For many years we have been advised to “Keep Calm and Carry On”. The iconic poster has become one of the most recognizable pieces of British design in history, though its journey to cultural prominence follows a fascinating path. The poster was originally designed in 1939 by the British Ministry of Information as part of a series of three motivational posters intended to boost morale during the anticipated bombing of major cities at the outbreak…
Several years ago I discovered 30% vinegar solution as a weed killer. I am not the most eco-oriented person in the world and I can’t pretend that I make choices that are only the right eco-friendly option at all times. Generally, I think that adoption of these things needs to be cost neutral or better and relatively convenient as well. When you go to Lowe’s or Home Depot at this time of year, you see…
We’ve all been reading about and presumably sympathizing with the medical woes of Pope Francis for the past month or so. The pope is 88 years old and has had a lifetime of respiratory issues which have finally put him in enough of a weakened state that he required a month in a Roman hospital. His physician has declared that it is a “Miracle” that he has survived this ordeal since he was apparently very…
The irony of this title is not what I intended. I had a brilliant thought in the middle of the night last night and did what I always try to do, which is write it down. I captured it in a title for a new story and then for some reason I decided I did not need to even write down one line of that story to give myself a clue as to what I…
As we arrived in San Diego yesterday, Kim got an email from Melisa telling us that she wanted to share a surprise she had found in our yard. Mike and Melisa walk their dog, Rex, several time a day and most often walk past our property in both directions. Mike is very focused on the exercise part of the walk, but Melisa is always looking about and occasionally comments to me about this or that…
One of the oldest areas of Buenos Aires is called La Boca or the mouth meaning the mouth of the river or the mouth of the village or town. In BA, this is the mouth of a small estuary called the Riochuelo River that flows into the Rio de la Plata. I like in the area to the east village of New York and that it has a certain artist quarter aspect to it with…
I am writing this with the knowledge that it will publish on the day I should be arriving home from our grand tour of what is often called the Southern Cone of South America. If all goes as planned, you will see this in your inbox as I am dragging my sorry ass off the plane in San Diego, having just gotten back from Buenos Aires. While I have been in BA many, many times,…
Every cruise that starts or ends or even goes through Buenos Aires, inevitably also stops in Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay. That may seem redundant because Montevideo is just across the delta from Buenos Aires, a mere 150 miles. But there are many reasons everyone should visit Montevideo based on what Uruguay has created for itself…an example that might be as close to Utopia as any on earth. Uruguay, despite being one of South America’s…
While every day is a new adventure on this trip, the act of writing a new and (hopefully) interesting story every day about the trip certainly has its challenges. I generally draw from the activities of the day, but today I did another Arctic Cure scrub, and I already wrote about that interesting spa treatment. We are also going to eat in the onboard Italian restaurant, Manfredi’s tonight and I believe I’ve already discussed that.…
As we motor up the coast of Argentina, the Atlantic seas seem relatively calm compared to what we found around the Drake Passage or down the Pacific coast of Chile. There is still motion in the ship, which has largely become normalized to us by now. This is what sailors like to call “getting your sea legs”. Thankfully, even during the worst of the tough seas, neither Kim nor I succumbed to what we know…