My Life In Pictures: July 2020

It's been really, really hot in the DC area. Washington recently hit 20 days in a row with a high temperature of 90 degrees or more. Apparently, the high last Thursday was only 87 at National Airport (though I'm sure it hit 90 where I live), so we barely missed out on tying the area record of 21 straight 90-degree days. I believe that it has been over 90 every day since then. Anyway, we (and by we, I mean my wife) bought some inflatable pools, and the kids have enjoyed playing in them regularly.

Apparently, we were ahead of the curve on the inflatable pool craze!

Even though it's only about an hour away, my kids had never been to West Virginia. Therefore, a few weeks ago, we decided to take a car ride across the border specifically so that my kids could check another state off their lists. There were a few too many people walking around Harpers Ferry, WV without masks, so we basically just drove through the town. We did stop at the national park, but because it was so hot and our 2 year old Luigi wanted to be carried, we basically took a picture of the sign, got back in the car, and drove back home.

9 year-old The Moose learned how to ride his bike and is already much, much better than me. He really hasn't left our street, but he likes riding which again is much, much better than me!

Many parents think that Legos are the worst toy because pieces get everywhere, and there's always a chance that you can step on one barefoot which results in way more pain than it should. In reality, Play-Doh is the worst. Take a look at this box. 

So clean and neat. This is the reality.

Pieces end up everywhere and get stuck on clothes, the table, and the floor. Plus, the kids always mix the different colors together resulting in an odd green color. Play-Doh really is the worst.

We have magnetic letters in our bathtub. Oh, don't act like you don't have them too! Anyway, I saw this one day and needed to take a picture immediately. My kids (fortunately) didn't understand why.

Just sharing this picture taken by Luigi. 

Finally, I don't leave my neighborhood very much these days, and maybe because of this, I've noticed the wildlife a lot more. Naturally, I took some pictures. 

My Life In Pictures

Here are some of the things going on in my life captured in pictures. Please note that I am not a photographer and do not play one on the internet, and these pictures were all taken using my phone.

As a result of the massive windstorm that hit much of the northern East Coast on Friday, there were trees down everywhere. This is from the parking lot of Pedro Tulo's school. While we were fortunate not to lose power, I know several people who did not have power for three days or more.

After nearly six weeks I got my cast off! My arm looks so weird.

Oh, the doctor also removed these pins.

Although I was told that it may take up to six months before my wrist is back to normal and I have plenty of physical therapy ahead, my wrist right now feels the same as it did before surgery since it is so stiff. I'm also now going to wear a splint for at least a month though it's nice to take a shower without covering my right arm and I'm able to bite my fingernails again. (What an awful habit.)

The doctor's office had several magazines including Arthritis Today. I was surprised that someone so young and healthy was on the cover, but I guess that's the point that arthritis doesn't only occur for the social security crowd.

Luigi is now six months old and although he often wears sleepers, he sometimes wears these booties to keep his socks on and feet warm. What color would you call these?

Lucky Charms lip balm? I'm intrigued though are they supposed to be magically delicious?

Ziggy has no need for the Directv receiver.

Finally, I watched the first two episodes of NBC's new show Good Girls about three suburban moms that rob a grocery store because they need the money for their families. It kind of seems like it's going to be a network version of Weeds. I'm not sold yet, but I'll give the show a few more episodes. Anyway, in the second episode, the daughter of the character played by Retta participates in a soccer game. If you notice the picture, the referee is wearing a yellow uniform which is a no-no when one of the teams are wearing yellow jerseys. (And yes, I really want to get back on the field to ref some games but I don't have the go-ahead to do that yet.)

How To End A Conversation (or People Are Stupid)

After a one-year hiatus, the annual hockey road trip returned for the 2014-2015 season last Thursday. While I'll write about the games and trip over the next few weeks, let's go back to Thursday when this happened:

As a result, every school district in the Washington DC area closed as did the Federal Government. My original flight from Washington National to Tampa scheduled for 11:00 AM was cancelled. I was rescheduled for a 2:20 flight which would get into Tampa at 6:30 (after a stop in Atlanta) giving me just enough time to rent a car to get to the Lightning-Maple Leafs game. However, after the plane arrived late, a mechanical problem needed fixed, the runway closed to be plowed and the plane got de-iced, the 2:20 flight left 2 hours late.

When we arrived in Atlanta, the 4 passengers continuing to Tampa (including me) were instructed to stay on the plane. As we waited for the Atlanta folks to board, I started talking to the flight attendant (who I learned had worked at Hooters in her previous life and once drove NFL Hall of Famer Barry Sanders in her car) and another passenger. The other passenger seemed like a nice woman who was heading to Florida to see the Baltimore Orioles spring training. When I mentioned that I was originally from Pittsburgh and went to Spring Training a few years ago, she said something to the effect that she was disappointed I was from Sh!tsburgh.

I know that I get defensive about my hometown, and I may celebrate the accomplishments of current and former Pittsburgh residents a little too much (Michael Keaton got robbed for Best Actor!). However, when is saying Sh!tsburgh to someone, particularly to someone you just met, ever appropriate? Did she want me to agree with her and trash my hometown? Did she want me to declare my love of the Orioles (though I did say that I liked Camden Yards) and state that Baltimore or DC is significantly better than Pittsburgh? Instead, I quickly ended the conversation and said I needed to use the restroom.

In case you're wondering, I arrived at the Amalie Arena in Tampa with 15 seconds left in the 2nd period, but that's for a future blog post.

Beware Pittsburgh

Bad news for the people of Pittsburgh especially everyone in attendance at Sunday's Steelers-Vikings game including the players. According to The Weather Channel's weekend/sporting events forecast, Pittsburgh can expect Widespread Flu on Sunday.



No word on whether the flu will impact Jeff Reed's Sunday night activities! (It's so easy to make a joke at Jeff Reed's expense, but his behavior is not funny.)


Thanks to Cotter for helping me with this screen shot.

h/t Seth


P.S. Don't forget to enter Sean's Ramblings First Contest to win a very nice watch.