The Haasienda on Shroyer…

I got a quick nap in, accompanied by Colonel Deeds and Haaskins.

This is normally how they sleep: Harrigan at my feet; Haaskins snuggled against my chest; Colonel Deeds spooning my back with his head across my neck.

November 9, 1921, my maternal grandfather, Leroy “Red” Delmar Barmes, was born in Elwood, Indiana.

A fellow house manager couldn’t make it to Schuster for the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra concert, so quickly got ready and went downtown. A lovely sky…

Today, Harrigan and Bailey turned 11 years old. Sadly, Bailey passed away December 28, 2023.

September 25, 2024; 6:03 PM. The sixtieth anniversary is here. Ready to enjoy a movie at The Neon in Dayton. it’s more difficult to smile with sincerity.

My beloved, devoted buddy for the past 13 years.

A young Theodore Roosevelt’s diary entry on the day he lost both his wife, Alice Lee Hathaway Roosevelt, and his mother, Martha Bulloch Roosevelt, in the same home within a few hours hours.

I understand his sentiment… it’s so very sad, and so very hard…

The first birthday of Hoskins…

Born: September 8, 2023.

She is such pure joy. 

www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/b89wdr2ggv6y4sqexpqpa/SOUTH-PACIFIC-Kate-Harrigan.m4a

PHOTOS: https://link.shutterfly.com/9RKen002TLb

PHOTOS: https://link.shutterfly.com/ioHbZKhkXLb

Today, Erma has turned 15 years old.

She joined The Haasienda when she was 9 years old on August 18, 2018.

Happy birthday, precious Girl!

It’s breezy this Monday morning, the fifteenth day of July, but there’s a lot of mugginess inside The Haasienda. We expect temperatures in the mid to upper 80s but with continual winds of 8+ MPH.

Yesterday was a bit more relaxed until it was time to teach. A strong storm blew through the Miami Valley, wreaking havoc around the neighborhood. For a student who lives on the north side of Rockhill Avenue, they were without power; we had power. However, the internet was off and on.

My grocery delivery arrived last night with a bag of honey crisp apples included, but not on my order list. I always forget how much I like apples and I enjoyed one last night before going to bed, and again this morning, with my breakfast. I am glad I was not charged for this item and that it was mistakenly sent my way.

I will be away from the house for a spell this morning, returning in time to teach. The remainder of the week is somewhat quiet, and I will be at the PNC Annex on Friday to house manager a children’s production.

Other than that, my schedule will hopefully be filled with lots of research and writing. My fingers are crossed.

Make it a great day!

Apples by Laurie Lee

Behold the apples’ rounded worlds:
juice-green of July rain,
the black polestar of flowers,
the rind mapped with its crimson stain.

The russet, crab and cottage red
burn to the sun’s hot brass,
then drop like sweat from every branch
and bubble in the grass.

They lie as wanton as they fall,
and where they fall and break,
the stallion clamps his crunching jaws,
the starling stabs his beak.

In each plump gourd the cidery bite
of boys’ teeth tears the skin;
the waltzing wasp consumes his share,
the bent worm enters in.

I, with as easy hunger, take
entire my season’s dole;
welcome the ripe, the sweet, the sour,
the hollow and the whole.

Saturday was a terrific day, all around.

By 11 AM, I was in my booth at Frisch’s enjoying the breakfast bar and researching. Upon leaving, and preparing to cross Wilmington Pike to the bus stop, an idiot almost did not stop for his red light, missing me within a few feet. When I pointed to my white light for crossing, the driver gave me the finger and began screaming obscenities. Several drivers at the light, who were paying attention to their driving, asked if I was OK. I was.

I was back on the bus for downtown by 4:30 PM to house manage a comedian concert. I’ve never thought of myself as a fuddy-duddy, but from what I could hear out in the lobby via the monitor, I did not find the presenter to be entertaining or comedic. There were two comedians preceding the main act, and the first one just seemed to rant and rave, exhibiting a tremendous amount of anger issues. I could not, for the life of me, find any humor in his presentation.

I can ignore curse words from comedians, but the consistent cranking out of the F bomb gets old, holds very little effect, and just seems sophomoric.

