fact it is so new, that it is still in the process of being built. There is a movie theater and a few restaurants and stores that are open. Other than that, it is pretty quiet.




That worked out great for us, because that allowed us to take lots of pictures. Just like the recreation centers, the details in the decorations of this place are just incredible.







I'm so glad we got down here and finally I have some pictures. It really is a neat place!

Pickleball at Mulberry and Bunco at Sea Breeze

Donna has been driving up to our "end" of The Villages in the morning, so she and I can play pickleball at Mulberry. I'm thrilled at this because it means an extra hour of sleep for me. The more we play there, the more I'm getting to know people and really enjoying playing with them. I haven't snapped any pictures there yet, but maybe in the next day or two.



After pickleball, we headed out to Bunco yesterday. We went down to Sea Breeze and it was a very large group. Donna and I both won drawings and Donna won the lucky combo. I like the group there. They are a fun group to play with.



We both grabbed some pictures of Sea Breeze while there. I love this rec center. It is one of my favorites by far.



Since I was using the camera on my phone, my pictures are not good at all. I have to remember to bring my big camera some time.




You can still get the feel of how pretty and relaxing this place is. I see Donna posted a link to a video where you can take a better look, so I'm going to do the same: Sea Breeze




After I got back home and we ate dinner, Nathan and I headed back down to the pickleball courts to play with just the two of us. I really missed Donna and the other ladies there, that's for sure! We are much kinder and more encouraging to each other than the guys who take the game very seriously. The weather was perfect while we were there! It is the nicest the weather has been since we have arrived in The Villages. We are still loving our time here. In fact, we are feeling quite torn between traveling next year and coming back to The Villages and staying longer next year. I guess we'll just have to see which one grabs us the most! Living the life in beautiful Florida!

Uphill Momentum?

One distinct aspect of ride quality I've been noticing in different bicycles, is the way they retain (or fail to retain) momentum* when going uphill. I am pretty sure that this is a separate issue from the way a bicycle climbs hills in general, though I haven't found any literature addressing it specifically. But in any case, what I mean is this: Say you're cycling super-fast, either downhill or along a flat stretch, then suddenly in front of you is an uphill stretch and you take it at full speed. Initially the speed you've already attained will propel you, and only once you've spent that momentum will you need to switch into a lower gear or pedal harder. The point at which you lose the momentum depends of course on how much of it there was to begin with, as well as on how long and how steep the hill you are climbing is. But in my experience, it also depends on the bicycle - with some bicycles being better at it than others, aerodynamics and weight notwithstanding.



Take for instance, my formerly owned Pashley versus my current Gazelle -both of which are heavy, upright loop frame bicycles made of hi-ten steel. The Pashley seemed almost indifferent to momentum: It was not much easier on climbs after picking up considerable speed on a descent, than it was after starting from a complete stop. I could be flying downhill at 20mph, but as soon as I'd hit an uphill stretch, the bicycle would just stop dead. The Gazelle, on the other hand, retains momentum surprisingly well - soaring uphill if I manage to pick up sufficient speed.I have sensed this difference to various degrees in a variety of other bikes, and I want to make it clear that I am comparing like to like: roadbikes to roadbikes, upright bikes to upright bikes - so it is not a matter of aerodynamic advantage or weight.



Though I am fairly certain that what I am experiencing in this regard is real, I am not sure what accounts for it.If it's in the geometry, then it must be something fairly subtle - as I am sensing a difference in bicycles that, in principle, ought to handle similarly. Have others noticed what I am describing? What do you make of it?



___



* I am using the term "momentum" here loosely and colloquially. From the point of view of physics, if all of my bicycles start riding up a hill at a particular speed, they will reach approximately the same point before they stop, slightly variable due to rolling resistance, weight distribution and aerodynamics. So, I am not using the term as it is used in physics (i.e. conservation of momentum, energy, etc.), but rather as shorthand to describe how each bicycle behaves while being pedaled uphill under my power after having first picked up speed.

Old Town Walk

Most of the walk ways in Old Town have been covered to make for a more pleasent tour due to our hot sun and in the summer sudden downpours of rain in the monsoon season, which we are having now. There was no rain the day we were there but the shade was welcome. There are still several of the old cottonwood trees still along some of the streets and in the park.

Blewett Pass ..

Technically it is Swauk Pass. The old highway went over Blewett, and the name was kept when they rerouted over Swauk Pass. I headed out with the intention of seeing if there was any climbable ice in the area, but as best I could tell there wasn't any. It appears to me that the terrain is not steep enough, but there could be other issues as well.

