Bruce's Travels

Last posting for this blog in 2016. As I've said from the beginning, these musings are more a journal than anything else for my own edification and remembrance. As someone once said, you should maintain at least a nodding acquaintance with the person you used to be. I am glad that a few of you have enjoyed the (mostly happy) journey with me, while enduring my occasional grousings, rants, and pet peeves. As I write this on Friday Dec. 30, Southwest Florida is experience what for me is some blessed relief from unseasonably warm temps. It has been in the high 80s for most of December. Fort Myers has set several temperature records, and we (sister Dawn and I) have been running the AC near constantly to maintain an indoor temp of 72 degrees. This, by the way, is considered "sweater wearing temperature" for most native Floridians, but for us two northerners is quite pleasant. So today will reach 68 degrees. It won't last long. By Sunday, it is predicted to be back in th...

"It's Christmas Eve! It's the one night of the year when we all act a little nicer, we... we... we smile a little easier, we... w-w-we... we... we cheer a little more. For a couple of hours out of the whole year, we are the people that we always hoped we would be." -- Bill Murray, "Scrooged" Hi everyone. We (Dawn and I) are preparing for a small and quiet (but nevertheless jolly) Christmas here in Fort Myers. I found a lovely little prime rib roast at the Winn Dixie. Just two joints, so it is just the right size ... 2.6 pounds to be exact. I'm going to rub it down with some rosemary, salt, and pepper, and roast it for about 45 minutes to medium-rare. Serve with baked potato, and I'm thinking a pear-Gorgonzola salad with balsamic vinaigrette as the greens. Something festive for dessert, perhaps a red velvet cake, I haven't worked that part out yet. I'm just going to cite a few highlights from this past week rather than going chronologica...

Sitting out here in the Lanai. I have a load of laundry going in the washer. Mundane chores still have to be done. (Cat) Abby is to my left. It's sunny and 82 degrees, while in Madison where most of my "peeps" are, it's 4 degrees ... a 78 degree temperature difference. Been a bad week for you all with a big snow dump, and then bitter cold. My sympathies. With last two mild winters, and mild temps into December this year, it's easy to forgot how booger-freezingly cold it can get up there. Well, the wheel of fortune finally came up bankrupt, and you're in the deep freeze. What do we have for them, Vanna? Slippery roads and sidewalks, cars that won't start, freezing pipes, and enforced idleness. Well, hope you can make the best of it. Break out the books, the board games, and the hot cocoa. (Niece) Kris and (Nephew) Jim, all kidding/ribbing aside I really hope can make a break for it, that they can clear a runway for you, and you can get down here for your cr...

Friday Dec. 2 Fleamasters flea market today. Visited Chris the Book Guy with a grocery list of about 12 books that sis-in-law Julie is wanting for the cruise. Only found one of them, "Personal" by Lee Child. This is another in the "Jack Reacher" series, which is way outside Julie's usual wheelhouse of "chick lit," but whatever. I also found an art book, photo mosaics by artist Robert Silvers. These are really cool, and made up of hundreds and even thousands of individual photographs. One of his more famous works is "Flamingo." I will use these mosaics as background to take pictures of watches. (See Saturday's entry for more info on this.) The two books cost me a grand total of $4. Today, (sister) Dawn attended the memorial service of  Wilhelmina Corbin, ("Mother Corbin") mother-in-law of Dawn's boss, Randall (Randy) Henderson Jr., who is mayor of Fort Myers. She died Nov. 16 at the age of 98. Services were at 4 p.m...