I was home by 10:15 PM to enjoy the night breeze crossing over the deck as I typed some research notes into my laptop. I fell asleep on the deck and finally roused myself around 4 AM because I was quite chilly.

At 10:30 AM, Sunday morning, I grabbed the No. 17 to grab a few things from Kroger with enough time to hop on No. 28 to eat lunch at 11:30 AM at El Toro. It’s 1:15 PM and I am relaxing on the deck until it is time to teach at 4 PM.

Until then, I will enjoy the relaxation while Hoskins and Colonel Deeds play, and the older ones relax.

Continue to make it a great day!

At 9:20 AM, this morning, I landed in downtown Dayton and went immediately to the little “shop n save” grocery store on W. 3rd St. I was in the house managers’ office 20 minutes before my designated 10 AM shift, and enjoyed a breakfast sandwich and large coffee from Starbucks. 

It was 11:15 AM before Kettering College graduates and their families began arriving for the first ceremony, which was a pinning ceremony.

At 2 PM, I stood in the lobby beside the orchestra left doors, witnessing the faces of the long line of graduates from as they entered the auditorium for their graduation ceremony. I repeated this same position last year, and loved seeing the various expressions. As always, the lovely strains of Elgar’s “Pomp and Circumstance“ tugged a bit at the heart.

It’s now 4:45 PM and I am waiting on the southbound No. 17 due deposit me back in front of my house on Shroyer Road. Sure there will be a full chorus of barking from the wonderful five pooches. Today, Daniel Breslin looked after them for potty breaks, and their afternoon meal. 

My goal is to spend the entire evening on the deck with the dogs and an audiobook about the Gilded Age and the progressive era that unfolded around the turn of the Twentieth Century. I’ve always found it to be a fascinating time and love reading and studying about this era of United States and world history. 

Tomorrow, I’m hoping for a quiet day before I am needed back at Schuster Center at 5 PM. I will be free during the day on Sunday until it is time to teach lessons at 4 PM to 11 PM. 

And that has been my day. 

Tuesday’s late afternoon and evening became a hit-and-miss game of rain showers and clear skies, and my deck time seemed limited, but I did manage to enjoy a good amount of time outside. This somber Wednesday morning is still very wet outside and more rain is expected.

Today is a morning away from home and I have yet to determine what I will do this evening. Tuesday evening, I went to El Toro for dinner, stopped at Kroger, and while riding No. 17 north to my house, I missed my stop because I was busy reading an amusing email from Laura. I was north of Dorothy Lane before I discovered I was past my stop. I grabbed a coffee at Speedway and made it back home with extra steps totaling 8,373.

It’s time to move on with getting ready for the day.

Make it a great day!

“Moonlight, Summer Moonlight” by Emily Jane Brontë

’Tis moonlight, summer moonlight,
All soft and still and fair;
The solemn hour of midnight
Breathes sweet thoughts everywhere,

But most where trees are sending
Their breezy boughs on high,
Or stooping low are lending
A shelter from the sky.

And there in those wild bowers
A lovely form is laid;
Green grass and dew-steeped flowers
Wave gently round her head.  

The house is a bit stifling, and at 74 degrees, it will quickly rise to 86 within a few hours and topped by an expected rain around 2 PM. I slept on the deck until 4 AM, rose, and went to my bed where Harrigan and Hoskins waited for me on my pillows.

Sunday and Monday were filled with terrific lessons and two new students. Several students are involved with Epiphany Lutheran Church’s summer production, INTO THE WOODS, which opens this week.

Monday’s lunch was spent with my friend, Mary Lowman, at Applebee’s. It was a good lunch and made even more so by the company.

The deck was my haven until time to teach and the pooches loved having me back home. I shall be away for a few hours, this morning, and hopefully home before the rain arrives.

I will house manager the Kettering College graduation on Friday morning and evening, and on Saturday evening, I will return to Schuster for the Pete Davidson tour.

It is time that I need to move on with my day.

Make it a great day!

“Over Hill, over dale” from William Shakespeare’s A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM

A wood near Athens. A Fairy speaks. 

