It's not as though I actually have a problem with older drivers! I have no serious problem with people who drive with one-or-the-other of their blinkers on all the way from their drive way to their destination. It is not as though I can't pass someone who decides that they want to drive down the interstate at 45.
What I do have an issue with is those drivers who are obviously operating under the influence of stupidity. Like the Old Dear that nearly ran me off the road yesterday TWICE! It probably wasn't entirely her fault. What really irritated me was the she did it to me twice in the space of 100 yards!
As I was leaving work I encountered the old dear, who was driving a vehicle way too big for her, at the first traffic light. (Though, at this point, I hadn't yet actually noticed the old dear. It was just another humongous red SUV in the inside lane.) As we went through the intersection, she (without signaling) changed lanes into the lane I was in. It wasn't immediately she just sort-of drifted into my lane until she was in it, shoving me over into the verge. I almost hit the curb trying to get over so she could get over into my lane.
I let it go, looking over, at the driver I saw her for the first time, a sweet old thing. But that vehicle was far too big for her! She looked like Dr. Ruth trying to drive a Hummer! I just shook my head and returned my attention to driving. Then, not fifty yards on, she did it again. I caught it in my peripheral vision, that big expanse of burgundy metal drifting into my lane!
There was nothing I could do. There was no breakdown lane for me to get into, only a curb and then a tree-studded slope down to a lake. I laid on my horn. If she was going to hit me, I wanted her to know she was going to hit me! The result? She turned on her right turn indicator!
I hit the horn again and this time I gunned it to try and get out of her way (her headlamps would have hit my driver's door had she completed her lane shift). She seemed to see me for the first time. She overreacted and jerked the wheel left and slammed on her brakes. She came to a dead stop in-between my lane and hers, straddling the line, effectively blocking both.
She looked at me sheepishly and gave me a wan smile, a little wave, and then pulled in behind me. I continued through my turn and went to merge onto the interstate. The last I saw of her was in my rear-view mirror. She was still sitting at the last corner stopped and looking to see if she could merge (even though it was a protected turn with a continuing lane) I half wonder if she will still be sitting there this morning when I get to the office.
Speaking of which, I had best get to the office. Wherever you are today, I hope your day is excellent!
Don Bergquist – May 08, 2008 – Lakewood, Colorado, USA
07 May 2008
The Back Of The Front
The morning started with a bang. (Well, technically, with a boom!)
A front passed over Lakewood yesterday afternoon/last night heralded by cloud cover and winds. Some time over night, the cloud cover built and the rain started; a nice, soft rain that wets everything slowly and soaks in!
Just the kind of rain that I needed to water in the grass seed, plants, and trees that I planted over the past weekend. Knowing the rain was coming, I didn't put out the sprinkler last night when I got home from the office.
This morning with the rain falling and the winds calmed to a good stiff breeze, the thunder and lightening started. It was a nice, cool evening so I was sleeping with the windows open; at about 03:00, I heard the first rumblings. (For all I know I'd slept through earlier rumbles, but this was the first I'd heard.)
The thunder echoed off the front range a few miles to the west and filled the valley I live in with a sound more like a jet flying over or a truck on a distant highway than like a thunderclap. I lay there wondering what I had heard for a while. Saga stirred in the next room; I could hear her name tag jingle against her rabies vaccination tag. Just as I was about to close my eyes and try to sleep again the room was ablaze with light. The after image of the room danced in negative before my eyes after the room darkened again. And then, even though I was half-expecting it, a large clap of thunder made me jump. That was close!
Saga came into the room at a trot, jumped on the bed and worked her way under the covers. She gave me one sheepish look and then curled-up and started snoring. Half out of bed after my start anyway, I hopped over to the window, closed it and pulled the curtains closed.
I was able to get a quick nap in before it was time to get up for work. Walking Saga later, I saw that the storm, while full of sound and fury, and barely left a trace in the rain gauge. Everything was nicely wet, the leaves were dripping contentedly as we passed. The ground had that pleasant squishy feel that indicates that the grass is getting a good sip of water.
