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I’ve read a number of books lately that were particularly interesting.  One I recently finished is “The Omnivore’s Dilemma”, by Michael Pollan.

Prior to reading it I asked whether it was a modern version of something like Upton Sinclair’s “The Jungle”, and the answer was “no”.  However, I think there are some common elements between the two.  I have certainly had my eyes opened about many of the foods we eat, and how they are grown, processed, marketed and distributed.

For example, the author spends quite some time describing how corn has become the dominant agricultural crop in the USA, and has come to dominate our food as well, particularly in non-obvious ways.  And this isn’t necessarily a good thing.  I recall “corn fed beef” being viewed as a positive, whereas now “grass fed” is preferred.  Now I understand better why.

The author went on perhaps too long extolling the virtues of a particular organic, sustainable farm in Virginia–one that doesn’t bring in chemical fertilizers, nor antibiotics and other drugs for the animals.  It does sound quite appealing.

It is a thought provoking book, and makes me view foods with new light, and may change my shopping and eating habits a bit.

Two of my favorite things from summer here are picking peaches from a local farm, and eating them.  The peach orchard where we go is perhaps 7 miles from our home (and near where I often ride my bike on the pleasant country roads).  Over the years I often bring visiting grandkids with me.

Here are Shiloh and Paisley from this summer.

Here is a link to a cute video I took of Miriam and Magdalena in 2010.  I think Magdalena is laughing due to the grass tickling her feet.

M&M Peaches

I love adding peaches to my breakfast cereal or pancakes.  And making smoothies with them.  The peach harvest season is much too short.  I did freeze some for later use, but regret I didn’t freeze a lot more.

 

 

For all these many years I have enjoyed having both my parents around, and in reasonably good health.  My dad turned 90 this year, and my mother 88.  So the years are finally catching up to them.  Both have been quite active until recently.  My mom would go on hikes up hills with us well into her 80’s.

So it is a bit sad to see them slow down.  My dad is plagued with a bad back, which necessitates using a walker and disrupts his sleep and activities.  My mom fell and broke her hip a few months ago, and is still rebounding from that.  Both remain mentally acute, which is great.  (Reference my post from yesterday about my dad’s memory.)

I went down to California in September for a week to visit with them and help around the house.  I was wall to wall busy the whole time but got a lot of satisfaction completing some chores and projects while there.  On my first day there we made a trip to the March Air Base commissary.  We weren’t sure how my mother would be able to get around but we got her into an electric scooter, and she and dad drove all around the store in them.

 

Aren’t they a good looking pair?  The store has wide aisles, and many patrons are elderly, so scooters there are routine.

I was unsuccessful convincing them to upgrade their TV to a high definition wide screen.  I know it would increase their viewing pleasure, but they are quite content with their ways and current standard of living.  I give them a lot of credit for that, even though it is frustrating to me, as I want to help them and they do have enough resources to upgrade some things around the house.  I’ll try again next time I visit.

Meanwhile, I count my blessings for having such great parents, and having them around!

Yesterday in my blog I related a few experiences and memories I had associated with the L.A. Dodgers and Dodger Stadium.  I must admit I was somewhat dismayed when my dad phoned me and insisted we had gone to a game where the Dodger pitcher had a no-hitter, and how could I not mention that in my blog.  I didn’t remember that and told my dad he must be mistaken, that if I had attended a game where a no-hitter was thrown I would surely remember it.

Well, he confirmed his recollection by checking in my mom’s diary, which recorded we went to the Dodger game on July 20, 1970, where Bill Singer pitched a no-hitter.  I had to think really hard and maybe there is a thread of memory of the event, but I still have no images or specific memories of that game in my brain.

In contrast to blanking on this memorable game I saw at age 18, I have vivid memories and multiple mental images of the 1960 game at the Coliseum–a game which was not remarkable in any way in its own right, and which I attended as a mere 8 year old and sat far out in right field seats.  Isn’t that a bit disconcerting?  Do I have early onset dementia?

Well, perhaps not.  One way I can explain this is that the 1960 game was a landmark event for me–first ever such experience for a young boy who was getting excited about baseball for the first time, and who attended with his dad who had just returned from a one year remote assignment with the Air Force.  And my favorite player hit a home run.  And it was my only game at the Coliseum.  So I know all my mental images of that place and time are from that game.

Attending the otherwise more remarkable game at age 18 was only one of perhaps a dozen games I attended at Dodger Stadium.  Any visual images of Dodger Stadium from that time period blend together–no single game stands out.  And as an 18 year old I had many other distractions and things going on in my life, such as leaving home for college in a few weeks.

Of course, I have vivid memories of my two most recent visits (2009 and 2013), because they were, well, much more recent.  And each had several unique circumstances.

