I enjoyed my rare day off yesterday, despite rainy crappy weather. I accomplished a lot:

• I checked in on a few friends and found that blogger is misbehaving, not showing recent blog posts on this blog to some of the people to whom I link. Glad you’re okay, Roland.

• I put on what I am going to wear for Halloween and took some pictures, but you will have to wait and see….

• I wrote 20 blog posts which will appear here over the next few weeks.

• I wrote the template code for a website for a 2010 political candidate for whom I am serving as webmaster. I am waiting for the candidate to send me the content to put in the various blocks.

• I cooked and cooked. My man and I enjoyed a great meal last night featuring all my “home-mades” (pasta, tomato sauce, breads, and dessert)– lasagna, home-made dinner rolls, and a mixed side salad, finished with a tasty apple pie. (I admit that while I used six different apples to vary the flavors, I cheated and used a pre-made pie crust.)

• I took my lovely 94-year-old aunt to lunch, just because… I love her so.

• I scrubbed baseboards with Comet and a toothbrush. It won’t be long until Thanksgiving, and we anticipate another huge crowd of seniors.

• I spoke with two brothers and three sisters on the phone. It was great to catch up!

• I did the laundry so my partner doesn’t have to worry about it on the weekend.

• I updated my website in several places, including photos of a new pair of CHP leather breeches.

• I cleaned up and shined a pair of Bal-Laced Dehner Patrol Boots that needed some attention. I seldom polish boots, so this was a big deal for me!

• I received a suggestion via email to take pictures of my black campus boots that look like Fryes. I learned recently that these boots were made by Boulet when I exchanged some email from the guy who sold them to me. I tried to pull those boots on, and realized why I had not updated photos of them: they were too tight on my calfs. I hauled out my boot calf stretcher and began the slow, deliberate, process of stretching the calfs of those boots. It will take about three weeks for each boot to do it permanently without damaging them. Check back around Christmas for updated pics!

• I took a half-hour nap! Lazy, lazy, lazy!

A great day! I should do this more often! But to tell you the truth, I am looking forward to being back at work today. I am exhausted!

Life is short: have fun in boots, leather, with family, and take care of things at home. Spend the time to show those you love that you love them!

I have been working a lot of extra time lately at my job, in writing huge reports and proposals then going on a three-day out-of-town trip. In exchange for all that time at work, keeping me away from my duties to my community, my partner, and my family, I have been given a rare mid-week day off today.

What am I up to? as you read this, I am probably tending to a number of things around home, my community, and perhaps updating my website. Whatever I am doing, I am doing it in boots and leather. You’ll see. I’ll tell ‘ya later….

Meanwhile, remember–

Life is short: wear your boots, wear your leather, and by all means, SMILE!

Here I am, in brown leather jeans and tall Wesco harness boots (you’ll have to trust me to know I had on tall boots)… running home-made pasta through the press attached to my mixer.

I love to “make my own” … pasta, bread, and other great stuff to eat. My partner and I enjoy doing this together. I roll out the pasta, cut it, and my partner applies egg white to the edges of the cut ravioli (the egg white serves as an organic “glue” to hold the pasta edges together). I put on some cheese filling, then fold the pasta onto itself.

There you have it: a raviol – o? (Is one piece of ravioli a “raviolo?” Hmmm, I have to check. Certainly, it’s not a “raviolus” since I have no evidence that Julius Caesar enjoyed this pasta dish LOL!)

We did this on Saturday afternoon after I got back from my homecoming visit with my college fraternity. I peeled off the black leather and put on the brown (I change boots and leather often.) It was really yucky weather outside that day, so it was a great time to stay inside and cook. I try to “batch cook” several dishes in advance and freeze them. Then we can still have a home-cooked meal during the week when preparation time is limited.

I also made another huge batch of “salsa del Guido” — it is Guido’s ‘secret recipe’ pasta sauce. (Guido is my chef inspiration). The sauce is great, and goes well with the ravioli, lasagna, stuffed peppers, manicotti… you get the idea. Umm, umm, umm…

Life is short: buon appetito!

All day on Sunday, I carried out my annual project to ensure seniors remain safe: a cadre of some 70 volunteers and I visited 544 homes and replaced 700 batteries in their smoke alarms (some homes had more than one smoke alarm). We also replaced 65 smoke alarms that were over ten years old, which is the recommendation for when a smoke alarm should be completly replaced.

Two major home supplies retailers donated the batteries and smoke alarms. Another major restaurant chain donated pizzas for the volunteers who shared a joyful lunch with some local dignitaries who thanked our donors, the volunteers, and celebrated Fire Prevention Month. We appreciate the donations, even though we got 300 less batteries this year than last. (Honestly, due to the crappy economy, I was really worried that the donations would not come through this year.)

Being “football oblivious,” I had forgotten that the local football team was playing on Sunday afternoon. That’s why most of my volunteers wanted to work an “early shift.” That’s okay, it made for a much quicker and lighter afternoon. It was funny, when I went to an elderly man’s home to swap his smoke alarm’s battery, he thanked me several times for coming, and it was only when I was leaving that I realized why he was thanking me so much. He closed with, “I know you could be watching the game with your buddies, but instead, you’re doing this. Thank you!” I didn’t have the heart to tell him that I don’t care for football and did not even realize that there was a game being played, until someone told me about it.

What did I wear? I “went brown” since it is Autumn — brown sweatshirt, brown leather jeans, and my tall brown Wesco harness boots. Once again… I heard no comments about the leather, though one younger guy volunteering with us asked me about the boots.

Due to his disability, my partner didn’t run around to do installations with me, but instead, remained at the check-in site making sure the volunteers were all accounted for and had the supplies, directions, and release forms that they needed.

We were all done by mid-day. It was time to come home and have some hot chocolate. Man, even though it finally stopped raining, it was cold all day! My partner and and I were completely wiped out, but we felt great about doing this important civic volunteer work. Once again, everyone rallied to a great cause and carried out a huge project superbly, just like they did last year. It really makes me smile and feel good to know that so many people are safer.

Life is short: replace your smoke alarm batteries today!

Saturday, I went to a homecoming party hosted by my college social fraternity at my Alma Mater. Man, what a wet and miserable day. But at least it was only rain, and not snow as has been falling unusually early north of me.

I regret that I couldn’t ride my Harley to the fraternity house. It would have been easier to find a place to park, and “cooler” to arrive on such a ride. However, when it was only 43°F (6°C), raining, and with lots of wet leaves on the ground, even this hard-core biker knew his limits.

It was interesting to meet the new guys and to celebrate the rechartering of my old college fraternity which had closed in the ’90s and only recently was rechartered. They were friendly, greeted me warmly, and were deferential to this “old alum” by bringing me a burger and a Coke and making sure I was comfortable and welcomed.

I realized, though, how much I’ve changed, or should I say what the generation gap displayed. The guys were texting or had cell phones joined-at-the-ear. They had on rap music, and talked about their “techno rave” they had the night before and how much fun they had. I’m glad they had fun, though I told my partner when I came home that such an activity would not have been something I would have liked to do when I was their age. I guess I was born old.

How was I dressed? Well, unfortunately, all of the shirts and t-shirts that had my college fraternity name or logo on them are long-gone, so I wore a black shirt, leather vest, a pair of leather jeans and Chippewa Hi-Shine boots. As usual, no one said a thing about the leather. (I repeat this because some guys who read this blog and continue to tell me that they are concerned about wearing leather in public. Honestly, it is no big deal! Nobody cares!)

Life is short: renew the spirit and enjoy your memories (while doing it in leather and boots!)

I found this on the Internet somewhere, but these sayings are so very applicable to me and many others I know:

I’ve learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles four things:

• A rainy day, elderly people, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights.
  • Rainy day: “oh boy! great time to catch up on reading!” or “let’s cook!”
  • elderly people: show those you love that you love them
  • lost luggage: I hope I get frequent flyer miles for its travel!
  • tangled Christmas tree lights: that’s why we now have a pre-lit tree (smile)

• I’ve learned that making a ‘living’ is not the same thing as making a ‘life.’
  • My one year of ‘unemployment’ while spending time with my uncle during his last year of life was the best ‘living’ I have ever done.

• I’ve learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance.
  • …and third, and fourth… for all my foul-ups, those who care about me continue to extend more opportunities to learn from failure and to succeed eventually.

• I’ve learned that you shouldn’t go through life with a catcher’s mitt on both hands. You need to be able to throw something back sometimes.
  • I never learned how to use a catcher’s mitt anyway (smile)

• I’ve learned that if you pursue happiness, it will elude you. But, if you focus on your family, your friends, the needs of others, your work and doing the very best you can, happiness will find you.
  • oh so true; happiness has found me, and I am blessed.

• I’ve learned that a smile is a choice.
  • I decide to smile often. A smile may be the only sunlight a stranger sees all day!

• I’ve learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decision.
  • This is where my heart leading the mind works wonders.

• I’ve learned that even when I have pains, I don’t have to be one.
  • It is easy to let aches and pains cloud what otherwise is a sunny personality. I take Excedrin and always remember to smile.

• I’ve learned that every day, you should reach out and touch someone.
  • I send birthday cards to over 100 people throughout the year.
  • I check in on friends and family often by phone and email.

• People love that human touch — holding hands, a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back.
  • I have long believed in the importance of touch.

• I’ve learned that I still have a lot to learn.
  • Oh, how true!

Life is short: show those you love that you love them!

Ask twenty-somethings with whom I work, and each will tell you in her or his own way that I am a dinosaur from outer space. Here’s why:

• I don’t text.
  I did not grow up with that communication method, nor find it easy to do. I have no need to be barraged with some text where the sender has an expectation of almost instantaneous response. I will reply to email or a phone message on my schedule, not someone else’s.

• I ask them to call me on my landline at home if they need to use the telephone to reach me after work hours.
  What’s a landline? Who still has landlines? Why don’t you just use your cell phone?

  Well, I don’t have to give my personal reasons, but I prefer to use a regular old telephone, thanks. I often turn my cell phone off after work hours and do not use it on weekends, either. Call me, leave a message if I am unavailable, and I’ll get back to you.

• I don’t tweet on Twitter, use Facebook, or use I.M. programs.
  “Oh, you’re so disconnected,” they say. Okay, so be it. It is much more peaceful and less intrusive that way. I don’t use computer resources at work for personal stuff when I should be working, and I expect them to do the same. My partner has an understandable expectation that I pay attention to him when we are at home, not the computer (so I have significantly reduced computer time at home.)
  

• I don’t spend what I don’t have.
  My goodness, I observe many younger folks spend money like there’s no tomorrow, racking up credit card debt that they’ll never be able to pay off. My first suggestion for getting back on financial track is make a budget (what’s that?). Dump the cell phone and texting plan. There are so many people who have significant debt yet think nothing of paying US$50 to US$100 or more each month for cell charges. Buy groceries, learn how to cook, and eat at home. Pay off your debt before incurring more on an ongoing basis!

Yes, I definitely have that “generation gap thing” going on. I continue to work on and adopt technologies and ways of doing things that are helpful, but non-intrusive. I guess that’s where the major differences are: I am annoyed by multi-stream intrusions, and my younger staff live a multi-tasking life 24/7.

Life is short: disconnect for a while and enjoy peace!