I took the skinny skis out on the ungroomed forest service road 800. I have always stayed away from the Blewett Pass area because it is an area where snowmobiles coexist with skiers. This is usually not that pleasant, but I wanted to give it a try. After a few hundred feet into the woods, I could almost no longer hear them and I had stopped coughing on the two stroke fumes. Then it was a peaceful ski in. If I stopped, all I could hear was the snow hitting my body.

Peaceful skiing up the road

There are a few turns in getting to the correct road on the ridge, but it was fairly easy navigating. A group of three women started off long before me, so I had a decent track to follow, although with how heavy it was snowing, it wasn't obvious to me if they had been there the day before or not. (It wasn't until I caught them at my turnaround point that I could confirm they were there the same day.) I think they were following a track put in earlier in the week. Unfortunately I brought my track poles which were way too long to use efficiently when my skis were 4-8" in a trench. It really turned out to work my shoulders due to that fact. For future reference, I'll bring shorter poles in this type of scenario.

Snowing hard

This route would be fairly scenic if it wasn't snowing so much. But I did get some nice glimpses at the surrounding area. There isn't a whole lot of hills, and it made for a nice workout plugging along the road. Some of the downhills I could coast a bit, but mostly I had to keep kicking or double poling on the downhills as the snow was offering a little too much resistance to just coast every hill. At about the three mile mark or so I stopped to have a bite to eat and turned around. I wanted to get home to see Jennifer off to work, and hopefully eat dinner with her.

By the time I got back to the car it was covered in two inches of fresh snow. It was coming down fast enough that I had to scrape the windows three times before I eventually left the Sno Park. Then it was a slow ride down from the pass and out to I90. There were a few cars in the ditch on 97. From I90 things didn't get much better and I maintained a ~35mph pace from Cle Elum to Snoqualmie Pass. The area between Cabin Creek and Hyak was the worst. A plow hadn't been by in a while and there were stiff peaks of snow between the wheel ruts that made driving difficult. Heading up the hill from Hyak plows had recently cleaned the road, so it was much easier. Then everyone got stuck behind the plows on the downhill side and there were a few cars in the ditch near the big right hand turn before the Denny Creek exit. Soon after that we were low enough for the change over to rain and the speed picked up to near the limit. The forecast hard rain was being delivered, and I had to turn the wipers on high.

Being from the Northeast US, I had never associated insects with snow. Having lived in Seattle for a while now, I have learned to see spiders and insects on melting snow in the Spring and Summer. But now twice this Autumn I have seen this one type of insect on the snow. A quick search on the internet makes me believe it is a snow fly or winter crane fly. I have seen a bunch of these walking around today, and a few weeks ago with Steve at Hyak.

Snow fly?

She Won't be Forgot...

A week ago today (December 7, ..) my Aunt Phyllis passed away at her home in Columbia City, Indiana at the age of 88. Due to my own negligence (not checking voice mail for two days – shame on me!) I didn't find out about it until Wednesday night. On Thursday morning I left the nice warm home of my friend in northeast Louisiana and headed to the frigid north. After 900 miles, seven states, two time zones, crossing the Mississppi River three times, and 25 hours later, I arrived home safely Friday morning. Visitation was Friday afternoon and the service was Saturday morning.

But I wasn't the only one to drive a long distance to pay my respects to Aunt Phyllis – her sister, my Aunt Shirley drove from Maryland and my older brother Doug came down from Minneapolis. As her daughter Kathy said, it was a testament to how much Phyllis was loved that we would drive so far to be able to be in her presence one last time. [Update 2:30 pm - I had a memory lapse... Phyllis' grandson Jameson Mitchell and his mother Emmy flew in from California to attend the services.]

It was nice to see many of my cousins and their children, some whom I hadn't seen in many years, and their grandchildren, some whom I had never seen. Though it was sad that death is what brought us together there was joy and happiness in sharing stories and memories of Aunt Phyllis and honoring her long life, one well lived.

One word was spoken over and over during those two days that describes Aunt Phyllis – Special. And that she was. Not only was she so very special, Aunt Phyllis had the ability to make you feel special. She didn't condemn. She didn't judge. She listened. And she talked, and boy, was she a talker! She never spoke badly about anyone. Never an unkind word to or about anyone. She was kind, gentle and loving, and one of the nicest people I have ever known. She was Special.