Sometimes I think that as we get older and our brains fill up with so many memories, we necessarily toss some old ones out to make room for new ones.  I don’t know if there is any scientific basis for that, but it makes common sense.  And I’ll gladly grab on to that explanation as my excuse in this case.

By the way, kudos to my dad, who at age 90 is demonstrating a clear mind with accurate memories.

I have been a Dodger baseball fan since eight years old when I first became interested in playing baseball (while living in Southern California).  I attended my first Dodger game in 1960, which wasn’t long after the team moved to Los Angeles from Brooklyn (1958).

Those first few years the team played at the Los Angeles Coliseum, and that’s where we went for that first game.  The field was optimized for football, so the left field fence was rather short–they erected a tall screen there to curtail cheap, short home runs to left.  My favorite player at the time, Wally Moon, used to hit high flies over the screen, and he hit one during the game we saw (as did Frank Howard).  Johnny Podres was the winning pitcher.  Other players were Gil Hodges, Jim Gilliam, Johnny Roseboro, Maury Wills, Duke Snider.  I have old baseball cards of all these players, of course.

Here is a photo of the 1959 World Series in the Coliseum.

Dodger Stadium was completed in 1962, built in Chavez Ravine not far from downtown L.A.  I attended a number of games there through my growing up years (1962-1965, and 1966-1970–times when I lived in Southern California).

Here is a photo of the stadium.  I recall sitting high up behind home plate once, and was somewhat unnerved by the steep angle of the stairs and high seats.

Usually we (my dad and brother) sat in the cheap outfield pavilion seats, and I always brought my glove, with hopes of catching a home run ball. Never came close to happening.

Hard to believe that this stadium that I frequented when new is now the third oldest active baseball stadium in the major leagues, behind only Fenway Park in Boston, and Wrigley Field in Chicago (both built in the 1910’s).

One persisting memory I have from attending games there is the horrible traffic jams trying to exit the parking lot and get on a freeway.  It was late at night and we still had an hour’s drive home.

My son Daniel is also a Dodger fan, so we have enjoyed going to a couple of Dodger games these past few years.  Here are photos from those visits (2009 and 2013).

 

 

Edit:

My dad phoned me this morning to remind me that we witnessed Bill Singer pitch a no-hitter for the Dodgers on July 20, 1970.  I got free tickets for getting good grades, and attended the game with my dad and brother, Glade.  It seems I should have better memories of such a rare game, but can only conjure up a very foggy recollection.

November has definitely arrived here in the Pacific Northwest.  It has been colder, darker, and wetter.  Of course, the time change has something to do with that, now that it is 4:50PM when the sun sets.  And while it did rain quite hard for a few minutes this morning (causing some curb flooding with all the leaves) the normal precipitation around here seems to be a mist or light drizzle.  And the change was brought into stark contrast because of the long stretch of marvelous Indian Summer weather we had in October.  For example, this from October 22:

 

And here is what we have today (Nov. 7):

 

Since I’m not commuting by bicycle to work every day it is becoming more of a challenge to keep fit.  I was making it a point to go on a 45 minute ride into the hills at least three times per week, but it is harder (and less safe) to do in wet weather.  So this morning I resorted to this:

 

I blogged about this spinning class in a previous post–here is a link for “The Agony of Spinning”.  (By the way, in the spirit of “Where’s Waldo”, can you see me in this photo?)

If I don’t get a bike right by a fan blowing air then I end up with a pool of sweat around my bike.  Like this morning.  But it is great exercise!

Last year Suzanne and I looked at adding a waterfall to our backyard landscaping.  We had the perfect spot, with sloping ground in the corner just past our block wall.  We visited a “waterfalls, fountains, and ponds” store in town and were inspired by a display in the store showing how to construct a waterfall, along with the attractive finished result.

We were convinced we could “do it yourself”, took pictures of the display (which included some instructions), and purchased a pump, liner, and various supplies.

Photo above is from the store display showing how to build the waterfall.

This photo shows the store display finished product.

We visited a rock yard for more materials to supplement what we already had.  We dug out the pools and path, laid down the liner, and placed a few strategic rocks on the slope.

Sadly, things didn’t work so well.  The most flagrant problems were getting the flat stones level and channeling the water over the stones, instead of under and around.  We got discouraged and distracted with other summer activities.  The partially completed waterfall sat there all this summer as well.

Here is a photo of our neglected waterfall project.

However, we had a stretch of marvelous weather in October and I felt motivated to finish up a few yard projects, including the waterfall.  I visited the store again and got a few more ideas for how to address our problems, bought some mortar and foam spray, and went to work.  I thought this might be a half day project to finish it up.