Both the weather casters I saw this morning on the two local stations I switch between in the mornings, are saying that we are going to have this rain most of the day! That's great! We need the moisture!
But now, it's time to head out to the office. Saga is curled-up in the easy chair here in my home office, and the house is secured against the possibility of heavier rain today.
Wherever you are, I hope that your day is a lovely one!
Don Bergquist - May 07, 2008 - Lakewood, Colorado, USA
A front passed over Lakewood yesterday afternoon/last night heralded by cloud cover and winds. Some time over night, the cloud cover built and the rain started; a nice, soft rain that wets everything slowly and soaks in!
Just the kind of rain that I needed to water in the grass seed, plants, and trees that I planted over the past weekend. Knowing the rain was coming, I didn't put out the sprinkler last night when I got home from the office.
This morning with the rain falling and the winds calmed to a good stiff breeze, the thunder and lightening started. It was a nice, cool evening so I was sleeping with the windows open; at about 03:00, I heard the first rumblings. (For all I know I'd slept through earlier rumbles, but this was the first I'd heard.)
The thunder echoed off the front range a few miles to the west and filled the valley I live in with a sound more like a jet flying over or a truck on a distant highway than like a thunderclap. I lay there wondering what I had heard for a while. Saga stirred in the next room; I could hear her name tag jingle against her rabies vaccination tag. Just as I was about to close my eyes and try to sleep again the room was ablaze with light. The after image of the room danced in negative before my eyes after the room darkened again. And then, even though I was half-expecting it, a large clap of thunder made me jump. That was close!
Saga came into the room at a trot, jumped on the bed and worked her way under the covers. She gave me one sheepish look and then curled-up and started snoring. Half out of bed after my start anyway, I hopped over to the window, closed it and pulled the curtains closed.
I was able to get a quick nap in before it was time to get up for work. Walking Saga later, I saw that the storm, while full of sound and fury, and barely left a trace in the rain gauge. Everything was nicely wet, the leaves were dripping contentedly as we passed. The ground had that pleasant squishy feel that indicates that the grass is getting a good sip of water.
Both the weather casters I saw this morning on the two local stations I switch between in the mornings, are saying that we are going to have this rain most of the day! That's great! We need the moisture!
But now, it's time to head out to the office. Saga is curled-up in the easy chair here in my home office, and the house is secured against the possibility of heavier rain today.
Wherever you are, I hope that your day is a lovely one!
Don Bergquist - May 07, 2008 - Lakewood, Colorado, USA
06 May 2008
Mid-Life Crisis
There's an old joke that it is better to be a man than a women. You see, when women go through "the change" they got hot flashes and mood swings when men go through the change, they get sports cars and young girlfriends. I though of this old joke yesterday on my way home from the office because driving down Hampton avenue on my way home I was passed by a bright red Mustang convertible. It was being driven by a guy with a silver-gray Mohawk.
Now, seeing a Mohawk on a guy around here is not all that unusual, and the color threw me for a second... I barely noticed the driver (I still miss my convertible and tend to notice them when they pass me.) so when he passed and I did notice the hair and the gray is actually what I noticed. It is the same gray that my dad has on his head; a vibrant silvery-gray. (To be honest, it is the same gray that my hair is turning.)
But a gray Mohawk? Why would any kid make such a fashion statement? What would that statement be? "I already wear my pants sagging so now I want to complete the look of being old so I have dyed my hair gray?" (Dad, your were a fashion plate way before your time!)
But at the next light, when I caught-up with the bright, shiny, red convertible, I looked over, admiring the car. Then I took another look at the driver. He obviously earned the gray hair. (Even if only by living the seventy-years he looked like he had under his belt.)
So what else was I to conclude... This is a man going through Male Menopause. I'd bet that when he has a seat cover in the passenger seat, she is half his age! When I am his age, I hope I can do as well.
