Friday, May 29, 2020

Here's Something...


...I've never seen before...our very own personal rainbow in our backyard...sudden rain showers on a sunny day and voila...

...instant pot o' gold.

If only.

Those light showers did eventually turn into a heavy downpour...

Gotta love Michigan weather.



A little while ago I brought hope and inspiration to you, my beleaguered readers, with a heartwarming photo of heroic leaves, still clinging to their tree branch.

When all others had lost hope and been swept away by the cruel winter winds, those determined leaves refused to give in, follow the crowd and succumb.  Against all odds they were still hanging on for dear life.

I even dug deep into the inspirational files and found a quote from that obscure philosopher from days gone by, Novalis.
pretty sure that's a guy...

How's that for impressive?  I mean, the more esoteric the author, the more profound the quote, am I right?

Well today I bring you an update...

Here we are nearing the end of May, and they're still hanging on.

So now I have a new message to share:

Enough already!

Give it up, ok?  Nobody likes a show off.

It's summer and that dried up dead leaf look is so last fall.

Talk about overstaying your welcome...




Stumbled onto something that - so far - seems to have advanced the evolution of my golf swing...
...and yes, I worded it that way for the sole purpose of using that picture...hey, I like that picture.

As anyone who's ever swung a club knows, there are approximately 10 million things you have to do right to get a good result...and messing up on any one of those 10 million things typically results in disaster...
I like this one, too


...so what am I doing to avoid the Kraken of Golf Swings?

I'm mentally talking myself through my shot while I'm doing it.

Doesn't sound like much, but previously I reviewed in my head what I was about to do, then tried to clear my mind, step up and do it.

Now I'm actually coaching myself through it from beginning to end.

And yes, I hear the heckling...

...from all the good golfers out there:

"You're over thinking it!  Just do it!"

Lucky boys and girls...God bless you and your natural talent.

My brother Phil was a natural...he just swung away with marvelous results that kept him hanging around par seemingly without effort.

It was wonderful to watch, maddening to play against.

Sadly, it just ain't that way in my world...golf - and more to the point, hickory golf - is an interesting riddle for me...but it is tiresome to figure out what I did wrong, immediately after I did it.

This new method of keeping myself on track during my swing seems to be helping, at least while I'm practicing.

'Tisn't perfect by a long shot, but I'm seeing some progress.

We'll see if any of this translates into better results on the links.



A couple of weeks ago I mentioned a beautiful art deco home built in 1926...
shades of American Foursquare

...a very cool Gatsby House available for the paltry sum of $650,000...and today Karen and I walked through it...
me negotiating with the bouncer in an attempt to gain entrance...


Karen standing in the elegant foyer...

...and yes, it's big...

Took lots of pictures and it is, as expected, lovely inside...

...and out.

Even the doorbell is amazing...

...it's a musical event when someone rings it...which of course I did...twice.

It's wonderful in many ways...
the view from the balcony...which is one of the reasons it's been on the market for more than 210 days now...

...elegant decor, well maintained, spacious without sprawling...but IMHO it's overpriced.

Why?

Because their main view is of the McMansions across the street...while the view from those McMansions is of the lake...and that makes them worth a million plus.

So there it languishes on the commoners' side of the street, flanked on either side by homes valued at half its asking price.

Tough place to be, and I imagine the owners are a tad mystified as to why their spectacular dwelling hasn't been snapped up by someone with impeccable taste (and plenty of money).

And who knows?

Maybe tomorrow someone with deep pockets will do just that...but more than 7 months ago they listed it at $690,000...now it's at $650,000 and still it sits.

One of two things is bound to happen...either Snobbius Foppington III will decide to buy it as a bauble for his beloved daughter Muffy who's currently between husbands and about to marry that worthless lout Biff...
pray they don't have children

...or else the bright rays of reality will pierce the owners' fog of unreasonable expectations and the price will continue its earthward trend.

Eventually someone will negotiate a more realistic price and they'll end up in their very own Historical Treasure.

Either way, it won't be us.



Sights seen 'round the ol' homestead...
o deer...must be lunchtime...


I spy a robin's nest...do you?


of course you do.


the rain convinced Rory Calhoun to seek shelter...




summer snowballs



Irises in bloom...




late May early morning fire



It's Friday night and the weekend beckons...golf in the morning, then a busy day trying to hide from Karen and her outdoor work projects....

later, mcm fans...


* Crass Commercialism Corner *

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Sunday, May 10, 2020

Guess What We Did...


...on Mother's Day? 

If you guessed "stood in the middle of the road taking pictures?" you're close.

We drove around Holland taking pics of all the beautiful tulips...

...and by "we", I mean of course Karen took the pics...all I did was drive and follow instructions..."pull over here..."

"...ok, now over there..."

Then we drove over to Windmill Island...everything's closed because of the widespread panic - no Tulip Time this year for the first time in 91 years...

...but you can still walk around and look at all the flowers...

...and it's free...

So Happy Mother's Day, y'all...hope it was a good one.



We also drove by our next home...

...a beautiful art deco masterpiece built in 1926...

Can't you see my brand new 1927 Model T parked out front?

Yeah...neither can I...but it is a beautiful home...

...filled with exquisite hand crafted tile, gorgeous woodwork and elegant chandeliers...

Unfortunately I seem to have mislaid that $650,000 I was planning to use to buy it...

I've looked in all my usual hidey holes...

...so far without success.

Oh well...I'll keep looking...gotta be around here someplace...



Dropped below freezing this weekend and chapped many of the blossoms we had, but here are a couple of pics I took before the frost:




...mostly gone now, unfortunately.

Also saw a tree top daredevil while I was walking around the property...

Did you spot him?  Here's a closer look...

Brave little bugger.



Ah yes...Crying Man...

...managed to shed another 3 pounds this past week...now at 201, down from 220.

Still feels and looks like another 5 or 6 to go unfortunately.

Seems like the closer I get the farther away the goal line is.

Maybe I should just forget the whole thing and photoshop the results I need.

Hey look!  There I am now...

That was a lot easier...should have thought of that weeks ago.



In The History Corner...

...recognize these guys?

Well of course you do...the portly gentleman in the center is Leland Stanford of the Central Pacific railroad, who on May 10th of 1869 drove in the ceremonial gold spike to mark the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad.

That signified the joining of the Union and Central Pacific railways which changed our country forever.

Instead of taking weeks by boat or months by Wagon train, it now took days to cross our great country from the East to the West Coast.

Not surprisingly, the next 50 years were marked by explosive growth as people and goods now had a far more efficient and less expensive way to travel.

Also on this day in 1877, President Rutherford B. Hayes...

...had the very first telephone installed in the White House.

Any idea what the White House phone number was in 1877?

If you guessed "1" you're either a gentle(wo)man and a scholar, or a pretty good guesser.

Rutherford may have wondered why no one ever called him...

...but back then there were no telephone exchanges in existence yet - it would be another year before the first one was established in Connecticut.

At least he was ready.



And that, gentle reader, marks the blessed conclusion of yet another week of excellence in blogging.

Not here of course...at the AMC we just churn out the same ol' grist, week after week.

But someone, somewhere, is doing a truly excellent job of web logging, or at least we hope they are.

And with all our friends and associates, we salute them...

Hee Haw aficionados, you know what I'm talking about...

later, mcm fans...

* Crass Commercialism Corner *

In the "so convenient you can't stand it" department, you can purchase my books here and on Amazon.com!

Get your paperback books here:



Get your ebooks here: