reflections from my back porch: Reflections from Jay’s Back Porch—one year—319 Posts!
- 09/16/07 12:04 AM
It’s a fine fall-like 56ºF morning on my back porch here in my beloved old river town of Saint Paul, Minnesota, and I am enjoying my “Danger Bay Collectible” mug of organically & shade-grown, fair-trade, French-roast coffee firing up my remaining brain synapses to synapting, as I consider this, my one year anniversary here on the ‘Rain. Hello Activerainers (September 16, 2006) I don’t expect to write a lot in this blog, but from time to time, you may expect me to offer an opinion or two about home repairs & maintenance. Opinions I have many—and I’m usually willing to share … (33 comments)
reflections from my back porch: It’s September the Oneth! (Updated)
- 08/31/07 11:09 PM
Boomer & I are enjoying our chipped & well-used “Codger Collectible (January ’07 Edition) Mugs” of organically & shade-grown, fair-trade, Guatemalan-Roast coffee, and enjoying a late summer Saint Paul, Minnesota morning on my back porch. Yeah, Jay, and your over-sized and totally ripped-off version of my replica “Pruett’s Pig Powders” thermometer tells us the temperature is 65ºF, and I can plainly see that the sky is partly cloudy. And for now, and through Monday, no rain is expected! This should be a good weekend for the Minnesota State Fair—the harbinger of fall for kids everywhere in the state. Moderate temps, no … (17 comments)
reflections from my back porch: It’s Monday! The Weekend has passed (and for SOME the work week is upon us)
- 08/19/07 10:34 PM
This gray Saint Paul morning we find Pruett’s telling us the temperature is a cool 62ºF, and out lens-assisted eyes tell us it’s cloudy. The weather people tell us to expect it to be partly cloudy with a slight chance of thunderstorms. High 71ºF. winds ESE at 10 to 15 mph, chance of rain 30%. We are here on my back porch, savoring our mugs of organically & shade-grown, fair-trade, French-Roast coffee. I am, at least, savoring the week to come, ‘though Boomer may be of a differing opinion. From Boomer’s point of view, this week could have had … (12 comments)
reflections from my back porch: It’s Friday! The Weekend is upon us!
- 08/16/07 11:20 PM
This morning as Boomer & I savor the coming weekend, enjoying our mugs of organically & shade-grown, fair-trade, Guatemalan-Roast coffee on my, yes my back porch, the temperature in Saint Paul is a delightfully cool 61ºF and the sky is clear. Boomer has the weekend off (as always), and since I march to the beat of my own drummer, so do I. So how exactly do those of us not involved in the weekend-intensive RE field spend those marvelous 48 hours? Well—excluding our necessary chores—whatever we want! Boomer has a drought/rain ravaged yard—with the recent rains the weeds have recovered well … (14 comments)
What has that to do with this post? As some of you may have noticed, my imagination frequently gets the better of me—which is precisely why I so missed writing the old Codger’s “Cyber series” of posts from “our corner of Cyberspace!” I’ve heard myself described by well-meaning, but imagination-bereft individuals as a touch addle-brained. What those folks don’t understand, and I only recently came to understand, is imagination-based flights of fantasy are very therapeutic in these times we’re … (7 comments)
reflections from my back porch: Realtors® (and other RE professionals) help create Family History Resources!
- 08/06/07 10:58 PM
I’m here on Jay’s back porch—OK, really on my back porch, but Jay has not updated that drawing yet—enjoying my mug of organically & shade-grown, fair-trade, French-Roast coffee, while Jay is out of sight drawing—something. According to MY replica “Pruett’s Pig Powders” thermometer (shown in the graphic as on HIS porch where really, there is nothin’ but pillar. Hey, the white tip of Daisy's tail doesn't show up! Jay needs to move her over just a tad so the itp shows!) it is currently 72ºF and humid. BTW: Jay told me I HAD to include all that crap about coffee … (12 comments)
reflections from my back porch: Reflections from my back porch—I35W Bridge Collapse
- 08/02/07 09:38 PM
While I am enjoying my mug of organically & shade-grown, fair-trade, Guatemalan-Roast coffee, my thoughts are of Wednesday’s catastrophic collapse of the Interstate 35W Mississippi River Bridge. I spent the entire day glued to the radio listening to the coverage of this tragedy, I couldn’t tear myself away. It was our own 9-11—‘though on a much smaller scale. We were horrified by the tragedy, buoyed by the stories of survival and the selfless actions of ordinary citizens in helping the victims, and by the extraordinary response of our emergency services personnel. We still don’t know the extent of lives lost to … (13 comments)
To tell you what these little shapes are, of course! Would you’d care to guess??
