Category Adventure

Canada – I saw the Northern Lights!

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I was up in Canada and a friend said, “LOOK, there are the Northern Lights.”

Funny, I could not see them, but I indulged my friend and took a picture. GUESS WHAT – in the picture, I could see the Northern Lights. The stars were amazing, they felt so close as if you could touch them.

One night I saw the Big Dipper, it was so clear, but I did not have my cell phone with me to take a picture.

I loved how the sky would be mirrored in the lake. So many great nature photos.

Also, a Canadian magnet puzzle – that was funny!

Canada is beautiful, I look forward to going back. I’d like to visit Quebec.

Fall is a great time to be in nature.

Happy road tripping!

Speed Puzzling – So much fun!

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I was on Meetup.com looking at different events and found a speed puzzling one. I signed up. It was fun.

You could sign up Solo or in Teams of 2-4.

When I got there, there were two puzzles on the table. The 100 piece was for practice while we waited for other participants to arrive.

The 500 was for the competition. This was my FIRST time doing this. There was a time limit on completing the puzzle, I forgot what that was. As I was Solo, I wasn’t going to win.

I focused on 1) Making sure pieces didn’t fly all over and 2) I completed part of the puzzle.

Somehow, when I opened my bag, ONE piece flew into the open box. Of course, I didn’t see that until the end. The host laughed when he told me HE had seen it, but rules are rules, he could not alert me to this.

That was definitely a “newbie / rookie” puzzling mistake.

I believe the first and second teams won two Ravensburger puzzles each. Then those teams would have to flip a coin on WHO brings a puzzle home.

So, if you are getting bored at home, sign into Meetup.com or EventBrite, lots of activities out there.

Fun events at museums too. I haven’t been to a museum in ages, that will be NEXT.

Have a nice Labor Day weekend!

Glow-in-the-dark —-> BASEBALL?!

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I don’t watch baseball. My parents didn’t watch and that carried down to me. However, the other day there was a news clip on this Cosmic League that wear glow-in-the-dark outfits.

They sound a bit like the Globe Trotters, but with baseball. I mean making the game entertaining.

I think there is still time to get a ticket to see them. If you like baseball and have not heard of them, here’s the news clip, I think you’ll enjoy this.

Happy Wednesday!

I’m BACK… Thank you AerLingus! ☘️

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AerLingus sends me promotional deals a few times a week. Normally, I delete them without even a glance. However, back in September, as my father had just passed… I thought, maybe it’s time to go “somewhere.”

One promotion was focused on reduced fares to Europe. I looked and I found a “good deal” to Munich, flying through Dublin. I really enjoy Munich, so I knew being there would lift my spirits.

I enjoy flying AerLingus, they are still clean and orderly when boarding and in flight. I don’t want to bash other airlines, but traveling is not fun anymore. It’s gotten so crazy and chaotic.

Oh, flying is a good time to catch up on movies we haven’t seen. Also, it makes the 7-8 hr flight go by very quickly. I enjoyed this movie, “Wicked Little Letters.” It’s a true story.

Another nice thing about AerLingus is that the flight goes through Dublin, we clear U.S. Customs / Immigration there. So, when we arrive in the U.S., we can immediately head home.

Oh, I smiled at this. When I was in the Munich airport, food choices were healthy sandwiches / big German pretzels. When I got to Dublin, no more sandwiches, instead, a pub and pre-packaged sandwiches (yuck!). The U.S. is the same, hard to find healthy food in an airport. Why is that?

Glad to be home! More to come…

Chicago – Blue Angels are in town!!

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The Chicago Air and Water show is in town this weekend. It’s always exciting.

I was sitting at my desk, hearing them zooming around. They’re loud, but you don’t always see them. It’s so frustrating. I was a swivel head looking for them.

I was in luck, my patience paid off. They flew by, but they were so fast, I just clicked, clicked, clicked the camera hoping I’d get a picture and I did! They really do fly so close together that takes practice.

For those of you, who have never seen the Blue Angels before, this is what they look like up close.

So, this weekend will be loud with lots of planes flying by. Good news, no rain forecasted and temps have cooled down to 75. Perfect summer weather.

Enjoy your weekend!

Lexus Monogram GX – Built in Pizza Oven!

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Have you heard the latest news?

Lexus GX and Monogram debuted an SUV with a pizza oven built in. They created this for the 2024 Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, Colorado. Such a fun idea!

Sounds like this was a one-off. However, sometimes show pieces can become reality.

Who says it is just about burgers and hot dogs! Get a pizza oven too.

Happy 4th of July!

Happy Mother’s Day!! Time for Dragon Boat Racing Practice…

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Today is Mother’s Day. My daughters had asked me earlier in the week, “What do you want to do for Mother’s Day!”

I chuckled… They were thinking breakfast, coffee, etc. I had another idea. For years, I’ve been talking to my daughters about Dragon Boat Racing. I was on a team in Seattle and also rowed in the San Francisco Bay Area. Teams are all over the world! It’s a lot of fun. Anyone can join. Yes, the teams want to win, but they also like to have fun. It’s similar to Ultimate Frisbee, the more the merrier. So, I told them I’d love for them to come to a new beginner practice.

Good news, they were on board. We’ve never been in a canoe together, so this should be a fun outing.

Oh, in the photo, you see that coyote on the dock?! He was added there to stop the birds from pooping. I’m told he does a very good job.

Have fun, make it a great day! Happy Mother’s Day!

Nashville – A music city!

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This past weekend I was in Nashville. It was a lot of fun. I did feel like I was back in College. You can see the strip here is full of bars. Each one had a band. Lots of drinking, dancing, partying. Lots of cowboy hats and boots. Enjoyed seeing the cowboy/cowgirl styles.

I was surprised to see one of these old fortune teller machines.

A lot of people were jumping up on the bar to have a picture taken with this sign behind them.

This was a band from another bar.

I did buy a shirt. Don’t they say, “When in Rome, dress like the Romans.” So, when in “Nashville, dress like the cowboys/cowgirls.” It is easier to dance to country music with cowboy boots on, my opinion.

This bus went by, I think it would be fun. We were only there two days, so not a lot of time for touring.

I look forward to going back. Next time dressed like a cowgirl! 

Canada (Whitehorse, Yukon) – Hair Freezing Contest

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Have you heard of the Eclipse Hot Springs Hair Freezing Contest in Yukon? It’s been taking place yearly since 2011. They have different categories you can win, ie best female, best male, most creative, best group, etc. Each winning category receives $2,000, not bad for sitting in warm water, dunking your head, pulling head out, sculpting hair and having photo taken. Done!

Visit the site and you’ll see so many fabulous frozen hair styles. Don’t worry, as soon as you dunk your head back into the water, the freezing hair melts. So your hair does not break into a million tiny pieces.

The site doesn’t have details on timing for this. However, I was reading in past articles that photo taking takes place in February. Last year they said with warming temperatures, it was becoming hard to find the right cold days for hair to set. Maybe that’s why the website doesn’t have contest dates.

Well, right now, Chicago has been having freezing temps. We could certainly do a Freezing Hair day here.

So… Are you in? Do something FUN, win $2,000!