It was already 75° when we got up at 5:30 to greet the first day of summer. Helluva note when you open the doors and windows to let the cool morning air stream in and the air conditioning clicks on.
The wind was likewise in business, too, so Herself and I decided to go for a short trail run instead of a ride. We’d spent a couple hours yesterday cycling through the foothills and saw all the quail, from solos to pairs to coveys with adults herding thumb-sized offspring.
Today was my first run in a couple weeks so I wasn’t exactly crushing it. Still, it felt good to be lumbering along without all that specialized kit and machinery. Just shorts, shirt, and shoes. Put one foot in front of the other and try not to fall down.
CenturyLink fell down yesterday. Or Lumen did. AT&T? Whatever the hell that outfit is calling itself these days. You should’ve heard what we and the rest of its customers nationwide were calling it yesterday when it went tits up for the better part of quite some time and even the minimalist corporate website vanished like civil rights in an ICE storm.
We’ve been trained by bitter experience not to bother fencing with CenturyLumen’s chatbots and “live agents.” Instead we used our Verizon iPhones as hotspots and never missed a beat, even streaming a couple episodes from season three of “The Bear” as preparation for season four, which kicks off June 25.
Speaking of cussing, anybody who thinks I swear overmuch in the kitchen should check out “The Bear.” That crowd makes me sound like Nate Bargatze doing crowd work at a Southern Baptist picnic, even when I accidentally oversalt the arugula pesto, like I did last night.
It wasn’t quite like eating seaweed straight from the ocean, but it wasn’t exactly Michelin-star-level dining either, chef.
Mad Blog Media 
Yep. Summer solstice. It’s all downhill from here…..
“Down is to Hell.” — Hattie, “Nobody’s Fool.”
90º by 9:00 am today!
Well, that has a certain symmetry to it. …
Goddamnit! Sorry to hear about the over-salting episode my man. As for all the swearing…ya ought not to hear me when I forgot to put the lid on the coffee grinder yesterday. In prep for our heat wave (with a side of humidity) I got out early for some standup paddling then rode the auld 3 speed into civilization to get some vittles. By 11 am I was well-DONE Herb. Went out to set some chipmunk traps and said screw it…the chippies will probably melt if they try pillaging the garden over the next three days.
It was a great argument for making notes in the margins of recipes.
“What was it about this recipe that I didn’t like last time I made it?” I queried myself.
Alas, the answer was not forthcoming until it was too late. …
Totally off subject, do you still have your Vespa? Saw a guy on a blue 150 Primavera Vespa on the way to the grocery this morning. Color almost looks like Bianchi Celesta. Switched me into scooter lust mode in milliseconds.
As far as the heat goes, check your messages for my update.
No, we got rid of the Vespa. I enjoyed riding it in the B-burg but not down here in The Duck! City ’burbs. The motorists are all clinically insane and the stroads make I-70 at rush hour look like a back alley in Walsenburg.
Plus I found that when the weather was suitable for riding a two-wheeler, I mostly wanted to be on a bicycle. So … after the Vespa sat around for a while, not getting ridden, The Boss made a Command Decision and off it went.
I kinda miss it, but not really. Now I got room in the garage for another bicycle. Winning!
I never wanted one of those little Vespas or other mopeds or small scooters even though I think they are really practical and cool. Given the drivers around every place I ever lived, I wanted something that could get out of its own way in a big goddamn hurry. Like the time I was sitting at a red light and heard this screeching of brakes behind me. I dropped the clutch on my 450 Honda and smoked it through the intersection between cars. Looked behind me and there was this hulking big American 1970’s car sitting kinda sideways where I would have been. Fuck me running.
What did you think of Season Three? S1 had me from the first “Yes, Chef!” and never let go. S2 avoided the sophomore slump, and Jamie Lee Curtis is a national treasure. But S3 seemed like the grown-ups in the writer’s room went on vacation and left their MacBooks with the kids. No one went anywhere, everyone was moody, and you knew everything was building up for the first review but it just couldn’t get to the finish line. It had the opposite problem of Ted Lasso. Lasso tried to cram Seasons 3-4-5 into S3, whereas the Bear thought a more viable tactic was treading water for a year and hoping Season 4 would save their pancetta.
I agree, season three was … meh. Everything and everyone circling the bowl whilst hollering “Fuck!” at each other. I got the feeling they were padding it out and saving all the good stuff for season four.
I loved the episode “Forks” in season two, the one where Ritchie discovered his Purpose. Then that revelation went boom! Right out the window! And everyone was back to hollering “Fuck!” at each other.
Have you ever seen “Better Things?” Also on Hulu. Ran like six years. It’s about an actress/single mom raising three daughters, caring for her loopy mom, and trying to keep her friends-and-family boat afloat by doing everything from theater to TV to movies to voicing cartoons, and all the while she’s basically aging out of a lot of gigs.
Slice-of-life stories, very character-driven. Short episodes for the most part. Heavy on estrogen, but as a contractor who scrambled for every loose dollar I dug it. Star/boss-lady Pam Adlon is very good — shit, just about everyone is, especially Kevin Pollak, who plays her brother — and you’ll see Mikey Madison honing the chops that got her the Oscar for “Anora.”
Well, if you are a PBS member the new season of “Grantchester” is available for streaming. Also the new mystery crime series “Patience” has a full season you can stream.
We gotta start giving PBS some money. They’re not as strong here as they are in Colorado. What the hell, we already underwrite three NPR affiliates (New Mexico, Wyoming, and Colorado). A feller can always use another T-shirt, ball cap, or tote bag.
I got into a huge pissing match with KUNM News a while back, but we still give them money every month, right out of the credit card. I still would like to wring a couple of their former reporter’s necks, but the big picture says support the station.
Actually, it was the News Director’s neck I wanted to wring. Reporter was small fry.
Background here.
https://northmesamutts.blogspot.com/2017/05/hecklers-veto-at-unm-round-2-kunm-piles.html
That’s the beauty of Arizona Public Media (AZPM) in Tucson and Southeast Arizona. One membership covers NPR and PBS. Plus, they have good local programming. We have been members for decades, and sent them extra $ this week to cover dumpster and congress’s efforts to defund the Corporation For Public Broadcasting because they don’t like the content. You know, biased shit shows like Nova, Frontline, American Experience, PBS Newshour and Weekend Edition.
Thanks POB, Patience is interesting.Different than the usual
We enjoyed the whole season. You’re right Herb ole buddy, it is a little different than the normal Brit mystery program. Reminded me a little of “Professor T.”