When I introduce a new graphic, it seems to follow that I’m asked how I draw the graphic, and what program I use. Although I’ve answered the program question—I’ll cover that again—it’s easier than linking to earlier explanations. I use three pieces of software: MS Word (kinda old, from Office 2003), MS Publisher (to combine hand drawn graphics with jpeg photos, also from Office 2003), Adobe Photoshop Elements (also a bit long-of tooth: version 2.02, 2002). The question I’ve never really answered, is how I draw the … (20 comments)
In my former blog-life as one of five “Codgers” I would with some frequency write from “my corner of cyberspace,” mixing real people with totally fictional people in the cyber-city of “Codger’s Corner.” “Codger’s Corner” occupied the same space along the “Cyber-Mississippi” River as my home town of Saint Paul does along the Mississippi River. When we needed a break from the city, we’d all head to the North Shore of “CyberLake Superior,” which occupied the same space as...well, that much is obvious. With the passing of one of our number, the blog-entity “The Codgers” … (15 comments)
reflections from my back porch: I’ve lost my “Blog Voice”—and can’t find it…
- 07/21/07 12:13 AM
By Jay Merton…and Boomer Jack I’ve invited Boomer over to my back porch this fine 60ºF & clear morning here in Old Saint Paul… …Why, exactly am I here, Jay. We have out of town out-laws, er—in-laws arriving this afternoon—and I’m expected to complete a very long honey-do list before they arrive. If you’d keep still, Boomer, I could get this done! Since the “Codgers” broke up their act, I’ve found myself unable to re-establish my blog-voice. It used to be easy—if I was short on blog food, I could always get inspired by the guys at the coffee shop—or go … (40 comments)
reflections from my back porch: Believe it or not—I AM an introvert!
- 07/16/07 10:49 PM
It’s a comfortable 68ºF this fine Saint Paul morning on my back porch as I am enjoying my mug of organically & shade-grown, fair-trade, French-Roast coffee (as is necessary to get my brain firing on all remaining synapses)! Yes—you read the title correctly—I am an introvert. At times, painfully so. This is probably why I never went into direct sales as a career. Maybe “introvert” is too strong a word—“shy” is a softer version of introvert. Meeting people for the first time has always been stressful for me, but for the most part, I was able to overcome my natural … (19 comments)
reflections from my back porch: Boomer’s posting on our new Blog!
- 07/15/07 05:21 AM
It’s a fine partly-cloudy, 77ºF Sunday afternoon here on my back porch. Don’t let the graphic above fool you, Boomer & I are not enjoying mugs of organically & shade-grown, fair-trade, Guatemalan-Roast coffee, but some nice cold water (don’t need any more coffee, no matter how much I love the stuff)! Boomer has written his very first ever blog post on our new blog! I don’t know if the blogging bug has struck him yet—but he DID call me to let me know he posted.