Over hill, over dale, 
Thorough bush, thorough brier, 
Over park, over pale, 
Thorough flood, thorough fire
I do wander every where, 
Swifter than the moon’s sphere; 
And I serve the fairy queen, 
To dew her orbs upon the green: 
The cowslips tall her pensioners be; 
In their gold coats spots you see; 
Those be rubies, fairy favours, 
In those freckles live their savours: 
I must go seek some dew-drops here 
And hang a pearl in every cowslip’s ear. 
Farewell, thou lob of spirits: I’ll be gone; 
Our queen and all her elves come here anon.

Hoskins, born September 8, 2023, is ten months old today, Monday, July 8, 2024

Hosky is a sweetheart of a little girl, full of energy but rather laid back. Every morning and periodically throughout the day, she and Colonel Deeds give the older dogs kisses and affection.

It is already turning into a nice day which will reach 86 degrees by midafternoon. The rest of the week is an echo of today with rain popping up this Wednesday.

Yesterday, I spent a good deal of time on the deck while the pooches lounged or played. Periodically, groundhog-day neighbors shot off fireworks. Maybe when the first frost arrives they will realize July Fourth has passed.

I enjoyed dinner with Mama Kay and her cousin, Sue, at La Pinata in Centerville. After dinner, we spent an hour at Sue’s condo, chatting about a plethora od topics.

Today, I will begin teaching at 4 PM and continue through 11 PM. I have several slots open due to a local production moving into tech week.

And that’s all there is on today’s docket.

Make it a great day!

It’s a slightly muggy Saturday morning with the promise of a beautiful day. It is still damp from the rain experienced the previous two days. We’re in store for a lineup of wonderful days in the week ahead.

I had dinner at my favorite Chinese buffet near the Oregon District and planned to move on to Riverscape for a fun concert. However, I elected to return home for an evening on the deck. I’ve not been to Riverscape in several years and hope to make it one of my haunts, again.

Friday night, at midnight, I was still trying to find sleep with the disturbing fireworks being set off by neighbors from across the street and a few houses to the south. The night before, neighbors to the west on Rockhill Avenue continued their explosives until after 2 AM. Some of theirs were the deep, shell-like explosives that shook the house which I found unnecessary and rude.

Celebrate!  I do not mind; however, there comes a point when respectability must be considered.

The three senior dogs cowered in my bedroom while Colonel Deeds and Hoskins were fine.

My alarm sounded at 6 AM and I could have cursed it as I needed and wanted more sleep. It was not an easy night to sleep despite the constant snuggles from Harrigan and Hoskins. The pooches seem to be feeling the laziness, as well. Chief, Harrigan, and Colonel Deeds are sacked out in my study with Erma and Hoskins napping in my bedroom.

Lately, Colonel Deeds has been sleeping on the floor near Chief but bounds onto the bed at 5:50 AM without fail. His internal clock is impressive.

I need to move on with my morning. I have a plan but little motivation.

Make it a great day!

It was a low-key July Fourth, and I was content. I no longer prefer the jostling, sweaty crowds, and I still find tremendous joy in celebrating the holidays and other events. I did take dinner in north Dayton at one of my haunts that I have not been able to attend in several months.

Early in the day, Thursday was exploding with amateur fireworks, and I have no problem with that given the holiday. The house that is one over on Rockhill Avenue had an inexhaustible number of fireworks that continued long past 2 AM! While spending time on the deck, the older dogs abandoned me for the bedroom and Colonel Deeds and Hoskins seemed oblivious. However, they did respond to the firework-shooters’ dog who was going crazy, while they laughed at the dog’s seeming fearful reactions. Several of their explosives were directly overhead and I found that to be disturbing and inconsiderate. At 2 AM, their continued shooting of fireworks was no longer patriotic, but rude.

I was so comfortable on the deck, but a fast-approaching and heavy rainstorm passed through, chasing me into the house. I was soaked by the time I gathered up my writing material. I had hoped to wait it out beneath the canopy, but it was not to be. I decided to go to bed a bit early.

The morning air is thick with fog, but we received no fog alerts. It’s currently 67 degrees and will reach 83 by the midafternoon. Last night, there were predictions of rain showers throughout Friday, but those seem to have cleared.

On with the damp day.

Make it a great day!