Cap'n Bob & the Damsel

CapnBob

Clach Mhile

“Clach Mhile” is Scots Gaelic for “Milestone,” I think. At least it is what Google Translate thinks. I was trying to channel my Scottish/Irish/Celtic roots when titling this post to take notice of another lifetime event, i.e. an additional year old. It doesn’t seem like it’s been a year since the last one, but again, a lot of things have transpired since then, so I guess it does seem like it’s been quite a while. I don’t hit the Big O until next summer. After that, I still expect to feel “young” (as I do now) since most vital functions are still working as they should.

I have some routine health checkups scheduled soon – the Urologist next week and the Nephrologist shortly thereafter. I visit those two regularly because of previous bladder and kidney problems, now (mostly*) resolved. I should schedule a chest x-ray as well, since the Radiologist found some lung smudges described as “ground glass” in a previous exam.

The (clickable) image on the right is of a lemon chiffon birthday cake that the Damsel made for me before we went on the low-carb, low-sodium diet in late 2018. She still bakes confections like this, but uses more Keto-friendly ingredients for the dough and icing. I copied this image from our Food Blog.

So, as the next year unfolds, we hope to resume some of the travelling in the RV with a couple of planned destinations and others that will be more ad-lib as we go along. The RV is getting some updates and as soon as we do a couple of other items fixed, we’ll be ready to roll.

* I have an atrophied kidney causing stage two renal disease which is not that bad (stage five = dialysis).

22 Jul 2022 by Arizona Notions Retirement Wanderlust

Motorhome Maintenance

Nothing lasts forever and that’s especially true in the Arizona Sun. Today, we replaced some worn out slide-out toppers on our Thor Palazzo Motorhome. Well, when I say “we” I mean the contractor who gets paid by us, that is. “We” also replaced the house batteries which were getting to the end of their useful lives. They are four deep-cycle 6.75 volt units connected in series/parallel to produce the house voltage of 13.5 volts (nominal voltages). Additionally, the crew replaced the bathroom exhaust fan which failed last year.

Because the environment is so harsh, we are still considering building an RV shelter across the road from our house. We want to build something that at a minimum will provide:

  • Full hookups (water, 30 and 50 amp AC Power, sewer)
  • A concrete pad large enough to accommodate our 36×20 foot slides out motorhome
  • A roof and three sidewalls
  • A lockable north-facing door

There are still some roadblocks to construction since the town may not allow a prefab building. Additionally, we may have to construct a septic system because rumor has it the town won’t approve the RV to municipal sewer hookup (black tank chemical treatments?). We are still looking into these problems.

3D Photo Bonus

The image above was taken in February 2017 just after we brought the big RV home. I also took a side-by-side image pair that day (being the penultimate nerd) and combined them into a gray scale anaglyphic stereo image. You will need your red/cyan glasses to view the 3D image here.

19 Jul 2022 by Bob's 3D Stuff Notions Technobabble Wanderlust

Theme Updating in Progress

UPDATE 07/16/2022: I think this is where we’ll pause in the theme modifications; we now have a color scheme similar to the Stars and Stripes Theme and the sidebar links are available. This will be it for a while until I figure out how to get my graphics and some of my coded gadgets imported.

Since the patio thermometer reads 112° in the shade today, it seemed like some indoor activities might be in order, so I decided to start monkeying around (a technical term) with the WordPress Themes. What you’re seeing now is some of the first modifications to the “Classic” theme, one of the WP defaults. It will be uphill from here, but I started by removing a bunch of the sidebar entries because there was just too much unneeded stuff. Remaining are the links (Blog Roll), the search form and “Meta” or what I will call “Access” in the future. The order of those will likely be changed.

The “Classic” theme has some good points and some undesirable (to me) characteristics, most of which I will try to convert to how I would like for them to look. My first undertakings will not be too much as in the sidebar mods I made. I mostly did away with code (commented out with notes and date). I am going to try and use some of the original Stars and Stripes code as adapted to the Classic format. One step at a time.

In the (clickable) image above, I took a photo of a couple of new trees that the landscape crew put in down by the road in front of the house. They’re still small, but will grow to be a nice addition to that part of the property.