Aunt Phyllis sometimes did silly or “stupid” things. But she was able to laugh at herself. One of my favorite stories about her involves a little night light that wasn't!

Phyllis and Walt lived in Columbia City in an old two-story house that was difficult to keep warm in the winter. During one particularly cold winter in the 1960s they purchased an electric blanket. It was their first one and she was quite pleased with it. One day while showing it to her brother Bill, after raving about how well it was keeping them warm and comfortable at night, she commented that they didn't need the night light that was on the control so she always turned it off. When Bill pointed out that the “night light” was actually a light to indicate that the blanket was turned on she laughed about it and got through the embarrassment and the story has been told over and over through the years.

Phyllis Elizabeth Phend was born in Columbia City, Indiana on September 29, 1922 and was the first child of Rolland Victor and Hazlette (Brubaker) Phend. She lived most of her life in Whitley County, graduating from Larwill High School with the Class of 1940. Phyllis married Walter Eugene Mitchell on December 6, 1942 (the day before the bombing of Pearl Harbor). She passed away on December 7, .. (the day after what would have been their 68th wedding anniversary).

Phyllis and Walt opened “Mitchell's Bait and Tackle” store in their home in Columbia City in 1946. They kept it going for 23 years closing it down in 1969. Walt was also a collector of post cards and old bottles, while Phyllis loved collecting buttons and old dolls. For many years they attended shows and auctions buying and selling their stuff. And since Aunt Phyllis “never knew a stranger” they always had a good time while doing it. She enjoyed it immensely.

Phyllis was the mother of five children: Kathy, Mike, Patrick (died in an accident in 1948 at the age of two), Jim and Kevin. She had 8 grandchildren, 12 great grandchildren, 4 step-great-grandchildren and was expecting 1 great-great-grandchild due in March of ... She was a “second Mom” to many of the kids in the neighborhood.

Mike, Kathy, Walt, Phyllis, Kevin, Jim
I think this was taken at their 50th wedding anniversary in December 1992.
March ... The siblings.Patricia, William, Shirley, Virginia, and Phyllis (seated).

"Strength in Unity"

Not exactly sure who this guy is.

His mates say his name is Jimmy. But there seemed to be someuncertainty.

They reckon he is about 20. Again, not sure.

They say he remembers to bring his guitar to the crag but forgets his harness and shoes. It all sounds pretty vague.

Style:Jimmyscreams socialistchic and solidarity inlast seasons "Enterprise Bargain Agreement" T-Shirt in black with yellow ".Your Pay - Your Call" print by the always hip Aussie label, Australian Workers Union.

Did you get a good look at me Jimmy? Spooky huh?



The movethat started it all.Nine routes fan out from thisbeginning.



Jimmy put down the guitar long enough to switch on and send Spoonman.



Then back to guitar for songs of workers struggles and sendage celebrations.





It never hurts to have a stab at something hard at the end of the day.











Blue Morning Glories

Scenes from dry woods

No time.




We'll talk later.

Maybe by then the Mockingbird will have tired of taunting me, repeating midnight tales of Scarlet Tanagers.

-----

Turtle shell.
Wild Geranium (Geranium maculatum). My husband calls these Germamiums, partly (I believe) because he knows I think it's cute.
Morel mushroom.

Pickleball Tournament at Sun City

Rich and Donna invited us to another Pickleball Tournament in Sun City. So we got up very early this morning and headed over there. I saw some familiar faces from last year and many new ones. From our Thousand Trails group there was Rich, Donna, Stan, Sally, Buddy, Tracy and Nathan, Austin and I.



The courts here are very nicely done so they are easy to play on. We did have some wind and sun, but not so much so that we couldn't play. I saw a lot of really good games played today.



And now, a moment to pause and brag on the boy. Whenever we are in these type of settings, I am always so impressed with how he handles himself. He was the only person under 40 playing and yet he acted as respectably and maturely as most of the adults there. He's pretty cute too!

Ok, back to the tournament! There were games for men and women's doubles in the morning. Mixed doubles in the afternoon. A bunch of people left after the morning games. Some without letting anyone know. So that switched things up in the afternoon. They did a great job of still making it a lot of fun and working out so those of us who stayed had fun.



I'm so glad we did go, and we are already making plans for the next one in February!



living the life in sunny Florida!