Boy, was I ever wrong. The half day turned into two days, then a week.  The project became a money and time pit, with repeated trips back to Home Depot and various rock yards.  Just when I thought I had it pretty much finished, and just as the stretch of nice weather ended after a couple of weeks, I discovered I had a leak somewhere.  Over several hours of running the pump the water level in the lower pond dropped to the pump level.  Was I ever discouraged.

I was confident I knew where the leak was, so I applied more mortar and foam spray in the suspected area.  Ran the pump–still leaked.  Arghh!

Finally, on a cold, damp November 4 day I dismantled a section of the rocks and determined exactly where the leak was.  I reformed the liner and surrounding rocks, and planned to run it a few hours to confirm it was tight.  But when I restarted the pump the electric circuit popped and smoke billowed from the outlet.  And it was just starting to rain and get dark.

But I was not going to surrender and wallow in my discouragement.  I made another trip to Home Depot for parts and proceeded to troubleshoot the electrical problem.  I determined the pump still worked via a different outlet.  But I wasn’t getting any voltage to the switch from the house that fed the outside line.  I dismantled and reseated the wires into the connections–no luck.  Eventually, I determined that the outdoor circuit was being fed by the GFI outlet from our bathroom (of all places!), and it had tripped.  Once we reset that I got juice back at the outlet.  (Good thing I wasn’t shocked previously when I thought I had disconnected the appropriate breaker, but hadn’t.)  So, I got everything put back together in the dark and rain, and began the water leak test.  Ran it overnight and…voila!  We have a waterfall!

 

 

 

 

In April this year I went to an allergy doctor and was tested.  They poke your arm with a couple of dozen needles with certain contents to detect which cause itching and swelling.  Once again I showed grasses and a few other things were causing me problems.

I discussed with the doctor what options were available these days for medication or treatment.  I was hoping to avoid another tedious allergy shot regimen, but it didn’t look like there were any silver bullet new medicines that I hadn’t already tried.  However, when she suggested I might be a good candidate for an accelerated shot treatment she got my attention.

My allergic reactions are specific to only a few things, and I’m not asthmatic, so I jumped at the accelerated plan.  You take several medications in the 24 hours before spending most of the day at the shot clinic, where they ramp up the dosage with a shot every 20 minutes, and monitor you closely for symptoms.  You return a week later for another round, after which you are within three or four shots of the maintenance dose, for which you return weekly.  Everything went great for me, and I reached maintenance dosage right about the first of June.

I didn’t want to set expectations too high, hoping that perhaps I would see some reduction in my usual symptoms this first season.  The doctor explained that it would require some time for immunity to build up in my body, so this first season might still be problematic for me.

Imagine my delight when I had almost zero allergy symptoms the entire month!  I thought perhaps it was an unusually tame month for allergies, but not so–the doctor said it was worse than average for most sufferers.

So now I continue with maintenance dose shots once every two weeks, at least through this year.  I’m allowed to stretch it to four weeks, which I’ll start doing next year.  I’m hoping the doctor may give permission to extend to six weeks eventually.

I can’t say enough how pleased I am with the results, and with this accelerated treatment.  Life is so wonderful for me in June, and I took zero supplemental medications.  The doctor refers to me as the poster child for the accelerated shot program.  If you suffer from allergies I would recommend you check it out.

I’ve had spring/summer hayfever since my teen years.  In Riverside, California, I suffered moderate symptoms through the summer.  In Germany I had stronger symptoms, but for a shorter time, mostly the month of June.  In Boise, ID, my allergies began in May and lasted through June.  When I moved to Portland, OR, in 1984 I was decimated by allergies, and they were largely confined to the month of June.

Over the years I would take an allergy pill, and they were moderately effective at best.  But they did a great job making me drowsy.  In Oregon the symptoms were so debilitating that I went to an allergist for testing (grasses were the dominant problem) and began a shot regimen.  It was costly and inconvenient.  The first few months I had to go in twice a week while they ramped up the dosage.  Later it became every week or two, and finally, after several years, the doctor gave permission to stretch them out to once every six weeks.

Within a couple of years I was symptom free all through the glorious month of June.  The shots were a huge success.  After a decade or so the doctor agreed I might try discontinuing the shots, that the immunity might well persist.  And I could avoid entirely the expense and hassle of regular shots.

Sadly, as the subsequent years went by my June allergies gradually returned.  I tried various medications, which have improved over the years, but my quality of life during that month was impacted, especially when engaging in outdoor activities such as cycling.  I decided I should visit an allergist to see if there were better medications or treatments.

To be continued . . .

 

We went to Brooklyn’s soccer game this past Saturday.  It was a very exciting game, ending in a 1-1 draw.  Here are some photos: