FRIENDS, FAMILY, FLY FISHING AND SPACE FLIGHTS

This shouldn't be a very long entry but hopefully it will be of interest to you. Frank went fishing in New Mexico the beginning of the week and I was going to have some quiet time to myself. The first couple of days I did little or nothing. I had what I call "gown days" where I spend the day in my caftan and just relax.

I have a whole closet full of caftans that I have collected over the years and they are my "at home" attire. You can't get much more comfortable than lounging around in a caftan watching movies or reading and drinking a cup of tea in the afternoon or a martini in the evening!

On Wednesday I went to the doctor to check out a treatment plan for pain management for my back. All went well and he'll do a procedure on me a week from next Monday.
Then on Thursday my old school chum, Joanna, came over and we played on the computer all day.

She also enjoyed watching the birds and squirrels in the back yard while I was fixing our lunch. I made some green chili stew and she loved it! It was easier than going out.
Then on Thursday I went to lunch with an artist friend and while we were eating, I got a phone call on my new iPhone and our son's darling face appeared on the monitor.

It seems that he and Beth decided to take a quick trip to San Antonio since it was the last chance before the boys go back to school and he wanted me to keep our grand-dog, Harry.

I was thrilled to do it for several reasons. First, I love this little dog, secondly, since Frank is gone I'm lonely and Harry's a lot of company and third, he makes a great bed companion and he doesn't snore!
They sent me this photo on their iPhone of the boys in an Irish Pub in San Antonio. Looks like they're having a lot of fun.

When Joanna was here on Thursday, I couldn't find a photograph that I had taken when we were on our cruise in the Mediterranean several years ago that she wanted to see. I have over 15,000 images on my computer so it can be very tedious trying to find an individual image! Anyway, after she left, I pulled out the DVD that I had burned from the photographs I had taken on the trip and ran across another photo that brought back many memories.
We met this delightful couple on that cruise and have stayed in touch over the years thanks to Email. When I found this photograph of Wallace that I had taken on the cruise, I Emailed it to him.

Thirty minutes had not passed until I had an Email back from him telling me that coincidentally there was an article about him in the newspaper the very same day and he was wearing his Apollo 11 jacket! Below is the photograph that was in the paper. The painting in the background is one of his.

As a civil engineer he worked on the Apollo 11. It seems that for three years he focused his work on the lunar module or LM, designing small but important elements such as the pulley system that lowered and raised the basket the astronauts used to collect moon rocks, and a crash bar attached to the triangular window to protect the astronauts from bumping their heads against the window upon landing.
  Before Apollo 11, with LM 5 aboard, could be launched, two preliminary missions, ' the first manned flights of the LM', provided tests under space conditions as opposed to ground simulations, of the performance of the rendezvous radar, which guided the LM back to the command and service modules, its communications, life-support systems and separating and docking techniques for the two space vehicles.
  Looking back to what was, in 1969, state-of-the-art interspace technology, Leifer is incredulous as how primitive it seems. Not only were all his calculations arrived at by slide rule, accompanied by beautifully rendered drawings, the lunar module was shaped more like a bucket than a rocket and was sheathed in heat-resistant gold Mylar that resembled an unwrapped Christmas present.
He is also a very fine artist and does wonderful work. Here is one of his many paintings.

After I read the newspaper article on line, I called him and discovered that he was a big fan of "The Tudors" like I am. In fact, when he and his wife Cissy would watch the series, they would light this candelabra in their media room so it would feel as though they were a part of the events. Isn't that fun! Here's a shot of their set up.

At the beginning of this post I said that I was going to be brief. OK .. so I lied! I didn't mean to ramble on like this but one thing led to another. Frank returned home late yesterday afternoon, tired but very happy. He and Nasser had a great time fishing.

They fished with a guide named Andy Kim. Frank has used him for years and he swears that if you want to learn to fly fish and catch lots of fish, Andy is the man to use.

His web site is http://yspecial.com/ Check it out!
We're having a very relaxed Sunday. As I sit here typing, Harry is on a chair beside me and Frank is watching golf in the other room. Harry's "family" should be home late this afternoon.
The entry that follows this one is a slide show of Frank's trip. It's pretty interesting. Be sure and mouse over the photos in the slide show and you will be able to read the captions.
I hope that you and yours have a great week and I look forward to hearing from you.
XOXO, Pcasso