The Royals Down Under

The 8-month-old Royal Baby made his third public appearance while in his mom Kate’s arms as the family stepped off their private plane in Wellington, New Zealand. Prince George’s first appearance was when he and his family left the hospital a few days after he was born.

Unfortunately, the family’s flight was delayed, but thankfully that didn’t seem to affect Prince George who seemed unphased that he had just spent over 30 hours on a plane. He even waved excitedly as Kate carried him across the tarmac. What an adorable and well-behaved little guy he is!

While Duchess Kate carried Prince George, Prince William was in charge of carrying his toys — including a stuffed kangaroo! It’s nice to see that even royals aren’t off the hook when it comes to daddy duty. 

It also appears as if Prince George has inherited his mother’s fashion sense as well. Wearing a cardigan and white shorts along with a pair of tiny ivory shoes, the adorable baby was ready to tour the town in style.

Special Thanks to Hollywoodlife.com for this information and photo.

Not Quite The Day I Had Planned

So what was to be a relatively mild Sunday ended up being anything but that.  It was a perfectly quiet Sunday with plans to do taxes and then in the early evening I would motor south and have dinner with Markie plus Mick & Bret.  The morning unfolded just as it should with a few phone calls and a late brunch.  After eating I realized I needed to empty the dishwasher in order to put in the dirty dishes.  Alas, near the end of the unloading process a glass slipped out of my hand and crashed to the floor.  In the process a shard of glass found my big toe and cut it quite noticeably.  Not good.

Thus, I am now in the middle of my kitchen, surrounded by glass and of course, this is when I realize I have no broom.  [Yes, yes, I am going to be having one on my next grocery order] With few options at hand I finally make the dreaded 911 call.  Within minutes the paramedics have arrived and thankfully the basket on top of the frig was long enough for me to reach over and unlock the front door.  After additional scolding from the paramedics in a light friendly way [Seriously, you do not have a broom?] it is determined that the cut, while significant, does not warrant stitches, but rather they used the butterfly kind to hold it together followed by some additional bandaging. 

One of the paramedics was rather cute and so that made things better.  The three of them cleaned things up quite nicely and leaving me with some Tylenol 3 pills departed.  I pulled the big foam cushion out of the closet and elevated my leg for the balance of the day.  Yes, it did throb a bit and I did use 4 of the 6 pills they left.  Took several naps and in the end accepted that I can get taxes done next weekend and confirmed with Markie for a future dinner engagement. 

My sister made a good suggestion and that is that I plan to ring my doctor in the morning so they know what is going on.  And so that is how my Sunday went sideways all too quickly.  Cheers!

Daffodil Time

A true sign of Spring!

Good Night Dave...

Yesterday, David Letterman announced his retirement from "The Late Show..." and already people are starting to wonder why and who will replace him.  Why?  We knew it was coming for sometime as he only did a one year extension on his contract last year.  Also, Jimmy Fallon has been doing a stunning job in the ratings department since he took over "The Tonight Show" in February.  As to who?  Well...The NY Daily News wasted no time on sharing its' Top 10 list:

David Letterman is irreplaceable, but someone must step into his shoes in 2015 to take the reigns. In the spirit of CBS’ long-running late night talk show, here’s our own Top Ten list of people who should replace Letterman:

10. Jon Stewart — The host of Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” has long been considered a favorite to take over Letterman’s gig.

9. Chris Rock — Arguably one of the funniest comedians on the planet, and he’s already hosted his own HBO show in the past.

8. Conan O’Brien — He’s got the chops. He’s got the talent. He needs to get off cable so people can find him again.

7. Larry David — One of the funniest comedy writers of all time. Although he might yank out what little hair he has left the first time a stupid pet trick goes awry.

6. Louis C.K. — Another top comic, with serious talent. And he’s one heck of a talker.

5. Craig Ferguson — As CBS’ longtime late late guy, he’s made no secret that he’s long coveted his boss’ job.

4. Chelsea Handler — She’s funny, smart, acerbic and soon to be unemployed. Handler will be wrapping up her current E! late night talk show, “Chelsea Lately,” at the end of the year.

3. Tina Fey & Amy Pohler — They host the Golden Globes, and they cut their teeth doing late night comedy on “Saturday Night Live,” so the pair would obviously make incredible late night TV hosts, if only CBS could pry them away from NBC. You know, like the network did with Letterman.

2. Jerry Seinfeld — He’s a smooth talker, a funny guy and he knows how to work clean. And Jerry already has a hit talk show on the Web, “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee.”

And the number one person to replace David Letterman is...

1. Jay Leno — He’s unemployed, and we know he gets ratings.

Finally Friday Eve!

The week has been a blur.  I cannot believe it is already Friday Eve!  The weekend will be more than welcome.  While last weekend was one that was fully relaxing and much needed, this weekend has a series of social engagements.  Markie is home from his trip to Istanbul and a few other cities.  He has invited me to dinner on Sunday.  The past couple of times we have gotten together, it has been at my place.  Thus, he wants to host.  Who am I to deny that.  

 

Sadly, Mark - the owner - is back to some of his old antics.  Thus, I prefer to duck and cover and get by.  It is sad to see the roller coaster effect and to think I have only had my job threatened three times this week.  I feel lucky.  I do try and keep perspective and my sleep has not been interrupted by all the antics.  If that starts to be invasive, then there will be issues to be discussed.  I keep trying to figure out how it must feel to be despised by so many people. 

 

Thus, on days like these I need to find a happy place.  Thinking about the train station in Portland makes me happy.  I have come in and out of that station many a times.  Below is a great picture of the train station.  It brings back many fond memories of Portland.

On the food front, I have been quite zealous in maintaining my new 5 meal food plan and the frig in my office is helping that.  I have been eating my fruits and vegetables and that is a good thing.  Trying out some new combinations.  Chicken has been a default for me along with salmon and thus I am trying to spread my wings.  Being a bit more creative and that makes for some interesting combinations. 

 

Damon has been more than amusing on the phone this week and we even had a video chat on Sunday.  He was all weepy about seeing me live.  Too funny.  He is having his surgery soon and will be blind for about a week.  That is going to be an interesting experience for him.  He is so  ready to get out of Las Vegas.  Been there not even two weeks.  But hey, he does make a chunk of change there and so he does tolerate. 

Has It Really Been A Decade?

It is amazing to think of how time flies.  It was back in April, 2004 that a dear friend Ani who wrote a book on the life and work of Sinan Diaryz.  It was an amazing experience and we visited so many different places.  Additionally, after we finished a couple of weeks in Turkey it was off to France for a trip that can only be referred to as a true 'Sacre Bleu' moment.  Just don't get me started on that experience.  I was really taken by the various tile patterns that you saw everywhere and I have a really cool plate that has the design of tile work.  In full credit, the two photos on this post come from Mark Souder who was just in Istanbul.

Be Mindful Today

You just never know what might happen on a day like today.  It is fun to see jokes done in the spirit and laughter, but then there are those that just do not go off so well.  I understand that on CBS Drew Carey hosted The Late, late show with Craig Ferguson while today Craig Ferguson is hosting The Price Is Right.  That is clever.  However you decide to celebrate, do be safe and keep it fun!