Wherever you are today, I hope that your life is flashy!
Don Bergquist - May 06, 2008 - Lakewood, Colorado, USA
Now, seeing a Mohawk on a guy around here is not all that unusual, and the color threw me for a second... I barely noticed the driver (I still miss my convertible and tend to notice them when they pass me.) so when he passed and I did notice the hair and the gray is actually what I noticed. It is the same gray that my dad has on his head; a vibrant silvery-gray. (To be honest, it is the same gray that my hair is turning.)
But a gray Mohawk? Why would any kid make such a fashion statement? What would that statement be? "I already wear my pants sagging so now I want to complete the look of being old so I have dyed my hair gray?" (Dad, your were a fashion plate way before your time!)
But at the next light, when I caught-up with the bright, shiny, red convertible, I looked over, admiring the car. Then I took another look at the driver. He obviously earned the gray hair. (Even if only by living the seventy-years he looked like he had under his belt.)
So what else was I to conclude... This is a man going through Male Menopause. I'd bet that when he has a seat cover in the passenger seat, she is half his age! When I am his age, I hope I can do as well.
Wherever you are today, I hope that your life is flashy!
Don Bergquist - May 06, 2008 - Lakewood, Colorado, USA
05 May 2008
Damn! I Was Right!
Well, I am sorry to say that I was right!
All the labor of the past weekend is really wreaking havoc on my back this morning! Look, I sit at a desk, at a computer, all day five days a week and do not really have to do a lot of heavy lifting. It is not as if I am exactly out of shape, okay, I carry some extra poundage, and I am not as active as I might be, but my doctor has told me that apart from that, I am healthier than most the patients he sees.
But, it is definitely true that using muscles you don't usually use is asking for trouble and today, trouble has come to call!
I guess that is why Naproxim Sodium was invented. I love this stuff! I was given it after a car crash many years ago and it really kills pain with no real side-affects! I am so glad that it is available over the counter! (I sound like a commercial for Aleave.)
I'm off to take some pill and then to the office.
Wherever you are today, I hope that you are feeling well!
Don Bergquist - May 05, 2008 - Lakewood, Colorado, USA
All the labor of the past weekend is really wreaking havoc on my back this morning! Look, I sit at a desk, at a computer, all day five days a week and do not really have to do a lot of heavy lifting. It is not as if I am exactly out of shape, okay, I carry some extra poundage, and I am not as active as I might be, but my doctor has told me that apart from that, I am healthier than most the patients he sees.
But, it is definitely true that using muscles you don't usually use is asking for trouble and today, trouble has come to call!
I guess that is why Naproxim Sodium was invented. I love this stuff! I was given it after a car crash many years ago and it really kills pain with no real side-affects! I am so glad that it is available over the counter! (I sound like a commercial for Aleave.)
I'm off to take some pill and then to the office.
Wherever you are today, I hope that you are feeling well!
Don Bergquist - May 05, 2008 - Lakewood, Colorado, USA
04 May 2008
Weekend Gardening
Oh! I just know that I am going to be paying for this tomorrow! I am probably going to be so sore when I wake up.
It is such a lovely weekend that the planting of the aspens I did yesterday was just not enough... This morning, bright and early, I headed back down to the garden center and did some more shopping. I had a few other things I have wanted to do for a while now, so I figured: Heck! Why not today?
About a hundred dollars later, I had some seed, some plants, some soil, and a couple new gardening tools and was back at home with my morning's labor planned-out ahead of me. the first thing I did was to lay-out some drip irrigation hose around the perimeter of the fence that lines my little private area of the complex. While I was at it (and having to use the whole 100' of hose), I also laid it around the base of the aspen trees that are planted between my patio and the trash bin enclosure.
This involved removing a couple of the fence pickets so that I could bury the hose under the fence to get it out to the trees then back in again. It also involved going around the base of the trees on my hands and knees to bury the hose under the gravel mulch (the dirt in the entire area is covered with a few inches of golfball sized rocks).
