Most Popular Posts of 2011

I reviewed my blog's statistics for 2011and it was interesting to find that an area that I have been ignoring was responsible for some of the most popular posts of 2011, that would be wine reviews and reviews of wineries. I have been limiting my wine reviews to a program called CellarTracker, which I use to monitor my wine cellar.The other popular area pertains to reviews of concerts. I wrote four concert reviews during the year and two of them wound up in the top five.

The most popular posts written during 2011, in terms of hits, were

1. Montes Alpha Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 -- Review

2. An Evening with Josh Groban

3. Sheldrake Point Vineyard

4. Surfboard Poppop

5. Dynamic Duo Create Memorable House Concert Evening

From my perspective though, I find it much harder to decide the best post of 2011 from the 430 posts that I wrote during the year.  I find that parts of the year are a bit fuzzy and others stand out clearly in my memory. The posts from St Lucia and St Vincent were certainly the most interesting in terms of travel, but I was amused by my out the hotel window series.

But, in reviewing the entries, I really enjoyed reliving the experiences described in The Turtles of Tobago Cays.

I wrote seven poems this year--mostly, I notice late in the year as I lose touch with summer. Of the seven, October Night was my favorite.

I tried to find my favorite image of 2011--but there just too many for me to narrow down. Sunsets of St Lucia and St Vincent and the Grenadines contain not a few of my favorites. But the image of the fence in the sand in On the Beach, Again really appeals to me. Although the best was probably taken by Chris and published in Image of the Weekend from Assateague.

The post which I reused was When One Plus One is One and I think it worked really well as the message for the wedding that I did during the year.

So all in all--I am glad that I don't have to pick just one favorite or best. It's my blog after all and I get to set the rules.


-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Monday Musings - January 2, 2012

1. Happy New Year--don't forget to write 201"2" on everything you do for the next year.

2. I read a scary item in the news about 40,000 new laws taking effect yesterday across the nation. Really--can anyone keep track of all of the laws we have on the books? Some of them can be found at the article titled 40,000 State Laws to Become Reality in 2012. A more complete list is at New Laws Ring in the New Year.

               a. One of the new laws is that anyone 11 or under in Colorado who appears to have sustained a head injury during an sporting event will be forced to sit out the rest of a game until they can be examined. OK--here is my take--just forced to sit out? Why don't they require immediate medical attention or something more drastic? And who is making the decision on whether the the child has sustained a head injury?

                b. A law in California will require gay and lesbian history to not be overlooked in public schools. Really? And what is the purpose of this law--to rewrite history yet again?

3. 2011 ended with some really enjoyable and mild weather. I believe we will soon be paying for all of that nice weather when the worst that winter can throw at us arrives.

4. Resolutions? Do we really need resolutions to help start the year? We discussed a few in church yesterday that resonated with me and that I will be attempting for the year ahead. If you want to hear more about them, go to the website and click on More.
             
               a. More desire, less duty
               b. More trust, less panic
               c. More aprons, less bibs
               d. More friends, less acquaintances
               e. More compassion, less apathy

5. The county that I live in has wasted over $250,000 trying to buy a piece of land for a new school. They began planning to build before settlement--really, why can't our government officials use the same common sense that the rest of us use when buying land. It is not ours until after settlement. I am happy about the school not coming to my neighborhood, by the way.

6. When should the Christmas decorations come down? I'm planning on starting today--although we have already put the Christmas dishes back into storage.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Happy New Year 2012

And so it begins--2012.

Who knows where we will be this time next year? And for most of us it really does not matter. The year ahead will do its thing and we will wind our way through its twists and turns and emerge at New Year's Day 2013 different than we are today and hopefully better for the experience. Sadly, that will not be the case for all of us.

I know that to start the year, I have to put away the decorations from last year. It seems every year begins that way--having to clean up the mess from the Christmas season and the holidays.

Chris and I got a start on that yesterday and received a bit of help from Riordan--the cat who came back. He crawled up into the empty cupboard as we were swapping Christmas dishes for the everyday dishes. I thought it was cute in that he at least wanted to give us a bit of assistance. Or was he trying stop us from putting away Christmas.

