Rainy Days and Tuesdays

It's been said that, "Into every one's life some rain must fall.".

Looks like today is that day for us out here on the East Coast.

Not that it's a bad thing, mind you.

It could be much worse seeing as how it's the middle of January. Rain rarely requires any shoveling be done.

So what's a retired guy to do on a raw, rainy January day?

Well, when the going gets tough, the tough bake bread.

Don't be surprised.

Baking bread is one of my favorite indulgences. It allows me to take out any frustrations I might have as I knead the dough. Then, the aroma of baking bread allows me to relax.

Honestly folks, name a better smell than bread baking in the oven.

I actually made some bread last week. I made Italian bread for the first time in a long while.

These lovely loaves were the result of a double recipe of my "double yeast" dough. While I was happy with the loaf and baguette up top, I was especially pleased with the boule. Rarely can I turn out a perfect round loaf. This one might have been my best effort ever.

I'm debating as to whether I'm going to even attempt some boules today.

Such is the weight of perfection.

All y'all will excuse me as I log off and ponder my bread dilemma.

Until the next time, all y'all take care of yourselves.

Air Traffic Mike, ret.

Let The Carnage Begin

One thing about the Iowa Caucuses, even if they have a crappy record of picking a winning Republican candidate from the field, they sure did a swell job of thinning out the herd.

Signs your candidate is getting out of the race:

- They call their operatives in other states and tell them not to do anything until they hear back  from the campaign.

-  They hastily call a press conference.

- The front runners mock the losers.

Let's face it, no matter how much candidates Huntsman, Bachmann, and Perry tried to paint a rosy picture over the last couple weeks, the fact remains that they are non-players from here on out. None even merit a mention as a Vice Presidential nominee.

Their problems?

Huntsman is dull. The dad from "Alf" was a more dynamic public speaker. He could be handing out gold bars and nobody would show up for fear of being bored to death. He got 745 votes. That's around 0.6% of the total voters.

Huntsman: Game over.

Bachmann is scary. Even she never knows what she's going to say next. She pandered to the Tea Party and even they stayed away from her in droves. The simmering feud with Sarah Palin didn't help her cause. Garnering just over 6,000 votes is actually a mandate. It's a mandate to quit.

Bachmann: Turn her over, Drive. She's done.

Rick Perry's problem is that God made him out of Rick Perry. He has no detectable extemporaneous speaking skills. When he couldn't remember one of the three agencies he wanted to shutter, even after he'd been given some time to think about it, he showed the world just what he was made of. He might play well in Texas, but the rest of the nation admires leaders who can think in complete sentences.

Perry: Git along little doggie.

So the field will be much narrower moving forward with Romney looking the strongest. Okay, so he barely eked out a win over Santorum and Paul. He still has a well oiled machine in place. We all saw how "well oiled" Gingrich's machine was when he had to unsuccessfully attempt to make on to the Virginia Republican primary ballot.

For God's sake, he LIVES in Virginia. You'd think he would have taken the time to READ the rules.

My prediction on the Republican nominee?

Mitt Romney.

Santorum and Paul voters are trying to send a message to the rest of the Party. When Santorum and Paul run out of steam, that will be the death rattle of the Tea Party movement.

It could also be the Republican Party's worst nightmare.

If either one runs as a third party candidate, it will siphon off enough votes for Romney to lose by a wide margin.

The threat of that puts Paul and Santorum in line for a shot at the Vice President's job.

That is also a nightmare for the Republican Party.

Both men are controversial. They are so far from the center that they will cost the Party a lot of the "middle ground" voters. Both men have enough baggage to sink a freighter. Also, in the heat of battle, expect them to be ripping into Romney on a more personal level.

Don't think for a second that someone isn't going to play the "Mormonism is a cult" card.

Why, you ask, am I writing off Gringrich as a VP candidate?

His ego would never let him play "second fiddle" to anyone else.

The field is going to be smaller, so watch just how personal the attacks REALLY start to get.

Get your popcorn and sodas folks, the show is just beginning.

Until the next time, all y'all take care of yourselves.

Air Traffic Mike, ret.

Happy New Year (The Old Money Edition) Part 2

There are few "givens" in the world.

One of those is that the early du Ponts made a lot of money off the manufacture and sale of gunpowder. At the turn of the last century they were so dominant in the field that the U.S. government ordered them broken into three separate companies.

That's big.

"Longwood", the estate purchased by Pierre S. du Pont in 1906 reflects just what one of the wealthiest men of his era could create given deep pockets.

How deep? Well, he and two cousins had enough money to buy the family business back from investors in 1902. Oh, and Pierre was no slouch when it came to gunpowder. Having graduated from MIT with a degree in chemistry, he was one half of the duo that created "smokeless" gunpowder.

Lest I forget, he made millions off investing in a small automotive company that under his leadership became the largest automotive company in the world.

Yeah, that one.........General Motors.

Seeing as disposable income was not much of a problem for the fellow, he set out to see the world. He also set out to indulge his passions of plants and music.

On a scale of 1 to 10 I have to give him an 11.

Pictures of the original estate with the "Conservatory" addition.

Now I have to tell you, you MUST click on picture number three of the poinsettias.

I'm 6'00" tall.

Those pictures were taken at eye level.

I'm a big fan of white poinsettias.

These were among the most fantastic I have ever seen in person.

The skies were getting grey and Wintry looking. We decided that maybe it would be best to walk the grounds and save the indoor exhibits for later.

Free map in hand, we headed out to see what we could see.

The small wooden cross was very moving. The Lenni Lenape tribe was once the dominant population of the Delaware Valley region. They were a peaceful tribe who negotiated with the European settlers.

We continued our trek eastward on the property. The next stop was the "Italian Garden" and its fountains.

For some odd reason we believed the fountains would be on in January.

Obviously, that wasn't the case.

Still, they were worth the long walk.


                                     

With nothing else to see past here, we headed back to the west.

With most of the "seasonal" gardens dormant, there wasn't much to see per se. However, to sundial was pretty interesting to spend some time examining. Maybe next time it will be a sunny day where we can check its accuracy.

We continued our trek westward.

Pretty soon we came across an odd looking building. It looked a bit like a bucolic office or a later attempt to make some rest rooms appear to match the time period when Mr. and Mrs. du Pont lived here.

It was neither.

While Chris was exploring the rest room, I walked around front.

Mr. du Pont was a huge lover of music. He had this outdoor stage and seating area built so he could hire bands to entertain his family and guests.

Pleas click on the picture of the sign at the end. I'm pretty sure John Phillip Sousa didn't play many "private affairs".

He did here, though.

We resumed our hike.

The du Pont's loved their small conservatory so much, that Mr. du Pont decided to build a slightly larger one on the property.

But that's only if you consider 4.5 acres under glass small.

The formal garden was to be the site for the New Year's Eve fireworks display. Frankly, my back was starting to spasm. Long story short, I fell off a step ladder as a teen and have had them ever since. Especially when I over do it. By this point, I was very close to being ready to leave.

However, I did want to walk down and get a view of this garden. It is where the majestic fountains that grace the estate were built.

Like the Italian Fountains, they were shut off for the Winter.

That doesn't mean we didn't see something cool.....

We saw the "soul" from one of the trees trying to escape.

I felt sorry for it.

Looked like it had been stuck there for some time.

Gotta tell all y'all, this was one of the best Christmas presents I've ever received.

We're looking forward to going back later this year.

I'd like to see the gardens in the other three seasons.

I'm a geek like that.

Until the next time, all y'all take care of yourselves.

Air Traffic Mike, ret.