That job completed, I then cleared more of this gravel (Can golfball sized rocks really still be called gravel?) from the outside of the fence that surrounds the trash bins. This is an area between the walkway to the entry to my home and the fence. The area is about twelve feet long and two feet wide. The reclaimed rocks went to build-up the covering over the irrigation hose and the space around the rose bush at the other side of the enclosure. I removed the top couple inches of soil/rock combination as well and laid in a new covering of top soil that I could then plant in.
Next, I leveled out the soil and sowed it with wildflower seeds so that it would look really nice in a couple weeks when the flowers start to come in. I planted a combination of violas, cosmos, and miniature snapdragons in the area and also sowed the seed in the established planting area that I made years ago at the end of my patio.
Perhaps this fall I will plant bulbs in that area as well, but I really can't think that far ahead right now. For today, my gardening is done and I hope my neighbors will get as much joy out of the color to come as I am sure that I will. I think that now it is time for a walk with Saga and then, perhaps, a nap!
Wherever you are today, I hope that you're having a great weekend!
Don Bergquist - May 04, 2008 - Lakewood, Colorado, USA
It is such a lovely weekend that the planting of the aspens I did yesterday was just not enough... This morning, bright and early, I headed back down to the garden center and did some more shopping. I had a few other things I have wanted to do for a while now, so I figured: Heck! Why not today?
About a hundred dollars later, I had some seed, some plants, some soil, and a couple new gardening tools and was back at home with my morning's labor planned-out ahead of me. the first thing I did was to lay-out some drip irrigation hose around the perimeter of the fence that lines my little private area of the complex. While I was at it (and having to use the whole 100' of hose), I also laid it around the base of the aspen trees that are planted between my patio and the trash bin enclosure.
This involved removing a couple of the fence pickets so that I could bury the hose under the fence to get it out to the trees then back in again. It also involved going around the base of the trees on my hands and knees to bury the hose under the gravel mulch (the dirt in the entire area is covered with a few inches of golfball sized rocks).
That job completed, I then cleared more of this gravel (Can golfball sized rocks really still be called gravel?) from the outside of the fence that surrounds the trash bins. This is an area between the walkway to the entry to my home and the fence. The area is about twelve feet long and two feet wide. The reclaimed rocks went to build-up the covering over the irrigation hose and the space around the rose bush at the other side of the enclosure. I removed the top couple inches of soil/rock combination as well and laid in a new covering of top soil that I could then plant in.
Next, I leveled out the soil and sowed it with wildflower seeds so that it would look really nice in a couple weeks when the flowers start to come in. I planted a combination of violas, cosmos, and miniature snapdragons in the area and also sowed the seed in the established planting area that I made years ago at the end of my patio.
Perhaps this fall I will plant bulbs in that area as well, but I really can't think that far ahead right now. For today, my gardening is done and I hope my neighbors will get as much joy out of the color to come as I am sure that I will. I think that now it is time for a walk with Saga and then, perhaps, a nap!
Wherever you are today, I hope that you're having a great weekend!
Don Bergquist - May 04, 2008 - Lakewood, Colorado, USA
03 May 2008
Aspen Lodge
I really love Quaking Aspens! From the silvery bark to the pale green/gray of the leaves in the spring to the striking gold of the fall foliage. I absolutely think that they are one of the prettiest (non-flowering) trees around!
A few years back, I planted three of them in front of my condo; sort-of as a little screening between my home and the neighbor's, they give me hours of joy as I sit on my deck reading, listening to the wind rustle the leaves. I also love watching them as the slightest breeze makes the leaves shake and shuffle. It is the flat stem that connects the leaves to the branches that allow the slightest breeze to make the whole tree come alive. It is this physiology of the tree that gives the tree its name.
This spring, I decided to extend the privacy screening a bit and add a few trees to the planting I had done.