Well the dawn is breaking and 2012 is itching to begin.

As the old TV show used to state:"And away we go!"

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Sliding into 2012 and Recreating Self

I love the end of the year because it is a natural time to review whats been going on in life and to plan for the year ahead. Some people call them resolutions--I prefer to think of them a goals.

Da Boys

I had a goal of being of being lighter at the end of 2011 than I was at the beginning--and amazingly enough, I am. Not as light as I was in the middle of the year--but overall lighter. Success.

Some of the goals for 2012 include travel--Houston, Sarasota, Orlando and somewhere else yet to be determined.

And other as yet to be determined goals, will undoubtedly arise over the next few days.

Each year could be considered a new beginning. A chance--or a natural opportunity to recreate myself.

Lucas in His Helmets

I was reviewing the images of 2011, and ran across one from Christmas Eve--Jeremy and the boys. I reminded me that we have a really cool family and that for 2012, I want to continue to make he family closer together so I can enjoy things like major Nerf gun wars in the yard and everything else that goes with getting together.

 And so, for the last blog entry of 2011, I want to leave with this image of Lucas in his makeshift helmets. I think he looks a lot like a Star Wars rebel fighter.

But he has it down and this is my resolution for 2012--take each day as it comes, smile a lot and try to brighten the day of those around me. Don't worry too much about the small stuff and when the big stuff comes--duck or put make sure I have a good hard hat, so it rolls off.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Endings and Beginnings

2011 is almost gone to assume its place in the history of the world. I tend to think of it now in terms of endings--the things that happened and that are done, gone, and hopefully not forgotten.

Today, for instance, I know people who are ending their careers--they are retiring after decades (yes decades, like four or five) of service to this country. On one hand, it seems like an ending.

But it is a beginning, too--a chance to start over and begin the next chapter of their lives. I am sorry to see them go, but I am excited for them and the opportunities that they face for the future.

I look back on the year and I recall some of the great events and moments that we will remember years into the future--like ending our involvement in Iraq, the end of Usama bin Laden, the Arab Spring which saw millions free themselves from tyranny, Libya and Gaddafi, the end of the US space shuttle program, the Japanese earthquake, the Maryland earthquake, and the world population exceeding 7 billion--just to recall a few.

There were deaths of many great people--famous with notoriety as well as not so famous and close and personal.

But there were also births--those clean slates of humanity ready, whether they want to or not, to lead us into the future in a few decades.

Endings followed by beginnings.

There was sadness--but there was also joy.

For my family, 2011 was a great year. We grew closer together, we celebrated, we traveled together, and we at times walked with each other in the face of some really serious and deadly diseases to provide each other support.

I found heroes in our family--those who stepped up to the challenge of cancer, or other disease on a daily basis and said to themselves--I am better than that and this is not going to beat me. I know--I take that approach every day with my NDPH.

Will 2012 be better? God alone knows.

But I know this--it will be full of endings and each ending will be accompanied by a beginning.

So good-bye 2011, your time has run its course. Hello 2012--what promise do you hold?

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Do you believe in angels or God?

What an interesting question posed by and 18 year old Austin, Texas teen on December 19th--who subsequently died on Christmas of a heart attack. The question was posed at the end of a You Tube video (in two parts) that described his life and how he had cheated death three times. I believe the video was his attempt provide comfort to those who love him as he knew his time was short and also to be a means to provide hope to those who are afraid of death and do not know God.

The teen's name is Ben Breedlove and he answered the question simply, "I do." He should know, had died already twice--possibly three times during his short life.

I watched the videos this remarkable teen produced. They are on You Tube and are titled simply: This is my story (part 1), and This is my Story (part 2).

I was impressed with this young man who I believe had a pretty good idea that his days were numbered and wanted to leave us a message of hope.

I am also heartened by the media coverage associated with his life and passing.

