March Wrap-Up

Hello again. It's been a while since I've written anything but I've had a bit of writer's block. With the start of April it's time to get back to the keyboard. Let me catch up with what I've been doing during the last couple of weeks of March and initial days of this month. 

On March 18, my wife and I spent the day in Lexington, KY. The reason we were there had nothing to do with March Madness. We were attending a play in one of my favorite theaters. The Lexington Opera House is a place that's a real throwback to the days of small venue theaters. It's very quaint (yes, I just used that word) and charming. 

We went there to see the classic Neil Simon play, Barefoot In The Park. Here's the picture they took of us in the lobby. It should have been staged a bit better but you get the idea. 

 We have been to this venue at least 3 times together. I went with my sons once to see "Spamalot". That was the only time I have had floor seats in this theater. Paula and I like the mezzanine section.  There really isn't a bad seat in the house. This was our POV for this performance. 

Here's a link to a video I shot while waiting for the show to start. At The Opera House

Of course, my life would not be complete without quality time with my grand children. The last days of March included visits to their new house and a sleep over at our house.

My grandson, Gabriel, is now 5 months old and changing every time we see him. 

He's rolling over, cutting teeth and discovering both the good and bad tastes of baby food veggies and fruits. 

Other than when he is hungry, tired, or needs changing, he is happy and almost always smiling. He's very curious about the world around him. 

Ever since she was an infant, I have always tried to nurture my grand daughter, Aria's appreciation of music. One of the first toys I ever bought her was a Minnie Mouse themed ukulele. 

During the weekend she spent at our house late in March, I found out that her enjoyment of singing has grown beyond what we sing together or the Mickey's Sing Along video she watches at our house. 

While watching the movie "Sing" on video she asked me to get out my microphone and amplifier so she could be "a star" too. 

While she didn't really know a lot of the words she had a great time trying to sing along and reveled in hearing her own voice over the speaker. I'm hoping her passion for music continues as she gets older. 


Our home video collection, especially my Disney movies, grew during the last half of March. In addition to "Sing" we also now have "Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them"on our movie shelf. 

Out of all the movies we saw in 2016 these two are probably my wife's favorites. I bought them for her. I'm sure she'll watch them over and over again in the future. 

I also, made significant progress in the quest to replace my Disney animated movie DVD collection with Blu-Rays. I started out the month needing 22 including the 2016 animated hit, Moana. I bought that one on March 7, the day it was released.  

Taking advantage of a 60% off sale from the Disney Movie Club I added 7 more: Atlantis, Fun and Fancy Free, Great Mouse Detective, Home On The Range, Tarzan, Treasure Planet, and The Wild. I am down to needing just 14 to complete my Disney blu-ray collection. 

Speaking of movies, Paula and I went to see two very popular films over the last week. She was excited about both of them. Me, not so much. 

Disney's live action version of Beauty and The Beast had great visuals and of course the music is classic Disney. I won't go into details here, but while I liked quite a few things about it, there was so much wrong with this film that I really didn't like it. 

A couple of years ago, Paula went to an event sponsored by our local library and met the author of the book version of "The Shack". She was really impressed by him then, so she was anxious to see the movie. 

I only knew the basic premise of the story. In addition, prior to going to see the film, I had read some very negative stuff about the movie from some Christian ministers whose opinions that I really respect. This made me rather skeptical going into the theater. 

The movie is a very emotional, and an intriguing and interesting spiritual metaphor. I won't give away any spoilers here but; the "real life" aspect of the story in regard to the little girl was very emotional for me. Almost too much to watch. 

I apologize to people who enjoyed or were touched by the movie but, I didn't like it. I don't know what religion the movie was presenting but as far as I'm concerned it wasn't Christianity. At least the Christianity presented in the Bible I read. It was more of a hybrid of Christianity and other middle eastern religions. Perhaps there was  symbolism I didn't understand or misinterpreted. Again, I won't get into the details but I didn't care for the movie. 


I have mentioned my enjoyment of listening to podcasts in this blog before. In mid March I took the next step in my commitment to some of the podcasts I subscribe to. I decided to become a financial supporter. Through a website called "Patreon" some podcast invite listeners to show their support with a monthly donation. It is a nominal amount but it comes with some cool perks. I have decided to do that for two podcasts: "WDW Today" and "The School Of Laughs" podcasts. The reason I chose these two is that they both originate in Nashville. My donations to these add up to less than $20 a month. They come with some great privileges including exclusive Facebook groups, newsletters, and live podcasts. So far I am enjoying the additional access to the podcasts.

I finally received my prize for winning the Moonpie contest on the BLT Lunch Break podcast. I was expecting to get a t-shirt and some Moon Pies. I only got a t-shirt. I don't even know if I will ever wear it. Here are some pics of me trying it on. 

With the change of the seasons and warmer weather it's time to get back to working on getting some of the repairs, clean up and improvements done here around the house. 

Last Saturday we had a plumber come and replace the drainage pipes under the house that had eroded to the point that they were leaking. It made the back bathroom virtually unusable. But thanks to his hard work we now have two working bathrooms again. 

The next change we made was a significant one. We decided to eliminate our dog, Angel's crate. Over the last year things have changed. She's never shut up in her crate. When we leave the house we simple put her in the room where here crate is and close the door. That shuts her off from the restof the house. She's a good dog and never gets into anything in the room. That includes her treats and bag of food. 

So Angel no longer sleeps in her crate. She now has a very comfortable pillow in the back left hand corner but has an entire room to herself. She's very happy about it. 

I mentioned we have plans for that room. This includes a set up that will help me move forward toward my goals. In the near future I will assemble a desk that fits in the far right corner and will serve as both my office and recording set up. 

I will keep you updated on how this transition is going as it gets done. 

So there's an update on what's been going with me over the last 2 or 3 weeks. There are some other things I want to let you in on but I plan on featuring them in a post all their own in the near future. 

I just wanted to write this one and get it published so I get back into the habit of providing content for you. That way you can count on finding something new almost every time you check back. Thanks for sticking with me. See you again, very soon.