They are fast growing, so the new trees will soon be high enough to help extend the privacy screening between the buildings, and there will be all that much more color for me to revel in immediately.
While I was living abroad, one of the things I loved about the villages I lived in and frequented, was the naming of all the homes. Every home, it seems, has a name. And these names are descriptive of the home. In Thames Ditton, there is a home called "The Dormers" whose main outstanding aspect is the inclusion these unusual curved dormers that grace the roof line. Then there is "Two Trees" which retains its name, though the two huge oaks that used to grace the front garden are now just stumps. "River Cottage" is on a side-street overlooking the Thames, and "Ivy Lodge" is, of course, covered in a thick matting of ivy from the ground to the roof line.
My guess, though I have no independent proof of this. - I'd love to get either confirmation or correction of this assertion. - Is that the names predate the general literacy of the population. It makes as much sense as any other explanation I can come-up with. I am imagining that it started out as someone giving directions:
Wherever you are, I hope you're doing something today to make your world a more beautiful place!
Don Bergquist - May 03, 2008 - Lakewood, Colorado, USA
A few years back, I planted three of them in front of my condo; sort-of as a little screening between my home and the neighbor's, they give me hours of joy as I sit on my deck reading, listening to the wind rustle the leaves. I also love watching them as the slightest breeze makes the leaves shake and shuffle. It is the flat stem that connects the leaves to the branches that allow the slightest breeze to make the whole tree come alive. It is this physiology of the tree that gives the tree its name.
This spring, I decided to extend the privacy screening a bit and add a few trees to the planting I had done.
They are fast growing, so the new trees will soon be high enough to help extend the privacy screening between the buildings, and there will be all that much more color for me to revel in immediately.While I was living abroad, one of the things I loved about the villages I lived in and frequented, was the naming of all the homes. Every home, it seems, has a name. And these names are descriptive of the home. In Thames Ditton, there is a home called "The Dormers" whose main outstanding aspect is the inclusion these unusual curved dormers that grace the roof line. Then there is "Two Trees" which retains its name, though the two huge oaks that used to grace the front garden are now just stumps. "River Cottage" is on a side-street overlooking the Thames, and "Ivy Lodge" is, of course, covered in a thick matting of ivy from the ground to the roof line.
My guess, though I have no independent proof of this. - I'd love to get either confirmation or correction of this assertion. - Is that the names predate the general literacy of the population. It makes as much sense as any other explanation I can come-up with. I am imagining that it started out as someone giving directions:
Go down to the house with the dormers, you'll know the one... then turn right and continue down the road until you get to the house with the two trees out front.The the smith lives in the little cottage at the end of the road covered with ivy."In this spirit, I have decided that my home will now (even if not officially) will have a name. Henceforth, I plan to refer to my home as the Aspen Lodge. I think it gives it an old-world charm.
The directions (I imagine)would have eventually been shortened by dropping some of the "extra" words: "Go down to The Dormers, turn right and continue to the Two Trees. The smith lives in the Ivy Cottage at the end of the road."
Wherever you are, I hope you're doing something today to make your world a more beautiful place!
Don Bergquist - May 03, 2008 - Lakewood, Colorado, USA
02 May 2008
A Fine Day For A Fun Fair
I shouldn't really be in the mood for it, but for some reason, 
I've had the annual fun fair that happens on the Hampton Court Green about this time every year in mind. It snowed a good part of yesterday and I understand that the weather in Surrey has not really been all that great either, but for some reason, the call of the midway has been tugging at me for the past couple days.
I've got this strong desire to ingest strange, unidentifiable (and almost exclusively deep-fried) food stuffs, climb aboard machines that spin,
twirl, or otherwise seem to have been intentionally designed to save you from food poisoning )by relieving you of all the midway foods you've eaten), and generally act as if I were ten-years-old again!