Comic Strip Trail in Brussels

Still on Brussels... I didn’t get the chance to follow the comic strip trail that Brussels is famous for, however, I managed to see and snapped a few shots of the comic strip murals!

Brussels' Comic Strip Mural: left is TinTin (Mur BD) and right is Victor Sackville (Mur BD).

Brussels' Comic Strip Mural: left is Broussaille (Mur BD) and right is Le Passage (Mur BD).

Brussels, Belgium took post-war Europe on a whirlwind comic strip spin of the adventures of homegrown characters such as Tintin and Spirou, and later, Corentin, Blake and Mortimer, Lucky Luke, Buck Danny, Asterix, Johan and Pirlouit. The comic characters were very popular back then. Nowadays, Brussels boast of its rich comic strip history, there are 4 museums dedicated to comic strip art and dozens of comic book and merchandising shops can be found in the city.

Here is a map of the Comic Strip Trail in Brussels with fotos and explanations of the comic strip murals. The tour includes 31 murals at the moment, and increasing I believe.

Cars - A Necessary Evil

When Jasia announced the topic of this edition of the COG, I'll have to admit that I cringed a bit. Cars have never been a "big" thing in my family. They were pretty much seen as a necessary evil, a utilitarian object required to get from one place to another. So much so, that I don't think that I have even one photograph of any of our cars. Well, that is, except for the one below, and several others of cars that were involved in accidents in which the cars were totaled. Those pictures aren't pretty and my brother and I were fortunate to walk away from the accidents uninjured with only a few bruises and scratches. I had a love-hate relationship with many of my cars. However, several other, more favorable, incidents involving cars and my family came crawling out of the recesses of my mind.


One of the earliest cars that I remember my family owning was the Nash Rambler. And, of course, we all absolutely adored the song "Beep Beep" when it came out in 1958. I wonder if that guy ever got his car out of second gear? It was a nice car though a bit small for a growing family. It was a bit crowded when we were all riding in it at the same time.

We lived out in the country, about 10 miles from the largest town (Warsaw) and nearest movie theatre. All of us (Mom, Dad, and 4 kids) would drive into Warsaw every Saturday to get groceries and once in a great while we would be treated to a movie. The Saturday Matinee at the Lake Theatre was a special event. We'd get a big bag of popcorn and a large pop to share. On this particular day it was "101 Dalmatians" that was showing, the original animated version, so it would have been 1961. Don't know why but that has stuck with me through the years. It is really irrelevant to the story. Anyway, the movie was over and we left the theatre. It was early evening and the street lights had just come on, shedding an eerie green light over everything which changed colors so they didn't look like they usually did. We were all excited and talking about the movie as we piled into our car. Dad put the key in the ignition and turned it, but nothing happened. The car wouldn't start. It was then that we started noticing that something wasn't quite right. We had gotten into the wrong car! We quickly got out and strolled down the block a little ways where we found our car, right where we had left it.

When my brother got out of the Navy in the spring of 1968, he bought a Chevrolet Corvair convertible. I don't remember the details but one day, for some reason, he wanted to go into North Webster, probably to hang out with some friends, and didn't want to leave his car in town. So he wanted me to take him in. Mom was at work so his was the only car available since I didn't have my own car at that time. Problem was, the Corvair was a stick shift, and I had only driven cars with an automatic transmission. No problem, he said, he'd teach me! And so he drove the car to the field out back of the house, I slid into the driver's seat and we chugged and jerked our way around that field until I could smoothly get the car out of one gear and into the next. And that is how I learned to drive a car with a manual transmission.

The first new car that I owned, and subsequently fell in love with, was an American Motors Hornet Hatchback. I spent the year 1973 in Iceland, at the Keflavik Naval Air Station, and one of the "perks" that I took advantage of at the end of my tour of duty was a discount on the purchase of a new car. I remember spending hours going over the various brochures that were provided. Sure, I wanted a car that looked nice, performed well, was dependable, etc. But most of all I wanted something that I could travel well with. Something that would even allow me to sleep in the car, if necessary. Billed as "a sports car with room to travel in" the AMC Hornet Hatchback seemed to fit my needs and also happened to fall within my budget!

The car was delivered to a dealership in Elkhart where I picked it up while I was on leave in January 1974. It was metallic blue, and beautiful. Over the next three years that car, dubbed "Old Blue," and I criss-crossed the United States several times. From northern Indiana to Florida, then to California, then to Rochester, New York, back to Indiana, back to California, and various places in-between. I just couldn't bear to part with the car in 1977 when I was transferred to Japan so it was put in storage for two years. The car was paid for. It had a lot of miles put on it but had been taken care of quite well and was in good shape. I figured it would be cheaper to pay for storage than to have to buy a new car when I returned.

