Archive for January, 2015
Library Puzzle
Posted by nbdog in jigsaw puzzles on 29-Jan-2015
I’m not sure why we enjoyed this puzzle. It was tedious to be sure but still had enough fascinating details I guess. Like a little mouse peeking through the balcony railing and the mounted butterflies on the wall.
Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
Posted by nbdog in Uncategorized on 28-Jan-2015
The forecast says we should approach 60 degrees again today. We are certainly off to a beautiful start. Caught this view on the way home from the gym this morning.
Local Climate Change, I Guess
The thermometer at Mt Si read 64 degrees this afternoon, under perfectly clear skies. I practiced in short sleeves. At 5:30 it’s still officially 55. Really amazing weather for January although I notice the high last January 25 was a pleasant 54.
Farewell to Lucy
Mary Anderson, the daughter of our neighbor Nancy, has spent the past several months living at home with mom while job hunting. This morning she headed off to her new post at Central College in Pella, Iowa. We had to say goodbye to our surrogate dog, Lucy, a beautiful, athletic black lab. We can’t wait until they visit again in the summer.
Off to Alaska
We just made a deposit on a full week trip to Alaska in June.
Two days in Juneau, three days in Anchorage and two days in Denali. We’ll travel by seaplane, rubber boat, jeep, bus, catamaran, small cruise ship, rental car and train. It should be an adventure.
What a Cutie
Posted by nbdog in Animals, Around the house on 21-Jan-2015
The little brown squirrel that spent so many hours eating peanuts in the feeder hanging from our backyard maple was devoured by a hawk last fall. Then, just a couple of months ago, this little fella appeared and is a regular visitor every day. He gets a special stash of peanuts in the morning then forages under the bird feeders the rest of the day.
Truly Unbelieveable
Posted by nbdog in Entertainment on 19-Jan-2015
The first half of the game was so bad I stopped watching and just listened to the audio. And today, almost twenty-four hours later I still can’t comprehend how the Seahawks came out on top. Seattle’s perseverance was splendid and the Packers’ ineptitude inexplicable. But the result was superb.
National Parks Roster – 28 Down, 31 To Go
Many of our friends and family are aware of our quest to visit as many of the U.S. National Parks as we can. We only added four to our list last year but we’re almost half way. Here are the parks we’ve been to so far:
- Arches National Park, Moab UT
- Badlands National Park, Interior SD
- Bryce Canyon National Park, Bryce Canyon UT
- Canyonlands National Park, Moab UT
- Capitol Reef National Park, Torrey UT
- Channel Islands National Park, Ventura CA
- Crater Lake National Park, Crater Lake OR
- Death Valley National Park, Death Valley CA
- Glacier National Park, West Glacier MT
- Grand Canyon National Park, Grand Canyon AZ
- Grand Teton National Park, Moose WY
- Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Gatlinburg TN
- Haleakala National Park, Makawao HI
- Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii Volcanoes NP HI
- Joshua Tree National Park, Twentynine Palms CA
- Lassen Volcanic National Park, Mineral CA
- Mammoth Cave National Park, Mammoth Cave KY
- Mesa Verde National Park, Mesa Verde CO
- Mount Rainier National Park, Longmire WA
- Olympic National Park, Port Angeles WA
- Petrified Forest National Park, Petrified Forest NP AZ
- Rocky Mountain National Park, Estes Park CO
- Saguaro National Park, Tucson AZ
- Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Park, Three Rivers CA
- Wind Cave National Park, Hot Springs SD
- Yellowstone National Park, Yellowstone NP WY
- Yosemite National Park, El Portal CA
- Zion National Park, Springdale UT
2014 Golf Summary
I’ve finally gotten around to reviewing last year’s golf activities.
- I played the fewest rounds — 91 — since 2006.
- My average score of 87.42 was better than last year but not as good as 2012 (86.14). I managed to break 80 five times, the same as last year but one less than 2012.
- I had my highest birdie percentage ever, 3.7% but I was also up slightly on, sadly, triple bogeys, a reflection of playing more rounds on harder courses. Twenty-four (26%) of my outings were at courses with a slope rating greater than 120 and 10 (11%) with rating higher than 133. In 2012 only 11% of rounds at slope over 120 and 29% in 2013.
- It was an odd year for putting. I made 77% of putts within 10 feet (by far my best ever) but recorded most three-putts per round (1.51) since 2009 and fewest 1-putts per round in three years.
- By one measure, slope minus stroke, I had my best round ever with an 89 at Bandon Dunes with its 139 slope rating from the green tees. I also shot an 87 and Old Macdonald on my final round of the year.
- Maybe best, I got to seven new courses last year. Most notably, the wonderful Gamble Sands track right here in Washington, rated by some as the best new course in America for 2013.
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