My friend, Angie, has this love of carousels and I have ridden as many of them in the past couple years as I had in my life previously, hopping on them at every opportunity with Angie and Terry. They really do bring-out the child in one!
Of course, that experience made me miss a question in a general knowledge quiz
I was competing in with some colleagues here at the office. I got the question "wrong" (by which I mean I didn't give the answer that the questioner expected) and had to petition to have the question disqualified. I succeeded on the grounds that the question was ambiguous and I was not the only one who got it wrong.
The question was: "What direction, when viewed from the top looking down, do merry-go-rounds spin?"
Okay, it's a 50/50 chance. I answered clockwise. (The answer desired was counterclockwise.) I produced pictures of the ones I had been riding on in the UK and there was not one that spun in the counterclockwise (anti-clockwise) direction. Doing further research, I did discover that over half the carousels in the US do, in fact, spin the other direction, but in Europe, they are much more likely to spin clockwise. Why? Who knows!
I didn't win the competition, but the point (as is with the point of the Fun Fairs) was to have fun, and that I did!
Wherever you are today, I hope you're having fun!
Don Bergquist – May 02, 2008 – Lakewood, Colorado, USA
I've had the annual fun fair that happens on the Hampton Court Green about this time every year in mind. It snowed a good part of yesterday and I understand that the weather in Surrey has not really been all that great either, but for some reason, the call of the midway has been tugging at me for the past couple days.I've got this strong desire to ingest strange, unidentifiable (and almost exclusively deep-fried) food stuffs, climb aboard machines that spin,
twirl, or otherwise seem to have been intentionally designed to save you from food poisoning )by relieving you of all the midway foods you've eaten), and generally act as if I were ten-years-old again!My friend, Angie, has this love of carousels and I have ridden as many of them in the past couple years as I had in my life previously, hopping on them at every opportunity with Angie and Terry. They really do bring-out the child in one!
Of course, that experience made me miss a question in a general knowledge quiz
I was competing in with some colleagues here at the office. I got the question "wrong" (by which I mean I didn't give the answer that the questioner expected) and had to petition to have the question disqualified. I succeeded on the grounds that the question was ambiguous and I was not the only one who got it wrong.The question was: "What direction, when viewed from the top looking down, do merry-go-rounds spin?"
Okay, it's a 50/50 chance. I answered clockwise. (The answer desired was counterclockwise.) I produced pictures of the ones I had been riding on in the UK and there was not one that spun in the counterclockwise (anti-clockwise) direction. Doing further research, I did discover that over half the carousels in the US do, in fact, spin the other direction, but in Europe, they are much more likely to spin clockwise. Why? Who knows!
I didn't win the competition, but the point (as is with the point of the Fun Fairs) was to have fun, and that I did!
Wherever you are today, I hope you're having fun!
Don Bergquist – May 02, 2008 – Lakewood, Colorado, USA
01 May 2008
Weather Report
The past few days have been absolutely, the deep blue of the skies, the clement temperatures, the fine spring blossoms. But that is here in Lakewood. I have been on the phone to my colleagues in Thames Ditton over the past few days. While discussing our projects, we have shared updates on what is going on and apparently, they have been having lots of rain and storms.
Unfortunately, the nice weather is coming to an end. It is supposed to rain and snow today. The skies were gray as I walked Saga in her park. The weather was cold enough that I needed a jacket. Such a difference from the 80s we had yesterday!
Ah, well! This too shall pass! Besides, we need the moisture!
Wherever you are today, I hope you have the weather you need!
Don Bergquist - May 01, 2008 - Lakewood, Colorado, USA
Unfortunately, the nice weather is coming to an end. It is supposed to rain and snow today. The skies were gray as I walked Saga in her park. The weather was cold enough that I needed a jacket. Such a difference from the 80s we had yesterday!
Ah, well! This too shall pass! Besides, we need the moisture!
Wherever you are today, I hope you have the weather you need!
Don Bergquist - May 01, 2008 - Lakewood, Colorado, USA
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)