To quote comedian Dennis Miller, "I don't mean to go off on a rant here, but ... " ... has anyone noticed the prices recently of going to see live theater events? I was thinking the other day a nice Christmas gift for (sister) Dawn -- and myself -- would be tickets to see something live at the Barbara B. Mann, our local performing arts center. The Book of Mormon is playing there Jan. 24-29, and Billy Crystal performs for one night on January 30. I went to BB Mann website, thinking I would find some nice tickets for around $100 a person. Anyone want to guess what floor (orchestra) seats cost for either event? Anyone? Bueller? How about $265 per ticket? That's right. Over $500 for the two of us to see either Mormon or Crystal. For $100 apiece, I couldn't even get a pair of nosebleeds up on the balcony. Sheesh. I mean I not one of those old codgers who sits around mourning the loss of nickel candy bars or one dollar haircuts. I realize the cost of living has ...

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Thursday Nov. 24 Dawn and I had a light breakfast at the condo, and then watched the Macy's parade as is our tradition for the last few years. We can tell we are getting older when over half the songs and artists seem to be rap-based. Loved the Rockettes, but oh my god Tony Bennett please retire. Thanks, though, to Miss Piggy for saving him from falling off the float. With our bigger kitchen, we decided to make a homecooked meal at the condo rather than go out. We had baked a Mrs. Smith's pumpkin pie the night before. We put a Jenny-O turkey breast in the oven about 10:30 a.m., and made mashed potatoes, stuffing, green bean casserole, and cranberry sauce to go with. And of course gravy. Everything was delicious, and we played Scrabble in the afternoon. In the evening, I boiled the turkey carcass and picked it clean, and made matzo ball soup for dinner with plenty left over. It was a big day in the kitchen and we ended up doing three loads in the...

Dawn and I have noticed that, for the second year in a row, the local oranges aren't very good. They're dry and pithy and kind of sour ... not like the sweet, juicy oranges we remember. So I did a little investigating and found out that the oranges (and indeed all the citrus crops) here are being devastated by a bacterium (singular of bacteria) that is spread by an insect no larger than a grain of rice. The bug is the Asian citrus psyllid, and the disease is called "huanglongbing" or more commonly "tree greening" down here. Yep, it's a gift from our Asian friends, and the bacterium is so devastating to citrus crops that in 2003, the United States classified it as a bioterror weapon. At first, affected trees produce off-color, mis-shapen fruit that have an off- or bitter flavor. Eventually, the trees drop their fruit prematurely, and both trees and their fruit are useless. The Florida Dept. of Agriculture has been keeping its eye on this disease since 1...

Hi all: I've been in Florida one week already. The time flies by. Enjoying morning coffee and smoothie on the lanai. Dawn is at work; Abby is across from me, sleeping on one of the patio chairs. This is definitely her favorite room during the day. My travels here were some of the smoothest so far. Only one accident on the Interstate just north of Nashville. My accommodations in Clarksville (TN) and Tifton (GA) were there usual adequate. Abby once again was the perfect little traveler. I arrived at the condo unit about 3 p.m. on Thursday the 3rd. I got everything from the Prius unpacked and then waited for Dawn to come home. We had dinner at one of our fave restaurants, Pawnbrokers, where I had the 3-way shrimp platter and Dawn had baked cod. All very delicious as usual. Friday I walked a lap around Lakes Park, about 1.25 miles. The farmers' market at Lakes Park has been moved from Fridays to Wednesdays, so no market today. Next, I stopped at Sun Harvest Citrus (on my wa...

Hi all: I have been back in Janesville since April 29, so it may seem silly to update the blog with events that happened over two weeks ago. But I want to close the books on what was my fifth winter getaway to Florida in order to provide "closure" as the saying goes, and reflect a little upon this trip compared with past ones. Leaving Florida to return to Wisconsin is always somewhat bittersweet. I have the ocean and beaches, the awesome seafood, a bounty of fresh, locally grown produce including citrus. Balmy days cut the need considerably for wardrobe. Most days, it's shorts and a T-shirt. It's a good life down there. I could do without the traffic, but that's part of most anywhere in Florida you go. One of the slogans down there is "Another Day in Paradise," and to a certain extent it's true. Hard to give all that up. But I guess ultimately, I'm "from" Wisconsin ... born and raised here. I merely "live" in Florida for ...