A friend stationed at Point Mugu retrieved the car from storage and prepared it for my return. When I picked up the car in May 1979 it was as good as new, better even, since I didn't have car payments to make! That summer was, without a doubt, the best summer of my life and a journey I'll always remember. After a quick trip to San Diego to visit friends I headed north, along the coast highway, taking plenty of time before finally reaching friends in the Seattle, Washington area. To say that I took advantage of the fold-down back seats for sleeping would be an understatement. I lived in "Old Blue" that summer. Eventually, I made my way back to Indiana in time to start the fall semester at Indiana State University in Terre Haute.

Old Blue got me through school and held up well for a few more years. But during the winter of 1984 the heater quit working, which meant the windows couldn't be defrosted. And with winters in northern Indiana being what they are, I really needed a heater and defroster. When I took it in to get it checked out I was told that it would cost more to repair than the car was worth. So, it was with great sadness that I traded in Old Blue and purchased my next car. When the dealer looked at the odometer and saw that it said a bit over 80,000 miles he was impressed. "Wow, a ten year old car with only 80,000+ miles, and in great shape." For a moment the thought went through my mind, maybe I shouldn't tell him the actual mileage. But then, honesty, or perhaps some thoughts of bragging rights, came over me and he was astounded when I told him it actually had 180,000+ miles. Needless to say, the trade-in value plummeted, and I got next to nothing for Old Blue. Nothing except a lot of very good memories. And those are priceless.

I tend to hang on to cars until the very end. I'm on my third vehicle since Old Blue, a Chevy Cavalier, also a hatchback style, but without a name, that I've had for eight years now and it's getting close to 140,000 miles. It too has been a good, faithful car but the miles that have been put on it haven't been nearly as much fun as those with Old Blue.

Somewhere in my boxes of pictures I would like to think that I have a photo of Old Blue, but I haven't found it yet, and a picture isn't really needed for me to remember. But this picture shows what she looked like.

While trying to locate a picture on the 'net I discovered that in the 1974 movie "The Man with the Golden Gun" James Bond drove a red AMC Hornet hatchback special coupe. And, if you are a collector, for $39.99 you can actually purchase a 1/43 scale die cast model of the car. Cool, yes, but not really something that I want. The memories are sufficient.

Jennifer

Our mission statement here at jjobrien climbing & style is to go where other style reporters fear to tread.


When Jennifer's high-style polish met Slider Wall's legendary trachytefriction, jjobrien was there to bring back the look.

































The instagram post that caught the eye of Marketing Managementat Lorna Jane.

The camera lovesLorne jane.









Follow me on instagramat johnjobrien.

That's right, no service where I live, my battery is flat and I lock the screen rotation thing.













The poster shot.






jj

Merry Christmas from Show Us the World

We hope everyone out there had a very Merry Christmas. We only had two of the five kids with us, and no grandkids, so that made for a very quiet and somewhat sad day. Setting that aside, it was one of the best Christmases I can remember. We were low on funds, so we knew we would not get many material gifts. Which meant we had very low expectations. The really great thing about low expectations is you are rarely disappointed and in this case, we were tickled pink with whatever gifts we had. Nathan did all of the gift shopping and he did a great job. I really love that man!



The boys were very mature about the light number of gifts. I've been very proud of both of them lately for various reasons and today was another reminder of why. I told them today that they are so much cooler than I was when I was there age. One of them told me they are cooler than I am now. I agree!



We did enjoy our biggest family gift, which was Ava.

Lucky for us, we all love her and think she is a great gift. She spent the whole day going from one of us to the next, soaking up all of the love and cuddles she could get. Even the guy who swore he'd never get a little dog thinks she is the bees knees. Having just written that, the fact I use the phrase the bees knees might just be part of why the kids are so much cooler than me. Who cares. The point is, Ava is by far the best Christmas gift I've ever received. I love that dog so much!

Outside of the little sweetness known as Ava, our family had much sweetness this season with those people who are with us right now. I am really humbled by the gifts that others have given to us, especially with those given to the boys. It has reminded me of the true reason for the season. We really have had a great holiday so far and hope it continues into the New Year!

Hope everyone else enjoyed their day too.



Merry Christmas to all!