Happy Engagement Anniversary!
last update: 02/16 @ 21:35

We had a very nice, celebratory dinner last night at Josephine’s.

They even brought out a sparkler candle to help us celebrate.

I am super lucky to get to spend my life with Sarah, we’ve had so much fun with more to come!

Happy Birthday!
last update: 12/10 @ 14:59

A nice, mellow birthday. While I thought I might get on the river, the forecast kept getting less and less appealing over the last several days. The rain has held off and the temp did make it to the mid 40s, but the breeze has been pretty stiff and clouds thick.

That said, I’m now in possession (well.. will be soon) of a lifetime national parks pass.

And Robert found a CD which I’m sure to enjoy, Scottish Cowboy Ballads by Sam Shackleton. How can you go wrong with Early American Folk Songs in a strong Scottish accent? I have to say, it’s a great reminder of the importance of migration to our country — an important lesson these days.

Back from a lovely wedding
last update: 11/19 @ 18:30

We really enjoyed the fantastic wedding of Elise and Martin last weekend.

And we enjoyed the flexibility to tour around a few extra days in (not so) sunny Southern California.

The time to catch up with Sarah’s family, and meet Martin’s family was really special.

But not as special as the rainbow that popped up right after the wedding!

More photos in the trips section.

Happy Birthday Patrick!
last update: 10/20 @ 19:28

Sarah and I went to celebrate the birthday of Patrick, from the Pod Squad last night.

In addition to fantastic chili, cornbread, cake and cookies there was Foosball. Nathan v. the world — in this case Pocket.

It was a very fun evening with great folks.

And always astounding to me that such good people came together years ago, in the height of the early Covid days, to help out their neighbors. And that the core group still really enjoys hanging out together.

Patrick has lots of friends — and a recently married daughter — so there were several groups of folks there to celebrate. The Pod Squad took advantage of the perfect weather to enjoy his porch.

(And I feel the need to clarify that I’m a groupie — I did not volunteer for the Medical Reserve Corps to help with education, testing, contact tracing or vaccinations; I am, however, a beneficiary of their work.)

Happy Birthday Loren!!!
last update: 08/04 @ 16:41

We had a great, but much too short trip to Atlanta to Celebrate Loren’s 70th B-Day! It was great fun (less the traffic on the road there and back).

Extra bonus prize: a morning visit with Kate, Sean, Margo and Adeline!

More photos of the celebration in the travel section.

Birthday week
last update: 05/25 @ 20:40

Epic Mother’s Day Gift
last update: 05/11 @ 10:56

For Mother’s Day this year, Robert mapped all the previous Mother’s Days with photos of the two of them.

So, of course, I need to add a photo of the two of them looking at that gift for this year’s Mother’s Day.

Sarah was very moved — it really was a great and unexpected gift (and proof he’s in the right program at UW — and maybe something I should look at for use here on the blog…).

Pre-Mother’s Day
last update: 04/28 @ 21:56

It was a perfect day to take the Baseball Boat from Alexandria to see the Nationals play.

And they were playing the Mets — Sarah’s home team, and her mom’s favorite.

And just to celebrate the day and show off for Sarah and her mom, Lois, the Mets stomped the Nats: 19 to 5.

As I said a beautiful day for game (and trip up and down the Potomac).

But maybe not the Nats best showing so far.

We were both surprised to learn that they used up all their pitchers so for the last inning, the third baseman was pitching.

That really gives you perspective on how good and specialized pitchers really are.

And going for an afternoon game on a weekday was an extra treat.

Retirement really is very nice!

The Baseball boat is highly recommended!

It got us there in time to find the presidents so Sarah could get a picture.

Another busy weekend
last update: 09/30 @ 13:56

We’re back home after a brief trip north (and keeping on eye on family recovering from Hurricane Helene south of here).

With the recent (perhaps questionable) shift of the UW Huskies from the Pac12 league to the Big10, the planets aligned and they played Rutgers, where Sarah grew up.

Sarah picked up tickets and talked her brother into joining us (he and their mom were the football fans back in the day — Robert has gotten Sarah and I much more interested in college football than we were).

It was a good game and closer than many expected, but the Huskies lost by 3.

And Rutgers put on a great show: the marching band had LEDs they could use to draw out words and maps during halftime (with the stadium lights out). And they had a brief drone show!

The next day, Sarah, David Z. and I walked around Highland Park including going by their old house. It was great fun to hear the stories of them growing up.

That evening was Sarah’s high school reunion — more fun stories of growing up.

The next day (Sunday), we drove into Brooklyn to have a great brunch with Ian, Sophie and David.

And after brunch, we headed to Manhattan for an engagement party of one of Sarah’s classmates’ daughters.

As I said, it was a fun, busy, three day weekend.

Life of a retiree
last update: 08/27 @ 18:05

It’s been 30 days now and I felt the need to gather my thought a little bit.