I have talked to not a few people lately who say they are spiritual--but in my mind don't have a good grasp of the full implication of what they are saying when they use the word. I am glad they are spiritual, that is a start. My hope and prayer is that they move from an impersonal spiritualism into a deeper relationship with God.

Maybe Ben will help some of them to come to that place.

The Christmas season is a good time to find a closer relationship with God. What a great way to start the New Year--knowing the creator of the universe.

Happy New Year and God bless you!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

The In Between Week

This week is the in between week, the week sandwiched between Christmas and New Years. It is a week full of recovery from Christmas and planning for the New Year celebrations. It is amazing what kind of things happen during the week which continue to keep us busy.

I did have the chance to check out some of the gifts I received. The Photoshop program for the images I collect seems really cool. I also enjoyed test flying my radio controlled hawk--but it was raining too hard outside to actually try to fly it for real.

The excitement for the day was to see the Tin Tin movie and enjoy the big screen bringing to life the boy reporter that Patrick enjoyed so much as a child. It was nice to go to a movie during a weekday afternoon. And since it was raining it both got me out of the house and encouraged a walk around the mall--which I fully circumnavigated.

I will be reading through my 2011 blogs this week and coming up with the best images and stories of the year mostly as a way of recapping my activities and thoughts.

I will continue to enjoy the in between week--but I am working two days, unlike other years. I did a better job of scheduling my use or lose leave this year. I remain amazed at the mild nature of  December 2011's weather for Maryland.  Despite the rain yesterday--temperatures continue to be mild and overall pleasant. I am sure that the storms of winter will soon be upon us--but I have to continually remind myself that we are really experiencing a pleasant time weather-wise.  It makes the promise of spring--now less than 90 days away, very real.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Nerf Guns and World War

Christmas provided a wide variety of activities for the family to participate in and to enjoy each other.

One of the coolest gifts of Christmas was the remote controlled tarantula--no doubt, but getting nearly everyone in the family Nerf guns has also provided a lot of fun as well. It is amazing the killer instinct that some members of the family have when holding one of these things.

And then there was the Holiday game of Axis and Allies--the new version which went for another seven or so hours before the Allies were able to assure victory by capturing Tokyo after the Axis player made a grave strategic mistake. The fortunes of war, so they say.

If the holiday is about relationships, then we have truly cemented ours as a family. Fortunately, Nerf bullets are soft and generally make us laugh when we are hit.

I was amazed how quickly the Christmas music disappeared from the radio stations. Over a month of playing the songs and carols and then gone--in a flash, even though it is really the third day of Christmas, as the old song goes.

For now though, I'm going to hunker down and watch the torrents of rain expected in the forecast and enjoy some of my new toys. and get my truck repaired.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Monday Musings - December 26, 2011

1. For Christmas and family and the time spent in preparation--give thanks!

2. It was fun being on the roads yesterday driving at the early break of dawn--the roads were empty and the first rays of the sun were just beginning to grace the eastern sky with a red hue that brought joy to my heart and I was celebrating the birth of Jesus so many years ago.

3. Christmas is really for the young at heart--because it is about new life and new hope.

4. I woke up this morning and I cannot believe that Christmas was yesterday. What a great holiday and family day.

5. It was nice to take a day off from the crush of life, I did not even check out the news yesterday. So I am behind today.

6. Christmas in not over though--it is just continuing every day.

7. We have been blessed with a great December in terms of weather and temperatures. Who would have believed that the entire family would be outside yesterday afternoon having a Nerf gun war. Yes--the best gifts of Christmas were Nerf guns for everyone. We payed until the sun went down and it got really cold.

8. I think I have handled my truck dying pretty well. I am pretty sure it is the fuel filter and I'll get on it tomorrow.

9. Christmas returns and gift cards--yeah, the shopping continues. Ugh!

10. I have a problem with packaging. Have you noticed how much is wasted by excessive packaging? And children's toys are the worst. I struggled with many toys yesterday including using some sophisticated tools to get into the toys. Ugh. The pile of packaging in the garage is overwhelming. We need to reduce packaging to save resources.


-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Coolest gift so far

The remote controlled tarantula. Makes people get out of the way.