Let me know if you are having any problems with the theme as the work progresses.

11 Jul 2022 by Arizona Blogosphere Retirement

Independence Day 2022

Happy 246th Birthday to our great Nation – America the Beautiful! May God’s blessings continue to flow throughout the land! Damsel and I wish you a peaceful and Happy Independence Day!

Babylon Bee Headline:

Flash Flood Warnings Issued As

Liberal Tears Continue To Soak Nation

Although the BEE headline is tongue-in-cheek, there are some seriously anguished folks out there in the wake of Dobbs and Bruen SCOTUS rulings. So, keep safe and watch your 6 if you are in a place where violence may occur during the holiday.

We’re safe at our little home in the desert and have plans for a 4th of July BBQ by grilling Steaks and serving them with Fauxtato Salad* and Beans on the side. We figure to have a safe and sane holiday here at home.

In the highly unlikely event that trouble comes calling, we’re in a Constitutional Carry place and are perpetually prepared for such eventualities. We just don’t post about our equipment, preparations and practice sessions any longer. Nobody needs to know what we have and how many.

Take care and enjoy the holiday.

Photo at the top: Cherry Red Cactus Flowers and Old Glory. Courtesy Damsel. Click to enlarge.

* A Keto diet salad with cauliflower instead of actual potatoes.

03 Jul 2022 by Arizona Flowers Holidays Patriotism

Update on Stars and Stripes Theme

. . . and Where We Go From Here.

After many attempts at picking through the old “Stars and Stripes” theme code to try and achieve compatibility with the newer versions of WordPress, I have concluded that I don’t think I can get there from here. Therefore, I am going to abandon further attempts at trying to make the old theme work. I am disappointed with this decision, but it is what it is.

Going forward, my plan is to continue using the bland, no frills default theme for the time being, while looking into some of the newer platform features to customize into a new S&S theme. I am not giving the effort much of a time budget in our busy schedule (wink) but it will give me something to look into when I get some spare time (wink again).

In the meantime, go look at a video I uploaded to U2B with Damsel and our new pup, Tucker . . .

26 Jun 2022 by Arizona Blogosphere Critters Retirement

2022 Cherry Red Cactus Flowers Now Opening

There are several pots in our courtyard containing Trichocereus Grandiflorus cactus (a.k.a. Cherry Red or Torch Cactus). We have been watching a few of the flower buds getting ready to open and today the first ones were out.

We acquired the “parent” cactus several years ago and at one point separated the “mother” from several “pups” which are now planted in their own pots in the courtyard. The image above is of a flower open on a “grandpup,” or a second-generation from the mother cactus who is still getting ready to open her flowers.

Click on the image to enlarge. In addition to the one above, there were two more open on a first generation pup in another pot.

Update: 06/27 open flower . . .

24 Jun 2022 by Arizona Flowers Photography Retirement

Army and Flag Day 2022

From The Patriot Post:

June 14 is Army and Flag Day, celebrating the anniversary of the founding of the United States Army on June 14, 1775, and the adoption of our flag by the Second Continental Congress on June 14, 1777.

Our flag is a beacon of Liberty, a symbol of hope for all people who “hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed — that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it…”

We American Patriots honor the history of our national flag and display it with pride. We believe those who denigrate our flag — and by extension our nation — deeply offend the honorable service of all who have defended our nation under its banner, and their families.

The (clickable) image above is our flagpole flying Old Glory and the Arizona State Banner above our little home in the desert. We proudly fly the colors most of the time and especially on the patriotic days like today, Memorial Day, Independence Day and the like. Our American Flag is made in the U.S.A. by Grace Alley and our Arizona Banner is by Annin Flags, also made in America.

The American flag is manufactured with actual embroidered stars and the stripes are sewn together; the binding is double-thickness and has brass grommets. The Arizona flag is made according to the specifications set by the state. We always have spare flags on hand to replace the old tattered ones (the desert sun and winds take their toll). We recycle the US flags with the American Legion who ceremoniously will burn them.

Congratulations to the U.S. Army on their 247th anniversary. Happy Flag and Army Day!

14 Jun 2022 by Military Patriotism

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