Oh Say Can You See?

Last time I needed contact lenses I went to the optometrist that has a little office next to Sam’s Club and got an exam for $70 and hand carried the contacts prescription to the Optical department at Sam’s. That was the first rude surprise. They don’t stock the lenses and would have to order them for me. It took about a week to get in and then I had to drive down to the Sam’s Club for a second trip to pick them up.

So I used them up and went down to Sam’s Club to get a refill on the contacts, figuring it would take another week to order the refill and I could deal with that. But no. Come to find out the prescription for contact lenses only last for 6 months and my prescription had expired. so now I need another exam for $70 before I can order the lenses and then I wait a week for them to come in and then I make another trip. You know what? There’s got to be a better way.

Clever Brews

For a while the buzz on the street was all about microbreweries and the thousands of local beers that were popping up all over the country. I never really thought much about how beers are a regional thing until I moved out of state the first time. Suddenly, several of the beer brands that I was used to seeing on the grocery shelves were no longer available. I especially noticed and missed the little green bottles that had Rolling Rock beer in them.

I just read an interesting story in the San Francisco Chronicle about a local brewery that is breaking all the rules and putting their beers into cans instead of bottles. They say that the cans offer several advantages that bottles don’t, such as cans being allowed in a lot of public places where glass containers are not allowed. Cans are better for the environment. Also, cans keep out the light, the number one enemy of beer flavor.

I also like the names of the beers they make and think they are really clever brewers: “Hell or High Watermelon Wheat” and “Brew Free! or Die IPA.” I just hope the beer tastes as good as I’m coming to expect.

Finding Time

Yesterday I was in a rush all day and it seemed like everywhere I went I was stuck in long lines or the clerk had tons of interruptions that left me standing idle. I often wanted to check the time and possibly re-arrange my planned stops, but it was incredible to me to have such a hard time finding a clock.

It seems that when I was growing up having nice clocks scattered about the house was important. There were different clocks for every room in the house, and the most revered clock was the grandfather clock that was either in the entryway or living room of most people’s homes. Businesses had clocks everywhere too, often with logos of their own business or logos of their suppliers and vendors.

I still love the grandfather clock and the old fashioned mantle clock like my grandmother brought over to America with her on the Queen Elizabeth in the 1920’s. Her clock was one of the few treasures she brought over from England and we all loved the way it chimed the Westminster chimes every fifteen minutes, with different chimes on the quarter hour, the half hour, and the hour and reminded her of London.

When we move to the new house we have already planned to buy a grandfather clock and place it in the entryway so that everyone who comes to our home will see it and have the chance to experience the chimes of a treasured timepiece.

Grilling Tonight

We bought a Coleman portable propane camp stove/grill at the beginning of the season with the intention of taking it camping with us on weekends. Well, my work schedule has spilled over into the weekends every single chance we’ve had to get away for a couple nights and we’ve not been camping yet. How’s that for a poke in the eye?

But the grill has not been left idle. I bought an adaptor valve for the propane and hooked it up to a large propane tank and set up the grill right by the porch door. So we’ve been enjoying grilled steaks, chops and burgers several nights each week. And we aren’t having to sleep on dirt to enjoy it.

Criminal Minds

Watched the rerun of Criminal Minds tonight that was about the Russian Mafia and bringing Kate Jackson from the original Charlies Angels show back to TV as a U. S. Senator.

The show had a lot of twists and turns, but honestly, I thought the storyline was pretty lame and unnecessarily gory. This season has not been as interesting as the first season, although the writers have tried to develop the ensemble of main characters more than the first season. It seems that the writers – or perhaps the network in directing the writers – has wanted to push the envelope on how macabre and gory they can get on network TV in today’s world. I don’t really like that approach and don’t think it is necessary for this series. If they continue in this direction next season I don’t think I’ll be watching it any more. I’m not a slasher movie fan and this is getting close to that.