I had a great sendoff from USPTO; a lovely lunch with coworkers (and Sarah). I was pleasantly surprised by some former colleagues who joined in as well. Also I was surpised by the number of folks who came as USPTO was finishing up our recovery from the CrowdStrike issue. (I don’t want to presume anyone would be OK with me posting their image, so I’m just using this photo of Sarah and me.)

One of those former colleagues made this great kayaking cake. She just happened to guess at the boat color and it’s perfect.

I’m enjoying being able to manage my time as I’d like to, not needing to be as aware of what time or day of the week it is. I’m taking advantage of that flexibility to paddle more (just watch this space). And I even did some work on the treehouse this week. And I smile just realizing that I can read the paper in the morning, rather than only having time to scan the front page.

My brother and sister-in-law stopped by for a visit, it was great to be able to take them on river without waiting for the weekend; not feeling rushed to get our visiting in on just the two weekend days. And real surprise, I managed to win at Scrabble (I lost at Catan, though).

I do have some short-term plans: I finished up a project of recreating a slideshow of my 1994 Grand Canyon trip (that was part of a present from Sarah this year). I knew for that, I wanted an easy way to just view the photos (something others have asked about for some of the pages here). That demonstrates one of reasons this seemed like the right time to retire. Writing that bit of JavaScript is exactly the kind of “make the web useful” work I really enjoy. I don’t need USPTO’s website to play in that space (although I don’t have as many folks to help ensure “useful” really is useful).

There are a few more IT projects I have on my agenda. And, of course, there will be more travel. Watch this space. I’m still comfortable that my gradual approach is right for me; I don’t believe I need any big bang trip or change in scenery to help solidify this new life stage I’m enjoying.

Thank you Robert
last update: 07/30 @ 15:01

For my retirement, Robert gave me this set of Aston Martin F1 lego cars.

Appropriate as we have been watching F1 since Drive to Survive during the pandemic.

And I have a soft spot in my heart for Aston Martin ever since James Bond.

I thought, as a retirement gift, it would be only proper to take the time to build the cars on a normal workday (for those not yet retired).

It still hasn’t really sunk in for me.

I think, mentally, I’m seeing this as a staycation at the moment.

It’s nice to be able to get some normal things done during the week.

And to have time to read the paper and my book.

And Sarah and I are getting excited for two trips: this fall to visit with family in South Carolina and this winter to head the Galapagos!

I have some more retirement photos to post in the next couple days. In between reading, boating and relaxing :)

I’m not from the Government anymore …
last update: 07/26 @ 17:26

It’s been quite a ride over the last 16 years.

Clearly I had more hair and way less gray. (But the hat helps to hide the missing hair — not that I really had that much more then).

Now I have way more experiences.

And lots of memories of working with a great team on some fun (and less fun projects).

Oh, and I have bionic eyes now since I got new lenses. (Hidden by the overly large sunglasses.)

I’m sure to have more to say and I have some great photos to share as well.

But I wanted to be sure to post this “day of.”

I wasn’t unhappy starting my job at USPTO, but I was much more serious then than on my way out the door for the last time.

Happy Birthday Alexandria!!!
last update: 07/13 @ 22:27

It was a little hot and steamy out, but a lovely display.

And it’s hard to beat being able to walk down the waterfront to see the fireworks up close.

This time we were in Founders Park, just downstream from the stage and bigger crowds.

That seemed to work out well; but I would have paid for cold bottle of water if there had been any vendors around.

It’s Official!!!
last update: 05/31 @ 16:30

I turned in my SF 3107 (and related forms) yesterday afternoon and had confirmation this morning that I did it right. My last day of federal service will be July 26th. I’m sure I’ll have more to say closer to the day.

Wedding!!!
last update: 03/09 @ 11:30

Reese and Danni’s wedding celebration was fantastic!

Michelle and Sarah met in college and have remained very close since then. Reese is one of Michelle’s sons. And now she has a new daughter.

So we were happy to help celebrate.

And celebrate we did!

The fog on the dance floor was a nice touch.

Everyone seemed to have a great time.

Reese and Danni clearly enjoyed being surrounded by family and friends.

And, as you can see, Sarah and Michelle loved the time together for the happy occasion.

We drove up on Saturday (stopping to visit with Ian and Sophie) and came back Monday. That led to very nice and relaxed day to cheer on the happy couple.

And to enjoy some of Long Island’s classics: a huge breakfast at Hauppauge Palace Diner and a lovely lunch at a very nice Italian restaurant (queue Billy Joel): Mannino’s.

Before that lunch on Monday, Sarah took us to Sunken Meadows State Park.

Even on a gray day, it was lovely and a great way to stretch our legs before getting the car.

Best of luck to the happy couple and all thier friends and family!

Happy 2024!!!
last update: 01/01 @ 00:51

Hoping for a GREAT year!

It was fantastic to have Robert join us for the fireworks, grapes under the table, sweeping the porches and running around the house.

You know, the usual :)

Also very nice to be invited to Will, Rob, Christine and Cassie’s house for their balloon drop party.

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