Check out our new personal blog banner. Click on the banner & find out what Boomer has … (18 comments)
reflections from my back porch: Life goes on—and so will I
- 07/08/07 09:04 PM
It’s a very comfortable 66ºF, although a bit humid this fine Saint Paul morning on my back porch. I served for a time while I was in the Army at Fort Gordon near Augusta, GA, and the weather here this past weekend reminded me of the weather I suffered through then: mid to upper 90s and tropical! It rained last night—much needed rain, and somehow most fitting. It’s been some time since I’ve been the sole proprietor of this blog—and it feels a bit awkward. On the upside, I do have my mug, and I am enjoying my hot organically & … (22 comments)
reflections from my back porch: Monday Morning on my Back Porch
- 06/17/07 10:27 PM
Medford met me at my back porch early this Monday morning. According to my replica “Pruett’s Pig Powders” thermometer, the temperature was 74ºF, and it felt muggy, and my lens-assisted original equipment eyes told me it was hazy, here in our hometown of Saint Paul, Minnesota. A quick look at look at local weather on the ‘net informed me that we are expecting the high temp today to reach about 80ºF, with an 80% chance of much needed rain. “Mornin’ Jay,” Medford greeted as he gimped his way up the steps of my back porch, “Laura’s gone already this morning.” “Gone?” … (12 comments)
By the time we launch this post, it will be waaay past dawn on this fine Father’s Day Sunday morning. As you can see, the whole crew of Codgers & Codger Ladies (& Cyber-Daisy, my step-dog) are here this morning enjoying our porcelain, not china, but made in China, Codger Collectible Mugs of organically & shade-grown, fair-trade, French-Roast coffee, except, of course, Laura, who is enjoying her teacup of fine Earl Grey tea). So, why exactly are we all here on my porch at insane o’clock? We are announcing the re-launch of our “Cyber Café, Back Porch & Codger Lodge Conversations” … (17 comments)
Medford and I are here this morning on my front porch, in the Real World of old Saint Paul, where it is currently 69ºF, with a predicted high of 90ºF. We are enjoying our porcelain, not china, but made in China, Codger Collectible Mugs of organically & shade-grown, fair-trade, Sumatran-Roast coffee. While we are still interested in Codger Lady & Codger cyberspace spottings, we decided to present you with another short photo-essay from a nice walk we took yesterday—again on the riverfront of Old Saint Paul, and featuring two very different, but historically significant bridges. The Great Western Bridge (Chicago & … (14 comments)
Jay and I are still here on Jay’s back porch monitoring the cyber-spottings of the Codger Ladies from around cyber-space, and enjoying (“Jay, what is it we are enjoying, exactly?” “ Med, just scroll down the page to yesterday’s post and copy & paste—it’s what I do.” “Oh, OK—isn’t that cheating?” “Yep.”) our porcelain, not china, but made in China, Codger Collectible Mugs of organically & shade-grown, fair-trade, French-Roast coffee. So far, this is where we know they’ve visited: 06:51am CDT: Spotted at a Farmer’s Market in Maryland or Northern Virginia. 07:14am CDT: Seen at the Baltimore Inner Harbor. 08:19am CDT: … (26 comments)
I was minding my own Saturday business this past weekend when I heard the unmistakable sound of big radial aircraft engines approaching—the sound of veteran warbirds! As I sprinted into the house (sprinted? I crack me up!) to grab my camera, at least six AT6 Texans overflew my home. The North American AT6 Texan, and Navy-Marine sister the SNJ Texan, were the premier advance flight training aircraft during (and well after) World War II. By the time I got my camera, they had disappeared behind the trees. But I heard the even deeper-throated sound of approaching aircraft. Three North American … (15 comments)
Well, for the moment, we’re right here on my back porch, enjoying, at least most of us, our porcelain, not china, but made in China, Codger Collectible Mugs of organically & shade-grown, fair-trade, French-Roast coffee on a lovely clear skied, 57ºF Saint Paul morning! The day promises to remain sunny with a predicted high of 72ºF. We paid our dues for this weather last winter—now we may enjoy this with winter a faint memory. But, you may ask, what about after “the moment” mentioned above? That has yet to be written—or even drawn! A hint, perhaps?
Let’s cover that post title first—we can get to the morning weather later. No, we were not cowering in fear in our homes because of the antics of our cyber-stalker(s), we think you know that is NOT our style. No, the answer is much simpler than that—it’s my addiction—not to the “Rain—but to drawing graphics! Time flies when you’re having fun—or trying to draw a #*&%@ graphic! I spent most of the day on this—with time out for lunch with Carl & Collie—and never got to AR! Here is my day—graphically:
The image at the top of this post is … (15 comments)
It’s a fine fall-like 56ºF morning on my back porch here in my beloved old river town of Saint Paul, Minnesota, and I am enjoying my “Danger Bay Collectible” mug of organically & shade-grown, fair-trade, French-roast coffee firing up my remaining brain synapses to synapting, as I consider this, my one year anniversary here on the ‘Rain.
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