Back to Work

I spent the past three days helping my spouse care for his mother. Her situation is bad… I’ll have to return to her home in Pittsburgh later this week as we get care set up for her. We think she…
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Vacation Plans–Caregiving Again

I was concerned that this would happen. My spouse’s mother is in sad shape both physically and mentally. She lives in a small decrepit, run-down suburb in Western Pennsylvania, all alone in the only house she has known for more than 65 years. She has no friends or family close by. She is poorly educated, fearful, neurotic, borderline malnourished, and her health is getting worse. She has 87 years.

My sister-in-law spent 3 weeks with her in June and early July, but as soon as she left, my mother-in-law got worse. My spouse has been…
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Boot Sole Care

rp_Lucbrown09.jpgSomeone wrote to me recently and said,

I used conditioner and paste polish on a pair of inherited Vintage Lucchese cowboy boots. I even polished the bottom of the sole. The conditioning or polishing darkened the leather of the sole. Did I lessen the value of the boots?

Well, ummm… you did what? Applied paste wax shoe polish to the soles of cowboy boots?

I worked hard to refrain from saying…
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Leading a Ride

Rideblog3I worked out time to lead a ride for my club on Sunday. I was pleased that 14 riders showed up, which was outstanding considering that the air temperature at the time of our initial gathering was 95F (35C) with dew points (measurement of humidity) at 75F (24C) making the heat index feel like it was 124F (over 50C!)

As long as we kept riding…
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Busily Booted and Loved

I am working very hard at my meetings in California. I am presenting, organizing, and am meeting non-stop. I love what I do, but man — I’m busy! Begins with breakfast meetings, then meeting-meetings, then lunch meetings, then meeting over dinner.

What boots am I wearing for all of these meetings?
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California Again

SanDiegoHere I am in California again. Second time this year; probably the zillionth time in my lifetime. (Seriously… California is the U. S. state in which I have spent the most time outside my home state of Maryland, excluding the District of Columbia [which is not a state, anyway]).

This time…
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